wisdom even to the meanest of creatures? The all intelligent, all bounteous Mind, who called universal Nature into existence, and without whom not even a sparrow falleth to

the ground.

CHAP. XI.

The

WE are told of Plato, that when his slave had committed a crime against him, he would not himself inflict punishment on him, for this reason, that he was in a passion, and therefore not master of himself. saying of the wise man, that "he that spareth the rod, hateth the child," has been a dreaful one for many children: happily the infliction of corporal punishment is in this country, at least, almost universally exploded: I say happily, for I never yet knew of an instance in which it produced good. By this chastisement, the dull have been rendered duller still; the obstinate confirmed in their obstinacy; the meek spirit

has been broken; the generous mind degraded, in the lowest degree of degradation, its own esteem. It is an assured fact, that if the convicts in the hulks discover that a man sent among them has undergone the punishment of flogging, they refuse to associate with him. Saint Pierre affirms that he could demonstrate, by a multitude of examples, that the depravation of the most notorious criminals in his country began with the cruelty of their education. Plutarch says, "Children are rather to be won to follow their studies by exhortations and rational motives, than forced to them by whipping, or any other disgraceful punishments; for they when treated with severity are rendered dull, and discouraged from the performance of their tasks. Praise and reproof are more effectual with children than any disgraceful correction; the former to incite them to what is good, and the latter to restrain them from what is evil: but we must use these alternately, according to the variety of occasions." One whom

I knew, and highly respected, was educated in her early years by a relation. On a certain day in every week she received corporal chastisement; if she had committed faults, "the punishment was due;" if she had not," she probably would in the week ensuing." At the distance of more than half a century, the memory of this woman, who bore a public character for piety and charity, was spoken of, and justly, with aversion, by the person she had thus treated.

I have heard a gentleman relate, that once as a punishment at school, he was compelled to chew a certain quantity of tobacco, the sickness produced by which nearly destroyed him. What a vile exercise of tyranny and cruelty was this! Fasting is often imposed as a punishment on children; but fasting occasionally is bene ficial to the health both of the young, and the more advanced in life; it is therefore a pity to make it an object of dread, and likewise to give children an idea that eating is

one of their privileges: much more mischief is done to them by making them gluttons, than by teaching them to be now and then abstemious, only not in the way of punishment. This is one of the modes of self de-, nial which children may very early learn. Another punishment, as elder persons chuse to term it, is to give a child water gruel, or dry bread for his dinner; but let those persons recollect, that a great proportion of the inhabitants of the more northern part of our kingdom are fed chiefly on the ingredients of water gruel, and that there are thousands in the day and country we live in, who would rejoice to have a sufficient quantity of dry bread to satisfy the cravings of hunger: let them consider too the evil that they are doing to a child, by teaching him an abhorrence to simple food. The changes in human life are such, that it would be well. for parents and teachers to accustom children from their earliest years to such habits of life as will render no situation or circumstance in their after lot too grievous to be