which he had that day heard at the bar. It was replied by the other, that he had witnessed, the same day, a degree of eloquence no doubt equal, but that it was from the pulpit.

4. Something like a sarcastic rejoinder was made to the eloquence of the pulpit; and a warm and able altercation ensued, in which the merits of the Christian religion became the subject of discussion. From six o'clock until eleven, the young champions wielded the sword of argument, adducing with ingenuity and ability every thing that could be said, pro and con.

5. During this protracted period, the old gentleman listened with all the meekness and modesty of a child, as if he was adding new information to the stores of his own mind; or perhaps he was observing, with philosophic eye, the faculties of the youthful mind, and how energies are evolved by repeated action; or, perhaps, with patriotic emotion, he was reflecting upon the future destinies of his country, and on the rising generation on whom these future destinies must devolve; or, most probably, with a sentiment of moral and religious feeling, he was collecting an argument, which (characteristic of himself) no art would be "able to elude, and no force to resist." Our traveller remained a spectator, and took no part in what was said.

6. At last, one of the young men, remarking that it was impossible to combat with long and established prejudices, wheeled around, and with some familiarity exclaimed," Well, my old gentleman, what think you of these things?" If, said the traveller, a streak of vivid lightning had at that moment crossed the room, their amazement could not have been greater than it was with what followed.

7. The most eloquent and unanswerable appeal was made by the old gentleman, for nearly an hour, that he ever heard or read. So perfect was his recollection, that every argument urged against the Christian religion was met in the order in which it was advanced.

8. Hume's sophistry on the subject of miracles, was, if possible, more perfectly answered than it had already been by Campbell. And in the whole lecture there was so much simplicity and force, pathos and energy, that not another word was uttered. An attempt to describe it, said the traveller, would be an attempt to paint the sunbeams.

9. It was now matter of curiosity and inquiry, who the old gentleman was. The traveller concluded that it was the

preacher from whom the pulpit eloquence was heard:-but no-it was the CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES.

LESSON L.

Control your Temper.

1. THERE is much said about the natural disposition and temper of men; and the fact, that any one has a temper which is unhappy and unpleasant, is both accounted and apologized for, by saying that his temper is "naturally" unpleasant. It is a comfortable feeling to lay as much blame upon nature as we can; but the difficulty is, that the action, to use a law term, will not lie.

2. No one has a temper naturally so good that it does not need attention and cultivation; and no one has a temper so bad, but that, by proper culture, it may become pleasant. One of the best-disciplined tempers ever seen, was that of a gentleman who was, naturally, quick, irritable, rash, and violent; but, by having the care of the sick, and especially of deranged people, he so completely mastered himself, that he was never known to be thrown off his guard.

3. The difference in the happiness which is received or bestowed by the man who guards his temper, and that by the man who does not, is immense. There is no misery so constant, so distressing, and so intolerable to others, as that of having a disposition which is your master, and which is con tinually fretting itself. There are corners enough, at every turn in life, against which we may run, and at which we may break out in impatience, if we choose.

4. Look at Roger Sherman, who rose from a humble occupation, to a seat in the first Congress of the United States, and whose judgment was received with great deference by that body of distinguished men. He made himself master of his temper, and cultivated it as a great business in life. There are one or two instances which show this part of his character in a light that is beautiful.

5. One day, after having received his highest honors, he was sitting and reading in his parlor. A roguish student, in a room close by, held a looking-glass in such a position as to pour the reflected rays of the sun directly in Mr. Sherman's face. He moved his chair, and the thing was repeat

ed. A third time the chair was moved, but the lookingglass still reflected the sun in his eyes.

6. He laid aside his book, went to the window, and many witnesses of the impudence expected to hear the ungentlemanly student severely reprimanded. He raised the window gently, and then-shut the window-blind! I cannot forbear adducing another instance of the power he had acquired over himself.

7. He was naturally possessed of strong passions; but over these he at length obtained an extraordinary control. He became habitually calm, sedate, and self-possessed. Mr. Sherman was one of those men who are not ashamed to maintain the forms of religion in his family. One morning, he called them together, as usual, to lead them in prayer to God; the old family Bible' was brought out and laid on the table.

8. Mr. Sherman took his seat, and beside him placed one of his children, a small child-a child of his old age; the rest of the family were seated round the room; several of these were now grown up. Besides these, some of the tutors of the college were boarders in the family, and were present at the time alluded to.

9. His aged and now superannuated mother occupied a corner of the room, opposite the place where the distinguished Judge of Connecticut sat. At length he opened the Bible, and began to read. The child, who was seated beside him, made some little disturbance, upon which Mr. Sherman paused, and told it to be still. Again he proceeded; but again he paused, to reprimand the little offender, whose playful disposition would scarcely permit it to be still. At this time, he gently tapped its ear.

10. The blow, if it might be called a blow, caught the attention of his aged mother, who now, with some effort, rose from her seat, and tottered across the room. At length she reached the chair of Mr. Sherman, and, in a moment, most unexpectedly to him, she gave him a blow on the ear, with all the power she could summon. "There," said she,

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you strike your child, and I will strike mine!"

11. For a moment, the blood was seen rushing to the face of Mr. Sherman; but it was only for a moment, when all was calm and mild as usual. He paused-he raised his spectacles-he cast his eye upon his mother-again it fell upon the book, from which he had been reading. Not a

word escaped him; but again he calmly pursued the service, and soon after sought, in prayer, an ability to set an example before his household, which should be worthy of their imitation. Such a victory was worth more than the proudest one ever achieved in the field of battle.

LESSON LI.

Superstition.

1. "DON'T put those hams in salt to-day, whatever you do," said self-conceited Mary to the cook, who was preparing the ingredients for that purpose.

2. 66

Why not?" asked the cook.

3. "Because it is Friday," answered the silly girl," and no good luck ever comes to any thing begun on a Friday." 4. "And are you really weak enough to believe that can have any thing to do with the matter?" asked her mistress, who happened to be passing the pantry door at the moment.

5. "Every body knows that's true, ma'am; at least all country people do. There is not a farmer's wife round, that would put hams in salt, or begin making cheeses, on a Friday. It is certainly true that they never prosper."

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And, pray, do you know the reason why Mrs. Thomson's bacon was spoiled last autumn, which she was so very careful to put in salt on a Saturday?

No, ma'am, I do not know."

8. "Then I will tell you. It was because the weather was warm, and the meat was not salted early enough to preserve it. If it had been salted on the Friday, it is very likely it would have proved good bacon; but it was sacrificed to the silly prejudice of not putting it in salt on Friday.

9. "Much in the same manner, Mrs. Taylor suffered her babe to scratch and disfigure its face, because she had a notion that it is unlucky to cut the nails of a child under a year old; and Nanny Scott, the old washer-woman, is sure that another death will happen this year in the family, because, when her sister-in-law was taken out to be buried, somebody shut the door before the corpse was under ground, and so shut death into the house. Another neighbor expects a similar event, because a single raven flew over the house, and the cricket chirped on the hearth, and she saw a winding-sheet in the candle.

10. " 'My dear women," continued the lady, "how can you be so silly as to embitter your lives by such foolish superstition? It is very likely that death will enter the house within the year, for no doors nor bolts can it is very likely that you may be its victim. reason to think so than any of your silly you."

keep it out, and You have more omens can give

11. Dear, ma'am, what reason?" asked one of the women, in terror.

12. "Because the Bible tells us that it is appointed to all men once to die, and warns us to be always ready, because we know not the day nor the hour when we shall be called." 13. " But, ma'am, don't you believe in any thing that is a token of death, or of good or ill luck?"

14. "In nothing whatever. There is no such thing as luck, either good or bad; for luck means chance; but every thing, great and small, is under the wise and gracious direction of God; nothing can happen without his permission, and He permits nothing but what, in his wonderful plans, He designs to work for good. We are kept in ignorance of the particular events that are to befall us, in order to keep up in us a constant sense of our dependence on God, and a constant obedience to the directions of his word, by which alone we can be prepared for the dispensations of his providence.

15. "When you have a mind to do a foolish thing, do not fancy you are fated to do it; this is tempting providence, not trusting God. It is indeed charging him with folly; prudence is his gift, and you obey him better when you make use of prudence, under the direction of prayer, than when you madly rush into ruin, and think you are only submitting to your fate. Never fancy you are compelled to undo yourself, or to rush upon your own destruction, in compliance with any supposed fatality.

16. "Never believe that God conceals his will from a sober Christian, who obeys his laws, and reveals it to a vagabond, who runs up and down breaking the laws both of God and man. King Saul never consulted the witch till he left off serving God; the Bible will direct us best; conjurers are impostors; and there are no days unlucky but those which we make so by our vanity, folly, and sin."