most burdensome kind are levied, soldiers are collected, so as to leave a paucity of husbandmen; reviews and encampments succeed; and at last fifteen or twenty thousand men meet on a plain, and coolly shed each 15 other's blood, without the smallest personal animosity, or the shadow of a provocation. The kings, in the meantime, and the grandees, who have employed these poor innocent victims to shoot bullets at each other's heads, remain quietly at home, and amuse themselves, in 20 the intervals of balls, hunting schemes, and pleasures of every species, with reading at the fireside, and over a cup of chocolate, the dispatches from the army, and the news in the Extraordinary Gazette. If the King of Prussia were not at the head of some of the best troops 25 in the world, he would be judged more worthy of being tried, and condemned, at the Old Bailey, than any shedder of blood who ever died by a halter. But he is a king; but he is a hero;-those names fascinate us, and we enroll the butcher of mankind among their 30 benefactors. When one considers the dreadful circumstances that attend even victories, one cannot help being a little shocked at the exultation which they occasion. I have often thought it would be a laughable scene, if there 35 were not too much of the melancholy in it, when a circle of eager politicians have met to congratulate each other on a piece of good news just arrived. Every eye sparkles with delight; every voice is raised in announcing the happy event. And what is the cause of all this joy? 40 and for what are our windows illuminated, bonfires kindled, bells rung, and feasts celebrated? We have had a successful engagement. We have left a thousand of the enemy dead on the field of battle, and only nine hundred of our countrymen. Charming news! it was a 45 glorious battle! But before you give a loose to your raptures, pause awhile; and consider, that to every one of these nineteen hundred, life was no less sweet than it is to you; that to the far greater part of them there probably were wives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, 50 sisters, brothers, and friends, all of whom are at this moment bewailing that event which occasions your foolish and brutal triumph. EXERCISE 60. The Warrior.-HARBINGER OF PEACE. 1 A gallant form is passing by, The plume bends o'er his lordly brow; A thousand tongues have raised on high His song of triumph now. Young knees are bending round his way, And makes bare his locks of gray. age ? Fair forms have lent their gladdest smile, Soft tones have cheer'd him, and the brow 3 The bard hath waked the song for him, And every tongue, and every èye, 4 (<) The gallant steed treads proudly on; In strife that iron heel went down And foremost in the ranks of strife, 5 Dream they of thése-the glad and gay, The ghastly sláin-the sever'd héad— The raven stooping o'er the dead? Dark thoughts and fearful! yet they bring 7 Mén-Chrístians! pàuse-the air ye breathe EXERCISE 61. Death of Ashmun.-MRS. SIGOURNEY. 1 (-) Whose is yon sable bìer? Why is that sleeper laid To rest in mànhood's pride? How gain'd his cheeks such pallid shade ?--- 2 (。) The hoarse wave murmur'd low And o'er the sea in tones of woe Upon her billowy strand; A shield was from her bosom torn, 3 (-) Ah! well I know thee now, Of ruthless war swept by, 4. Spirit of Power,-pass òn !-- Thy homeward wing is free;- Toil might not bow thee down,— Nor Pleasure win thy birthright crown,— EXERCISE 62. Love of Applause.-HAWES. To be insensible to public opinion, or to the estima tion in which we are held by others, indicates any thing, rather than a good and generous spirit. It is indeed the mark of a low and worthless character;--devoid of 5 principle, and therefore devoid of shame. A young man is not far from ruin, when he can say, without blushing, I don't care what others think of me. But to have a proper regard to public opinion is one thing; to make that opinion our rule of action is quite 10 another. The one we may cherish consistently with the purest virtue, and the most unbending rectitude; the other we cannot adopt, without an utter abandonmert of principle and disregard of duty. The young man whose great aim is to please, who makes the upin15 ion and favor of others his rule and motive of action; stands ready to adopt any sentiments, or pursue any course of conduct, however false and criminal, provided only, that it be popular. In every emergency, his first question is, What will my companions, what will the 20 world think and say of me, if I adopt this, or that course of conduct? Duty, the eternal laws of rectitude, are not thought of. Custom, fashion, popular favor; these are the things, that fill his entire vision, and decide every question of opinion and duty. Such a man can 25 never be trusted; for he has no integrity, and no independence of mind, to obey the dictates of rectitude. He is at the mercy of every casual impulse and change of popular opinion, and you can no more tell whether he will be right or wrong to-morrow, than you can pre30 dict the course of the wind, or what shape the clouds will then assume. And what is the usual consequence of this weak and foolish regard to the opinions of men?-What the end of thus acting in compliance with custom in opposition 85 to one's own convictions of duty.? It is to lose the es teem and respect of the very man whom you thus attempt to please. Your defect of principle and hollow-heartedness are easily perceived; and though the persons to whom you thus sacrifice your conscience, may affect to 40 commend your complaisance, you may be assured, that, inwardly, they despise you for it. Young men can hardly commit a greater mistake, than to think of gaining the esteem of others, by yielding to their wishes, contrary to their own sense of duty. Such conduct is always morally 45 wrong, and rarely fails to deprive one both of self-respect, and of the respect of others. EXERCISE 63. Christian Integrity.-HAWES. It is very common, I know, for young men just commencing business, to imagine that, if they would advance their secular interests, they must not be very scrupulous in binding themselves down to the strict rules of recti5 tude. They must conform to custom; and if in buying and selling they sometimes say the things that are not true, and do the things that are not honest; why, their neighbors do the same; and, verily, there is no getting along without it. There is so much competition and 10 rivalry, that to be strictly honest, and yet succeed in business, is out of the question. Now if it were indeed so, I would say to a young man; Then quit your business. Better dig, and beg too, than to tamper with conscience, sin against God, and lose your 15 soul. But is it so?-is it necessary in order to succeed in business, that you should adopt a standard of morals, more lax and pliable, than the one placed before you in the Bible? Perhaps, for a time, a rigid adherence to 20 rectitude might bear hard upon you; but how would it be in the end? Possibly, your neighbor, by being less scrupulous than yourself, may invent a more expeditious way of acquiring a fortune. If he is willing to violate the dictates of conscience; to lie, and cheat, and tram25 ple on the rules of justice and honesty, he may, indeed, get the start of you, and rise suddenly to wealth and distinction. But would you envy him his riches, or be |