PART I.

PIECES IN PROSE.

CHAPTER I.

Select Sentences and Paragraphs,

CHAPTER II.

Narrative Pieces.

SECT. 1. No rank or possessions can make the guilty mind

happy,

2. Change of external condition often adverse to virtue,

3. Haman; or the misery of pride,

4. Lady Jane Grey,

5. Ortogrul; or the vanity of riches,

6. The hill of science,

7. The journey of a day; a picture of human life,

CHAPTER III.

Didactic Pieces.

Page

23

39

40

41

42

45

47

50

5. A suspicious temper the source of misery to its

possessor,

6. Comforts of religion,

7. Diffidence of our abilities a mark of wisdom,

8. On the importance of order in the distribution of

our time,

9. The dignity of virtue amidst corrupt examples,

10. The mortifications of vice greater than those of virtue,

11. On contentment,

12. Rank and riches afford no ground for envy,

13. Patience under provocations our interest as well as

14. Moderation in our wishes recommended,

15 Omniscience and omnipresence of the Deity, the

source of consolation to good men.

CHAPTER IV.

Argumentative Pieces.

SECT. 1. Happiness is founded in rectitude of conduct,

2. Virtue man's highest interest,

3. The injustice of an uncharitable spirit,

SECT. 4. The misfortunes of men mostly chargeable on them.

selves,

5. On disinterested friendship,

6. On the immortality of the soul,

CHAPTER V.

Descriptive Pieces.

SECT. 1. The seasons,

86

2. The cataract of Niagara, in Canada, North America,

3. The grotto of Antiparos,

87

ib.

4. The grotto of Antiparos continued,

89

5. Earthquake at Catanea,

90

6. Creation,

ib.

7. Charity,

8. Prosperity is redoubled to a good man,

9. On the beauties of the Psalms,

10. Character of Alfred, king of England,

11. Character of Queen Elizabeth,

12. On the slavery of vice,

13. The man of integrity,

14. Gentleness,

91

92

93

94

95

96

98

ib.

CHAPTER VI.

Pathetic Pieces.

SECT. 1. Trial and execution of the Earl of Strafford,

2. An eminent instance of true fortitude of mind,

3. The good man's comfort in affliction,

5. Exalted society, and the renewal of virtuous connexions,

SECT. 1. Cicero against Verres,

2. Speech of Adherbal to the Roman Senate, imploring

their protection against Jugurtha,

121

124

3. The Apostle Paul's noble defence before Festus and

Agrippa,

126

SECT. 4. Lord Mansfield's speech in the House of Lords, 1770,

on the bill for preventing the delays of justice, by

claiming the privilege of parliament,

5. An address to young persons,

CHAPTER IX,

Promiscuous Pieces.

Page.

128

132

SECT. 1. Earthquake at Calabria, in the year 1638,

2. Letter from Pliny to Geminius,

3. Letter from Pliny to Marcellinus, on the death of an

amiable young woman,

136

139

ib.

4. On Discretion,

140

5. On the government of our thoughts,

143

6. On the evils which flow from unrestrained passions,

7. On the proper state of our temper, with respect to one

another,

145

146

148

8. Excellence of the Holy Scriptures,

9. Reflections occasioned by a review of the blessings,

pronounced by Christ on his disciples, in his sermon

on the mount,

10. Schemes of life often illusory,

149

150

11. The pleasures of virtuous sensibility,

12. On the true honour of man,

152

154

13. The influence of devotion on the happiness of life,

14. The planetary and terrestrial worlds comparatively

considered,

155

157

15. On the power of custom, and the uses to which it

may be applied,

159

16. The pleasures resulting from a proper use of our

faculties,

160

17. Description of candour,

161

18. On the imperfection of that happiness which rests

solely on worldly pleasures,

162

19. What are the real and solid enjoyments of human

life,

20. Scale of beings,

165

167

21. Trust in the care of Providence recommended,

22. Piety and gratitude enliven prosperity,

169

171

173

23. Virtue, when deeply rooted, not subject to the in-

fluence of fortune,

24. The speech of Fabricius, a Roman ambassador, to

king Pyrrhus, who attempted to bribe him to his

interests, by the offer of a great sum of money,

25. Character of James I. king of England,

26. Charles V. emperor of Germany, resigns his dominions,

PART II.

PIECES IN POETRY.

CHAPTER I.

Select Sentences and Paragraphs.

SECT. 1. Short and easy sentences,

2. Verses in which the lines are of different length,

3. Verses containing exclamations, interrogations, and

parentheses,

4. Verses in various forms,

5. Verses in which sound corresponds to signification,

6. Paragraphs of greater length,

Page.

182

184

185

187

189

191

4. The youth and the philosopher,

196

5. Discourse between Adam and Eve, retiring to rest,

6. Religion and death,

198

200

5. A paraphrase on the latter part of the 6th chapter

of Matthew,

205

6. The death of a good man a strong incentive to

virtue,

200

7. Reflections on a future state, from a review of

winter,

207

8. Adams advice to Eve, to avoid temptation,

9. On procrastination,

10. That philosophy, which stops at secondary causes,

11. Indignant sentiments on national prejudices and hatred ;

208

209

2. Rural sounds, as well as rural sights, delightful,

213

3. The rose,

214

210

211

SECT. 4. Care of birds for their young,

5. Liberty and slavery contrasted,

6. Charity. A paraphrase on the 13th chapter of the

First Epistle to the Corinthians,

7. Picture of a good man,

8. The pleasures of retirement,

9. The pleasure and benefit of an improved and well-
directed imagination,

4. Elegy to pity,

5. Verses supposed to be written by Alexander Selkirk,
during his solitary abode in the Island of Juan
Fernandez,

6. Gratitude,

7. A man perishing in the snow; from whence reflec-
tions are raised on the miseries of life,

8. A morning hymn,

Page 214

216

216

217

219

220

221

223

224

ib.

225

227

228

230

9. Providence vindicated in the present state of man,

242

243

244

245

ib.

247

15. The universal prayer,

249

16. Conscience,

250