“Yes, my dear (answered Mr. Willock, turning over the leaf), it is beautiful, because it expresses a good passion, and one that is very grateful to the mind—the passion of Admiration. Do you recollect how delighted you all were when you were on the sea-coast, and saw the sun rising above the horizon, and the ships sailing before the wind? what you then felt was Admiration. In the passion of Admiration, the mind is occupied with pleasing thoughts, usually accompanied with love, esteem, or veneration for the object; and these sensations that give such a pleasant turn to the features. In this passion (according to Le Brun), the eyebrow rises; the eye opens a little more than ordinary; the eyeball, equally between the eyelids, appears fixed on the object; the mouth half opens; and to this disposition of features, astonishment only exaggerates a little.

“My dear children,” cried Mr. Willock,“I would wish you, as often as possible, to indulge this passion, as it leads to many virtues.—Admiration of the objects of nature brings us to the contemplation of an almighty God, who has filled the universe with the innumerable wonders of creation; and, indeed, it is the whole work of Admiration to prove our dependence on him, and his great power and goodness; for it is impossible, when we view the sun, the moon, and the numberless stars, the wide ocean, and the extensive landscapes covered with pasture, and with herds and flocks, not to reflect, how great and infinitely wise must be the Author of all. This face of Le Brun, you may observe, appears occupied in some such contemplation. It is almost the face of devotion.

“Let us see, my dear children, what then are the most worthy objects of Admiration: They may be principally classed,

“Admiration of the beauty and order of the universe.

“Admiration of the power and goodness of the Almighty, who created all things.

“Admiration of the structure of the human frame, of its strength and powers, and of the animal world.

“Admiration of the goodness of Providence.

“Admiration of the effects of virtue, particularly of industry.

“Admiration of worth, of courage, genius, talent, and of the works of art.

“Admiration of the beauty and order of the universe, is the first in which we become engaged. We see, you know, my dears, the same blessed sun, the fountain of heat, light, and life, return to us every day:—clouds may sometimes obscure it, but it soon appears again, to convince us that its presence is ordered by the Creator, to cherish the animal world, and every plant and flower that grows. If it is night, and we view the stars, what can we conjecture but that they must be placed in the firmament by an Almighty hand? and it is this reflection that occasioned one of our poets, Dr. Young, to say,

“An undevout astronomer is mad;” because he could not believe that any person who had his senses would not pause with Admiration, and adore the Being who created these wonders of the heavens. “Go to the window, my dear William,” said Mr. Willock, “and look at them for a moment; they have just begun to appear.”

William went to the window, and all the rest of the young people followed him. Mr. Willock named to them some of the principal stars; they were quite delighted; and when he described to them the course of the planets, and that for many thousand years the same order had been preserved, their faces showed the disposition of features which belong to Admiration.

After they had perused the stars for a little time, Mr. Willock called their attention again to the picture. “Let us now, my dear children,” said he,“consider what must be the power and goodness of the Almighty, who created all these things; what can we conceive of the hand that could fix a ball of fire in the heavens, of the magnitude of the sun? but our Admiration increases when we reflect, that it is that fire which occasions the plant and the herb to grow. You know, that in the winter the ground is bare; but when spring appears, and when the sun approaches to us, it revives nature; and the seed which has been sown may then be seen sprouting its green heads above the earth: and the same source it is which gives food to man. How good is all this! and do you not think that it calls upon us to be devout, that is, to love God, and to desire to follow his commandments, that the Almighty, who has given us so many blessings, may continue to bless us with his Providence, in all we do?

“The next object of our Admiration,” said Mr. Willock,“is ourselves; for as David says in the Psalms, ‘We are fearfully and wonderfully made;’ and is it not true? Observe, William, the formation of the eye, the curious make of the fingers, the strength of the muscles; how the blood circulates through your veins; and then the powers of your mind; how you can think, how you can reason upon what you hear and see. Is not all this matter of Admiration?

“If,” continued Mr. Willock,“we go a step lower, and survey the animal creation, our Admiration will yet be great: whether we examine the mighty mammoth, the skeleton of which you saw at the exhibition the other day, or the little hummingbird, which was shewn you at the museum, still you must admire. It is true, that we admire also the works of man; but if we do, they will only bring us back, after all, to think of that great power which gave to human beings such capacities.

“The goodness of Providence ought to be the next great object of our Admiration, which has fixed on such an order and regularity in the universe, that it sheds a constant and continual blessing and benefit on mankind, by the rotation of the seasons, by rains which water the earth, and by an autumn sun to ripen the corn, and give us a plentiful harvest.

“And, in addition to this general providence, which is for the benefit of all mankind, the good, by whom I mean those who love God, may rely on a providence that will guard, protect, and bless them through the day. Therefore, when you rise in the morning, pray sincerely for that protection, and you may depend upon having it. Judge Hale, who was a very good man, used to say, ’that he could always calculate upon the successes of the next week, by the attention he had paid to the duties of the Sunday; for,‘ said he, ‘whenever I have passed that day in admiration of the goodness of God, and have prayed sincerely for his assistance, I have always found success to follow in my temporal affairs.’ And this subject, he said, he had not considered lightly, but had been convinced of it from experience.

“But you must not, my dear children, if you have this reliance upon the goodness of God, ever doubt it, or give way to mistrust, although you may meet in your future life with crosses and vexations; because, though you may meet with them, if you have had such a dependence, you may be sure they are for the best, and because you cannot tell what is the best for your own happiness. God Almighty is your heavenly father, as I may be your father on earth; and he loves you with the same care, only with more knowledge and power to bless and protect you. Now it may have happened, that when you have wished to take a walk in a warm summer’s day, that I may have forbid it, and that you may have been, of course, greatly grieved and disappointed; but when in the cool of the evening I have invited you to taste the refreshing air, you have been much better pleased; you have discovered my reasons for having forbid it before; that then it was ill timed, that you might have over-heated yourselves, and have caught cold; that it would be more pleasant in the evening, and that I could then spare time to accompany you. Think then, my dear children, how much more should you yield to the disappointments God Almighty may place in your way; and when they happen, make yourselves happy with the best of all comforts, that it is from his goodness. Besides, when you come to read more of history, and to grow up, and notice the changes that take place in the lives of your acquaintance, you will find, that what appears as the severest misfortune, may be the means of bringing great good. You remember the history of Joseph, in the Bible; and pray recollect that beautiful story through life. Joseph’s brethren, you know, who envied him, conspired against his life; but his brother Reuben said, ‘do not let us kill him:’ however, they cast him into a pit in the wilderness, and left him. Now their belief was, that he would perish; for they never thought that their cruelty would be the very cause that would bring him to great honour and preferment.—And it is thus that the evil designs of the wicked are made to produce good, instead of harm, to the very objects of their hatred. You recollect that a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead, with the camels, bearing spicery, and palm, and myrrh, which they were going to carry down to Egypt, bought him of his brethren, drew him out of the pit, carried him away with them, and sold him to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, and a captain of the guard. God Almighty inclined Potiphar to show kindness to Joseph, and he advanced him: but a second, and greater misfortune was to happen to Joseph, to produce him still greater good. He is falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, and thrown into prison, where was also the butler and baker of Pharaoh. God supplies him with wisdom to interpret their dreams; he is sent for by Pharaoh, and gives him counsel; the king promotes him, and makes him ruler over his house. But a yet more extraordinary work of Providence was to be performed; Joseph was to be the means of saving the lives of his brothers, who had conspired against him. There was a great famine in the land of Canaan, where his father and brothers dwelt; and Jacob sent his ten sons to Egypt for corn; but as he had loved Joseph, and was afraid some mischief would happen to Benjamin, he did not send him with them; he was, however, asked for by Joseph, who pretended not to know his brothers, and whom they could not recollect in his greatness. They were sent back for Benjamin.

“I am sure that you recollect in what manner Joseph entertained his brothers on their return; that he forgave them in his heart; that he relieved them from the horrors of famine; that the only rebuke he used, when he parted with them, was of the most gentle kind—‘See that you fall not out by the way.’

“Now, my dear children, reflect upon this history, and how many times Joseph appeared to have cause to complain of the hardness of his lot; and yet it all led to honour and promotion; and this should teach you to do the best you can, in whatsoever situation you may be placed, and to depend on God, who is the great object of your admiration, for the rest.

“The next deserving objects of our admiration are the effects of virtue, and particularly of Industry.—Virtue never fails to give blessings to mankind; thus it is, that the good are always the most happy. Industry has the same blessing attending it, and the recompence is of the most delightful nature, as it gives the means of acquiring many comforts, and the power of doing a great deal of good. Your mamma can tell you a very pleasant story of the good effects of industry, over indolence, or despair.” At this intimation, all the young party directed their eyes to Mrs. Willock, and“Pray, mamma, do oblige us,” was repeated by two or three of them at the same time.

Mrs. Willock, who was not only a very elegant and well-educated woman, but extremely good-natured, smiled at the eagerness of her young friends, and began

The Story of the Two Gardeners.

“There were two market gardeners, who were also neighbours, and lived somewhere near the village of Hammersmith. It happened, that the early crops of peas, raised by these two poor men, were in one morning killed by a severe frost.—One of the gardeners, a very short time afterwards, having occasion to pass by the gate of his friend, called in to condole with him on their mutual misfortune. ‘Ah,’ cried he to the other, ‘how unfortunate have we been, neighbour! do you know that I have done nothing but fret ever since my disaster: but, bless me, what is here? you have a fine healthy crop of peas saved from the frost.’—‘Not so,’ cried the other.—‘What are they then?’ said he. ‘Why,’ returned the other gardener, ‘these are what I sowed immediately after my loss.’—‘What, coming up already?’ cried the fretter.—‘Yes.’—‘Bless me, how is that?’—‘Why, while you was fretting, I was working, that’s all.’—‘What, and don’t you fret when you have a loss?’—‘To be sure I do.’—‘Well, how then?’—‘Why, though I do fret, I always put it off until after I have repaired the mischief.’—‘Lord, why then you have no occasion to fret at all.’— ‘True,’ replied the industrious gardener, ‘and that is the very reason, the less one frets, the better.’

“I am sure, my dears, that I need not tell you the moral of this little fable, because I am sure that you have all of you good sense enough to find it out: but as you may like to hear it from me, I will tell it you—That the pleasantest reflection you can have of a misfortune is, that you have been able, by your industry, to repair it. And it is really astonishing, my dear children,” continued she, “how many mischiefs might be repaired by a little trouble and industry.”

“Admiration of worth, courage, genius, talent, and of the works of art, is the next of which,” continued Mr. Willock,“we have to speak. Admiration of worth is, among good minds, very grateful, for they are always pleased to find excellence; and in this country you may indulge the passion at any time, by reading the works of great authors, such as Locke, Addison, Sir Richard Steel, Doctor Johnson, and others, wherein you will have to admire an excellent moral, and a pure and elegant language.

“Admiration of courage is another pleasant sensation, though attended with a portion of pain. It was this kind of Admiration which was felt by Philip king of Macedon, when his son Alexander seized hold of the bridle of Bucephalus, who was so wild and unmanageable, that no one had been able to mount him, and softly letting fall his cloak, threw himself upon his back in one leap, and animating him with his voice, put him in full speed, to the astonishment of every one present. Philip, with tears of joy and Admiration in his eyes, exclaimed—‘My son, seek a kingdom more worthy of thee, for Macedon is below thy merit.’

“Admiration of genius and talent may be often indulged. The many curious pieces of mechanism that may be seen daily, are objects worthy of admiration; but perhaps the most extraordinary of any to a young mind is a ship, when it is considered, that within its space several hundreds of persons traverse immense oceans, and sail to places many thousand leagues distant.”

“I should like very much to go on board a ship,” said Henry, while his father had paused a moment to take a pinch of snuff.

“I intend,” answered Mr. Willock, "that you and your brothers shall go to-morrow on board the Rainbow man of war, the captain of which is my particular friend: and if you do, I think your faces will express something more than simple Admiration. Suppose we look at the next picture; will not your looks be more like it than this? for (said he, as he turned over the leaf) it is