Mrs. Harley. The story you are to read this morning, my dear, is founded upon facts which come within my own observation. I dare say you have frequently heard the French Revolution spoken of: it was this event which gave rise to the incidents contained in

The History of the Melcour Family.

Mr. de Melcour was the son of a younger branch of a good family; his father died when he was quite a child, and left him but a small patrimony. He early entered the army, where for many years he served his country with honour and fidelity: he was present in several engagements, and by his bravery and exemplary conduct, acquired the esteem of all his fellow officers. During the peace which followed the American war he married an amiable lady, whose fortune united to his own, enabled him to quit the noisy scenes of a military life, and settle on a beautiful little estate he purchased in the province of Gascony. Here he enjoyed all the happiness which a good conscience, a good temper, and a feeling heart can bestow, joined to the blessings of domestic peace. Madame de Melcour spent her time in the bosom of her family; she had little taste for the dissipation of the capital, and possessing only a limited income, had she indulged herself in expensive pleasures, she must have foregone the higher satisfaction of contributing to the comfort of those in less fortunate circumstances. She had profited by the excellent education her parents had been careful to give her, and this enabled her to bring up her own children with little assistance from others. Frederic and Elizabeth were the happiest little boy and girl in the neighbourhood: they tenderly loved their parents, and feeling the necessity of doing their duty, it became quite habitual to them. The little faults natural to childhood they were conscious would not be punished with severity, and their good actions they knew would never pass unrewarded. Frederic employed much of his time in working in a little garden that his father had given him: Elizabeth assisted in the management of the flowers, and their highest ambition was to present their mamma with a nosegay of roses, before any were blown in the great garden.

Thus happily passed many years at Melcour; when the troubles attendant on the revolution came to disturb the tranquillity of their domestic enjoyment. M. de Melcour was called upon to resume a military command; and though he disapproved of many of the measures that had been pursued by the government, yet, when he saw his sovereign in distress, he would not withhold his aid. He was particularly active in endeavouring to put a stop to the devastation caused by a misguided populace; and in a fray between some peasants and soldiers, he fell a victim to his benevolent exertions in the cause of humanity.

The sad news was brought to Madame de Melcour just as she was recovering from the bed of sickness; her constitution already much weakened, was unable to support the fatal shock, and she soon after closed her eyes for ever in the arms of her beloved children.

At this period, Frederic was just fifteen, his sister two years younger; they were left without any protector but an aged grandmother, who had constantly resided with her daughter since the marriage of the latter with M. de Melcour. Already suffering from the infirmities of age, Madame de Joinville felt herself unable to resist the persecutions of ill-disposed persons, and in the course of a few months found it necessary to leave the chateau. It was her intention to retire with her grandchildren into England, the country where she had spent much of the early part of her life, and where she still hoped to discover some of her former friends. Accordingly, having settled her affairs as well as the distracted state of the nation would permit, and, accompanied by Frederic and Elizabeth, she proceeded to the nearest seaport. They encountered many difficulties on the road, but at length, through Frederic's activity, succeeded in securing their passage in a vessel that was on the point of sailing for England.

Madame de Joinville suffered extremely from the fatigues and anxieties she had lately undergone, and on their arrival at —— it was found necessary to remain there a few days in order to recruit her exhausted strength.

As soon as Madame de Joinville was sufficiently recovered, they hastened to London, where, by the assistance of some friends, a small house was hired for their reception. The expences of a long journey had much diminished the sum Madame de Joinville had collected before her departure from France, and the most rigid economy was necessary to prevent them from becoming burthensome to others. In these circumstances, Frederic could not bear the idea of leading an idle life; he greatly wished to follow the profession of his father, but the anxious fears of his grandmother and sister long opposed his inclinations: however, he at length prevailed, and entered a regiment that was ordered on foreign service. The parting between Elizabeth and Frederic was a melancholy scene: she was long inconsolable for his loss, but religion, which she had always been taught to consider as the best comforter of the afflicted, came to her aid, and feeling the necessity of submission, she determined by active exertions to divert her mind from past calamities.

It was now that Elizabeth felt the inestimable advantages of a good education; she perfectly understood the English language; her industry and punctuality procured her many friends, who, young as she was, entrusted her with the translation of papers of consequence, and the reward she received for her labour, greatly contributed to the support of the family. Every instant she could spare from her employment and the care of their domestic affairs, was devoted to her grandmother. She nursed her when sick, read aloud for her amusement, and by every kind attention endeavoured to lessen her regret for the blessings she had lost. Madame de Joinville has often been heard to declare, that without the filial affection of her granddaughter she could hardly have supported her afflictions. The infirmities of age must sometimes render those advanced in years petulant and capricious: Elizabeth never murmured when her endeavours to please failed of success; much less did she irritate her grandmother by contradiction; she patiently submitted to these trials of her temper, and when evening came, and Madame de Joinville retired to rest, Elizabeth thought herself amply repaid for any little disappointments she had encountered during the day, by receiving her blessing and the assurance of her tenderest love.

Frederic remained two years abroad; whatever he could spare from his own actual wants he constantly remitted to his sister; but without her industry they would often have been greatly distressed. At length Elizabeth's noble and pious conduct was made known to a lady who had formerly been an intimate acquaintance of Madame de Joinville's family. Her visits to the old lady gave her constant opportunities of witnessing the amiable disposition of her granddaughter; and anxious to reward her virtues, she interested herself so warmly in their concerns, that at length, through the intercession of some powerful friends, a restitution of part of M. de Melcour's property was procured for his children. Elizabeth when in happier circumstances preserved the same humility of mind, and her never failing attention to her grandmother was rewarded by the pleasure of seeing the comforts of her last days make amends for the sorrows that had embittered so many of her former ones.

Frederic arrived in England soon after this happy change in their circumstances; he would have wished his sister to return to their native country, but the inconvenience of removing her grandmother, and the still unquiet state of the continent, induced her to prefer a residence in that land where she was secured from the horrors she had once witnessed. Frederic yielded to her reasons; and when their affairs obliged him to leave her, a constant correspondence maintained the affection that had always subsisted from their earliest years.

"Dear mamma," said Anne, "I think I like Elizabeth better than any of the young people I have yet read about, but do you really believe there ever was so good a character?"

Mrs. Harley. Certainly, my dear; and I have no doubt but many such are to be found. They must be depraved indeed, who can be wanting in affection to their parents. But I fear we must not comment a great deal on this story at present, or there will not be time to give you some account of Geography, which I intend for your study this morning.

Anne. I will then, mamma, after dinner, ask you to explain to me a few of the words I did not quite understand.

Mrs. Harley. Do, my dear, I shall be happy to give you all the information you desire.

FOURTH LESSON.

Mrs. Harley. You know, my dear, what is meant by Geography?

Anne. O yes, mamma, Geography is a description of the earth we inhabit.

Mrs. Harley. And the earth (which the globe before us represents,) is divided into four parts, viz. Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. The three first are contained in the eastern hemisphere, and are called the old world. America is situated in the western hemisphere, and is called the new world, because discovered in modern times.

Anne. Pray, mamma, is not a continent one of the divisions of the land?

Mrs. Harley. Yes, my dear; for after we have divided the whole globe into land and water, we again subdivide the land into Continents, Islands, Peninsulas, Isthmusses, and Promontories,—the water into Oceans, Seas, Straits, Gulfs, Bays, Lakes, Rivers, and Creeks.

A Continent is a large tract of land containing several countries which are not separated by seas; as Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.

An Island, is a tract of land entirely surrounded by water, as Britain, Ireland, Sicily, &c.

A Peninsula, is a tract of land almost surrounded by water, and is joined to the main land by an isthmus, as the Morea.

An Isthmus, is a narrow neck of land that joins a peninsula to the continent, as the Isthmus of Corinth.

A Cape or Promontory, is that high part of land which shoots into the sea, and appears to terminate in a point, as the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, Cape Finistere in Spain, &c.

A Shore or Coast, is that land which borders upon the sea.

The Ocean, is that general collection of water which surrounds the whole earth. It is distinguished by the names of the four cardinal points of the world; viz. the northern or icy ocean, which environs the north pole; the western or Atlantic Ocean, which lies between Europe and America, extending to the Equator; the southern or Ethiopic Ocean, which extends from the Equator between Africa and America; and the Eastern or Indian Ocean, which washes the eastern coast of Africa, and the southern coast of Asia. To these have been added by later discoveries the Pacific Ocean, commonly called the Great South Sea, between America and Asia; and the Antarctic Icy Ocean which surrounds the South Pole.

A Sea, is a part of the Ocean, into which we must enter by some strait, and it is almost surrounded by land, as the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas.

A Strait, is a narrow passage opening a way into some sea, as the Straits of Gibraltar, the Hellespont.

A Gulf is a part of an ocean or sea, which runs up considerably into the land, as the Gulf of Venice, the Gulf of Mexico, &c.

A Bay is a smaller kind of gulf, (and is frequently much smaller at the entrance than in the middle) as the Bay of Naples.

A Lake is a collection of water entirely surrounded by land, as the Lake of Geneva, and the Lake of Constance: when no stream flows in or out of it, it is called a pool.

A River is a current or stream, which rises in some elevated land, and flows into the sea, another river, or lake, as the River Thames, the Medway, and the River St. Lawrence.

A Creek, is a small part of the sea or of a river which runs but a little way into the land.

That part of the sea which flows between the shores of an Island and a Continent, is called a Channel, as the English Channel.

This description of the divisions of land and water, I wish you to commit to memory; and I will shew you all the names I have mentioned on the globe, which will give you a more perfect idea of them, than you can acquire by reading only.

Anne. Thank you, mamma; but I hope you will tell me a little more of the earth.

Mrs. Harley. Willingly, my dear. You have read that after the flood, the world was peopled by Noah's children: Shem and his descendants spread over Asia, Ham over Africa, and Japhet over Europe. It is uncertain who were the original inhabitants of America. Europe, though the smallest of the four parts of the world, is much the most populous; and here the arts and sciences are brought to the greatest perfection: it is divided into different countries, of which the following are the principal, though many of them, have undergone great changes during the last few years.

ON THE NORTH.

IN THE MIDDLE.

Note. Berlin, in Germany, was the capital of the king of Prussia's Dominions.

IN THE SOUTH.

The most considerable Islands of Europe are

Great Britain and Ireland in the Atlantic Ocean,

Iceland in the Northern Ocean,

Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Majorca, Minorca, Candia, all in the Mediterranean sea, and the Islands in the Archipelago.

It is now so late my dear, that I must finish my account of Europe to-morrow; good bye, and try to remember what I have already told you.