This practice of extracing the "mere essence" from, naturally excites a disgust for works of real worth. The mind becomes accustomed to bestow but a passing glance, to skim along the surface and not drive for thoughts" fathom deep."-Naught therefore but frivolities are relished, and that which requires study and attention is pronounced dry and without interest; the historian and philospher are discarded from the thoughts to make place for pretty specimens of poetic inspiration, and science is left to grope its way from amid the beautiful passages of a favorite novelist.

Moreover, a habit of superficial reading greatly injures the memory. An insufficiency of time is necessarily allowed it to select its subjects and give them the stamp of thought's revision before they are imprinted on its tablets. Thus a mass of worthless matter is poured in upon it, till full and overflowing, when chaos assumes the sway and revels in its strength. It loses its former spring and vigor, and its tenacity becomes impaired from the mere barrenness of its resources. And if we examine the qualities that constitute an able reasoner we again find the effects of this habit to be detrimental and in no wise of advantage. For able reasoning requires a wide extent of useful knowledge to furnish the materials, and a habit of clear and patient thought in applying that knowledge, both of which qualificatious are incompatible with the very name of a superficial reader.

With such views as these on a subject that deeply interests us all, I have endeavored to show the great injury necessarily sustained by those persons who are literally swallowing the trash of the day. The mind, the memory, and all of real worth in man, are to be thrown away for the foolish purpose of gratifying a momentary and worthless pleasure. In these remarks, however, I by no means object to the perusal of those works which recognize as their authors, any of those brightest stars that at times illumine the literary world, those genius is studiously devoted to the promotion of virtuous knowledge. History, however, should unfold to our view the experience of past ages, by VOL. I.

31

362

Increase of the numbers of Mankind.

which to guide our judgments, and the Philosophy of other times should render us its willing aid in examining the mysteries of nature.-We should avoid the light productions that are daily issuing from the press, whose fame is but to live and die; and die in the obscurity from whence they emanated. The pleasure of their perusal shuld yield to a thirst for refined and elevated knowledge, an acquisition that will deeply affect ourselves, and one that will sustain and even exalt the character of an American citizen.

W.

INCREASE OF THE NUMBERS OF MANKIND.

On the supposition that the human race has a power to double its numbers 4 times in a century, or once in each succeeding period of 25 years, as some philosophers have computed, and that nothing prevented the exercise of this power of increase, the descendants of Noah and his family, would have now increased in the following number: 1, 496, 577, 676,626, 844, 588, 240, 573, 268, 701, 473, 812, 127, 674, 924, 007, 424.

The surface of the earth contains, of square miles,....296,643,355 Mercury, and all the other planets, contain about, ...46 790,511,000 The sun contains 2,442,900,000,000

2,489,387,174,555

Hence, upon the supposition of such a rate of increase of mankind, as has been assumed, the number of human beings now living would be equal at the following number for each square mile upon the surface of the earth, the sun and all the planets: 61,062,000,000,000 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000; or to the following number for each square inch: 149,720,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000. This last number alone is infinite with relation to human conception. Merely to count it would require an incredible period. Supposing the whole inhabitants now upon the surface of the globe to be one thousand millions, which is believed somewhat to exceed the actual number; and supposing that this multitude, infants and adults, were to be em· ployed in nothing else but counting; that each were to work 365 days in the year, and 10 hours in the day, and

to count 100 per minute, it would require, in order to count the number in question, 6,536,500 millions of years.

GOOD BOOKS.

A YOUNG man who has a fondness for books, or taste for the works of nature and art, is not only preparing to appear with honour and usefulness as a member of society, but is secured from a thousand temptations and evils to which he would otherwise be exposed. He knows what to do with his leisure time. It does not hang heavily on his hands. He has no inducement to resort to bad company, or the haunts of dissipation and vice; he has higher and nobler sources of enjoyment in himself. At pleasure he can call around him the best of company-the wisest and greatest men of every age and country-and feast his mind with the rich stores of knowledge which they spread before him. A lover of good books can never be in want of good society, nor in much danger of seeking enjoyment in the low pleasures of sensuality and vice.

MUSIC AS A BRANCH OF INSTRUCTION.

In the United States, singing is usually considered as an accomplishment which belongs to the luxuries of education. In Germany, it is deemed an essential part of common school instruction; as a means of cultivating one of the most important of our senses, of softening the character, and especially of preparing children to unite in the public worship of God. It is con

sidered no more remarkable, and no more difficult, for children to read and write music, than language; and musical tones are made the means of associating valuable ideas with the common objects and phenomena of nature, and the ordinary events of life.

The following ordinance, extracted from the Prussian Official Gazette, (Amts Blatt,) Cologne, January 15th, 1828, will show the light in which this subject is viewed by that Government.

66 Among the essential branches of education, which

ought to be found in all common schools, and to which every teacher who undertakes the management of such schools, is in duty bound to attend, is that of instruction in singing. Its principal object in these schools, is to cultivate feeling, and exert an influence in forming the habits, and strengthening the powers of the will, for which mere knowledge of itself is often altogether insufficient; hence it constitutes an essential part of educating instruction, and if constantly and correctly applied, renders the most unpolished nature capable of softer emotions, and subject to their influences. From its very nature, it accustoms pupils to conform to general rules, and to act in concert with others.

"Having recommended this important object of primary instruction, (the immediate connexion of which with religious instruction, no one can fail to perceive,) to the zealous exertions of the teachers, and the careful attention of the directors of schools, and, at the same time, having urged the study of the best writers upon the subject, which, so far as they relate to school instruction, ought to be found in the libraries of every district, we shall here bring forward some points, which demand a closer and more universal attention.

"If instruction in singing is to accomplish with certainty the objects proposed, it must be long continued without interruption, and, of course, it is indispensably necessary that a regular attendance be required during the continuance of the duties of the school, and enforced in the strongest manner.

"It is unnecessary to illustrate the contrast between the last remark and the usual desultory mode in which singing is taught."

In order to render a similar course of instruction practicable in this country, a gentleman in Boston has prepared, under the title of "The Juvenile Lyre," a set of tunes, adapted to the capacities of children, and calculated to associate the sensible with the moral and spiritual world, in their minds. Songs for children should have simplicity without frivolity, and an adaptation to the heart, which is not found in every day compositions. The American Annals of Education, speaks favorably of the system, and gives the following specimen: