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real grief in his dying hour. Did Hannibal die in triumph, when, on the lonely hill" in Bithynia, the foot of the hated conqueror on the neck of Carthage, he accomplished the vow of his early youth? When Cæsar fell at the foot of his great rival's statue, pierced with assassins' daggers, and the more poignant grief of violated friendship, was it a successful close of his unrivaled career? Napoleon's spirit passed away in exile and in storm, on the barren isle, far distant from France, on whose throne sat the Bourbon. And, to-day, the blood of repudiated Josephine, and not that of Napoleon, flows in the veins of the Emperor of the French. Compare the end of any one of these great men with that of our own Washington, and tell me which succeeded,— ambition, talent, selfishness, and pride, or patriotism, integrity, philanthropy, and modesty. True, you may show from history that good followed from the actions of these men: so did good follow the treason of Judas Iscariot, and so will it follow the almost equal treason of Jeff. Davis. The question is, Did they succeed in what they attempted? Compare the upright, benevolent, successful Amos Lawrence with the miserable trickster Barnum, and see the same great truth illustrated in their attempts to get rich.

Again, history teaches that humanity, with all its crimes and misfortunes, is growing better, nobler, and happier. Three thousand years ago, the wise man said, "Say not thou What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost enquire wisely concerning this." I do not see how any one who compares the most civilized and highly-polished communities of antiquity with those of only moderate enlightenment in the present can doubt the truth I have stated above. Look at their blood-thirstiness, slavery, licentiousness, and general lack of all philanthropy, and see how they appear beside churches, schools, hospitals, and the multiplied schemes of active benevolence in our time. And are we not rapidly progressing in this direction? How long is it since the slave-trade became dishonorable? Even good John Newton, according to Macaulay, went on a Guinea voyage after slaves, armed both with prayer-books and hand-cuffs! Perhaps nothing more surely indicates the progress we speak of than the modern improvement in literature. Hillard says: "The purification of literature is the sign of a higher moral standard"; and how much of the comparatively pure pages of Shakspeare needs to be emended, that it may not grate on modern ears! Do you remind me of our own poisonous novels, and of the deadly war

we are now waging? I do not claim that we have reached the Millenium. But, I ask when before was vile literature written or read only by the vile? When before did the Sanitary and Christian Commissions accompany armies, ministering both to the material and spiritual wants of friend and foe alike? When before, in the world's history, in the midst of a war like ours, was money poured out like water, to build hospitals, to found asylums, to spread education and religion universally even to the millions of poor degraded freedmen? When before was slavery condemned by every civilized nation on the face of the earth? "The world does move" in the direction of righteousness and truth. It is a day of bright hope for

"The generations

That, as yet unborn, are waiting

In the great mysterious darkness

Of the speechless days that shall be."

[TO BE CONTINUED.]

A TALK WITH MY BOYS ON MEANNESS.

Boys, you may lay aside your books. I wish to have a bit of a talk with you. All ready? As I entered the school-house to-day, I heard one of you say, "That's mean!" I didn't stop to inquire what it was that was thought to be "mean," but I said to myself, "Some boys will do mean things; and some boys are quick to detect meanness." Now I have been thinking that it might be a good thing to talk over with you some of the ways in which meanness may be shown in school. Possibly you and I may not quite agree in our estimate of what is done. And yet I believe that in most cases we shall hold the same opinion. I take it for granted that no one of you would like to have me, or any one else, consider him a mean boy; but as a person is judged by his acts, that epithet justly belongs, of course, to every one whose acts are mean. Do you agree to that? You do? Well, then, I will suppose a few cases.

Suppose that, relying upon your honor, I leave the room, and in my absence you are disorderly, doing things that you would not do in my presence. I call that mean, because it violates the confidence placed in you, and because it shows cowardice. Acts speak as loudly

as words. Did you ever stop to think what is said by the boy who takes advantage of my absence to do wrong? What is it? I'll tell you. He says just this," I'm a mean boy. I am here on my honor, I know; but I don't care. I'm going to have a good time, though it is mean. School-mates, you are at liberty to set me down as mean.” That is what his acts plainly declare. Do you agree with me in this case? Very well. You can't be too careful in making your actions conform to your opinions.

Suppose that a boy pretends to be studying a lesson, when, in fact, he is reading a story-book which he has concealed in his text-book. Shall we call that a mean thing? How many say yes? All. I am glad to see that in this case also we agree. But what makes the meanness here. Deception? Agreed; only I should use the stronger word, lying; because when a boy has a study-book open before him, and appears to be at work, he says to his teacher as distinctly as words "I am studying my lesson." If, on the contrary, he is wasting his time over a story, he lies, and consequently he is guilty of a wickedly mean act. As you value your character, avoid such falsehoods as carefully as you would any other kind.

can say,

Suppose a case which is very common in schools: that a boy whose lesson is not perfectly learned stealthily looks into his book during the recitations, in order that he may be able to recite better than he otherwise could, and thus obtain a high mark. I stamp that also with the brand mean. Do you ask why? Because it is a species of swindling. It is attempting to gain credit on false pretences. It is pretending to know what he doesn't know. It is doing injustice to honorable classmates, who scorn to rise, or attempt to rise in rank, by dishonest means. Therefore, don't open your book behind your neighbor's back, or under your desk, or anywhere else, for the sake of finding out what you think will come to you. It's mean. Don't

do it.

Again: suppose that some mischief has been done about the schoolhouse. A desk, or a bench, or a window, for example, has been broken. I inquire for the one who, purposely or accidentally, did the damage. Now that one, if he doesn't acknowledge the deed, suffers suspicion to fall, perhaps, upon an innocent schoolmate, and displays moral cowardice on his own part; and therefore he, too, must be placed among the mean boys. It is the best way, boys, always to do right as nearly as possible; but when you have, from any cause, done

wrong, it is wise and manly to confess the wrong, and rectify it so far as you can. Not to do this is to be a coward,—a being that all men despise.

Suppose that your teachers are laboring faithfully in your behalf; that day by day they are patiently endeavoring to interest and instruct you, to explain what is difficult, to cultivate your intellectual and moral faculties, and thus to fit you for living useful, successful, and happy lives; and suppose that some boy, thoughtless of his own good, and destitute of all gratitude to those who are toiling with fidelity for his welfare, is guilty of causing trouble to those teachers by inattention, by playing, by lounging, in short, by doing anything that hinders them in the discharge of their difficult duties. Do you think it severe to call such a boy a mean boy? Is not ingratitude always mean? And is not that boy ungrateful who, for the labor bestowed upon him by his teacher, gives them in return nothing but trouble and anxiety? Is he not like the dog in the manger, neither willing to accept intellectual food himself, nor to suffer his classmates to receive it, as but for him they might? Yes, boys, we who are teachers will do all we can for your welfare, but I beg of you don't be so mean as to reward us with ingratitude. Help us by your good deportment, and you will thus help yourselves.

I see that the clock says it is time to dismiss. There are other matters that I intended to speak of; but I fear that you may call it mean to be kept after regular hours. You may go, therefore; but first tell me what is the lesson you have learned from this talk. Don't be mean. Yes, that's it. Don't forget it.

PATIENCE.-Said one to Mrs. Wesley, "How can you have the patience to teach the same thing twenty times over to your child?” "Why," said she, if I had said it only nineteen times and given over, I should have lost all my labor. It was the twentieth time that fixed it."

THE popular illusion that an inferior teacher is good enough for the beginning, is productive of much evil. No teacher is good enough for beginners but the best.

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS.

QUESTIONS

Submitted to Candidates for Admission to High School, Providence, May, 1865.

MENTAL ARITHMETIC.

1. If of the sum received for goods is gain; what is the gain per cent. ?

2.

A can do one-sixth of a piece of work in a day, B can do of it in a day, and C can do one-ninth of it in a day, in what time can they all together do it?

3. A merchant sold one-fifth of his goods at an advance of 10 per cent., § at a loss of 6 per cent.; how must he sell the remainder to gain 12 per cent. on the whole?

4. A farmer has his sheep in four pastures. In the first pature he has of his flock, in the second he has one-fifth of his flock, in the third he has one-sixth of his flock, in the fourth he has 45 sheep; how many sheep had he in all ?

5. A man being asked the time of day, answered that one-sixth of the time past noon was equal to of the time to midnight; what was the time?

6. When gold sells for 31 per cent. advance, how much can be bought with $150 in current bank bills?

7. A farmer being asked how many sheep he had, answered that if he had as many more, one-half as many more, one-fifth as many more, and 12 sheep, he would have three times his present number. How many had he?

8. If rice be bought for 84 cents per pound and sold for 10 cents a pound, what is gained per cent. ?

9. What is the gain or loss per cent. when goods are sold for fourteen-fifteenths of their cost?

10. A, after spending of his money and of the remainder lacking 10 dollars, had $50 left. How much had he at first?

2. Multiply eight hundred and seven ten-thousandths by two hundred and fiftysix hundred-thousandths.

3. A city collector has 5 per cent. for collecting taxes; he pays into the treasury $8600. What was the whole sum collected?

4. A man sold a horse and chaise for $350; of the price of the horse was equal to of the price of the chaise. What was the price of each ?

5.

What is the difference between the bank discount and the true discount on a note for $800, due in 90 days?

6. A bought flour for $9 a barrel, for which he asked 20 per cent. more than it cost him; but he was obliged to sell it for 10 per cent. less than he asked. What did he sell it for?

7. A merchant bought a quantity of molasses; he lost one-sixth by leakage, and sold the remainder at an advance of 30 per cent. of its cost. What per cent. did he gain or lose on the investment?