English money), and laid it on the table for the hostess, thanking her civilly for the trouble she had taken. The three Englishmen were amazed and indignant at so small a reward being offered, and remonstrated warmly with him. The old woman protested she required no recompense for merely doing her duty, and begged the Dutchman to take back even his ruble, But the Englishmen insisted on seeing justice done; "The woman," they, "has acted nobly, and ought to be rewarded." At length, the Dutchman agreed to part with one hundred rubles; they were counted out, and given to the old woman, who thus, at length, was handsomely rewarded for her honesty.

" said

POLITENESS.

CARE should be taken to cultivate, in all intercourse with friends, gentle and obliging manners. It is a common error to suppose, that familiar intimacy supersedes attention to the lesser duties of behavior; and that, under the notion of freedom, it may excuse a careless, or even a rough demeanor. On the contrary, an intimate connexion can only be perpetuated by a constant endeavor to be pleasing and agreeable. The same behavior which procures friendship, is absolutely necessary to the preservation of it. Let no harshness, no appearance of neglect, no supercilious affectation of superiority be encouraged in the intercourse of friends. A tart reply, a proneness to rebuke, a captious and contradictory spirit, are often known to embitter domestic life, and to set friends at variance; it is only by continuing courtesy and urbanity of behavior, that we long preserve the comforts of friendship.

You must often have observed, that nothing is so strong a recommendation, on a slight acquaintance, as politeness; nor does it lose its value by time or intimacy, when preserved, as it ought to be, in the nearest connexions and strictest friendships.

In general, propriety of behavior must be the fruit of instruction, of observation, and reasoning; and it is to be cultivated and improved like any other branch of knowledge or virtue. Particular modes and ceremonies of be

havior vary in different places. These can only be learned by observation on the manners of those who are best skilled in them. But the principles of politeness are the same in all places. Wherever there are human beings, it must be impolite to hurt the temper, or pain the feelings of those with whom you converse. By raising people up, instead of mortifying and depressing them, we make ourselves so many friends in place of enemies.

CURRAN'S INGENUITY.

A FARMER, attending a fair with a hundred pounds in his pocket, took the precaution of depositing it in the hands of the landlord of the public house at which he stopped. Having occasion for it shortly afterwards, he resorted to mine host for the bailment; but the landlord, too deep for the countryman, wondered what hundred was meant, and was quite sure no such sum had ever been lodged in his hands by the astonished rustic. After ineffectual appeals to the recollection, and finally to the honor of Bardolph, the farmer applied to Curran for advice. "Have patience, my friend," said the counsel: "speak the landlord civilly, and tell him you are convinced you must have left your money with some other person. Take a friend with you, and lodge with him another hundred in the presence of your friend, and then come to me." We must imagine and not commit to paper, the vociferations of the honest dupe, at such advice; however moved by the rhetoric or authority of the worthy counsel, he followed it, and returned to his legal friend. "And now,

sir, I don't see as I'm to be better off for this, if I get my second hundred again: but how is that to be done ?" "Go and ask him for it when he is alone," said the counsel. "Ay, sir, but asking won't do, Ize afraid, without my witness at any rate." "Never mind, take my advice, said the counsel; "do as I bid you, and return to me. The farmer returned with his hundred, glad at any rate to find that safe again in his possession. Now, sir, I suppose I must be content; but I don't see as I'm much better off." “Well, then,” said the counsel, “ now take your friend with you, and ask the landlord for the hun

dred pounds your friend saw you leave with him." We need not add that the wily landlord found he had been taken off his guard, while our honest friend returned to thank his counsel exultingly, with both hundreds in his pocket.

TEN RULES TO BE OBSERVED IN PRACTICAL LIFE.

THE following rules were given by the late Mr. Jefferson, in a letter of advice to his namesake, Thomas Jefferson, in 1825:

Never put off till to-morrow what you can do to-day.
Never trouble others for what you can do yourself.
Never spend your money before you have it.
Never buy what you do not want, because it is cheap.
Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold.
We never repent of having eaten too little.
Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.

How much pains have those evils cost us which never happened.

Take things always by their smooth handle.

When angry, count ten before you speak,-if very angry, a hundred.

VARIOUS ANECDOTES AND REPARTEES.

A HAPPY RETORT.-The obscurity of Lord Tenterden's birth is well known; but he had too much good sense to feel any false shame on that account. We have heard it related of him, that when in the early period of his professional career, a brother barrister, with whom he happened to have a quarrel, had the bad taste to twit him on his origin, his manly and severe answer was, "Yes, sir, I am the son of a barber; if you had been the son of a barber, you would have been a barber yourself."

EPIGRAM.-Swans sing before they die 'twas no bad thing,

Did certain persons die before they sing.

ORATORY.-A man who boasted of his eloquence, said that he often declaimed to himself; on which another observed, "I am afraid, on such occasions, you have a very ignorant audience.”

Christina, queen of Sweden, having attended a very long harangue, which much fatigued her, was requested afterwards to show her liberality to the orator; but instead of giving any thing, she said, "I think he is much indebted to me for sitting to hear his discourse."

Henry IV, once entered Amurs very much fatigued, and being saluted by an orator, who began his harangue with, "most great, most clement, most magnanimous," interrupted him by saying, "Add likewise, and most tired; so pray leave me to my repose, and I will hear the rest of discourse another time."

your

HANGING FOR SUICIDE.-A young lady, just from school, who knew many things, and thought she knew many moreand who was particularly fond of high sounding words, of which she scarcely understood the meaning-sat very patiently hearing an account of the hanging of a person for house-breaking. Assuming, suddenly, an air of importance, she observed; "Why, dear me, is it possible that people are ever hanged for any thing but suicide?"

MAXIMS.-He who teaches himself, has a fool for his

master.

It is a good horse that never stumbles, and a good wife that never grumbles.

Better a bare foot than no foot at all.

Beggars must not be choosers.

THE CHILD'S INQUIRY.

"How big was Alexander, Pa,
That people call him great?
Was he like old Goliah tall-
His spear an hundred weight?

Was he so large that he could stand
Like some tall steeple high;

And, while his feet were on the ground,
His hands could touch the sky ?"

"O no, my child: about as large As I, or uncle James.

'Twas not his stature made him great; But greatness of his name.'

"His name so great? I know 'tis long
But easy quite to spell-
And more than half a year ago
I knew it very well."

"I mean, my child, his actions were
So great, he got a name

That every body speaks with praise,
And tells about his fame."

"Well, what great actions did he do? I want to know it all."

"Why, he it was that conquered Tyre, And levelled down her wall.

And thousands of her people slew—
And then to Persia went-
And fire and sword on every side
Through many a region sent.

A hundred conquered cities shone
With midnight burnings red-
And strewed o'er many a battle ground
A thousand soldiers bled."