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[Illustration: Instruction.]
A
WEEK
OF
INSTRUCTION
AND
AMUSEMENT;
OR,
MRS. HARLEY'S
_BIRTHDAY PRESENT_
TO
HER DAUGHTER.
INTERSPERSED WITH SHORT STORIES
--OUTLINES OF SACRED AND
PROPHANE HISTORY--
GEOGRAPHY, &c.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR J. HARRIS,
CORNER OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD.
1812.
H. Bryer, Printer, Bridge-Street, Blackfriars, London.
ADVERTISEMENT.
The following pages were written with the design of communicating, in a
manner agreeable to children, some knowledge of those subjects which
they so often find tedious and uninteresting.--Should the stories
related inspire a love of virtue, and the lessons awaken a desire for
the further acquisition of useful knowledge, the attempt,
notwithstanding its defect, cannot, it is hoped, be deemed wholly
useless.
A WEEK OF INSTRUCTION, _&c._
_CHAPTER I._
THURSDAY.
At a pleasant village a few miles from London, resided a widow-lady of
the name of Harley; she had but one child, and to forming her manners
and instructing her mind she devoted her whole time. Anne (for so was
this little girl named) was an amiable child; she rewarded her mother's
care and affection, by paying great attention to her instructions; like
all other children, she was fond of play, but seldom murmured when
called to attend the hours set apart for working, reading, or learning
her lessons: all these she performed extremely well for her age, and had
already gone through many of the first books that are put into the hands
of children.
As a reward for her application, her mamma had promised to write a few
stories on purpose for her, and one Thursday in the month of August, the
day on which little Anne completed her eighth year, Mrs. Harley
presented her the book which contained them, saying, "I shall only
permit you to read in this book, my dear Anne, when I have reason to be
satisfied with your conduct, for as it is now given to a good little
girl, I would never upon any account, allow a naughty one to make use of
it. We will begin our mornings with reading one of these stories, and
afterwards I will give you a lesson upon different subjects, many of
which you are now quite unacquainted with. By pursuing this method you
will be daily adding to your stock of knowledge, and will I hope in time
become a good and sensible girl: this, my dear, is the first wish of my
heart, and you must do every thing in your power to promote it. Be
industrious and docile, and you may be sure of succeeding in all I
require you to undertake. But come, the morning is so fine that we will
go into the garden, where upon yonder seat you shall begin your new
study."
Little Anne after thanking her mamma for her kind present, followed her
to the bench, when they were seated, she opened the book, and the first
story that presented itself was
_The pleasure of giving, much greater than that of receiving._
Edward and James were the sons of a respectable farmer, who spared no
pains in giving them an education suited to their situation in life.
Having been pleased with their good conduct in some circumstances that
had lately occurred, he promised them a holiday the first time the
weather should be fine enough for them to visit their aunt, who lived a
few miles distant from the village where they resided. The wished for
morning at length arrived, the farmer gave each of his sons a shilling,
and a basket filled with provisions. Thus equipped, they began their
journey, and amused themselves on the road, by talking of the pleasure
they should have in seeing their good aunt. The best way of spending
their shillings was a subject of great importance, "I will have a
handsome kite," said Edward, "and the string shall be long enough to
allow it to fly as high as the clouds." "Yes," answered James, "but
however long your string may be, I believe it must depend upon the wind
for flying. Now, I will have a bag of marbles, with these I can always
play on the stones in the church-yard after school." "Excepting when it
rains brother James; however, as the money is our own, we have each you
know a right to please ourselves."
Just as Edward finished speaking, a poor little ragged boy came up to
the brothers, and asked for a halfpenny to buy a bit of bread, saying
he was so very hungry he knew not what to do. "What, have you had no
breakfast! my little man?" asked James. "No, sir, nor supper last night,
do pray give me a halfpenny, I am so very faint for want of food."
Edward immediately took a piece of cake from his basket and gave it to
the boy, enquiring at the same time, where his father and mother was.
"Alas, my good young gentleman, they are both dead. I lost father about
a month ago, and I fear I shall soon follow him, for indeed I am very
ill, and not able to work, therefore I must be starved." "O no," said
James, "not if I can prevent it, you do indeed look very ill, but take
courage, I hope you will soon recover, and surely the parish must
provide for you--where do you live?"
"Since father died I have had no regular home, and this is not my
parish. Sometimes I sleep in a barn. I do what I can to assist an old
man, who was my mother's uncle, but he is ill now, and not able to keep
me, so I shall be quite deserted."--"Well," said Edward, "I will provide
you with a dinner to day, and give you money to procure a lodging at
night; here is a shilling, my father gave it me to buy toys with, but I
can do better without them, than you can without food." The little boy
took the shilling, and with tears in his eyes thanked his kind friend.
James would not suffer him to depart without accepting his shilling
also, and desiring him to call the next morning at their father's, where
they would try to be of further use to him, they bade him adieu, and
pursued their journey.
"I am sure," said Edward, "I feel more pleasure in making that child
happy, than in flying the finest kite in the world." "And I," added
James, "was a hundred times happier in giving him a shilling, than I was
when I received it this morning. Only think how rejoiced the poor boy
must be, to have so much money; I dare say he never before, possessed so
large a sum, but Edward, we shall have no new kite nor marbles
now!--Never mind, brother, we have done a good action, and that, you
know, our father says is the surest way to secure happiness"--
Thus conversing, these good lads arrived at their aunt's, where they
spent a very pleasant day, and in the evening returned home, to delight
their father's heart, with an account of their morning's adventure.--The
poor boy came the next morning to the farmer's, who having made the
necessary enquiries into his former conduct, took him into his service.
The brothers had soon the satisfaction of seeing him restored to health,
and in time he became a useful, faithful, and grateful servant to his
benevolent master.
* * * * *
"Well, my dear Anne," said Mrs. Harley, "how do you like my first
story?"
_Anne._ O very much mamma, what good children Edward and James were, to
give their money to a poor little hungry boy; indeed, if ever I should
meet one I will do the same.
_Mrs. Harley._ Then you will do well, and I shall love you dearly.
Remember, that the use of reading examples of virtue is to inspire you
with the desire to imitate them. But do you, my dear, know of what the
story you have just read is composed?
_Anne._ O yes, mamma, of words, is it not?
_Mrs. Harley._ You are right: letters make syllables, one or more
syllables make a word, words form a sentence, and a number of sentences
compose not only the little story of Edward and James, but all the great
books in the library. Now can you tell me how letters are divided?
_Anne._ Not properly mamma, pray explain it to me.
_Mrs. Harley._ I will my dear, and so we begin our
FIRST LESSON.
_Mrs. Harley._ Letters of which there are twenty six in our language,
are divided into vowels and consonants. There are five proper vowels, a,
e, i, o, and u. Y is generally a consonant at the beginning of words,
and a vowel at the end of them. Repeat the vowels.
_Anne._ a, e, i, o, u. Y, is sometimes a vowel, and sometimes a
consonant. The other letters are all consonants, they are, b, c, d, f,
g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z.
_Mrs. Harley._ Very well, now you understand the letters, I will explain
the other little marks you see in this book. They are called stops:
there are six different ones, the comma, which is the shortest; the
semicolon;--the colon:--the period.--the note of admiration!--which
denotes wonder or surprise--and the note of interrogation? which shews
that a question is asked. Repeat them to me.
_Anne._ , ; : . ! ?
_Mrs. Harley._ Quite right, you may now put away your book, and go to
play.
_CHAPTER II._
FRIDAY.
_Mrs. Harley._ Here is another story for you Anne.
_Anne._ Thank you, dear mamma, let me begin it directly.
_The Naughty Girl Reformed._
There was once a little girl who had been so much indulged in her
infancy, that by the time she arrived at her sixth year, every one
disliked her. She was proud and ill-tempered, she wanted whatever she
saw, and when any thing was refused her, she immediately began crying
and teazing her mamma for it, who being at last quite tired of her
importunity, generally gave up the point, and Fanny obtained what she
wished for. Now, though the mamma certainly intended to be very kind to
her child, yet I think she did wrong in this respect, because children
should never have what they cry for.
Fanny's ill-temper increased with her years, she quarrelled with all the
children who used to play with her, till at length she was quite
shunned, and none of her little friends took any notice of her.
A lady had given her sister Julia a pretty wax-doll, and she had taken
great pleasure in dressing it: almost all her leisure was occupied in
making its cloaths, and when they were completed she was quite
delighted. It so happened that Fanny was from home when her sister
received this present, but no sooner was she returned, and the doll
produced, than she began, as usual, to cry for it, and so loud, too,
that she disturbed the whole house. For this time, however, her tears
were in vain, Julia would not give up her favourite, though she
endeavoured to sooth her sister, by promising to lend it her as soon as
she should be a little more careful. Fanny was at length pacified, but
she watched the first opportunity to get possession of the doll. She
soon succeeded, and for some time played with it very carefully, but
having acquired a negligent habit of using her toys, she soon forgot its
brittle texture, and when tired of nursing it, threw it down on the
ground. The face was immediately broken to pieces, and while she was
picking up the scattered remains of the once beautiful features, Julia
entered the room. On seeing her favourite thus destroyed, she could not
help shedding tears, and she reproached Fanny for having taken the doll
without permission, especially as she had been so repeatedly desired
never to touch it. Fanny felt quite ashamed for her fault, and was
really sorry for the mischief she had occasioned: she begged her
sister's pardon and promised never again to be so naughty. The good
tempered Julia readily forgave her, and for a few days after this
misfortune Fanny behaved much better than usual. However, as ill habits
are very difficult to be overcome, she soon relapsed into her former
fretful and passionate ways; indeed, she made the family so
uncomfortable that her mother determined to send her from home, and for
that purpose wrote to a relation, entreating her to take the care of
Fanny for some time, and try if a different mode of treatment might have
some good effect in correcting her faults.
Mrs. Benson was eminently distinguished for good sense and pleasing
manners. She had frequently regretted the improper indulgences that were
granted to this little girl, and accepted with alacrity the charge
consigned to her care. She made but a short visit to her sister, and
when she returned to her own residence, took back her little niece. It
had been a very difficult task to persuade Fanny to accompany Mrs. Benson,
but at length the engaging manners of this lady quite overcame her
reluctance, and after parting very affectionately with her mother and
sister, she got into the carriage that was to convey her above a hundred
miles from the place where she had hitherto resided.
It was night when Mrs. Benson with her young charge arrived at the end
of her journey. The motion of the carriage had lulled Fanny to sleep,
and she was undressed and put to bed without being conscious of what was
passing around her. The next morning on opening her eyes, she was quite
surprised to find herself in an apartment with which she was wholly
unacquainted, but the sight of her aunt soon brought to her recollection
the change that had taken place. Mrs. Benson desired her to rise, but
when told to put on her stockings she began to cry, and said that her
maid always did it at home. "But here, my dear," replied Mrs. Benson,
"you must do it yourself, for I make it an invariable rule never to
assist a little girl in any thing she can so easily accomplish by
herself. And I must now tell you Fanny, that you never can have what you
cry for in my house, so be a good girl and do as you are desired."
Fanny then continued to cry very violently, and would not obey; her
naughty behaviour had no effect upon her aunt, who continued dressing
herself, and when she had finished, went out of the room without
noticing it. Fanny being left alone, and finding that no one attended to
her tears, at length began to dress, and after she had remained quiet
for some time, a servant was sent up to assist her. She then went down
stairs, and when she entered the parlour, her aunt said to her, "I am
sorry you have been so long dressing, because I have breakfasted; the
things are removed, and I cannot suffer them to be brought up again this
morning. I am going out, and if you like to accompany me, I will shew
you the village, and we will visit some of the cottagers who are
employed in making lace, their work, I assure you, is very beautiful."
Fanny was greatly disappointed at being deprived of her breakfast, but
she fetched her bonnet and followed her aunt. She was quite delighted
with her walk, and on her return to the house was very glad to see a
plate of bread and fruit on the table. After she had eaten as much as
she chose, Mrs. Benson shewed her some pictures, and she remained a
tolerably good girl during the rest of the day.
The following morning, when Mrs. Benson desired Fanny to read, she was
very naughty, and would not say a letter. "Well," said her aunt, "if you
will not read you shall neither play nor walk, so when I go out I shall
leave you at home." Fanny persisted in her ill-humour, and was therefore
obliged to spend the morning alone, instead of enjoying a pleasant
ramble in the fields. When Mrs. Benson returned, she asked her niece if
she would then try to read, "because," added she "till you have done
so, you may be assured I will grant you no amusement." Fanny perceiving
that her aunt was quite determined to keep her word, at length took up
the book and read as well as she could. Mrs. Benson, pleased with her
compliance, made no allusion to her former obstinacy, but gave her a
pretty sattin pincushion, telling her that if she would try to be a good
child she should love her dearly.
From this time Fanny began to amend; at first she found it very
difficult to restrain her temper, but the more she tried, the easier she
found the task: and though during the first few months of her residence
at Mrs. Benson's she frequently forgot the good resolutions she had
formed, yet she was always sincerely sorry for her faults, and
endeavoured to make amends by doing whatever she thought would restore
her to her aunt's favour.
Thus Mrs. Benson had the satisfaction of seeing a child whom she had
formerly known so undutiful and ill-tempered, become by degrees quite
amiable and obliging: the alteration in her was so great, that when at
the end of a year Mrs. Benson carried her to pay a visit to her family,
they could hardly trace any resemblance between Fanny such as she now
was, and the naughty little girl who had given them so much trouble. She
staid in London three weeks, during which time the cloud of ill-humour
scarcely once ruffled her brow. At the end of that time Mrs. Benson
wished to return home, and Fanny begged to accompany her, fearing that
if deprived of her aunt's counsel before her good habits were entirely
fixed, she might relapse into her former errors.
Several years are now past since these events happened. Fanny has been
constantly improving, she is now the delight of her family, and the
favourite of all who know her.
Let the history of Fanny teach all little girls that to be _good_ is to
be _happy_!
* * * * *
"What an interesting story," said Anne, as she shut the book: "now I
find what a silly thing it is to be naughty, I will always try to be
good."
_Mrs. Harley._ Do my dear child, and you will be sure of success. It
gives me pleasure to see you so attentive to the instructions contained
in the stories you read.
SECOND LESSON.
_Mrs. Harley._ We talked about letters yesterday: to-day I will explain
figures or numbers to you, the following is a list of them: those
letters which stand for numbers are called _numeral letters_.
1 I One
2 II Two
3 III Three
4 IV Four
5 V Five
6 VI Six
7 VII Seven
8 VIII Eight
9 IX Nine
10 X Ten
11 XI Eleven
12 XII Twelve
13 XIII Thirteen
14 XIV Fourteen
15 XV Fifteen
16 XVI Sixteen
17 XVII Seventeen
18 XVIII Eighteen
19 XIX Nineteen
20 XX Twenty
21 XXI Twenty-one
22 XXII Twenty-two
23 XXIII Twenty-three
24 XXIV Twenty-four
25 XXV Twenty-five
30 XXX Thirty
36 XXXVI Thirty-six
40 XL Forty
47 XLVII Forty-seven
50 L Fifty
60 LX Sixty
70 LXX Seventy
80 LXXX Eighty
90 XC Ninety
100 C One hundred
200 CC Two hundred
300 CCC Three hundred
400 CCCC Four hundred
500 D Five hundred
600 DC Six hundred
700 DCC Seven hundred
800 DCCC Eight hundred
900 DCD Nine hundred
1000 M One thousand
1100 MC One thousand one hundred
1500 MD One thousand five hundred
1812 MDCCCXII One thousand eight hundred and twelve
In the above list you perceive the numeral letters are I, V, X, L, C,
D, and M; the letter that stands for a smaller sum put before one that
denotes a greater takes so many from it, and that after it adds so many
to it.
The numbers you learned long ago; but I don't think you know the
numeration table, it will teach you to read any number of figures not
exceeding nine: the last figure on the right hand denotes _units_, or
single figures, the one before that tens, then _hundreds_, _thousands_,
_tens of thousands_, _hundreds of thousands_, _tens of hundreds of
thousands_, _millions_, _tens of millions_, _hundreds of millions_, now
my dear read the following number, 123,456,789.
_Anne._ One hundred and twenty three millions, four hundred and fifty
six thousand, seven hundred and eighty nine.
_Mrs. Harley._ Right; it is absolutely necessary to be able to read
figures perfectly, before you can learn arithmetic.
_Anne._ What is arithmetic, mamma?
_Mrs. Harley._ The act of numbering, or computing by numbers, my dear.
The four principal rules of arithmetic are addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division.
_Anne._ I wish you would explain them to me.
_Mrs. Harley._ Addition teaches to collect several numbers together in
order to know their total value. The answer to a question in addition
is therefore called the _sum_, _total_, or _amount_; subtraction teaches
to take a less number from a greater, in order to know the remainder.
The answer in subtraction is called the _remainder_, or _difference_.
Multiplication teaches to find the amount of any given number repeated a
certain number of times. The answer in multiplication is called the
_product_. The three terms made use of in multiplication are, the
multiplicand, or number to be multiplied; the multiplier, or number that
multiplies; and the product or answer, which is the amount of the
multiplicand and multiplier.
Division teaches to find how often one number is contained in another.
The answer in division is called the _quotient_. The four terms made use
of in division are, the dividend or number to be divided, the divisor,
or number that divides, the quotient or answer which is the number of
times one number is contained in another, and the remainder or what is
left after dividing.
This explanation of arithmetic must serve you for the present, you shall
learn the multiplication table, and do some sums every day, and when you
are thoroughly acquainted with these rules, we will proceed to the
others.
_CHAPTER III._
SATURDAY.
_Mrs. Harley._ Come hither my dear Anne. Your smiling countenance tells
me I may give you a story, so take the book and let us hear the
_History of an Orphan._
One fine autumnal morning in the year 1789, John and Cicely Wortham,
with their little son Robert, began a long journey into the North of
England. They had hitherto resided at a small village near Abergavenny
in South Wales, and there they would most probably have ended their
days, had not John been informed of the death of a distant relation at
Durham, to whose property he knew himself to be the rightful heir,
though to secure it, he found it necessary to repair thither. Having,
therefore, disposed of his Welsh hut, and converted all his furniture
into money, he removed to London, and after spending a few days there,
secured places on the outside of a stage-coach, which was to convey him
with his family about half way on their journey.
Their conversation chiefly turned on the friends they had left, and the
hopes of finding as kind ones in the country whither they were going.
Robert was too young to be interested in either the hopes or fears of
his parents; at the age of six months he slept as comfortably on his
mother's red cloak as if he had been placed on a bed of down.
Towards the close of their second day's journey the sky began to darken,
and a violent storm of hail and rain completely penetrated the cloaths
of our poor travellers. However, as they had been always accustomed to
the inclemency of the weather they did not much mind it, and Cicely, who
was an excellent mother, took care to prevent her boy from feeling any
inconvenience. In this manner they proceeded for several miles, till at
length a large stone in the winding of the road overturned the carriage
and dashed all the outside passengers with violence to the ground. Poor
Cicely was killed on the spot; John had his leg and three of his ribs
broken, but little Robert escaped unhurt. This unfortunate family were
carried to a neighbouring farm-house, a surgeon was sent for who set
John's leg, but all attempts to recover Cicely were fruitless, a
stronger and more powerful hand than that of the surgeon had for ever
closed her eyes! The melancholy intelligence was for some hours
concealed from her husband, but at length he enquired for his wife, and
soon discovered in the mournful countenances of those around him that
she was no more. This fatal news, together with the pain of his leg and
side, so agitated his mind, that his fever increased to a very alarming
degree; and the third day from that on which the accident happened, poor
John Wortham lay a lifeless corpse by the side of his beloved Cicely.
The humane farmer into whose house they had been carried when the coach
overset, ordered them to be decently buried. Little Robert attended at
their funeral, but was quite unconscious of his loss, though he sadly
cried for that nourishment he would never more receive from the breast
of a mother.
When the undertaker's bill and other expences were paid, farmer Hodson
found that no more than six guineas remained for the young orphan. The
trunks and pockets of his parents were carefully searched, but no paper
appeared that gave the least information either of the name or residence
of the unfortunate pair. Hodson made every enquiry that seemed most
likely to lead to a discovery of little Robert's remaining relations: he
advertised the circumstance in several papers, but in vain, and he at
length gave up the fruitless search. Though by no means in flourishing
circumstances himself, yet he had not the heart to send the poor orphan
to the parish, and as he had no children of his own, it was agreed,
with his wife's consent, to bring him up as their adopted son. Dame
Hodson took the greatest care of her little nursling, and she had the
satisfaction of seeing his daily improvement in health and good humour.
As Robert grew in years, he discovered to his kind friends a heart
framed for the reception of every noble and virtuous sentiment: by the
time he attained his twelfth year he was their chief delight, and the
affectionate supporter of their declining years. Time passed on, Hodson
could not labour as he had done, and two bad years, joined to his
infirmities, reduced the family to much distress. Now was the time for
the farmer to reap the reward of his generous compassion to a forlorn
infant. Robert, ever industrious, earned enough with his own hands to
maintain his benefactors. Were they sick, Robert was their nurse--were
they sad, Robert was their comforter--he read to them, cheered their
drooping spirits, and smoothed the pillow of declining years.
It happened about this time, that a gentleman of the name of Goldworthy,
bought a large estate in the county where farmer Hodson resided; he
heard the story of young Robert, and felt greatly interested for the
whole family. He visited them, and found the accounts that had been
given him were strictly true, and from that time he resolved to be
their friend. Mr. Goldworthy, though master of a large fortune, and
consequently placed above the reach of many misfortunes to which the
more indigent are exposed, yet possessed a heart always alive to the
distresses of others.--He determined with Hodson's consent, to take
charge of young Robert, and fit him for some respectable employment,
where he might have a larger scope for the exercise of his virtues and
more abundant means for gratifying his generous disposition. Hodson with
gratitude accepted Mr. Goldworthy's proposal; but no temptation, however
alluring to his youthful mind, could induce our hero to quit his old and
earliest friends, till Mr. Goldworthy promised to remove them to a
cottage adjoining his own house, where they should be furnished with
every thing necessary to their support. Here they spent many happy
years, and had the heartfelt satisfaction of seeing their beloved boy
grow up a respectable and worthy member of society, a useful assistant
to his benefactor, and a friend to the poor.
* * * * *
"Dear mamma," said Anne, "I am quite delighted with farmer Hodson and
his wife: they deserved Mr. Goldworthy's kindness to them, and what a
sweet little boy Robert must have been!"
_Mrs. Harley._ Yes, my dear, he was an excellent youth, and his good
conduct met its reward in the affection of his friends. I wish you, my
dear child, to be convinced, from this story, that there is no situation
in life, however humble, which does not afford opportunities for
exercising those duties recommended to us by our Saviour.--To feed the
hungry, to clothe the naked, and to comfort the afflicted, is, to a
certain degree, in the power of us all. You may be in a situation that
will enable you to dispense comfort to many; but in relieving strangers,
never forget the duties you owe to your own family; be mild and
submissive when they correct you, obedient to their wishes, attentive to
their instructions, and endeavour by the affectionate gratitude of your
conduct, to repay the many hours of anxious solicitude they must spend
on your account.
Lift up your heart with gratitude to the great God who made you, and,
when you reflect on the many blessings you enjoy, never, if you do meet
with little disappointments, give way to discontent and murmurings.
Remember, it is easy to be good humoured when every thing happens
agreeably to our wishes: it is only by cheerfully submitting to the
opposition of them that a really good temper is proved. We must now
hasten to our other business, or we shall not have time to finish it
before dinner.
_Anne._ I am quite ready to attend to you, dear mamma; Grammar, I think,
is to be the subject of our lesson. What is the meaning of the word
Grammar?
THIRD LESSON.
_Mrs. Harley._ The shortest definition I can give you of Grammar, is I
believe, my dear, by saying, that it is the art of speaking and writing
a language correctly. By parts of speech are meant the different kinds
of words of which a language is composed: ours is the English language,
and it contains _nine_ parts of speech, which are,
The Article,
The Noun or Substantive,
The Pronoun,
The Adjective,
The Verb,
The Adverb,
The Preposition,
The Conjunction,
The Interjection.
Do you think you can remember their names, Anne.
_Anne._ I will try do so, mamma.
_Mrs. Harley._ I will now give you a short explanation of them. An
article is placed before a substantive to limit or determine its
meaning; the articles are _a_, _an_, and _the_; _a_ or _an_ is called
the _indefinite article_, because it does not point out any particular
object: _the_ is called the _definite article_ because it determines
what particular object is meant. Do you understand this explanation, my
dear?
_Anne._ Perfectly mamma; _a_ man, _an_ orange, mean any man, or any
orange; but _the_ man, _the_ orange, refer to some particular man or
orange.
_Mrs. Harley._ Quite right, _a_ you perceive is used before a consonant
and _an_ before a vowel.
A noun is the name of a _person_, _place_, or _thing_. Nouns are divided
into _proper_ and _common_; _proper nouns_ are the names of particular
persons, places, or things, common nouns are the names that belong to
all persons, places or things of the same kind. Give me some examples.
_Anne._ Anne, Clapham, Limetree, are proper nouns; girl, village, tree,
are common nouns.
_Mrs. Harley._ _Gender_ is the distinction of sex; there are three
genders, the _masculine_ which denotes the male kind as, a man: the
_feminine_ which denotes the female kind as, a woman: and the _neuter_
which denotes things without animated life as, a cabbage.
_Number_ is the distinction of one from many: there are two numbers, the
_singular_ which speaks of one; and the _plural_ which speaks of more
than one. Tell me some nouns with their genders and numbers.
_Anne._ I know that mamma is a noun of the feminine gender and singular
number; men is a noun masculine and plural; table is neuter and
singular.
_Mrs. Harley._ Very well. A _Pronoun_ is used to avoid repeating the
noun as, Frederic was good, and _he_ went out. There are four kinds of
pronouns. _Personal pronouns_, as, _I_, _me_; _thou_, _thee_; _he_,
_him_; _she_, _her_; _it_: _we_, _us_; _you_; _they_, _them_.
_Possessive pronouns_ which denote property, as, _my_, _mine_; _thy_,
_thine_; _his_; _her_, _hers_; _its_: _our_, _ours_; _your_, _yours_;
_their_, _theirs_; _whose_, _ones_, and _anothers_. _Relative pronouns_
which refer to a noun going before or coming after them; they are,
_who_, _whom_, _which_, _what_, and _whether_. _Demonstrative pronouns_
point out some particular object; they are, _this_, _these_; _that_, and
_those_.
_Anne._ I don't think I can remember all these words without reading
them over a great many times, but I quite understand the use of the
pronoun, for it would be very awkward to say, Mary played, Mary
laughed, and Mary danced; I ought to say, Mary played, she laughed, and
she danced.
_Mrs. Harley._ I am pleased with your attention. The _adjective_
explains the _quality_, _colour_, _form_, _size_, or any other property
of the noun, as, good, blue, square, large. The signification of
adjectives may be increased or diminished, and this is called
_comparison_; there are two degrees of comparison, the comparative,
which increases or diminishes the quality, is formed by adding _er_ to
the adjective in its positive state; the superlative increases or
diminishes the comparative to its last degree, and is formed by adding
_est_ to the adjective in its positive or original state, as long,
longer, longest; short, shorter, shortest. When the adjective consists
of more than two syllables, the comparative and superlative are formed
by prefixing the words more and most to the adjective; as, beautiful,
more beautiful, most beautiful. Some adjectives differ entirely from
these rules in forming their comparison, as, good, better, best; bad,
worse, worst. Now, some examples.
_Anne._ Fine is an adjective because it is a quality, black because it
is a colour, coarse is an adjective in its positive state, brighter is
the comparative degree, and youngest is the superlative.
_Mrs. Harley._ A _verb_ is a word which signifies _to be_, _to do_, or
_to suffer_. Verbs are divided into _neuter_, _active_, and _passive_.
Neuter verbs merely signify being, or that kind of action which has no
effect upon any thing beyond the performer, as, _I am_, _I sit_, _I
walk_. (You may distinguish those neuter verbs that seem to imply action
from active verbs by their making a complete sense by themselves,
whereas active verbs always require a noun or pronoun after them to
finish the sense.)
_Active verbs_, denote action as, I eat, I love, I work. _Passive
verbs_, denote suffering, they are only the _participle passive_ of an
active verb with a tense of the neuter verb _to be_ before it; as, _I am
loved_, _you are dressed_.
Any word is a verb before which you can place a _noun_, a _pronoun_, or
the word _to_, as _Mary talks_, _he works_, _to be_. The different times
when actions are performed are called _tenses_, there are properly only
three, the present, as _I am_, the past as _I was_, and the future as _I
shall be_; but these are subdivided into others; and there are a great
many other things relating to verbs, which you shall learn when you are
a little older.
_Anne._ Thank you, mamma, I believe I understand all that you have told
me about verbs, except the meaning of _participle passive_.
_Mrs. Harley._ A _participle passive_, my dear, is that part of a verb
which follows a tense of either of the verbs _to have_, or _to be_.
Some people consider it a distinct part of speech.
_Adverbs_ denote _time_, _place_, _manner_, and _quantity_; therefore
you may always know them by recollecting their meaning: _to-day_,
_there_, _prettily_, _much_, are adverbs.
Prepositions serve to connect words with one another and to shew the
relation between them. They require some word after them to complete the
sense; as, come _to_ me, _up_, _down_, _to_, _from_, _for_, are
prepositions.
Conjunctions join words and sentences together, as you _and_ I are
going, _but_ she stays at home.
Interjections express some emotion of the mind as, Alas! Oh! Ah!
I am afraid, my dear, you are quite tired of this long lesson, but I
don't expect you to remember all I have told you; we will talk over a
_very_ small portion of it every day, and then in time you will be able
to tell me what part of speech any word is that I may ask you.--I will
give you a little example to shew you what I mean and then you shall run
away.
The rose in your nosegay was very beautiful a little while ago; but
alas! it is now quite dead!
_The_, an article definite--_rose_, a substantive, neuter gender,
singular number--_in_, a preposition--_your_, a possessive
pronoun--_nosegay_, a substantive--_was_, a verb neuter past
tense--_very_, an adverb--_beautiful_, an adjective--_a_, an article
indefinite--_little_, an adjective--_while_, a substantive--_ago_, an
adverb--_but_, a conjunction--_alas!_, an interjection--_it_, a personal
pronoun neuter gender--_is_, a verb--_now_, an adverb--_quite_, an
adverb,--_dead_, a verb, participle passive.
* * * * *
Children might soon understand that a case in grammar signifies the
different terminations of nouns and pronouns. A noun has two cases, the
nominative which simply names the object: it generally precedes the
verb, and answers to the questions who? which? what? The genitive
denotes possession and is formed by adding an apostrophe, and the letter
_s_ to the nominative; it answers to the question whose? When the
plural nominative ends in _s_ the apostrophe only is added: ex. _Anne_
plays. Who? Anne.--_Mary's_ gown. Whose? _Mary's._--_Birds'_ feathers.
Whose? _Birds'._
A personal pronoun has two cases the _nominative_ and the _objective_.
The nominative precedes the verb, and requires it to be of the same
person and number as itself; it answers to the questions, who? which?
what? The objective follows the verb, and answers to the question whom?
ex. _I_ dance, who? _I._--We love _her_, whom? _her._
SINGULAR. PLURAL.
_Nom._ _Objec._ _Nom._ _Objec._
I Me We Us
Thou Thee You You
He Him They Them
She Her
It It
The accusative case of the relative pronoun _who_ is _whom_.
_CHAPTER IV_
SUNDAY.
_Mrs. Harley._ Come hither, my love: you know that to-day is called
_Sunday_, and is set apart for the observance of _religious_ duties.
You have read in the Bible that God created the heavens, the earth, the
sea, and all that therein is, in the space of six days, that he rested
on the seventh, and called that day holy, ordering his people so to
observe it, and to abstain from every kind of labour throughout its
duration. Therefore, the Jews, to whom this commandment was originally
given, keep their sabbath on Saturday, the last day in the week; but
Christians, who have been taught the blessed religion of Jesus, begin
the week with praising God. No command for changing the day of worship
seems ever to have been given, either by our Saviour or the apostles;
but we know that it was the custom of the earliest Christians, even
during our Lord's time, to meet together on the first day of the week
for the purpose of holding religious assemblies; and all nations which
have embraced the religion of the New Testament have adhered to this
practice.
_Anne._ Thank you, mamma. Will you now perform your promise of giving
me a new morning and evening prayer?
_Mrs. Harley._ In the evening I will, my dear; but at present, I wish to
give you a short account of the contents of the books contained in the
sacred volumes. As yet you have only read detached parts of them, and
before you proceed to a more general perusal, it may be useful to have
some distinct idea of the whole. The account I shall give you I have
chiefly extracted from Dr. Prettyman's Elements of Christian Theology.
All the books of the Bible were originally written in Hebrew, excepting
a few passages towards the conclusion of the volume, which appear in
the Chaldee tongue. The English translation used in all our churches was
begun and completed in the reign of James the first.
The five first books of the Bible are, Genesis, which begins with an
account of the creation of the world, and ends with the death of Joseph.
Exodus, which relates the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt;
their bondage in that country, deliverance by Moses, and the
promulgation of the law.
Leviticus, which describes the offices and duties of the Levites and
priests.
Numbers, which contains an account of the numbering of the people in the
wilderness when a very miraculous increase was found to have taken
place since the arrival of Jacob and his family in Egypt.
Deuteronomy, which contains a repetition of the civil and moral law, and
ends with the death of Moses. These five books are called the
Pentateuch, and were written by Moses. They contain the history of 2552
years and a half.
Joshua, contains an account of the conquest and division of Canaan among
the twelve tribes, and ends with the death of Joshua. This book is
supposed to have been written by himself, excepting the last few verses,
which were added by one of his successors.
Judges gives an account of the Jewish history from the death of Moses
to that of Sampson. It was most probably written by Samuel.
Ruth contains the history of the person of that name, a native of Moab:
she married Boaz an Israelite, and was the great grandmother of David.
This book is generally ascribed to Samuel. The first book of Samuel
completes the government of the Judges, and relates the appointment of
Saul to be king of Israel, the rejection of his family, and the
anointing of David.
The second book of Samuel continues the history of David after the death
of Saul. Most probably, Samuel wrote the first 24 chapters of the first
book, and the prophets Gad and Nathan the remainder of it, and all the
second.
The first book of Kings commences with an account of the death of
David, and continues to that of Jehosaphat.
The second book of Kings continues the history of the kings of Judah and
Israel to the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem by
Nebuchadnezzar. These books were probably compiled by Ezra, from the
records which were kept both at Jerusalem and Samaria of all public
transactions.
The two books of Chronicles contain a great many genealogical tables,
and various circumstances omitted in the other historical books of
Scripture.
Ezra, continues the Jewish history from the edict of Cyrus (which
permitted the Jews to return to their own land, and rebuild their
temple,) to the reform effected among them, by Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra
wrote part of this book in Chaldee.
Nehemiah gives an account of his own appointment to the government of
Judea, and his administration to the year of the world 3595, at which
period the scripture history closes.
Esther, contains the history of a Jewish captive of that name, who by
her good qualities gained the affections of Ahasuerus, and was by him
raised to the throne of Persia. It is supposed that by Ahasuerus is
meant Artaxerxes Longimanus. There is great diversity of opinion
concerning the author of this book; it has been ascribed to Ezra, to
Mordecai, and to the joint labours of the great synagogue.
Job, contains the history of a man remarkable for his piety and
patience, under severe afflictions. The author of this book is very
uncertain. Some ascribe it to Moses, others to Job himself.
The Psalms, are a collection of hymns in praise of God, written by
different persons, but as the greater part of them was composed by
David, they are generally called the Psalms of David.
The Proverbs, are a collection of short sentences, written by Solomon,
in which much excellent advice is contained.
Ecclesiastes, is supposed to have been written by Solomon, after he
repented of the idolatry and sin into which he fell, towards the close
of his life, and with the design to point out the vanity of worldly
pursuits, in order to induce men to prepare for that state, where there
will be no vanity nor vexation of spirit.
The Song of Solomon, is a pastoral dialogue, supposed to have been
written by him, upon his marriage with the daughter of Pharoah.
It is universally allowed that the 16 Prophetical Books, and the
Lamentations of Jeremiah, which describe the desolation of Judah, during
the Babylonian captivity, and prophecy the still greater misfortunes to
be suffered at a future time, were written by the persons whose names
they bear.
The four great prophets were, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and
Daniel.--The twelve minor prophets were, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah,
Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and
Malachi.
The books of the New Testament were all originally written in Greek;
except St. Matthew's Gospel, and St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews,
which many commentators suppose to have been originally composed in
Hebrew, and then immediately translated into Greek; but opinions in this
respect are much divided.
The Four Gospels, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, give an
account of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of our Saviour.
The Acts of the Apostles written by Luke, gives an historical account of
the progress of Christianity after our Saviour's ascension. The latter
part of the book is confined to the history of Saint Paul, of whom St.
Luke was the constant companion for many years.
Of the fourteen Epistles ascribed to St. Paul, viz. Romans, 1 and 2 to
the Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2
to the Thessalonians, 1 and 2 to Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews,
the first thirteen have, in all ages of the Church, been universally
acknowledged to be written by him. Many doubts have been entertained
concerning the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. St. Paul was born
at Tarsus the principal city of Cilicia in Asia Minor, and was by birth
both a Jew and a citizen of Rome. St. Paul is not mentioned in the
Gospels, nor is it known whether he ever heard our Saviour preach. His
name is first noticed in the account of St. Stephen's Martyrdom, which
was followed by a severe persecution of the Church at Jerusalem, in
which St. Paul, (who was then called Saul) distinguished himself among
its enemies, by his activity and violence. He was going to Damascus, to
bring back bound any Christians whom he might find there, when his
miraculous conversion took place: after which, he became one of the most
zealous preachers of the Gospel; and as he devoted much of his time to
the instruction of the Gentiles, he is called the _Apostle of the
Gentiles_. Gentiles, was the appellation by which all nations were
distinguished, that were not Jews, and consequently the Gentiles were
Pagans. St. Paul performed many voyages and journies in the service of
the Christian religion, and the New Testament history closes A. D. 63,
with his release from a two years imprisonment at Rome; no ancient
author has left any particulars of the remaining part of this Apostle's
life.
The Epistle of St. James was written by that Apostle, who is called
James the Less, the son of Alphæus or Cleophat, which are supposed to
be the same name, differently written. It contains much excellent
instruction.
The two Epistles of St. Peter, were written by that Apostle, who enjoyed
the favour of his divine master, in a peculiar degree. St. Peter seems
to have been almost the constant companion of our Lord, and was
extremely zealous in propagating his religion, though he was
occasionally led into great errors, particularly the denial of his
master, but his bitter remorse and repentance, prove that his sorrow for
this crime was sincere. He admitted Cornelius, the first Gentile
convert, into the Christian faith, but as the chief of his instructions
were confined to the Jews, he is called the apostle of the Jews.
The three Epistles of St. John, were written by the apostle who was
favoured with the greatest share of our Saviour's affection. He leaned
on his bosom at the last supper, and was one of the first who were made
acquainted with his resurrection.
The Epistle of St. Jude was written by the apostle, who was also called
Lebbæus and Thaddæus, he was the brother of James the Less, and
excepting in the catalogue of the apostles, is only once mentioned in
the Gospels. (John chap. 14, verse 22).
The Revelation of John the divine, was written by the same Evangelist
and Apostle who wrote the Gospels and Epistles bearing that name. The
Revelation is a prophetical book, and was written by St. John, during
his banishment to the isle of Patmos, in the time of Domitian. St. John
is supposed to have been the youngest of the Apostles, and to have
survived all the rest. He died at Ephesus in Asia Minor, in the third
year of the emperor Trajan's reign, A. D. 100.--The Apostles were twelve
good men, whom Jesus chose to be the ministers of his gospel. They were
entrusted with the power of working miracles: and their names were,
Simon Peter, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, Andrew,
Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphæus (called
also James the Less,) Thaddeus whose sirname was Jude, Simon the
Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot.--After the death of Judas Iscariot who
betrayed our Saviour, Matthias was chosen in his stead.
The Disciples of Christ, were those who learned of him as their master.
Thus, my dear, I have given you a short account of all the books
contained in the sacred volumes. I will now mention to you, a few of the
principal Jewish sects, and then proceed to some description of the
history of that people.