now and then to be deceived, and even duped, than never to confide.

On the contrary, persons of honest, benevolent views, are apt, from that very circumstance, to run into the opposite extreme. Conscious of their own uprightness and probity, they are hard to suspect that any who wear the semblance of these virtues should have it in their hearts to beguile them; and, of course, for want of prudent caution, are peculiarly liable, through an amiable weakness, to be ensnared, and sometimes desperately injured. It is especially in youth that we find this error; which is commonly cured by time and experience. An unsuspecting youth, soured by bitter experience, may become too suspicious in old age: whilst a youth of an excessive jealousy of temper, commonly grows more jealous or suspicious as he advances in years.

There are two classes of men who are often betrayed by an excess of confidence: these are creditors and debtors. As it respects the former, the remark is too obvious to need proof or illustration. The error of giving indiscriminate credit, is too visible in its deplorable consequences not to be generally seen. But the opposite error, that is, the error of taking too large credit, is not quite so manifest, though equally fatal.

As the creditor trusts the debtor, so, on the other hand, does the debtor trust the creditor, except in instances in which he is morally certain of making punctual payment. If one runs in debt beyond his ability to pay in good season, he has to trust to the mercy of his creditor, net merely as to his house and land, goods and chattels, but even for the liberty of going at large. The creditor has a power over his personal liberty, as well as over his property. If he exact the last farthing of the debt the very instant it becomes due, and that notwithstanding the plea of inability, he may perhaps be called hard and unfeeling, but not unjust. The promise in the note or bond, entitles him to be thus rigorous, and the law is on his side. Neither is any debtor entitled, ordinarily, to expect any thing short of this rigor from his creditor, except on principles of compassion: and surely it evinces too much of con

fidence, as well as too little of spirit, for one to place himself, unnecessarily, in circumstances to need the compassion of fellow man as his only earthly resource.

CHAP. LXXII.

Of the misusage of the faculty of Memory.

We

In the little citadel of the mind, the Memory acts as a sort of subaltern; and hence it is often blamed, and sometimes wrongfully, by the commander in chief. seldom find men dissatisfied with their understandings, or their judgments, or with the character of their hearts. Very few are disposed to own that any of these are radically defective or greatly in fault. But nothing is more common than to hear them censuring their memories, as not only weak, but treacherous. The aged I have often heard complain of their memories, but seldom of their judgments.

"'Tis with our judgments as our watches-none
Go just alike, yet each believes his own."

I said just now, that the memory sometimes is blamed wrongfully; and truth would bear me out, were I to add, that nothing is more common than taxing the memory with faults of which it is in no wise guilty. In many of the cases in which forgetfulness is pleaded for excuse or apology, if the memory were allowed to speak for herself, she would let it be known that the imputations cast upon her were slanderous falsehoods, and that, in these particular cases, she had performed her part in full measure.

Artificial methods of assisting the memory have been suggested by writers, and at least one invention for that purpose has been made and put in practice by those who could not write. It is worthy of notice as a curiosity, if not for its use.

According to Smith's History of the colony of NewYork, in 1689, Commissioners from Boston, Plymouth,

and Connecticut, had a conference with the Five Indian Nations at Albany; when a Mohawk sachem, in a speech of great length, answered the message of the commissioners, and repeated all that had been said the preceding day. The art they had for assisting their memories was this: The sachem who presided had a bundle of sticks prepared for the purpose, and at the close of every principal article of the message delivered to them, he gave a stick to another sachem, charging him with the remembrance of that particular article. By this means, the orator, after a previous conference with the sachems who severally had the sticks, was prepared to repeat every part of the message, and to give it the proper reply. This custom, as the historian remarks, was invariably pursued in all their public treaties.

The gift of memory, like the other gifts of nature, is distributed, to some individuals more, and to others less. While all are blest with such a measure of memory as might suffice them, if well improved, some few enjoy it in an extraordinary measure; and, what is truly wonderful, a very strong memory is sometimes found yoked with a very feeble intellect. There are some persons that can repeat, word for word, a considerably long discourse, upon hearing or reading it only once or twice, and yet are possessed of minds too weak and slender to reason upon matters with any considerable degree of ability, or to judge of them accurately. A man of this sort, ever makes himself tiresome, if not ridiculous, by dealing out wares from the vast store of his memory, without regard to time, place, or fitness. But whenever, on the other hand, an excellent memory is united with a sound and vigorous understanding, nothing but indolence can hinder such a one from becoming great— nothing but the want of good principle at heart, can prevent his acting with superior excellence, some part or other, upon the theatre of life.

In general, we forget for want of attention, more than for want of memory. Persons of very different memories find no difficulty in remembering certain things that had excited their attention in a very high degree; while a thousand other things of far greater

moment have been utterly forgotten by them. An Indian preacher, some long time ago, said to an assembly of white people who were gathered together to hear him, "Though you will forget what I say, you will remember as long as you live, that you had heard an Indian preach." It was even so. None of the assembly did probably forget this striking circumstance, though but few retained in memory either sermon or text.

The good we do is registered faithfully in our memories, but our reprovable deeds we consign to oblivion, by concealing them, as much as possible, from our own sight, as well as from the sight of others.

"Creditors," generally speaking, "have better memories than their debtors." The former are never known to forget the bond; while the latter are very prone to forget it, or at least to forget its date, or the day of promised payment.

The doer of a favor or benefit, is apt to remember it a great deal longer than the receiver.

It evinces one of the worst and most treacherous memories, to forget friends, and even benefactors, in their adversity, when they stand in need of aid. The chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgat him.

All of us inherit from nature better memories for in

juries than for kindnesses. This lamentable error of memory it deeply concerns us to remedy by all the means in our power.

A man of a truly great mind, who had been both obliged and disobliged by the same persons, magnanimously resolved to forget all that might diminish his gratitude, and to remember only what might increase it.

CHAP. LXXIII.

Of attaining a facility of utterance, or vocal expres

sion.

A MAN well versed in the knowledge of the world, made this pithy remark, "Words are things." Not like inarticulate sounds devoid of meaning, they are

the instruments of an intercommunity of minds, and so are real things, highly necessary to be well understood; the knowledge of them being the first step toward almost all other knowledge.

Language is twofold, written and spoken; about the former, the generality of scholars employ much more labor and pains, than about the latter, notwithstanding that this, or colloquial language, is requisite for use almost every wakeful hour of our lives.

Doctor King, a first rate scholar of the last age, who had long been familiar with the most distinguished literary characters in England, observes, in his Memoirs, that he had been acquainted with three persons only, who spoke English with that eloquence and propriety, that if all they said had been immediately committed to writing, any judge of the English language would have pronounced it an elegant and very beautiful style:、 one of these was Doctor Johnson. Further he states, that among the French and Italians few learned men are met with who are not able to express themselves with ease and elegance in their own language. This defect on the part of the English he attributes to the neglect of the study of their mother tongue; whereas the nations just named sedulously studied theirs.

To which it may perhaps be fairly added, that the partakers of the English blood are inclined to be constitutionally phlegmatic and humdrum; and conversing together much less than do some other portions of mankind, their colloquial faculties are much less improved by use and exertion.

Be that, however, as it may, it is clear that English scholars fall far short of perfectness in the language, though ever so learned and accurate in its theory, unless they are able to speak it on every occasion with promptness, propriety and ease. To arrive at this rare attainment, or even to approximate to it, would be well worth no small degree of labor.

The faculty of communicating thoughts with facility, is one of the most precious faculties belonging to the humankind: a faculty, which all who aspire to shine as lights in the world, should strive to acquire. Though a man have all knowledge, if unable to express what