of fortune most of his performances were written; and, even under these disadvantages, his two comedies of "False Delicacy" and "The School for Wives," are well entitled to the merit of stock pieces, and as such we wonder why they are not oftener represented.

His reputation as an Author was so high, after the success of " False Delicacy," that he may be considered as one of the first who raised the copy-money of plays, which before stood at about sixty pounds to one hundred, one hundred and twenty, and sometimes one hundred and fifty; nay, he himself is said to have received two hundred pounds for the tragedy of " Clementina." His prose works were held in equal estimation, of which the following instance is a proof:

The late Alderman Beckford, when Lord Mayor, happened to speak of Kelly rather disrepectfully in some company, as a Poet and an Irishman: the touching upon either character at that time was sufficient to rouse our Author's feelings, who upon any opportune occasion had no disinclination to come before the public. He, therefore, instantly sat down to write Beckford a letter, wherein, with some point on the heinous charges exhibited against him, he rallied that Magistrate pretty freely. For the copy-money of this letter (though the whole did not make above a sheet) he refused six guineas; and, because he could not get ten, published it in the newspapers gratis.

In short, Kelly had talents enough to keep his literary fame alive whilst he himself lived, and had his education been better, and fortune easier, so as to have enabled him to select and polish his works, his genius was such as probably might have given his name a niche amongst the first dramatic poets of this country.

PLAN OF EDUCATION,

BY DR. CHAPMAN.

[Continued from Page 133.]

Culture of the mind from ten to fourteen or fifteen years of age.

more so

N this period, as the body, approaching towards maturity, is capa ble of more vigorous efforts; so the mind, unfolding itself by an ampler display of its powers, becomes more susceptible of a more extensive culture. Children, as yet void of cares, ar.d undisturbed by the more troublesome passions, have likewise more leisure in this delightful season to lay up a stock of provisions for the succeeding stages of life. This stock will not lie in coffers, which may be stolen, nor in granaries, which may be consumed; but in their limbs, in their heads, in themselves. This then is the proper time for instruction and study, as well as for labour and exercise. In their studies they will need much to be directed; for there are some branches of knowledge which have little influence on practice, and others which require a more enlarged understanding than can be expected in children. Both VOL. II. Dd

these kinds being improper for a boy, his studies will be more confined; but they will be more instructive and more useful. His acquaintance with natural objects, and the changes which are made upon them by art, is now to be extended. And as language is the channel by which we communicate our thoughts to one another, the study of the English language is to be carried forward and completed. The languages of ancient Greece and Rome, and especially the latter, ought likewise to be studied, if, beside other advantages, we would attain a nice discernment of the propriety of idiom and beauties of style, or even acquire an exact and grammatical knowledge of our mother tongue. But a critical taste of this kind does not seem to be necessary in every station; nor do the circumstances of mankind allow the privilege of a classical education to be equally enjoyed by all. But, as was observed before, a boy, even of the lowest rank, ought to have a liberal education, if his genius be extraordinary.

Misled by appearances, we are apt to make a wrong estimate of the trades or occupations of mankind. Those which minister to luxury are more esteemed and encouraged in the world than those which furnish the necessaries of life. But, without shewing a contempt of any that require no bad qualities of the heart, we should value those which are most useful, ingenious, and independent.

As every man, without exception, owes his labour to society, and cannot be trained up with the same ease when advanced in life, it is during this period chiefly that he ought to qualify himself for a liberal profession, or begin to learn a trade. He ought to consider that he is born for the public good. The more he consecrates his cares to the public good, the happier and the more clear-sighted he will be. It is selfishness that blinds the understanding, by contracting the heart. A young man should therefore accustom himself to do all the good actions in his power; to make the interest of the indigent his own; to assist them with his money and his counsel; to be tender-hearted; to love peace, and reconcile those that are at variance; to comfort the afflicted; to relieve the oppressed. He should be taught to extend his benevolence to all mankind; and, in the exercise of the social and generous affections, he should be warned not to transgress that first and most important precept, which we have formerly recommended; not to hurt one, while he serves another.

His duty to God ought to be the leading principle of all he does: he ought to worship God in spirit and in truth, and he should study, in every thing he undertakes, to approve himself to him with simplicity and integrity of heart. But his duty to God, as well as to his neighbour, will be more fully explained in the following part of this work.

Plan of Study at school.

The first literary attempt of children, in this island, ought to be the study of the English language. Before this be begun, the child should be capable of a full and clear articulation, without drawling; and to propriety of pronunciation, as far as circumstances permit, he should"

be accustomed in every word he utters. Then beginning to read, he should be carried forward, not by tedious and painful tasks, but by short and easy lessons, that he may not be oppressed, or disgusted. His book should contain nothing that is not suited to his tender years: it should consist of words in common use; it should treat of things which he sees around him, and the more obvious qualities of these should be pointed out. He will be particularly delighted with descriptions of the country, the seasons, and the animals which he has an opportunity of seeing, &c. To these should be added, short biographical and historical anecdotes, of a moral tendency, written in a simple stile, and collected with judgment. His succeeding books should be chosen with the same judgment, and explained with the same care; and when animals or other objects are mentioned, which he has not seen, or which he cannot understand by descriptions, drawings of them will be of use. He should be master of one lesson before he be carried forward to another; as he advances in reading, he should be trained up to accuracy in spelling; when he can read with ease, he should be instructed in the simplest rules of the English Grammar; and when he can use his fingers with freedom, he should be taught the useful art of writing.

In this manner ought the first years of his studies to be spent; and, as an accurate knowledge of the English language is an object of great and general importance at school, he should persevere in studying it, from time to time, till he be well acquainted with its syntax, and its idioms*.

As the student has been, hitherto, under a steady course of moral discipline, and has acquired a classical taste, a taste for what is most beautiful in manners as well as in sentiments, those fine impressions will naturally remain; they will render the care of parents, through the subsequent very critical period, more pleasant and more successful; and they will concur with the more powerful aids of religion, in forming the Man, the Citizen, and the Christian.

It may be expected that I should mention the Roman Classics and the auxiliary authors that deserve to be read at school. The time allotted for a school education does not admit of reading all the Roman authors who wrote during the purest ages of that elegant language; nor, if it did admit, would it be proper to put them all into the hands of youth. The impressions which are made on the hearts of youth by their teachers are of so important a nature, and so ready to remain through life, that no book ought to be taught, or recommended, that

In this course he ought to be employed, now and then, in transcribing such select letters and such passages of his lessons as are most beautiful and most proper to be got by heart. He ought also to be ascustomed to turn examples of bad English into good; to express the same thought in different words; to describe horses, trees, and other objects around him; to translate from Latin into English; to perform every exercise with attention; to correct his errors with the greatest exactness; to rehearse, with a clear and distinct voice, whatever passage he commits to memory, and to de claim, at stated times, and on subjects which he understands, before a public and respectable auditory.

has not a tendency to improve their minds, and to form their hearts to virtue; to prepare them for the duties of life, and direct their con duct through it; no book, where the sentiments, if not very impor tant, are not, at least, innocent. The capital authors, with the order in which they may be read, are mentioned in the detail of the method that was pursued in the school of Dumfries, while under the direction of the Author; and even some of those, though admired for the beau ties of their style, are to be taught with much discretion; and the wheat is to be separated from the tares. A prudent and virtuous teacher has still such a choice of Roman Classics, or of parts of them, proper for youth at schools, that he can be at no loss to furnish his pupils with useful subjects of study, and with the best patterns of justness of com position and elegance of language.

A VIEW

OF THE

PROGRESS OF NAVIGATION.

IN SEVERAL ESSAYS.

(Continued from Page 101.)

ESSAY VI.-Portuguese Voyages in the Fifteenth Century.

O the spirited exertion of Prince Henry of Portugal, the Portu

European commerce by the Cape of Good Hope, and raised that kingdom to so high a degree of celebrity. In 1415 the prince had accom. panied his father to the taking of Ceuta, and brought back with him so strong an inclination for making discoveries, that he employed about forty years in those attempts, expending a considerable sum of money, and procuring experienced mariners from all parts.

Anno 1417. His first effort was not at first very successful; he fitted out two ships that proceeded no further than Cape Non, which, from its projecting far into the sea, is called by the Spaniards Bojador, from the Spanish word Bojar. Round this cape a strong current ran, and a heavy swell, which deterred these young navigators from attempting it, not considering that by keeping out at sea they might avoid it. Prince Henry, who knew how this difficulty was to be overcome, in

1418. Tent Juan Gonzales Zarco and Tristan Vaz, gentlemen of his household, in a small ship, with orders to pass that formidable cape. They sailed, but before they reached the coast of Africa they met with such violent storms, that they expected every moment to founder, and were driven before the wind without knowing where they were. They at last fell in with a small island, which, from their deliverance, they

called Porto Santo, or Holy Island. They found inhabitants on it, neither civilized nor quite barbarous, but the soil appeared remarkably fruitful. On their return, the prince was highly elated with his discovery, and next year,

1419, sent Gonzales and Vaz on another voyage to Porto Santo. They saw at a distance something like a cloud, and directing their course towards it, they discovered another island, to which, from the vast woods which covered it, they called Madera, that word in their language signifying wood. This island lies south of the former, and the two together are by modern geographers called the Madeira Islands. These two discoverers obtained grants of different parts of the islands, under the title of Capitanos. Gonzales in his travels is said to have found the remains of the chapel and tomb erected by Macham.. The discoverers began to settle, and, in order to clear their lands, set fire to the trees, which fire is said to have continued burning for some years, and now caused as great a scarcity of wood as there was before a plenty. Prince Henry caused sugar canes to be carried from Sicily, and planted there, which thrived exceedingly.

We find on record a trading voyage made in 1439 by one Querino, from Candia, who was shipwrecked on the coast of Norway. This voyage did not add any new store to the science of geography, but is so very curious a fragment, that we shall take a future opportunity to lay it before our readers.

The prince employed twelve years without making any further discoveries till about 1432, when Gilianes, in a bark, passed the hitherto invincible Cape Bojador, an action, says our author, which in common opinion was looked on as equal to the labours of Hercules.

About this time, Prince Henry obtained of Pope Martin V. a perpetual donation to the crown of Portugal, of whatever discoveries should be made from this cape to the East Indies, inclusively. This step was taken both as a security against the interfering of other nations, and an incentive to the common people to engage in the services.

In 1434, Gilianes went again in his bark with Alonso Gonzales Baldaya, in a larger vessel, and passed thirty leagues beyond the capě : where landing, they saw a great track of men and cattle; and, without any farther enquiry, returned home, giving the name of Angra de Ruyvos, or the Bay of Gurnets, to that coast, from the fish they found there.

Next year, 1435, the design was continued, and they passed twelve leagues farther. Here they put ashore two men on horseback, who, going on till the afternoon, saw nineteen of the natives armed with javelins. These flying, were pursued, and some of them wounded, so was one of the Portuguese. They ran along the coast twelve leagues farther, where, at the mouth of a river, they saw about five thousand sea wolves, many whereof they killed, and brought away their skins; which, being a novelty, were then held in great esteem. Going farther into the land, they found fishing nets drying, but no people; and their provisions being spent, they were obliged to return to the prince, without making any farther progress.