If ceaseless, thus, the fowls of heav'n he feeds,
If o'er the fields such lucid robes he spreads
Will he not care for you, ye faithless, say?
Is he unwise? or, are ye less than they?

The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,

And spangl'd heav'ns, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim:

Th' unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's power display.

And publishes to ev'ry land,

The work of an Almighty hand.

Soon as the ev'ning shades prevail,

The moon takes up the wond'rous tale,
And, nightly, to the list'ning earth,

Repeats the story of her birth:

Whilst all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,

And spread the truth from pole to pole.

What tho', in solemn silence, all
Move round the dark terrestrial ball!
What tho' nor real voice nor sound,
Amid their radiant orbs be found!

In reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice,
For ever singing as they shine,
"The hand that made us is Divine."

PART II.

EXERCISES IN ORTHOGRAPHY.

CHAPTER I.

Containing instances of false ORTHOGRAPHY, arranged under the respective Rules.

Grammar, p. 37. Key, p. 9.

RULE I.

Monosyllables ending with f, 1, or s, preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant; as, staff, mill, pass, &c. The only exceptions are, of, if, as, is, has, was, yes, his, this, us, and thus.

Ir is no great merit to spel properly; but a great defect to do it incorrectly.

Jacob worshiped his Creator, leaning on the top of his staf.

We may place too little, as well as too much stres upon dreams.

Our manners should be neither gros, nor excessively refined.

RÚLE II.

Monosyllables ending with any consonant but f, 1, or s, and preceded by a single vowel, never double the final

consonant; excepting only, add, ebb, butt, egg, odd, err, inn, bunn, purr, and buzz.

Grammar, p. 38. Key, p. 10.

A carr signifies a chariot of war, or a small carriage of burden.

In the names of druggs and plants, the mistake in a word may endanger life.

Nor undelightful is the ceaseless humm

To him who muses through the woods at noon.

The finn of a fish is the limb, by which he balances his body, and moves in the water.

Many a trapp is laid to insnare the feet of youth. Many thousand families are supported by the simple business of making matts.

RULE III.

Words ending with y, preceded by a consonant, form the plurals of nouns, the persons of verbs, verbal nouns, past participles, comparatives, and superlatives, by changing y into i; as, spy, spies; I carry, thou carriest; he carrieth or carries; carrier, carried; happy, happier, happiest.

The present participle in ing, retains the y, that i may not be doubled; as, carry, carrying; bury, burying, &c. But y, preceded by a vowel, in such instances as the above, is not changed; as, boy, boys; I cloy, he cloys, cloyed, &c.; except in lay, pay, and say; from which are formed, laid, paid, and said; and their compounds, unlaid, unpaid, unsaid, &c.

WE should subject our fancys to the government of reason.

If thou art seeking for the living amongst the dead, thou wearyest thyself in vain.

If we have denyed ourselves sinful pleasures, we shall be great gainers in the end.

We shall not be the happyer for possessing talents and affluence, unless we make a right use of them. The truly good mind is not dismaied by poverty, afflictions, or death.

RULE IV.

Words ending with y, preceded by a consonant, upon assuming an additional syllable beginning with a consonant, commonly change y into i; as, happy, happily, happiness. But when y is preceded by a vowel, it is very rarely changed in the additional syllable; as, coy, coyly; boy, boyish, boyhood; annoy, annoyed, annoyance; joy, joyless, joyful, &c.

Grammar, p. 38. Key, p. 11,

It is a great blessing to have a sound mind, uninfluenced by fancyful 'humours.

Common calamities, and common blessings, fal heavyly upon the envious.

The cornelyness of youth are modesty and frankness; of age, condescension and dignity.

When we act against conscience, we become the destroiers of our own peace.

We may be plaiful, and yet innocent; grave, and yet corrupt. It is only from general conduct, that our true character can be portraied.

RULE V.

Monosyllables, and words accented on the last syllable, ending with a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double that consonant, when they take another syllable beginning with a vowel: as, wit, witty; thin, thinnish ; to abet, an abettor; to begin, a beginner.

C

But if a diphthong precedes, or the accent is on the preceding syllable, the consonant remains single: as, to toil, toiling; to offer, an offering; maid, maiden, &c.

When we bring the lawmaker into contempt, we have in effect annuled his laws.

By defering our repentance, we accumulate our

sorrows.

The pupils of a certain ancient philosopher, were not, during their first years of study, permited to ask any questions.

We all have many faillings and lapses to lament and recover.

There is no affliction with which we are visitted, that may not be improved to our advantage.

The Christian Lawgiver has prohibitted many things, which the heathen philosophers allowed.

RULE VI.

Words ending with any double letter but 1, and taking ness, less, ly, or ful, after them, preserve the letter double: as, harmlessness, carelessness, carelessly, stiffly, successful, distressful, &c. But those words which end with double 1, and take ness, less, ly, or ful, after them, generally omit one l, as, fulness, skilless, fully, skilful, &c. Grammar, p. 39. Key, p. 12.

Restlesness of mind disqualifies us, both for the enjoyment of peace, and the performance of our duty. The arrows of calumny fall harmlesly at the feet of virtue.

The road to the blisful regions, is as open to the peasant as to the king.

A chillness or shivering of the body generally precedes a fever.