men, the above wonderful Poem stands in need of Notes and Illustrations.

(A) The transformation of the ants into men by Eacus, in the Island of Egina, is taken from OVID'S Metam. Lib. VII., Fab. xxvi. and xxvii. And the story of the pigmies and the cranes, may be seen in Homer, Pliny,

and Juvenal.

(1) Pigmy Will,-the school nick-name of the young man, W. W-k-n.

(2) Little page,-a poor little serving lad, a sort of playmate of William's when he was at his father's house.

(3) Portnegro, the town of Portglenone, on the River Ban, near to which this family dwelt.

(4) I'll thrash your back,-a very common expression of William's father.

But, it may be asked, how could young Clarke, at this age, get the information which enabled him to make the above classical allusions, for he had not yet read the authors to whom the verses refer? It It may be answered, that he was now learning, and was particularly fond of classical history; and, having procured an old copy of Littleton's Dictionary, he made himself, at a very early age, entire master of all the proper names ; so that there was neither person nor place in the classic world, of which he could not give a ready account. This made him of great consideration among his school-fellows; and most of them in all the forms, generally applied to him for information on the historical parts of their lessons.

His love of reading was intense and unconquerable. To gratify this passion, and a passion it was in him, he would undergo any privations, and submit to any kind of hardship. The pence that he and his brother got for being good boys, and doing extra work, &c., they carefully

preserved, never laying them out on toys, sweetmeats, &c., as other children did; but when their savings amounted to a sum for which they could purchase some interesting book, they laid it out in this way. At first they got penny and twopenny histories, afterwards sixpenny books, and so on, as their minds were improved and their pence increased.

Their's was a little library-but to them, exceedingly precious; for their books were their companions, and in their company every vacant hour was employed. Before and after labor, were their chief times for reading; and to gain time, the necessary hours of repose were abridged. Childish history, tales, and romances, were the first subjects of their study. The following short list of their books I give as a curiosity; the names of several are, I suppose, no longer known :

The Reading made easy, and Dilworth's Spelling-book. The famous and delightful History of Tom Thumb. Ditto of Jack the Giant Killer.

Ditto of Jack Horner.

Ditto of Rosewall and Lilly Ann.

Ditto of Guy Earl of Warwick.

Ditto of the Seven Wise Masters and Mistresses.

Ditto of the Nine Worthies of the World.

Ditto of Thomas Hickathrift.

Ditto of Captain James Hind.

Ditto of the Babes in the Wood.

Ditto of the Seven Champions of Christendom.

Ditto of Sir Francis Drake.

Ditto of the New World, i. e. America.

Ditto of Captain Falkner.

Ditto of Montelion, or the Knight of the Oracle.

Ditto of Robinson Crusoe.

Ditto of Valentine and Orson.

Ditto of Parismus and Parismenos.

The Tale of the Three Bonnets.

The Fairy Tales.

Peruvian Tales.

Tartarian Tales.

Arabian Nights' Entertainments.

The Destruction of Troy.

Robin Hood's Garland.

The History of Adam Bell, Clim of the Clough, and William of Cloudesly.

The Life of Sir William Wallace.

A Groat's worth of Wit for a Penny.

Chevy Chase.

The Cherry and the Sloe.

The Gentle Shepherd.

The Pilgrim's Progress.

Æsop's Fables, by L'Estrange.

The Holy War.-Cum multis aliis, quæ nunc prescribere longum est.

Such were the humble materials which served as semina for a very large stock of bibliographical knowledge, and, as a foundation, certainly very unpromising, of one of the most select and valuable private Libraries in the kingdom.

"From small beginnings mighty fabrics rise."

According to the present mode of education, most of these articles would be proscribed, as calculated to vitiate the taste and give false impressions; especially books of enchantment, chivalry, &c. But is it not better to have a deeply rooted belief of the existence of an eternal world, —of God, angels and spirits, though mingled with such superstition as naturally cleaves to infant and inexperienced minds, and which maturer judgment, reflection, and experience, will easily correct,-than to be brought

up in a general ignorance of God and heaven, of angels, spirits, and spiritual influence; or in scepticism concern ing the whole? There is a sort of Sadducean education now highly in vogue, that is laying the foundation of general irreligion and Deism? Although it may not quadrate with certain received maxims, it may be here safely asserted, that it was such reading as the above, that gave A. Clarke his literary taste, and bent his mind to literary, philosophical, and metapyhsical pursuits. He himself has been known to observe, "Had I never read those books, it is probable I should never have been a reader, or a scholar of any kind: yea, I doubt much, whether I should ever have been a religious man. Books of enchantments, &c., led me to believe in a spiritual world, and that if there were a devil to hurt, there was a God to help, who never deserted the upright: and, when I came to read the Sacred Writings, I was confirmed by their authority in the belief I had received, and have reason to thank God, that I was not educated under the modern Sadducean system."

At this early age he read the Pilgrim's Progress, as he would read a book of Chivalry. CHRISTIAN was the great Hero, by whom the most appalling difficulties were surmounted, the most incredible labors performed, powerful enchantments dissolved, giants conquered, and devils quelled. It was not likely that he would see it as a spiritual allegory: and therefore it was no wonder that he could not comprehend how Christian and Hopeful could submit to live several days and nights in the dungeon of Doubting Castle, under the torture of Giant Despair, while the former "had a key in his bosom which could open every lock in that castle." When he read that part, and found that Christian actually had such a key, and did use it, and thus released both himself and his companion, he called him fifty fools for his pains; and

has often since been led to express his surprise that both John Bunyan the author, and those who hold his creed, should not have been more aware of these great truths,that no grace of God can be at all effectual to the salvation of the soul, unless it be faithfully used;—that we may have the power to believe to the saving of the soul, and yet not use that power, and so continue in darkness and condemnation: for, although faith be the gift of God, it is only so as to the grace of faith, or power to believe ; but the act of faith, or believing, is the act of the soul, under the aid of that power or grace; for, although, to believe without the power, is as "impossible as to make a world," yet, when we have that power, we may believe and be saved. God no more believes for us, than he repents for us. We may have the grace of repentance,—a deep conviction from his spirit, that we have sinned; but we may harden our hearts against that grace, and so quench the spirit. In like manner, we may have the grace or power to believe, and yet hesitate, and not cast ourselves on Divine Mercy. Christian had the key of faith in his bosom, long before he pulled it out to open the doors of his prison house.

In hearing the history of the Trojan War; for his father used to recite it to his children as a Winter Evening's Tale; Adam was so much struck with the character of Hector,-his courage, his calmness, dignified carriage, filial piety, and inflexible love of his country and his family, that he was quite enamoured with it; and when he read Burton's Nine Worthies of the World, he longed to see Hector, whom he considered the chief of the whole; and as he had heard that in many cases the departed have revisited their friends and others; he has gone out into the fields by himself, when a child of seven or eight years old, and with the most ardent desire, invoked the soul of