No More Learning

ENOPHON tells us, that among the ancient Per-
sians, the boys who frequented the public places
of instruction, passed their time in learning
Justice, and would tell you that they went for that
purpose, as those with us who go to learn letters, tell
you that they go for that purpose. And he gives us
the following dialogue between Cyrus and his mother,
illustrative of this.
When Mandane was about to return home, and
Cyrus expressed his desire to remain in Media with
his grandfather, Mandane said, "But how, child, will
you be instructed here in the knowledge of justice when
your teachers are in Persia? " " 0 mother," said Cyrus,
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? JUSTICE.
155
"that I understand exactly already! " "How so? " said
Mandane. "Because my teacher," said he, " appointed
me judge over others, as being very exact in the know-
ledge of justice myself. But yet, I had some stripes
given me, as not determining right in one judgment
that I gave; the case was this: A bigger boy, who
had a little coat, stripping a less boy who had a larger,
puts upon the little boy the coat that was his own, and
puts on himself the coat that was the little boy's. I
therefore, passing judgment upon them, decreed that it
was best that each should keep the coat that best fitted
him. Upon which my teacher thrashed me, and told
me, that if I had been constituted judge of what fitted
best, I ought to have determined in this manner: but
when I was to judge whose coat it was, then, said he,
it must be inquired what right possession is; whether
he that took a thing by force, should have it, or whe-
ther he who made it, or purchased it, should possess
it; and then he told me, that what was according to
law was just; and that what was contrary to law was
violent: he bid me take notice, therefore, that a judge
ought to give his opinion with the law. So, mother,"
said Cyrus, "I now understand exactly what is just. "
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? GENEROSITY.
"His heart and hand both open, and both free;
For what he has, he gives, what thinks, he shows. "
Shakspeaee.
ENEROUS and liberal habits, whether in refer-
ence to the purse, or to matters of opinion, or to
the construction to be put upon the actions of
others, should be much encouraged in young Princes,
into whose minds nothing narrow or mean should ever
be allowed to creep.
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? GENEROSITY.
157
THE COMTE DE BEAUJOLAIS, BROTHER OF
LOUIS PHILIPPE.
HE Comte de Beaujolais, one of the brothers of
Louis Philippe, the ex-king of the French, was
asked one day, when he was about four years
old, why he always gave his foster sister, when she came
to see him, his prettiest playthings. "Because," re-
plied he, "I like them best myself, and therefore I
think she will like them best. "
LOUIS THE TWELFTH OF FRANCE.
jT was a noble saying of Louis the Twelfth of
France, when he was reminded, on coming to the
throne, that he could now be revenged upon his enemies, "The King of France avenges not the injuries
done to the Duke of Orleans. "
EDWARD THE SIXTH.
HEN Prince Edward, afterwards Edward the
Sixth, was about five years old, his godfather
Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, sent him
as a present, a complete little table service in polished
silver, worked in a superior manner: there were
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? 158 GENEROSITY.
dishes, plates, drinking-cups, spoons, every thing, in
short, necessary for a dinner, and all in a miniature
size. The attendant who took this pretty present
to the Prince, said to him, "See what has been sent
to your Highness! but you must not let any one touch
them but yourself, or they will soon be spoiled. "
"What are you saying, my dear Spindbrok? " replied
the royal child; "I would rather never have a play-
thing, than be obliged to keep it to myself. "
CYRUS THE GREAT AND CRCESUS, KING
OF LYDIA.
RCESUS once suggested to Cyrus, that by the
multitude of presents he made, he would be a
beggar, while it was in his power to lay up mighty
treasures of gold for his own use: Cyrus then asked
him thus: "What sums do you think I should now
have in possession, if I had been hoarding up gold
as you bid me, ever since I have been in power? "
And Croesus, in reply, mentioned a mighty sum.
Then Cyrus said, "Well, Croesus, do you send with
Hystaspes here, some person in whom you have con-
fidence; and do you, Hystaspes, go about to my
friends, tell them that I am in want of money for a
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? GENEROSITY.
159
certain affair, and bid them furnish me with as much
as they are each of them able to do, and tell them to
write down the sum they can spare me, sign it, and
deliver the letter to the officer of Croesus to bring me. "
When they had gone round, Croesus found, upon cal-
culation, many times the sum that he had told Cyrus
he might now have had in his treasury, if he hoarded.
When it appeared to be thus, Cyrus said, "You see,
Croesus, that I have my treasures too; but you bid me
hoard them up, to be envied and hated for them: you
bid me place hired guards upon them, and in them to
put my trust; but I make my friends rich, and reckon
them to be treasures to me, and guards both to myself,
and to all things of value that belong to us, and such
as are more to be trusted, than if I set up a guard of
hirelings. "
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? GRATITUDE AND ATTACHMENT.
"A grateful mind,
By owing owes not, but still pays; at once,
Indebted and discharged. " Milton.
F it is the duty of the lowest and the poorest to
remember with gratitude benefits conferred, how
much more is it incumbent upon Princes, who
have great things in their power, to return with grati-
tude and attachment the anxious cares that have been
bestowed upon their early years, and to seek to re-
ward those, to whom they owe not only their mental
and personal acquirements, but their virtuous habits
and inclinations.
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? GRATITUDE AND ATTACHMENT, 161
LOUIS THE SEVENTEENTH.
NE day the brutal Simon, in one of his fits of
rage, rushed upon his victim, the unfortunate
little Dauphin, and would have felled him to the
ground, with a heavy iron bar that he had in his hand,
but for the interference of M. Naudin, a surgeon, who
was then attending the wife of Simon. The next time
M. Naudin came to visit his patient, the Prince went
up to him, and presenting him a pear which he had
reserved from his homely supper, said to him, "I
have nothing to give you but this pear, to prove my
gratitude to you: accept it, pray: you will make me
so happy! "
THE FIRST DAUPHIN.
HE first Dauphin, elder son of Louis the Six-
teenth, while suffering under his last illness,
showed great attachment to M. de Bourset, his
valet de chambre. He asked him one day for a pair of
scissors, but this gentleman represented to him, that
he had been forbidden to let him have them. He en-
treated so much, that at length a pair was put into his
hands. He then cut off a lock of his hair, which he
folded very carefully in paper, and presenting it to
M. de Bourset, said: "This is the only present I can M
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? 162
GRATITUDE AND
make you, Sir, having nothing of my own; but when
I am dead, you shall present this token to my papa
and mamma; it will remind them of me, and then I
hope they will remember you. "
ALEXANDER, EMPEROR OF RUSSIA.
HE attachment of Alexander, Emperor of Russia,
for his preceptor, La Harpe, was rather filial
than that of a pupil; his greatest delight was in
his society, and he would cling round his neck in the
most affectionate embraces, by which frequently his
clothes were covered with powder. "See, my dear
Prince," La Harpe would say, "what a figure you
have made yourself. " "Oh, never mind it," Alexander
replied, "no one will blame me for carrying away all
I can from my dear preceptor. "
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES, SON OF JAMES
THE FIRST.
HE following letter from Henry, Peince of
Wales, then about twelve years old, to his
father, James the First, proves the regard
and gratitude he had for his master, Mr. Newton;
and his suit was successful with the King.
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? ATTACHMENT.
163
Sir,
Your Majesty commanded me to write to you when
any fit occasion were offered; and now, hearing that,
upon the death of the Archbishop of York, there are
many suitors for preferment, I have taken the bold-
ness to be a suitor also for my master. Not because
I doubt that your Majesty is mindful of your pro-
mise made at Hampton Court, that if he would stay
so long as till the Archbishop were dead, he should
have the Deanery of Durham, but to show the desire I
have to do good to my master. I have learned, among
other good lessons, this out of Pibrac:
"Tu ne scaurois d'assez ample salaire
Recompenser celui, qui t'a soign6
En ton Enfance; et qui t'a enseigne
A bien parler, et sur tout a bien faire. "
And I know perfectly, that my master's hope these
two years past hath rested altogether upon the ex-
pectation of this Deanery. And so, hoping that your
Majesty will both accept of my humble suit, and ex-
cuse my boldness, I kiss your Majesty's hands. Your Majesty's most dutiful and obedient Son,
Henry.
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? LAUDABLE EMULATION.
"If it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive. "
Shakspeare.
OBLE and active minds are ever looking up:
they set high examples before them, and make
all their efforts tend to reach the excellence of
their model. Sloth and Folly only rest in an indolent
and silly self-satisfaction.
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? LAUDABLE EMULATION. 165
THE DAUPHIN, SON OF LOUIS THE SIXTEENTH.
HE book that first roused in the Dauphin, of
whom I have before spoken, the desire to be
able to read by himself, was the life of the
amiable and promising little Duke of Burgundy, who
died at the age of nine years, from the effects of a fall.
He was of the same family as the Dauphin, equally
well brought up, full of talent and good sense, and
the beautiful traits recorded of this young prince
were not only felt and understood by his little nephew,
but he had him constantly before his eyes, as an object
of imitation. He inquired where his portrait was, and
a miniature picture of him was presented to him, very
well painted, upon a Bonbonniere: he kissed it several
times; then, looking upon it with a sort of astonish-
ment, he said very seriously: "How did my little
uncle manage to be so clever and so good? "
The Dauphin once expressed a wish to see the shield
of Scipio, which is in the Royal Library; and his pre-
ceptor asking him which he preferred, Scipio or Han-
nibal, he answered, without hesitation, that he most
admired him who had defended his own country.
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? 166 LAUDABLE EMULATION.
One day, the little Dauphin went to pay his respects
to the Queen, dressed in the costume of one of the
preux chevaliers of the olden time: the Princess asked
him, under what name he would choose to be an-
nounced. "Under that of Bayard," said he eagerly.
"And why do you prefer Bayard? " "Because I also
would wish to be, Le Chevalier sans peur et sans re-
proche. "
CHARLES THE TWELFTH OF SWEDEN.
CHARLES the Twelfth of Sweden was, in his
childhood, extremely obstinate: the only way to
make him tractable was to raise his emulation;
Glory was a word that had always power over him.
He had a great aversion to Latin, but as soon as he
was told that the King of Poland and the King of
Denmark understood it, he applied himself to learn it,
and succeeded so well, as to be able to converse in
that language for the remainder of his life.
As soon as the above-mentioned Prince had acquired
some knowledge of Latin, Quintus Curtius was given
him to translate, and he imbibed a great fondness for
this author. His preceptor having asked him what he
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? LAUDABLE EMULATION. 167
thought of Alexander. "I think," replied he, "that
I would like to resemble him. " "But," said the pre-
ceptor, "he lived but thirty-two years. " "Ah," re-
plied the prince, "and is that not long enough, when
one has conquered kingdoms? " These remarks were
repeated to the king, his father, who said, "This child
will go beyond me, and will perhaps surpass the great
Gustavus. "
KANG-HI, EMPEROR OF CHINA.
HEN Cham-Chi, Emperor of China, was on his
death-bed, he assembled his children together,
in order to fix upon one of them as his succes-
sor upon the throne. On asking his eldest son, if he
should like to be emperor, he replied that he did not
feel himself equal to undertake the cares of govern-
ment: the second son gave a similar answer. But when
he put the question to Kang-Hi, his youngest son, who
was not then quite seven years old, he replied, " Give
me the empire to govern, and you shall see how I will
acquit myself.
" The emperor was pleased at this
spirited reply, and appointed Kang-Hi as his suc-
cessor.
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? 168
LAUDABLE EMULATION.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
HE great Alexander, when a child, excelled all
his companions in running. Wherefore one de-
manded of him if he would run at the great game
of Olympus, whereto, out of all parts of Greece, came
the most active and valiant persons to essay mastery.
Whereunto Alexander answered in this form: "I
would very gladly run there, if I were sure to run
with kings: for if I should contend with a private
person, having respect to both our estates, our vic-
tories would not be equal. "
THE EMBRYO HISTORIAN.
HUCYDIDES, while yet a boy, was taken by his
father to the Olympic Games, where he heard
Herodotus recite his history. As he listened,
feelings and powers of which he was before uncon-
scious, stirred within him, and tears of emotion stole
down his cheeks. "The Father of History," observing
how much the boy was moved, congratulated the parent
upon having a child of so much promise, and recom-
mended him to spare no pains in his education. His
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? LAUDABLE EMULATION.
169
anticipations proved just, for Thucydides became the
only Greek historian who can compete with Hero-
dotus.
CYRUS THE ELDER.
HEN Mandane, the mother of Cyrus, was pre-
paring to return home to her husband, Asty-
ages desired her to leave Cyrus with him, and
when she put it to his choice whether he would go or
stay, he did not at all hesitate, but said that he would
stay. And being asked by his mother the reason why,
he made answer: "Because, mother, at home, both at
the bow and javelin, I am superior to all of equal age
with me, and am so reckoned; but here, I well know
that in horsemanship I am their inferior; and be it
known to you, mother, this grieves me very much.
But if you leave me here, and I learn to be a horse-
man, then I reckon that when I am in Persia, I shall
easily master them there, who are so good at all exer-
cises on foot; and when I come among the Medes, I
shall endeavour to be an assistant and a support to my
grandfather, making myself the most skilful amongst
those who excel in horsemanship. "
Therefore Cyrus remained at the court of Astyages,
and in all the exercises, that he and his equals in age
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? 170 LAUDABLE EMULATION.
used in emulation of each other, he did not challenge
his companions to those in which he knew himself
superior; but such as he well knew himself to be
inferior in, those he set on foot; declaring that he
would do them better than they. Accordingly, he
would begin vaulting the horse, throwing the javelin,
or shooting with the bow on horseback, while he was
yet scarce well able to sit on a horse, and when he
was outdone, he was the first to laugh at himself. And
as, upon the account of being baffled, he did not fly
off, and meddle no more with the things he was so
baffled in, but continued repeating his endeavours to
do better, he presently became equal to his companions
in horsemanship, and by his love of the work, quickly
left them behind.
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? BEAUTIFUL SAYINGS.
"If the mind with clear conceptions glow,
The willing words in just expressions flow. "
HILDREN of high birth having constant inter-
course with persons of cultivated mind and ele-
gant manners, often acquire a power of express-
ing themselves with much beauty, and of giving a
striking turn to very simple ideas. Such a facility is
not, perhaps, to be taught, but as the slightest words
of Princes are remembered and repeated, they would
do well to habituate themselves from childhood to ex-
press themselves with conciseness, and in correct and
elegant language.
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? 172
BEAUTIFUL SAYINGS.
THE DAUPHIN, SON OF LOUIS THE SIXTEENTH.
N the birthday of Marie-Antoinette, the king ex-
pressed a wish, that the Dauphin would present
her with a bouquet, accompanied with a compli-
ment of his own composing. "Papa," said the Prince,
"I have a beautiful evergreen in my garden: I will
present it to her and say, My dear mamma, may you
resemble this flower. "
One day, perceiving that he had mingled some
marigolds in a bouquet that he intended for the
queen, he hastily plucked them out, saying, " Maman
a deja assez de soucis. "
He was one day very inattentive at his studies, and
even began to whistle, with his book in his hand. His preceptor reprimanded him, and the queen en-
tering at the moment, also expressed her displeasure.
"Maman," said the little prince, "j'ai si mal lu, que
je me suis siffle moimeme. "
Taking the air one day, in the gardens of the
Tuileries, he saw a flight of swallows, and follow-
ing them with his eyes, walking all the time, he
struck his foot against the root of a tree, and fell upon
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? BEAUTIFUL SAYINGS.
173
his two hands. Getting up quickly, he anticipated
the remonstrance of his governor by saying, laughing,
"I am like the astrologer in the fable, who was so in-
tent upon reading the stars, that he did not look before
him, and fell into a well. "
There having been some intermission in the lessons
which the Dauphin received from the Abbe Davaux,
owing to the unfortunate journey to Varennes, the
abbe, when resuming his duties, began his lesson in
grammar by saying: "I recollect that your Royal
Highness's last lesson was upon the three degrees of
comparison, the positive, the comparative, and the
superlative, but no doubt you have forgotten it. " "You
are quite mistaken," replied the prince, "and I will
prove it to you. The positive is when I say, My abbe
is a good abbe; the comparative, when I say, My abbe
is better than another abbe: the superlative," con-
tinued he, looking at the queen, "is when I say, Mamma
is the best and tenderest of mammas. " The queen
took him in her arms, and embraced him with tears.
On the memorable 20th of June, 1792, the frantic,
revolutionary mob penetrated even into the interior
of the Tuileries, placing in imminent danger the king
and the royal family. On the following day, hearing
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? 174
BEAUTIFUL SAYINGS.
the drum again beat to arms, the Dauphin, throwing
himself into the arms of the queen, said, " Mamma is
yesterday not finished? "
LOUIS PHILIPPE, KING OF THE FRENCH.
HILE Mad. de Genlis was travelling with her
pupils, among other fetes that were given for
the amusement of the young princes, was a
very ingenious and magnificent military one, in which
were the attack, defence, and blowing up of a pre-
tended fort, on the summit of a hill. After the destruc-
tion of the fort, the officer who commanded the as-
sailants came and presented his victorious sword to the
Duke de Chartres: the Duke returned it to him,
saying, "It is in too good hands, for me to think of re-
ceiving it. " This obliging expression was the more
admired, as it could not have been suggested to him.
THE DUKE DE MONTPENSIER, BROTHER OF LOUIS
PHILIPPE, KING OF THE FRENCH.
AD. de Genlis says of her pupil, the Duke de
Montpensier: "He was of a reserved disposition,
but had a sensible and generous soul, and there
was a natural elegance about him, with a something
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? BEAUTIFUL SAYINGS.
175
formed in his ideas, that is rarely seen in childhood. I
will give an instance of it. When I took the princes to
a first representation of a play, each wrote out a short
account of it, which was read to me the following day.
Upon one of these occasions, one of my pupils, reading
his extract, and speaking of two lovers, said that the
princess declared her love: the Duke de Montpensier
interrupted him:'The expression,'said he, 'is not pro-
per; a man declares his love, a woman acknowledges
hers. ' There is certainly a delicacy in this distinction,
very surprising for a child of twelve years old. "
THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY, GRANDSON OF
LOUIS THE FOURTEENTH.
HE Duke of Burgundy, pupil of Fenelon, was
walking in the streets of Versailles, during a
time of great scarcity, and as his benevolent dis-
position was well known, the number of poor who soli-
cited his charity Soon exhausted his purse. Having
nothing more to give, he detached several diamonds
from an order he was wearing, and handed them to a
gentleman of his suite, saying, " Go and sell them, and
so, according to the words of the gospel, cause these
stones to be made bread. "
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? 176
BEAUTIFUL SAYINGS.
THE DUKE OF MAINE.
T the time that the fame of the great Conde was
at its height, and all Paris rang with his victo-
ries, the Duke of Maine, then quite a child, was
one day amusing himself very noisily in an apartment,
in which the general also happened to be: the Conde
was disturbed, and complained of the noise the Duke
made. "I only wish, Sir," said the child, "that I
made as much noise as you do. "
HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES, SON OF JAMES
THE FIRST.
ENRY, Prince of Wales, son of James the First,
having, when quite a child, cut his finger, one of
his attendants sucked out the blood. "Now,"
said the Prince, jokingly, "if, which God forbid! my
father, myself, and the rest of our kindred should fail,
you might claim the crown, for you have in you the
blood royal. "
Observing once, as he was travelling, a stack of
corn, it struck him as similar in shape to the top he
used to play with. "That's a good top," said he.
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? BEAUTIFUL SAYINGS.
177
"Why do you not then play with it? " observed one
of his attendants. "Do you set it up for me, and I
will," smartly answered the prince.
FRANCOIS BEAUCHATEAU.
HE fame of the infant poet, Beauchateau, having
reached the ears of Anne of Austria, mother of
Louis the Fourteenth, she sent for him to court,
and conversed with him upon many subjects, in French,
Italian, and Spanish. Surprised at his intelligence
and acquirements, "How is it," said she, "that you can
have so much wit and knowledge at your age? " "Oh,"
replied the young poet, "when we approach the divi-
nities of the earth, it is natural that we should be in-
spired. "
Beauchateau had been received by the queen-
mother without ceremony or parade, and preserved
all his presence of mind, and freedom of manner;
but Cardinal Mazarine invited him to a brilliant
court party, and, awed by the persons and the magnifi-
cence that surrounded him, he became timid and silent.
An amiable and high-bred lady, however, wishing to
encourage him, whispered a few kind words in his ear,
and he instantly replied by the following impromptu:
N
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? 178 BEAUTIFUL SAYINGS.
"Tant d'e? clat, j'en conviens, m'a trouble? , m'a surpris.
Je cherche de l'esprit, plaignez mon sort funeste,
Puisqu'ici chacun m'a tout pris,
Comment se peut-il, qu'il m'en reste? "
Another day when Beaucha^teau was reproached
with his love of play, which they told him was un-
worthy of his superior mind, he laughed, and said:
"Pour les jeux et les vers mon ardeur est e? gale,
Car de mon a^ge enfin je dois subir la loi,
Et, poe? te a` dix ans, je sens bien que pour moi,
Le plus beau des sonnets ne vaut pas une balle. "
SIR FRANCIS BACON.
jjjlR Francis Bacon, Baron of Verulam, from his
early childhood displayed a sprightliness and vi-
gour of intellect beyond the common level. One
day when Queen Elizabeth asked him how old he was,
he readily and smartly replied, "Just two years younger
than your majesty's happy reign. " The queen was so
well pleased with this sprightly compliment from a
child, that she afterwards frequently amused herself
with talking to him, and asking him questions, and
used jokingly to call him, her young Lord Keeper.
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? LOVE OF KNOWLEDGE AND EARLY
ACQUIREMENTS.
"Never, before
This happy child, did I get any thing;
And, when I am in heaven, I shall desire
To see what this child does, and praise my Maker. "
Shakspeare.
NOWLEDGE is the most valuable of all posses-
sions, and the only one of which no outward
circumstances can deprive us: but it is not the
gift of nature: talents, even, do not always ensure it:
it is the fruit of pains: it is the reward of applica-
tion; and Childhood is the season of instruction.
Then is the memory most retentive, the mind most
inquisitive; and to Princes, who in after-life have
weightier duties, and more engrossing occupations and
cares, than those which fall to the lot of common men,
an early application to study is of great moment.
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? 180 LOVE OP KNOWLEDGE AND
An early thirst for knowledge has given a presage
of future greatness in many of our celebrated men, and
we have very wonderful accounts of the acquirements
of some illustrious children at an early age.
CHILDHOOD OF ALFRED THE GEEAT.
LFRED the Great gave very early marks of
those great virtues and shining talents, by which,
during the most difficult times, he saved his
country from utter ruin and subversion.