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NO FICTION.

When first I saw thy gentle mien,
And doated on the view,

Oh, dared I think thou could'st have been
So fair, yet so untrue?

To me thou wast the imaged one
Of unpartaken hours;

Thou wast within my soul, a sun
To newly springing flowers.

This world 'twas made alone of thee--
All there, that hope desir'd;

Thou wast the dear divinity,

And I the one inspired.

Whilst thou wast true, bow nature seemed
With fairy hues o'erspread;

How gorgeously the day-god gleamed
In glory o'er my head!

I lov'd lone haunts---their silence was
Like eloquence to me ;

And every object seemed a glass
Reflecting thoughts of thee.

How blest that solitude's employ
When thou in thought wast near;

The fountain of a quiet joy,

That sparkled like its tear!

But thou art false---and gloomy seems
The gaudy world to me;
By day, by night, perturbing dreams
Convulse my brain with thee.

If ever in thine hours of joy,

A wandering thought of me,

Should mingle them with some alloy,
And check thy careless glee;

Thou'lt think of one whose soul can be
Heal'd by no earthly balm:
The rage of grief, his revelry;
Grief's sullenness, his calm.

Whose pilgrimage will briefly last,
For his heart wears away

With deep-graved records of the past,
Of love's impassioned day.

If but one half thou then could'st guess,
Of all his bosom's strife,

"Twould be enough of wretchedness To agonize thy life.

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You are well read, my dear Alfiden, therefore you know from the letters of that great philosopher, Lien Chi Altangi, that the English, at the time he wrote, possessed medical professors, inspired immediately from heaven, whose infallible power could heal all maladies whatsoever, and who made known their talents from motives of the purest benevolence; these virtuous examples of supernatural ability are still common in this happy land, but they fade into insignificance before a race of people with whose existence it has of late years been favored; a race, whose knowledge, as it has nobler aims than even the eternal sustenance of mere animal life, so may be supposed to have heaped proportionably greater benefits on their country: I mean the professors of instruction, or, in other words, private tutors and governesses of England; admiration and awe almost annul my faculties when I think of the perfections of these persons; and I know not how to describe them in terms that shall convey to you any adequate idea of their merits; but a brief account of the achievements they have already performed, and a relation of existing facts concerning the science and literature of the country, will perhaps give you a better idea of their excellencies, than any description of their abilities. Know, then, that in England it is not now necessary to study, in order to become learned. Schools and colleges must soon be abolished; application is needless; there are masters for every art who possess the power of bestowing instantaneous knowledge on their pupils. Wonderful as this may seem, I assure you that I had not been a fortnight in the country before I was convinced it was a truth. I learnt it partly by unavoidable inference from the published testimony of the masters themselves, partly from the belief in that testimony which I daily witnessed, and partly from the expectation which I found commonly to prevail of finding certain young persons whom they must be supposed to have instructed, possessed of a most extraordinary degree of learning. I saw, nevertheless, that these teachers did not put forth all their strength; that, whatever they might do by ability, they did not actually change in one moment ignorance into knowledge; and I supposed that there existed some check to the exercise of their power,

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of the precise nature of which I was uninformed. I was pondering upon this circumstance, when I accidentally learned from a friend, a fact which solved the mystery, namely, that there are laws in this island which prevent the transfer of more than a certain quantity at a time of many valuable commodities, without a special permission from the government : now, from observing the manner of instructing usually pursued by inspired masters, I have come to the conclusion, that their accomplishments are included in the list of these restricted goods; for no person that sees the wonders they engage to perform, can doubt that it would be easier to themselves to enlighten the minds of their pupils as by a stroke from heaven, than to divide their gifts as they do, and distribute them in a succession of exact shares to every learner. Such, however, is their manner-inspiration per lesson, that is, so much by the hour. This word, lesson, seems to be English, for a certain measure or quantity of information poured by miraculous means on the understanding; I see it continually made use of in sentences where it will admit of no other interpretation; it appears to be a definite term, implying a specific share of mental acquisition to be paid for at a certain rate: its contents, however, are arbitrary, more or less at the discretion of the different donors. Perfection in the desired accomplishment is promised by them all, and all bestow it in divisions, called lessons; but the number of lessons composing proficiency, varies with different masters, some vending their stock by wholesale, some by retail; one gentleman cutting his prizes into eight shares, another into sixteen, and so on, in infinite variety; completion of the whole quantity being certain, so many days after the payment of subscription. Another measure has lately been brought forward, called a section; ten lessons make one section, five sections one language; but this division being new, requires the explanation of the inventor to make it generally understood.

Under a process of instruction which ascertains beforehand the precise period of perfection, the capacity, memory, and previous disposition of the pupil, must of course be quite irrelative to his progress; no doubt, therefore, can reasonably be entertained of its efficacy nevertheless, in some instances, to satisfy the over prudent, and explain at once the merits of the system, "proficiency is guaranteed."

I have not yet been able to meet with any table reducing to an exact rate of progression, the number of hours or lessons necessary to be employed in gaining different accomplishments, settled according to their respective degrees of importance; but that such a one exists, I have little doubt, as I frequently hear it asked, in a way that shews the question to be answerable by some known standard," how long "does it take to learn music?" "When shall I be able to shake?" &c. &c. &c. I have, however, gained from the depositions of various teachers, some desultory information, which may afford you a few hints on the subject.

From one professor, I learnt that the French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Portuguese languages are to be had in measures of five sections; but that Hebrew, Greek, and Latin contain more.

From another, that the art of singing at sight is conferred with ease and certainty, in a few lessons.'

From another, that arithmetic, Algebra, mathematics, trigonometry, practical astronomy, mechanics, rhetoric, and logic, including, moreover, merit and virtue, are each attainable in eight lessons.

And from a fourth, that a perfect pronunciation of a foreign language, may be given in one month*.

I know, also, that a hand-writing of incomparable ease and elegance, may be acquired in one week.

There are, besides, innumerable plans of education laid down, and proceeded on, by another class of teachers, who are less definite in detailing their methods of inspiring, than the authors of the above decisive arrangements; these systems merely combine the greatest ease, with the greatest expedition; they do but "quickly enable "learners to accompany the piano-forte, and play in concert," or make" complete timists," or elegant practitioners, or scientific scholars," in an infinitely shorter period than can be accomplished by any other." They are only "unparalleled," incomparable, allsufficient, and exclusively perfect; here, you see, some difficulty of credence might arise, were it not for the reality of supernatural agency in this country. There are a great many different methods of teaching one accomplishment, and they are all " unparalleled;" this may be conceived, many roads may conduct to one spot,---the radii of a circle all converge to one centre, and these are all without a parallel, so far I understand; but the various paths of instruction are each without an equal, each is the most direct, each the shortest, each the only This appears to me a problem worthy to exercise the abilities of a mathematician laureate; at all events, it proves, beyond a doubt, that superhuman power in English teachers of which I have been speaking.

one.

As to the custom of performing miracles by degrees, and distributing their benefits piece-meal, it has important advantages, not apparent on a first view of the subject; persons who knew that a moment might give them accomplishments, which cost their forefathers the labor of years, might be too procrastinating in seeking to gain them; as it is notorious, that what we may do at any time, the time never comes that we do; and these procrastinators might absolutely die in their ignorance: on the other hand, if the supernatural power of teachers to give instantaneous instruction were openly set forth, obstinate individuals, astounded at the magnitude of their pretensions, might impertinently refuse their belief in them, and actually waste that valuable time in study, which might be devoted to boxing, racing, gambling, and every sort of elegant employment. Thus the greatest of blessings might become a curse; but the practice of administering inspiration after the same manner that ordinary

*The depositions to the above effect of all these gentlemen, except one (whose proclamation heralds universal harmony on the borrowed wings of the Magazines), with their several names thereunto respectively affixed, and also the declarations and signatures of many other vouchers for many similar wonders, may be found in registers raisonnés of important facts, published in England, called "The Times" and "The "Atlas."

knowledge is attained, however wonderful be the shortness of the time in which it is performed, obviates these evils by lulling suspicion asleep; the splendor of the truth, the reality of the wonder, being dimly seen, or seen but in part, even sceptics are drawn in to partake of its benefits in spite of themselves, in the same way that we compel children (poor victims!) to swallow large nauseous draughts of instruction, so ingeniously mixed up with their amusement, that they know not what it is that spoils the taste of their pleasure; the most obstinate of heretics will pay his money to be taught by the lesson, and will confidently expect perfection on the promised day; so, wealth and faith, the life and soul of national existence, are circulated and nurtured.

After detailing all this, I am reluctant to suggest notions which must damp the ardor of your admiration of this people; but truth obliges me to add, that notwithstanding all their seeming superiority, I doubt whether we have any reason to envy them that they are aided by some unearthly power, is indeed certain, but I know not whether the agent of that power be angel or demon; and circumstances I have lately discovered, make me fear the worst of these alternatives is the true one. It seems to me, that every thing perfectly incomprehensible in England, every thing that no other power on earth could effect, is done by the aid of a being, whose name, I am well satisfied, is not that of any God; a being, who builds ships as easily as children pile up card houses, and cuts likenesses out of iron, as fast as we should out of paper, a power they call steam: now I cannot help thinking that this being is employed in the new system of education; his engines, of fifty teacher power, must be required to do so much work in so short a time, a given time too, precisely his method,--it must be so the verbs are cut up, masticated, and digested in the brain; perception of harmony is conveyed into the ears, the muscles of the throat are forced to emit the voice, the hand is steadied, the eye-sight is corrected, the fingers are bent into pliability, and the limbs are practised into grace, all by means of this power.

I was so anxious to ascertain the truth or falsity of this hypothesis, that I, the other day, (not without considerable fear of offending) ventured to ask the question of an intelligent Englishman of my acquaintance; his answer was not direct, nor did I perfectly comprehend it, but as he did not deny the fact, I took it for granted I was right, and forebore to continue a subject which I judged must be unpleasant to him; "Sir," said I," do not these masters of whom I "have heard so much, teach by steam?" " Why, certainly," he answered," their success seems owing to their vapouring."

I have now to mention greater wonders: notwithstanding all the facility of learning enjoyed in this country, and the consequent amazing stock of knowledge that must be generally possessed, there is but one description of persons who appear to have profited by the advantage, in the degree that might be expected, namely, those daughters of tradespersons, and professional men, whose circumstances oblige them in their turn to devote their talents to the instruction of others. From motives of the kindest consideration, it seems an established

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