Her hearth was clean; her sportive children raised
The smile of nature when the peat-fire blazed;
Nor did Tom ever love, directly, drink ;-
He only loved to talk, and not to think.
He hated home, he never paid his debts;
He shot at turkeys and encouraged bets.
But O, to talking lips, there oft does come
A little thirst, and, next, a little rum;
And all may see, if watchful to explore,
Who drinks a little, craves a little more.
Thus Tom went on, by hope and pleasure led-
His clothes grew ragged, and his nose grew red.
His wife, by want and sorrow mortified,
Stormed at her lazy spouse, and sometimes cried.
OI have seen her wild and tangled hair,

As if a thousand mice had nestled there;
Have seen her garments, round her body furled,
The spoil of all the rag-bags in the world;
So dirty, too, as if the sullen jade
Had never heard that soap was ever made;
A rug about her head; her slip-shod feet,
Grimed with the mud of every dirty street.
Yes, I have seen the girl, once fair and nice,
Transformed. By what? Why, by the Joys of Vice.
Tom, too, her husband, by the self-same rule,
Found that his wisdom proved him for a fool.
One night (his cash and credit nearly spent)

To his dear spot, the grog-shop, Thomas went.

It stormed, the winds blew loud; the pattering rain Came down in sheets; 't was dark; but all in vainTom needs must go-he went-began to sip

His nutmeg beverage from a mug of flip;

He drank, and sung his song with warmest glee;
The more he drank, the more good-natured he;

He grew religious, too, and often swore
He had that season read his Bible o'er;
And found it there recorded, firm and sure,

A man might drink provided he was poor;
Kings must not guzzle wine; but poor men may,
And who's more poor than I, says Tom, I pray.

The hour of parting came, and Tom must go
Home from the sweetest heaven he found below:
'T was a dark, windy, blowing, dismal night;
His head was heavy and his heels were light;
(In such a night, with such a brain as thine,
"T was hard, O Tom, to draw a perfect line :)
He lost his way; and, most unlucky, found
The very heaven and earth were turning round;
He met a ditch and never rose therefrom-
It was the dying bed of drunken Tom.

Some say a hog, (I scarce can think it true)
That very evening, lost his balance too;
And, rolling in the ditch, where Tom reposed,
Together, side by side, their eyes they closed;
If so, their grave-stone might read rather queer,-
"Weep, reader, weep; two hogs lie buried here."
Take, then, ye young, a poet's best advice;
And, if you like them, choose the Joys of Vice.

LITERARY NOTICES.

A History of Harvard University, from its foundation, in the year 1636, to the Period of the American Revolution. By the late Benjamin Peirce, A. M. Librarian of the University.

The habits of Mr. Peirce's mind fitted him eminently for the labor of writing the history of Harvard College. To the attainments of the scholar he added the sagacity and experience of the man of the world. His industry was untiring, and the successful application of it, is clearly enough shown in his elaborate catalogue of the Library in four large octavos. In point of taste and style, Mr. Pierce's writing will stand a fair comparison with the purest English compositions of the day. His language is chosen with a severity of judgement, and his sentences are formed with an accuracy of construction, that will stand the test of the sharpest criticism. The materials of his work are sought in their original sources, all of which Mr. Pierce examined with the minutest investigation, and left scarcely anything for future writers to do, towards illustrating the history of Harvard during the same period.

Then the work, in point of style, authority, and the interest of the subject, possesses uncommon attractions. When we read it, we feel that its excellent author was animated by the heartiest love of his Alma Mater, and that his picture of her various fortunes is not a mere cold delineation, but is wrought up with the ardor of one whose heart was in the work. His sketches of the characters of the successive Presidents are drawn with a masterly hand, and evince a rare and refined knowledge of human nature. We would turn our readers attention to the character of President Leverett, as a good example of this kind.

66

His qualifications for the office were not only eminent in degree, but singularly various. It is seldom that a man can be found, at any time, who unites in his person so many of the talents and qualities, which are desirable in the head of a University, as were possessed by President Leverett. He had a great and generous soul." His natural abilities were of a very high order. His attainments were profound and extensive. He was well acquainted with the learned languages, with the arts and sciences, with history, philosophy, law, divinity, politics; and such was his reputation for knowledge of men and things, that, "in almost every doubtful and difficult case," he was resorted to, for information and advice. To his wisdom and knowledge he added great firmness, resolution, and energy of character. His great abilities being consecrated to the service of God and of his generation, he was never deterred by difficulties or dangers from any undertaking, which Providence seemed to impose upon him. He prosecuted his plans with invincible constancy, diligence, and cheerfulness. The accomplisment of them was frequently the reward of this untiring perseverance; but if at any time his efforts were not attended with success, his strength of mind was equally conspicuous under the disappointment. It was in truth not his own will, but the will of God, that was his rule of life; this will be discerned in the failure, as well as in the success of his undertakings; and whatever was the result of them, he enjoyed at least the satisfaction arising from earnest, zealous, and faithful endeavors to perform his duty.

In common with others, who have rendered important services to mankind, and made themselves truly great, he early acquired, and retained through life, the invaluable habit of industry.

He possessed also those attractions, which are conferred by the graces; being, from the sphere in which he has always moved, a gentleman, as well as a scholar and a man of business.

All his endowments, natural and acquired, all the operations of his mind and heart, were subjected to the control of religious and moral principle. He was a pious and good, as well as a great man. As might have been expected from one so enlightened, he was liberal and catholic in his sentiments and feelings; and though, among the various institutions of the commonwealth, he had the preservation of its religious establishments greatly at heart, "he did not place religion so much in particular forms and modes of worship, or discipline, as in those substantial and weighty matters of the Gospel, righteousness, faith, and charity."

With so many solid and brilliant recommendations, and with the experience, which his former connexion with the College (as Tutor) had happily given him, he brought to the station, in which he was to pass the residue of his days, a spirit of government, which was never, probably, manifested in greater perfection. Such was the weight of his character; such his reputation for talents, learning, and virtue; such the "majesty and marks of greatness in his speech, his behavior, and his very countenance;" and so admirably did he temper severity with mildness; that the students were inspired with reverence and affection for him at the same time. The result, it is almost unnecessary to say, was obedience and order. Those princely qualities distinguished him, indeed, when a young man, and a Tutor in the College. "For forty years together," says Dr. Colman, "he has shone in this place, and in the eyes of this society, in near a meridian lustre. For his morning, which we do but just remember, was so bright that it seemed to us even then the noon of life; and the College and country greatly rejoiced in his early and uncommon light. Near forty years past we saw the College flourishing under his wise instruction and government, his faithful watch, his diligent and authoritative inspection. We then beheld him esteemed highly in love and honored greatly by those that were his fathers in age; and as for us, we reverenced, feared, and loved him as our father, and as if he had been then gray in the Presi dent's chair. The young men saw him and hid themselves, and the aged arose and stood up. Then men gare ear to him, and waited and kept silence at his counsel. His glory was then fresh in him and his speech dropped upon us.'

Mr. Peirce is not simply a grave and solemn historian. An agreeable vein of quiet humor runs along some parts of the work, which is in fine keeping with the subject. Our Puritan ancestors, with all their excellencies of character, it must be confessed, had many laughable peculiarities. Mr. Peirce never fails to treat their memory with that respect which their sturdy independence, their love of good learning, and their disinterested sacrifices deserve; but, at the same time, he is not insensible to the mirthful emotions, which their absurdities, in conduct and opinion, inspire.

It is curious to see how nearly the little puritans resembled students of later periods. We are apt to think that a breach of decorum, or a sally of dissipation is a thing impossible to occur, when freshmen wore wigs and knee-buckles, and the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures were read daily and publicly. But that it was not out of the range of possibilities, the following paragraph will show :

Such was the operation of these laws for some years longer; till, in the natural progress of things, occasions arose for the vigorous application of them, and for such alterations and additions, as resulted at length in another revisal and amendment of the code. Those occasions were sometimes furnished by "profane cursing and swearing" among the students; "by their frequenting alehouses;" by their "improving persons in fetching liquors;" by "the extravagant expenses at taverns and retailing houses, for wine, strong beer, and distilled spirits," incurred by some of the undergraduates, and their "taking up such liquors on score, until 64

VOL. V.

their accounts amounted to a very enormous sum," a practice, which, from "the too liberal use of such liquors," was supposed to have occasioned most of the disorders in the College.

Sometimes the evils to be remedied were "the breach of the Sabbath, more especially in time of public worship," the remedy for which was "the Tutors sitting in the meeting-house so as inore conveniently to oversee the scholars;" "combinations among the undergraduates for the perpetration of unlawful acts;" the "disorders of which they were guilty, by being absent from their chambers, contrary to law, at unseasonable times of night;"the crime of taking cuts out of books" belonging to the public Library; the loose practice of "going and staying out of town without leave;""the costly habits of many of the scholars, their wearing gold or siver lace, or brocades, silk night-gowns, &c. as tending to discourage persons from giving their children a college education, and as inconsistent with the gravity and decency proper to be observed in this Society;" "the extravagances of Commencement," and irregularities on that occasion; the "disorders upon the day of the Senior Sophisters meeting to choose the officers of the class," when "it was usual for each scholar to bring a bottle of wine with him, which practice the Committee (that reported upon it) apprehend has a natural tendency to produce disorders ;' "riotous disorders frequently committed on the quarter-days and evenings," on one of which in 1764," the windows of all the Tutors and divers other windows were broken," so that, in consequence, a vote was passed that "the observation of quarter-days, in distinction from other days, be wholly laid aside, and that the undergraduates be obliged to observe the studying hours and to perform the College exercises on quarter-day, and the day following as at other times." The prominent evil to be combated at one time, notwithstanding there was no theatre yet in Boston, was theatrical exhibitions; and it was voted in 1762, that no student should" be an actor in, a spectator at, or any ways concerned in any stage-plays, interludes, or theatrical entertainments in the town of Cambridge or elsewhere," under the severest penalties. Discipline, however, took an opportunity now and then to relax its brow, as in 1761, when a vote was passed that it shall be deemed no offence, if the scholars shall in a sober manner entertain one another and strangers with punch (which, as it is now usually made, is no intoxicating liquor,) any law, usage, or custom to the contrary notwithstanding." But of indulgences it was not liberal. It could not be, and preserve its character; for the Sage, called Discipline," though not morose, tyrannical or prying, is by nature, serious, watchful, exact, rigid. Occasionally some striking occurrence called for the interposition of the lawgivers of the College; as in 1755, when " great disorders committed, and even indignities and personal insults offered to some of the Tutors by some of the pupils," produced the appointment of a Committee of the Overseers to make inquiry into them, and drew from that Board a vote of censure upon the Scholars; and as in 1766, when there were "great disorders among the Students, tending to subvert all government."

But the most fruitful source of trouble, was the Commons. This was not only the case in the days of our ancestors, but has been until within a very few years. What intestine commotions, what rebellions, what speeches at class-meetings, what memorials, what remonstrances, have not the college commons given rise to, even in our day! It seems a strange thing, that a century and a half should have gone by, before it was learned that a very simple remedy would prevent all difficulty from this quarter,—that is, to put the commons on the same footing with all other boarding establishments, compelling none to resort to them, but fixing a reasonable price for such as chose to avail themselves of such a convenience. We hear, now-a-days, of no trouble arising from bad butter, bad coffee, or bad meat. We hear of no petty thefts, no boring into molasses barrels, no carrying off of picked turkeys or dressed pigs; but all goes on as quietly and orderly as in the best regulated house in town. This plainly shows, that however well our ancestors understood things spiritual, they were children, compared with us, respecting things carnal.

We close our notice of this admirable work, by quoting the following extraordinary passage. What would be said if a Sophomore or Junior of this "enlightened age," should be whipped in the library, under the superintendence of Mr. President Quincy and Dr. Ware, with the solemn ceremonial of public prayers?

Among the alterations, one of the most remarkable related to the penal laws. At the period when Harvard College was founded, one of the modes of punishment in the great schools of England and other parts of Europe was corporal chastisement. It was accordingly introduced here, and was no doubt frequently put in practice. An instance of its infliction, as part of the sentence upon an offender, is presented in Judge Sewall's MS. diary, with the particulars of a ceremonial, which was reserved probably for special occasions. His account will

afford some idea of the manners and spirit of the age: "June 15, 1674, Thomas Sargeant was examined by the Corporation finally. The advice of Mr. Danforth, Mr. Stoughton, Mr. Thacher, Mr. Mather (the present) was taken. This was his sentence;

"That being convicted of speaking blasphemous words concerning the H. G. he should be therefore publicly whipped before all the scholars.

"2. That he should be suspended as to taking his degree of Bachelor. (This sentence read before him twice at the President's, before the Committee, and in the Library, before execution.)

"3. Sit alone by himself in the Hall, uncovered at meals, during the pleasure of the President and Fellows, and be in all things obedient, doing what exercise was appointed him by the President, or else be finally expelled the College. The first was presently put in execution in the Library (Mr. Danforth, Jr. being present) before the Scholars. He kneeled down, and the instrument, Goodman Hely, attended the President's word as to the performance of his part in the work. Prayer was had before and after by the President. July 1, 1674."

Mr. Thomas Sargeant deserves to be immortalized as the last of the whipped. We commend the subject to some of our poets, who have exhausted the "Last Man," the "Last Supper," the "Last Bottle," and the like. What an unwrought mine of feeling, sentiment, and imagery, does this theme present,-THE LAST OF THE WHIPPED,-to the digger after poetical ore.

This history is brought down to a period just before the American Revolution. We should have mentioned before, that the editorial labor was performed by Mr. John Pickering, whose name is identified with American scholarship. Will not the same accomplished mind and ready pen carry on the work which Mr. Peirce so happily began?

The Shade of the Past. For the Celebration of the close of the Second Century since the establishment of the Thursday Lecture. By N. L. Frothingham, Pastor of the First Church.

To this repetition of a title-page, we add an explanatory sentence. For the benefit of some, into whose hand our Magazine may fall, and who may not know the fact, it should be stated distinctly, that a weekly Lecture is held on Thursdays, at the First Church in Boston, at which the ministers of the Boston Association officiate, ordinarily, in alphabetical succession.

one fault, and that we When it is perceived, itself, without the too

With the sermon before us, we can find but can express in four words :-IT IS TOO SHORT. as it is by every reader, that the subject, in common aid of tiresome amplification, is pregnant with interesting historical facts and affecting reminiscences, and when it is also perceived that the text is one of the most poetical and appropriate that