something when used by themselves. The word dog, means something; but the words small or great, only mean something when joined to other words. A small dog, or a great dog, means a dog smaller or greater than dogs commonly are. Small and great are relative terms. This butterfly is large, compared with other but terflies. You cannot distinguish one animal from another species, by calling it large or small. You cannot distinguish a horse by its colour. There are white, black, and red horses. Look at the feet of quadrupeds; are they alike?

C. No; some have claws, others have thick horny feet.

F. Such feet are hoofs. The feet which are parted, somewhat like fingers, are digitated. The cat and dog have digitated feet. Quadrupeds are divided into hoofed and digitated. To which division does the horse belong?

C. He is hoofed.

F. There are many kinds of horses; some not much bigger than a large dog; did you ever see a horse that was not hoofed?

C. Never.

F. Should a stranger tell you, Sir, horses are hoofed in this country; but in mine, where they are differently fed and treated, they have claws -Should you believe him?

C. No; because, in that case, the animal described by the stranger would not be a horse. F. An ox is hoofed, and so is a hog. What •rt of hoof has the horse?

C. It is round, and all in one piece.
F. Is that of a hog so?

C. No; it is divided.

F. A horse then is not only hoofed, but whole hoofed. How many quadrupeds do you think there are in the world, that are whole hoofed ? C. I don't know.

F. There are only three, that we are acquainted with. The horse, the ass, and the zebra. C. How do you distinguish the horse from the ass?

F. By the ears, mane, and tail. The ass has long clumsy ears; the horse has small, upright ears; the ass has hardly any mane; the horse's mane is full and flowing; the ass has a few hairs upon his tail; the horse has a long bushy tail.Tell me, what is a horse?

C. A horse is an animal of the quadruped kind; whole hoofed; with short erect ears, a flowing mane, and a tail covered with long hairs. F. No other animal resembles him in these particulars. You have given a definition of a horse.

C. What is a definition?

F. A definition relates what belongs to one thing, and not to any other thing.

When you tell all that belongs to a thing, you may tell something in which it is like other things. To tell all that can be told of the properties of a thing, is to give a description of it. Give me a description of a horse.

C. A horse is a fine large prancing creature, with slender legs, an arched neck, a sleek, smooth skin, and a tail that sweeps the ground; he snorts, and neighs very loud, and runs swift as the wind.

EVENINGS AT HOME.

EXPLANATIONS.

Ancient-old.

Philosopher a wise man.

Ancient Philosopher—a wise man who lived

a long time ago.

Century-a hundred years.

DIALOGUE II.

FATHER AND CHARLES.

F. What is a brute, Charles?

C. We call an animal without reason a brute. F. Do any brute animals resemble man? C. Monkeys look like men. How does a man differ from a monkey?

F. He possesses reason, which the monkey does not. You know the difference between the mind and the body?

C. Yes; the mind thinks. Have not brutes. mind?

F. What think you?

C. The dog knows his master, and when he loses him, he remembers him, and looks for him. He has a mind.

F. Every creature that lives, has some portion of mind, or intellect, as it is sometimes called. The intellect ofbrutes is called sagacity. Which possesses the greatest portion of sagacity, the oyster who lies still in his shell, or the affectionate dog?

C. The dog, surely. I have heard that man is a rational creature.

F. Which means, that he possesses more intellect than brutes.

C. Have brutes any language?

F. They have different cries, to express pleasure or pain; they are capable of sympathy. C. What is sympathy?

F. It is a feeling, caused by the feeling of

another.

C. I do not understand you.

F. If you see a person grieved, do you feel happy?

C. I feel sad.

F. If you see little boys very happy and gay, how do you feel then?

C. I feel happy and gay too.

F. You feel sad, because another is sad; and gay, because another is gay. You feel sympathy with others.

C. Do brutes show any signs of this feeling? F. Yes. Horses, which have been fed together, or which have worked together, are glad, ⚫ to meet when they have been parted. As soon as they see each other, they make a noise which expresses the pleasure they feel. Many other animals show sympathy. They love one another. This is affection.

C. If brutes have intellect, and affection, in what is man entirely different from them?

F. He has curiosity, or the love of knowledge; he can understand what is right, and what is wrong; he can tell his thoughts; he makes use of tools, or instruments; he uses fire; he laughs; he weeps; he believes in God, and hopes he shall live in another world. Brutes do none of these things.

Brutes sometimes live in great numbers together; then they are called gregarious.

When men live in large numbers togetherthat is society.

When an individual lives alone, he is said to be solitary.

A bird in a cage is solitary.

A flock of pigeons is gregarious. Bees, which live in large companies, are gregarious. When a gregarious animal is taken away from the rest of its species, it grows sad and inactive.

A bee, kept by itself, would not be "the busy bee," he would not build his cell skilfully, and spread his wax neatly--he would become miserable and idle; and he would soon die.

When a man lives far away from other menwhen he lives in prisons, or is left by ships alone on an island, he is not happy. He can do no good, he can feel no sympathy; he cannot converse or talk with any one; he cannot grow wiser or better.

If he is left alone when he is a little child, and can get food enough to keep him alive, but has nobody to teach him any thing, he grows up like a brute.

Some children have been left in this manner; people have found them when they had grown up; they could not speak, nor could they ever be taught to speak; they lived like brutes all their days.

C. Children ought to be very thankful then, who have parents and teachers to instruct them. F. Yes; for they are more helpless than young animals of any other species.

C. They must live a long time before they