philosopher, and the sobriety of the priest with the playfulness of the schoolboy guile he knew not; for, to adopt the expression of his amiable friend Mrs Seymour, "his heart was as simple, and as open, as the daisy in the morning sun." : His face was certainly anything but "good-looking," and yet, when he smiled, there was an animation and sweetness that redeemed the otherwise austere expression of his angular features; so benevolent indeed, and so winning was this smile, as at once to excite those sentiments of respect and admiration which the presence of a superior person is wont to inspire; but his superiority was rather that of the heart than of the head; not that we would insinuate any inferiority in intellect, but that his moral excellences were so transcendent as to throw into the shade all those mental qualities which he possessed in common with his class. He entertained a singular aversion to the mathematics, a prejudice which we are inclined to refer to his disappointment in the senate-house; for although he was known at Cambridge as one of those "pale beings in spectacles and cotton stockings," commonly called "reading men," yet, after all his exertions, he only succeeded in obtaining the "wooden spoon," an honour which dévolves upon the last of the "junior optimes." Whether his failure arose from an exuberant or a deficient genius, or, to speak phrenologically, from an excess in his number of bumps, or a defect in his bump of numbers, we are really unable to state, never having had an opportunity of verifying our suspicions by a manual examination of his cranium; he was, however, deeply versed in classical literature, and so passionately devoted to Virgil, that he rarely lost an opportunity of quoting his favourite poet; and, although these quotations, vented in mangled forms, too generally pervaded his conversation, they were sometimes apposite, and now and then even witty. But, notwithstanding the delight which he experienced in a lusus verborum in a learned language, of such contradictory materials was he composed, that his antipathy to an English pun was bitter and inveterate, and the indignation it excited very frequently came into ludicrous contrast with the playful glee with which his friend Mr Seymour was ever ready to encourage and indulge in it. This peculiarity has been attributed, but we speak merely from common report, to a disgust which the vicar contracted for that species of spurious wit, during his frequent intercourse with the Johnians, a race of Cambridge students who have, from time immemorial, been identified with the most profligate class of punsters; be this, however, as it may, we are inclined to believe It is not easy to conjecture the ori- | College have so long rejoiced. If the gin of this tradition, nor after consider- Johnians, however, are guiltless of the able research can we discover the slight- sin of punning, they have certainly been est clue to explain the sobriquet of Hogs, the cause of that sin in others; for in which the members of Saint John's instance, the bridge erected over the that a person who resides much amongst those who are addicted to this vice, unless he quickly takes the infection, acquires a sort of constitutional insusceptibility, like nurses, who pass their lives in infected apartments with perfect safety and impunity. His favourite, and we might add his chief pursuit, beyond the circle of his profession, was the study of antiquities; he was, as we have already stated, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries; had collected a very tolerable series of ancient coins, and possessed sufficient critical acumen to distinguish between Attic arugo and the spurious verdure of the modern counterfeit. In short, he was a keen archæological mouser of the genuine breed, rejoicing in dusty nooks and damp mysterious cells. Often had he undertaken an expedition of a hundred miles to inspect the interior of an ancient barrow, or to examine the mouldering fragments of some newly-discovered monument; indeed, like the connoisseur in cheese, blue-mould and decay were the favourite objects of his taste, and the sure passports to his favour; for he despised all living testimony, but that of worms and maggots. A coin with the head of a living sovereign passed through his hands with as little resistance as water through a sieve, but he grasped the head of an Antonine or Otho with insatiable and relentless avarice. And yet would he, amidst some dry and dusky disquisition upon an obscure antiquarian question, suddenly startle and enliven you by a bright flash of poetic fancy, suggesting the idea of a gay wild flower springing from the crevices of a Gothic ruin. Mr Twaddleton's figure exceeded the middle stature, and was so extremely slender as to give him the air and appearance of a tall man. He was usually dressed in an old-fashioned suit of black cloth, consisting of a single-breasted coat, with a standing collar, and deep comprehensive cuffs, and a flapped waistcoat; but so awkwardly did these vestments conform with the contour of his person, that we might have supposed them the production of those Laputan tailors who wrought by mathematical principles, and held in sovereign contempt the illiterate fashioners who deemed it necessary to measure the forms of their customers; although it was whispered by certain censorious spinsters in the village that the aforesaid mathematical artists were better acquainted with the angles of the Seven Dials than with the squares of the West End. They farther surmised that the vicar's annual journey to London, which in truth was undertaken with no other objects than those of attending the anniversary of the Society of Antiquaries, on St George's day, and of inspecting the cabinets of the British Museum, and that of his old crony, the celebrated medalist of Tavistock Street, was for the laudable purpose of recruiting his wardrobe. If the aforesaid coat, with its straggling CAM, to connect the new and old the latter observed that were a Johncourts, has been termed the "Isthmus ian to hang himself upon it, the jury of Sues"-and on the author passing might well bring in a verdict, "Sus over this bridge with Mr Coleridge, per col." and disproportioned suburbs, possessed an amplitude of dimensions which ill-accorded with the slender wants of his person, this misapplied liberality was more than compensated by the rigid economy exhibited in the nether part of his costume (the innominabiles of Southey), which evidently had not been designed by a contemporary artisan; not so his shoes, which, for the accommodation of those unwelcome parasites vulgarly called corns, were constructed in the, form of a battledore, and, like those of the amiable sloven in Horace,* displayed such an unbecoming quantity of leather, that, as Ned Hopkins, a subaltern wit of the village alehouse, observed, however economical their parson might appear, he was undoubtedly supported in extravagance." Nor did the natural association between tithes and "corn-bags" escape his observation, but was repeated with various other allusions of equal piquancy, to the no small annoyance of the reverend gentleman, and, as he complained, to the disparagement of his cloth. After the social repast had been concluded, Tom proposed a ramble through the shrubbery. He was anxious to revisit the scene of his former sports; and Louisa readily met his wishes, for she was also desirous of showing him the botanical clock, which had been planned and completed during his absence. Mr and Mrs Seymour accompanied their children, and as they walked across the lawn, Tom asked his father whether he remembered the promise he had made him on quitting home for school, that of furnishing him with some new amusements during the holidays. "I perfectly remember," said his father, "the promise to which you allude, and I hope that you equally well recollect the conditions with which it was coupled. When you received a copy of Mrs Marcet's instructive Dialogues on Natural Philosophy, I told you that, after you had studied the principles which that work so clearly explains, you would have but little difficulty in understanding the philosophy of toys, or the manner in which each produced its amusing effects; and that, when the midsummer holidays commenced, I would successively supply you with a new amusement, whenever you could satisfactorily explain the principles of those you already possessed. Was not that our compact?" "It was," exclaimed Tom with great eagerness; "and I am sure I shall win a prize, whenever you try me, and I hope my mamma and sisters will be present." "Certainly," replied Mr Seymour; "and I trust that Louisa and Fanny, who are of an age to understand the subject, will not prove uninterested spectators." Mrs Seymour here remarked that Madame Dacier had acknowledged et male laxus In pede calceus hæret."-Sat. i. 3. 31. herself much indebted for her successful career in literature to her having attended the lessons given to her brother in early life. "Exactly so," said Mr Seymour; "she alluded to the lessons given by her father, M. Le Fevre; and I hope that John will, in like manner, profit by our scheme; and since I shall necessarily require, for illustration, certain toys which can scarcely afford any amusement to a boy of Tom's age and acquirements, it is but fair that they should be transferred into younger hands; our little philosopher, Matthew, will also, I am sure, enter into the spirit of our pastimes with equal satisfaction and advantage." “Thank you! thank you! dear papa," was simultaneously shouted by several voices; and the happy children looked forward to the morrow with that mixed sensation of impatience and delight which always attends juvenile anticipations. On the following morning, the vicar was seen approaching, when Tom and his sisters immediately ran forward to greet him. "My dear boy," exclaimed the vicar, "I am truly rejoiced to see you!-when did you arrive from school?-How goes on Virgil?—Hey, my boy?—You must be delighted with the great Mantuan bard;-now confess, you little Trojan, can you eat a cheesecake without being reminded of the Harpy's prophecy, and its fulfilment, as discovered by young Ascanius ?— 'Heus! etiam mensas consumimus? inquit Iulus.'* But, bless me, how amazingly you have grown! and how healthy you look!" Tom took advantage of this pause in the vicar's address, which had hitherto flowed in so uninterrupted and rapid a stream as to preclude the possibility of any reply to his questions, to inform him that his father was on the lawn, and desirous of seeing him. "Mr Twaddleton," exclaimed Mr Seymour, "you are just in time to witness the commencement of a series of amusements, which I have proposed for Tom's instruction during the holidays." "Amusement and instruction," replied the vicar, "are not synonymous in my vocabulary." “Oh, then, I perceive you are not of the school of Anaxagoras, who invented half-holidays, that the children might have time to learn something," observed Mr Seymour. "Allow me to ask," said the vicar, "what the word 'Amusement' implies, if it does not denote a temporary suspension of, or a turning away from, severer studies (a Musis); for remember we are told that, with the ancients, the Muses not only symbolized poetry, but also • "See ! we devour the plates on which we fed." -En. vii. 116. These edible platters may still be seen at a Persian feast, where they serve not only for plates but for navkins.-ED. † See Lectures on the Study of Words, by Richard Chenevix Trench, B.D.; a work which merits our highest commendation. history, geometry, and other studies: in like manner the word Diversion expresses the turning aside from the labour in which we are daily engaged." 66 A very sound etymology, no doubt; but let me remind you," said Mr Seymour, "that the Muses even, so far from disdaining amusement, as you would imply, actually sought intervals of sportive leisure, to amuse, or perhaps I ought to say, to unmuse themselves: so, at least, the poet tells us— 'Sunt etiam Musis sua ludicra mista Carmonis But let that pass for the present. As you have assailed me by a double-worded shot, it becomes my pleasure, in return, to prove how readily two words can put you out of court- CRYSTAL PALACE!'wherein the Muses and Graces, while they breathe forth their wisest and softest inspirations, unite in one jocund round of endless recreation; then never let it be said that instruction and amusement cannot be agreeably and profitably associated, when amidst blossoming flowers, and sparkling fountains, Philosophy can hold her court, and receive from Nature and Art the richest contributions for contemplation, and the choicest gifts for diversion. Is not this, my dear vicar, the very symbol of PHILOSOPHY IN SPORT?" "The problem you would endeavour to solve appears to be this," said the vicar, "how to reconcile the cravings of youth for amusement, with the sterner demands of a grey-beard for instruction. I frankly admit that the Crystal Palace' has been an attempt to bridge over the gulf." "Not the 'Pons Asinorum,' I hope," observed Mr Seymour. 66 Why as to that," answered the vicar, “I willingly adopt the expression, provided you give it the true academic interpretation, as signifying a triumph over a first difficulty; but I have yet to learn how subjects so adverse in principle and so utterly discordant in action, as Sport and Science, can with safety be practically brought into juxtaposition—that is the question-but let me hear your fairy scheme, and have done with it." "I have long thought,” said Mr Seymour, “that all the first principles of natural philosophy might be easily taught, and beautifully illustrated, by the common toys and games which have been invented for the amusement of youth." "A fig for such philosophy!" was the unceremonious and chilling reply of the vicar. "What have boys," continued he, " to do with philosophy? Let them learn their grammar, scan their hexameters, and construe Virgil; it is time enough to inflict upon them the torments of science after their names have been entered on the University boards.” "I differ from you entirely, my worthy friend; the principles of natural philosophy cannot be too early inculcated, nor can they be too widely diffused. It is surely a great object to engage the prepos |