putes between him and the Mother, or the Nurse, concerning the Nature of Aliment. The poor woman never dined but he denied her some dish or other, which he judged prejudicial to her milk. One day she had a longing desire to a piece of beef, and as she stretched her hand towards it, the old gentleman drew it away, and spoke to this effect: Hadst thou read the Ancients, O Nurse, thou wouldst prefer the welfare of the Infant which thou nourishest, to the indulging of an irregular and voracious Appetite. Beef, it is true, may confer a Robustness on the limbs of my son, but will hebetate and clog his Intellectuals." While he spoke this, the Nurse looked upon him with much anger, and now and then cast a wishful eye upon the Beef.-"Passion (continued the Doctor, still holding the dish) throws the mind into too violent a fermentation: it is a kind of Fever of the soul, or, as Horace expresses it, a Short Madness. Consider, Woman, that this day's Suction of my son may cause him to imbibe many ungovernable Passions, and in a manner spoil him for the temper of a Philosopher. Romulus, by sucking a Wolf, became of a fierce and savage disposition; and were I to breed some Ottoman Emperor, or Founder of a Military Commonwealth, perhaps I might indulge thee in this carnivorous Appetite."What, interrupted the Nurse, Beef spoil the understanding? that's fine indeed-how then could our Parson preach as he does upon Beef, and Pudding

* So stale and coarse a jest on parsons might have been spared, though put indeed in the mouth of an old woman.

too, if you go to that? Don't tell me of your Ancients, had not you almost killed the poor babe with a dish of Demonial black Broth?" Lacedemonian black Broth, thou would'st say (replied Cornelius), but I cannot allow the surfeit to have been occasioned by that Diet, since it was recommended by the Divine Lycurgus. No, Nurse, thou must certainly have eaten some meats of ill digestion the day before, and that was the real cause of his disorder. Consider, Woman, the different Temperaments of different Nations: What makes the English phlegmatic and melancholy, but Beef? what renders the Welsh so hot and choleric, but Cheese and Leeks? the French derive their levity from their Soups, Frogs, and Mushrooms: I would not let my Son dine like an Italian, lest like an Italian he should be jealous and revengeful: the warm and solid diet of Spain may be more beneficial, as it might endue him with a profound Gravity, but at the same time he might suck in with their food their intolerable Vice of Pride. Therefore, Nurse, in short, I hold it requisite to deny you at present, not only Beef, but likewise whatsoever any of those Nations eat." During this speech, the Nurse remained pouting and marking her plate with the knife, nor would she touch a bit during the whole dinner. This the old Gentleman observing, ordered that the Child, to avoid the risk of imbibing ill humours, should be kept from her breast all that day, and be fed with Butter, mixed with Honey, accord

• A fine and solid ridicule on those who assign the characters of different nations to their food and diet alone. Sir W. Temple has done this in more than one of his essays.

ing to a Prescription he had met with somewhere in Eustathius upon Homer. This indeed gave the Child a great looseness, but he was not concerned at it, in the opinion that whatever harm it might do his body, would be amply recompensed by the improvements of his understanding. But from thenceforth he insisted every day upon a particular diet to be observed by the Nurse; under which having been long uneasy, she at last parted from the family, on his ordering her for dinner the Paps of a Sow with Pig; taking it as the highest indignity, and a direct Insult upon her Sex and Calling.

Four

years of

young

Martin's life passed away in

squabbles of this nature. Mrs. Scriblerus considered

it was now time to instruct him in the fundamentals of Religion, and to that end took no small pains in teaching him his Catechism. But Cornelius looked upon this as a tedious way of Instruction, and therefore employed his head to find out more pleasing methods, the better to induce him to be fond of learning. He would frequently carry him to the Puppetshow1 of the Creation of the world, where the Child with exceeding delight gained a notion of the History of the Bible. His first rudiments in profane history were acquired by seeing of Raree-Shows, where he was brought acquainted with all the Princes. of Europe. In short the old Gentleman so contrived it, to make every thing contribute to the improvement of his knowledge, even to his very Dress. He in

The common Puppet-shows, on religious subjects, were certainly originally taken from, and were remains of, the old mysteries.

vented for him a Geographical suit of clothes, which might give him some hints of that Science, and likewise some knowledge of the Commerce of different Nations. He had a French Hat with an African Feather, Holland Shirts and Flanders Lace, English Cloth lined with Indian Silk, his Gloves were Italian, and his Shoes were Spanish: he was made to observe this, and daily catechised thereupon, which his Father was wont to call, "Travelling at home." He never gave him a Fig or an Orange but he obliged him to give an account from what Country it came. In Natural History he was much assisted by his Curiosity in Sign-Posts, insomuch that he hath often confessed he owed to them the knowledge of many creatures which he never found since in any Author, such as White Lions, Golden Dragons, &c. He once thought the same of Green Men, but had since found them mentioned by Kercherus, and verified in the History of William of Newbury2.

His disposition to the Mathematics was discovered very early, by his drawing parallel lines on his bread and butter, and intersecting them at equal Angles, so as to form the whole Superficies into Squares. But in the midst of all these Improvements, a stop was put to his learning the Alphabet, nor would he let him proceed to Letter D, till he could truly and dis

* Gul. Neubrig. book i. ch. 27. P.

Pascal's Life-Locke of Educ. &c. P.-There are some extravagant lies told of the excellent Pascal's amazing genius for Mathematics in his early youth; and some trifling directions given for the introduction to knowledge in Mr. Locke's book of Education.

tinctly pronounce C in the ancient manner, at which the Child unhappily boggled for near three months. He was also obliged to delay his learning to write, having turned away the writing-Master because he knew nothing of Fabius's Waxen Tables.

Cornelius having read and seriously weighed the methods by which the famous Montaigne was educated, and resolving in some degree to exceed them, resolved he should speak and learn nothing but the learned Languages, and especially the Greek; in which he constantly eat and drank, according to Homer. But what most conduced to his easy attainment of this Language, was his love of Ginger-bread; which his Father observing, caused it to be stampt with the Letters of the Greek Alphabet; and the Child the very first day eat as far as Iota. By his particular application to this language above the rest, he attained so great a proficiency therein, that Gronovius ingenuously confesses he durst not confer with this child in Greek at eight years old, and at four

One of the few writers whose many egotisms are interesting and amusing; and who by laying open what passed in his own heart, has given us a great insight into human nature. The minute detail of the manner in which he was educated is very entertaining.

5 Who was taught Latin in his nurse's arms, and not suffered to hear a word of his mother-tongue, till he could speak the other perfectly.

So Montaigne says of his Latin-George Bucanan et Mark Antoine Muret, mes precepteurs domestiques, m'ont dit souvent que j'avois ce langage en mon enfance si prest et si à mains qu'ils craignoient à m'accoster.-Somme, nous nous latinizames tant, qu'il en regorgea jusqu'à nos villages tout autour, ou il y a encore, et ont pris pied par l'usage plusieurs appellations Latines d'Artisans et d'Outils.