When it is thus more grain in the straw. beaten, it is spread in the air to be dried. Several men walk abreast to turn it over, each of whom, with his foot, makes a furrow in the layer of grain; so that, in a few moments, the whole mass is moved, and that part which was underneath is again exposed to the air." "The people in the East, father, do not seem to have made much improvement in things; though so many years have passed away." "This is the truth. Yet the sameness of their customs and manners finely illustrates the meaning of the Scriptures, and proves even the minute fidelity of the sacred penmen. The people in the eastern part of the world appear to be stationary in every thing. They go on precisely in the track of their ancestors. They make but very little improvement in any Q thing, and no discoveries in science. Europe, though not to be named with Asia, in reference to population, is yet a far more important part of the world, in almost every point of view. Our little island, you know, holds an immense portion of the East under its dominion. I scarcely know a more striking illustration of the famous axiom of Bacon, that 'knowledge is power.' 66 999 Then, father, we should try to know every thing, should we not?" "Yes, Harry; we should be constantly endeavouring to excel in knowledge. This is one important point, in which the human race is distinguished from the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air. They acquire no information worthy of being mentioned as knowledge. But man is capable of examining and of knowing all things, and especially he has a mind capable of knowing and of lovThe spirit of the Almighty hath ing God. given him understanding.'" "You said, father, that knowledge is one thing, by which we are distinguished from the animals around us. Will you tell me some other?" "Think, yourself, Harry, and you will find many. I will however mention one. Man has a capacity of distinguishing between right and wrong, of approving the one, and of abhorring the other; hence he is the subject of God's moral government, and evidently becomes an accountable creature. Hence arise our obligations to improve our time and our talents for the great purposes for which they were given." "You often talk, father, of our accountability." "Those, Harry, who have to give an ac count to God, should often think of the solemn subject, and not only think of it, but fervently pray that they may appear at that reckoning 'with joy, and not with grief.' POSTURE. "In the discourse which you read in the family on the Sunday evening, father, it was said, that the people in the East used to lie on couches at their meals." 66 They did so, Harry; and this is still the case in many parts of the East. And this circumstance will illustrate many passages of the Scriptures, as Esther, i. 6. vii. 8. "In the Book of Samuel, it is said, that 'David sat before the Lord.' Pococke, Mr. |