the noble spirited Belgic emigrant-in the blood of victims to savage warfare, and martyrs to the spirit of improvement, and the march of civilization !—of Albany! that ancient seat of true old Dutch simplicity and integrity, patriotism and piety!—of Albany! where a Schuyler and a Gansevoort, a Van Schaick and a Ten Broeck, kindled and sustained the spirit of ”76—and a Yates and a Lansing, a Taylor and a Van Rensselaer, a De Witt, a Henry and a Van Vechten, so long stood the venerable and the venerated, the corinthian pillars of law, liberty and religion!-No-it cannot be-it is a foul slander to assert it-that Albany merchants have ever given birth to an argument so selfish and ignoble; so insulting to the memory of her patriarchs, the moral sense of mankind, and the Divine Majesty! Sooner do we believe, they would unite in exclaiming, with one voice,-Perish the Theatre! perish every play, and every play actor! but preserve the morals of our youth from contamination, and their precious souls from eternal damnation! Take the advice, then, my young readers, of an old man, who wishes you well-who can have no possible interest or motive for deceiving you on this subject; who has bitterly experienced the evils against which he now solemnly warns you to beware-and never suffer yourselves to be caught within the walls of the Theatre; from which, as now every where managed, "6 Angels and holy men, trembling, retire." And as to those who are parents, guardians, employers or masters, it is to be hoped that they may strive by all proper and gen le means-for in such cases coercion never succeeds-to save the youth under their care from commencing an acquaintance with the Theatre, and its unhallowed, health-destroying, heart-perverting and soul-damning illusions. Let them do this, if they would do their duty to God, to their country, and to mankind. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Stage! Turning from the young men, permit me to address a few words to you. I owe you no ill-will; but on the contrary most sincerely wish you all the happiness you can ever enjoy, under any circumstances, both here and hereafter. With some among you, in old times, I have had much agreeable intercourse; and it certainly is because I regard your happiness, that I would now, did I think it would succeed, most solemnly advise you to quit your worthless and wicked profession, and adopt any honest calling. One of your fraternity, I know, has turned his thoughts to Divinity, and is now an ornament of the church. Follow him, if you can-and if not, you may adopt some other plan of life. Wash ington was a farmer; so was Greene; so was Pickering, who, as well as Greene, was the friend and favorite of Washington. He was often seen clearing off and cultivating the wilds on the border of the Susquehanna, with his own hands. The illustrious John Jay turned farmer in his old age, and like Washington, superintended the fatting and slaughtering of his own hogs. He was also engaged, we believe, in studying more thoroughly than his many public engagements had enabled him to do, that divine system, which had long held possession of his heart, and been the guide of his life. Such are the men whose names will not fade, even when time has passed away; for crowns of glory are reserved for them where time shall be no more. They did not seek the world's applause-for them the clapping of hands, and the huzzas of a thoughtless multitude, had no charms-and whatever were the means they used, the happiness of their fellow-men, and the glory of God, were the ends they had in view. Imitate their example, Ladies and Gentlemen; for those who come nearest to that, will best deserve to live happy, and have the best chance to die in the full assurance of a blissful and glorious immortality, LESSON II. THE CIRCUS. "Once to be wild, is no such foul disgrace, CREECH. Now, my young reader, if we have not checked your wild career among the giddy and thoughtless theatre-going multitude, we will strive, by the blessing of God, to arrest your steps at the door of the Circus, which is but another contrivance of the Arch Apostate to lead unwary youth into the paths that lead down to his dark domains. We cannot foresee that we shall win even one young man to follow the advice which we are now giving; but certain we are, that should we win over but one, our labor would not be in vain; we should indeed rejoice in the success of it and equally certain are we, that if the young men of the present age could all at once, by inspiration, or any other means, become possessed of the same experience which we have had in the courses against which we are now warning them, there is not, perhaps, even one among them, who would not recoil with horror at the bare idea of being decoyed into any such ways. They would, with our experience, we fear not boldly to affirm, turn and fly from all idle and vicious pursuits, as they would from the sudden appearance in their path-way of a lion or a tiger, or the most awful precipice that ever startled and arrested the steps of a lost traveller. Satan himself, we do not hesitate to affirm, could not have surveyed with more gloomy despondency, the shades of hell, when he first entered into that region of the damned, than would the youth of the present age survey the vicious amusements of the Theatre and the Circus, could they foresee what the first step in these by-paths of folly and corruption would lead to. Oh! my young reader, let me entreat you to beware how you take that first step; for there, believe me, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, you cannot stop, unless, which you have no right to expect, some ministering angel of mercy should descend from Heaven to succor you in the hour of temptation, and snatch you from the verge of destruction. The Circus, like the Theatre, is a relic of barbarism and heathenism, having been established on a broad scale at Rome, for chariot-racing and other similar exhibitions; and it was, as it still is, admirably calculated to engage the |