Transcribed from the A. Applegath(c1800’s) edition,
No. 18.
TO A YOUTH AT SCHOOL.
London:Printed by A. Applegath,Stamford-street; and sold by
J. Davis, 56,Paternoster-row; and by J. Nisbet, 21,Berners-street, Oxford-street.
Will you permit one, who was oncein a similar situation with yourself, to present a Paper, thedesign of which is to promote your best interest?
Your parents regard you with tender affection and anxioushope. Should it please Almighty God to spare your life, youwill certainly be an instrument of increasing the great mass ofsin and misery, or the small sum of piety and happiness. How desirable to increase the latter! It is at presentuncertain what station you will fill, what influence you willpossess, or by what circumstances you will be surrounded. Man is born ignorant of every thing. Education isnecessary, because you have every thing to learn. Impelledby duty to God and to you, your parents have placed you under thecare of those whose instructions and admonitions, if rightlyimproved, will make you respectable and happy. Next toChristian ministers, your teachers and governors sustain, invarious respects, the highest and most important office in theworld. And since the time you will spend with them isshort, you are under so much the greater obligation carefully toimprove it.
When you rise in the morning, fail not to acknowledge yourdependence on God, whose watchful kindness continually preservesyou. Adore him for his greatness and goodness. Confess to him your guilt. Beseech him to bestow pardon andpurity of heart, through his Son Jesus Christ. Prayearnestly for an increasing aptitude to learn, and for suchcontinued aid as may enable you to realize the best wishes ofyour friends. And while you pray for yourself, include yourteachers, your schoolfellows, your parents, your friends, and allmankind.
Appear among the earliest in school. A habit of p. 2punctualityindicates some fixed principle, and will be eminently to youradvantage through life. While in the school, maintainsilent attention. Let the foundation of yourgrammar-learning be laid deep: you are not to think itunreasonable that you are required to learn the same rules onceand again. This repetition fastens them in your memory.
Indulge a generous spirit of emulation, aiming to excel inevery useful acquirement. Be careful in the formation ofintimate friendships. If any of your schoolfellows discoverbad dispositions, prudently avoid them. Attach yourself tothose chiefly who are diligent, thoughtful, and amiable. Behave always in the most respectful manner to your teachers, andto all that occasionally visit you. Avoid the extremes ofbashfulness, and bold presumption; frankness and modesty form ahappy union. In diet, be moderate; in apparel, neat; amongyour companions, cheerful and kind. The law of God is a lawof love indeed; for it requires you to love every body; and everybody to love you. Never tell a lie, nor conceal one when it