might be taken, which ſeem directly to lead to the deſired point; for the domeſtic affections, that firſt open the heart to the various modifications of humanity, would be cultivated, whilſt the children were nevertheleſs allowed to ſpend great part of their time, on terms of equality, with other children.
I ſtill recollect, with pleaſure, the country day ſchool; where a boy trudged in the morning, wet or dry, carrying his books, and his dinner, if it were at a conſiderable diſtance; a ſervant did not then lead maſter by the hand, for, when he had once put on coat and breeches, he was allowed to ſhift for himſelf, and return alone in the evening to recount the feats of the day cloſe at the parental knee. His father's houſe was his home, and was ever after fondly remembered; nay, I appeal to ſome ſuperiour men, who were educated in this manner, whether the recollection of ſome ſhady lane where they conned their leſſon; or, of ſome ſtile, where they ſat making a kite, or mending a bat, has not endeared their country to them?
But, what boy ever recollected with pleaſure the years he ſpent in cloſe confinement, at an academy near London? unleſs, indeed, he ſhould, by chance, remember the poor ſcarecrow of an uſher, whom he tormented; or, the tartman, from whom he caught a cake, to devour it with the cattiſh appetite of ſelfiſhneſs. At boarding-ſchools of every deſcription, the relaxation of the junior boys is miſchief; and of the ſenior, vice. Beſides, in great ſchools, what can be more prejudicial to the moral character than the ſyſtem of tyranny and abject ſlavery which is eſtabliſhed
