Alexandria Daily Gazette, Commercial & Political

For the Alexandria Daily Gazette.
FROM THE OLD COUCH.

The delicate, insinuating address, necessary in giving the infant mind a virtuous bias, in co-operating with yielding nature, and assisting, without seeming to restrain, the tender scion in its formation, is a task little understood, and therefore should be studied as a science by all parents and tutors.

Those rigid rules of dry morality, in which the youngster just viewing the charms of life in perfection, sees no comeliness, can never be beneficially applied, unless so judiciously mingled with delight, suiting the genius of the youth, as to give them a relish. With this view (as I always supposed) my pious mother when I was at school put into my hand an excellent little poem, said to have been written by a military officer, on his own conversion : She justly admired this for the sentiments it breathed, and fondly dwelt on the sublime effusions from the heart of the eloquent convert :-to me these effusions were enigmatical, and all the interest lay in the exquisite imagery of the poet : we both therefore concurred in the sentiment, though discovering its beauties in different lights, that the piece was inestimable. Her calculation was certainly rational, that from my often regaling myself with its poetical beauties my heart, then susceptible and pliant, could not but imbibe some of its moral ones. There are in the scriptures, many poetical incidents, that will richly repay even the worldly amateur for his perusal, by their excellence : As one of these, the language of the patriarch Jacob to his sons, who had assembled to receive his last benediction (Genesis 49) cannot be read but with increasing delight,—for the richness of its dress, and the aptness and boldness of his allusions. The Book of Job throughout, and parts of Psalms, Ecclesiasticus Solomon's Song, &c. &c. are replete with poetical excellencies, which need only to be perused to be admired.

In this species of instructive amusements, may be ranked sacred vocal music; or while it gratifies the sense, it has a tendency to make the heart better. The increasing popularity of this science in these southern states is pleasing to every lover of morality.