OLD FABLES NEWLY TRANSLATED.

FABLE II.

THE FROG AND THE OX.

ONCE upon a time it so happened that certain ditchers who were at work by the road-side, accidentally threw a frog out of a mud-puddle into an adjoining field, in which there was an arm of a large and beautiful lake. The frog, who had never before seen any water except his puddle, became so intoxicated with delight at his new habitation that he thought he himself had grown as much greater than formerly as the lake was larger than his former place of abode, and that both the field and the lake, with all their inhabitants, had been subjected to his control.

After he had swelled and strutted about awhile, and given some fishes leave to swim, and some animals to drink in the lake, during his good pleasure, he gravely informed them that he had been placed there by Jupiter to act as owner and guardian of the lake, and that as long as they glorified him they might remain safe and secure, and no longer.

Then, looking around, he observed some bullocks in an adjoining field endeavoring to break down the fences in order to get at the water of the lake; and thinking that they were great characters, like himself, he became desirous of their company, and anxious that the division fences should be broken down. This he thought he could effect by the music of his voice; for, says he, if Orpheus could build up a wall by singing to the

stones, I, who have so much better voice, and so much more musical skill than he, can surely pull one down by the same means. So he began singing, Bebabekes, koax, koax—re-annex, Texas, Texas-and ordered all the animals in the field, and the fishes in the lake, to do the same. This command was obeyed only by the toads and crickets, who made as much noise as possible. But it produced no other effect than to awaken the attention of the cattle in the field with them, who then began to look up and observe the movements of their neighbors; and as they did not wish to have their water muddied, and their pasture tramlped over and spoiled, (which they knew would be the consequence of letting in such unruly cattle,) they assembled and determined to prevent their fence from being broken down.

This conduct the frog resented highly, and commanded them to desist, saying that the toads and crickets gave their voices in favor of his project, as might be perceived by the burden of their song.

Upon this, a sturdy bullock looking down upon the swelling little animal, ordered him to hold his tongue, adding, "If you were not too small to be taken up by my horn I would toss you back into the puddle from which you was accidentally thrown." "Small! I small?" says the frog, "I'm the biggest animal here, ain't I toadies?" said he to those around him, who were all too full of laughter to answer him, except the crickets and one very young toady, who answered, "Why, please your Excellency, you're mighty big-but not quite so big-you want a leetle— very leetle, of being as big as that bullock there." "Do I," said the frog, swelling and puffing himself up with all his might. "What do you think now?" "Well, upon my honor, I never saw any mortal grow big so fast. Why, you're getting to be a perfect Quinbus Flestrin." "Ay, ay!" said the frog, "I'll show you what greatness is." And so he strutted about, and swallowed the puffs and nonsense of the toadies and crickets about him,

puffing and swelling himself up with them more and more, until he burst, and died miserably; and all the toads and crickets, and katydids laughed in his face while he was in the agonies of death.

MORAL,

FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE SUCCESSFUL VOTERS AT THE LATE ELECTION.

This fable teaches us that those who put a man into a place where he does not belong will probably do him more harm than good.

ESSAY ON SILLINESS.

THIS branch of metaphysical science has been cultivated of late years very extensively, not only in our own country, but in Great Britain, France, and Germany; most especially by the modern French novelists and English travellers and other writers of fiction. It has, however, been neglected by the authors whose labors have been devoted to the investigation of the powers and faculties of the mind, and to methodizing the principles upon which their speculations are founded. They have not, it is true, always neglected to give specimens of its influence in their writings, but they have never treated of it in a systematic method nor assigned it any place among the mental phenomena. This neglect is the most remarkable, inasmuch as not only the writers above mentioned, and many others, have made it their most remarkable characteristic; but the conventional usages of society require its exercise more frequently than that of most of the other mental faculties.

For instance, these usages authorise those who have the means of educating their children in any way they please, to educate them in such a manner as to make them helpless, and proud, and vain—a course which certainly requires a potent exercise of this faculty. Of all our politicians and rulers a frequent exercise of it is required in order to enable them to succeed in conciliating the favor of those by whose means they expect to be elevated to place and power, as the taverns and coffee-houses, as well as their stump speeches, abundantly testify. We doubt,

however, whether any one ever acquired such an extraordinary display of it as is found in the manifesto of an accidentally elevated dignatary, declining to be a candidate for an office for which he was considered peculiarly unfit by a more unanimous public opinion than was ever united before upon any subject.

But the most extraordinary-indeed we may say sublime— display of this faculty, is that which is required by the laws of honor when they require two men to go out, and in a most systematic and formal manner, coolly and deliberately endeavor to take each other's life, in order to obtain the "satisfaction of a gentleman."

The laws of fashion also require its exercise in most of the proceedings of which they take cognizance. In fine, there is no one of the powers and faculties of the mind which, in the present state of society, is so frequently called into exercise, and which is so often the stimulant of action. It must therefore be considered a desideratum in science to have such researches and investigations respecting it made, as may place it, in our scientific disquisitions, upon an equal footing with the other mental faculties, and enable us to puzzle ourselves about it as much as we do upon other subjects of metaphysical science.

It may perhaps be supposed by some of our readers that the maxim in the following expressive line of poetry, viz. :

"Who drives fat oxen must himself be fat,"

will apply in the present case. We admit the application, and proceed with our remarks.

In the science of metaphysics, as in that of political economy, definitions are considered as of the first and last importance. It may therefore be expected, that before proceeding further, some definitions should be established which, as in the science just named, may afford grounds for future controversy, and thereby

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