ON

EXCELLENT IDEAS.

Ir was in the summer that I was sitting at a table by myself, in the corner of a public coffeeroom, pondering on the pages of a book which an old friend had just lent me, now and then taking a sip of coffee, and occasionally casting a glance at the flickering gas-light, which flared within a few feet of the table.

There were several well-dressed young men at the opposite end of the room, engaged in conversation, but so deeply occupied was I with my book, and my own speculations, that most likely not a word of all they said would have distinctly reached me, had it not been for an exclamation, in which one of them frequently indulged. Scarcely five minutes elapsed without his crying out, "That's an excellent idea!"

After hearing this several times, I directed my eyes towards the speaker, who was gaily dressed, with a gold chain across his bosom, and a showy ring on the little finger of each hand. "That's

an excellent idea!" said he again, just at the moment that I lifted up my head, and I then felt a desire to catch one or two of the many "excellent

ideas" that were falling around me.

What a poor, perishing world is this, whether we consider it as an abiding place, or with respect to the fulfilment of those hopes which are continually rising in our restless hearts! Every day presents us with proofs that this is not "our rest,' and every hour brings forth enough to convince us, that our earthly hopes, like bubbles on the running stream, only glitter one moment to burst into empty nothingness in the next. How often are we expecting much from sources that yield but little!

There may, or may not be wisdom in thus indulging in a passing reflection, when relating a common-place occurrence; but it is a habit of mine; and Old Humphrey cannot see, hear, read, write, or converse, without now and then throwing in a passing reflection.

Well, as I said, I was on the look-out for "excellent ideas." These are not, certainly, very often to be met with, and you may as well expect to see pine-apples on blackberry bushes, as to hear "excellent ideas" from the thoughtless and the vain: but the old proverb says, "It never rains but it pours ;" and however scarce

"excellent ideas" may be in general, yet if I might judge by the exclamations that reached me, I was in a fair way of falling in with a profusion of them.

Though I appeared to pore over my book, my ears were wide open to what was going on at the other end of the room.

The conversation was on the subject of cigars, and one of the party thought it would be no bad thing to take one to church with him the next time he went there.

"That's an excellent idea!" exclaimed the one in the gold chain.

The excellency of this idea did not at all strike me; on the contrary, it seemed to me to be thoughtless, silly, and profane. I, however, still kept my ears open.

"Tom," said one of them soon after, "what do you think? in passing by the blind Scotchman at the Regent's Park, I dropped a pebble stone into his hat: "Thank you,' said the old fellow, who thought he had got a capital catch."

"An excellent idea!" again cried out the one with the gold chain.

The excellency of this idea was quite as indistinct to me as the former one. I thought both the idea and the act were mean, wanton, and cruel; but the conversation changed.

"How did you manage, Ned, with

asked one.

your watch?"

"Oh,” replied he who was addressed, “I persuaded the watchmaker that it had a gold key to it when I left it with him, a keepsake, that I would not have parted with for double its value; and so he was glad enough to get off without charging me any thing for the new spring."

"An excellent idea!" once more exclaimed the ornamented admirer of this fraudulent ingenuity. Now, excellent as this was pronounced to be, it was nothing less than impudence, deceit, and dishonesty.

"Well," thinks I, "if Old Humphrey has not had quite enough 'excellent ideas' for one day it is a pity;" so drinking up the last drop that was left at the bottom of my coffee-cup, I closed my book, and walked away, musing on the weakness, the folly, the heartlessness, and immorality of the world.

When a man picks up stones in good earnest to throw at his neighbour's windows, he may very soon break a great many panes; and, in like manner, when he sets about finding fault with those around him, he is never long at a loss for something to find fault with. I soon made out a long catalogue, not of "ideas" only, but of plans and undertakings, which, though considered "excellent" by thousands

It

of people, are weak, worthless, and wicked. was truly astonishing how clearly I saw the errors of others, how sagely I reflected on the matter, and how eloquently I reproved the follies and frailties of mankind.

At last it occurred to me, that it might not be amiss, after going abroad so much, to come a little nearer home; for perhaps I might find in my own head and heart some "excellent ideas," and admirable undertakings, not a whit more valuable than those of my neighbours.

What an ignorant, vain, presumptuous, and inconsistent being is man! How much he knows of others, how little of himself! How quick is he to condemn the faults of his fellow-sinners, and how slow to amend his own! I had worked myself up to a pitch of virtuous indignation; I had arraigned others of manifold misdemeanors, and performed the offices of jury and judge to my own satisfaction, disposing of every case as I thought proper. You may be sure that I felt a little high-minded; but when I brought up Old Humphrey himself to the bar, I was soon humbled even to the dust.

"It's bad enough," said I, "when the young act a foolish part, thinking that 'excellent,' which is unworthy, and pursuing folly instead of wisdom: but what excuse has he whose hairs are grey, who