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have laughed heartily; but as that observation had been made, she looked at the fruit, of which she conceived it to be the germ—her thoughts were not upon the cause, but the effect—and therefore, while reading it, she didn't laugh at all.

"Well, my dear madam," said the reverend gentleman, "what is your impression now?"

"It certainly is Sylvester's hand-writing," she replied; "but what his object could have been, I cannot possibly conceive."

"Fun, was the young rogue's object, no doubt! It is clear that he thought it an excellent jest."

"But such jests, my dear sir, are highly incorrect!—he must be scolded!"

"Leave that to me, my dear madam: leave all that to me. I'll give him a lecture. Shall we have him in now?"

"I think that we had better."

The bell was rung, and Sylvester was summoned; and when he appeared, he greeted the reverend gentleman, precisely as if unconscious of the existence of any such letter, as that which Aunt Eleanor held in her hand—which was thought very remarkable.

"Sylvester," said the reverend gentleman, assuming a somewhat stern expression, "I am anxious to have a few words with you, calmly. Sylvester: there are jests which are venial, and jests which are not: there are jests which are harmless, and jests which are not: jests which are harmless, are those which I hold to be venial; jests which are not harmless, must be condemned. But there are, independently of those which I have named, jests which, although in themselves unimportant—or, I should rather say, apparently unimportant—are calculated to lead to important results, and it is to this particular species of jest that I now wish to call your attention. In all ages jesting has been known. History, both sacred and profane, speaks of jesting. The Pagans' chief jester was deified: Momus was the heathen god of jesting. Kings and princes have kept their jesters, sometimes with the view of being rebuked for their follies, but more frequently, I fear, for the purpose of being applauded for those follies—sometimes, that their passions might be regulated by wit, but more often that wit might pander to those passions. Jesting has, therefore, antiquity to recommend it; but this is not the point at which I am anxious to arrive. Jests or jokes—they are strictly synonymous—may be divided into two distinct classes:—those which are salutary and those which are pernicious: I use the term 'salutary,' advisedly, seeing that a well-timed jest has frequently been known to do much more good than a sermon. Again: there are white lies and there are black lies: there are also white jokes and black jokes; but albeit, a lie, whether white or black, is still a lie; and a joke, whether white or black, is still a joke; lies are at all times highly reprehensible, while jokes at all times are not. There are practical jokes and theoretical jokes: moral jokes and physical jokes: there are, moreover, jokes which are based upon falsehood and jokes which are based upon truth; but the jokes to which I am anxious to direct your attention, are those in which falsehood is involved. Now, it seems to