Life's Lessons is a tale of the trials and sufferings
of a spoiled child, who by a sudden reverse of fortune, followed by the death of her father, is left unprovided for. The punish- ment that vanity and selfishness inflict on their victims, is exemplified in the years of sullen, comfortless mortification, that the heroine endures, rather than cheerfully reconcile herself to her altered fortunes. She is even callous to the alleviation of a brother's affectionate sympathy in her moroseness, and is near alienating his regard altogether; but is reclaimed from her folly, and becomes happy at last in her poverty. This is one of the most impressive of moral lessons for the young, inasmuch as it depicts the continual and protracted evils of a bad disposition and ill-temper ; and moreover, it effects the reformation of the party without raising her to her former rank in society. The form of an autobiography ins:misses the effect of reality, which is the chief excellence of the story, though the writer's amiable spirit and nice perception of character are qualities not to be overlooked.
My Mother's Stories, by ESTHER Cortex, contains six domes- tic tales, of varying interest and merit; but all distinguished by an amiable feeling and a good moral. They partake, however, rather of the old style of story-telling than of the new.
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