"Can you tell me, papa, what was the first origin of fables?" enquired Ferdinand. "It is not very clear, my dear," replied Mr. Bernard, "but it is probable they are nearly as ancient as the history of mankind; or, at least, that there never was a time, of which we have any knowledge, when they were no familiar. We first read of them as being used in Palestine and Egypt, from whence they were even borrowed by the Greeks and Romans. The earliest specimen of fables with which I am acquainted, occurs in the book of Judges, where Jotham signifies to the people, the temper and fate of a usurper, under the similitude of the trees going forth to choose them a king." [Footnote: See Jones, on the Origin and Use of Fables.] _Ferdinand._ It is in the ninth chapter of Judges. I read it this morning, but did not quite understand the intention of it. _ Mr. B._ I will endeavour to explain it to you then, my love. You will recollect, that the fruitful trees, when applied to, all declined taking upon them the sovereign authority; but the bramble offers his services, and gets into power. The moral of which, as applicable to the person of Abimelech, was this:--that the desire of reigning does not prevail in wise and good men, who should feed the people, and protect them under the shadow of their authority; but chiefly in men of rough minds and bloody intentions, who harass the people, and are, at last, consumed with them, in the unjust exercise of their power. "The parables made use of by our Saviour, are, I think, very much in the form of fables," said Emily. _Mrs. B._ They are, my love. They were delivered in this manner, for the sake of some moral, which would either be obscure without an illustration, or offensive to the bearers, if it were delivered in plain terms. _Louisa._ Nathan's reproof to king David, when he took away the wife of Uriah the Hittite, is very beautiful. I read it a little time ago, in the twelfth chapter of the second book of Samuel. He made use of a fable to gain his attention. _Mrs. B._ He did, my love. By putting a case in which David seemed to have no immediate concern, he interested his affections; and when his indignation was raised against a fictitious person, the prophet turned it upon himself, with that striking application: "Thou art the man." Then there was no retracting: he had already condemned himself, in the judgement he had passed upon the cruel offender in the parable. Mrs. Bernard now took out her watch, and expressed her surprise upon finding it near ten o'clock. Their father immediately requested them to prepare to retire, adding: "To-morrow will be Sunday: I hope you will be in my study by seven o'clock, that we may begin early the important duties of that sacred day."