Journal of education, 1 août 1868, Août - Septembre

n plies.4v -s/ JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.Volume XII.Quebec, Province of Quebec, August and September, 1868.Nos.8 and 9.SUMMARY.—Literature.—Poetry : The Footsteps of Decay.—Don’t Leave the Farm.—Canadian History: Memoirs of the Richelieu, St- Johns.—Fontainebleau and its History.— Education : What is, and maybe meant by teaching “ English ’’ (concluded), by J.D.M.Meiklejohn, Esq., M.A — A Schoolmaster’s Rominiscenses.— Science : American Association for the Advancement of Science, by H- II- M.Ed- Office.—Official Notices: Appointments ; Examiners ; School Commissioners ; School Trustees.— Separations, Annexations and Erections of School Municipalities.— Female Teacher Wanted.—Editorial : The Fifth Annual Convention of the Provincial Association of Protestant Teachers of the Province of Quebec.— Public Examinations and Distribution of Prizes at the Universities, Colleges, Boarding Schools and other Educational Institutions of the Province of Quebec.—Distribution of Prizes and Diplomas in the Normal and Model Schools : McGill Model School ; Jacques-Cartier Normal and Model Schools ; Laval Normal and Model Schools.—Annual Convocation of Bishop’s College, Lennoxville.—Montreal High School.—St.Francis College, Richmond, P.Q.— Necrology: The late Lord Bishop and Metropolitan of Montreal.— Monthly Summary : Educational Intelligence.—Arts Intelligence.—Meteorological Intelligence.L-ITERA.TUB'E.THE FOOTSTEPS OF DECAY (1).0 ! let the soul its slumbers break— Arouse its senses, and awake To see how soon Life, in its glories, glides away, And the stern footsteps of decay Come stealing on.And while we view the rolling tide, Down which our flowing minutes glide Away so fast, Let us the present hour employ, And deem each future dream a joy Already past.Let no vain hope deceive the’mind, No happier let us hope to find To-morrow than to-day ; Our golden dreams of yore were bright, Like them the present shall delight— Like them decay.(11 The followingisa translation from an ancient Spanish poem, which, says the Edinburgh Review, is surpassed by nothing with which we are acquainted in the Spanish language, except,, the “ Ode of Louis do Leon.” Our lives like hastening streams must be, That into one engulfing sea Are doomed to fall—-The sea of death, whose waves roll on O’er king and kingdom, crown and throne, And swallow all.Alike the river’s lordly tide, Alike the humble rivulet’s glide, To that sad wave I Death levels poverty and pride, And rich and poor sleep side by side, Within the grave.Our birth is but a starting-place ; Life is the running of the race, And death the goal ; There all our glittering toys are brought— That path alone, of all unsought, Is found of all.See, then, how poor and little worth Are all those glittering toys of earth That lure us herê ; Dreams of a sleep that death must break ; Alas ! before it bids us wake, We disappear.Long ere the damp of death can blight,— The cheek’s pure glow of red and white Has passed away ; Youth smiled and all was heavenly fair— Age came, and laid his fingers there, And where are they ?Where is the strength that spurned decay, The step that roved so light and gay, The heart’s blithe tone ?The strength is gone, the step is slow, And joy grows wearisome, and woe ! When age comes on ! —Rich.Guardian.DON’T LEAVE THE FARM.Come boys, I have something to tell you,— Come near, I would whisper it low— You arc thinking of leaving the homestead, Don’t be in a hurry to go ! The city has many attractions, But think of the vices and sins ; When once in the vortex of fashion, How soon the course downward begins. 114 JOURNAL OP EDUCATION You talk of the mines of Australia— They’re wealthy in gold without doubt, But ah ! there is gold on the farm, boys, If only you’ll shovel it out.The mercantile trade is a hazard, The goods are first high and then low, Better risk the old farm a while longer, Don't be in a hurry to go.The great, busy West ha3 inducements, And so has the busiest mart, But Wealth is not made in a day, boys, Don’t be in a hurry to start ! The bankers and brokers.are wealthy, They take in their thousand or so— Ah 1 think of the frauds and deceptions ; Don’t be in a hurry to go ! The farm is the safest and surest, The orchards are loaded to-day, You’re as free as the air of the mountains, And monarchs of all you survey.Better stay on the farm a while longer, Though profits come in rather slow ; Remember, you’ve nothing to risk, boys ; Don’t be in a hurry to go ! Waterloo Advertiser.CANADIAN HISTORY.Memoirs of the Richelieu.No.4.—St.Johns.—(Continued.) Immediately after the capture of Fort St.Johns, Montgomery pushed on to Montreal, which he triumphantly entered, a little after it was evacuated by Carleton and his garrison.Without loss of time, he hurried down the St.Lawrence in pursuit, but met his death under the cliff of Cape Diamond in a foolhardy attempt to take Quebec by a coup de main.Arnold—(the notorious Benedict Arnold)—then fell back on Montreal with a portion of the American army.He was thence forced to flee and make for St.Johns with the enemy in full pursuit.Gen.Sullivan, who was stationed at Sorel, was also driven up to St Johns.Here both the American generals were desirous of making a stand, but their troops absolutely refusing, they retreated precipitately to Isle-aux-Noix in boats, and soon after crossed the lines.The British pursued them no further than St.Johns.After that event, the Americans chose Ticonderoga as their northern base of operations, and after properly fortifying it, they turned their attention to the construction of a fleet, by means of which they could more easily reconnoitre Lake Champlain and the head waters of the Richelieu.Sir Guy Carleton, afterwards Lord Dorchester, resolved upon doing the very same thing.He strengthened the works of St.Johns, which he chose definitively as his frontier base, and lost no time in getting ready a large number of boats for lake service.All through the summer of 1776, from June to October, the banks of the quiet river at Iberville and St.Johns resounded with the hammer and anvil.Seven hundred seamen from the war vessels at anchor under the cliffs of Quebec had been chosen to man the fleet that was building there.Among their officers was no less distinguished a personage than Lord Exmouth, (Edward Pellew) who after learning almost his first lesson in naval warfare on the fresh waters of Lake Champlain, was destined many years later to rise to the highest rank among British Admirals.Early in October, one ship, 18 twelve-pounders ; two schooners, 26 six-pounders, (both together ; ) a raft, six twenty-four pounders and twelve six-pounders ; a galley, seven nine-pounders, and 24 gun boats, each with a piece of field ordnance, sailed from under the guns of fort St.Johns, bound for Lake Champlain.The expedition was commanded by Captain Pringle, and Governor Carleton was also on board as military superintendent.When Arnold, who commanded the American fleet, heard of this movement, he fell back from his position near Rouse’s Point to the narrow channel between Valcour’s Island and the west shore of the lake, a little above Plattsburg.Here, with a force of three schooners, two sloops, eleven galleys, and twenty-one gunboats, he awaited the arrival of the British.About noon on the 11th, the engagement commenced between the foremost vessels, and soon becoming general, raged till nightfall.Notwithstanding their numerical inferiority, the Americans fought well, but conscious of their weakness, thay resolved to escape Southward in the darkuess.This they succeeded in effecting, but a portion of the fleet was overtaken at Schuyler’s Island, in the course of the next day and on the 13th one of the vessels was captured.Arnold barely escaped by running his galley into a creek on the eastern shore, whence he marched in safety to Crown Point.On the approach of Carleton this post was also evacuated.The British fleet then made some demonstrations against Ticonderoga, but as the season was far advanced, it gradually withdrew down the lake, till it reached its winter quarters at St.Johns.In the summer of 1777, St Johns was again the scene of warlike preparation.But this time it was a land force that concentrated there.Burgoyne had superseded Carleton, and was preparing a mighty expedition destined to crush out the American revolution.A force of seven thousand men of all arms was collected under his command.Numerous transports were built, and immense supplies of stores and ammunition were brought together.On the 1st of June, this imposing army left St.Johns for Lake Champlain, driving every thing before it.We need not follow it any farther, as its fate is well known.For three months it was the terror of the Americans, but it met with a first check at Stillwater, Sept.19th, and was finally “bagged” at Saratoga, October 17th, 1777.After this eventful year, nothing more is heard of Fort St.Johns for more than a quarter of a century.It still retained its garrison, more or less supplied, till the war of 1812, when it was again placed on its former footing.No events of any importance, however, happened there during that brief campaign, Montreal having been chosen as the military base and the troops echelloned from Laprairie to Chambly.The American General Hampton, instead of following the line of the Richelieu, made direct for the St.Lawrence, and was met at Cha-teauguay by De Salaberry.This celebratated officer there avenged the capture of St.Johns, at which he was present and taken prisoner by the Americans in 1775.In 1814, when Gen.Wilkinson advanced along the Richelieu, the British, instead of waiting for him at St.Johns, confronted him at Lacolle and forced him to retreat to Plattsburgh.It is chiefly since l8l5,that St.Johns began to settle rapidly.Its advantageous position on the river, its proximity to the frontier, its being the junction of three different railways, to which, let us hope, that a fourth will shortly be added, renders it one of the most important and interesting iuland towns of Lower Canada.As a military position it enjoys special advantages.It is the the key to the immense plateau leading up to Montreal.In the claims of forts, proposed by Col.MacDougall, to guard the approaches to that metropolis, it would be the strongest, because the most exposed.During the Fenian invasion, it was used as a depot for the advance guard of the army, and for this reason, it is most probable that it will always retain its ancient and time-honored garrison.— St.Johns News.Fontainebleau and its History.Of all the residenejs of the rulers of France there is not one so full of royal beauty and so fraught with romantic historic interestas Fontainebleau.When we think (if the suppositions be not apocryphal,) of its being the residence of King Robert the FOR THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC.115 Devout, in the eleventh century ; that certainly Louis VII.lived here ; that Philip-Augustus loved the place ; that Phillippe-le-Bel was born and died at the royal chateau ; that Louis IX.called it his chcre deserte ; that—putting aside the old residence— Francis I.commenced the present chateau and feted here the celebrated Emperor Charles V.in 1539 ; that from this spot Henry IV.sent Marshal Biron to Vincennes, where he was beheaded : that it was in one of its existing chambers that the most extraordinary of women, Queen Christine of Sweden, had her secretary Monaldeschi assassinated ; that the desk still remains here on which Louis XIV.signed the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 ; that Louis XVth’s only son died here, that Dauphin, uncrowned himself, but who was the father of three kings; these, a few out of hundreds of old associations of the place, are enough to make the Royal chateau of Fontainebleau one of the most remarkable in Europe.But more modern times attach to it even a far greater interest.It is deeply interwoven with the fate of the families of the Bonapartes and the Orleans Bourbons.Louis XIV.made, as all the world knows, his earthly paradise at Versailles, upon which he spent forty millions ot money.This man threw Fontaiubleau into the shade, and it fell into disrepair, The Revolutionists stripped it bare and gave it what was thought its finishing blow.But a man arose, at that time, whose taste or whose whim gave an unexpectedly new life to the palace of the forest.The First Napoleon partially restored the old chateau and here again it commences to be the theatre of a series of incidents more marvellous and romantic than were all those which old story had before handed down.We find Charles IV.of Spain, dethroned by Napoleon, a prisoner in this golden cage in 1808.In the next year the divorce of the Emperor and of poor Josephine was here pronounced.And, with all pity for the cruelly-treated lady, I must here remark that probably her feelings were not quite so mortally wounded by the event as the romancers of history might lead us to believe.When the ambitious Emperor made the announcement to her of his intentions, it is pretty well known that Josephine was previously well aware of his determination and had carefully rehearsed her part.We learn that she fell in a swoon on receiving the terrible announcement from that iron man, and that by his orders, to prevent a scene, she was carried, lifeless for the moment, up a back stair-case, by an aid-de-camp, to her apartment.But history has not added a little fact which has since come out-that when the officer was bearing—and awkwardly, probably—the fair burden up the stairs; the Empress whispered over her shoulder in his ear, “ Pray don’t squeeze me so ! This was in 1809.I think it was three years later that the good Pope Pius VII.became a prisoner, or, at least an unwilling inmate of Fontainebleau for 18 months.The last scene of thrilling interest at that place was the signing of his abdication by the great Napoleon in 1814, his farewell to MacDonald, and adieu to the Eagles.The restored older Bourbons did little for the place.But the good old constitutional King, Louis Phil-lippe, loved it much, and completed its restoration.It was in an avenue of its vast surrounding forest, which contains 42,000 acres, and has a circumference of over sixty miles, that the same King Louis Phillippe was near losing his life by the hand of the assassin Lecomte.His eldest son, who, had he lived, might have saved the dynasty, was married here in 1837 according to the rites of the Protestant Church, and his widow, the Duchess of Orleans, the most amiable of princesses, loved the place, and lived there much.The Citizen King received Maria Christina Queen of Spain,at this palace.The Duchess of Kent, Queen Victoria s mother, also oined here with the old King iu 1842, and so late as 1847 he was visited at Fontainebleau by the King of Bavaria and the Grand Duke Constantine of Russia, when he still appeared one of the most firmly established monarchs of Europe.A few months, after he fell without a struggle from his high estate.But the ways of Providence and the changeable wills of poeple are inscrutable.Lastly, as regards Fontainebleau the baptism of the present Emperor took place here, and he, the grandson of the discarded Josephine, wears the Imperial crown of France, while the child of her Austrian rival and successor died, it may be said, a prisoned bird flapping his weary wings against the gilded cage in which he was kept at his Austrian grandfather’s palace of Schoenbrun.During the stay of the Imperial family, Mass is said at 11 o’clock every Sunday in the Trinity Chapel of the Palace, a veritable gem of a place of worship.Would you desire to know how it came to be built ?The anecdote is historic and as old as the hills.Henry IV, was showing the chateau one day to the Spanish Ambassador, and vain of his beautiful residence, he asked the Spaniard what he thought of it ?“ This mansion would be perfect,” answered the diplo- matist, “ if God were only as well lodged here as your Majesty.” The King took the hint and had the chapel built in 1529.Their Majesties occupy the former apartments of Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and Napoleon I.The Emperor’s study is a suggestive apartment.It is that in which his great uncle signed his abdication.The table is there, with the marks underneath of the spur dug into it by the moving heels of the agitated Emperor.In a console between the two windows, Louis Phillippe had caused to be engraved in marble a fac simile of the little scratchy document of the abdication, which I recollect to have seen in another place.This, of course, has been removed during the present, as well as the foolish anachronismic inscription of Louis XVIII.in the dining-room.Near this room is the bath-room of the Empress, the walls covered with some beautiful paintings on glass.The Emperpor’s bed-room is near his study, and it is a strange thing that his Majesty occupies the very bed which held Napoleon 1, Louis XVIII, Charles X.and Louis Phillippe.A little farther in is the boudoir of the Empress, also full of historic interest.It was once occupied by Marie-Antoinette, and the irons which open and close the windows were made by the hands of poor Louis XVI, the executed King.He was an adept at smith work, and these are excellent specimens of iron work.Her Majesty’s bed-room is also that of Marie-Antoinette.The hangings were a present from the City of Lyons to the ill-fated Queen.They were sold at the Revolution, but the great Emperor had them carefully collected and bought back again.It is a remarkable chamber, and is now called that of the six Maries, from {the illustrious ladies who occupied it.They were Marie de Medicis, Marie Therese, Mario Autoiuette, Marie Louise, Marie Amelia, and Marie Eugenie.Not far off are the apartments once occupied by Madame de Maintcnon, whereiu the Grand Duchess Marie of Russia is at the moment located.One of these rooms also contains a historic table.It is that upon which was signed the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes— Paris letter in New York Tablet.EDUCATION.Wliat is, and may be, meant by teaching “ English."’ By J.D.M.Meiklejohn Esq., M.A.(.Concluded from our last .) I.I should propose that the very simplest theory of English grammar should be taught—and that it should be taught as much in the historical form as possible.The history °of the English language is an extremely interesting one; and the striking phenomena of its growth, and the marked character of the different elements that have been absorbed into it, make it very easy to teach and to illustrate even to the weakest understanding.It is easy to find in many books the most striking illustrations of the change which came upon the language by the infusion of the Norman-French elements in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and of the literary Latin and Greek element in the sixteenth.These contributions are as plainly marked as 116 JOURNAL OF EDUCATION the flow of a muddy stream into a clear blue river—as the flow of its Alpine tributaries into the main stream of the Rhone.Nor is it difficult to give the pupil a vivid idea and an adequate, though not so detailed, knowledge of the revolutions which have taken place in our language, the first of which utterly broke down its form or grammar, and the second of which altered its substance or vocabulary.The one revolution changed it from a synthetic into an analytic language—from a language like German to a language like French : the other has closed for ever the Saxon source of the vocabulary, and has compelled us to seek in Greek and Latin all increase of our present stock of words.But it may be said that this is to teach philology, which cannot be done in school.Not at all.It will simply be giving the pupil a just and adequate estimate of the build, powers, and nature of his own language,—will enable him to guard, in his own writing, against servile imitation of any other language, such as French or German,—will enable him to do his own little best in the fight against that daily corruption of our English which foreign correspondents and telegram-translators in our daily papers are doing their utmost to promote.Besides this, it is simply impossible to teach the grammar of the language, without a constant reference to the past phases of the language ; it is impossible to form any sufficient appreciation of idioms and usages without some knowledge of what is called Anglo-Saxon.In most popular and widely-circulated School Grammars, the history of the language usually occupies three or four pages at the end of the book, which, most probably, are never reached at all.But the history of the language is of the greatest interest ; and there are not wanting a few books that give it pretty well.The want in them is the want of copious examples.It is useless, or worse than useless, to put results and conclusions into the heads of young people, without giving them some insight into the processes by which these results have been arrived at, and the data on which the conclusions are based.By far the best view of the English language for schools (though I am sorry to say the historical element is too small) is to be found in Dr.Adams’ English Grammar.It is very pleasant to be able to point to a book so well done as this is.With this work in the pupil’s hands, and Dr.Angus’ English Language (a book with a great deal in it) in his own, the teacher need not fear of success in putting some fair and correct idea of the build of our language into the pupil’s head.There is another book, however, which ought to be in the hands of every teacher who wishes to know, and to teach, something about the English language.The book I mean is “ Matzner’s Englische Gram-matik.” It is written in German ; but, even to those who do not read that language, this is only a slight drawback, For, as the subject matter is the English language, and as all the words and sentences quoted are English—and quoted in correct chronological order, any intelligent reader can draw the right conclusions for himself.In fact, it is a splendid quarry of information of all kinds on the language—and of quotations, from which one can at a glance establish the custom or phraseology of any given period, drawn from all Saxon and English, writers, from the earliest times down to the year 1866 It is the only complete Grammar, worthy of the name, that exists ; and it is no credit to England that it has been left to a German to write.Such a book as Lindley Murray’s Grammar bears much the same relation to Màtzner that Mrs.Marcet’s “ Conversations on Chemistry” would bear to a work which gave a full and scientific account of the latest discoveries of Faraday, Tyndall, Kirchhoff, and Bunsen : with the exception that Mrs.Marcet was good for her day, and Mr.Lindley Murray never was good for any time at all.With such a book in his possession, no teacher need remain long ignorant on any disputed point of the language, or allow his power of guessing to vamp up the lacunæ in his own knowledge.He will find in this Grammar the language itself, and not fragmentary, distorted, and fanciful views of this or that individual writer on the language.| Another important item is that the history of the language sends all kinds of strong cross-lights on the history of the country.The whole history of the Norman-French Revolution, for example, is written as clearly in our language as in our laws —in the order of words in our sentences as in the order of ranks in our State.The marks are of the plainest kind ; the pathways to this knowledge are easy and well trodden.But the good effects of teaching the history of the language are chiefly to be found in its manifest power to clear the grammar of much useless and unintelligible jargon, and to put every department of grammar in its own due rank and position.For example, the accidence of English grammar, which, under the name of Etymology, generally usurps nearly half the book, would, under this new regime, be rightly reduced to a few pages.The inflections of the language have been gradually dropping off in the course of centuries, and very few now exist.After these few were learned in the usual fashion—that is, with a view to practice—they might be more fully studied as fragments of past usages, and as one side of the history of the language.And they are thus treated—and admirably treated—in Dr.Adams’ excellent Grammar.The same method might be followed with the Syntax.No one requires a knowledge of rules to enable him to write or speak good English (and from this point of view the silly old definition, “ English Grammar is the art of speaking and writing the English language with propriety” is as false as it is illogical) ; and the few peculiarities in our Syntax may be learnt in a few days.The further study of the Syntax, as a chapter in the history, may be pursued in such books as those of Dr' Adams, Angus, or Matzner.The question of Prosody may be postponed until the pupil comes to the reading and examination of the best poetry ; and punctuation should he learnt—as learnt it can only be—in connection with composition.There is one interesting part of grammar that, as it is usually treated, is made dry, unattractive, and even repulsive.I mean the part which goes by the name of Derivation.The pupil is generally compelled to learn lists of Greek and Latin derivatives, in which he has, and can have, little or no interest.Unless, indeed, he knows both Greek and Latin ; but, in nine cases out often, the English pupil does not.But there are hundreds and thousands of the most interesting derivations in his own language—from past phases of the language ; and these are not only interesting from the light they throw on unsuspected relationships which crop up everywhere to our surprise, but are always seized with avidity by young people.Dr.Hyde gives a large number of these in his admirable little Grammar—a Grammar which might be very popular were it better fitted for use in schools.Such are the words shear, shire, share, sherd, shred, shore, short, shirt, shears, sharp, and sheer, from sciran to cut ; such are coop from heap, smite, from meet, squelch from quell, and scud from cut.It is true that we owe to some 154 Greek and Latin roots nearly 13,000 words of our language ; and it would seem well and necessary to teach all children some at least of these roots, For example, some of the offshoots of pono, which gives us 250, of plico, which gives us 200, and of capio, which gives us 197, might be learnt and traced out.But why the very young pupil especially should he pestered with these Greek and Latin words, to the exclusion of those English derivatives which he could easy take in and appreciate—it is difficult to see.A side-advantage, moreover, is thus to be gained, the pupil can, on this English high road, become most easily acquainted with the rudiments of the important science of Philology — may most easily learn, for example, how to apply for himself the fruitful law of Grimm.More, he will get rid of the common school-boy superstition, that the i.nglish language is a mere rag-basket, of scraps stolen or borrowed from other languages, and that every other word comes from, as he has been allowed to put it, some French or Latin or Greek source.II.Composition should be taught in the natural way ; that is simply, by imitation, just as we learn to speak.It is a very easy 117 FOR THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC.thing to find interesting and exciting passages from the most idiomatic English writers, such as Defoe, Bunyan, Sw'ift, Steele, Goldsmith, lhackeray, Sir Walter Scott, and Macaulay, that the pupil may “• get up,” and then write from recollection.At first the pleasantest and most interesting narrative parts of his reading-books will do perfectly well.Ttie chief thing to avoid is a “ fine ’ or bookish style ; the goal to aim at is the acquisition of an idiomatic and transparent English style—that is, a style which calls no attention to itself, but allows everything it presents to be seen in the distinctest manner—which is, in a word, merely the bearer of the ideas, and not a competitor with ideas for attention and remark.This style is of course the most difficult to learn, and requires long practice and many years.A very marked style—a highly Latinised or abstract style—is very easy to learn.1 think a clever boy of fifteen could learn to write Garlylese in a week, and Johnsonian in about a fortnight But good natural easy English, like Goldsmith’s or Steele’^or Thackeray’s requires much reading and long saturation in the style of the best books, as well as the opportunity of always hearing good simple English spoken.And there is the less motive for acquiring this style, that, when it is acquired it is noticed by hardly any one ; and the labour of years is sunk as it were underground.But the vicious and verbose styles look like striking monuments of hard labour in the field of literature and are as tempting as they are easy to acquire.The great rule in Composition is, “ If you have nothing to say, say it ; if you have something to say, say it.” And the practical corollary from this is, that a boy, sitting down to write anything, should have his head full of facts or ideas—should be interested in them—should be to some extent excited by them, and should be thinking about these facts and ideas, and not about the manner of stating them.After he has written all he can, he is then at liberty, to correct, to alter, and to prune.To ask him to produce the maximum of verbosity with the minimum of ideas—to hunt for words and phrases when he should be thinking of the connexion of his facts or arguments, when he should simply be thinking what to say next, is a distorted application of the art.The study of synonymes is very useful; but is not useful, it is encumbering, until the pupil has acquired a certain degree of vigour and freedom in the construction of his sentences.You don’t want to guide until you have your vehicle in motion ; and sailors will tell you that you cant steer a ship until she has got some way on.One aim of a liberal education is to give the scholar an extreme respect for words—to teach him that they are not merely counters, but powers ; and one result of this respect for words is strict economy in the use of them and the utmost care to eschew the vice of wordiness.Let teachers pursue this method—the method of nature - and they will be astonished by the results.The old systems had every power of nature against them ; their means were torturing and absurd, and their end was useless.Instead of the pupil having to go round and round in a hideous mill-walk of artificial practice, and find poverty of thought and barrenness of feeliim as the result, he will gradually gain not merely the power of vigorous and clear expression, but with it an unconscious training in the highest of all arts—the art of thinking.For the art of marshalling phrases and clauses and subordinate sentences—so as to produee a clear totality of impression on the mind of the hearer, or reader, is not only one of the bestpropædeutics to the art of thinking—to logic, but is itself a very large part of the art.At any rate, perfect limpidity of style is one of the necessary preconditions of absence of fallacy, From this point of view, it is plain that what is called the Analysis of Sentences, which has been set forth with so much clearness aud ability by Dr.Morel], in the best introduction to the grammar of thought___ that is, to Logic.In fact, it is almost the only technical training in thinking that the vast mass of young people is ever likely to get at all.We may fairly apply to the two methods the words of Gothe :— “ Ich sag’es dir ; Ein Kerl, der componirt 1st wie ein Thier auf diirrer Heide Von einem bosen Geist im Kreis herum geführt, Und rings umher liegt schone grune Weide.'’ Don’t ask your pupils to write themes or essays, for the sufficient reason that they can’t.Few grown-up people can write an essay that is worth reading ; and certainly no boy can.His ideas on Solitude: Benevolence, Anger, Taste, Parental affection, and a host of other virtues and vices, are worth the paper they are written on, and no more.The Iheme—name and thing— ought to be banished from every good school, and with it all the wretched English and poverty-stricken pretension it included and symbolized.III.In the next place, it is right to teach and to learn the literature of our native tongue.But here opens to us a vast and apparently illimitable field—which it would require a long life-time to settle in and to take possession of.But we cannot do this.What corner of the field, then, shall we occupy ?And why one corner more than another ?I do not think the answer is far to seek.It is with literature as with art ; we should refuse to occupy a moment’s time with anything but the best.And the names we should think it right to call the best names, stand out with sufficient prominence to enable us with tolerable certainty to decide which of their works we ought to study.When the pupil has given a fair amount of time and attention to some parts of their works, his taste will be sufficiently formed to enable him to go on without hesitation in the choice for himself of new paths and new studies.There has, up to the present time, not been taugbt much of English Literature in schools.And the schoolmaster is not to blame for this.It would be unreasonable to ask him to teach his pupils and to write books for them at the same time ; just as it would be unreasonable to expect a great musician to be able to make violins as well as to play upon them.But the want of the right books has been at length supplied, and in the most admirable and adequate manner.The school editions of the English Classics*which are now coming out from the Clarendon Press are capital specimens of what should be done to introduce young people to a thorough knowledge of the best literature.If a boy (or a girl), before leaving school, has read, in the last two years of his stay there, some of Chaucer, a book of Spenser, some of Bacon’s Essays, the earlier poems of Milton, and the best parts of Dryden, Pope, Cowper, Wordsworth, and Tennyson,—and all this may well be done in two years, without interfering with more difficult and perhaps more pressing studies — he will have gained a good foundation for something like a liberal education.And, knowing what I know of girls’ schools I believe that, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, it is a girl’s only chance of anything like a liberal education to be carefully taught in such subjects and in such books as these.Seldom or never does the average girl rist to an appreciation of the mental power or the style in a French or German book ; and the chances in her favour are amazingly increased in the case of an English writer.There is not, perhaps, even in the writings of Chaucer—nay, even in the writings of a Saxon author, such as Caedmon or Alfred—sufficient resistance to create mental power in the student of their works ; but there is sufficient beauty in the writings of any of the great English poets to evoke the power of appreciation,—that is, to educate taste.In the case of Chaucer, and still more so in the case of the Saxon writers, the teacher may ask almost as many questions on verbal points on phraseology, on usage, and on philology, as he would do if he were teaching Virgil ; and, as the language is to a large extent already known, the labour of the learner is considerably less and his pleasure perhaps quite as great, in reading Chaucer as in reading Virgil.And the teacher in training his pupils to an appreciation of the best, need not degrade himself to the position * Chaucer : The Prologue, &c., edited by R.Morris.I.of the Faery Queene, edited by G.W.Kitcbin, M.A.Co.) Bacon is in the press.Spenser : Book (Macmillan & lis JOURNAL OF EDUCATION of a cicerone, and disgust bis pupils by “ This line is generally admired.” “ Observe tbe exquisite music of this passage but partly by giving tbern the best passages to learn by heart, partly by judicious questioning on what appears to be merely a mechanical rule or objective fact, unconsciously train his pupils to true and unerring appreciation.In fact, there is this one advantage in the study of English literature that is patent to us all, and at once ; that is, we are already familiar with the language.Men have to go through many years of hard and ceaseless drudgery in their boyhood, to learn the vocabulary and grammatical forms and peculiarities of Greek and Latin ; and by far the largest number fall in the breach and never arrive at that goal of true enjoyment of the Classics which they were supposed to be seeking.In the case of English, all this preliminary labour is unecessary ; for we have already learnt the language.But that severe and painful training which young men are understood to receive at our public Schools and Universities—that splendid verbal scholarship—that fine sense of the force and weight of words—that exquisite perception of the turn of phrases, the march of sentences, and the rhythm of style—that quick insight into verbal fallacies, and detection of the point at which a writer imposes on himself by the use of words which he does not fully understand—all this may, be acquired, if acquired, at all, by a careful study of the English language, as well, or nearly as well as by the study of Greek and Latin.For the mental power that is diverted to and used up in the constructing and translating of the text, is in the case of English, left free for the perception and enjoyment of the style and sense.This may be proving too much.In any case, however, a little attention, and some natural good taste, are all that is necessary, under good guidance, for the reading and study ofthe English Classics.And another piece of good fortune that attends this course of reading is, that the hour spent on it is pure pleasure, that the work never becomes dull, and that there will never be the smallest necessity to employ authority in compelling the pupils to prepare the work.I think, moreover, that the scholar ought to be taught something of the History of Literature.Our reason is, that this history is a necessary and essential part of the history of the country ; and the two are full of mutual illustration.I should like to see a book of extracts, in prose and poetry, from our best and most popular writers, to illustrate the history of the country from the Saxon times downwards.One can easily imagine how interesting a series of passages from Alfred, the Saxon Chronicle, Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Drayton, Milton, Pope, Cowper, and others, bearing on the most remarkable events, revolutions, and phases of social life, would be both to young and old ; how it would put a new life into history, which too often, and for too many, remains through life a dry and dreary catalogue of dates, successions of Kings, cabinets, and battles.Probably Mr.Morris could do this better than any other English scholar in the country.The danger here, however, is the usual danger—-of too much.There are so many writers—both in prose and in poetry —all of them of some importance and of some standing, that to include them all in the history of literature would absorb all the available time both of teacher and of pupil.There are several histories of literature which read like catalogues—and hardly like catalogues raisonnés—of the names and books of hundreds of English authors.I have before me a little book of 176 pages ; and the author has crowded into this narrow pen some account of nearly 700 writers.And his method of characterizing is in inverse proportion to his enormous comprehensiveness ; one is “an elegant writer”; another is “ learned and profound”; a third is “ an able and versatile” essayist; and a fourth is something else—out ofthe thousand vague and thoughtless things that anybody can say about anybody.What notions and knowledge would grown-up people carry away after reading this book ?And if the result for them would be almost, nil, how much worse than nothing must it be for a young and sympathetic stu- dent I And I regret to say that most of the Histories of Literature “ for schools” arc of the same character,—repertories of mere literary gossip, and full of a conspicuous absence of anything like an informing (to use the word in its old and best sense) or educating power.Instead of using such books, it is much better for the teacher to rely on his own resources,—to endeavour to interest his pupils in six or eight of the best English, writers, and to leave the rest to be read after the boy leaves school.The mania for mechanical completeness, which haunts girls’ schools especially, is the strongest temptation to the opposite course.But if the works of these six or eight writers, become points of light and landmarks in the wide region of literature,—if they become standards by which to measure the greatness or the smallness of other writers,—if the pupil knows why they are standards and how they are standards,—then everything has been done for the pupil that can be done in school and it has been done successfully.I hope that the Oxford Delegates will this year name these books—Chaucer and Spenser—to be read by their candidates, instead of the much duller works of Milton and Cowper,—duller, I mean, to young people.An honest taste for and delight in Milton is one of the very last results of much and thoughtful reading —of long cultivation ; and it seems a pity that the school-boy and school-girl should be deprived of much of their chance for reaching this goal by having his splendid rhythms drilled into their heads at school, or spoiled by their half-trained ears.Besides, Milton, in his greater works, cannot really interest them.But Chaucer and Spenser can ; and the result will be, that they will want to read more than they have read in school, whereas with Milton the result is something very different.Nothing is more absurd than to ask boys of fourteen or fifteen to get à book of Milton’s Paradise Lost.They have a total lack of interest in the subject ; they cannot appreciate the thoughts ; they have no enjoyment of the style ; they miss the allusions (and explaining them is as unsatisfactory to both sides as explaining a joke) ; they lose the flavour of the phrases ; and to them the whole reading is heavy collar-work—joyless, dreary, and unprofitable.But with Mr.Macmillan’s editions of Chaucer and Spenser, it only requires common-sense on the part of the pupil to make the reading of these authors a hearty pleasure to both.Another part of instruction in “ English” which is too often utterly neglected or ill-taught-taught, that is, so as to produce results that are worse than none at all—is the art or power of reading.The power of reading in a natural, simple and unaffected way is one of the rarest, and it ought to be one of the commonest, things in England.By good reading I mean the power of expressing by the voice the exact weight and value of each word or set of words in a sentence,—the power of accurately translating to the ear the meaning, the whole meaning, and nothing but the meaning of the writer.A well-trained child, with a good car and fair intelligence, can easily do this, even where he does not completely understand the meaning of every word in the sentence he is reading.To do it in a perfectly natural manner is, of course, the result only of considerable practice ; but it is not difficult to set a child on the right path.The chief difficulty is perhaps to be found in the reading of poetry.Here the measure of the verse and the emphasis are sometimes in conflict with each other ; and a misplaced iambus will make the reader trip over the meaning.Children have a good and correct ear for verse, but not so vivid a perception of the sense ; and therefore nine out of ten, in reading Mrs.Hcman’s poem ol Casabianca, will say,— “ The boy stood on the burning deck.” Or.in the beautiful verse of Coleridge in the Ancient Mariner,— “ It ceased ; yet still the sails made on A pleasant noise till noon.A noise as of a hidden brook In the leafy month of June That to the sleeping woods all night Singeth a quiet tune.” FOR THE PROVTNCE OF QUEBEC.119 In the last line but one the child has sometimes a little difficulty between the that and the to.But, in fact, the real reason why good reading is so rare is that the right key-note is seldom or never struck in the beginning.This key-note, Whately tell us, is the complete abstraction of all consciousness and attention from the voice, and the as complete giving of it to the sense and the matter.It is plain that reading taught in this the only true way, means a great deal more than it seems to mean—that it presupposes skilful questioning and explanations of words and sentences on the part of the teacher, so as to bring every part of the sentence into its true relief and prominence—to give each phrase its due amount of light and shade ; and that the art of reading in this view and at once separates itself from the vile mechanic art of Elocution— which would force a fixed set of “ rising and falling inflections” on every sentence from without instead of allowing the native feeling, which is to give its true expression to the sentence, to rise from within.To spout and to read are not merely different things—they are opposite things.The result of this mechanic art of elocution is clear enough in the well-known story :—A clergyman, in the course of the Church Service, coming to the 24th and 25th verses of the 28th chapter of 1st, Samuel, which describe how Saul, who had been abstaining from food in the depth of his grief, was at last persuaded to eat, read them thus :—“And the woman had a fat calf, in the house, and she hasted and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof.And she brought it before Saul and before his servants, and they did eat !” I trust that I have sketched in this paper a programme that is not burdensome to the teacher nor wearisome to the pupil ; that on the road I point out there is to be found some approach to that “perpetual feast” of which Milton speaks; and that in these studies pleasure is certain to go hand in hand with profit —as it always should if the studies are to be effective at all.Matthew Arnold says—and with justice—that our middle class, is the “ most illiterate and uncultivated in Europe.” It seems to me that the nearest and readiest way to rid ourselves of this reproach is to have our own literature well and sensibly taught in all schools ; to put the teaching of it on a level with the teaching of French and German ; and to insist that the pupil shall have a thorough knowledge of the simpler parts of English Grammar, and some power of adequate expression in his own tongue, before he begins to learn Greek or Latin.Instead of elaborate, trifling, twopenny distinctions, petty remarks on phrases, and a network of hints and rules which destroy the temper and distract the mind—which neutralize all power, as the strength of Gulliver was neutralized when he was tied to the ground by innumerable petty cords in the kingdom of Lilliput____ instead of false and unatural methods which conduct to useless and impossible ends.—I offir here, to all who are interested in the study of their mother-tongue and its literature, a method and a goal which are as profitable and fruitful as they arc pleasurable and attractive.—Educational Times.A Sclio«luiast?r‘s Reminiscences.At a reunion the other evening of the old scholars, 500 in number, of a veteran schoolmaster, who will here perhaps prefer to be nameless and homeless, he made, in thanking them for the kindly feelings which had prompted them to gather round him, a speech of no ordinary ability, and animated by no ordinary enthusiasm for his profession.He was naturally led to talk of past experience, and amongst other reminiscences were these :_ One cold winter’s night I recollect visiting the cottage of a poor widow who had several children at school.I found the mother and the younger children crowding round the dying embers in the firegrate.The two elder boys were sitting in the bedroom without fire, closely applying themselves to their evening lessons; their thoughtful, self-denying, far-seeing mother having spent the last halfpenny she had in the world in a candle to furnish them with the necessary light.All honour to such mothers ! Their sons can never repay them.I could name a goodly number of men now in good circumstances who are indebted to the self-denial of their mother for the education which has raised them to the positions they now accupy ; and I rejoice to be able to add that I know several such sons who have shewn, are shewing, and will show their gratitude to their mothers for the sacrifices they made in their behalf.The feelings and sentiments embodied in that beautiful address with which you have presented me this evening are gratifying and encouraging to me in the highest degree.In the early part of my career as a teacher I resolved that I would not strive to make all things pleasant to you as boys, but leave to your manhood the judgment how far the training you had received at school was for your good.If a master strives to please his boys while they are at school, he must give them but few evening lessons, frequent holidays, and long vacations.These, you are well aware, are things I never believed in, and I don’t think I ever shall.I believe in hard work,—glorious work.Parents who have been thinking of sending their children to a school at some distance from home, have asked me if I knew a school where the master was very kind.If I were sending my sons to school, l should ask is the master just?Is he generous, pure-minded, devout?Is he full of sympathy with suffering ?Is he a man who scorns all that is low, and mean and selfish in boys, and does his utmost to put it down ?Is he a stern rebuker of laziness, deception, and injustice ?The work of the schoolmaster is arduous and difficult and requires angelic patience.Its fatigues, anxieties, and responsibilities, are very great.Still, I love it.1 entered into it with a will, and that will is as strong as ever.To me teaching is full of interest.I have just said that the teacher’s duties are of a difficult and trying nature.Think of the languor and weariness induced by confinement and want of change ; of the wear on his finer nervous system ; of the fact that those on whom his best care has been bestowed are withdrawn from him year by year ; that those who are consigned to his care and instruction do not attend with sufficient regularity to give him a fair opportunity of doing himself justice= Then their parents often put too high a value on some subordinate matter of instruction, as penmanship, and undervalue other subjects, such as grammar or arithmetic, which are of immeasurably greater importance.As instances of the strange feelings and prejudices in parents, which a teacher encounters in the performance of his duty, take the following: In 1842, the father of one of the boys at school imformed me that he would not allow his little boy to sing “ God save the Queen ; ” he also stated that if we did not discontinue the practice he would take his son away.Now a wise teacher will not, needlessly, give offence to parents.I reasoned thus with myself ; this is a National School ; the foundation of the school is the Bible.The Bible says.“ Honour the King.” The catechism says it is our duty to “ Honour and obey The Queen.” We must act up to our principles.We must do what we know to be right, and leave this father to take his own course.We continued to sing the National Anthem as aforetime.He took his child from school.I could not but feel sorry at his thus acting and the more so because his son was an interesting little fellow’.I found, on enquiry, that the father was a red-hot Chartist.No doubt he meant well, but he was not as wise as he thought he was, or as he might have been.Soon after he had remold his child from the school, he was so dissatisfied with the way in which the nation was governed that he went to Yankee Land.His little boy, I believe, died on the passage.A short residence in his new home would, doubtless, convince him that the United States was not quite a second Eden.One afternoon, I happened to say to a boy who was a regular dreamer, a lazy being, an old offender, a boy upon whom kindness, reason, and gentle reproof had been tried, but tried in vain, “ John, when you become a man, (that’s a mistake,-I ought to say, when you reach the size of a man, and are of the shape of a man), your Christmas dinner 120 JOURNAL OP EDUCATION will be—not a goose,—not a good piece of roast beef,—but— a red herring, if you are fortunate enough to meet with some one kind enough to make you a present of one.You are going to the poor-house at a rapid rate.” In the evening, while seated at home, I was informed that the mother of one of the boys wished to speak to me.I said, ‘ Please ask her to come into the room.’ She came ; it was the mother of John.She said, ‘ Sir, you have been telling my boy that he is going to the poor-house.’ I exclaimed, ‘ He is, at a quick rate too.’ She declared he was not.She said, ‘ Neither his father nor I have ever applied to the relieving officer in our lives.’ So offended was she that she never sent him to our school again.A boy came into the school to me one morning, a few minutes before nine, while the boys where forming in the school-yard, and said, 1 If you please, sir, there is a woman at the front door who wishes to speak to you.’ On going to the door I saw a mother and her sou on the causeway outside the area that forms the school.The boy was clinging to the palisades with all his might, the mother was exerting herself to the utmost, though not in the most skilful manner, to loosen his hold.As soon as I reached the door, she said, ‘ Come and fetch him in sir.’ I replied, ‘ I never fetch any one in, I am not a policeman, I will lend you a cane to help you to get him in.’ I sent a boy with the cane, and I must say it proved very serviceable to her, and she made capital use of it.She hammered away at him in fine style, striking him on the head and hands in such a way as to compel him to loosen his hold.As I stood looking on I could not help thinking that if a teacher had used the cane in the same manner, all the neighbourhood would have cried shame on him.As soon as he had crossed the threshold,I said to his mother, ‘ Now he is in my charge.’ I told the boy to go to his place, a command which he instantly obeyed.This very unwise mother had been in the habit of bribing her son to come to school.Almost every morning he was seen with an apple, orange, some toffee, or other sweets, and occasionally I had noticed in his hand a piece of paper containing a mixture of flour and sugar.I found, on enquiring, that his mother had nothing to bribe him with that morning and he therefore refused to come, and she for once in her life acted wisely and was determined to make him come.I told her what I have told many other mothers, that I never knew a son who had been much indulged, prove dutiful, loving, and grateful.Neither do these spoiled sons ever become really happy men.—Papers for the Schoolmaster.SCIENCE.American Association for the Advancement of Science.This body lately held its 17th annual session at Chicago, further west than any former place of meeting.We have been furnished with the lists of attendance, papers presented in the “ sections,” and abstracts of the chief discussions, from which we compile the following summary.Upwards of 250 members recorded their names in the register.A smaller number than usual attended from Canada, including Dr.Hunt, of the Canadian Geological Corps ; Professor Miles, of the Department of Public Instruction, Quebec ; Dr.Baker Edwards, of Montreal, and a few others.Since the commencement of the great civil war in 1861, the Association seems to have lost many of its former prominent supporters.Since that period, some of its distinguished members, including Dr.A.B.Gould, of Boston, and A.D.Bache, of the United States, Coast Survey, and others, have been removed by the hand of death, but we miss in the list of attendance upon the late meeting the names of Agassiz, Peierce, Hill, Professors Henry, Alexander, W.B.Rogers, and Caswell, Sir W.Logan.Prof.Wilson, Dr.Smallwood, etc., whose scientific contributions and eminence in the different walks of science added so much to the dignity and importance of those assemblages of savans.The papers entered were upon almost every conceivable chemical, geological, astronomical, statistical, or other scientific topic.They exceeded 150 in number, so that during the session of eight days scarcely one-half of them could be read in the sections, and fewer still become subjects of discussion or debate.If we except two important and interesting papers, which were read and partially discussed in general session, entitled “ Steam boilers, and the various causes assigned for their explosions, illustrated by facts, drawings and experiments, by Joseph A.Miller, ” and “ on the application of electricity to the maintenance of the vibration of the Tuning-fork, and of the latter to the excitement of vibrations in cords and threads, by Prof.Joseph Lovering, ” it may be stated that the contributions of the chemists, geologists, and paleontologists decidedly preponderated.The last named class were ably represented by our well known chemist and geologist, Dr.Hunt, also by Professors Hall, Silli-man, and Horsford.Dr.Hunt contributed several papers which excited much interest, and among these “ The Upper Silurian and Devonian rocks of Ontario, ” “ Gold in the Laurentian rocks of Canada,” “ The Gold regions of Nova Scotia, ” “ The Che-mico-gcological relations of the metals.” etc.Papers and discussions on “ the antiquity of man in North America ” appear to have received a disproportionate amount of time and attention, and became thus, perhaps, the chief topics of the session.Notwithstanding the ability with which the authors supported their views, and the acknowledged eminence of those who took part in the discussions upon those exciting subjects, very little of really new and indisputably conclusive evidence was advanced, nor does it seem likely that the result will seriously affect the time-honored belief in the comparatively recent origin of man on the globe.During the session the attention of the members of the association was invited to objects of local interest in the city and neighbourhood.Amongst these were the hall of the Board of Trade, The Historical Society’s Rooms and Collection, The Rush Medical College, &c.More especially deserving mention are the following institutions of an educational character.THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO This Institution is situated on Cottage Grove Avenue, beyond Thirty-Third Street, and is built upon land given by the late Senator Douglas.Though established but about ten years, it now ranks as one of the leading universities of the North-west and is rapidly acquiring all the essentials of a complete institution.THE DEARBORN OBSERVERATORY.This forms the Astronomical Department of the University.Its objects are to make original researches in Astronomical Science, to assist in the application of Astronomy to Geography, and other useful objects, and to furnish instruction in Astronomy to the students of the University, both those in the regular course and those who wish to give special attention to the study.The principal instrument of the Observatory, at present, is the great Equatorial Refractor, by Alvan Clark and Sons, of Cambridge, Mass., the largest telescope in this country.This instrument is placed in the Dearborn Tower, built by the munificence of the Hon.J.Young Scammon, LL.D.The dimensions of the Equatorial are : Diameter of Declination Circle, 30 inches.Diameter of Hour Circle, 22 inches.Focal Length of Object Glass, 23 feet.Aperture of Object Glass 18^ inches.The circles are read by two microscopes each, the hour circle to seconds of time, and the declination circle to ten seconds of space.The Observatory has also a chronometer (ffm.Bond and Son, No.279), and a small astronomical library.A meridian circle of the first class has been constructed by those eminent artists, Messrs.A.Repsold and Sons of Hamburg, and is now on its way to Chicago.This instrument has a teles- FOR THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC.121 cope of six French inches aperture, and divided circles of forty inches diameter ; otherwise it is like Bessel’s celebrated Konigs-berg circle, by the same makers, with some late improvements in the illumination of the field and the wires, and with apparatus for recording declinations, a new invention of the makers.ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.The Academy of Sciences is situated on the rear of lot No.263 Wabash Avenue, between Van Buren and Jackson Streets.The building, which was finished early the present year, is fifty-five feet by fifty, fire-proof, and very strongly built, though plain in external appearance, as it will eventually form only an adjunct to a larger and finer building to be erected on the front of the lot, which is owned by the Academy.The first two stories contain the library, work rooms, offices, etc., while the upper story forms the museum, which is twenty-eight feet high, and surrounded by two galleries.The Academy was organized on its present basis in 1865.The nucleus of the collection of Natural History was famished by the Smithsonian Institution, from the rich results of the Artie Explorations of the late Major Kenni-cott.The collection was partially destroyed by fire in 1866, but the losses have been since more than made up.A considerable portion of the specimens has been allowed to remain packed in the store rooms of the Academy, as it was found that those displayed in the cases suffered greatly from the dampness which still exudes from the thick walls of the building.We append the following abstracts of a few of the papers read and of discussions which took place in the sections, on subjects which appear likely to be of most general interest.ASTRONOMY.The few papers on this subject were almost purely technical.William A.Rogers, of Alfred Centre Observatory, New York, gave the results of some curious experiments made to determine the influence of the physical states of the observer, especially those of hunger, cold and exhaustion, upon his observations.It is well known to, astronomers that when we approach the last degree of precision, different observers are found to disagree in their estimates of the time of an observation or phenomenon, in a pretty regular and systematic manner.This difference, or rather the error with which each man’s observations are uniformly affected, is called his “ personal equation.” It has Ion" been known that personal equation might vary with the physical and mental condition af the observor, but no attempt had been made to determine the law of such variations.Mr.Rogers found that exhaustion did not appear to have much effect as long as the observations were kept up, but if the observor, after a hard night's work, slept a while and then resumed observations, the change in his equation was strongly marked.The effects of cold and hunger, though sensible, were not very great.Simon Newcomb of the National Observatory examined and criticised Hansen’s Theory of the Physical Constitution of the Moon.According to Hansen the moon is lap-sided, her centre of gravity being some thirty-five miles more distant from us than her centre of figure.Consequently, though there was no atmosphere on this side of the moon, there might be on the other side, and speculators eagerly seized upon the theory to show that plants and animals might occupy that invisible region.The speaker, however, argued that the whole results flowed from an oversight in Hansen’s reasoning, and that the whole doctrine was totally devoid of logical foundation.There is not the slightest reason for supposing that the moon, in this respect, differs from the other heavenly bodies in being perfectly symmetrical with respect to her centre of gravity.J.N.Stockwell of Ohio presented the results of an important investigation into the secular variations of the orbits of the planets during past and future ages.He had calculated the changes in the form and position of the orbits for the past two millions of years.The last attempt to make such a calculation was that of Le Verrier more than twenty years ago, and he had not fully taken into account the action of the planet Neptune, so that his results were incomplete.This paper received high encomiums from the mathematicians and astronomers present.METEOROLOGY.Professor Elias Loomis of New Haven read a somewhat extended paper upon the vexed question of the influence of the moon upon the weather, more particularly upon the temperature, the amount of rain, the amount of clouds, and the height of the barometer.His principal results were derived from other investigators.Rain.—From a comparison of 28 years of observations in different parts of Europe Schubler and Gasparia had concluded that the number of rainy days between first quarter and full moon were 24 per cent, greater than between last quarter and new moon.Temperature.—From a comparison of 43 years of observations at Greenwhich, nine at Oxford and sixteen at Berlin, Mr.Harrison of England had concluded that there was a monthly fluctuation of temperature, amounting to one degree and a tenth Fahrenheit, the maximum occurring about the first quarter and the minium just before the last quarter.Professor Loomis himself had investigated the results of six years’ observation at Girard College (1840-1845) and found a similar monthly fluctuation of a little more than two degrees.Cloudiness.—The speaker’s results for the influence of the clouds upon the weather were directly opposed to those of Sir John Herschel.The latter astronomer maintained that the moon tended to dissipate clouds, especially when full, an effect which he attributed to the heat radiated by her and absorbed in the upper atmosphere and by tbe clouds.Professor Loomis, on the other hand, maintained that the moon’s heat was to cause clouds, though the evidence he presented in favor of this view was not at all satisfactory.On the whole, we doubt whether Professor Loomis convinced any one but himself that the minute changes observed were due to lunar influence or that the moon has any effect upon the weather capable of being detected by observation.THE TIDES.'William Ferrel gave the results of a mathematical investigation of tides in lakes, with an application to Lake Michigan.He showed that the tides could be calculated from the known depth of the lake, and vice versa, the depth, supposing it uniform, and not more than 300 feet could be inferred from the amount of the tides.From the supposed depth of the lake the calculated tide at each end was about two inches, a result agreeing very nearly with that which Col.Graham deduced from observations.An interesting result was that if the depth of the lake were reduced to 150 feet the tides might become very great, because the time then occupied by the water in its swing from one end of the lake to the other and back again, or, in other words, the time which a tide wave would occupy in passing twice over the length of the lake, would correspond in time with the successive transits of the moon over the upper and lower meridians.The moon would then continually act so as to increase the natural swing of the waters, and this swing would gradually increase like that of a heavy pendulum when a small force is continually applied so as to increase its motion.Professor II.A.Newton brought out the theoretical fact, generally lost sight of, that in temperate latitudes the tides will be greater in a long lake running north and south than in one running east and west.CHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS.On these subjects the papers whose objects were most important were those which soughtto discover general relations between the molecular constitutions of various compounds as given by chemical formulae, and their chemical properties as found by observation.Few thinking chemists will doubt that all the chemical properties of bodies are due to mechanical forces actin" between their individual molecules, atoms, or other ultimate parts, so that if we knew exactly what these torces were we 122 JOURNAL OF EDUCATION might thence infer the chemical properties of all known bodies by mathematical reasoning.Such a result, could it be obtained, would make chemistry a science even more nearly perfect than astronomy.Gustavus Henrichs of the University of Iowa, as well as one or two others, presented papers which may be regarded as first attempts towards bringing the science of chemistry into this perfect form.The theory of Mr.Henrichs is, that all matter is composed of similar parts, which he calls pan-atoms,” and that the various properties of bodies are due to the various ways in which these atoms are combined to form molecules.A molecule of hydrogen is composed of two of these pan-atoms, one of carbon of twelve, and so of the other bodies.According to this view the chemical elements are not really simple bodies, but differ from other compounds only in the difficulty or impossibility of separating their parts.Professor Henrichs’ papers were chiefly devoted to the relations between the atomic volumes, the boiling points and the molecular structure of the carbon compounds, especially the alcohols, and the corresponding organic acids.One of his most interesting results was that in the combination of carbon with other elements, the compound atoms would condense into a volume bearing some simple ratio to the elements.The paper of Gorge F.Barker, of New-Haven, “ on the molecular arrangements of the inorganic acids,” had a similar object, and was presented with more logical clearness than that of Mr.Henrichs, but our space will not permit even an abstract.THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN.This was the most exciting subject discussed by the association ; provision was therefore made, on the first day, for the reading of papers relating to it in general session.The discussion was opened by Colonel Whittlesey of Ohio, who cited a number of cases of the discovery of the handiworks of ancient man.The following are some of the more remarkable :— 1.The discovery of flint arrows in Missouri beneath the skeleton of the mastodon, in the ancient alluvial formation, buried in a peat bed covered with sand to the depth of fourteen feet.He therefore inferred that man was contemporary with the mastodon, and survived the convulsion which destroyed the latter.2.When the High Rock Spring at Saratoga was cleaned, under the cave there was found, at the depth of thirteen or fourteen feet, a log that appeared to have been used by persons who had occasion to reach the spring.It was computed that the time required for the deposit over the log was nearly 5000 years, and from the foot tracks, it would appear that the people were the common Indians.He also alluded to the discovery, some years since, on the Florida reefs, of fossil human jaw with one tooth, which had been examined by Agassiz, and which from the position in which it was found, had been calculated to have been there 10,000 years, and to a number of other cases already made known to the public.Mr.Foster of Chicago exhibited two specimens of the plastic art taken from mounds near the battle field of Belmont in Missouri.While it must be admitted that the founders of Acropolis are in no danger of losing the palm by the competition of these less noted artists, it is still true that the works of the latter are far beyond anything that could be expected of the present race of Indians.One of the specimens was a water pitcher, on which the potter had impressed the features of his race.These were radically different from those of the red man, and indicated a o-ood degree of intellectual development.The other piece of art was a statuette of a captive.The arms were bound behind the body by cords, and the art of the fashioner was so far advanced that the countenance of the figure expressed the discomfort of his position.J.D.Whitney and W.F.Blake presented evidence on the same subject from California.The subject of Mr.Whitney’s paner was a fossil human skull found in Calaveras County, California, at the bottom of a shaft 130 feet deep.Above the layer of gravel in which it was found were four beds of lava, with three of gravel, interposed between them.Large portions of the skull were gone, rendering it impossible to identify the race of men to which it belonged with any certainty, but they appeared not to differ much from the present Esquimaux.From the manuer in which the skull was fractured, Professor Whitney concluded that it was swept with many other bones down a shallow but violent stream, where it was exposed to the boulders of the bed.In its passage it was broken, and at last came to rest in a position where water charged with calcareous matter had access to it, on a base of auriferous gravel.From all the circumstances the speaker thought the owner of the skull lived before the glacial epoch, and that man had therefore seen and survived that great convulsion.Mr.Blake presented some relics,—bones, flint arrow heads, etc.,—said to have been found beneath Table Mountain, California.Geological evidence shows that this mountain was once the bed of a river, which gradually filled up until the river overflowed and divided into two courses, one on each side of its original bed—In the course of ages the streams gradually wore away their new beds to the depth of from 1500 to 2000 feet, leaving the old bed as an intervening mountain of that height.If then the remains of man were really found iu the interior of this mountain, the evidence in favor of their antiquity would be very strong.Unfortunately, however, Professor Whitney came forward with the damaging statement that the very authority from whom Dr.Blake had got his relies had informed him (Whitney) that they did not come from under Table Mountain at all.Dr.Blake retorted by attempting to discredit Whitney’s skull, but his objections were neither so definite nor so conclusive as those of his opponent.On the whole we conceive that ‘although two mornings and most of another were given to this discussion, not much new light, was thrown upon the question.GEOLOGYÿAND paleontology.Charles Whittlesey also presented an extended paper on the fossil horse, showing that although this animal was not an inhabitant of this continent at the time of its discovery, its bones were found in early geological formations.T.Sterry Hunt of Canada read a paper on the cliemico-geolo-gical relations of metals, the object of which was to show how auriferous and other veins resulted from the chemical properties of the metals while the earth was cooling from a red hot liquid mass to its present consistence.general remarks.The meeting was one of the largest the association has yet brought together, and the amount of matter presented was very large, not half the papers being read.The sessions of the Association were presided over with dignity and impartiality by Dr.B.A.Gould of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Professor Lovering as heretofore was permanent secretary, popular and acceptable to all.The affairs which appertained to the reception and entertainment of members, places of meeting, &c., were managed by a Local Committee, of which the Hon.J.Y.Scammon was Chairman and Dr.Wm.Stimpson Secretary.The president of the Association chosen to succeed Dr.Gould is Col.W.S.Foster of Chicago, and the annual meeting for 1869, is appointed to be held on the 18th of next August in the town of Salem, Massachusetts.II.H.5M. POE, THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC.123 OFFICIAL NOTICES.Ministry of Pnbl'c Instruct inn.APPOINTMENTS.The Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Quebec, by an Order in Council of the 21st August, was pleased to approve of the following nominations : EXAMINERS.To be members of the following Boards of Examiners : AYLMER BOARD.Levi Ruggles Church, Esq , in place of the Revd.Mr.Morris, deceased.SWEETSBURGH AND WATERLOO BOARD The Revd.Messrs.Edward Gendreau and Henri Milette, in place of the Revd.Messrs.Browne and Michon, resigned.SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS.The following Gentlemen to be School Commissioners for the hereinafter mentioned Municipalities : Arundel, County of Argenteuil : Messrs.Coral Cook, Wm.Thompson, Senior ; Thomas Strong, Stephen Bevon, and Samuel McRonald ; the election not having taken place within the prescribed time.Granville, No.2, County of Argenteuil : Messrs.Joseph Davidson and John Ritchie, in place of Messrs.William Cooke and Richard Prid-ham, whose term of office had expired ; the election did not take place within the legal time.Morin, County of Argenteuil : Mr.Cornelius Brown in place of Mr.George Hamilton, and Mr.William Kerr replacing himself, his election being irregular.Metgermette, County of Beauce : Messrs.Alexander Wilson, William Reaney, Robert Ray, John Owens, and John Armstrong ; the elections of the preceding year having been irregular.Salles, County of Charlevoix : Messrs.Calixte Lavoie, Narcisse Bergeron, Epiphane Boily, Jean Brassard, and Thomas Bouchard ; the last election having been irregular.St.Canut, No.1, County of Two Mountains : Mr.John Wood, in place of Mr.David Black, whose term of office had expired ; the election not having taken place within the legal time.Grande Vallée, County of Gaspé : Messrs.Etienne Fournier, Joseph Gamache, Célestin Gagnier, and Marcel Côté, in place of Messrs.Jean-Bte.Caron, Messie Fournier, Férdinand Gagnier, and Alexis Fournier ; there having been no election for two years.lie Bonaventure, County of Gaspé : Messrs.Jean Hamon, aud Phil-lippe Abraham Mauger, in place of Messrs.Jean Lamb, and Phillippe Leconteur ; the electi m not having been held within the time prescribed by law St.Lambert, County of Lévis : Mr.Léon Larochelle in place of Mr.Michel Labonté, whose term of office had expired ; the election not having been held within the legal time.Ripon, County of Ottawa : Mr.Lcandre Lavigne, in place of Mr.Emery Sabourin, whose term of office had expired ; the election not having been held within the legal time.St.Aimé, County of Richelieu : Messrs.Joseph Baudreault, Pierre Brouillard, François Tardif, Modeste Reiche, and Maxime Lavallée ; the elections of the preceding years having been irregular.St.George of Windsor, County of Richmond : Mr.Godfroy Clément, in place of Mr.Numidique Petit, whose term of office had expired ; the election not having been held within the legal time.St.Zotique, County of Soulanges : Mr.Julien Giroux, in place of Mr.McPherson, whose term of office had expired ; the election not having been held within the legal time Ste.Thérèse (Village), County of Terrebonne : The Revd.Mr.Léon Charlebois, in place of the Revd.Mr.Louis Dagenais, deceased ; the election not having been held within the legal time.Ste.Marguerite, County of Dorchester : Mr.Pierre Emond, in place of Mr.Joseph Perron, whose term of office had expired ; the election not having been held within the legal time.Baie Nord, County of Gaspé : Messrs.Henry Patterson, James Ascah, Robert Ascah, John Ascah, and William James Miller; the elections of the preceding years having been irregular.Henryville, County of Iberville : Messrs.Lucien Roy, Ls.Hormidas Trudeau, Médard Lamoureux, Pierre Fortin, and Michael McCawliff; the preceding elections having been irregular.St.Ambroise de Kildare, County of Joliette : Messrs.Hugh Daly, Louis Z.Magnant, Magloire Masson, Sifroi Barrette, and François Marion ; the preceding elections having been irregular.St.Sulpice, County of L’Assomption : Messrs.Olivier Lapointe, Gilbert Coderre, Edouard Rivet, Edouard Prudhomme, and Urgel Tellier ; the preceding elections being irregular.Ste.Rose (Village), County of Laval : Messrs.Humbert Leclair, Jos.Ouimet, Augustin Major, Louis Gagnon, and Joseph Courval ; the preceding elections being irregular.St.Nicholas, County of Lévis : Mr.François-Xavier Paquet, replacing himself ; his election not having been held within the time prescribed by the law.Village of Lauzon, County of Lévis : Messrs.François Edouard Ver-rault, André Bourget, François-Xavier Poiret, Damase Poliquin, and André Labrecque.Notre-Dame de la Victoire, County of Lévis : Messrs.Ls.Thivierge, Antoine Guay, Odule Samson, Louis Nadeau, Claude Lemieux ; the preceding election having been irregular.St.Pierre de Broughton, County of Megantic : The Revd.Nicolas Mathias Huot and Messrs.William Pier, Magloire Derouin, Pierre Delage, and Auguste Lamontagne ; the preceding elections being irregular.Templeton, County of Ottawa : Messrs.William Keer, Th3.Quinn, Jacob Scbarf, John McLaurin, and John Geoghegan ; the elections of the preceding year being irregular.Clarendon, County of Pontiac : Messrs.Hénry Argue, Thomas Hobbs, William Clarke, Thomas Corrigan, and John Strutt ; the preceding elections being irregular.Leslie, County of Pontiac : Messrs.William Milliken, William Little, Henry Little, William Parker, and John Stephens.The request for the erection being made the same day.St.Roch (South), County of Quebec : Messrs François Bélanger, George Paquet, Elie Noël, Louis Vermette, and David Rousseau ; the preceding elections being irregular.Ste.Luce, County of Rimouski : Messrs.Didace Morissette, Charles Pelletier, Magloire Dutremble, Pierre Tremblay, and Joseph Levesque ; the elections of the preceding years being irregular.La Présentation, County of St.Hyacinthe : Mr.Amable Jacques, in place of Mr.Narcisse Audette, whose term of office had expired ; the election not having been regular.Bégon, County of Temiscouata : Messrs.Charles D’Auteuil, in place of the Revd.Mr.Guay, whose term of office had expired ; the election not having been made within the legal time.St.Janvier (Paroisse), County of Terrebonne : Messrs.Joseph Forget Régis Lebeau, George Limoges, Elie Thérien, and Guillaume Brière ; the preceding elections being irregular.St.Janvier (Village), County of Terrebonne : Messrs.Octave Ouimet, Hilaire.Papineau, Hubert Léonard, Jean-Baptiste Forget, and David Des-roches ; the preceding elections being irregular.St.Henri, County of Lévis : Messrs.François Xavier Ferland and Michel Morrissette, in place of Messrs.Louis Halée and Martial Rouleau, whose term of office had expired, the election not having been held within the legal time.SCHOOL TRUSTEES.The following Gentlemen to be School Trustees of the Dissentient Schools of the hereinafter mentioned Municipalities : St.Ephrem d’Upton, County of Bagot : Mr Peter Sharpies, in place of Mr.E.A.Henderson, whose term of office had expired ; the election not being held within the legal time.Broughton, County of Beauce: Mr.John Gillenders, Junior, replacing himself; his election not being according to law.Chambly, County of Chambly : The Revd.Mr.Thorndike, in place of the Revd.Mr.Dudswell, who has finally quitted the municipality ; the election was not held within the time prescribed by law.Cote St.Louis, County of Hoclielaga : Mr.Thomas Wiseman, replacing himself; his election not having been held within the time prescribed by law.Côte des Neiges, County of Hoclielaga.: Mr.Archibald McFarlane, in place of Major Burke, whose term of office had expired ; no election having taken place 1867. 124 JOURNAL OF EDUCATION St.Jean Baptiste A illage, County of Hochelaga : Mr.Joseph Thomas, in place ot Mr.David Cravihue, whose term of office had expired ¦ three Trustees having been elected, instead of only one.Havelock, County of Huntingdon : Mr.Janvier Ledoux, in place of Mr.Louis Durivage, who has left the limits and was not replaced within the legal time.SC Félix de A alois, County of Joliette : Mr.William Body, replacing himself ; his election not having taken place within the legal time.Ste.Julie de Somerset, County of Megantic : Messrs.Donald McKinnon, T\ illiam Gardner, and Archibald McKillup, by declaration of dissent.St.Stanislas Kotska, County of Beauharnois : Mr.James Whittal, in place of Mr.William Cavers, whose term of office had expired : the election not having been held within the legal time.Ste.Martine, County of Chateauguay : Messrs.James Muir, John Bay, and John Ritchie j the preceding elections being irregular.Huntingdon, County of Huntingdon : Messrs.Stuart McDonnell, James Feeney, and James P.Sexton ; the preceding elections being irregular.Hatley, County of Stanstead : Mr.Joseph Belanger, in place of Mr.Césaire Courtemanche, who has finally quitted the municipality ; the election not having been held within the time prescribed by law.SEPARATIONS, ANNEXATIONS AND ERECTIONS OF SCHOOL MUNICIPALITIES.The Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Quebec, by an Order in Council of the 21st Aug., was pleased, in virtue of the powers conferred upon him by the 30th Section of the 15th Cap.of the Consolidated Statutes of Lower Canada, to make the following changes in the under mentioned School Municipalities; To separate from St.Canut, No.1, County of Two Mountains, the rateable property of the following : David Black, David McAdam, Andrew Hodge, Widow Dobie, William McAdam, John Wood, Robert Miller ; and from St.Columban, County of Two Mountains, that of James Leisham ; to be annexed to St.Jerusalem, said ratepayers being far from the Schools of St.Columban and being of a Religious Belief different from the rest of the population.St.Justin, County of Maskinongé : To separate from this Municipality, to be annexed to that of Maskinongé, the Range known by the name of Petit Bois Blanc, said Range being quite close to District No.5 of the Municipality of Maskinongé, and a long distance from the District of Si.Justin.St.Albert and Warwick, County of Arthabaska : To separate from these Municipalities Lots, Nos.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, in the 5th aud 6th Ranges of the Township of Warwick, to be annexed to Yictoriaville, of which they already form part for Municipal and Religious purposes.Village of Lauzon, County of Lévis : To separate from the Municipality of St.Joseph de la Pointe Lévis, District No.1 of said Municipality, to be erected into a School Municipality, under the name of Village de Lauzon, having the following limits : to the West the Parish of Notre-Dame de Lévis ; to the South the lands of the third Range ; to the North the River St.Lawrence ; and to the North East the mearing between the lands of J.B.G.Bégin and Etienne Patri or their representatives in the first Range, and between that of François Louis Guay and Charles Bouchard in the second Range, the latter comprising the shipyard of Allan, Gilmour & Co., in the first Range.Township of Leslie, County of Pontiac : To erect the Township of Leslie into a School Municipality, under the same name and with the same limits.WANTS.Wanted a Female Teacher (English and Catholic) for the 2nd Range of the Township of Cherlsey, County of Montcalm.Salary $100.Apply to the undersigned.Elie Brault, Sec.-Treas.School Commissioners, Chertsey.JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.QUEBEC, PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, 1868.The Fiftli Annual Convention of the Provincial Association of Protestant Teachers of the Province of Quebec.The following report of the annual meeting of the Provincial Teacher’s Association has been compiled from the accounts furnished by the reporters for the Press.The meeting was held in the largest apartment of St.Francis College at Richmond Thursday, Aug.27th.Among those present, were Hon.J.Sanborn, President of the Association, Hon.P.J- O.Chauveau, Minister of Public Instruction, Hon.C.Dunkin, Minister of Finance, H.H.Miles LL.D.Assistant Secretary of Public Instruction.J.G.Robertson Esq., M.P.P., Sherbrooke.Dr.Dawson, Mr.Baynes, Mr.John Dougall of Montreal, Mr.Wilkie of Quebec, Dr! Nicolls and Professors Roux and Prideaux of Lennoxville, Mr.Mallory, Mr.Inspector Hubbard, Mr.Inspector Stenson, and a large number of teachers having charge of schools in the country.The meeting was also attended by many ministers of religion of various denominations and great interest in its proceedings throughout was manifested by the residents of Richmond, Melbourne and vicinity, who not only came in large numbers to the five sessions which were held, but entertained those from a distance with unbounded hospitality.Lord Aylmer, Mr.Iletherington, the Mayor of Melbourne, Dr.Hamilton, and, in fact, the residents generally of the two villages left nothing undone which could enhance the convenience and pleasure of the members of the association or promote its objects.The proceedings having been opened with prayer, followed by instrumental and vocal music, the Hon.Mr.Sanborn, as President, delivered an address of which the principal topic was the nature and importance of our Common Schools He said in this age of literature and news papers the ability to read opens a door to the most extensive knowledge, and many, with only common school instruction, have afterwards educated themselves to the highest usefulness.Common-school instruction also is a powerful moral police.It is a great preventive of crime, for, even if it did not improve moral principle as it does it gives sufficient intelligence to know that honesty is the best policy.Again, education promotes prosperity.The merchanic, the farmer, and all classes become more intelligent, more enterprising, better acquainted with improved methods, and able and willing to add more largely to the common wealth.Education is necessary to our municipal institutions.Reading the Newspapers is required to enable people to manage their own affairs.Without this municipalities, as in some ignorant neighborhoods in this country, fall into the management of one or two educated men, who consult their own selfish ends at the public expense.This age provides instruction for deaf-mutes.The man who cannot read and write is a deaf-mute, and government is therefore bound to give education.Common schools differ from the higher schools, not only in degree, but in all kinds.They are the schools for the masses, and can only be carried to a certain length ; but, so far as common school education goes, it must be complete in itself, not a part of a whole.The uniformity of the Prussian system could not be successfully copied here.In higher education we need more freedom and versatility here ; but in the common schools there should be a good system adopted, and that should be uniform.The use of normal schools is not so much to enable teachers to copy what they have seen, as to give them the art of teaching, and enable them to turn any circumstance, however untoward, to the best advantage.The stereotyped, teacher, who can only do exactly what he has seen, is like a mechanic whom he (Mr.S.) had employed to make a spring bedstead.When told to put in eight slats, he exclaimed “ that ho had never seen more than six.” “ But I want eight.” “ But bedsteads are never made with more than six.” “ But,” said Mr.S.to the mechanic, “ do you know of anything in the law of Canada that prohibits eight slats?” “ Why, no,” said I he mechanic.“ Then, if you please, I want eight.” A teacher who is indifferent to or tired of his work, or unsuited for it, finds it irksome, and does no good to his pupils.He is a cause of pain to school committees and visitors, and should quit the business.Whilst magnifying the office of the common-school teacher, ho would by no means discourage young people from teaching, as a means of bringing themselves forward to higher positions.Such young persons are vigorous, enthusiastic teachers, and do great good.He regarded all FOR THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC.125 efforts to teach personal religion in common schools as out of place, for they introduce all the difficulties of Sectarianism ; but whilst not distinctively religious, common schools should be guided by the principles of the Christian religion.The difficulties in this respect among a people divided by the double lines of religion and language wore great,—but nevertheb ss efforts should be made to overcome them.The dissident clauses in our laws, although a necessary safety-valve should be seldom used.Finally there should be provision in our common schools for a training in constitutional and civic rights and duties, and, to this end, a hand-book of our constitution, general and municipal, should be prepared.Mr.Sanborne closed with a fine peroration, showing the greater degree of happiness enjoyed by an educated community; and, after some business announcements the meeting adjourned to the ofternoon.AFTERNOON SESSION.Rev.Mr.Pjrideaux read a paper on the English language, which was very instructive and interesting, and was well received.After a piece of music by the choir, Hon.Mr.Chauveau addressed the Convention on the “ School system of the Province of Quebec.” He said there was no epoch when the French-Canadian people was destitute of education.Under the French domination the excellent education of the family, supplemented by the education of the church, always prevailed.There were also schools of instruction adequate to the wants of the people, according to the views of those times; and it was only after the conquest that schools were found deficient for the growing-population.The Assembly of Lower Canada tried to establish an educational system, but was hindered by the Legislative Council.Finally, however, a system was established, which had been gradually improving, and if Lower Canada was perhaps behind Upper Canada in some respects, it was before the Maritime Provinces.Four-fifths of the French-Canadian women under thirty could read and write, and three-fourths of t.e males of the same age.He then drew the attention of teachers to the deficiency of their school-houses in a hygienic point of view.The school-rooms were small and very badly ventilated, so that both scholars and teachers were stifled.The seats were not low enough and had not suitable backs which rendered them uncomfortable.When children are fatigued by sitting idle in an unnatural position, or by long lessons, it was exceedingly bad for them as well as the teachers.There should be variety in the exercises of the school, and lessons should be interspersed with recreation.The closeness of school-houses, and tiresomeness of the exercises, caused great mortality among teachers, many of whom fell victims to comsumption.He might add that teachers speak generally too loud to their scholars.This is caused by the noise which they cannot otherwise surmount ; but the more noise the teacher makes, the more noise the scholars will make also.The proper way to obtain attention is to speak naturally and in an interesting manner.Teachers should resolve, both for their own good and that of their scholars, to be cheerful, composed, and self-possessed.An important point in Canada was the teaching of French to the English, and English to the French scholars, and the only way of learning a foreign language is to speak it.This is the natural way, and arrangements should be made to carry it out.Of course, reading and grammar should follow or accompany speaking.It is also necessary that the history of Canada should be studied, and there is to be a more suitable history for scholars than the compilation from Garneau, which had been used because there was no other.These teachers’ institutes, conventions, or conferences have also been introduced among the French-Cana-dians for several years, and are of the greatest importance in aiding teachers.Rev.Mr.Parker read a very interesting paper—“ A History of the Common Schools in the Eastern Townships,” noticing the character of the early inhabitants, and the changes and progress of the school system to the present time.These addresses were listened to with great attention the speakers being occasionally interrupted by bursts of applause.At the close of Mr.Chau-veau’s address Principal Graham rose and requested on behalf of several present who could better follow his discourse in French, that the Honorable gentlemen would repeat the more important portions in that language.To this Mr.Chauveau promptly assented, and a time was assigned for the purpose at a future sitting.It was then proposod to employ a short interval in musical recreation and in an impromptu debate upon some object of school instruction.For this latter purpose recourse was had to to the subject of penmanship.Several teachers, each restricted to an allowance of five minutes, took up the debate in success-sion, sustaining it in a very animated manner and rendering what many are apt to regard as a "dull commonplace matter one of exceeding interest t > the crowded audience of ladies and gentlemen.Mr.Wilkie, explained in rapid but complete details the process pursued in teaching calligraphy in the Quebec High School, stating among other things that it was the result of an experience of thirty years in course of which the method here pursued had been modified and improved from time to time by the adoption of whatever was found to be appropriate and available in the various systems introduced during that period.Principal Graham, the Rev.Mr.Lee and Mr.Jordan took part in the debate, which was closed by a few remarks from the Hon.Mr.Chauveau, reviewing the arguments of the speakers and urging the importance of the subject.Some merriment was excited by an admission that he himself as well as several highly accomplished persons known to him were in the habit of writing a bad hand—attributing this mainly to the neglect of their former teachers.At the evening session the first address of the programme was by Dr.Dawson, Principal of McGill College, and was entitled.REMARKS ON SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF BRITISH AMERICAN MIND.He said we have been called a new nationality, and this word implies national character as well as national existence.Now what is our national character, if we have any?In one respect, were are very heterogeneous, belonging to various nations, but in other respects we are homogeneous, being surrounded by similar circumstances.He (Dr.Dawson) spoke now of British Canadians, a class to which he himself belonged, and could therefore speak freely.The Anglo-Canadian differed from the Englishman in three particulars.His colonial position was that of a sleeping partner in the empire, and almost lost sight of by the mother country.This has a belittling effect on the colonial mind, and it can only be overcome by education.We must become better acquainted with the empire, better with Canada, and better with the great experiment of self-government going on alongside of us.Newspapers should give more information on all these points, but these papers are only the exponents of of public opinion.Now the recent change in our condition had caused a great ferment in the public mind, and required a corresponding activity in education in all its branches.Nor was this effect of Confederation confined to those who approved of it.Those who opposed it had equal exercises of mind concerning independence or some other change.The second cause was, the absence of the fixity ^nd constraint of long established customs and conditions.The rough independence thus produced was advantageous in one respect, it gave more poise and vigour but it was apt to degenerate into hard, selfish individuality, in which ease the sense of the beautiful in the moral or natural world was lost.The love of nature should be characteristic of the Canadian mind, tut trees were in too many cases looked upon, not as ancestral memorials as in England, but as so many cords of wood.The educator had therefore much to do here to imbue the mind with a taste for the beautiful in nature, in art, 126 JOURNAL OF EDUCATION and literature, and to this end much more attention should be turned.The third cause of difference between the Englishmen of England and of Canada, was the absence of marked ranks in so-ciul position.This had much effect on the national character, —all offices and callings are here alike open to all.There is nothing reserved for special classes or orders.Every man here is to a considerable extent his own master.But the want of those rigid social distinctions which make men run in grooves, renders it the more necessary that the educator should prepare the Anglo-Canadian for the energetic and independent life that lies before him.Indeed, in Europe itself the state of society is drawing nearer and nearer to our state.The individual is becoming more and more important, and the corporate less and less.There is as good a proportion of mental capacity among the youth of this country as any other, and it was perhaps fully as active ; but it is useless to expect the fruits of culture without culture.We cannot have manufactures and fine arts wdthout the necessary schools.In old countries and in the States, the greatest pains were taken to raise up schools of art and design, and we might as soon expect a good soil to produce good crops without culture, as to expect the fruitfulness of the good mind we have to work upon without education.We had also, as a minority, peculiar need to occupy a high and influential position and this we must do not by numbers, but by mind.We had a right to rely on the magnanimity of the majority but that is not the position ot Englishmen.We must rely upon ourselves, and the way to do so was to diffuse high educational culture among the Anglo-Canadian population, that they might hold their own however far out-numbered.Lord Aylmer was the next speaker on the list, and he chose for his subject.AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.He said our prosperity is entirely owing to agriculture.We have a productive soil, and all our interests are dependent upon it.The success of classes hangs on that of the agriculturist.Of his intelligence, industry, and prosperity all will reap the benefit.If agriculture languish, all the rest will suffer.Have we then improved agriculture as we ought ?Look hack at our agricultural history and enterprise, and say what has been done.Are we in advance of the first settlers?We fear not.Is agriculture not looked upon as a low, common-place toil, instead of a profession of the highest importance ?In what respect is science brought practically to bear on agriculture ?What does the farmer know of mechanics, geology, chemistry, and many other sciences with which he must practically come in contact?The soil is the capital of the country and the farmers who own it should be the highest educated class of the community ; but if the farmer undervalues his own profession, what respect can he expect for it in others ?Every art and science aims at the highest perfection ; but (he farmer goes on only using his hands.Every branch of industry is rapidly improving except agriculture, which needs it most of all.Though there are distinguished colleges, none of them teach agriculture.There are theological, medical, law, and military schools, with fine libraries, but poor agriculture, which sustains them all, gets no attention 1 Nay, if our legislators, who are so liberal to other kinds of education, are asked for an agricultural school, they give forth no response.What finer sight could there be than a farm of 400 acres, showing all the attainments of ages in agriculture, where pupils from every part of the country would be instructed in all the sciences connected with agriculture.There every new agricultural implement might be tested, every Dew kind of seed tried.If objection be made to the cost, is it not reasonable that the class which pay most of the taxes should get a small share laid out on themselves ?The Hon.Mr.Chauveau addressed the assembly in French, there being a number of French-Canadian teachers present.The next speaker was the Hon.C.Dunkin, who remarked on the relative importance of moral and social progress : material advantages were highly important, but the intellectual and the moral are far more so.It was to diffuse these, therefore, that teachers should chiefly address themselves.He once visited the island of Nantucket,—a mere sandbank,—which had not a tree, and scarcely even a harbor.Every vessel of any size has to be lightened, even to its masts and rigging, in coming over the bar ; yet that island contained a large and flourishing city, with fine houses and a dozen of churches well attended ; and that population, though it had had no advantages, and every difficulty, was holding its own in every respect, with others much more favorably situated.The only thing it lacked was paupers.What was the reason of this prosperity under difficulties?The settlers of that island had been the cream of the cream : they had fled from persecution on the mainland, as the people of the mainland fled from persecution in England.They were the most moral portion of the population, and hence their prosperity.New England, as a whole, is another instance of the same thing.A great, proportion of the men who rise to distinction, as western men, southern men, or middle-state men, were originally from New England, where the moral influences he desiderated were most abundant.He concurred with Dr.Dawson in thinking that we as a minority should so educate and conduct ourselves as to command the respect of the majority ; though he could assure the audience that it was impossible for a majority to be more disposed to be just and considerate to the minority that the French Canadians were.He could say that the English were better treated in Quebec that the French in Ottawa.He agreed with Lord Aylmer that increased and increasing attention should be paid to agriculture.There might be just as many farmers as the country could hold, but all other cia ses could only be ii.creased in proportion as the agricultural class increased.In this view it was necessary that education should have a primary regard to fit men for farmers and the wivrs of farmers.The idea that a fool or a dunce could be a good farm r was fallacious, for there was no business that required more skill, forsight, and attention.He had tried to learn both law and farming, and he found that the latter was the far more difficult study of the two.Everything, therefore, that training, skill, and education can do, should be done for farmers.He had i.o doubt the great object suggested by Lord Aylmer would be carried out by the government to the extent of its means.An important element, in agricultural education would be our noimal schools, to give to those they educate as much of education as they can receive in connection with the branches absolutely necessary.The pupils issuing from these schools will then be fitted to promote agriculture and horticulture wherever they become teachers.But, besides all this, the people must put their own hearts into the work.Every farmer must cultivate his own mind, and give his sons an education to fit them to be intelligent and able cultivators.To this end, also, he should support the schools and colleges established for their improvement, and tell the legislature what he wants more.The Hon.Mr.Chauveau thanked Lord Aylmer for his paper on agricultural education,—a subject which had been occupying the government for some time, but which, though it appeared easy in theory, was found very difficult in practice.The whole country must be awakened to the importance of the subject, and he was therefore glad that public opinion was suppoiting the government in its efforts after agricultural education.These efforts had already established two agricultural schools,—those, namely, of St.Anns and L’Assomption.These efforts were not perhaps known to the English, for in Canada the two races reminded him of the staircases of the Chateau Chambord in France.These staircases twisted round each other in such a manner that a person might ascend each at the same time, and be close together all the way, and yet neither see the other.It is the same with the French and English here.We are climbing we know not where, and in close proximity, FOR THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC.127 but we scarcely see each other.We know not even the names of each other’s littérateurs and savons.He had tried, by the Journal of Education, to make each people acquainted more and more with the other ; and, if an assimilation of creed and language and social intercourse cou'd not be expected, a community of thought and effort for the public good might be attained.We have made an immense stride in the way of becoming known to the world.And the question is asked by studious men on the other side of the water, How the two different races in this country are to fuse into one people ?Now, perhaps, our very position of one race being in a minority in the confederation, and in a majority in this province, is the best to teach mutual forbearance, respect, and friendship.MORNING SESSION.—FRIDAY Meeting opened with prayer by Rev.Mr.Lee.In behalf of a Committee appointed at last meeting, to open communication with other Associations in regard to the establishment of a Teachers’ Journal and also the formation of a Teachers’ Association for the Dominion of Canada, Dr.Dawson reported progress, but stated that the Committee were not prepared to make a full report.On motion of Principal Graham, seconded by Inspector Hubbard, it was voted that the same Committee be retained.On motion of Principal Graham, seconded by Dr.Wilkie, Mr.Lang, of Waterloo, and Mr.Lee, of Stanstead, were chosen as delegates for the ensuing year.It was voted that the Convention hold its next meeting in the District of Bedford, the exact locality to be agreed upon by the local convention.The Association then elected the following officers for the ensuing year : — President—Hon.Mr.Dunkin.Secretary - A.Duff, M.A.Treasurer — Mr.McGregor.Rev.Mr.Lee then read a paper on “ the Sciences.” Dr.Hurd read a paper on “ Physical Education.” Dr.Miles read two papers enlarging upon the views already advanced in regard to common schools.He spoke particularly of the compensation of teachers, and remarked that in a great measure they had the power in their own hands, as people were ever prepared to remunerate valuable services.The first paper pertained to the qualifications of Common School Teachers.He desired to bring before the notice of the Convention two points which had not been made prominent topics by previous speakers.1st :—There are seven times as many children attending common schools as higher institutions : and 2nd :-There are fifteen times as many common or elementary schools as of the other public schools ; and the speaker remarked, in addition, that the elementary school teachers are three times as numerous as others.The Hon.Mr.Sanborn had said that, for the security of property as well as the production of wealth, the common schools merited our particular attention ; and further, that our people at large were mainly dependent upon these schools for acquiring the ability to appreciate their political and municipal privileges, and intelligently to exercise and enjoy their rights in these matters.The practical inference is, that we should aim at perfection in our common school system.Efficient teachers, he thought, were the great desideratum.He urged that there ought to be no distinction as to quality in the competency of teachers of common schools, and of the higher places of education.—The common school teacher ought to be as thoroughly qualified for Ms work, in his scene of labor, as the instructor or professor in a grammar school for his office.There are no gradations admitted in law and medicine, and there ought to be none in school teaching.The second paper was on the School system with reference to the social position and remuneration of the Teacher.He spoke of the remuneration as being, iu most cases, altogether inadequate.But society is the paymaster, and upon the appreciation of society must the teachers depend ultimately for affording adequate campensation.Government and legislators, apart from the sanction and support of public opinion, cannot be expected, in this respect, to do more than guide and give expression and force to the liberality of those whom they represent.It is society that is to blame for the poor remuneration of teachers.In order that this evil may be corrected, society must see her educators coming up nearer to the actual requirements of the day, and supplying a Letter article as the result of their labors.Here teachers themselves can do much towards remedying this state of things.They cun and ought strenuously to exert themselves on all occasions, in their work and in school, and their demeanor and example outside, to impress upon all with whom they come in contact a conviction of their fitness for their callings.— The speaker recommended Normal School instruction and training as adapted to enable teachers to obtain a greater fitness for their work.AFTERNOON SESSION.The association assembled at 2 p.m., according to adjournment.The exercises were opened with prayer by Rev.Mr.Lee.The Secretary, A.Duff.M.A., read a very interesting letter written from observations taken of school matters during a trip through the Western Province and some of the Western States.The greater part of the afternoon was occupied in promiscuous addresses, and discussions on various topics in connection with educational affair.'.•Mr.Dougal, the proprietor of the Witness newspaper and of the Dominion Monthly, in a series of appropriate remarks listened to with much attention, described the wonderful advance made in educational matters in western cities, making particular mention of Chicago and its magnificent structures erected for education and the large money contributions, for establishing a Polytechnic School.Another discussion took place on the subject of Agricultural Instruction.Lord Aylmer, the Hon.Mr.Chauveau, Hon.Mr.Dunkin and others stated their views as to the manner and extent of such instruction, upon which last point all seemed to agree that what was most required for ordinary schools amounted simply to the possession of an instructor of competent knowledge of the theory and practice of agriculture, who could judiciously make use of opportunities to excite a feeling for that branch in the minds of the young and a taste for subjects fundamental and preliminary to its prosecution in properly equipped schools of agriculture.This discussion was closed by remarks of Dr.Dawson, in the course of which he stated that the McGill Normal School was already in a position to supply teachers able to afford the kind and amount of teaching really reauired in the common schools on the branch under notice ; and he ended by cautioning people against expecting too much and supposing that youthful pupils could in the vyay proposed, attain to or receive more than the simple rudimentary knowledge of agricultural principles.The result of an experiment was than introduced in the shape of bunches of stalks and ears of oats—the produce of a few seeds of that species of grain brough from Norway.Much surprise was manifested at the enormous return—the growth from single seeds.A hen the hour for final adjournment drew near, the Hon.Mr.Chauveau briefly reviewed the proceedings of the Convention, expressed his great satisfaction at the concern about education manifested by so large an attendance and by all that had transpired during the several sessions held, and thanked those present hartily for the kind attention shown to himself personally, both as being the head of the Local Government and as the chief official concerned in the administration of the Education Laws.The usual complimentary resolutions were passed, embracing thanks to the Chairman, the speakers and to the hospitable inhabitants of Richmond and Melbourne.The Hon.Mr.Dunkin returned thanks to the Association for Ï28 JOURNAL OF EDUCATION having elected him President to succeed Mr.Sanborn and declared he had always felt the warmest interest in educational objects and would continue as far as in his power to promote those of the association.Mr.Inspectator Hubbard, who was then called upon, delivered a short speech.The Hon.Mr.Sanborn, who throughout had presided with dignity and the utmost courtesy and impartiality, then brought the Convention to a close by a brief summary review of the proceedings, in course of which he complimented the association upon the entire harmony that had prevailed, uninterrupted by the necessarily different views of different speakers; and, after singing the Doxology, and prayer by the Rev.Mr.Parker, the association adjourned with the intention of re-assembling at Waterloo in the District of Bedford next year.With one heart and one voice, the teachers and friends who had been in attendance were ready to testify that, for instruction, harmony and pleasure, this assemblage had never been equalled in the country.The audience was very large, the school-room being crowded to its utmost capacity.We must not omit to compliment the singing, which was in good taste and well performed.Public Examinai Ions and Distribution of Prizes at tlieUniversities, Colleges, Hoarding-Schools, and other Educational {Institutions of the Province of Quebec.The following is a condensed report of the Public School exhibitions held this year at the different Educational Institu tions to which it refers.In order that our readers and friends of Education in Canada may understand our position in the scale of education, we present a few figures, in a tabulated, form which speak more eloquently than words.After a perusal of the following statistics, we may justly feel proud of the comparative spread of Education in Lower Canada.Population Pupils Prop.Italy, 1863 22,184,560 1,109,224 1 in 20 Spain, 1865 16,301,000 35,779,222 1,569,077 I u 104 France, 1850 3,407,545 1 (i io| — 1863 37,472,000 4,336,368 1 a 8* Austria, 36,514,466 2,605,000 1 u 10 England, 1858 16,921,888 2,144,378 1 u n United-States, 1860 30,000,000 4,300,000 1 a 6J Prussia, 1860 16,285,036 2,605,000 1