The educational record of the province of Quebec, 1 décembre 1887, Décembre

[" THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD OF THRE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC.No.12.DECEMBER, 1887.Vor.VIL Articles: Original and Selected, THE REMEDY .* The question remains, what is the remedy for the evils to which I have referred ?Here I must confess at once that I expect little for the present from the councils of the medical or legal professions.They have persistently refused all our appeals and seem possessed with a determination to break down the professional education of the country in the interest of a personal monopoly and of race prejudices.To them I, for ome, after having taken much pains and made some personal sacrifices to inform them as to the precise position of the university, and to bring them to a different state of mind, am not disposed to make any further appeal, though I hope in the interest of sound principles, our representatives on these boards will continue to protest against their policy.The case is different with the Legislature.This represents the whole people, and it is the interest of every man and woman that those to whom we entrust our health, our character and our estates, shall be well educated and able men.It is the interest of every father and mother, and of every young man selecting his profession, that the great institutions for profes- * The peroration of the annual university lecture of McGill University, delivered on the 18th of November, by Sir William Dawson.The addross was published in full in the Montreol Cac of Novomber the 19th, 1887, 328 THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD.sional training shall not be overriden and their gates closed by the selfishness of trades unionism.I know that the power of privileged classes is great, that the professions have an undue weight in the Legislature, and have already secured oppressive and arbitrary enactments; but I feel that the public interest must in the end prevail, that free and open educational competition must eventually be sustained, and that if the present policy be persisted in, it will in the end be swept away by a torrent of popular indignation.I go further than this, and maintain that if professional narrowness endeavors to support itself by an alliance with even ecclesiastical and political power, they also will be swept away along with it, as we have seen them swept away in our own time in France and Italy, because of alliance with similar abuses detrimental, or supposed to be detrimental, to the public interest.I hold, therefore, that it is our first duty to present our case to the Provincial Legislature, in the hope that the common interest of the whole community will prevail over merely private and professional gain.Failing this, we still have under the Constitution Act the right of appeal to the Dominion Government, and since our case is substantially that of the Catholic minorities in the other provinces, and since we can show that while their educational rights have not only been maintained, but greatly extended under Confederation, ours are being curtailed, the Dominion Government can scarcely fail to listen to our case ; more especially since recent events have shown that every loyal subject of the Dominion and of the British Empire must stand firm against the aggressions of local party spirit.Should the Dominion Government fail us, we have under our royal charter a right to appeal to the Crown, and if we can show that in this part of Her Majesty\u2019s dominions there is any danger that the rights of free and open education and the rights of that Protestant liberty which is the religion of the Empire are in danger of being destroyed, we may hope for some measure of relief, or, at least, of sympathetic aid, on the part of the just and generous people of the mother country.Lastly, if no other means are left, we can trust to God and our own right hand, as our fathers have been wont to do in times gone by, and can secure for our sons and daughters the education THE REMEDY.329 which we desire at our own expense; and if all legal powers and privileges are refused to us, can at least cherish enlightenment and sound culture for their own sakes, and from the conviction that they will in the end be profitable even in an economic sense.Hitherto the English population of Montreal has, in effect, done this, more especially with reference to education in arts, and it has been its pride that it has established institutions to which oven the students of the other provinces and of the United States have found it profitable to resort.The burden is, I know, a heavy one, but we may in a short time be called on to make further sacrifices to maintain the right of our children to a thorough and advanced professional training.As one who has endeavored to draw out Protestant liberality in favor of education, I would say here that 1 deeply feel how much in this respect the citizens of Montreal have cheerfully borne, but I believe the English people of this Province, even if left alone and unsupported, are able to sustain their educational systems till the time shall come, as it surely must, when the majority of our fellow-citizens shall, like the great nation from which they have sprung, abandon their present system of education and adopt one more akin to ours.I have no fear as to this result.Our cause is that of God and humanity.No means or effort devoted to it will be without their reward; and however repressed now, it will surely prevail.I have spoken frankly on these subjects, perhaps some may think too frankly.My excuses must be :\u2014First, that changes of a most serious character are hurrying upon us, which will require forethought and firmness on the part of all who earnestly desire the welfare of Canada; and secondly, the feeling of a man who has devoted much of his life to the attainment of great objects beneficial to his country, rather than to himself, and whose remaining time is now all too short to finish his life\u2019s work well, even if unchecked by unnecessary and unfair obstruction.I have no fear, however, for the future.I believe that the good work which has been done will live, and that those who endeavor to thwart it might as well set themselves in opposition to the great forces of nature itself They may endeavor to dam up our great river and to prevent it from pursuing its course to the sea, and from carrying to us on its bosom the wealth of the 330 THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD.world, but the stream will overflow and undermine their frail barriers, and the temporary restraint will end in an overflowing flood.To the students who are here to-day, it may appear that the subjects of this lecture belorg to those older than themselves; but it is not so.To you I would say, ladies as well as gentlemen, that the burden which we are soon to lay down you must take up; and it is your duty now to nerve and train yourselves in all good habits and learning, that you may do credit to your Alma Mater, may sustain that cause for which so many good men and women in Montreal have made great sacrifices, and may advance the highest interests of your country and of the world.To you belong the present honor and future prosperity of the university.Our hundreds of students in Canadian colleges, as they march out into the battle of life from year to year, if patient, energetic, enthusiastic, godly, leading useful and noble lives, are able to guide Canada and to sway the world.May it be so with our students, and with those of all other schools of sound learning.WHAT OF ARITHMETIC SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN OUR SCHOOLS.* By A.W.KNEELAND, M.A., MONTREAL.In considering such a topic as this, it is necessary to have before us a general view of the objects sought in conveying the necessary instruction.What, then, are the various ends in view when a child begins to learn, and a teacher to teach the subject\u2014 Arithmetic?It seems to me that all instruction has a twofold object, first to fit the child for the active duties of life, that he may profitably to himself and usefully for the commonwealth and community, take up the burdens that devolve upon him in the sphere of life to which he is called, and secondly, to cultivate his intellect, strengthen his memory, draw out his reasoning powers and enlarge them.In the words of Fitch, therefore, there are * A paper read before the Teachers\u2019 Convention, held at Huntingdon on the 19th of October. ARITHMETIC IN SCHOOLS.331 two distinct uses of arithmetic.(1) Its direct or practical use as an instrument for the solution of problems and (2) its indirect or scientific use as a means of calling out the reasoning faculty.With these two objects in view, therefore, it shall be my endeavor to inquire what portions of arithmetic are best suited to lead the pupil to an intelligent possession of the principles, and render him expert and logical in their application, and, secondly, what of arithmetic will best draw out, cultivate and strengthen the reasoning powers of the mind, and what is comparatively valueless in the pursuit of these ends.With the utillitarian\u2019s view before us then, we may inquire what of arithmetic is necessary in the ordinary avocations of life, as, for example, the ordinary industrial pursuits of our towns and cities, the forming of our rural communities and the housekeeping of both?A tradesman should know that six days\u2019 labour at $1.35 a day would give him $8.10, and that this amount of labour given for fifty-two weeks would give him the sum of $421.20.He should know how to check a grocers bill, lest he be cheated.He should know that 15 cents a day spent in tobacco and strong drink would amount to the sum of $54.75 in a year, the difference between honourable independence and poverty.He should know how many ounces there are in a lb, Ibs.in a ton, inches in a foot, feet in a yard, cents in a dollar, pints in a quart, quarts in a gallon.How to find the 4, 4, #, #, etc, of any number; how much #+# is, and how to multiply a simple fraction by a wholeand a fractional number.Beyond these simple requirements, possibly add the ability to compute simple interest, and you have all the arithmetic actually required in the ordinary duties of life.To place his requirements in other words, he should be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide simple numbers, should be taught the connection between simple and so-called compound numbers, and know a very little of the tables, and finally should know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide the simple forms of vulgar fractions, and to apply his knowledge of the simple rules to interest.Time is too short and life too valuable to spend the one and confuse the other by learning anything about the scales, French ells, chains, degrees and seconds, compound complex fractions, decimals, compound interest, brokerage, commission, square and cube root, logarithims and series, etc., etc., etc. 332 THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD.Now all this has reference to the practical side of the question.\u2018What part of arithmetic is best suited to cultivate the reasoning faculties?Have the processes of adding together, multiplying or dividing grains, chaldrons, lines, ells, quintals, etc., any appreciable valuein cultivating the reasoning faculties ?The piling up of stones on the sea-shore or blocks in the play room, would have a greater value in this respect, as something of the laws of nature might be reasoned out.Have the long, entangled exercises in compound and complex fractions or decimals any value in this direction?About as much as the exercise of picking out the longest and straightest sticks from a pile of wood, both operations being simply mechanical, or nearly so.The difficult operations of percentage, brokerage and commission are simply applications of the simple rules, and so may not be taught specially for the purpose mentioned.The operations in square or cubic root are interesting and valuable, appealing to reason and thought, but they are too difficult for children of elementary schools, and so they may be passed over in the present discussion.I hold that the exercises possible under the four simple rules of arithmetic furnish all the material necessary for the cultivation of the reasoning faculties.The question\u2014How many times would a wheel 12 feet in circumference turn round in running eight miles ?is of more practical value, especially if there is some means of recording its revolutions, and a thousand times more value for a mental exercise than find the value of 82-64 8 1_ 1 26 6-46 - 4% If you will take McLellan\u2019s Mental Arithmetic, Part I., and work out yourselves and get your pupils to work out quickly all the problems set under addition, substraction, multiplication and division and similar forms of fractions, you will find quite as much exercise of the reasoning faculties as the time allotted for that part of the elementary education for a child from 5 to 12 years of age will allow.I would, therefore, say in conclusion that all the arithmetic we can profitably teach in our elementary schools may be included in the following summary: The four simple rules, the EDITORIAL NÔTES AND COMMENTS.333 weights and measures in common use, dollars and cents, and the simplest forms of vulgar fractions.All other arithmetic may be acquired by those whose special profession may demand it.The remembrance of a set of arithmetical rules is of little value, unless by constant application of the principles involved, the powers of mind more intimately concerned have become so cultivated as to grasp readily and quickly ideas based upon these principles, and the principles of all arithmetic are to be found in what are called the four simple rules.Let copious exercises under these rules in all possible forms take the place of the ridiculous, confusing, useless, aggravating exercises given in compound numbers, vulgar and decimal fractions, and you will give a more useful education and make a hundred fold better thinker.éditorial Slotes and Comments.\u2014There is no question of more interest to the teachers of the province of Quebec at the present moment than that which Sir William Dawson lately discussed in his address before the Teachers\u2019 Convention at Huntingdon, and which he has further referred to at greater length in his lecture before McGill University last month.In this issue we have published the peroration of Sir William\u2019s address, in the hope that our readers may find therein the eloquence which touches the heart and excites to a personal examination of the subject.The protection of our higher seats of learning is a people's question, and the electorate must be brought to understand the importance of the question at issue.The professional councils have taken upon themselves to regulate, indirectly, at least, the course of study to be pursued in our schools and colleges, and it is for the people of the province to say whether such interference with the functions of the Council of Public Instruction is to be allowed to continue.The academy teachers at Huntingdon, and still later, at a meeting held in Montreal have expressed themselves on this question in unmistakable terms.The Protestant Committee of the Council of Public Instruction have unanimously resolved to stand by our academies and colleges in the contest.We shall publish Sir 334 THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD.William Dawson\u2019s address in future issues of the RECORD so that teachers and others may fully understand the question in all its phases.We content ourselves this month by merely referring to the unaltered condition of the discussion, which Sir William Dawson has clearly enunciated in these terms: \u201cIn effect, the tendency of recent legislation in this province has been to destroy the guarantees of the minority by conferring powers not possessed by the Legislature itself on irresponsible professional boards.I do not propose to enter at length here into the dis cussion of these grievances, but desire emphatically to state my conviction: 1.That the system of education, general and professional, pursued by the university is that required for the interests of the English and Protestant population of this province, though different in many of its details from that in use among the majority of our people.2.That no benefit can result to this province from the extirpation of the English system of education.3.That the measures recently pursued and tending to this result are contrary to the guarantees given at the time of Confederation and unjust to a very important section of Her Ma- Jesty\u2019s subjects in this province.\u201d \u2014An incident occurred lately at a convention of teachers in the United States which carries with it an important lesson.A resolution was introduced condemning the ¢ Blair Bill,\u201d which has for its main object the consolidation of the systems of education throughout the neighboring republic under the supervision of the bureau at Washington.A resolution was introduced at the convention, condemning the measure.This was followed by an inquiry as to what particular feature in the measure the writer of the resolution objected, when, much to the astonishment of everybody present, he was obliged to confess that he had never read the bill.Then all who had read it were requested to rise, but not one of all the opponents to the bill rose to their feet.With such an example of neglect before him, the reader may see for himself the culpability of taking a stand upon a question before thoroughly understanding it.General condemnation or support of any measure should have more of a basis than a particular instance of regularity or irregularity, should have more than the mere ipse dizit of a leading opponent or supporter.The man who is always judging for himself on public questions is EDITORIAL NOTES AND COMMENTS.335 troublesome enough at times; but whenever he can show sufficient grounds for his opinions, these opinions, whether generally supported or not, will be examined with due respect.And so is it with the true teacher always in his advocacy of a new method.A flaw in a method is often its recommendation to the progressive teacher, whereas with the unthinking it is al ways its condemnation.Hxperientia docet sapientes is really the true form of the proverb.To understand is to be wise, just as it is wise to understand.The foolish have spoken in their hearts, not from their souls.The wish with them is nearly always the father to the thought.The true teacher is photographed in these few sentences: \u2018To retain his place he must never cease to be a progressive man.His professional education must never be suffered to come to an end.He must read the great thoughts of great writers on the nature of the mind to be educated, on social organization, on the demands of an advancing age; must in some measure keep up with the world in popular science and literature; he must enrich his mind by studying the lives and success of great educators of the past, and know something of the results of the experiments of successful living teachers.\u2014Among the movements which are engaging the attention of educationists in the mother country, the appointment of a minister of education has been brought into greater prominence through the instrumentality of Professor S.Thompson.Speaking not long ago of the necessity for a proper system of technical education, that gentleman expressed the opinion that the question will never be satisfactorily settled until they have a real Minister of Education.The like may be said of all the great questions connected with education in England.It is now generally admitted that much will have to be done before they shall be able to say that they have an educational system corresponding to their needs.In their primary schools they still act as if the chief object of schoolmasters should be to cram the minds of children with facts in which young persons can take little interest.They have not nearly a sufficient number of secondary schools, and many of those which exist are far below the lowest level that is considerd essential in some other countries.Their University Colleges, too, are inadequately supported ; and the various grades of educational institutions have not yet been brought into proper relations with one another.At least so says Prof.Thompson. 336 THE®EDUCATIONAL RECORD.CY?eer ewes \u2014If Professor Thompson\u2019 is to be believed, Scotland must be greatly in advance of England in the matter of technical education, for that country, it seems, has a Technical Education Act of its own, and the time for acting on its provisions is drawing nigh, however long may be delayed the appointment of a Minister of Education.This Act, according to the Schoolmaster, will come into effect as soon as the elections have taken place in April next, and it will be the duty of the new boards, under the guidance of the Scottish Education Department, to organize and put in operation the new system of instruction which it is hoped will then be established.First of all, however, the ratepayers will have to discharge the responsibility of determining whether they will have technical schools or not.The new school boards will have the power of carrying out any mandate on the subject which they may receive from the ratepayers.Without à mandate they may do nothing, however, for the Act is permissive.It does not attempt to force technical schools on unwilling rate payers.It takes for granted that the cry for such schools was sincere; and it simply gives to the ratepayers the power, through the boards, to establish them wherever they are wanted.Current Events.\u2014The appointment of a curator of the apparatus which is being purchased and collected for the Provincial Association of Teachers has become a necessity.We congratulate the association on securing the services of Miss Robins, of the McGill Normal School, for the office.Miss Robins has sent us a list of the books and apparatus in her keeping, which will be published next month.These books, etc., can be loaned only to bona fide members of the association.Those teachers who wish to reap advantage from the arrangements made by the council, may become members by forwarding their names with the usual fee to Mr.Humphrey, treasurer of the association.The Montreal Witness thinks that the schools of that city would do well to adopt, or rather adapt, the method used in the Protestant schools of Switzerland, by having English the only language employed for one half the day, and French for the CURRENT EVENTS.337 other half.There can be no doubt that the only way to learn a language sucessfully for practical purposes is to learn it conversationally.The French-Canadian youth are said to be supplanting the English in business situations because of their better mastery of both languages.They learn the English by actual practice, because they want to use it, while the English boys seldom learn to speak French fluently, unless by living for a time in French families and in the very heart of the French country.\u2014 Educational Journal.\u2014The second general meeting of the Teachers\u2019 Association in connection with the McGill Normal School took place on Friday evening, November 18th, at a quarter to eight o'clock.The president, Mr.Arthy, occupied the chair.Prayer being offered by the Rev.E.I.Rexford, the usual routine of business was transacted.Dr.Kelley then treated the subject \u201c Geography\u201d in a highly interesting manner, both from a professional and a literary point of view.He claimed that Geography is a means, 1st, to impart information ; 2nd, for mental development; 3rd, that it forms a foundation for scientific teaching; 4th, that physical geography is the basis for the study of the human race.The lecturer's method of imparting instruction in this subject is one of research, of examining the resources of a country, rather than of studying its natural features by rote.The matter was further discussed by Rev.E.I.Rexford, Messrs.Bell, Binmore, Rev.E.H.King and Mr.Kneeland.The resumé of late educational events was given by Dr.Robins, who drew attention, 1st, to the recent action of the Russian Government in the matter of education, and, 2nd, to the attempt to teach literature in school.After a few remarks from the President relative to the second of these points, the meeting adjourned.\u2014Anex-Deputy M.Camille See, the author of the law now in force for the higher instruction of girls, states in a work on the lyceum and colleges for girls that there are now in working order, in France, twenty-three of the former and twenty-six of the latter, besides a normal school for future teachers in them.There are also two provisional lyceums, and three more are being built.The creation of others is demanded by twenty-nine chief towns, and municipalities have never shown themselves more liberal than in voting funds for these schools.M.Camille See believes that if 338 THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD.the cramming system be kept out of the girls\u2019 colleges and lyceums, France will keep her old rank at the head of European civilization.\u2014Ata meeting of the Edinburgh Merchant Company, Mr.Alexander Gray brought forward the subject of a commercial school.This company has established schools, which, he supposed, were the largest and the most successful in the kingdom.Year by year they sent out numbers of young men to the universities, where they received the best possible training to fit them to be ministers, doctors, lawyers, scientists, etc.But they ware a company of merchants, connected with the trade and commerce, and specially charged with interests affecting these subjects.What were they doing in any special way to fit their sons for mercantile life?Almost nothing.The so-called commercial side of their schools scarcely passed the threshold of the subject, and the consequence was that their young men entered offices and were left to pick up information as best they could.What was wanted was a thoroughly equipped school where commerce could be treated as a science, and such subjects taught as commercial history, commercial geography, products of various countries, currency, the principles of insurance and of banking.\u2014Mr.BE.W.Arthy, secretary of the Provincial Association of Teachers, has forwarded us the following resolutions which were lately passed at the meeting of Academy Teachers lately held in Montreal.First, that of the three Latin authors required for the Exhibition Examinations in McGill University for 1889, two should be the same as those required for the A.A.Examination, viz., Cesar, Book I., and Virgil, Book II.Second, thatthe work required for the First Year Examinations in McGill University and for Matriculation in Arts and in the Legal and Medical Faculties be as far as possible that required for the A.A.Third, that of the three branches of Philosophy, viz., Logic, Mental Philosophy Moral Philosophy, required in the extrance Examinations for different professions, candidates be required to take Logic, but may substitute for the other two, additional mathematics.Fourth, whereas there are in all Academies pupils taking the work of Model School grants, and whereas grants are made to Model Schools where they exist separate from the Academies.that in the opinion of the Academy teachers, if Model Schools CURRENT EVENTS.339 were to be recognized in connection with the Academies, and grants made to them, it would conduce to the furnishing of a large staff of teachers, thereby building up stronger and more efficient educational centres, and thus carrying out more fully the spirit of our educational system which aims at the building up of graded schools.Fifth, that the Corporation of McGill University be requested to modify the A.A.Examinations in French (1) by assigning from Darey\u2019s Lectures Françaises the following passages only (passages not yet selected); (2) by adding to the requirements, French dictation, an easy French passage for translation, questions to test the knowledge of colloquial forms, and reading, if possible.Sixth, that a sub-com- mittee consisting of Mr.Curtis, Mr.Arthy, Mr.Gregor, Mr.Howard, Mr.Wardrop, and Mde.Cornu, be appointed to draw up a course of French upon the lines of the Natural Method and to urge its adoption upon the Protestant Committee not as superseding that now authorized for the schools of the province, but as a parallel alternative course.\u2014Dr.McCosh, the well known educator and author, has retired, at the ripe old age of 77, from the presidency of Princeton.He has left the stamp of his strong individuality, not only upon the college with which he has been so long connected, but upon \u2018the thinking of the age.His philosophical treatises have done much to foster the use of the inductive methods in philosophy, while his views on general educational questions have long had respectful hearing and widespread influence.\u2014The controversy over the Newfoundland schools has been brought to a close, Dr.Milligan\u2019s opponent having had the last word in his letter to the Review.\u2018\u2018It is not denied,\u201d says the critic, \u201cthat some of the academies are well manned, that they have able teachers.Nor is it asserted that the superintendents do their work ill, or are overpaid for the work they accomplish.No attack is made upon men, but upon a system that is behind the age, and which, in spite of all Dr.Milligan is able to say in its favor, is insufficient, and therefore expensive, no matter how little it costs,\u201d THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD.Literature and Science.\u2014 The queerest and quaintest town in the continent is the rock-throned, cannon-girt city of Quebec.It has none of the commonplace, rectangular characteristics of most American cities.Built on a mighty rock, on one of the greatest water-ways in the world, it is surrounded by natural barries or precipitous cliffs, and by wall and parapet, buttress and breastwork that make it more perfectly fortified than, perhaps, is any other city in the world.Inhabited by a people, the majority of whom differ in language, custom and religion from the people that nominally rule them\u2014crooked streets and narrow lanes, picturesque with the varied architecture of three centuries; contact of new and old everywhere; seventeenth century residences, thick-walled, dormer-windowed and many-gabled, crowded upon and overshadowed by great piles of modern iron-columned business houses ; carts of the same clumsy designs and heavy material as were those used by the Breton peasants hundreds of years ago, alongside of light and graceful carriages of the latest design: the hoarse sound of an excursion on steamer\u2019s whistle and the rattle of the railroad cars mingling with the chimes of church bells\u2014bells that were cannon in days of old and that once boomed out the thunders of war in louder tones than those in which they now call men to worship of the Prince of Peace.Yes, an old and outré place is this, and columns and columns could be filled with a description of its many interesting features.Away up here, I sit on Dufferin Terrace, a broad esplanade, perched more than half way up the side of a gigantic rock, that is crowned with the greatest of all the citadels over which floats the Red Cross of England.Looking down far below, I see the great tide of the mighty St.Lawrence, sweeping around the promotory, freighted with crafts of all sizes, from the small canoe to the great man-of-war.Here, close inshore, a three-decked passenger steamer is going to Montreal ; over there is a big ship bound for Liverpool with timber, and beyond is the United States man-of-war Galena, carrying the only American flag to be seen, except the one that floats over our own craft yonder under the shadow of the cliff.Down, 200 feet below, by the water\u2019s edge, are houses, on the roofs of which one could drop a pebble; crazy old houses, weather-beaten and stained by the hand of time, are most of them.It was along that narrow beach below, that in a snowstorm many years ago Montgomery came to meet Arnold and make joint attack on the city ; but through the blinding snow came a bullet from this ledge up here, and Montgomery never met Arnold.Ah me! what romance and what tragedy have this great rock and that wide river been the scene of.What memories of strife and bloodshed and great men\u2019s names come to me asthe twilight shadows the waters.\u2014 J.Armory Knox. PRACTICAL HINTS, 341 \u2014 \u201cIn my younger days,\u201d he said, \u201cI was clerking in a country store where we had seven or eight clerks.We took eggs and all kinds of truck in exchange, and that\u2019s where the trouble started.Every morning our eggs would be missing; a few would be found on the floor, where they had evidently been dropped by some prowler.We suspected thieves, and set a watch, each taking one night in a corner of the store where we could see everything that was going on without incurring the danger of discovery.Well, one night on my watch, about an hour after closing, I heard a squeaking and scampering and then saw an army of rats, of all sizes, come from their holes.The eggs had been placed in the pan of an old-fashioned beam scales, which couldn\u2019t be reached by crawling, as the sides of the pan were too slippery.Now, you needn\u2019t smile, gentlemen ! We are coming to the tough part, but I'm prepared to make affidavits.T'll be blessed if those fellows didn\u2019t jump on the counter and run along the scale.Then one old fellow humped his back up under the scale pan, and another fellow jumped up, and a third and fourth rat followed until they had a pyramid reaching to the level of the eggs.One grey-haired old customer, who appeared to be a veteran in villainy, climbed up on the top, ran and took out an egg between his paws and passed it down by his mates to the counter.In that way he emptied the pan, and springing down to the counter, he caught an egg between his two front paws and rolled over on his back.The little fellows caught his tail in their teeth and dragged the grizzled thief down to the end of the counter.Another hill of rats was formed and the eggs gently removed to the floor, where the performance was repeated until all the holes had been stocked up.By working all night, they would steal our entire stock, and scarcely leave a trace, except where they dropped an egg and spattered the floor.\u201d \u2014 A lecture on \u201cSome Boys I Have Known,\u201d was given by M.Max O\u2019Rell, the popular author, in Aberdeen.There was a large audience, and Professor Struthers occupied the chair.The lecturer, who was cordially greeted, remarked that if the audience expected to hear a serious discussion on education, they would go away disappointed.He intended simply to tell them of some young English friends of his, and if he should seem too critical, the audience would please bear in mind that he himself was once a boy\u2014and he was everything that was good.Boys he was always suspicious of, were those who tried to be perfect boys, and especially those who succeeded in their efforts.By genuine boys, he meant those who shirk their work whenever they can, and who are always ready for honest play.The typical Master Johnny Bull is a good little boy.He sometimes makes slips in his exercises, but errors in them never.Of course he occasionally forgets his lesson, but he always knows it.His memory is his weak point.He has done his best\u2014whatever that may mean\u2014and though his lesson has now escaped his memory, he knows he repeated it to himself in the train, without a single mistake.He knows he did.One of his pupils, in excusing himself for being with- 342 THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD, out his exercise, said\u2014*\u2018\u2018 Please sir, you said to do the fifteenth, and Master Jones said it was the sixteenth.\u201d On being reminded that he had not brought any of the exercises, he readily answered, \u201cSir, I was afraid of doing the wrong one!\u201d Some boys can grasp the features of grammar with a fine literary perception.They will give a sentence that makes a teacher feel quite proud of them\u2014until they reach the end !\u2014 then his pride falls.The French dictionaries that British boys use are much to blame.After seeing one of them, a Frenchman doesn\u2019t wonder that the English boys trust in Providence for the choice of words.Very few boys have good dictionaries in their hands.They usually flourish the kind of book that may be had at a railway station for a sixpence\u2014 always at a bargain.When an English boy is about to write a French exercise, he invariably begins by heading it in huge letters \u201c French.\u201d That is to avoid any misunderstanding.A teacher often feels grateful for that title.Boys\u2019 minds are like the way to a certain place not mentioned in good society; they are paved with good intentions.Their first sentence in an exercise is always well done, but the last is made up of one word.Some boys are always unlucky with the genders.Of course, this did not include the wit who, on being asked for the plural of \u201cgirl,\u201d answered, \u201ctwo girls.\u201d Another set of boys that are difficult to manage are those who are educated at home.They get testimonials from their mothers.They are excellent French scholars, for they have read Voltaire \u2014poor boys! Some boys are not jealous.If the answer to a question be asked, none of those boys is a bit dissatisfied if some one else answers for him.There is a boy whois a terror in the playground.When the little boys play marbles he is there.He doesn\u2019t bring any marbles.The little ones bring the marbles, and he brings his experience.When playtime is over, he has got many marbles, and the little boys have a good deal of experience.Another kind of boy\u2014everybody knows him\u2014is the one who ought to be made a soldier.He would be of great service to his country, for whether he killed England\u2019s enemy, or whether England\u2019s enemy killed him, it would all be for the ultimate good of England.The lecturer concluded with a description of French debating societies that had been established in some of the great public schools, and a comparison between the typical English and the typical French schoolboy.The address was of a most sparkling character throughout.It showed a thorough insight into the youthful disposition, and being full of refined, pointed humour, was greeted with almost continuous laughter and cheering.\u2014 He who has universal sympathy with men in all conditions of life, who makes all their victories his own, and draws his strength and his inspiration from this wide circuit of influence, his memory is full, his horizon wide. LITERATURE AND SCIENCE.HOMER'S ILIAD, BOOK IV.The gods reclining on the golden floor High converse held, while in their midst The venerated Hebe nectar served ; And each the other pledged from golden cups, With gaze directed towards the city Troy.Forthwith the son of Saturn Juno tried To irritate, while her he thus addressed, With words reproachful and with look askance :\u2014 \u201c Twain goddess-helpers still there are To Menelaus\u2014Argive Juno one, The other the Alalcomenian-famed Minerva.These in sooth amuse themselves While sitting thus apart and looking on.But winsome Venus ever keepeth watch, And from her Paris wards impending fate.Even lately, thinking him about to die, She rescued him.And yet the victory is Indeed to Menelaus, friend of Mars.Consult we, then, how things as these should be : Shall we again excite destructive war And dreadful battle din, or concord throw Between the two?For if, perchance, to all The latter be a grateful, pleasing thing, Then, of a truth, King Priam\u2019s town shall have Domestic growth, and Menelaus lead His Argive Helen to his home once more.\u201d He spoke.But Juno and Minerva pressed Within their lips the murmurings of their breasts.They sat beside each other, planning ills Against the Trojans.Silent was indeed Minerva: not a word she spoke.Incensed Against her father Jove, the direst wrath Took hold of her.Still Juno could not check The rage within her breast, but thus spoke out: \u2014 \u201c Dread son of Saturn, what is this thou sayst ?\u2018Why thus desire to render labour vain\u2014 The sweat of none effect, which I have spent In toil?For me, assembling thus a host, My steeds are tired\u2014an evil though it be To Priam and his sons.Do as thou wilt, But we, the other gods, do not approve.\u201d Then cloud-compelling Jove, inflamed, replied :\u2014 \u201c Strange one, how now do Priam and his sons 344 THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD.Devise against thee thus so many wrongs, a That thou, so unrelenting, shouldst desire : To overturn the well-built city Troy ?Methinks if thou shouldst pass within the gates 2 And lofty walls, and Priam and his sons L: : Devour alive, then possibly thy rage 8 Wouldst thou appease.Continue as you wish, 5 Lest this contention be between us two A strife prolonged for both.But let me say, And lay it to your heart, should ever I, Inclined, desire to strike a town where men Endeared to thee bave had their birth, think not To curb my rage, but let me have my will.Though freely thus I grant thy wish, my soul Unwilling is ; for of the towns, beneath The sun and starry frame, where dwell the sons Of earth-born men, this Troy of sacred fame Retains the honored place within my heart, A As even Priam does and all his kin ; 5 For never there my altar banquet lacked, Libation, or sweet savour\u2014honour ours.\u201d Him answered then stern Juno much revered :\u2014 \u201cTome by far there are three cities dear\u2014 My Argos, Sparta, and Mycenae, built With wide-paved streets.These strike, whene\u2019er they stir Thy soul to hate.For them I stand not forth, Nor grudge them thee, since should I them refuse, Nor suffer thee them utterly destroy, My grudging would of no avail be found, Since thou of us by far the strongest art.Yet it is meet my toil should not be lost, For I a goddess am, my origin the same As thine: the wily Saturn me begat, Revered by most for reasons twain\u2014my birth, And that I have been called thy spouse.\"Pig true o'er all immortals thou hast sway ; So let us these concede, even I to thee As thou to me, and then the other gods Immortal will consent.Do thou at once a Minerva bid the dreadfui battle din i Of Greeks and Trojans join, and in a way Contrive that first the Trojans may begin, Despite the truce, to wound the bravest Greeks.\u201d Thus Juno spoke; nor disobedient was The sire of gods and men, but forthwith he 3 y, 0) if i LITERATURE AND SCIENCE.With wingéd words Minerva thus addressed :\u2014 \u201c Go quickly to the hosts of both, and so Contrive that first the Trojans may begin, Despite the truce, to wound the bravest Greeks.\u201d So speaking, did Minerva thus he urge, By no means disinclined.She, hastening down, Descended high Olympus, not unlike The star that scintillates a thousand sparks, Which wily Saturn\u2019s son oft sends a sign To sailors and the nation-hosts abroad.Just such an other, did she hasten down To earth, and leaped among the soldier-throngs.Surprise possessed at once the well-greaved Greeks And Trojans skilled with steeds, while looking on : And some one said, as one near by he saw :\u2014 \u201c Again shall withering war and battle-din Arise, or else alliance Jove contrives Between the two, since he in war, as else, Is arbiter among the sons of men.\u201d Thus of the Greeks and Trojans one did speak.But she heroic-like passed through the host Of Trojans\u2014like the brave Laodocus, Antener\u2019s son\u2014to seek, if she might find Him anywhere, the god-like Pandarus.Lycaon\u2019s blameless valiant son she found In time, erect amid heroic ranks Of shielded warriors, who had followed hima Beyond Æsepus\u2019 streams ; and, standing néar, \"Twas thus she him addressed with wingéd words :\u2014 \u201c Wouldst thou me hear, Lycaon\u2019s son, the brave ; Then send at Menelaus speeding shaft, And doubtless from the Trojans thow\u2019lt receive Both grateful thanks and praise; or, better still, From Alexander, Prince of Troy, a gift Most splendid thou shalt carry off, Should he but see, subdued by dart of thine, The martial son of Atreus placed upon The sorrow-bearing pile.So come and aim An arrow swift at Menelaus proud, And vow to Phebus, archer Lycian-born, That thou to him a splendid hecatomb Of firstling lambs wilt sacrifice, whene\u2019er Thou, home again, shalt reach Zeleia\u2019s town.\u201d \u2014J.M.H. CE OR EL Lee ee THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD.Dractieal Aints and Examination Lapers.EXAMINATION PAPERS FOR AN ELEMENTARY DIPLOMA.WRITING.100 Marks.1.Write the following sentence : All Indians are fond of ornament.2.Write the first ten letters of the alphabet in capitals.3.Write the first ten letters of the alphabet in small letters.4.Write the ten digits.ENGLISH GRAMMAR.Ten marks for each question.1.Into what parts is English Grammar usually divided?State, what each part treats of.2.Define the following grammatical terms :\u2014letter, consonant, spelling, noun, adjective, inflection, parsing, predicate, auxiliary, voice.3.Give the literal meaning of the following :\u2014orthography, adverb, preposition, pronoun, transitive.4.Give the inflected parts of speech.5.Give the inflections (a) of the noun (b) of the verb.6.Into what classes are verbs divided (a) in reference to their meaning, (b) in reference to their form?7.Give the piural form of dish, child, story, wolf, tooth, victory, motto, trout, moose, sister-in-law.8.Give the gender and number of each of the following : Actresses, empress, month, ewes, crises, snuffers, pence, queens, landladies, wives.9.Give the analysis of the following sentence: I know a story of a fox which you will like to hear.10.Parse the words in the foregoing sentence.PuysioLoGy AND HYGIENE.Ten marks for each question.1.What do anatomy, physiology and hygiene respectively teach ?2.Give the general composition of bones of the body, and show how their composition may be illustrated by a simple experiment.3.Name the three large bones of the arm and the three large bones of the leg.4.Into what classes may our foods be divided ?5.Name the principal organs of digestion ?6.Give the juices that are mixed with the food in the process of digestion and state where each juice is received by the food ?7.What are the products of respiration ? PRACTICAL HINTS AND EXAMINATION PAPERS, 8- Give the general structure of the heart?9.Trace briefly the course of the circulation of the blood.10.Give the divisions of the brain and state the position of each.Engrs History.Ten marks for each question.1.Give the periods into which the History of England is generally divided.2.Give the early race settlements in England in the order in which they occurred.3.Give a short account of any one of the following, Becket, Wyclif Chaucer.4.Give the Tudor Sovereigns in order.5.What important events are connected with the following dates, 1066, 1215, 1474, 1492, 1588, 1611, 1649, 1707, 1775, 1815.6.Write short notes on the following: \u2014 Crusades.Magna Charta.Gunpowder Plot.Petition of Right.Act of Uniformity.7.State in whose reigns the following events occurred.The first Parliament.The Execution of Mary Queen of Scots.The battle of Crecy.The battle of Bannockburn.The Crimean War.8 Give ten important events in the reign of Elizabeth.9.Give five important events in the life of Cranmer.10.In whose reigns did the following persons live.Thomas Becket.Joan of Arc.Lambert Simnel.Cardinal Wolsey.Lady Jane Grey.ARITHMETIC.Ten marks for each question.1.Express in figures thirty million, three thousand three hundred and three.2.Express in Roman notation, two thousand, five hundred and thirty- seven.3.From 20 tons.3 cwt.3 qrs.20 lbs., take five times 3 tons.10 cwt.2 qrs.17 lbs.4 oz.4, Mow many times will a wheel 7 feet 6 inches in circumference turn round in going five miles.5.In addition of fractions why is it necessary to reduce them to a common denominator ?6.From the sum of # & § take their difference and divide the result by their product.7.À man sold one half his sheep at one time, one third at another time, and had twenty remaining; how many had he at first ?8.From the sum of .06 & .004 take their difference and divide the result by their product.9.A tap discharging 4 gals.a minute, empties a cistern in three hours.How long will it take a tap discharging 7 gals.a minute to empty it ? 348 THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD.10.What is the simple interest on $232.60 for 3 yrs.8 mos., at five per cent.?CoMmPOSITION & EncuisH LITERATURE.1.Write a composition on \u201c The life of Goldsmith.\u201d (50).9, Give the names of five of the most important writings of Goldsmith, (10).3.Name and describe one of the characters of the Deserted Village (15) 4.Write from memory six consecutive lines from the Deserted Village, (10).5.Give a short statement of the subject matter of the poem, (15).ScrIPTURE HISTORY.Ten marks for each question.1.Give the names of five prominent persons who lived before the Deluge, and mention three important events in the life of any one of these.2.Arrange the following events in the order in which they occurred.The Exodus.The fall of Jericho.The reign of Solomon.The Deluge.The birth of Isaac.The wanderings in the wilderness.The institution of the Passover.Death of Joseph.The Captivity.The reign of Saul.3.Give five leading events in the life of Joseph.4.Give ten leading events in the life of David.5.Draw an outline map shewing the relative position of Assyria, Palestine, and Egypt, and insert the following with names ; Nile, Red Sea, Mediterranean, Dead Sea, Jordon, Euphrates, Tigris.6.Draw a ground plan of the tabernacle including the court, and indicate the articles of furniture contained in each.7.Arrange the following events in the order in which they occurred.The Transfiguration.The Sermon on the Mount.The Ascension.The day of Pentecost.The baptism of Jesus.The Resurrection.The death of Stephen.8.How many books are there in the New Testament.Name the writers of these books.9.Name ten of the miracles of Jesus Christ.10.Write down a favorite passage from the New Testament, and state where it is to be found.CANADIAN History.Ten marks for each question.1.What was it that led Europeans in the first instance to cross the ocean to this Continent.2, Name the European nations that took a prominent part in the early history of this continent.3.Give the names of five persons prominent in the early discoveries of Canada. PRACTICAL HINTS AND EXAMINATION PAPERS, 349 4.Name the chief Indian Tribes connected with the early history of Canada, and state where each was located.5.What important event is connected with each of the following dates, 1535, 1608, 1663, 1812, 1837, 1885.6.Give the dates of the following.The Capture of Quebec by Wolfe.The Quebec Act.The Act dividing Canada into two Provinces.The Union of Upper and Lower Canada.The Confederation Act.7.Write short notes on, One hundred Associates.Peltry trade.Custom of Paris.Clergy Reserves.U.E.Loyalists.8.Name the Provinces which formed the Dominion at the time of Confederation and those which have since been added.9.Give ten important events in the history of Canada since Confederation.10.Name the important treaties connected with the history of Canada.LATIN.1.Give (a) the declinable parts of speech (b) the indeclinable, (10).2.Declire, pugna, filia, hortus, templum, urbs and dies, (10).3.Give the comparative and superlative of the following adjectives.clarus, tener, facilis, bonus, multus, (10).4.Write the Latin cardinals to ten, (10).5.Decline hic, haec.hoc, singular and plural, (10).6.Translate the following and parse the words in italics.Pater meus te amat.Ego sum pastor, tu es latro.Sorores tus mecum in horto ambulabant.Servus ignem portans, per forum festinavit.Caesar bellum per legatos suos gessit.Britanni a Cesare obsides dare jubentur, (25).7.Translate into Latin :\u2014The enemy move their camp.The farmers\u2019 daughters had been praised by the Queen.The temple was built by the king\u2019s orders.The temple of the gods was built by the people.Letters were given to the messenger for the general, (25).FrexcH.1.Donnez (a) la régle général pour la formation du pluriel dans les substantifs.(b) Le pluriel des substantifs terminés au singulier en s, x, z.(¢) Le pluriel de ceux qui se terminent au singulier en au et eu, (d) en al, (e) et ail, (f) les pluriels de \u201cciel, «ll et aieul.\u201d Donner un exemple de chaque classe (25).2.Définissez les changements de l\u2019article, nommés \u201c Elision \u201d et \u201c contraction,\u201d (b) et donnez avec la raison de ces changements un exemple de chacun deux.(c) Quand la contraction \u201cau\u201d et \u201c du\u201d n\u2019a-t-elle pas lieu?(10).3.Combien y a-t-il de sortes d\u2019adjectifs?Définissez-les, donnant un ou deux exemples.(b) Dans quelle classe d\u2019adjectifs placez-vous ceux qui dérivent des verbes, comme \u201c charmant,\u201d \u201c obligeant.\u201d (c) Quels adjectifs sont \u201c mort-ivre, nouveau-né ?\u201d (10) 350 THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD.4.(a) Combien y a-t-il de sortes de pronoms (b) Nommez et définissez chaque sorte, en donnant un exemple de chacune d\u2019elles ?(20) 5.(a) Quels sont les modifications du verbe?(b) Définissez chacune d\u2019elles, avec exemples.(c) Combien de modes a le verbe (d) et quelle idée présente chaque mode ?(20) 6.Donnez les premiéres personnes du singulier des verbes irréguliers suivants, aux temps indiqués.Cond.Prés.aller, Fut.envoyer.Ind.prés.acquérir.Parf.déf.courir.Par.déf.venir.Imparf.indice.déchoir.Parf.déf.pouvoir.Prés.subj.dire.Prés.subj.mettre.Ind.prés.moudre.Parf.déf.maître.Subj.prés.oindre.Parf.déf.plaire.DRAWING.Twenty marks for each question.1.Give three reasons for making drawing a subject in our elementary schools.2.Write notes on, Length of Lessons, Dictation Exercises, Ruling and measuring, Drawing on Blackboard.3.How would you illustrate the different kinds of rectilineal figures by means of a piece of cord five yards in length ?4, Draw ten different kinds of rectilineal figures and insert the proper name in each.5.Answer one of the following :\u2014 a.Describe the drawing of a Quadrifoil on a square and a Trifoil on a triangle, and give an illustration of each.b.Draw a top, an hour glass, a kite, a bell.¢.Give a specimen of your drawing in any form you choose.Book-KEEPING.Twenty marks for each question.1.State what you understand by book-keeping.2.What are the chief books used in Single Entry ?Describe the special object of each.3.John Jones gives a promisory note to James Henry for $300 payable in three months from date with interest at 4 p.c.Write out the note as given at Montreal, 6th July.4, John Jones bought of William Henry, 2 lbs.tea @ 60 c., 13 lbs sugar @ 7 c., 14 lbs.oatmeal @ 3 c., 3 lbs.coffee @ 40 c., 20 bs.flour @ 3 c., 2 doz.apples @ 25 c., and paid for them.Write out the account which John Jones should receive.5.John Jones pays Henry James $200 as part payment of a debt, write out the receipt which John Jones should receive, dating it as in Question 3.[ICN PRACTICAL HINTS AND EXAMINATION PAPERS.ART or TEACHING.Twenty marks for each question.1.Give the substance of the author\u2019s marks upon the development of the mental powers.2.Explain the methods of classification that may be adopted in a school.Into how many classes should the average district school of twenty-five pupils be divided, (¢) in Reading, (b) in Arithmetic, (¢) in History, (d) in Geography.3.What objects should be kept specially in view in the organization of a school and what are the advantages resulting from a good organization.4.Give five suggestions concerning the teaching of spelling.5 To what classes in your school would you give instruction in grammar?Describe briefly the course and methods you would follow in each class.(GEOGRAPHY.Ten marks for each question.1.Give three peninsulas on the south of Europe and three on the south of Asia.2.Give the boundaries of the Atlantic Ocean.3.Locate the following rivers and give the direction in which they flow Nile, Danube, Volga, Amazon, Lena.4.Give five large gulfs or bays of North America.5.Draw an outline map of North America and insert the following: 1.St.Lawrence.2.Mississippi.3.Colorado.4.Columbia.5.Mackenzie.6.Rocky.7.Appalachian.8.New York.9.New Orleans.10.San Francisco.11.Chicago.6.Name the provinces of the Dominion of Canada in order, beginning from the Pacific Ocean.7.Draw a sketch of the St.Lawrence, shewing its chief tributaries and give the town at the mouth of each tributary.8.State what waters you would pass through in passing from Port Arthur to Halifax by boat.9.What articles form the chief part of the cargo of steamships going from Montreal to England.10.Give the capital of the Dominion and of each of the Provinces.Primary TwacEERS.\u2014The good primary teacher is a queen among her small subjects.She is looked upon as an epitome of knowledge, and so indeed she is for those little folks.The long summer rest is therefore most essential to her health of mind as well as body.If she thinks and observes (as she will if she is a good teacher), she will take back to her pupils not only renewed strength for her work, but a fund of useful, interesting, and entertaining knowledge that will help them and her 352 THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD.through what would otherwise be weary hours of tiresome and uninteresting labor.It is the teacher who takes her school with her into the vacation that is successful.She need not take the cares, vexations and anxieties of the schoolroom, but only her interest in her work, so that what she sees, hears, and experiences.she can use for the future good of her school.1fshe does this, she will be a teacher of ideas and not of averages.When children are taught to think instead ofto \u201cpass,\u201d we will have more satisfactory scholars.\u2014 Educational News.\u2014 What earthly use is there in taking the round-about way, so often pursued in text books and even by teachers, when a subject is to be made clear to the student?As the hypothenuse of a right, angled triangle is always shorter than the sum of the other two sides, so is a common sense course always the nearest way to reach the point aimed at.How often is the learner confused and embarrassed by wordy, long- winded definitions and rules, when a few, plain common sense illustrations will answer the purpose much more effectually.\u2014ÔNE oF THE interesting questions raised lately is, At what average age should a student begin the study of Greek?To this might also be added, At what average age should the student begin the study of Latin ?In Prussia the average age for beginning Greek is fourteen.In England Dr.Fearon says that some of the most able and brilliant classical scholars at Oxford and Cambridge did not begin Greek until they had reached fifteen.We have known college-bred men inist upon it that their sons should begin the study of Latin at the age of eight, because of the fact that the inflections, etc., are more readily memorized at the age than later, and this early start in Latin, we think, has been the practice in many schools.Probably not so early as eight, but certainly earlier than twelve years.Is the plan a wise one?Books Received and Reviewed.To our exchanges one and all we send the usual greetings at this time of the year.The Celtic Magazine for December comes full of the lore which delights the heart of every Scotsman at home and abroad.From the department of Notes and News, at the end of this monthly, we shall be able to draw in future for the readers of the Rrcorm.The holiday number of Wide Awake, published by the Lothrop Company, Boston, is a splendid issue, and will bring delight to many a voung heart: the printing and paper is of the very best, and the illustrations are all that can be desired.Treasure Trove for Christmas is also a good number, in which we particularly take note of a sketch by Margaret Brooks on the Sage of Chelsea, Thomas Carlyle, and another by Bertha Watson on The Joan of Arc of the Revolution, meaning of course, Charlotte Corday.The Open Court has changed hands, though it will be hard to find two such BOOK NOTICES.353 editors as the Underhills for a periodical of this kind.When we find that a paper of this kind can have a good circulation, we are convinced that the world of thinkers is not so limited as some croaking philosophers suppose.Education is still the Magazine par excellence for the teacher ; of its companion periodical Common School Education we have lately lost sight ; others of our exchanges we will notice next month.A History of ErizaBrrHAN LITERATURE by George Saintsbury and published by MacMillan and Co., London.This is a book which forms one of a series, to extend over the whole history of English Literature, the others being prepared by Mr.Stopford Brooke, Mr.Edmund Gosse and Professor Dowden.Mr.George Saintsbury seldom if ever undertakes a task to which he does not come well-prepared.The book before us is to some extent a personal experience in as far as the author bas studied the period of English Literature, concerning which he writes, with the greatest of care.It is not a history of men, made up of little bits of biography which are of little moment to the student or even to the general reader, but is a critical examination of the growth of literature during the period, called the Elizabethan.The period extends from 1560 to 1660.In each of his chapters, Mr.Saintsbury makes a fine grouping of subjects, such groupings being twelve in number, beginning with Tottel\u2019s Miscellany and ending with the minor Caroline prose writers, beginning at a time when as Mr.Abner says, the poets wrote for their own delectation and for that of their friends and not for the general public; and ending with the matured style of Milton\u2019s imitators.Had we space, we would like to linger over a book such as this.It wili certainly become a friend to many a student who longs to know something of the Kenaissance in England.The author\u2019s style is as clear and interesting as the speech of a lucid speaker.CrAUVENET'S ELEMENTARY GEOMETRY, revised and abridged by Professor W.E.Byerly of Harvard University and published by the J.B.Lippincott Company, Philadelphia.This is one of the volumes of a series of four on Mathematics.As a re-arrangement of Euclid, with additions, the book aims at training the student not only to understand and demonstrate set propositions, but to acquire a power of grasping and proving any simple geometrical truth that may be set before him.We have examined several of the demonstrations and find in them a conciseness and clearness of expression worthy of all commendation.The arrangement includes eight books, a great improvement on the arrangement of the ordinary Euclid, which is really of little or no benefit to the student in making smooth the way for him in the study of geometry.We do not believe in removing those difficulties, which have been proved to be surmountable by the average boy within the last three thousand years.But if they are to be removed without any serious loss to the mental gymnastic and strengthening which the study of geometry promotes, we know of no book which equals the above as a text book.Crasse rr Prcue by J.M.LeMoine and published by N.S.Hardy, Quebec.This is another of those delightfully chatty works which M.LeMoine knows so well how to produce.The experiences of youth mellowed by the reflection of ripening years and by a pleasant style which makes the author and reader friends at once, are found in every page.The work is nicely illustrated and arranged in sections dedicated to prominent sportsmen.It undoubtedly merits the high encomiums it has received from the Governor-General, Mr.Fairchild and others. THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD.Official Department.DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.QUEBEC, 23rd November, 1887.Which day the quarterly meeting of the Protestant Committee of the Council of Public Instruction was held.Present :\u2014The Right Rev.James W.Williams, D.D., in the chair; the Rev.John Cook, D.D., Sir William Dawson, C.M.G., LL.D., R.W.Heneker, Esq., D.C.L., the Rev.George Mathews, D.D., the Ven.Archdeacon Lindsay, M.A.George L.Masten, Esq., Dr.A.Cameron, M.P.P,, E.C.Hemming, BEsq., D.C.L., the Rev.Canon Norman, D.C.L., the Rev.George Weir, LL.D.The Secretary submitted the following correspondence for the consideration of the Committee :\u2014 1.From H.W.Townsend, Esq., Magog Model School, R.Lawe, Esq., Three Rivers Academy, and W.Briggs, Hsq., Dan- ville Model School, applying for Academy diplomas and presenting certificates.The Committee agreed that the Chairman and the Rev.Dr.Mathews be a sub-committee to confer with the Hon.the Superintendent of Public Instruction as to the terms on which teachers from other provinces and from Great Britain may obtain diplomas in this Province, and to report at the next meeting.2.From Selby & Co., Toronto, and Grip Printing and Publishing Co., Toronto, submitting school text books for authorization.The Committee agreed to refer these communications to the Committee on text books.3.From Sir William Dawson, concerning the Secretary of Normal School Committee, submitted for the information of the Committee.4.From BE.W.Arthy, BEsq., Secretary Provincial Association Protestant Teachers, concerning certain resolutions of the Association and the expenditure of the Government grant made to the Association.The Committee agreed that in future the written examination of Academies shall include the second grade Model School pupils.The Committee also resolved, on the motion of G.L.Masten, on im = ae EST ERIN a a ar A Pp ERE SRE TR Te FEE RS Epa nan eR OFFICIAL DEPARTMENT.355 Esq., seconded by Rev.Canon Norman, That this Committee approves of the efforts of the teachers of the Protestant Academies of the Province to secure the names of the lawyers Protestant and Roman Catholic, approving of the option named in the subjects for the examination of candidates for entrance to the study of law.\u201d 5.Communications with the Academies at Inverness, Berthier, Hatley, Granby and Shawville, and with Leeds Model School, for information of the Committee.The Secretary then presented the following financial statement of the funds of the Committee, which was received, examined and adopted :\u2014 FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF FUNDS oF PROTESTANT COMMITTEE, 1887.Superior Education Funds.Sept.21.\u2014 Balance on hand $2485.00 Expenditure.Oct.8.\u2014Superintendent for L.E.G 1916.00 \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014$ 569.00 Contingent Fund.Sept.21.\u2014Balance on hand $2212.23 Oct.8.\u2014J.J.Foote account 134.75 John Lovell & Son, printing 13.50 Gazette Printing Company 9.00 Inspector\u2019s salary 125.00 \u201c balance of travelling expenses .50.00 Secretary\u2019s salary for 1886-87 200.00 \u201c for extra services 100.00 for quarter ending 30th Sept 50.00 682.25 Nov.22.\u2014Balance on hand | 1529.98 cc Nov.22.\u2014Total balance on hand $2098.98 Examined and found correct.(Signed), R.W.HENEKER.November 23, 1887.The Sub-committee on Protestant Universities and Superior Schools in reference to Professions and Professional Examina- 356 THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD.tions reported progress and was instructed to memorialize the Government on the subject, and to take all possible means to secure the rights and privileges of the Protestant educational institutions.The Sub-committee on distribution of Protestant Superior Education Funds submitted the following report upon the memorandum referred to them :\u2014 MEMORANDUM CONCERNING DISTRIBUTION OF PROTESTANT SUPERIOR Epuca- TIONAL GRANTS SUBMITTED BY THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT.L Cap.XV.C.S.L.C., Sec.6 and 7, provides :\u20141.That the distribution of the Superior Education Income Fund shall be by superintendent, with approval of Lieutenant Governor-in-Council.2.That the grants shall be made for one year only, and not permanently.II.In the distribution, the superintendent must comply with directions of the Protestant Committee (39 Vic., cap.XV., 8.7.) IIL.35 Vie, cap.ITI, Sec.5, provides :\u2014That the M.L.Fund shall be apportioned by superintendent, under authority of Lieutenant-Governor, in same manner as any sums granted by law for Protestant superior education.IV.For several years M.L.Fund was apportioned by superintendent, under recommendation of Protestant Committee under special Order-in- Council each year.V.The Order-in-Council dated 23rd March, 1881, dealing with arrears of Marriage License Fund.provides that the annual interest on said sum shall be used, applied and apportioned among Protestant institutions of superior education in the same manner as the sums now derivable from the sale of marriage licenses are used, applied and apportioned under the Act 35 Vic., cap.3.VI.The Order-in-Council of 10th January, 1884, provides for the payment of interest semi-annually on the Marriage License Arrearages Fund, to be used as provided in Order-in-Council, March 18, 1881.VIL It is evident therefore (1) that these several funds for Protestant superior education are granted for the same institutions and are subject to the same conditions as to their distribution ; (2) that each of these funds should be distributed annually by the superintendent, in accordance with the direction of the Protestant Committee, under the authority of a special Order-in-Council.(Signed), Erson I.REXFORD, Secretary of the Department Public Instruction.Statement in reference to foregoing memorandum :\u2014 The Protestant Marriage License Fund was obtained by the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the expressed purpose of giving a more v OFFICIAL DEPARTMENT.357 adequate subvention to the Protestant Universities and Colleges of the highest class.The Hon.P.Chauveau, Premier and Superintendent of Public Instruction, had been repeatedly requested by the Protestant members of the Council to procure a grant from the Legislature for this purpose.His unvarying reply was that the thing was impossible, that a proportionate grant must be made for the Roman Catholic institutions, that this grant would be very large, that it was not required, and that the proposal would be negatived.He was then reminded that the funds accruing from the fees for Protestant Marriage Licenses, then forming part of the general revenue of the Province, would be more properly applied to exclusively Protestant uses ; and that the same might be made available for the more adequate assistance of Protestant Universities and highest class of colleges.An Act was thereupon passed by the Legislature in the session of the year 1871, authorizing the handing over of the moneys derived from Protestant Marriage License fees to the Superiftendent of Public Instruction.The estimated income fpr the ensuing year was $5,000.The Superintendent, upon the advice of the Protestant members of the Council, and in order to the disbursement of the money with due regard to the purpose for which it had been obtained, put aside one-fifth of the estimated income for contingencies connected with superior education, and of the remaining four-fifths, he assigned to McGill College, two-fifths, Bishop\u2019s College, one-fifth, and Morrin College, one-fifth.In subsequent administrations these proportions of the distribution were not always adhered to, but it was for the support of universities and higher colleges that the money was obtained, and the foregoing was laid down as the principle and permanent basis of its expenditure.(Signed), J.W.QUEBEC, Member of the Council of Public Instruction at the date of transaction.The report was received, and the Sub-committee was continued with instructions to make further enquiries and report at next meeting.The Sub-committee on Normal School appointments presented an interim report, which was received, and the action of the Subcommittee was approved.The Sub-committee was continued with instructions to carry out the first recommendation of their report, and to make a final report at the next meeting.The Sub-committee on school text books presented a detailed report upon the text books submitted, which was received and adopted.It was moved by Rev.Canon Norman, seconded by G.L.Masten, Esq., \u201cThat a Sub-committee be appointed to consider the question of Vocal Music, as taught in the schools of the Province, to report at a subsequent meeting ; said committee to consist of Archdeacon Lindsay, G.L.Masten, Esq., the Secretary and the mover of the above as convener, with power to add to their number.\u201d Carried. 358 THE EDUCATIONAL RECORD.The Sub-committee on the revision and completion of the regulations submitted a report with a list of regulations, which were read for the information of the Committee.The report was received and the regulations ordered to be printed under the direction of the Sub-committee for circulation among members of the Committee with a view to their acceptance at the next meeting.The report was received and the regulations ordered to be printed under the direction of the Sub-committee for circulation among members of the Committee, with a view to their acceptance at the next meeting.The Committee agreed that the Secretary should consult with Dr.Heneker in printing the proposed amendments of the School Law as directed by the Hon.the Premier of the Province.The Committee then adjourned, to meet the last Wednesday in February, or earlier on the call of the Chairman.(Signed), J.W.QUEBEC, Chairman, ELson I.REXFORD, Secretary.NOTICES FROM THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE.His Honor the Administrator of the Province has been pleased by an Order-in-council of the 17th September, 1887, to appoint two school commissioners for the municipality of St.Céme, County Beauce, one commissioner for the municipality of St.Lin, County L\u2019Assomption; one for Bagotville Village, County Chicoutimi; two commissioners for the municipality of St.Bruno, County Chicoutimi; two for the municipality of St.Donat, County Montcalm ; two for the municipality of Les \u201c Crans,\u201d County Montmorency ; five for the municipality of St.Valerie, County Ottawa; five for the new municipality of St.Michel de Rougemont, County Roaville; one commissioner for the municipality of Notre Dame du Portage, County Temiscouata; and two for the municipality of the village of Lac Weedon, County Wolfe.22nd September.To appoint a school commissioner for the municipality of St.Pierre de Durham, County Drummond, and one for the town of St.Jerome, County Terrebonne.O.G.1770.23rd September.To appoint Joseph Premont (school inspector) member of the Catholic Division Board Examiners, Quebec, instead of the late Felix E.Duneau.23rd September.To appoint Mr.Hermile Baril a member of the Sard of Examiners, Three Rivers, instead of the late Stanislas Badeaux.G.1770.26th.To appoint two school commissioners for the municipality of \u201c Sept Isles,\u201d County Saguenay.O.G.1770.23rd.To appoint two school commissioners for the newly erected municipality of the town of Laurentides, County L\u2019Assomption ; also, two for the municipality of Ste.Anne, County Chicoutimi.O.G.1771.17th.To detach all the territory from and including the property of W.Mooney, as far as the establishment of Dr.Fortier, of the municipality of St.Columban, County Two Mountains, and annex it to St.Canut No.1 for school purposes.O.G.1772."]