he exclaims, "Awake! awake! put on thy strength, O Zion: put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city for henceforth there shall come no more into thee, the uncircumcised and the unclean."

But even this is surpassed by the calm confidence and quiet beauty compressed, as it were, in the heart of Supreme Love and compassion of the Son of man, when, to comfort the sorrowing, He said, "I am the resurrection and the life." "He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." And again it breaks forth from the same compassionate source, when He says, "In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, ** that where I am, there ye may be also." Or of the beloved disciple, in rapt contemplation of the mysteries of the God-head, as he chants, in sublime measures, the hymn of the universe: "In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made," etc. Or of the immortal Kepler, awed by the wonders revealed to him through science, as he exclaims, "Oh God, I think thy thoughts," etc. Or of Patrick Henry, forgetting all self in the sublime abandon of patriotism, as he flings out upon the astonished ears of the world, "Is life so dear, and peace so sweet, as to be purchased by chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!" etc. Or of Lord Chatham, in the British Parliament, in sublime. sympathy with the cause of the oppressed, as he said, "I cannot, my lords, I will not, join in congratulation on misfortune and disgrace. ** * * * You cannot, my lords, you cannot conquer America," etc., etc.

What a prophesy! What a telling rebuke! And still another instance we cannot forbear,-the sad, sorrowful lamentation of that simple-hearted rustic, our greatest American statesman, at the dedication of the burial place of the dead heroes of our national strife-"We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. *** It is rather for us, the living, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced," etc. And still another from a

modern prophet but recently passed beyond, while contemplating the possibility of the above, in song he says:

I have instanced these examples to show that language consists more in the thought it expresses than in the expression itself, however graphic. These cases might be multiplied almost indefinitely; but I forbear, that I may consider briefly, in the last place, how to cultivate the language of children so that the abuses so common may be avoided, and the excellences so grand may be carried into every household of every land and of all peoples. And here I must content myself with a few hints, trusting to the intelligence of teachers to carry it out in detail.

1st.

The necessity of language must be felt by the child. 2nd. Language must be sought by the child as a means for expression of the thought previously formed in the mind, and not the thought through the language.

3rd. The thought is first in the natural or chronological order of development; especially is this so in the early stages of childgrowth.

4th. Language taught first, or merely as language in its objective features, with little or no reference to antecedent. thought, is a dead failure, and an incumbrance to thought, rather than a healthy prompter or promoter to thought.

'Tis true, this lifeless body, or corpse, when galvanized by some of our modern methods may show signs of life; and, like the dry bones in Ezekiel's vision, it may rise up and be clothed upon with the habiliments of life; may even live, breathe and walk; but it is all unnatural, because the thought-the vital element, good expression-is wanting.

This, of course, does not apply with equal force to a later period in the life of the student, when a large part of his thought is obtained from reading; but the law even here is the same, since

true reading is only a process of thought-getting, through the perusal of the thoughts of the author instead of obtaining it from the original source.

What we mean, therefore, by the natural order of thought, and by the natural method of development, are simply the antecedences of thought to language, and the adjustment of these objects of nature-art employments-in a logical or natural way, so that a scientific order of impressions shall be made upon the mind, through the appeals to it, from these objects, etc., to the natural linguistic capacity of the child, at each and every stage of his growth.

Here the whole flood of light from nature, art, etc., in the form of color, shape, weight and other properties of matter, as well as movement, purpose, uses and the like, should be poured in upon the impressible nature of child mind, in a systematic, orderly and scientific way, to fertilize it for fruitful thought, and for forcible expression, before the senseless jargon of mere words, for the most part without meaning to the child, is thrust upon it to confuse and discourage both the thought and the expression. For the sunlight and showers, aided by fertility of soil, no more surely produce germination in plants than do these generic forces in child mind, perception, ideation or evolution, when stimulated by their congenital forces in nature, produce the incipient thought that seeks birth or expression. For as soon as these properties of matter, from these simpler and more attractive objects of nature, come in contact with these capacities of early child mind, through the organs of the senses, as the eye, the ear and the hand ( for contact of some kind is necessary to fertilization, hence the more direct the better, within lawful limits), as soon, I say, as this connection is complete, which may be known by the interest, the attention and pleasure the child experiences, then, and not till then, does healthy germination and life begin.

This process is not only natural, but it is strictly scientific, both as to the order of development and the adjustment of the capacity and its corresponding force, the want and the supply; for, no sooner is this process fairly under way, than a species of selfactivity or evolution in the child mind starts up, which requires wise and careful provisions, both in selecting material and directing the energies or activities of child mind, without interfering with natural growth.

These newly awakened powers, like the opening buds in plants and flowers, need the genial sunlight of wise teaching, the baptism in the dews and showers of warm sympathetic natures; and they will begin a life growth more lovely in form, more elegant in kind, more exalted in beauty and more enduring in character and results than the product of any mere plant or flower, since all these characteristics are everlasting.

Here, then, is where pure language begins; and where true teaching may aid its growth and development into all those beautiful forms contemplated above. And to continue it, it is only necessary to follow nature in her natural selections, the natural incentives (not perverted ones) of childhood and youth, advancing to higher and higher forms, as age and attainments increase.

Hence, to teach language well in any grade of school, and especially in the elementary grades, is but to teach the truths of science, art and literature well; for they are not taught well until they and kindred thoughts (original thoughts) are both developed and expressed well by the individual learner.

Hence again, every lesson in whatever branch, when well taught and well learned, becomes in and of itself a language lesson of the most practical kind. And it is yet a question, I believe, whether or not any other merely language lessons are really needed, at least until the language may be studied as a science, in the higher grades of schools.

Thinking citizens are high-priced, even in the professions.

Getting down to the child's level ought sometimes to be practiced with a reverse motion.

"Square the circle" of your daily work by what will be of most benefit to the child's every day life in the future.

Human life is so short at the longest, so sorrowful at the best, that it pays to crowd just as much real happiness into child life as possible.

Fossils are the remains of plants and animals found buried in the earth. No matter how deeply in love with your work you may be, you have no right, as a teacher, to fossilize in it!

Y.

THE

EDITORIAL.

HE subject of inter-collegiate games especially football, is attracting much attention now, due in part, at least, to the severe condemnation of the latter by President Eliot and the action of the Harvard Faculty in throwing the weight of their influence against it. While much can be said in favor of football, if rightly played, as a manly game-and it has a host of advocates we think that educators generally will do well to weigh carefully these words from President Eliot's annual report:

"The evils of the intercollegiate sports, as described in the president's Report of last year, continue without real redress or diminution. In particular, the game of football grows worse and worse as regards foul and violent play, and the number and gravity of the injuries which the players suffer. It has become perfectly clear that the game as now played is unfit for college use. The rules of the game are at present such as to cause inevitably a large number of broken bones, sprains and wrenches, even during trial or practice games played legitimately; and they also permit those who play with reckless violence or with shrewd violations of the rules to gain thereby great advantages. What is called the development of the game has steadily increased its risks, until they have become unjustifiable. Naturally the public is losing faith in the sincerity of the professed desire of coaches, captains and promoters to reform it. It should be distinctly understood, however, that the players themselves have little real responsibility for the evils of the game. They are swayed by a tyranical public opinion - partly ignorant and partly barbarous to the formation of which graduates and undergraduates, fathers, mothers and sisters, leaders of society, and the veriest gamblers and rowdies all contribute. The state of mind of the spectators at a hard-fought football match at Springfield, New York or Philadelphia, cannot but suggest the query how far these assemblages differ at heart from the throngs which enjoy the prize fight, cock fight or bull fight, or which in other centuries delighted in the sports of the Roman arena."

S°

stimulating was the conference of educators in connection with the Plymouth School of Ethics last summer, that a new department of education has been erected within the school for its future work. Two weeks, early in August, will be devoted each to a distinct central theme in accord with the main subject of the whole session of the school. Lectures will be given by eminent persons, and conferences will be held for the familiar discussion of educational principles and their applications, as suggested by the leading lectures.