The R. J. Schoolmaster.

MARCH, 1861.

I believe there was comparatively more history known, where civilization had made much The imagination must supply this map of hisadvancement, before the art of printing was dis-torical scenes, and if it fails to do it, history is covered than now. When history was taught nearly a dead letter, mere words; and if words by tradition orally there were eager listeners, are not pictures, or do not create pictures, they who were delighted to know the history of their are useless. ancestors and nation; and these stories were treasured up and remembered to be narrated again.

and dates as the posts and beams to which we young women were sent over to become wives may fasten the walls, after which we may pro- to the planters. In 1639 representative assemceed to ornament them. blies were ordered in the colonies of Plymouth,

This filling up must come from the teacher's Connecticut and Maryland. Take the decades, more extensive knowledge skillfully used. He Gorges was governor of Maine from 1639 to may impress upon the minds of his pupils, by 1649. The dispute between the deputies and his earnest manner and the real interest he feels assistants in Massachusetts lasted ten years, and in the subject, the importance of the events the time between the settlement of Old and narrated; the objects sought after and contend- New Charleston was a decade. Stuyvesant ed for by the actors in the drama of history; conquered the Swedes, and civil war broke out and the results which have followed. He may in Maryland just a hundred years before Bradshow on what slight circumstances great ques- dock's defeat, and the same time separates the tions have turned which have changed all sub-breaking out of Philip's war and the battle of sequent history. Bunker Hill, Philip's death and the DeclaraThe teacher may thus throw so much life into tion of Independence. This is but a suggesthe subject as to make his pupils feel that they tion; this method may be carried to almost any are living in the scenes which he describes.

extent.

Even dates may be made interesting, and they This law of association is taken advantage of, certainly are important, and should be studied as perhaps unconsciously, by all adult readers of a discipline and duty if nothing more. It is a very history. The uneducated illustrate the same general complaint with people that they cannot law in narrating to each other their own private remember dates. But if all the most important histories. One interrupts another to say that dates of our school histories were learned thor- what is stated happened in the year of the Emoughly, so as to be recalled at any time, it would bargo, or on the Dark Day, or when Jerusha furnish a key to the remembering of other dates, Cole was married. or at the demise of a favorite and the facts of history would begin to cluster cat. The child should not be left alone to disaround them, and other events and dates in life, or in wider and more extensive reading, would marshal themselves into parallels or opposites, and be a source of very great pleasure as well as convenience. Therefore would we make the study and memory of dates an important feature in the study of history. And often the Another complaint made against history is, striving to remember a date fixes a fact in the that it treats mostly of wars, battles, carnage mind which otherwise would escape with the and death. This is true of all history, and eshour. This is the main reason for compelling pecially of that which lies more remote from children to learn the dates of history. And our times. History is a vertebrated subject, this is not so difficult a task as many would and war and strife, victories and defects, are the strive to make it appear. There is sometimes method in madness, and there should be as much at least practiced in all forms of instruction.

cover this law of association, for much precious time will be wasted before he will have come to such knowledge, but put him in the right path and lead him a few steps and he will be able and delighted to go alone; and the teacher and pupil will both " gain by 't."

spinal column which have given shape and stamina to ages and to nations. They are like the mountain ridges which run through the conti The first few dates may be arbitrary and dull, nents, though they be barren, rocky, inaccessi like the letters of the alphabet, the nine digits, ble, the home of eternal frosts, yet they give or the definitions in any science; but we soon rise to all the rivers which make the valleys learn their value in language, and in mathema- smile and set in motion the industry of the tics, and then the aridity of the definitions is world. Had there been no wars, the world forgotten. would not have reached its present state of civi

Our decimal system may be used to great ad-lization. vantage in the study of history; indeed it would Therefore wars should be studied; thei be almost useless to attempt to remember dates causes and consequences more than the mere without it. Take our own history and see how facts, or the facts only as they relate to causes easily the dates may be grouped or compared by and results, and this relation must be pointed identity, or differences in tens and hundreds. out by the living teacher who is interested in In 1820 the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, sla- the subject; for books all fail in this particular. very was introduced into the colonies, and Here offensive and defensive war should be ex

plained; also war under an absolute monarch, when it is an exponent of his uncontrolled will; under a limited monarchy, where the people in some measure control the action; in a republic, where the people are the sovereigns; and also war of revolution, where the people rise against their own rulers. When rightly understood and taught, I think the study of history should not be rejected because it treats of wars and death. For if we read the past aright, we shall see that in all ages through the death of some the remainder have been made more prosperous and happy.

For the Schoolmaster.

"Back to the Wilderness."

BY ANNIE ELIZABETH.

"BACK to the wilderness; " [Canaan's in view,
Its clusters and honey, its bright beauties too;
But murmurs arise, and the cloud turneth back,
To lead them again o'er a desolate track.
Back to the wilderness;" wander again
Years through the desert, in weakness and pain,
Where the vast hosts in its silence shall lay,
Marking with graves all its lone pathless way.
"Back to the wilderness;" to their sad doom,

The first requisite, then, for the successful teaching of history so that it shall become an interesting study to the pupil is, the teacher must be an enthusiast in history; at least, must" understand the philosophy of history and the philosophy of mind as applicable to this study in particular. Then, with the helps which he can obtain from books and maps, which are indispensable, he may hope to escape the despairing looks and the doleful sound of "dry," "of no use," "let me be excused."

Strike the Knot.

F. B. S.

Well might they journey in fear and in gloom;
The proud and the brave, the mighty and strong,
Led by a cloud the dark way along.

Back to the wilderness;" Oh, not alone
Did the old tribes for their sins thus atone;
Down through the dim distant path of the years,
Sternly its echoings fall on our ears.

Back to the wilderness; " often earth's child
Hears this command to reenter the wild,
With the fair land that he longs for in view,
And Jordan dividing to welcome him through.
"Back to the wilderness;" poor aching heart,
Loath from its bright cherished dreams to depart,
Fold, meekly fold both thy weary hands now,
Nor weep, though the light fades out from thy
brow.

Back to the wilderness," howling and drear,
Light falls afar, and the cloud lingers near,
From its dark foldings escape is in vain, -
"Back to the wilderness," wander again.

A

The editor of the New Church Herald says: "We once read this, purporting to come from an old gentleman in California: The sub-" stance of the story, so far as we remember it, was, that when quite a boy, he was trying to split a small log. The stick had been lying in the wood yard a long time and had become dry THE POWER OF THE HUMAN FEATURES. and hard. It was too small for a back log, and main fact in the history of manners, is the wonyet too large for a fore stick, and to make it derful expressiveness of the human body. If it stil more unfit for use, it had a large knot pro- were made of glass, or of air, and the thoughts jecting from one side. At the earnest request were written on steel tablets within, it could of his mother, he undertook to split the log into not more truly publish its meaning than now. kindling wood, and in the hope of overcoming Wise men read very sharply all your private it, was dealing one blow after another in one history in your look and gait and behaviour. end of it. "Strike the knot," said his father, The whole economy of nature is bent on expreswho happened to observe his unsuccessful ef- sion. The tell-tale body is all tongue. Men forts, "strike the knot, my son, and you can are like Geneva watches with crystal faces, split the stick readily enough." He did so, and which expose the whole movement. They car

the trouble was soon over.

ry the liquor of life flowing up and down in those beautiful bottles, and announcing to the curious how it is with them. The face and eyes reveal what the spirit is doing, how old it is, what aims it has. The eyes indicate the antiquity of the soul, or, through how many forms it has already ascended. It almost violates proprieties, if we say above the breath here, what

It is less pain to learn in youth than to be igno- the confessing eyes do not hesitate to utter to rant in age. levery street passenger.-Conduct of Life.

For the Schoolmaster.

Work ?

There must also be cultivated a keen, discern

An unselfishness of disposition must be deWhat Constitutes Fitness for the Teacher's veloped, and patience to meet and look beyond the foibles of the child to its future destiny of THERE are more qualifications necessary for weal or woe. This latter thought, if properly this employment than are commonly anticipated, considered, will awaken a fervent, deathless inand conscientiously reflecting upon and aiming terest in the bosom of the teacher for his charge, for these must induce increased improvement and beget those earnest friendly manners which and prosperity in teaching. That there is need-win the affection of the young and are not ined a thorough adaptation of the laborer to his compatible with their discipline. business, is a truth irrefutably founded upon the very principles of nature and science. Of what use were the elegant watch, if always de-ing mind, enabling one to understand human nature in all its various phases and apply himfective in some part of its delicate mechanism; self accordingly. Numberless peculiarities of or the graceful lyre, except its slender strings were attuned to melody? Where were the temperament are to be encountered and disposed of to the best advantage. One pupil has, it magic of the telescope's vast range, bringing to mortal ken the wonders of the stella worlds, | may be, a singularly gentle disposition and is but for the exact confirmation of its every lens? timid even to a fault. Another is the complete From whence derives the diamond its intrinsic antipodes of the first, and richly merits the appellation "forward." One is wholly inaccessivalue, but from the fact of its possessing qualible because of a suspicious nature, and a fourth ties that render it capable of enhancing the anything but engaging from the fact of possesssplendor of certain rare gems of our jewel-lined | earth? It is well known to be the only agent ing an ungovernable will. These are but few of adequate for the impression of the almost invul- the many causes which render it necessary to nerable surface of the agate, the cornelian and its own resplendent substance. Observe the very air we breathe, and see in its nice measurement, in the precise balancing of its ingredients,

the inimitable suiting of its unseen existence to the equally adapted lungs.

cultivate tact and discretion.

Again, the teacher should always be thoroughly conversant with the lessons of his classes, for only such as can speak experimentally realize the many original questions scholars will suddenly propound, and these often of such a weight one is quite at a loss how best and directly to respond. To meet such emergencies. that which is to be taught must first be well understood by the teacher, who must at least keep pace with the class in intelligence.

Seeing thus the need of adaptation in the ma-. terial world, we can but allow its importance in the teacher's sphere, and each one should strive for that "fitness" in all points which will make him a workman "needing not to be ashamed." It is of the utmost consequence that the in- An aptness in imparting knowledge is indisstructor be imbued with a true relish for his pensable. "Tis true the power to simplify truths employ, for it is but a mere counterfeit of labor and bring them within the range of the young to assume the title and position, and never en-expansile mind, to be comprehensive yet not gage heartily in every duty connected with the cumbrous, is difficult of attainment, still it must station. To this statement the pupils will un-exist or teaching will be but a name. Thoughts equivocally set their seal. It does not take the that appear plain to older people are usually shrewd, acute minds of children and youth long beyond the capacities of those who are younger, to discover the depth of the preceptor's attach- but how often this is forgotten and the protractment to school, and theirs will be proportionate. ed remarks expected to prove so effectual, enAn individual may labor very faithfully from gender weariness and indifference. Pleasure and principle, but except a sincere love of the work knowledge should go hand in hand, though theexists in his heart, his influence upon the child effort to please should not be carried to exis short-lived and will never tell upon society. tremes. The imaginations of youth are vivid. The plans of such an one may be well laid, the their conceptions often decidedly unique, and rules all very effective, apparently, his punctual- these should be diverted into the proper chanity and scrupulous attention to his calling almost nel, for they will unavoidably exact their requiproverbial; yet there can be only a seeming vic-site supplies. tory. Without this relish, any system, however extensive or exact, is a beautiful but soulless body.

The points here mentioned are some of the qualifications for which all who engage in the work of instruction should aim.

Many others

might be ennumerated, but none more essential.

These bags of beans, shooting through the air,

-

True they are easier mentioned than attained, are shot in the right direction. They aim at yet they are attainable, and this fact is all any physical exercise and muscular development, decided, energetic teacher will need to know and each single bean is worth more, for health, ere his life-practice will commence. None than forty pills. It is not designed that every should rest satisfied with merely doing well, the boy shall grow up as strong as Milo or Heenan,— standard of the instructor cannot be placed too or that every girl shall become a fat phenomehigh. What if discouragements thicken in the non, - but that the body shall be made lithe narrow pathway, that old maxim, "patience, and active, the eye sharp, and the whole spirit and perseverence remove mountains," so often of life fresh and vigorous. A head full of repeated for the pupil's benefit, is useful for knowledge is worth but little if the stomach be their guide. No despondency should be allow-full of aches, and a man may be as wise as ed, and the sooner the phrase, "I can't," is Solomon, but his wisdom is of small account if stricken from every teacher's vocabulary the his heart be out of tune. better for him and his school.

Bean Gymnastics.

J.

"Etiam bene dicere, haud absurdum est," says the Roman historian, which, for our purpose, we make to mean that it is not an absurd thing to speak of beans. We look for good results We were attracted, a few days since, as we from these parabolic vegetables. Their salutawere going up Meeting Street, by the shouts of a group of school children, who seemed to be iny influence will not be spent on the vital trunk alone, but like Falstaff's sack, it will ascend the highest glee of frolic and fun. They were into the brain, and quicken and invigorate it engaged in throwing from one to another certain with new life and strength. strange looking missiles, the like of which we could not recall in any of our own sports of boyhood, though the memory ran back to the days of the Lancastrian Academy, and the good apostle who was its master and head.

Who knows but these bags of beans may contain the hidden shoots and sprouts of future philosophers, poets and heroes. "Some mute, inglorious Milton here may rest, Some Cromwell guiltless of his country's blood." -Providence Journal.

Writing.

Somewhat curious, we asked a bystander to explain the game, and we learned from him that these missiles, which had excited our wonder, were bags of beans, introduced into our public and private schools to promote the physical ex- MONSIEUR BOURDON used to tell his classes ercises of young academicians, and equalize the that there were three things requisite in order to expansion of body and brain. And now it learn mathematics. The first was to write, the seems that the child leaving home every morn- second to write, and the third to write. The ing to peruse the juvenile "curriculum," takes same ren ark applies with equal truth to the not only the satchel of books but also a sack of study of language. Accuracy and satisfactory lentils and vetches, promiscuous and assorted progress in the study of an ancient or modem beans white and variegated; the kidney bean, language can be attained in no other way. We the cranberry, the early bush and the marrow-may be in error, but our experience as a teacher fat. has led us to believe that writing a good deal

It is all well. We like anything that quick- makes a student better in any study than he ens the blood and gives a snap to the muscles. could otherwise be. Let us illustrate. Take a We have sometimes thought that the morning class commencing geometry; have each member lesson and the afternoon and the evening lesson provide himself with paper or blank book, and were too much for the young brain, and that it when a definition is given and its wording satwould be better to give less care to the head isfactorily settled, let each student write it, givand more to the arms and legs. If we could ing your class to understand that they are to have our way, there would be less arithmetic write a full treatise on geometry. This brings and more " 'hop-scotch," less natural history out all the pupil's originality, cultivates neatand more barn-cat." The stomach should be ness in drawing the diagrams, and affords him fortified against dyspepsia, and the wheels of great pleasure as his work progresses and asthe brain should not be loaded, like the wheels sumes the form of a volume. Spelling is also of some cotton mills, with more spindles than an exercise which we think should be conductthey can carry. ed by writing. What is the present method in