He who is content to drink from the stream of knowledge after it has coursed along by muddy banks and over stagnant fens till it has become opaque and stagnant itself, may be too indolent to seek and drink the pure water from the well-spring, but the true teacher who has once tasted will never be satisfied with aught but the clear, fresh thought, surrounded but not impeded in its course by the necessary inclosure of language. When he has obtained the thought itself, he is a poor instructor if he cannot pass it vigorous and sparkling to the hand of his pupil, and he is an unfaithful teacher who is so full of regard for himself as to leave a student to imbibe the muddy stream of book-learning only, without pointing him to the source of thought beyond and above it. Whoever has learned the long and tedious rule for Square Root, and applied it without knowing why the complicated processes which he follows are prescribed, and is at last taken up to the simple algebraic solution, where he sees for himself the propriety of the beautiful formula, can understand then how the mode is proper for the solution. He has found its source. I, myself, remember how I grasped the thought when I arrived at it, that, in Language, the Superior term governs the Inferior. I recall, too, the interest which I obtained in Geography when I drank in the descriptions by actual travellers and observers of the beautiful country of Mexico, and remember with what perseverance I waded through the tedious prose Tales of Chaucer, because they were written by the author of the most touching and beautiful tales ever recorded by an English poet, and because I thirsted for the water from the old wells, so often drank from by succeeding poets and writers. If the teachers of Rhode Island would take their pupils back of the language of the textbook to the idea or thought as it springs from the mind of the author, they would be far more successful in giving them true appreciations of facts, and right methods of obtaining them. The most obvious way to teach scholars how to learn, is to lead them to cultivate habits of observation, inquiry and classification, and to teach them the best methods of expressing the ideas which they have gained. Thus they Compassionate the suffering, Those who are in distress,- Will help their case to bless. I would not seek to gain the wealth His ghostly fingers grasp. Look not with envying on those Thus grovelling in dust,- I would not trifle with the hours But cheerfully do righteous deeds- The Ruins of Babel. word is derived from Daguerre, the name of the inventor, (pronounced Dahgair.) To this add the termination -otype, and you have the true pronunciation-Dah-ger-o-type. Sacrifice is sacrificed, murdered, about as often as any word. It is sounded every way but the right way. Sa-cri-fise and sa-cri-fis (long a and sharp s,) or sac-ri-fise (with sharp s and the last i either long or short.) Let both the noun and the verb be only as if written sak-ri-fize (the latter i long,) and our ears will bless you. Envelope is often accented—(How did you pronounce that word? Let the syllable.cent have the ictus-accented, not accented)—on the first syllable. This is half French. Either make it all French, and say ang-vel-ope, accenting the syllable ope, or say envelop. Harass and matrass-the first more frequently-are wrongly accented on the ultimate. Say harass, harassing, matrass, for people mean this when they say matrass. A matras is a chemical vessel, and this they do not mean. THE Journal de Constantinople publishes a letter relative to the archælogical discoveries made in Western Asia, by M. Place, French Consul at Mosul. The passages which refer to the ruins of the Tower of Babel are interesting. These ruins are still most imposing and can be discovered at a distance of twenty leagues. Six of the eight stories of the tower have crumbled away. Its base forms a square of one-hundred and ninety-four metres. The bricks of which it is formed are of the purest clay, and almost white. Before being baked, they were covered with inscriptions, written in a clear and regular hand. Some persons, in modern days, have inquired where all the bitumen came from which was employed in the construction of the tower, as recorded in the eleventh chapter of Genesis. It happens that a stream of bitumen still exists in the neighborhood of the tower, and flows in such abundance as at times to form a bona fide river. The inhabitants then set fire to it, and calmly wait until the flames die away from want of fuel. Several interesting photographic views have been taken, by M. Place, of the ruins, as well as of various parts of Ninevah. Among these ruins he discovered a quantity of small jewels, engraved stones, and a pro-nights. fusion of coins. Some of the engraved stones are remarkable; one is of a cylindrical shape, and pierced in the direction of its axis, in order to be suspended round the neck, if necesssary. On this piece of transparent quartz the sculptor has engraved a figure, with fine curling hair, dressed in a long, narrow tunic, bordered with fringe. It is upright, and extends one hand towards an altar. Amongst other discoveries are inscriptions on bands of gold, silver, and copper, and a species of unknown substance similar to ivory. Fortnight is vulgarly pronounced as if written fortnit, (with obscure i.) Let the word night be distinctly heard, as in midnight. We do not wish to forget that it means fourteen nights, as se'night (for a week) is seven Inexorable is accented frequently on the And age, and death's inexorable doom, Nothing is generally pronounced so that the first syllable would rhyme with moth. Let it be as if written nuthing. Let none rhyme with fun, one, instead of stone, cone. Oasis is almost never accented rightly, on the first syllable. It should be oasis, rather than oasis. Slight errors of this sort detract from our opinion of the accuracy and finish of the scholarship of him who is guilty of such little blunders. It brings no credit to any man to pronounce or spell correctly, but it is very discreditable to fail in such simple things. VAIN glory blossoms but never buds. From the Boston Journal. Funeral of a Distinguished Teacher. TUESDAY (June 30th,) was a sad day in Essex South. While the citizens of Salem were carrying their beloved Phillips to the grave, in the adjoining village of Danvers a funeral procession hardly less numerous, passed to the quiet and retired family cemetery, with the mortal remains of Samuel Warren King, the late beloved Principal of the Fourth Ward Grammar School in Lynn. The services were held in the church of Rev. Mr. Murray. A special train conveyed the scholars of his school to South Danvers, who, with hundreds of the people of Lynn, nearly filled the body of the church. As the coffin was brought up the aisle and placed in front of the altar, and the family of the deceased came into the church, the solemn tones of the organ seemed in accordance with the feelings of the assembly. The peculiarly afflicting circumstances of his death gave extraordinary character to the ceremonies. The grief of kindred was hardly more poignant than the grief of those who mourned for the faithful teacher and the pure and upright man. Appropriate selections from Scripture were read by Rev. Mr. Sewall, of Lynn, and some introductory remarks were made by Rev. Dr. Cook. Rev. Mr. Brooks, of Lynn, then addressed the assembly in a manner singularly beautiful and appropriate. He spoke the fitting word of consolation to the bereaved kindred from the fullness of a sympathising heart, and the sentiments of his touching address to the scholars of the school, over which for eleven years Mr. King had presided, will not soon be obliterated from their young hearts. He spoke as one of the many friends Mr. King had made in the city of Lynn, where he deserved the generous support and sympathy of all who prize faithfulness and virtue. His allusions to the many virtues of the deceased, his severe trials and the sufferings of mind and body which preceded his untimely end, were appropriately and delicately made, and few were the dry eyes in the vast assembly. The services were closed by a fervent prayer from the pastor of the church. The long procession was then formed, and proceeded to the place of burial. Each scholar, as the procession passed the tomb, laid upon the coffin a bunch of flowers, and thus it was covered by these floral tokens of love and affection. It was one of those scenes we sometimes meet in life, where the beautifnl and the sad are strangely mingled. Those flowers will perish like the mortal form of him now gone before, but the pure feelings which actuated the offering and prompted all those demonstrations of respect and love, will live on in all their beauty and sweetness, and will survive all earthly change. Samuel W. King was a sacrifice to duty. Life was indeed to him, in some respects, a bitter pilgrimage; but may we not believe that, "accepted of God," he is an angel now. LONGEVITY IN INTELLECTUAL PURSUITS.In all ages of the world, philosophers, divines, naturalists, statesmen, and other men whose studies and avocations were especially calculated to develop and maintain the supremacy of the moral and intellectual powers, have been proverbially long-lived. In this connection we may name among the ancients, Homer, Hippocrates, Pythagoras, Plutarch, Xenophon, Plato, Thales, Carneades, Sophocles,. Zeno, Galen, Democritus; and among the moderns, Locke, Newton, Galileo, Boyle, Leibnitz, Buffon, Olbers, Blumenbach, Hahne-mann, Swedenborg, Sir Edward Coke, and Fontenelle. All of the persons thus named were distinguished by active and laborious habits, and some of them were intense if not intemperate workers. The experience of a host of men renowned for great attainments in morals, theology, and various departments mental labor can be accomplished by an indiof science, proves that an immense amount of vidual of good natural capacity, when the propensities are harmoniously balanced, and an even, cheerful, hopeful spirit, constantly cherished and maintained.-English Writer. LONGEVITY OF STUDENTS.-It is a popular error to suppose that scholars and literary men are shorter lived than other men. But the fact is, "on the contrary, quite the reverse." Consider for a moment that the class, compared with what are called the "professions," is a small one, and compared with the "trades," is very small indeed; and then human teacher who recognizes and acts as if mark the result. Hardly an eminent author he recognized this. Heaven multiply such of modern times but affords an example of schools as "the Philadelphia High School," longevity. Byron and Keats, it is true, died with its efficient principal, its able professors young-the latter by consumption, the former and teachers, and its graduates, who number by irregularities that would have killed any- by scores the noble and honored of the land body. But Wordsworth, Southey, Tom Moore and the sea. and James Montgomery, lived to an advanced age. Rogers, at his decease, was above ninety, and De Quincy, Walter Savage Landor and Humboldt, are still alive and at work, at past threescore and ten. Our own country furnishes similar examples in Benton, Silliman, Irving, Halleck and Pierpont-all old men, but still strong in health and mental vigor. WOMAN'S POWER.-Lamartine, the gifted poet-statesman of France, pays a sublime tribute to Woman's power, when he says: "Woman with weaker passions than man is superior to man by the soul. The Gauls attributed to her an additional sense. They were right. Nature has given woman two painful but heavenly gifts which distinguish them above human nature; compassion and enthusiasm. By compassion they devote themselves; by enthusiasm they exalt themselves. What more does heroism require? They have more imagination than man. Enthusiasm springs from the imagination, and self sacrifice from the heart. Women are, therefore, more naturally heroic than men. All nations have in their annals some of these miracles of patriotism of which woman is the A WRITER Upon the advantages possessed by Phila- instrument in the hand of God. When all is delphia, says of the High School: The truth is, men oftener rust out than wear out; and there is no doubt that habitual mental employment tends to keep the body young, both in fact and in appearance. Students rarely suffer from study, but in common with the rest of mankind, are not proof against physical laziness or physical excess.— Boston Post. Philadelphia High School. desperate in a național cause, we need not yet despair while there remains a spark of resistance in a woman's heart." EXCESSIVE MENTAL EXERTION.-A writer in Fraser's Magazine, in an article on the mutual relations of the physical organization and the mental faculties, illustrates the evils of excessive mental exertion by this affecting little anecdote of Sir Walter Scott: THEY desire that their bright-eyed sons should be educated in a noble institution like "the Central High School," where pure ventilation and cheerfulness are considered of as much importance as mathematics or Greek and Latin; where the placid brow and winning smile of the principal are more potent auxiliaries than ferules or frowns. Give me the teacher on whose desk blooms the boquet, culled by a loving pupil's fingers; whose eye, magnetic with kindness; whose voice, electric “One day, when he was exerting himself with love for his calling, wakes up into un- beyond his powers, Sir Walter said to Captain tiring action all that is best and noblest in the Basil Hall-who also suffered and died from sympathetic, fresh young hearts before him. disease in the brain-How many hours can A human teacher, who recognizes in every you work?' Six,' said the Captain. But boy before him-be he poorly or richly clad can't you put on the spurs? If I do, the -be he glorious in face or form as a young horse won't go.' So much the better for Apollo, or cramped and dwarfed into un-you,' said Scott, with a sigh; when I put shapeliness in the narrow cradle of poverty-on spurs, the horse will go well enough, but an immortal soul clamorous with its craving it is killing the horse.'" needs, seeking the light, throwing out its luxuriant tendrils for something strong and kindly to cling to, longing for the upper air EVERY heart has a secret drawer, the spring of expansion and strength. God bless the of which is only know to the author. It Might Have Been. a front rank, that should make them the heroes of their own age and the admired of posterity. It is one of the most vicious practices of But they soon learn their mistake. In a the American people to set forth in life with few years they find that the air castles were hopes and anticipations far beyond anything but unsubstantial visions, and the bitterness that sound reason or an ordinary degree of of disappointment corrodes the feelings and self-knowledge can justify. Every child is hearts of those who have been thus beguiled, taught to believe that he can make himself a and the sweet innocence and amiability of the Washington, a Hamilton or a Franklin-for, child ripens into the sharp asperity and selfishlike himself, these were all once poor boys-ness of the man. How many of us think and consequently he builds castles in the air over the fortune that "might have been" at an early period, that, when they vanish, ours! How often, as we look back on our leave the ashes of the fabric to blight and dis-earliest years, and think upon the opportunicourage sensible and healthy effort. This ties unimproved, the hours wasted in daykind of stimulus to youthful exertion is not only powerless for good, but it is powerful for evil. It does not produce effort in the young. No boy will study his lesson better for being told that, if he will be diligent like Ben Franklin, he, too, may be a Franklin. A child studies from different motives from this; it is the love of knowledge which prompts his voluntary efforts, and not some vision of future greatness. He sees that, if he gets his lesson well, he has an advantage and a power over his more dilatory companions, and the knowledge acquired carries with it a satisfaction to his restless mind. But the story of the poor boy, who afterwards became President, though it has made thousands believe they would all be Presidents, never made him a student. It has doubtless caused many to dream over visions of greatness and glory, and it has caused them to feel how long and how hard the road is over which they must travel to reach the eminence to which they have been taught to aspire. They see not the advantage of to-day's study, for it is so little it will not make them great; and they are not taught to realize the pleasures and immediate advantages resulting from the acquisition of knowledge. They accordingly get restless under such vicious instructions, and dream life's early years away. Then comes maturer life. When they enter on the great stage of action, they find that, instead of having disciplined their minds to stand the contest in "the battles of life," they have been wasting away their best years under the delusion that there was a glorious and a bright future before them, and that they had only to step forth into the busy world to take dreams that should have been given to study, do we reflect that they are all lost-irretrievably lost-ar.d that, had we done differently, or had chance turned our steps another way, we might have been far better and happier beings! Ah, yes, we might have been." Go back with me to the time when you went to school-to the time when you trundled the hoop in the intermissions, and neglected your lessons in the school hours. Your teacher, like mine, told you the story of Washington and Franklin, while the advantages of getting each lesson were not appreciated. The stimulus of rivalry was employed, but not the stimulus of a positive advantage. It was made great merit to excel another, and that, with visions of future eminence, was the motive to application. And now, when we take a retrospective view of the past, we see that our talents, such as they were, were misdirected, and that had we, instead of indulging in unreal visions, carefully improved each hour and each day, not only for the pleasure such industry afforded us, but because it was our duty, we had been far wiser and happier than we are. D'Alambert was once waited upon by a young man, who had wrought out a most difficult mathematical problem. Its solution entitled him to a seat in the French Academy. In the enthusiasm of success, he said, that for that object he had worked out the problem. To which the philosopher replied, that if he had no higher motive than that, he was not worthy of such a mark of distinction. If men seek knowledge only from the hope of future advantage, or from the spirit of rivalry, then when the motive is gone, the |