until by experience they can invent a better. It requires some skill to build a snowhouse. The Esquimanx will build one in half an hour. The builder traces the size, he then cuts the snow within the circle away in blocks and with that he constructs his house. He ought to be able to build his house from what he cuts away from the inside, and so build himself in. He then cuts himself a way out.' In answer to several questions Dr. Rae added that the white bear was not considered a formidable animal by the natives. That the most dangerous animal was the musk ex, which was a beautifully made little creature. The moment it is wounded it pursues its enemy. Dr. Rae said he had killed several. Their skins make the most beautiful robes and under the hair there is a very fine wool, of which he had had several shawls made. These skins are not brought into the market, it is not worth while, owing to the distance being so great. Between those who consider Sir John Franklin's fate fully determined and those who say that a few scraps of wood, some kettles and silver plate cannot be the only remaining traces of one hundred and fifty British sailors and two of Her Majesty's ships, and contend that there is still reason to hope for further information, the argument is so evenly balanced that it is very difficult if not impossible for us to express an opinion in the matter. But we have no hesitation in saying that our sympathies are deeply engaged with the latter. And so may God speed the stout little ship on her perilous course and grant to her gallant crew a happy deliverance from the 'Regions of thick ribbed ice,' whither they have gone impelled by sentiments of humanity and feelings of national honor, to stretch forth a helping hand to their brother sailors, if any yet survive, and at all events, to give an example of heroism and self sacrifice, which cannot fail to be useful." Two Literary Salad Bowls. Salad for the Solitary-Lettuce alone! Salad for the Social-Lettuce be merry! Punch. The Husker's Song. BY J. G. WHITTIER. Heap high the farmer's wintry board! Let other lands, exulting, glean We better love the hardy gift Our rugged vales bestow, To cheer us when the storm shall drift Thro' vales of grass, and meads of flowers, We dropped the seed o'er hill and plain, And frightened from our sprouting grain All thro' the long bright days of June, And now with Autumn's moonlight eves, There, richer than the fabled gifts Apollo showered of old, Fair hands the broken grain shall sift, And knead its meal of gold. Let vapid idlers loll in silk, Around the costly board; By homespun beauty poured. Then shame on all the proud and vain, Our wealth of golden corn. Let earth withhold her goodly root, But let the good old crop adorn Send up our thanks to God. Method of Instruction. THERE is a great diversity in the different methods of teaching. Those who have had an opportunity of visiting schools to any great extent, especially in different sections of our country, cannot have failed to notice the surprising difference in this respect. The old method of question and answer following question and answer, in the text book, the former for the teacher to ask and the latter for the pupil to reply, parrot-like, we are glad to say is falling into disuse among us. The plan now best known as the Pestalozzian method of teaching, is rapidly gaining in favor, and coming into more general use. We are glad to quote the two following articles from the Journal of Education for Lower Canada, and we present them to our teachers, as containing some very practical and important suggestions. GRAMMAR. uncultivated and unfruitful. And, again, al- There are other particulars which the teacher should observe, if he would make the subject of grammar intelligible to young children : 1. He should employ oral teaching before employing text books. By this means he can, not only dispose of difficulties which are foreseen, by simple and familiar illustrations, but also deal with others as they arise, and which books cannot anticipate. 2. He should keep back every rule until its necessity has first been felt. 3. He should allow no rule to be committed to the memory until it has first passed through the understanding. Sometimes we are asked (and the enquiry is an interesting one) at what age children may be taught grammar. All such inquiries depend upon two other questions. First, What particular faculties of the mind does the subject appeal to? Secondly,-At what age of the child do those faculties begin to develop themselves? The faculty of observation is the earliest in the order of development, and such subjects of instruction as excite and direct the power of observation should be the first to which the attention of children should be introduced. On this account, object lessons on natural history may be given to infants even before the power of reading is attained. On this account also, geography should be taught before arithmetic and grammar. To limit our observations to grammar, it should be borne in mind that it has not to do with the perceptive or observing powers so much finger-posts. as with the faculties of abstraction, classifica- 5. Rules and definitions should be first givtion, and induction. It is important, there- en which are general; the rules without the exfore, at what periods of child-life these facul- ceptions. and the definitions without the inties are beginning to be developed. Of course flexions. The great, broad, roads of the disit is possible to override the question of men- trict are to be traversed, and the by-paths left tal science altogether, and to make lessons of at present for after and closer investigation. grammar-what they too often are-lessons The larger and more prominent features of of mere memory, the understanding being left the edifice are to be made familiar to the mind, 4. He should use familiar metaphors where there is a difficulty in comprehending the harder parts of speech. Conjunctions may be called hooks: propositions are pointers or rather than each individual stone of which than potato fields. Why? Because the corn the edifice is composed. Questions to which the above remarks supply material for answers:- What particular faculties of the child does the subject of grammar appeal to? Upon what previous question depends the question as to the order in which school subjects should be taken? By what method may grammar be brought down to the level of younger children? Give examples of of their method. What advantage does oral provides us with food. And just now we said, with us there are more sheep than goats; can any boy find the reason. Because the sheep provides us with better food. Then where may we look for the goat? Where there are not many sheep. Where shall that be? What kind of food does the sheep like? Nice grass. Yes! and to be nice grass there must be teaching possess over teaching by books? Enu-good ground. Now what kind of ground is not good for NOTES OF A LESSON IN NATURAL HISTORY. Children between the ages of 7 and 9. As I was passing down a lane not far from this school, the other day, I saw something lying in the road that I first thought was a dog. Well I walked towards this thing that was lying in the road, and when I came near it, it got up and walked towards me, and then I saw that it had horns, and then I knew it was not a dog, for dogs do not have horns. So I looked at it, and saw that it was not quite so big as a sheep, that it had two horns curling backwards, and underneath its chin there was some hair like a beard; and then I said "this is a goat." If the children did not give it now, I should refer to some more characteristics: its fearlessness, livliness, &c. Where shall we find the goat? In the lane. Yes! but all goats do not live in the lanes. Then where shall we find them? No Ans. If we go into the green fields, what animals do we find most of? Sheep. Now what do we get from sheep? Meat. Yes! and we get meat also from the goat. Why, then, do we see so many sheep and so few goats? No Ans. Yes! and when this stony ground goes high up almost to the clouds, we call it-a mountain. Then it is on-mountains that we shall find -the goat. Now we will forget that we are here at school, and go to one of these mountains. You see it rises gently at first, and we can go up it easily, but soon it gets steeper, and steeper, and we have to use strong sticks to help us up, and then we look down and see the people below walking about like little dots, and then we look up and see what great height this mountain is, and then a long way up we see something jumping about from rock to rock, running about without the aid of any-sticks, and yet it goes a great deal faster up there than you or I could do, even on level ground; and look! see that one, it is on a ledge no wider than my hand. I should think it would fall over. If you or I were placed there, we should fall over and be dashed to pieces. But still it keeps on, and see that jump it just now made about the height of this room. How is this? It can do all this while we are obliged to go very slowly, and use large-sticks to keep us from-falling. To illustrate this I should take a penny and show that if the edge be notched, it will stick even to the wall. Then draw attention to the goat's hoofs; they are notched, so that it can lay hold of ihe ground with great firmness, If I were to put some bread and potatoes before you when you were hungry, which would you take for food? Bread. Why and yet never fall. would you take this? Because it is better food. Yes! and when we go into the fields where food is grown for us, we find most of them corn fields. Yes! there are more corn fields Draw attention to the fact that if placed on smooth ice he instantly falls, but if the slightest roughness occurs, he bounds along with great speed. Papers for the Schoolmaster. We will now follow the goat home. He foot. What does it provide the people that has been-jumping about snapping up the little take care of it with? Milk. Some uses after grass he finds, and now he goes-home, and it is killed? Food and leather. we see him lay himself down and begin chewing, and yet we don't see any food near him. Where does he get it from? When he was on the mountain he was so quick that he didn't stop-to chew it, but swallowed it as—he picked it. Rather strange. If you swallowed a tart when you are at school, could you, when you got home, call it back and chew it? Then how can the goat? No answer. O, Dear, What can the matter be. O, dear, what can the matter be, Now why don't they visit the school. They If you are going along the fields on a very hot day, and you have an orange in your hand; when you are hot and tired you feel as if you would like to eat the orange. But then supposing you have a long journey to go, you say "I shall be tired-again by and by, and then I should like another orange. But then you have not got another orange, so you say "I will keep part of this." Then you They only eat part of this-orange, and put the other part-in your pocket. So does the goat. But where is his pocket? It is not-outside, then it must be-inside, and here he puts all the food he gets on the mountains and when he takes it out and eats it. This is calledchewing the cud; other animals that chew the cud-cows, sheep, &c. Look at the feet of these. What do we notice about them? That they are-cloven; that is—in two pieces. Then when you see an animal's foot in two pieces, you may be sure that-it chews the cud. Refer to the places where it is found. What did we say was not found there? The sheep. And instead of the sheep we have the-goat. Then the goat supplies the place of the sheep. O, dear, what can the matter be, care for their houses, they care for their care for their lodges and their fancy fine But little do we think they care for their scholars, O, dear, what can the matter be, We know from hunger and cold we're protected; CHIOGRAPHY.-A good story is told of the wretched writing of J. W. Brooks, the great railroad manager of Michigan. He had written a letter to a man on the Central route, notifylng him that he must remove a barn that in some way incommoded the road, under the penalty of prosecution. The threatened man was unable to read any part of the letter but the signature, but It also gives us milk, and thus supplies the he took it to be a free pass on the road, and used place of the-cow. it for a couple of years as such, none of the conductors being able to dispute his interpretation Its skin is made into a thin kind of leather, called after the young-kid; but it provides also nice warm beds for those men who look after them. of the document. LEISURE HOURS.-It was a beautiful observation of William Hazlitt, that "there is room enough in human life, to crowd almost every art and science in it." If we pass "no day without book, we may with ease fill libraries, or empty a line," visit no place without the company of a them of their contents. The more we do, the more we can do; the more busy we are, the more leisure we have. The Cottager and Napoleon. BY BERANGER. The following poem well illustrates the feeling of veneration with which the French nation regard Napoleon. We doubt whether the name of Washington inspires such sentiments of awe and reverence in the hearts of Americans, as the name of Napoleon enkindles in that of every Frenchman.-ED. Amid the lowly, straw-built shed, Long will the peasant seek his glory: The thatch will hear no other story. He wronged us: say it, if they will, "My children-in our village here, I saw him once by kings attended: That time has passed this many a year, For scarce my maiden days were ended. On foot he climbed the hill, and nigh To where I watched him passing by; Small his hat upon that day, And he wore a coat of gray; And when he saw me shake with dread, 'Good day to you, my dear!' he said." "Oh! and mother is it true? Mother, did he speak to you?" "From this a year has passed away; Again in Paris streets I found him; To Notre Dame he rode that day, With all his gallant court around himAll eyes admired the show the while, No face that did not wear the smile; 'See how brightly shines the sky! 'Tis for him!' the people cry: And then his face was soft with joy, For God had blessed him with a boy." "Mother, oh! how glad to see Days that must so happy be!" "But when o'er our province ran The bloody armies of the strangers, Alone he seemed,-that famous man, To fight against a thousand dangers. One evening just like this one here, I heard a knock that made me fear, Entered, when I ope'd the door, "Dame, I am hungry!" then he cried; I set out wine and bread before him; There at the fire his clothes he dried, And slept while watched his followers o'er him; When, with a start, he rose from sleep, And he said, 'Nay our France is strong; It is the dearest thing of mine, The glass in which he drank his wine." "And through a change of good and ill, Mother, you have kept it still." THE DEPTH OF THE ATLANTIC.-We are informed that the soundings obtained by her Majesty's ship Cyclops, which has been engaged in checking for the Atlantic Telegraph Company the soundings taken by the United States steamer Arctic, are very satisfactory, bottom having been found all the way across the Atlantic. For the greater part of the distance the floor of the ocean is composed of fine sand and small shells. Near the European coast small pebbles were found mixed with the sand. The greatest depth sounded was about two miles and seven-eighths. A young man engaged in teaching mutes was explaining by signs the use and meaning of the particle "dis," and requested one of them to write on the blackboard a sentence showing her knowledge of the sense of the prefix. A bright little one immediately stepped forward and wrote the following: "Boys love to play, but girls to display." DO THAT which you judge to be right, whatev et the vulgar may think of you; if you despise their praise, disregard also their censure.-Pythagoras. WOULD you be avenged of your enemy? Be virtuous, that he may have nothing to say against you.-Diogenes. ONE rose upon a bush, though but a little one, and though not yet blown, proves that which bears it to be a true rose tree. |