Life and Letters of John Greenleaf Whittier, 2 vols.
Every-Day English, Richard Grant White.

Words and Their Uses, Richard Grant White.

Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan, 2 vols., Lafcadio Hearn.

Japan: In History, Folk-Lore and Art, Griffis.

Brave Little Holland and What She Taught Us, Griffis.

Daughters of the Revolution, Charles Carleton Coffin.

Pushing to the Front, Marden.

The Story of a Bad Boy, Aldrich.

Alice and Phoebe Cary's Poems.

Twice Told Tales, Hawthorne.

Mosses From an Old Manse, Hawthorne.

The House of Seven Gables, and The Snow Image, Hawthorne.

The Scarlet Letter, and The Blithedale Romance, Hawthorne.

Stories from Old English Poetry, Abby Sage Richardson.
Masterpieces of American Literature, Scudder.

WILLIAMS & ROGERS, Roch'ter, N. Y., Chicago.

FLAGS

FOR

Parade and Schools.

Caps, Belts, Swords, Straps, Chevrons, for the

AMERICAN

CUARD.

Of best Material, Lowest Prices in the City.

J. A. Joel & Co.,

88 Nassau st., N. Y.

FREE TO TEACHERS. Prof. Paul Bercy will give a course for beginners in French,free to teachers, every Thursday, at quarter past four, in the Insti

Emerson's Poems, Household Edition.

E. C. Stedman's Poems, Household Edition.

The Professor at the Breakfast Table, Holmes.

The Poet at the Breakfast Table, Holmes.

Over the Tea Cups, Holmes.

Longfellow's Complete Prose Works, 2 vols.

Backlog Studies, Warner.

Birds Through an Opera Glass, Merriam.

Up and Down the Brooks, Bamford.

A New England Girl, Lucy Larcom.

A Girl Graduate.

"Le Français pratique" will be used. First lesson: Thursday, October 10th.

DRAWING.

erence.

MRS. ANNIE M. ATKINSON,
236 West 130th St.

Challen's Contract and Correspondence Records. Adapted to any business or profession. ruled, with printed headings, and indexed

HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO., 11 East 17th Street, New York,

ing to enter data, and refer quickly to any name and save time and money. 5,000 used and reordered. All kinds of Labor Saving Records on hand or made to order. CHALLEN, Publisher,

10 Spruce St., N. Y.

Dr. Edwin F. Vose, Portland, Me., says: "I have used it in my own case when suffering from nervous exhaustion, with gratifying results. I have prescribed it for many of the various forms of nervous debility, and it has never failed to do good."

Descriptive pamphlet free on application to Rumford Chemical Works, Providence, R. I.

Beware of Substitutes and Imitations.

For Sale by all Druggists.

IJSE BARNES' INK.

A. S. BARNES & CO., 56 E. 10th St.. N.Y.

THE RETIREMENT FUND.

At the Board meeting last month, Mr. McMullin presented a communication as Clerk from the Corporation Counsel, in regard to the Teachers' Retirement Fund, and the reply from the Corporation Counsel in the same matter:

Hon. Francis M. Scott, Counsel to the Corporation:

SIR.-Under the provision of Chapter 296 of the Laws of 1894 (an amendment to the Consolidation Act of 1882), a fund has been authorized and created by the Legislature entitled "The Public School Teachers' Retirement Fund." By the provisions of said act, certain duties are placed upon the Board of Education, the Clerk of the Board of Education, the Comptroller of the City of New York, et al. In the contemplation of and operation of said law, certain questions have arisen from time to time, principally involving the matter of accounts, and consequently the legal and true amount of the fund. Generally the act is as follows:

1. Comptroller holds the money belonging to said fund, and by direction of this Board shall invest and pay out the same.

2. This Board has charge of and administers said fund as it deems most beneficial, being empowered to make and establish rules and regulations relative thereto, and also to make payments from said fund of annuities granted in pursuance of the act.

3. This fund is defined as consisting of "all money, pay, compensation or salary, or any part thereof, forfeited, deducted or withheld" on account of absence for any cause.

4. The mandatory duty is placed upon the Clerk of the Board of Education of certifying monthly to the Comptroller the amounts deducted from the teachers during the preceding month.

5. Further means of increment to the fund are provided, but which have no bearing on the gist of this letter.

6. This Board is empowered to amend its by-laws relative to excuse of absence, etc., so that the fund shall be fully adequate to meet the demand upon the same for the payment of annuities.

7. This Board is empowered to retire certain teachers, under certain conditions as to age, and annuities to be paid.

8. This Board is given power to use both principal and income, and manage, accumulate and otherwise control the fund, and to pay the annuities, etc., etc.

Your opinion is respectfully requested as to the action so far taken by the Board, and hereinafter described, and its regard to the provisions of the law. The numbered articles heretofore named are referred to again by the respective numerals.

ARTICLE I. Under this article the language thereof is construed literally and without question.

ART. 2. Under the provisions of this article the Board claims the maximum power of administration and government of the fund, subject to the restriction that said fund can only be disbursed for the purpose of paying annuities."

ART. 3. This article is construed literally, and, taken in connection with

ART. 4. It is believed that when the statutory monthly certificate is filed by the Clerk of the Board of Education with the Comptroller, that the fand at that time is definitely fixed as to the monthly amount added to the credit thereof; that said monthly certificate of said clerk is dependent solely upon, and relates only to, the absences, etc. etc., of the previous month, to the one in which the certificates is or should be made, and not to any prior month or months; that said certificate is intended by the statute to be issued not later than the last day of the month subsequent to that in which the absences, etc., etc., actually occurred; that the amount of said certificate (when issued), is not affected by any subsequent action taken by the Board of Education, excusing absences occurring in the month outside of the statutory limits of time covered by said certificate; that the filing of said certificate is a separate, distinct and statutory duty on the part of the clerk, and said certificate is an arithmetical statement of fact, and is, therefore, subject only to audit so far as its arithmetical accuracy is concerned, and cannot be amended, abridged, enlarged or altered, or its amount or meaning changed in any way, by anyone other than said clerk.

ART. 6. The Board has amended its by-laws relative to absences (see section 58 of the Manual of the Board of Education), by defining exactly the reasons for which absences may be excused, and limiting the time for the excuse of such absence to the statutory limits or period covered by the certificate of the Clerk of the Board.

That in the case of absence of teachers it becomes necessary to employ substitutes, and, the statute not containing any provision for the payment of money from the Retirement Fund, except to annuitants, the same is necessarily a charge to the appropriations of the Board of Education, and cannot be taken from the Retirement Fund.

That in the extraordinary event of a teacher being excused for absence with pay, after the deduction therefor had been officially certified by the Clerk of the Board of Education as constituting part of the Retirement Fund, that the payment to said teacher could only be made from the appropriation to the Board of Education, and not from the Retirement Fund, disbursements therefrom being only for the payment of annuities.

That all action on reimbursements for absence in any month, must take place prior to the filing of

Mr. Scott, in reply, says as follows: SIR. I have received your letter of 3d instant, requesting my opinion in relation to the interpretation of chapter 296 of the Laws of 1894, relative to the Public School Teachers' Retirement Fund. Your letter indicates the construction which has been placed upon the act by your Board, and it is, perhaps, unnecessary for me to say anything more than to express my concurrence.

The scheme of the act is as follows:

1. The Board of Education is given the genera care and management of the fund.

2. The Comptroller is directed to hold all money belonging to the fund, and invest and pay out the same by direction of the Board of Education.

3. The Board of Education has power to direct the management and investment of the fund and payments to be made therefrom; such payments, however, are limited to payment of annuities granted in pursuance of the act, and also, in my opinion, the necessary expense, if any, incurred in managing the fund.

4. The Comptroller is directed to report in detail to the Board of Aldermen of the City of New York annually, in the month of January, the condition of said fund and the items of the receipts and disbursements on account of the same.

5. The Clerk of the Board of Education should certify monthly to the Comptroller the amounts deducted from the salaries of teachers during the preceding month; such report should be made before the 20th of each month, and should comprehend the deductions from the salaries of teachers during the preceding month only.

6. The compensation of the substitute teachers employed in the place of absentees is not a charge against the Retirement Fund and may not be paid therefrom.

7. That in case of the remission of a deduction from the pay of a teacher, made subsequently to the certificate of the Clerk of the Board to the Comptroller certifying such deduction, the amount reimbursed to the teacher must become a charge from the salary appropriation and not to the Retirement Fund.

I remain, yours respectfully,
FRANCIS M. SCOTT,
Counsel to the Corporation.

BRITISH SCHOOL MEN.

A "British Public Schools and Universities Association" has been organized in this city. A constitution and by-laws have been adopted. The organization was perfected at a meeting held at the Arena, at which these officers were elected: President, the Rev. D. Parker Morgan, D.D., of Cambridge University; vice-president, W. P. Ward, Rugby and Sandhurst; treasurer, R. M. Stuart Wortley of Wellington; secretary, W. A. M. Goode, Foyle College. Board of Governors (in addition to the officers)-Mayo W. Hazletine, Oxford University; D. A. Munro, Edinburgh University; the Rev. Jocelyn Johnstone, B.D., Dublin University; Verner de Guise, Haileyburgh and Oxford; Orton Bradley, Harrow and Oxford; J. Irwin, M.D. of Dublin University, and M. A. of Cambridge.

This list of officers includes one American, one Scotchman, one Welshman, two Irishmen and five Englishmen. The great majority of the members are English, but there is a good sprinkling of the other nationalities. One of the bylaws is that "the Board of Governors shall be as representative as possible of the nationality of the members comprising the club."

The membership at present is small, but includes some well-known men in the various professions who are anxious to perpetuate the memory of school and college days in Great Britain. No permanent quarters have get been secured, but it is probable that the newly elected Board of Governors will act in this direction soon.

OVERHEARD IN THE MENAGERIE. "If this place should catch fire what would you do?" asked the giraffe of the elephant.

"I'd pick up my trunk and run for the entrance. What would you do?"

"I'd go to that window and slide down my neck to the sidewalk," said the giraffe, with a wink at the monkeys.-Harper's Young People.

A JOLLY WIZARD.

Oh, a wizard dwelt in a cave by the sea,
And a dreamer of dreams was he.
The wild waves' roar as they broke on the shore
Gave him mirth and jollity.
For he'd people the rocks and the sounding deep
With phantasies weird as the products of sleep.

Oh, he dreamed of a maiden fair as a star,
Who came o'er the rolling sea

On the snowy crest of the billow's breast;
With airy head walked she:
And her face was as white as the driven snow,
And her voice was like music, sad and low.

Oh, she sang of love, and of lover's pain, And she sang of a dream so sweet That had urged her soul to a desperate goal, For the sake of a wild heart beat. For the lover she loved in her fondest dream, Was false as the glitter of brook and stream.

Oh, the wizard dwelt in a cave by the sea,
And a dreamer of dreams was he.
Through phantasies sad and phantasies glad,
He kept his jollity;

"For a dream is a dream, and not life," quoth he, "But love which is life ne'er a dream can be !" -Washington Star.

FLAGS FOR No: 5.

Tuesday was the first great day for the pupils of G. S. No. 5, the handsome, new, gray terra-cotta school building at Edgecombe ave. and 140th st, For them November 26th was a more noteworthy day than the 25th, Evacuation Day. Each department received a fine American flag and each had a celebration.

The Primary Department, under Miss Ella F. Whalen, led off in the series of receptions, their exercises beginning at 9 o'clock. The little ones marched into the assembly room, the leaders carrying flags, and upon reaching their places all sang with a will, "Rally 'Round the Flag," and "God Save our Country." John Whalen, who presided in all departments, then introduced the Rev. Dr. Ramsey, who read a portion of Scripture, following which came the chorus, "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching." Then class by class were given a series of patriotic quotations, followed by a rollicking chorus about "Market Day," to the refrain of which the boys whistled an obligato. General James R. O'Beirne then presented a stand of colors to the department in the name of Alexander Hamilton Post No. 182. Colonel Bartlett, who was a bugler on General Sheridan's staff during the War of the Rebellion, gave a salute on the same bugle he had used in those stirring times. Another chorus, "The Flag of Our Union Forever," was then sung, and after a series of calisthenic exercises the children filed back to their classrooms.

After these exercises the Post proceeded to the Girls' department, of which Miss Schoonmaker is principal, and then to the Boys' Grammar, Mr. Cassidy's department, in each of which a special programme was prepared.

NEW COMMISSIONERS. Mayor Strong on Thursday, re-appointed Dr. McSweeny a commissioner of the Board of Edu cation to succeed himself, and on the following day he appointed Dr. Walter E. Andrews of Tremont, as a successor to Commissioner Joseph A. Goulden, whose term will expire on January 1st. Dr. Andrews is a dentist and lives in East 175th st., Tremont, in the same part of the city as Mr. Goulden. He is well-known in the ward and has been several times mentioned as a candidate for the place. Mrs. Andrews, it is stated, was a Miss Chapman, a graduate of the Normal College, who taught for several years in Mrs. Reid's department of Grammar No. 63 of Tremont. No action was taken with regard to Commissioner Kelley, whose term expires in January, and who is now absent from the city.

THE MAYOR'S APPOINTMENTS. In the selection of appointments to the Board of Education, the Mayors of the city have found that it was necessary to be governed by an entirely different policy than that which directed the filling of offices in other city departments. In this respect more than any other the Board of Education has been distinct from other departments of the city. As indicated in SCHOOL last week, political influence in these selections may easily become an "interference" on the part of the Executive with the school system. Such a policy has proved a troublesome matter to many of the Mayors of the city, and has more than once caused a serious reaction.

The general standard of Mayor Strong's selections has been high and good, and they appear to have been made, as they should be, regardless of political affiliations. As a far-seeing business man, elected by a combination of citizens regardless of politics, it was expected, and it is still hoped, that he would maintain this standard in his school administration. The office of commissioner is not one of profit, but it is sought for by hundreds of candidates. Those who are selected should be able to give their time freely to its duties, and to be above small interests and narrow influences. If such selections are made it will not be necessary for the Mayor to endeavor to direct them in their duties. He has no right or authority to expect such a compliance. He has no to enforce it when they have taken the oath of office. They will either disregard any such influence, or express their willingness to retire from a position where such a sacrifice of personal independence is expected.

power

With one exception, the appointments of commissioners have all been filled. The former members whose terms ex

pired have all been reappointed, with the exception of Commissioner J. A. Goulden, who is succeeded by Dr. William E. Andrews, an active and wellknown resident of Tremont in the Twenty-fourth Ward. Mr. Goulden has made a vigorous and valuable school officer. This part of the city has never before been represented in the Board by one who has given so much personal attention to its affairs. His retirement will be generally regretted, and his successor will find a large task before him in maintaining the standard that Mr. Goulden has set.

The

this

The rapidity with which the new schools up-town are filled is well illustrated by Grammar No. 10, the new building at 117th st. and St. Nicholas ave., which has been opened but a few weeks. The Grammar and the Primary departments are both crowded. The attendance exceeds 2,700, and further applications for admission are declined. school is one of the best in neighborhood; it has a well selected corps of teachers in each department, and two principals of recognized ability. Grammar No. 5, a three-department school, a few blocks higher up on the West Side, on Amsterdam ave., is a similar instance. The building was delayed. in being opened, or it might, also, have all its seating room occupied, although the neighborhood in its vicinity is less densely built than that around No. 10.

** *

Since the first of the year, the trustees of the Twelfth Ward have been obliged to make something over four hundred appointments, or transfers to meet the requirements of the new schools in this section of the city. Buildings that were rented for Primary purposes, and which it was expected to do away with when new schools were completed, have been rerented, and are already partly filled. They will be overcrowded before new schools have been built to take their places.

** *

The above applies to the Twelfth Ward only, in which the growth of the school population during the past decade has been the greatest in New York. It is probable that this section has now reached, or has nearly reached, the extent of its demand for new schools. There will still be many new schools required in the Twelfth Ward, but the wave of population which is rapidly spreading beyond the Harlem River will soon make the

demands of the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Wards more apparent, and within five years many new schools must be required in the Twenty-third Ward.

** *

There will also be the conditions to be brought about by the redistricting of the city as proposed by new legislation. In

the Bell Bill of last winter it was provided that the Board of Education should divide the city into as many districts as it might deem advisable, in order to equally distribute the jurisdiction of the trustees, the number not to be less than twenty-four. The Pavey Bill fixed the number of districts, which would provide for about two hundred trustees. It is probable that under any reorganization the number of trustees will be increased, and there will be no such remarkable anomoly possible as that one board of trustees shall have several hundred appointments of teachers in the course of a year, while others have only four or five, and in some cases not any at all.

Notwithstanding this unprecedented increase in school accommodations, there are still many localities in which the schoolhouses are inadequate to meet the demands of those seeking admission. The inadequacy of school accommodations is demonstrated by four considerations-the number of classes having registers of over sixty pupils, the number of children on half time, the number of those refused admission because of lack of room, and lastly, the unsuitability of existing school buildings, both for hygienic purposes and for purposes of organization.

The districts which most urgently need relief are to be found in the order named in the Twenty-eighth, Twenty-sixth, Twenty-second, Twenty. seventh, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighth, Twenty-fifth, Tenth and Twenty-fourth wards. The congestion in some localities will be partially relieved by the opening of the schools to be completed this year, and of those that have been commenced, but will not be opened before the middle or close of 1896. The buildings enumerated may all be erected from the proceeds of the sale of bonds which the Legislature has authorized the financial authorities of the city to issue during the year 1896. The sum placed in the tax levy for the purchase of sites will not, however, be sufficient to purchase the necessary land on which to erect the buildings. Your committee, therefore, recommends the transfer of $25,000 from the revenue fund to the account of sites.

THE ELECTION OF TRUSTEES. As the report on the nomination of trustees now stands, Mr. Flaccus has been recommended in the Eighteenth, Mr. Hornthal in the Nineteenth, and Dr. Byrnes in the Twenty-second Ward, and the Board will take final action on the report next Wednesday. It was understood that the committee had agreed on the name of John McWilliams in the Twelfth Ward, Mr. Stillings having been withdrawn. Eleven votes, or a majority of all the Board, will be necessary for the election of each trustee.

PLAINTS AND QUERIES.

A MALE TEACHER EXPLAINS.

Editor of School:

DEAR SIR-I have been amused by some of the comments that have reached me from the brief note I sent you a few weeks ago. Some of the good women teachers would appear to wish that I might be flayed alive, which is a fair example of the logic of some of them, "God bless 'em."

I have no objection to a woman's receiving all the salary that she can earn. If she can earn more than a man, well and good. Brother Harrison seems to think she can earn as much, and I do not suppose he is under "petticoat government." But can she earn as much as a man? That's the question. Would not the advent of several millions of women in the trades and professions of men lower all salaries? Have they not tended to lower the salaries and the standards of teachers in the country? Is the great preponderance of women teachers in the schools the best thing for our boys? A boy who never had other teachers than women would naturally become effeminate. He can stand a good deal of it with benefit, but there is a limit, and after that he may have too much. That is what a writer in Harper's has been pointing out, and what, with no disrespect to the sex, I wish to indicate.

New York, November 22d.

A MALE TEACHER.

"A MALE TEACHER'S" ARGUMENTS. Editor of School:

DEAR SIR-I have read with amusement "A Male Teacher's" letter in your issue of November 7, 1895. The woman question seems to act upon a certain portion of the population (female as well as male) exactly as the red rag acts upon a bull. The superior (?) reasoning powers of these men desert them, and the intuitive powers of these women are distorted upon even a casual mention of any phase of this question.

If there be any fact that has impressed me more than another, it was this: that nature never wastes good material. Brains are good material. Some women have brains-Nature did not waste them, but mankind lets them go to waste. You cannot prove that such was Nature's intention.

Now, even granting that the brain allowance per woman is not equal to the brain allowance per man; and granting, also, for the sake of argument, that there is sex in brains, and that the brand that is used as filling for female heads is different (I mean different, not inferior) from that that is poured by the bucketful into male craniums. Well, what then?

It is not so many years since the schoolmarm made her debut-at least, she is a comparatively modern institution. Previous to her appearance, they who had views similar to those now expressed by "A Male Teacher" would have argued that women could not teach, because teaching was man's work, and women never had taught. By the same course of reasoning (?) you could prove that neither Columbus nor any one else ever discovered America. And they would have had the facts to sustain their contention (apparent. ly), just as in Turkey or any other Mohammedan country to-day, the high priests and officials can prove that women cannot be doctors, lawyers, teachers, or even shop girls, in Turkey. why? For the same reason that peace reigned in Warsaw.

But

What is man's work? Every profession that woman has sought to enter has been jealously guarded against her invasion, and the awfui words, "This is man's work," have stared the daring explorer in the face at every step. Now, if a woman cannot do a man's work, she simply cannot do it, however she may try; but, as our opponents have so often been mistaken in their assertions and claims, we propose to contest every inch of the ground. We will try for ourselves. In reaching our conclusions we will use the inductive method of reasoning from known facts, ascertained from actual experiment. We recom mend the method to general use.

The old false faces won't scare us, and we have not the slightest intention of unsexing ourselves. In fact, we intend to grow more and more womanly and lovable with every fact we learn; and men will fall in love with and marry us in the Twenty-ninth Century to a greater extent than in the Nineteenth,

There seems to be a secret society which, for want of a better name, I shall designate "Special Interpreters of the Intentions of the Lord;" they are ever ready to jump up upon every occasion with extracts to prove the Lord's intention in regard to this, that, or the other. No two of them agree; and the same text serves for a thousand illustrations, whether the discussion be bloomers, or the presidency of a college.

As to the marriage rite, doesn't the gentleman know that the use of the word "obey" is rapidly becoming obsolete? and that because of greater regard for truth? If the law of man's superiority were so absolute as these "Interpreters" would have us believe (in spite of experience) no woman would dare to violate it or could violate it with impunity any more than she would or could violate the law of gravitation. There's a law for you! There's a

law

we respect; there's a law we "obey;" no need of promises to bind us to observe it, either. That law is such a law as we women mean when we speak of a natural law. Does "A Male Teacher" contend that "man's fitness to direct and lead" is so universally conceded, so absolute, so undeniable as the law of gravitation? If one simple instance could be proven wherein the law of gravitation failed to operate with mathe. matical correctness, the whole law would fall. Apply that test to "man's fitness."

civ.

Now, as to "the laws of Nature as they have been developed by 10,000 years of civilization." Note the qualifying clause, as they ilization." Will "A Male Teacher" kindly point out any people, from the rudest to the most enlightened, that has not practiced some measure of repression towards its female population, and thereby, to a greater or less extent, impeded the operation of the laws of Nature? And has not every nation progressed towards enlightenment in direct proportion as it has allowed to every in dividual the "full and equal rights to which the laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them?" The fact of the matter is that modern civilization is constructed on the plan of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. All we women are seeking to set it straight. The most modern instance is Turkey, and the world knows the result. The male sex alone is not equal to the task of doing a nation's work any more than would the female sex alone be equal to it. "A part cannot equal the whole." They must work together, and Nature, if she is let alone, will determine, unerringly, man's work and woman's work. By so much as you thwart her, by just so much will you fall short of doing the best work, for you must take a certain amount of energy to counteract her law, and that amount of energy is subtracted from the total energy you can give to your own work. Just as if you broke a statute and had to spend a year in prison for it. That year is, in a sense, lost. Only the operation of real, genuine, sure-enough, natural laws is much more to be counted on than the operation of statute law.

For the sake of argument, again, admit that women have only forty per cent. of the brains of the human race. Is it not frightfully expensive "economy" permanently to attempt to repress that forty per cent.? In other words, not only to throw away the use of that forty per cent. of our capital, but also the use of the percentage necessary to keep the forty per cent. in subjection? To keep up a standing army in order to rob ourselves of our best heritage ? as well try to turn the Gulf Stream out of its course.

"Thus far shalt thou go and no farther," said Canute to the waves at the seashore, several centuries since, and the waves just minded their own business, and went as far as Nature's laws sent them, and Canute was convinced; but, then Canute was a wise man. Amen.

A WOMAN'S WOMAN.

A CORRECTION.

Editor School: DEAR SIR-The copy of the "letter of thanks,” which was sent to Mayor Strong by the Female Grammar School Teachers' Association, and received by you last week, contained an error which you will kindly correct.

It was discovered at once, but too late for your notification before printing. I refer to the phrase, since 1885, which was placed after this paragraph:

"Although the entrance to the Normal College (girls) is placed at 74 per cent., and that of the College of the City of New York (boys) is allowed at 60 per cent."

It should have been inserted directly after these words:

"Many appeals have been made by us, since 1885, for a just recognition of our services, etc." Very truly, etc., KATE R. FISHER.

THE ST. ANN'S AVENUE SCHOOL.

In the new school in St. Ann's ave., the Twentythird Ward, it is proposed to seat nearly 3,000 pupils. The building will be 200 feet in length by about 65 to 95 feet in depth. The wardrobes, in nearly every case, except in one or two classrooms, are to be placed outside in the corridors, so that the pupils' clothing cannot in any way contaminate the air of the class-rooms. The cellar beneath the first story will be used for heating and ventilating apparatus, coal, etc., the boilers for the generation of steam being placed entirely outside the building, underneath the rear courtyard. The first story, which is above the level of the street, will be covered entirely with asphalt, and will be used for playground purposes. This will make a perfect drill-room, being 56 feet wide by 180 feet long, the divisions between the boys' and girls' play-rooms being effected by means of sliding doors, thus allowing the whole space to be used as one room at will.

The first floor will also serve as a lecture-room for the series of evening lectures, which are now held in the Melrose Lyceum, being much more accessible. It will also contain a kindergarten room, which is considerably above the level of the street, and will thus do away with the necessity for the little children climbing stairs or mixing in any way with the larger children of the school. The second, third and fourth stories will each contain sixteen class rooms, or a total of forty-eight, the building being designed for a two department school, a mixed primary and a mixed grammar.

The fifth story, which shows on the street elevation as an attic story, has in reality the full height of ceiling, and is laid out to accommodate the girls' and boys' physical training rooms, each 28x64 feet; a stereopticon lecture-room for the two or three classes in the upper grades, which can also be used for other purposes; a draughting room, 62x27 feet, and manual training rooms for clay modelling sewing and cooking; also ample accommodations for the libraries, which are now being furnished by the joint action of the city and State. This library will not only be provided with shelving capacity, but also with alcoves, where reference and study can be carried on without interruption. The materials to be employed in construction of the fronts will be Indiana limestone, terra cotta and brick, of nearly a uniform color. The heating and ventilating will be upon the principle of the Plenum system, and is designed for a minimum supply of thirty cubic feet of air a minute for each child. The school, when completed in about two years, will be one of the finest of its class in the country, and will contain all improvements.

THE MIGRATION OF SONGS.

66

In "The Bookman" for October Harry Thurston Peck has an interesting article on "The Migration of Popular Songs." He says Annie Rooney" is taken directly, with a mere change of tempo, from a chorale of Bach, and that Wagner derived the socalled bel motif in "Parsifal" from the same source as the author of "Down Went McGinty." He cites an amusing fact concerning the first rendition in France of "Ta ra-ra Boom-de-ay." It was announced as a special attraction that a certain Mlle. Dufort would in the course of the play sing the célébre chanson Anglaise, "Tha-ra-ra-boum-der-e." When the time came and Mlle. Dufort appeared she had an immense audience. The first few lines made it evident (not to the audience, however) that this ingenious young woman had shrunk from the task of "getting up" the lines of the genuine version, but had instead constructed a set of verses of her own by piecing together all the English words she had ever heard. The first verse then ran something like this:

Ticket tramway clergyman
Bifstick rumstick rosbif van
Sandwich whitebaits lady lunch
Sheri-cobler, whiskey punch;
Oh-yes all right shocking stop
Pale ale why not mutton chop
Plum cake music steamer box
Bull dog high life 5 o'clocks.
Tha-ra-ra boum-de e, etc.