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Never let the reading of the school be confined to books of information. Writers whose great aim is to give the largest number of facts in the smallest possible compass, frequently and almost necessarily write in a crabbed and repulsive style. Some portion of the reading lessons in every school ought to consist of passages, chosen for the beauty and purity of the language, rather than for the subject itself. The learning of such passages, and the reproduction of them in an altered form, are exercices of quite as much importance as the acquisition of facts. Every effort should be made, even from the first, to familiarise children with the use of choice language. By occasionally causing passages from good authors to be learnt by heart; and by taking care that such passages furnish the basis of all grammatical exercises and logical analysis, something will be done in this direction.

Select a number of well told stories, striking dialogues, and attractive passages from good authors; and read them aloud to the upper classes occasionally. Perhaps once a week each class might be led to expect a treat of this kind, on condition that its ordinary work had been well done. When the teacher is

himself a fine reader, such an exercise will not only be very popular, but very efficacious in improving the taste and raising the tone of the school. But it is of course necessary that the teacher should be a good reader, and should be able to read with such fluency, intelligence, and accurate expression, that it shall be a pleasure to listen to him. The power to do this can only be acquired by much practice, and by a habit of entering thoroughly into the meaning of the words which are read. If a teacher will take pains to become a really effective and pleasing, as well as accurate reader, he may do very much to familiarise himself and his scholars with good models of expression, and therefore with improved habits of thought.

Never be satisfied with one way of presenting a lesson to a class, but cndeavour to become master of a variety of methods. Cultivate the power of putting the same truth in many shapes, of looking at it from different points of view, and of varying your illustrations as much as possible. Notice the kind of explanation which, when you yourself are learning, seems best to lay hold of your attention; and then endeavour to imitate it. If you feel that you lack the descriptive power which makes past and distant scenes seem as if they were real and present, do not be content until you have acquired the power, nor until you can so tell a story, or describe a place you have seen, that children will listen not merely without weariness, but with positive pleasure.

Beware also of adhering too closely to a particular order in the development of your lessons. Many teachers, after hearing a good model lesson, think it necessary, especially in collective teaching, to fashion their own on the same type. Now methods are admirable servants, but they are bad masters; if a teacher knows how to select the best, and to adapt them to his own purposes, they are very valuable; but if he allows himself to be fettered by them, and to twist all his lessons into the same shape, they are positively mischievous. Almost every lesson requires a different mode of treatment; and a skilful teacher will endeavour to vary the arrangement of his matter, as well as the language in which it is expressed, in such a way as to give to each subject a freshness and new interest of its own. Our habit of getting up" books, as students, and "going through" books, as teachers, will beguile us, unless we are very watchful, into formalism, and into a slavish adherence to a particular routine, and it is necessary therefore to watch ourselves in this respect.

Lastly, do not limit your own reading to school-books, or to books specially intended for teachers. Much of the poverty of expression complained of among teachers is attributable to the fact, that their reading is not sufficiently wide and general. Every teacher, over and above the books needed in his profession, of course reads some books for his own enjoyment and mental improvement.

These should always be the best of their kind. In history, for example, compendiums will not serve the purpose. The great historians should be read. The most accessible books, perhaps, in natural philosophy and history, are mere summaries of the works of great philosophers or naturalists; but a teacher should not be content with these, he should go to the great authors themselves. So, if his inquiries lead him to the study of mental or moral philosophy, or to poetry, he should beware of all compilations, extracts and magazine articles, and should read the works of the poet or philosopher for himself. Always, when studying any subject, study the works of the ablest men who have written on it. Never be content to know what has been written about English literature. Read for yourself the best works of those men who have made English literature famous, and who have secured a permanent place in its annals. Do not com. plain that such books are not expressly written for your profession; the best books that are written are not expressly written for any profession. Nor is it wise to wait until some one selects and adapts from the works of a great poet or historian, so much as will suit your special needs. Obtain such works for your. self, and adapt them to your own needs. Make the style of such books an object of special study, and occasionally write brief themes on the same subjects, and compare your own style with your model. In this way you will acquire a wide range of new thoughts, and a dexterity and facility in the use of language, such as can never be obtained by merely reading school books and periodicals, and modern popular works on science and history. And do not suspect that in the study of Milton, Pope or Addison, or Bacon or Locke, or Grote or Mill, or Wordsworth or Southey, nothing will occur which will help you in your daily work. Every such author will help to make you think more clearly and see more deeply, will give you a command of more copious illustra tion, will add to the general culture and refinement of your mind, and therefore will certainly make you a better teacher." The Educational Record."

ENGLISH GRAMMAR.

FIRST YEAR.-MIDSUMMER, 1858.

We have received the answers, worked by a student, to an examination paper, which we present to our readers, with our crititisms.

SECTION I.

1. Distinguish between the sharp and flat mute consonants.

5. Correct any mis-spelling in the following words:-"agreable, benefiting, untill, seperable, bisextile, fulfill.” If in any case, there is a rule violated, state it.

SECTION II,

1. What other languages have contributed to the formation of the English? Give specimens.

2. When did Spenser, Milton, Chaucer, and Wordsworth live? Name a principal work of each.

3. Show how participles help to form distinct variations of time in the verb. SECTION III.

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1. The holy fathers, monks, and friars, had in their confessions, and especially in their extreme and deadly sickness, convinced the laity how dan gerous a practice it was, for one Christian man to hold another in bondage; so that temporal men, by little and little, by reason of that terror in their consciences, were glad to manumit their villeins. But the said holy fathers, with

all the abbots and priors, did not in like sort by theirs; for they also had a scruple in conscience to impoverish and despoil the church so much as to manumit such as were bond to their churches, or to the manors which the church had gotten; and so kept the villeins still."

Parse the words in italics, and derive the following-fathers, monks, friars, another, manumit, scruple, laity, clergy. What is the adjective form of last two, and what the difference between the two old words villein and knave?

SECTION IV.

Paraphrase the passage in Section III.

SECTION V.

1. In what order would you explain the parts of speech? Should Grammar or Geography be first taught? State your reason.

2. Explain how you would teach Grammar to a young class.

3. Give instances of the nominative absolute, a noun in apposition, a nomi. native of address, and of a su stantive clause. If the above passage contains examples, select them from it.

SECTION I.-Question 2.

1. "Agreable."-The rule violated in this word is that, that if a vowel should be pronounced long, the length is indicated generally by doubling the vowel. And the "e" in agree is long. Therefore in the spelling of it the vowel should be doubled.

2. "Benefiting."-The rule violated in this word is that, that when a vowel wants to to be shortened, one method of doing it is by doubling the following consonant and in the above word the "i" in fit is short "i," which is shown in the word by following it with two "t's."

3. "Untill."Whenever fill, till, or similar words are combined with other words, the latter of the "l's" is always dropped.

4. Fulfill."-This word is one of the best illustrations of this. The words full, and fill, end in two "l's"; when they are combined, however, a "1" is dropped from each, and the word becomes fulfil.

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5. Seperable should be spelled separable, as the word from which it is formed by the change of termination is spelt separate.

6. "Bisextile" should be spelled bisectile, for the word from which it is derived by adding the prefix "bi" (two), and the affix "ile" is seco, not sexo (to cut).

SECTION II.- Question 1.

The English language is formed of several languages. The original language on which the whole superstructure is raised is the Anglo Saxon, although it was not the language of the natives of Britain. The language spoken by the Britons resembled that spoken by the Irish and Welsh. When the Anglo Saxon, invaders founded the kingdom of Kent, they introduced their language into Kent. Hordes of their fellows came over from that part of Germany between the Eyder and Ems, and introduced, their languages into Sussex, Wessex, Essex East Anglia, Deira, Bernicia, and Mercia; and although their languages were not exactly alike, they were only dialects of the same for each of the three tribes that came over, namely, Saxons, Angles, and Jutes. The remains of their language now exists in English. Most of our monosyllabic words, and simple ones, are of Anglo Saxon origin, as dig, ditch, &c.; also many names of villages, as Derby, Durham, York, Northampton, Avon, &c. Also their language is found in some of our present forms of declining, thus, children, and oxen, are remains of the Anglo Saxon method of forming the plural. Again, in "did," we have

the old method of forming the past tense by reduplication. In villages many Saxon words are still in use, as housen, for house; posen, for post; childer, or cilder, for children.

The Norman Invasion introduced many French or Norman-French words into our language. We pass the Danish invasions, for they only produced local, not general, effects. William 1. attempted to entirely suppress the Anglo Saxon language, but failed. Examples of French and Norman-French are very abund.. ant, as, eclat, depot, entrepot, encore, hors-de-combat, &c., are French words. And the change caused by the Norman invasion cannot be better illustrated than by the following:-In the lower classes, kine, oxen, calf, and sheep, were retained, but the Normans gave these when dressed as food the names we now have, beef, veal, and mutton. Most of the pure French words have been taken into the language of late years, and most of them have received no alteration, but are admitted pure. Also modern times have seen the introduction of most of our Latin, Italian, and Greek derivatives. And most of the latest have been adopted for scientific purposes. But many of our earlier derivatives were added when the advancement of civilization demanded some new term to express some new relation or new thing caused by this advance. As specimens of words in English derived from Latin, noun, verb, report, vessel, commerce, merchant, current, society, lecture, library, duel, and almost innumerable others.

Words taken into our language from the Greek have almost solely been taken in for scientific purposes, and are not near as common as those derived from the Latin. Examples-calendar, bases, phenomenon, misanthrope, philanthropy, &c. In our language also many German words were introduced, independent of te great change in our language by the Anglo Saxon conquest.

Also we find Italian and Hebrew words.

Italian, as grotto, dilletanti, and most of the terms used in music, as largo, larghetto, andante, andantino, allegro, presto, rallentando, piu, a poco a poco, mezzo, forte, piano, &c.

Hebrew are not so numerous, but are found chiefly in the Bible, as, Eloi, eloi, lama sabacthani, talitha cumi, corban, cherub, seraph, seraphim, &c.

Practice.

Hold.

Another.
Little.

SECTION III.- Question 1.

Com. noun, third person, singular number, neuter gender, nom.
case to the verb was.

With the preposition to preceding it, a verb in the infinitive mood.
Transitive, governing another, or man understood.

An adjective, qualifying man understood.

An adjective here used as a noun, singular number, third person, neuter gender, and objective case, governed by the preposition by. Manumit. A verb in the infinitive mood, transitive, governing villeins in the objective case, and being governed itself by the verb were.

All.

So.

As.

As.

Gotten.

Still.

An adjective of quantity, qualifying Abbots and Priors.

An adverb, modifying much.

The whole expression "so much as

may be considered an ad

verbial phrase, and "as" is an adverb.

Here equivalent to who, consequently is a pronoun, or a conjunction introducing were bound to their churches."

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A perfect participle from the verb got, governed by the verb had.
An adverb modifying the verb kept.

Monks -Monos, alone.

Friars-Frater, a brother.

Another-An (one) and other.

Manumit Manus, the hand, and mitto, send.

Clergy-Cericus, a servant.

Father-Pater, a father.

The adjective form of clergy is "clerical."

The adjective form of laity is "lay," as the "lay brethren."

Villein had formerly no bad meaning in it, it simply meant a villager, or a poor person who was bound, as a kind of slave, called a serf, to a baron, who did fealty to the king for the estates he possessed. The word's meaning has been extended, and now means a dishonest person.

Knave had a bad meaning formerly as it has now, and meant a dishonest

person.

SECTION IV.

The high officials in the Church of Rome, together with the monks and friars, seeing the system of sertdom was of so perilous a nature, and so detrimental to Christianity, so terrified the nobles and lay lords generally, when they were ou their death beds, or when in their confessions they revealed some enormous crime, for which they needed absolution, with threats of their after punishment, that many of them not only released their bond-fellows, but did it with pleasure. This was not effected however, at once but was the result of time and renewed efforts of the Roman Catholic clergy. But although the clergy persuaded the lay nobles to mauumit all their villeins, yet they had such a horror of despoiling the church, and lessening its importance, that they dared not rob the church of such valuable property as was afforded by the serfs in connection with their churches, abbeys, and priories, or in estates that had been bequeathed the church, by releasing them from that bondage, which they nevertheless acknowledged was a dangerous practice. Therefore they retained their serfs.

SECTION V.-Question 2.

In teaching Grammar to a young class, I should commence with writing an easy sentence on the board, such as "Ice is cold." Then I should proceed with them to analyze the expression. Ask what the first word is, and, getting it, draw out it was a name we gave to a certain thing. Then give them a definition of a noun, require several examples, and from each child giving an example, a reason for the word he gave me as a noun. After they could well understand and be able to distinguish a noun, we might proceed to notice the difference between certain nouns. This difference might be found out by the children, by selecting two of the nouns they would give, namely, one of each class, and asking them to look for a difference. Next give them a definition of a proper and also of a common noun. Then, I should go on to add a word to a noun, as "long stick," and ask what difference the addition of the word long had made. Then getting other words find from them that from adding these words we get a better and more definite idea of the thing or noun about which we are speaking. Next tell them all these words, which added to a noun tell something more concerning it, are called adjectives. Next I should teach a verb to them in this manner :-Writing a sentence on the black board, as "Tom eats apples." From what they had been taught they would know "Tom" and "apples" were nouns, and that Tom was proper, and apples common. Then I should enquire what was, by asking what alteration was made by putting the word eats between the two nouns, and thus find out that "eats" tells us something that Tom does, and that all such words are called verbs, These would be the only parts of speech I should teach to a young class of scholars.

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CRITICISM.

SECTION I.-Question 2.

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This answer betrays an insufficient knowledge of the leading laws of orthography. The reason given for spelling "agreeable" is fanciful.

་་ Benefiting" is spelt with only a single "t," and the rule is that the final consonant must then

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