with saints; in its ordinances, a true communion with her God and Saviour; which were able to maintain in simple, unaffected purity her faith at court, in dutiful, active love her married life; which sufficed to crown her hours of bitter anguish and untimely death, with a joyful resignation and assured waiting for her crown."

The evidence of her biographer, as a witness of the advantages derived in her case from early admission to the privileges of confirmation, may be here introduced in support of the views advanced in another part of this number.

"It was by this excellent mother, that this rare child was as early instituted in the fear of God as she could speak: and, as her extraordinary discernment soon advanced to a great and early sense of religion, so she brought her to be confirmed by the now Lord Bishop of Ely, Doctor Gunning, who, it appears, was so surprised at those early graces he discovered in her, that he thought fit she should be admitted to the holy sacrament when she was hardly eleven years of age: from that moment forwards, young and sprightful as she was, she was observed to live with great circumspection, prescribing to herself a constant method of devotion, and certain days of abstinence, that she might the better vacate to holy duties, and gain that mastery over her appetite, which, with all other passions, she had strangely subdued, to my often admiration."

REMARKS ON GEOGRAPHY AS A BRANCH OF POPULAR EDUCATION; CHIEFLY WITH REFERENCE ΤΟ NORMAL SCHOOLS. BY W. HUGHES, F.R.G.S., AUTHOR OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF MAPS, &c., &c. 8vo. pp. 20. (Bell.)

PROFESSOR HUGHES has given in this short pamphlet an able and comprehensive view of the mutual relation of the various parts which geography includes, considered as a branch of instruction, and of the order in which those parts should be taught. He considers that the first and chief object should be to make the learner thoroughly acquainted with the natural condition of the surface of the globe, and that its natural features should be so impressed upon the mind by constant reference to maps, that the names of places should alone suffice to call up in the imagination a picture of what the surface of the globe actually is. The professor strongly recommends the practice of map drawing, and the use of the model or relief maps recently published on the continent. Next in order to the natural features of a country, he recommends instruction in the industrial occupations of its inhabitants, and then a descriptive survey of the various towns and other principal localities, to be arranged as much as possible in the order of their natural situations, and not, as is generally done, merely with reference to their amount of population, or other circumstances of special importance. He considers that the political and historical information given in connection with geography should be as brief and as much condensed as possible, consisting of simple facts and nothing else; and that the barren and meagre items of information which the school books on geography convey, under the headings of history and chronology, are only calculated to mislead and confuse the mind. To these and other remarks, well deserving an attentive perusal, he has added the syllabus of a course of geographical instruction, designed to occupy eighteen months. Both in his remarks and syllabus his chief object has been the education of the pupils in normal schools, that is, the training up of those who will have to teach others. He observes in conclusion, that—

"It is not intended that the whole of what we have indicated as requisite to give a competent knowledge of geography to the pupil in a training school should be taught by him hereafter, in those schools in which he will himself have to fulfil the functions of teacher. In order to impart his instructions with the confidence

requisite to ensure success, the master must himself know considerably more than he will be called upon to teach. From the store of knowledge which he possesses, he must select such portions as are of most universal application, and which it is therefore most requisite that all classes of society should be acquainted with, and these he must condense in such a way, that the very essence (as it were) of his matter should be presented to their minds. The classes whom he will instruct are such as have little time, and less means at their disposal, and in the instruction given them nothing discursive can be allowed; every thing must be systematized and disposed in a perfectly methodical arrangement-so that, however narrow may be the limits within which it may be requisite to restrict the entire sum of knowledge conveyed, it shall yet possess the qualities of a complete whole. The information so acquired will not only be valuable in itself, but will constitute the materials for after reflection, and always admit of any expansion of which circumstances may allow, in such a manner that the mind will readily arrange in its proper place whatever may be added to the amount of knowledge already in its possession. The chief defect (and it is a serious one) which will be felt by the teacher, consists in the want of a really good manual of geography which might serve the purposes here indicated, and until this want shall be supplied, very much must depend upon his individual judgment, and powers of selection and discrimination."

The Editor's Portfolio.

ON THE PROPER AGE FOR RECEIVING CONFIRMATION.

BUT while the Church has not fixed upon any one uniform age, nor said what period of childhood is unripe for confirmation, she has, on the other side, clearly enough assigned the limit. She has decided the age prior to which all her members ought to be confirmed. She expects them to receive that ordinance, not only while children, but at an early period of childhood. And this is very easily proved. For by the 112th Canon, all members of the Church of England are directed to be "presented, men as well as women, which being of the age of sixteen years, received not the communion at Easter before." Now, as none are to be admitted to the holy communion, until such time as they be confirmed, it follows, that by the law of our Church, all its members are required to be confirmed previous to their sixteenth year.* This would throw back the legal age for confirmation to the fifteenth year. But again, in Archbishop Grindall's injunctions for the laity of his province, "all above fourteen years of age are" enjoined "to receive in their own churches, the communion three times, at least, in the year ;"f so that, in his time, English children were expected to be confirmed, at the furthest, between their thirteenth and fourteenth year. And once more-in the "Interpretations" to Queen Elizabeth's injunctions, drawn up by the archbishops and bishops, about A.D. 1559, we find the following direction:-" That children be not admitted to the communion before the age of twelve or thirteen years, being of good discretion, and well instructed before." This injunction is important for our purpose, and most happily worded. It implies-First, that children were admissible to the highest sacrament of religion at the tender age of twelve or thirteen. Secondly, that in the judgment of the Elizabethan Church, young persons at that early time of life might yet be of "good discretion," and have been well instructed before;" and lastly, it determines the practice of the Church, with respect to the very point we are considering-clearly leading us to conclude, that children used then to be confirmed before they were twelve years old. This conclusion is strengthened by reference to the last paragraph in the baptismal office, which admonishes an infant's sponsors to take care that he

"Is there any person in your parish being sixteen years of age, who refuseth to receive the blessed sacrament of the Lord's Supper, at least three times every year, whereof Easter to be one?" Bishop Pearson's Articles of Inquiry. See his Minor Theolog. Works, vol. i, App. p. 135. Archdeacon Churton's Ed., Oxford, 1848. f Cardwell, Docum. Annals, vol. i, p. 336.

+ Ib. p. 206.

be brought to the bishop to be confirmed by him, so soon as he can say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments in the vulgar tongue, and be further instructed in the Church catechism set forth for that purpose." These words evidently mean that there is to be no unnecessary delay, in bringing any child to confirmation*

Enough has now been said to establish the point for which we contend. We know not how any other conclusion can be arrived at than this one-that while the English Church prohibits infant confirmation, she enjoins the confirmation of children at an early period of life-not laying down any inflexible rule as to what time of childhood, past infancy, is too young; evidently sanctioning confirmation at or before the twelfth year, enjoining it at the fourteenth, and directing all to be punished, who are not qualified by it, (as well as other means,) to receive the eucharist in the sixteenth. We trust that the moderation and charity of the Church in this respect may never be set aside; nor the liberty of parents and sponsors to bring children to confirmation, as soon as they think fit, unnecessarily interfered with. In the tendency to recommend late confirmation, there is an unconscious leaven of Anabaptism. The principle which would keep back the young from the ordinances of the Church attaches too much importance to knowledge and the understanding, too little to faith and the heart. It seems to forget that love is the secret of all true religion; and that a little child carefully brought up in the fear of God, may be as plentifully supplied with the dew of this heavenly grace as the oldest man. "Nulla Dei regno infirma ætas, nec fides gravatur annis." There is nothing in the deep truths of our faith which may not find a response in the heart of any intelligent and pious child. He needs not many years to learn who God is, and what He has done for us all-how greatly we require the help of His grace; how this grace is to be obtained in His Church and through His Sacraments; how it is offered to the young as well as to the aged-how God loves little children, invites them to come unto Him, and to give Him their hearts; and how we are to endeavour to serve him faithfully all the days of our life. And surely if a child of ten or twelve really knows all this, and with the purity of early faith believes it, who will say that such an one is unfit for confirmation? Will the shepherds of the flock keep back that little "lamb," from the fountain of living water, out of which all are invited to drink? Most of us are acquainted with children of very tender years, whose minds have been unfolded by careful instruction, and who in faith and life are bright examples of holy innocence. Many a young boy or girl in a parish school is better instructed, knows more, and believes more, than others who are twice the age. Are there not, in every parish, among rich and poor, some children naturally thoughtful, serious, and quiet? They take a pleasure in attending church. They

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* [The writer would have been justified in putting this still stronger. The language of the Church throughout her formularies implies, not only that there is to be no unnecessary delay, but that the child is all along to be hastened onward to full communion as fast as practicable. "The curates of every parish shall often admonish the people, that they defer not the baptism of their children longer than the first or second Sunday after their birth or other holy day falling between, unless upon a great and reasonable cause, to be approved by the curate." Then at the baptism the sponsors are exhorted "to see that the infant be taught, so soon as he shall be able to learn, what a solemn vow, promise, and profession he has made by them." Then again, they "are to take care that the child be brought to the bishop to be confirmed by him, so soon as he can say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments in the vulgar tongue, and be further instructed in the Church catechism set forth for that purpose." The custom of the last century or so has been to put off confirmation later and later; the mind of the Church is all in favour of getting the child on as fast as the case will admit. The question however hangs altogether upon the meaning of "Confirmation, or, Laying on of Hands." The higher the view of the grace therein bestowed, the greater will be the anxiety to have it administered at an early age. We commend to the attentive perusal of our readers, the whole of the valuable and highly practical article, from which the extract is taken. They will find it in the October number of "The Ecclesiastic and Theologian," under the title, "On the Mode of Administering Confirmation, and the Proper Age for its Reception."-ED.]

† St. Ambros. in Luc. L. 7, § 213.

are often found reading in the Bible. They say their prayers with care. They listen to sermons, and may be observed to note down the text, and to give heed to what is said, with devout attention. They come to the daily prayers of their own accord. God's grace is in such children, doing its own work, hitherto unchecked. Are they to be told that they must wait until their sixteenth or seventeenth year, before they can be permitted to approach their Saviour in His sacraments, as well to have baptismal grace confirmed and strengthened, as to be fed with that bread from heaven, which the intuition of the truth teaches them is needful for the soul? On what principle should the maternal charity of the Church be so violently repulsed, and she herself forced to leave her little ones exposed to the grievous temptations of public schools, or colleges, or marts of trade, or the world's vanities, when it is her own declared will and desire, that confirmation be given them at that early age, when " partly by the frailty of their own flesh, partly by the assaults of the world and the devil, they begin to be in danger to fall into sin ?* It is when a child is going to school or college, that he most needs the graces of confirmation and the eucharist; and many would have been saved from fatal sins-perhaps from a whole life of vice-if the assaults of "the world, the flesh, and the devil," had thus been provided against beforehand, and the danger anticipated by the remedy. We do not deny that there is a peril attendant upon an early admittance to the highest of our christian privileges: there is a peril in every communionin every ordinance of religion-shared equally by old and young. But the way to guard against the hazards which may be truly feared, is not to withhold the blessing until, perhaps, the desire for it be lost for ever. It would be better to try and create a confidential intercourse between the clergy and the people-to encourage the young to make use of confession-to choose spiritual guides, and to realize the connection existing between their pastor and themselves. We should then soon enough discover that, as in Queen Elizabeth's time, so now, a child, though only twelve or thirteen, may have arrived at years of discretion," so as to be admissible with propriety and safety to all the sacraments of the Church.

There is another reason for not deferring confirmation until any advanced period in childhood. It is simply this. In a busy country like ours, the labour of young boys and girls is almost sure to find a ready market. We apprehend that few children among the poorer classes are detained at school after their thirteenth year; and when they leave, the clergyman too frequently loses sight of them for ever. They are employed on railways, and sent to the most distant parts of the kingdom. Or they become soldiers, or work in factories, or are engaged in some line of business which occupies their whole time from Sunday to Saturday. In these several employments, they soon forget most of what they had learned at school, for they have no opportunity, in many cases, of keeping it fresh in their minds. If then, such young persons be not confirmed before they quit school, they incur no small risk of not being confirmed at all. For how are they to find time to come and receive the necessary preparation, immersed as they are in the very midst of life's busy tide? And what must not be overlooked-how could they attend the bishop's confirmation, held during the week, at eleven or twelve o'clock in the day, when business occupies all their hours from the rising to the setting sun? If good feeling or religion prompt them to make an effort to come, yet it must be with the loss of their day's hire or wages; and no one has a right to require them to make so heavy a sacrifice. Had they omitted to be confirmed in earlier days, after due notice and exhortation, this would be a fitting penalty for their neglect; but it would be altogether unfair, and without palliation, that they should be called upon to pay, with the loss of their small pittance, for the mistaken theories of their spiritual rulers. They ought either to be confirmed at

* Preface to the Order of Confirmation in King Edward's First Prayer Book. Every true penitent is obliged to confess his sins, and to humble himself before God for ever. Confession of sins hath a special promise.. . In all which circumstances because we may very much be helped if we take in the assistance of a spiritual guide, therefore the Church of God in all ages. hath commended, and in most ages enjoined, that we confess our sins, and discover the state and condition of our souls, to such a person whom we or our superiors judge fit to help us as in such needs."-Taylor's Holy Living, chap. iv. § 9.

the early age contemplated by the Church, or provision should be made that they may be secured the free ordinances of religion without pecuniary loss. Innumerable evils would result from adopting the late period for confirmation, of which these are not among the least; a large proportion of children must remain unconfirmed at all; others may snatch a few moments from the distractions of daily business, to receive confirmation after a hasty and inadequate preparation. To some, it will come too late, when sin has unfitted them for its due reception. The frailty of youth may have failed amidst the various temptations of new and untried scenes. Evil companions may have drawn them into a course of vice, and there may be no longer any grace in their hearts for confirmation to strengthen and renew. Such must be the fearful consequence of violating the express intentions of the Church. We therefore trust, that all will patiently count the cost, before they prefer their own theories to the wisdom and experience of past generations; nor have we much fear for the result. If care be taken to imprint sound views of confirmation upon the minds of our clergy and people-if good sensible tracts......take the place of what have been commonly distributed, we may look for the dawning of a better state of things. Be it sooner or be it later, the truth shall prevail; patience, faith, and earnestness are the most powerful of weapons. The strongholds of error cannot hold out against them; and all abuses are sure to give way, in the end, before the persevering energy of those who, clad in this holy armour, "wait patiently upon God."-Ecclesiastic and Theologian.

EVIL EFFECTS OF READING WITHOUT REFLECTION.

THE present age and generation are peculiarly distinguished by a too great love of intellectual novelties. The reading of periodicals, magazines, and light literature generally, are the prevailing characteristics of our day. We are very much in the situation of those Athenians and strangers in Athens, described by St. Paul, who " spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new thing." Enquire of the librarians of our societies; contemplate for a moment the immense number of circulating libraries, and examine the volumes of which they are composed, and you must at once come to the conclusion that incessant reading, and reading of a light character, is the order of the day. Far be it from us to pretend to be wiser than our fellows! Far be it from us rashly to criticise the manners of our equals! But we may, nevertheless, be permitted to point to what we conceive to be derogatory to the intellectual character, and deleterious to the mental faculties, for the purpose of proposing and enforcing what we cannot doubt to be, a study, adapted, in a very eminent degree, for many purposes of mental culture and discipline. You will never discipline the character by allowing it to take an unlimited range in common reading. You will never make a learned man, if you present the subjects of human thought to a child, in any respects analogous to the exhibitions of the phantasmagoria of a kaleidoscope! Who does not most cordially agree with Dr. Beattie when he says, “every language, and indeed every thing that is taught children, should be accurately taught; being of opinion that the mind is more improved by a little accurate knowledge, than by an extensive smattering; and that it would be better for a young man to be master of Euclid or Demosthenes, than to have a whole dictionary of arts and sciences by heart. When he has once got a taste of accuracy, he will know the value and the method of it, and with a view to the same gratification, will habitually pursue the same method, both in science, and in the general conduct of his affairs; whereas a habit of superficial thinking perverts and enervates the powers of the soul, leaves many of them to languish in total inactivity, and is too apt to make a man fickle and thoughtless, unprincipled and dissipated for life!"

Similar and corroborative testimony is borne by that great metaphysicianDugald Stewart-to the pernicious tendency of unqualified reading. "Nothing, in truth," says that learned individual, “has such a tendency to weaken not only the powers of invention, but the intellectual powers in general, as a habit of extensive and various reading, without reflection. The activity and force of mind are gradually impaired, in consequence of disuse; and not unfrequently all our principles and opinions come to be lost in the infinite multiplicity and discordancy of our ideas. It requires courage indeed, (as Helvetius has remarked), to remain