this, then let him throw the whole school into one class, and let as many as can, read the scriptures, and the rest stand by and hear his explanations and questions.

Bat it is not only in the reading the Bible that we want to have the babits of reverence more taught. At the time of prayer also, more attention should be paid to the posture and behaviour of the children, for we all know that the posture of the body has a great effect upon the mind. It would be well, I think, for the children all to kneel with their faces turned towards the master, to raise their hands and to close their eyes, and I would not have the master begin his prayer till this was done by every child. I would lay especial stress upon the children closing their eyes till the prayer is ended, as a great means of preventing their attention wandering. They should kneel and rise all together at a signal given by the master; and I would have this signal a different one from any other used in the school, and a silent solemn one.

I have dwelt at length upon the habit of reverence of things sacred, as it appears to me that our schools are not only deficient in teaching this, but are in many cases actually teaching irreverence, and no amount of information which can be communicated to the child, can compensate for the injury thus done him. I might also dwell upon the habits of obedience, order and neatness, truth and honesty. The formation of these habits is of far greater consequence than the teaching to read, write, and cipher; and a teacher has many daily opportunities to inculcate them. But it is too common for a teacher only to think that he has to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic, and has nothing more to do: but at the same time we are all perfectly aware that we would ourselves much rather have a servant, or a labourer, or a neighbour, who could neither read, write, nor cipher, who was a true, honest, and orderly man―than we would have one, who was the best reader, writer, or cipherer who ever lived, who was a liar, or a thief, or a disorderly person. Let us then, my fellow teachers, endeavour to bring up those children committed to our care in good moral habits— let us scire every opportunity for inculcating them, let us always speak and act as preferring, far preferring a good boy to a clever one, and always good boys rather than the clever ones for monitors, and let the chiet inquiry always be, not what progress a boy has made in his writing or ciphering, but how he has behaved. I need not say that the formation of the child's character is far more difficult than mere instruction, but at the same time it is a far more interesting work.

I will now pass on to what I consider should be the third object, at which our schools should aim. The improving the children's powers of mind, and giving them the means of acquiring the information they will want. For this purpose a school needs efficient monitors, and I do not think we shall obtain the efficient monitors we need, except we are able to retain them longer in our schools than we do at present. In some schools in our district, the monitors receive a small weekly payment, and if the funds of the school be sufficient-it is, I I think, very desirable for many reasons that they should do so, but especially as it will induce the parent to let the child remain longer at school. It is also necessary that separate instructions should be given

to the monitors. Of all the plans which have been suggested for this in the different essays by those whose signatures are "T. T. B." "Faint yet pursuing," "Excuse haste," " Veritas cum Ratione," "I have done what I could," and "Continue to persevere;" which essays all do their writers great credit; of all the plans which have been suggested, I think the best practical one is that of the master and mistress instructing the monitors during school hours, the head class in the mean while acting as monitors. This plan has been tried in one school in our district and succeeds, for I do not think that it will be easy in general to persuade the monitors, to come before or continue after school hours. If they will, no doubt it will better for them to do so.

As reading is the channel through which the greatest amount of information can be acquired, and as by it the powers of the mind are increased, I will confine myself to the best method of teaching a child to read. I am quite aware that one method may be best suited to one teacher and another to another, and that one plan may succeed best with one child and another with another, but it is of great consequence to our parochial schools, that our teachers should give more attention to the younger classes than I think they do. The consequence of the neglect of the younger classes is that parents now prefer, and I think, properly, to send their little children to the dame schools. Every child ought to be able to read with perfect correctness any child's book, and the parables and miracles and discourses of our blessed Saviour, by the time he is seven years of age, but it is most important that the power of doing so should be acquired without any effort on the part of the child, and by very short lessons; for under seven years of age every effort of the mind or of the memory should be avoided, whilst at the same time a judicious patient teacher will be able to strengthen both the mind and memory of the child, without the child itself being conscious of any exertion. In those employments with which we wish to associate pleasure in the mind of the child, the child's part should be as much as possible a voluntary one, and the eye and the ear should both be brought to aid in the work. Even whilst a child is learning its letters, I should require the monitor to read several times in succession about seven words of three letters, of which the sound is only altered by the first consonant, and in selecting these words I should at first choose those of which a child would understand the meaning, as, hat, cat, rat, mat, I should go on with this for several days till every consonant which would make a word, with the addition of a had been very frequently repeated. The children would only have to listen to the sound; but if they liked to repeat it after the monitor, so much the better. It is of consequence that the next words taught should be so different that there should be no risk of a child confusing them with the former. I should not therefore make the second lesson, met, set, pet, &c., but dog, fog, hog, &c., and the first lesson should still be repeated every day by the children after the new one. When any of these lessons has been frequently read by the monitor, the children will take pleasure in repeating the letters and the words with him. I should then let the monitor only sound the letters himself, and let the children repeat the word together-thus, when he distinctly said C,A,T, I have

no doubt the children would all cry out-cat. Perhaps it might facilitate their progress in doing so, if a child in a class above them were to be occasionally placed with them, to repeat the word with them. I think if the ear were thus constantly exercised, even before the alphabet was learnt, the children's progress would be much more rapid. I should afterwards call in the aid of the eye, exercising it as much as possible on those words which they had formerly learnt by the ear, (writing down the words on the black board, and if possible showing the child the object or a picture of it), the monitor pointing and repeating the letters, and the children pronouncing the word-of course the eye can only be used in this way after the alphabet has been learnt, but the former lessons for the ear may be carried on, and would make a pleasing variety for the children before they have mastered the alphabet. I should then proceed to four letters, making only a difference in the first consonant, as dark, hark, lark, &c. Then the different sounds of the a with or without a final e, and of a and ai; as hat, hate, pat, pate, &c.—mad, maid, lad, laid, &c.

A good teacher must never be weary of repetition, never show any disappointment to a little child at its want of success, never call a child a dull child, and he should be so accustomed to watch the eye and motions of a child, that he shall be very sure of stopping short of the point of fatigue. Far more evil is done to a backward child by a feeling of weariness, than benefit received by a more intelligent child from a lesson which is a moment too long for the former. Our little children are kept in our schoolrooms far too long at a time-a play-ground should be provided for them.

Reading should go on simultaneously with the second spelling exercises, as soon as the alphabet is mastered. The Bishop of Sodor and Man's cards being used, or other simple reading lessons the monitor pronounces each word not known by the children, and they repeat it without previous spelling. All this, by calling in the aid of the eye and ear, and by the master and mistress themselves giving attention to the younger children, might be accomplished without effort. It is a great mistake to imagine that little children are not injured by efforts of memory; a teacher should be willing to repeat a sound or a sentence so often that a child cannot help remembering it, but every effort on the part of the little child should be so perfectly voluntary, that he should be quite unconscious that he is making any. It is unnatural and injurious to a very young child, to fix its attention for more than a few minutes on any thing and the more free their little minds are left the better. That teacher will make the most rapid progress, who is willing to follow his little pupils without requiring them to follow him. This early part of teaching to read seems only to require patience, animation, and love of children in the teacher; but to teach children to read in such a manner as secures benefit and pleasure to the children themselves, and may qualify them to be useful readers to their sick, aged, or ignorant friends, is what is very rarely accomplished in our parochial schools. The teachers consider that children have attained sufficient excellence, if they are baffled by no word however long or uncouth, and if the due pause is made at every stop. Thus the amusing fable is read

in the same tone as its graver moral. The monotony of sound, and the total want of emphasis or misplaced emphasis, or the harsh exertion of the voice, oblige the hearer to go over the sentence again in his own mind before he can understand its meaning, instead of fully comprehending it simultaneously with its being read. Rules ought to be given the child how to vary its tone and to observe the accent of the sentence, and he ought continually to hear the page he is reading, read well, with proper tone and emphasis.

To read syllabically on the Madras system, reading word by word in succession round the class; and to read a column of difficult words without previous spelling, are useful exercises to attain facility in reading. To read dialogues is useful for attaining expressive reading, accustoming the children to adapt their tone to the characters of the different speakers. It is well, I think, to have a class selected out of the best readers in the school with the most pleasing voices, to be occasionally instructed in the proper tone, emphasis, and expression, which should be given to different subjects both in poetry and prose, but of course the bible should not be used for such a purpose. There is no doubt that when the head class read properly and intelligently, the difficulty would cease, for all the lower classes would invariably imitate them, and they might be used as monitors for the teaching of reading.

After seven years of age the child should gradually be taught to fix his attention, till by degrees, as he rises to the higher classes, a wandering look or thought should not be allowed, for the power of concentrating his attention on one object will be most valuable to him in life.

I might dwell on other points-especially on arithmetic, one of the best means for strengthening the power of the mind, but I pass on to the last object of our schools-the giving information. Though I place this object last, it is one which is not to be neglected, both for its own sake, and because it has a more direct tendency than either of those before mentioned to make the children fond of school. The information which we give our children, ought to be principally, I think, in connection with the bible; the explanation of the customs and habits, to which there is reference in scripture, the dates of the chief events mentioned in scripture, and so much geography, at least, as shall enable them to understand the descriptions in scripture. But I think it would be well if we went yet further, and gave our children some information concerning those natural objects which are around them; for such information will be a pleasure, which I see no reason why we should deny them, and may also enable them to make a better use of those objects. But considering the very short time children remain in our parochial schools, great care should be taken in the selection of proper subjects for instruction, that nothing be allowed to interfere with their attaining that knowledge of scripture, which should be considered the chief object. Let me advise my fellow teachers to be always in the habit of reading some book themselves for the sake of their schools (our book club will supply you with useful books), and make extracts from the books they read of such anecdotes, and pieces of information, or simple experiments in natural philosophy, as they think may be useful to their children; and occasionally to repeat these to their schools. No one I think,

jeverer vel stored his own mind may be, can continue to teach well wirbeut reading self; for he will not otherwise sufficiently mix hings cli, and there will be a tiresome monotony in

If any thing I have now said may strengthen your hands in that most important work which you have undertaken, I shall greatly rejoice. The schools of our district are certainly in an improving state. Few eventry districts. I believe, have a more efficient or devoted a body of schoolmasters and mistresses. The majority of those who are the teachers of our schools have undertaken their office, I firmly believe, for the sake of Christ, and are daily for his sake labouring on amongst their Collins, Eadserved, perhaps, and unhonoured by those around them, bet both observed and honoured by Him, who will reward every man according to his works. But if we have improved, let us continue to improve : let each master and mistress remember, that it is their duty— a duty they owe to their country, to the church, and to their God—to ut forth every energy and power to train those committed to their care, to be honest, loyal, and industrious citizens; true and faithful churchmen; and humble and holy christians.

ON TEACHING VOCAL MUSIC IN SCHOOLS.

Rev. S:8.-In my communication to you on Vocal Music, inserted in your last number, there are a few smail errors. I wrote in great haste, and bad not time to take a copy of what I sent; consequently I cannot say that your printer is to be answerable for all those blunders; still, I cannot bat think it improbable I should have made some of them.

At page 200, line five from top,-" pitched in tenor C," ought to be, -pitched at tenor C.

Page 202, line five from top,-" from d to b,”—ought to be "from d

to e.

The brace at the end of a single stave is useless, and cannot be in the paper I sent.

The small lines, similar to ledger-lines, above the notes page 199; and above, below, and through the middle of those open notes in the examples intended to be without lines, page 200, are calculated to mislead: this, I suppose, is the fault of the type. If the printer had no proper type, perhaps the plain 0 would have been preferable to those used.

In the exercise, page 204, which we formed into a long measure tune, there is a mistake which, as I wrote entirely from memory without even singing the tune over after I had written it, may be my own. The whole of the notes in the second double bar are one place too low; they ought to be thus :—

है।

Thy wont- ed good - ness Lord re - new.