The Infant System Part 6

I shall next speak of the daily routine of instruction.

If we would be successful in our labours, we most ask for help,-we must solicit aid from that Being who never yet denied it when sincerely and fervently implored. A minister who desires to instruct his flock with effect, never fails to commence his work with supplication; and certainly every teacher must ask for help, and instruct his pupils to do so too, if he really wish to be successful. If the wisest and best of men ask a.s.sistance from G.o.d to teach their fellow-men, and feel and know it to be necessary so to do, who would not ask a.s.sistance to instruct infants?

"To lead them into virtue's path, And up to truth divine."

If we had only to educate the head, prayer might be less necessary. But the promoters of infant schools want to affect the heart; to operate upon the will and the conscience, as well as on the understanding; to make good men rather than learned men-men of wisdom, rather than men of knowledge: and he who has this work to accomplish, should remember the Saviour's declaration, "Without me ye can do nothing." Whilst therefore I would avoid too frequent repet.i.tion of the divine names in tire presence of the children, and never fail to let them know the difference between talking religion and doing religion, and in every case avoid the very appearance of the form without the essence, I would in such case, avoid long prayers, and take care that what was said in their presence should be short, and to the point, keeping in mind the scripture maxim, to avoid long repet.i.tions as the heathen do, who think they shall be heard for their much speaking; and little children cannot have the simple truths of the Word pourtrayed to them in too simple a manner.

To use prayers with little children composed of hard words taken from scholastic theology, is contrary to common sense. How is it possible that they can either understand or feel them? To utter prayer before them in dull and melancholy tones, and with grimaces of countenance, is calculated to give a false and gloomy impression of religion, and has often done so. I have known little children alarmed and frightened at such things; for sounds and appearances speak more strongly to them than words.-Christ said of the Pharisees, "they disfigure their faces." Our Saviour's direction is, after this manner, pray ye-"Our Father," thus directing us to draw near to the Most High G.o.d as a heavenly father, rich in mercy to all them that call upon him. True, indeed, it is that "all have sinned," but a "new and living way" is provided whereby we may "draw near with boldness to a throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Cowper never penned a truer line than this;

"True piety is cheerful as the day;"

and such an impression of it should ever be given to the young. The best prayer of a master for his children, is the perpetual and strong desire of his heart for G.o.d's blessing upon them, which, when genuine and sincere, will without doubt be recorded on high, and will also urge him on to a faithful and unceasing discharge of his duties towards them. To possess this is indeed to "pray without ceasing," and will prevent an unnecessary multiplication of "long prayers," "vain repet.i.tions," and "much speaking."

But to proceed. The children being a.s.sembled, should be desired to stand up, and immediately afterwards to kneel down, all close to their seats, and as silently as possible: those who are not strong enough to kneel, may be allowed to sit down. This being done, a child is to be placed in the centre of the school, and to repeat the following prayer:-

"O G.o.d, our heavenly Father, thou art good to us: we would serve thee; we have sinned and done wrong many times. Jesus Christ died on the cross for us. Forgive our sins for Jesus' sake; may the Holy Spirit change our hearts, and make us to love G.o.d; help us to-day to be good children and to do what is right. Keep us from wicked thoughts and bad tempers; make us try to learn all that we are taught; keep us in health all the day. We would always think of G.o.d, and when we die may we go to heaven. G.o.d bless our fathers and mothers, and sisters and brothers, and our teachers, and make us obedient and kind, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen."

Perhaps it would be better under all the circ.u.mstances, to use a simple prayer out of the Book of Common Prayer.

The children afterwards repeat the Lord's prayer, and then sing a hymn; for instance, the following:

When first the morning light we see, And from our beds arise, We to our G.o.d should thankful be, Who every want supplies.

'Twas G.o.d who made the brilliant sun, That gives all day its light; And it was G.o.d who made the moon And stars, which s.h.i.+ne at night.

The fish that in the water swim, The beasts upon the land, Were all created first by Him, And shew His mighty hand.

The food we eat, the clothes we wear, 'Tis G.o.d alone can give; And only by His love and care, Can little children live.

Then let us ever caution take, His holy laws to keep; And praise him from the time we wake, Until again we sleep.

Immediately after this they proceed to their lessons; which are fixed to what are called lesson-posts. To each of these posts there is a monitor, who is provided with a piece of cane for a pointer. This post is placed opposite to his cla.s.s; and every cla.s.s has one, up to which the monitor brings the children three or four at a time, according to the number he has in his cla.s.s. We have fourteen cla.s.ses, and sometimes more, which are regularly numbered, so that we have one hundred children moving and saying their lessons at one time. When these are gone through, the children are supplied with pictures, which they put on the post, the same as the spelling and reading lessons, but say them in a different manner. We find that if a cla.s.s always goes through its lessons at one post, it soon loses its attraction; and consequently, although we cannot change them from post to post in the spelling and reading lessons, because it would be useless to put a child to a reading post that did not know its letters, yet we can do so in the picture lessons, as the children are all alike in learning the objects. One child can learn an object as quick as another, so that we may have many children that can tell the name of different subjects, and even the names of all the geometrical figures, who do not know all the letters in the alphabet; and I have had children, whom one might think were complete blockheads, on account of their not being able to learn the alphabet so quickly as some of the other children, and yet those very children would learn things which appeared to me ten times more difficult. This proves the necessity of variety, and how difficult it is to legislate for children. Instead, therefore, of the children standing opposite their own post, they go round from one to another, repeating whatever they find at each post, until they have been all round the school. For instance, at No. 1 post there may be the following objects; the horse, the a.s.s, the zebra, the cow, the sheep, the goat, the springing antelope, the cameleopard, the camel, the wild boar, the rhinoceros, the elephant, the hippopotamus, the lion, the tiger, the leopard, the civet, the weazel, the great white bear, the hyena, the fox, the greenland dog, the hare, the mole, the squirrel, the kangaroo, the porcupine, and the rac.o.o.n. Before commencing these lessons, two boys are selected by the master, who perhaps are not monitors. These two boys bring the children up to a chalk line that is made near No. 1 post, eight at a time; one of the boys gets eight children standing up ready, always beginning at one end of the school, and takes them to this chalk line, whilst the other boy takes them to No. 1 post, and delivers them up to the charge of No. 1 monitor. No. 1 monitor then points to the different animals with a pointer, until the name of every one that is on his plate has been repeated; this done, he delivers them to No. 2 monitor, who has a different picture at his post; perhaps the following: the fishmonger, mason, hatter, cooper, butcher, blacksmith, fruiterer, distiller, grocer, turner, carpenter, tallow-chandler, milliner, dyer, druggist, wheelwright, shoemaker, printer, coach-maker, bookseller, bricklayer, linen-draper, cabinet-maker, brewer, painter, bookbinder. This done, No. 2 monitor delivers them over to No. 3 monitor, who may have a representation of the following African costumes: viz. Egyptian Bey, Ashantee, Algerine, Copts woman, Mameluke, native of Morocco, Tibboo woman, Egyptian woman, Fellah, Bedouin Arab, Turkish foot soldier, Maltese, Rosettan, native of Cairo, Turkish gentleman, Bosjesman, native of Coronna, native of Namacqua, Caffree, native of Tamaha, native of Ebo. Having repeated these, No. 3 monitor hands them over to No. 4, who perhaps has an engraved clock face, with hands composed of two pieces of wood, over which paper in the shape of clock hands has been pasted; he gives the children a lesson from this object, explains to them the difference between the minute and second-hand, shews them their uses, and points out the dots which mark the minutes, and the figures which divide it into hours, makes them count the seconds, and soon tell the hour. No. 4 then gives the cla.s.s to No. 5 monitor, who has at his post a representation of the mariner's compa.s.s; he explains its uses, shews them the cardinal points, tells them how it was discovered, and then he will move the hands around, beginning at the north, and making the children repeat as he moves the hands, north, north-north-east, north-east, east-north-east, east, east-south-east, south-east, south-south-east, south, south-south west, south-west, west-south-west, west, west-north-west, north-west, north-north-west, north. The degrees, &c., may be considered as going too far for infants; we therefore reserve them until we treat of juvenile schools. We have not thought it necessary to name all the points of the compa.s.s, but have confined ourselves to the princ.i.p.al ones. No. 5 then hands the cla.s.s to No. 6, who has on his post representations of the following fishes, viz., whale, sword fish, white shark, sturgeon, skate, John Dorey, salmon, grayling, porpoise, electrical eel, horned silure, pilot fish, mackerel, trout, red char, smelt, carp, bream, road goldfish, pike, garfish, perch, sprat, chub, telescope carp, cod, whiting, turbot, flounder, flying scorpion, sole, sea porcupine, sea c.o.c.k, flying fish, trumpet fish, common eel, turtle, lobster, crab, shrimp, star fish, streaked gilt head, remora, lump fish, holocenter, torpedo. No. 6, then gives the cla.s.s to No. 7; and as variety is the life and soul of the plan, his post may be supplied with a botanic plate, containing representations of the following flowers:-daffodil, fox-glove, hyacinth, bilberry, wild tulip, red poppy, plantain, winter green, flower de luce, common daisy, crab-tree blossom, cowslip, primrose, lords and ladies, pellitory of the wall, mallow, lily of the valley, bramble, strawberry, flowering rush, wood spurge, wild germander, dandelion, arrow-head. No. 8 monitor has on his post a set of geometrical figures, ill.u.s.trated by the representation of objects either natural or artificial of the same shape; thus a triangle ill.u.s.trated by one side of a pyramid, a square, a pentagon, a hexagon, a heptagon, an octagon, a nonagon, a decagon. No. 9 monitor has another set of geometrical definitions on the same principle, as a perpendicular line, a horizontal line, an oblique line, parallel lines, curved lines, diverging or converging lines, an obtuse angle, a circle. No. 10 a different set of geometrical shapes, viz. sociles-triangles, scolene-triangles, rectangle, rhomb, rhomboid, trapezoid, trapeziums, ellipse or oval. Having arrived at No. 11, the cla.s.s find here the European costumes, viz. Englishman, Frenchman, Russian, Swiss, Italian, German, Scotchman, Welchman, Irishman, Turk, Norwegian, Spaniard, Prussian, Icelander, Dutchman, Dane, Swede, Portugese, Corsican, Saxon, Pole. No. 11 monitor delivers them to No. 12, and there they may find pictures representing Negroes, Otaheiteans, Highlanders, American Indians, East Indians, Laplanders, Greeks, Persians, Sandwich Islanders, Turks, English, Chinese, Dutch, Tartars.

To enter into a thorough explanation of the uses to which such lessons as these may be applied would make a volume of itself, which at present I have no time to write[A]; but it may be necessary, for the sake of teachers generally, to shew the uses to which a few of them may be applied, and leave it to their own ingenuity to go on is a similar manner with the great variety of lessons we have of this description, and which infants are quite competent to learn. Take the European costumes as an example. When the children are thoroughly acquainted with each of the representations, and can name them themselves, or if too young to name them, can point them out if they are named by the teacher, they may then be told that the Englishman is born in a country called England, and that London is the capital, and that capital means the greatest town or city. Care must be taken that every thing is thoroughly explained, and that the pupils understand the meaning of the terms used. You then windup this much by telling the pupils that Englishman means the man, England the country, and London the chief city; that England is the country they live in, if you are teaching English children. That Frenchman means a man that lives in a country called France, which is separated from England by a part of the sea called the English channel; that Paris is the chief town or capital. The teacher may here mention some remarkable events connected with the history of France, and tell the children that France and England have been often fighting against each other, but that they are now at peace, and that we should be as kind and good to Frenchmen as to any other men, because G.o.d likes to see all men live friendly with each other. The children are then told that Russian means a man living and born in Russia; that Russia is a country where there is much ice and snow, and which is very cold; that Petersburgh is the chief town, and that the people of Russia drive over the ice and snow in sledges, which are carriages without wheels. That Swiss means an inhabitant of a country named Switzerland, which is almost in the centre of Europe, and has no sea near it; that it is a very pretty country, full of beautiful lakes and mountains; that a lake is a very great pond of water, and that mountains are very high rocky places, and that the tops of the mountains in Switzerland are always covered with snow; that the Swiss people are very brave, and fought very hard for their freedom, that is, that no other people should be masters over them; that the capital or chief town of Switzerland is Berne. When the teacher comes to the Italian, he will say that he is an inhabitant of a country called Italy, which is a very beautiful place; that Rome is the capital, and was once the greatest city in the world. In speaking of the Scotchman, the teacher may tell the children that Scotland is not separated from England by any sea, but the three countries called England, Scotland, and Wales, all form one island, which is entirely surrounded by the sea; that the people who live in the north, and cold parts of Scotland, are called Highlanders, and are very brave and hardy; that Edinburgh is the capital. When the Welchman is under the children's notice, the teacher will tell them that he lives in a pretty country called Wales, which is joined to England, that is, no sea divides them, that the chief town is London, although London is in England and not Wales, because Wales has been governed by the same king as England for many hundred years, and the eldest son of the King of England is called Prince of Wales. When the teacher points out the Irishman, he may tell his cla.s.s that he lives in an island near England, separated or divided from it by a part of the sea called the Irish Channel; that Dublin is the chief city, and that Ireland is governed by the same queen as England is. Speaking of the German, he may say that he lives in a country of which the chief town is Vienna. He may tell the children that the Turk lives in a country called Turkey; that it is a very warm place, and its chief town is Constantinople; that the Norwegian lives in a cold country called Norway, whose chief town is Christiana; that the Spaniard lives in a country called Spain, the chief town of which is Madrid; that many of the oranges we eat come from Spain; that the Prussian lives in a country called Prussia, the chief town of which is Berlin; that the Icelander lives in a very cold place, called Iceland, which is an island; that it is a place surrounded by water on every side; that there is a great mountain in Iceland which is called a burning mountain, because flames of fire often come out from the top of it. That the Dutchman lives in a country called Holland; that the people of that country are remarkable for being very clean, and that most of the dolls which little English girls play with, are made by children in Holland; that Amsterdam is the chief town or capital. The children are told that the Dane lives in a country called Denmark. The teacher may state that many hundred years back the Danes conquered England, but that a brave English king, called Alfred, drove them all away again; that Copenhagen is the capital or chief town; that the Swede lives in a country called Sweden, and that Stockholm is the chief town; that the Portuguese live in a country called Portugal, the capital of which is Lisbon; that the Corsican lives in an island called Corsica, the capital of which is Bastia; that the Saxon lives in a country called Saxony, the chief town of which is Dresden. In telling the children that the Pole lives in a country called Poland, the chief town of which was Warsaw, the teacher should explain to them that Poland has been conquered by the Russians, and taken from the Poles, and shew how unjust this was of the Russians, and also how the Poles fought very bravely to defend their country, but that the Russians being stronger, and having larger armies, they were at last overcome.

[Footnote A: I have since written a volume for juvenile schools; where the principles are carried out. This can be had of the publisher.]

Having in this manner told the children as simply as possible, a little about each country, the teacher should then tell the princ.i.p.al rivers; thus: The princ.i.p.al rivers of England are, the Thames, the Severn, the Trent, the Mersey. London, the capital of England, is is built on the banks of the River Thames; and s.h.i.+ps from all parts of the world sail up this river, to bring us various things which we could not get without sending to other countries for them; such as tea and coffee and sugar. The princ.i.p.al rivers of France are, the Seine and the Rhone; the Seine is the river on which the capital of France, Paris, is built. The princ.i.p.al rivers of Russia are, the Wolga, the Don, the Nieper, the Dwina, and the Vistula. The Wolga is a very great river, being three thousand miles long. The Rhine, which is one of the largest rivers in Europe, rises in Switzerland. The princ.i.p.al rivers of Italy are, the Po, the Arno, and the Tiber; the chief town of Italy, Rome, is built on the banks of the Tiber. Rome was once the greatest city in the world. The princ.i.p.al rivers of Germany are, the Danube, the Rhine, and the Elbe; of Scotland, the Clyde and Tweed; of Ireland, the Shannon, Barrow, Boyne, Suire, and Nore. The capital of Ireland, Dublin, is built on a small river called the Liffey. The princ.i.p.al rivers of Turkey are, the Danube and the Don; of Spain, the Guidalquiver; of Portugal, the Tagus, on which the chief town, Lisbon, is built; and of Saxony, the Iser. In the same manner the children may receive instruction fitted for their tender understanding, concerning the other parts of the globe, always keeping in mind that, unless they are made to comprehend thoroughly what is given to them, it is quite useless to attempt to give them the lessons at all. When giving the lessons on African costumes, the teacher should explain in the simplest manner, that the Egyptian Bey is the chief governor of a country in Africa called Egypt; that Africa is one of the four great parts into which our earth is divided; that the Nile is a great river flowing through Egypt, which, at certain times of the year, overflows its banks, and that this fertilizes the ground, and causes the corn to grow, which, but for this, would be withered with the sun, because but very little rain ever falls in Egypt; that the cause of the Nile overflowing its banks is, the great rains which fall in the countries from whence the Nile flows: that the Ashantee is an inhabitant of another country of Africa, where the people are very ignorant, and do not know as much as the little children of an infant school: that the Algerine lives in a part of Africa called Algiers: the people there are very wicked and cruel, and used at one time to take the s.h.i.+ps of every other country that they met on the seas, and make slaves of the people they found in them; but they cannot do so now, because the French have conquered them, and taken all their s.h.i.+ps from them: that the Bedouin Arabs are people who rove about from place to place, amongst the great sandy deserts of Africa, and rob travellers who are pa.s.sing over those deserts: the teacher should explain that these deserts are very large places, covered with sand, and the sun is so hot that no tree or shrub, or gra.s.s, will grow there, and there is no water to be had, so that travellers carry water in leathern bottles on the backs of camels; that camels are large animals, much larger than a horse, which are very useful in those warm countries, because they can carry very heavy loads on their backs, and go a great time without water. The Copts woman should be pointed out to the children, and notice should be taken of the large veil before her face. The Mameluke should be pointed out as belonging to a fierce tribe of soldiers. When speaking of the natives of Morocco, it should be mentioned that the Moors at one time had possession of Spain; that the Maltese is a native of an island called Malta; that Cairo (a picture of a native of which is in the lesson) is the chief city of Egypt. That the Bosjesman, native of Coronna, native of Namacqua, Caffree, native of Tamaka and of Ebo, belong to the savage nations of Africa, of which but little is known, who are of a black colour, and go with very little clothes on them, because the country is so warm.

From the lesson supposed to be at No. 12 lesson-post, a good deal of information may be given. The teacher may be thus supposed to address the children, pointing to each picture, as he describes it.

Little children, this is a picture of negroes: they live in Africa, but are often stolen from their own country to be made slaves of. Africa is a very hot part of the world, and the poor negroes are black, and have short black woolly hair, something like the hair on a black sheep; but we must not laugh at them for this; it was G.o.d who made them as well as he made you; and those poor negroes are very mild and quiet people, and like to amuse themselves by singing and dancing. You see the negroes in this picture; they are carrying a black lady in a kind of basket, called a palanquin: a pole goes through this, and they hold it on their shoulders. The next picture represents some of the people who live in a country called Otaheite; they are strong, stout people, and very mild and friendly. They are not black like the negroes; their complexion is of a pale brown, with black eyes and very handsome white teeth. The next picture represents Scotch Highlanders: they live in the cold parts of Scotland; they are very strong and healthy, and able to bear cold and hanger very well. They are fond of playing on the bagpipes. This is a picture of American Indians: they live in America, and are of a reddish colour; they build their huts in the thickest forests, as far from the white men as they can. The next is a picture of East Indians: their country is in the warmest part of Asia, and from it comes a great many beautiful things, such as ladies wear for shawls and dresses; there are a great many people in the East Indies, and twenty-five millions are subject to the Queen of England.

The Laplanders live in a very cold country, called Lapland, in which the ground is covered with snow all the year round; they are very happy notwithstanding, for G.o.d gives every people means to be happy, if they are good and love him; they have nice little huts to live in, and sledges to travel with, which are drawn by rein-deer-we will read about the rein-deer by and by. The Laplanders are kind to strangers, and are very brave, although they are the smallest people in the world.

This is a picture of Greeks: they were once a very great and powerful people, but afterwards the Turks conquered them; they have now, however, a king of their own.

The Persians, of whom this is a picture, live in a country of Asia called Persia, from whence the most beautiful silks, carpets, leather, gold and silver lace, and pearls, are brought. The Persian women are very handsome, and wear the most beautiful clothes of any women in the world-we should not like them the better for this, for handsome faces and fine clothes will not make people good or happy, unless they try to be so themselves.

This is a picture of the natives of the Sandwich islands: they are a very friendly people, and live together without fighting or quarrelling; they make mats and canoes, and the women make cloth.

The Turks (this is a picture of some of them) are very fine handsome people; they wear very long beards; and they shave their heads and wear white turbans instead of hair; they are very fond of drinking coffee and smoking from great long pipes.

The English are represented in this picture: you are English children-England is a very great country, and the Queen of England has many s.h.i.+ps in every part of the world; and a great many places, many thousand miles away, belong to England.

This picture represents the Swiss: they are a very brave, honest, good people, and their country is very beautiful; a great many clocks and watches are made in Switzerland.

This is a picture of the Chinese: they wear very curious dresses; and the ladies in China squeeze their feet very much, in order to make them small, which they think a great beauty. Tea comes from China, and is the leaf of a small plant.

This picture represents the Dutch: they are a very clean and industrious people, and the little children there are never idle.

The last picture represents the Tartars: they live in Asia, and wander about without any fixed dwelling, not staying in one place longer than while it gives them food for themselves and their horses, of which they have a great many. Horses are wild in Tartary.

The reader will at once perceive what a feast is afforded to the young mind in these object lessons; the objects are accurately copied from nature, and the costumes from the best sources, so that the infant mind is expanded by viewing a proper representation of the real thing through the fit organ, the eye. It is astonis.h.i.+ng what infants will learn through the sense of seeing, and it is remarkable that our systems of education for young and old, should not have been founded on a knowledge of the high importance of this medium for communication and information; the youngest child may learn to distinguish one object from another to an endless variety, and I could produce children who could point me out a thousand objects, if I called them by their proper names, who perhaps could not themselves name twenty of the objects out of the thousand; by this it will be seen we first give them the object, and language itself follows in due course.

Whenever a clear idea or notion is given to the mind by a picture or object, it is then easy to impart the information that is naturally connected with it; and this will then be most strongly retained, according to the law of a.s.sociation, which is one of the most important principles to be kept in view in imparting instruction to both young and old. Lead on FROM something known TO something unknown, is a golden rule,-a most valuable axiom that all teachers should ever bear constantly in mind. What important lessons may be given in a field, wood, or forest! How much better is the thing itself for a lesson, than the representation of it! And what a cla.s.s of teachers are wanted for this work? Yet sure I am that in due time the Great G.o.d will raise such up from amongst his people, to the glory of His name, and the benefit of succeeding generations. May greater minds than the humble writer of this, be called to work in this blessed vineyard for the good of the species, and for the diminution of crime; and, oh! may they be able to dive into the recesses of the wonderful works of G.o.d, to grapple with the difficulties therein found, and bring to light some of the hidden mysteries, for the instruction of mankind!

When this book was first written, thirty-two years ago, some of the ideas were universally scouted, yet I have lived to see the day that the very men who sneered at the views first made known in this book, adopt precisely the same principles, and even go much further that I ever intended, or even thought suitable for infant minds, and quietly puff this off as a new discovery in infant training; so much the better, portions of the public will hear them, and they would not listen to me; and if the end is answered, it is of little consequence through what means that end is gained. It is satisfactory to know that the principles first developed in the infant plan are found equally applicable to older children, and I have had the pleasure of seeing those principles carried out in many schools throughout the country, too numerous to mention individually.

It will be seen from what has been said that the plan of the children marching from one post to the other, is the very thing for infants, as exercising and developing their locomotive powers, a thing exceedingly desirable for young children. The great error of the old infant system, or in other words, the dame-school plan, was the keeping the pupils rivetted to their seats; here they are marching from one place to another, and get ting food for every sense. Take as another example the picture of the trades; the monitor says to his little pupils as they come up. What does a fishmonger sell, the answer is, fishes of many sorts, such as salmon, cod, herring, and mackerel. Q. What does a mason do? A. Cut stones into their proper shapes, polish some sorts, and cut ornaments on others. Q. What does a hatter sell? A. Hats, for men, women, and little children. Q. What does a cooper do? A. Mend casks and make them. Q. What does a butcher mean? A. One that sells beef, mutton, pork, &c. Q. What do they call butchers in Scotland? A. Fleshers. Q. What does a blacksmith mean? A. One that makes different things from iron, and sometimes shoes horses. Q. What does a fruiterer mean? A. A person that sells all sorts of fruits, such as apples, pears, plums, cherries, gooseberries, strawberries, &c. Q. What does a distiller mean? A. A man that makes rum, brandy, whiskey, and other liquors. Q. What does a grocer mean? A. A man that sells tea, coffee, sugar, spices, and many other things. Q. What does a carpenter mean? A. A man that cuts up wood, makes benches; it was a carpenter made our gallery. Q. What does a turner mean? A. A man who makes snuff-boxes, bed-posts; It was a turner who made the b.a.l.l.s on our arithmeticon. Q. What does a tallow-chandler mean? A. A man that buys and sells candles of different sorts. Q. What does milliner mean? A. A person that makes ladies' caps, tippets, and things for little children. Q. What does a dyer mean? A. A man that dyes cloths of different colours. Q. What does a druggist mean? A. One that sells drugs of different kinds, such as nutgalls, alum, bark, &c. Q. What does wheelwright mean? A. A man that makes carts, wheelbarrows, &c. Q. What does a shoe-maker do? A. Makes shoes for men and women and little boys and girls. Q. What does a printer do? A. Print lessons for little children to read; newspapers and books for men to read. Q. What does a coach-maker make? A. Coaches, gigs, omnibuses, cabs, and things of that sort. Q. What does a bookseller do? A. Sells books of different sorts, pictures, paper, sealing-wax, &c. Q. What does a bricklayer do? A. Builds walls, the brick part of houses, &c. Q. What does a linen-draper do? A. Sells linen to make s.h.i.+rts, printed calico to make frocks, and many other things of that kind. Q. What does a cabinet-maker do? A. Makes tables, chairs, and presses, and other things to furnish houses with. Q. What does a brewer do? A. Makes ale and porter. Q. What does a painter mean? A. One who paints insides of houses, doors, window shutters, and such things. Q. What does a bookbinder do? A. Puts covers on books.

These lessons being all supplied by me, more explanation in this place may be unnecessary, but as a further guide to teachers of infant schools, I subjoin a synopsis of a week's course of instruction which has been adopted in many schools.

SYNOPSIS OF A WEEK'S INSTRUCTION.

TIME.-Mornings. School to a.s.semble at nine o'clock, and to leave at twelve.

Afternoons. School to a.s.semble at two o'clock, and to leave at four in winter, and five in summer.

MONDAY.

Morning. When a.s.sembled, to offer the appointed prayer, after which a hymn is to be sung; then slates and pencils are to be delivered to the children; after which they are to proceed with their letters and spelling. At half-past ten o'clock to play, and at eleven o'clock to a.s.semble in the gallery, and repeat the picture lessons on natural history after the monitor in the rostrum.

Afternoon. Begin with prayer and hymn as in the morning; picture lessons on Scripture history to be repeated from the lesson-post, and to be questioned on them afterwards in the gallery.

TUESDAY.

Morning. Usual prayer and hymn. Letters and spelling from the lesson-posts. Play. Gallery; repeat the addition and subtraction tables.

Afternoon. Prayer and hymn. Multiplication table; the monitor asking the question, and the children answering. Reading lessons. Play. Gallery; numeration and spelling with bra.s.s figures and letters.

WEDNESDAY.

Morning. Prayer and hymn. Letters and spelling. Play. Gallery; master to teach geometrical figures and musical characters.

Afternoon. Prayer and hymn. Practice pence and s.h.i.+lling tables. Play. Gallery; master to give lessons on arithmetic. Extempore teaching on men and things, &c. &c.

THURSDAY.

Morning. Prayer and hymn. Letters and spelling. Division, weights, measures, and time, from the rostrum. Play. Gallery; same lessons as Monday morning.

Afternoon. Prayer and hymn. From the lesson-posts epitome of geometry and natural history. Gallery; bra.s.s letters and figures. Extempore teaching on men and things, taking care that all such teaching shall be ill.u.s.trated by substances.