sap to his flowers. He can develop mind, can find out the channels nature has grooved for knowledge to enter: He may talk his own knowledge till doomsday, but if the child's mind does not open to receive it, he might as well tell it to the winds. But he can lead that mind up the steps of learning, and show it the wide, beautiful landscape, the Delectable Hills in the distance, and the glory of the city beyond-but no more! What, then, should be the standard of a teacher's royalty, and his fitness for his labor? The power to control and guide mind, and not the largeness or profoundness of his learning.

As a ground-work of education, the child should be made familiar with nature. But how can it be done? How can the public school teacher stop for such simple, outside instruction? "Like teacher, like pupil," is a trite but suggestive saying. In the crowded city schools, such "way-side " knowledge may not be made a "regular course," yet it must be an unusual case where a faithful, sympathetic teacher cannot scatter much of the beautiful among his labors; and as a help, there is nothing equal to the blackboard, and a familiar talk on natural history or botany. Never a spare moment should pass without some statement concerning the great world in which we live. That world is enormous to them, and should be brought down to their comprehension by facts that can have a direct representation to their perceptive faculty. Instead of the numberless punishments and fretful scoldings that disgrace the teacher rather than pain the pupil, let the teacher go to the blackboard and silently and gracefully cover it with the little objects of every day life, and to make which, not a child in the room but would give all he possessed. I am not an artist, neither do I wish to advance one branch of study above another. I only know that a child's mind instinctively sees the beautiful; that it has a sort of sympathetic yearning for it; and if we would have him grasp it, we must work with him through the common things of life. Especially is this so with the poor, who do not find it in their homes. Such knowledge should not be compulsory, but thrown in as a recreation and a rest-as the sunlight bursts from the clouds, or

"Like foot-prints hidden by the brook,

Yet seen on either side."

The children of our public schools should be trained to draw on the board the rare specimens of our ornithology or lepidoptera. If one wishes to know the influence of such training, let him sit in the crowded assemblies that are so fortunate as to hear the great Agassiz, and watch their wonderfully pleasant expressions, as with one sweep of his hand, Agassiz places his bugs and fishes on the board. And what that master is to, the larger school, any teacher may be to the smaller! All teaching can be based on the percep

tions.

ALVARADO, Alameda Co.

THE LITERARY MAN.

THE literary man, whose principal profession is to cultivate his own talents while developing those of others, concentrates in the one darling object of his peculiar ambition all the energy, activity, and interest that are wont to be dissipated in the various occupations of other men. Jealous of multiplying and extending his ideas, he explores the stream of ages to its source, examining the distant monuments of antiquity, to decipher, from traces often almost effaced, the mystic characters that afford the key to the wisdom and philosophy of the sages of antiquity. He converses with them in their own language, availing himself of it to enrich his vernacular. He roams through the vast domain of foreign literature, and bears home abundant spoils to augment the treasure of his national classics. Gifted with a happy organization, which enables him to love the beautiful and true in every department of nature, science, and art, he lets narrow and prejudiced spirits vainly endeavor to measure all talents and characters by one unvarying standard, and enjoys the fruitful and sublime variety that nature affords to charm, instruct, and benefit mankind.

To the man of letters, every truth is a conquest-every masterpiece an enjoyment. Nothing good or praiseworthy is lost to him. It was for him that Virgil breathed such enchanting harmony into the meter of his verse; that Racine shed so mild a light into the chambers of tender souls; that Tacitus cast such lurid flames

into the depths of the souls of tyrants. He it was that Montesquieu addressed when pleading the cause of humanity; Fenelon, when he invested virtue with such a halo of celestial light. Accustomed to draw equally from his own reflections, and those of others, he is neither alone in seclusion, nor a stranger in society. Whether he treads with measured step the mazy paths of mathematical investigation, or loses himself in the enchanting world of imagination and poetry, he never tries to lay prostrate his competitors for distinction, or depreciate their efforts with a view to enhancing the merit of his own productions. Far from being jealous at the number or success of the aspirants after fame, the genuine literary man, surveying with tranquility the field of his labors, can always behold new monuments to be raised, and a position of distinction and usefulness to be attained.

L.

[For The California Teacher.]

REMARKS ON SPELLING.

BY PHILO.

I HAVE read with pleasure, in various numbers of "THE TEACHER,' several excellent articles on spelling; one of them by a "lady," in which she proposes that each of the teachers should make known any method practiced by them which, in their experience, has proved the most successful. I for one cheerfully accept the proposition, and throw my mite into the "general fund of the teacher's stockin-trade" information. Some time ago my mind was considerably exercised in relation to the subject of spelling. This arose from two considerations, which, in order to bring before the reader as they appeared to my mind, I will put in the form of questions. 1st. What is the reason that so many persons, who profess to have received an education, are such poor spellers? 2d. What is the best method of teaching children, so that they cannot fail to become good spellers? The answer to the first question appeared to me to be simply this either that they were not instructed in the art of spelling far enough to see the reason why words are spelled as they are, or, if they were, they certainly are very negligent in applying

them to practical use. The endeavor to answer practically the second question, has led me to try several experiments. I have sometimes tried well known methods, such as putting the words of the lesson to the class in rotation, and afterwards asking them promiscuously, or "dodging," as it is sometimes called. Then again I have appointed" captains," and told them to "choose up," and try to spell each other down. Oftentimes I have drilled classes so that the several members of them have kept their places for days together, until I have thought, "well, they certainly do know the lessons now; they will not forget them this time! But, lo and behold, in giving out the self-same words a few days after as a basis for a composition, I found that all manner of mistakes had been made in writing them! As likely as not, starting would be spelled with three t's, and stopping with one p. I attributed instances like these to the fact that the attention of the pupils was directed more immediately to the writing. I finally adopted the following plan, which I have found to be attended with happy results. Let each pupil write out his spelling-lesson upon his slate in a perpendicular column, as it is in the book (this may be varied sometimes by writing in horizontal lines, as in composition). When the pupils have done this, let the teacher pass around and examine their slates, correcting any errors he may find, giving directions as to the formation of the letters, mark of accent, etc. When writing in perpendicular columns the pupil should not be allowed to rule lines to assist him in writing the words straight, because causing him to write without lines is the best way to teach him not to be dependent upon them. When the teacher has satisfied himself that the writing is correct, let such pupils as cannot write legibly learn the lesson from their books; but those who can write a fair hand may study it from their slates. It will be a profitable exercise to let them change slates frequently, and examine each other's work; by this means they will become accustomed to different styles of writing and be able to read them readily; and they will also detect errors in the writing of others, which they have overlooked in their own. After they have studied their lessons a sufficient time, let them recite in the usual way. It may be that this plan will seem rather strange to some of the pupils at first, but they will soon get used to it and take delight in it. By the time the scholars

have written out the lesson it will be more than half learned, because of the care and pains they have necessarily taken in copying it. The name and number of the letters of which words are composed become impressed on the mind through the eye, so that if there are too few or too many letters in a word, the pupil will see that there is something about it not exactly right. As soon as pupils are able to understand the rules for forming desirable words, they should be thoroughly instructed and frequently drilled in them; by this means they will know the reason why words are spelled thus and so, and have rules to guide them. This plan of writing out will greatly assist pupils in learning the hard words in a reading lesson; and in fact it may be applied to all the studies, as, for instance, to the rules in arithmetic, to groups of islands, rivers and their branches, in geography; in grammar to the words and tenses, and in history to important events, chronological order, etc., while at the same time it gives facility with the pen, thus making ready writers. One word more: Whenever a scholar says that a lesson is hard, and thinks he can't learn it, tell him to write it out forthwith; in doing so he will imperceptibly master it, and the idea of "can't do it," will have vanished from his mind. With regard to instructing very young children in spelling, in my humble opinion the best way is short and oft-repeated lessons, combined with "object teaching" as this exercises the perceptive faculties, which are the first in the natural order of development.

"Low READING.". "What shall be done to cause pupils to read in a louder tone?" When a pupil speaks so as not to be distinctly understood, ask him what he said. If he still speaks in a low tone appear not to understand him, and continue to request him to repeat till he gives the desired amount of voice and clearness. If the teacher will do this in every case, low reading or low reciting will be the least of his troubles. He should speak in his common voice, and without an effort to arrest the attention of the school or class. VERBUM SAT.