have extended, we should say that the religious principles of the Society are in accordance with the old-fashioned views of that portion of our clergy called Evangelical; loving and honouring our invaluable establishment, but at the same time holding out the right-hand of fellowship to nonconformists of acknowledged orthodoxy and vital godliness.

To return to Dr. Mayo. He describes, in the following glowing language, what an Infant School teacher ought to be. Where, alas, shall we look for the original :

"Let him be some man of God, whose heart, warm with the consciousness of God's forgiving love, delights to dwell on his Redeemer's goodness, and prompts him, with the genuine warmth of actual experience, to be telling of his salvation from day to day. Let him be one who will not tire of that theme, because it is the truth he lives on himself, and which he feels to be fruitful of peace and joy. Orthodoxy of opinion, though necessary, is not sufficient; there must be a breathing vitality about his religion, an animating energy about his piety, that shall make him, with God's blessing, the spiritual father of a numerous race. He must be a man of prayer; no human power can accomplish the work before him; he must look, and stedfastly look, to those everlasting hills, from whence cometh his help. With prayer must he gird himself for his work; in the spirit of prayer, must he carry it on; in the incense of prayer, must the offering of his day's exertion ascend before the throne. He must be a man mighty in the Scriptures; line must be upon line, precept upon precept; the word of God must be in his mouth, in all its varied fitness; a word of instruction, a word of reproof, a word of warning, a word of encouragement. Does some difficulty arise ?—ever must he interrogate himself,-What saith the Scripture? Is some truth to be proposed ?-still must he preface it with, Thus saith the Lord! He must be a man in whom is the mind of Christ; looking to Jesus every step he takes, he must learn of him, who was meek and lowly of heart. He was the teacher sent from God, and all men must be taught of Him before the work of the Lord can prosper in their hands. He did not strive nor cry, neither did any man hear his voice in the streets; the bruised reed he did not break, the smoking flax he did not quench. Would the earthly teacher walk in his steps? Let these words be graven on his heart: The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men; apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves."-(pp. 16, 17.)

On the religious instruction of Infant Schools the same writer says:--

"In an Infant School each course of instruction should be short, and an introductory course to the whole set should be periodically repeated, at short intervals, for the convenience of new comers. Thus the teacher should commence his systematic religious instruction with the subject-matter of the four first chapters of Genesis, and then proceed to bring before his class the leading features in the history of our blessed Lord. This course would contain the leading points on which all scriptural instruction should turn. The creation of the world, the fall of man, and the consequences of sin, would appear in the Old Testament portion; the New Testament portion would exhibit the course which divine mercy has pursued for the restoration of man, through the incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension of the Redeemer, and the gift of the Spirit. This plan seems to unite the most advantages; it places the knowledge of the disease before that of the remedy, and yet does not

defer too long the knowledge of the latter. But if the teacher commenced with the New Testament, our Lord's coming into the world would be treated on, before the necessity of his doing so had been made apparent; and on the other hand, if the teacher were to travel through the Old Testament before he reached the New, he would scarcely in the course of his instruction reach the most important part, that which is calculated to exercise the best influence on the infant mind."-(pp. 9, 10.)

The well-known author of "Lessons on Objects," a work already in the hands of every good teacher of youth, has been from the commencement an active member of the Ladies' Committee of the Institution, and has devoted a large portion of her time to its superintendence. She is the writer of the latter part of the work of which we have been speaking, as well as of three others on our list.

In "Practical Remarks" she divides early Education under four heads. 1, Religious; 2, Moral; 3, Intellectual; 4, Physical.

After recommending the course of religious instruction sketched out by her brother, she gives the following hints on the same subject:

"Before a teacher begins a Scripture lesson, he should endeavour to prepare the children's minds to take an interest in the subject of it; this may be done by exciting their curiosity, and finding some point in their own experience analogous to the one it is wished to bring before them. Suppose you are going to give your first lesson on the creation of all things by Almighty power; you should prepare them to receive the truth and to be interested in it, by leading them to the consideration of what man can make-what he requires before he is able to make any thing-what he cannot make-who must have made the things that man could not have made; when their attention and interest are thus drawn to the point desired, then shew from the Bible how God in the beginning created, or made out of nothing, the heavens and the earth.

"Study to present the subject of every lesson in a simple, clear, and striking manner; the great fault in oral instruction in general is, that it is diffuse and rambling. When you get interested in the subject, many ideas will suggest themselves, and you will be in danger of not observing whether the children keep pace with you; but remember, the great point is, not how much you can say, but how much they can receive with advantage. Your endeavour in each lesson should be to imprint on their memories one simple fact, one important truth, or influential precept. Let the whole instruction more or less tend to the one point; and do not ingeniously endeavour to see how many different parts of Scripture you can hang on to the lesson, for by so doing you distract the children's attention from the main subject, and weaken its interest.

"Again, do not treat children as mere recipients of knowledge, but bring their minds into activity by questions calling forth thought, and by so presenting truth to them that they will seek and grasp it for themselves; they then, in addition to the knowledge communicated, improve the power of thinking and acquiring habits of investigation. Endeavour to engage all the school to feel an interest in some part of the lesson, if they cannot understand the whole; and before closing, repeat the substance of it in condensed, simple language."-(pp. 26-28.)

Of Pictures, she speaks as follows:

"Pictures have been much resorted to as helps in early education, parti cularly those on religious subjects! but they have been made too much playthings-and subjects have been chosen altogether unfit for pictorial representation, so that the most erroneous impressions have been conveyed by them. Pictures are, however, very useful in enabling the teacher to gain the attention of the whole school, and by exciting a general interest, may lead to profitable conversation and instruction. The impressions received through the medium of the sight, are among the most vivid and lasting; and Scripture history, which has been studied from prints in childhood, is generally, in after years, very easily recalled, with all the minute circumstances and associations connected with it. The pictures should, however, be used with caution; the representation should not be given when the real object can be obtained, as the former will produce comparatively vague and indefinite ideas-pictures easily recal ideas, which have been originally gained from an examination of the thing itself, but they are a poor substitute in the first instance. They answer best for artificial objects, such as machinery or implements of labour. It does not appear desirable to hang them round the room, for they lose their interest if constantly seen; neither should they be used too frequently, for children must not be accustomed to expect excitement. A judicíous teacher will see when such helps, by furnishing a little variety to the usual routine of instruction, may prove useful; perhaps the introduction of a new pupil would be a good opportunity for a picture-lesson,-it being important that the first impressions of the school-room should be those of cheerful happiness." -(pp. 34, 35.)

At the risk of multiplying extracts from a work, which having now reached a third edition must be tolerably well known, we shall continue our attention to this volume, because it is acknowledged to be the text-book of the Institution; the work first put into the hands of the teachers on their entrance, and in daily use during their stay; whilst the rules for Infant School Teachers, with which it closes, are held of paramount authority.

On Moral Education, Miss Mayo writes:

"One of the first impressions that a teacher should endeavour to make on children's minds, with a view to their moral education, is the conviction of their responsibility to God. They must be taught that they are not at liberty to sin,-that it is not a matter of indifference how they behave, so that they injure no one,-but, that on the contrary, they will be called to account for the omission of what is right, as well as the commission of what is wrong. With the knowledge of their responsibility, let the impression that the eye of the Lord is ever upon them be connected, that their habitual feeling may be, 'Thou God seest me.'

"It is very important also to accustom them to consider their right position in society, and their consequent duties. Teach them that the different grades of rank are established by the Lord, and that each has its appointed work, as each member of our body has its peculiar office. By leading them to look to God as the disposer of their lot, and to themselves as unworthy recipients of his mercies, you will promote a spirit of cheerfulness and contentment, and a desire of rendering to all their due.

"In order to correct that selfish principle which disposes us to view things through a false medium, considering more what others owe to us than what we owe to them, bring before them the claims of their companions-of their master-of their parents-of God. Teach them to consider their actions in reference to these claims, and see that they not only acknowledge the principle, but that they carry it out into practice; for it is essential, whilst awaken

ing feelings and instilling principles, to cultivate moral habits; and habits are formed by the frequent repetition of an action. Call upon them, in their intercourse with each other, to exercise kindness and sympathy. Your own conduct should awaken the feeling, and the habit will be formed if the children be stimulated to little acts of kindness and tenderness. Self-denial also may be called into action by encouraging a readiness to give up their own pleasures and privileges to administer to some less favoured companion; and in their daily intercourse abundant opportunities will occur for the formation of a disposition to forbear and to forgive."—(pp. 37–40.)

On Intellectual Education, she says:

"Nature, our great Teacher, points out how we may carry on the work effectually. We are to commence, as she does, by cultivating the different senses of the infant, through the means of real tangible objects. Thus let the sight be trained to determine colour, size, form, distance, number; let the ear be exercised in different kinds of sounds, and their degrees of intensity, in determining various substances by the sounds they produce; in like manner, let the other senses be brought into activity, by presenting them with appropriate objects. The judgments of the children must be subsequently corrected, by appeals to their senses, and they must learn to express accurately what they have observed correctly. Here is the great business of infant education, and so far the rich and the poor require to be treated alike. A correct acquaintance with the world they live in, is equally essential to both; and whilst such training will form the useful mechanic, and the observant labourer, it will no less prove the basis of scientific research and philosophical reasoning in those whose subsequent education is directed to such pursuits. Infant-school teachers should always bear in mind, that with respect to intellectual culture, their one great object must be to exercise and to improve the senses."-(pp. 56, 57.)

She proceeds :

"To attain this end, lessons on objects should form a prominent feature in all Infant Schools; at first the selection might be miscellaneous, but in every lesson the teacher should have some definite aim. The children should examine the objects presented to them; and any simple experiment which renders their qualities obvious, should be performed in their sight; they should then be called upon to mention their qualities, parts, (if the object has any peculiar parts) and uses: to discover what qualities fit them for their particular uses-occasionally having their attention directed by a question, but never having a name given to them till they feel their need of it. The name will not communicate to a child the original idea, but the idea being formed by means of perception, a name fixes it upon the memory, and is the means of communication with others. Children derive little pleasure from words, whilst they are all activity when called to observe things; the reason is obvious, words are only the signs of ideas, and there must be a clear notion of the thing signified before the sign can be of use.

"In commencing a course of lessons on objects, the first substance chosen should be one in which some quality exists in a striking degree; the cause, it may be, of its usefulness, as in glass, transparency; or in sugar, sweetness. Care should be taken, in the course of a few days, to present a different object, in which the same quality is obvious, that the abstract idea may be formed. In this way a series of objects should be brought before the children, for the purpose of making them acquainted with all the several qualities cognizable by their external senses. This plan has been adopted in the first series of Lessons on Objects; ' and might be carried out to a greater extent: but teachers should endeavour fully to understand the principle upon which these, or any other model lessons are formed, otherwise they will be

continually making mistakes in the application of them, and be unable to carry them out with effect."-(pp. 57–59.)

On Physical Exercises :

"Much attention ought to be paid by teachers to the physical condition of the children; not only is it important, because the seeds of many diseases spring up from early neglect, but the state of the moral feelings and intellectual powers are closely connected with the well-being of the bodily frame. The limbs and muscles are to be strengthened by exercises, which should be so varied, that all the muscles may be brought into play, and acquire vigour. It is the custom in Infant Schools, to introduce marching, and various evolutions, such as clapping hands, stamping the feet, &c. The advantages of these exercises are two-fold; first, as prompt and full obedience can be more easily obtained to a physical, than to a moral act, it is the best plan that can be adopted for producing order and promoting discipline. Secondly, it is essential to the health of little children, that they should not remain long in one position. God does not bestow upon them a propensity to continual restlessness, but with a view to their good, and this should be our guide in the manner of treating it. Whilst however any Infant School would be fundamentally defective, in which such exercises were omitted, it should be recollected for what object they are introduced; in some schools they are carried to such an excess, that instead of being an occasional relief, when the spirits flag, or the body is weary, they become the cause of continual excitement and bustle, and the school-room is, in fact, little better than a play-ground. This is an error into which teachers are apt to fall, who do not know how to employ the minds of their pupils, and are incompetent to carry on effectually the work they have undertaken.”—(pp. 83, 84.)

And she closes this useful volume as follows:

:

"The great means by which the mental, moral, and physical powers are to be improved, is by exercise; this has been well set forth in a modern work on education, with an extract from which, and an earnest prayer for the Divine blessing on your labours, I shall close these remarks:-The law of exercise is of universal application. It is a fundamental law of nature, that all the capacities of man are enlarged and strengthened by being used. From the energies of a muscle up to the highest faculty, intellectual or moral, repeated exercise of the function increases its intensity. Inseparable from the very idea of exercising the faculties, and of course from the practice of that exercise, is the requisition of exercising each faculty upon the objects which nature points out as related to it. Muscular strength is to be gained by familiarising the muscles with the resistance of external forces, and by the habit of conquering mechanical difficulties, varied to exercise all the muscles, which amount to several hundreds in the human frame. The senses are improved by long and particular training, applying each to its object;-sight, by habitual looking at distant or minute objects; hearing, by accurate practice in the perception of sounds; taste, in the discriminating use of the palate. In the same manner, the observing faculties are rendered acute, and diversified by the constant practice of observation of details in existing objects, their qualities, and of passing events. The same law extends to the moral world. For the exercise of justice, the child must be made aware of his own and his neighbour's rights, and be habituated practically to respect them in all contingencies. For the exercise of benevolence, the habit of repressing the selfish feelings, and of actually doing good, kind, compassionate, and generous things, not by fits, but as a steady unvarying principle of action, will be found indispensable."-(pp. 92-94.)

"Model Lessons" are not only for the instruction of children,