attention should be paid to the accent and manner of speaking and reading English in Scotland, Ireland, and those parts of England, where there is a vicious pronunciation; schoolmasters should be brought from other places, where there is no peculiarity of tone or idiom. Much of the disgust and labour of learning to read may be saved by adopting in these schools Mr. Lancaster's, or rather Dr. Bell's method; the same may be used in teaching practical facility in arithmetic; and might perhaps be advantageously extended to grammar; parsing exercises might thus be given in classes. But all these technical methods must be accompanied with rational explanations of the lessons, and of the principles of the rules, in which the pupils are practised: otherwise this apparent expedition and facility will not really improve the pupils: they will only be arithmetical and reading machines; they must be taught to think, or they will not afterwards be able to make any further progress without the aid of their masters, their keys, and their rules. Instead of pressing forward the pupils to astonish parents by the rapidity of their progress, masters should patiently and courageously conquer by delay. They should make the children understand, as much as possible, the reason of all they do; in arithmetic* they should give the rationale of the rules, and be content to go slowly, that they may proceed surely; in reading, they should not suffer a sentence or an idea to pass that is not understood: in grammar they should in the first schools explain merely the nature of verbs, nouns, substantives and the different parts of speech. In the secondary schools for boys of nine or ten years old, the principles of general grammar should be explained; and masters should avail

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themselves of the profound discoveries of Tooke*, and of the practical experience of the ingenious Sicard'. It may be objected-it will and must be objected by hundreds of old schoolmasters, who have grown dull and positive in their own routine, that this explanation of the principles of grammar would not forward the pupils, and that it is much better, or at least safer, to go on regularly through old Lilly's Quæ genus, Propria quæ maribus, and As in præsenti, instead of plaguing them with metaphysical explanations.

There is something in the words metaphysics and metaphysical, which puts to flight the understanding, and rouses the fears and prejudices of whole tribes of ushers and pedagogues, and of some parents, who have been subjugated to the belief, that nothing can be well or expeditiously taught, but what is learnt technically, that is, in most cases, without understanding in the least what is lodged in the safe custody of the memory. Frederick the Great was once inoculated by a certain ignorant General Buddenbrock with this diseased aversion to metaphysics. The general was superintending governor of Frederick's military school, and having quarrelled with one of the professors, revenged himself by complaining to the king, that the boys were taught grammar metaphysically, and that metaphysics would puzzle their understandings, and ruin the institution. The literary monarch sent for the professor,

* Epea Pteroenta, or the Diversions of Purley.

1 Grammaire par Sicard, the able and benevolent instructor of the deaf and dumb at Paris.

and in a most able and sarcastic declamation brought forth all the arguments, that ancient or modern times could produce against metaphysics. The professor's answer, if we make due allowance for the formal division of the subject into the first place, and the second place, and third place, is far superior in ability to the monarch's eloquent attack. The distinctions between useful and useless metaphysics, the necessity for having recourse to what are called refined explanations in teaching children general and rational grammar, were stated with so much perspicuity, that the imperious, the enlightened Frederick sat in motionless attention for half an hour, and then exclaimed, “I have listened to you, and I believe that I under"stand you perfectly, Sir, and am happy to have given you an opportunity of convincing me by your reasons." General Buddenbrock was ordered to interfere no more with the explanation of grammar. Hoping that what convinced the understanding of Frederick may have some power over the attention of those who will be too modest to claim an equality with him in talents, the professor's defence is inserted in the appendix to this volume: and after having read it, parents and preceptors will probably no longer be alarmed by the species of metaphysical lessons, which are here recommended for initiatory schools.

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It is sufficient here briefly to observe, that metaphysics are of two sorts: those which treat of subjects beyond the reach of mortal faculties, such as the nature of the soul when separate from the body; free-will and necessity, and such subjects as Milton makes the fallen angels discuss :

The other class of metaphysics is popular: it unfolds the general principles upon which arts and sciences are founded; it leads the understanding to deduce, by a regular chain of reasoning, those formulas by which technical knowledge may commodiously be taught to numbers. The uncouth terms of logic, and the crabbed rules of grammar, are founded upon principles that are not beyond the capacities of children. The impatience of youth submits to labour, the end and use of which is explained, though even imperfectly explained to them. Taught by reason, they become reasonable: under the continued slavery of unintelligible dogmas, they lose in understanding what they acquire in words. Hence the disgust which the first rudiments of Latin usually inspire. Happy the children whose parents or preceptors have taught them in a few hours of their early years the simple easy explanation of the eight tremendous parts of speech! After the principles of universal grammar have been thus taught, Latin grammar will be learned so much more readily than when it is learned without any previous explanation, that the time which seems to have been lost will really be gained. People are sometimes surprised at the difference between children who have been well and ill taught, and they do not know exactly in what that difference consists; they observe

that some children do not spend so many hours of the day at their books as others do, therefore it cannot be merely from hard labour that they acquire their facility; they seemed perhaps rather backwarder in learning than others of their age, and yet suddenly they spring forward and surpass their competi tors. The difference consists in this; the successful pupils learned the first principles of knowledge clearly; the others were taught only by rote. These were taught to reflect and understand; those merely to repeat and remember. The repeaters made a greater figure at first, because they had words put into their mouths; but, as there was no source of thoughts, the words soon eeased to flow.

In these initiatory schools where there are few pupils, and where the preceptor's attention may be directed to each individual, as well as to the good of the whole, it would be as easy as in a large private family to continue to direct professional education. In conversation or in reading, subjects which might exercise young lawyers in their powers of recollective and retentive memory, might be introduced without rendering pupils disputatious. Experiments in chemistry, and some knowledge of natural history, would be useful, not only to the young physician, but to pupils of every description : and without difficulty they might acquire some knowledge of botany and of anatomy. Children are not easily fatigued when their senses are actively employed; if they do not see too many objects at a time, they retain clear ideas, and thus their power of memory is cultivated, whilst they advance in the knowledge both of things and names. In towns, and even in country places, whenever a sufficient number of