superiority of the works of God, to the most ingenious contrivances of man ?-From "Fifth Book of Lessons."

Ex. (b) In some countries the pith of the sago palm, the fruit of the breadfruit tree, the root of the esculent fern, and similar food supplied spontaneously by nature, serve to maintain a thinly scattered and easily satisfied population; but man in these rude circumstances is invariably found depraved in body and in mind, and hopelessly incapable of bettering his condition But the cultivation of corn, while it furnishes him with a supply of food for the greater part of the year, imposes upon him certain labours and restraints which have a most beneficial influence upon his character and habits.-From "Royal Reader" No. VI.

Ex. (c) The atmosphere is thinner and lighter in proportion as we ascend, so that, to leave a given weight of it behind, the ascent must be greater the higher the situation where the experiment is made. The rule, therefore, of one inch of mercury for a thousand feet holds true only for rough estimates near the surface of the earth.

The precise calculation, however, for any case, is still very easy, and a good barometer, with a thermometer attached, and with tables, or an algebraical formula founded on observation of all the influencing circumstances, enables us to ascertain elevations much more easily, and in many cases more correctly, than by trigonometrical survey.-From "National Reading Book" No. VI.

The method of marking for spelling is as follows:-For the first error of spelling one mark is to be deducted, and for each subsequent error an additional mark. The descending scale therefore is

60, 59, 57, 54, 50, 45, 39, 32, 24, 15, 5,-6, &c.

A specimen paper marked is subjoined.

SPECIMEN PAPER.

ARMY SCHOOLS.

Army Form C 313 (late W.O. Form 1196).

Examination Paper (for all exercises except those in Arithmetic of Candidates for 1st, 2nd and 3rd class Certificates of Education).

Soldier's Rank and Name, Private Thomas Atkins, Regt., 1st Blankshire Buffs. Station, Utopia. Date, 1st June, 1884.

Marks.

Spelling, 45
Writing 24

adminstration

The administration (59) was carried on according to the constitution, treaties were concluded by the ministers in their cabinet, and submitted for approval 69 to the sovereign; the privy council was consulted on the affairs of the empire and loyal subjects sent representatives to parliament.

tourniments (57)

At brilliant feasts and splendid tournaments collected the flower of chivalry; magnificent balls, where beauty and delicious music enchanted the assembled nobles, gave new splendour to society, exited (54)

polished the manners and excited the admiration of the ancient inhabitants; who, charmed by such elegance, recognised in their conquerors persons of intellegence (50)

endevoured (45)

superior intelligence, admired them, and endeavoured to imitate their fashions.

HANDWRITING.

This branch of the subject of dictation is important, since two-fifths of the total marks are allotted to it.

It is estimated by the following rules :

:

For handwriting of a very superior character indeed, 35 to 40 marks.

For a good, legible hand, 25 to 34 marks.

For an inferior hand, which is yet quite legible, and is in other respects sufficiently good for practical purposes, 16 to 24 marks.

For a bad hand, not easily legible, 10 to 15 marks.

NOTE.-Marks may be entirely refused for very bad handwriting, and in such case no certificate is awarded.

The reader will thus see that the criterion of a good handwriting is its legibility. No particular style is required, but that is accounted the best which is most easily read.

A bad style is often acquired for the want of a few hints, and it then becomes difficult for a writer to improve his hand, but not impossible. It is worth while to practice a good style, for in the Army, as elsewhere, a clear hand and a clear brain, are sure to meet with recognition.

Indifferent writing is always improved, and a good hand frequently made better by faithfully attending to the following directions:

Place the book or paper so that all its sides are parallel to the sides of the writing table.

Rest the thick part of the right arm lightly, that the weight of the arm only, rests on the edge of the table.

Sit firmly on the seat. A slight forward inclination of the head and body from the perpendicular is necessary, but neither stoop nor lean the chest too much forward, as these practices are not only ungraceful and detrimental to the ease and freedom of good writing, but injurious to the health. Turn halfway to the right, with the left foot straight to the front, the right foot carried 14 or 16 inches to the right, both placed flat on the floor, and each leg from the foot to the knee perpendicular. There must be neither stiffness nor constraint, but a graceful and easy posture.

Lean slightly to the left, sustaining the pressure by the left elbow, the thick part of the arm, and to some extent with the left leg; the object being to resist all pressure towards the right hand, and allow it the utmost freedom of action.

The left arm must be placed nearly parallel as a rule, but the point of the elbow must be kept near the table's edge, or the chest will lean against it. The fingers of the left hand are used to keep the paper in position, and gently move it upwards as occasion requires, thus allowing the right arm to keep its place.

The right wrist is held flat or nearly so, the pressure of the hand being equally supported by the tip of the little finger which acts as a pivot, and the heel of the wrist.

The third or ring finger should be curved, the first joint resting on the corresponding joint of the fourth finger. It is frequently a difficulty to place this finger nicely, and if the above position does not suit the shape of the hand, it should be so disposed that it will lie passively between the middle and little fingers, without interfering with their movements.

The pen must be put against the midfinger just under the nail, its point being or of an inch from the end of the finger, and against the forefinger between the second joint and the knuckle. It is held in this position by the point of the thumb, placed opposite the first joint of the forefinger, this finger being placed directly on the pen. The thumb is bent outwards. The fore and mid-fingers are held as straight as possible, but care must be taken that the pen does not fall below the Kuckle, or a

loss of power over the pen is felt, the fingers and thumb immediately pressing against one another, and the hand, and therefore the writing becomes cramped. It must always be borne in mind that the first two fingers are the active agents in forming the characters; and they only which give the pressure to thicken the down strokes; the use of the thumb being to hold the pen in position.

The nib should be divided equally between the points to make an accurate down stroke, thus::

To ensure the same angle throughout a line, the pen must be held parallel to the right and left sides of the paper. Some good writers point the tip of the pen towards the right ear, keeping the knuckles of the thumb and little finger at equal distances from the paper while writing. The two plans are almost identical where the length of a line does not exceed the width of a page of note paper, but for longer lines the first named plan is preferable, since the slope of the letters will always remain the same, and ensure more effectively, the regularity of the characters,—a desideratum in writing.

Lastly, to write a free, flowing, running style, the hand should not move forward with a jerky motion. The movements of the pen in the length of up or down strokes are partaken of in greater or lesser degrees, simultaneously by the fingers, hand, wrist, and arm.

It must not be imagined, however, from these instructions that good penmanship is attained without practice and endeavour. Make all the smaller letters round and of the same size and distance from each other. Rule parallel lines, when practising on unruled paper, to the size of your writing, to see where it is uneven and irregular, and do the same with the tailed letters. For uniformity, commence and end all the small letters that admit of it, about half-way of their height, thus :