development of the human faculties of infants. If, therefore, we were compelled to name one man in preference to another, as the originator of the Training System, we are inclined to think it would be the Pastor OBERLIN (who, we remark, appointed conductrices in each commune of the Bem de la Roche, and paid them at his own expense). But, as we before observed, we think the real Training System owes more to several women than it does to one man. So early as 1802, the Princess Pauline, of Lippe-Detmold, in Germany, established a school at Detmold for infants, from one to four years of age, and the introduction of Infant Schools into Britain about sixteen years afterwards, was, through the influence of the wife of the Rev. William Turner, of Newcastle-uponTyne, who, in a conversation with Mr. Owen, of Lanark, "remarked, that in her attention to the education of girls, she had frequently wished some means could be adopted for getting poor children taken out of the hands of their parents at an earlier age, before they had formed bad habits at home and among the idle children around them.”

Mr. Owen, whose pernicious principles have, perhaps, done more harm than his philanthropy ever did-or will do-good, was the first Englishman who established an Infant School on a large scale; and this he did through female influence.

But we must not, however, be too captious, nor too ready to find fault with Mr. Knighton's partiality; and we are free to admit that his assertion may be said to be modified by the words "as originally established at Glasgow." He is certainly an able champion of the system he so much admires; and we consider his book an excellent introduction to Mr. Stow's on "The Training System." The following extract, whilst interesting our readers, will convey an idea of Mr. Knighton's style. On the subject of Picturing out Words, he says:

Much obloquy has been brought upon the system by the absurd endeavours of many to carry it out who knew nothing, either of its principles or of its practice. Men have professed to give lessons who were utterly ignorant of the method; they have pretended to "picture out" without knowing what picturing out meant. Absurd guesses have been substituted for intelligent answers, ridiculous similes for apt illustrations; and people have laughed and condemned. I have heard of an enthusiastic teacher, resolved to carry out the training system according to the best of his ability, who wanted to obtain the word "apples" from the children. Why he should not tell them the word, or what was to be gained intellectually by picturing out the fruit, he would have probably found it difficult to explain; he was simply determined on proving to a crowd of visitors that he was thoroughly up in the system-"Just like so many apples he wanted his pupils to say, but apples they did not say, for they were not trained up to the point; "just like so many .." he repeated again; "don't you know what?" They evidently did not know what, but sat gazing on him, openmouthed, like so many hungry sparrows. "Just like so many .-now Tommy,

what did you get when you robbed widow Jones's orchard the other day?" "A good licking," was the faint but audible reply of the conscious Tommy-"licking" being his

synonyme for beating. The remainder of the illustration and answers was drowned in the laughter of the visitors.

Such exhibitions have often been regarded as bringing the system into merited ridicule. But if we argue from the abuse of anything against its legitimate use, what good thing is there that may not be condemned? what useful invention? what important principle? what beneficial discovery? what science and what art? that has not been at some time or other misused or abused? that has not been made, by perversion or misapplication, not simply ludicrous alone, but the fertile source of evil? Take Christianity itself, with all the enormities of blood-shedding and persecution for which it has been made the excuse, as an example.

It is not without reason that I have declared the intellectual benefits of this method to be great, for I have tried it with various classes and races, and never found it to fail in exciting the mental powers to action and in strengthening them by exercise. In Manchester and London I have tried it with the children of the very poor, brought up amongst smoke and steam, amid hardship and want. In Ceylon and Calcutta, in the far East, I have tried it with Buddhists, Mohammedans, Parsees or fire-worshippers, and lethargic Hindoos, the swarthy inhabitants of tropical lands where ease and luxuriou do-nothingness are the rule, active exercise the exception; and my experience goes to establish the fact that by no other method of which I am aware, or which I have seen in operation, can large numbers of children be induced to use their mental faculties so freely and so beneficially, or to enter willingly into so wholesome and healthy an intellectual competition with each other.

"MANUAL OF METHOD; for the Use of Teachers in Elementary Schools. By W. F. Richards, Head Master of the National Society's Central School, Westminster." 12mo., pp. 141. National Society. WITHOUT wishing to endorse every principle advocated by the author, we can commend this manual to the notice of managers and teachers of schools, especially those of the Church of England. In the preface, Mr. Richards states that it has been his aim "to make the book throughout of a practical character;" and we must confess that he has succeeded in doing so. We are convinced that not only many clergymen and church schoolmasters, but also many schoolmistresses differ from our author on the subject of clerical interference. He says the parochial clergyman

Might even go so far as to examine the lessons of the teacher before they are given, so that he may be sure that no errors are contained in them; and he might do this without laying himself open to the charge of unnecessary interference, upon the ground that the responsibilities of his high office require that he should as much as possible, in his own person, look after the spiritual teaching of the lambs of his flock.

The paragraph which follows is one with which we hope every Christian teacher will acquiesce :

Some

The highest department of religious education is of course Holy Scripture. portion of the Bible should be read daily; not, however, as a reading lesson, but as an exercise intended to improve the minds and hearts of the children. It is not meant

D

that no care need be taken by the teacher with regard to the actual reading of the sacred text: on the contrary, the strictest care should be taken that the children read with intelligence, proper emphasis, and a due reverence for the importance of the subject. All that is intended is a caution against the use, too often made, of the Bible for teaching mere reading and spelling, and its consequent degradation to the level of an ordinary class-book."

Some of our educational metaphysical theorists will, we think, pronounce Mr. Richards very stupid, heterodox, unphilosophical, or, at least, very provoking; for, in spite of all the mere word-mongering as well as sound argument which has of late years been published on the subject, he thus concludes his preface

Some of the terms lately come into vogue on the subject of education, e. g., "the philosophy of teaching," do not, he (the Author) frankly admits, convey to his mind any very definite idea.

12mo., pp. 237. 12mo., pp. 231.

MISS CORNER'S HISTORIES. Thos. Dean and Son. I. "THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND." 12mo., pp. 382. II. “EVERY CHILD'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND." 16mo., pp. 258. III. "THE HISTORY OF FRANCE." New Edition. IV. "THE HISTORY OF GREECE." New Edition. THE aptitude of Miss Corner as a writer of school histories places her in a prominent position amongst female educational writers. We need say no more about "The History of England" than that twenty-seven thousand have been published.

"Every Child's History of England" is a good introduction to the larger work.

"The History of France" is now more than ever interesting to English children, and we know of no better school book on the subject than that of Miss Corner's. We may say the same of "The History of Greece."

"MANUAL OF MECHANICS" (2nd and improved edition); "MANUAL OF HYDROSTATICS;" "MANUAL OF PLANE TRIGONOMETRY" (2nd edition); "MANUAL OF OPTICS." By the Rev. Joseph A. Galbraith, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Trinity College, Dublin; and the Rev. Samuel Houghton, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Trinity College, Dublin. Longman and Co.

THESE manuals are excellent, but we presume unattractive to the majority of our subscribers. To those few who are mathematically inclined, we must say, that not only are the books well written, but that also the typography, illustrations, and diagrams are so admirably executed, that their very appearance is an inducement to study them; it makes them seem easier.

"PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS IN THE FRENCH LANGUAGE." By G. Ch. F. Werner, Ph. D., M.A., of the University of Göttingen, Professor of German and French in Cheltenham College. 12mo., pp. 168. Longman and Co.

DR. WERNER writes like a man who thoroughly understands the subject he has to teach. We should like to see a second edition of his work, for we should be very chary about recommending the present edition for school use; for, although the type is tolerably good, the printing is disgraceful-some pages so faint as to be scarcely legible by a bad light. We have a p. 146, p. 146 a, and p. 146 b, in succession! And the book concludes with a list of about two dozen errata! Now, nothing, as regards school books, is more annoying to a teacher and perplexing to a learner, than errata. A badly printed book is doubly irksome, and we recommend every school-author not only to go to respectable publishers, but also to employ a good printer and a good binder.

"THE INTELLECTUAL PRIMER ;" "THE INTELLECTUAL READING Book;" "THE INTELLECTUAL SPELLING BOOK." By Willian Martin, Esq., Editor of "The Educational Magazine,” &c., &c. THESE works by the well-known educationist, Mr. William Martin, present many rare features of excellence. They comprise several hundred lessons in reading, spelling, and in useful knowledge, illustrated by nearly five hundred engravings, and are well worthy the attention of the teachers of juvenile forms, especially of family teaching. They also comprehend modes and methods of teaching on the intellectual system, by which things are taught, and not mere word knowledge. We cordially recommend them.

DR. HAWKER'S "MORNING AND EVENING PORTIONS." Large type. Pp. 700. W. H. Collingridge.

We have peculiar pleasure in calling the attention of our readers to this cheap edition of the well-known work by the Rev. Dr. Robert Hawker, late vicar of Charles, Plymouth, from the fact that it is printed under singularly interesting circumstances. The Rev. D. A. Doudney, who is known to many of our readers as the editor of the "Gospel Magazine," and as the author of several interesting little works, is curate of Monksland, "a very retired village upon the sea coast of Ireland, where the darkness, superstition, and bigotry of Popery prevail to an almost inconceivable degree;" and he has there established a printing

office, in which a number of Romanists, both adults and juveniles, have been employed by him, and he states that "an edition of five thousand copies of this invaluable work have passed through the press."

We hope in our next number to be able to give a further account of these Industrial Schools.

NOTICES OF MUSIC.

"EXCELSIOR." Words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Music by Miss M. Lindsay. New Edition, finely Illustrated. Robert Cocks & Co.

We do not envy the taste of any one who would wish to hear Longfellow's beautiful poem "Excelsior" said after once hearing it sung to the exquisite melody which the poetical soul and musical skill of Miss Lindsay have assigned it. Of the words we need say nothing-of the music, we cannot say too much. Never did the sister spirits of music and poetry blend more sweetly, more naturally.

Every one who sings, and certainly every one who plays and sings, should possess a copy of Miss Lindsay's "Excelsior;" and everybody else should hear it sung. We heartily wish that other beautiful poems were set to music as "Excelsior" is. The simplicity of the composition is remarkable; it is in C major; the key note is the lowest, and, with the exception of one note in the last verse (G, a dotted crotchet), E on the fourth space is the highest; the accompaniment, which is almost entirely on the common chord, is so simple that a learner who can play anything at all, could play it well after half an hour's practice.

"MUSICAL BOUQUET."

1. Schulhoff's Fantasia "Carnival de Venise."

2. Schulhoff's "Galop Di Bravura.”

3. "La Chatelaîne," Fantasia à la Valse (Alphonse le Duc).

4. "La Source" (Blumenthal).

5. "La Retraite Militaire" (Lefêbure Wély).

6. Dreyschoche's "Bluette" (Nocturn.)

7. Mendellsohn's Scherzo (from "Midsummer Nights' Dream"). 8. "Le Sourire" (J. Ascher).

THE proprietor of the "Musical Bouquet," with an indomitable spirit of enterprise, appears determined that if pianists are unacquainted with good music, it shall not be in consequence of the expense. It is truly astonishing how these brilliant fantasias can be published in so superior a style at so low a price. We know not what music publishers of the