rhyme, that one begins unconsciously to cast a long look ahead to see how long the strain will be continued without a change of key.

The poet shows no mercy toward the poor critic, for whose edification he is supposed to write. He begins by giving his opinion of this nondescript species of the genus homo, stating that the critic

"was sent into life with the wrong key.

He unlocked the door, and

stepped forth a donkey." And, again, that "Destiny,

Not having much time to spend upon bothers,

Remembering he'd had some connection with authors,
And considering his four legs had grown paralytic,-
She set him on two, and he came forth a critic."

When the poet first attacks Emerson, he seems equally disposed to praise and blame. The opening lines are,

"There comes Emerson first, whose rich words, every one,

Are like gold nails in temples to hang trophies on."

But further on he continues concerning the grand old philosopher,
"All admire, and yet scarcely six converts he's got
To I don't (nor they either) exactly know what ;
For tho' he builds glorious temples, 'tis odd,

He leaves never a door-way to get in a god."

Carlyle and Emerson are then compared, a few concise sentences giving the characteristics of each. Alcott is disposed of with very few words.

Upon Cooper the poet spends rather more breath than the subject He considers the Indian story-teller wofully insipid, but

warrants.

goes rather farther than most of us would venture by saying,

"He's drawn you one character, tho', that is new;
One wild flower he's plucked that is wet with the dew

Of our fresh Western world; and, the thing not to mince,
He's done nothing but copy it ill ever since."

Here, reminded of his countrymen's faults by Cooper's lectures on the subject, the poet laments, tunefully, that blot which so often defaces the American character; the attempt, which so many of our countrymen make, to conform themselves and their sayings and doings to the English idea of things. He says,

"There are truths you Americans need to be told,

It'll never refute them to swagger and scold.

John Bull looking o'er the Atlantic in choler
At your aptness for trade, says you worship the dollar.
Never mind what John says; don't try to outcrow him;
It's enough to go quietly on and outgrow him.

Tho' you ought to be free as the wind and the waves,
You've the gait and the manner of runaway slaves.

Tho' you brag of your New World, you don't half believe in it,
And as much of the Old as is possible weave in it.

Oh! my friends, thank your God, if you have one, that he
'Twixt the Old World and you, set the gulf of a sea.

Keep your ears open wide to the Future's first call.

Be whatever you will, but yourselves first of all."

Concerning his own writings our poet is becomingly modest, and confesses that tho' "Lowell is striving Parnassus to climb,

The top of the hill he will ne'er come nigh reaching,

Till he learns the distinction 'twixt singing and preaching."

His admiration for Bryant is decidedly of the luke-warm order. And most Americans will agree that in some of his views on the author of "Thanatopsis," our poet is not quite orthodox. He rather grudgingly grants, to be sure, that Bryant is possessed of some good qualities, but hastens to lament loudly his lack of enthusiasm; saying that "if he stir you at all, it's like being stirred by the very North Pole."

Whittier is gladly given unreserved praise; and of the sturdy blows which the Quaker poet struck at slavery, Lowell says,

"All honor and praise to the right-hearted bard,

Who was true to the Voice, when such service was hard,
Who himself was so free he dared sing for the slave,

When to look but a protest in silence was brave."

His tribute to Hawthorne forms one of the most beautiful parts of the whole poem. Could any description be more exquisite than these words?

"When Nature was shaping him, clay was not granted

For making so full-sized a man as she wanted;

So, to fill out her model, a little she spared

From some finer-grained stuff for a woman prepared ;
And she could not have hit a more excellent plan,
For making him fully and perfectly man."

And thus our poet continues his inspection of the commanders of this "Grand Army of the Republic." He indeed "views them with a critic's eye, nor passes imperfections by." Yet charitable he is in the main, giving only the faithful wounds of a friend, and as we close the book, we feel that we have been treated to a survey of the lights and shadows of these men of high estate, depicted by a master-hand. We have been shown, faithfully, their merits and demerits, as they appear to him who is a kindred spirit of the noblest of them all.

GLEANINGS.

Wolfgang Ratke, or Ratichius, was born in Holstein in 1571. He anticipated some of the best improvements in the method of teaching. which have been made in modern times. He was like many of those who have tried to improve existing methods in advance of his age, and he was rewarded for his labors at Augsburg, Weimar, and Kothen by persecution and imprisonment. Can we wonder that education has improved so slowly when so. much pains has been taken to silence and extinguish those who have devoted themselves to its improvement? His chief rules were as follows:

1. Begin everything with prayer.

2. Do everything in order, following the course of nature. 3. One thing at a time. 4. Often repeat the same thing. 5. Teach everything first in the mother tongue. 6. Proceed from the mother tongue to other languages. 7. Teach without compulsion. Do not beat children to make them learn. Pupils must love their masters, not hate them. Nothing should be learnt by heart. Sufficient time should be given to play and recreation. Learn one thing before going on to another. Do not teach for two hours consecutively. 8. Uniformity in teaching, also in schoolbooks, especially grammars, which may with advantage be made comparative. 9. Teach a thing first, and then the reason of it. Give no rules before you have given the examples. Teach no language out of the grammar, but out of authors. 10. Let everything be taught by induction and experiment-Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. III, p. 673 ; article, "Education."

According to the order of nature, all men being equal, their common vocation is the profession of humanity; and whoever is well educated to discharge the duties of a man, cannot be badly prepared to fill up any of those offices that have a relation to him. It matters little to me, whether my pupil be designed for the army, the bar, or the pulpit. Nature has destined us to the offices of human life, antecedent to the destination of our parents concerning the part we are to act in society. To live is the profession I would teach him. When I have done with him, it is true, he will be neither a lawyer, a soldier, nor a divine. Let him first be a man; he will on occasion as soon become anything else that a man ought to be, as any other person whatever. Fortune may remove him from one rank to another, as she pleases, he will be always found in his place.

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It is requisite men should know many things of which children can not in the least comprehend the utility; but is it necessary, or even possible, that a child should learn everything it is requisite a man

should know? Endeavor to teach a child everything that is useful to him at his age, and you will find him full employment. Why will you insist on his application to the studies proper for an age to which he may never arrive, in prejudice of those which are proper for him at present? But you will ask me, perhaps, whether he will have time to learn what he ought to know, when it is required of him to make use of his knowledge? This I cannot tell; but I am very certain it is impossible to learn it sooner; for our real and only instructors are experience and sentiment. Never can man be made truly sensible of what is useful to him but from the circumstances in which he is situated. A child knows he is designed to grow up to manhood; all the ideas he can form of that state will be to him so many opportunities of instruction; but as for those which are above his capacity to comprehend, it is better he should remain in absolute ignorance of them.

The apparent facility with which some children seem to learn, operates greatly to their prejudice, and, though we do not observe it, is a plain proof they learn nothing. The delicate texture of their brain reflects, like a mirror, every object presented to them; but nothing penetrates the substance or remains behind. A child retains the words, but the ideas accompanying them are reflected back again; those who hear him repeat may understand what he means; but he himself knows nothing of the matter.-Rousseau.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

My solution of query 10, page 537, was based on the square inches in all the sides of the cube. I did not notice my mistake in reading the problem until you called my attention in last issue.

J. S. J.

I notice the following in the December MONTHLY : "In Beverly, Washington County, O., there are 287 children of school age. For this term, T. C. Ryan, Superintendent, has already enrolled 232 pupils. Can any school show a better record?”

I give the following answer: In LaGrange, Lorain County, O., there are 145 children of school age. The fall term closed Dec. 7, with an enrollment of 141, daily average, 125. The winter term opens with an enrollment of 130.

GEO. E. RYAN, Superintendent.

In the last issue of the MONTHLY was this, that at Beverly, O., of an enumeration of 287 there had already been enrolled 232, or 80219

per cent. of the enumeration. The comment on it was, "Can any town in the State beat this ?" At this place there are enumerated 228 pupils of school age, and at the first of December, Walter M. Ely, the Superintendent, had enrolled 205, three of them being non-resident pupils, making 884 per cent. of the enumeration. This beats Beverly.

Pleasant Hill, O.

Q. 8, p. 536.-Answered page 582.

C. H. T.

"Capital," in my edition of Webster (1868), is defined as "the chief city or town in a country; a metropolis," and not as the seat of government. Is the latter use of the word an Americanism? Stromsburg, Neb.

H. S.

Q. 2, p. 486.-There are exceptions to this rule. Mr. Harvey says in his revised edition, p. 181, "Contracted clauses are called abridged propositions.".

Examples:

I. Cicero was an orator. "Orator," nom..pred. of "was," to agree with "Cicero," nom. sub. of "was."

2. We know that Cicero was a great orator. No. I.

3. We know Cicero to have been an orator.

"Orator" same as in

"Cicero," objective

case, subject of "to have been." Rule-The subject of the infinitive is put in the objective case.

"Orator" objective case, predicate of "to have been."

4. I know a man named John. "John" objective case, predicate of "named."

5. He went into a certain man's house named Justus. "Justus" possessive case, predicate of "named", to agree with "man's."

Rule for all the above.

in case."

"A predicate noun agrees with its subject

The word "proposition" belongs to the nomenclature of logic, and is not the proper word for the rule.

Richwood, O.

R.

Q. 1, p. 584.-When the first Congress assembled in 1789, the Senators were divided into three classes; the seats of the first class became vacant March 4, 1791, of the second class, March 4, 1793, and those of the third class, March 4, 1795. When Ohio became a member of the Federal Union in 1803, one of her Senators was assigned to the first class, the other to the third class. The term of office of these Senators (third class) will expire March 4, 1885, and the member from our State (Mr. Pendleton's successor), will be elected during the first term of our legislature, which will convene on the first Monday of Jan.