LETTER TO LITTLE FOLKS. MY YOUNG FRIENDS:-Two men were mining. One was at work in the ground about 40 feet below the surface, the other was standing by the windlass upon the top of the ground. The one who was in the ground was called John. The other was called James. James, as he looked about him, saw a storm arising in the West, and says: "John, I think it would be best for us to go home; we shall have a thunder shower soon." "Why, how foolish you are James," said John, "we shall have no storm, I can see no clouds." The storm comes nearer, James again urges John to leave his work and go home, but John still refuses, saying, "There's no danger, it will not storm. I am not foolish enough to go home when I can see no clouds, and no appearance of rain.” Now the shaft in which John was at work was very small, and he could see only a small part of the sky directly over his head, and you all know that when a thunder cloud comes over head, rain will very soon follow. At last John sees the cloud, and consents to do as James wished him to do. But he has scarcely reached the surface when the storm breaks upon them with terrible fury. John suffers severely from the effects of the storm, and justly too, you say. As you read this I imagine I hear you say, What a fool John was. Of course James could see better than he, and was better prepared to tell when danger was approaching." Do you really think so, my little friend? Then remember that, the next time your teacher warns you of any danger, or urges you to any duty. You are yet like the man in the ground at work. You can see but a very little. Your teacher is the man upon the surface of the ground. He can see farther than you, and "is better prepared to tell when danger is approaching." ONE WHO LOVES LITTLE CHILDREN. A NOBLE COMPLIMENT TO A GIFTED AMERICAN. THE poet and editor Bryant is now sojourning in Spain. His gentle and grave manners, combined with his world-wide reputation, render him a marked man in Spanish society. An influential journal of Madrid, the La Discussion, thus beautifully alludes to his person and character: "William Cullen Bryant, one of the greatest poets of the age, and un doubtedly the first among the Anglo-American poets, has arrived in Madrid. "It is impossible to see this person without feelings of the deepest affection and respect. "His face, whose long beard has that soft whiteness that light hair lends to age in the north, wears a certain expression that is only met with in beings equally endowed with genius and sensibility. There is in his sweet smile a slight tinge of bitterness, which reveals at once the struggle that goodness and wisdom have always sustained with malice and ignorance. "There is something sad in his look, which shows the martyrdom of a spirit launched into the midst of the material enterprise of this manufacturing and commercial age. "The poems of Mr. Bryant might be classed with those of Rioja. They are few in number, and all are of the first order. "The nobleness of his thoughts, the truth of his descriptions, the delicacy and tenderness of his affections, are only equaled by Rioja. "Welcome to our country be this son of the New World, and God grant that these climes, where his active intelligence comes to seek new impressions, may be propitious." Editorial Department. WE call the attention of our readers to the articles in the present Number on our school system. They are worthy of perusal and careful consideration, embodying, as they do, many valuable suggestions. That the system is very imperfect, and needs remodeling, is conceded on all hands, and we hope the present Legislature will not adjourn without taking some action in regard to it. The article on Normal Schools is graphically written, and contains some important truths, but we think the writer overlooks the fact that we need some agency which shall benefit those now engaged in teaching, and who will not avail themselves of the advantages furnished in the college and academy. We hope the writer will give his views as to the best means for improving the large class of teachers now in our schools who have not received a liberal education. Our correspondent "P." closes his series of articles on "The Value of a Good School-House," with an excellent onc on "School-Room Apparatus," aud gives us also another "Letter to Little Folks," who will do well to read, and then practise the precepts which it inculcates. The article on "Fashion" is well written, and contains some wholesome advice which parents would do well to heed and follow in the training of their children. Since our last issue we have visited Milton, Milwaukee, and Racine, and while there spent a few hours in their schools; but want of room compels us to defer any extended notice till next month. We also dropped into two or three of the Madison schools one day, and were much pleased with the unmistakable evidence of progress which they presented. Shall see them again. The annual report of the Superintendent, D. Y Kilgore, is on our table, of which we shall speak more fully hereafter. The report of Prof. Daniels, State Geologist, is also before us, and we find it a very interesting and readable document. It is mainly devoted to an account of the iron ores of the State, accompanied by analyses showing their value for manuacturing purposes. Emerson's Magazine and Putnam's Monthly, for March, has made its appearance and presents a large amount of interesting and useful reading. Among other articles we notice "The Life of Washington" continued, "Lost Civilization in the West," "Illustrated History of Beards." "The American Drama," "The Fine Arts in New York," and "The Forfeit of Life." The Magazine is now published by Messrs. Oaksmith & Co., who are determined to make it worthy of a generous patronage. To every subscriber at $3 per year, the publishers present a copy of the splendid engraving of the "Last Supper," by Dick. For club prices, and other inducements, see the prospectus in January Number of this Journal. NOTICE. WE have received many commendations on the improved appearance of the Journal, for which we are grateful, and we trust to 'merit them in the future, if we do not now; but commendations alone will not pay for paper and printing, and these expenses must be met. The pledges made at the meeting of the Teachers' Association in August have not been fulfilled, and our subscription list has not increased as we hoped it would. The hard times have undoubtedly hindered many from subscribing, and perhaps the idea that the State patronage is sufficient to support the enterprise, may have induced others to withhold their names. As to the hard times, they affect us just as they do others, and there is not a teacher in the State who could not spare one dollar for an educational journal; as to the State subscription, the copies furnished to town superintendents and district clerks, cost us about one hundred dollars a year more than we receive for them, our profits being derived from subscriptions and advertising. The hard times have affected our advertising patronage, so that we shall realize but little from it this quarter, and we have nothing to rely upon but our subscribers. Will not our friends make some special efforts to increase our list? ITEMS THE School Tax raised by the several districts of Grant County amounts in the aggregate to more than the State and County Tax combined. ABSTRACT OF WEATHER RECORD FOR DECEMBER, 1857.-We are indebted to Mr. J. L. Pickard, of the Platteville Academy, for the following abstract of weather record for the month of December. The table shows the month just passed to be the warmest December experienced in this country for the past six years. It has been as placid as November commonly is, attended by very little snow or rain. Commonly, December is about as blustering a month as there is in the whole year. Here follows the table: By this table it will be seen that the last December was warmer by nearly 19° than December 1856. It has been 2.00° warmer the November 1857.-Platteville Examiner. EDUCATION IN IOWA.-The following figures are from the report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, recently made to the Iowa Legislature: Number of orgauized school districts in the State,.... Aggregate amount paid teachers during year from teachers' fund,. Amount of voluntary subscriptions,... Amount of teachers' fund in hands of treasurers, Cost of district school-houses,... 3,265 195,285 2,708 1,572 1,424 168 74 936 535 $126,357 77 71,784 58 45,990 85 571,063 91 Amount raised during the year by tax for erection of school houses,... 146,708 74 41,889 00 110,954 96 THE first sin which darkened this earth was a lie. It was committed by the prince of darkness upon the tree of knowledge, and ever since, the increase of wisdom and learning seems to have been followed, to a certain extent, by a decrease of veracity. Lying is the fruitful parent of other sins, the evil spirit which goes out to make room for seven others, the cancer which eats up the vital powers of our higher nature. This seems to have been felt by ancient nations. The Grecian Mythology punished even the deities for lying, and the old Persians' Catechism of Moral Philosophy contained only one great foremost demand-"to be true to one's self and to others." The old Germans had a proverb, "A word, a man," while now frequently a man is but a word, and in the old Saxon and Gothic languages there is but one word, "ligan," to signify prostration of body and of soul, while in modern German and English there is but little difference of pronunciation or spelling between liegen and lügen, or a "liar" and a "lier." We are surrounded by lying deeds, deceptions, or imitations, and have become so accustomed to them, that we are willing to forbear whenever they make their appearance. There has been a time with several nations, when the relation between the governing and governed rested on a true moral basis; but now the science of politics uses the sheep-skin cloak of patriotism to cover many a deed of selfishness and oppression, chooses liberal names for illiberal acts, and sometimes a glorious end is made to justify ignoble means. The practice of law has lost a great deal of its original purity, and many a lawyer will take greater pains to gain before court the case of his client, than to examine into the true state of things. In trade assertions are frequently made which are known to be wrong, or spurious articles are sold for genuine goods. The architect uses wood, |