Q. What did Joseph dream about first? A. He dreamed that his brother's sheaves made obeisance to his sheaf. Q. What is a sheaf? A. A bundle of corn. Q. What do you understand by making obeisance? A. To bend your body, which we call making a bow. Q. What is binding sheaves? A. To bind them, which they do with a band of twisted straw. Q. How many brothers had Joseph? A. Eleven. Q. What was Joseph's father's name? A. Jacob, who is sometimes called Israel.

And it is further written concerning Joseph, that he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and behold the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

Q. What do you understand by the sun? A. The sun is that bright object in the sky which shines in the day time, and which gives us heat and light. Q. Who made the sun? A. Almighty God. Q. For what purpose did God make the sun? A. To warm and nourish the earth and every thing upon it. Q. What do you mean by the earth? A. The ground on which we walk, and on which the corn, trees, and flowers grow. Q. What is it that makes them grow? A. The heat and light of the sun. Q. Does it require any thing else to make them grow? A. Yes, rain, and the assistance of Almighty God. Q. What is the moon? A. That object which is placed in the sky, and shines in the night, and appears larger than the stars. Q. What do you mean by the stars? A. Those bright objects that appear in the sky at night. Q. What are they? A. Some of them are worlds, and others are suns, to give them light. Q. Who placed them there? A. Almighty God. Q. Should we fear and love him for his goodness? A. Yes, and for his mercy towards us. Q. Do you think it wonderful that God should make all these things? A. Yes. Q. Are there any more things that are wonderful to you? A. Yes;

Where'er we turn our wondering eyes,

His skill and power we see;

Wonders on wonders grandly rise,

And speak the Deity.

Q. Who is the Deity? A. Almighty God.

Reuben interceding with his Brethren for the Life of Joseph.

And Reuben said unto them, shed no blood, but cast him into this pit, that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.

Q. Who was Reuben? A. One of the brothers of Joseph. Q. What is a pit? A. A deep hole in the ground. Q. What is a wilderness? A. A place that is uninhabited, and where nothing grows except thorns and briers.

Master.

My little children, our minds may be compared to a wilderness, and unless they are watered by divine truth which comes from God, they would produce nothing but evil thoughts, which would break forth into bad actions; an evil thought does as much harm to the mind as a thorn would in any part of the body, and if it be brought into action, it not only hurts us, but other persons besides, and therefore children should come to school to have their minds improved, that they may bring forth good thoughts, and good actions, and then, instead of a wilderness, their minds may be compared to a garden.

Q. What kind of coat had Joseph? A. A coat of many colors. Q. Did Joseph's brethren say any thing among themselves when they saw Joseph afar off? A. Yes; they said one to another, behold this dreamer cometh, come now therefore and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit. Q. What do slay and cast mean? A. To slay meant to kill, and to cast, meant to throw his dead body into a pit. Q. Did they put him into the pit? A. Yes, but there was no water in it, so they put him in alive. Q. What was the reason that Joseph's brothers wanted to put him out of the way? A. Because of his dreams, and for fear that he should become their master. Q. After they had put him in the pit what did they do? A. They sat down and eat bread, and while they were eating it, they saw a number of men with their camels, and they sold him to them. Q. What did they do with Joseph's coat? A. They killed a kid and dipped the coat in its blood, that Joseph's father might think he had been killed by some wild beast. Q. What is a kid? A. A young goat. Q. What were those men called who bought Joseph? A. Ishmaelites. Q. Where did the Ishmaelites take him to? A. They took him to Egypt, and a man named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, bought him. Q. Who was Pharaoh? A. The king of Egypt. Q. Was Joseph a good servant? A. Yes,

and his master made him head over the other servants. Q. Did Joseph remain head servant? 4. No, his mistress told a falsehood of him, and his master put him into prison. Q. Did God forsake Joseph in prison? A. No; he was with him, and the keeper of the prison put all the other prisoners under Joseph's care. Q. Were any particular prisoners brought in while Joseph was in prison? A. Yes, Pharaoh's chief butler and baker. Q. What is a butler? A. A man servant who takes care of the wine and other things, and an upper servant; and the baker makes the bread for the family. Q. Did any thing particular take place while they were in prison? A. Yes, the butler and baker both dreamed a dream in one night. Q. Who explained the dreams? A. Joseph, and he explained them right; the butler was restored to his place, but the baker was

hanged. Q. Did Joseph ask the chief butler any thing? A. Yes, he said think of me when it shall be well with thee, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh. Q. Did the chief butler remember Joseph? A. No, he forgot him, as is too often the case; but we hope never to forget our friends. Q. How long was it before the chief butler spoke of Joseph to Pharaoh? A. Two years. Q. What caused him to remember? A. Because Pharaoh dreamed a dream, and none of his own people could explain it. Q. What took place next? A. The chief butler told Pharaoh of Joseph, and Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and Joseph explained both his dreams. Q. Did Pharaoh believe Joseph? A. Yes, and he was so pleased that he gave Joseph a ring, and a gold chain about his neck, and made him ruler over all the other servants. Q. How did Joseph first see his brothers? A. There was a famine in the land, and Joseph's father sent his brothers to buy corn, and when they saw him they did not know him. Q. What does a famine mean? A. When there was nothing for the people to eat. Q. Did Joseph make himself known to his brethren? A. Yes, after sometime, and then he made a feast for them. Q. After Joseph had made himself known to his brethren what did he do? A. He sent for his father and told his brothers to say, thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord over all Egypt, come down unto me directly. Q. What did Joseph's brothers say when they came to their father? They said thy son Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt; and Jacob's heart fainted, for he could not believe them at first. Q. Did he believe them at last? A. Yes, when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. Q. Did Jacob consent to go? A. Yes; he said it is enough, Joseph my son is yet alive, I will go and see him before I die. Q. If we want any more information about Joseph and his brethren, where can we find it? A. In the 37th chapter of Genesis, and many of the following chapters.

A.

In this way the teacher may go on, until he has placed before the children the leading facts in the history of Joseph, taking care, if possible, that the children understand every term used; and the teacher will find the children instructed and pleased, and himself none the worse for the exercise. He may also ask them the chapter, verse, name of the book, &c.

TWENTIETH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE FREESCHOOL SOCIETY OF NEW-YORK.

THE Trustees of the Free-School Society of New-York, in conformity with the requisitions of their charter present the following Annual Report:

THE whole number of scholars now on the registers of the several schools is four thousand and fifty nine, and the schedule annexed will exhibit the relative numbers belonging to each.

The schools have been visited during the year, weekly and semi-weekly, by committees appointed for the purpose, in the manner heretofore uniformly practised. One of these visits, viz. on Monday afternoon, being for the special purpose of receiving applications for the admission of scholars.

At the annual examinations in the month of October, the members of the board were gratified by the appearance of order and propriety reigning in the schools, the cleanliness and neatness of the rooms, and the evident progress made by the children in their studies. As it has always been desirable with the board to satisfy the public of the utility of instruction on the Lancasterian plan, the members of the Corporation, and many of our fellow citizens, were invited to assist at these examinations, a number of whom attended. On the arrival on our shores of the distinguished veteran and Patriot, to whom our country is, in a political point of view, so much indebted, an invitation was given him to visit one of the schools, which he readily accepted; and accompanied by a number of our fellow citizens, visited school No. 3, and afterwards attended an exhibition of about three thousand scholars in the Park. This illustrious individual expressed himself particularly gratified by the interesting spectacle presented to him; and the trustees are persuaded that every member of the institution will feel pleasure in learning that, by a unanimous vote of the board, General La Fayette was elected a member of the society.

In the course of the year, two of the teachers in our employment have been engaged by the Principals of the High School to assist in the management of that establishment: one of these was an elève of the Free School society; a charity scholar, advanced through all the grades of monitorial instruction and promotion, until he became himself one of the ablest, and most valued teachers we have had occasion to employ.

The Society continues indebted for a loan of $ 16,000; for a diminution of which, some effort should be made during the coming

year.

An abstract of the treasurer's accounts shows the whole expenses of the past year to have been $ 10,266 07, which, taking into view the number of poor children, whose instruction is thus provided for, must afford a striking illustration of the great economy to which this system may be carried.

The last year's report, exhibited in detail the reasons, which in the estimation of the trustees, rendered it so desirable to procure an alteration of the State Law, in respect to the distribution of the

School Fund. The exertions made for the attainment of this object, resulted in an act of the Legislature, passed at the late Fall Session, by which the distribution of that portion of the Common School Fund, which is drawn by the city of New-York, is placed at the discretion of the common council. It then became incumbent on the trustees to make the same representation to this body, which had been previously made before the State legislature. The subject was referred by the Common Council to the law committee of that board, by whom both parties were admitted to a hearing, at a meeting in which the points at issue were very fully discussed.

The argument on the question of constitutionality and expediency, was ably conducted on the part of those opposed to the old mode of distribution, by Peter A. Jay, Ira Clisbee, and Hiram Ketchum, Esquires. The committee of the Corporation reported in full on the subject, and expressed an opinion decidedly adverse to the unconstitutional practice heretofore allowed, of admitting several Church establishments in the city, to a participation of the fund for the benefit of schools, under their particular directions.

The Committee further reported an ordinance, which was adopted by the Common Council with great unanimity, directing the distribution of the fund to be made to the Free School Society of New-York, the Mechanics' Society, the Orphan Asylum Society, and the Trustees of the African Free School. The ordinance contains several provisions highly favorable to the Free School Society, and the Trustees feel persuaded that important advantages will result from its adoption.

In making these representations to the Common Council on the appropriation of the School Fund, the Trustees were induced to suggest a plan for a general change in the system of public school instruction. The principal features of this plan were, that the style of the Free School Society should be changed to that of a Public School Society-that the number of trustees should be augmented -that the Mayor and Recorder of the City should be ex officio members of the board-that the whole of the real estate of the Society should be vested under certain restrictions in the Common Council; and, on the other hand, that the whole of the School Fund drawn by the City, should be at the disposal of the Society, and that the Charter of the Society should be so altered as to allow of converting all or any of the Free Schools attached to the institution, into low priced pay schools, requiring from the parents or friends of each scholar the pay of 25 or 50 cents per quarter; reserving, however, to the Trustees the power to remit the charge in their discretion. As this change, however, required an act of the Legislature, which could not be procured during the pending session of that body, the Law Committee, to whom the subject was