logical in their sequence. No inconsiderable amount of interrogation goes for nothing, simply for want of this; a question here, and another there; an imbecile wandering hither and thither, without purpose or result. It is not enough to have secured an intelligence of terms, or even sentences; there must be, to be really valuable and permanent, the establishment at the same time of correct and orderly relations between thought and thought. Where this is not, the knowledge acquired, having no rational relations or associations, exists for a while in isolated fragments and then dies out. In the analytic questions put on the text of a reading lesson, a logical order should be followed. The questions should be so arranged, as to bring out first the subject of a sentence, with its qualifying adjuncts, next the predicate with its adjuncts, and lastly the object, if one, in the same manner.

2. Replies.

i. As to the number replying. Considerable variety of opinion and practice exists on this point in England, some maintaining the superiority of the simultaneous method; whilst others are equally as favorable to the individual. Mr. Stow thus states the advantages of the simultaneous plan. "The great object in the intellectual department is to present food for every variety of mind-suited to every capacity without overstaining any, and to cultivate by exercise during each day, every varied power of human nature. We have thus the daily exercise of the individual powers, and the combined simultaneous exercise and sympathy of all present, which is best secured by simultaneous answers. All cannot acquire the same amount of knowledge of any kind—and each mind varies in the capacity and quality of its powers. Some are more imaginativeothers illustrative-others more logical-some have a larger capacity for facts, whether dates, terms, or numbers; and some also for music -some have greater powers of observation-others of reflection. It cannot be supposed, therefore, that all will be equally ready in answering every question, or in filling up every ellipsis. The matterof-fact boys in the gallery will (ceteris paribus) simultaneously answer any question about words or dates, more quickly than those of imaginative or logical powers; while the imaginative will more readily grasp the idea-and the logical the reason. "When the system is conducted by a proper trainer, each pupil receives what he is capable of, and the whole gallery receives what any one knows, by the master throwing the proper answer, whether to a direct question, or from an ellipsis, back upon the whole gallery, and requiring a simultaneous response, not by mere repetition, but generally by inverting the sentence."

In favor of the individual plan, J. Fletcher, Esq., one of H.M. Inspectors of Schools, speaking of gallery teaching, has these observations. "It is essential that the little people should not be removed too far from each other in mental stature, and yet further that they should all and severally be required to carry on a course of mental effort addressed to the matter before them. The former requisite is wanting, wherever a whole school receives the most essential parts of its instruction simultaneously; and the latter is wanting, wherever, as in nine cases out of ten, it is supposed to be obtained by requiring simultaneous answers, or answers which are supposed to be simultaneous, and which are at least indiscriminate, from the whole assembly; that is, wherever the questions which occur in the conversational lecture are thrown before the class indiscriminately, and any, or all who can, may answer. The character of this answering will be understood on a moment's reflection, when it is perceived that it commonly comes, from all who speak, in precisely the same words, and that it is simultaneously wrong in the same words, as well as simultaneously right. In effect, the words of a few older children, who alone are following the teacher, are caught up by the rest with a rapidity, which an uninitiated ear is unable to detect; and the result is so cheerful a noise, that the teacher himself often believes he is instructing the whole section, especially when, now and then, he requires an unusually long or hard answer, given only by an elder boy or two, to be repeated by all together."

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"The most skilful teachers, however, will know how to convert a thriftless collectiveness of vocal utterance into a fruitful collectiveness of mental effort, by employing in addition to the preceding means (making the lesson interesting, &c.) not only a well-digested system progress from the known to the unknown in their simultaneous lessons, but also a method of individual questioning, to which all are held liable, in rapid and individual succession, on the failing of any one to make answer; and the consciousness of this liability compels each to follow the course of the teacher's facts and reasoning for himself."

It seems now to be generally admitted that the latter plan produces by far the larger amount of mental effort, and hence adds much to the efficiency of the teacher's labor; indeed Mr. Stow, though so favorable to simultaneous answers, admits that " they are mingled with individual questions, both for the sake of variety, in checking inattention in any of the children, and for particular examination.' The plan adopted by some teachers is, to use individual questions during the progress of the lesson, and simultaneous for the purpose of recapitulation, whether of sections, or the entire lessons.

ii. Character of the replies. In all ordinary cases, replies should be made in the children's own words; in those special cases, in which a set form of words is desirable, as definitions, &c., the whole of the reply should be subjected to a rigid analysis, before any attempt is made to bring it out in its entire form. The teacher must always bear in mind that a child's comprehension of language is in advance of his power of expression, and hence replies well intended may be ill expressed. Now: if, unmindful of this, the teacher should ridicule such attempt, he will assuredly defeat his own purpose, by checking the efforts of his pupils to reply. The Rev. J. Allen observes that in questioning children he endeavours to keep in mind this rule; 'To make out any answer the children may give (if it can be done with truth) to have some measure of correctness in it. If a question gets a very absurd answer from children, he has cause to ask himself if the fault be not in his manner of putting the question, or in its substance. Ordinarily the teacher should abstain from checking the children abruptly, and he will often find it a help to take up the hint supplied by the children, and first bring before them the question to which their answer would have been fitted, to try to lead them from that to the proposed teaching." If the teacher, whilst he discourages mere guessing, will encourage his pupils to say what they think, he will be in the way of success. It is evident, that when a wrong reply is given, there must be the want either of a clear conception of the matter of the reply, or of the proper words in which it should be expressed; the skilful teacher will readily discover which, and as readily remove it. Some tact is necessary that the replies may be taken, not always from the most forward, but from those also who are less active; so that the indolent may be aroused and the timid encouraged. To secure this purpose, the ordinary practice is, for the question to be put, and instead of an immediate reply, for all those who think themselves able to answer to hold out a hand; the teacher can now, by pointing to any of these, take an answer, or he may take several, and afterwards say which is

correct.

Much attention should be paid to the manner in which the replies are expressed; this should, in fact, be made a lesson in practical grammar. Any badly expressed answer should be noticed, and the children made to point out the error, and give its correction. In some cases, the mode universally practised in Germany of requiring every answer to be a complete proposition, may profitably be adopted. Mr. Mann's remarks are worthy of attention. "In this, as in all other schools, a complete answer was always required. For instance, if a teacher asks, "What are houses made of? he does not accept

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the answer, "of wood or stone," but he requires a full complete answer;-as, a house may be made of wood." The answer must always contain an intelligible proposition, without reference to the words of the question to complete it. And here also the greatest care is taken that the answer shall always be grammatically correct, have the right terminations of all articles, adjectives, and nouns, and the right grammatical transpositions according to the idioms and structure of the language."

This paper cannot be better concluded, than in the words of a writer already named: "One who has not reflected on and studied the principles and details belonging to the method cannot expect to practise it successfully. This method admits, and indeed requires, perhaps, more than any other, hints, rules, and instruction for its right employment."

R.

Grammar.

ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES.

The simplest sen

1. It has been shown that no sentence is complete which does not include a SUBJECT and a PREDICATE. tence consists of two words, the one a subject and the other a predicate, as dogs bark. The subject of the sentence is dogs and the predicate bark.

2. In sentences like the following-the dogs are barking; the moon is bright; the stars are shining, the words are and is are called copulas, but this distinction is not really necessary. Every sentence may be regarded as containing simply a subject and a predicate, the subject containing that part of the sentence which describes the thing we talk about, and the predicate containing the words which describe what we say of it.

3. In the following sentence all the words in italics unite to form the subject, and the remainder constitutes the predicate.

That form of government is most useful to its subjects and most honourable to itself, which provides for the well-being of all classes of the community, encourages virtue and represses vice, is characterized by no partiality, and is capable of giving effect to the principles it adopts.

4. Main or principal sentence.—But although every sentence contains one subject and one predicate, yet a sentence may include secondary or accessory sentences or clauses, and each such clause will necessary contain its own subject and predicate.

5. Secondary or Accessory clauses.-In the following sentence' the great dogs, which surround this neighbourhood and very much alarm it, make a great barking:' we have the leading sentence' the dogs make a great barking,' and two accessory clauses (1) they (which

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and they) surround this neighbourhood,' and (2) they (which and they) much alarm it.' The words in italics in the original as well as the separated sentences describe the subject in each severally.

6. The parts of speech which conjoin or hook on the secondary or accessory sentence to the main one are (1) the conjunctions, and (2) the relative pronouns which include conjunctions, who being and he; which being and it or and they.

H

=

7. The following sentences are complex and therefore capable of being resolved into their simple sentences.

(a) Cats which belong to the feline species are provided with claws, which they can contract or expand at pleasure.

(b) I am oppressed with difficulty, since, if it shall be true, I am unable to persevere.

Sentence (a) may be resolved into

Cats are provided with claws-the leading sentence.

They belong to the feline species-first accessory sentence, conjoined to the leading sentence by which, nom. case (= and they).

They can contract (them)-second accessory sentence, conjoined by which, obj. case ( and them).

=

They can expand (them)-third accessory sentence, conjoined by the conjunction or.

In (6) we have the main sentence-'I am oppressed with difficulty.' the first accessory clause-'I am unable to persevere,' conjoined by the conjunction since.

the second accessory clause-' it shall be true,' conjoined by the conjunction if.

8. Sometimes a conjunction will unite sentences which are equally important, one being in no way dependent upon or accessory to the other. In this case the clause may be called coordinate, and an accessory clause may be termed sub-ordinate.

Ex. 1. Tigers and Cats belong to the feline species.' Here we have two co-ordinate sentences:

Tigers belong to the feline species.

Cats belong to the feline species.

Ex. 2. Tigers and Cats, which belong to the feline species expand and contract their claws.'

We have here four leading or co-ordinate clauses, and two accessory or sub-ordinate clauses :