Unusual Words.

vantages, the more prominent of which will be, the awakening of thought and interest. After a little practice, the members of a class will be able to name words with a great degree of promptness; and an exercise of this kind will be made highly interesting and profitable.

"Another method, and the last I shall name, is the following, which may prove very useful in the higher classes of most schools. Let the teacher pronounce to a class several words of difficult orthography, or short sentences containing such words, the pupils writing the same upon their slates as fast as dictated. After the desired number of words and sentences have been written, the instructor may address his class as follows: 'Scholars, the words and sentences which I have just pronounced may require from you some study. Examine them carefully, ascertain the correct spelling and meaning of each; and when you have studied them sufficiently, erase them from your slates. To-morrow I shall give you the same exercise, and shall then expect you to write them accurately.'

"Let us suppose that the following words and sentences should be given for an exercise of this kind:

Words unusually difficult.

Thomas has an excellent daguerreotype likeness

of his mother.

The dahlia is a beautiful flower.

He was a successful merchant and a skilful financier.

The glaciers of Switzerland.

There is a beautiful jet d'eau on the common. There was a beautiful giraffe in the menagerie. His loss caused great poignancy of grief.

It was a successful ruse de

guerre.

The police exercised strict surveillance.

"This mode is well adapted for presenting words and phrases whose orthography is peculiarly difficult, and which occur less frequently than most words."

By a judicious use of the methods I have named, and of others which may suggest themselves to your mind, I cannot but think you will succeed in your attempts to make your pupils good spellers. That such may be the case is the earnest wish of

Your sincere friend,

C.

15

LETTER XIII.

PENMANSHIP.

MY DEAR FRIEND:

YOUR pupils will all be anxious to write, and those foolish parents who have been duped into the belief that a finished style of writing may be given in "twelve lessons of one hour each," will be rather unreasonable in their demands; but you have too much sense to feel any sympathy with such notions, and, of course, will neither attempt nor pretend to be one of the impostors.

A good handwriting is often spoken of as quite an accomplishment. It is more. Its utility is its chief value, and for this, mainly, should it be taught. Whatever is worth knowing at all, is worth knowing well; and whatever is worthy to be taught, is worthy to be thoroughly taught. All reasonable-people believe this, and yet how few practise it! How many there are who write so illegibly as to make it almost impossible to decipher their meaning! How often do we find it necessary to spend more minutes in reading a letter, than the writer used in penning it! This should not so be, and certainly there is no

The True End to be kept in View.

reasonable excuse for it. With proper care and right instruction, every pupil on leaving school may be, and should be, able to write a fair and legible hand, I mean every one who attends school regularly. Some, of course, will write a more finished and elegant style than others, and learn much more readily; but if a boy leaves school at the age of fourteen years, without the ability to write a plain, readable hand, he must have been grossly heedless, or his teacher a very incompetent one.

But you wish for hints and directions. I can point out no royal road,—designate no way in which you can hope to make good writers without continued care on your part, and persevering effort and practice on the part of your pupils. This should be understood at the outset by you and by them. I think it may also be understood, that a due regard to the directions and suggestions which I am about to give will secure satisfactory results in the branch under consideration.

A definite, desirable, and attainable end should be kept before the mind. It is too often the case that pupils commence writing with no well-defined views, and with no object beyond that of spending the required time in making "pen-and-ink marks" upon paper; and many teachers, I am sorry to add, feel that their whole duty is performed if they require their pupils to devote a half-hour daily to the making of these marks. No right taste is cultivated, no directions given, no instruction imparted, and, of course, no improvement is made. Week after

The Position. - The Pen.

week the pupils sit in the same improper position, holding the pen wrong, making and remaking very imperfect letters, - both teacher and pupils attaching more consideration to the quantity written than to the quality.

I will now, in a familiar way, proceed to give a few hints and directions on specific points.

I. The Position. - Pupils are very apt to sit in an awkward and bent position. They should be required to sit nearly erect, and with the right or left side towards the table. If you find that your pupils have acquired a bad position, it may require considerable effort for you to cause a change; but it should be effected, whatever amount of labor and time it may cost. It is not uncommon to find pupils in schools who bend over so much as to bring their eyes very near the paper. Though this is really an unhealthy and uncomfortable position, it will be no easy matter to cause a change, especially if the improper position has been long allowed.

II. Holding the Pen.-You cannot be too particular in your efforts on this point. Very bad habits are often formed, and become so established that the most patient and decided effort will be necessary in order to eradicate the old habit and introduce a new and correct one. But you must do it, if you would hope to be a successful teacher in this department. Bad habits in pen-holding are frequently the result of the improper construction of