the wisest and best of men ask assistance from God to teach their fellow-men, and feel and know it to be necessary so to do, who would not ask assistance to teach infants?

"To lead them into virtue's path

And up to truth divine.”

If we only had to educate the head, the thing might be less necessary. But the promoters of infant schools want to touch the heart; they want to operate upon the will and its affections as well as on the understanding; they want to make good men rather than learned men-men of wisdom, rather than men of knowledge; and he who has this work to do will find it no easy task; he will soon see his own weakness, and need of help.

But to proceed. The children being assembled, should be desired to stand up, and immediately afterwards to kneel down, all close to their seats, and as silent as possible: those who are not strong enough to kneel, may be allowed to sit on the ground. This being done, a child is to be placed in the centre of the school and to repeat the following prayer.

"O God, our heavenly father, thou art good to us; we would serve thee; we have sinned and done wrong many times. Jesus Christ died on the cross for us. Forgive our sins for Jesus' sake; may the holy spirit change our hearts, and make us to love God; help us to-day to be good children and to do what is right. Keep us from wicked thoughts and bad tempers; make us try to learn all that we are taught; keep us in health all the day. We would always think of God, and when we die may we go to heaven. God

bless our fathers and mothers, and sisters and brothers, and our teachers, and make us obedient and kind, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

The children afterwards repeat the Lord's prayer, and then sing a hymn; immediately after which they proceed to their lessons; which are fixed to what are called lesson-posts. To each of these posts there is a monitor, who is provided with a piece of cane for a pointer. This post is placed opposite to his class; and every class has a post, up to which the monitor brings the children three or four at a time, according to the number of children he has in his class. We have fourteen classes, and sometimes more, which are regularly numbered, so that we have one hundred children moving and saying their lessons at one time. When these lessons are completed the children are supplied with pictures, which they put on the post, the same as the spelling and reading lessons, but say them in a different manner. We find that if a class always say their lesson at one post, it soon loses its attraction; and consequently, although we cannot change them about from post to post in the spelling and reading lessons, because it would be useless to put a child to a reading post that did not know its letters, yet we can do so in the picture lessons, as the children are all alike in learning the objects.-One child can learn an object as quick as another, so that we have many children that can tell the name of different subjects, and even the names of all the geometrical figures, who do not know all the letters in the alphabet; and I have had children whom one would think were complete blockheads, on account of their not being able to learn the alphabet so quickly as some of

M

the other children, and yet those very children would learn things which appeared to me ten times more difficult. This proves the necessity of variety, and how difficult it is to legislate for children. Instead therefore of the children standing opposite their own post, they go round from one to another, repeating whatever they find at each post, until they have been all round the school. For instance, at No. I. post there may be the following objects; the horse, the ass, the zebra, the cow, the sheep, the goat, the springingantelope, the camelopard, the camel, the wild boar, the rhinoceros, the elephant, the hippopotamus, the lion, the tiger, the leopard, the civet, the weazel, the great white bear, the hyena, the fox, the greenland-dog, the hare, the mole, the squirrel, the kangaroo, the porcupine, the racoon. -Before commencing these lessons two boys are selected by the master, who perhaps are not monitors; these two boys bring the children up to a chalk line that is made near No. 1 post, eight at a time; one of the boys gets eight children standing up ready, always beginning at one end of the school, and takes them to this chalk line, whilst the other boy takes them to No. 1 post, and delivers them up to the charge of No. 1 monitor. No. 1 monitor then points to the different animals with a pointer, until the name of every one that is on his plate has been repeated; this done, he delivers them to No. 2 monitor, who has a different picture at his post; perhaps the following:--fishmonger, mason, hatter, cooper, butcher, blacksmith, fruiterer, distiller, grocer, turner, carpenter, tallow-chandler, milliner, dyer, druggist, wheelwright, shoe-maker, baker, printer, coach-maker, bookseller, brick

layer, linen-draper, cabinet-maker, brewer, painter, bookbinder. This done, No. 2 monitor delivers them over to No. 3 monitor, and No. 3 monitor to No. 4, and so on successively, until there are about one hundred children on the move at one time, all saying different objects: every child says the whole of the objects at every post. This great variety keeps up the attention, and their moving from post to post promotes their health.

As a further guide to the master or mistress of Infant Schools, 1 subjoin a synopsis of a week's course of instruction, which I drew up for my

own use.

RULES AND REGULATIONS,

AS OBSERVED AT THE INFANT SCHOOL, QUAKER STREET, SPITALFIELDS.

TIME.-Mornings. School to assemble at Nine o'clock, and to leave at Twelve.

Afternoons. School to assemble at Two o'clock, and to leave at Five.

MONDAY.

Morning. When assembled, to perform the appointed prayer, after which a hymn is to be sung; then slates and pencils are to be delivered to the children; after which they are to proceed with their letters and spelling. At half-past ten o'clock to play, and at eleven o'clock to assemble in the gallery, and repeat the picture lessons on natural history after the monitor in the rostrum.

Afternoon. Begin with prayer and hymn as in the morning; picture lessons on Scripture history to be repeated from the lesson post, and to be questioned on them afterwards in the gallery.

TUESDAY.

Morning. Usual prayer and hymn. Slates and pencils. Letters and spelling from the sides of the school, and from the tins. Play. Gallery; repeat the addition and subtraction tables.

Afternoon. Prayer and hymn. Multiplication table; the monitor asking the question, and the children answering. Reading lessons. Play. Gallery; numeration and spelling with brass figures and letters.

WEDNESDAY.

Morning. Prayer and hymn. Slates and pencils. Letters and spelling. Play. Gallery; master to teach geometrical figures, and musical characters, by chalking on the swing-slate.

Afternoon. Prayer and hymn. Practice, pence and shilling tables. Play. Gallery; master to give lessons on arithmetic. Extempore teaching on men and things,

&c. &c.

THURSDAY.

Morning. Prayer and hymn. Slates and pencils. Letters and spelling. Division, weights, measures, and time, from the rostrum. Play. Gallery, same lessons as Monday morning.

Afternoon. Prayer and hymn. From the lesson posts, epitome of geometry, and natural history. Gallery, brass letters and figures. Extempore teaching on men and things, taking care that all such teaching shall be illustrated by substances.

FRIDAY.

Morning. Prayer and hymn. Slates and pencils. Letters and spelling. Tables in arithmetic at the master's discretion. Play. Gallery; lessons on geography, maps, globes, &c.

Afternoon. Prayer and hymn. Scripture pictures on the lesson posts, and questions on them in the gallery.