Napoleon.

feel, I dare say, that I have set a very high mark for your attainment. But, my friend, is it too high? Your chosen work is one of the most important and ennobling ever intrusted to mortal, and it calls for high qualifications, for excellent and lovely traits, for hearts and intellects well disciplined and ready for every good effort. Unless you are what you would have your pupils become, you can hardly hope to make them what you ought to be, but are not. In your daily walk and conversation you must ever exemplify the correctness and the value of the views and principles you would inculcate in the hearts of your pupils. Strive, therefore, to be unto them as a "living epistle," plain and full of instruction.

I have somewhere read that Napoleon, on his departure for Belgium, thought it prudent to guard with extra care against the dangers which threatened, having all Europe leagued against him. He therefore sent for a skilful and accomplished workman, between whom and himself the following conversation was held.

Napoleon. "Do you consider yourself competent to make a coat of mail of such texture and strength that no weapon whatever can penetrate it?"

Workman. "I think I am."

Napoleon. "I wish you to make one with as little delay as possible, and for the same you shall receive eighteen thousand francs."

Workman. "The article shall be ready in the shortest possible time, and the compensation you

The Armor.

offer will well reward me for doing the work thoroughly."

The work was speedily performed, and on an appointed day the artificer took it to the palace. Bonaparte examined it with much care, and then requested the maker to put the armor on. The man obeyed, when the Emperor, taking a pistol, said, "We shall now see if this work is of the texture and strength you promised." He then fired at his breast and at his back, time and again; but the armor proved sure proof against such attacks. Next a long fowling-piece was used, but still the armor proved effectual, and its maker stood unmoved, full of confidence in the completeness of his work.

The delighted Emperor, instead of paying the stipulated price, presented the man with a check for thirty-six thousand francs, saying, "You are one of the few men whose works verify their words."

And so let teachers go forth to their daily labors with armor bright, and sure proof against the attacks of the ignorant and self-conceited, -ever bearing clear proof that they are thoroughly furnished for the great work before them, and they will not only receive their stipulated reward, but a twofold greater, from the consciousness of having labored faithfully and successfully; and ever will their well-rendered efforts be held in grateful remembrance in the hearts of those whom they have led to right thought and action.

I know full well, my friend, under what dis

The Light-House.

couraging circumstances you, and other teachers, may be called to labor; -opposed, perhaps, by the parents for whose children you toil; unencouraged by the wealthy, uncheered by the community; scantily remunerated; your best acts and motives, it may be, grossly perverted and misrepresented; and others, perchance, reaping where you have sown,so far as the eye of the world is concerned. But be of good cheer. "In due season ye shall reap, if ye faint not." Though clouds and darkness do sometimes gather around you, and others appear to enter in upon, and, as it were, eat the fruits of your patient and skilful culture, yet despair not, despond not; in due time all will come right, and justice will be done.

It is recorded of an ancient king of Egypt, -onc of the Ptolemies, that he employed a celebrated architect to construct a magnificent light-house for the safety of shipping, and ordered an inscription in favor of himself to be engraved on a conspicuous part. The architect, though inwardly coveting the honor of such a record for himself, felt obliged to comply with the king's order; but he made the inscription on a plaster resembling stone, but of a perishable substance. After the lapse of years this crumbled away, and the next generation saw another inscription, recording the name, not of the king, but of the architect, which had been secretly engraved on the durable stone, beneath the perishable covering, a lasting memorial of the skill of him who planned and reared the colossal structure.

The Result.

And thus, my friend, will it be with you, if you are faithful to your high trust. The lines which you are daily writing, and the impressions which you are hourly making, upon the young and susceptible minds and hearts of those under your training, will grow broader and deeper and brighter through all coming time, and the impress of your heart and moulding hand will become distinctly visible, and stand as an ineffaceable honor to your fidelity and skill. Then go patiently and hopefully to your noble work, and in the time of the true harvest you shall come again rejoicing, "bringing your sheaves with you."

Having said thus much of the greatness of the work before you, having spoken of some of the requisites for success, and hinted at the rich rewards which will crown well-rendered efforts, I shall in my next go with you to the field of your labors, and endeavor to give you such advice, and offer such hints, as may seem pertinent. For a more detailed enumeration and consideration of the qualities essential in a successful teacher, you are referred to "The Teacher and Parent," and Page's "Theory and Practice of Teaching," two educational works published by A. S. Barnes and Company, New York.

Your sincere friend,

C.

LETTER IV.

MEANS OF PROFESSIONAL IMPROVEMENT.

MY DEAR FRIEND:

You ask me what you shall do in order to keep alive your interest in your chosen work, and at the same time better qualify yourself for your highly important and responsible duties. The mere fact of your asking for this information greatly raises you in my estimation, and confirms me in the belief that you will prove an honor and an ornament to your profession. Most cheerfully will I advise you on this subject; and though I may not say all that might be said, I hope I may offer a few hints that will prove beneficial.

We need no arguments to prove that "knowledge is power"; it is an admitted fact in all departments. To know how to do a work just as it should be done, is worth far more than to know how to do it in a way barely passable. They who really excel in ability to communicate information, or perform a work, will have an influence that will be truly valuable. Knowledge is wealth, it is capital. An eminent lawyer was once consulted by a farmer in relation to a question of great importance to the