■IH1 HI m m MM Hi IS WmSm UMER ■ 9 Smm H n a BW i M H i n HHHHi Hn B ■Hn ■umBMH wyuur ■■■■1 ■hum HsHHHhH 111 ■ HHH AIDS TO MENTAL DEVELOPMENT. 1 AIDS TO MENTAL DEVELOPMENT; HINTS TO PARENTS A SYSTEM OF MENTAL AND MORAL INSTRUCTION, EXEMPLIFIED IN CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN A MOTHER AND HER CHILDREN. WITH AN ADDRESS TO MOTHERS A LADY OF PHILADELPHIA. In tones of sportive tenderness He answered all its questions, and asked others As simple as its own, yet wisely framed To wake and prove an Infant's faculties ; As though its mind were some sweet instrument, And he with breath and touch were finding out What stops, or keys, would yield the richest music. Montgomery PHILADELPHIA: KEY & BIDDLE, 23 MINOR STREET. T, K, C011TKS & CO. PBTTSTTEF.3, 1834. K Entered according to the act of congress, in the year 1834, by Key & Biddle, in the office of the clerk of the district court of the eastern district of Penn- sylvania. /sss Philadelphia: T. K. Collins & Co., Printer?, 49 Prune Street. i ,d ADVERTISEMENT. The object of the editor in presenting this vol- ume to the public, is to show how a mother may make her hours of relaxation with her children both amusing and instructive; and as care has been taken to remove every thing like sectarian- ism from the religious part of the instruction, re- taining only those conversations which relate to love to God and duty to parents, it is hoped that there will not a sentiment be found in the whole work that any parent would not have a pleasure in communicating. The original work is the pro- duction of one evidently well acquainted with the principles of education; and the original matter which has been substituted for that which it was thought would not be generally acceptable, is only a specimen of a mode of teaching that has been long and successfully practised. As many mothers VI ADVERTISEMENT. may be prevented from an attempt at the t. mess of instruction, by an apprehension of their own in- competence, some conversations are given at the commencement of the volume for the purpose oil showing upon what trifling subjects a child may be exercised in the important principles of think- ing, comparing, and analysing, which form the foundation on which a substantial education can alone be established. CONTENTS. to Mothers 9 I. Introductory Conversation 19 II. On Language 33 III. A Visit to an Infants' School 48 IV. Evening Scripture Reading 65 V. Infant Development and Arithmetic . . . .88 VI. Rudiments of Arithmetic, and Moral Development . 99 VII. Grammar . . 110 VIII. Visit to a Paper Manufactory 124 IX. Evening Scripture Reading 142 X. Transposition of a Hymn, and Grammar . . .166 XI. Missionary* Anecdotes 175 XII. Poetical Recollections .192 XIII. On Drawing and Entomology 209 XIV. On a Scripture Print 225 XV. A Morning Walk ....... 240 XVI. On Botany ........ 254 XVII. On the Formation of Sentences .... 266 XVIII. On the Meaning of a Hymn 274 XIX. On Geography 286 XX. An Evening Walk 304 XXI. On Figurative Language 312 ADDRESS TO MOTHERS. What is education? — This is a question which every mother, and especially every young mother, should ac- custom herself to ask. Not as an idle inquiry, to be an- swered by any flippant tongue that may chance to be near, but to be revolved over and over in her own bosom, and to be solved by the dictates of her own free and un- biassed understanding. Let her ask herself how her own mind and character were formed. Was she made what she is by the lessons she received at school on geography, grammar, history, &c, or by the companions with whom she associated, the examples she saw at home, and the early friendships that she formed ? Let her ask herself these questions, and examine well the answers dictated by her conscience, and there can be little doubt that she will soon become sensible how little comparatively de- pends upon that portion of a child's education, on which in general the only importance is placed. Good schools are no doubt powerful and important auxilliaries, but still they are only auxilliaries, for the grand and operating cause is centred at home. A wise and judicious teacher 10 ADDRESS TO MOTHERS. will be able to do much to assist and strengthen the ef- forts of a parent, but unless the parent has laid a good foundation, the utmost endeavours of the most conscien- tious teacher can do little towards raising a valuable and substantial superstructure. We all know how much more powerful example ever is than precept ; if a child, therefore, is in the habit of seeing truth, honour, generosi- ty, and a love of inquiry neglected at home, small is the hope of any lessons received at school, producing a love of them. Nay, parents themselves may lecture, moralize and remonstrate, but unless they likewise act, unless their own conduct be regulated by those principles which they strive to instil, it is vain to imagine that any sophistry of reasoning can blind the child to a conviction that they are not really thought to be the best, or they would be followed by the parents themselves. Education, then, is not the limited object that it is generally conceived to be; confined to the few years spent at school, and the small portion of elementary knowledge acquired there ; but it comprehends the dispositions that a child is permitted to indulge, the habits that it forms, the examples which it imitates, and the companions with whom it associates ; a truth that strikes home to the hearts of parents, and makes much more serious demands upon their affections and self-denial, than all the most costly schools would re- quire ; for it calls upon them first to begin with the disci- pline of their own hearts and tempers. It requires that they should first of all learn to govern themselves. This is ADDRESS TO MOTHERS. 11 a truth that calls for so much, and, in most instances, would demand so complete a revolution of character, and the relinquishment of so many darling habits and long nour- ished propensities, that few are willing to acknowledge, even to themselves, its importance in the attainment of the object which they profess to have more at heart than any other in life. Nor is it at all wonderful that they should do so ; they themselves perhaps have been left to scramble through the world as they could, picking up the bad or the good promiscuously, as it happened to fall in their way. Is it surprising, then, that they should entertain very inadequate ideas of the importance of that education of which they know so little? They remem- ber that during the early part of their lives they had been left to fight and scramble their way amongst servants, depending upon their own spirit, ingenuity, or cunning, for the attainment of their wishes or escaping from punishment; and when the time arrived when it was deemed fit that their education should commence, with- out considering that it had already been going on for several years under the superintendence of footmen, nursery-maids, and all the casual acquaintance that a child is liable to form in its rambles through a large city, their parents began to discuss the momentous subject of to what school the child should be sent. And what were the qualifications, then taken into consideration, to determine which school should obtain the preference ? Was it the talents of the teacher, or the attention that he 12 ADDRESS TO MOTHERS. was known to have bestowed upon the best modes of communicating information or of wielding or turning the youthful mind ? Far from it. The only subject that was seriously discussed as of vital importance, was whe- ther the school was sufficiently fashionable, whether it would stand the test, by which schools, like watering- places, are tried, that of being crowded to overflowing ? Ought we to wonder then that parents so educated should in their turn pursue the same line of conduct, and per- suade themselves that they have fulfilled all the duties imposed upon the parental character, when they have se- lected the most fashionable seminary in which to place their child, and having kept it there the usual number of years ; or else, perhaps, as is still more frequently the case, having tried every respectable institution of the kind within their reach, at length pronounce the business of education completed, and send forth their raw, unform- ed embryo into the world, with a mind to which princi- ple and reflection are alike strangers. Education is the business of training the mind of youth, from the earliest dawn of intellect till the character is sufficiently formed to enable the youthful agent to think and act independently ; an indefinite period, and subject to a thousand contingencies ; and even then, when the duties of the parent are completed, the various circum- stances of life take up the work, and carry it forward till death comes at last and closes the scene, and shuts the pupil out from all the advantages to be derived from his ADDRESS TO MOTHERS. 13 last great school — the world. To a parent, therefore, con- scientiously anxious to fulfil all that is required, no cir- cumstance will appear too trifling to be attended to, if it afford an opportunity of either calling forth any of the latent springs which time will eventually unite to form the future character, furnish the means of turning the current of wayward passion, or prove the vehicle for calling some amiable or generous feeling into action. If we examine our own minds, we shall be sensible of fre- quently being influenced on occasions of the utmost mo- ment, by very trifling circumstances ; and if that is the case with ourselves, how much more likely is it to be so with minds too young and inexperienced to be capable of comparing and judging, and forming a proper estimate of the passing events. How much then is it the duty of a parent to watch over the impressions which that young mind receives, and to direct its thoughts into a proper channel ; to mark and soothe the ebullitions of temper ; to nourish the springs of virtue, as they begin to rise from their source, and to fan the sparks of generosity and feel- ing, as they are first seen to kindle in the youthful breast. To a child, too, all the world is new, and curiosity and wonder hold an almost perpetual dominion over its mind. "What is this?" " Let me see that!" is continually bursting from its lips ; and how unlimited are the claims upon a parent's care which such interrogatories and such requests present. They are constant demands for edu- cation; and upon the manner in which that education is b 2 14 ADDRESS TO MOTHERS. conducted, the excellence and usefulness of the future character in a great measure depend. Could the youthful mother but form a conception of the sum of disappoint- ment, pain and mortification she might save her child by- seizing, and making a judicious use of these early calls for information, how eagerly would she employ herself in discovering the best modes of employing the oppor- tunities thus presented to her by nature, and how anx- iously would she watch that no such chance of benefiting a being so dear to her should pass by unimproved. But wholly unconscious of the consequence of what appears to her so mere a trifle, or labouring under the erroneous notion that the mind of her child is like a piece of fallow ground, which will lie totally vacant and unemployed till the proper period of tillage shall arrive, she pushes the child aside at the moment its little mind is thirsting for information, with, — Go away and don't plague me ! How troublesome you are ! What curiosity you have ! Yes ! the curiosity of a child is indeed unbounded — and would we wish it otherwise ? Let us suppose ourselves placed for the first time in our lives in a large and magnificent palace, adorned with furniture, not only of the most beau- tiful description, but all of a kind perfectly new to us ; would we not be anxious to examine all, and make our- selves acquainted with their nature and uses ? And is not a child placed in such a palace ? Is it not surround- ed with innumerable objects at once, new, beautiful and interesting ? Nay, more, is it not possessed of impulses, ADDRESS TO MOTHERS. 15 dispositions and passions, all equally new, and calling for the directing hand of experience and affection, to assist it to govern and control them? — and so circumstanced, will any one pretend to say that the watchful care of the mo- ther is not required to satisfy its curiosity, solve its doubts and regulate its feelings? — and with these first cares of the parent the business of education commences. Who would wish to see his child pass on blindfold and uninter- ested in the objects which surround it ? Who does not desire that sprightliness and animation should be leading characteristics of its young mind ? And if lively and ac- tive, must it not have something on which to feed? And if not supplied with good, wholesome and nutritive food, will not folly, and even vice, step in to fill up the vacan- cies? Nature admits not of any thing lying idle and un- employed; a continual change is taking place in the mental as well as in the physical world, and if not advancing to a higher state of perfection, every thing in nature is con- tinually sinking into decay and corruption. The ground which is lying fallow, though apparently useless and un- employed, is not really so. Concocting suns and soften- ing dews are at work upon it, and it is imbibing the various ingredients requisite for enriching and fertilizing its furrows and enabling it to bring forth a rich and abun- dant harvest. But to lay it open to the suns, and dews, and rains, is not all that is necessary to secure a luxuriant crop ; it must also be kept clear of noxious weeds, which will not only exhaust its present strength, but will dis- 16 ADDRESS TO MOTHERS. seminate their destructive seeds and choke every useful plant as it springs. And so it is with the human mind, even in its very earliest stages ; ideas, feelings, impulses and passions begin to germinate, from the first moment that the breath of heaven begins to waft over the soft cheek, or the sun gladdens the eyes of the young human blossom. But not a moment, oh, ye parent, is it allowed to rest; for, if not supplied with wholesome nourish- ment, which shall bring forth rich and valuable fruits, * Folly will plant the tares without your toil, And weeds spring up in the neglected soil.' But it may be objected that few parents are sufficiently acquainted with the practical part of education to enable them to become teachers ; and this is an objection which at first sight appears to have considerable weight. But all parents have the advantage of their children in expe- rience, and as that is proverbially acknowledged to be a dear school, they must always have it in their power at least to save those children from learning many things at it, which, if left without any other teacher, they could obtain in no other way. Let all mothers, then (for it is to mothers we chiefly address ourselves, as on them the care of the child principally depends), keep in mind that in whatever she does or says she is giving a lesson to her child, that in every equivocation, every deviation from truth, every burst of passion, every uncharitable speech ADDRESS TO MOTHERS. 17 of which she is guilty, she is calling into practice some of the leading principles of education, and vitiating that which ought to be the first and leading object of every parenf and teacher, the culture of the heart ; and with such an object in view as that of trying to make her child virtu- ous and amiable, what mother would not keep a watch over herself, and endeavour to form her conduct accord- ing to the most probable means of attaining such an end. Another point, which is always within the power of the mother, is that of giving the information required, so, far at least as her own knowledge extends ; and where it is found deficient, what stronger inducement can she require for self-improvement than that of satisfying a laudable curiosity in her child. But perhaps a greater service still may be rendered to her child, even by the most un- informed mother, simply by giving it repeated lessons on the art of thinking ; that is, of fixing its mind upon some one object, till it has given it a fair examination ; for this is perhaps one of the most difficult lessons that a child has to learn, and one which, if not acquired at an early period of life, is scarcely ever perfectly accomplished. The arts of examining, comparing and judging, which can never be exercised without the power of abstraction, are, next to the cultivation of the heart and the moral principles, the chief objects to be kept in view; for, with- out them, knowledge is only a useless burden, clogging the mind, bewildering the ideas, and destroying the fancy. But with a habit of inquiring, examining and arranging 18 ADDRESS TO MOTHERS. every fresh piece of information assimilates itself with the mind and enters into the circulation of the thoughts, giving additional strength and vigour to its constitution, in the same manner that wholesome food improves that of the body, when the digestive organs are neither made weak from want of use, or have become clogged by being overloaded with food which it is unable to digest. Whilst, however, an unnecessary burdening of the memory is con- demned, we feel the duty equally imperative of declaring; our entire disapprobation of the plan of playing learn- ing into children. There is no "royal road" to know- ledge. It must be the result of a child's own application,, study and perseverance, or it will never be of any real I value ; and when it is considered that the knowledge thus> acquired is not the only good obtained, but that the mere art of studying gives strength to the mind in like manner as exercise braces the limbs, there can be but little doubt! of the efficacy of a child's early commencing the impor- tant business of thinking. AIDS TO MENTAL DEVELOPMENT. INTRODUCTORY CONVERSATION. My dear Mrs. Eustace, said Mrs. Sandhurst, as she en- tered the room, I am glad to find you alone, and, I hope, at leisure to spare me a little of your valuable time. 1 have long wished to converse with you on the subject of education, in which I feel deeply interested ; but in the practical application of which I find so many difficulties meeting me at every step, that I have almost determined to give up the plan of educating my children myself; and I think of sending them to school. Mrs. Eustace. I feel, with you, that there are great, though, I think, not insuperable difficulties, in the way of a mother's educating her own children ; but it is a plan so evidently pointed out by God himself, that it should not be hastily relinquished. The influence of a mother over the affections of her child during the years of in- fancy, enables her not only to cultivate its mind, but to produce on its heart those impressions which it will never lose, in after intercourse with the world; and which, t\ rough the influence of the Holy Spirit, she may firmly believe will enable it to overcome the various temptations by which it must be assailed. 20 AIDS TO MENTAL DEVELOPMENT. Mrs, Sandhurst. I feel all you say to be true, and only wish that I could be as successful as you have been in bringing up your children. May I ask what are their ages? I do not exactly remember. Mrs. Eustace. Fanny is fourteen : Albert, eleven : Lucy, eight : and Edward, three years old. Mrs. Sandhurst. Mine are rather older than yours, but they seem to have so rooted a dislike to application, that I am completely worn out with the exertion of teaching them. Mrs. Eustace. You will pardon me, my friend, if I venture to remark, that if you complain of being fatigued' by instructing your children, it is not wonderful that they should participate in the same feeling. But perhaps you are too anxious to teach them, instead of drawing them out to teach themselves ? Mrs. Sandhurst. I do not comprehend your mean- ing. I have taught them exactly in the same manner as I was taught myself ; nay, I have employed the same books, that I might make no mistake. Mrs. Eustace. What will you say to me, then, when I tell you that I use hardly any books, especially with the younger children ? Mrs. Sandhurst. No books, Mrs. Eustace ! but surely you teach them grammar, arithmetic, spelling, and reading ? Mrs. Eustace. I do, but not at all in the manner in which they are usually taught. Mrs. Sandhurst. I have used small Catechisms on every branch of learning, considering that knowledge presented in so very clear and condensed a form, would be much more easily retained than in any other way. INTRODUCTORY CONVERSATION. 21 Mrs. Eustace. I entirely differ from you there. Can any thing be so uninteresting to a child as this mode of instruction ; in which the bare facts are brought before him, stripped of all that could make them pleasing? I remember too well the disgust I myself felt — when obliged to commit long tasks to memory, scarcely a word of which I understood, — to impose the same burden on others. Mrs. Sandhurst. Do you not think, then, that the memory ought to be early cultivated? Mrs. Eustace. I do, but not as a distinct faculty. Whatever is thoroughly understood will be easily re- tained; but whatever is learned merely by rote, will be as easily forgotten; and if it were not forgotten, it would seldom be of any use. I never allow my children to learn any thing by heart, which I am not first assured, by questioning them, that they fully understand. If they acquire, in the course of a whole day's application, but one clear idea, something is gained; whereas, of what avail is it to them to have committed pages to memory, to which they attach no meaning, or at most, only a con- fused, and frequently a false one? The teacher has at first little to do, but to draw from the child that which he can himself observe, by attending to what passes in his own mind, as well as by coming in contact with sen- sible objects. Mrs. Sandhurst. Indeed your theory appears to me scarcely intelligible, because I have always thought that the first duty which I owed to every child when it was old enough, was to teach it to read; and this I have ac- complished with infinite pains and trouble. Mrs. Eustace. I would not shock your prejudices by C 22 AIDS TO MENTAL DEVELOPMENT. a harsh declaration of my own sentiments; but allow me to say, that I think reading is quite misplaced, by being allowed so complete a precedence in the order of instruc- tion. Words are but the signs of things, of actions, or of feelings ; and of what value is the sign till the thing is understood which it is intended to express. Mrs. Sandhurst. I agree with you, but until a child can read, how is it possible to instruct him in any thing? Mrs. Eustace. Every thing within its reach or its view, may be made a source of instruction. Take, for example, any part of its body, an arm or a hand ; or take any of its actions ; or any thing in the room. Here is a piece of stick, this will afford a long lesson. Its breadth, length, thickness, weight, colour, form, properties, uses, origin, growth, &c. ; upon all these the child's observation may be directed, and they may become sources of im- provement. By these simple methods a taste for inquiry is excited ; the child will be led to reflect on its own pow- ers and capacities; and its faculties will be developed more rapidly than you would at first conceive to be pos- sible. Mrs. Sandhurst. This is all very well for a clever mother, but I should despair of finding a sufficient variety of subjects to enable me to instruct my children upon this plan. Mrs. Eustace. Believe me, you are quite mistaken. You need not fear that jou. will want materials ; the mind of a child once brought into active operation, will furnish them for you, and you will soon have enough to do in answering the questions which your young pupil will propose to you. Children will often make inquiries, to which their parents will find it no easy task to reply satis- INTRODUCTORY CONVERSATION. 23 factorily. And by this mode of treatment you will pre- vent them from degenerating into those little sensual beings, who are continually disgusting you with their ap- petites and passions ; — while, on the other hand, they will have endless sources of pleasure and improvement opened to them. Mrs. Sandhurst. I should like to be a learner in your school, for I feel my own need of instruction daily. Neither pains nor expense were spared in my education, and yet I find that I never thoroughly understood any thing I was taught. Mrs. Eustace. Nothing would give me more plea- sure than to point out to you such plans as might ena- ble you at once to be the mother, friend, and teacher of your children. It is one of the excellences of the system which I advocate, that we learn with our little ones ; they become unconsciously our instructors, by continu- ally furnishing us with fresh materials for thought and reflection. Mrs. Sandhurst. But at what age do you think a child is capable of being taught ? Mrs. Eustace. Much sooner than is generally be- lieved ; a child can hardly be said to be incapable of receiv- ing impressions, from its very birth. How soon does it observe the expression of its mother's countenance, and give evidence that it is the subject of painful and pleas- ing sensations, from external objects ! Light, colour, and form, are the first sources of these impressions, and, gra- dually, thought is exercised upon them. After this time, the child begins to feel its own power of making impress- ions upon these external objects: and at a still later 24 AIDS TO MENTAL DEVELOPMENT. period it is conscious of its own mental existence, and be- comes a reasoning being. Mrs. Sandhurst. It is then to its reasoning powers that you would principally direct your attention ? Mrs. Eustace. Far from it ; the first and main point at which we must aim, is to draw forth its affections, and thus to form a proper basis, on which to ground intellec- tual culture. Without keeping this constantly in view, you may ultimately make its knowledge an obstacle in its way to heaven. Mrs. Sandhurst. In order to explain your method more clearly to me, may I ask you to send for one of your children ? I shall then have a practical illustration of your mode of teaching. Mrs, Eustace. "With pleasure; you shall see my youngest boy directly. I will fetch him. Mrs. Eustace soon returned ; bringing little Edward in her arms. Now, Edward, said she, run and fetch mamma your stool. Show me what you can do with it? Edward. I can set it down, mamma, and lift it up. Mrs. Eustace. So you can ! Do something more with it. Edward. Look, mamma, I can push it away, and then pull it back again. Mrs. Eustace. And can you do any thing else with it? Edward. yes, drag it after me, and then turn it over. Mrs. Eustace. Well done, Edward ; now think of something more to do with it. INTRODUCTORY CONVERSATION. 25 Edward. May I throw it, mamma ; Mrs. Eustace. No, Edward, something more gentle than throwing. Edward. Oh ! see how it goes along the floor. Mrs. Eustace. What do you call that? Edward. I don't know, mamma. Mrs. Eustace. Sliding it, my dear. What are you doing with it now? Edward. Carrying it in my right hand. I will carry it in my left, and then in both hands, mamma. Mrs. Eustace. Can you put it no where else but in your hands, Edward? Edward. Yes, mamma, I can carry it, like the milk- woman, on my head. Mrs. Eustace. And when you have done that, what is the opposite to your head? Edward. I know, mamma; my feet; I can put it under my feet. Mrs. Eustace. And what do you do when you have put it under your feet? Edward. I stand upon it, mamma; and I can put one foot on it, and then the other foot on it. Mrs. Eustace. Can you place it in any other way than it is now ? Edward. I will try, mamma. I can turn it on its side, and on its end. Mrs. Eustace. And how are you holding it now, my dear ? Edward. Sloping, mamma. And now I am putting it against your chair. Mrs. Eustace. That is called leaning it, my dear. Tell me what you would like best of all to do with it? c2 26 AIDS TO MENTAL DEVELOPMENT. Edward. I should like to set on it close by you, mamma. May I ? Mrs. Eustace. Yes, my love, do so. Mrs. Sandhurst. I admire this lesson exceedingly. Mrs. Eustace. You see clearly that the child has comprehended the meaning of the terms, by his having performed the actions they express; and though he knows nothing of the name of ' an active verb/ yet he knows the thing, which is far more important. Mrs. Sandhurst. Would it not have been as well if you had told him to lift the stool, or do any thing else with it? Mrs. Eustace. By no means; — I should merely then have made him go through a set of exercises; but in ask- ing him, What can you do with it? I have called forth reflection. A child quickly acquires language for him- self in the daily intercourse of life ; but if, after he has performed an action, he wants words by which to express it, you may then give them to him. Mrs. Sandhurst. I understand the distinction, and see the force of it. But how would you proceed in making him acquainted with the other parts of speech? Mrs. Eustace. Not very systematically perhaps ; but shall we try the prepositions, without telling him that long word, which has frightened so many poor children? Mrs. Sandhurst. Pray do. Mrs. Eustace. Now, Edward, jump up, and bring your stool to me. Where are you holding it? Edward. Between my hands, mamma. Mamma. Put your hands somewhere else, and tell me where they are. Edward. They are over it now, mamma. INTRODUCTORY CONVERSATION. 27 Mrs. Eustace. Change their place again, and tell me where they are. Edward. Under it, mamma. Mrs. Eustace. Can you put them in any other way, my dear. Edward. Yes, behind it, and before it, mamma. Mrs. Eustace. And where are they now, Edward? Edward. Near it, mamma ; and now they are far from it. Mrs. Eustace. Right, my love ; that will do. Mrs. Sandhurst. Your plan of teaching grammar makes that an amusement which is generally the most irksome occupation. Mrs. Eustace. Yes, I find it does so. I need scarcely point out to you how easily you may teach the adverbs in the same mode, by connecting them with an action done quickly, slowly, gently, suddenly, violently, and so on. And as to the nice distinctions in grammar, they are certainly quite beyond the comprehension of chil- dren, and therefore no good end is effected by burdening their memories with them. Mrs. Sandhurst. But you would not set aside read- ing; and my difficulty on this point returns. — When would you teach it, and how? Mrs. Eustace. With regard to reading and every thing else, no invariable rule can be given. Much de- pends on the child itself; some will learn almost insen- sibly, while they are very young, and others will be three or four years old before they seem to have any notion about the combination of letters into syllables and words. I am never at all solicitous on the subject, and should prefer waiting many years, rather than force it upon them 28 AIDS TO MENTAL DEVELOPMENT. as a task. If the mind be enlarged, and led to think, they will after a time desire to read as a medium of acquiring further knowledge. I have generally taught reading and spelling at the same time, by printing words for them on paper, and making these into short, easy sentences, which they themselves dictated to me ; and also by letting them have some alphabets of single letters on cards, which they formed into words. Another plan I have adopted, is that of showing them the pictures of animals, with the names printed under them, which the children have learned to spell for the purpose of finding out what to call them. Mrs. Sandhurst. And have you found this sufficient, without requiring them daily to spell a certain quantity from a book ? Mrs. Eustace. Quite so, and much more effectual. Mrs. Sandhurst. You said that you did not teach systematically : will not this produce desultory habits in your pupils ? Mrs. Eustace. I am glad that you asked me that question, because I see that you have misunderstood me. I meant simply, by saying 'not systematically^ not according to the systems usually laid down. Method- ical teaching is of the first importance. But there is another point in education which cannot be too much insisted on, and which is very generally overlooked, and that is, an orderly development of the faculties. Mrs. Sandhurst. I do not quite understand you. Mrs. Eustace. I mean, that the order designed by nature should be strictly attended to here. Instead of which, how common it is to see one portion of the mind cultivated, whilst the rest is allowed to lie waste ; whereas, INTRODUCTORY CONVERSATION. 29 if this order were observed, what different results would be discoverable, and what an harmonious balance would be preserved between the various mental powers. Mrs. Sandhurst. I thank you for this explanation, to the truth of which 1 fully agree. I have found great difficulty on another subject, on which I should like to have your opinion, and that is with regard to the amuse- ments of little children. I am constantly buying them new toys, and contriving ways of entertaining them, yet I have generally been disappointed in the result. Mrs. Eustace. We greatly err in supposing that children need so many sources of amusement as are pro- vided for them by the mistaken kindness of mothers and relations. You cannot but have remarked, how long a child will amuse itself, if left alone, with the simplest object. But if the passion for novelty is excited by supplying it with fresh sources of gratification, he be- comes restless, dissatisfied, uneasy, and irritable. Mrs. Sandhurst. I admit the justice of your re- mark : but would you give your children no toys ? Mrs. Eustace. There are a few of which I find they are never weary, such as balls and humming-tops, but especially some hundreds of little wooden bricks ; these they can place in every variety of form, and they are an endless source of amusement and instruction. It is a great trial to a child's temper to put those things in its power which you must be continually reminding it not to break or injure. Mrs. Sandhurst. Certainly I must try your plan at once in my nursery. But to recur to our former subject, I think I shall find much more difficulty in adopting 30 AIDS TO MENTAL DEVELOPMENT. your system with the elder than with the younger chil- dren ; how can you vary your lessons for them ? Mrs. Eustace. This room alone would last me many months, if we were to go into all the minutiae of its parts. The rudiments of arithmetic and geometry may be easily taught with no other instruments than the doors and windows : let the children observe the num- ber of panes and pannels ; and multiply or divide by — or subtract the one from the other ; double and triple each, , or both combined ; then, if you vary this exercise in every different way, you will always find something new. Let them find the different lines and forms of every thing about them, and compare one object with another;; and after you have once pointed out to them the different, sorts of figures and angles, by imitating and combining these, they learn the rudiments of drawing and geometry.. Mrs. Sandhurst. Would you then advise me at once to throw aside all the books I have been accustomed to) use with my little children ? Mrs. Eustace. By no means could I wish you to take such a step ; so sudden a revolution might prove as injurious in your little community as it has done in many larger ones. You might also find some difficulty your- self in proceeding thus, until you have by reflection pre- pared your own mind for it ; but you may gradually bring about the change your desire. Make your lessons less dry by introducing conversation upon them, and ask- ing familiar questions as you proceed ; lead the children to bring illustrations from what they have themselves seen, heard, or remarked, and vary your mode of instruc- tion as much as possible. Never go on with any thing INTRODUCTORY CONVERSATION. 31 till weariness is produced, nor persevere in any thing which has hitherto caused nothing but uneasiness, for if it has already occasioned disgust, you will in vain endea- vour to make it interesting afterwards. Mrs. Sandhurst. I see the force of your observa- tions, but perhaps you would not think it necessary for me to relinquish at all some of my present plans. I have been accustomed to set my children to learn by heart little poems which are written expressly for this purpose ; do you object to this ? Mrs. Eustace. I confess I do, but on a different ground to that of which we before spoke. What is gen- erally called poetry for children, in order to be made comprehensible to them, is brought down to so low a standard, that all which ought to be distinguishing in poetry is necessarily lost. Instead, therefore, of their ideas being elevated by it, and their imaginations culti- vated, the contrary effect is produced ; and for these rea- sons I prefer not introducing poetry to my children, until they can understand and relish the higher kinds of it. Mrs. Sandhurst. Then you would banish poetry altogether ? Mrs. Eustace. Oh no ! a judicious teacher may select passages from our greatest poets to read with her pupils, into the meaning and spirit of which they will enter at an earlier age than you would at first suppose probable. Mrs. Sandhurst. I sincerely thank you for your advise, which I hope I shall be enabled in some hum- ble degree to follow; but I fear I shall often have to trouble you for further instruction. Mrs. Eustace. Nothing will give me greater pleasure 32 AIDS TO MENTAL DEVELOPMENT. than to afford you any assistance in my power. I only wish that every mother saw the evil of the present mode of instruction as clearly as you do ; we might then hope, that the rising generation would be as superior to the present in solid attainments, as this surpasses the preced- ing in showy accomplishments. CONVERSATION II. ON LANGUAGE. Mamma. Albert, my dear, have you and Fanny finished your Latin lesson with your papa already ? Albert. Yes, mamma, we said it very perfectly, and therefore it did not take us long. Mamma. How did you employ your time till papa was ready for you ? Albert. In reading, mamma. Mamma. What book, my dear ? Albert. Bingley's Animal Biography, mamma. Mamma. Show me what part you were reading ; and tell me if you quite understand it. Albert. Nearly all of it, mamma. Mamma. I wish you, my love, never to pass over a single word you do not understand. Always ask for an explanation of it. Albert. Here is the place in the book, mamma, 'The Antelope Tribe/ Mamma. We will take this then for our lesson.* Read it, my love, one sentence at a time. Albert. 'The antelopes are in general an elegant and * Bingley's Animal Biography, Vol. I. p. 48. D 34 AIDS TO MENTAL DEVELOPMENT. active tribe of animals, inhabiting mountainous countries, where they bound among the rocks with so much light- ness and elasticity, as to strike the spectator with aston- ishment' Mamma. Stop there, Albert. What is the antelope? Lucy. An animal. Mamma. Of what class ? Fanny. A quadruped. Mamma. What is meant by saying, ' they are in general active,' &c. Albert. That they are most commonly so. Mamma. You are right. What do you mean by 6 elegant ?' Albert. Graceful, well made, full of grace. Mamma. Can Lucy tell me what ' active' means ? Lucy. Lively, moving about a great deal ; — does it not, mamma? Mamma. Yes, Lucy. What does a f tribe' mean ? Fanny. A class, a race of beings. Mamma. Give me an instance by which this can be proved. Albert. Oh, mamma, the hymn we transposed yes- terday — 1 Let every nation, every tribe, On this terrestrial ball,' &c. Mamma. What part of speech is < active ?' Fanny. An adjective. Mamma. Lucy, tell me what your sister means by an adjective. Lucy. A word added to a noun, to show its quality. ON LANGUAGE. 35 Mamma. Which is the noun, then, here ? Lucy. < Tribe/ mamma. Mamma. What does ' an animal' mean ? •filbert. Any living thing. Mamma. This is not a sufficiently clear definition. Fanny. No, — because plants are alive ; but they are quite different from animals. Mamma. What distinguishes an animal from a plant? •filbert. The one can move itself where it pleases, and the other cannot. Mamma. Yes ; life is distinguished into animal and vegetable life. How will you define the difference be- tween them ? Fanny. Vegetable life is shown by plants growing gradually larger and producing seeds, from which other plants spring ; and animal life is shown, as Albert said, by those who possess it, by being able to go from one place to another.' Mamma. Yes, and by what is called volition, that is, the exercise of will. We will now go on. Explain the word ' inhabiting.' Fanny. Dwelling, or living, or existing. Mamma. ' Mountainous countries ?' Lucy. Countries full of mountains. Mamma. What w ould be the opposite to a mountain- ous country ? Fanny. A flat country. Mamma. Give me another word, Albert. Albert. A level, or even country. Mamma. What do you mean by