LC UC-NRLF Mfe >est education \vill ever be, not that which teaches most, . that which imparts the greatest capacity for thought." MAZZINJ. as a mecms of 6ucation. FRAGMENTS OF ADDRESSES 3 GIVE T NEW COLLEGE, OXFORD, & OTHER CENTRES DURr,- THE MONTHS Or I 'f'l'ST .XD SEPTEMBER, 1891. PRICE THREEPENC FROM -THE -LIBRARY -OF- PAUL N-MILIUICOV- "The best education will ever be, .not that which teaches most, but that which imparts the greatest capacity for thought." a& a means of @6ucafton. FRAGMENTS OF ADDRESSES GIVEN AT NEW COLLEGE, OXFORD, & OTHER CENTRES DURING THE MONTHS OF AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, 1891. PRICE THREEPENCE. ENTERED AT STATIONERS HALL. IUaMtt0 as a Jftteans 0f (S&urattnn. Matthew Arnold has well said : " Culture is indispensably necessary, and culture is reading ; but reading with a purpose to guide it, and with system. He does a good work who does anything to help this ; indeed, it is the one Essential Service now to be rendered to education. And the plea, that this or that man has no time for culture, will vanish as soon as we desire culture so much, that we begin to examine seriously our present use of our time. It has often been said, and cannot be said too often : Give to any man all the time that he now wastes, not only on his vices (when he has them), but on useless business, wearisome, or deteriorating amusement, trivial letter writing, random reading, and he will have plenty of time for culture." This quotation serves as a fitting text for our subject this evening. It is culture that I want to advocate, and as, on so great an authority, " culture is reading 1 ', you will under- stand why I urge reading so repeatedly. And I hope at the close of my remarks, you may feel that my ideal of reading has a purpose to guide it, and also that system is a necessity for it. The system need not be expounded, as the official papers of the National Home-Reading Union do this, but the purpose should be explained, even to the exclusion of other sides, because that which guides the reading is, to my thinking, something far deeper than mere culture. It is possible to have culture without conduct, but though possible, it is not desirable. Therefore, while reiterating that " culture is indispensably necessary ", let me add emphatically that culture without conduct as its outcome is lamentable. The purpose then for a national system of reading is twofold culture and conduct. I am fortunate in having an audience of teachers, as 878671 only thqughtfuj , workers can be interested in mental and ethical; proltleriis',; and I am grateful for the opportunity thus afforded of showing, from the teacher's point of view, the infinite possibilities which are wrapped up in reading when systematised for a purpose. Of all the honoured professions, that of teaching has the grandest and most ideal prospect, and reading will take a prominent part in enabling this to be realised. Therefore, the circle leaders and friends of the National Home-Reading Union may legitimately feel that they are indeed doing a good work for education by shaping for it broad principles on rational lines. So self-evident is this, that one wonders why all teachers do not take advantage of the facilities afforded by it for strengthening their cause. Reading is a vitally effective agent of true education, therefore it seems only natural to expect support, sympathy, and hearty co-opera- tion from those who are interested in, and who believe m> the power of right education. At the same time I speak as a teacher, as one who knows the difficulties, trials, and disappointments of the work, how much it takes out of one, and what hard work it is ; therefore I am able to understand why teachers are not anxious to become circle leaders for the National Home- Reading Union, and I can quite enter into the feeling which causes those who are actually engaged in teaching to shrug their shoulders, and turn from us with fear and trembling, lest we should add to their already overworked condition. Also it is easy for me to sympathise with those who think that children have quite enough to do in attend- ing to their daily lessons. However, from personal experience I know that reading > if carried out as suggested here, will considerably lessen the labour of both teachers and scholars, bringing with it an intense joy, while it gives, at the same time, both recreation and culture. This relieves the worry of cram, and the friction so often found between the teacher and the pupil. Let me illustrate'from personal experience. Many years ago, when quite young, I had a class of girls from ten to seventeen years of age in a Sunday school. The library contained chiefly books of the " goody-goody " type, and the children paid a halfpenny for each book ( 5 ) borrowed (which amounted to two shillings and one penny in the year). They always wanted those on naughty children, and practised the naughty tricks suggested by the reading, on parents, teachers, and companions, and would read only those books, refusing others. To prevent this, I read the same books, choosing those most popular with the scholars, and gave the early part of the afternoon to talking over what they had read, the point being to draw their attention to some things they had overlooked, for example : the consequences of mistaken pleasure. In time something better came. They would read books giving instruction, such as the following : Coal Mines from a geological side, Miss Edgeworth's stories, Wilder- spin's Infant Schools, Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield, the Deserted Village and other poetry. At the annual meeting of teachers, the librarian stated that, during the year, the character of the reading had changed throughout the school, and that in consequence, it had been necessary to supply a better class of books. Further, they were returned in proper condition. Two girls of the class became thoughtful readers, and were better mothers in consequence. Two others left before the better time came one, the daughter of a charwoman, with no father ; the other, of a chimney- sweep, with a bad mother. These two were leaders in the spirit of "getting books for larks". One became a hopeless drunkard, the other, something worse. Yet, had they been longer in the class," they would have been saved, and would have been lights and helps to their friends and companions, for paradoxical as it may sound these poor girls fell, not from the bad, but from the good that was in them. Too much life and energy urged them on, while the lack of satisfying, healthy amusements at home led to their finding recreation elsewhere ; and so they drifted, having no one to guide them. Many are lost daily from the same cause. The girls themselves said that " had they known me before, they would not have been so bad, but now it was too late". They were too sensitive to the shame to care to mix again with respectable people. Very early in my career as a teacher, I made it a principle not to advance while one in the class did not ( 6 ) understand, devoting the time chiefly to the dull, the less- favoured, and the so-called stupid. At the same time, I arranged for the more intelligent and advanced ones, and kept them growing by suggesting and guiding reading, taking all responsibility of my own methods. Sometimes they would read during the lesson, as best suited the in- dividual stage of each. The books would then be taken away, and questions left to be answered during the week. Or they would read between the lessons, and questions would be given to be answered in class, as at a written examination. At other times they read what they liked, and set questions for me to answer. These received special attention ; generally it ended in my giving a lecture, or a course of lectures, to the teachers of the school, friends, and the more advanced of the pupils. If the questions given were beyond me, I engaged an expert, and arranged a social evening for discussing the answ r ers. At the end of each term independent examinations were given upon the reading in the various subjects, which included English Grammar, Literature, History, and Science. It was in this way that I learned how much could be done educationally by merely suggesting and guiding reading. So marked were the results, that I re- solved to accept engagements (where no similar work was in practice) only upon the condition that at least one hour weekly should be devoted to giving a special training in reading, the object being to stimulate the intelligence and to supplement the class lessons. This was attained by each member of the class reading a book which was dis- cussed at the meeting, and bringing extracts to illustrate points of interest. It succeeded so well, that parents arranged that their daughters should give up other subjects in order to have time for the reading, it having been observed that the pupils of this class conversed easily on most subjects, and drew the best wits about them at social gatherings. The fathers, too, were proud to see their daughters reading Bain's Senses and the Intellect, and Emotions and the Will, Ruskin's Modern Painters, Abbott's Through Nature to Christ, Lyell's Principles of Geology, Carlyle's Essays, Maurice On the Conscience, and similar works. ( 7 ) The same was experienced with individuals in private engagements, where children had been considered hope- less from stupidity, idleness, obstinacy, and other causes. It may interest you as teachers to know that, finding there was so much life in connection with the reading, I formed, about ten years ago, a private reading union of old pupils, on the same lines as the National Home-Reading Union, though on a very much smaller scale. Girls on returning to their homes often suffered much from mental depression, and frequently became positive invalids. They had suddenly lost intellectual interests ; the new environ- ment afforded no response to their higher impulses ; the social round was tedious and below their newly acquired instincts ; and hence the reason of the void experienced, which caused the life of the spirit to fade at the expense of the bodily health. To restore to these in part what had been lost, and to prevent others from falling into " deteri- orating amusement, trivial letter writing, and random reading," I was moved to form a reading union for old pupils and others. Very many girls, whose parents have placed them under right conditions educationally, feel keenly this sudden check to the higher life when school- days are over, and as a consequence become the victims of chronic mental diseases, painful and distressing to witness. These girls may now fill the blank, and find their own life- work, by becoming circle leaders for the National Home- Reading Union. There are children in every city, town, village, and hamlet, and as nothing gives such variety of interest, and so all-round a training as this kind of experience, girls may well be advised to enter upon it. They will find too, that if earnestly and thoroughly carried out, it will impart life and culture, and will beget power in the worker. Passing now to circles of the National Home-Reading Union, in October of last year I undertook the leadership of two circles, one consisting of boys, the other of girls, both sets coming from a public elementary school. On the first night of meeting, the boys came in on all-fours, cracked nuts, made noises, and were up to every trick con- ceivable. Reading they certainly had not in their minds. I cannot now recall what the girls were on the first evening. Gradually, however, there was an improvement ( 8 ) in the behaviour. By Christmas, the boys were willing to read because they said I seemed to want it. As they were more in earnest than the girls, the two circles were united for influence. Then came sorry spectacles, for instance rough horse-play on the staircase. This I met, and it is only fair to add that the relations between the boys and the girls changed from that time. They played and talked on equal terms. Still, the girls had a conscious manner in the circle and there was much undesirable giggling. This took time to eradicate, but at last it ceased to be more than merely occasional. By March, the circle was fully alive to the reading, and from then has developed so rapidly that it has not been possible to give to it the same individual guidance. The girls moved on chiefly by imitation and pressure. On announcing to them that the circle would not meet for about six weeks, owing to my leaving London for a holiday, it was quite a surprise to see how they received it. Evidently it was a positive pain to them all, nor could they grasp the position of no reading- guidance for so long. Consequently it was arranged that they should read the First Year's books, and those were sent to them. They were anxiously concerned lest the circle should not be renewed, and, though they have not paid either their membership fee or the cost of their books this year, they are willing even anxious to do so next year, and are moreover alive to the desirability of bringing others in. Some things which happened by the way may be interesting. There was a marked change in both voice and expression. Their manners became more gentle. Thoughtfulness for others and real earnestness developed. Written work became clean, neat, thorough, and showed signs of mind-awakening. When the leader was unable to attend, they changed the books amongst themselves. They also arranged a visit to the Tower of London to see some things mentioned by Professor Gardiner in one of his history books, and gladly went to hear a lecture by him, in which they were much interested. Owing to their eagerness in connection with the reading, they have been introduced to a Free Library though some are under the age for admission into which they turn every evening, and are already complaining that it does not contain the books suggested at the circle meeting. As a winding-up of the reading season, a day was spent at the Crystal Palace, and then it became apparent what a gain the reading had been to these children. They were keenly alive to everything bearing upon the books they had read during the year in connection with the circle. As no other books were mentioned, this may be taken as a very fair test. A word about the reading itself: With this circle, the principle has been strictly observed that the books must be read at home, and only discussed at the meetings. The circle meetings are for social interests, and for a fuller book life. And it should be remembered that it is all- important to form a systematic, thoughtful habit of reading at home, without attraction, stimulus, or guidance. It is encouraging to note that employers were willing to help by giving the lads permission to read, when oppor- tunity occurred, in working hours, and by allowing them to leave early for the circle meeting. The girls were not so regular nor so punctual in their attendance. They could not be spared from home duties, they were always expected to fill up gaps, and to take all drudgery and responsibility. They did not have their own earnings, and might not go about alone. They saw and felt their disadvan- tages, and the lads of the circle also felt that something was not right when they realised that the girls simply because they were girls could not receive the full benefits of the circle, and it was pleasing to see the look of regret that passed over their countenances. Is not this an example of the indirect moral and social training which may be imparted through reading circles ? Suppose, however, the practical side of reading be considered in order to show how it may save time and labour to both teachers and scholars. Now, reading must make one acquainted with words, and words are the instru- ments of thought. Hence it follows that reading enlarges the vocabulary. A good vocabulary as a product of thought is a proof of mind-power, originality, genius. Literature gives abundant proof of this fact Shakespeare standing first. Are not many of the absurdities which crop out in examinations due to a meagre vocabulary ? Again, much of the school-time is appropriated for teach- ing spelling. Spelling is acquired chiefly by observation, and by seeing the words frequently one gets accustomed to their forms. If, too, the children are carefully led to use a dictionary whenever there is a doubt concerning the meaning of a word, an education is silently, but potently, at work one which gives great power over our fellow- creatures, viz., that of language. A step further, when once a dictionary is rightly handled, and a pleasure found in using it, the comparison of words follows, and their histories are traced. So unconsciously, the child has entered upon the study of philology and comparative grammar. And all this training can be pleasantly imparted, simply by leading the child to read interesting books. Probably stories would serve best. Hugh Miller says : " My mind at once awoke to the meaning of that most delightful of all narratives the story of Joseph. Was there ever such a discovery made before? I actually found out for myself that the art of reading is the art of finding stories in books, and from that moment reading became one of the most delightful of my amusements." Even a higher education can be given to young children by books which are entertaining. " Light reading if only it be manly and pure in tone, and of acknowledged ability in composition may be most valuable and important as a means of culture. There are standard works of fiction, from Robinson Crusoe to Alice in Wonderland, of which no one pretending to literary culture can venture to be ignorant, and some, at least, issue every year from the press which are instructive and improving by their vivid descriptions of scenery, subtle analysis of character, polished language and cultivated tone, conveying indirectly valuable information on social questions and the like, which the humbler classes could hardly get in any other way." On glancing over the list of books which have been supplied to the Libraries of the London Board Schools, one observes the history of Alfred the Great. This carries one to the class-room, and a lesson in history. One sees the teacher endeavouring faithfully against time to do justice to both scholars and subject, the class consisting of pupils differing widely in individual tastes and capacities. Some probably one half of the class need stimulating to even a feeble interest in the subject. Others show sudden flashes of attention when something novel is uttered. A third set are interested in Alfred's character, and would like to know " all about him " ; a fourth give signs of appreciating the broader questions of history, and, if time permitted, could be led into some of its deeper problems. How can the faithful, conscientious teacher do justice to all these varying mental conditions ? Certainly, the class- teaching alone will not, and does not, meet the needs of such, unless the class be small, and very small. It is here that the library helps and carries on the higher education of the school. To the slow ones a few simple questions may be given, of which the answers can be obtained from books. Pupils showing only flashes of attention should be asked to write the lesson from memory, and then to supply parts by references from books. The third set should be directed to read what has been wisely written on King Alfred, while the fourth may be honoured by having higher history placed in their hands. The next time the history class meets, the teacher should lead each one to narrate a little of what he or she has read, and skilfully give to the whole the character of a conversation on the history of Alfred's reign, distributing a little praise to those who have handled the books to the best advan- tage. During this interchange the children have been receiving unconsciously a practical lesson in the art of conversation, and the teacher the same in mind which is the teacher's subject. This conversational exercise affords teachers an excel- lent opportunity of studying the minds and characters of their pupils. They may learn that one is dull at compre- hension from a non-quickened imagination. Nothing as yet has roused it into activity. For such a mind, Alice in Wonderland may do much, particularly if the child is encouraged to narrate it to others, and is expected to enjoy it to the full. Possibly, another child may show a fitful imagination, which needs mental pictures to rivet it and give to it healthy, consistent development. For such, turn to Ballantyne, for clearness of description and simple moral touches. Perhaps, during a lesson in natural history, the teacher observes a painful indifference towards all the animal creation, possibly due to ignorance ; or, in other cases, an undue dread of the harmful tendencies of some reptiles. Or, what is more to the point, in giving a simple lesson in geology, it may have been impossible to make any impres- sion for scientific purposes owing to the ignorance of animal life. Fossils and their lessons could not be attempted. London children are at a great disadvantage in this respect. To help the teacher on all these points, what books can be better than the Rev. J. G. Wood's so fascinatingly written, and so rich in anecdote ! How the world will have changed to the young reader who has perused only one of his books ! Should the class have read it before the next lesson in natural history, what strides onward they will have taken, and how considerably the teacher's work will have been lightened ! In watching young minds, one becomes aware that faults of character are often due to non-perception of ethical truths. A little instruction will clear away mist, and open the moral vision to right conceptions. What books can do this better for those who are quite young than Miss Edgeworth's stories, good, simply and brightly written biographies such as those by Frances E. Cooke, or the fiction of Mrs. Molesworth, Sir Walter Scott, and Mrs. Ewing ? It has given me much pleasure and satisfaction to find that there are already some teachers working on similar lines for their scholars, and during the present summer I have learned that there are among the elementary teachers some enthusiasts for the cause of reading, who are giving to their old scholars the culture of which Matthew Arnold wrote. In the East End of London particularly, teachers are enabling the National Home- Reading Union to realise its ideal. Its work there is the poetry of life, as defined by Mazzini. The faithfulness of the " old scholars " to the reading, and their devotion to their circle leaders are pathetic, especially when one remembers the difficulties under which the work is pursued. They can only read ( 13 ) during their dinner-hour, and while going to and from their work ; can only attend the circle-meetings after eight o'clock, and can only spare a penny once a week towards the subscription ; but they hold on, and have this year taken their certificates. And if this were the only good result of the National Home-Reading Union, it would not have existed in vain. There are, however, many others of a similar character, but the circles are not situated so near to the Central Office, and therefore de- tails are nor so easily obtained, though letters often contain very encouraging accounts of the work. I venture upon one quotation (from the letter of a Board School teacher in South Wales) to illustrate the ways in which the reading may be helpful to teachers : " Much benefit was derived from last season's reading ; apart from the pleasure it afforded, the teachers had greater opportunities for improvement in their composition exercises by reproduc- tion, as a home lesson, of some portion of the book pre- viously read and explained. I feel sure examination questions would be answered more intelligently if pupil teachers had more general reading, and such a want the Home-Reading Union has supplied. My readers antici- pate with pleasure the new season's work. It is the intention of the Head Mistress of our Girls' Department to form a circle ; she will write in a few days." Further, there are some friends who are anxious to give to all whatever privileges they themselves may possess, who are wanting to place others on the same level as themselves morally and intellectually. And this is the highest charity. But teachers can give more effectual help in this direction than others, because their scholars are ready to give them obedience, trust, and reverence. They will be guided and advised by them when school days are over. From the first it should be clearly understood that the reading is not to keep the children out of mischief, nor for amusement, nor for pastime, nor for knowledge, except in a secondary and exceptional sense. Its object is to rouse intelligent thought, to stimulate the higher life, to transform the whole inner being by creating new instincts, to enable the child to become self-educating by assimilating ideas derived from the best literature and from the noblest lives, to enable it to realise itself by finding its own life in active sympathy with the great, the noble, the good, and the pure. In ordinary class teaching this is very difficult, but it can be done by placing the right book at the right time and in the right way in the hands of a child. To reach the pupils thus, widens the scope and influence of teachers, and their power as educators is thereby in- creased. It removes them from the bondage of being mere instructors, and they will find that they are really helping to call into existence new mind-forces, as powerful and as real as Nature's forces always are. It is by and through this art of reaching the individual mind that teachers gain their freedom, and find themselves co-operating with the grand law of evolution, and with the highest of all God's works the soul of a human being. Again I repeat that the ultimate end of teaching is to rouse, in the minds of children, interest for educational ends, to train the attention, and to stimulate the activities to the best life possible, always remembering that " every child is a possible parent, and that upon the education of children depends the future of the race '*. To attain this ideal, the education must be a work of art, based upon scientific principles. Those who would contribute to the common cause of universal and liberal education must be students of the science of mind and artists in mind-development. Like other seekers after truth, educational workers should take advantage of all things as means to such an important end. And the most skilful teachers find that true educa- tion needs wisely-directed reading as a means of aiding the higher side of their efforts, and that without books which enlarge the mental outlook, and deepen the under- standing, school teaching becomes mere cram, and a weariness to both teacher and pupil. Further, a right training in reading will tend to make lectures, oral teaching, and mere instruction secondary in the work of education. And they should be secondary, not essential. They are for those who cannot get the necessary books, or who cannot afford either time for research, or the money for expensive books, and for those who are too lazy to read laboriously for themselves. Do not think that I mean to suggest that young people ( '5 ) can dispense with oral teaching, or that there should be no lectures. On the contrary, the work of the National Home-Reading Union will increase (nay, is now increasing) the demand for oral teaching. The awakening of mind in any direction always creates a thirst for knowledge, and a book-life must inevitably lead to a desire for lectures and oral teaching. What I mean is this, that they should become secondary, because in time readers will have learned to obtain the knowledge they require direct from books, and to take pleasure in grappling with the inner meaning of the writers. In this way they will give them- selves the best education, because the mind will be forced to realise, or in other words, to "think in shape". Experience has taught me that most things are possible educationally to those who have acquired the art of self- mastery in relation to reading. Books should be ap- proached in deep earnest reverence, and in the receptive attitude of a true learner. From such a training, children should learn to know themselves, and how to utilise their daily environment for the highest and the fullest life. By it, they should be born again of the Spirit. Nor must we forget that books are also helpful for the common needs of life. By reading, one may become one's own doctor, lawyer, tailor, and house-decorator. From books, one may learn how to train a child, and how to cook a dinner. The material for a sermon, and the know- ledge of the principles of ventilation ; the highest philoso- phy, and the revelation of how to live on sixpence a day all come to us through books. In fact, nearly all knowledge is derived, either directly or indirectly, from books or from experience. Books should lead us to the right experience by giving to us the experience of others. " And in these days of books, particularly in the year when the Encyclope- dia Bvitannica is in our public libraries, there is no need to keep teachers as mere informationists." The function of teachers is so to train the mental activities, that people will naturally wish to find out the right and intelligent ways of doing whatever falls to their lot in life. Teachers should establish the principle that everyone must go to books to learn how to do things, as well as for inspiration to intensify thought. The pupils should know that high reading recreates and strengthens personality, and helps us to arrange intelligently for the daily needs of life, both of body and of mind. They should feel, under the teacher's guidance, that books direct their intellectual activities, quicken their sympathies, deepen their spirit-life, and rouse a sense of responsibility in all that concerns man. They may not know this to give it names, nor to talk about, but the feeling will lead them unconsciously until they have formed the habit of looking to books and favourite authors for guidance, and this is what I most desire for the scholars of the public elementary schools. Why am I specially anxious that they should have this training in reading ? First, because they are the children of the people. Secondly, because they are not few in number. Thirdly, because when citizens, I long to see them managing their own affairs as citizens with wisdom and goodness. Fourthly, because they have but a small share of this world's joys and good things. Fifthly, because the present division of labour has so increased the monotony of work to the average artizan that, unless the imagination be fed by good literature and fiction, it will find such food as it can in harmful excite- ment and injurious stimulants. And sixthly, because the democracy has as yet no literature of its own ; I want the Robert Burnses, the Carlyles, the John Brights, the Brownings, the George Eliots, and the Elizabeth Frys of the future to rise from our public elementary schools in a word, they should furnish their quota of the artists, poets, statesmen, and leaders of the twentieth century. There are some good men who are anxious to become members of Parliament at any personal risk or cost. There are many people who are ready to suffer much, and to bear much, for the good of the race. They are ready to offer themselves, and to press forward any measure for the good of the State, and the advancement of the indivi- dual. If similar zeal and determination were thrown into the cause of reading by another set of public-spirited per- sons, the work of these philanthropists would be materially strengthened. By organising circles to set people reading and thinking, training and culture would be imparted to those who will soon be voters. If all young people from thirteen to twenty received the best education from books, their votes would be a power on the right side, and a great, though silent, revolution would have been wrought in our midst. But it is you, the teachers of our public schools, and ycu almost entirely, who can mould England's future. It is you to whom the wise look for giving to the world true men and women. The power is in your hands, and what the future of England may be will depend upon the children who are now growing up in this age of question, doubt, transition, and new problems of life. This is why reading, as liberal, deep, and varied as that pursued by university residents, is needed as an essential part of our national education. It need not be so advanced, nor special, but it should have every force of life and culture in it. Through and by the influence of reading, the lads should glide into manhood and should know, when the time comes, how to vote intelligently and, above all, independently. Canvassers fcr public office should be an offence to them and they should enter upon their duties as citizens heartily, and with a full sense of responsibility. Above all, they should be inspired with the two spiritual ideals so urgently needed in the present day justice and reverence. Through and by reading our girls should learn to steer safely between the praises rendered to woman by poets, artists and sages en the one hand, and the repression, injustice, slavery and contempt of the world on the other. They should learn to discern between the true and the false, between s'elfish expediency and noble honour, and while weighing these in the balance, should acquire a just estimate of the many eulogies and criticisms to which we women are subject a self-respect, and a calm determination to be free to realise their lives as God meant them to be. The most difficult and noble of all life's responsibilities is theirs motherhood, and only freed souls can be faithful in the fullest sense to such a high duty. The train of thought which would guide our young people safely through the critical period from boyhood t:> ( 18 ) manhood, and through the bewildering stages from the girl to wife and mother, should begin at school. The first impulses in this direction should be quickened in the schoolroom. They should be fostered in the school-life and by reading, at least until parents themselves have become fitted to do this consistently and with sympathy. One man a teacher and master of a public school did conspicuously influence his pupils to be good citizens, and to be true men Dr. Arnold, of Rugby. Why cannot all schools turn out lads known for their moral thoughtfulness and practical intelligence in all social questions, and girls not to be trifled with, nor cheated of their senses ? To reading we may look for real help. An ambition to establish a new type of gentleman is wanted in order that the term may no longer be limited to a class, but may apply equally to all good men, irrespective of social dis- tinctions ; and with it would arise a new order of chivalry towards the weak, the wronged, and those in jeopardy of any class. For this ideal democracy, a liberal education a culture which, while it moulds in grace the outer man, shall at the same time imbue powerfully with lofty ideals the inner man is a necessity. And it is possible to realise this ideal it only needs that all teachers should be true learners and disciples of such men as Thring, and should begin at once to introduce our children to the great per- sonalities of all ages. If reading can receive special attention and time as a part of national education, may not a new order unfold itself? Will not the time given to the best authors lead the children to " Rise on stepping stones Of their dead selves to higher things "? The time thus spent will implant new instincts, which will absorb the old ones in new creations of a higher order. It is known that all have instincts by heredity some desirable, others the reverse. Our best literature is full of noble, glorious, and transcendently inspiring incidents and ideals, and by bringing these to bear upon young lives, new instincts of the best kind are implanted in the ( 19 ) mind, and when associated with an interest quivering with intense love and joy they become permanent, creating soul in the child. Let the reading impart ideas of beauty, goodness, strength of moral purpose, and true wisdom, and let the teacher with the soul of the artist and the heart of the poet call up associations of loving interest round those ideas, and the result will be a tendency to live them out to the full, and to stamp a new set of habits on the mind. As a logical sequence, the intellect will become imbued with a spirit of enquiry for Truth, which is really the longing of the scientific mind to get at first causes. Therefore place aesthetic and literary culture before the merely intellectual for the reading circle. And let moral ideas be gained from biographies of good men and women, and brightly- written stories. " We want to make men and women more human by giving them fuller sympathies with their fellow-men and women. Art and literature do this by binding society together. They supply common .sources of interest apart from personal and private ends." The sunset and the sea are for all who can look upon .them. " Chemistry and botany are good in their way, but poetry is indispensable." Therefore I repeat that reading for culture must be kept in view, to enlarge the mental outlook, to deepen the understanding, to quicken the sympathies and to rouse to moral responsibility. It will have been observed that knowledge either technical or verbal does not stand high in my estimation as an educational force. No, I do not think it is the func- tion of a teacher to turn out experts in handicraft or walking encyclopaedias. Concerning the former, perhaps I may be permitted to add that sincerely, from the depths of my nature, I hope that teachers will not be too eager to adopt Technical Education. As the nation is beginning to realise that true education is the training of all the faculties (educating the whole man), let the new idea have time to take root before we urge special training for a particular end. The lives of the people are already too mechanical, too technical, too narrowed-in by the hard, practical demands of life's needs. They want creative intelligence, the influences which soften, soothe, refine. ( 20 ) They need thought -power above all things. Life has not yet blessed them with the opportunities for getting higher education as a part of their social environment. Schools must do this for the people of the future, and do it in such a way, on truly educational lines, that they must inevitably carry intelligent, moral principles into their daily occupa- tions, thus giving themselves the required technical training for the workshop. Do not let either Science or Technical Education become dominant. In other words, do not let either become an end. In de- veloping the reasoning faculty, natural science must do its part, and for the training of the practical and artistic faculties, technical education may do much. There- fore as means for imparting this training, they should find a place and time in the school. Science of itself tends to- crystallise the mind, and to make it unduly critical. This is a reason for not introducing it too early into the child- life. Merely mechanical occupation dulls the intelligence- and deadens the imagination. Children should Jeain. technical arts, not by mechanical imitation of what the teacher does, but as the outcome of the imagination prac- tically applied. Doubtless many teachers have found that the majority of people incline to be only mechanical. For this reason, I earnestly plead for mental activity, poetry r beauty, and high sentiments, that character may be formed,, sympathy quickened, and conscience awakened first. Then when the mind has been thus prepared, science and technical training will fall into good soil, and will bring forth fruit of the richest in due season. It is education which is at fault. Had it been right and complete for the past fifty years, the cry for technical education would net have been needed. The technical and industrial sides would have been in a satisfactory condition, because all work would have been thoroughly and intelligently done,, intelligent thought and will would have been operative. When it is recognised that one of the chief aims of educa- tion is to develop faculties and senses, that its end is the formation of character, and also that books should be con- sulted for guidance in practical matters, much will come right naturally. Employers might supply lending libraries for the use of their employes, as well as encyclopaedias for reference. This is the business of employers, not the duty of educationists. Their duty is to show employers their privileges in this direction. Doubtless many would be glad and proud to take an active part in the education of the country, by offering to their employes facilities for technical education. And a good time is certainly coming, when modern educationists tell us that " to gain knowledge rightly, children must be trained to read methodically, and to assimilate what they read. They mast be trained to dis- tinguish the essential facts or ideas, first, from the moral and aesthetic point of view, and secondly, from the scientific point of view. Intellectual education is mainly continued by reading. Therefore inculcate the senti- ment of a love of learning, and to this sentiment should be added the love of deep study, of probing a thing to its depths in other words, perfect sincerity, the desire of finding the truth." " The aesthetic and the poetical should form the chief part of the training of children. Heart and soul should be first developed, the training of the intellect should follow T . Above all things, children should be taught to admire what is good, beautiful and graceful. Knowledge should follow on these. In young people, an appeal must be made to the heart, the imagination, and the senses, before the intellect. Poetry and art must receive profound attention for a long time, and the intellect must be framed on their models." And now, seeing I have an audience of teachers, let us look at reading in a still nearer relation to education. Some scientists would have us believe that there is but little freewill for any individual, owing to the persistent force of hereditary tendencies, and so strong is their con- viction in this direction that, to them, it appears a fate against which it is hopeless and useless to strive. An undesirable inheritance will occasionally overtake even the bast trained, and education is apparently often defeated. Some think so it must be for ever ; others advise as a preventative, a Puritan strictness from infancy upwards a rigid stoicism ; while another set urge an environment free from temptation. In each of these systems there is much ( 22 ) to commend. They have a principle that maketh for righteousness and holiness underlying them, but they are not always nor entirely effectual because not on a logical, scientific basis. If humanity is so influenced by heredity, and if its tendencies often work against the higher life, then it follows that, in order to counteract them, they should be known and understood to the full. For the first seven years at least of a child's life, it should be made easy and natural for it to express all that its ancestors have passed through. The educator's art should be to know the worst that is possible to be revealed in the individual. For this to be effectual, the study must be carried on wholly without the child's knowledge. Do not make it conscious of any sin in itself, nor of any barrier to its free expression of natural life, except that which is absolutely necessary, and that which Nature's laws and circumstances force upon it. Let it follow its inclinations instinctively, and above all, do not originate any twist in the character by forcing rules upon it. Experience is a necessity for a true spiritual life, and the soul gets its training by repeated slips and falls. But at each step lead the little one to feel the joy of being good, and turn the possible vice to a permanent virtue by wise, sympathetic guidance, " It is not our Father's will that one of these little ones should perish." Parents should learn of the child first, that they may know how to mould its inner life and activities later on. There is a deep truth for guidance in the words " A little child shall lead them". Heredity is of God, and therefore right. The wrong of it has come about by our blunders, and, too often, by our self-will. The students of this period of child-life should be teachers in the truest sense, poets and psychologists, men and women of the highest type. Let a record of the life of the child be kept y and given to the parents in the spirit of sacredness and reli- gious duty, and let its future education be framed upon this experience of scientific observation in relation to heredity. What, after all, is heredity ? It is God's law, by means of which qualities are transmitted, thereby making the progress of humanity possible. By this law each one is enabled to rise from the lower to the higher. There is no lower which does not contain within it the possibilities of a higher, and how to touch these first springs of life is the problem of problems. How is it to be done ? The answer is, by the stimulating, over-powering influences of the strongest and best personalities, impressed in the spirit of love. Living persons of this type are the best, but such are not always at command. Books, however, can be made the medium of these influences. Through them, the personalities of all ages and of all countries can be made to influence young lives. As soon as a child begins to prattle, it can be interested in pictures, stories, and poetry, which will imbue it early with rich emotions. Under this loving guidance, children may be led to crave for a life of goodness in all its strength and beauty. Teachers of cul- ture and force of character know the stimulating power of good books, know how agreeably and subtly they impart to the growing mind right feelings and thoughts which develop into character, and fill the imagination with lofty ideals. As Milton taught, a new spirit-life permeates the organism, and in time enters the consciousness. The soul- awakening and soul-inspiring influence of reading will quicken cold, dead indifference, into life and thought- activity, creating new mental tendencies, and calling into existence new aspirations which, under right influences, give the material for new habits. How is this possible on a large scale ? The only way is that of the old, old story, love, maternal, all-embracing, in a word, Divine Love. Finally, is it not said that every author can trace his second birth to an inspiration received from the life and works of another, and are not geniuses created by the light and breath of some master-mind that has been brought into close contact with them ? Therefore that good lives may abound, that artists may multiply, and heroes possess the earth, bring the children into contact with these master-minds. "And when once the good work has been done, it will last. A person who has once learned to read well is tempted to go on. And books selected by a carefully graduated scheme would supply endless knowledge while kindling the mind, without any waste of time from drudgery and disgust." Thus the habit is formed, and reading becomes a necessity of the life. This habit should be formed in every man and woman, and the National Home-reading Union aims at doing it throughout the length and breadth of the land. Indeed this new national movement is a glorious work, and all may be proud to be leaders in it. Therefore let us be up and doing, to swell the numbers of our workers. Let readers possess the land and let leaders by their influence and holy enthusiasm convert the nation to this new teaching. In conclusion, let me put before you a few points for fixing in the memory : (i.) Reading is an educational force, which has not yet been utilised on a system. (2.) Its recommendations are : (a) That it is comprehensive, as it can be adapted to meet the needs of any age of young life. (b) That it can ba made the means of individual training. (c) That it is recreative, giving pleasure and there- fore aiding rapid mental growth. (d) That, on scientific principles, and under artist- guidance, it, may be systematised to counteract undesirable hereditary tendencies, and to regulate the desirable, by preventing waste of power. October ist, 1891. M. C. MONDY. 37, CROWXDALE ROAD, OAKLEY SQUARE, N.W. There is no hope of real advancement in such a state of things as ours ; rebellion against the true master is a necessary consequence ; he must be got rid of, or Trinculo and Caliban cannot rule. But men must lay aside this false power and go down amongst their fellow men, rich in help and strength, with a just view of the work that has to be done, and of the means at their disposal for doing it ; means which attract heart to heart, the humblest to the highest, instead of repelling the ignorant and weak by the cold impossibility of communion through the head ; or worse still, making tools of them, pouring out to the brute strength of mobs intoxicating doubts and fumes of self-exaltation. It is a sorry spectacle to see the Trinculos and Calibans conspiring together against the true lord of the island. The end of life should be steadily put before the mind, and the great fact, that reason lays down this most .decisive law, that knowledge and intellectual conquests do not form the true end of life, or man's real greatness. ED. THRING of Uppingham. YOUNG PEOPLE'S SECTION OF THE NATIONAL HOME READING UNION. SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FORMATION OF READING CIRCLES. JUNE 29x11, 1891. SURREY HOUSE, VICTORIA EMBANKMENT. Part /. How TO BEGIN. i. Interest personal friends. 2. Form these into a Reading Circle of the Young People's Section to meet for discussion of the books and the management of the Circles. 3. Let each member form a circle of young people from children leaving the Public Elementary Schools, from Juvenile Clubs and Guilds, from Sunday Schools, Girls' Friendly Societies, Associations for Befriending Young Servants, etc., etc. 4. Begin the reading as soon as there are five members for a Circle. Part II. WHERE TO MEET. i. It is best to meet in the Circle Leader's own home. 2. Where this is not practicable, perhaps a friend inay lend a room in his or her home. 3. If neither is convenient, appeal to the School Board of the district for the use of a schoolroom. 4. Where all the above fail, a room may be secured which is used locally for educational and social purposes." Part TIL ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS. i. Endeavour to get ministers of all denominations, teachers, philanthropists, and the promoters of social organisations to co-operate. 2. In the event of members being absolutely unable to pay their own subscriptions, or to purchase their own books, Circle Leaders are advised to call upon benevolent people for funds to defray the expenses of the first year. At the same time, as independence of character should not be overlooked, members should be encouraged to do as much as they can for themselves (such as paying a small sum weekly to the Leader, etc.). 3. When the books are provided by the Circle Leader, they might be lent to members, and at the end of each Reading Season, given to the readers who have kept them unsoiled and neat, returned them punctually, and read them the most diligently (with the exception of those who have not, during the year, paid their own Membership fee). A Secretary might be elected to relieve the Circle Leader of mechanical routine and detail. 4. The object of the Circles will best be attained if the meetings have a social-literary character, as unlike school and the ordinary " cram " as possible, that the members may feel they meet " to enjoy themselves ". Part IV. CONCLUDING REMARKS. i. Should any unforeseen difficulties arise, it is suggested that Circle Leaders consult Miss Mondy,. who will gladly render any assistance within her power. * For the method of conducting a Circle, see " Suggestions for th& conduct of Reading Circles ' ' . 2. Endeavour to draw into the Circle the lonely y the neglected, the less favoured by heredity, and, last but not least, those under the influence of, and immedi- ately surrounded by pernicious literature. 3. As the educational end of the reading is to create living forces moral and social in the rising generation, it is hoped that Circle Leaders will seek for guidance from such educational authorities as Dr. Arnold, Dr. Sophie Bryant, Mrs. William Grey, and the Rev. Edward Thring. NOTE. To further the end in view Miss Mondy will gladly lend works of the above, or other educational writers, to Circle Leaders. 4. For further elucidation of these suggestions, and for reciprocal support and stimulus, Circle Leaders are cordially invited to correspond with their Secretary. SUGGESTIONS FOR THE CONDUCT OF READING CIRCLES. The following may be helpful to those friends who are about to form Circles : Part I. INAUGURAL. (a) The Reading Year might open and close with a Social Evening to which friends could be invited. On the first evening of each term, a Lecture should be given, reviewing in general outline the book or books to be treated in the Journal. It should be short, graphic, and expressed in simple, homely language, and should be accompanied by Lantern illustrations of the leading features of the book or books, in order to create mental pictures to work from. The object of the social evening is to arouse an interest in the reading, and a pleasurable excitement in connection with the Circle. ( 28 ) Part II. INTELLECTUAL. . s (a) Open each Meeting with singing something social, inspiriting, refining, and to well-known tunes, e.g., the Psalm of Life, and Auld Lang Syne. (b) Discuss (conversationally) the reading done at home. Never omit to ask the name of the Author, and of other works by the same writer, the year in which the book was written, and the circumstances which originated it. This should be followed up by suggestive questions, t.g., Have the members gained any new idea from the reading ? Did anything surprise them ? Which parts are liked best and why ? Draw attention to descriptions of natural scenery, to choice language, word pictures, to heroic action, to the finer touches of character, and, above all, to the poetry of every-day life. Members should be encouraged to read aloud passages illustrative of the above. (c) At the first Meeting of each month, the Circle Leader should read aloud the leading Article of the Journal ; at the second, the Article on Literature ; at the third, the one on History ; and at the fourth, the one on Science. Each member should have a copy of the book of which the article treats, and should follow the reading, comparing and verifying at each step. Leaders should draw attention to points dwelt upon in the Journal, but which have not been observed by the readers. (d) Deal with the answers to questions given in the . Journal. Where practicable, these answers should be written at home, and discussed at the Circle Meeting. If but one member fail in this, they should be written during the meeting. When completed, each member should read aloud his or her answer to a question. Having heard all the answers, the Circle Leader should remove error, comment upon them, encourage, and stimu- late to a self-reliance in mental application, and to a love of thoroughness with it. To help the formation of right habits of study, pencils, note-books, a dictionary, an atlas, diagrams, illustrations, and books of reference should all be at hand for use when, the answers are being corrected. This exercise, if rightly carried through, will give a thorough mental training, and is meant to be more severe in character than b and c. Part III. RECREATIVE. (a) Interest members in photographs of people and' places, pictures, curiosities, scientific experiments, and the: microscope. Encourage members to bring curiosities and pictures.. (b) Let members read aloud, or recite pieces of poetry committed to memory during the week, or read a dramatic, selection, or tell a story (preference being given to original ones), or plan tableaux. (c) A social, friendly, easy chit-chat. If nothing better suggests itself, take the news of the week. From this, Circle Leaders should gather notes, queries, ideas, and suggestions fcr the Recreative pages of the Journal. (d) Close with one of the following : Music, a good story, musical drill, or by reading aloud to the Circle a. piece chosen for its true humour. Part IV. GENERAL. (a) All the suggestions are intended to apply to the-, reading directed by the Journal, and in no case should this be departed from except in Part III. c and d. (b) Circle leaders are advised to select from the suggestions what best suits the needs and tastes of their Circles, but Part II. b and c, and Part III. a and &, are recommended for every Circle, or, if this is too much, b of Part II. andfl of Part III. (c) Leaders should encourage members to do as much as possible themselves at the meetings, to lead to their taking an active interest in the work of the Circle. This can be done by consulting them on business points,, by letting the vote of the majority decide important matters, and by utilising every available opportunity for ( 30 ) making them feel responsible for the life and success of the Circle. This will afford an excellent means for uncon- scious moral training. SUGGESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL READERS. Part I. PRELIMINARY. (a) Never forget to read the Leading Article of the Journal as soon as it arrives. (b) Endeavour to give at least half-an-hour daily to the reading. (c) Also choose as quiet a place, and a time as free from interruption, as circumstances will permit. (d) Try to read each book twice, the first time, merely to enjoy receptively, the second, studiously and reflectively. Part II. METHOD OF SECOND READING. (a) Have a dictionary, atlas, note-book, and any other helps at hand for use. (b) Before proceeding to a book, get firmly rooted in the mind the following : 1. The name of the Author. 2. His age at the time he wrote the book. 3. The year in which the book was written. 4. The names of other books by the same writer. (c} Then read from Encyclopaedias the biography of the author, the geology, history, flora and fauna of his native place, and any general information that is necessary. (d) Next, read the Articles in the Journal upon the book under consideration, entering in a notebook anything which had escaped observation. (e) Read the book to the end. (/) If the meaning of the Author in any particular passage is involved, read it several times. Should this not help sufficiently, try one or all of the following : i. Analyse each sentence (grammatical analysis). 2. By the aid of a dictionary, substitute synonyms wherever possible. 3. Paraphrase the whole passage. 4. If all these fail to interpret it, consult Miss Mondy. (g) Answer the questions given in the Journal, revising them by the help of reference books. (h) Set questions (original) and send them to the Office on Memoranda sheets. Part III. RECREATIVE. (a) Occasionally put questions to yourself, e.g., 1. What new thoughts has the book given ? 2. What parts are liked best, and why ? 3. Why was the book written ? 4. Does it contain any material which would give a good picture for the Royal Academy next year ? (b) Get an audience (real or imaginary), and deliver a lecture on the book, reading aloud favourite passages. (c) Be on the look out for lectures, pictures, articles in the best Magazines, excursions, and visits to Museums and Exhibitions to supplement the reading. Part IV. GENERAL. (a) All the suggestions are intended to apply to the reading directed by the Journal, and in no case should this be departed from. (/;) Each reader is advised to select from the suggestions what best suits his or her individual circum- stances and tastes, but Parts I. and III., and a and d of Part II. are recommended for all readers. M. C. M. 37, CROWNDALE ROAD, OAKLEY SQUARE, N.W. ( 32 ) NATIONAL HOME READING UNION. YOUNG PEOPLE'S SECTION. SUB-COMMITTEE. Chairman REV. J. SCOTT LIDGETT, M.A. (Warden of University Settlement, Bermondsey, S.E.) Rev. CANON BARKER. Miss BEAR. Hon. E. F. BRUCE. J. A. BOWER, Esq. Mrs. P. W. BUNTING. Miss BURSTALL, B.A. Mrs. CLARKE. B. CLARKE, Esq. Miss DOCWRA. J. E. FLOWER, Esq. MA. Dr. GWYTHER. Miss HADLAND. Miss ADA HEATHER-BIGG; G. HOWELL, Esq., M.P. Miss HUTCH INSON. Rev. A. W. JEPHSON, M.A. Miss MALLESON. CORRESPONDING MEMBERS. Miss A. E. F. BARLOW, of Bolton. Mrs. BRUCE, of Camberwell. Mrs. CROMPTON, of Rivingtcn. S. C. Fox, Esq., of Cardiff. C. C. GRUNDY, Esq., of Blackpool. Rev. J. F. HEYES, M.A., F.R.G.S., of Oxford. T. C. HORSFALL, Esq., of Manchester. Miss ISLIP, of Torquay. Miss B. LEPPINGTON, of Leamington. Rev T. LEYLAND, of Colne. W. MALLESO.V, Esq., of Croydon. Rev. W. SKINNER, of Forest Gate. Rev. J. J. WRIGHT, of Chowbent. Women's Printing Society , Limited, Great College Street. Westminster, S.W . OVERDUE. I NOV 878671 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY J^ational Home Reading Onion. PRICES OF BOOKS. For :he Third Reading Season, 1891-92 The Prices cf the Bc>,-ks in the " Requited " Lists, are as follows : YOUin- man of Finance Committee, Rev. Canon Barker. C 'irmaii of Schools Committee, Henry G. Rawson, Esq. crre< *> Fit or <>. " Evt-.iwg School Chronicle,'" J. Edward Flower, ,A i>ffice:n, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND. The R.E.S.A. seeks to promote CONTINUATION SCHOOLS throughout the country, with Recreative, Technical, and other Practical Classes for those now leaving the Elementary Schools at n or 12 years of age. It assists Evening Schools, Clubs and Institutes as far as means will allow, by the loan of Lanterns. Slides, and other apparatus, and by the help of capable voluntary teachers. It aims at the Moral, Mental, Physical, and Material improvement of the people, by making Education attractive and practically helpful to their older children. Membership secured by (i) regular voluntary service, or (2) contribution to the ^unds of the Association, which is wholly dependent on such gifts. Since the Association began its work the number of evening class pupils under the London School Board has increased from 9,000 in 1885 to upwards of 20,000 in 1890, and throughout the country in the same ratio.