the mind, and, naturally enough seem all-important to the pupil. "It is worthy of remark," says Professor Jardine, "that whatever change for the better shall be made, in our systems of education, it must begin with the teachers themselves. The art of teaching, like all other arts, is founded chiefly on experience. Improvements, therefore, are not to be expected from legislators and politicians, who have many other objects to engage their attention; nor even from men of science, unless they have an experience in the business of education. It therefore becomes the duty of every one engaged in teaching, to collect facts, to record observations, to watch the progress of the human faculties, as they expand under the influence of education, and thus to unite their efforts for the general improvement of our academical establishments."

Teaching, then, should be the object of your constant meditations. It should engage your thoughts by night and by day; and it should regulate, to a very large extent, your private studies;-it should be the end of your labors. The principal reason why there are so few good teachers, is, that a school is almost always regarded as a stepping-stone to something else. The hireling fulfils his day, and then hastes to pursuits more congenial to his taste, and destined, he trusts, eventually to deliver him from the present "house of bon. dage." This is ruinous to success. Ardor and enthusiasm are absolutely necessary to carry a teacher through the drudgery of his duties. He must take pleasure in communicating instruction to the youth; his immediate reward must be their progress; and in the consciousness of discharging one of the most important of all obligations, he must find motives sufficiently powerful to sustain him under exhausting labor.

Since, however, the ability to instruct ably in the elementary branches, demands a thorough knowledge of a variety of subjects, it will be desirable, still to keep in view the advancement of your school, to pursue a course of study of a much more enlarged character than would be required, but for its relation to the general discipline and improvement of the mind.

But the chief object of your study, after all, should be human nature, and the laws which regulate and govern the human mind. Study these, not merely as laid down in

books, but by a constant habit of observing and analysing character; tracing the motives of actions, both in yourself and in others; and observing conduct, in reference to the moral principles which lie at the foundation of it. Account nothing too minute and trivial for meditation. It is by the frequent contemplation of trivial instances, that great general principles are developed.

MENTAL PHILOSOPHY, which, as a science, may be termed "the anatomy of human nature," should be diligently studied by every instructor of the young. This knowledge is, in fact, as essential to you, as an acquaintance with the nature and kinds of the several soils which he attempts to render productive, is to the intelligent husbandman. Under the most favorable circumstances. you will have much experience to gain at the cost of your pupils; it is therefore of the highest importance, that you should take every precaution to avoid unnecessary mischief. Books on education, involving the application of these principles, will from time to time come under your notice, and these will doubtless be pursued with eagerness. But allow me to say, read them cautiously. In this department it is especially necessary to "try the spirits," for "false prophets are gone out into the world." Many a promising volume will not be found to furnish a single hint that is really practical and valuable.

In all your studies, endeavor to cultivate clearness and precision of thought; carefully dicriminating between sound and false reasoning; and habitually seeking after great general principles. That habit of expressing the result of your inquiries, in your own words in writing, will be found highly beneficial, in preventing indistinctness and confusion in your ideas; and the immediate impartation to others of that which you have acquired, will, more than any thing else, tend to improve your own mind.

In order to accomplish these things, I know that great difficulties must be overcome. Your previous occupations and habits of mind, have perhaps been unfavorable to mental application, and now, the exercise of ATTENTION, (on which every acquisition depends,) is, in any degree of intensity, laborious and painful. Do not, however, be discouraged; by repeated efforts, that which is hard will become easy. Cultivate the habit of attention. Be always attentive. If you are observing phenomena of any kind, do it carefully,—

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with your whole mind. If you are reflecting on any subject, be determined to abstract yourself, for the time being, from all external disturbances. In short, whatever you do, "do it heartily;" or, as Lord Brougham has expressed it, "be a whole man to one thing at once." If you can obtain this kind of mastery over your faculties, you will find it comparatively easy to pass with advantage from one occupation to another to stop one train of thought, and to commence another; and thus to improve those fragments of time, which otherwise will certainly be lost.

Still, with all your care and effort, you must expect to suffer much, not only from that natural restlessness which belongs to almost every mind which has not been well disciplined in early life, but also from the wanderings of a vain and wayward imagination. The regulation of the IMAGINATION, is so intimately connected with virtuous habits, that, even apart from any considerations connected with the improvement of the intellect, the most anxious attention should be paid to its culture and government. This faculty, which exercises itself in the re-production of past sensations and notions, bringing vividly before the mind both good and evil, in various forms, and combined in every possible variety of manners, tyrannizes over some men with terrible and despot ic sway. The objects which in early life have usurped the mind, the books which have been read, the trains of thought which have been indulged,-these, constitute the materials, by means of which it creates pictures, re-produces sensations and emotions, recalls ideas, and, according to the character of these creations and re-productions, ennobles or contaminates the man. Hence the importance, not only of habitually controlling the immediate exercise of this imperious faculty, but also of excluding from the mind every thing of a debasing and corrupting tendency. The mischief which is produced by reading immoral writings, for instance, can never be estimated by any immediate result. At the moment of perusal, the mind may be apparently unaffected by the evil with which it is thus brought into contact; other passions or sentiments may be in dominion; a momentary smile is, perhaps, all that has been excited, and the matter is forgotten: the polluted train, of foul images and bad thought, has passed so rapidly along, that it seems as if it had never been. And it is not perhaps till years after

ward, in some hour of sudden temptation, or at some period of that history, which is known only to himself and God, that the delinquent finds out, in all the bitterness of a tortured and agonized spirit, how deep is the injury which he has inflicted on his moral nature, and how difficult he has made the attainment of that purity of heart and mind, after which he now perhaps most intensely longs. This faculty, therefore, must be subjected to severe and constant discipline, if you would attain to any high degree, either of intellectual or moral excellence.

All this, I again say, implies labor,-great labor,—and there is no help for it. Labor, is the price God requires us to pay for any earthly good, and we must not grudge the amount. Intellectually, as well as physically, it is the Divine appointment, that man shall earn his bread "by the sweat of his face ;" and there is no evasion of this general rule. "Without labor and discipline, all direct instruction must be unavailing and useless, The ordinary processes of instruction may put us in a condition for improvement; they may afford us the light of experience to direct our efforts; they may remove unnecessary obstacles from our path; they may point out our defects and show us the method of correcting them; they may enable us to strengthen what is weak, and to use well what is strong; they may instruct us in the best employment of our faculties; they may teach us how to study, when to study, what to study, and wherefore to study; but after all, study we must, and study is self work, and incomparably the hardest work that is accomplished beneath the sun. The most elaborate and manifold apparatus of instruction, can impart nothing of importance to the passive and inert mind. It is almost as unavailing as the warmth and light of the sun, and all the sweet influences of the heavens, shed upon the desert sands."*

Let me recommend you then, to inscribe over the door of your apartment, the motto of the normal school of Pyritz, in Pomerania, "Pray and work." You cannot stand still. The moment you cease to be a diligent student, your relative position in society begins to alter; others are pressing forward, and if you remain contented with present acquisitions, a few years hence you will find yourself far below

your present standing in the community. You have more time for intellectual improvement than falls to the lot of persons in any other employment, and if you do not improve it, you deserve to sink.

4. Cherish a kindly feeling towards the young, at all times, and under all circumstances. Do not attribute to children, dispositions and tendencies which do not belong to them. Many are absolutely discouraged from undertaking any benevolent effort on their behalf, by the frequent complaints which are uttered by teachers, respecting their character and conduct: they are perverse, lazy, thoughtless, ungrateful and wicked. A well qualified instructor smiles at these complaints; for he knows that "the teacher is to blame; he is ranking among crimes, actions which are but the unavoidable results of their characters as children; he is seeking fruit in the time of blossoms." Salzmann, to whom I have already more than once referred, insists, that by the far greater number of those faults and defects which grieve the teacher, are but the natural results of his own conduct. Be that as it may, it is certainly of the utmost importance that a teacher should have a good opinion of children; that he should always put the most favorable construction upon their conduct; that he should remember, that children not only do think and act like children, but ought to do so; that, in short, he should be fond of them. Cultivate, therefore, a warm interest in their society, and under all circumstances be their friend.

5. Studiously avoid every thing which is calculated to impair your health. Children have no sympathy with morbid affections of the liver and spleen ;-an instructor must be cheerful and happy. But cheerfulness depends very much on the state of the body; almost any degree of despondency or irritability may be produced by irregularity of diet, neglect of exercise, or want of sufficient sleep. Take care, therefore, of your health. Beware of late hours. Rise as early as you like, but retire to repose before midnight.

"Long vigils

Must need impair that promptitude of mind
And cheerfulness of spirit, which, in him
Who leads a multitude, is past all price."*

*Taylor's Philip Von Artevelde.