THE UNIVERSE. O LIGHT celestial, streaming wide That break around its varied hue- Still gem the proud sun's glory bed, A softer, holier influence shed- The soul ye court to muse on high. O flowers that breathe of beauty's reign, A spell to weed affection's pain- Of nature in your vast control,- Obedient still ye wander dim, And softly breathe, or loudly toll, Through earth and sky the name of Him. O world of waters, o'er whose bed As 'twixt the skies thou seem'st to dwell; And e'en on earth art but a spell, Amid their realms to wander freeThy task of pride hath speeded well, Thou deep, eternal, boundless sea. O storms of night and darkness, flung In blackening chaos o'er the world, When thunder peals are dreadly rung, Mid clouds in sightless fury hurl'd, Types of a mightier power, impearl'd With mercy's soft, redeeming ray, Still at His voice your wings are furl'd, Ye wake to own and to obey. O thou blest whole of light and love, Thou glorious realm of earth and sky, That breath'st of blissful hope above, When all of thine hath wander'd by,— Throughout thy range, nor tear nor sigh But breathes of bliss, of beauty's reign, And concord, such as in the sky The soul is taught to meet again. O man, who veil'd in deepest night This beauty-breathing world of thine, And taught the serpent's deadly blight Amid its sweetest flowers to twine,Thou, thou alone hast dared repine, And turn'd aside from duty's call, Thou who hast broken nature's shrine, And wilder'd hope and darken'd all. EDINBURGH SESSIONAL SCHOOL.* MR. WOOD's method of examination two commandments?' The law and far exceeds, in accuracy and comprehensiveness, even that of Dr. Bell. "In the national schools, Dr. Bell introduced a method of examination, which, though not without its use, was obviously quite inadequate to accomplish the objects we had in contemplation. In explaining, for example, the text, On these two commandments hang all the law and Prophets,' which, we think, is one of those that Miss Hamilton tells us was all her life connected in her mind with an absurd association formed in early youth, the examination, according to this method, would in general be of the following description: What is said of these the Prophets hang on them.' What are the law and the Prophets said to do?' They hang.' 'On what do they hang?' On these two commandments.' But of what is meant by the Law,' by the PROPHETS HANGING on the two commandments, no explanation would in all probability be given. We shall not say that, under this system, no teacher ever carried the explanation farther than we have here mentioned. But after the most anxious inquiry at the numerous visiters of the Sessional School from England, who take a deep interest in education, we may venture to assert, that the contrary is the common, it * Continued from page 78. the surprise which such visiters express, on examining our school, and the extravagant praise which they are too apt to bestow upon it. Hence, too, the erroneous tendency on the part of those, who know the explanaatory method only on the narrow scale we have just described, to think lightly of its importance, and to imagine, that it can be carried to no farther extent than that to which they have been accustomed." The meagreness and insufficiency of the method of explanation practised under the Madras system was soon apparent. More life and energy was infused into it-it was made more rational and intellectual-in short, the pupil was made to understand as well as read, to use as well as name his tools. It is pleasant to read what follows. not the invariable practice. Hence We find it impossible-within reasonable bounds to explain Mr. Wood's mode of teaching the alphabet-the reading of words of two syllables-and then the reading of three. A chapter is given to such explanation-and none but the silly and the shallow will smile at the details. How the greater number of "children of a larger growth" now in the world, at the bar, in the army and navy-physicians, professors, poets, and editors, ever came in early life to read words not only of two-but absolutely of three-nay of four letters, lies far out of the region of our conjectures. Much misery did they all endure long ago-before they knew the word CAT, for example, when they saw itwithout being in imminent danger of declaring it aloud to the whole school to be "dog." To our eyes, in the prime or decay of life, these two monosyllables-cat and dog-are as unlike each other as the creatures they severally denote; but it was far otherwise long ago; they were then as like each other-and they could not be liker-as "cow" and "nag." For our own parts, we learned to read by a continued miracle. We do not doubt that in one month at the Sessional School, any boy of about the same average capacity as ourselves were when boys, would be made to read not only small single words-but sentences of small words-far better than we could do after a summer and a winter's hammering, frequently with a blind headach. We well remember that about four-and-twenty of us urchins, all in a row, used to keep sitting, first on the one hip and then on the other, with unhappy paper concerns held up in both hands till they touched our noses, called "London Primers." Not one in the whole class could read a new word-except by daring-indeed desperate conjecture. And yet, the moment one of us rose up in his place-for of course the examination, as it was called, went on standing,—and instead of wasp, for example-no easy word-drawled hesitatingly and tremblingly out "In accomplishing this object, we were in some measure guided by the recollection of our own early education. How different, we well remembered, in point both of interest and utility, from the dry translations of ordinary teachers, were Dr.Adam's lessons, enlivened as they were with every species of illustration, etymological, grammatical, historical, antiquarian, and geographical, bearing reference one while to the sayings of the wise ancients, at another time to the homely proverbs of our own country. How much better did his pupils acquire a knowledge of the idioms of the latin language, from the variations, which he required them to make, in the construction of the passages which they happened to read, than from all the rules in his grammar! While the formal lessons, which he was himself in the habit of prescribing as tasks, from his own excellent work on Roman Antiquities, were generally most irksome, and forgotten almost as soon as read, the lesson of to-day expelling that of yesterday from the memory, how much more pleasingly, distinctly, and durably were the same instructions impressed upon the mind in an incidental form, through the medium of the ordinary reading !" He "task"'—a very creditable conjecture, he bids it set. He doth give the rain and the dew to wet the soil; and at his will it is made dry. The heat and the cold come from him. doth send the snow, and the ice, and the hail; and, at his word, they melt away. He now bids the tree to put on its leaf, but ere long he will bid the leaf to fade, and make the tree to be bare. He bids the wind to blow, and it is he who bids it to be calm. He sets a door, as it were, on the sea; and says to it, thus far only must thou come.' and no unfelicitous hypothesis-then down came a long black hard lignum vitæ ruler on our head, in the hand of a Master of Arts in the University of Glasgow, no less distinguished for the extent of his erudition than the gentleness of his temper-and thus we were taught to know "wasp" from " task," although to this day we start with horror at the name or nature of either-just as to this day we are lost in perplexity at Curfew-tolls. Let us come, then, to the chapter in which the small student is seen employed in the use of his knowledge, after he has become master of lessons in words of three letters. Then, he is no longer allowed to linger on the threshold. No more tables of unconnected words, nor even any more detached sentences, are presented to him; but he is now, by the perusal of interesting and instructive passages, initiated into the real benefit, as well as the practices of reading. He is furnished with the means-small as they appear to be-of knowledgewhich, even in his case, is felt to be both pleasure and power. "The first passages, indeed, consist of words having not more than four letters but, without any perceptible injury to the instruction, the children are in this form presented with a pretty long passage on GoD, and with the histories of ADAM and EVE, CAIN and ABEL, and NOAH. We may here remark, that we have found no narratives more pleasing to children, than those which relate to the antediluvian and patriarchal ages. Both the manner and the incidents related possess a simplicity peculiarly delightful at their years. And when we tell them that such narratives are to be found in the Bible, they naturally contract a desire to become acquainted with the other contents of that sacred volume. "From the article on GoD we extract the following paragraph, in order to illustrate our mode of explanation in use at this stage. "On the above passage, the child is asked some such questions as the following:-Who bids the sun to rise?' rising? What is meant by the sun Where it rises? When it rises? What its rising occasions ? Who bids it set?' What is meant by setting? Where it sets? When What its setting occasions? meant by dew?' What is What good is done it sets? Articles are next admitted, containing six letters, in which they re"God bids the sun to rise, and vert to Scripture History-that of Abraham and Lot, and so on and on, as they become familiar with words through that of Isaac and Jacob, and Esau, and Joseph. These histories present them with much useful instruction in the department of Natural History. The various lessons, or readings, are from the First and Second Book, compiled or rather composed for the school. The children have not these books at home. They are all the property of the school, and remain there. The whole information, therefore, which the children communicate to questions put to them, has been acquired from the reading in school, and from the previous examination of their young teachers. There is a specimen of some of the questions put-in presence of strangers, to a very young class taught by a monitor, without any other aid than the little histories themselves, contained in his book, and the previous general training which he had himself undergone. In every one case the questions were correctly answered by one or other of the boys in the class, and in the greater number of instances by the boy to whom the question was first addressed. The few failures were almost entirely on the part of children, who had not entered the school at the time when part of the lessons, to which the examination extended, was read by the rest of the class. Several other examples of reading lessons are given-and we quote—as a good one-the introduction of the article on glass. "You have already, in the course of this little work, read of several very extraordinary changes, which human art and ingenuity have been able to make upon natural productions. You have heard of the shroud of a worm in its lifeless state, of the fruit of one plant, and the fibres of another, being all converted into articles of dress for human beings. But perhaps none of these transformations has surprised you more than that which you are now to hear of. Would you believe that so clear and beautiful an 14 ATHENEUM, VOL. 2, 3d series. article as glass, could be made out of so gross a substance as sand? Yet it is the fact, that glass is made by mixing sand with the ashes of certain burnt plants, and exposing them to a strong fire.' "On this passage the child, besides describing generally how glass is made, is asked, What is meant by 'art ?' What is meant by human art and ingenuity?' What arenatural productions?' Can you tell me any of them? What is a 'shroud?' What worm has its shroud converted into an article of dress? Can you tell me the various changes through which that worm passes? Do you know any of the uses to which silk is' put? What plant is it of which the fruit is converted into an article of dress? Are there more than one kind of cotton plant? Which is the best? Do you know anything that is made of cotton? Can you tell me any plant of which the fibres are converted into an article of dress?' Do you know any piece of dress that is made of flax? Do you remember the various hands through which the flax must pass before it becomes a shirt? What do you mean by transformations?' What is meant by a gross substance?'" &c. After finishing the second book, the children, besides Scripture, which is in regular use in all the higher classes, read the "National School Collection," originally compiled, like all the other books of the series, for the use of this seminary. This compilation consists of religious and moral instruction, a collection of fables, description of animals, places, manners, and historical passages, and other useful and interesting information for youth. As the pupils advance in each bookeach passage, besides being fully explained in all its bearings upon the subject in question, is subjected to a still more minute analysis, than had been practised in its former stage, with the view of giving them the full command of their own language, and such general information as the passage may suggest. It has, it seems, been argued against the system by persons who never were in the Sessional School in their lives, that though the pupils are taught, perhaps, the meaning of words, they are not enabled by such means to comprehend the general scope of the passages which they read. By the way, "General Scope" is an old veteran, who has seen a great deal of active service, fought in many campaigns and to storm strong fortresses often has he been sent at the head of the forlorn hope. General Scope, then, is something formidable and fearful, and not a little mysterious in his very name. Ask not a mere boy-but any man, if he understands "General Scope," and he will be shy of saying "Yes." This being the case, in fairness we ought not to insist on all the little fellows in the Sessional School understanding "General Scope." A wiseacre might puzzle them not a little, and a wiseacre might be not a little puzzled by them in return. No doubt, they, just like their elders, seem to know-think they know not a few things, of which they are ignorant-but what then? Is it not sufficient that the boys thus taught, probably know much more, and that more much better, than boys of their own age who are taught in any other school in Scotland? That they know twice as much this month as they did the month before-and so on for a year or two-till they leave the school, fifty times better informed than when they entered it, and with good habits instead of bad-cheerful and pleased-themselves full of gratitude and forward-looking hopes-yet not mannikins-by no means mannikins-but simple sportful boys still and, so natural has their progress been felt to be, not in the least wondering "That one small head should carry all they know?" Mr. Wood, besides modestly appealing, which he may well do, to the multitudes who have visited the Sessional School, and especially to those who have examined the pupils, whether they have "often elsewhere met with children who entered more com pletely into the spirit of what they read, or could give a more accurate and clear account of it to others-tells one or two most beautiful little anecdotes, in proof of the clear understanding of the pupils. One gentleman of talent and virtue had his doubts, and selected a passage of Dr. Johnson on "the varying aspect of nature, as well adapted to man's love of novelty," and examined upon its import the least, though certainly not the lowest, boy in the class. "Our sense of delight," quoth the Doctor, "is in a great measure comparative, and arises at once from the sensations which we feel, and those which we remember." Now, "What," said the gentleman to the little boy, "do you mean by our sense of delight being comparative ?” "We enjoy health a great deal better when we have been sick," answered the little boy-thus speaking in the spirit of a beautiful passage in Gray's Ode to Vicissitude. "Pray, then, put into other language, the sensations which we feel, and those we remember.'" And instantly the little boy improved, in our opinion, on the style of Dr. Samuel Johnson-" Present and past sensations." That we call a pretty little anecdote. . On a different occasion, a person of a different character, a stranger, undertook to question a little boy on his opinions respecting the value of natural theology! He seemed, says Mr. Wood mildly, very strongly impressed with the opinion, that in order to exalt revelation, it is necessary to maintain that there is no such thing at all as natural religion. On occasion of some mention being made of the ancient philosophers, in a passage which one of the boys was reading, he asked one of them--a blind boy of ten years of age-"What did their philosophy do for them?" The blind boy was |