In these Sunday schools, teachers are wisely enjoined to observe brevity in their devotional exercises-not by their immoderate length to produce the offerings of harassed, impatient, and wandering spirits, which never can be acceptable at the heavenly shrine. A similar brevity is enjoined to the exhortations of the teachers. The chief, the main time, is occupied in the examination of the pupils, and in easy conversational instruction. All right.

But of all modes of instructing the young in religious knowledge, none is equal to catechising, as defined by Dr. Johnson-"To instruct by asking questions, and correcting the answers." There are formularies and text-books, however, which every church ought to possess for the use of its young members.

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Of all the personal and odious experiences of one's youth, is there one more odious in memory than the saying our questions ?" Not one. Afraid that we should answer ill-and feeling that it was impossible that we could answer well-for children cannot always deceive themselves into a belief that words are thoughts, even when the words come pat, and when the unintelligible question is instantly followed by the unintelligent replywe abhorred the Catechism-first, in almost utter gloom of its meaningafterwards in glimmerings-then in a faint, broken, and uncertain light— nor was that ever clear enough to the reason, or satisfactory enough to the heart, to be felt as instruction, even when such instruction was most earnestly desired,

"For piety is sweet to infant minds." How many must feel the force of the following passage!

"To say nothing of the torture to which the poor wretch is, in such a case, subjected, they are miserable judges of human nature who imagine that this early and unmeaning repetition of anything will afterwards afford the pupil any facility in really learning it. If in riper years a child so educated

can be induced, (which, we believe, very rarely indeed is the case,) to recur to a work which, under such circumstances, can be connected in his mind with no other than the most unpleasing associations, his former mode of learning, in place of being a facility, will clearly be an obstacle to him. He will find it infinitely more difficult to attach a just meaning to words, which have been long accustomed to pass through his mind without making any impression, (or which, perhaps, have left an erroneous one,) than he would have done if he were now to begin the work for the first time. How often, in attempting to hammer into the minds of such pupils the meaning of what they had long learned to repeat, have we wished that they had previously seen as little of the catechism, as some others beside them, who, with very inferior talents, were making far more satisfactory progress. Such, we are persuaded, is likewise the experience of all who have ever had any practice in teaching upon rational principles. They will, we suspect, in all such cases, be much disposed to concur with a famous musician mentioned by Quintilian, who always charged a double fee for teaching his art to those who had previously received instruction elsewhere."

But how, it may be said, can a child understand religion? Ay-how, it may be said, can a man understand religion? A child may understand something of religion-and that something may be much to it

"God pitying its simplicity!" There are more senses than onesays Mr. Wood excellently well-in which we may be said to understand a thing. We are said, for example, to understand the narrative of any remarkable phenomenon when we have received a just conception of the appearances described, though neither ourselves nor the narrator can have the slightest notion of the causes of these appearances. We may perfectly understand a thing, in short, in so far as we can conceive it, while in

other respects, it is involved in obscurity; and this is a distinction which cannot be too much attended to in the religious instruction of children, and we might add, too, of those of riper years, for all in this imperfect state are at best but grown children. Yes indeed. In religion, more than in anything else,

"Men are but children of a larger growth."

"We ought ever to remember, that, in the department of religion, no less than of nature, there are secret things that belong unto the Lord our God,' as well as W things which are revealed, that belong unto us and our children forever." "

Mr. Wood then explains the way in which the Sunday-school scholars are taught the Catechism—than which nothing can be more judicious and instructive; and likewise what use is made of two little works, the Old and New Testament Biography. These works resemble Catechisms in this respect, that they are drawn up in the form of questions; but they have no answers annexed to them; and for these the pupils must have recourse to the Holy Scriptures themselves. The better to exercise their own discernment, they are referred merely to the chapter, without any mention of the particular verse where the answer is to be found, nor are they expected or wished to give the answer in the exact words of Scripture, but in their own language, except in the more remarkable colloquial parts. This is illustrated by a few examples. The greatest recommendation of compilations of this kind is, that they lead the young mind to take an interest in the Holy Scriptures-and a little leading will do that-and not to resort to them merely as an act of duty, or a prescribed regimen.

Finally-though of these two chapters we have necessarily given but a most imperfect analysis, the instruction at these Parochial Sunday Schools is purely and exclusively religious. And seeing that reading, spelling, and writing, are taught the scholars elsewhere, this certainly is right.

9 ATHENEUM, VOL. 2, 3d series.

The Daily EDINBURGH SESSIONAL SCHOOL, of which all the rest of this volume gives an account, contains, on an average, 500 scholars-the largest number present on any one day being 601. They are all under the tuition of one master, who conducts the school on the monitorial system of mutual instruction.

Mr. Wood first explains the duties of the Directors, of which we cannot speak; then of the Masters, which, of course, are not unobvious; and then of the Monitors.

Lancaster originally confessed,although he denied it afterwards, and was encouraged and backed in his denial by many who ought to have known better, and who did know better, but who sacrificed the truth to party spirit and sectarian zeal,—that he had borrowed, in a great measure, the Monitorial System from Dr. Bell. The controversy that soon arose respect. ing their respective claims to that part of the system, and their other comparative merits, kindled a great zeal for the system, and National and Lancasterian Schools rose side by side in many a town, village, and hamlet, where the education of the poor had hitherto been unable to find an abode. Mr. Wood expounds, at great length, the advantages of the Monitorial system-showing that, in those large establishments, where it becomes necessary to put some hundreds of children under the superintendence of one master, it is absolutely essential,

that young monitors are more pliant and flexible, and thus more easily moulded by the master to his own views, so that he can at all times maintain nearly as perfect a system of unity, and as nice an accommodation of one class to another, as if he were himself every moment personally occupied in each, and ostensibly conducted the education of every individual scholar from its commencement to its close,-that the monitors are in general more active and alert than ushers, make better fags, and take a pleasure and a pride in performing duties which the others are too apt to

regard as an excessive bore and degradation, that they can more easily sympathize with the difficulties of their pupils, while they, on the other hand, with a greater prospect of success, strive to emulate their young teacher, that in many schools, though not extensive, children of very different ages, and of very different grades in attainment, and engaged in very different branches of education, are necessarily confided to the superintendence of one master, assisted perhaps by a single usher, in which cases it is evident, that the larger proportion of those assembled in the school, must always be comparatively idle; whereas, there is no remedy for this more simple, more cheap, or more efficacious, than that of enabling the pupils to teach others, in place of remaining thus idle during the necessary intervals between the master's personal examinations. These, and other benefits of the monitorial system, are pointed out very distinctly, but perhaps rather prolixly, by Mr. Wood; while he concludes by observing, that the field which appears the most unpromising for the use of mcnitors, is, fortunately, the very one in which their employment is least necessary-namely, such classes as compose the two great Grammar Schools of this city, where the children committed to one master are all in the same stage of their education. The monitorial system, however, has been partially adopted, with advantage, in both these admirable establishments. What follows, is good.

"Every monitor in the Sessional School is provided with an ASSISTANT, whose duty it is to preserve order and attention in the class, while he himself is occupied in teaching. The advantage of such an officer must be sufficiently obvious. In some schools, excellent in every other respect, a practice prevails, which, in our opinion, cannot be too much condemned, of encouraging the children to become general informers against each other, and giving them an interest in doing so, by putting the informer in the delinquent's place, if the latter be previously

superior in the class. This mode of informing is never practised in the Sessional School except by a novice, and, from the reception which it encounters, not merely from the master, but from his fellow scholars, who never fail to send their officious companion to Coventry for a season, is in no great danger of being repeated. But the assistant, who, in giving information, does no more than his duty, secures the approbation alike of his teacher and his fellows. It is, accordingly, no unusual thing to see a boy playing at the door of the school with the individual who, the very moment before, had, in discharge of duty, been the occasion of his censure or punishment."

What ought to be the size of a class? Thirty, at least, quoth Bell-Nine, at most, quoth Lancaster. Mr. Wood sides with the Doctor, and so do we. Half a dozen is a contemptible class, except when there are no more than half a dozen boys fit to be put into the same class. Mr. Wood shuddersas well he may-at the tremendous noise that would envelope a great number of such small classes, especially if all these, according to the Lancastrian fashion, were reading at the same time. Besides, (an objection more vital,) how could you get a sufficient supply of fit monitors to conduct the system? On the excellence of the monitors almost all depends; but triple or quadruple their number, and all power of selection would be taken from the master, and many of the monitors would be pretty fellows indeed. Of the classification of the pupils, the principle is excellent.

"In determining the class to which any individual pupil should either be originally posted or subsequently removed, the natural criterion obviously is neither his age, nor the length of time he has been under tuition, but his actual proficiency. When a child, accordingly, is introduced into the Sessional School, trial is first made of his qualifications, in order to determine in which class he should be placed. This is sometimes no easy

matter to decide, and we doubt not the decision has, in the very threshold, given umbrage to many a parent, My laddie,' we are not unfrequently told, was in the boonmost class at his last school; he had lang been oot o' the Bible and was in the Beauties;' he can say a' the questions; and he was through a' the book in the coonting.' Notwithstanding this profession, the alleged proficient is sometimes found quite incapable of reading our most simple and introductory book, of understanding a single syllable of his catechism, or of performing the most elementary operation of arithmetic. He is accordingly of course placed in the class where he is most likely to receive improvement, without regard to his former high pretensions. But his continuance in this class depends entirely upon his subsequent progress. If it be found, that he so far outstrips all his companions as to stand continually at the top, without much exertion on his own part, it is high time that he should be promoted to a superior one, where he may find his level, and have all his energies called forth into exertion. If, on the other hand, it turn out that he is constantly at the bottom of his class, in a hopeless state of inability to compete with his present class-fellows, it may prove, and in the Sessional School has very frequently, in such a case, proved of infinite advantage to remove him to a lower class, where he may be better able to maintain his ground. We have sometimes found children in the latter situation, who, chagrined at not being able to keep up with the class in which they happened to be, of themselves requested to be put into a lower. And not unfrequently those, who had been so put back, have been able ere long to overtake their former comrades, and to enjoy with them the benefit of a more equal competition; whereas had they been doomed all along to retain their original situation, they would undoubtedly have lost all heart, and, as scholars, have been ruined for life. There are some children extremely slow in laying the

foundation of any branch of education, who, when it has once been laid, are no less alert than any of their companions in rearing the superstructure. Such children require to be kept a much longer time in the elements than those of more quick apprehension. Now it must be evident, that were both constantly retained in the same class, either the latter must injuriously be kept back on account of the former; or else the former must be dragged forward blindfold, and totally ignorant of all that is going on, through the rest of the course."

The object of the explanatory method of instruction, which has been pursued so successfully in the SESSIONAL SCHOOL, is threefold-first, to render more easy and pleasing the acquisition of the mechanical art of reading; secondly, to turn to advantage the particular instructions contained in every individual passage which is read; and, above all, thirdly, to give the pupil, by means of a minute analysis of each passage, a general command of his own language.

Of the first of these objects we at present say nothing-except that, at the Sessional School, the pupils engaged in the commonly distressful task of learning the mere letters and words, wear the happy faces of children engaged at their sports.

As to the second-Along with facility in the art of reading, much information is communicated to them which is well adapted to their present age, and may be of use to them for the rest of their lives. In most schools, how many fine passages are read in the most pompous manner, without leaving a single sentiment in the mind of the performer! Here Mr. Wood tells an amusing and illustrative anecdote of a gentleman of his acquaintance, who had been accustomed to repeat-without the slightest attention to the sense-Gray's Elegy

yes, that eternal Elegy—not uncommonly known at school by the name of "The Curfew Tolls." What either curfew or tolls meant, he, according to custom, knew nothing.

"Thus, for example, if in any lesson the scholar read of one having 'done an unprecedented act,' it might be quite sufficient for understanding the meaning of that single passage, to tell him that no other person had ever done the like;' but this would by no means fully accomplish the object we have in view. The child would thus receive no clear notion of the word unprecedented, and would therefore, in all probability, on the very next occasion of its recurrence, or of the recurrence of other words from the same root, be as much at a loss as before. But direct his attention to the three-fold composition of this word, the un, the pre, and the cede. Ask him the meaning of the syllable un in composition, and tell him to point out to you (or, if necessary, point out to him) any other words in which it has this signification of not, (such as uncommon, uncivil,) and, if there be leisure, any other syllables which have in composition a similar effect, such as in, with all its modifications of ig, il, im, ir, also dis, and non, with examples. Next in vestigate the meaning of the syllable pre in composition, and illustrate it with examples, (such as previous, premature). Then examine in like manner the meaning of the syllable cede, and having shown that in composition it generally signifies to go, demand the signification of its various compounds, precede, proceed, succeed, accede, recede, exceed, intercede.”

Thus the pupil not only knows the word in question, but he has a key to a vast variety of other words in the language; in getting which key, he is all the while animated and amused.

There is no feeling of irksome drudgery-and the acquisition being founded on principle, is permanent. It cannot be lost. Nor manifestly is it necessary that every word should be gone over in this way, any more than that every word should be syntactically parsed; for a single sentence well done may prove of the greatest service to the scholar in all his future studies.

But it may be said-it has been said—why, this may be all very well with regard to a foreign language, but it is quite superfluous with relation to a vernacular tongue. That is a very great mistake.

"The humbler classes of society, in every sermon which they hear,—in every book which they read, however simple, and written peculiarly for their own use,-nay, in the Bible itself,meet with a multitude of words and expressions, even of frequent occurrence, which, from want of such a key, not only lose great part of their force, but are utterly unintelligible, and are often grossly misunderstood. We would, ourselves, have been in a great measure ignorant of the full extent of the disadvantage under which such persons labor in this respect, but for the representations of the lads in our evening school, many of whom were possessed of no ordinary abilities, and had received all the education formerly bestowed on persons in that rank of life.

We were much struck, too, with a conversation which we had on this subject, on occasion of a recent visit to a seminary in Newhaven, under the excellent tuition of a young man who had received his education in the Sessional School. We there met with a fisherman, the parent of one of the pupils, well known in the village as one of the most respectable, intelligent, and well educated of his class. He evidently took a deep interest in our proceedings, and, while we were in the act of examining the children on the meaning of what they had read, he at length broke out in nearly the following manner: Eh, sir, you'll not know how little of this I understand, and how