From the N. Y. Teacher. BY E. DUCO. ness, that I did not promptly, as I should My teacher was a man for whom I felt, from the first day I entered his school, the greatest respect. His bearing was cise was writing. My teacher, in passing gentle and pleasant, yet firm. He con- around giving instruction, paused behind ducted himself before the school and in my desk. Almost immediately his eye his administration of discipline, with what fell upon the defaced surface. "Edward," I should now term, a quiet assurance.— he inquired abruptly, "did you scratch His self-control was, I think, almost per- your desk?" His sudden question took fect. Never fretting, never scolding his me by surprise. A number of eyes were pupils, or occasioning a great excitement upon me. I wanted to explain; hesitatamong them by some unusual harshness ed; became confused, and answered--No! or severity. When an amusing incident My character for honesty and truthfuloccurred, or he engaged in a lively strain ness, had, up to this time, stood unimof remark, causing some little exhibition peached; and it was a principle of my of mirthfulness, he never forgot either teacher not to doubt the veracity of a himself or his school, so as to permit boy without good evidence. He replied, what was simply meant for a wholesome "I suppose it must have been done, perrelaxation, to degenerate into disorder haps carelessly, by one of the pupils who and confusion. tarried at noon.' Upon inquiry, of It is said that most teachers are hobby-course, no information was received in riders. If my teacher ever rode a hobby regard to the matter. During the recitait was that of neatness. To present a tion of the afternoon, my teacher acted slovenly appearance, or to mar books or towards me so frankly, and with such an furniture, was with him a serious offence. absence of suspicion in his manner, that As a consequence, the same spirit, to a while I felt grateful for his good opinion, commendable extent, prevailed among was deeply humbled and abased in my the pupils, and a laudable degree of pride was manifested in the care and appear- both a liar and a coward; not having sufance of everything connected with the ficient moral courage to speak the truth. My conscience said, "go to your teacher One forenoon, during the last half hour and acknowledge your fault." My pride of the session, I was busy engaged in objected, "you have heretofore sustained solving a difficult arithmetical proplem. a good character; no one suspects you While absorbed in thought, I unconsci- have spoken an untruth; if you tell of ously rubbed the point of my well sharp-yourself, you will lose the good opinion ened pencil upon the surface of the desk. of your teacher and schoolmates; seeing The tap of the bell for dismission, that the thing has gone so far, let it rest brought me to myself again, when I first as it is, and do better, and act more carebecame aware of the mischief I had done. fully in the future." This inward conflict My desk was sadly marred. I felt so continued till the close of the week; mortified and chagrined at my careless-when, after shedding many tears, I re school. I own estimation. I realized that I was From the Orator. THE AMERICAN ALADDIN. BY G. W. CURSIS. solved to inform my teacher of my transgression. Accordingly on Friday afternoon, I tarried after the dismission of the school. As soon as my teacher was at leisure I approached him, and bursting into tears acknowledged my falsehood WHEN we go out on Saturday afterand related the particulars that led me to noons to moralize and see new houses, it. He saw that I was truly repentant. we usually take our young ones by Placing his hand upon my head he spoke Aladdin's palace. Aladdin was a Ya kee. to me, soothingly and encouragingly, of He started life by swapping jack-knives, confession and repentance, and of a pro- then putting the halves of the broken per self-respect; and in conclusion assured me that I stood as high as ever in his esteem. I left the school-room that evening a happy boy. When, on Monday morning, my teacher simply announced that the one who had defaced a certain desk, had nobly acknowledged his offence, and that he deemed the act, under the circumstances, excusable, without raising the slightest, suspicion toward me, I felt that he regarded my feelings; that he had not wantonly exposed the breach in my character; and my gratitude towards him scarce knew bounds. My love for my teacher, my love for truth, and my love for an honorable course of conduct, was sensibly increased. I never again allowed myself to hesitate, or to equivocate, in the acknowledgment of a fault. marbles together and passing them off as whole ones. When he had gathered some brass, he went to school all the summer to learn the golden rule of rithmetic-addition for himself, and substraction for his neighbor. For At an early age, Aladdin was consi lerhe could always succeed in changing a ed to be good at a bargain, which meant, worse for a better, always keeping the blind side of a horse to the wall when he had to sell it; and the village said that certainly Aladdin would succeed. When he left, "he will be rich," said the village, with more approval than it would say, "he will be generous and true." To Aladdin, the world was but a market in which to buy cheap and sell dear. him, there was no beauty, no history, no This little circumstance has had a great piety, no heroism. Vainly the stars influence in the formation of my charac-shone over him, vainly the south wind ter. I have often since thought, that if blew. In the wake of the great ship my teacher had, in the first instance, Argo, in which Jason and his companions doubted my word or, upon my con- sailed for the Golden Fleece, over the fession, reproved me sharply for my false- gleaming Mediterranean, where the ships hood, or mentioned the circumstance so of Tyre, Rome, and of the Crusaders, had as to expose my fall from truth, in either been before him, through the Pillars of case I might have been disheartened and Hercules, through which Columbus sailceased my efforts to preserve what ed to find fame in a new world-ow sails Aladdin to find fortune. To him all partly lost. To repose confidence in a pupil, to cultivate his self-respect, and to lands are alike. No Homer sang for him sympathize in his failings, are essential in the Agean; he only curses the wind parts of a conscientious teacher's duty. that will not blow him into Odessa. No Newark, N. J., Oct. 11, 1856. syrens sing for him, but he loves the was huge oath of the lively boatswain. With looks languidly at Mrs. Aladdin through the Bible in his hand and a quid of to- the thick smoke. bacco in his mouth, he goes about the By and by old Aladdin dies. The conholy places in Jerusalem, and "calcu-ventional virtues are told over as the lates" their exact site. He sees the land mourning carriages are called out. The of the Rameses and the Ptolemies; and papers regret they are called upon to dethe reverend records of the Lybian de- plore the loss of a revered parent, genersert, whose echoes have slumbered since ous friend, puplic spirited citizen, and they were tramped over by Alexander's pious man; and the precious swapper of ariny, are now awakened by the shrill jack-knives, and the model set up to the whistle of Old Dan Tucker. He insults young generation is laid in the dust.the Grand Llama, hobnobs with the Above his grave the stars he never saw Grand Mogul, turns his back upon em- now burn with a soft luster which no perors, and takes a pinch out of the lamps about a king's tomb can emulate; Pope's snuff-box. He chews with the and the south wind, for whose breath Arabs, smokes opium with the Turks, upon his brow he was ever grateful, and rides for a bride with the Calmuck strews his lonely last bed with anemones Tartars. and violets that his heels crushed when Aladdin comes home again, and the ad-living; and we who are to be formed upon that model, carelessly remark as we stir miring village points him out to the our toddies, "So old Aladdin is gone at younger generation as a successful man: last; and, by the way, how much did he leave?" “My son, look at him: he began with nothing; now see." "My son" does see and beholds him owing a million of dollars, and of all societies of which he is INSTRUCTING CHILDREN.-It needs all not president, a director. His name is we know to make things plain. Instrucas good as gold. He has bought pictures tors of children—and it is a good thing and statues. He has, also, bought a Mrs. there are schools for such-should reAladdin and housed her in luxury; but member this in the exercise of their he picks his mouth with a silver fork.-duties. He has a home for a poet; but he makes "I once saw a clergyman," writes one it his boast that he reads nothing but his who has made the thoughts and feelings newspaper. He goes to church twice on of children his study, "try to teach the Sunday, and only wakes up when the children of a Sabbath school that they preacher denounces the sinner of Sodom should live after they were all dead. He and Gomorrah, and those "tough old was too abstract at first. At length, Jews" of Jerusalem. His head is bald however, taking his watch from his and shiny with the sermons which have pocket, which arrested their attention in hit and glanced off. He clasps his hands a moment, he said: in prayer, but forgets to open them when the poor box is passed around; and he goes home like a successful man, thanking God that he is not as other men are. And after dinner he sits before the fire in his easy chair, lights a large cigar, and "James, what is this I hold in my hand?" "A watch, sir." "A little clock," said another. "How do you know it is a watch?" but, to his great favor, the meter was "Because we can see it, and here it generally Adonic. tick." "Very good." He then took off the case, and held it in one hand, and the watch in the other. "Now children which is the watch! You see there are two which look like watches. Now I will lay the case down -put it there in my hat. Now let us see if we can hear the watch ticking." Yes, sir, we can hear it!" exclaimed several voices at once. "Well children, the watch can tick, go and keep time, as you see, when the case is taken off and put in my hat as well as before. So it is with you, children; your body is nothing but the ground, and the soul will live, just as well as this watch will go when the case is taken off."-Dryden. SCHOOL MACHINERY. To this primitive machinery have been added many inventions and improvements, though its use, the thought of which so haunted Steele for more than twenty years after his release from school, is by no means one of the "lost arts." In cases of emergency, the rod will, doubtless, ever be regarded as a sine qua non. The other extreme in school forces is love. The child is won from his waywardness, his enthusiasm kindled, his stupidity healed, and his soul warmed into an intense desire for success, by the potency of affection and good will. The inventor of love as the true art of school discipline, deserves more fervent grattitude than a Fulton or a Watts. The medial agent-and one in pretty general use- -is the tongue. Of all school forces this is the most potent. It combines the fear of the rod and the charm of affection. In its magic tones is a power Every school has of necessity some strong enough to quiet the rage of a manikind of machinery by means of which its ac, and in its discords and irritations movements are regulated, and order and lurks a demon, possessed of evil spirits study secured. The variety of instru- enough to convert any school room into a mentalities employed in the school room, pandemonium. It can flatter a stupid felis, probably, as great as in any other de- low into the belief that he is a prodigy, partment of labor. Each agency has its and put his sluggish soul into quite a brisk zealous advocates, who claim for it supe- movement for fame; or it can sting the riority over all others. The "Schools" sensibilities with derision and shame, unin school discipline are about as numer-til the inflamation consumes every aspiraous as in theology. tion and hope of cuccess. The "armod The primitive agent was the rod. Even pedagogues," which were such a terror to in the days of Addison its use was nearly Steele, are important for mischief, comuniversal-not only to improve the Eng-pared with the Xanthippes of equally lish boy's manners, and lop off the un- ancient fame. Another agency in the necessary shoots of his depravity, but education of youth-without giving its also to awaken his understanding, quick-relation to those already mentioned-is en his dullness, barb his genius. He was what may well be termed the motire switched off." His careless a in writing power. Motives of personal reward, pride was feruled into the intended o (oh!).- self-respect, honor, ambition, duty, etc., Even the false quantity of his Latin verse are held up before the youthful mind, as was correctly measured on his cranium; a stimulus to effort. Neither the rod, the ers. tongue, nor the love of his teacher, in- than to the parts and adjustments of the fluences his conduct, or shapes his char- machinery itself. acter. He studies neither through fear One of these systems is known as the of, nor love to his teachers; but either to monitorial, and applies chiefly to the attain personal ends, or to acquire the government of the school. We remember ability of doing great future good to oth-distinctly our first introduction to a large The potency of proper motives, as a Graded, or Union School. At the right means of school disciplin, should not be and left of the teacher sat the two monioverlooked; but the nature of the motive tors, with pencil and paper in hand, noting used, should be considered with great the whispering and other cases of disorcare. The selfishness of the human heart der among the scholars. It was to us a needs no special culture. Its aims and novel scene. The teacher, relieved from aspirations, on the contrary, need eleva- the care of the school was giving his "unting and enlarging-the groat motive for divided attention" to a recitation. It influence is duty. One has well said, seemed a regular gala-day for the rogues, that the motive truly glorious is when who, with eyes on monitors, vied with the mind is set "rather to do things lau- each other in adroitness and cunning.dable, than to purchase reputation." To The fellow who could cut up the most give an increase of force and weight to pranks and not get "spotted," considered the influence of correct motives upon the young, the fear of the punishment, consequent to an improper course of conduct is doubtless a valuable auxiliary. It was a custom among some of the ancient lish a case of innocence. The monitor on Greeks to make their slaves drink to ex- the other hand, who could make out the cess, and then expose them to their children, that by this means they might receive an early aversion to a vice which makes men brutal and monstrous. himself the hero of the day. When fairly detected, and the monitor was about "to clap him down," all his skill and practice was brought into requisition to estab biggest list, was the most popular with the teacher, as it was an evidence of great faithfulness. As the monitors were excused from school duties there was a brisk These embrace, we think, the principal competition for the post. We received agents, or forces, used in the school room. the impression then-and a more intiThe system of rules and usages-the pemate acquaintance with the system has culiar mechanism, by means of which but deepened it—that the monitor genethese forces are applied and combined rally, instead of being a check, is the ocinto a system of culture and discipline, casion of half the mischief he sees. constitute what we mean by the machin- Another system is the self-reporting; ery of a school. The forces used by dif- of this we have a more favorable imferent teachers are, frequently the same, pression; though in the hands of ineffiwhile the means of applying them vary cient teachers it is, doubtless, the source greatly. There is, however, sufficient of incalculable mischief. Temptations, similarity in the machinery of different at best, beset the pathway of every child; schools to give rise to what are called it would seem to be the duty of instructors "systems." This similarity, however, to remove, instead of multiplying them: pertains more to the means of ascertaining still, where the means of detecting a false how the machinery of the school works, report exist and are vigorously used, the |