lus acts, then combine with one another and so provoke feeling or regulate ideas.

Now these differences with those of taste and disposition are the chief psychical characteristics which are not the result of training or environment, or which are not so intimately connected with the bodily structure and peculiarities as to render their treatment impracticable except in connection therewith. The soul's powers may be strengthened, the taste developed, the disposition cultivated, and the temperament transformed, but all, no doubt, belong to the personal constitution, for they manifest themselves long before training or environment could produce them, and maintain themselves long after training and environment have conspired to change them. As to the origin of these differences there are two extreme views: (1) That all are due to the physical basis, all souls being created alike, and (2) that all are the result of that infinitely various touch of the Creative hand which leaves its impress on all His visible handiwork.

The first position is out of the question and one that no wise man now holds.

The second is possible, for the soul or spirit as given by God might be the builder of the body, fashioning it after its own inherent constitution, but probably no such procedure takes place.

The reasonable view is that, when according to the physical laws of nature the germ of an organic being is formed, God begets from himself, as a consistent supplement to such physical fact, the soul belonging to this organism.

This soul in itself is like no other, and the body in which it is placed, with its inherited peculiarities, with its sexual and tribal characteristics, and with its constitutional laws of growth and activity, must from the very nature of the relation it sustains to the soul exert a marked influence in its development, and hence enter as an important factor in determining its individuality. The influence of the body is seen clearly in the change in the disposition of the soul caused by abnormal physical conditions and by certain diseases. The loss of a night's rest greatly interferes with the soul's activities on the following day; chronic dyspepsia produces a settled melancholy; while a fevered body sets the "train of memory's images and fancy's creations into accelerated movement or throws it into wild confusion. But whether any of these peculiarities have their source in the body or not, one can undoubtedly learn much of the individual nature of the soul by a study of its physical organism. One who is familiar with horses can tell almost to a certainty the disposition and general character of each he sees, and every teacher who has carefully observed his pupils

knows that he can from the body learn much of the disposition and temperament of each. When he sees one with large head, small abdomen, fine hair, clear skin, delicate figure, bright expressive eyes, he knows that the soul within is very active, with a vivid imagination and deep feeling, often slow to bestow confidence, but usually honest and open-hearted. When he sees one with round full muscles, fair skin, auburn or red hair, blue eyes, etc., he expects the soul to be ardent and lively in its feelings, quick in its passions, impetuous in its desires, prompt in its resolution and execution, and usually strong in its love for music, painting and kindred arts. When he meets a pupil of sallow complexion, dry skin, coarse hair, dark eyes, but with good muscular system, he finds him ambitious, patient, persistent, self-reliant, given to enlarged plans and difficult enterprises. He may be morose and cruel, and, like the one first described, needs the most careful treatment. If the abdomen is large, the body fleshy, hair light, expression languid, eyes dull, etc., the soul will act sluggishly but will be patient, self-reliant, deliberate and not inclined to agitation or turbulency. "No one ever saw fat men heading a riot or herding together in turbulent mobs."

er.

Shakespeare understood this when he represented Cæsar as saying:
"Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o' nights:
Yond' Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
He thinks too much; such men are dangerous."

And again;

"Would he were fatter :-But I fear him not:
Yet if my name were liable to fear,

I do not know the man I should avoid
So soon as that spare Cassius."

But the body indicates more that is of vast importance to the teachClosely allied to the differences of temperament are those of national peculiarities. The souls of one nationality differ from those of the others, and the body, whatever its influence in causing these differences, represents them to the eye. Again, the body shows, approximately at least, the stages of life-a question of great concern to the teacher. In childhood, the stage of moral minority, the body is yet master over the soul and the soul is more guided than self guiding. In the transition stage, the soul begins to assert itself and morality appears under the form of free obedience. In the stage of moral majority, the soul has come into possession of itself and should be taught to work out its highest, noblest ends. To do this it must not only inhabit and use the body but must subdue and transform it. The character of the training should therefore vary according to the stage

of the child's life, whatever the progress already made. One would not teach even the alphabet to a young man of twenty just as he would teach it to the child of six. Again, the sex of the body indicates marked psychical differences, a part of which no doubt have their source in the organic differences of the sexes but most of which are as surely given by God. Says Ruskin: "The man's power is active, progressive, defensive. He is eminently the doer, the creator, the discoverer, the defender. His intellect is for speculation and invention; his energy for adventure, for war and for conquest, wherever war is just, wherever conquest necessary. But the woman's power is for rule, not for battle, and her intellect is not for invention or creation, but for sweet ordering, arrangement, and decision." The difference of the two sexes is not to be toned down but developed into perfect harmony. All education should therefore tend to make man manly and woman womanly.

Now, teacher, if you have not done so already, get the assistance of some honest friend and take an inventory of your powers and peculiarities. Are you chiefly feelings, as are most young teachers ? If so, develop your intellect and will power, you will never succeed unless you do. Where the will is weak the school is disorderly and the examination papers poor. Are you mostly will and intellect? If so, warm up your nature by cultivating your feelings, not merely those most natural to you but all the worthy ones. Bridle your pride, van. ity, selfishness, remorse, etc., and cultivate love, sympathy, humility, reverence, gratitude, faith, for you need all such as these. Is your taste depraved and your disposition evil? If so, cultivate and transform them. Is your temperament under perfect control? The sanguine tends to frivolity and lack of patience and courage; the choleric, to passionateness and revenge; the melancholic, to selfishness and narrowness; the phlegmatic, to indifference and indolence. See that yours does not hold you in servitude to any of these tendencies.

Subordinate it to your will as you have the power and as is your duty, and make yourself what you should be instead of remaining what you are. The temperaments must not be looked upon as posts, around which you and every other soul must go, but as an invaluable endowment which is to be morally shaped and used to the glory of God and man. "He who leaves his temperament unbridled cultivates not its virtue but its defects." Make yourself a full symmetrical soul in which there shall be found in due proportion the various intellectual powers, the will, and all the higher, nobler feelings.

After you have thus learned what your own stock is, take an inventory of that possessed by each of your pupils. It will help you won

derfully in all the various phases of your work. You must understand the child before you can tell how to incite him to his best efforts or how to control him, and you certainly can not properly develop him and build up a symmetrical manhood unless you know his natural powers and his individual needs. You will find his body full of hereditary influences, passed along for generations, perhaps, and you can not expect to obliterate the evil ones in a day. But patience and eternal persistence in the right direction will work wonders in transforming the soul into that fuller, completer existence which it is able to enjoy, and will bring you a just reward. "In due season ye shall reap, if ye faint not."

SCHOOL EXPOSITIONS.

BY HENRY G. WILLIAMS.

There seems to be a barrier, high and fixed, between many country schools and the patrons of those schools. Neither teacher nor patron is entirely to blame for this state of affairs. In many localities there is a great misunderstanding of the motives prompting the actions of each. They do not know each other, consequently are not likely to labor to each other's advantage at all times. Parents are often slow to get into the spirit of co-operation, and teachers often fail to learn the true moral, social, and financial condition of the parents and their children. We must know each other better. The teacher must be as a brother to the parent, and each must labor for one common end. The homes and the schools must be more closely united, in order to carry on this work successfully.

But how can we as teachers bring about this closer union and sympathy? Is not this a question for the teacher to consider? It is frequently argued that the parent should take the more active part in striving to better the condition of the schools, as the good resulting therefrom is of more benefit to him than to the teacher. But will the professional teacher stand back and fail to do his duty because the parent fails to do his? Let us look at one of the ways in which the teacher may secure the attention of his patrons, and thereby secure their co-operation. I have reference to what I shall call the exposition idea. I shall endeavor to give the result of a few experiments.

I find there is more value in a written recitation than many teachers in rural districts are wont to think there is. I find many pupils who can stand against the wall and spell almost every word in the spellingbook with apparent ease, but who can not write a letter without mak

ing many awkward blunders, and, may be, misspelling many simple words. They cannot write a composition upon the simplest subject. They can not write a negotiable note, nor can they correctly write a receipt, check, or a commercial paper of any kind. To write his address, the date, and properly sign his name, is an accomplishment of which not every high school pupil can boast. To remedy these evils, teachers must require more practice in these things, must have more written work in their schools. I do not claim that written work should be used to the exclusion of oral recitation, but I do claim that written work should be required often enough to enable the pupil to write out any lesson when desired, and be able to do it in a businesslike way. When the child first enters school he should be taught to write his lesson. He can very soon be taught to print, and in a short time he feels that he has something to do that he can do.

Written spelling should not be neglected in the intermediate and advanced grades. Require at least one lesson a day to be written, and have the use of diacritical marks thoroughly understood. Require special preparation for at least one lesson a week, and collect the work of the class on this lesson. Have a well-arranged plan and follow it. At the close of the term, bind the work of each pupil separately, and in the order in which they were collected. The first page of your bound slips should tell the author of the work, the time used in preparation, and name of school and teacher, while each slip, after having been corrected, should bear the date of the recitation.

A similar, but more extensive plan may be adopted in penmanship. But is penmanship taught in the country schools of Ohio? I have no special liking for any series of books containing printed or engraved copies. A majority of parents in rural districts rebel against their use, because it costs too much to supply their children with a sufficient number of books to enable them to become good writers by practice. For this and other reasons I set all the copies for my school. I have recently finished a job of about 1500 copies. My plan is to have my pupils supplied with good foolscap, on which I write the copies. The books and copies are uniform in each grade. One-third of a page is written at a lesson, bearing the date just above the first line. All write at the same time. When a lesson has been written upon each copy, the class again begin at the first and so on, until they have gone through three times. These books are then properly covered and are ready for inspection. The observer may readily see the progress upon each page, if any progress has been made.

Almost

every lesson in grammar should be a written one, at least in part, although a purely oral recitation may be required occasionally.