To our Readers. OWING to unavoidable circumstances incident to publishing a new work, and which was unforeseen by us, the Schoolmaster is behind its time this month, but we shall endeavor to be more prompt hereafter in issuing this monthly visitor, and we trust our readers, one and all, will pardon our delay. In the next number we shall insert more original matter, and shall do all in our power to please his class will recall many a happy illustration of a difficult theory in the most difficult of sciences, those who favor us with their aid. We shall send this number to all our former-chemistry. His illustrations of the impenetrasubscribers, trusting that it will please them so bility and the indivisibility of an atom of matter well that they will immediately remit us "the I never saw surpassed. almighty dollar," for which we will try to return full value by forwarding the Schoolmaster for one year. For particulars in regard to terms, &c., see prospectus on second page of cover. An Unrecognized Friend. OUR friend C-, who told the story of Dr. E's near-sighted mistake in our January number, is at last himself caught. He was at a hotel in the City of Notions, and on seating himself at the table for breakfast, saw at his right, a little distance from him, a gentleman whose face called up a "faint recollection" of past acquaintanceship. So he bowed slightly. The other also bowed. Presently C-thought the strange face was regarding him with interest, and he bowed more cordially. The other returned the compliment with great cordiality. Cwaited and watched the stranger's movements a few minutes and bowed once more, very low and complaisantly, and the stranger did the same. A friend was at his left, and C applied to him, as follows, in a whisper: "Who is that man at my right? I think I have seen him before, but for my life I cannot tell where; and he has already bowed to me three times. Who can he be ?" "That man yonder ?" said the left hand man. "Why I call that my old friend, and your best friend Mr. C. He is seen yonder in a lookingglass." No more was said, and the breakfast was suspended for a time, at least. "Imagine," said he, "an axe large enough and sharp enough to cleave the world at a single blow, and imagine this axe brought down, with tremendous force, upon an atom. Would it crack it?" "No," was the answer from a fully enlightened mind. "Again," he continued, "suppose the sun and the earth to be perfect spheres, which, of course, touch each other only at a single point. Now, imagine a single atom placed upon the sun, and that the centrifugal force of the earth be destroyed, where would it go?" "To the sun," was the reply. "Yes. Then let the earth, with all its force, strike right square, plump down upon the atom, would it crack the atom?" "No," was the reply. No student, after such an illustration, could plead that he did not understand what was meant by indivisibility. Chas ever since been qualified to criticise next annnal meeting of this remarkable and very all things relating to sight-seeing. SHOULD the Trustees or Committees of our State wish to employ teachers for their Summer Schools, they will do well to apply to the Principal of the Normal School. useful association will be holden in Manchester, N. H., about the third week in August. The programme of lectures and exercises has not yet been published; but we know it will be very interesting and profitable. We advise all teachers to begin now to save money to pay their expenses of attending. Intelligent Guardianship. THE following needs only the accompanying voice and action of Rev. W. L., who is one of the parties to what he relates, to make it commend itself at once to the feelings of all who can understand. In the town of P., Mass., there had been a standing controversy in regard to the High School-one party contending for the study of the "dead languages," and the other against that study in the school. At length the opposition elected a school committee to carry out its views. Soon the parent of a scholar asked if his boy could be allowed to study astronomy in the school. "No, SIR," said the chairman of the committee. "No, SIR. We do not mean to have the "dead languages" taught in OUR High School this year; and your boy can't study any such nonsense as the astrology you talk about." The father had no more to offer. FIFTEENTH REPORT OF THE MINISTRY AT LARGE IN PROVIDENCE, by Rev. E. M. Stone, is one of those interesting and suggestive documents that grow out of the efforts of the benevolent to mitigate the sufferings and increase the intelligence and virtues of the poor. It is worth attention. The kind Missionary has made over 2,000 visits, decided on 2,543 applications for charity, expended in aids $765 52, preached, conducted Sabbath school, fostered a sewing school, clothed and sent to the public schools 253 children, and done other good works that he could not name. We beg of our friends to help on this good cause. ALABAMA EDUCATIONAL JOURNAL.-We have received the second number of this neat paper, edited and published by William F. Perry, at Montgomery, Ala. We extend to it the righthand of fellowship, and welcome its appearance as a good omen for the cause of education in our sister State. Its typographical appearance is excellent. It is printed by Barrett & Wimbash. Terms $1.00 per annum, in advance. REV. G. A. WILLARD, who often writes a word in the Schoolmaster, has a first rate Family School at Warwick Neck, R. I. If any parent has a boy between the ages of 8 and 15 whom he wants well cared for, he cannot easily do better than to send to Rev. G. A. Willard, Warwick Neck, for information as to terms, &c. SCHOOL EXERCISES. Dana P. Colburn, Editor. Questions used at the Examination of Candidates for admission to the High School, at Fitchburgh, Mass. GEOGRAPHY. 1. Name ten cities in the State of New York. 2. What are the principal cities and towns in Maryland? 3. Mention eight cities and towns on the Mississippi river. 4. In what direction is Chicago from Boston? 5. What are the principal rivers in North Carolina? 6. In which of the United States are there no counties? 7. Which is higher above the level of the sea, the city of Washington or the city of Mexico? 8. What cities in the United States are about in the same latitude as Rome, in Italy? 9. What are the capitals of the following States, viz: Vermont, New Jersey, Alabama, Tennessee and Illinois ? 10. What is the largest city in South America? 11. Do the principal rivers in South America flow into the Atlantic or the Pacific Ocean, and how do you account for the fact? 12. Which is the largest river in Europe? 13. Name three rivers in Siberia. 14. Is the greater part of Africa in North or South latitude? 15. What large islands lie on both sides of the equator? 16. Where are the Carpathian Mountains? 19. Where is the Isle of Man ? 20. Through what waters would a vessel pass in going from Liverpool, Eng., to Bangkop, Siam. GRAMMAR. 1. What is a participle? 2. Write a sentence containing the past tense of the verb "to hasten." 3. Write a sentence containing the verb "to shine" in the present perfect tense, and a plural noun. 4. Write a sentence containing the present participle of the verb "to permit." 5. How can you tell what part of speech "that" is, in any sentence? 6. Give the principal parts of the verb "to lie." 7. What is the difference between the verbs "to sit" and "to set?" 8. Exercise in parsing. "THOU hast not left Thyself without a witness, in these shades, Of thy perfections. Grandeur, strength and grace In all the proud old world beyond the deep, Of the broad sun. That delicate forest flower, A visible token of the upholding love, That are the soul of this wide universe." 10. How many yards of carpeting, of a yard wide, will be required to cover a floor 17 feet by 22 feet? 11. By selling (flour at $9 a barrel, I gain 10 per cent. For how much must I sell it to gain 16 per cent? 12. By selling flour at $9.50 a barrel, I gain 14 per cent. What per cent shall I gain or lose by selling at $8.75 a barrel? 13. A young hare starts 40 rods before a greyhound, and is not perceived by him till she has been running 40 seconds. The hare runs at the rate of ten miles an hour, and the hound at 18 miles an hour. How long will the hound be in overtaking the hare? 14. What is the greatest common divisor of 372,704, and 964 ? 15. For what sum must a note be drawn paya 1. Analyze the first sentence in the above lines. ble in 6 months, in order that $400 may be ob 2. Mention the participles in the above lines. 6. A can do of a piece of work in 9 days, B can do of it in 4 days, and C can do in 12 days. In how many days can they do the whole by working together? 7. If an ounce of gold is worth $183, how many pounds of gold will be worth a million of dollars? 8. A merchant sold goods amounting to $1200. After discounting 5 per cent for a cash payment, he gained 25 per cent of the cost. What was the cost? tained for it at the bank? 16. An army having been drawn up in the form of a square, there were 79 men over; but in attempting to increase each side of the square by one man, there were wanting 80 men to complete the square. What was the whole number of men in the army? ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE OF BOSTON, MASS., for 1856, is a document of more than usual interest. It discusses many topics in a philosophical and candid manner, and does not spare errors and abuses. It estimates the worth of school houses and estates at $1,602,333 00. High Schools 3. Scholars 518; average 495. Masters 3. Sub-masters 3. Ushers 6. Female Assistants 5; total 17. Grammar Schools 17. Scholars 10,675; average 9,573. Masters 19. Sub-masters 12. Ushers 8. Female Assistants 175; total 214. Primary School Districts 17. Scholars 12,585; average 10,047. Teachers 205. Total, Teachers 436. Scholars 23,778. Avcrage 20,115. Cost per average scholar $12 27.Total cost of schools $291,874 85. THE NEW HAMPSHIRE JOURNAL OF EDUCATION has sent its second number to our table. We do shake hands with it very heartily. It is just what is needed, and if the same editor remains in the chair it will most assuredly be worth msre than its cost to any teacher. THE Teachers of Iowa have established a very creditable periodical called THE VOICE OF IOWA. 9. If 24 be subtracted from three times the It is printed at Cedar Rapids, and the second square of a certain number, one half of the re-number is spicy and entertaining. We heartily mainder will be 3,738. What is the number? bid it God speed. It will do good. OUR BOOK TABLE. VIVIA; THE SECRET OF POWER. By Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth. Complete, in one large duocdecimo volume, neatly bound in cloth for $1.25, or in two volumes, paper covers, for $1.00. All of Mrs. Southworth's writings have been eagerly sought after by the reading public, and this, her last, and we think decidedly the best work from her pen, will add new laurels to here already world-wide fame. When one takes up this work, they will not wish to lay it down until they have read the last chapter; a lively interest commences with the first page and is kept alive to the close of the volume. All will arise from the perusal of this book feeling that they are wiser, and better able to go forth to fight in the "battle of life," using as their armor her "Secret of Power." SECOND ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS, IN THE CITY OF PROVIDENCE. Dec. 31, 1856. By Edwin M. Snow, M. D., City Registrar. This document of 34 pages embodies a large amount of valuable information, collected by the very industrious and able Registrar, Dr. Snow. He has done a good thing, and ought to have the thanks of all men for it. "The records show 1,675 births, 656 marriages, and 1,065 deaths." The good Doctor contrives to find a little fun in his work. He says, "During the past year the color of one child was reported as "brown;" another as "Sambo color;" the condition of reported as "poor "—the parentage of one was given, "father 36, mother 34;" and the parentage of another "jarmon;" and of another, "father inglish, mother iris ;" the sex of one was reported as "presbyterian;" the disease of one was given as "wakely when born;" and of another as disentary." 66 A vast deal of information is in this book, which will pay for reading. THE BORDER ROVER. By Emerson Bennett. Complete, in two large duodecimo volumes neatly bound in paper cover, $1.00. The scene of the Border Rover is laid in Kansas, beginning at Independence, Missouri, and extending all over the plains or prairies to the Rocky Mountains. It is a thrilling tale, full of adventure and hairbreadth escapes. A celebrated critic, speaking of the author, says: "His reputation is the common property of all lovers of the noble maxims which he inculcates, the morality which he teaches, and the virtue which he adorns in a style at once the purest, and the most fascinat-professes, a book of principles, and if read by ing." Copies of either the above works will be sent to any one to any part of the United States, free of postage, on remitting the price in a letter to the publisher, T. B. Peterson, No. 102 Chestnut street, Philadelphia. REPORT OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF CLEVELAND, OHIO. The public school system of Cleveland has been in operation 19 years, and it now embraces 2 High, 8 Grammar, 20 Intermediate and 31 Primary Schools. Number of children between the ages of 5 and 21, 12,947; in schools 4,722; male teachers 14; females 61, total 75; average pupils to each teacher 67; salaries from $250 to $1300; current expenses of schools $34,615 78, being $7 33 a scholar. Total expense for all school purposes $65,250 40. The average attendance was 89.5 per cent. Mr. Freeze's Report of the Superintendent is as is usual an able document. It is worth quoting, and we shall give extracts at some time. We shall also give some extracts from the Report of Public Schools in Rhode Island, which, with its tables, is a document of 108 pages. MORALS FOR THE YOUNG; OR, GOOD PRINCIPLES INSTILLING WISDOM. By Emma Willard. New York: A. S. Barnes & Co., 51 and 53 John street. This is a very excellent book for the young, by a very celebrated teacher. It contains very much good instruction, partly didactic, partly allegorical and partly narrative. It is what it youth, could not fail to make them more thoughtful and wiser. There are many parents and teachers who might profit by it. It is really a good religious book, also, and might be used in Sunday schools and in families. We hope to hear that it has had a very wide circulation. The directions to teachers are admirable, and are worth more than ten times the price of it. THE COMPLETE SPELLING Bоoк. By Daniel Leach, Superintendent of Schools, Providence, R. I. H. Cowperthwaite & Co., Philadelphia, 1857. This is the title of a very good book for the use of common schools. The author is both a practical teacher and an efficient superintendent of schools, and he has made a Spelling Book which is a very valuable addition to the school-book literature of the day. It does not profess to any great originality, nor to advocate any new hobbies. Yet we think it will be found to be an improvement on all the plans of the day for teaching spellingthat first and foremost of all scholarly attainments, and the most neglected of them all. Why do not all teachers and school visitors pay more attention to this great matter? TREATISE ON ENGLISH PUNCTUATION; designed for Letter-writers, Authors, Printers and Correctors of the Press; and for the use of Schools and Academies. By John Wilson. Crosby, Nichols & Company, Publishers. The art of Punctuation is to the author what accent is to the musician, and, we had almost said, what the art of light and shade is to the painter. No written composition can convey the true meaning of the writer unless it is correctly punctuated; and by carelessness, in this respect, he not only does himself and his ideas a violence, but he oftentimes abuses the good nature if not the mind of his reader. The absence of a comma will often lead the reader to an entire misappre-adapted to younger minds, which, we have no hension of a whole paragraph, while a misplaced one will sometimes destroy the sense of an otherwise finely turned period. Abner Kneeland, if we mistake not, was imprisoned for blasphemy, which turned only upon the misplacement of a comma. Such, at least, is the belief of his friends, and such most likely was the fact. title and design of which head this notice. Considering the perfection to which the author has brought this, is the most wonderful thing in it. We cannot imagine a question that would possibly arise in the mind of a young writer, to which he may not find a perspicuous answer, with examples to match; and the young person who is likely ever to write a letter, or other piece of composition, must be a genius indeed, if he can afford to be without this valuable guide. It will not be long, we apprehend, before this work will be the received authority among writers of all grades. We will remember when the only rules for Punctuation within the reach of common-school students, were to be found occupying a single page in the back part of Webster's SpellingBook-and such rules! A comma was the representative of a pause (the voice being "kept up") long enough to count one; a semicolon, a pause of twice, and a colon of thrice that length. A period was intended to represent a full stop, a falling of the voice, and the close of the sentence. A great want of something better-something to make this branch of literary science a successful study for adults, instead of a useless one for lisping childhood-has long been felt. A treatise has long been wanted that might be adopted as a standard for authors and corrector of the press, that should establish a code of laws and lay down, if possible, fixed principles whereby greater uniformity might be arrived at in the puncuation of all written compositions, and at the same time be well adapted to the wants of schools and academies. Illustrative of the want of uniformity in punctuation, which is perhaps greater than many are aware of, we have in our mind, as we write, four different methods of punctuating the first line in Gray's "Elegy in a Country Church-yard," which we have met with in as many different collections: The curfew tolls,-the knell of parting day; The very work so needed to supply these wants has been furnished at last in this Treatise, the The same publishers also offer an abridgement, doubt, will become as popular as the larger work. NEIGHBOR JACKWOOD. By Paul Creyton. Phillips, Sampson & Co., Boston. This book adds new lustre to the author's name, which yet is destined to stand high in the annals of American literature. In Neighbor Jackwood we find human nature portrayed in life-like colors, and there is a fascinating charm that lurks through the whole volume, which gently leads the reader on until the last page is reached. We advise all our readers to get this work and read it for themselves, and our word for it, they will never regret the purchase. THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF INSTRUCTION has printed, at Ticknor & Fields, in Boston, the Introductory Lecture at its Annual Meeting in Springfield, Mass., August 19, 1856. The lecture urges the necessity of giving a very liberal education to all children, in order to prepare them for the exciting times and arduous, conflicting controversies soon to come upon us. It is very able, and worthy perusal and practice. THE SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PROVIDENCE REFORM SCHOOL, for 1856, is before us.— The Principal's report is able and valuable. The whole number connected with the school has been, boys 392, girls 87, total 479. Admitted last year 61 boys, 26 girls. Discharged 293 boys, 43 girls. Remaining, 99 boys, 44 girls. Three have died during the year. Eleazer Cushman is Principal. JOURNAL DE L'INSTRUCTION PUDLIQUE, Montreal, (Bas-Canada,) is the title of a new publication by our neighbors in Lower Canada. It is in the French language, and is under the charge of the Bureau of Public Instruction. If the other numbers are as able as this first one it cannot fail to do a good work. We shall greet it with interest. |