To express the changing feelings of man, a poet has called him a pendulum. An observer of men's opinions may with propriety borrow the comparison. Opinions, like pendulums, have momentum; and, when once in motion, find motion as much a natural state as rest. Adherence to a true principle, to the disregard of others which should modify its application, often carries men's opinions from one extreme of error, quite past the golden mean, to another and equally pernicious extreme.

A few years since, in most schools much more was learned verbatim, than is at present. The rules in the arithmetic were recited, whether they were understood or not; geography was sometimes studied without a map; in some books, the first paragraph concerning each country gave the words in which to state the boundary, and these were learned and recited, while the pupil thought very little, if at all, concerning the position of the countries mentioned. He had no outline before his mind. Grammar, for the girls, was the chosen sphere for this memorising. I know one who, in three weeks, learned her text-book from beginning to end, and could give promptly, in course, every definition and paradigm, and every rule of syntax. She could say "third person singular" with due rapidity and grace. But she knew very little of the principles or use of grammar till some years afterwards.

Our Sabbath-Schools were conspicuous for this practice. Whole chapters of the Bible were recited, and the number of the verses was recorded by the teacher, as if the number was every thing, and the thoughts nothing; the whole very much. reminding one of those Hindoos who, thinking that their prayers have efficacy according to the number of times they are repeated, write them on slips of paper and hang them in

the wind, believing that each flap of the paper is received by their deity as one repetition of the prayer.

But the necessity of cultivating the reflective faculties was urged, and forthwith, the sentiment, "Learn nothing but what you understand, was put over the school-house door; and children were trained to state causes, and assign effects, though they might remember neither phenomena nor causes. In arithmetic, rules were in many instances discarded, and an analysis of the reasoning was made a substitute for the rule, instead of an accompaniment to it, or a preparation for it. In the Sunday-Schools, question-books took the place of the Bible itself, and committing the verses to memory has very much gone out of date. The pupils go, Bible and question-book in hand, to hear the teacher's explanation, and look out the references without learning even the passage which is the subject of the lesson.

It is not meant that these extremes have existed every where and with all teachers. The thinking never were content with learning words alone; neither have they become willing, that a paragraph explained and understood, should be forgotten, because the ideas were not clothed in words, and committed to memory. The truth is, we should do the one, and not leave the other undone. Children should understand what they learn, should not be willing to pass a sentence without understanding it, if it be within their comprehension. In arithmetic, let the Colburn analysis be mainly relied on; but when a process is understood, let the pupil have and learn a concise expression for it, under the name of rule. In grammar, let the teacher, so far as his time will permit, talk with the pupils concerning a part of speech; and when they see its characteristics, and can select it among others, let them learn a definition of it. So of the principles of syntax; let the principle be seen from questions and examples, and then the pupil can understand a rule embodying it. As far as possible, let the pupil deduce the rule from the examples; and not refer the examples to the rule for explanation, as if the rule were a reason. Let him see that the language was made before the grammar, which will be to many a new idea. And when the pupil is ready for the definitions and rules, let them be perfectly learned.

In many things, as in history, the reading of geography, &c., the pupil should express in his own words the ideas of the book; and, while doing it, he should not be allowed to stammer in disjointed sentences and badly chosen words, with the apology, "I know it, but can't think of it." If he hesitate for a word, refer him to the language of the book, telling him that his vocabulary is yet small, and he must increase it by finding

and learning the word for the idea which he could not express. In this manner he will increase his stock of words, and get the command of them, so that they will come at his bidding. By reciting thus, pupils may use text-books giving much more detail than if they were to learn the words of the paragraphs; and this is what they want in these studies. Youth is the season when simple facts are most easily secured; hence, children want great detail and no compends nor abstracts.

But let no teacher think that a child will be injured by learning the words of whole sentences. He will do well to learn many forms of words. The power of remembering with ideas, the precise language in which they are expressed, is very valuable. Let this capacity have its due exercise among the endowments of our Creator.

During the periods of childhood and youth, with little labor, many expressions of good sentiments, in prose and verse, may be lodged in the mind, which, if not well understood at the time, will be of value afterwards. The words are as seeds in winter, but the spring sunshine of opening intellect will give to them a meaning and a use. This is especially true of moral truths and maxims of life. Who has not often found a monitor in words learned thus? Many a hand has been stayed from crime, many a good impulse quickened, a wavering purpose fixed, and a prudent course of life pursued by the recollection of some Scripture precept, or other expression of moral truth, learned in childhood.

Besides, the stanza of poetry, patriotic or devotional, excites an emotion which is repeated as often as the lines recur; so that the susceptibility to such emotions is increased. Who can determine how much such little things may do to determine the feelings, tastes, and, indeed, the whole character of the individual!

While I speak of committing sentences to memory, sometimes, which may not be understood, let me not be thought to check an inquiring spirit. Desire to know the reasons of all things should be stimulated. It will be a great source of happiness..

Felix, qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.

It will put the boy in the way to become an independent, thinking man. The boy, who, when studying geography, seeks, in latitude, elevation, proximity to the ocean, &c., reasons for the statements made concerning climate and productions, is preparing to ask reasons, by and by, for statements in politics and morals. He is preparing to yield assent to reasons, rather than great names; and to adopt with caution what he knows little of, whether it be a quack's nostrum or a Pope's manifesto.

The natural sciences, where we most ask the reasons of things, seem to produce a more inquiring and independent state of mind, than language, where the student is employed in learning forms, and in referring constructions to grammatical rules. Some have thought that that they could trace the leading characteristics of Protestant and Catholic communities, to a freer study of nature by the one, and, to a greater confinement to the study of language and criticism on the books of the church and its fathers by the other.

But, be all this as it may, children should be led to think on the meaning of what they learn. They should not neglect to cultivate the power of remembering words; they should store their minds with good sentiments, which may guard them amid the temptations of life.

LESSON IN GEOGRAPHY.

"Talk is omnipotent," is somebody's hyperbole. It makes considerable difference what the kind of talk is, and that which is good may be out of time; still conversation is a great means of directing opinions and of imparting knowledge. It has an appropriate place in the exercises of a school. It leads the pupil to form a habit of attention; he learns to reflect on what he has learned and is learning, and to use the old to explain what is new. In no way is he better taught to think. It is important not to mingle this exercise very much with the actual reciting, lest the pupil slide into the notion, that if he does not prepare his lesson, the teacher will explain it, so that it will do very well.

To illustrate what has been said, I will give, as nearly as I can, a simple exercise of a class but little advanced in Geography.

In answer to the question: "What is the commerce of British America?" a boy recites: "The commerce consists in the exchange of the flour, beef, and pork of Upper Canada, and the furs, lumber, ashes, and fish of the other provinces, for British manufactures, and West Indian produce." The teacher asks, "Of what articles have the people of Upper Canada more than they wish for their own use?" (No answer).

Teacher. You may repeat what you have just recited. (Repeats). Of what articles do you say the people of Upper Canada have more than they want, so that they can exchange them for articles which they do not possess?

Pupils. Flour, beef, and pork.

T. Which part of British America is this, in which they have more of these articles than is wanted for home consumption?

P. Upper Cannada.

T. Can you give any reasons for Upper Cannada's having an abundance of flour, while the other provinces have not? (No answer). Why does wheat grow better in Upper than in Lower Canada?

P. The soil is thin in the other provinces. (It is so stated in the lesson.)

T. What do you mean by the soil's being thin? (No answer). If you hoe in the garden at home, do you observe a differently colored earth, when you have dug down a few inches?

Pupils. We do.

T. That upper soil is what nourishes the plants, and it must be deep enough for this purpose; for the gravel or clay below contains very little which the plants can draw out for their support. This soil is much deeper and better in the garden than in the field, which is the reason that the garden plants grow more luxuriantly. Upper Cannada has, as you say, a deeper and richer soil than most other parts of British America. This enables the people to raise wheat, which is ground to flour. Do you think of any reason, besides better soil, for this province producing more wheat than the other provinces? (No answer). Is any part cold?

P. Upper Canada is warmer than the other provinces.
T. Right. What makes you think it warmer?

P. It is nearer the equator, so that the sun is more nearly overhead.

T. Those who can now tell why Upper Canada is more productive than the other provinces can raise the hand. (All hands are raised). You may answer..

P. Because it has a more fertile soil, and a warmer climate.

T. Why is this region called Upper Canada? (No answer). Which way does the St. Lawrence run?

P. Towards the North East.

T. Do the lakes around Upper Canada flow out through the St. Lawrence, or does that river empty into the lakes?

P. The lakes flow through the St. Lawrence to the ocean. T. Why, then, is this called Upper Canada?

Pupils all. Because it is the highest.

T. Lake Huron is nearly six hundred feet above the level of the sea; and the descent from this lake to the ocean averages about six inches to a mile. Since we are talking about