Antonio has become so accustomed to wrong-doing that he can laugh at conscience and boast "I feel not this deity in my bosom," and that he would not allow twenty consciences to stand between him and Milan. He easily persuaded the cowardly Sebastian to kill the good Gonzalo, while Antonio himself is to kill Sebastian's brother, Alonzo. Then, of course, the crown of Naples would fall to Sebastian, from whom Antonio doubtless intends to steal it by one means or another. But Prospero through his art foresees the danger that his friend Gonzalo is in and causes Ariel to sing in Gonzalo's ear "While you here do snoring lie, His time doth take. If of life you keep a care, Shake off slumber and beware: Awake, awake." The second scene of this act is thought by many to be only a disfigurement to the play. It certainly is ugly enough, entirely out of keeping with the spirit of beauty that pervades the entire drama with this exception. It introduces us to another part of the island and another group of characters, the jester Trinculo, the drunkard Stephano, and the beast Caliban. It seems to me that this scene may not only lay claim to being true to life-which in the minds of many critics is the only standard of art-but that it also heightens our appreciation of the higher spiritual lives of Prospero, Miranda and Ferdinand. It is very suggestive also of the principle which we may call self-classification, by which all things tend to arrange themselves where they most fittingly belong. It is certainly not accidental that a jester, a drunkard, and a beast are thrown together. Trinculo and Stephano at first felt that Caliban was not of their kind, but they all drank, and through the mediating principle of the bottle became of one family. Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set in sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered, for they are gone forever.-Horace Mann. PROBLEMS IN MORALS. One of the first and highest duties of every teacher is to cultivate the moral nature, the conscience, of the pupils. In order to do this he must take frequent opportunities to set them thinking about moral questions, and forming their own conclusions, under proper guidance, about the right and wrong of things. The occurrences of school life will often supply material for discussion of this kind; but in order to secure freedom from prejudice and personal feeling, it is often desirable to present questions with which no such influences have to do. The following, taken from the Christian World (London, Eng.), affords a good problem of the kind. It would be curious to know how many children of average intelligence and character in a public or high school would see anything wrong in the transaction: "Has a person who discovers that somebody else is the owner of a masterpiece of art, of the value of which he is entirely ignorant, a right to take advantage of his own knowledge and the other's ignorance to buy the work for the merest trifle? The question suggests itself by the account of the discovery of a picture of Rembrandt in France. It was left among the goods of an old lady at Pecy to be sold by auction. It had been thought worthless, but a picture-dealer who saw it discovered its value, kept his knowledge to himself, and bought it through a workingman at the sale for 4,500 francs. A few hours later he was offered 75,000 francs for it, and has now fixed its price at 250,000 francs, which, as it is pronounced by the best judges to be a masterpiece of the great Flemish painter, he will probably get." The Christian World says: "In the present state of brokers' ethics, it is to be feared that, with a few honorable exceptions, all in the trade will simply envy the purchaser, and wish that such a chance might fall to themselves; judged by the ethics of Christianity, however, the transaction cannot appear other than a cruel and shameless robbery." Will not some of our readers put it to their classes, give them time to think it over, and let us know the results? It would not be a bad plan to let them express their opinions, with or without reasons, in writing.-Toronto Educational Journal. LEND A HAND. [This department is conducted by MRS. E. E. OLCOTT.] "Look up and not down Look forward and not back Lend a hand.' A YEARLY REPORT, "June has come with its roses" and final reports! At least, June has come and the roses have come to all and final reports to some. To many, the final reports came weeks or months ago. The report we wish to speak of, is not that which is to be handed in to director, trustee, or superintendent, but is to be filed away with one's own private papers. It is not primarily for the benefit of the school officers or one's successor, but is a clear, careful, critical estimate of the year's work, reduced to writing, for one's own benefit. Taking the studies, subject by subject, and the school, class by class, scan the school year from September to June, and, in cold black and white, report your own successes and failures. What have I taught better than last year? What not so well? What new plans have I tried? Which were successful? What new plans did I resolve to try and neglected to do so? Such uncompromising reports to one's self would make helpful reading, by and by, clearly showing one's growth, year by year. They would show one's "evolution;" show how what one has heard and read and thought of and practiced, has blossomed and borne fruit in better teaching. Recorded triumphs are inspiring. "Let another's shipwreck be your sea mark," says a writer; we may adapt it and say: "This year's small shipwrecks shall be next year's safe sea marks;" for, alas! we, too frequently, make the same mistakes over again. The year's report to one's self may be closed with this bit of humorous philosophy: "If we had the year's work to do over again— Ha! ha! if we had, but we haven't, you know- And make us a friend, where we now have a foe. "But the edicts of nature we cannot reverse, 'Tis folly vain wishes to sadly rehearse, And we might make mistakes a thousand times worse, Perhaps the following is the best thought-gem to write beneath the efforts which the year's report shows "failed to make the grade"-success: "This I know The year's perplexities and pain Come back in June-time softered so I only find new hints remain On which to build and build again STUDYING BIRDS BY OUTLINE. LAFAYETTE, Ind. Mrs. Olcott, Charlestown, Ind. DEAR MADAM:--In a recent number of the INDIANA SCHOOL JOURNAL, I find an answer to a communication from one of our teachers who asks about the outline for birds. While I agree with most of your statements I take exceptions to some. One purpose of the outline was to avoid the "squeak." The machine "squeaks" when we tell pupils to write compositions before they are taught how i. e. to commence at the beginning and end at the ending. Neither do I think that narration is the natural or logical form of composition work. Since description logically preceds narration, why not begin composition work proper with description? The outline was made for fifth and sixth years' work. These pupils ought to have had enough elementary drill in writing to take up this work. If they have not they have not done the work in the adopted text. Description can be best written from outline but before requiring children to write, a basis must be prepared. The children must have formed the outline for themselves; they must by a series of lessons upon the object and the purpose of the description constantly in mind, have decided what attributes must be presented, in order to carry out the purpose, they must have decided upon the best order of presenting these attributes. The facts about the particular object must also be brought out in class work. The child is now ready to write. The outline does not appear formidable, but is a guide and a help to methodical writing. Without it the pupil is likely to take up a new point before having completed the one last mentioned. The squeak is not in having an outline but in the use that is made of it. It is making more than a tool and the thinking teacher will soon learn how to use it and to find that it helps to lay the foundation upon which future work can be built. It is my observation that teachers who use outlines-made by the pupil--have the best work; the arrangement is more logical; the neatness and form of the papers are better; the written work does not have the bookish cst which belongs to other. I believe it aids the reasoning power of the pupil. The use of an outline has added 50 per cent. to the character of our work in the county. A WORD OF EXPLANATION. J. M. SULLINS. From the foregoing, it seems that Superintendent Sullins and I do not take the same view of where the "squeak" may be, that led a teacher to write: "I am unable to get from pupils ten, eleven, and twelve years of age a satisfactory description of a bird from an outline, as A Whole size [head Parts wings [ feet, etc. Will you please give a description of a bird from an outline, and thereby "Lend a Hand" to one in trouble?" I did not understand that the question referred to securing "logical arrangement," "the neatness and form of papers,” nor what might be called the formal side of written work. Certainly, "arrangement," "neatness," "method" etc., hold no insignificant place in written language work. They are one of the purposes of composition writing; they are second only to the subject matter. Perhaps, I should give that phase third place in importance, for it seems to me that the pupils' interest in the subject, their pleasure in giving their knowledge written form, is the first requisite. Because if they enjoy composition work, they will put their hearts into |