great orators, great nobles, great statesmen. In the nature of things, greatness and unity go together; excellence implies a centre. Such then, for the third or fourth time, is a University."

Now really it is not a University at all, but rather the Metropolis of an Utopia. But the picture is not yet complete, and the Reverend writer invests his idol with other perfections. It is also to be—

"A place to which a thousand schools make contributions; in which the intellect may safely range and speculate, sure to find its equal in some antagonist activity, and its judge in the tribunal of truth. It is [also to be] a place where inquiry is pushed forward, and discoveries verified and perfected, and rashness rendered innocuous, and error exposed, by the collision of mind and mind, and knowledge with knowledge. It is a place where the professor becomes eloquent, and a missionary and preacher of science, displaying in its most complete and most winning form, pouring it forth with the zeal of enthusiasm, and lighting up his own love of it in the breasts of his hearers. It is the place where the catechist makes good his ground as he goes, treading in the truth day by day into the ready memory, and wedging and tightening it into the expanding reason. It is a place which attracts the affections of the young by its fame, wins the judgment of the middle aged by its beauty, and rivets the memory of the old by its associations. It is a seat of wisdom, a light of the world, a minister of the faith, an Alma Mater of the rising generation. It is this and a great deal more[!]. Such is it in its idea and in its purpose; such in good measure has it before now been in fact."

Now this with great respect to Dr. Newman-it never has been ; nor has anything one tithe as perfect ever existed on earth, nor in all human likelihood ever will; and of this prophecy he seems himself to entertain the possible truth, for he concludes his glowing rhapsody with this extraordinary climax : "Shall it ever be again? We are going forward in the strength of the Cross, under the patronage of Mary, in the name of Patrick, to attempt it."

The office of the Cross is to redeem the sinner, and not to forestall a millennium, and institute a state of corporate perfection, which our holy religion teaches us to be incompatible with human imperfectibility. And if the Cross itself affords no earnest of such success on earth, we fear that neither Mary or Patrick will supplement its power, or greatly help the "Very Reverend the Rector" to establish an academic heaven in Ireland. Nothing can exceed the utterly visionary beauty of the aspirations (for he cannot possibly suppose them to be practicabilities) of the idea of a model University, which the benevolent writer paints with a spirit of enthusiastic optimism especially refreshing to read in this day of neological dogmas and materialistic objects, so rife in carnalities and so intent on self-interests.

The wisdom of the highly-gifted writer shines forth more fully in his negative than in his positive portrait of University attributes:

"With influence there is life, without it there is none; if influence is deprived of its due position, it will not by those means be got rid of, it will only break out irregularly, dangerously. An academical system without the personal influence of teachers upon pupils, is an arctic winter; it will create an ice-bound, petrified, cast-iron university, and nothing else. You will not call this any new notion of mine; and you will not suspect, after what happened to me a long twenty-five years ago, that I can ever be induced to think otherwise. No! I have known a time in a great school of letters when things went on for the most part by mere routine, and form took the place of earnestness. I have experienced a state of things in which teachers were cut off from the taught as by an insurmountable barrier; when neither party entered into the thoughts of the other; when each lived by and in itself; when the tutor was supposed to fulfil his duty, if he trotted on like a squirrel in his cage-if at a certain hour he was in a certain room, or in hall, or in chapel, as it might be; and the pupil

did his duty too, if he was careful to meet his tutor in that same room, or hall, or chapel, at the same certain hour; and when neither the one nor the other dreamed of seeing each other out of lecture, out of chapel, out of academical gown. I have known places where a stiff manner, a pompous voice, coldness, and condescension, were the teacher's attributes, and where he neither knew, nor wished to know, and avowed he did not wish to know, the private irregularities of the youths committed to his charge.

"This was the reign of Law without Influence, System without Personality."

There is no doubt of the truth of this: Rem acu tetigisti. But where-oh where, Dr. Newman, are your tutors and professors to be found? Where is the arrow that will hit the goal? New brooms sweep clean. Should even the long list of professors, examiners, chaplains, preachers, and tutors (with very Hibernian patronymics), which form the present official staff of the new University, and shine forth in the Appendix of your book,-should they, peradventure, realize your benevolent behests, and begin their labours, fraught, as you would wish them, with angelic attributes and the choicest gifts of intellect,-by what hitherto undiscovered talisman will you perpetuate this labour of love, light, and learning, and keep alive this superhuman tuition: so that it may go on with never-flagging energy, subduing every difficulty and discouragement, which waywardness ignorance and vice must of necessity present; unless, indeed, you have discovered another spell for securing pattern pupils for perfect tutors?

The book is replete with fine feeling, and a high-flown philosophic but often impracticable optimism, which bespeak the intellect and philanthropy of the writer, accompanied by no ordinary amount of intellectual gifts.

The School and Family History of England, from the Earliest Period to the Nineteenth Year of the Reign of Queen Victoria. By Edward Farr, F.S.A. New Edition. Pp. 491. London: Longmans.

UITE in accordance with our view of the proper mode of writing history, Mr. Farr says, in his preface :

"History embraces a far wider range of events [than victories]. Besides narrating a nation's wars, both foreign and civil, and exhibiting the rise, fall, and decline of dynasties, it must present a view of the people at large, in their social condition at various epochs; of their religion, government, laws, literature, arts, science, commerce, manners and customs, &c. in a word, of their gradual progress from barbarism to civilization. History has also to delineate character: whoever has made himself a name for talents, knowledge, patriotism, valour, or great virtues, should obtain a prominent place in its pages.

"It is on such principles as these that the Collegiate, School, and Family History of England has been written."

The author has done this. There is great fulness of detail, and yet the details are not dry, like the little chopped bits and chips which constitute the abstract histories,—those disgusters of children. We like, too, the fairness and candour of the views taken. Charles's despotism, rapacity, and deceit, are not veiled; whilst indignation is well expressed at the manner of judgment and fierce persecuting spirit which procured and characterized his execution. The natural malignity of Puritanism is well set forth by Mr. Farr; and the child will, in this epoch, learn

equally to condemn Laud and despise Bradshaw. Mr. Farr deals justly with the character of William III., and, instead of painting him as a fit subject for hero-worship, and the type of perfection in limited monarchy-like Mr. Macaulay, in his hyperbolic estimate of this king, -Mr. Farr wisely, moderately, and truly, says :—

"Contrasting his character with the Stuarts, his predecessors, his great superiority must be acknowledged. While they aimed at becoming absolute, he endeavoured to rule in strict accordance with the principles of the English constitution; and he may safely be placed among the small number of English kings who, down to this period, can really be pronounced England's benefactors."

Questions close the chapters.

The General Summary views of Literature, Arts, Politics, &c., are arranged somewhat after the fashion of the Pictorial History, and are very ably done. It is certainly one of the best school histories we have.

N. B.-Dr. Latham's valuable book on Logic, cannot be justly, if summarily, spoken of. It is published by Walton and Maberly. All students or teachers of English are requested to buy it. It is handed by us to the gentleman who is writing on that subject a series of papers, of which the first appears to-day in this JOURNAL.

LITTLE BOOKS.

Mrs. Crompton, an indefatigable educationist at Birmingham, is the authoress of The Scholar's Book of Tales that are True: Old and New Stories in Short Words. Pp. 112. They are very good little books inculcating sound moral precepts; they are prettily illustrated and printed in good type, and are specially designed for the instruction of servants and others who have but partial time for instruction.A Summary of the Way of Salvation is a series of texts commencing with the fall, and followed by a short history of the life of our Saviour. It is certainly defective, as a few only of the miracles and parables are mentioned; but requires amplification, and is somewhat too dry and curt to be attractive to children, who must be enticed to the full perception, and lured to the love of holy truth.Hints to a Young Governess on Beginning a School is a capital book, which should be in the hands of all young teachers, and the advice given for the training of children is invaluable.--The next book on our library-table is entitled Scripture Records of the Life and Character of the Blessed Virgin; and the title led us to expect a different view of the life, attributes, and character of the Virgin Mary than that which it presents. The praise ascribed to the Virgin is just such as is due to her; her real merits being acknowledged without bestowing on her the idolatry of the Church of Rome. The book is well and, in some parts, powerfully written, and the author has taken great pains to elucidate every passage concerning the Mother of our Lord, and to show as strongly as possible the merely human light in which the Son of God meant her to be viewed.To descend from sacred to secular subjects, Domestic Economy claims our respectful notice in the unassuming guise of a very small contribution to Gleig's Series of school books, published by Messrs. Longmans. It is by far the best book for giving thoroughly practical instruction to children intended for domestic service we have yet seen: rules for cooking meat, making puddings, cleaning grates, care of children, together with excellent receipts and recipes, fill this most useful little book. In giving it its due meed of praise, let us not be understood to cast the older and more elaborate publication of the Home and Colonial School into the shade. It is entitled nearly like the foregoing, A Manual of Domestic Economy, by Mr. Tegetmeiers, and is now running through a second edition. It contains a mass of most useful economical information; but there is a vein of scientific verbiage running through it, which must be more puzzling than edifying to the little embryo maid and men servants, for whose special benefit such books are, or ought, to be compiled. For example, it

might easily have been explained why vinegar is useful in boiling fish, in plainer words than by informing the child that "it acts by quickly coagulating the albumen.' The questions which conclude each chapter are highly commendable and very useful. -The same excellent School Society has published a most instructive and interesting Lecture on the Life of Pestalozzi, with other papers, by the late Rev. Charles Mayo, of Cheam.- -The Genealogical Text Book is a collection of very dry questions on important points of English, and also of Foreign, history, after the Gradgrind or hard-fact fashion. We like to make history a moral and philosophical pasture-ground. This is its legitimate use, and none other: as a mere record of events, it is merely a means to an end.- -Etymology Made Easy is an attempt to teach by dialogue the derivation of a few words not ill-chosen from our hard-worded language. The derivatives are usually correctly given, but the style and English of the text is singularly inaccurate; analogous with," and "neither Lucy nor Willie will," &c., are instances. Neither is mosaic derived from "Opus musicum [sic], a work of the Muses!" Words are also frequently used, such as "synonym," denominate," &c. &c.,

99 66

which should not be used at all in a book explaining words, without explanation. The Infant School Manual is another of the admirable series of school books, published by the Home and Colonial School Society. It is written by Miss Sunter, under the superintendence of Miss Mayo. It is simple, full, and practical, and is a book we can most honestly commend.

SERIALS RECEIVED.

Frazer's Magazine (a good number); Museum of Science and Art (admirably useful); The Church of England Sunday School Quarterly Magazine; Catechetical Lessons; The Penny Post; Annual Report of Schools in Upper Canada; The Churchman's Almanac ; The Protestant Dissenter's Almanac; The Use of Pure Water (a capital addition to Sanatory Hints); How do You Manage the Young Ones? (well designed, and full of useful instruction).

ORRERY, BY THE NATIONAL SOCIETY, OF SUN, EARTH,

AND MOON.

THIS is one of the most perfect little instruments of its kind we have ever seen. In the centre is a strong spindle on which revolves a horizontal bar, at the end of which there is a small disc with a circular groove, in which revolves a nut carrying a small spindle inclined like the earth's poles, and crowned with a ball to represent the earth. The horizontal bar being made to revolve by means of a winch and gutta-percha cords, the earth is compelled to rotate, and also to throw its axis in succession in the same degrees of inclination to the plane of its orbit as the poles of the real earth to the plane of the ecliptic. The moon is also, by an ingenious and simple method and by another band, made to revolve round the earth, and to do so according to nature, and, very heretically, not according to our book-writing astronomers. The central spindle is mounted by a lighted taper, to represent the sun, which accordingly illumines earth and moon exactly as he is wont to do, thus showing the alternations of day, night, and season, and of the lunar phases. The whole instrument is sold to subscribers at half-a-guinea, and we most strongly recommend it as a thoroughly useful Orrery for the purposes of instruction.

CT is very important for the following exercises that the pupils be able to decompose quickly and easily, and in the most advantageous manner, each of the numbers from 2 to 10. We, therefore, begin here already, leaving it to the judgment of the master how far this exercise is to be extended according to the ability of his pupils.

M. Here I hold two pens together. John, tell me what I am doing now (separating the two pens from one another)?-A. You separate the two pens from one another.

[If the children have any difficulty in finding the right expression for what they wish to say, the master gives the word.]

M. And how many pens have I put on each part?-A. One pen.

M. What I just now did is called decomposing. How did I, therefore, decompose the two pens? 4. You decomposed, &c.

M. You may also say,-two pens are equal to one pen and one pen. Say so again, without the word pen. Let us write that down. After the indication of the children, the master now writes:

|1=1+1

11=1+1

:

M. First the figure One. How many parts has this figure? How many strokes does it consist of? 4. This figure has two parts.

M. Where does the first part begin? Look, I make it once more. Did I begin at the upper line, at the lower line, or in the middle?-4. You began in the middle, between the two lines.

M. Which way did I go? up or down, to the right or left? Is it a fine or a thick stroke?-A. It goes up a little to the right; is all through fine.

M. Try to make a similar stroke. Who else will do so? Where does the second part of the figure begin? And how far does it go? In which direction? Where is it fine?-A. At the upper part it is fine. M. And where is it thick?-4. At the lower part.

M. Very well; now make this whole figure on the black-board. (Several children are admitted to do the same; the master makes them find out then own mistakes,-in this way exciting their emulation.)

VOL. XI. NO. 122, N.S.

H