of the late Mr. Calverley, it is a talent which does not readily command much respect, and the exercise of which is happily, and almost exclusively, confined to our comic journals. Burlesque is its proper and congenial platform, whence, after serving the purpose of the passing moment, it usually disappears everlastingly. Surely the feeling, almost amounting to sanctity, both in the household and the Church, which has grown around these two hymns of Newman's and Milman's, might have protected them against the gratuitous vagaries of an accomplishment which, in any department of literature beyond that of the mere parodist, has hardly the power to lift itself above contempt.

vinced that doctrine is a fundamentai
necessity to religion. Surely no one re-
quires to be told that doctrine is not only
an essential basis of Christianity, but the
necessary postulate of any kind of religion
whatever. Belief in something, expressed
or implied, is the one logical and indis-
pensable requirement. Neither in the
body nor in the spirit can any man lift
himself up by his own waistband; there
must be footing and fulcrum somewhere.
Without doctrine religion is not only im-
possible it is inconceivable. One may
as well attempt to form a definite concep
tion of a melody separated from the math-
ematical substratum of time which regu-
lates it, and without the support of whose
unseen framework it would collapse into
an unintelligible and chaotic gibberish.
One may as well withdraw the backbone
from a vertebrate animal and ask it to sit
up. But yet doctrine itself is no more
religion than time itself is a melody, or the
backbone itself is an animal. Doctrine is
only the potential raw material of religion,
and like other raw materials we use
silk, or cotton, or wool — it must pass into
the higher form of fabric before it can be
made available. As long as doctrine
remains in the rudimentary form of raw
material as it comes, so to speak, from
the sheep, or the worm, or the plant-its
proper place is among the other dried
specimens of the theological museum.
Before it enters the sanctuary of praise,
it should have passed from this condition
into the higher phase of a fabric — a gar-
ment, not for a dead hypothesis, but for
a living soul. It is this prosaic use of
doctrine in its raw state, instead of that
higher and less earthly condition in which
it clothes itself in the singing robes of
faith and trust and aspiration, which gives
to many of our hymns, altered and unal-
tered, the heavy and wooden and wingless
character they possess.

What, then, is the overwhelming motive which tempts and emboldens men to take this liberty with works of acknowledged genius? It cannot be the paltry desire to use another man's inspiration to float verses that without such assistance would refuse to float at all the miserable attempt to blow their own fires, and fill their own sails with the divine breath of an afflatus not their own. No; the steady dead-weight of the average addendum prohibits such a conclusion; the day of miracles has passed, and the reason must be looked for elsewhere. On closer examination, it will be found that those additions are mostly suggested by the supposed want of some clearly enunciated article of faith, some supposed absence of declared orthodoxy, without which, in the opinion of the writer, the hymn would be incomplete. The want in most cases is consequently supplied from perfectly sincere motives of theological propriety and edification. If the addendum in every case were as meritorious as the motive which evoked it, there might be less to complain of; but most of these additions have been made by people who have neither insight nor imagination, and who probably thought Lord Selborne guilty of something very like profanity when he spoke of the perfect compatability of doc-sible. Such a hymn as "Lead, kindly trine and doggerel. There can be no doubt that this supposed necessity for the continual obtrusion of doctrine in our praises has been at the bottom of more than half the mischief. Doctrine in season and out of season is surely pushed beyond its legitimate uses, and out of its proper place, when in addition to its recognition in our confessions, and having it enforced from the pulpit, we are asked to sing it as well.

It might almost lead one to believe that there are people who require to be con

To write a hymn without doctrine and conviction of some kind being taken for granted at the outset is, of course, impos

Light" is full to overflowing of this unobtruded but fundamental necessity. It is a confession of faith from beginning to end. It contains a belief and implicit trust in God, not in any loose and general sense, but in a particular Providence watching every step in life. It contains a confession of sin, contrition for sin, and a supplication for forgiveness of sin, ending in the hope and faith of being led past all earthly dangers to a glorious immortality, expressed in as exquisite language as ever hallowed the purposes of prayer.

besi which drains that narrow inland sea. | party with the mission-house, thus reinJust as in the romances, all goes well with forced, numbers seven whites, with sixty the travellers at the beginning of the jour- guns, and about fifteen hundred friendly ney. They enter the lake with a favor- natives, including many women and chiling breeze behind them, and speed fast dren. With a sense of the proper way to over the clear blue waters which reflect play their part, to be highly commended, the noble outlines of the hills that shut the Arabs for three weeks try by every them in. A ten-hours' sail brings them in possible sort of provocation to make the sight of two steamers, the Illala, in which mission party take the initiative in the they had determined to make the round attack. This provocation, however, is of the lake, and a boat belonging to the resisted, though the constant insults and Union Mission. The news that the trav- ingenuities of annoyance indulged in by ellers hear, however, soon changes their the enemy make the period of waiting plans. Arab slave-hunters, they learn, as very hard to bear. At last, however, the they board the steamer, are threatening attack comes. With the dawn of Novemthe English station of Karonga, at the ber 24th, five or six hundred of the enemy north end of the lake, and have already organize a furious assault upon the misattacked a friendly tribe. Two English sion, hoping to carry it by a rush. The missionaries are shut up in the station. three weeks of grace, however, have been Help has been demanded from Consul used in strengthening the fortifications; Hawes, and from the manager of the Afri- and all idea of taking it by assault is can Lakes Company; but it may be long abandoned after an experience of the fire coming. If we were reading one of Mr. poured from the works in the hour during Haggard's romances, we should not, after which the first attack lasts. A steady this, hesitate for a moment to predict siege then begins, the Arabs, just as in the what action would be taken by the nar- romances, showing by their manner of rator and his companion. Fortunately, conducting it that "they had among them the English race has still a dash of hero- men trained in some measure to warfare, ism in real life as well as in books, and and accustomed to attack fortified posts.' the prediction need not be withdrawn Doubtless all the defenders were great when we force ourselves to remember that readers of tales of adventure. Imagine, we are not reading a novel. "It seemed then, their delight when so correct a clearly our duty to collect what men were symptom of the situation developed itself available, and render what assistance we as this. Then, too, another very familiar could at once." Has not the reader seen friend appears to them in the shape of the such a phrase a hundred times in books of storehouse, unfortunately left outside the adventure? No less familiar is the dec- lines, proving a great danger to the belaration, "Dr. Tornory, of the London sieged, and of the heroic native "who Church Mission, was willing, and an ele- dashed out, torch in hand, under a hot phant-hunter, a Mr. Sharpe, had declared fire, which we returned with interest to his readiness to come." The casual ele- cover him," and successfully sets it in a phant-hunter, who joins the party quite blaze. Surely there is an incident of this "permiscus," with rifles, no doubt, like sort in "Masterman Ready," or if not, young cannons, is a delicious touch. (It then it is the account of the means taken is quite impossible to criticise the narra- to get water which is matched in that most tive like a record of facts, though it is excellent of books of adventure. Indeed, obviously true in every line and every it may be said that the siege of the misword.) We are sure that if the story is sion-house of Lake Nyassa illustrates by ever written out at length, Mr. Sharpe a real incident something or other not only will prove the humorous hero who is al- in all Mr. Rider Haggard's works, but in ways doing some act of quaint daring almost every book of the kind that has which makes us at one and the same time ever been written. One great cause of laugh at him and love him. Of course, heart-searching in most books of the adafter this, the next step is for the narrator venturous order, is the fact that none of to order the steamer to get up steam, and the white men, in spite of all the fearful in twenty-four hours the expedition has fighting, ever get killed. We, of course, started. By steaming night and day, they are in one sense always immensely dereach Karonga-the threatened mission lighted at this; but yet, at the same time, "just in the nick of time" (that, of we feel a little doubtful whether it can be course, was inevitable), as the missionary true, and whether in reality we ought not, in charge explains, for the Arabs had that however bitter the pang, to have sacrificed day made a hostile demonstration. The the gallant young man with the blue eyes

by surprise of another village, this time SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS IN ELEMENTARY

that of a hostile native chief. How admirably would Mr. Haggard have told us how A VERY remarkable report has been rethe white men crept up to the stockade-ceived by the London School Board from so close that they could see "the people a special committee appointed by it a year sitting round their watch-fires," and hear ago, "to consider the present subjects and "the early risers talking in complete un- modes of instruction in the Board schools, consciousness of danger"-how the fire and to report whether such changes can was directed on both faces of the village be made as shall secure that children at once, and how in a few minutes a panic leaving school shall be more fitted than set in, and the whole place was taken prac- they now are to perform the duties and tically without resistance. In wishing for work of life before them."* Mr. Haggard here, we do not for a moment intend to insinuate that the narrator of the Times has not done his work clearly and well. In truth, he has brought the scenes he describes most vividly before His narrative, indeed, has only one

representing well the various sections of the London Board. It has produced a report of twenty-one folio pages, including no less than thirty-one recommendations, and followed by voluminous minutes of evidence given by scientific men and others, who have paid attention to elementary instruction, teachers of special subjects, inspectors, employés of the Board, working-men, representatives, and others.

be developed for senior scholars through. out the standards in schools, so as to supply a graduated course of manual training in connection with science teaching and object-lessons."

These, then, are the two main directions of progress that are indicated, — the knowledge of nature and the power of work; the development of the perceptive facul ties, and the education of the senses and these two are to go hand in hand.

This important document is the out- Object-lessons are common in elemencome of several movements. The Lon- tary schools, but much is said, both in don Board has, throughout its existence, the report itself, and in the evidence of endeavored to promote the teaching of Sir John Lubbock and other witnesses, science by means of systematic object-les- in regard to their improvement, and the sons; and has made several attempts to importance of good collections of objects. give a more practical turn to the instruc-Yet it appears from the appendix that only tion. In December, 1884, a previous about forty minutes per week on an averspecial committee reported on technical age are actually given to these lessons in education, affirming the principle that it boys' and girls' schools, and we know from was not the duty of the Board to attempt the annual reports of the British Associato teach any particular trades, but that it tion on the teaching of science in such was its duty so to direct the education of schools that the present regulations of its scholars that they could easily take up the government code are actually diminany special work afterwards, and suggest- ishing the amount of the teaching of ing various ways by which this might be geography and elementary science. The promoted. Since then the conviction has special committee, therefore, very properly rapidly grown in the public mind that the recommend that application be made to teaching is too bookish; the supremacy of the education department to grant more the three R's has been rudely assailed; freedom of choice in the selection of and many people have asserted that other class-subjects; and that the provision for things, such as Lord Reay's three DR's object-lessons, and lessons on natural phe(drill, drawing, and 'droitness), are equally nonema, should be taken into account in important. boys' and girls' schools in assessing the merit grant, as is the case at present with infant schools. The Scotch code has within the last few weeks allowed that either elementary science or English may be taken as the first class-subject, which is a hopeful sign of progress. The favorite scientific subjects taught at present in the London schools are animal physiology and algebra; but the special committee favor the teaching of mechanics and the fundamental notions of physical science by means of special teachers on the peripatetic plan; and they recommend "that the teaching of all subjects be accompanied, where possible, by experiments and ocular demonstration, and that the necessary apparatus be supplied to the schools."

The report starting with this definition of education: "the harmonious development of all the faculties, bodily and mental, with which the child is endowed by nature," points out the deficiencies of the present curriculum. It has an earnest paragraph on moral education, and makes various remarks upon the present teaching of history, geography, social economy, and art. But its main criticism is "that the physical or bodily side of education, including the development of muscular strength, of the accuracy and sense of color and proportion of the eye, and of the pliancy and dexterity of the hand, is almost entirely neglected; and that the mental or brain work, which occupies the great bulk of the time in schools of all kinds, is composed far too As to manual instruction, it exists in much of appeals to the memory only, re-infant schools wherever Kindergarten exsulting, at the best, in the retention in the ercises are practised, but in boys' schools child's mind of a mass of undigested facts, there is often no practice of the kind exand far too little of the cultivation of intel- cept in writing. In London, and perhaps ligence." The Kindergarten principle is in most large towns, drawing is generally strongly approved of, and the first recom- taught, and it is universally allowed that mendation is: "That the methods of this is at the very foundation of technical Kindergarten teaching in infant schools instruction. The committee recommend