532 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



studies is an all-important factor. I remember once reading in 

 an old book a conversation that took place between Sir Walter 

 Scott and the driver of a stagecoach. Scott was sitting on the 

 seat along with the driver. The conversation turned upon a 

 group of children coming out of an old-fashioned schoolhouse. 

 The driver remarked that the teacher had great influence with 

 his classes, and that his pupils made much progress in learning. 

 Whereupon Scott inquired after the reason for such a happy state 

 of affairs. He was informed by the stage man that the teacher 

 worked on the lines of the old proverb that, " to be successful 

 with children, you must allure the ear, inform the mind, and then 

 impress the heart." This teacher was wise in his day. He sought 

 to win the affections of the child. He established a confidence 

 between himself and his pupil in other words, he tried to make 

 things agreeable. This accomplished, he commenced to fill the 

 pupils' minds with new thoughts and new relations. The world 

 of ideas was opened up to the child, which was made to see, feel, 

 hear, and remember as it had never done before. On this an 

 ethic or moral system was planted. The late George Paxton 

 Young, Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of To- 

 ronto, often repeated in my hearing that, when he was a boy, he 

 would have been punished for using a translation in the study of 

 a Greek or Latin author. Now, however, if he had had his way, 

 he would punish a student who would not make use of such an 

 aid to promote his advancement and increase his pleasure in the 

 study of the classics. " Pleasure and pain," said Locke, "are the 

 hinges on which all our passions turn." The school life of the 

 child ought to be so managed that its search after knowledge 

 would be one continuous pursuit of pleasure. 



Then, again, while it is necessary to present objects to the 

 various senses in order that an acquaintanceship with them may 

 be formed, it is equally necessary that these objects be properly 

 selected and graded according to the age and understanding of 

 the learner. When a pupil is not learning, it is not the fault of 

 the child so much as it is of the teacher. Things have not been 

 presented to the child in proper order or of suitable kind. It is 

 quite true the child may be dull. Its mental development may 

 be a long way behind that of another child of the same age ; but 

 this is not the fault of the child. It is the duty of the teacher to 

 take things as he finds them, and to grade his teaching to meet 

 the capacities of the pupil. The age of the pupil does not enable 

 one to decide what may be the degree of perceptive power. This 

 must be tested. It is an utter waste of time to present to a child 

 too complex thoughts or ideas ; it must be conducted from the 

 simple to the complex. A child is often found fault with for not 

 giving attention to study. The truth is that things have not 



