LITERARY NOTICES. 



847 



comprehensive task of writing a history of 

 his times. I have no theory of his life to 

 establish or destroy. Mr. Lincoln was my 

 warm, devoted friend. I always loved him, 

 and I revere his name to this day. My pur- 

 pose to tell the truth need occasion no ap- 

 prehension, for I know that ' God's naked 

 truth,' as Carlyle puts it, can never injure the 

 fame of Abraham Lincoln. It will stand 

 that or any other test, and at last untarnished 

 will reach the loftiest niche in American his- 

 tory." Of Mr. Herndon's fitness for this 

 task, Mr. Horace White says, in the intro- 

 duction which he contributes : " What Mr. 

 Lincoln was after he became President, can 

 be best understood by knowing what he was 

 before. The world owes more to William H. 

 Herndon for this particular knowledge than 

 to all other persons put together. It is no 

 exaggeration to say that his death, which 

 took place at his farm near Springfield, 111., 

 March 18, 1891, removed from earth the 

 person who of all others had most thoroughly 

 searched the sources of Mr. Lincoln's biog- 

 raphy, and had most intelligently and also 

 lovingly studied his character. lie was gen- 

 erous in imparting his information to others. 

 Almost every life of Lincoln published since 

 the tragedy at Ford's Theatre has been en- 

 riched by his labors. He was nine years the 

 junior of Mr. Lincoln. Their partnership 

 began in 1843, and it continued until it was 

 dissolved by the death of the senior member. 

 Between them there was never an unkind 

 word or thought." Mr. Weik, the co-author, 

 was for several years indefatigable in explor- 

 ing by personal investigation the course of 

 Lincoln's life, never satisfied with taking any- 

 thing at second hand, but following everything 

 up to its source. Mr. Horace White has en- 

 riched the book by contributing personal rec- 

 ollections of his association with Mr. Lincoln 

 during the debates with Douglas — by which 

 Mr. Lincoln's fame was established. 



how shall my child be taught ? pp. 

 2*76. The Spirit of the New Educa- 

 tion. Pp. 282. By Louisa P. Hopkins. 

 Boston : Lee & Shepard. 



The material of these volumes consists 

 of various papers and addresses written by 

 a supervisor of the Boston public schools. 

 They are not merely theoretical, but embody 

 the results of a fruitful experience in pri- 



mary teaching and in the training of teach- 

 ers. Altogether they present a plea for the 

 natural method of education, which, although 

 the oldest form of instruction, is now called 

 "new," as opposed to the prevailing mode 

 of memorizing from text-books. No better 

 comment can be made on this reform in teach- 

 ing than that of Colonel Higginson : " The 

 difference between a natural and an arbi- 

 trary method of acquiring knowledge is sim- 

 ply the difference between rowing with the 

 current or against it." The desire of the 

 child sent to school is generally to observe, 

 to question, and to construct. He is for the 

 most part taught to look only at his books, 

 to be quiet, and to make nothing. It is in 

 the primary and preparatory schools that 

 learning by rote still flourishes. At the be- 

 ginning and end of our educational system 

 we have given up artificial culture ; we have 

 object lessons in the kindergarten, the labo- 

 ratory, and lecture in the university. Mean- 

 while, manual and industrial training act as 

 wedges for the introduction of freedom in 

 the intermediate schools. 



The new method is not only the better 

 way to educate, it also helps to mold char- 

 acter. The object of education is even 

 more important than the form. The way in 

 which the school thrusts aside responsi- 

 bility for moral development is exemplified 

 in the boy who " could lie, steal, and swear 

 unchecked, but, if he chewed gum in school, 

 got an awful thrashing." Here the method 

 of teaching is morally operative. If the 

 child's activities are not repressed, but di- 

 rected toward some absorbing work, there 

 will be little occasion for misconduct. In 

 any case, petty discipline defeats itself and 

 corporal punishment is the resource of the 

 teacher who has failed. 



How shall my Child be taught contains 

 discourses upon primary teaching, an account 

 of a year's experiment in training, parables 

 on Nature and life, and oral lessons in arith- 

 metic and science. In illustrating mental 

 action there is an astonishing note to teach- 

 ers. The author directs that the distinction 

 between mind and brain shall be fully shown 

 by citing cases of unconscious cerebration : 

 " They will then know that the mind is quite 

 distinct from the brain, and the soul can live 

 without this body " ! 



In The New Education there are practi- 



