176 



$l)c iTavmcr's ilIontl)lu bisitor. 



We have only glanced at the more immediate 

 good resulting from the use of neat and comfort- 

 able school rooms, lint other important advan- 

 tages tire to be gained by making our school- 

 lionses attractive and convenient. We believe it 

 to be vastlv important that school-houses should 

 be made welcome and loved places of report, in- 

 stead of temporary prisons; that the children in 

 our common schools should be taught by all they 

 see around them, those lessons of neatness and 

 order, those habits of refinement) which, per- 

 chance, their own homes may not always afford 

 — lessons which they will carry out with them 

 into the world, and into all after life; how im- 

 portant that they should be surrounded not only 

 with book knowledge, but with every influence 

 that can refine and elevate. The influence the 

 daily, hourly contemplation of neatness, order, 

 and* beauty, in a place devoted to instruction, 

 must have on the impressible minds of children, 

 some of whom, unfortunately can see this spec- 

 tacle nowhere if not in school, is all important. — 

 Manchester Democrat. 



From the New Hampshire Sentinel. 

 Teachers's Institutes. 

 Messrs. Ediiors:—l live in a town, whose valua- 

 >n by the selectmen is four hundred thousand 

 illars. It was proposed in town-meeting to raise 

 ,venty dollars for the Teachers' Institute. Op- 

 losition was made. The argument of some was 

 that it would be wrong to lax the poor for such 

 a purpose, because tlie teachers who had the 

 benefit of the Institute were belter able to pay 

 the expense themselves. But how much would 

 the tax of a poor person be, in a town like the 

 above named, in order to raise twenty dollars? 

 No person is called poor in that town who is 

 worth a thousand dollars, for such a sum will 

 buy a pretty good farm with tolerably comfort- 

 able buildings. Now a man worth a thousand 

 dollars would be taxed just five cents in order to 

 raise twenty dollars, that is, half a cent on a hun- 

 dred dollars of valuation. If a man's valuation 

 was ten thousand dollars, he, of course, woidd 

 pay 50 cents for the Institute. The poor man is 

 likely to have as many children as the rich man, 

 but the rich man is taxed according to what he 

 is wor'.h for the education of the poor man's child- 

 ten. Some persons, in the above named town- 

 meeting, seemed to think, that the better prepara- 

 tion of teachers had no connection at all with the 

 better education of children, or that the appro- 

 priation for an Institute was altogether for the 

 benefit of teachers. Hut is it so ? Do not the 

 belter qualifications of teachers result in the di- 

 rect benefit of their pupils, both poor and rich ? 

 If a man denies this, then we may expect him to 

 denv that crows are black, or that snow is white. 

 I5nt teachers, who have been to the Institute, it 

 was said, demand and obtain higher wages than 

 olliers. This is used as an argument against pay- 

 ing their tuition at an Institute. But are they so 

 great gainers, after all, by their belter qualifica- 

 tions? Let us suppose thai male teachers, ob- 

 tain two, three or even four dollars a month 

 greater wages in consequence ol their attendance 

 at a few terms of an Institute of four weeks dura- 

 lion. Their board would cost lliem five dollars, 

 — they might earn by labor at least fifteen dollars 

 — their immediate expet ses for books, travel, &c, 

 would be not less than live dollars more — tweii- 

 u five dollars for one term, and fur two terms 

 50 dollars. Our best teachers, many of them, 

 have attended more than two terms. Now if 

 their wages are even four dollars a month great- 

 er, keeping school three months in the winter, it 

 will take lour winters to gain forty eight dollars. 

 But another thing is to he considered. Teachers 

 who obtain the highest wages for a succession 

 of years, obtain them, because they are believed 

 really to earn them. Yankees will not long con- 

 tinue to pay for an article mure than they believe 

 it to he really worth. Cheap teachers may be 

 obtained, at all times, but they are not employed, 

 when better ones can be had. The farmer will 

 pay L'oud hands, men well qualified to do his 

 work, as he wants it done, — touch higher wages 

 than lie i\')nn oihers. But those w ho receive high 

 wages, in either case, cannot obtain ihein year 

 after vear, unless they are found to be really good 

 workmen. Experience has shown that attend- 

 ance at Institutes does really improve the qualifi- 

 cations of teachers. None are so coed that they 



cannot be made better, and Institutes are the 

 cheapest and best means that have as yet been 

 discovered for increasing their qualifications, and 

 through them, for promoting the welfare of com- 

 mon schools. 



But another argument was used against appro- 

 priations for an Institute. Lawyers, physicians 

 and clergymen, it was said, were at the expense 

 of their education, and why should not teachers 

 he at the expense of theirs. Now this, without 

 doubt, was very honestly said, but just consider 

 for a moment how much the public have contri- 

 buted, in times past, for the purpose of giving 

 men of the above professions, a better education. 

 Look at our colleges, law, medical and theologi- 

 cal schools — what chance would professional men 

 for education, were it not for these? Vast sums 

 of money have been raised and applied for the 

 erection of buildings, furnishing books and appa- 

 ratus, and founding professorships, all for the ben- 

 efit of professional men, and while this has been 

 doing, just nothing at all has been done to aid 

 teachers of youths in a special preparation for 

 their work, a work certainly as important to have 

 done well, as that of any of the professions. 

 When ihe public have done a tenth part as much 

 for teachers as they have for the education of 

 lawyers, doctors and ministers, they will have a 

 central Normal School for the State, and a well 

 sustained Teachers' Institute of two terms of four 

 weeks each, in every County. The mode of sup- 

 porting a Teachers' Institute by a tax on the towns 

 is equal and just, or it would be so, if all towns 

 would do their part, for the rich must pay the 

 larger part of the tax and the poor would be 

 benefitted every whit as much as the rich. The 

 common school is the only school to which the 

 poor have access, and the better the common 

 school becomes, the nearer do the poor approach 

 to an equality with the rich, so far as education 

 is concerned, and it is acknowledged on all hands 

 that it is education that constitutes the real and 

 permanent difference between one man and an- 

 other. Our Legislature did well at its last ses- 

 sion to increase by five per cent the amount to 

 be raised by towns for the support of schools. 

 If they had gone farther and required every town 

 to appropriate two per cent, in addition to the 

 sum now raised, and made the selectmen respon- 

 sible if it was not assessed and appropriated, they 

 would have done that lor the children and youths 

 of New Hampshire for which they would ever 

 have reason to thank them and to cherish their 

 memory as that ol true hearted and large minded 

 patriots. 



A Friend to Common Schools. 



"Dedication Hymn. 



The following beautiful hymn was written a fnw weeks 

 since by that true poet, Whittiek, to be sung at the 

 dedication of a school-house in Newbury, Mass. : 



The south land lias its field of cane, 



The prairie boasts iis heavy grain, 



And sunset's radiant gates unfold 



On crowded marts and sands of gold. 



Rough, bleak and cold, our little State 

 Is hard of soil, of limits straight ; 

 Her yellow sands are squids alone — 

 Her only mines are ice and stone. 



From Autumn frost to April rain, 

 Too long her winter woods complain ; 

 From budding flower to falling leaf, 

 Her summer time is all too brief. 



But nn her rocks, and on her sands. 

 And stormy hills, the school-house stands; 

 And what her rugged soil denies, 

 The harvest of the mind supplies. 



The treasures of the commonwealth 



Are free, strong minds and hearts of health ; 



And more to her than gold or gram, 



Are cunning hand and cultured brain. 



For well she keeps her ancient stock, 

 The stubborn strength of Plymouth rock ; 

 And still maintains, with milder laws, 

 And clearer light, the good old cause. 



Nor heeds the skeptic's puny trends, 



While near her school the churt h-spne stands ; 



Nor fears the blinded bigot's rule, 



While near her church-spire stands the echool. 



Anecdote of Franklin. — Doctor Franklin 

 and I (said Jefferson) were some time to- 

 gether in Paris, and we dined one day in a mixed 

 company of distinguished French and American 

 characters. The Abbe Raynal and Franklin had 

 much conversation; amongst other things, the 

 French philosopher observed that in America all 

 things degenerated, and he made many learned 

 and profound observations to show this effect of 

 the climate on people, although recently from an 

 European stock. Franklin listened with his 

 usual patience and attention, and, after the Abbe 

 had finished, pleasantly remarked, that where a 

 difference of opinion existed, it was the custom 

 of deliberative assemblies to divide the house; 

 he therefore proposed that the Europeans should 

 go to one side of the room, and the Americans 

 to the other, that the question might be fairly 

 taken. It so happened that the Americans pre- 

 sent were stout men, full or life, health and vigor, 

 while the Europeans were small, meagre and 

 dwarfish. The Doctor, with a smile, cast his eye 

 along the lines, and Raynal candidly acknow- 

 ledged the refutation of bis theory. 



"Business first, and then Pleasure."— A 

 man who is very rich now, was very poor when 

 he was a hoy. When asked how he got his riches 

 he replied, " My father taught me never to 

 play till my wotk for the day was finished, and 

 never to spend money till 1 had earned it. if I 

 had but half an hour's work to do in a day, I 

 must do that the first thing, and in half an hoar. 

 Alter this was done, 1 was allowed to play; and 

 1 could then play with much more pleasure than 

 if I had the thought of an unfinished task be- 

 fore my mind. I early formed the habit of doing 

 every thing in its time, and it soon became per- 

 fectly easy to do so. It is to this habit thai 1 now 

 owe my prosperity." Let every boy who reads 

 this, go and do likewise, and he will meet with 

 a similar reward. 



Set the time and keep it.— Keep it punctu- 

 ally — don't vary a hair's breadth. When you say 

 Monday, mean Monday. When you say Tues- 

 day or Wednesday, mean Tuesday or Wednes- 

 day. When you say six o'clock, mean six o'clock. 

 When yon say twelve, mean twelve — not twelve 

 and a hall; but twelve. Time is precious, infi- 

 nitely; gold cannot purchase it. Better rob your 

 ueigiibor of gold, or precious gems, than to rob 

 him of a moment. Set the time and keep it ! 



If you would not be forgotten as soon as you 

 are dead, either write things worth reading or 

 do something worth writing. 



V. B. PALMER'S 



Business Men's Almanack for 1850, 



IS crowded as closely as possible with such facts as 

 seem most indispensable for daily reference by men 

 ol business in all us departments throughout the coun- 

 try 



In some cases, the contents of an important work or 

 public document are crowded into a single page of the 

 Almanack, while ihe suggestions to Merchants, Manu- 

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 as to the be*t mode of commencing, conducting and ex- 

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 and usefulness. — It embraces 

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 prepared and condensed within sixty-four double-column 

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