MARY CARPENTER. 87 



to be regretted that the anecdotes which have come to 

 us are so few and far between. Some little idea of 

 her method of teaching we can gain from a journal of 

 her school-work which she kept for some years. Here 

 is a short extract : " I showed my scholars the orrery, 

 which greatly delighted them, and they seemed quite to 

 understand it, and to enter into the idea of the inclina- 

 tion of the earth's axis producing a change of seasons. 

 This class had never seen a map, and had the greatest 

 difficulty in realising it. T. was delighted to sec 

 Bristol, Keynsham, and Bath. I always begin with 

 the ' known ; ' carrying them on afterwards to the 

 'unknown.' 



" I had taken to my class on the preceding week 

 some specimens of ferns, neatly gummed on white 

 paper ; they were much struck with their beauty, but 

 none knew what they were, though W. thought he 

 had seen them growing ; one thought they were palm 

 trees. They seemed interested in the account of their 

 fructification I gave them. This time I took a piece 

 of coal-shale, with impressions of ferns, to show them. 

 I explained that this had once been in a liquid state, 

 telling them that some things could be proved to be 

 certain, while others were doubtful ; that time did not 

 permit me to explain the proofs to them, nor would 

 they understand them if I did ; but that I was 

 careful to tell them nothing as certain which could 

 not be fully proved. I then told each to examine the 

 specimen, and tell me what he thought it \\as. \V. 



