December 24, 1886.] 



SCIENCE. 



611 



not enough materially to disturb these condi- 

 tions. 



The last thing we did before leaving our camp 

 between the lakes was to erect on the top of the 

 little knoll, in plain view from both lakes and 

 from Schoolcraft Island on the north, a monument 

 to the memory of Nicollet, on which was in- 

 scribed the following : "To the memory of 

 J. N. Nicollet, who discovered the source of the 

 Mississippi River, August 29, 1836." This was 

 done after fully exploring the country for miles 

 around ; and our little party of three was fully 

 satisfied that fifty years ago Nicollet had dis- 

 covered all there was to discover of the sources 

 of the Mississippi ; and that if he had lived to 

 complete his report on ' The sources of the 

 Mississippi and the North Red rivers,' and to 

 give to the world his unpublished map, there 

 would have been no chance for any Glazier 

 to confuse the geographical world, or to play 

 tricks upon the learned societies of two continents. 

 We found our work difficult enough, though we 

 were only a day's ride from civilization and the 

 railroad, and though the whole township had 

 been marked off and blazed at every turn by the 

 government surveyors. What, then, must have 

 been the heroism of the invalid devotee of science, 

 who buried himself for months in the unbroken 

 wilderness, and gave his life to the exploration of 

 the frontiers of his adopted country ! 



I have done my work without any prejudice or 

 bias, and determined only ui)on finding out and 

 stating the truth in regard to the sources of the 

 great river of our continent whose exploration 

 has commanded the service of so many worthy 

 men in every period of our history. 



As a prepai-ation for the survey, I had read ever^y 

 thing I was able to gather on the subject, and I 

 took with me tracings of all the maps of the 

 region, either published or to be found in the 

 government departments. The work has been 

 done by actual survey, and in such a way that I 

 believe it will bear investigation by any surveyor 

 who wishes to check it. 



Hopewell Clarke. 



Minneapolis, Minn., Dec. 7, 1886. 



THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ATHENS. 



A WRITER in the Athenaeum states that the 

 managing committee have now drawn up and 

 will immediately issue a series of rules and regu- 

 lations for this school. Its objects are declared 

 to include, 1°, the study of Greek art and archi- 

 tecture in their remains of every period ; 2°, the 

 study of inscriptions ; 3°, the exploration of 

 ancient sites ; 4°, the tracing of ancient roads and 



routes of traffic ; and, further, the study of every 

 period of Greek language and literature from the 

 earliest age to the present day. The students of 

 the school will fall under the following heads : 

 l**. Holders of travelling fellowships, student- 

 ships, or scholarships at any university of the 

 United Kingdom or of the British colonies ; 2°. 

 Travelling students sent out by the Ro^/al academy, 

 the Royal institute of British architects, or other 

 similar bodies ; 3°. Other persons who shall satisfy 

 the managing committee that they are duly quali- 

 fied to be admitted to the privileges of the school. 

 Students attached to the school vvill be expected 

 to j)ursue some definite course of study or re- 

 search in a department of Hellenic studies, and to 

 write in each season a report upon their work. 

 Such reports are to be submitted to the director, 

 and may be published by the managing commit- 

 tee if and as they think proper. Intending stu- 

 dents are required to apply to the secretary, Mr. 

 George Macmillan, 29 Bedford Street, Covent 

 Garden, London. No person will be enrolled as a 

 student who does not intend to reside at least 

 three months in Greek lands. Students will have 

 a right to use the library of the school free of 

 charge. So far as the accommodation of the 

 house permits, they will (after the first year) be 

 admitted to reside at the school building, paying 

 at a fixed rate for board and lodging. The 

 managing committee may from time to time elect 

 as honorary members of the school any persons 

 actively engaged in study or exploration in Greek 

 lands. 



The director is to deliver at least six free iDublic 

 lectures at Athens during the season, and at the 

 end of each season he is to report to the managing 

 committee upon the studies pursued dm-ing the 

 season by himself and each student. A sub-com- 

 mittee has been appointed to purchase books for 

 the library so far as funds will allow. Presents 

 of books or pamphlets will be gi-atefully received 

 and acknowledged by the honorable secretary. 



THE 'NATURAL METHOD' OF LANGUAGE- 

 TEACHING. 



No single word has created so great a confusion 

 of thought as the word 'natural.' Its bare ety- 

 mological meaning is plain enough ; but its appli- 

 cation is confined by the bounds of no dictionary, 

 and its sense is as mutable as the shifting sands of 

 the seashore. No other word has so often been 

 used by writers as the convenient vehicle of their 

 own individuality. 'Natural' is often simply 

 what one desires from his own particular view to 

 be natural. It is necessary, accordingly, always 

 carefully to scrutinize its use, and thus to discover 



