VISIT YOTTR SCHOOLS, 
The man or woman who drops into the school- 
house often, and shows an interest in the pupils, 
and in tbeir comfort, is a public benefactor- Both 
teachers and scholars are encouraged to good be¬ 
havior and to extra efforts. Who does not re¬ 
member the stimulus to the whole school, of a 
visit, from a parent, or other person ? A school 
visited two or throe times a week, the visitors in¬ 
sisting that no show or change of programme be 
made, but that all things goon In regular course, 
will generally be twice as prosperous as the 
school never visited. No ore should leave oth¬ 
ers to attend to this matter. The public school 
should be the pel and pride of every good citizen 
of the district. Visit it often as a recognized 
friend, not a morose critic. If the good deeds be 
sought out and appreciated, an occasional hint for 
improvement, in a kind tone, will be kindly re- 
ceivod and acted upon by both teachers and 
scholars. Speaking evil or disrespectfully of the 
teacher in the hearing of your children, or to 
those who will repeat the words in their presence, 
inflicts a lasting injury upon them. Get the best 
teacher possible, and uphold him, or her, so long 
as employed, for the children’s sake. We have 
known a school deprived of all efficiency. by a 
thoughtless word about the teacher, dropped by a 
parent in the presence of his child, and repeated 
by the child to other scholars. 
SLEEPINESS OE THE ENGLISH CLIMATE, 
Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker. 
about school BOOKS, AGENTS, &c. 
Thh celebrated botanist, Linnacuh, has been so 
frequently quoted in the columns of the Ruka!., 
that, his name, at least, ought, to be familiar “as 
a household word." Assuming that such is the 
fact, and thinking a bjjcf sketch of his life and 
labors would prove aSep table, we have drawn 
upon the “Book of Days,” published by J. B. 
Liimmncott & Co., Philadelphia, for the follow¬ 
ing portrait and biography; 
Cart. Links (usually latinized to Linn Ac us) 
was born at Rash alt, a hamlet in the south of 
Sweden, on the 24th of May, 1707. His father 
was a clergyman, whose house was situated in a 
delightful spot on the banks of a tine lake, sur¬ 
rounded by hills and valleys, winds and cultiva¬ 
ted grounds. As Linnaxs was wont to say, he 
walked out of his cradle into a garden. His 
father and an uncle lmd both a passion for horti¬ 
culture, and they early inspired the child with 
their own spirit. Caul, however, \Vfta reckoned 
a dull boy. He was destined for the church; but 
for theological studies he had a positive aversion, 
and, as a consequence, he made no progress in 
them. He was not disinclined to study, but his 
study was botany, and out of botany neither 
money nor advancement was to be had. It was 
finally resolved to make him a physician, and at 
the age of twenty he was sent to the University 
of Lund, where he was “less known for his 
knowledge of natural history than for his igno¬ 
rance of ev 017 thing else." By good fortune he 
became a lodger in the house of the Professor of 
Medicine, Dr. SrOBOSCR, who discerning genius 
where others saw stupidity, gave Ltnnasdb the 
free range of his library aud museum, and treat¬ 
ed him'with all the kindness of a father. In this 
genial atmosphere lie came to the determination 
to spend bis life as a student of Nature, a rosolvo 
from which neither poverty nor misery ever 
moved him. To the regret of Stoiheus he loft 
Lund for Upsala, thinking that it. was a better 
university. His father could allow him no more 
than eight pounds a year. Often he felt the 
pangs of hunger, and liolbs in his shoes he 
stuffed with paper; but he read and attended 
lectures with an energy which let nothing slip, 
and was sure in the end to meet with reward. 
I notice in a late Roral that yourself., 
“Sf.sex," and your humble sward, collectively 
have alarmed the tender conscience of our 
mutual adviser “Justus," on account of our rash 
treatment of the book agents, etc., quorum fui 
magsapars at first, but now it seems reduced to 
minima 'pars by the edict of Justus, so that 
Sexf.x has to bear all the blame. But. we wish 
to enter our protest against this, and say that il 
we erred in those few remarks, it was not in 
expressing strongly enough, the idea. 
That was a logical (?) plan of our friend to 
bestow all Ida remarks upon Sknkx because he 
thought lie was not a teacher , aud then exorcise 
him tor daring to express his convictions. Now 
we do not propose to interfere in the matter be¬ 
tween Justus and Sknkx, but if such bold chal¬ 
lenges are thrown out about "facts and names,” 
no. doubt they can be furnished. Wo will not hint 
at motives as Justus does, for discussion should 
be outspoken, nor ate his statements disputed n> 
regards his unwillingness to accuse any school 
officer of malfeasance- in office, but we merely 
venture to suggest that if ho has taught “ six¬ 
teen yoavs," and has seen nothing of the kind, he 
either did not observe carefully, or else he must 
have dwelt on one of tho Fortunate I slam is. 
But he does not say so; he merely affirms that 
he would not be willing to accuse any school 
officer of doing wrong. 
Yes, there is the secret; some teachers are so 
very timid that they dare not express their con¬ 
victions, for fear ot offending some publisher or 
school director , and thus give themselves up soul 
and body to do their bidding. This subject has 
been handled tenderly long enough. Why not 
state the plain facts in the case? Will J ustus 
tell us why the State of New York should have 
made that law In regard to School Commission¬ 
ers acting as agents, uuless there was reason to 
suppose there was some need of it? Does he 
pretend to deny the influence of these agents in 
New York? It was our fortune to live in the 
county from .which Justus writes, and we 
acknowledge that it was more free from the 
“curse of tho law " than many of the other coun¬ 
ties in that .State, where the influence was pow¬ 
erful. 
Does not J rsru.s know that the agency busi- 
extreme that, the New 
lections as compared with tho Dutch. There is a 
tradition, that when he first saw the golden 
bloom of the furze on Putney Heath, lie fell on 
his knees enraptured with the sight He vainly 
endeavored to preserve some specimens of tho 
plant through the Swedish winter. On leaving 
Holland he had an interview with Boeiuiaavk 
on his death-bed. Ilia parting words were, “T 
have lived out my time, and done what I could. 
May God preserve thee, from whom tho world 
expects much more! Farewell, my dear Lin- 
naui$ l" 
On his return to Sweden ho married, and com¬ 
menced business in Stockholm as a physician; 
but in 1740 he was called to Upsala as Professor 
of Medicine, and shortly afterwards was trans¬ 
ferred to the chair of Botany. In Upsala, as 
professor and physician, ho spent, the remaining 
eight-and-thirty years of his life. Honors from 
all nations, aud wealth, flowed freely unto him. 
The king raised him to nobility, and he took the 
title of Yon Linnm. Ease, however, induced no 
cessation of his old habits of industry. To the 
end he labored incessantly. He eared for noth¬ 
ing but, science, and I 10 knew no delight but to 
be busy in its service. Towards the cIoho of bis 
life he suffered from a complication of diseases, 
bnt from l)is lied he kept dictating to an amanu¬ 
ensis on his favorite subjects. lie died on tho 
10 th of January 1778, aged seventy years, seven 
months aud seven days; closing in a blaze of 
honor and renown a life which had commenced 
in obscurity and poverty. 
EDUCATION IN GREAT BRITAIN, 
At tho date of the last Report of Commis¬ 
sioners of Public Education in Great Britain, it 
was ascertained that in England and Wales 
there were 24,56$ public schools, containing 
1,675,158 pupils; and 34,412 private schools, con¬ 
taining 860,804 pupils—an average of 58.2 pupils 
in the public, aud 24.82 in the private schools. 
It was ascertained—a proof of the conviction 
which is felt by the most ignorant classes of the 
nation of the necessity of oducaliou—that every 
man earning 12 s, per week sent bis child to 
school, aud that nearly every child received 
education of some sort, though very much must 
of necessity be of tho most indifferent character. 
To show the increased facilities of education 
since the commencement of the century, it is 
slated that in 1803 (lie proportion of scholars t.o 
tho population was 1 in 17,1; in 1851, it was 1 in 
H,3G; in 1858, 1 in 7.7. Compared with other 
counties, we find that in Russia it is 1 in G.27; in 
Holland, 1 in 8.11; and in France, 1 in 0 . It 
was further elicited Unit private schools, in most 
cases, are preferred to public schools, even 
among the poor; being thought more respecta¬ 
ble, although tho teachers may be inferior to 
those appointed by government. 
THE BREATH OF LIFE, 
Whatever lives must breathe. Whatever shel¬ 
ters or feeds life must breathe also. As is the 
breath so is the life, for health is but a pulmonary 
function, and happiness a castle in the air. The 
blood, stifled with ill-supplied or incapable lungs, 
blackens and curdles; the hair, stilled beneath 
an impenetrable hat, dies and falls away; tho 
skin, stifled by garments too many and too close 
or smothered by its owu unremoved excretions, 
yields its duty as guardian of the outposts of life 
and betrays the citadel to tho enemy. 
It utters its mute protest against rubber boots 
and air-proof coats, which, unless briefly and 
loosely worn, are portable death. Houses, too, 
must breathe ns well as garments. A breathless 
house is suicide made easy. The asthmatic com¬ 
plains of his. labored breathing, but forgets that 
his house wheezes worse than he, through its 
listed windows and doors. 
CURIOUS EGYPTIAN RELICS, 
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities,[recently 
foundoil by the Dasha, is a commodious house 
overlooking the Nile. It has been placed under 
tho curatorship of M. Marietta, who first visited 
Egypt in the service of the Louvre. Tho great 
feature of the collection is the recent addition of 
gold ornaments discovered by accident at Gour- 
nou, (Thebes) by some boys, in ground un¬ 
marked by any tomb; the tine mummies upon 
which they were placed passed into the hands of 
the Pasha of Keneh, who was induced to part 
with them to the Viceroy’s museum. They were 
unwrapped, and more than twenty-five pounds’ 
weight of gold ornaments found upon them. 
Tho series of necklaces, with figures of jackals 
in gold, and tho golden bracelets, enriched by 
enamel colors, are extraordinary works of art, as 
well as of great intrinsic value; one of them is 
very remarkable, having the sacred hawk for its 
central ornament, holding tho emblem ot eternal 
lifo,—its surface is brilliantly colored in doisoftne 
enamels. A hatchet of gold, with a hunting 
scene embossed on the table; a mirror, with a 
heavy lotus-shaped handle of gold; and a large 
variety of minor decorations for the person crowd 
this unrivaled case of untiquitie 
ness once ran to such an 
York publishers agreed to dispense with them 
entirely, on account of the cost? Perhaps the 
practice is not quite so prevalent there as here, 
but since the first article was written, not less 
than three separate propositions have been made 
to the writer of this to introduce, unfairly, school 
books. 
Now the point first discussed was not so much 
the agent-:, as tho lack of back-bone in teachers, 
and we are sorry to find Justus trying to excuse 
the actions of these men, thus becoming, in a 
certaia sense, particeps ertminis. It is not that 
book agents aro so much worse than other agents. 
in themselves, but that the influence on our 
schools by means of these agencies is bad. The 
best progress of a school is of more moment 
than mere dollars and cents. It is of more im¬ 
portance to have the right books in schools, than 
the best clothes-wringer in the family, but some 
people can see no difference, and make their 
selections in the same way for both, generally on 
account of cheapness. In regard to recommend¬ 
ing books in the educational column, etc., that is 
just what we are contending for, i. e., that the 
teachers may judge, and not allow either them¬ 
selves, their patrons, nr school officers, to bo 
duped by agents. We affirm again, positively , 
that we think it wrong for a School Commis¬ 
sioner to be the agent of any set of books. It 
tends directly to tho introduction of liooks, not 
on account of real merit, but interest, and an 
office of this kind should not be so used. Justus 
tells us wlmt the “ two great drawbacks on our 
schools are," viz; lack of competent teachers, 
and want of confidence in the integrity of school 
officers. Very likely in the latter case the sup¬ 
ply anil demand balance, as in other things, 
Teachers do find it difficult to have confidence in 
the integrity of some officers, for the good reason 
GYMNASTICS, 
He shuts the case¬ 
ment because it admits cold; ho shuts the stove 
damper because it allows the escape of heat.— 
How is his house to catch its breath with mouth 
and nostrils close? Mamma folds her sleeping 
little ones in blankets, and tucks them into their 
close cribs with impenetrable Marseilles, of a 
texture lit for a balloon; if the chicks are timid 
they draw the white drapery over their heads, 
shutting out any quantity of bugbears, but. shut¬ 
ting in a veritable nightmare of exhausted and 
poisonous air. Warmth is essential to comfort, 
but pure air and rich blood are tho healthiest 
healers known. Tho earth itself floats in an air 
bath forty-five miles in length. The soil must, 
breathe or It will not bear. Not only must the 
plough let in the air from above, but a porous 
subsoil or frequent drains must give il an exit 
from beneath, or you win only grudging gifts 
from the smothered soil. Choose a flower vase 
of wedgewood ware, and without an opening at 
the bottom, and the rose folds Its green calyx in 
despair about its stifled buds. Nay, let tho pores 
in the stems and leaves become choked with 
dust, and the plant dwindles and dies of voice¬ 
less vegetable catarrh. The ocean breathes in 
the trade-winds and laughs in the shout of the 
tempest. Iks slow beating pulses are the tides; 
mountain billows are tho heaving of its lungs. 
The kiss of the breeze gives it health and purity; 
both are strangled by the leading weight of a 
breathless calm, and 
"Slimy Uiings'do crawl with legs 
Upon tho slimy sen." 
Since then our life is but a breath, let it at 
least be strong and pure, and let us not attempt 
the futile experiment of seeking it in exhausted 
receivers .—Springfield Republican. : 
In France, gymnastics are becoming a national 
institution, and in the Government normal 
schools regular degrees are given to professors 
in this art. One of the most celebrated gymna¬ 
siums in Baris, for persons of both sexes, is that 
of M. Thevelin, whose school is attended by 
young ladies of tho first distinction iu Paris. In 
this respect, indeed, the French seem to under¬ 
stand the maxim put forth by their Government, 
viz.: that, to improve their breed of horseflesh it 
is necessary to look after the darn us well as tho 
sire—far better as regards the regeneration de 
rhomme than that of the horse, md young ladies 
are now, almost without exception, put through a 
course of gymnastics. Thevelin stauds first iu 
this class of instruction, and signs himself gym- 
riaaiarch of the first rank by regular diploma of 
the Government Eoolo Normalo. His bust, 
arms, &c., have been drawn by every artist and 
sculptor of Baris, and exhibit, certainly, a most 
extraordinary development of muscular power. 
One day, in his school, tho celebrated surgeon, 
Nelatin — he who extracted the ball from the 
ankle of Garibaldi—was examining his foot. 
Nelatin’s admiration knew no bounds, and he 
pronounced the member to be the most admira¬ 
bly developed specimen of power and elasticity 
he had ever seen on a human body. Thevelin 
was a weak and almost puny child, and owes 
his present extraordinary powers of limb and 
coolness of head to the steady perseverance in 
the practice of gymnastics, combined with sober 
living. 
‘.s. ‘ Two small 
models ot funeral boats, with the rowers, all 
formed of silver, are even more precious in the 
eyes of the Egyptian student from thoir extreme 
rarity. The room is appropriately decorated, 
after the stylo of the tombs at Beni ltassan, and 
tho whole arrangement honorable to the Viceroy 
and his curator. 
JAPANESE ODDITIES. 
One great peculiarity of thej people is their 
mania for squatting; they seem to do everything 
in this position, aud even when a man is plow¬ 
ing in a hold he looks as if he wanted to squat. 
Their habits in many things seem to bo so often 
the opposite of ours, that it almost resolves itself 
into a rule that everything goes by contraries. 
When they cook a goose, instead of putting tho 
gooso on tho fire they put the fire on the goose, 
thus making ft great savingjof fuel. In planing 
or sawing a board, they plane or saw toward 
themselves instead of from themselves. When 
you go into a house, instead of taking off your hat 
you take off your shoes. 
Instead of saying John Smith they would say 
Smith John, and instead of Mr. Brown, Brown 
Mister. Tliecountty is rich in vegetable produc¬ 
tions. They have carried the art of making 
paper to great perfection. Dr. McGowan showed 
me an overcoat made of paper, perfectly strong 
and serviceable. In this country we have paper 
collars, but in Japan they go further and have 
paper handkerchiefs, which are very beautiful 
and soft, and of very fine texture. But they are 
more delicate than we in ona'respect. After they 
have used a handkerchief they throw it away, 
and arc thus saved the trouble of a washerwoman. 
They even weave their paper, and make what 
may Ixj called paper cloth of it. 
LINNA'.US AS HE TRAVELED IN I.Al’LAND. 
Celsius, the Professor of Divinity, himself a 
botanist, discovered Linnacus ouo day in the 
academical garden intently examining a plant, 
and, entering into conversation with the poor 
student, surprise followed surprise a 3 the extent 
of his knowledge revealed itself, nc led Ljn- 
nasus to Rudbeck, the Professor of Botany, who 
took him into his house as tutor to his children, 
and ulluweil him to lecture as his deputy. In 
the quiet of Ruuiikck’h library Lrx.\i«us first 
conceived those schemes of classification by 
which he was to revolutionize botanical science. 
On the 12th of May, 1732, he set forth on his 
celebrated journey to Lapland. Alone, aorae- 
EARNESTNES8 
Like all the virtues, earnestness is sometimes 
a natural trait, and sometimes one acquired by the 
healthy graft of moral and religions principle. 
ENGLISH PHLEGM. 
It is a positive essential in the structure of char¬ 
acter; it is one of the main instruments in all 
action that Is to benefit others. It gives persisten¬ 
cy to the unstable, strength to the feeble, ability 
and skill to the inefficient, and success to all en¬ 
deavor. There is a might in it that is magical to 
the vacillating aud irresolute. Iks possessors are 
those who stood in the front ranks of lifo from 
the school-room to the Ibrum; from the child with 
iks first “reward of merit," to the matron who 
presides over the well-ordered household, and 
gives her blessing to well-trained sonB and daugh¬ 
ters, as they leave their mother’s home for lives 
of usefulness in wider spheres. 
Earnestness, also, like other noble qualities, is 
always making greater gains than it aims at. 
There is not only the purpose accomplished, but 
the strength, the skill, and the distance already 
overcome, that will make the next aim loftier, 
and more arduous in its accomplishment Thus 
there is, naturally and necessarily, the attainment 
of frosli and more inspiringolevaiion, The pros¬ 
pect widens, the objects to lie achieved multiply 
in number and importance, the consciousness of 
the one performance brightens the eye, and stead¬ 
ies the hand, and insures the uncertain step, till 
success is gained again .—Springs of Action. 
Create a taste in youth for good books, and 
the pleasures of literature will supply the place 
of those grosser pleasures that lead astray the un¬ 
thinking. It is the will made strong by cultiva¬ 
tion that enables a man to resist the cravings of 
those appetites whos" indulgence brings death. 
The ignorant man must of necessity be a man of 
narrow views and strong prejudices; and even in 
questions which involve great moral principles 
he is quite as likely to be wrong as righk The 
safe man in society is tho inan who is competent 
to do bis own thinking. 
AnouT Feet.— The French foot is meager, 
narrow and bony. The Spanish foot is small 
and elegantly curved, thanks to its Moorish 
blood corresponding with the Castilian pride,— 
“ high iu tho instep.” The Arab foot Is pro¬ 
verbial for its high arch; “a stream can run 
under the hollow of his foot,” is a description of 
iks form. The loot of the Scotch is large and 
thick. The foot of the Irish is flat and square. 
The English foot, is short and fleshy. The Ameri¬ 
can foot Is apt to Is* disproportionately small. 
Sblf-resekot is tho ballast of onr life-ship. 
Without it, let tho craft be what she will, she 
is but a fine sea-coffin at the best. 
If we only kuow it, our retreats are ofteD our 
best and wisest advances. 
