APRIL DAYS 
DV AUQUA 
Brightly shines the sun to-day, 
Sonptot birds is wildly sweet. 
Meadow brooklets on their way 
Spurn the banks with tlyin« feet; 
Sweet new bounties everywhere 
Rise to meet our touch.I naze, 
For the earth is fresh and fair 
In these golden April days. 
Sweetly, peacefully the dead 
Sleep beneath the springing grass, 
Ne’er to waken at the tread 
Of the busy feel that pass; 
Not to know the bloom or fall 
Of the blossoms by their side. 
Nor lo heed the robin’s call 
At the dreamy eventide. 
OUR NORMAL SCHOOLS, 
The Normal and Training Schools of 
this Stale are important and valuable ad¬ 
juncts of our Common School System, and 
a just source of pride to the people. Five of 
these institutions — located respectively at 
Oswego, Brockporl, Cortland, Potsdam, and 
Fredonia —tire now in successful operation, 
each having a tine building and an able fac¬ 
ulty, Two others—the Wads worth Normal 
and Training School, at, (tCiicsoo, and the 
Buffalo Normal School, incorporated respect¬ 
ively in 1867 and 1866—have buildings in 
process of erection, and will ere long he or¬ 
ganized and opened. 
Dr. S. S. Randall’s “History of the Com¬ 
mon School System of the State of New 
York,"* contains a brief account, of tho five 
Schools already organized and in the “ full 
tide of successful operation," together with 
an illustration showing the elevation of each 
building. To the publishers of this excel¬ 
lent work we arc indebted for the accompa¬ 
nying engraving of the 
Fit don in Normal mxl Traiiiiutr School. 
Of the Fredonia School Dr. Randall 
says:—By an act of the Legislature, passed 
February 16, 1860, the entire management, 
of this School, originally organized in Feb¬ 
ruary, 1868, was, in consequence of some in¬ 
ternal troubles, devolved upon the Slate 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, who 
appointed Dr, J. IV. Armstrong of the 
Oswego Normal School, Principal, with a 
competent body of professors and teachers, 
and the school was re-opened in September, 
1800. The whole number of pupils in at¬ 
tendance in the Normal, Academic, Inter¬ 
mediate and Junior Departments is about 
six hundred. 
“ The building," says the Superintendent, 
“ is au elegant and substantial brick struc¬ 
ture, conveniently located, three stories high, 
and affording accommodation for about 600 
day scholars and 125 hoarders. Including 
the site, furniture and other required provis¬ 
ions, it cost the village of Fredonia about 
$100,000." Its location is “in one of the 
pleasantest villages of the State, in the midst 
of a cultivated and appreciative community.” 
*A luirulsome volume of nearly live hundred Svo. 
pages, Just published by Ivison, Blakkman, Tay¬ 
lor & Co. of New York. 
Dry, doad Iorvom til quiet lie. 
Where the grille* o’er them grow, 
Sailing clouds across tho sky 
Sailing shadows oast below ; 
Distant hills in groenness rise. 
Wearing faintest veil of haze. 
Clearly lined against the skies 
Of these glowing April days. 
tones for 
vessel. A pitcher of water, under such cir¬ 
cumstances, is vulgarly said to “ sweat.” 
“ 2. Why is there no (lew on a dull , cloudy 
nightf ” (jn such a night the clouds are 
low, and llmir lower surfaces turn back the 
rays of boat as they radiate, or pass off from 
the earth, and prevent their dispersion into 
space; the surface of the earth is not, there¬ 
fore, cooled down sufficiently to chill the 
vapor of the air into dew. 
“3. Why in there no dew on a windy n iyh t?" 
Because the wind is constantly bringing 
warm air into contact with solid bodies, and 
tirevenis their changing their temperature. 
“ 4. Why does a violin string give a musical 
sound V ’ The vibrations of the string cause 
tho sound. 
“5. What is the cause of echo?" An echo 
is a repetition of sound caused by relleclions 
of the sound waves. 
“ 6. Why do not birds full down in sleeping 
on their perch, ?' ’ Because the ecu ter of grav i- 
ty is kept in such a position that the line of 
direction falls witldn the liiiyts of the base. 
Another reason is—when a bird sett les down 
to rest, the muscles contract in such a man¬ 
ner as to fasten the bird’s feet to the thing 
on which it is perched. 
Frank TV. Bowen. 
Jamestown, Chaut. Co., N. Y. 
doubt the best history of Greece that has yet 
appeared. 
Harriet Maiitineau has written and 
published over three hundred books and 
pamphlets, one-third of the number since 
her fiftieth year. 
It is reported that Emile de Girardin, 
the great Parisian editor, intends to come to 
America. Girardin writes English almost 
as well as he does French. 
Louis Blanc, tho French historian and 
politician, has nearly finished a history of 
England, in seven volumes, which will be 
published this fall simultaneously in French 
and in English. 
George Augustus Sala, the well-known 
London journalist, is the sou of an Italian 
lyric artist who sang the part of tho heroine 
in “ The Barber of Seville,’’ on its first 
representation in Rome. 
11 arte It’a Magazine for May will contain 
an interesting account of “ Punch and Judy," 
with “The Tragical Comedy or Comical 
Tragedy," as played in England, illustrated 
by CruLksbftuk. 
Marion Evans (George Eliot.) iB mentioned 
by a London correspondent as one of the 
most interesting and captivating of English 
women, entirely free from dogmatism, ego¬ 
tism, or pretension of any kind. 
London has 316 newspapers, of which 21 
are daily; 216 arc weeklies, 100 of which 
are issued on Saturday, and only one on 
Sunday. It has also 483 periodical publica¬ 
tions, such as magazines, reviews, &c. 
Fiie Leonard Scott Publishing Company 
have made arrangements to supply the place 
of The North British lie,view, which lias re¬ 
cently been discontinued, by The, British 
Quarterly , an able and popular review. 
Rumor says Jambs T. Fields intends to 
dissolve his editorial connection with The 
Atlantic with the Juno number of the maga- 
zinc; and that, Wm. D. Howells, long his 
assistant, will succeed Mr. Fields as editor. 
'I he May Atlantic will liavo poems by 
Longfellow and “tho Cape Ann Bard," 
Hiram Rich; the concluding installment of 
Mr. Field’s talks about Hawthorne, and 
a chatty paper, “ Bubbles from an Ancient 
Pipe." 
Liptincott’s “ Dictionary of Biography 
and Mythology,” which has been publishing 
towns—everybody knows every one else’s 
business, and a wedding is a “ nine days’ 
wonder.” Each bride-elect must have a 
sewing woman in the house for weeks, 
manufacturing garments by the dozen, 
(enough to last a lifetime, it there was any 
wear in them, which there isn’t;) these are 
placed on private exhibition, and happy the 
girl Who can muster the greatest number. 
And the fuss and feathers, “vanities and 
vexation of spirit” that it takes to get her 
finally married, is enough to appall one. 
Now, Meg thought all this very foolish, 
and said, aside from tho trouble and ex¬ 
pense, she could never endure to have her 
private affairs so dragged out to public view. 
Bo when John Ware asked her to “ double 
his joys and divide his sorrows,” she begun 
to consider how she could best prove herself 
consistent, for she had expressed herself 
pretty freely on the subject, and people bail 
said, “ Wait till your time comes, and see if 
you won’t want, to lie married alter the most 
approved fashion.’’ Bo, aside from her no¬ 
tions of common sense and economy, she 
bail the fear of ridicule and the exasperating 
“ I told you so,” to keep her to her purpose. 
And, last but not least, the fun of getting the 
start of the gossips presented strong induce¬ 
ments to our mischievous Meg. 
John readily agreed toiler plans. “It 
didn’t matter to him," he said, “ liow it was 
done, provided the knot, was tied good and 
strong, and the word ‘obey’ wasn’t omitted.” 
Her brother Dick declared she was a 
“trump,” and lie was glad there was some 
sense left among the women. I, of course, 
sided with Meg; but sister Sarah entered a 
protest—“ It would look so strange, and Jo- 
LITERARY AND JOURNALISTIC, 
PHYSICAL TRAINING IN SCHOOLS. 
There ought to be more attention given to 
Physical Training in our Common Schools, 
as it is quite as essential, in many particu¬ 
lars, as mental cultivation. Exercise which 
makes our children hold up their heads, 
stand firmly and uprightly, breathe more 
freely, and walk more gracefully, should be 
as carefully studied as text-books. In Euro¬ 
pean countries great care is given to this 
subject, and we have no more striking illus¬ 
tration or its value than the melancholy les¬ 
son of the late war between Prussia and 
France. The German system of education 
is thorough in this respect, every child being 
trained in drill as a part of the school curric¬ 
ulum. So iu Switzerland; from a popula¬ 
tion of two millions and a half, that country 
can place in the field iu a fortnight a well- 
appointed army of 200,000 men. As soon 
as a Swiss child is six years of age he enters 
upon a course of drill which is continuous 
and progressive through his school life. 
This is a matter worthy the attention and 
action of both teachers and parents. Men¬ 
tal culture is all-important, but should be 
accompanied by proper physical exercise. 
The true course is to develops and expand 
both mind and body together. Parents 
should remember the importance of physical 
training—its influence in securing health 
and longevity, and the consequent proba¬ 
bility of success in life—in selecting teach¬ 
ers and schools for their children. Every 
school should have its play ground or gym¬ 
nasium, and especially those in towns, where 
the pupils (whether boarders or day schol¬ 
ars) require regular exercise and recrea¬ 
tion. A sound mind in a sound body—nien- 
WHAT TO READ. 
[A new contributor sends the Rural 
New-Yorker an article “ On Reading,” 
which contains some excellent suggestions, 
but we have only space for his concluding 
paragraph, as follows:] 
Lv deciding upon a course of general read¬ 
ing, select first the Bible, as the most im¬ 
portant and excellent among books. Read 
it studiously, with one of the many good 
commentaries at your elbow—not to lean 
your judgment upon implicitly, but to assist 
yon in gaining a clear conception of wluit 
you read. It is to be Supposed that the 
commentator, having devoted years to the 
special study of Biblical literature, geogra¬ 
phy, manners and customs, is able lo render 
you much valuable assistance. There is no 
other book that cun so improve and elevate 
every faculty of heart and mind as the Bible, 
if it, is read carefully, and in a teachable 
spirit. Having sharpened your sense of dis¬ 
cernment between good and evil—the true 
and pure, and t he false and impure—by close 
association with this judge of books and 
men, you will be able to select for yourself, 
at a glance, such works of History’ Biogra¬ 
phy, Travel, Poetry and Fiction, as will 
in pans, is uo\y completed, ana appears in 
two handsome imperial octavo volumes. 
Tiiis dictionary is very comprehensive in its 
range. 
Messrs. Longmans have in press a work 
hy Mr. J. Murray-Graham, entitled an 
“ Historical View of Literature and Art in 
Great Britain, from the Accession of the 
House of Hanover to the Reign of Queen 
Victoria.” 
The Indiana Editorial Association will 
meet at, Indianapolis on Thursday and Fri¬ 
day, May 18th and 10th, 1871. Among the 
questions for discussion are “The Person¬ 
alties of Journalism,” and “ The Uses and 
Abuses of Advertising,” 
Jacob Abbott, the veteran and popular 
writer for the young, has prepared a work 
which tells the boys and girls all about 
“ Heat. A pleasant story of adventure 
runs through the book, which is finely 
illustrated and published by the Harpers. 
The New York Tribune has celebrated 
its thirtieth birthday. When its first num¬ 
ber was issued, April to, 1841, its entire 
working force, including editors, reporters, 
printers, etc., did not exceed twenty men! 
Now each issue represents the labor of be¬ 
tween four and five hundred persons, and its 
receipts and expenses must be respectable. 
tend, and see for themselves how they are 
conducted—whether tho instructor is quali¬ 
fied to teach, and also to govern his pupils. 
If the teacher is all right, occasional visits 
will encourage him ami his pupils,— while, 
if lie is unfit for Ids profession, tho sooner it 
is discovered, and the proper remedy ap¬ 
plied, the better for those under his charge. 
Don’t depend too much upon trustees and 
teachers, but watch the schools and note the 
progress of your children. Many men, we 
;v o " r ,0 say, pay more attention to the train¬ 
ing oi their horses and cattle than they do to 
the education of their sons and daughters. 
QUESTIONS ANSWERED, 
On page 17, of the present volume of the 
Rural New-Yorker, I find some “ Ques¬ 
tions for Scholars to Answer,” which were 
proposed by Eugene Timerman. Now, 
Eugene, I am not much of a “ Scholar,”’ 
but will endeavor to answer your questions, 
basing my answers upon tbe theories m st 
generally received. 
1. What, is Bow ? ” Dew is the moisture of 
the air, condensed hy coming in contact with 
bodies colder than itself. Dew may be pro¬ 
duced at any time by bringing a vessel of cold 
water into a warm room, The sides of tbe 
vessel cool tbe surrounding atmosphere to 
such an extent that it can no longer retain 
all its vapor; dew, therefore, forms upon the 
Thinking and Acting. —Men are capa¬ 
ble of greater tilings than they perform. 
They are sent into the world with bills of 
credit, and seldom draw to their full extent. 
