Pestalozzi then promises to give a yearly account of the progress of his work, and asks to have it inspected, so that no money may be given unless his promises are found to have been faithfully performed. He then mentions a few names of prominent men who have already expressed approval of his plan, and are prepared to give the necessary information to any who desire it. The appeal closes with these words:

"Friends of humanity, notwithstanding all my mistakes and the injury I have done myself by my precipitation, will you still give me your confidence, and support an undertaking which, though it is beset with dangers, is likely to have the happiest results, my past errors having taught me many lessons.

"Neuhof, Koenigsfelden, December 9th, 1775,

"J. H. PESTALOZ." 1

Amongst the men of talent and influence who approved of the enterprise, none supported it with more zeal than Iselin, of Basle, the editor of the Ephemerides, a high-souled and noble-minded man of whom his country should be proud. Soon after Pestalozzi's appeal had been made public, Iselin made the following announcement in his paper:

"We are happy to state that Mr. Pestaloz has not appealed for help in vain. The Council of Commerce of the Berne Republic, together with many private individuals, have promised to support him, so that there is a reasonable hope of his work being continued. In further explanation of his views, we hope shortly to publish some letters from Mr. Pestaloz, in which will be found many excellent ideas on the rural education of poor children."

The letters thus announced by Iselin, together with notices of the establishment at Neuhof and evidence as to its working, were collected from the Ephemerides, and published by Seyffarth in his complete edition of Pestalozzi's works (vol. viii.). These various documents throw a new light on this attempt to regenerate the working classes, regeneration no

1 Pestalozzi's family often signed Pestaloz or Pestaluz, probably to give their Italian name a termination more in keeping with the language of Zurich.

less needed in many countries to-day. As their length unfortunately does not allow us to give them in full, a short summary must suffice.

First letter to N. E. T. (Undated.)

Pestalozzi points out that the defect of ordinary institutions for the education of poor children is that the children are not brought up consistently with the position that they will probably occupy in after life; they contract habits which they will afterwards have to give up; they do not learn to be satisfied with merely having their most pressing wants supplied; they form no habits of steady application or frugality, because they know that whatever they may do, they cannot want for anything.

Second letter, to the same, January 10th, 1777.

Poor children must be brought up in private establishments where agriculture and industry are combined, and where the living is of the very simplest; they must learn to work steadily and carefully with their hands, the chief part of their time being devoted to this manual work, and their instruction and education being associated with it.

The work of the children must pay for their keep; in this way they will be working for themselves, and their style of living will depend on the success of their work.

But is it possible for children's work to pay for their keep, and if So, under what conditions? Pestalozzi examines this question with the greatest care.

He supposes an establishment receiving children at the age of eight or nine years and keeping them for six years. The first year he would admit twenty-five, the second fifteen, the third fifteen, and so on each year till the total number of a hundred pupils was reached. Then he calculates for each year, on the one hand, the earnings of each child at cottonspinning according to his age, on the other, the expenses of the establishment, and from this calculation it results that after the sixth year the establishment would have paid all its expenses and would be making a clear profit.

Pestalozzi then goes on to say that in his district, agriculture alone will not support all the inhabitants, and has to be supplemented by some form of industry, adapted to the particular conditions of the place. As to agriculture, very

expensive operations are, of course, not possible for the poor; all they can hope for is to have a small piece of land to culti vate, the produce of which will provide for their household wants, and perhaps leave them something to sell. He therefore teaches his children hardly anything but the cultivation of vegetables, in which he finds that they take a great interest; afterwards, having seen how much can be got out of the land by steady and intelligent labour, they will be eager to have some of their own.

Pestalozzi then comes to the religious question. We will here give his own words:

"What a terrible responsibility for the director, who, should he let the children forget their God, their Father, their Saviour, or fail to implant in them the faith in God's revelation, which is our only support in trouble and the hope of the eternal life to which we are called, will surely be made to account for his neglect of these young souls! The director should be, as it were, a father to the children; their progress in application and in wisdom should cause him a father's joy; the daily improvement in their powers, their minds and hearts should raise his own character, and so be his reward; if this were not so, the work would not be worth his trouble and would profit him nothing."

Third letter, to the same.

Neuhof, March 19th, 1777. Pestalozzi here gives an account of the results of his experiment for the past three years; from which he concludes that success in his enterprise is not at all impossible. For instance, it is possible to make the work of the children pay for their maintenance; for the amount both of earnings and expenses has entirely justified his calculations.

It is possible to encourage their growth and keep them strong and well on a very plain and inexpensive diet, for they eat hardly anything but vegetable food; and though they work hard, they are very robust; the strongest go about in summer bareheaded and without shoes or stockings. (Jacobli, the director's only son, is treated in the same way.)

It is possible in a very short time not only to make them moderately good workers, but at the same time to teach them all that it is most necessary for them to know.

But there have been unforeseen difficulties:

1st. There are some children so accustomed to a vagrant life that they cannot be induced to give it up.

2nd. There are some parents so ungrateful and unnatural that they will sacrifice the welfare and future of their children for the smallest immediate advantage; they come to Neuhof and entice them away the very moment they see that they are clean, in good health, well clothed, and in a position to earn something.

The past year has been a hard one for the establishment; Mrs. Pestalozzi has been seriously ill nearly the whole time. In spite of the greatest attention to cleanliness, several children have suffered from an infectious skin disease. There have also been twenty-four cases of measles in the house, all ending happily, however.. Finally the crops have suffered three times from hail storms.

But Pestalozzi is not discouraged; he will never forsake the work, nor will his wife. But he thinks it can never prosper, or meet with complete success, unless, by formal agreements with the parents and by the help of the authorities, it is made impossible for any child to be taken away from the establishment before his full time is up.

A few words on the most degraded portion of humanity. An appeal to the charitable to come to its assistance.

Neuhof, September 18th, 1777.

In this paper Pestalozzi gives a detailed account of a dozen of these poor children. They came to him in a state of such degradation as to excite almost as much fear as compassion; they seemed absolutely incapable of doing anything but harm either to society, their families, or themselves.

Many of them, however, were very intelligent, and nearly all have improved very much already, and are beginning to work well enough to earn their own living. Judging from his experience, Pestalozzi thinks that even the weakest and most feeble-minded ones may be saved.

But the director must be a father to them, no other relationship being really efficacious and salutary in this sort of education.

The children must remain in the establishment five or six years, and must be kept from the influence of their real

parents, whenever such influence is unmistakably pernicious. Pestalozzi has now thirty-six children in his house; this number will be increased next spring, and the financial position of the establishment will be thereby improved.

Educational Establishment for poor children at Neuhof, in Aargau. (Undated.)

This is a report addressed by Pestalozzi to the supporters of his undertaking, in which he explains his plans and the difficulties that are still to be overcome, and begs them to continue their support, and to have the establishment inspected by competent persons.

The household numbers fifty, including the masters, workmen, and servants necessary for the proper education and training of the children and the proper cultivation of the land.

The experience gained at Neuhof shows clearly that it is absolutely necessary to attach some conditions to the admission of pupils, and Pestalozzi feels compelled to say that in future he will receive no child without a formal agreement with the parents. Town children he will not admit at all, unless very young, for they are a constant source of trouble. Pestalozzi ends by repeating his determination to devote himself entirely to this work.

Then follows a statement by the Berne Agricultural Society, in which the Society declares that, having had the establishment at Neuhof examined by well-known and competent men, it has every confidence that Pestalozzi will make it succeed, and is glad to be able to commend it to the attention of the public.

Then comes a note by Iselin, who corroborates the Society's statement, and offers to receive any donations for the Neuhof establishment, and forward them to Pestalozzi.

Authentic account of Mr. Pestalozzi's Educational Establishment for poor children at Neuhof, near Birr, in the year 1778.

This was a pamphlet published by the before-mentioned Society, containing first a preface by the Society, which is almost word for word the same as the statement we have just summarized, and then an account by Pestalozzi himself, signed "J. H Pestalozze, Neuhof, February 26th, 1778.”