that if he knew a little of good hard work, he would know a little of everything.

The reader will by this time begin to suspect that I am an educational Tory after all, even a reactionary Tory. This I deny, but I am probably not free from those prejudices which beset Englishmen, especially Cambridge men and schoolmasters, and I confess I look with dismay on the effort which is being made to introduce a large number of subjects into our schoolcourse, and set up knowledge rather than power as the goal of education.*

But cannot these be combined? May we not teach such subjects as shall give useful knowledge and power too? On this point the philosopher and the schoolmaster are at issue. The philosopher says, It is desirable that we should have the knowledge of such and such sciences-therefore teach them. The schoolmaster says, It may be desirable to know those sciences, but boys cannot learn them. The knowledge acquired by boys will never be very valuable in itself. We must, therefore, consider it a means rather than an end. We must think first of mental dicipline; for this boys must thoroughly master what they learn, and this thoroughness absolutely requires that the young mind should be

* In this matter the testimony of Lord Stanley is very valuable. 'If teaching is, as I believe, better on the whole in the higher than in the lower classes [of society] it is chiefly on this account-not that more is taught at an early age, but less; that time is taken, that the wall is not run up in haste; that the bricks are set on carefully, and the mortar allowed time to dry. And so the structure, whether high or low, is likely to stand.' (From a Speech reported in the Evening Mail, December 9, 1864.)

applied to very few subjects; and, though we are quite ready to discuss which subjects afford the best mental training, we cannot allow classics to be thrust out till some other subjects have been proved worthy to reign in their stead.

Unless I am mistaken, the true ground of complaint against the established education is, that it fails to give, not knowledge, but the desire of knowledge. A literary education which leaves no love of reading behind, cannot be considered entirely successful.

As I have said elsewhere, I would admit a natural science into the curriculum in order to give the mind. some training in scientific processes, and some interest in scientific truth. I would also endeavour to cultivate a fondness for English literature* and the fine arts; but, whatever the subject taught, I consider that, for educational purposes, the power and the desire to acquire knowledge, are to be valued far before knowledge itself.

How does this conclusion bear upon the matter I set out with, the function of memory in education?

Classicists, scientific men, and all others, are agreed about the value of memory, and must therefore desire that its powers should not be squandered on the learning of facts which, for want of repetition, will be soon lost, or facts which will prove of little value if retained. But in estimating facts, we must think rather of their educational value than of their bearing upon after-life. We must make the memory a storehouse

* The claims of English literature in education have been urged by Professor Seeley with a force which seems to me irresistible. (See Macmillan's Magazine for November 1867.)

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of such facts as are good material for the other powers of the mind to work with, and, that the facts may serve this purpose, they must be such as the mind can thoroughly grasp and handle, and such as may be connected together. To instruct,' as Mr. Payne reminds us, is instruere, 'to put together in order, to build or construct.' We must be careful, then, not to cram the mind with isolated, or as Mr. Spencer calls them, unorganisable facts-such facts, e.g. as are taught to young ladies.*

A great deal of our children's memory is wasted in storing facts of this kind, which can never form part of any organism. We do not teach them geography (earth-knowledge, as the Germans call it), but the names of places. Our history' is a similar, though disconnected study. We leave our children ignorant of the land, but insist on their getting up the ‘landmarks.' And, perhaps, from a latent perception of

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*I do not pretend myself to have fathomed the mystery of what is taught to young ladies, but I follow the best authorities on the subject. 'I cannot remember the time," said Maria Bertram, "when I did not know a great deal that Fanny has not the least notion of yet. How long ago is it, aunt, since we used to repeat the chronological order of the kings of England, with the dates of their accession, and most of the principal events of their reigns?" "Yes," added Julia, "and of the Roman emperors as low as Severus, besides a great deal of the heathen mythology, and all the metals, semi-metals, planets, and distinguished philosophers." "Very true, indeed, my dears,” replied their aunt, “but you are blessed with wonderful memories. . . . Remember that if you are ever so forward and clever yourselves, you should always be modest; for, much as you know already, there is a great deal more for you to learn." " Yes, I know there is," said Julia, "till I am seventeen." (Miss Austen's Mansfield Park.) And, fortunately for the human race, the knowledge vanishes away as soon as that grand climacteric is passed, though perhaps we must regret that often nothing but sheer vacuity is left in its place.

ADVANTAGES OF THOROUGH KNOWLEDGE.

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the uselessness of such work, neither teachers nor scholars ever think of these things as learnt to be remembered. Latin grammar is gone through again and again, and a boy feels that the sooner he gets it into his head, the better it will be for him; but who expects that the lists of geographical and historical names which are learnt one half-year, will be remembered the next? I have seen it asserted, that when a boy leaves school, he has already forgotten nine-tenths of what he has been taught, and I dare say that estimate is quite within the mark.

By adopting the principles of Jacotot, we shall avoid a great deal of this waste. We shall give some thorough knowledge, with which fresh knowledge may be connected.

Perfect familiarity with a subject is something beyond the mere understanding it, and being able, with difficulty, to reproduce what we have learned. A Cambridge man, getting up book-work for the tripos, does not indeed attempt to learn it by heart, without understanding it; but when his mind has thoroughly mastered the steps of the reasoning, he goes over it again and again, till he uses, in fact, hardly any faculty but his memory in writing it out. If he has to think during the operation, he considers that piece of book-work not properly got up.* By

* As an instance of the use of memory in mathematics, and also of the power acquired by perfect attainment, I may mention a case which came under my own observation. A 'three days' man, not by any means remarkable for mathematical ability, had got up the book-work of his subjects very exactly, but had never done a problem. In the three days' problem paper, to his no small surprise, he got out several of them. A friend who was afterwards a good wrangler, ventured to doubt his having

thus going over the same thing again and again, we acquire a thorough command over our knowledge, and the feeling perfectly at home, even within narrow borders, gives a consciousness of strength. An old adage tells us that the Jack-of-all-trades is master of none; but the master of one trade will have no difficulty in extending his insight and capacity beyond it. To use an illustration, which is of course an illustration merely, I would kindle knowledge in children, like fire in a grate. A stupid servant, with a small quantity of wood, spreads it over the whole grate. It blazes away, goes out, and is simply wasted. Another, who is wiser or more experienced, kindles the whole of the wood at one spot, and the fire, thus concentrated, extends in all directions. Thus would I concentrate the beginnings of knowledge, and although I could not expect to make much show for a time, I should trust that afterwards the fire would extend, almost of its own accord.

I proceed to give Jacotot's directions for carrying out the rule, ‘Il faut apprendre quelque chose, et y rapporter tout le reste.'

1. LEARN-i.e. learn so as to know thoroughly, perfectly, immovably (imperturbablement), as well six months or twelve months hence, as now-SOMETHING

done a particular problem. 'It came out very easily,' said the three days man, from such and such a formula.' 'You are right,' said the wrangler; ‘I worked it out in a much more clumsy way myself. I never thought of that formula. I may mention here a fact which, whether it is à propos or not, will be interesting to musicians. The late Professor Walmisley, of Cambridge, told me that when his godfather Attwood was Mozart's pupil, Mozart always had Bach's Forty-eight Preludes and Fugues on his piano, and hardly played anything else.