to deduce, by a regular chain of reasoning, those formulas by which technical knowledge may commodiously be taught to numbers. The uncouth terms of logic, and the crabbed rules of grammar, are founded upon principles that are not beyond the capacities of children. The impatience of youth submits to labour, the end and use of which is explained, though even imperfectly explained to them. Taught by reason, they become reasonable: under the continued slavery of unintelligible dogmas, they lose in understanding what they acquire in words. Hence the disgust which the first rudiments of Latin usually inspire. Happy the children whose parents or preceptors have taught them in a few hours of their early years the simple easy explanation of the eight tremendous parts of speech! After the principles of universal grammar have been thus taught, Latin grammar will be learned so much more readily than when it is learned without any previous explanation, that the time which seems to have been lost will really be gained. People are sometimes surprised at the difference between children who have been well and ill taught, and they do not know exactly in what that difference consists; they observe that some children do not spend so many hours of the day at their books as others do, therefore it cannot be merely from hard labour, that they acquire their facility; they seemed perhaps rather backwarder in learning than

others of their age, and yet suddenly they spring forward and surpass their competitors. The difference consists in this; the successful pupils learned the first principles of knowledge clearly; the others were taught only by rote. Those were taught to reflect and understand; these merely to repeat and remember. The repeaters made a greater figure at first, because they had words put into their mouths; but, as there was no source of thoughts, the words soon ceased to flow.

In these initiatory schools where there are few pupils, and where the preceptor's attention may be directed to each individual, as well as to the good of the whole, it would be as easy as in a large private family to continue to direct professional education. In conversation or in reading, subjects which might exercise young lawyers in their powers of recollective and retentive memory might be introduced, without rendering pupils disputatious. Experiments in chemistry, and some knowledge of natural history, would be useful, not only to the young physician, but to pupils of every description: and without difficulty they might acquire some knowledge of botany and of anatomy. Children are not easily fatigued when their senses are actively employed; if they do not see too many objects at a time, they retain clear ideas, and thus their power of memory is cultivated,

whilst they advance in the knowledge both of things and names. In towns, and even in country places, whenever a sufficient number of these small schools are established, it would be worth while for a lecturer to attend successively by the week or month, to exhibit experiments with an apparatus, that need not be costly, and that would answer all the purposes of the most expensive instruments. Thus, preliminary lectures given quietly to a few pupils at once, when there is time and leisure to explain difficulties and answer questions, and to see and touch the subjects of experiment, will prepare young people to hear public lectures on natural history afterwards with advantage. The trials which have been made in some elementary schools, to introduce experiments in natural history, have proved, that these are peculiarly suited to the taste and capacities of children. But the very success of these trials, and the delight expressed by the pupils, alarmed some silly parents, who apprehended, that their children would never make any progress in the Latin grammar, if they were thus entertained with foolish experiments! And will it be believed, these sagacious parents threatened to take their children away from school, unless the pupils were again confined to their book-learning. All this folly arises from cowardice; but where a few examples of success in any new method have been

given, people will be enthusiastically or fashionably eager, to follow that, which they dare not be the first to try.

Not only the intellectual, but the moral education, the temper and habits of young people, might be as well conducted in such schools, as in a happy private family.

These improvements in initiatory seminaries will conduce.in the most certain and effectual manner to the improvement of those of a higher class. The principal defect in the present system of our great schools is, that they devote too large a portion of time to Latin and Greek. It is true, that the attainment of classical literature is highly desirable; but it should not, or rather it need not, be the exclusive object of boys during eight or nine years.

Much less time, judiciously managed, would give them an acquaintance with the classics sufficient for all useful purposes, and would make them as good scholars, as gentlemen or professional men need to be. It is not requisite, that every man should make Latin or Greek verses; therefore a knowledge of prosody beyond the structure of hexameter and pentameter verses is as worthless an acquisition, as any which folly or fashion has introduced amongst the higher classes of mankind. It must indeed be acknowledged, that there are some rare exceptions; but even party prejudice would allow, that the persons alluded to

F

must have risen to eminence though they had never written sapphics or iambics. Though preceptors, parents, and the publick in general, may be convinced of the absurdity of making boys spend so much of life in learning what can be of no use to them; such are the difficulties of making any change in the ancient rules of great establishments, that masters themselves, however reasonable, dare not, and cannot make sudden alterations.

The only remedies that can be suggested might be, perhaps, to take those boys, who are not intended for professions in which deep scholarship is necessary, away from school before they reach the highest classes, where prosody and Greek and Latin verses are required.

In the college of Dublin, where an admirable course of instruction has been long established, where this course is superintended by men of acknowledged learning and abilities, and pursued by students of uncommon industry, such is the force of example, and such the fear of appearing inferior in trifles to English universities, that much pains have been lately taken, to introduce the practice of writing Greek and Latin verses, and much solicitude has been shown about the prosody of the learned languages, without any attention being paid to the prosody of our own.

New schools, that are not restricted to any established routine, should give a fair trial to such