approval of those who are not accustomed to see much more in school than that somehow it helps a boy to "get on in the world." In presenting, therefore, the claims of manual training for a place in the school, it did not seem necessary - it was not good strategy to waste much time on its mere utility when everybody admitted it. It was of more consequence to point out those higher values that people are not inclined, at first, to associate with manual training at all.

Thus it was that I found myself early distinguishing between that training of the hand to a single process that exalts the automaton and that other training of the hand to diversified and progressive exercises that keeps the mind alert and does not let up. The workman's skill, made sure and easy by habit, means swifter and better production by him, and therefore more pay. Moreover, this storage of skill in the form of habit frees his mind for new acquisitions in his trade or new possibilities outside of it. Still, in a scheme of education, the pushing of a process until it goes on with precision without the intervention of will is hazardous in that, as its industrial value tends to increase, its educational value tends to reduce. Just here is where the factory educationally fails. It cares more for the process than for the boy. It wants a thing done in the cheapest, quickest, and best way possible. This means dividing the manufacture into a score of processes, to one of which it assigns the boy. When he can do his work with his eyes shut, as a woman her knitting, the factory's interest in him has culminated. If he forever remained a boy, doing his tiny fraction as a machine, nothing would suit the factory better. But how dwarfing and stupefying it all is,— the work-life plodding on through the dull years, unrelieved and dreary, the doer sacrificed to the monotonous thing he does! It means daily bread for the body, but how about life outside of the humdrum, the neglected areas of the brain, the daily bread of the soul? It is right here, in this unutilized realm of vast possibilities, that the manualtraining school leaves the factory as an educational agency hopelessly behind. The boy is now the supreme thing, not something to be made and sold. One process mastered in principle and fairly fixed in practice, the next is taken up, and the next, for, although it is surprising to how few typical tools and processes the endless operations of constructive industry can be reduced, there are many to be learned, and life is short. Always the thought is present that the intellectual value of processes is exhausted before commercial success therein is assured. And always there is active that best and most natural of all correlation - the application of scientific principle with its theoretical study, each reinforcing, illumining, and permanently fixing the other.

Thus I could not well avoid the conclusion that the trade school proper either has no place

in an ideal public school system, or, if a place, then only at the top. Like other highly specialized schools, it presupposes a basis of general training below. The doctrine of electives is abused when it permits any choice of studies to the exclusion of the foundations on which they rest. The trade school should not, therefore, precede the manual-training school, nor compete with it, nor serve as a substitute for it, but should follow it. In the last year of a high manual-training school, for instance, the pupils might legitimately specialize for the conquest of specific trades. The place of the trade school in philanthropy is a matter for separate consideration.

To sum up, the factory is intent on some finished product. It lets the boy slide as soon as he gets to contributing his mite to that product. The trade school takes up the boy himself and trains him to the various processes of a single occupation; it is intent on making him master of that occupation. The utility of the factory is here, and much beside.

The manual-training school generalizes numerous occupations. It trains the boy in their common elements. It is intent on making the most of the boy on his executive side as well as on his reflective. Doing without thinking, thinking without doing, the one soulless and mercenary, the other barren and profitlessthese are the Scylla and Charybdis on either of which one's education may go to wreck. Nature puts the doing and the thinking together; the manual-training school aims to keep them together. It has enough of the utility of the factory and the trade school to brighten the prospects of a livelihood, but in all else it rises immeasurably above them.

The distinctions we make between the real and the nominal, the true and the false, belong to the schools as to many things else. There are schools in reality and schools in name only, with all degrees between. We need a new word, some antonym for school, that shall properly name the worst type. I read in the "Popular Science Monthly » some years ago an article on the artificial production of stupidity in school. The product is a feasible and not uncommon one. Ever since its possibility dawned upon me it has been my bête noir as a teacher. The process has its philosophy, such as it is, best seen in the light of that opposite philosophy which underlies the natural production of intelligence.

Observe a well-taught manual-training class -a class of forty or fifty boys in woodworking, for instance, such as I have often seen in the Mechanic Arts High School of Boston, under Mr. Eddy. The model exercise has been given and explained. The boys follow it intently, for they are to reproduce it. Thereafter the teacher folds his arms while the boys saw and plane and chisel the lesson into the very substance of their being, doing it all in the most approved psychological way without knowing

it. Or if the teacher drops a word of caution here, shows the handling of a tool there, or brings out the reason of a process somewhere else, it is all done so quietly, easily, comfortably, that shallow on-lookers might query whether he is earning his salary or not. The fact is that he is more than earning it, because of his superb success with that highest of the teacher's functions - the vitally essential one of keeping all his pupils continuously and effectively at work.

The manual-training school, with its special equipment, lends itself happily to this result, but its philosophy is for every school, and for none more than the school for little children. The unequipped and barren schoolroom, bricks to be made without straw, the teacher impotent to make them if he had straw, fifty children with unharnessed energy running wild-here are conditions at the antipodes; it is a marvel that any school survives them. Horace Mann reported that when he began his supervision of the Massachusetts schools, some sixty years ago, from three hundred to four hundred schools a year were broken up-totally wrecked, out of sheer incapacity in their pilots. The same ratio would now give us fifteen hundred wrecks a year. Happily the days for total wrecks are over with us, thanks to improving views of the educative process.

I do not withhold from the traditional school my mite of tribute to its worth. I am deeply grateful for the good it did me as a pupil, and, in view of my experience in it as a teacher, not disposed to be unduly critical of its shortcomings. It has done, and is still doing, a work for the pupil and the State whose value cannot

easily be set too high. That it has done so well is due, in part, to the saving grace of the pupil's life of physical activity without the school and of the teacher's conviction that somehow that life of physical activity has high educative possibilities, of which use should be made within the school, if never so humble.

Still, it remains true that the traditional school is of too sedentary, bookish, and inert a type; that it works too exclusively on formsubjects, too little on thought-and-action provoking themes; that it is not sufficiently alive to the principle that the forms of things are externals merely, of value only as they clothe the substance of things, and that they are best dealt with when there are real thoughts and actions for them to be fitted to; that its discipline is too repressive; that it leaves out of view large tracts of the mind as if they were a wilderness of no present or prospective value; and that, if it recognizes the philosophy of learning by doing, it restricts it unduly to what the mind does through interior processes only, to the neglect of the larger executive nature.

I find myself impelled to think, as the outcome of my experience, that that is the best school whose conditions are most favorable for the exercise of the child's native activities; that that is the best teacher who is the most discreet guide of these activities, and these activities are at their best when they lead from play up to work, from instinct to reason, from interest to will, from reliance on others to reliance on self, from selfishness to altruism-in short, from one's lower, uneducated, natural self to one's higher, educated, ideal self.

W

HAT is the "best society »? Is it not that which lives the longest, and changes the least? Is it not the gathering together of the choice spirits of all ages? Is it not that which brings you into the company of the greatest variety of gifted men and women; which makes you free of the noblest and most illustrious that the world ever knew; which has the power of creating an undying friendship; which never loses its temper, whatever may be your humor; which never cold-shoulders you, however threadbare your coat; which never laughs at your ignorance behind its fan; which does not grumble when you are dull; which is never so taken up with some one bigger than you that it has no leisure for your company; which fills you with thoughts that make the dullest day bright, and the sunniest day happier; which gives a new pleasure to the commonest objects, and a new joy to the most familiar sounds; which lifts you up to the skies when the lark trills his song, and fills you with new gladness when the glories of the sunset flash upon you;

which helps to broaden your world and assists you to get more correct ideas of men, of affairs, and of life; which arouses your powers by putting you on your mettle; which stirs what is best in you, and helps you the more thoroughly to know your own mind; which knocks the conceit out of you; which lifts you, as long as you are in it, above the mere buying and selling, and getting gain, and gives you a taste of that which will outlast them all; which does not unfit you for your common work, but plies you with motives and examples to make that work, whatever it be, better, truer; which brings you nearer the fountain itself of heavenly radiance; in a word - which makes a man of you?

What is the best society? It is the best men and women at their best. If such be the best society, how may we enter it?

The first qualification is—a love of reading. This is the open door through which you pass to the best society the world ever had in it. "If the riches of both Indies," said Fénelon. "were laid at my feet, in exchange for my love of reading, I would spurn them all."

Ο

N THE 28th of May there will be a total eclipse of the sun which will be of immense value to scientists as well as of intense interest to many millions of people in less observant walks of life. The great value to scientists lies partly in the fact that the eclipse will be visible over a very large extent of the civilized world, and hence will be accessible to observation by professional men without the necessity of equipping costly expeditions to remote parts of the earth, and partly because their labors will be largely assisted by a corps of willing even if somewhat inexperienced observers throughout the country. While amateur astronomy may not have the same value as the observations of the trained watchers of the heavenly bodies who keep nightly vigil in observatories all over the world, yet the corroborative work of conscientious lovers of science and natural phenomena will be of immense assistance to the professional in clearing up points in doubt or dispute among the smaller but better equipped scientific class.

With a view to enlisting the aid of amateurs and rendering their work of the utmost utility, the Bureau of Equipment at Washington, by authority of the Secretary of the Navy, has issued a pamphlet on the subject of the eclipse, which gives full instructions for recording the various phenomena, as taking sketches of the corona by the naked, unaided eye; observing the moon's shadow bands; taking photographs of the corona; and taking telescopic observations.

The eclipse, which is caused by the interposition of the moon between the sun and the earth, will be visible in its totality along a track which commences at a point in the Pacific Ocean located in 17° 50′ north latitude, and 116° 38' west longitude, or near the apex of an angle, on a Mercator's projection of the world, described by a line drawn south from Cape San Lucas, Old California, and one drawn west from Iquique, Chili. Striking the west coast of Mexico between Tuxpan and Acaponeta, in the territory of Tepic, the path of totality passes diagonally across Mexico, leaving that country on its eastern coast, a little to the north of Matamoros, in the State of Tamaulipas, and close to the Texas boundary line. Crossing the Gulf of Mexico, it enters the United States about Atchafalaya Bay, Terre Bonne, Louisiana, and traverses the United States in a northeasterly direction till it emerges on the Atlantic Ocean near Norfolk, Virginia, at which point the shadow is

about sixty miles in diameter. Thus the path covers the cities of Mobile and Montgomery, Alabama; passes a little south of Atlanta, Georgia; just touches Columbia, and passes fairly over Raleigh, North Carolina, whence it makes its exit between Newport News, Virginia, and Currituck, North Carolina. Passing out over the Atlantic Ocean, the track of totality maintains its general northeasterly direction until it reaches latitude 45° north, at which point it swerves into a southeasterly direction, striking the European coast at Coimbra, in Portugal. Thence it crosses Spain, passing near Ciudad Real, and enters the Mediterranean Sea near the mouth of the River Segura, or, to be exact, in latitude 38° 7′ north, and longitude o° 40′ west. Crossing the Mediterranean, the path leads across the city of Algiers, skirts the coast of Tripoli, and ends at sunset in Upper Egypt, in latitude 25° 21′ north, and longitude 31° 37' east; or near the Oasis of Kharga.

This long and broad track across thickly settled and civilized countries will probably yield many thousands of independent observations and reports, a chance which has not been enjoyed for many years. The eclipse of 1878 was visible in the United States only in a thinlysettled section of the far West, while to observe that of 1883 the United States government had to send an expedition to the Caroline Islands, a troublesome undertaking and of necessity one of great cost. Under the favorable circumstances of the forthcoming event, scientific institutions all along the route will have their observation stations, while special stations will be equipped by the national government at points where especially good results may be looked for.

The great advances made in photography will enable observers to secure valuable records which in former years were impossible of attainment. The pamphlet issued by the government, alluded to above, lays down very minute directions for those who propose to use their cameras, giving specific instructions as the proper time of exposure, for focusing, etc.

Congress has appropriated the sum of $5,000 for the Naval Observatory observations, which will be under the charge of Professor S. J. Brown and will probably be carried out in North Carolina and Georgia. Two stations will be selected, probably about two hundred miles apart, so that there will be a chance of securing good results even though the weather

should be cloudy at one of the points. The danger of losing observations on account of cloudiness has been so seriously considered that for the past three years the Weather Bureau has been collecting data of atmospheric conditions along the line of totality at all times of the day in past May months. As there will be only about a minute and a half during which the observations can be made, it is of the greatest importance that the atmosphere during that brief time should be as favorable as possible toward securing the best results. For the same reason the members of the expeditions will be thoroughly drilled in their respective duties, so that no excitement or imperfect understanding of what is required shall mar the success of the observations.

Congress has also appropriated the sum of $1,000 for the use of the Smithsonian Institution, which will send out a corps of observers under Professor S. P. Langley. Professors Young of Princeton University, and Stone of Pennsylvania University, will have charge of representative bodies from their respective institutions, while Professor Hale will conduct an expedition for the Yerkes Observatory. It is estimated by Professor Brown that at least one hundred scientific corps will watch the eclipse along the course of its path in America, besides the thousands of amateurs who may be

T

HE "Scientific American" describes a novel type of ferryboat which has recently been built at Glasgow. In order

to overcome the obstacles caused by the rise and fall of the tide, which involves the necessity of using pontoons having hinged bridgeways, as in the case of the New York ferries and the great landing-stage at Liverpool, the boat has been constructed with an elevating deck. By means of bevel and worm' gear this deck can be raised and lowered to suit

T

ELFORD E. TREFFRY.

any stage of the tide, ranging from the level of the main deck to a height of fourteen feet above it. The boat is eighty feet in length and forty-three feet in width, and the elevating deck is seventy-eight feet by thirty-two feet. It carries two tracks for the accommodation of railway cars, and two sidewalks, each six feet in width. Three hundred passengers and ten teams can be transported at one time, or if no teams are carried, six to seven hundred passengers may be carried on a trip.

HE Smithsonian Institution at Washington is about to direct an expedition, under the management of Dr. E. J. Banks, for the exploration of the ancient city of Ur, where Abraham and his wife Sarah were born. The remains of the city lie some six miles from the River Euphrates, and half way between the Persian Gulf and the ruins of Babylon. According to "The Outlook," the estimated cost of the expedition will be $50,000, and the city is expected to be fully uncovered in two years. As has been the case with many buried or abandoned cities, some of the débris has been carried away for the purpose of building more modern erections. Thus many of the record-bearing tiles, from which so much

might be deciphered that bears on the history and domestic life of the ancient people who lived in Ur "as long before Abraham's time as Abraham was before our time" have been irrecoverably lost or defaced, but from systematic and thorough work of excavation great results are expected. Former search on the site of Ur revealed many inscriptions that have endorsed the Biblical accounts of the Chaldeans, the Belshazzar of the book of Daniel being specifically identified. The present appearance of Ur is that of three stories of an ancient temple rising seventy feet above the plain while surrounding the temple is a group of mounds half a mile in diameter.

VOL. XI

NO. 4

I

T WAS Soon af

ter John P. Altgeld was

installed as Governor of Illinois, that Robert T. Lincoln, in a carefully-worded letter addressed to His Excellency, offered the old Springfield home of his famous father as a gift to the State of Illinois, under certain prescribed conditions. These conditions were that the State should keep the old historic home in good repair until the frosts of

time had withered and destroyed forever the famous wooden structure.

Yes, the old home, the haven of rest, of Lincoln's law-practicing days in Springfield was to become the property of the State, as long as beam and rafter successfully fought the ravages of decay, and when that inevitable hour was ushered in, the naked ground was to revert to Robert T. Lincoln, or his lawful heirs. After this manner did the honored son of an illustrious countryman make gift to the Commonwealth of Illinois of the home of his childhood and youth.

For some years previous to the administrations of Governors Fifer and Altgeld,

Mr. Lincoln had expressed to old-time friends in Springfield and elsewhere his displeasure at the manner in which his father's old home was being used and cared for. By every tie of blood and affection did the son claim the right to change the aspect of things in his father's old home and to preserve it as a worthy historic memorial.

The occupants of the home during the period referred to were pursuing a line not in accord with Robert Lincoln's views or with those he soon afterwards adopted. In every nook and corner it looked, and indeed presented to the visitor the aspect of a most interesting museum. It was

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