From this circumstance springs the new, and by no means easy, task of guarding the children from all dangers which may result from this publicity. Especially if the Reform School be located in the neighborhood of some large city, there will scarcely be a day on which there are no visitors, frequently from all parts of the world. Visits of this kind cannot be in any way regulated; on the contrary, nothing that might interest strangers should be kept from their observation, -only, the proper regard must be had for the welfare of the pupils, which may easily be endangered if, for example, every casual visitor is allowed to engage in conversation with any one of the pupils on his past life, or if strangers wished to attend all the recitation hours.

To this must be added the monthly visits of parents and friends, which should always be kept up, but be under strict supervision. Nevertheless, it will be impossible to prevent the parents or friends from communicating to the pupils items of news and gossip, which the latter had better not know, particularly with regard to the Reform School, which is the fre quent object of bitter attacks and misrepresentations in the local press. The children then become conscious of the fact that their persons attract the public attention. All this imposes upon the authorities of the Reform School a new moral and educational task, to accomplish which will be the duty of the House Father, and it will require a great deal of tact and knowledge of human nature to do this in a satisfactory manner, as, on account of the innumerable individual cases, no general rules can be laid down.

On the other hand, the authorities of the Reform School should encourage publicity on certain occasions, such as the annual festivals, when all benefactors and friends should be invited to take a share in the festive joys. On such a day the children should not be annoyed by examinations and catechising, but enjoy themselves in the full sense of the term, by singing and playing to their hearts' content.

In connection with the anniversary of the founding of the Reform School, a report on the past year should be publicly read. The tenor of it should be such as may be read before the children without giving offence; portions which touch on delicate subjects, but which, nevertheless, cannot be omitted in the report, may be left out in reading, but should certainly appear in print. Such a report ought to contain a full statement of income and expenditure, the names of the members of the administrative board, full statistics of the past year, and all occurrences, both sad and joyful, which may be of public interest. Sermons delivered on such festal occasions ought not to be inserted in it. The principal of the school should draw up the report, from material collected by the House Father, in the shape of a diary. If all the reports were made out on this principle, they would form quite a treasure of pedagogical experience. Amongst the best and most interesting reports, we mention those of the Reform School at Stammheim, near Calw (Wurtemberg), formerly edited by the late Dr. Barth; as, also, those published by the Swiss Society in Zurich.

XVI. THE FUTURE OF THE PROTESTANT REFORM SCHOOLS.

On the supposition that the Reform Schools will remain essentially Christian institutions, we would, in conclusion, mention a few pia desideria,

whose fulfilment ought sooner or later to be attained, if the whole cause is not to be endangered:

1. The future House Fathers, assistants and teachers should, both theoretically and practically, be prepared for their solemn calling, which is only possible if they are for a number of years co-workers in an institution specially established for this purpose.

2. The number of such institutions which are already in operation (the Brüderanstalten) should be constantly increased, and, by an interchange of the varied experiences, the system be constantly improved.

3. There ought to be a supervision of the Reform Schools, authorized both by the Church and the State, which supervision, however, ought not to have a bureaucratic character, but should, by the authority vested in it, be able to protect the liberty and private character of the institution, and make improvements where they are needed.

4. Only in this manner will it be possible to have a guarantee that those free boards of administration, which stand in need of such a supervision, at least fulfil their duties according to the statutes, for the benefit of the institution and its local administration, through and in reference to the House Father.

5. It becomes more and more necessary to grant the House Fathers some pecuniary assistance, particularly for the education of their own children, who cannot, without danger to themselves, remain at the Reform School. When House Fathers become superannuated, after many years of faithful service, they ought to receive a pension. This question has already been mooted at several conferences.

All these considerations combined, urgently demand that the hitherto existing isolation of the various Reform Schools should cease, and a lively and regulated intercourse of the various institutions and House Fathers should be inaugurated, so that one may learn from the other, and, from this interchange of ideas, derive new strength to pursue the work. This approach of the various institutions to each other may be brought about in a two-fold manner,—either by literary communications or by personal meetings. With regard to the first, we can here mention that already, for a number of years, the Central Committee for Home Missions, in the German Evangelical Church, (Berlin and Hamburg), has caused more than one hundred Reform Schools to communicate their reports to each other. A supplement to these communications is found in the Fliegende Blätter, (“Fugitive Leaves "), published by the Rauhe Haus. In the various German countries there are journals which give information concerning the institutions located in their district: e. g., in Wurtemberg, the Armenblätter, (“ Journal for the Poor"), by Dr. Hehn, and the Christenbotde, (the "Christian Messenger"), by Pastor Burk; in Bavaria, the Puckenhofer Blätter; in Baden, the Reich Gottes, (the "Kingdom of God"), by Rev. Mr. Mann; in East Prussia, the Evangelische Gemeindeblatt, etc. But, as yet, there is no general organ for the whole of Germany; neither are there any societies, as in England.

The great obstacle is the peculiar tendency of the German national character to take an interest only in their native town or village. Besides this, there are the many special ecclesiastical and political party-interests,

which throw almost insuperable difficulties in the way of such united efforts. Still, there has of late been some improvement in this direction, especially through the instrumentality of the societies for Home Missions, which have instituted annual meetings of House Fathers and representatives of the Reform Schools in the various districts. Thus the Brandenburg Society for Home Missions, the Pomeranian Society, the Silesian Society (meets in Liegnitz), the Conference for Home Missions at Baiersdorf, in Bavaria, and the annual meetings of House Fathers at Züllchow, near Stettin.

A subject often broached at these meetings is the idea of a uniform organization of all the Reform Schools, which, however, is more visionary, and will scarcely ever be realized. If the various groups of Reform Schools could, through a special journal, be more intimately connected, then there would at least be a sound preliminary base, on which the work of uniting the efforts already made might safely be built up. The foundation on which these institutions rest is such a good and lasting one, and the blessing which, so far, has attended the work is so evident, that, in casting a farewell glance at the Reform Schools of Germany, we cannot doubt that the work so successfully inaugurated, under the blessing of God, will continue to flourish in future times like a tree "planted by the rivers of water," constantly putting forth new leaves, flowers and fruits, and, till the end of days, continue to be a blessing to the German nation and its children.

X. EDUCATIONAL BIOGRAPHY.

JOHN M KEAGY.*

JOHN M. KEAGY, M. D., a distinguished educator of Pennsylvania, was born in Martic township, Lancaster county, about the year 1795, of German descent on the paternal and maternal side, the name of his mother's family being Litzenberg. He died in Philadelphia, Jan. 16, 1837, and was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery. In 1819 he published a series of educational articles in the Baltimore Chronicle, which he reprinted in 1824, in an octavo pamphlet of 38 pages. In 1827 he published his "Pestalozzian Primer," at Harrisburg, a book made up largely of the modern object lessons, but under the name of "Thinking Lessons," and "Lessons in Generalization." As soon as the child knows a vowel and a consonant letter, he is taught to read the syllables which they form, and in the Introduction, the author advocates the teaching of a child to read words "as if they were Chinese symbols," and without a previous knowledge of the letters, a practicable mode, as demonstrated by the doctor, and one which avoids the absurdity of telling a child that see-a-tea (which should spell sate) spells cat!

Dr. Keagy opened a Classical Academy at Harrisburg, where new studies and modes of instruction were introduced, such as the Natural Sciences, taught orally in an excellent conversational style, for there were no proper books at that period. Besides being a classical scholar, the doctor knew Hebrew, German, and French; he knew the principles of mechanics, and insisted that steam-boilers should have more fire surface. Had he been brought up a machinist, he would have invented tubular boilers, having constructed a copper model composed partly of tubes.

After some years of instructing at Harrisburg, the doctor went to Philadelphia to take charge of the Friends' High School, and whilst there, he was elected Classical Professor at Dickinson College, but did not live to act.

*We are indebted for this memoir to Prof. S. S. Haldeman, of Chickis, Lancaster County, Penn., who was a pupil of Dr. Keagy (the name rhymes plaguey) in his Classical Academy in Harrisburg, entering in June, 1826, and remaining two years.

Dr. Keagy was a man of deep and practical piety-a Methodist, but entirely free from the demonstrative and noisy characteristics of his denomination at that day. He had charitable feelings toward other denominations, and several times he went with a few of his boarding pupils to see the service at the Catholic church, where he conformed to the acts of the congregation; and he taught his pupils that simple politeness required such conformity when visiting the churches of various denominations.

Dr. Keagy had been a practicing physician with scientific tastes, but he left his profession for the more congenial one of teaching, and he became a great educator. His Academy was conducted on the monitorial plan, and he was well acquainted with European modes of instruction. With a delicate constitution, he succumbed to consumption, probably hastened by his labors in the school-room, where much of his time was given to passing from pupil to pupil. The academy was conducted on a plan of his own, the desks being shaped, with places for nine pupils round the outside, and facing the monitor, who had a small separate desk opposite the opening. The hall had five such desks on each side, and was divided by a range of blackboards, at each end of which was a desk for the principal and assistant, who could thus see the entire room, while the blackboards were interposed between the male and female pupils.

This distinguished teacher was by many regarded as a visionary, one of the evidences being his belief that the time would come (1 think during the then generation) when people could leave Harrisburg after breakfast, take dinner in Philadelphia, one hundred miles distant, and return for supper.

Publications by Dr. Keagy.

AN ESSAY ON ENGLISH EDUCATION, together with some Observations on the present mode of Teaching the English Language. By John M. Keagy. Harrisburg: 1824. (34 pages.)

PESTALOZZIAN PRIMER, or First Step in Teaching Children the Art of Reading and Thinking. By J. M. Keagy, M. D. Harrisburg: 1827. (126 p.) THE INTRODUCTION, (p. v-xxx.) to Oswald's Etymological Dictionary. Philadelphia: 1840.

NOTE.

I add a note to pay a tribute to another accomplished instructor. Upon leaving Dr. Keagy I went to Dickinson College, where I became intimate with the Professor of Natural Science, Henry D. Rogers, subsequently a distinguished geologist, and professor at Glasgow. I am happy to acknowledge that to these two friends I am essentially indebted for my academic education.

S. S. H.