"The term 'abroad' is sometimes applied to one who is rather wide of the mark, in consequence of not seeing his way very clearly.

"Now, I beg to inform Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools that I live in the moon, and that, as I walk round the earth, in order to keep my weather eye open so as continually to have the Inspector in view, I am obliged to perform a rotation on my axis once a month. I tried the other plan long ago, by always keeping my face to the north as I made my rounds; but then I turned in succession my face, my left side, my back, and my right side to the earth.

"I soon, however, got a 'round robin' from the earth (in which I did not observe the Inspector's name), requesting me to go upon the old plan; so I gave up the experiment.

"Now, as I am afraid that the Inspector will send me a petition, on his own book, to try it again, I will beg him first to borrow from his little boy a cup and ball, and, marking the latter at four opposite points with the letters N, S, E, and W, to carry suspended by its string, round the flame of a candle. He will find that if N is kept always to the north, the ball consequently remaining without axial motion, the light will fall in succession on W, S, and E, until it reaches N again; but that, if he wishes N to be always illuminated, he must turn it continually towards the flame, and that in so doing he will cause an axial rotation of the ball upon its string at each revolution which it performs round the candle.

"I remain, Sir, with much respect,

"Your old acquaintance,

66 THE MAN IN THE MOON.

"The Moon, April 8."

(To be continued.)

CHILDREN, AND HOW TO MANAGE THEM.

(Darton and Co.)

MRS. PULLAN, the author of "Maternal Counsels," and a constant contributor to THE GOVERNESS, has conferred no small boon upon those to whom the care of children is intrusted, by the publication of a sixpenny book entitled, "Children, and how to Manage them." It is uniform with the series published by Messrs. Groombridge, entitled "The Sixpenny Library." Mrs. Pullan treats, in a simple but comprehensive style, on the mental culture of children (Introduction). Under the division devoted to CARE OF THE HEALTH, she speaks of food, dress, bathing, exercise, amusement, the eye, the ear, and the hand. Under EDUCATION she treats of school or home experience, the affections, motives, obstinacy, obedience, self-control, selfishness, truth, perseverance and energy, labour, curiosity, self-respect, lessons and studies, manners, language, association of ideas, servants and their influence. We subjoin the introduction to the important divison

“What is it ?—Education is that training which is to prepare our children for their future duties in life, and we may define it as physical, moral, and mental training. All these should be blended and harmonized together, because a deficiency in any one is not only a serious evil in itself, but it affects the efficiency of the others. In our modern

education, the strengthening and development of the physical powers are not sufficiently cared for, and where walking or running does not accomplish what is necessary, Fröbel's system of education, if carefully studied, will supply a mother with admirable instructions. Very young children may engage in gymnastics limited to their age. They strengthen the muscles and harden the frame. Activity is the life of a child; it exhibits unconsciously an incessant craving for it. It is cruel, then, in the extreme, to keep a child quiet, or to insist on its not making a noise.

"It is not only in its physical training, however, that a mother is apt to err. More from want of reflection, than from any other cause, she frequently commits grave mistakes in the cultivation of her child's heart and intellect. Very many mothers have never had much to do with young children until they press their own to their bosom; still more, have not given their characters that close study which so important a charge demands; and yet they are very desirous of doing their duty if they only knew how. To such, it is hoped, these few and brief hints, suggested by a life-long experience of and an intense delight in children, will not be unwelcome."

SCHOOL OR HOME.

"Where the circumstances are suitable, it cannot be doubted that, for very young children, home is the best place, and the mother's eye the best safeguard, and unpardonably unworthy of her sacred name is that mother who leaves her little children to the care of hirelings, whilst her own time is occupied with gaiety, visiting, and dress. But there are numberless cases in which a mother has other duties with which the proper care of her children is incompatible, and, when this is the case, it is far better they should be in some place where they can have plenty of fresh air, wholesome exercise, and the companionship of other children, with proper superintendence, than that they should be consigned, even under their parents' roof, to the entire charge of an ignorant servant. Schools, as they are ordinarily constituted, are not to be thought of for young children; but of late the establishment of a children's garden, Kinder Garten, in Tavistock Place, has afforded some hope that such schools as young children, from two to six years old, may safely be taken to, may be established within the reach of every family. The model one in Tavistock Place is, indeed, all that mothers or children can desire; the children thrive physically, mentally, and morally; their ideas are developed, their characters elicited, their frames strengthened. Above all, they are perfectly happy. We have tried, and know.

But nothing ought to be suffered entirely to separate mother and child. It is too holy a tie to be broken lightly asunder. Even if a mother be occupied all day, still a few moments may be snatched at night for loving and talking to her child. Even if she is compelled for the sake of health to keep him in the country, while her own duties and occupations bind her to a town life, let no week pass without some direct personal communication. Let her write to him, send him little gifts-if only a pictorial paper-to keep herself ever in his mind, and maintain her supremacy with him. A very young child will learn to anticipate a letter with as much delight, perhaps more, than a grownup person.

NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS.

*** WE select such only as appear suitable for teachers and pupils. Those marked thus * are advertised in "THE GOVERNESS ADVERTISER." Those marked thus † have been noticed in our pages. Those marked thus are noticed in the present number.

In cases in which our readers cannot readily obtain the books they want, our publishers, Messrs. Darton and Co., will supply on the usual school

THOMPSON (W.)-The Natural History of
Ireland. Vol. 4-Mammalia, Reptiles,
and Fishes; also Invertebrata. 8vo.
pp. 546, cloth, 16s.

UBICINI (M. A.)-Letters on Turkey: an
Account of the Religious, Political, So-
cial, and Commercial Condition of the
Ottoman Empire, &c. Translated by
Lady Eastlake. 2 vols. post 8vo. cl. 21s.
UPS and Downs of a Public School. By

a Wykehamist. 12mo. pp. 90, sewed, 2s. WEBSTER (N.)-Dictionary of the English Language. By Noah Webster. Revised and enlarged by Chauncey A. Goodrich. New edit. 4to. pp. 1400, cloth, 31s. 6d.

WHAT IS TRUTH? or, Revelation its own
Witness. 2nd edit. post 8vo. pp. 196,
cloth, 5s.

WILKES (Capt. C.)-Theory of the Winds.
8vo. (New York), pp. 120, cloth, 8s. 6d.
WILSON (Dr. W. D.)-An Elementary
Treatise on Logic: including Part 1,
Analysis of Formulæ ; Part 2, Method;
With an Appendix of Examples for
Analysis and Criticism, and a copious
Index of Terms and Subjects. Designed
for the use of Schools and Colleges, as
well as for Private Study and Use.
Crown 8vo. pp. 446, cloth, 7s. 6d.
YOUNG HOUSEWIFE'S Book; or, How to
Eke out a Small Income. 18mo. sd., 6d

VARIETIES.

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE BOOKSELLERS.-The Committee of Council make grants of schoolbooks and maps at reduced prices; and this seems a useful exercise of liberality: but, when we look a little nearer, we shall see it to be attended with very serious evils. The committee make themselves booksellers on an enormous scale, and undersell all other booksellers. They not only supply books at prices below those at which they could be bought of the bookseller, but, in addition, they make grants towards the purchase of books, at the rate of 8d. and 10d. per scholar; which of course is a further inducement to schools to order their books through the Committee of Council. It will be naturally supposed that the committee at least take pains to offer the best schoolbooks which are to be had. But what is the fact? It is no less than eight years since the present list of schoolbooks was formed; and it has not been revised since the year 1848, although during that time perhaps hundreds of new schoolbooks have been published, many of them of great value. The list is now in course of revision by the inspectors, but it is obvious that those gentlemen have the opportunity of excluding any books which they may on any account dislike, either from political or even personal motives; and it is known that several of the inspectors are themselves authors, and as such have a powerful interest in placing their own books on the list, and excluding such as might come in competition with them. A very considerable proportion of the schoolbooks granted by the Committee of Council are those of the Irish Board of Education, printed at the public cost, and thus brought into unfair competition with authors and publishers. The tendency of all this arrangement is to discourage one of the most important departments of literature, to interfere with one of the most valuable branches of trade, and to keep the schools in arrear of improvement. By destroying freedom, it inevitably represses excellence.-W. Baines.