sequence, the number of pupils has been small, and, because the institution did not flourish, the contributions have gradually ceased to flow in. Then, suddenly, the very opposite course was pursued, by receiving pupils altogether gratuitously. This was not the right way either, and had not the desired success. Every Reform School should fix the number of children to be received at twelve, twenty, or twenty-four, etc., and make the rule, that children who are absolutely unable to pay anything should be received gratuitously, but that, on the other hand, parents should be reminded that their duty and honor as parents demands that they should not receive anything gratuitously for which they are able to pay. Then it must be ascertained what parents really can pay, be it ten, twenty, thirty, fifty, or eighty (Prussian) dollars per annum. In case the parents cannot pay, it will be well to gather a circle of friends who will undertake to make up an annual sum; and what is then still wanting must be paid by the voluntary donations, which will never fail if the institution is conducted in the right manner. If the Reform School has friends, it should always endeavor to increase their number, because love is inventive and rich in little helps, which, together, are an important aid. Such assistance by no means ought to be despised, as contributions in kind and gifts of clothes.

In addition to all this, there ought to be the produce of the garden and fields belonging to the institution. When new buildings are to be erected, love gladly lends a helping hand. On such occasions, an appeal in one of the papers will not be out of place. The longer a Reform School exists, the more it gains the confidence of the public, and the richer will be the contributions. Thus the more than 400 Reform Schools of Germany and Switzerland would, if built together, make quite a town, with a large amount of real estate. But, although scattered all over the German land, they form a grand monument of love and faith, raised under the blessing of God. Some of the stones of this building may crumble to dust, but the foundation of the whole will not be shaken, and newer and better ones will take their places.

In most Reform Schools an annual report of the financial status has been handed to the benefactors, and has also been published. If these reports were made out upon some uniform plan, it would be possible to show what the expenses are for one child in the various institutions; but the material for making such a computation is so imperfect, that no satisfactory conclusion can be drawn. To give an idea of the expenses of the Reform Schools in Wurtemberg alone, we will mention that the nineteen Reform Schools existing in 1844 expended the following sums:

For the first foundation of these nineteen institutions, 210,569 florins. For maintaining them up to the year 1844, 724,680 florins.

Total,

.

The annual expenses for one child seem to be eighty to ninety florins in the South of Germany, and from seventy to one hundred and twenty (Prussian) dollars in the North.

It will be evident, from what has been said hitherto, that the Reform School cannot have the character of a family living in seclusion. It is like a house with windows on every side, inviting all passers-by to look in.

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 frequent 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.

This

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. 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.