pronunciation of most children of three years' old may be made almost perfect. Inattention to this in early years is the cause of much of the defective utterance that we observe in youth, and in grown-up persons. A child's manner of speaking is too much disregarded; if it be intelligible, it is deemed sufficiently correct to pass current. The imperfection being no great obstacle to its progress in knowledge, it is thought that, as the child grows older, the evil will correct itself. Like other errors, which, from being unnoticed at first, settle into vices, this evil sometimes produces a faulty habit of speaking which can never be eradicated. By patient care on the part of the teacher, this defect is often very much modified, and in many instances removed; but that this is not always the case the immense number of imperfect speakers bears ample evidence; and if there is a possibility of preventing such impediments by early attention to a child's pronunciation, it is surely better to attain this certain good, which may be attained without trouble or annoyance to the child, than to force it to utter words above its comprehension, and to dole out sounds which nobody can understand.

It is not to be supposed that stammering can always be prevented by early care. Sometimes this affection proceeds from mental excitement, and sometimes from organic defects; even in such cases the evil may be considerably diminished by a proper treatment at the time of its first appearance.

Correct pronunciation is the first thing to be attended to in the education of children, and childhood is the period most suitable to its attainment. When too volatile to apply its mind to books, a child will receive much pleasure in being talked to, and in being heard

to talk; and no one will deny that this is a more rational way of occupying the thoughts, than for it to be employed in poring over the forms of the letters, and attaching sounds to them of which it cannot conceive the meaning.

The names of objects should be taught simultaneously with pronunciation, care being taken that the utterance is in all cases full and distinct. It will not be necessary to classify all words according to their syllabic formations, such a classification being only necessary with words which the child utters imperfectly. The l, the w, the d, the r, and the y are often difficult letters for a child to pronounce: table is called tabin; elephant, ayephant; wood, vood; dog, gog; rabbit, thabbit or yabbit; yesterday, thesterday, &c. In all such instances of mis-pronunciation, words should be selected containing the unpronounceable letter, which should be very deliberately articulated in its different combinations, the child being made to observe the different position of the organs of speech, as different sounds are produced. We cannot refrain from giving one instance which we recently observed, showing the facility with which infant pronunciation is corrected. A child of about two and a half years old called a stick, a kick. Being desired to pronounce it again, kick was again repeated. She was desired to imitate the low, hissing sound of s, as used in this combination, which she did correctly; the sound of t was also clearly uttered, both singly and preceded by the s; the termination ick followed, also correctly: so that it was clear that the child could pronounce separately all the sounds composing the word, and that there was no real impediment to the pronunciation of the whole word. The word was then deliberately

uttered, the sounds of the s and t being lengthened, and the child being made to observe the position of the organs during the utterance. The effect of this dissection was, that the child repeated the word quite distinctly many times in succession.

It is unnecessary, in what must be merely the outline of a plan, to enumerate the varieties of combinations in which difficult letters are to be discovered, and the means by which such difficulties may be removed. The instructor will readily apply the principle, and extend it to those sounds which are most difficult to acquire. There is a wide diversity in the facility of speech among children; some will stumble at sounds which to others will be quite easy.

The natural habits of children, so to speak, must be the key to their first instruction. A child begins to observe very soon after its birth; for the first two or three years its knowledge is almost confined to those objects which are evident to its senses; its methods of acquiring such knowledge are well worth consideration. The child sees an object, reaches towards it, grasps it, applies it to its mouth, endeavours to produce sound by striking it against a table, or anything else that is near; and thus acquires some knowledge of the properties of things, even before it can speak. By a process similar to this, different parts of knowledge may be conveyed to a child in a more advanced stage. When a child has learned to pronounce words, we may teach the names of those properties already familiar to him, and proceed to illustrate, to generalize, and to extend his knowledge by various examples.

For children from three to six years of age, we know of none so good as oral exercises on the names and

properties of bodies. The world of nature and art will furnish a never-failing supply of examples. Pictures will materially assist in such exercises; a slate and pencil will also help to amuse and instruct. Books, reading, and spelling, should not, in our opinion, be introduced at this early stage. Careful pronunciation, and correct oral language, should always accompany these primary lessons. Form, magnitude, weight, colour, number, sound, are the chief developments to be made during the infancy of the mind. Instruction in these may be imparted without books. Few situations are unfavourable to the growth and expansion of the youthful intellect by the analysis of objects; the rooms of a house, the garden, field, wood, road, will all supply materials well adapted for this purpose.

To explain the kind of lessons which it is proposed to substitute for the present very unsatisfactory modes of commencing a young child's education, the following examples are given; from which it will be seen that a person of very moderate attainments may both amuse and instruct a child of three or four years old.

"Teacher. What covers the floor of the parlour ?— Child. A carpet. T. What colours do you observe on the carpet?-C. Red, blue, brown, yellow, green, &c. T. Bring me your slate. What shape do you call this? (drawing a circle.)-C. Round. Other figures are drawn, and their names told to the child. T. Now tell me the shape of the carpet?-C. It is oblong. T. What else in the room is oblong?-C. The windows, that table, &c. T. Which is larger, the carpet or the floor? Now look round every part of the floor.-C. The carpet covers the whole floor-the carpet is the same size as the floor. T. What is the small carpet called

which lies before the fire-place?-C. A hearth-rug. T. Yes. Are its colours like those of the carpet ?-C. No. T. No; they are brighter and deeper. Now look well at the carpet-feel it-and tell me of what it is made. Is it made of wood?-C. No; it is not hard like wood. T. Is it made of leather ?-C. No; it is not at all like my shoes. T. Of what are your warm socks made?— C. Of worsted. T. Yes, the carpet is also made of worsted; coats, cloaks, and other warm articles of dress are made of worsted-blankets also-and worsted is made of wool. And you know we get wool from-C. Sheep. T. I must tell you about the mode of making carpets when you are older.

"T. What are the men doing in this field?-C. They are reaping. T. What are they reaping?-C. Corn. T. What kind of corn is it?-C. Wheat. T. What other kinds of corn have we seen growing in the fields? -C. Barley, oats, rye. T. Wheaten flour is made into bread. When wheat is reaped, it is tied in sheaves, and these are left that the wheat may harden. It is hardened by the heat of the sun, and the dryness of the air. Some time after it is stacked in large heaps, called cornricks. Afterwards it is beaten with a flail to get the grains of corn out of the ears. This work is called threshing. Here is a grain of corn and this is an ear. There are many grains in one ear. After the corn is threshed it is taken to the mill to be ground, &c. Now tell me what is made of wheaten flour?-C. Bread. T. What else? Think.-C. Puddings, cakes. T. Why is wheat left in the field after it is reaped ?-C. To harden. T. By what is it hardened? &c."*

Should the attendant of the child be at a loss for subjects, or be unable, from a defective education, to invent such simple