is a strange thing, that in sea-voyages, where there is nothing to be seen but sky and sea, men should make diaries; but in land-travel, wherein so much is to be observed, for the most part they omit it, as if chance were fitter to be registered than observation : let diaries, therefore, be brought in use." But don't be anxious to write much. A few notes of things really seen by one "who does not come to see what can be said or thought about a place, but to see it," and of thoughts which arise naturally on the occasion of the new impression, will be worth pages of matter beaten out of the overtaxed brain. A few real nuggets brought home in the waistcoat-pocket will furnish us with the means of gilding to any extent the silver or baser metals which we have purchased or procured second-hand in the course of our travels. But still," when a traveller returneth home, . . . in his discourse let him be rather advised in his answers, than forward to tell stories."—(Bacon.)

Above all things, let the traveller "who can see things for himself," beware of a hurried and remorseful habit; let him enjoy simply, and without rule, what he has time to see well, rather than suffer himself to be cheated of his satisfaction by an unseasonable disappointment, and by the ill-bred assumptions of others as to what is or what is not "the only thing worth seeing" in the district he has just been traversing. "There is no occasion for being excessively emulous, or haste-bitten in travelling, any more than in other occupations of life. Let no truly observant man feel the least envious or disconcerted, when he hears others talk familiarly of cities which are dream-land to him. Many of these men never have seen, and never can see, anything as he can see it. The wise do not hurry without good reason.'

As to prescriptions on the subject of travel, it will be easy for the reader to gather many hints for himself out of books. We particularly recommend the perusal of Bacon's "Essay on Travel;" Mr. Helps's chapters (ix. and xi.) on the same subject in "Companions of my Solitude," a treatise full of that practical wisdom and of that philosophical spirit which the writer has so often contributed to the clearing up of men's misconceptions, and the enhancing of the unappreciated blessings of life; Eustace's "Classical Tour in Italy," as a specimen of a fine old scholarlike style, and as really valuable to the student; Burnet's Letters, containing an account of what seemed most remarkable in travelling through Switzerland, Italy, some parts of Germany, &c., in the ;s 1685 and 1686;" Sir F. Palgrave's "Merchant and Friar.” of bhese notices of books we do not attempt to multiply, only for the of son that they might be multiplied indefinitely.

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Our object will have been attained, if we prevail upon any of our readers to take up the more vigorous study of modern languages, or to look upon travel with a more intelligent anticipation of its fruits. The present period of the year is one which might fairly be given to preparation of the kind we have been suggesting; and the times seem to promise a wider field for the tourist than the last two or three unhappy years have permitted. We trust that nothing may occur to mar these hopeful expectations, but that pending negotiations may issue in a general relaxation of those restrictions which have hitherto tended to discourage foreign travel. J. S. G.

* "Companions of my Solitude," chap. xi.

SCHOOL-TEACHERS AND COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE ENGLISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATION.

SIR,—It is very desirable that school-teachers should fully put forth any just objections they may have to the manner in which they are treated by the Committee of Council. I must say that this has generally been done in a way very little likely to impress that body effectually. I have been much struck by the ridiculous inconsistency of a speech lately made, at one of the winter meetings of Church School-teachers' Associations, by a teacher who shall be nameless: but here are extracts from the printed report of his oration in one of the educational papers. As this gentleman blows hot and cold, and abuses and praises the Committee of Council for the same thing, I beg of you to be good enough to print these extracts side by side, under the heads of "Pro" and "Con.; " they are taken verbatim from the same speech :—

Pro.

"The speaker proposed the next resolution-That this meeting desires to express its gratitude to the Committee of Privy Council on Education, for their continued exertions for the promotion of education in this country, more especially for their efforts to raise the social position of elementary teachers.'....This committee had grown in importance, and was now one of the most powerful influences in this country, happily one of the most powerful for good.....No doubt the Committee of Council had done much to elevate the schoolmaster and education generally, and all praise be to them for it. It would not be very bad logic, to reason, that if they made the schoolmaster nothing, they would make the school nothing."

Con.

"There were two or three matters, however, that looked like grievances to the schoolmaster. It had been held to be a great hardship upon the teachers in this country that they were deprived of the opportunity of adding to their income by private teaching, which privilege was not denied to any other class of society. He trusted that the day would come when either a satisfactory reason would be shown for this restriction, or else that the Committee of Council would feel it their duty to rescind it altogether.... .It was a notorious fact, that the Committee of Council had made the schoolmaster a complete nonentity. For what purpose this was done was best known to the Committee. While hoping for an alteration in this, he must say that the Church schoolmasters of England were exceedingly grateful to the Committee of Council for what they had done."

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As the school-teachers, according to the speaker, have been subjected to "great hardship" in a matter of income, and have been made " plete nonentities" by the Committee of Council, in point, I suppose, of social position, the "exceeding gratitude" the teachers are said to feel towards them is of course to be taken ironically; and the rest of the praise must be similarly viewed, unless the speaker intended to present a spectacle of inconsistency of himself. In either case, such modes of acting on the Committee of Council are very unhappy ones, and likely to weaken the attention due to a proper and manly statement of their just complaints to the powers that be. I cannot think that such absurdities in our behalf are either made or published with an honest desire to befriend our profession, especially as, on this occasion, more than one of H.M.'s inspectors were present.

I feel more and more the necessity of a well-considered memorial, signed by all the associated teachers, setting forth plainly and fully, and in a manner such as shall at least command respect, all the chief

grievances we generally suffer from, and suggesting the means of remedy.

It is not to be expected that unanimity can be insured; we must go for great and admitted objects, and then be content with majorities in favour of them. Like all other professions, there are crotchety and wayward members among us, who must be allowed to run riot in their own way. I am, Sir, your obedient Servant,

HINTS FOR MECHANICS' INSTITUTES.

"Instruction in grammar and reading: both are very important; for unless the pupils can both read with ease and get at the meaning of what they read without difficulty, it is in vain to hope they can make much use either of the reading-room or of the library. Nothing aids them more in doing this than analyzing short pieces of poetry-taking them to pieces, and getting at the grammar of them; then writing out in prose the sense in which they understand them, and committing them to memory.

"I observe you have no fewer than twenty-five classes in arithmetic, seventeen elementary, and eight advanced; the teaching of this subject is very often defective, and by rules only which the pupils seldom understand; but when well taught, it may be the means of good mental training; and it is quite a mistake to think that fractional and decimal arithmetic cannot be made as simple as the common rules in the hands of a good teacher.

"You have no class in geometry; this is a defect which ought to be supplied. I know of no school instruction which improves the reasoning faculties more than a book or two of Euclid, when thoroughly understood. It teaches the scholar, as also does Arithmetic, to get habits of accuracy -mathematical accuracy—and mathematical accuracy is intellectual truth; and the mind becomes trained in distinguishing what is true from what is false. This instruction is also necessary, in order to understand the mensuration of surfaces and solids. I am sorry to see your mathematical class is not stronger; it is a very important class, and deserves much of your attention.

"Elementary drawing is important as a part of a good and sound practical education, and in which I see you are very successful. It is desirable that the youth of both sexes should acquire a knowledge of it, as they do of writing and arithmetic, not for the purpose of becoming artists, but for the more practical purposes of use in the affairs of common life. How much do some of the foreign towns owe of the beauty and richness of effect exhibited in so many of the articles they produce to their art-workmen, who have for long past been taught to draw and model.

"I have been greatly pleased in seeing the interest which boys take in free-hand drawing, by what passes under my own eyes in Hereford, where we have established an evening school for the artisan class. The master attends several of the town schools, once a week each, to instruct the children, who will thus be prepared for more advanced instruction in the evening classes when they leave.

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"Your adult class is one of special interest, and is the one which mechanics' institutes had more particularly in view when first established, and which I see counts about seventy in number, varying from eighteen to forty years of age. In this class much useful instruction might be given, if well-informed members of the institute and unpaid teachers would occasionally read striking passages from books of travels, lives of celebrated men, particularly of such as attained their knowledge under difficulties— Watt, Franklin, and other great and good men. This would give rise to conversational lectures, and a system of mutual instruction would grow up; and many who have not the courage to attempt a lecture, would give much useful instruction in this way."-Dean of Hereford's Huddersfield Lecture.

TH

A CHAPTER ON A B C.

HE Alphabet is generally held to be one of the simplest things in the world-simple even to a proverb; and yet a little reflection will suggest a variety of questions about it, some of which are more easily asked than answered. How many elementary sounds are requisite for the formation of language? What suggested the particular forms which are the symbols or visible representations of these sounds? Words are pictures;—are not letters still more pictures? if so, pictures of what? Who invented them? Why have some languages more than others? &c. &c.

It is to be regretted that these interesting questions should not be satisfactorily solved by a renewal of the process by which, according to Lord Monboddo's theory, the race of man emerged from a superior class of monkeys; it would be decidedly interesting to watch Jacko's first attempts to become one of the péρоñes åν0рwπо--still more to watch him, pencil in paw, attempting to fix on the signs which, either by natural force or by convention, would represent the articulate sounds; and then to observe how successive generations of monkeys would improve on the original invention, with due veneration for the Cadmus of their race. As, however, the Monboddo theory (requiescat in pace !) is not likely to help us out of our difficulties, we must fall back upon the materials within our reach, and, sinking questions of mere theory, examine the history and genealogy of the venerable A B C which has come down to us.

The inquiry, we would observe, is one not of mere curiosity, but of the highest practical importance; the value of the several letters forms one of the primary elements of the science of etymology; the interchanges of cognate sounds, and consequently of the symbols of those sounds, must be understood before the comparative analysis of languages can be effected with any good result.

The A B C which we use can be traced up to a most remote antiquity; we derive it, as every one knows, from the Latins; it was introduced into Italy, as also into Greece, by the Pelasgian race, who had brought it with them from their seats in western Asia, where it was used, in historical times, by the Hebrews and Phoenicians. The three Alphabets best known to us, viz. Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, are evidently of the same stock; but it would be wrong to assert that either is derived directly from the other. In regard to form, there is ground for belief that the present Hebrew Alphabet is comparatively of modern date, and that the Greek may approach nearer to the original type; in regard to the number and order of the letters, the Latin approaches nearer to the Hebrew than the Greek, and thus puts forth a prima facie claim to be the more ancient of the two. But, again, rejecting the letters of reputed recent origin in each language, Hebrew contains the greatest number, and would, on that ground, weaken its claim to a superior antiquity. In our subsequent observations, therefore, it must be remembered that we do not attribute to either the parentage of the other, but that we treat them as branches of a still more ancient stock.

The most salient points of comparison between the Alphabets are the number, the names, the form, the value, and the interchanges of the