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dissipation and misanthropy had dulled his intellect, and dried up the milk of human kindness in his heart. His pupils, varying in age from the child of six to the lad of seventeen, were the sons of the gentlemen and farmers of the surrounding neighborhood. These he drilled pitilessly in the Latin grammar, and woe to him who erred in case or declension. This, with Pike's Arithmetic and Adams' Geography, formed his "Circle of the Sciences." To the art of writing he paid much attention. One excellence, which is not so common at present, his pupils certainly attained to— that is, writing clearly and neatly, and spelling correctly.

One mellow autumn day, when nature had put on all her colors and veiled them over with silver tissue, was the last day of school at old Gocomico. I had idled on my way to school, loth to exchange the blue sky and purple river for the dingy school-room. I stole noiselessly to my seat, congratulating myself that the master had not seen me. His head was on his hand, his elbow on the table. A class of "juniors" were reciting a paradigm of the first declension of nouns, sylva. Twice did one boy give the wrong case-ending, and yet the old man had not raised his head, and the birch-rod was motionless. The older boys exchanged glances, and whispered something of intoxication. That class dismissed, a senior boy went forward to ask an explanation of a problem in the "Double Rule of Three." Several times did the boy state the question, and yet the master did not look up, but only replied in a dreamy manner, using a familiar phrase with him-"Ruminate and devise, lad; ruminate and devise." The boy returned to his seat, and an hour passed. A hush brooded over the room; a mysterious presence kept the boys quiet. At last the old man roused, removed his hands from his eyes, and looked around. A pallor was on his face that I had never seen there before.

"Lads, lads, lads," he said, slowly, "you may go home, and tell them Schoolmaster Sutherland is going to another school."

He

Some of the boys, not understanding, gathered around for explanation. But the master's mind was wandering, and he did not hear them went on, as if addressing a class—

"First conjugation-infinitive ending-a-e-e-Amo-Amas-Amat -Amamus-Amatis-Amant. Mere words, lads, mere words! for she said, 'Amo,' once. Ellen said-" And again his head dropped down on the pine-table. The frightened boys spoke to him again and again; but it was all useless.

Schoolmaster Sutherland was dead. The pupils are scattered over the world now, and the Old Field School-house has long ago disappeared.

THE shadows of the mind are like those of the body. In the morning of life they all lie behind us; at noon we trample them under foot; and in the evening they stretch along and deepen before us.

MINNESOTA.

ITS PHYSICAL FEATURES, SOIL, AND CLIMATE-ITS EDUCATIONAL CONDITION AND PROSPECTS.

Area and Population.-The State of Minnesota was admitted into the Union in the year 1858. Its population in 1860 was 170,000. In 1865 it was 250,000, showing an increase of nearly fifty per cent during five years of destructive civil war. At this rate, it will double its population in ten years. Since the close of the rebellion, the influx of immigrants has been very great, and warrants the belief that ten years will not elapse before it will have a population of half a million. It embraces a territory of 83,521 square miles, equal to nearly two States like New York or ten like New Jersey. It extends from the British Possessions on the north to Iowa on the south, and from the Mississippi and Lake Superior on the east to the Red River of the North on the west. The sources of the Mississippi are within this State, that river being navigable 150 miles within its borders. The Falls of Saint Anthony, a few miles above the head of steamboat navigation, furnishes one of the most valuable waterpowers on the continent.

Topography, Soil, Productions.-The surface of the State constitutes the summit of the great water-shed from which flows the Mississippi to the south, the Red River to the north, and the St. Louis and other lesser streams to the eastward into Lake Superior. Much of the southern portion consists of exceedingly productive rolling prairies. The atmosphere is singularly dry, and the climate remarkable for its salubrity. The black soil yields enormous returns to the busy husbandman. The wheat produced in 1865 is not less than 10,000,000 bushels. A comparatively small portion of the lands is yet brought under cultivation. The yield of the last season is said to average from twenty-five to thirty bushels per acre for the whole State. Some tracts are said to have produced over fifty bushels per acre. Corn matures and ripens within three months from the planting. Potatoes, turnips, and other esculents are produced in great quantities. The scenery flanking the Upper Mississippi is beautiful and grand. Through several hundred miles it is one continuous highland, superior in its attractions to the Highlands of the Hudson. It is truly the land of the "Laughing Water." Clusters and chains of lakes abound in all directions; there being, it is said, not less than ten thousand of these charming expanses.

Basis of Civilization.-To a State thus favored there can not be other than a splendid future. This region seems adapted to the development of a noble civilization. The majesty of the hills, the broad sweep of the prairies, the grandeur of the great river, now "gliding unvexed to the sea," the placid beauty of the Mille Lacs, and the murmuring music of the

merry waterfalls, all invite to greatness of mind, to largeness of heart, to energy of endeavor, and purity of purpose. There is a tremendous educating power in such a heritage as this. It is a powerful, eternal protest against the littleness generated by narrow State lines, the mental barrenness provoked by sterile sand-banks, and the moral corruption which naturally enough finds a congenial soil in the miasmatic effluvia of interminable swamps.

School-Fund. The men who laid the foundations of the State, seem to have been inspired by the colossal facts which everywhere confronted their gaze. One-eighteenth of the entire domain was dedicated to the work of educating the people. That is to say, 4,640 square miles or 2,969,600 acres of the best lands in the State, were set apart for the creation of a fund for the support of common-schools. The minimum price at which these lands should be sold was fixed by law at five dollars per acre. The sales were commenced three years ago, and the average price realized is nearly $6.50 per acre. The fund thus accumulated and securely invested, in three years, lacks but little of a million dollars, and the sales are but just begun. Governor Swift while in office, after a careful estimate of the value of these lands at the legal minimum, declared that the income to be derived therefrom would eventually be sufficient to support a school-system equal in efficiency to that of Massachusetts, for a population as dense as is that of the old Bay State. Minnesota is more than ten times as large as Massachusetts, whose population is not less than 1,250,000. A population of equal density would give 12,500,000 people to this State, and these figures, assuming the governor's estimate to be correct, will give some clue to the prospective value of the school-fund in store for her people.

School-System.-The school-laws are yet somewhat crude and illdigested, but the code comprises within itself all the elements of a perfect system.

A normal school is in successful operation at Winona. It has a system of county supervision, the adoption of which was by law judiciously left optional with the respective counties. This law was made in 1863. About twenty counties have voluntarily accepted its provisions, and are now reaping, to greater or less extent, the advantages of a wise supervision. The salaries paid the superintendents in some cases are as high as $1,000 per year. The other counties will soon avail themselves of this valuable aid to educational advancement. Institutes are annually held where superintendents have been appointed, and are exerting a marked influence upon the schools.

Educational Prospects.-The New England States being largely represented in the population, education finds great favor with the people ; Minnesota must soon be in the front rank.

As an indication of the spirit of the people, we give some facts about

school architecture at some of the prominent points. St. Paul, with a population of 12,000, has erected four public school-houses, costing-one, $6,000; two, $8,000 each; and one, $20,000. The last is one of the most imposing structures of the kind in the Northwest. Minneapolis, with a population of 5,000, is now erecting a school-building at a cost of $25,000, in place of one destroyed by fire in 1864. La Sucur, a small village, has recently completed a building at a cost of $4,000. Mankato, with a population of about 2,000, is building a school-house at a cost of $10,000. Red King, above Lake Pepin, is finishing a building at a cost of nearly $20,000. Chatfield, in Fillmore County, about thirty-five miles southwest from Winona, has just dedicated a school-house costing $6,000. Lake City, with a population of 1,500, recently opened her public-school in a brick edifice erected at a cost of about $10,000. Winona is preparing to build one at an expense of $30,000. Other places are moving with like liberal intentions. Is not this a fair record for a State only eight years old? It is only a beginning. It is estimated that the State Normal School building will cost from $50,000 to $75,000. This will undoubtedly be commenced in the spring, and when completed, will compare favorably with similar edifices in older States. With such material and social advantages, no State offers greater inducements to the seeker of a good home than does Minnesota, the "Laughing-Water State."

THE FIRST ADVANCE.

OW to commence the education of children is an important question.

HOW

The best answer to it is, follow nature and the inclination of the child. Almost all young children have their specialties. Any one of these can be used as a medium for the admission of other necessary portions of education. For example-this communication is written in presence of a child who, at three years of age, exhibited a preference for the study of animal life. Goldsmith's Natural History was given to it, in which there are three hundred pictorial representations of different animals. The child could not read, but, by questioning its elders, it soon learned the names of the beasts, birds, etc., depicted. As it earnestly wished to know the habits of the various creatures, and could not, save through the kindness of its playmates, it acquired the knowledge of the use of reading. But the white bear and the lion live in different localities-enter Geography. Again, some animals are formed to live on land, others in the sea, and some may be said to tenant the air-Natural Philosophy is waiting for admission. It would be tedious to carry this statement further; suffice it, all the elements of an English education could be introduced under the requirements necessary for the development of this one study of Natural History.

If there is manifested no special inclination, an opening can be artificially created; as: "Joe, you have been a good boy, you may run to the store and buy yourself an apple. But I have no small change, and you can not count money, so you must wait until I come home from the city, when I will bring you one." Joe studies this lesson, and soon acquires the knowledge of the use of arithmetic. In a short time he asks to be taught to count money. The child desires to enter, and the door is opened. The battle is half won; and, as before, through this gate you can naturally and easily bring in Arithmetic's brothers and sisters. No lesson ought to be placed before a child, until the need of it has been exhibited and proved to the little one's satisfaction. It is important that the will of the child to learn should precede the offer of the parent to teach. This is the natural and proper way in which to commence the education of children.

Affection also can almost always be relied upon as a means by which to establish a proper entrance for early knowledge. When William Cobbett was imprisoned in Great Britain for the free expression of his political opinions, he required and received weekly letters from all the members of his family. Some of his children were very young: they did not know how to write. They, however, sent scrawls to their father. He carefully answered these hieroglyphics in a few short words. "What a pity, Richard, you can't write like your sisters--something that father can read,” said Mrs. Cobbett. Jane has her letter in her hands, but she can not read it. She can learn her lesson from it though-it is, the necessity for the knowledge and the use of reading. The child is ready and willing to advance up the hill of learning; it will not ascend it less rapidly because it is not driven forward on its journey.

Both parents and teachers should remember that the word education means "to lead out." Under the old system, the practice of which is by no means extinct, it might be presumed to imply-" to cram in." Such is education on the Blimber principle. A school or family so conducted, may be said to consist of so many little vessels exposed daily to be filled with a certain quantity of orthography, arithmetic, etc., properly weighed and labeled, with directions to be taken at regular intervals, and at certain specified periods. It is melancholy to behold the rows of little patients taking their morning and afternoon medicine, as thus administered. The tortures of Luke under his iron crown, or Regulus in his barrel, could scarcely surpass the mental and physical agonies sometimes suffered by the little martyrs when racked on these Procrustean beds, in order to advance their growth in irresistible intelligence and dogmatic wisdom.

IMPORTANCE OF PUNCTUATION. "Wanted: A young man to take charge of a pair of horses of a religious turn of mind." A school committee-man writes: "We have a school-house large enough to accommodate four hundred pupils four stories high."

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