objects whose colors are stated might be shown them; or if any of these objects are not at hand, they may be exhibited by colored engravings. To illustrate Lesson 3, a pair of scales, a basin of water, a piece of cork, and three pieces of iron, copper, and lead, of equal size, will be required, and then the experiment of weighing the pieces, and plunging them into the water, may be exhibited to the class. When explaining Lesson 4, a piece of stained or smoked glass may be put into the hands of the pupils, when the sun is visible, that each of them may try the experiment. The questions proposed in this lesson, which are not answered, may serve to exercise the judgment of the pupils. They are understood to refer to the circumstance of a cloudy day. Various simple questions of this description should be embodied in the lessons, to give scope to youthful judgment and ingenuity. The latter part of this lesson might afford an opportunity to the teacher of impressing the minds of the class with a sense of the presence, goodness, and universal agency, of the Creator. It will scarcely be denied, that in this way instruction may be blended with amusement, and that a considerable variety of useful knowledge might be gradually imparted to the juvenile mind. Descriptions of animals would form another interesting class of lessons for the young, as in the following example: The Peacock. The peacock is the most beautiful bird in the world. Its beauty excels that of all other animals. Its bill is about two inches long, and is of a brown color. Its head and neck, and part of its breast, are of a dark blue color. On the top of its head there is a tuft of pretty green feathers, which adds to its beauty. Its neck is long and slender, and its back of a whitish grey color, spotted with black. But the plumage and tail of this splendid bird are the most beautiful parts of its body. They are adorned with colors so rich and various, that no human art can make any thing like them. When this bird walks in the sunshine, every moment produces a thousand shades of coloring, which are beautiful and ever varying. These fine colors exceed the lustre of the finest flowers of the fields and gardens. But, like the flowers, they fade every year, and the feathers drop from their bodies, and are again renewed every spring. The length of the peacock, from the tip of the bill to the end of the tail, is about three feet eight inches. Some of its longest feathers are four feet long. This bird appears haughty and proud, and loves to display its fine colors to those who are looking on, like those little boys and girls who are proud of their fine clothes. The peacock perches upon high places, and lives upon barley and other kinds of grain. Its beautiful plumage does not appear before it is nearly three years old. When drops its fine feathers, in the time of harvest, it does not like to be seen, but seeks to hide itself in some gloomy place. Though the peacock is very beautiful, it utters a very harsh and disgusting cry. For whole hours it will repeat the cry of eko, eko, eko, with the most hideous noise. It cannot sing a pleasant song, like the linnet and the blackbird. It is so wicked that it will scarcely live with any other bird, except the pigeon; and it tears and spoils every thing it gets a hold of with its bill. This bird was first brought from a far distant country, from the East Indies, and it lives to the age of twenty-five years. Little boys and girls, be not like the peacock, proud and vain, on account of your beauty and your fine clothes; for humility and goodness are always to be preferred to beauty. In teaching this and similar lessons, a stuffed specimen of the animal described should be placed on a table opposite the class, and its different parts and colors pointed out; but if a specimen is not at hand, a colored engraving should be exhibited, either in the class book, or on a large sheet pasted on a pasteboard. The terms, tuft, plumage, bill, perching, &c. should be explained by a reference to the figure or specimen, and the length of a yard, foot and inch, or any number of these combined, should be distinctly explained and exhibited, by means of rods of different lengths. There is another class of lessons for the juvenile classes, which might consist chiefly of descriptions and exhibitions of entertaining experiments. For example The Sagacious Swan. There is a nice little amusing toy which is sold in some toy shops, called the Sagacious Swan. This swan is made of very thin tin plate,. or other light substance, and is hollow within. Near its mouth, in the inside, is fixed a small magnet, or loadstone. The swan is placed in a large basin full of water, in which it swims. A small rod of metal about five or six inches long, with a piece of bread fastened to one end of it, is held out to the swan, at the distance of an inch or two from its mouth. The swan then moves forward after the rod, as if it wished to take hold of the piece of bread. If you move the rod gently from the swan, it will swim after it all round the basin, and from one side of it to another, as if it were a living swan swimming after its food. But if you present the other end of the rod to the swan, it will swim backwards, and try to avoid it, as if you were wishing to mock or insult it. The rod on which the piece of bread is fastened is also a loadstone. A loadstone attracts or draws to it needles, and any small bits of iron or steel that are near it. Every loadstone has two ends, which are called its north and south poles. When the north pole of one loadstone is brought near to the south pole of another, they will attract each other. But when the north pole of one is brought near to the north pole of another, they will repel or move from each other. When a small loadstone is placed on a piece of cork or light wood, and made to swim in a basin of water, it will turn itself round, till it point nearly north and south. The compass which directs sailors in their course along the sea, consists of a small loadstone, which moves upon a pivot. It shows them how to steer to the East and the West, to the North and the South. By means of this small bit of loadstone, they can find their way over great seas and oceans, to the East Indies and America, and round the whole world. God created the loadstone for this purpose; and if we had never known its properties, we should never have been able to bring tea from China, or sugar from the West Indies, or to send Bibles to the people that dwell in the far distant isles of the sea. This lesson would of course require to be illustrated by the philosophical toy which it describes. This toy could be easily constructed by any ingenious mechanic, or it may be purchased for about five or six shillings. The experiment of placing a small magnet upon a piece of cork, and suspending it on the water, to show how it fixes itself north and south, might also be exhibited; and by taking another magnet and suspending it in the same manner opposite to the first, the attraction and repulsion of the different poles of the two magnets might be shown, which would explain the phenomena of the sagacious swan. The power of the magnet in attracting needles, small keys, penknives, &c. might at the same time be shown. A pocket compass might likewise be exhibited, and its use described; and the attractive and repulsive powers of the magnet shown, by presenting it alternately to the north and south poles of the compass needle. It might also be shown, that the magnetic power passes through interposing substances, by placing a board between the pocket compass and the magnet, and causing the pupils to observe, that the needle is made to turn round, by the influence of the magnet transmitted through the board. This is only one example, out of a hundred that might be produced, of rendering entertaining experiments interesting and instructive to children; and when truths are, in this way, associated with sensible representations and experiments, they are seldom erased from their minds to the latest periods of their existence. In the next stage of English reading, the pupil might enter on the perusal of a volume containing lessons on subjects of a higher order, such as those formerly described-which might be substituted in the place of our common school collections. The lessons in such a volume should be distinguished for the perspicuity and neatness of their style, although specimens of what is termed elegance and fine writing may be occasionally introduced. The following may serve as a specimen of the manner in which such lessons may be constructed: Description of Volcanoes. Volcanoes are mountains, generally of a large size, from the summits of which issue fire and smoke. On the top of these mountains there is a vast opening called the Crater, sometimes two or three miles in circumference, reaching from their summits to an immeasurable depth in the bowels of the earth. From these dreadful openings are frequently thrown up to an immense height, torrents of fire and smoke, clouds of ashes and cinders, and red hot stones, together with torrents of melted lava, which roll down the declivity of the mountain like an immense flaming river. These alarming appearances are frequently accompanied with thunders, lightnings, darkness, quakings of the earth, and horrid subterraneous sounds, producing the most terrible devastations through all the surrounding country. Previous to an eruption, the smoke, which is continually ascending from the crater, increases and shoots up to an immense height; forked lightning issues from the ascending column; showers of ashes are thrown to the distance of forty or fifty miles; volleys of red hot stones are discharged to a great height in the air; the sky appears thick and dark, and the luminaries of heaven disappear. When these alarming phenomena have continued for some time, the lava, or stream of melted minerals, begins to make its appearance, either boiling over the top, or forcing its way through the side of the mountain. This fiery deluge runs down the declivity of the mountain, forming a dismal flaming stream, sometimes 14 miles long, 6 miles broad, and 200 feet deep. In its course it destroys orchards, vineyards, corn fields, and villages; and sometimes cities, containing 20,000 inhabitants, have been consumed and buried under the burning lava. There are reckoned about fourteen of these volcanoes in Europe; of which the principal are, Mount Hecla in Iceland, Mount Vesuvius, near the city of Naples, Mount Etna in Sicily, and Stromboli in one of the Lipari islands. Etna and Vesuvius are often quiet for many months, and even years, without the appearance of fire, though the smoke is always ascending from their craters; but the mountain Stromboli is ever at work, and appears to be the only volcano that burns without ceasing; and for ages past, it has been looked upon as the great light house of the surrounding seas. Several phenomena of awful sublimity and terrific grandeur frequently accompany the eruptions of these volcanoes. Hecla in Iceland, is a mountain nearly a mile in perpendicular elevation, and a considerable portion of it is covered with In an eruption of this volcano in 1755, a stone weighing 290 pounds was thrown to the distance of 24 English miles. Not far from snow. this mountain, in the year 1783, there happened a most dreadful and appalling eruption, which was preceded by a violent earthquake, which lasted for a fortnight: after which the lava broke out from the earth, in three different places, forming three dreadful Fire Spouts. These fire spouts, or streams of burning lava, after having risen a considerable height into the air, united into one, arriving at last at such an amazing altitude, as to be seen at the distance of more than 200 miles. The height to which this fiery stream ascended was reckoned to be not less than two miles above the surface of the earth. This fire first became visible on the 8th of June, |