the higher classes alone, and which must be confined to the class-room.

It has been presumed, in an earlier part of this treatise, that the mind of an infant cannot be exercised with cheerfulness on any one subject, except under extraordinary circumstances, for a longer space of time than about a quarter of an hour. The teacher must carefully meet this tendency to weariness, by dividing the lessons themselves into so small parts, that they may be severally completed rather within that period. Novelty, another desirable object in fixing the attention of infants, may be thus consulted as the lessons may be so arranged as to recur not more than twice or three times in the week, and then at different periods of the day. After the division of the lessons, the teacher may next proceed to form his scheme of instruction. He may, in his scheme, divide the school-hours of the week into their quarters; and having thus before him the division of the time of the week, he may allot to each quarter its lesson, and arrange the whole in the manner which he conceives to be most suitable to the ends he has in view. The first and last quarter of each day, I will not hesitate to presume, will in every Infants' school be appropriated to the use of a suitable prayer, * and the singing of

See note D. at the end of the volume.

some simple hymn. In the prayer, in some schools, the oldest boy kneels at one end of the room, and the next in age at the end opposite. The general prayer for the school is then recited by the first boy. The second boy repeats it alone after him, sentence by sentence; but in the repetition of the Lord's Prayer at the close, the whole school unites.

ARTIFICIAL AIDS TO THE PRESERVATION OF ORDER.-It may usefully call into exercise the ingenuity of the teacher, to discover means of conveying by signs his wishes at once to the whole school. The following, amongst others, have been tried with success.

The division of the lessons into portions adapted to periods of one quarter of an hour, will suggest the necessity of having, if possible, a clock in the school-room. It will not add very considerably to this expense, if, instead of striking the hours, the clock he made to strike once, loudly, every quarter. When the superintendant perceives the hand approaching the quarter he may place himself in the rostrum, and immediately on the stroke, give out; with a slow and distinct voice, what must be the lesson of the next quarter.

He must have some sign, also, which the

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children may all understand, for their terminating their lessons, and returning quietly to their places. This may be the use of a handbell, which he may carry in his pocket. But let him bear in mind, that he may both display and excite ungoverned passion by the hasty and noisy manner of ringing his bell, as well as by the angry tones of his voice.

He will farther find it necessary to have some means of directing the modulation of the voices of the children whilst repeating their lessons. A small and shrill whistle will answer this purpose, if he impress it, as he may effectually, on the mind of the little multitude that, whenever he uses it, they are to say their lessons in a whisper.

The following general considerations on the subject of the preceding section may perhaps be worthy of the attention of the superintendant of an Infants' school.

In such an establishment, order is not the result of a law, but of an influence. It is a habit, and not the subjection of the will to reason or to necessity. It will be obvious, then,