Boys," said the young commander, seeing his opportunity, "we must not show ourselves worse soldiers than they. To-morrow we shall meet the enemy; let him prove a better man than Washington—'

The shout that went up from the throats of those brave young Virginians drowned the rest of their leader's words, but told him of a determination to be loyal and not flinch, even if the enemy wet the snow-balls and packed them into stinging lumps of ice; and Captain Bustle and his band might well have trembled had they heard.

snow.

To-morrow came, and with it full four inches of splendid packing

All the morning before study and during recesses, was spent in rolling up the heavy adhesive flakes into balls for redoubt and breastwork, and as the school settled down to a steady hum of droning tasks that afternoon, the exchange of defiant looks told that all was ready for the grand crash of-snowballs, whenever books were ordered away again, that was to decide whether Washington or Bustle must bow his proud head.

Slowly the tedious recitations were ground out. I am sure the attention given to them and to the books was purely perfunctory. I am confident that not much of the foundation of the future surveyor was laid in the work done in Washington's "cipher book" that afternoon, unless it lay in the line of drafting and plotting ornamentation. Whether lynx-eyed Sexton Hobby suspected as much from the heavy assiduity with which the young mathematician devoted himself to it, or whether it was the covert, curious glances his followers cast toward its fascinating pages, anyway, he knew how to keep his own counsel and the mute interchange of defiant challenges was kept up.

When, at last, the welcome signal came to put books away, the eyes of either half the school turned, each toward their respective leaders, and every young soldier's heart began to nerve itself for the coming fray.

All was hushed, ready for the "pin to drop." The Washington clans and the Bustle clans sat with the sinews of their legs bent tens: under their desks, ready for a spring and a rush for the first place out of the door, as soon as Sexton Hobby's lips should frame, "School's out!"

He was going to say it! Now-wait. He moved over to George Washington's form, and, laying his hand on it, raised it with something in it-a ciphering book.

He opened it and exposed two of its pages to the gaze of the school. They stared. Then a titter ran around and some heads

dropped. The pages were adorned with pen-and-ink profiles, more comical than artistic.

"Schools out! George Washington is kept in for making faces in his ciphering book."

There was no battle that afternoon, but a council of war later and an attack and victory next morning, which wiped out William Bustle's pretensions and the disgrace of the day before at the same time; but the ciphering book, with the profiles of a victorious band marching into the enemy's fort, was kept in the Mount Vernon library, among other interesting documents, for many years after the youthful captain had become the Father of his Country and the whole nation kept his birthday.-Golden Days.

TEACHING BY THE AID OF HYPNOTISM.

LONG BEACH, Oct. 1, 1894.

EDITOR JOURNAL: The experiments I undertook four years ago have been so uniformly successful that I feel it a duty I owe to the teachers of the coming century to explain to you the methods by which I have arrived at such wonderful results; so that those abler than I may follow the methods I shall explain to you and shall far surpass what yet has been attempted.

A study of hypnotism had convinced me that the whole thing depended upon suggestion (as several learned professors had declared), but no one seemed to see the application which might be made of this theory to the art of teaching.

In October and November 1890, I put two of my most easily influenced pupils into a hypnotic state without their knowing exactly what I intended to do. One of them was given to the use of tobacco and the other to profane language. While they were in this hypnotic condition, I suggested to one that the use of tobacco would make him deathly sick whenever he chewed any, and the other I impressed with the belief that his tongue would itch intolerably after speaking a swear word.

The entire success of these plans was so encouraging, that, in a short time, I had nearly all my pupils under my hypnotic control and was pleased to find that I could thus break them of any bad habits.

I suggested to them daily hours of severe study and soon had to check the tendency to overwork beyond their strength to endure; and these were ordinary children, too.

One day I had a brilliant idea, which seemed so feasible that I dismissed school in a fever of impatience to try the new plan. One of my most susceptible pupils, a rather dull but nervous child, I had remain after the rest had gone and I soon had him hypnotized and entirely subject to my will.

In a copy of a magazine I had just received was a very fine review of a late historical work. This I read to the boy, impressing him strongly with the idea that he must remember what I read. Again before I awoke him, I assured the boy that he would never forget what I had read, and I awoke him from this hypnotic sleep with that assurance of remembrance firmly fixed in his mind.

The result surpassed my wildest hope. Every word of the book was remembered, verbatim. And we all know that the teaching of 1890 was mainly a process of memorizing and here was a plan to save years of study. I went home that night dazed and in a somnambulic state. I resigned my school and with the $2,000 I had saved, I resolved to experiment in this way that promised so much.

I went to San Francisco armed with letters to the various orphan asylums and came back with six fine lads from five to seven years old. These were soon so under my control so that a very slight suggestion— a wave of the hand-would throw anyone of them into a sound hypnotic sleep. One lesson taught them to read, a few more gave them a splendid knowledge of history, of geography and the other ordinary school studies. Writing, drawing, music, all were learned through suggestion, and we soon had a fair command over all the modern languages as well as the classics. "Trouble with their health," did you say? Bless you, no. I suggested at each meal that their food should digest and that things should agree with them; I suggested that they should sleep soundly and healthfully at night. I could easily have had them do without actual sleep, but I was afraid to try that suggestion for fear of evil results. One unlucky series of experiments had cost me the lives of two of the older boys and I was resolved to be extremely careful after that experience.

After I had spent two years at this work and had made model scholars of the four remaining lads, none of whom were over eight years old, I resolved to give those public exhibitions which have been the wonder of the past year and have awakened so much discussion. To see pupils of that age able to answer any set of examination questions, able to play the most difficult music, to paint such marvelous pictures, to construct such highly finished models of manual work was beyond belief.

Of course, our exhibitions brought us in a wonderful pile of money though this threatened at one time to be used up in defending these orphans I had educated from the host of relatives who claimed them through the courts, because they saw that there was money in them. In fact, I temporarily lost one boy in that way, but he was restored to me, for I suggested to the lad that he forget all he had learned the past year and the uncle who won the suit, soon found he had only a burden on his hands and was glad to restore him to me again on the payment of a small sum of money.

But as reporters had discovered my methods of training and had told all sorts of false stories about how it was done, I thought it best to write to you and give a plain statement of this new and wonderful method of imparting knowledge. I already have proffers of large sums of money to practically give brains to the children of the rich and there will doubtless be hundreds of hypnotic teachers springing up all over the land, but the glory of this new discovery undoubtedly belongs to Yours truly, C. M. DRAKE,

Hypnotic Professor of Modern Cramming.

WHAT IS A RELIGIOUS EDUCATION?

EDITOR PACIFIC EDUCATIONAL JOURNAL :-In looking over the JOURNAL for July, I find this question: "What is a Religious Education?" and an article from the School Journal, in which an attempt. is made to answer it, but which leaves one as much in the dark as though it had not been asked.

It is an important question and I lay down the proposition that one's education is not complete which does not embrace religion.

What is then a religious education? It is not an education simply of the creeds and dogmas of any or every church.

It is not a lip service in which there is no heart (as the writer of the aforesaid article suggests.)

Neither is the question: "What is Religious Worship?" for we do not go to school to worship, but to get an education; and if we study Greek and Latin we may become ministers, or lawyers, or professors. If we study mathematics we may be engineers or architects. If we study the Bible we may become what? Religious.

What, then, is religion? It is defined as a performance of duties toward God. Any harm in that? If a man is educated so that he

will be likely to perform his duty to God, will he not be just as likely to perform his duty to his fellow man?

Is not then a religious education an acqaintance with the word of God (or the Bible)? "How, then, shall we believe without knowing, and how shall we know without a teacher?"

"The entrance of thy word giveth light;" then why shut out the word? That the people may sit in darkness? Is darkness better than light?

Then let the Bible be read. It need not be studied, but if in the reading one becomes acquainted with the word, and such acquaintance brings a desire for more knowledge, then there are schools where he or she can persue that desire to its highest point. Then why not let in the light? Can any one answer? TRUSTEE.

Sarcasm, a sneer. (F., L., Gk.) F. sarcasme. Lat. sarcasmus, sarcasmos. Gk. sarkasmos, a sneer. Gk. sarkadzein, to tear flesh, like dogs; to bite the lips in rage; to sneer. Gk. sark, stem of sarks, flesh. (-)

Be not deceived by the etymology of this word. What it does is worse than flesh-tearing, for it is but a figure for deeper wounding than severed nerve can feel. The rattan is much more respectable, morally, though the other may seem to be justified of the admiring intellect. Blight and hurt of the spirit are less easily cured than welted backs and smarting legs and shoulders. The old Irish schoolmaster's beech rod was painful and more or less brutal, but it was a frank and open argument ad puerum; not a satanic thrust with an Italian needle-dagger that left one bleeding to death inside.

Ah, let us who dare to use this mortal weapon beware, lest with the surprise of despair, we one day know ourselves to be murderers!

Though great wisdom is expected of us, it is true that not many Solomons sit on the teacher's platform, and few of these there be who have the seraphic prudence to use sarcasm only where it and nothing else will move the sluggish spirit and not kill; and even they, in the silence of the closet, must have a season of humiliating hate for themselves afterward.

Many a fine spirit that might have been moved to noblest achievement, touched by the right gentle word, has been hurt irremediably by the thrust of a sharp-witted but dull-visioned teacher. "Feeble stuff that could be so injured!" Admitting this to be true, are the feeble, then, legitimate food for the sword?