Thus, from the ordinary hill to the lofty peaks of the Alps, a careful, and, apparently, correctly-graduated scale, is adopted and followed throughout. Every teacher, therefore, who can command a set of these maps, would find great utility in their use.

They might be used to advantage in connection with the engraved classification of mountains, found in many school atlases.

The mere learning by rote of the names and heights of mountains, of the elevations and depressions from the surface of the sea of various territories, can make no impression on the mind to compare in permanency with what is acquired through the medium of the eye, assisted by the judgment; and hence these maps have claims superior to the other means of instruction and illustration, which have usually been found in the schools.

I have purposely avoided making the discriminations of Physical, Mathematical, and Political geography, because I wished to range freely and at large over the wide field embraced in the general subject; and because I believe that, in traversing the surface of the globe, unfettered by technicalities or rigid rules, I could appropriately touch upon any topic having near relations to the soil, and what it is producing, or has produced, worthy of being known to the young. Method is well, and there are studies which require a rigorous adherence to it, and particularly as the student advances in years and mental capacity; but, as I wander with my pupil, for a peripatetic lesson, and call his attention to the flower by the wayside, the rock of the crag, or the lofty tree of the forest, so, in the survey of the crust of the planet we inhabit, I cannot willingly pass specimens of the striking, the noble, or the instructive, without endeavoring to turn it to a profitable account.

We cannot make the school-boy's task too agreeable. There is no danger that he will not have labor enough, and vexation enough, and confinement to his books and the school-room sufficient to exercise all his patience and temper, his memory, his reasoning powers, and his physical endurance,-give him what auxiliaries we may. And this should always be borne in mind. The work that he is capable of doing I would require of him; but whatever of sunlight can be thrown in upon his path of intellectual toil should not be withheld. He will then not only acquire more, and comprehend what might otherwise be obscure in his mind, but will enjoy as he labors, and thus be encouraged to press on to higher and nobler attainments, urged by his own wishes and feelings, rather than by the requisitions of those who direct him. This is not only desirable for the pupil's sake, but changes the teacher's task to a delightful recreation.

PLANS OF UNION SCHOOL-HOUSE IN ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN.

THE grounds of the Public High School or Union School in the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, occupy an entire square-in the center of which (Figure 2) the building stands. That portion which is in front is planted with trees and shrubbery, so dispersed with intervals of green sward and parterres of flowers, by an experienced gardener, as to produce the finest effect. The portion in the rear is divided into two yards, appropriately fitted up for the recreations of either sex.

Fig. 2. GROUNDS.

The building is three stories high, as is shown in Figure 1, besides a basement 9 feet high. The first and second stories are each 12 feet, and the third story, which is finished in one hall, used for chapel and other general exercises of the school, is 16 feet in the clear.

The two wings on the first and second floors are occupied by class-rooms, (A.) each 36 by 37 feet-those on one side for girls and those on the other for boys— each class-room having a large recitation room (B) On the lower floor one of these rooms is occupied by the library, and the other by apparatus. There are appropriate rooms (D. E. C.) for depositing outer garments. The furniture is of the latest and best style for strength and convenience. Ventilation is secured by separate flues, (V.) and the entire building is heated by air, warmed by furnaces in the basement, and introduced at different points (h.)

The grounds, the school-house, and the school constitute one of the attractions of Ann Arbor.

IV. CHARLES E. HOVEY.

CHARLES EDWARD HOVEY, first principal of the Normal University of Illinois, was born in Thetford, Vt., April 26th, 1827. His parents were intelligent and laborious; wringing from the hard soil of a New England farm the comforts but not the luxuries of life for a large family of children. Appreciating the value of education, they not only gave their children, without distinction, the benefit of common school instruction, such as it was a quarter of a century ago in Vermont, but also encouraged several of them to seek by their own exertion for knowledge at higher sources. Two of them, besides the subject of this sketch, are graduates of Dartmouth College.

In boyhood, Mr. Hovey was distinguished for activity and boldness. He had no special predilection for study, and made no rapid strides in gaining knowledge. He kept pace, however, in his progress, with those of his own age, and early conceived an admiration for the office of teacher. A desire to reach this exalted position may be numbered, the writer has reason to believe, with the chief incentives to study which at that time affected his mind. When about sixteen years of age, he began to prepare for college; studying for the most part in the academy of his native town, and obtaining the requisite funds by "teaching school" during the winter months. His success as a teacher, at this early period, was, in his own opinion, very moderate. Having no adequate conception of his work, he observed the customary routine of labor, and was satisfied if "the sums were done" and the scholars "made to mind." Whether, however, his standard of duty was then lower than that of many teachers who enter the schoolroom for the winter, giving the rest of the year to other pursuits, may perhaps be doubtful; for men do not commonly honor with their highest respect and love a calling to which they resort, for a brief period only, in transitu to something better.

Mr. Hovey entered college in July, 1848, and pursued with energy the regular course of study. His standing as a scholar was good; but he exhibited no special preference for any one branch of knowledge. His love of public speaking and debate was marked, and several orations which he delivered attracted considerable attention. Social, active, and energetic, he was generally successful in accomplishing his purposes. In the last year of his course, he was elected president of the "Social Friends" by a handsome majority. One