was well prepared to appreciate and heartily to applaud the remarks of

JOHN KNEELAND, Esq., of Roxbury, who said; I was struck with the remark of Prof. Frost, that a man might go on all his life, making sounds, while not a single one of them would be musical. (Laughter.) I feel that I ought to keep this in mind. I feel altogether out of place here. In the first place, I have not any hobby to ride. (Laughter and applause.) I do not feel half so sure of my opinions as these gentlemen do who have spoken. Why, Mr. Chairman, this meeting does one good thing for us, it shows us how old we are. I have been living at home and thinking I was somebody, at least as good as the average. Now I feel that the times have gone on ahead of me; I am not up to them. I do not believe half so much in gymnastics as these gentlemen do. We are having gymnastics for breakfast, gymnastics for dinner, and gymnastics for supper. We started off yesterday on the question, "How many hours ought children to be confined in school?" What was the discussion ? Nothing but gymnastics. We commenced this morning on "The Qualifications of Primary Teachers." What qualifications do they require? Nothing but gymnastics. (Laughter.) We are to have an address to-morrow on Universal Education, &c., and I suppose we shall have nothing but gymnastics. (Great laughter.)

I hardly know how to speak upon this question. Perhaps it has something to do with teaching reading in the school-room. I would like to ask my friends if, after they have got up all abdominal strength (Laughter), there is not something else to be done. I think it is time that we progressed. Perhaps, Mr. President, it would be well to leave off this gymnastic subject, and go on with the old-fashioned way of teaching reading and elocution. It

may be that our friends have found out some new way; and, perhaps, since I have got up here and broken the ice, some of the old teachers will come up and tell us their methods. There is a diversity of opinion as to reading. If we adopt the style which the gentleman gave us to-day, we shall fall into too theatrical a manner, and be charac-. terized for that. Dickens speaks of Watsall, in his great work, who could read the clergyman into fits." I do not know how that might be there; but we know that the clergymen can read us into fits here. (Laughter.) He would endeavor to get out the proper expression, would work his face so as to bring out the idea, and not only his face, but his whole body too. Not long ago, there appeared an article in the Springfield Republican, criticizing the reading as it is taught in our schools. That article was copied quite extensively, and it was said that we only foster bad habits of reading. I do not know but it is true. We want, as Mr. Munroe suggested, to make natural readers. Our efforts are too much given to teaching to read some particular piece or pieces. We want to give the power of reading. Besides this special instruction upon particular pieces, we need to give pupils an ability to do something for themselves. In one of the English papers I saw a little item about a visit of an inspector to one of the schools, who tried the ability of the scholars to read from a newspaper. A majority of them could not read from it. You cannot tell a person's power until he is tried on a piece that has not been read by him before. Scholars generally are not able to pronounce the words quickly enough; they do not grasp them quickly enough with the mind, and do not have practice enough to give them this power. Therefore when they have a new piece they stumble over the words. We ought to read new pieces to gain this power of calling the words;

and then we require another kind of practice to enable pupils to read gracefully and rhetorically.

Our friend (Mr. Buckingham) does not seem to think much of declamation. I differ from him; I think much of it. In ancient times boys were sent to a dancing school to learn to stand. This exercise of declamation gives the boys a command over themselves, a command of the breath; they get also a good deal of power of expression. They like declamation, and therefore they enter into it readily, and try to do everything as it should be done. That power, thus developed, can be applied in reading.

D. B. TOWER, Esq, of St. Louis. Mr. President, you have called for the old ones, and I come to answer the call, and especially to answer the question of one of my young friends with reference to declamation. Declamation has much importance besides the proper utterance of words. I would have a boy come out to the platform for the purpose of training him to do it without falling down, and for the purpose of giving him ease in his movements. If I thought he did not learn anything else, I would have him come out. Almost any boy will be benefited by being trained to utter a piece; even if he overacts and makes a terrible whirlwind about nothing, he will get over it. Twenty-five years ago I had for my hobby articulation, and it has been articulation ever since. We have had a very scientific exhibition of the method of teaching elocution. Much of it does not come directly into the school-room. The posture does, however. The words should be uttered slowly and distinctly. A lady told me, week before last, "I had a Boston little girl in my Sabbath school to-day." How do you know she was from Boston? "No scholar have I ever heard read so distinctly and so well from any other place. The child was eight years old, and of course must have received its instruction in the primary school.

We are apt to emphasize too many words in reading. I recollect a preacher who was told that he invariably put the emphasis on the wrong word in reading this passage: "He was the only son of his mother," always putting the emphasis on the word mother. He announced an important fact by reading it as he did, but the fact that he was the only son he did not give. When asked to read it after the mistake was pointed out to him, he failed again. We are not apt to see our own mistakes. We have all read or heard of the manner of reading the Scripture by another clergyman, "He told his sons, saddle me the ass, and they saddled him." Not only emphasis of words, but of clauses, must be considered.

After all, I think we shall have to make boys know the names of words, stop long enough to shake hands with the pauses, and so get good, plain, common-sense reading. But there is all the difference in the world in this plain common-sense reading, as heard in the schools of Boston. The improvement in reading in those schools for the last twenty years has been very marked.

The Institute then adjourned to a quarter before eight in the evening.

EVENING SESSION.

The Institute met at a quarter before eight, and as Dr. Pease, President of Vermont University, who had been announced as the lecturer for the evening, was unable to be present, on account of sickness, Leander Wetherell, Esq., of Boston, was introduced, who had kindly consented to address the Institute at a short notice. His theme was, "Liberal Education, and especially the Liberal Education of Woman, as essential to the highest type of Civilization." The address occupied nearly an hour and a half, and was listened to with much interest.

The Institute then adjourned till nine o'clock to-morrow morning.

FRIDAY MORning, aug. 23.

The Institute met this morning at nine o'clock, and was opened with prayer by Rev. Mr. Williams, of Brattleboro'. The minutes of the proceedings of yesterday were read ⚫ and approved.

LECTURE BY T. D. ADAMS, ESQ.

T. D. Adams, Esq., Principal of the High School, Newton, Mass., was introduced as the lecturer of the morning, who proceeded to address the Institute in an eloquent manner, eliciting the heartiest applause, upon "The Bearings of Popular Education upon Civilization."

On motion of Mr. Northrop, the Institute voted to proceed to the election of officers for the ensuing year at twenty minutes before twelve o'clock.

The Institute then took a recess of five minutes.

DISCUSSION.

The next exercise in order was the discussion of the subject: — Universal Education the Great Safeguard of a Republican Government."

ADDRESS OF HON. JOSEPH WHITE.

The President called upon Hon. Joseph White, Secretary of the Board of Education of Massachusetts, to commence the discussion.

MR. WHITE said: Mr. President, were I not disposed to pay great deference to the command of the Good Book, to render due obedience to the powers that be, I would greatly prefer to disobey your call, even at the expense of moving into regions out of your jurisdiction; for I am

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