said? Why he said the "children were singing!" Why, I never! The shameful duplicity of that man was so great that I went away without saying a word.

I know from the sounds that I hear proceeding.from our school houses every day, that the most frightful tortures are practiced upon those innocent lambs by the teacher. Teaching the young ideas how to shoot, indeed! Learning them how to yell and howl more like. If I had a child—which, thank heaven I hav'nt got, and what's more, don't want none-it should grow up as ignorant as a City Council man, before I would send it to school to be tortured. I've always known it wasn't constitutional. No child's constitution could stand it.

Yours for the Constitution.

OLD MAID

(And I don't care who knows it.)

News Boys Lodging House.

AMONG the most successful and effective of the practical charities of New York is the News-boys' Lodging House over the Sun office in Fulton Street. It was established by the Childrens' Aid Society of New York in 1864, and the present plain but neat and well ventilated rooms were rented. The object of the institution is to reach homeless and friendless boys, who would otherwise continue to be street vagrants, and to rescue them from the perils of vice and the sufferings of poverty. Our engraving on pages 312 and 313 illustrate at once the features of this noble charity and the career of the news-boys. Through the attractions of the home thus provided for them they are led from the vicious haunts at places of amusements, and rescued from exposed places where they wait for the papers which they sell, to more agreeable and useful amusements and warmer and healthier beds. On entering the lodging house, the boys-news boys, boot-blacks, baggage-carriers, and all such are admitted-are required to wash themselves and have their hair cut, if it requires trimming. The meal to which each is then conducted costs four cents, and his bed five cents more. Admission to the gymnasium, evening-school, Sunday evening religious meeting, and the library is free. The gymnasium has proved a most valuable competitor with the places of low and vile amusement, and is

greatly enjoyed by the boys. The Superintendent, Mr. C. O'Connor, says that "the best influence in the institution is that exerted by the Sunday evening religious meeting, a voluntary gathering of orphans and street children to listen to simple religious truth." The same officer tells us that the library books are read and re-read by the boys, and the lecture room is filled four nights of each week with a good number intent upon gaining knowledge in the elementary branches of a common-school education. The library, being composed of odd volumes contributed by various friends, is naturally much mixed in character, embracing every variety of books from Holy Writ to Patent Office Reports. The boys are evidently very fond of books of adventure, for dozens of copies of Robinson Crusoe" and similar works of adventure have been literally "thumbed" to pieces. All persons having an excess of books of narrative and adventure for juvenile readers can make wise disposal of them by sending them to the News-boy's Library, at No. 128 Fulton Street.

Among other curious features of the institution is the "SavingsBank," in which the boys deposit their pence for safe keeping. Many of the statistics of the House are very curious and interesting. Last year 8192 boys were lodged; about one-half were natives of this country, the remainder were born abroad-3009 of them in Ireland. Nearly one-fifth were under 11 years of age; the greatest proportion of the rest were aged from twelve to fifteen. Out of the total number, over four-fifths could read and write. Five-sevenths of them were orphans or half-orphans. Of these 8192 children 707 were without employment, and were provided by the society with homes in the West. Of the 1362 having parents living 719 were truant or lost children, who were returned to their relatives. The "Savings Bank" resulted in saving for 542 boys the nice sum of $2,121.76. The 8192 boys thus lodged contributed $2,718.79, in the shape of payments for meals and lodgings, to the support of the institution. In 1862, $10 was given by Mr. Benjamin J. Hawland, one of the trustees of the Children's Aid Society, as a fund from which to loan small sums to needy boys; additions were made to it from time to time, and in 1866 the "Howland Fund" amounted to $30. From this sum loans were made that year to the amount of $156,35, from which the borrowers realized $368.51. The police records for the same year state the en

couraging fact that only eight boys of this lodging-house were arrested for crime or disorderly conduct. The lodging house has been in operation for thirteen years. During that time 48,910 boys have been cared for, and 3751 have been returned to their friends, at a total cost of $53,815.64, of which the boys paid $14,739,74, making the net cost just eighty cents per year for each boy. During those years the boys saved in their savings bank $14, 501.70. Renewed efforts are making to extend the operations of this charity, and render the house even more attractive than it now is to the boys whom it receives; and hopes are yet entertained of building a larger and more complete lodging house adequate to the accommodation of thousands instead of only hundreds of these "waifs of the metropolis."-Harper's Weekly.

Co-Education of the Sexes.

The co-education of the sexes is a characteristic feature of our American common-school system, in contradistinction to the European system of national schools. Every where in the United States, except in a few of the largest cities, the boys and girls are educated together in the public schools. What is the result? Are we ready to admit that in France, where boys and girls are educated apart, the standard of morality is higher than with us? Are wives and daughters purer and truer? Is woman more respected there than with us? We are no believers either in the celibacy of the clergy or the separate education of the sexes. We were born and bred in that benighted corner of the Union where common schools were first established, where they have since been nurtured and sustained, and where men and women have been taught to think for themselves. Our pleasantest memories of school-days are associated with the bright-eyed little girls who came to school on summer mornings, bringing May flowers, and lilacs, and peonies and pinks in their hands. We loved some of those pretty girls with all the fullness of boyish feeling. We have never forgotten them, and never expect to forget them. God made them beautiful, like spring violets, and gave us hearts to love them; no body ever informed us it was dangerous to play with them, to ramble with them round the pastures after flowers and strawberries. No impure thought ever sullied our affection for them, for no moral reformers had ever

poisoned our minds with the notion that boys and girls are innately vicious. Bare-foot farmer-boys were all of us, with tanned faces and hands used to toil; the farmers' girls, red-cheeked, barefoot, too, and dressed in homespun, taught us our first lessons of faith in the purity and nobleness of womanhood. They were our best teachers. They made the old school-house pleasant with the sunlight of their faces, and merry with their ringing laughter. They softened our rough natures. We chose the girls we liked the best at the spelling-matches, and never were the worse for it. We hauled the girls on sleds in winter-time, and slid on the ice together, and none of us ever thought of evil. Some of us even fell in love, and had dim notions, in sentimental moments, that away in the future we should marry some one of these favorite girls; but the fancies were never realized, and they never did, us any harm. School-master and school-mistress are forgotten; the old school-house is in ruins. Two of the boys who sat with us in school, after life's fitful fever, rest in peace in this land where they found graves instead of gold. We turn with vain longings to the home scenes which we never expect to revisit. The girls are all married; our hair is turning gray; but we look back upon the past, and feel devoutly thankful that our fathers, and mothers, and teachers, had common sense enough to believe in letting boys and girls go to. school together.-[Hon. John Swett, in California Teacher.

Preventing Communication Among Scholars In School.

Testimony of Teachers at the Sauk County Institute, held last April. Miss Clara Stone-Called the roll at night. If they had not whispered, the scholars reported "Correct," otherwise "Incorrect."

Miss Hulburt-Had used the same method sometimes, but had used: different methods in different schools; and had offered prizes..

Miss Brown-Had punished some sel olars to correct the practice of whispering; had also offered prizes, and had used the self-reporting system.

Miss Dresser-Used the same methods spoken of by Miss Stone. Miss Mary Flanders-Had adopted the same method; had sometimes punished; had made reports at stated times to the parents.

Miss Westerhaver-Had kept a record of recitations and deportment in the same way, sending in a report to the parents once a month, and >sometimes punishing, according to her judgement of the necessity.

Miss Spencer-Had also used the self-reporting system, and prizes. Mr. Herman Saare-Had told the scholars what he wanted of them, had explained the impropriety of communications; never used prizes nor the self-reporting system; but had punished the disorderly.

Miss Sanford-Had used the self-reporting system; found it to succeed pretty well generally; where it had failed, had resorted to punishing.

Misses Plummer, Nelson and Ryder-Were understood to say they had pursued a like course.

Miss Warner-Had never tried any other way than the self-reporting system.

Miss Brailey-Used that method also.

Miss Odell-Had used both prizes and self-reporting.

Miss Kellogg Had used both of these methods.

Miss Shaw-Had used the same system; had kept small scholars separate; had let them out of doors to rest and talk; had kept larger ones too busy to have time or desire to converse. In using the selfreporting system, great care had to be taken to impress the love of truth on the scholar; had always been able to secure truth with self-reporting; confidence in a scholar led to truth.

Miss Lamport-Had used self-reporting, making out for the parents. a written statement once a weak, and had also used prizes

Mr. Lent-Had never attempted to suppress whispering entirely ; had used the various methods already stated; thought the love of a high character had the most, and the best influence, when judiciously kept before the scholars.

Miss Dennis-Kept the scholars so busy they did not have time to communicate; used self-reporting and insisted they should be perfect; gave lessons to the older scholars or those more a lvanced,so they would be kept busy.

Miss McGinns-Kept a record of conduct, of orderly or good; gave the scholars credit marks accordingly; it did not always work, however, and in case it failed, resorted to punishment in different ways. Liked the plan of reporting monthly, but in a large school it required