pared a scale of sounds ranging from oo as in soon, to i as in it.

After explaining

the difference between simple and compound sounds, (without any respect to the current names of vowels, diphthongs, &c.) showing that those sounds, which, when continued, end as they begin, are simple, while those which begin with one sound and end with another are compound, I exhibited the following range of

Sound.

SIMPLE SOUNDS.

1 00

23456789

as in the words do, soon, boot, rule, school, woo.

2 u

6 ah

8 a

10 e

foot, book, good, hook, wood, put, full.
go, no, nose, dough, woke, tow.

on, cot, doll, sorry, what.

or, law, fall, for, all, faun.

ah, bar, father, comma (terminal)
up, utter, (dom as in wisdom.)
at, back, cat, apple.

bet, debt, sell, when, said, wed, head.

eel, eve, seal, leaf, we, thee, seize, grieve.
it, still, him, sing, pin.

For example, oi begins with au and ends with i. The reader, if sceptical, may convince himself by trying to prolong the utterance of this diphthong. Perhaps some will refuse assent to my assumption that a as in late is a compound sound; after carefully experimenting, I think it is. Moreover, by thus analysing it, we may cure the pronunciation of those rustics, who, by omitting the thin terminal, call gate, gaat, pronouncing the a as a continued eh.

· (9). In my district, view and beauty are vɔo and booty, but in my own little circle. this usage has become exceptional by the adoption of the above analysis.

It would be as easy as perhaps it would be tedious to give many illustrations; my purpose is simply to direct attention to the subject, and to impress upon the reader my belief that any defects of utterance, not caused by organic deformity, may be overcome by the simple agency of a rational analysis. But no doubt some readers may wonder where the standard, the key-note, is to be found. The rhymes of our good modern writers are often conclusive, but we can get trustworthy information only vivâ voce. School inspectors, whose journeys render them pretty cosmopolitan, would cheerfully settle a teacher's doubts. But can a teacher who has had a normal school training, and that too in London, have doubts? He may, after being long in one, perhaps his native place, hearing in every sermon, every Committee-meeting, and every school-hour, perhaps too in his own home, the same "tones provincial," he must have had uncommon vigilance if his speech does not betray his conformity to his neighbours' usage, rather than to that of the tutor's lecture-room.

I may not expand this paper by a discussion of the consonants, although while so few speakers have the power or the care requisite to utter an extended succession of Short unaccented syllables with clearness and spirit, there is evidently need of attention to the matter. And what can we add, seeing so much good advice thrown away, on the subject of roor letter H? Utterly disregarded where he has an

unquestionable right to be honourably conspicuous, and anon pressed into unseemly duty. But uncomfortable as one feels in seeing him thus ill-treated, I am not quite sure whether it is not more offensive to find him thrust upon our notice with an ostentatious effort, ushered in by a pause, made the vehicle of misplaced emphasistreated, in short, with all the ceremony of a rare visitor, or newly-made acquaintance, not as he should be, an honoured and constant member of the alphabetical household. In cases of doubtful usage, it is merely polite to conform to that of our neighbours as far as our love of accuracy will allow; and it must be remembered that no rule except that of authority can be operative: no consideration of euphony, etymology, or even of analogy, can stand before the overwhelming influence of the usage of the multitude of educated people in the upper ranks of society. This has all the force of a natural law, if it is not one. And it will be well for the hardy advocate of some special pet utterances if he do not render himself ridiculous. Men strong in rhetorical reputation have urged good reasons for their oddities, without leaving either vestige or germ of success. John Kemble would say aitch for ache, yet who follows him? An eminent preacher used to give such prominence to the r in world as to send away the younger part of his auditory repeating " Waddled without end."

The power of the consonants, the collocation of words, accents, and emphasis remain to be considered.

Loughborough.

J. S.

HINTS ON TEACHING ARITHMETIC.*

ARITHMETIC is often a disagreeable school study. It is so in part, no doubt, from the nature of the subject itself, but it is sometimes made so by the way in which it is taught. The study must be disagreeable which is incomprehensible; and yet children are often required to bring answers to questions which they only imperfectly understand, and do not at all realize, and which answers are only to be obtained by means of operations, the reasons for which have never been explained to them. It is hoped that the interest of the learner in his work, which is the first condition of his success, may be promoted by the teacher's attention to the following directions:-Use concrete numbers before making use of abstract ones. In other words, connect things or objects with all the numbers employed in the earlier operations. By doing so, the purpose of arithmetical workings is seen. If a boy is told to multiply 124 by 7, he may do it according to directions that have been given to him. But he is much less likely to see the purpose of what he is required to do, or the utility of what he has done, than if the question had been proposed to him, not as an abstract one, but as one concerning itself with things with which he is familiar; e. g., How many books are there in a bookcase, which consists of seven shelves, each shelf containing

124 books?

It would be well even to explain the tables by means of some familiar objects; thus, instead of telling a child that 3 and 7 make 10, or that 3 times 7 make 21, it would be better that he should discover it for himself, by means, say, of marbles. He puts or adds the heap of 3 to that of 7, and on counting them, he sees that they together make 10; or he sets out 3 heaps of 7 each, and then, on counting them, he find out that the heap made up of 7 marbles, taken 3 times, consists of 21.

With arithmetic, as with other subjects, clearness of comprehension is for the most part proportionate to the degree of interest. For this reason, the objects made use of should often be those with which children are familiar. Thus, according to

* These remarks are extracted from the introductory portion of the "Key" to Cornwell and Fitch's "School Arithmetic," just published.

the age of the learner, he might be set to count the panes of glass in the school-room, to calculate the size of the playground, the capacity of the school water-butt, &c. ; after having himself first made the necessary measurements.

Always use numbers, and not mere figures. A child is little likely to comprehend a question proposed thus:-First line! 2 (two !) 5 (five!) 8 (eight!) Second line! 3 (three!) 6 (six!) 4 (four!) Third line! 7 (seven!) 9 (nine!) 6 (six !) Instead of this, let the learner feel that he has to do with numbers, and not the characters only, and in order to this, enunciate each in succession, thus:-two hundred and fifty-eight; three hundred and sixty-four; seven hundred and ninety-six.

Let the numbers made use of be small; such as a child can comprehend, as being within the range of his experience. The operations on a number, so large as to be incomprehensible, must, for that very reason, be without interest. A child, having been accustomed to the employment of numbers within his mental grasp, is easily and without disgust led on to apply the same operations to numbers of any degree of largeness.

Let oral exercises be made use of as introductory to the written ones. As all the exercises in the "School Arithmetic" are formed on this plan, it is here only necessary to direct attention to it, as an essential condition for securing the interest of the scholars.

The questions in the book should be given out briskly; and, if necessary, should be repeated over and over again, until the learner can reply to them almost instantaneously.

It should be remembered that quickness in calculation is in itself an important thing to attain, and that it can never be gained by laborious paper-work, in which the learner is allowed to think at leisure at every step. Slowness in arithmetic does not help to make the work more correct, but the reverse. Much practice is needed before the student will be able to perform each process readily, and without conscious effort. But all good oral exercises tell favourably on the accuracy of written work, and economize time in the end. It is well occasionally to give a class exercises, per se, requiring a given number of sums to be worked out fully, for example, in half-an-hour.

Let every new rule be made the subject of a well-reasoned explanation on the black-board, before the pupil is required to work sums in it. An example should first be taken and worked out in full. The use and meaning of each process should be carefully described, and when it is finished, all the steps should be retraced, questions should be put, and finally the rule should be stated, in the form of an induction from the example, and from the way in which it has been worked. Illustrations of the kind of explanation needed may be found in the "School Arithmetic," in the "Key to Parsing," and in the "Science of Arithmetic."

Let one or two sums in each rule be worked in an uncontracted form. The ordinary contractions tend to conceal from the student the real nature of the process. Every figure shown in the working has its own special value, and is either a part of the required answer, or represents one of the steps towards it. And as the questions that are put, and the answers that are given, in order to show how a sum is to be worked, form an admirable constructive exercise, so, when the work is finished, an equally valuable analytical exercise should be frequently made use of, in which the teacher, now running upwards instead of downwards, requires the learner to name and account for every part and operation in the working of the sum. The value of this Arithmetical Parsing, as it may be called, cannot be over-rated, as regards either discipline or practice.

Let the progress of the pupil in the theory of numbers keep pace with his practice. It is no true economy of time to hasten onwards to the solution of problems in higher rules, while the lower remain unexplained or misunderstood. Real progress

consists rather in a more thorough understanding of the elementary processes, and in greater skill in combining them, and in applying them to new forms of sum, than in moving on rapidly from one rule to another. In the “School Arithmetic,” the number of rules bearing different names has been purposely reduced to very few, although there is great variety in the problems to be worked; for, when the essential identity of the principal operations of arithmetic is once understood, the pupil is better prepared to perceive the reason of special rules, and to refer all of them to first principles.

The Signs of Addition, Subtraction, &c., Brackets, and the Sign of Equality, should be often used. They help a student to show, in a concise form, what is the process he has used, and they give a demonstrative and methodical character to his work. They should be learned one by one, as occasion arises for each of them, and in this way are very easily acquired.

Subscriptions and Donations will be thankfully received by Messrs. HANBURYS and Co., Bankers to the Society, 60, Lombard-street; and at the Society's House, Borough-road.

GEORGE UNWIN, GRESHAM STEAM PRESS, BUCKLERSBURY, LONDON, E.C.

THE

DUCATIONAL RECORD.

RUCTIONS TO HER MAJESTY'S INSPECTORS OF OOLS UPON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE ISED CODE.*

TED paper, bearing the above title, has just been issued by the Committee il on Education. Supplying as it does the general ideas of their Lordships mode of carrying into effect the provisions of the New Code, it is imporTeachers and Committees of Schools should be in possession of the inforus furnished.

general principles are laid down, it will be obvious that the application of ninute details must rest with the Inspector, and differ to a certain extent to the size and general character of each school or locality. This applies O the examination of children under article 48.

xpressly stated under this head of the Instructions:-"My Lords await the experience before attempting to determine the exact mode in which this ion may best be held. You will not regard the following method as obligaas intended to prevent you from trying other methods; and it is evident only of the process may apply to particular schools."

osing paragraph of the paper is as follows:-"It does not occur to my at further explanations of a general character require to be given. It would o endeavour to determine all possible cases beforehand. It is sufficient if ciples by which most of them may be promptly and consistently determined en indicated. Practice and care must supply the rest."

by can be obtained at the Depository of the Society, price ld.; or it will be transmitted by e receipt of two postage stamps.