the success of your work will always depend on your doing it, as the old formula has it, "with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength."

I hope that while you remain here, and throughout your future career, you will not lose sight of this place, and of the principles of the British and Foreign School Society. You know what those principles are. The founders and supporters of this institution have always sought earnestly to maintain for it a Christian character, and to have for the teachers of their schools men and women who fear God, and who do their work in His name. Yet in our schools no catechism or formulary peculiar to any denomination of Christians is ever used. There are, as you know, other theories of education than this; there is the sectarian theory, which tries to make the school a machine for securing the adhesion of the scholar to a particular church or creed; and there is the secular theory, which gets rid of the religious difficulty altogether, by confining the instruction to secular subjects. In opposition to both of these, our Society has always fought for a comprehensive system, which should be at once Christian and unsectarian-Catholic, in the true sense of the word. The Bible is read and taught in our schools, and it is earnestly desired that the children should learn to read it, to understand it, to love it, and to take it as the guide of their lives,—“ a lamp to their feet and a light to their path;"—while yet no attempt is made to dogmatize on those points on which Christians differ from Christians, and which are, after all, not of prime importance, but quite otherwise, to the religious life of a little child. There are those who think that this is a theory impossible in practice. I hope you will find it possible ;—I believe you will find it wise and right to carry it out. In this place you have learned, I would fain hope, some of that charity which is needed to understand and do justice to the convictions of others, whose own views of church government and of debatable doctrine do not agree with your own; you have found out that the attachment of my colleagues to various forms of Protestant dissent, and my own deep and life-long affection for the Church of England, have not interfered with our harmony, nor with the solicitude which we all have alike had for your consistent character as Christian men. not doubt that there is an education to be given, which is earnest and faithful, which is penetrated through and through with a religious spirit, and which fosters a reverent affection for the word of God, and yet which is not narrow, bitter, or sectarian. I hope you may all come to understand this truth and to illustrate it in your practice.

Do

As I look forward to your employment, not many months hence, as teachers, I cannot fail once more to urge upon you-what I have often spoken of in this place before the great importance of attending to the simple elements of instruction. Changes have recently been made in the mode of administering the parliamentary grant, which have forced the attention of teachers to this point. But I want you to be led in the same direction by a sense of duty, much more than by the fear of pecuniary loss. After all, what is a school good for, if it does not teach reading, writing, and arithmetic, soundly and well? If these things are neglected, in an elementary school, it is idle to discuss its excellences in another direction. Make it your first business to work well at the rudiments of instruction. The power to read well and intelligently is a far more valuable acquisition to a boy than a superficial knowledge of many things, as geography, natural history, and the like; because

this

power will be the clue to him through life for the attainment of knowledge on such subjects, whereas, without it, lessons on miscellaneous subjects soon fall out of the mind and come to nothing. No labour which you devote to the rudiments will ever be wasted. No mistake could be greater than to suppose it possible, by enlarging the range of your school instruction, or even by brilliant lesson-giving, you can ever compensate for the want of sound and careful discipline in the humblest elementary matters.

And yet, while you act on this principle-a principle, by the way, of which the operation of the Revised Code will keep you constantly in mind-do not forget that a school can do much more than teach these things, and ought to do more. It can stimulate the mental life and activity of the children, it can encourage thoughtfulness, it can give them habits of observation, it can kindle their interest in the things which are going on around them, it can impart not merely reading, but an appetite and love for reading, which is a still better thing. Now remember that if your school does less than this, you fail grievously in your duty. The life of a school can only be properly sustained by constant oral teaching, by questioning and explanation, and by taking care that the children understand the meaning of what they do. To teach reading, writing, and arithmetic alone, without a constant reference to the cultivation of the intelligence, is poor drudgery indeed. If, therefore, you want to enjoy your work, nay, if you want in the most effectual way to secure a successful examination in reading, writing, and arithmetic, you must remember that the requirements of the Revised Code represent the minimum only of what a school should produce; and that having secured that minimum, you are bound to do as much more for the instruction and the culture of the children as it is in your power to effect.

I know that I am addressing some thoughtful and ambitious young men, who, in looking forward to their future life, long to distinguish themselves, and perhaps think that the duties which I have often described to them from this place will not satisfy all their longings, or quite fulfil their theory of life. I should be sorry to speak with any even apparent want of sympathy to such; but I want to remind them that there are two sorts of ambition. There is a kind of longing and hope about the future which simply makes a man feel restless and uncomfortable, which fills his mind with vague, disturbing dreams of better things, and gives him a sort of disgust for his present work. Such an ambition is simply a curse to its possessor. He says to himself, "I know I am capable of doing better work than that which I am doing every day. I am qualified for a higher position. I have a soul above this sort of thing." He does not exactly know what it is that he is fitted for; the outline of his ideal future, though grand, is apt to be hazy and indefinite; but it is pleasant for him to indulge in the vision, and he will not let it go. Meanwhile what becomes of his work? —that work, I mean, which lies nearest to him, and which has the most immediate claim upon him? It is neglected, or done in a halfhearted, fretful way. He accepts it as a necessity, but abhors it as an infliction. I have known many such men, and have seen their lives frittered away in aimless trifling, in wishes that came to nothing. On the other hand, there is a sort of ambition which is a great blessing to a young man, which ennobles his character and gives gladness to his life. It simply makes him work in the best possible way at the duty of the moment, and inspires him to put his utmost power into it and the highest possible finish upon it. He is conscious of a capacity for other things, but he thinks the best way to prove this capacity is to do better than anybody else could do, the particular thing which in God's providence lies nearest to him, and which demands to be done first. He remembers the law of the Divine Government that it is only "the faithful over a few things who is made ruler over many things." He covets distinction, but he knows that it must first be obtained by doing small things well. It is only in this way that he can show his capacity for handling greater things, or that he can become entitled to be trusted with them.

Here, then, is the test to which we should all bring our ambition, in order to know whether it is lawful or not. You would all like to make your way and to get on in life. Look within yourselves from time to time to see how this wish operates upon your daily acts and affects your character. Does it make you feel humbled and vexed with yourself, out of sympathy with your work, and indisposed to do it with all your heart? Do you find dreaming pleasanter than working? Then be sure

that the voice of ambition within you is a syren's voice, a dangerous, delusive charm, which can only mislead and degrade you. It is your business to silence and to crush it. On the other hand, if your love of distinction takes the form of a love of your work, you may safely trust it. It can never lead you wrong, but God will sanction it and it will be a safeguard and a blessing to you. The fame of which Milton tells us, is that which leads a man,

"To scorn delights and live laborious days."

And this is the secret of all noble ambition. It makes a man seek not to get some. thing but to do something, and to be something greater and better than other men. Much depends on the end which we set before us. If that end is to obtain distinction, or money, or any of the rewards of life, we shall not obtain what we seek. But if we set before ourselves as our main business to do the work of life well, we shall not only obtain what we seek, but in due time the rewards of life will come also, and will come unsought. For the great end of living in this world is not happiness, but holiness—not reward, but discipline-not ease, but usefulness. It has, indeed, pleased God to associate work and its reward so closely together that he who does the one faithfully is pretty sure to get the other. But our business is with the duty to be done; and we may safely leave the rest to Him, the method of whose government has not changed since He spoke to Solomon one night in Gibeon, long ago, and said, 'Because thou hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment, behold I have done according to thy words; lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honour; so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days."

"Covet earnestly," then, "the best gifts,”—those which enrich a man inwardly, which strengthen, refine, and beautify the life. Look upon every day as a lost one in which you do not learn something new, or think out something which was obscure to you before, or gain some material on which thought may work. Over and above the technical knowledge needed in your profession, seek to become masters, each one for himself, of some one branch of knowledge, science, or literature. Work at it until you understand it, and learn to love it. Do not be satisfied until the acquisition of new truth is a positive delight to you. Do not suppose that knowledge of any kind can ever be useless to you, or unsuited for your profession. Every story which you read in history, every truth of pure science, every sweet and graceful image in poetry, every new fact in relation to the world in which you live, will be found to tell, indirectly, but most powerfully, nevertheless, on the skill with which you teach, on the copiousness of your illustrations, and on the life, the charm, and effectiveness of your lessons. And even if it fails to do this, and does not help you as a schoolmaster, it will help you as a man. It will help to delight and to refine your leisure, it will form the greatest of all moral safeguards to you amid the temptations of life, it will add to your personal influence, and will increase your happiness. Every thing that tends to your own culture, or that improves your own character, makes you worth more to society, and gives you a greater chance of extended usefulness. Is there anyone here who, as be looks forward wistfully into the unknown future, does not hope to be honoured and successful? The realization of that fair vision depends, first, on the character you form, on the purity of your life, on the consistency of your Christian course; and next to these things, on the number of good and worthy thoughts which you welcome into your minds, and on the stedfastness and zeal with which you cultivate yourelves.

I

may not trust myself to say more than two or three words on the subject which suppermost in my thoughts. Standing here, as I do, for the last time, I cannot orget how long a period of my life I have spent in this place, nor lose sight of the

obligations I owe to those with whom I have been here associated. From the Committee of the Society I have always received a generous confidence, and a cordial support in all my plans. To the officers of the Institution, my friends and colleagues who now surround me, I have been indebted for unfailing personal kindness and for a zealous and most efficient co-operation in the work we have had in hand. Successive generations of students also have shown a loyal obedience to the rules which I have laid down, and a respectful, in many cases an affectionate attention to my teachings and wishes, which have been very pleasant to me. During the whole of my career in this place it has never once been necessary for me to appeal to the Committee, or, indeed, to anything else than to your own right feeling and good sense in a matter of discipline. These things have deprived my duties of half their burden and anxiety, and have made my life in this place a very happy one. The memory of them will last as long as I live. I earnestly hope that God's blessing, which has rested conspicuously upon the work of this Society for many years, may long abide with it and with you.

NEW MINUTE OF COUNCIL.

MINUTE BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORDS OF THE COMMITTEX OF PRIVY COUNCIL ON EDUCATION.

At the Council Chamber, Whitehall, May 13, 1863-Their lordships resolved to cancel, after June 30, 1864, Articles 136 and 137 of the Revised Code, and to add to Article 52 a fourth paragraph (d), as follows, viz. :-(d) By the amount of any annual endowment.

Their lordships, in order to provide further for the examination of individual children according to the Revised Code, resolved to appoint, as occasion might require, inspectors' assistants upon the following terms :—1. Qualified candidates must (a) have been pupil teachers; (b) have been trained during two years in a college of the same denomination as the elementary schools in which they are to examine; (c) have passed each of their examinations without failure, and at the last of them have been placed not below the second division; (d) have received their certificates after the usual probationary service in an elementary school of the same denomination as those in which they are to examine; (e) have not exceeded their 30th year of age; (f) be recommended by the inspector under whom they are to be examined. 2. Their salary shall commence at £100 per annum, and shall rise by £10 per annum to £250. They shall be paid beside ld. per child per annum after the first 12,000 examined and marked by themselves in the official schedules, but never more on this account than £50. They shall be reimbursed the actual expense of locomotion on the public service, but shall receive no further allowances. 3. They shall not be competent to examine except in the presence of, or by a written order from, the inspector, who shall name therein both the particular school to be examined, and the date of examination. All notices to the managers of schools shall be given by the inspector only. 4. They shall be prohibited from following any employment whatever, except such as is official. Private tuition is expressly included in this prohibition. 5. They shall hold a certificate from the Civil Service Commissioners.

It will be seen from this document that an opening in the public service is now accessible to teachers of good character, who have passed through the usual course of training and probation with success. A recommendation to this effect was made in the Report of the Commissioners on Education, and we are glad to find that it has been found possible to adopt it.

OLD SCHOLARS' ASSOCIATIONS.

Ar the last meeting, in May, of the British Teachers' Quarterly Association, held at the Training College, Borough Road, Mr. Horrocks, master of the British School, George Street, Lambeth, read an interesting paper descriptive of an experiment which he had tried in connexion with former scholars of his school. As the paper was listened to with unusual sympathy, and gave rise to an important discussion, we have pleasure in giving some extracts from it. As an interesting proof of what may be done by a single-minded and conscientious teacher, who desires to extend his influence beyond the walls of the school-room and beyond the period of school life, we commend the paper to the very earnest consideration of our readers.

In giving some account of an Association of my former scholars, I may just remark that I do not bring it forward as a pattern for imitation, but as an exemplification of principles, which in better hands might be carried to still higher results, and in the hope of eliciting from my fellow-workers their experiences in similar efforts.

This Association had its origin in a desire I had long cherished of bringing together such of my former scholars as I thought were likely to profit by any efforts for their continued improvement. Conscious, also, of my own early and prolonged attachment to the persons and places associated with my school-life, and the longing I always had to see again my former teachers and companions, and suspecting the prevalence of this feeling in others, I thought it might be turned to useful account as a basis and means of union which might be serviceable to higher ends than its own gratification. During occasional visits of those who had been head monitors I intimated my purpose and plans. The way thus prepared, I invited them to meet at my house on New Year's day, 1851. About fourteen were present. After a friendly conversation I laid before them my thoughts and projects, into which they entered warmly. A spirited conversation followed, which was wound up by the whole company forming themselves into an Association, to be called the "Fraternity of Old Schoolfellows." The idea of a brotherly relation subsisting between former schoolmates suggested this designation, and experience has justified the hope then formed, that the name would foster and perpetuate the brotherhood. They then elected from among their number a secretary and treasurer, and projected meetings to be held quarterly. The objects* being understood, and the right spirit infused, I felt it undesirable that their incipient operations should be clogged with rules or penalties. Necessary expenses were provided for by a voluntary subscription of sixpence per quarter. The meetings have been kept up from the beginning to the present time, an interval of twelve years, without intermission. Though, perhaps, in my own mind, the higher and educational purposes which an Association might serve have ever been present, yet the re-formation of early friendship and the promotion of agreeable social intercourse has chiefly characterised the meetings, and intentionally so, the better to promote those higher aims. To have called them together ostensibly to carry forward their education would have been in some measure to defeat that object. Most boys are glad to get from under the yoke, and any re-assumption of the magisterial rule would repel them. I have always met them, therefore, as my young friends, and sought to promote their mutual friendships. Aiming at this end, time

* These may be thus defined:

1. Social intercourse and the maintenance of the friendships begun at school.

2. Mutual instruction and improvement; aud all in harmony with their previous school training.