the salt and savour of real literary merit is to be detected, even if only in a slight degree. The literature notebooks should be used to protect and nourish these precious germs of literary taste and love of reading, and to help them to develop healthily and happily. The dangers that threaten them are many. More especially is this the case with boys and girls of quick feeling, generous impulses, and a youthful and entirely lovable tendency towards the chivalrous and the romantic. Such are apt to mistake rant for eloquence and extravagance for power: the very delight which they have experienced in feeling their emotions stirred and their æsthetic perceptions thrilled by what they have read makes them eager to reproduce the sensation. They feed on coarse and common meat, which is freely seasoned with a cheap manufactured imitation of that subtle natural flavour which delighted their palates; and after a time they lose all appetite for the simpler food.

Take, for example, the very common case of an enthusiastic clever girl of fifteen or sixteen developing an ardent admiration for Marie Corelli. "I think she is the noblest woman in the world and the greatest writer," wrote one such girl quite recently; "I love her, and I am sure it is only jealousy which makes people say she is not." It is next to impossible to reason concerning such a predilection, yet it is highly important that the teacher should know of it, and this knowledge, if it comes in no other way, may come by means of the literature notebook. It will probably be the best plan not to make any direct attack on the scholar's position, but to attempt, in accordance with the invariable rule of literature teaching, to occupy the mind with some work of a higher character which will operate quietly and effectually, without arousing either opposition or prejudice, so that the point of view is changed almost without the pupil's consciousness. The teacher will try to find out what particular element in the worthless story has proved attractive, and then to suggest for reading some other book which contains the same element in healthier and more natural combinations. For example, a girl who confesses herself charmed with "Thelma " might be directed by a line from the teacher to Black's "Princess of Thule," which would be a distinct advance; while one whose generous spirit is stirred by the wrongs of the heroine of The Murder of Delicia" might be led by a suggestion of a certain similarity of subject to read "Janet's Repentance" ("Scenes of Clerical Life") and afterwards Middlemarch." Having done so, she would have a chance of realizing that the main idea-the evil influence of a coarse character on a fine when the two are brought into the close relationship of man and wife-is illustrated by George Eliot in a picture, by Marie Corelli in a caricature.

It is not contended here that the literature notebook will exercise anything like a general powerful influence in a school. Perhaps only two or three pupils in a class will really enter into the spirit of the "Home section. Yet those two or three will probably be just those to whom guidance and stimulus is most necessary and beneficial. To all, the "School" section will supply a storehouse of choice passages which must, partially at least, make their way into the memory, and from thence must affect character, taste, and happiness in the future. On the teacher's side, too, some benefits are certain. He must gain some degree of insight into the dispositions of his pupils, either by what does or what does not appear in the notebooks. The work entailed on him is slight, and its character is so different from that of the ordinary tedious "marking" that it is felt mainly as a stimulus and a pleasure.

It may be objected that the idea of the literature notebook, as here set forward, is simply a return to the theory and practice of the commonplace book, beloved by young ladies of the early nineteenth century, or the "albums " of a somewhat later period. These we have seen satirized by various authors again and again. They did not escape the keen observation of Jane Austen, and if we know and love our Pride and Prejudice" and "Northanger Abbey as we should, we shall have little inclination to return to that system of "reading great books and making extracts" which produced a Mary Bennet, and only failed to spoil a Catherine

Morland because she apparently very quickly forgot all the quotations learnt during the years she was “in training for a heroine "-quotations "which are so serviceable and so soothing in the vicissitudes of their (heroines') daily lives." Yet we may be allowed to say that even a commonplace book, as it was then understood, could not fail to have some good results, and, if real intelligence and sincerity were brought to bear upon it, those results would go far to counteract the general poverty of the education given to girls at that time. And one has only to turn over the pages of one's own literature notebook, which has been one's close friend and companion since schooldays, to make one realize how much pure happiness as well as substantial benefit one's scholars might store up for themselves if they would. AMY BARTER.

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE DIRECT METHOD OF TEACHING MODERN LANGUAGES.

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To the Editor of The Journal of Education. DEAR SIR, I am obliged to your reviewer for his kind criticism of my Deutsches Reformlesebuch" in your December number, but perhaps you will allow me a few words in reply to his remarks on the German-German vocabulary.

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He appears to object to the method by which German words are explained in easy German, such as pupils who have reached the standard of the book might be expected to understand. He says: "To compose a vocabulary on this principle is indeed dancing in chains on a tight-rope," and we doubt ourselves whether the game is worth the candle." Surely the object of enabling the pupil to think in German and to use his intelligence in extending his vocabulary can better be obtained by this means than by giving the English equivalents of the German words which require no thought or reflection on his part. He states that even Mr. Savory is baffled by words like dieser, defined as a demonstrative," but since this book is intended, as the preface states, for pupils who have already been learning German for one or two years, the definition of such a word as dieser would seem to be scarcely necessary, and I have never had any difficulty in explaining this word to beginners in class, by means, for instance, of the contrast between dieses Buch and jenes Buch.

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Your reviewer further asks: Is it worth while to beat about the bush in order to establish the connexion in the pupil's mind between Eiche and oak'?" Your readers would naturally suppose from this that I had endeavoured to give in German an explanation of the word Eiche, but my vocabulary only professes to contain the words which occur in the text, and as Eiche is not among these it has not been defined. As a matter of fact, I have not hesitated to give the English names of trees, flowers, birds, and words of this kind -e.g., Zimt, Engl. "cinnamon"; ein Gewürz (see page 190); but wherever it is possible to explain rapidly the meaning of a German word in German it seems to me preferable to do so. For example, the word Theologie is quite easily explained as die Lehre von Gott (page 175), and this definition seems to me to bring home the meaning more easily to a child than the mere repetition of the English word "theology" would ever do.

I always tell my pupils that, just as the German Embassy in London is a portion of German territory on British soil, so my classroom is also a part of Germany in the middle of the college, and that when they come in they must endeavour as far as possible to leave their English behind them. The hours allotted to German in the week are so few that I grudge speaking more English in the German lessons than is absolutely necessary.

Again, if English and German are constantly mixed, it is almost impossible for the pupil to acquire a good German pronunciation, as he cannot rapidly change from one basis of articulation to another; and I have myself found that when

giving an English lecture it is exceedingly difficult to pronounce satisfactorily a German word or quotation, whereas in the midst of a German conversation the pronunciation comes much more easily. All teachers who use the direct method consistently know that it is quite possible to explain whole pages of German in the foreign language so that every pupil in the class thoroughly understands the meaning; and I can assure your reviewer that the feeling is not one of "dancing in chains on a tight-rope," but rather that of waltzing rapidly ́over a well polished floor.-I am, Sir, your obedient servant, D. L. SAVORY.

University of London-Goldsmiths' College.

December 3, 1908.

[The difference of opinion between Mr. Savory and your reviewer is slight. He would have the teaching wholly in German; I prefer German tempered by English. I took Eiche as das erste beste Wort to illustrate my contention. Whether it occurs in the vocabulary is immaterial. And how about schon ?-YOUR REVIEWER.]

DEMOCRATIC EDUCATION.

To the Editor of The Journal of Education.

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SIR, Miss Geraldine Hodgson, in her article on Democratic Education," seems to have misunderstood one word of a quotation she makes and, therefore, to have missed the point. The quotation is as follows:-" University Education of the highest type should be made accessible to men who are, and who will remain, workmen in the narrower sense of the word, and it should be possible for working people to attain it easily and regularly without leaving the class in which they were born."

Miss Hodgson assumes that by the word “easily" is meant without adequate intellectual effort. That, however, is not, I take it, in the least what is meant. Certainly, speaking for myself and others who are interested in democratic education, what we plead for is that abundant opportunities should be provided for students of the non-academic type, and that the courses of study to be pursued should be arranged in such a way as to make it possible for such students, under the conditions under which they are bound to live, to undertake them. University degrees and courses that lead to degrees are beyond the reach of working-class students, not necessarily because the standard is too high, but because the conditions that have to be fulfilled are, in the circumstances, impossible conditions. The students referred to are persons of adult age and limited leisure, having only their evenings for study, in whom an intellectual interest in some subject has been awakened. If these students are to pursue a course of higher education without leaving the class to which they belong, it is clear that they cannot give up their daily occupation to go into residence at a University for three years, and even in the case of the external degrees of the University of London, which require no residence, the student has, in the first place, to pass the Matriculation Examination in a number of school subjects and has to take his five subjects all at one examination. He has, further, to pass an Intermediate and a Final Examination, in each of which he has to take several subjects at one and the same time. Where is a working man to find courses of study, in the various subjects he has to pursue, provided at hours that make it possible for him to attend them, and at fees which are not beyond his reach? More than that, a man of mature years who has a keen interest in, let us say, history does not wish to spend his scanty leisure in first of all cramming for an elementary examination in school subjects (for that is what it would be), and then in working up a minimum of knowledge in a number of subjects he does not care for, in order that he may, in the end, obtain a degree for which, in itself, he has no particular ambition. What he really wants is to have the opportunity of pursuing the study of history, on which his heart is set, to higher and higher stages until he begins to feel that he is

gaining the power to pursue the study as an independent inquirer. I am, Sir, &c., October 9, 1908. R. D. ROBERTS.

BAD DEBTS. ·

To the Editor of The Journal of Education.

DEAR SIR,-Can you spare me space to call attention to certain grievances of the schoolmaster, concerning which I have one or two suggestions to make, in the hope that they may lead to a prevention of these evils?

Almost every prospectus of a private school contains a statement that "Fees are payable in advance," and that "A term's notice, or a term's fees in lieu thereof, is due before the removal of a pupil." In numberless cases this is treated by parents as a mere formality, not as the condition of a contract to which they, by receiving such a prospectus, have become a party.

Even fair-minded parents seem to have an impression that the term's notice is a thing to which a schoolmaster has little right; though why a condition they would accept without demur in half-a-dozen other business relations should be waived in this case they fail to explain.

My own experience as head of a school has been short, but I have already been victimized very seriously; though from my many friends and relations in the profession I know that mine is by no means an extreme case: one head master of my acquaintance educated, clothed, and fed, for two years, the son of a well-known novelist (deceased) living abroad, who had a convenient habit of declaring his bankruptcy when creditors became too pressing: my friend never received one penny.

In my case, when I opened my school last January, I numbered among my pupils one of the four sons of a doctor.

My accounts, sent out early in the term, were paid promptly, except by the doctor. Knowing him to be only slowly making his way, I waited without protest till the middle of the second term and then sent a courteous request for payment for the two terms: I had supplied all stationery and books. I received a curt answer from the boy's mother to the effect that the best way was for her to withdraw him at once (which she did, without notice) and that in her husband's absence from home nothing further could be done.

Several further applications, including a letter from my solicitor, proving useless, I took out a summons; six days before the case was to come on a sum was paid into Court, and my solicitor was informed that unless it were accepted the defendant would apply for an adjournment.

I agreed to accept, as the matter had already dragged on for three months, though the sum was less than half that due. Meanwhile, ever since the boy left, early in June, wholly fictitious "reasons" for his withdrawal, all calculated to destroy the reputation of my school, have been diligently circulated by the boy's mother, though as long as I was willing to educate him free not a word of dissatisfaction was uttered or written.

Now, would such unscrupulous conduct as this be possible if there were a strong organization of teachers which would take corporate action? It is pretty obvious that such people trade upon the fact that an individual teacher, unsupported, will hardly dare to incur heavy expense and the ill-will of a possibly influential person, even in defence of his just rights. Again, could not some sort of a "black list" be compiled, reference to which would arm head masters against such defaulters? Or could it be made a general custom for references to be given? We teachers provide them: why should not the parents on their part?

In the case I have mentioned the doctor's wife is openly expressing her intention of sending all four boys to a boarding school. Who will warn her next unsuspecting victim? It is plain that these are matters in which it would be so invidious as to be practically impossible for the individual to take the initiative. Concerted action is needed. Is there not enough esprit de corps among us to form such a "trade union should protect our rights, and insist upon the due observance of the custom of payment in advance and the term's notice?-Yours faithfully,

PRINCIPAL.

as

[We cannot approve the suggestion of a Teachers' Trade Union with this object. "Principal" has the remedy in her own hands to enforce the terms of her prospectus, and we believe that in no other profession are bad debts so rare.--ED.]

The Council of Head Masters of Institutions for the Deaf send us a letter, too long for publication, urging the necessity of continuation training for the deaf after the age of sixteen when the legal responsibility of Local Authorities ceases. As the best agency for effecting this object, they recommend the general establishment of After-Care Committees,, such as those already working in connexion with the London County Council and other Education Committees.

SOMETIMES the stars in their courses seem to fight for woman in obtaining a modicum of education, even in countries where girls' education is disapproved. Mr. Ellsworth Huntington, writing in Harper's Magazine of life in a Chinese province only two thousand years old, shows how feminine emancipation progresses: "Dismounting before the uprolled felt door of a round tent, I peered into the smokeblackened interior, and found the old white-turbaned khoja teaching three rosy-cheeked little girls to read. 'How is this?' I asked in Turki, surprised at the reversal of Mohammedan customs. 'Aren't there any boys in this camp?' 'Oh, yes,' answered he, with a shrug of the shoulders, but what can we do? We are very poor. The boys must be off tending the sheep.'

It is well known that teaching is often a gate to another profession, such as lecturer, organizer, even preacher. In Russia they are making the same discovery. Certain peasants of a village in Kostroma decided to migrate to the free lands of Siberia. They wanted a khodok-or advance agent to go first and report on the said lands. Arguing that an educated person would serve the turn better than an unlettered and untravelled peasant, they passed over their own elders and selected the local schoolmistress, who executed her mission with fidelity and dispatch.

THROUGH the kindness of the general editor of the "New English Dictionary," Dr. Henry Bradley, The Journal of Education is enabled to report progress in the publication of this great work. That part of the dictionary lying between "A" and "Premious" is continuous and complete; a second part, from "Q" to "Rib," is in the same position. The printing of "S" has now begun, but nothing will be published before July, 1909. Dr. Bradley hopes that before 1910 begins the two gaps will be filled up, and the entire Dictionary from "A to Sa" be in the hands of the public. The first number of the New Dictionary has reached the very end of its teens, having been published in 1889, but, compared with its nearly analogous "Grimm's Wörterbuch," its progress has been extraordinary.

THE London County Council's Conference of Teachers will be held this year at the London Day Training College, Southampton Row, on January 7, 8, and 9. The subjects of discussion are, in order, Open Air Education, Voice Production, School Hygiene for Children under Five, Junior Technical Schools for Boys, Educational Experiments in Schools. Application for tickets of admission should be made to R. Blair, Esq., Education Offices, Victoria Embankment, W.C.

THE Incorporated Association of Assistant Masters will hold its annual general meeting at St. Paul's School, West Kensington, on Friday, the 8th, at 10 a.m. Resolutions on Tenure, Superannuation and Pension Fund, and the Teachers' Register will be submitted to the meeting. In the afternoon an address will be delivered by Dr. W. H. D. Rouse.

THE Modern Language Association will hold its annual general meeting in the Examination Schools, Oxford, on Tuesday the 12th and Wednesday the 13th. Lord Fitzmaurice will deliver his Presidential Address on the first day at noon.

THE Association of University Women Teachers will hold its Annual Meeting on January 15, at 3 p.m., at University Hall, Gordon Square. Miss A. G. Zimmern will give an address on “The Older Universities. and the Education of Workpeople."

THE REV. J. P. WHITNEY has been appointed to the Professorship. of Ecclesiastical History at King's College, London, vacated by the promotion of Dr. E. W. Watson to the Professorship of Ecclesiastical History at Oxford. Mr. Whitney was the winner of two University Scholarships at Cambridge, and was first in the Modern History Tripos. He was the Hulsean Lecturer last year, and has written. many historical works.

GERMAN may be moribund in English schools, but it is not dead, as a paragraph in the Schoolmaster would seem to imply : "The desperate condition of German was held on the body of Arthur Gibbard, aged forty-nine, head master at representatives of the Modern Languages. Association, the Teachers' Guild, the London Chamber of Commerce,. and other bodies."

MR. GEORGE GREENWOOD, M. has a note on the Church Representation Council not couched in Parliamentary language, but much to the point:"If Churchmen in debate demand Church of England schools with a Church of England atmosphere in which Church of England teaching shall be given by Church of England teachers, all I can say is don't they wish they may get it !"

MR. RUNCIMAN, in one of his letters to the Primate, questions the figures as to the cost of new schools which had been furnished by the National Society. Mr. Burrows, the Society's consulting architect who is responsible for the figures, writes to the Times to defend his accuracy. In the list appeared "Wrecklesham, Surrey, actual cost £4,750." Mr.. Burrows repeats the list of schools, adding dates of completion, among them, "Wrecklesham, Surrey, building not yet commenced," and then sums up thus, "I claim that all these buildings are certainly new schools."

By Burrows Runciman is matched,

He counts a school before it's hatched.

THE Federal Council moves in a mysterious way and has not yet performed wonders. It sits in camera, and its resolutions, if any, are revealed only through the reports of its constituent bodies. From one of these reports we learn that during the past half-year it has held two meetings and has been merrily occupied with the Registration question. It has also considered questions relating to the assessment of incometax in respect of school premises.

MR. GEORGE SHARPLES has been appointed a member of the Con sultative Committee in the place of Mr. Ernest Gray, who has completed the eight statutory years. Mr. Sharples is an ex-President of the N.U.T. and was a member of the Registration Council during the four years of its existence.

IN the syllabus of a Nature-study lecture the Professor had written Preparation of the soil by frost, man, worms, &c." When typed by

a metaphysical office-boy and distributed to the class, this appeared as. "Preparation of the soul by post, tram, worms, &c."

MR. H. E. BUTLER, Fellow of New College, Oxford, has written a volume on the post-Augustan poets, which will be issued by the Clarendon Press early in 1909. Mr. Nowell Smith's long-expected (Continued on page 32.)