themselves to make loud boasts of their parochial schools, the dominie' was, and in a great measure, is, the lean and meagre product which the neglect of a money-making population, the shabbiness of a game-preserving aristocracy, and the jealousy of a half-educated church, have starved out of all fellowship with living society, and banished from every possible contact with politeness." Such vulgarity and surliness as are here described, or such as are still more graphically portrayed by Scott and Dickens, in the persons of Dominie Samson, and Old Squeers, have probably never been seen in the United States, since the death of the prototype of Ichabod Crane. A majority of our teachers are young men. Many of them have never enjoyed the advantages of refined society, and, of course, have failed to acquire that polish of manners and conversation which always gives grace and ornament to learning. Though awkward manners and vulgar discourse might not incapacitate a young man for the office of teacher, still they would prove a great obstacle to his success. External accomplishments furnish a valuable capital to the adventurer in any department of business or in any profession. Politeness is a cheap commodity, but it seldom fails to bring rich returns of respect and affection. Of the manners and discourse of teachers, it is easy to judge from a single interview.

Every teacher should know something of physiology. He should have some general knowledge of the tabernacle which holds the immortal spirit. He should be competent to guard the health of the pupils

committed to his care. He should be able to point out to them the effect of confined and cramped positions of the body in study, to explain the danger of overtasking the brain, in cases of precocious development, and the necessity of combining, in proper degrees, exercise and study. He should know how to regulate the temperature and ventilation of the school-room, and prevent sudden transition from cold to heat. He should be able to give judicious advice in relation to clothing and exercise. By so doing, he may prevent many a fatal cold, and many a disease. Let the committee, therefore, question the candidate respecting the best method of restoring the purity of the air, where no provision has been made for ventilation in the construction of the house, or the precautions necessary to be taken, by pupils, in passing from a warm room into the cold air, also respecting the best mode of spending the times of recess and intermission. The more extensive and accurate his knowledge of these points, the better is he prepared for his office. In regard to the great conditions on which health and life depend, it cannot be said,

"A little learning is a dangerous thing,"

for, here, every item of intelligence is important. "The happiness of thousands of men and women," says the Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, "has been destroyed from not knowing a few of the laws of health, which they might have learned in a few months; nay, which might have been so impressed upon them as habits in childhood, that they would never think there was any other

way." Other topics might be alluded to, but I forbear, lest I should be tedious. I will notice a single objection to the minute and protracted examination recommended. It is said that men cannot be found who will perform the duties of the office. This objection has weight, so long as the community remain in their present comparative indifference in regard to the condition of our common schools. But we hope for better times. A new day is dawning. The public is becoming convinced of the necessity of a higher standard of education. In the darkest times, some good men can be found who will labor for the public good without reward or gratitude even. When the subject becomes popular, as it certainly will, love of fame and a desire to lead in the great and important measures of society, will enlist the sympathy and active co-operation of another class of efficient and energetic men. When the cause of education assumes its proper rank in the country, the public will not grudge the proper pecuniary reward for all necessary labor in their service. What we most need now, is an elevated public sentiment to carry forward those reforms which wise and good men have introduced. Among other contemplated improvements, the work of thorough examination of teachers, will be done, and well done, when its importance is duly appreciated. Able and efficient public servants can always be found when there is a demand for them. In the old countries of Europe no difficulty is experienced, in securing trained teachers of the highest intellectual and moral qualifications; and they all

pass the ordeal of a rigid examination.

When a teacher is placed in a school by the constituted authorities of the land, every parent and every scholar feels an entire confidence in his fitness for the station. They know that he has been thoroughly instructed in the theory and practice of his profession, and that he holds his station by virtue of his superior acquirements. Incompetent teachers are uniformly rejected. This being well understood, prevents many improper applications, and diminishes the number of unsuccessful candidates. The same efficiency in our own common-school system, may be secured, whenever the people will it. Let them be convinced of the value of good schools, and they will have them. Let them see the influence of a thorough examination of teachers upon the elevation of their schools, upon the progress of their children in learning, and upon society at large, and they will not only appoint the best men for examining committees, but they will insist on paying them for their services. At present, that love of independence which so strongly marks the American character, operates against the rigid examination of teachers and pupils. Some people seem to regard the interference of a committee with the affairs of a particular district as an encroachment upon their rights. Accustomed to think and act for themselves in all other matters, many men prefer to choose their own teachers in their own way. A long school is, with them, equivalent to a good school; hence an increase of wages for a better teacher, or the subtraction of a small pittance of the money to pay for the

examination of the teachers, and supervision of the school, is looked upon as a positive abatement of the privileges of their children. Accordingly, the services of the superintending committee are dispensed with, or rendered nugatory by public opinion. Before the great mass of freemen in our land, will attempt to elevate the character of our schools, they must be convinced that their dearest interests are at stake. They are now indifferent because they are not properly enlightened. If the press would exhibit, in behalf of education, a tithe of the zeal which is exhibited in public contests, the reform would be accomplished, during the official life of a single President. The press must be enlisted, more fully, in this enterprise. The voice of the lecturer must be heard in every church, public hall, and school-house in the land. State, town, and county conventions must be held, and local associations organized, for the diffusion of light, and the correction of popular errors. Normal schools must be established, and teachers of a higher order sent forth. All this can be done. It must be done; and other improvements will then follow. When the community call for higher qualifications, and greater fidelity both in committees and teachers, their voice will be heard. Competent agents will be found, and the standard of education will be raised. Then will the declaration of the prophet be literally fulfilled: "Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." If I were asked to select from the world's history a model of tutorial excellence for imitation, I would mention the