all grateful to him for the many happy hours he gave our darling child. Dear little Miriam ! She plays now with the children on the golden street. She had grown too fair, she had grown too sweet for the earth she used to live in. Far down on the earth do you hear them weep? Said the little children up in heaven. For the dear little girl has gone to sleep! The shadows fall and the night-clouds sweep O'er the earth we used to live in; But we'll go and open the gates of pearl; O, why do they weep for the dear little girl? Said the children up in heaven.

School Education.

"WEERGO WEERGEENEESE.”

WHO

BY WM. HAWLEY SMITH.

HO are they? Where did they come from? What do they stand for, anyhow? I knew these were the things you would think, after you had spelled away at the above words for a few minutes, and so I have set the questions down where we could all take a good look at them, and think what they really signify-what the questions signify, I mean. Well, here is the story:

A few days sgo I happened into a high school and dropped into a beginning class in Latin. They were just about the average class of this sort, a pretty bright lot of boys and girls-mostly girls-the cream of the pupils that came up from the grammar room last year. They were reciting in much the usual way, rising as they were called upon, and giving the various word-forms in declension. It was the third declension they were working on, and among the words whose forms were called for was the word spelled V-i r-g-o.

And then it was that the words at the head of this paper smote my ear, as the pupil said: "weergo weergeeneese," etc., etc, The teacher was evidently a good Latin scholar, and she was trying her best to be a good Latin teacher, on the lines that had been laid down for her by those iu authority over her. She put the pupils through their declension paces at a lively gait and they stood the strain very well. There was a manifest spirit of earnestness, and some interest in the class, though their faces expressed far more anxiety about, than delight in, what they were doing.

The pupil gave the forms of the word in question, using the pronunciation which I have tried to indicate by the phonic spelling here noted. When she had finished, the teacher said:

"Yes. What English word is derived from the word weergo?" (I give the words just as they came to my ear.)

And then the pupil said never a word, but just stood there with a sort of helpless look in her eyes.

Then the teacher appealed to the class : Any onel What English word is derived from the word weergo?"

And still there was a profound silence, while the helpless look took possession of the eyes of every member of the class that was paying attention. (A boy and a girl on the back seat were just exchanging notes across the aisle, and their eyes did not look helpless! They were interested!)

And then the teacher said: "Why, I'm sure you must know, some of you-some very common word that comes from weergo?"

But still the vision tarried, while the helpless look deepened into one of genuine trouble.

Then the teacher came to the rescue, as follows: Why, of what state is Richmond the capital?"

And a chorus of voices replied: "Virginia!"

"Yes," said the teacher, and then she went on How do we usually speak of Mary, the mother of Jesus?"

"Virgin Mary," shouted the class.

"Certainly," responded the teacher. And then to the pupil who was standing, she said: "Now what English words are derived from weergo?"

Timidly, and with the rising inflection of interrogation, which showed that she still did not see clearly, the pupil said: "Virginia?"

"Yes." said the teacher, "Virginia and Virgin. Both these words come from the Latin word weergo." And then she called for another inflection.

It was just here that I begged for a word. (And I want to say that I have given a verbatim report of what took place in the classroom that morning-a report taken from notes that I made on the spot.) And I said to the class: "How is it that none of you thought of these words, Virginia and virgin till your teacher virtually told them to you?"

The helpless and troubled look that had been in the eyes of the class disappeared in an instant, as I asked this question, and in its place came an expression of countenance which showed that the pupils were really thinking. After a minute of knitted brows a rather common, but very matter-of-factlooking boy raised his hand, and I said: "Well?"

"Why, weergo weergeeneese don't sound a bit like virgin or Virginia!" said the boy.

And an approving nod, that meant "You've hit it the first time," went around the class.

Before I could say a word the teacher broke in: "Why, of course that's the reason. But the Latin word v-i-r-g-o would sound like the English words virgin or Virginia if only we could pronounce our Latin by the English method. I know that as well as anybody. But we can't pronounce it that way. I would like to teach it so, but I can't."

"And why not?" I asked.

"Because I am not permitted to," she replied.

4.

And why are you not permitted to?" I questioned.

"Because," she said, we have to fit our pupils for college, and the colleges require this pronunciation to be taught. So we have to teach it."

I turned to the class and said: "How many of you expect to go to college?" and there were three hands raised. There were twenty-six in the class.

Then the recitation went on.

At recess I had a long talk with the teacher about the matter. She was a very sensible woman, it seemed to me, and among other things she said:

"I am thoroughly convinced that, so far as real benefit to the high school pupils is concerned, it would be far better to teach them the English pronunciation of Latin. For the great bulk of these pupils, the chief benefit they will derive from their study of Latin will be the improvement of their English. Very few of them will ever go to college, and of those who do go, only a small per cent will ever become Latin scholars to amount to much. Because," she added, "you and I know that the average college graduate never does get so that he can read Latin so very well, after all."

I nodded my ncknowledgements to the mild impeachment, and the young lady

went on :

"So it seems to me that the wise thing to do would be to do everything in our power to make our teaching of Latin help the boys and girls in their English, of course, the letters in the two languages being alike, they have the sense of sight very perfectly adapted to help them out in the derivations. And if they can add to this the sense of sound, it will just double their chances of success in their work."

mans pronounced their words. And he further said that it was his candid opinion that so far as American students were concerned, it would be far more to their advantage if they were taught the English rather than the Roman or Continental pronunciation."

'it

'But," she added, as the bell rang, and the pupils began to file into the room, is the fad of the colleges to use something besides the English pronunciation, and as our school is an accredited school, the colleges mark out our work for us, and we have to come to it. I honestly believe it is all wrong, but what can I do about it? I am only an every-day teacher, and an everyday teacher has little or no voice in determining what her pupils shall study or how they shall study it."

Then she tapped the bell and called the next class.

After I left the room I made the notes from which I have written this out, and as I have looked at them and thought about them a number of times since then, I confess that the whole affair has made a great impression upon me. Somehow it does seem to me that this teacher is right in what she said. I wonder if there is any good reason why the American children in American High Schools should pronounce Latin by any other than the English method. I have asked this question of more than a score of excellent teachers in the last four weeks, and the only reply I have ever received is "The colleges require it."

Is that reason enough? What do you think about it?- The Western Teacher.

THE GRADUATE OF THE STATE TRAINING SCHOOL.

sense, but I ventured to say: "But did not the Romans pronounce Latin as you are teaching your children to pronounce it?"

And quick as a flash she replied: "As a matter of fact, no one knows whether they did or not. No one can tell now how the Romans pronounced their Latin. Some expert scholars have made a guess at it that has resulted in the method that most of the colleges now use. But no one knows anything about it."

I confess I was a little surprised, and because she seemed to know what she was talking about I asked her on what authority she made her last statement. I write her reply, just as she gave it.

-col

She said: "I am a graduate of lege" (the word that should fill the blank was the name of one of the first colleges in this country) "and my instructor in Latin was one of the finest language scholars in the United States; and he told us in class one day, that, as a matter of fact, no one knew anything about how the ancient Ra

school as an incorrigible or delinquent, Miss Grace Johnston, agent of the Red Wing, (Minnesota) Training School for wayward children shows in a very entertaining way how the boy passed through the corrective training of the institution into a coudition where he not only had the respect of others, but of himself. Her type was in a sense a picture of the school itself, now one of the best known in the United States in training boys and girls who, through neglect or cruelty or through evil surroundings have been thrown out on the world, handicapped by bad habits which they have formed and by their warped notions of right and wrong.

A carriage drives up to the school. A man and a boy alight. The man is a sheriff or deputy. He takes a receipt for the delivery of the boy, and a new pupil has begun his course. He is of neeessity a child, for he cannot be over sixteen years of age nor un

der eight years. The commitment paper says that he was disobedient and impudent; that he ran away from home; that he stayed out nights; that he would not go to school; that he kept bad company; that he had bad habits; that he was not honest; that he was a bad boy generally - an incorrigible. It does not tell you, this commitment paper, what made him so-as Kipling remarks, "that is another story." His pocket infallible proof of a boy's natural tastes, for where his treasures are there will his heart be also-has two packs of cigarettes, half a plug of tobacco, two or three cigarette-pictures, a jack knife, a set of dice and possibly a few pennies or dimes.

His eyes tell a story of their own in harmony with cigarettes and late hours. He has a neglected, homeless look, and every line of his face indicates the habit of his mind-reckless, defiant, intolerant of authority or restraint.

Obedience is the first law of the school, and since it is true that from the time of Adam and Eve the sins of the world have been brought about by disobedience, prominence should be given to the primal cause of his wickedness. When the reveille sounds he rises; when the order is given to march, he marches; when he is told to come, he comes; and when he is told to go, he goes. Not only is instant obedience required, but pleasant obedience is insisted upon.

The boy enters upon a life of absolute regularity. He is clean; he goes to bed every night of his life at 8:30 o'clock; he gets up at 5:45 o'clock every morning-(a half hour earlier in the summer); he eats three plain, wholesome meals every day; he has regular hours for work and play. His body. weakened by the irregular life he has been leading, is refreshed and strengthened by the regular regime, and, from the stupefying ef fects of the excessive use of tobacco-and often liquor-his mind and nerves recover their normal tone. He goes to school half of the day; he works the other half, with the noon period and Saturday afternoon for play. All manner of boys' games are his, and he has a half-hour's military drill after breakfast. Round shoulders straighten up, narrow chests expand, shuffling gaits dis

appear.

He is entered in his proper grade of school and spends four hours every day during five days of the week in study in a school where there is no "playing hookey." School discipline is rigidly maintained, but extra credits are given for good work.

Not many children are lazy-their activity improperly directed gets them into mischief. Keep a boy busy and make him happy and he is reasonably safe. In this school every moment is occupied. The new boy may be initiated into any one of eighteen trades. He cares for the horses and cattle, or works in the engine or dynamo room, or bakes, washes and irons, or learns the printer's trade-he enters into all the activities of the

institution. Ten thousand dollars' worth of grading about the school grounds has been done by the boys; they have aided in laying out drives, making cement walks and putting down tiling, while the immense barn on the place is the work of the boys from foundation to peak.

There are daily religious services, a catechism for the Catholic lads and Bible study for all. Industry, patience, self-control, the mastery over degrading habits-these are the results of the efforts of the lad in his new life.

At last the boy who came with the sheriff stands again at the door of the school. He is "in honor" now, as it is called; he is about to leave for a furlough. His brain is clear, his heart is light, he is respectful and polite; he no longer thinks it a smart thing to be tough. He wants to prove to his world that he can be a gentleman and that he knows a thing or two worth knowing. Eight boys out of ten will tell the first persons they meet that they are out of the training-school-they are proud of it. When the boy leaves, he takes with him his furlough agreement, which is his diploma. He is not fully graduated, for by the law of the state he is under the legal jurisdiction of the board of managers of the school until he is twenty-one years of age. His home has been investigated, and if unworthy in the sense of being degraded, inharmonious or unsafe for him to return to, a better home stands waiting for him and employment of some kind is ready to his hands. No period of idleness is allowed at the beginning of his new career, in which to allow him to renew old acqnaintances or to fall back into his old, lazy, reckless ways.

During the last fiscal year 174 children left the school-151 boys and twenty-five girls. The boys greatly outnumber the girls, the ratio being 6 to 1. Only one girl in the last two and one-half years has returned to the school in disgrace, and only twenty-five of the 174 boys were returned for violation of their furlough-fourteen for unsatisfactory conduct and eleven for crime.

So far as possible the graduates are sent into the country, unless they have shown an aptitude for a trade which can be followed only in town. During the last fiscal year twenty children came back to the school “in honor"; the school welcomes them back, too, if they feel that they need help from falling again into old habits; then it helps them out again as soon as the child is safe.Child Study Monthly.

The road that leads to that mystic land
Is strewn with pitiful wrecks,

And the ships that have sailed for its shining strand

Bear skeletons on their decks.

It is further at noon than it was at dawn,
And further at night than at noon;
Oh! let us beware of that land down there-
The land of "Pretty Soon.".-E. W. Wilcox.

THE SCHOOL JOURNAL.

LANCASTER, FEBRUARY, 1898.

More people drown in the glass than in the sea.

The bird is the balance in nature, keeping under the insect life, that fruit and grain may ripen and animals and men may live. Do not kill it or disturb its nest.

Ye may be ave sticken' in a tree, Jock; it will be growin' when ye're sleepin'.-Scotch Farmer.

The best of men that ever wore earth about him was a sufferer, a soft, meek, patient, humble, tranquil spirit; the first true gentleman that ever breathed.-Decker.

I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to a fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. -Edward Courtney: Engraved also upon his tomb.

THE Pennsylvania State Association of School Directors will hold their annual convention in the Supreme Court room at Harrisburg, February 9th and Ioth. This Association is composed of representatives from the Boards of Education in the leading cities of the State, and from organized County Associations of School Boards. The programme will be a good one; and we hope to greet the largest body of live and energetic school directors that has yet assembled at this important convention.

THE third annual meeting of the Kindergarten Union will convene at the Philadelphia Normal School, Thirteenth and Spring Garden Streets, on February 18th. The training of the Kindergarten will be discussed by Mrs. Alice Putnam, of Chicago, and Miss Laura Fisher, of Boston. At the public meeting in the evening there will be addresses by Dr. Lyman Abbott, of Brooklyn, topic to be announced, and Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, on "Infancy and Education." On February 19th there will be a conference in the forenoon, and in the afternoon a reception to delegates. In the evening, addresses will be delivered by Miss Susan Blow, James L. Hughes, Superintendent Schools, Toronto, and Dr. Lightner Witmer, of the University of Pennsylvania, on "The Kindergarten as a Psychological Laboratory." It is expected that between 200 and 300 kindergartners will be in attendance. Miss Lucy Wheelock, of Boston. Mass., is president of the Union, which is composed of upwards of thirty branch associations of kindergartners, or

ganized in as many cities of the United States. The National Kindergarten Union was organized in 1892 at Saratoga, at a meeting of the National Educational Association. In 1895 a preliminary meeting was held in Boston, and in 1896 the first convention was held in New York.

CHATTANOOGA MEETING.

THE

HE annual meeting of the Department of Superintendence of the National Educational Association will be held at Chattanooga, Tennessee, February 22, 23 and 24, with headquarters at the New Southern hotel. The programme is very rich in matter and in the names both of

those who will read papers and of those who are to follow in the discussions. The Round Table of the Herbartian Society, Dr. Charles De Garmo, of Swarthmore College, president, will present for discussion two theses, the first by Arnold Tompkins, of the University of Illinois, on "Observation and Application;" and the second by Charles A. McMurray, on the "Value of Herbart's Pedagogical Doctrines for Secondary Education." The Educational Press Association, John MacDonald president, will consider the "Scope of Educational Journalism," and other matters of practical interest.

The officers of the Department of Superintendence are: President Nathan C. Schaeffer, Harrisburg, Pa.; 1st VicePresident, F. B. Cooper, Des Moines, Iowa; 2nd Vice-President, E. H. Mark, Louisville, Ky.; Secretary, W. S. Steele, Galesburg, Ill. The executive committee are the officers of the Department and (ex officio) Irwin Shepard, Secretary National Educational Association, Winona, Minnesota.

PROGRAMME OF EXERCISES.

TUESDAY MORNING.

Addresses of Welcome-Governor Robert L. Taylor, Nashville, Tenn.; Mayor E. Watkins, Chattanooga, Tenn.

Response-Henry Houck, Harrisburg, Pa. The Township High School-State Supt. C. J. Baxter, Trenton, N. J.

Discussion-Led by State Supt. J. Q. Emery, Madison, Wis.; State Supt. W. W. Stetson, Augusta, Maine.

Conference: 2.30 p. m.

Educational Problems in the South-Con

ducted by G. G. Bond, Supt. City Schools, Athens, Ga.

1. What kind of Normal Training should the Common School Teacher of the South receive? E. C. Branson, Professor Pedagogy, State Normal School, Athens, Ga.

2. A Plan for the Better Supervision of the Common Schools. Chas. D. McIver, President Normal and Industrial School, Greensboro, N. C.

3. What the Negro Gets from Common School Education in the South, and What He Gives to it. James K. Powers, President University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Paper-Plan of the North Side Schools of Denver, Supt. James N. Van Sickle, Denver, Colorado.

Discussion-Opened by Supt. Chas. B. Gilbert, Newark, N. J.

Paper--The Elizabeth Plan, Supt. Wm. J. Shearer, Elizabeth, N. J.

Discussion-Opened by Supt. R. H. Halsey, Binghamton, N. Y."

8p. m.-Realizing the Final Aim of Education-President S. T. Scovel, University at Wooster, Ohio.

At the Conference of State Superintendents, Grace Espy Patton, State Supt. of Public Instruction, Colorado, chairman, the following will be read on successive days: Paper "Minimum Preparationfor TeachPrice Thomas, State Supt. of Public Instruction, Tennessee.

WEDNESDAY MORNING.

What can Child Study Contribute to the Science of Education?-Papers by Prof. J. P. Gordy, Columbus, Ohio; and Prof. R. P. Halleck, Louisville, Ky. Discussion.

2:30-Conference on School Hygiene-Conducted by Supt. G.V. Buchanan, Sedalia, Mo. 1. Lighting and Seating of School Rooms, by Dr. W. A. Mowry, Hyde Park, Mass. Ten minute discussions by Supt. F. Louis Soldan, St. Louis, Mo., and Supt. J. R. Preston, Water Valley, Miss.

2. Ventilation of School Rooms, by Asst. Supt. A. P. Marble, New York City. Ten minute discussions by State Supt. S. M. Inglis, Springfield, Ill., and Supt. J. L. Holloway, Fort Smith, Ark.

3. Contagious Diseases, by Supt. T. A. Mott, Richmond, Ind. Ten minute discussions by Supt. J. H. Snyder, Tiffin, Ohio, and Supt. C. N. Kendal, New Haven, Conn.

8 p.m.-The Influence of Music and Music Study upon Character-Prof. A. J. Gantvoort, College of Music, Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Value of the Tragic and the Comic in Education-Dr. W. T. Harris, Commissioner of Education, Washington, D.C. Discussion.

THURSDAY MORNING.

Vacation Schools-Paper by Richard Waterman, Jr., Chicago, Ill.

Continuous Sessions at Normal Schools— Paper by Irwin Shepard, Winona, Minn.

Discussion-Led by Supt. A. T. Barrett, Chattanooga, Tenn.: Supt. R. K. Buehrle, Lancaster, Pa.; Supervisor D. L. Ellis, Asheville, N. C. Business Session.

Conference: 2.30 p. m. Subject-Grading and Promotion with Reference to the Individual Needs of Pupils. Conducted by Edward R. Shaw, School of Pedagogy, New York University.

Paper-Some New England Plans and Conclusions Drawn from a Study of Grading and Promotion, Dr. John T. Prince, Agent Mass. Board of Education.

Discussion opened by Prof. W. S. Sutton, School of Pedagogy, University of Texas.

Discussion--O. T. Corson, State School Commissioner, Ohio; Estelle Reel, State Supt. Public Instruction, Wyoming.

Paper--"Reciprocal Recognition of State and Normal School Diplomas by the States," Z. X. Snyder, President State Normal School, Colorado. General Discussion.

Paper-"Medical Examination of Children in the Public Schools," W. B. Powell, Supt. of District of Columbia. Discussion-Junius Jordan, State Supt. of Arkansas.

HOTELS.

The New Southern Hotel-$2.00 a day on all floors when two occupy a room; $3.00 a day when one occupies a room.

The Read House-$2.00 a day when two occupy a room except on parlor floor and for rooms with bath, which will be $3.00 a day.

Rossmore-Regular rate $2.00 and $2.50. Reduction 25 per cent. if two occupy a room. The European Hotel offers 43 furnished rooms at 50 cents, 75 cents and $1.00 per day, according to size and location. Regular meals 25 cts. Rooms with or without meals.

The Inn on Lookout Mountain will open February 19. Rates, $2.00, $2.50, $3.00, $3.50. Aldine Hotel-$2.00 per day; $1.50 per day if more than one person occupy a room.

RAILROAD ARRANGEMENTS.

The South-Eastern Passenger Association has granted a rate of one fare for the round trip; tickets good for the going trip Feb. 20th, 21st and 22d, and return until Feb. 28th.

The Central Passenger Association has granted the same rate; tickets good for the going trip Feb. 20th and 21st, and for return until Feb. 28th.

All tickets must be stamped and countersigned at Chattanooga before return.

One and One-third Fare for Round Trip.

The Western Passenger Association lines grant one and one-third fare from point of starting to their eastern gateways, namely, Chicago, Peoria and St. Louis, from which points the one fare offered by the Central Passenger Association will be available. Certificates are to be obtained for the fare paid from the initial point to the gateway