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EDUCATION BY NEWSPAPER.

A NOVEL plan for a system of popular edu

The

cation has been proposed in India. proposal is contained in a paper by Mr. S. S. Thorburn, read before the East India Association, and published in the July number of the Asiatic Quarterly. Mr. Thorburn's proposal is, briefly, to publish in each center, and in all the vernaculars, a government newspaper which would educate the people. At present education in India is bad, and journalism worse. Only about one in four hundred of the number of boys in India is being seriously educated, and only 10 per cent. are undergoing any education at all. At present the great bulk of educated candidates for government employment must struggle for positions worth less than $100 a year. Education higher than elementary is almost confined to town-dwellers ; the educated product is cast upon the world at an age when instruction is only beginning to expand the mind into a thinking machine; and the educated class, unfit for other pursuits, seeks clerical employment, in which the openings are few.

The reading of this new class is restricted to the cheapest of the vernacular papers, of which there are nearly six hundred. These papers pay badly, and have small circulations, while the fear of being prosecuted for seditious writing is ever before them.

GOVERNMENT NEWSPAPERS.

Mr. Thorburn, in view of these facts, proposes that the government of each department should start and maintain a first-class daily paper in the town vernacular, which would be sold at a rate which would compare with the cheapest journals now circulating. He thinks that even if a loss of a lac of rupees in each case resulted, the outlay would be productive. The editors should be persons worthy of respect, either English or native, and such men, says Mr. Thorburn, would be cheap at 3,000 rupees a month. Mr. Thorburn thinks that after a time the loss would be inconsiderable.

WHAT ANGLO-INDIANS THINK.

Mr. Thorburn calls this education by newspaper, but it is obvious that the effect would be political as well. After his paper was read the project was discussed by several members, none of whom approved of it. Sir Lepel Griffin said he did not think that the starting of a few newspapers would be enough to tackle the grave difficulty which the higher education of the natives was every day making more important. Mr. Digby was even less favorable. He does not

think that British newspapers make good citizens. He points out certain practical difficul ties.

Would the editor, he asks, have a free hand? If so, he would have to circulate damaging criticisms on the Indian Government, such as those of Mr. Caine in the House of Commons. The government would be a resounding board, through which the voice of criticism would echo through the land. The editor would be compelled to take sides, and would thus incur the enmity of one party. A large number of papers would be needed, there being eighty languages in India, twenty of which are spoken by not less than a million persons. If the papers were good, they would supersede the present English and native papers, destroying the occupation of the present journalists. Mr. Digby does not think that the men could be found to work the project. If the Indians are to become loyal citizens of a prosperous empire, they must be regarded as equals. The British cannot for all time stand in loco parentis to 230,000,000 people.

Mr. Thorburn, in his reply, argues that if the government newspapers were to kill all the lowerclass newspapers circulating in India, so much the better. He maintains also that the newspapers would not need to be published in so many different languages, as no daily is now published except in the recognized official vernacular of a province and one spoken by all educated Indians.

The project, as will be seen, did not meet with favor. It is an interesting one, nevertheless. But surely a simpler plan, both in India and Russia, would be for the rulers to test for a tin.e the effect of granting real liberty to the press, the most effective of all enemies of sedition.

TOLSTOY ON EDUCATION AND INSTRUCTION.

IN La Revue for June 15, M. Jean Finot pub

lishes an unrevised fragment from Count Tolstoy's pen on education and instruction. For the ideas therein he disclaims all responsibility.

RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE THE BASIS OF EVERYTHING.

As the basis of everything should be a religious doctrine suited to the degree of instruction of men, this doctrine cannot be Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, nor any creed based on trust in certain prophets.

"This doctrine must be justified by the reason, aspirations, and experience of each man. And this doctrine is Christian doctrine in its most simple and reasonable expression. . . . Everything we teach children intentionally is conscious inspiration; everything which children imitate... is unconscious suggestion.

"Conscious suggestion is what is called instruction; unconscious suggestion is what we call, in the narrow sense, education, and what I shall call enlightenment. . . . In our society instruction is very advanced, but real enlightenment is not only backward, but absent. . . That education may be good and moral it is necessary, strange to say, that the life of the educators should be good. It must be good, not by chance in certain details, but its bases must be good." "A good life" he defines as one that aspires toward perfection, toward love.

"INSTRUCTION."

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As for instruction, or science, it is merely the transmission of the best thoughts of the best men on divers subjects. Such thoughts of good, intel. ligent men are always about (1) religious philosophy of life and its importance; (2) experimental and natural sciences; (3) logic and mathematics.

"All these are true sciences. . . . You know or you do not know. All sciences not corresponding to these requirements, such as theological, legal, and historical studies, are mischievous, and should be excluded."

Count Tolstoy also strongly insists on the importance of teaching some manual labor, be it carpentry, sewing, or other useful employment.

A DIVISION OF TIME.

"This is how I represent things to myself: the teachers fix hours themselves, but the pupils are free to come or not. . . . Entire freedom for the pupil to study when he wants to is the condition sine quâ non of all useful teaching, is just as in eating the condition sine quâ non now that the eater desires to eat. The only difference is that in material things the mischief of restriction of liberty is shown at once,-by sickness and derangement of the stomach,-and that in spiritual matter the results are shown less quickly, perhaps years later."

education

Eight hours for sleep, eight for in the narrow sense-enlightenment," also housecleaning, manual work, with intervals for rest or play (dependable on age); eight hours for study, the subject to be entirely the choice of the pupils.

ON LANGUAGE TEACHING.

"As for the teaching of languages-the more one knows the better--I think it absolutely necessary to learn French and German, English, and, if possible, Esperanto (a universal language). Languages must be taught by making the pupil read a book he knows and trying to make him understand the general sense, then drawing attention to the essential words and their roots in the grammatical forms."

IN

MARY'S HOUSE AT EPHESUS.

N the Nouvelle Revue, M. B. D'Agen gives a curious account of the ancient building at Ephesus which is now believed by many Roman Catholics to have sheltered Mary, the mother of Christ, during the last year of her life on earth.

Not quite a hundred years ago there lived in Westphalia a village woman, Katherine Emmerich, who enjoyed a great local reputation for sanctity, and who lived the life of an anchorite. She had a Boswell in the person of a humble priest named Brentano, to whom she recounted at great length her marvelous visions, which all concerned, and, as it were, reconstituted, the life of Christ and of the Virgin Mary on earth. He kept a careful record of all she told him, and after her death several volumes dealing with her "revelations" were published; these included a "Life of the Virgin Mary," in which are to be found many extraordinary and most elaborate details, which the believers in Katherine Emmerich's exceptional sanctity regard as a valuable supplement to the Gospel narrative. It should, however, be added that this volume, as indeed all the "revelations" in question, never received the imprimata of Rome, and no effort seems to have been made to discover whether any of the statements contained in the volumes could be verified by journeys to the Holy Land, or to the other places mentioned therein.

Twelve years ago the superior of a monastery at Smyrna happened to come across the "Life of the Virgin," and reading it with a certain in. credulous interest, came upon a passage where the visionary described, with the most minute care, the house in which it had been revealed to her that the Virgin Mary dwelt, near Ephesus, during the last few months of her life. Struck by the accuracy of some of the details concerning the country, he made up his mind to seek for this spot, "some three leagues or three and a half leagues from Ephesus, situated on a mountain reached by a tortuous and narrow way, and from the top of which can be seen Ephesus on the one side, and the sea on the other." The priest and a friend started off on July 27, 1891. After a short journey they arrived at the foot of Bulbul Dag, the mountain clearly indicated by the visionary, and there, after a stiff climb, they found the building in question. The news was sent off to Rome, where, however, it was received with skepticism, greatly owing to the undoubted fact that St. Polycarp, who was Bishop of Ephesus about the year 200, made no mention in his letters to the then pope of the house in question. In Asia Minor the spot has become a great place of pilgrimage, and the writer of this interesting little paper evidently believes firmly

that here the modern world may indeed see the spot where, after the crucifixion of our Lord at Jerusalem, the Blessed Virgin Mary, together with St. John, journeyed to Ephesus, and there spent the remaining year of her life.'

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THE SHEEP-DOG TRIALS IN ENGLAND. HERE is a delightful article by A. Radclyffe Dugmore in Everybody's for August, describing The Sheep-Dog Trials at Troutbeck," in the north of England. In this little retired village the sheep-herders of the north gather together every year to witness the trials of their collies, conducted according to the most stringent rules and regulations. The display of intelligence and beautiful training on the part of the sheep-dogs is most fascinating. Mr. Dugmore is not only a real artist with the camera, but is, as well, a wonderful observer and student of nature. The accounts of these trials are illustrated with his beautiful photographs taken at the last sheepdog trials in August, 1901.

The task set each dog was to convey three sheep over rough ground from the starting pen for about three-quarters of a mile to the finishing pen. The route was fixed by flags, and the sheep had to be conveyed between these flags. The man whose dog was working stood on a knoll about 150 yards from the starting point, and not until his dog had gotten the sheep to the finishing point was he allowed to leave this knoll. From that distant point he had to guide his dog as best he could by signs and signals, shrill whistling, and sometimes calling.

Forty-two dogs were entered in the last trial, and Mr. Dugmore gives a vivid description of the performance of the first starter, Laddie.

The dog seemed to realize that some special effort was called for to-day, and looked inquiringly first at his master and then toward the judges' tent. He seemed to be waiting eagerly to be released. The wave of a red flag was the signal for the simultaneous release of the three penned sheep and the anxious, eager dog. At once the latter made toward the three bewildered sheep, directed first by his master's call, for the bracken was high and hid the animals from the dog's view.

"But not long before he saw them, however. Without seemingly paying the slightest attention to his master's call, he hurried them along at a lively speed. Up the stone-covered hillside they scampered till they reached the first flag. Then Laddie stopped an instant for orders, -a simple whistle which he understood, and once more the three sheep are off, with the dog following close behind, guiding them carefully, and keep

ing all three closely bunched together as they pass the first of a series of flags. . . . Over the top of the hill and down the slope they went, faster and faster, until, still well bunched, the brook was passed, and they were going up hill toward the first pair of flags. Then one of the sheep made a bolt toward the lower part of the crag; but Laddie turned it back quick as a flash, thereby saving much time. Once more they made for the opening between the two flags that seemed to be planted so very close together. When quite near they hesitated, and had to be urged on. As soon as they started in the right direction, Laddie lay down and watched them as they walked slowly along, leaving the flags on either side.

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Looking toward his master for new directions, he quickly overtook his charges, who were slowly making their way for the hilltop, and, turning them in the direction of the next flag, now forced them into a gallop. Over the rocks they went, sure-footed as goats, frequently lost to view among the bracken, but each time reappearing with the gray dog close at their heels.

"Nearer and nearer they came, to within six feet of the flags, and seemed to be going well, when suddenly, without warning, they galloped off on the wrong side. The bracken was so high that the poor dog had not seen the second mark. 'Coom t'me, lad! coom t'me!' shouted his mas ter, and then the dog realized that a mistake had been made, and ran to a clear piece of ground, from which he could see his master and get his, signals. The sheep, fortunately, had stopped soon after passing the flag, and the dog understood that they must be driven back outside the mark (for such is the rule), then turned sharply round and brought between the two flags.

"How he understood it is difficult for us to realize, but that he did was proved by his actions; try as the sheep might to go the wrong way, Laddie,—now coaxing, now forcing them,soon had all three in position for starting again for the narrow way that led between the two fluttering flags.

T'hame, Laddie! t'hame!' called his master; and Laddie turned those sheep sharply round and brought them between the two red and white flags at full gallop."

Finally Laddie gets them within a hundred yards of the pen, and his master leaves his knoll and runs to assist in the penning. The pen has an opening only big enough to admit one sheep, and so placed as to give the worst possible angle of entrance. Moreover, the driving has to be completed in a certain time, and only one minute and twenty seconds remains.

"J. R. stood on one side of the pen and beckoned Laddie to bring the three scared-looking

sheep forward. Slowly they came until near the goal; then, before man or dog could stop them, all three bolted past, and fully half a minute was lost in bringing them back.

"At last, by coaxing ever so gently, they were taken to the pen, and two were passed through the narrow entrance and penned. The third, however, turned at the critical moment and bolted.

"Time was nearly up; but a few seconds remained. Could the animal be recovered before those seconds had passed?

"The spectators held their breath and watched intently; the time-keeper stood, watch in hand, ready to call the fatal word 'Time,' while the man and the dog were working with nervous energy. It was a race against the second-hand of a watch, and the odds were in favor of the second-hand. Fortunately the two sheep in the pen had remained there, so the undivided attention was given to bringing in the third, which had run about fifty yards before Laddie could turn it. Back they came, the driven and the driver, until once more they were close to the pen. Then the dog dropped down, with his head on his paws, watching the sheep as it stood near the narrow entrance.

"Nearer and nearer came the man, with arms outspread, while the dog crawled on his belly toward the staring, panting sheep. Once the sheep turned, as though to run, when, quick as a flash, Laddie stood up and took a step forward, ready to cut off the retreat; but the sheep, thinking better of it, turned toward the pen, and, after hesitating a moment, slowly entered, one second ahead of time."

Our friend Laddie, however, did not win the prize on this day. It went to an old dog named Jack, "who gave one of the finest exhibitions of the day, making some wonderful retrieves, keeping his sheep well in hand while he completed the course and the penning in seven minutes and thirty seconds."

THE

MOVEMENTS OF BRAINLESS ANIMALS. HE purposefulness and control of the movements of animals from which the brain has been wholly or partially removed is the subject of a paper by Dr. L. Merzbacher, in the last number of the Archiv für die gesammte Physio logie des Menschen und der Thiere.

What the physical basis of consciousness is, and how bodily activities are incited and controlled, are questions which have always both interested and eluded learned men. The Chinese held the belief that the stomach was the seat of the mind. In later times the doctrine of the

spirits prevailed among European nations, according to which thought and motion were caused by a fluid that passed out from the brain through a system of tubes in the body and back to the brain again. After that scientists took up the study of anatomy, and mere theorizing became unpopular. From anatomical studies it seemed that the brain was a great mass of nerv ous material that exerted a controlling influence over the body, responded to stimuli, and origi nated impulses which were conducted through the body over nerves extending out from the brain. We are now turning away from this extreme view of the controlling influence of the brain, in the light of certain experiments made upon animals with mutilated brains, and with the present diversity of opinion the scientist may say with the poet that he has come "Wo er nichts Festes zu erfassen weiss."

For the studies described, a number of frogs were chloroformed, their skulls opened, and parts of the brain removed, after which the frogs were cared for until they recovered. Those frogs from which the cerebral hemispheres and optic thalami had been wholly removed were able to use their legs as well as before, making all cus. tomary movements, and coördinating the move. ments with each other. Operations upon both the brain and the posterior roots of the spinal nerves that extend into the legs produce a marked effect upon the movements, the hind legs doing as they will, sometimes acting in harmony with the fore legs, sometimes not, or each leg would move independently without regard either to the fore legs or to the corresponding member on the opposite side.

In a number of frogs the sensory roots of the nerves supplying the hind legs were cut through. When only one side is operated upon, the frog is usually ready to spring away immediately after the operation, the only difference being a slight tendency of the foot and lower part of the leg to cling to the thigh. If the legs do not assume the right position at once after the spring, they usually do in a short time. When both sides are operated upon, the effects are more pronounced and of a different nature, showing that the movements of one extremity are affected by the movements of its mate on the opposite side; that the sensibility and motility of one foot induces equally strong reactions in the opposite mem

ber.

This influence which the mobility and sensi. bility of one side exerts on the other has its parallel in human pathology, as shown in cases of one-sided paresis, when one limb can be moved only when similar motions are made at the same time by the other.

The writer finds three sources of control for every member. Parts of the brain, the sensibility of the extremity itself, and sympathetic influence exerted by the sensibility and motility of the corresponding organ opposite. The regula tion through sensibility is relatively strongest.

THE WHITE ELEPHANT.

"THE Glory and Decadence of the White

Elephant" is the title of an article by M. Henry de Varigny in the Bibliothèque Universelle, from which may be gleaned some curious details as to this favored one among his kind.

The white elephant, as is not perhaps universally known, is not white at all,-only of lighter hue than his fellows, his hide being light or reddish gray. A perfect specimen should have pink eyes with yellow iris, hide of a light brownish red, and the interior of his ears and trunk, as well as his nails, should be white, and his hair red. But Europeans are unjust in attrib uting the epithet "white" to Oriental exaggeration, as the error is that of translators having an imperfect knowledge of the fine points of Eastern vernaculars. The truth is," says Pyana, in a recent article in the Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review, that the term of white elephant does not exactly translate the Siamese or Burmese word which indicates the color of the animal. In Burmese, for instance, they say sin pyu, sin meaning elephant. But pyu, although meaning white, has also other acceptations, such as gray, light, less dark. It is used to characterize the lighter complexion of a native woman less dusky than her countrywomen without being even remotely to be confounded with a Caucasian. Besides, the Burmese often use the expression sin nee, meaning red elephant. In Siamese the animal is called chang pueuk, chang being equivalent to elephant. Pueuk, which formerly meant white or light, is now only used in the sense of albino. Thus we see that the native expressions are erroneously translated by white elephant; the correct term would be light elephant."

THE WHITE ELEPHANT IN MYTHOLOGY.

According to the Buddhist legend, before assuming the human form of Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, Buddha lived in the form of a white elephant; so, in all probability the prestige of the white elephant dated much further back than Buddhism, else he would not have been chosen as the precursor of Gautama. Indeed, the elephant had his place in the Indian pantheon since the most remote periods. Indra was always represented as mounted on an elephant, who shared

in his divinity; and in the ancient worship of the sun, the white elephant and the white horse were considered emblems of the sun himself. Inspired, doubtless, by reminiscences of the solar myth, there is a Vedic tradition that at certain long-separated periods in the existence of the world, a universal monarch makes his appearance on earth. He is of celestial origin, and the initiated recognize him by varied and numerous signs. For the feet alone there are thirty-two signs. Besides physical signs, this miraculous personage possesses seven particularly precious. accessories, and the chief of these is a white elephant. Without the white elephant, all claims lack authenticity. Hence it is easily understood why the different kings of the Indo-Chinese region and of the Buddhist countries, each deeming himself the only authentic descendant of the ancient Vedic kings, all cherishing the hope of becoming the legendary universal monarch,— consider the white elephant an indispensable possession, and have done and do all in their power to procure him, by hook or by crook,-by crook preferably, because it is the surer way.

The

But the true country of the white elephant is Indo-China. There his prestige has been longest maintained. There the proudest orders of knighthood bear his image on their regalia; there he still majestically represents the national antiquity and glory on the royal banner. travelers who visited Siam and the neighboring regions in the sixteenth century bear witness to this veneration in many passages. When the Trojans were fighting because of a woman, many Orientals waged war to gain a white elephant, and even about 1650 there was continual strife between the Siamese and the king of Pegu because of seven white elephants the latter coveted.

HONORED IN HIS OWN COUNTRY.

Only twenty-five years ago the lot of the white elephant in Siam was an extremely enviable one. A party of hunters discovered a very good specimen. The news spread, and the whole country went wild with delight. The king immediately dispatched an escort of great personages, whose duty it was to mount guard around the animal, which was tied by silken ropes in the forest where he was found. For, like his ordinary brethren, the white elephant has to undergo a course of taming and domestication before he is brought to the capital. Professionals instructed him in etiquette, and the great personages served as guard of honor. Meanwhile, people flocked from all directions to see him, bringing presents and invoking for him the divine protection. He was then conducted in royal pomp to Ayuthia, special roads having been built from the place of

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