mere words. As for us, we are so anxious to call forth the intelligence of ours, that we would have them at each proposition decide upon the truth or the falsehood, the right or the wrong which it contains, and, moreover, assign a reason for their opinion.

To the oral lesson in syntax will regularly succeed a lesson in writing, and this must be one of invention, in imitation of the first; consequently it will be easy, because the natural association of ideas will suggest to the young inventors something analogous to the propositions which the oral lessons will have furnished. They will themselves be obliged to produce, and it is only by doing so that the mind can be thoroughly cultivated.

The lessons in writing must be corrected, not only in reference to their contents, but also to orthography, which should always advance in unison wth syntax.

The instruction contained in our course for the cultivation of the heart, will begin with the syntax of the proposition, though, of course, no more than its first elements can be compressed within such narrow limits: but must not all things have a beginning? It should be remembered, also, that the examples which we have offered for the cultivation of the moral, religious, personal, social tendencies are for the most part expressed in phrases of several propositions. We must not, therefore, look for such in the syntax of the proposition, which cannot contain them; and all that can be required of this elementary part is, that it should give the first ideas which may be combined afterwards, so as to produce the desired effect.

To the syntax of the proposition are added alternately exercises of conjugation and of derivation; and by this variety we obtain the attention of our young pupils, which can only be had on these terms. Besides, it is a course of language that we have undertaken to teach, and it would be glaringly imperfect if it did not include these two elements.

Conjugation, like syntax, here confines itself to the proposition; it only uses the parts of the verb which occur in it, and reserves the others for the phrase, because there they first appear, and, consequently, there only can they be rightly understood.

We say again that we attach great importance to conjugation by propositions and phrases, because verbs only acquire their full meaning by their accompaniments; and children are thus taught their use; whilst mere conjugation conveys nothing of all this; it speaks not to the mind, and it wearies children by its barren monotony.

It cannot consequently find a place in our educative course of language, which undertakes to suggest thoughts as the means of cultivating the heart. With regard to the contents of the propositions, that will be the same in conjugation as in syntax; for these two parts having the same object in view, will mutually assist each other throughout the whole course; and the same exercises of intelligence will be required in the propositions to be conjugated, as in those of syntax.

Among these propositions many will express duties either positive or negative; and their object will be to form and develope the conscience and the moral feelings connected with it. Education has no duty more imperative; and if this were the only merit of our course of language, it would be a very great one. Now, by conjugation it passes the same moral truth through all the persons, I, Thou, &c., &c., so that the duty inculcated is generalized in the minds of the pupils, and thus acquires greater power and sanction; it becomes law to them. This is, indeed, an immense advantage in the method of conjugation which we have adopted; and to it will likewise be added an essay of invention as in syntax. The oral exercise in it will also be followed by one in writing of the same kind and with the same view; for nothing must be done by halves.

We have already said that the vocabulary of this first part must teach the derivation of words which belong to the same class, and thus enable children to understand one by means of another. Vocabulary will, therefore, begin with roots; and will show how their signification is successively shaded, first by the initial syllables which are added, then by the final syllables, and lastly by both together. The teacher will give the radicals, and will carefully explain their meaning. He will also point out the

initial syllables, and the pupils will have to find the derivatives. Radicals and derivatives must always appear inthe form of an example. The teacher will invent in his turn in order to give the tone, for otherwise children would always fly close to the ground; and they must be taught

to soar.

Our elementary book will suggest for the assistance of teachers, examples which are adapted to the object of our course of language; but this need not prevent them from adding some of their own, and such as would be particularly suitable for their pupils; for we have full confidence that they will not deviate from our general plan.

Only in syntax and conjugation they must confine themselves to propositions, and according to the models presented by the lessons in their progressive course. But not so in vocabulary; for here the pupils and the master are at liberty to introduce the given word into a phrase or proposition, according to their own choice. We shall thus release its vocabulary from the fetters imposed on syntax and conjugation, because they would in this instance circumscribe the pupils' range of thought unnecessarily. All that will be required of them will be to attend to the given words.

We have also another reason for this freedom; viz. : that pupils on coming to our course of language are already in the habit of making use of phrases of two propositions or more, for their minds have already acquired some developement. In this respect syntax and conjugation retard them; but this is indispensable in order to teach them to do methodically, and with the certainty of knowledge, what hitherto they have only practised from blind imitation or by a sort of instinct. Now this, however, suffices in exercises of vocabulary which have a totally different object from grammatical combinations; therefore, while the latter confine thought and the expression of it for some time to proposition, vocabulary allows the pupil to spread his wings and fly beyond their narrow limits. He is at liberty to express all his thoughts, and to display his progress to his teacher, who will, of

course, turn it to account. I was annoyed at the idea of being obliged to detain children so long within the bounds of the proposition, and was glad to think that in vocabulary I might allow them free scope. Of course, the master will correct faults of language; but in doing so, he will only make use of such grammatical terms and rules as the pupils will have learnt in their other lessons.

All the exercises in vocabulary will be oral. Undoubtedly orthography must be attended to in it; but for this purpose, spelling by heart will be substituted for writing, which is much slower; and therefore more work will be done in less time.

Abstract of the Second Part.

Here syntax has to deal with the phrase of two propositions, and it will begin with the grammatical phrase, and then pass on to the logical phrase.

The phrases which we denominate logical, in contradistinction to grammatical, are of a superior order, for they require greater developement of mind, and a more extensive range of thought, particularly where they contain a train of reasoning or something approaching to it. The grammatical must therefore come first, and among these also there is a gradation which our course of language must observe.

In this second part, conjugation will include the subjunctive and will attain its full developement; for the new forms of the verb which appear in the phrase can now be understood, appreciated, and discerned. The phrases to be conjugated will turn upon the same subjects as the phrases in syntax; that is to say, they will be selected with a view to education, properly so called. Their con tents will indeed be more limited, because they can only treat of such thoughts as can be passed through all the different but for this there will be compensapersons; tion, because by means of this repetition they will be more firmly fixed in the memory, after the mind has apprehended them; and moreover they must be explained and weighed, before conjugation sets to work upon them.

Indeed this exercise must accompany our whole educative

course.

The conjugation of the phrase has also its oral exercise of invention, and next one in writing, to fix in the mind the new forms of the verbs.

Vocabulary will here present a medley, though in order to instruct children in the mechanism of language, it will still bestow much of its attention on derivation, of which the elements will have been taught in the preceding part. Now the teacher will give the radical, and the pupils will have to name all the derivatives they know of, however they may be formed. Thence result groups of words, and each word must be placed in a proposition or phrase; the teacher all the while giving the tone, because he too must furnish his contingent. Derivation will here only engross half of the lessons in vocabulary; and the other half will be divided between homonymes, and words of an opposite sense. Thus we shall have an agreeable variety, and this variety will be all the greater, because the lessons of these two last classes will intervene between those of derivation.

Homonymes belong to orthography, and therefore must not be omitted in a course of language; and they are at the same time an exercise of intelligence, because intelligence is invited each time to place the homonyme in a thought of its own selection. Here too the teacher will be called upon to furnish examples, and the pupils will have to spell by heart the parts that might be doubtful to them, as well as to make their own reflections on the thoughts that have been expressed.

As to words of opposite meanings, the teacher will give the one, and the pupils will have to find the other. Master and scholars will compose upon each, he to give the tone, and they to seize and imitate it; and if this exercise is calculated to familiarize children with language and its expressions, so is it also to familiarize them with the things which these words denote, while the whole will, under the direction of the teacher, assist the general object of our educative course.