which are required to be acquired by the children in a geography or history lesson, should be so acquired by them out of school, in readiness for the lesson. Except the youngest children who cannot be trusted with books out of school, or who cannot read easily enough to study such books, every child should have a little rudimentary book of geography, with coloured maps, a little rudimentary book of history with dates, and a little rudimentary book of English grammar, with analysis of sentences, from which it should be expected to prepare its home lessons; and those very young or very neglected and ignorant children to whom it would be useless to assign home lessons should have less time allotted to them in school for direct instruction, and should be gradually trained to give such spare part of the school time to preparation. It is a deplorable waste of teaching power, and is ruinous both to teachers and taught, to let the teacher's time and vigour be spent in telling the children mere rudimentary facts which they can gain from a penny text-book. In this important matter, as well as in that of marks and place-taking (see $16), our elementary schools will do well to take a lesson from our secondary schools. No master at Rugby or Marlborough would think of wasting his time, degrading his teaching, and indulging his scholars in neglect and idleness, by occupying his lesson on geography or history with telling them things which they can and should learn from an ordinary and accessible text-book. There the scholars are expected to get up those mere elements out of school, or in special hours of preparation; and the business of the master is one which pre-supposes in his scholars an acquaintance

with such rudiments; it is to test, illustrate, amplify, and give interest to such pre-supposed rudimentary knowledge. With every allowance for the difference between a boarding-school and a day-school, and between the domestic circumstances of the rich and of the poor, this is what our elementary schools should likewise aim at. They should do so for the sake of the teacher; because, if his powers are lowered down to the mere delivery of these dry facts, he will have no stimulus to read and improve himself for his scholars; and no chance of throwing over their work the charm of his superior knowledge, or of his genius. They should do so for the sake of the scholars; because, if they are never practised in learning by themselves they will never learn well at all; and because their time is wasted and their golden opportunities are squandered, when the powers of their teachers are not fully called forth and displayed for their benefit. And they should do so for the sake of the parents; because nothing will carry the civilizing influence of the school more universally into the houses of parents, into our alleys and street doors, than this requirement of home lessons. Day schools, with their home preparation and their placetaking at school, have been the two key-notes of the great and ancient Scottish system of popular education; and in the hands of able and zealous managers, and faithful and judicious teachers, these two principles might be made to play a great part in the cause of popular education in England. The importance of this home-preparation is greater in geography and history than in any other subjects; and the inspector will, therefore, if he does not find it specified in the notes which the pupil-teacher

puts into his hands, lose no time in inquiring, "What did you require them to prepare for this lesson?" And if he finds that no preparation has been expected, or that the teacher is wasting his own time and that of the class in telling them things which they either have, or ought to have, prepared, he will speak seriously with the principal teacher, after the inspection, on that matter also.

48. Use of Blank Maps.-As a part of this question of home preparation in geography, the inspector will look carefully to see whether the school is well furnished with blank maps. It is impossible to overrate the importance of these appliances in an elementary school. In a school in which the geography teaching was really well done, full maps would seldom be used, except in history and reading lessons, and whenever a reference was required to be made. The children, or all those at any rate in the upper half of the school, would be expected to get up their full maps out of school, and would be tested in this knowledge by means of the blank maps in the school. It is an excuse sometimes made for want of such maps, that the teachers are expected to draw their own blank maps, for purposes of instruction, on the black board. This excuse ought not to be accepted. It is very right and proper that pupil-teachers should be able to draw maps, or detached parts of maps, on the black board, for purposes of illustration, &c.; but it is an undue waste of the pupil-teacher's time to require him to draw on the board every map, from which he is to give a lesson in geography, with all the details which must be required for such a lesson; and it will be found, as a matter of fact, by any active and inquisitive manager, that, where the

only blank maps available are those which are drawn by the teachers, more lessons in geography are given without than with a blank map. I have seen in the course of my experience as an inspector, and of the inquiries which I conducted into secondary education for Lord Taunton's Commission, every degree of absurdity result from giving geography lessons without the use of blank maps. The worst absurdity is that which I have witnessed in some girls' schools, both secondary and elementary, where the teacher sat before the class with a large map of England, hung up on an easel, and asked the class questions to which they could see the answers in print before their eyes. The teacher herself, wholly unprepared for her lesson, and profoundly ignorant, would nervously scrutinize the map between each question, and then, after an oppressive interval, she would point to a spot on it, in the bottom left-hand corner, and ask "What is that?" The eyes of the front row of girls following the pointer saw the word "Start" in a fine bold print, and their voices repeating it, were caught up in parrot chorus, by the whole class. And this was believed to be a "lesson in geography." A less degree of the same absurdity is still, I fear, common in many schools. A child is selected to point out a place on the map, and is called out in front to do it. With much labour it disentangles itself from the back benches, the whole class watching while it comes round to the front. The pointer is placed in its hand, and it stands before the map searching for the required name. Perhaps it succeeds in finding it. Perhaps not. But whether it succeeds or fails, the process is equally uninstructive. The use of blank maps in a school will at any rate make

such mistakes as this on the part of teachers impossible. And, as I have said, no school ought to be without a good supply of them. Every school ought also to have a good terrestrial and a good celestial globe. Frequent reference to the former, and an occasional lesson to the older children on the latter, are most important as a means of making the instruction in geography really cultivating and intelligent.

49. Geography to be taught with History.— Lessons in Political Geography ought to be connected with History, and illustrated as much as possible by Anecdote. The great danger of this branch of geography is its tendency to degenerate into mere lifeless, thoughtless cram, or a mere repertory and catechism of unmeaning names. It is for example very difficult to make English children take an intelligent interest in the political geography of Ireland. But let the teacher who is to teach the

geography of Ireland, read for this purpose such works as the account of the Irish campaign in the second volume of Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, by Mr. Carlyle. Let him master the spirit and main outlines of the story, and then let him teach the political geography of Ireland by way of illustration of the story which he tells the children. So with the geography of any other country. The teacher should endeavour to connect his teaching of it with matters of human and patriotic interest. India should be taught by reference to such stirring events as the life of Lord Clive and the Sepoy Mutiny; Spain by reference to the Peninsular War; Australia by unfolding the story of its gradual settlement and colonization; and all parts of England by reference to English history. In teaching the