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Leader (1850-1860), 19th September 1857, Edition 2 of 2, Page 19, Kci 391, Sheeeimebeb 19, 1857.] THE "LEA...

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    • -jiv ' jl , 3Lluni-UUX\
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      Kci 391, Sheeeimebeb 19, 1857.] The "Lea...

      Kci 391 , Sheeeimebeb 19 , 1857 . ] THE "LEAD E B , 907

      -Jiv ' Jl , 3lluni-Uux\

      IttmtfttrL

      ^ ¦C Ritics Arenottijio.Leg^Slators, But...

      ^ ¦ C ritics arenottiJio . leg ^ slators , but th . eju . dges au & policeof literature . Theydo : not makel & ws—they interpret and-try to . enforce them . —Edinburgh Review .

      -- If London Is J Ust Now Notoriously Du...

      -- If London is j ust now notoriously dull , Literature for the time being must be pronounced practically dead-. The Indian , lievolt lias paralyzed the publishing houses , newspapers and letters take the place of books and periodicals , and the electric telegraph supersedes the Booksellers' Circular , the contemporary liistory it advertises being the only forthcoming publication we look forward to with interest , or care to study . While our home literature is thus in a state , of suspended animation , a spirited , defexice of its uihereni freshness and vitality comes to us across the water . En a rece at number of the Revue des Deux ILo ? ides , M . EitiLE Moxtegtjt , whose able criticisms of English writers we have often , had occasion to notice , commences an elaborate article on ZMr . ¦ George Bo & row , and his latest -work ,, the Romany llge , by combating Emehsok ' s dictum that English literature is on the decline . He shows that Esijeiison ^ s statement is only very partially true , while the inferen . ee he derives from it is wholly false .. The American contrasts contemporary T & nglish lit-eraturc with contemporary American literature , to the advantage of the latter . But M . E . Montkgut asserts that if England has produced no great original works lately , America has failed still more signally in tliis respect ; that if absolutely there has been some little falling off here , there has been a still greater falling off in other countries ; and that relatively , therefore , English literature maintains its pre-eminence ,- showing a power and originality which belong to the coatemporaiy literature of jio other nation . In the absence of the greatest works , England produces , he maintains , a class of secondary writers , whose vigour , truth , and originality are abundantly sufficient to maintain the reputation of her literature , lleferring to these writers , he says : " This attachment to truth and reality is mow -as formerly , the special characteristic of English literature ; it enables it , even iu the absence of great geniuses , to produce remarkable works , and in the midst of general intellectual lassitude , to preserve a movement , an animation , a raciness , which is wanting in tlie contemporary literature of other nations . Whiles it may be possible ,, therefore , as Emerson sa y s , that England has somewhat declined , it is still the only country which produces every year a reasonable number of original and interesting books . " M . E . MoSTKOTra ' -pEoceods to critieiiie -Mr . Borsow ' s style , and gives a -careful analysis of his latest work , the llomany liye . The criticism Is so " favourable that it surely must satisfy eveu the sensitive vanity of the ' Gentleman Gipsy . ' Mr . Borrow , as our readers are probably aware , has a horror of the critics , and considers it his special mission to scotch if not kill the whole ' viper brood , ' he pleasantly calls them . He is resolved , not only to ¦ catch , but . to make an example of them , to ' hold them ' by their tails ., and show the creatures wriggling , blood and foam streaming from their broken jaws . After reading the notice of the Revue des Deux Monies , the Romany Rye must in gratitude make an exception in favour of his French critic , and spare him this appalling fate . Except in its somewhat exaggerated praise of Mr . Bobrow ' s style , M . E . Mointkgut's criticism is discriminating and just . Some of Mr . Boruow ' s descriptions of country life are , it is true , inimitable for tlicir vividness , humour , and truth ; hut this may be freely acknowledged without asserting that he is the first descriptive writer in the language , superior to Dickens and Thackjsuaa' , Macaul ^ y and Cauiaxe .

      We Have Just Received A Third Pamphlet O...

      We have just received a third pamphlet on Middle-Class Education , recently published by Mr . Thomas Dyke Acland . It contains the Kcv . 1 \ Tiwemjs ' s " Report on the Results of the West of England Examination , ' which our readers may remember took place at Exeter in June last . The movement is in itself so important , and Mr . Tisiirus ' s statements and suggestions relating to it so instructive , that we are tempted to make a- few extracts from bis report for the benefit of our readers ayIio arc interested in the subject . We may at tho outset remind them that , 106 cundidiitos from private schools in the three Western Counties presented themselves tit Exeter for examination . They were divided into two classes , seniors and juniors ; those who were above , and those who were below lift ecu years of ago ; the former numbering 3-A , the latter 72 . Tho subjects of Examination were divided into four departments , ' Religious Knowledge , Litcruturo and Languages , Mutliemntics , and Physical Scienco iu its Practical application . ' Mr . Tkmi'i . e reports -minutely the result of the examination in ciieh department . Ho begins , how-• cver , by a short statement of tho general object of this first local experiment towards improving middle-class education : — The object of tho promoters of this examination was to improve tho education of the middle daascs by taking tho existing schools no a basis , ami giving tUcin an ¦ oppo rtunity of proving their efficiency , or Ut . scovorin whoro amendment was needed . 1 revioua schemes had , generally sneaking , laboured under tho . dulcet of either i-nonng what was already done , or attempting to do toe , much . Surest ions for tliu inline-Jiato erection of new colleges and schools , or for tlio iinmodlnlo creation of a mn-« tnnery of inspection similar to tJ . ut now vorkiiiff under the authority of the . Committee of Council , ara impracticable in proportion to their completeness . ( Such plans would bo impracticublu in moat countries , Imt peculiarly bo iu Inland , whoro Lt \ lw wc UknQW » chay"cltti"rtUc "f « H » "ci » l and political action nuver to create SiuW . 1 .. 1 ?' . " Government , in . lucd , nlrendy possessing a department K ? L i ? " % ' '" *?» '" r « « luttU > ' « xt MM lod their operations so as to *»» Hff the education of tho middle classes wiluiu tuck nuusli . But private indi viduals

      or load todies could have a chance of siw « ss onl y on . the condition of accepting the schools as they now are , and adapting every proposed improvement to their immediate needs ; and whatever is to he done hereafter iu the same direction must submit to the same condition , and either originate with the : schools themselves or iealouslv respect their interests . ' J J For this reason tlie rules under which the examination , was conducted the subjects and the grouping of those subjects , the general character of the questions were not determined in accordance ¦ with any theory of what the schools ought to teach but adapted , as far as possible , to -what they did teach . The masters -were consulted ' and theirsuggestions had much "weight in settling all these points ; and though it was thouglit advisable to step a little beyond , this limit in some respects , the deviation was comparatively slight , and the bulk of the work set before the candidates to do was very nearly that for which their schools had professed to prepare them . Of the result of the examination hi the second , department , he reports as follows : —

      Though the work in English grammar was very poor , the analysis of sentences which belongs to the same head , was ( where done at all ) generally done well ; and even when mistakes were made , the very mistakes often showed considerable intelligence . I have no- doubt , in fact , that the deficiency in the English grammar is partly due to the mistaken method adopted in our text-books . In Latin , which is a highly inflected language , it is right to begin with , the accidence and proceed to the syntax ^ In English , which . i 3 but slightly inflected , the right course is to begin -with the syntax and come back to the accidence . Xb . e method of analysis follows this course , an < l those who have watched the two systems will never doubt which is the correct one . If grammar is in . future to form a part of a compulsory preliminary examination , analysis , and not parsing , should be made the test . Besides the superiority in method of beginning to teach grammar in this way , it is now proved by trial that the schools can do the one and cannot do the other . ¦

      The knowledge of history -was on the whole as much as could fairly have been expected- Such a knowledge as enables a candidate to enter into the political , or , still more , the soeial life of a period , belongs in reality to a later age than sixteen . I think perhaps a little improvement might be made if the masters would take more pains when teaching history to supply proper illustrations . In particular , history should never he read by a class without a map open before them , and everything which can throw light upon laws , customs , or manners , should be diligently hunted up and made available ^ . At present rather more trouble appears to me to have been taken to give an accurate knowledge of dates than to make the narratives , lifelike , or the succession of events intelligible .

      Of the three higher subjects , the English Literature was evidently new , and if this be considered , it was not badly done- It -would certainly be a most valuable addition to the present routine iu these schools if the boys were to read a play of Shakspearo or a few books of Milton with the same care and thoroughness which in the public schools is bestowed upon Homer or Sophocles . And I think the experiment of giving masters . the option of giving such instruction sufficiently successful to warrant perseverance . But certainly the-work done so far can only be considered a beginning and it is not yet possible to judge Avhether these schools can go any further than this beginning .

      . The Latin is by far the beat work in this department . Here the masters have all the advantages brai clear aim and an established system . Of course considerable improvement is possible , but it is rather to be sought in the better use of existing materials than in the introduction of anything new . I think Ellis , already largely used , might he used still more largely with adrantage . The knowledge of Koman History and Ancient Geography was , with few exceptions , poor : I do not think it would ho wise to expect much , but theie was hardly even enough to illustrate the books which the boys had been , reading . The language , and not the subject-matter , is rightly made the chief object of study , but the lattor ought not to be entirely oxcluded . Of the third department lie says : —

      The mathematical work appeared to me to be , taken altogether , more satisfactory than airy of the rest , more thoroughly taught , and more entirely assimilated . The defect here ( where the work was defective ) was not generally a want of knowledge of the subject , but a want of power of readily applying it . Blasters too often seem to fancy that the important and diflicult part of a problem is the calculation ; but long after a boy has mastered this fart of his work , and calculation oven of tho more diflicult kind has become mechanical , tho greater difficulty still remains to know -when to calculate and what . A boy who has thoroughly mastered vulgar fractions will still be puzzled by an easy problem wliich only requires Wlgar fractions for its solution . His difficulty is not to divide or subtract , or to reduce to a common

      denominator , but to know which of all these ho is to do , and in what ofijor , and with , what purpose . The business of tho master is to practise him in the art aot merely of calculating , but of finding out what , and how , and when heia to calculate . Many of the masters sec this , but not yet all of them . \ For this reason it is of importance tEiat pains should be taken to give the mathematical questions the form of easy problems as much as possible . A mechanical knowledge of mathematics is of all attninmcuts the most unprofitable . The study * if exclusively pursued , is , under any circumstances , narrow , unleavened as it is by liuman sympathies and interests , but it compensates for its niurowness by the excollunct ) of tho discipline wliich it gives . If that discipline become mechanical , and therefore valueless , there is nothing left worth haviiit ; -

      1 he report concludes with a statement which is , perhaps , of all others , the most encouraging result of this first cxperimcut : — I must not conclude these remarks without noticing two very encouraging features in this first experiment . In whatever respects the masters have not yet succeeded in doing as much for their pupils as tliay would d « airo , they certainly had succeeded in inspiring them with the uriii-it of hard work . Nothing could exceed tho hoartinoss or the perseverance with -which tho candidates went through their papers . They soi'iued , at any rate , to have learnt the most important thing to learn—a willingness to do their best . And mnny , I have aio doubt , will bo carried successfully througk life by that , even if they may find little , use for what else they got at school . I mention , this the nioi-o gladl } -, because- masters often lone all credit for tint ) by far tho moat essential part of their duty , and sins judged only by producible rosulta .

      The Walpoijs Lktters. The Lcllcrs Of Llo...

      THE WALPOIJS LKTTERS . The Lcllcrs of llovnca Wuljiole , Earl of Oiford . Edited I » y Tutor Ouimingham . Vol . IV . iJoutluy . TitiCKK are u good many now lotters in this volume—to Wnrfon denyingthat either Holbein or Durer painted tho ' JDiuico of Dtmtli , ' to ( arosvonor Uujlford inclosing money for objects of charity , to George Gronvillo , aHkingn favour , to the Countess Temple , fluttering her noonis , and others—but nono of much importance . Wo ! mve to renew our objection to Mr . CimiiingUam ' s multiplication of superfluous notes , and tUo unnecessary signa-

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 19, 1857, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_19091857/page/19/