hibitions, as a good idea can be formed of the lion, tiger, hyena, etc. from sound, particularly if the keeper feeds them, which he will specially do on receipt of a small gratuity; he will also take care to make the animals roar, laugh, etc. Of the elephant a good notion may be gained by feeling and mounting him.

By handling stuffed lions and other animals that cannot be felt alive, their size and shape may be ascertained; and for this purpose admission to museums should be obtained whenever practicable. Many rare plants may be examined by touch without injury at botanical gardens, and the pleasure derived from the varied perfumes will be an additional source of enjoyment. Some verses entitled, "The blind boy is at play, mother," and other similar poems will be found in the Appendix. The following has been found a very amusing and instructive way of imparting information: Let the blind child examine by touch a sheep, or any other animal or thing. If a sheep, let him be told that when it was young it was called 'a lamb;' that the flesh of

sheep is named 'mutton.' Show the child a thread of worsted, a piece of broadcloth, and a piece of coarse paper made from woollen rags; and after having shown him a sheepskin mat, direct attention to leather, a pair of shoes, etc. Show him knife-handles made of bone, also some glue, parchment, and catgut. Explain the nature of the various manufactures connected with these articles, likewise tell him about making size, and to illustrate the use of catgut, let him hear a tune on the violin. These examples will show the pupil how much is produced from one animal, and no judicious preceptor will neglect the opportunity afforded by the above subject to exhort his pupil to observe how good God has been to mankind in providing them with sheep. The lesson might be carried further by referring to the names given to the persons occupied in the various trades connected with the same animal, such as the grazier, shepherd, farmer, butcher, fell

monger, wool-stapler, spinner, weaver, cloth manufacturer, and the merchant; the tailor, tanner, currier, shoemaker, saddle and harness maker, bone-dealer, the pelterer, glue-maker, parchment and size maker, paper-maker, the stationer, the musician, and the ragand-bone man of the streets. It may also be pointed out where the best sheep are raised, and in what places the manufactures above named are chiefly carried on. This mode of instruction is calculated to give the pupil such an insight into the utility of knowledge as will be most beneficial to him in after life. Of course the study may be extended to the tools and implements used in the various employments; and it may here be observed that it cannot be too constantly borne in mind that the object of education is to stimulate thought and not to supersede it, which is often done where merely cramming the pupil is all that is sought. And it should never be forgotten that the points to be aimed at in the education of the young are, (1) to induce them to perceive; (2) to think; (3) to speak; (4) to read; (5) to write; (6) to maintain themselves; and (7) to relieve the necessities of their fellow-creatures; all these to be done as God has directed, for Christian principle is the basis of all good. A tolerable idea of form and figure may be obtained from examining by touch models of buildings and ships, also stuffed birds, and statuary. Pictures printed in relief are scarcely of any use to the blind, as the impressions they convey are very erroneous. An instance of the utility of studying sculpture is afforded by the following circumstance-A gentleman who had lost his sight in infancy visited an exhibition of statuary, by eminent masters, accompanied by some seeing friends. He examined several busts by touch. The first he said was very ugly, when he was astonished on being told that it was an exact representation of an eminent statesman whose name we omit. The second he knew by the abundance of hair on the head and its absence

on the face to be a woman, but the size of the nose and the features surprised him, and he exclaimed, "This is far from being a handsome woman."

"That," said a friend, “is” (naming a lady, more remarkable for benevolent works than for personal beauty). The next was the bust of an eminent poet, and our blind friend complained of the smallness of the nose. It now appeared as if nothing would please him, but he felt a fourth figure and cried out, "This is my beauty;" this proved to be the bust of the Lady in Milton's Comus. It may be remarked that during the examination the name of the person represented by the bust was never mentioned until after the blind gentleman had given his opinion, and that in all cases his views were endorsed by his sighted friends.

As a rule, the general health of the blind is less robust than that of other persons; this is often caused by the calamity that produced blindness having occasioned other evils to the system besides that of loss of sight. Frequently also the medical treatment used in endeavouring to recover vision produces permanent injury to the constitution. Perhaps, however, the chief causes of the absence of high health in the blind may be found in restricted physical exertion, and the want of sufficient variety of impressions of the outer world being made on the brain, from which evils all persons must necessarily suffer who are without the sense which possesses the greatest perceptive range. To so great an extent, indeed, do the blind suffer from a deficiency of external impressions, that while with the sighted the principal object of education is to cultivate the reflective powers, in the case of the blind the aim should be to develope the perceptive faculties. It is not intended on the present occasion to enter minutely into the means best adapted to produce robust health, under the conditions above described, but, it may be remarked that a large

amount of open-air exercise is of the highest import

ance.

any

The blind youth should early be encouraged to detect the footfall and other movements, and to tell whether the person approaching him is a man or woman, a boy or girl, and to distinguish, as far as may be, the age of different persons by their firm or faltering steps, etc. Also to know, by the cultivated or awkward tread, the social condition of a person, viz. whether he is a labourer, or a member of the more cultivated classes. In the further pursuit of these studies, the sense of smell will be found a valuable auxiliary to that of hearing, but for further remarks on this sense, we must refer our readers to another page. To dine in public, without attracting the attention of the company, is a most difficult accomplishment for one without sight, and it is especially so for those who have been blind from infancy. We even find that a lady so well educated as Miss Anna Williams, the blind authoress, and friend of Dr. Johnson, failed in this respect, for Boswell remarks, in his life of Dr. Johnson (fourth edition, vol. iii. page 26), that he (Johnson) "sometimes incommoded many of his friends by carrying her with him to their houses, where, from her manner of eating in consequence of her blindness, she could not but offend the delicacy of persons of nice sensations." In our own day, examples of the same kind are not rare; and it is said, on the best authority, that one who occupies a most exalted station is so much at a loss at table, that he has a servant behind his chair, who puts a long fork under his arm to place the food, so that he may be guided to it. Attention, however, to a few simple rules, with a little perseverance, will soon enable a blind person, of average ability, to dine in public without attracting particular remark.

Our student should sit at table exactly like other persons. When a plate is put before him, he should ascertain, by aid of his knife and fork, the relative

positions of the meat and vegetables; he should then turn the plate, so that the meat may be towards the lefthand; the outer edge of the meat should be felt by the knife and fork, and the fork should be put into the meat about half an inch from the edge, the distance being measured by feeling delicately with the knife, which, at the same time, should keep the meat steady while the fork is entering it. The diner is then enabled to cut the meat close to the fork, and thus to tell the size of the piece before removing it from the plate. To guard against anything being left hanging to the piece which is being taken from the plate, the knife should be passed gently round the piece when it has been raised an inch or two, and if anything is found adhering to it, it should be entirely separated before the piece is taken from the plate. The same observations apply to vegetables, but in general, that kind of food is more easily managed than meat or poultry. Salt, etc., should be put on the left of the plate. Whenever it can be done, only those parts of a joint should be given to the blind person which he really likes; if he cannot take fat, there should be none put on his plate. Fish, and some other kinds of food, are difficult to manage gracefully, but the number of dishes of which our student may partake in public must be left to his own discretion; we think, however, that enough has been said to point out the way in which this matter may be successfully carried out by any one who really means to overcome the difficulties connected with it. The pupil should be taught to move his hands with precision, so as to place them at once, and without hesitation, on whatever article he may require. The importance of this cannot be overestimated, as it is a matter which affects almost every action of life, and one, moreover, in which the blind are very liable to fall short. "A place for everything, and everything in its place," should be his motto, and care should be taken to foster this habit in youth as much as possible.