A SOUND MIND IN A SOUND BODY. (SCHOOLMASTER.)

Waikato Times, Volume VIII, Issue 414, 9 January 1875, Page 2

A SOUND MIND IN A SOUND BODY. (SCHOOLMASTER.)

M u< h m has hem -sii and written of late years alt fffc eduction, the foil mi^urt and true weaning «i tl c ttiw are Mill fir fu,m being generally understood. It is nat th© ieaat ot iho n.auy evila'that re-ulted from the iufroduction of the Revised Code that education in the minds of the public baa been considered synonymous with |>roticienc? in the three Es. The progress of education has been measured year by year by the increased percentage of child/ eu who, at the annual . xaminatipn of her Majesty's Inspector, succeeded iv fulfilling the requirements ot tlio six standards. Thus it has come to pass that an undue amount of attention has been bestowed upon the merely mechanical part of education, to the liegleet of other branches as important if not more so. Englishmen are not so much theorists as practical men. If they see * woik that requnee doing, they doit, and doit with their might. Kut for vsit of a correct geneial view of the matter in hand, tl.eit efforts are not always proportionate to the .value of the woik. i,«r do the> always begin at the riijht end. Much attention has of late yeais been paid to ihe nuntal cultivation, md some regard given to the moial twining of the children ia our elementary schools, while li tie or no care has I een ex. erci-e.t to secure that vhich should be considered as the foun latiou ot mental culture— viz a sound systematic training or the body. Phjsic 1 education has not been altogether forgotten, n«.r have its claims been con pletely ignored. The effoits however, to Sicuie it ha\e bten few and feeble, and we are in danger oftraiuing up a r^ce of imu who will be »3 inferior to their predecessors in physical power as they will surpass them in mental cultur;. The efforts ot educationists should be directed to the securing ot a soun 1 m.nd in a sound body. Unless the soundness of body be attained, it v»i!l be impossible to obit n soundness of iniud. Ot the two, the training of the body should be attended to bof re the culture of the mmd. The former is the necessary foundation upon which the « ducat or of the mmd may build. Our complaint ib, that too often the latter is ur^ed on to the detriment of the former There is no reason why, a'ter a certain at>e, the two should not proieud togetiier. Systematic provision needs >o be made for physical training ir. all grades of schools. This training should be regularly insp 'cted, and grants made on its account. At present, not only is no encomag-ment given by the Education Department to this branch, but unnecessary obstacles are put in it* way. The tune to be devoted to drill is rtfutnoted to a minimum amount, and thr teacher is not permitted to exercise his boys until lie haj received from some recognise I ant tor ty a certificate of competency. Several School Boards liavt', in two or t'iree ways, cvi 'enoed their desire to oJucate piysicdiv as well as intellectually the children in their s> hools. Playgrounds have been, or are to be, provided in connection with each of the permanent seJioolg erecteJ by the London B ard, and a drill instructor has been appointed, whose ehitf work for ao ne tima mint necessarily be to drill the t ae lier->l ier-> and assistants, and will afturwards include th'jmpsnufctjudenee of tin* instruction in drill giv.-n to e.ioli solio Iby Kb teachers. But d ill alone is not sufficient propedv to develop the physical capacities of c nldren. Gymnastic apparatus of some tind should be piovided in connection witU erery school. The London Boird hm refused to sancti tn the purch isb of apparatus for Us BchooN, as we understand, b.-c-iuse of the danger which attends the ma of su -h ap >aratus when u-ed without proper supervision. To appoint ati instructor in gymnastics to k'.icli school would be out of the question; b-it there -ire several descriptions of apparatus, at once simple and efficient, that might be employed with no u«k, and requiring no skilled instructor. The dumb bell exercise, climbing ropes and poles, an I the horizontal bar may be instanced An exercise twice a week v\uh the dumb-bolls for ten minute* would of itself form a valuable physical training. Tne time devoted to such exercses would be well speut ; and w& question whether the intellectual result* would not in the >ear «am rather, than lost* b> the time devoted to the training oi the burly. Still, with our present means and appliances, much more miiiht be done than is done. Tliib is too wide a subject to be treate I fully in the present article ; but, we would dtreot attention to twj points mentioned at. the- recent Social Science Congress. The regular inspection of the cleanliness of all chil hvn before morning and afternoon school was advocittd. fheiv are schools wLieie this his le-n done for many v«\vs with thu best r^Uts. In some ca-es. th.-re is not the neces-a-y ateommodaii hi for the pu-p'oe ; but, wht-ie possible, there are tew t nuja "Inch woull bo more beneficial than the forming of chl'dren into Inns j.rei n us to their nnntliiig into s-choo 1 . end tl>e systematic m^ptction of their pricO'S Hid drtj-s Cl«'»Ti lines- is oiipol tiefiiet tianjs it is nect"-nt\ to to'cl- to cli flien, notwt! (-tanding thar it is not iiniont; the suhj its n quired } G-uvernment. Wnti such an in*])rctinn of the eUan'inefo oi te I o!»r>« it is udeHsary t haf each echool gl ould possess Hi.flicunt actrmuiOilHtion fi)r the cJeansini; of such hb tome in a dirty cundiiton It u not e\er_v t c!iocl that | opseb^e^ a laxatory t> tuted tons e'Z' Sjiu^ e\en of the new permanent scho >ls erected by the London B ard are deficient in this respect — an evidence of the truth of our r. mark that the physical training of child' en has not received its just ahnn- of at fention. With the other euguettion ma le at the Glasgow Congress—a novelty poss biy to the amateurs pr s-nt bu» not to teachers— we heartily a^ree— viz., that after every I* sson theiv should bo n ew mmutes devoted to th© exercising of the children. It were w.ll too if, every morning and afternoon, tho pupils were able to leaye the school for a ft-w minutes' pi if. But the arrangements in many of our -ci 00.3 forbid this. Tue time occupied in lea im^ two or three huudrc I children in an orderly minner Iro u'tiie top of alirje bmUnu and back agun. would .f its -If ba more than ould ba well snared .vitVm^ .my tini being ia voted to pin, It is greitly to bo depbred th>\t fie spice in ninny of our schools is -o cirou nvribe 1 t'l it change of positnn and a few simple e\i«rci-es cinnot b- sr-cu-^J withi i the acliooli-oora it-elf. Tm* U parti* due to the exc-s-ive narrowness of tile mo Jem moJol •ic'nolr >o n Tne acntcli wire wis« in their genera tio.i when t!ie\ n-fused to nd.ij.t the widtli pivscrihod b) tho depaituienr for their scho lls. Their succcasful stand n^unst the dictui.i of " -My Lnids " in tins lnitiince evidenced the >alue rf % good leputition. The E'ljrltsh, not bi'iu<i so tvdv%m>- j -i in Ed i^itional matters, nad to submit ; and, m inauv w iva, the me nveuieme reau.ts tio 1 * want ol siifS-ivnt roo.a he tho piopei working of tho Bchool.

Somo unpleasant revel ition ns tj the moral c>cie regala'niT 8 , )m 0 ot t'x.H' highly plicvu in monastic cnele* ire now bcitu' mule before (lie Moscow Cni.iii'K' Court. Tlio Alibess Metro )I,,jipH, superior of a convent and of a community of sis'eisof e'umty, is under trial for one of the mo»t complicited 'cliftiH'B of srtind.mu and forgery ever b' on i-ht biM.>.v a court of justice. The wife ol a resp.x-ltib'e mci chant beinif mven to drinking and a duorcUrlj life, and also pus" •^•d of a l«r»e fortuno m liero«n ii^ht, v >liS p!a;e.i at her hi^nand's pptition under the control of The ambuss got hoi I of her, and under the pretext of expenses lno-in-ed to (,; c i er from wirdslnp, ootaiued her siomturo to a number of blank p-ipcrs, which weie aftnwarJt filled »,). bv the abbey's i,«n hand, » 3 bill* to !h? pniuunt of 270,000 rouble*. The ahbew and hec accompli. tltfrn ore o» the cu.irdmii* of l.er fir?t victim— e-t. I lis'-pd a leiulartiadein f, .;ed b Us, ono rich mpidnnt .nrl the heirs of a other haung b -en pnctne-l o-i for en-mvu* am.)iint^ of cnir-o U'Kltr tliu pf. U>s), 01 oittintab c "Umations Momwl.ile tl c la.lv buporior did not ne_;lVt in.al!.«p „i-ofit,, BPe "inc» that B.ie d t uuod' and pledged ashoub nn I a mi )f. Some ol her nuns have sworn baldly m her labour, but that only makes tho case worse, for tae facts nro so oloar agaais' her tbut the run- in r-T-i.r . -

Jn e\trnord»?>fl*v incident occurred lately in tho Ihentre Mnnunpster. Mr Sims Reeves was playing Captain \Tbc{'h in the Bt!g2oi-s' O r era, and the piece proceeded pretty ttotbly du^Vto the end of the third act. At this point, vn the associates of Captain Macheath should rush &n the he and triumphantly unnonnce his reprieve, the supers j/e not forthcoming. Mr Reeves advanced to the footr 4>ts, ai.d attributing I he hilrlt to Mr Henry's ini<inanajc"^"TWi.t, said he wns m ver &o di c g»atod in his life. Ho trailed quietly until f\io supers one by one had come on the stage, b>iH tl en said to the audience, who cheeml him loudly, "Ladjipand gentlemen, you should call for the inniiager." This was d' ne amid event uproar, hut ld> Henry did not Hj.pear. Mr Reeves then said: "We \uli not finish, th^ oioia"; after that the audience dispersed in the greatest disorder, and freely expre^ed disapprobation of the management. The next evening Mr Reevea apologised lor his hasty expressions on the occasion. nicies fc->ok place in Limerick, one night, lately, 6stwt&n a party of forty or fifty men bblonging to the 2nd _J£att*]iion 3rd regiment (Buffs), at pteeent stationed, in that garrison. The men were drink ng in a public houso k>ine distance from the now barracks, when some altercation arose between two of the soldiers. The dispute at length waa taken up by the entire parly, and blows, as a natural consequence, soon followed. Having been turned ouf .of tho house, the fight was resumed in the streets, where oloae on half-an-hour the soldiers kept belabouring each other with their belrs. One soldier got knocked down and while on the ground got " purred " in true Lancashire fashion- Ultimately, some soldiers of the King's Dragoon Guards arrived on the scene of the fray, and the combatante were with somo difficulty separated. Several of' the soMieis were more or less severely injured, one man, who, it appears, has only lately come out or hospital, having boea brutally kicked in the face and head. Octobpr 21st beiug the sixty-ninth anniversary of the over memorable battle of Trafalgar, we subjoin the names of the •urviving officers who contributed to that viotovv : — Admiral of the Fleet .Sir George Ros>s Sartorius, X C.8., was mid ehipman of the Tennant ; Admiral Robert Patton wns midshipman in the Bellerophon j Admiral William Waloole was midshipman of the Colossus; Admiral Sir G. A. Westphal was master's mate in the Victory — he was severely wounded in the head, and was laid in the cock-pit by the aid* of his dying chief; Admiral R. C. M'Crea was midshipman of the Sni/tsure; Vice- Admiral Joseph Gape was fi)gt-clafB volunteer, in the Ajax ; Vice-Admiral Suence - Smyth was rrid?hjpman of the Defiance; Deputy-Inspeotor of HospittiJs Peter Suther was surgeon of the Swiftsure ; Captain John Geary was midshipman of the Revenge, and wounded ; Lieutenant Colonel James Fynmore, KM., was Tmidshipnmn of the Africa ; Commander John H. Sanders was master's mate in tho Swiftsure; Commander Francis Hums was midshipman of the Temeraire ; Q-oorge Wharrie whs midshipman in the Colossus ; and Commaader William Viekary, a recipient of the Greenwich Hospital pension, was first lass vo Unteer in the Achilles. On the. 12th of October there was opened at the Royal Naval College. Greenwich, a museum, which, for the most part, is a history of, naval architecture in models. Th entrance is by the Ansoii Ward, and after traversing several laige galleries on the ground nnd first floors, tb P visitor makes hia exi-t fio n the door of the Wager "Ward. M do s of ships of war, Irom the earliest times to the pre Bent. are divided into 'classes. With some of the earlier models Tailors to the South Kensington Museum may be familiar; but there are, it 13 believed, some novelties in the present collection Irr-mfdiately on entrance the spectator comes upon the Gieat Harry, tho unrivalled fighting Bhip of 1514; and by quick transition he sees the Royal Sovereign, the pruie ol the naval force of Charles 1. in 1637 ; and, so on, the cla«9 of lino of bntile ohip9 msy be traced down to the time when the fleets ol England were supreme on the ocean. By a wide step the class of vessels of which the Ramillie9 -f raa a type is reached ; and tl c Queen, of 110 guns, which is of the date of 1839, stai.ds conspicuous in a model of the dimensions of a tolerably sized yacht,' full riggei and arme'l. The next, step which may be taken is to the Albion, a type of n class which was considered formidable in 1812, but which became obsolete at the rimo of the Crimean war« In passing, a model of the ill fate 1 Royal Gporge may be noticed, and one also of the Victory. A section of the Bell* rophon is remnrkable a s being the presentment of a wnr Bhi,» of this day, 'and the same may be said of the Achilles, while the crooning point is reached by a minute re reeenf ation of the complicated internal economy of the Devastation. Of the lesser class of vessel there may be seen fifty gun ships of the earlier part of the last century; and there is a succession of frigates nearly including the latest specimens of the day. Notablo as an ornament in one of the, galleries is .the brazen figure-head, full sized, of the Royal Charlotte, the flag ship of Lord Howe, and on board which he received George 111. and Queen Charlotte, on his return home after his vietorv on Ist Jun*», 1^94 There are, besides, exhibited designs by Benjamin West and Sir Jam«"» Thornhill for painting and sculpture for the chape! of Greenwich Hospital, and some portraits of naval commanders, conspicuously of NeLon, and some pictorial bat'ie ] e^es commemorative of victories of Duncan and Nelson. Here are now to be seen the coats which the latler admiral wore 8t the Nile and at Trafalgar, and the watch he wore when he was killed. These, it may be remembered, were formeily deposited in the Painted Hall. There is a fair display of modern inventions in the way of shot nnd Bhell, machinery for working heavy suns on board ship, and in the casement of fortresses, and other mechanical instruments of warfare. S'Mne of Sir Honrv Webbs stories are worth preservation, but I have forgotten most of them, eieepr one or two about his Royal Highness the lato Duke of Cambridge. The Duke wns a s/raat diner-out, and nothing gave him more ploasure than being called upon to take the chair at any of the annual festivals in aid of some popular charily ; but a'tjiough tho toast which ho had to propose was written down for him on a slip rf paper, he very frequently contrived quite to forget what it, really was, or managed to mix it up with some other subject in a manner which waa highly entertaining to the audience. Thus, if he happened to preside at the dinner given at Willis's Rooms in aid of the funds of the, Newsvendors' Benevolent Association, flushed with the juice of the grape, the Duke, rising, would deliver hmis'lf as follows: — "Lidies and Gentlemen, — It is now my aggreeable duty to propose to you the toast of the evening. We are met lifre to promote the objects of a most useful society, one wnioh ha-* done a vast amount of good in this metropolis upon hi^hlv mt'-rest'ing occasions, and helped many worthy ft'llow-iTe-ituivs at a period ofgreat anxiety an I peril. Liriies and gentlemen, wo are all deeply indebted to this moat benevolent" society. I bei, therefore, to propose health, prosperity and success to the Lying-in Hos lital." At this juncture some friendly bystander would pluck t ie oiator by tiie bleeve, nni remind him that it was not the Lying-in H>t»nit/il tiie cla-inii of which he w is there to advocite, but thp Nt^-vpndors' Bwiievilenf Association. Tuen tno Dukt>, taking up hh panble, would g) blun lering on, mixing 1 he two up together in a rrnnn r highly comical. c * Ahem, ladies nnrl gentle nen, I find I have rather exceeded niy duty on tins Of-casion in aHvocah'ng the chiira3 of tho Lying-in Hospital ; it '8 certainly an admirable institution — no better; wi r hout it we should probably not have so many newsvendors, and without these useful m^mbe^ of society how should we get our morning p»pprs ? I drink prosperity, therefor**, to the Blind A-nlnrr.— 1 bog pardon, I m*an the Nows^endors' Benevolent Association — and may thoy long discharge tho dut'e-t thevowe to soci' ty, by taking caiv of those unfor t linages who find them-elves in an interesting condition." (Immense apuhiu-" 5 and laughter.) The Dak« had a habit of talking sotto voce to himself, especially during fie time of Divine service. Thus when tne Dean of tho Cv ipel R yal sii'l, " Lf t us pray," ho might have been heaid to exchirn, "Ye, let us pray javerygood thing, indeed ;lt us pray, by all means." And down he would kneel accortlm.'ly. A^nn, when the Cemmandments were read : —Thou sWt do no murder" "Ahem! Well. I don't think I ever killed any onp t li-if, Icm rpmember Amen." — " Thou shult uoi steal " "1 rlon t think I have over stolen from any (.ne since I was quite a hit.h' boy. Amen." — "Thou siuilt not c mint a iulicn." "May the good Lml forgive me! I feir I have bioken that commandment very often ; but let us pray, by all m^insj an>l nmv the Lord have meroy on all our sotila. Amen, amen." I Beigravia.