The Parents' Review

A Monthly Magazine of Home-Training and Culture

Our Work

BOOKS

School and Home Life, by T.G. Rooper, M.A., H.M.I., Balliol College, Oxford (A. Brown & Sons, London, 6/-). "I have tried to study the education of children from the age of three onwards to their coming of age; and this, I think, few have had the chance of doing both practically and theoretically. Most teachers specialise on one period, the nursery, the 'private' school, on the 'public' school, or the university, because they have only the experience of one such period. The relation of one stage to the next has been too much neglected, with the result that in many young persons there are two or three distinct characters." We have ventured (without permission) to quote the above from a private letter from the author of School and Home Life, because we feel that the passage throws much light on the method and scope of the work before us. The casual reader might, without such a guide, say, "Oh, but the work does not deal with education at any particular stage, or even with the education of one sex or the other," and might suppose the charming classical English in which the essays are written to be the vehicle of a literary production, and that only. But parents will find here a mine of suggestions on each of the phases of educational work with which they are concerned, including the bringing up of boys and girls from three (or one!), to one-and-twenty. Perhaps the special characteristic of the work is the author's power of initiative. You read one of the essays, feel that all the thoughts are your own thoughts, and that nothing new is being said; that the "art of putting" is so happy that you are carried over the ground unawares. You digest the essay, consider it in its bearings on your own children, and behold, you find you have imbibed a number of new ideas, practical, vital, full of interest and hope. This would be something were the ideas those of a mere theorist on education; but we have in Mr. Rooper an educational expert, at home in the literature, both English and foreign, of each subject on which he touches, an adept in practical education, and, at the same time, an original thinker who passes the materials he receives through the illuminating medium of his own mind. Probably no man in England has initiated so many and so many successful new departures in education; and not the least claim on our gratitude is that, from the very first inception of the Parents' National Educational Union, Mr. Rooper has unwaveringly and actively supported the movement. Many of the lectures have been delivered to P.N.E.U. audiences, and those of us who have heard the lecture on Reverence, or on The Ideal in Education, for example, are likely to keep the impression of it at the bottom of all our educational thought. This is absolutely a book for parents, not to be borrowed but possessed, to be at hand read for reference at the moment.

The Natural Religion, by the Rev. Vernon Staley (Mowbray & Co., 1/-). We have long felt how much parents wanted a simple manual on the lines of present-day thought, recognising reverently the immense advances which science is making, and, with equal reverence, the leaders in scientific thought, and confronting the problems of the Christian religion with the science of the day. Every boy and girl should be carried through some such work as a part of right prepartaion for confirmation. Ability, liberality, and scientific knowledge should charaterise the author, and with these the power of treating difficult subjects very simple and very shortly. In this admirable little book we have a diction so simple that such words as "concentration" and "crude" are explained in the glossary; and a grasp so thorough that over a hundred authors are cited--from Tertullian to Tyndall, from Renan to Ruskin--and with such admirable method that the short and simple chapters are never overweighted. We believe that the young person thoroughly grounded in this defence of the outworks of Christianity would have little to fear from the attacks upon his faith which he is sure to meet later. He would find his feet set in a large room, and go on to learn the ever deeper things of God. We congratulate the author on having done real service to the Church, and especially to one section of the Church, which he hardly seems to contemplate--the young people, the Church of the future.

Mammals of Land and Sea, by Mrs. Arthur Bell (G. Philip & Son, 2/-). Another of Mrs. Bell's Ladder Series. The subject is extremely interesting; the pictures, though of course they give no idea of comparative size, are numerous and spirited. Mrs. Bell's work is as interesting and successful as we could possibly expect from so small a book on so large a subject.

The Child and its Spiritual Nature, by H. [Henry] King Lewis (Macmillan & Co., 5/-). We are greatly in sympathy with the author's contention that the spiritual aspects of childhood deserve far more careful attention than they at present receive. We are not quite with Mr. Lewis in all his conclusions, but his work is full of valuable suggestions, and, what is even better, is a storehouse of stimulating anecdotes. We cannot help quoting one:--"Miss Martineau tells us of a schoolboy of ten, who laid himself down, back uppermost, with Southey's Thalaba before him, on the first day of the Easter holidays, and turned over the leaves, notwithstanding his inconvenient position, as fast as if he were looking for something, till in a very few hours it was done, and he was off with it to the public library, bringing back the Curse of Kehama. Thus he went on with all Southey's poems and some others through his short holidays, scarcely moving voluntarily all those days except to run to the library. He came out of the process so changed that none of his family could help being struck by it. The expression of his eye, the cast of his countenance, his use of words and his very gait were changed. In ten days he had advanced years in intelligence, and I have always thought this the turning-point of his life. His parents wisely and kindly let him alone, aware that school would presently put an end to all excess in the new indulgence." We agree with the author that "the ultimate purpose of the book is Christian life."

[Charlotte Mason include this episode of the child with Southey's book in Volume 3, School Education.]

The Mother's Three Friends [and Their Influence on the Nursery and Home], by Mrs. C. [Charles E.] Green (George Philip & Son, 3/6). Mrs. Green's charming little book is designed to help mothers to understand the principle on which the Kindergarten system of Education is based. It is full of bright and happy pictures of child life. The children play their games and work at their occupations, and are as good as gold, and we all know that, managed as "Mrs. Leslie" manages, children are both good and happy. We are not quite sure, though, that we may rest on our oars when these two delightful ends have been secured. Baby is neither good nor happy when he is cutting his teeth, but a very good and happy result comes of it. We are not sure that more does not come of the turbulent siege of a castle, which the children initiate for themselves, and probably quarrel and shed tears over, than of the charming games and occupations initiated and directed by the sympathetic elder. The work is full of wise counsels and valuable hints, and the form of the whole is attractive. "Mrs. Leslie" goes to visit her cousin's house, makes the children happy, and gives the parents educational principles in a simple and pleasant way. There are useful hints about clay modelling, how to make a ground plan, and many other children's occupations.

The Story of the Gospels, for the use of Children, by the Author of Charles Lowder [Maria Trench] (Mowbray & Co., 3/6). This is extremely well done. The Story of the Gospels is told in short lessons, with very great reverence and simplicity, in easy and attractive language, and with very little moralising or attempt at application. The pictures are delightful reproductions from the old masters. A few short questions are given at the end of each lesson, but probably the mother who uses the book would know best how to question. We believe that this little book will be a valuable help to many a mother, but, we think, the best way to use it would be to read the lesson over and then tell it with the same studied simplicity and self restraint.

Dress and Health, by Charles Moore Jessop (Elliot Stock). A useful little pamphlet. The chapter on fluid meat foods is especially suggestive.

Hygiene of the Nursery, by Louis Starr, M.D (A.K. Lewis, Gower Street, London, 3/6). An extremely useful little manual, by a competent authority. The chapter on the features of health is especially suggestive and important. The nursery and its ventilation, the nursemaid, clothing, bathing, exercises and amusements are among the subjects ably and interestingly treated of.

A Cluster of Quiet Thoughts, by Frederick Langbridge (Religious Tract Society, 1/-). This is a precious possession for quiet hours. Sometimes in a couplet, sometimes in a page, we get a quiet thought in a poetic setting enough to keep our heart warm through one day anyway. The combined quaintness and odour of sanctity of the little poems remind one of George Herbert and Archbishop Trench. Take this, for example:--

GREEN PASTURES.

When all thy soul with city dust is dry,
Seek some green spot where a brook tinkles by;
But, if thy lot deny thee nook and brook,
Turn to green thoughts in a fresh leafy book.

Our Work

Natural History Club--The Annual Exhibition will be held on November 20th, from 2 to 5 p.m., and November 21st, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 50, Porchester Terrace, W., by kind permission of E. A. Franklin, Esq. All Members and their friends are cordially invited. Intending exhibitors should inform Mrs. E. L. Franklin, 9, Pembridge Gardens, W., at once of what they are sending. Exhibits to be sent to 50 Porchester Terrace, not later than November 18th, postage prepaid, and stamps enclosed for return postage. there will be a Lecture to Children, illustrated by lantern slides, on Saturday, November 21st, at 3 p.m., at the exhibition. Small subscriptions towards the expense of the club are invited, and will be gratefully received.

House of Education--We have to acknowledge with grateful thanks a noble gift from Mrs. Curwen, consisting of nearly a hundred books, &c, for use in teaching her valuable Child Pianist system. Next term begins Saturday, December 14th.

Parents' Review School.--The examinations will be sent out for Monday, December 14th.

The "P.R." Letter Bag.

[The Editor is not responsible for the opinions of Correspondents]

ENGLAND'S OBLIGATIONS TO ARMENIA.

[This letter refers to the Hamidian Massacres, or Armenian Massacres of 1894-1896. Mussulmans is an archaic term for Muslims.]

DEAR EDITOR,--One would have imagined that at this time of day there would have been little need to have insisted that we had as a nation such distinct obligations to go to the rescue of the last remnant of a nation, that we could not as honourable Englishmen resist the appeal that Armenia makes to us. But one so consistently hears the contrary asserted that one dares to ask your readers to consider the following facts.

It was England who in 1853 prevented the Armenian Christians from obtaining the reforms they were demanding at the hands of the Turk; and rather than allow Russia to step in and obtain single-handed such a treaty with the Porte as would have ensured the redress of their wrongs, it was England who entered light-heartedly upon the Crimean War. Prince Menschikoff, speaking for Russia, said: "We demand from the Porte convention which shall enable us to ensure the redress of Christian grievances, and, if they are not redressed, to resort to force." And how did England answer Prince Menschikoff? Let the fifty-six thousand men whose bones are mouldering in the Crimea and the bones of the thousands upon thousands of Armenians who have cruelly perished since be witnesses . . .

What were the terms of the Berlin Treaty? The now famous 61st Article of it ran as follows:--"The Sublime Porte undertakes to carry out, without further delay, the amelioration and reforms demanded by local requirements in the provinces inhabited by the Armenians and to guarantee their security against the Circassians and Kurds. It will periodically make known the steps taken to this effect to the Powers, who will superintend their application." It is quite obvious that England was only co-signatory to that treaty, but England was the Great Power who was responsible for the abrogation of the Treaty of San Stefano, and for the substitution of this Treaty of Berlin. So England, more that other Powers, had responsibilities laid upon her by it. How has she carried out her obligations? Has she superintended the application of any of the ameliorations and reforms demanded by local requirements in the provinces inhabited by Armenians? It will not do to make the excuse that she has not failed in her duty more than the other Powers with whom she was co-signatory.

The obligations remain, though the Armenians perish . . .

But in addition to these obligations that rest upon England jointly with the powers to oblige the Sultan to carry out reforms and to fulfill his solemn contracts, it is clear that by the secret treaty she contracted with the Porte in 1878, known as the Cyprus Convention, England has specifically entered into agreements with Turkey which bind her in all honour to see that the Armenians obtain from the Sultan redress and reform. This is the wording part of the first article of that questionable Cyprus Convention:--"H. I. M. the Sultan promises to England to introduce necessary reforms, to be agreed upon later between the two Powers, into the government and for the protection of the Christian and other subjects of the Porte in these territories (Armenia); and in order to enable England to make necessary provision for executing her engagements, H. I. M. the Sultan further consents to assign the island of Cyprus to be occupied and administered by England.". . .

But there is, above all these considerations, a weightier one to urge her to rise to the occasion and honour her obligations. The moral obligation upon all who love purity, freedom, justice, and right, upon all who are against cruelty and oppression, upon all who believe in the future of Christianity, upon all who care for the sacred cause of humanity lies specially upon the signatories to the Treaty of Berlin and on the signatory to the Cyprus Convention, for the following reason. It is a matter of common knowledge that the prescriptions of the Sheri law, by which the actions of the mass of Mussulman population is guided, lay it down that "if any Christians attempt, by having recourse to foreign Powers, to overstep the limits of privileges allowed to them by their Mussulman masters and to free themselves from their bondage, their lives and their properties are to be forfeited, and are at the mercy of the Mussulmans." Now, it was distinctly in consequence of the promises of a better time conveyed to the persecuted Armenians by the terms of the Berlin and Cyprus Treaties that Armenia lifted up her voice for reform, and Armenia all through these years has appealed in her impotence to the foreign Powers. To the Turkish mind the Armenians have tried "to overstep the limits of privileges allowed to them by their Musselman masters and to free themselves from their bondage, their lives and their properties are to be forfeited, and are at the mercy of the Musselmans." Now it was distinctly in consequence of the promises of a better time conveyed to the persecuted Armenians by the terms of the Berlin and Cyprus Treaties that Armenia lifted up her voice for reform, and Armenia all through these years has appealed in her impotence to the foreign Powers. To the Turkish mind the Armenians have tried "to overstep the limits of privileges allowed them by their Mussulman masters" by appealing to the foreign Powers. They have therefore considered it their religious duty and a just and righteous thing to destroy the lives and to seize the property of their Armenian subjects. How can we, in face of such facts, disown our obligations to the people whose destruction we seem by the very terms of our treaties to have compassed?

Many of us are lovers of our country. But as we think on these things we are tempted to say of her--

"I could not love thee, dear, so much,
Loved I not honour more."

We are lovers of an England with fine feeling for international integrity, of an England that honours her obligations that holds by her word, that keeps her treaties, and so far as in her lies will oblige those in treaty with her to keep their part of the bargain. This is the England of honour we would live for--the England worthy, if need be, dying for. But this new international morality we disavow. We will not be frightened by bogeys or nightmares into accepting it.
--Yours, &c.,
H.D. RAWNSLEY

[We are sorry to have been obliged to lessen the force of Canon Rawnsley's argument by omitting parts of his letter, because we had not space for the whole.--Ed.]

[Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley, 1851-1920, was an Anglican priest from the Lake District, friend of John Ruskin and Beatrix Potter. "In 1896 he went to Russia as a newspaper correspondent to cover the coronation of Nicholas II." (Wikipedia) Perhaps that's when he was exposed to the genocide in Armenia. The Parents' Review printed additional writings on Armenia by him.]

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DEAR EDITOR,--My governess and I have been discussing the Parents' Review School--whether to put our three boys into it or not. We are anxious, of course, that they should take good places in the public schools when the time comes for them to enter, and I should like to have the opinion of mothers who have sent boys trained under your system to preparatory schools, &c. Could a girl or boy, after being taught in the Parents' Review School for some years, go in easily for the Oxford examinations? I am sure it would interest not only myself but many of your readers to have my questions answered in the "Letter Bag." The expense might deter some mothers from joining, but this last year I have spent more than the £3 3s in finding out the best books to introduce into the schoolroom, and in answering advertisements and joining classes here and there. Trusting that many replies will be sent to you.
AN ANXIOUS MOTHER

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DEAR EDITOR,--The following letter from a lady living in the outskirts of one of our largest manufacturing towns may be of interest to your readers:--

"Our great pet just now is a tame butterfly, which we have christened 'Sweet-pea,' owing to his partiality for that flower. A month or more ago we caught a caterpillar, which changed after a time into a chrysalis, and in eight or nine days to a butterfly. He is now eleven days old. I keep him in a glass jar covered with muslin on my window-sill, and fill it twice a day with fresh flowers. He likes sweet-peas and clover best, as far as I can find. Sometimes I take him out and let him fly in the room. He will stand willingly on my finger, and go to the children. We feed him with milk; he will also sometimes take a little sugar and water, or gooseberry juice. He stands on my finger, and I hold a spoon with milk for him to drink out of. Eric calls it 'proboscising,' a word of his own coining. When I take him on my finger and gently stroke his curled-up proboscis with the edge of the spoon, he wakes up and uncoils it quickly and drinks away, beating with his proboscis if it is not just to his mind. He will stand while I stroke his back gently with a piece of grass, and seem pleased. He washes his face and legs after drinking like a fly. He takes so long over his meals that I cannot always hold him all the time, so then I set him down on the table with the spoon  by him, and he stands on the edge of it and drinks. He spends about three-quarters of an hour over his breakfast, and takes his afternoon tea in the same way."

In a further letter she says that her little boy Eric, aged five, deserves all the credit of it:--

"Ever since we caught it, about five weeks ago, Eric has run down the garden two or three times a day to look at it and 'exercise' it, by making the caterpillar walk on the grass, giving it an extra 'holiday' on Sunday. He has cleaned out the box regularly, and gathered twice a day flowers and leaves, carefully choosing what he thought it would like, studying it, and talking it over. Since it became a butterfly, and has been promoted to my window-sill and a glass bottle, he has taken untiring pains, letting it out to fly in the room, cleaning and polishing the glass, arranging the muslin to suit it, and placing it where the sun shone, going twice a day to the end of the kitchen-garden to gather a bunch [of] sweet-peas of various colours. When out for walks the boys (Eric and Basil, aged three and a half) gather clover and other wild flowers, and carry them carefully home for 'little Sweet-pea,' talking over its likes and dislikes, watching it feed, and letting it stand on their hands and frocks."

P.

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DEAR EDITOR,--I should be glad if any of your readers could recommend a good book on Mythology, suitable for girls of twelve. I know Keightley's small volume [The Fairy Mythology], but should be glad to hear if any later work has recently been published equally concise and not expensive.

While visiting a country Board School this summer, I made a note of some maps in use which seem desirable for beginners in geography to handle and copy in the place of a bound atlas. They are called Bacon's Excelsior Memory Maps, and can be had from
G. Bacon & Co.,
127, Strand, at a halfpenny each.
24, Argyll Road, Kensington.
J. B. S. Thompson

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DEAR EDITOR,--In an article on The Religious Teaching of Children, by the Rev. Wotherspoon, in the September issue of the Parents' Review, he makes somewhat unfair remark when he says, p. 456,--"One should also be careful to avoid teaching a child to be an Unitarian first in order that it may be a Christian later." This seems to imply that Unitarians are not Christians. Possibly we are not from his acceptance of the term "Christian," but I am sure nowhere could more earnest and faithful followers of the Spirit of Christ be found, and to use the good man "who was tempted like as we" stands for a higher, nobler example than any supernatural interpretation of Jesus can ever do. On most other points I felt in great sympathy with the writer. It grieves one to think how little parents value the privilege of themselves imparting religious teaching to their children.

I cannot close this note without telling you how I enjoy the Review and what a source of pleasure it is to me, and congratulation you on the well-earned success which attends all your efforts for the good of our children. May I add how much I admire and respect the spirit of true freedom of thought which pervades your acts and works.

Yours gratefully,  C. Schultz.

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DEAR EDITOR,--Premising that what is described as "Children's Poetry" is roughly to be divided into two classes--subjective poetry and objective poetry--E. V. Lucas (Fortnightly Review for September) considers that the existing anthologies fail in being largely composed of the former, with which children have no sympathy. "Blake sang of childhood in the abstract, and to men and women whose hearts are right he is a fount of pure joy; but children care nothing for childhood in the abstract, and well for them that it is so." So, too, Wordsworth. "The child's anthology should amuse and delight from first page to last; it should, although not itself poetry, stand for poetry in the minds of its young readers, and convince them that poetry is a good thing and a pleasant, and thus, instead of being indifferent to it--or, worse, prejudiced against it--they would be prepared for the time when, like Aurora Leigh, they 'chanced' (as all of us should) upon the poets in reality. To a mind that is not ready for it, poetry presents few attractions, and these are diminished rather than augmented by the encomiastic statements of relatives and instructors . . . How many of us there are who have been kept from the right attitude towards certain poems for no other reason than that in our young days we were incessantly called upon to learn or admire them! If, however, we had been given a volume of verse of the kind we were ready to enjoy, which, as I have said, stood for poetry, in our minds, we should have known no such barriers."

"Should history be taught backwards?" is the question discussed by Sir Roland Wilson in the Contemporary for September. The article is valuable, especially the specimen lecture he gives, which could not fail in his hands to be most interesting and instructive to a class of advanced pupils who have already acquired some knowledge of history, but when one tries mentally to apply the same method to the teaching of one's one small schoolboy son, the difficulties seem insuperable and the gain problematical.

There are several articles in the October magazines that must be carefully studied by the educationalist, and I can only refer briefly to some of them. The first to attract attention will, doubtless, be the spirited attack on the "Public School Product" in the New Review, A. W. Ready, in which he says that the education given in our "public" schools (so called because they are open to the wealthier classes and not to the public, and teach chiefly athletics) is a pure farce, and the result ludicrously incommensurate with the cost. They succeed, as far as the vast majority of the boys is concerned, in neither of the two main objects of education; the formation of character and the instilling of useful knowledge, and his strictures are borne out by a passage in Augustus Hare's Reminiscences, where he describes his own education at school and at Oxford as nothing but "a waste of £4,000 and fourteen years."

In the Nineteenth Century Mr. Acland discusses the late Education Bill, and offers suggestions. The conclusion he arrives at is that the proposed decentralization of elementary education was a mistake, and that this should be left, as now, in the hands of the central authorities, but that secondary education might with advantage be controlled by local bodies and subsidized by them without assistance is that by Mr. W. K. Hill, in the Contemporary, on "Modern Ideals of Education." The object of all our school teaching is lofty and is universally acknowledged, but "it is just in that universality of acknowledgement that the mischief lies. It is such a common-place, this ideal, that no one ever thinks about it. And, therefore, it is that almost everyone has forgotten to aim at it." I cannot do justice to this article in a brief summary, and would advise all serious educationalists to study the complete article.

Pater Junior.

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P.N.E.U. NOTES

Edited by Miss Frances Blogg, Sec., 28, Victoria Street, S.W.

To whom Hon. Local Secs. are requested to send reports of all matters of interest connected with their branches, also 30 copies of any prospectuses or other papers they may print.

New Branches.
Arrangements are being made to start Branches of the P.N.E.U. in the following places during the coming season:--
Harrow.
Ilkley.
Bradford.
Manchester.
Chichester.
Haling.
Highgate.
Colchester.--Hon. Sec., pro tem., Mrs. Powell, Great Bentley Vicarage.
Nottingham.

Readers of the Parents' Review living in these districts, or having friends there, are asked to communicate with Miss Blogg.

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Belgravia.--Lectures are arranged for November and December, and also several classes, of which notice has been sent to members.

Hyde Park and Bayswater--Hon. Sec., Mrs. Franklin, 9, Pembridge Gardens, W. (at home Thursday mornings). A meeting will be held on Nov. 11th, at 37, Cavendish Square (by kind permission of Mrs. Betts), when the Rev. W. J. Edmonds, B. D., Canon of Exeter, will lecture on "The Vicissitudes of Plato and Aristotle in their transit from East to West," Algernon C. P. Coote, Esq., M. A., in the chair. On December 10th, Mrs. Clement Parsons will lecture on "A child's introduction to Poetry," at 5 o'clock, at 14, Dawson Place (by kind permission of Mrs. M. S. Waley), Mrs. J. Hobson in the chair. The following classes have been arranged, particulars of days and fees from Mrs. Franklin, 9, Pembroke Gardens:--Brush-drawing, Slöyd, Swedish Drill, Tonic Sol-fa, French Games, French (Mdlle. Duriaux), German, Hockey.

Hampstead and St. John's Wood.--The opening meeting of the Autumn Session was held on Wednesday evening, October 14th, when Dr. Schofield read a paper on "The Development of the Unconscious Mind." Dr. Abbott, who presided, introduced the lecturer, and referred to his work in connection with Hygiene. Dr. Schofield then opened his address by remarking that the mind might be said to consist of two parts, the conscious and the unconscious. The unconscious mind was the more important of the two, because it was there that habits were formed, and habits have been well described as the railroad of character. Most habits were formed before fifteen years of age, and hence the importance of this subject in the training of children. Even moral qualities might be formed as mental habits, thus a habit of accuracy in speech and observation inevitably leads to truthfulness. Habits once formed had immense influence over life, and it was far better to educate and form character by the unconscious operation of good habits than by the attempted application of precept. It was in times of crisis that the usefulness of good habits was most felt, as the unconscious mind would then perform acts which the conscious mind would be unable to determine upon. This was why a hardened soldier could pass through ordeals which the recruit, though equally brave, could not face. After the paper Dr. Abbott made some valuable remarks, and questions were asked by several members. There were about 50 people present. The wet evening undoubtedly prevented a larger attendance. On October 23rd, Mrs. E. L. Franklin gave an address on "What the P.N.E.U. offers to its members." The next meeting will be held on November 10th, at the High School, by the invitation of the Teachers' Guild, when Sir. J. Fitch will lecture on "The Educational Uses of the National Portrait Gallery."

Woodford and Wanstead.--On October 26th Dr. Catherine Wickham gave a lecture on "Nursery Hygiene," at Monkhams (by kind permission of Mrs. Arnold Hills).

Clapham.--The first reading circle of the session was held on October 12th at the Rectory (by kind permission of the Rev. C. P. Greene). The concluding chapter of "Home Education" was read and discussed. A lecture was given on October 22nd by John Jackson, Esq.

Dulwich.--Mrs. Franklin gave a lecture on October 6th, at Belair (by kind permission of Mrs. Evan Spicer), on "What the P.N.E.U. offers to its members," Mr. G. C. Whiteley in the chair. On October 28th, Mademoiselle Duriaux gave a lecture at the Dulwich High School (by kind permission of Miss Cooper) on "Language Teaching." On December 1st, Mrs. Jackson will speak on the "Hygiene of Handwriting," at Hillsboro, Alleye Park (by kind permission of Mrs. Mullinson). A brush-work class is being arranged.

Finchley.--The work of the new session commended on October 15th, when Professor Sully gave an address on "Some aspects of child study," at Biana (by kind permission of Mrs. Turncliffe).

Reading.--Hon. Sec., Wm. Salmon, 54, London Street. A meeting was held on September 26th, at the residence of Dr. Eleanor Warner, Portland Place, when Miss E. C. Pollard, B.Sc., gave an address on "Co-education." The annual meeting of the branch will be held in November, when the report of the Executive Committee and Treasurer's Account will be presented, and the Committee for 1896-7 elected. The annual meeting of the General Committee will take place about the end of November or the beginning of December, when the programme of arrangements for the ensuing year will be made and the Executive Committee elected.

Hastings and St. Leonard's.--A meeting was held on October 30th, at Miss Tiddeman's studio (by kind permission), when an address was given by the Hon. Mrs. Campion on "Our difficulties," Mrs. Harkness in the chair. Other lectures announced are: December 1st--"Hygiene, with some remarks on the nature of life," Dr. Niven; February 3rd--"The nurture and admonition of the Lord," by Rev. G. E. Frewer; February 25th--"Professions for girls," Mrs. Francis Steinthal; April 3rd--"Children's books," Rev. T. B. Burrows, M.A.

Scarborough.--A lecture was given on October 15th, by Miss Barnett, on "Education out of school." The annual meeting of this branch will be held in November, when Mrs. Boyd Carpenter will give the address. Other lectures announced are: November 18th--"Brush-drawing and design," Mrs. Steinthal; December 3rd--"Some phases of religious teaching," the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Hull.

Folkestone.--The first meeting of this session was held on October 15th, when Mrs. Franklin gave an address on "What the P.N.E.U. helps us to do for our children." November 17th--"Teaching of language," Mademoiselle Duriaux, with demonstration; December 3rd--"Training and inheritance," Miss F. Barnett.

Leeds.--Hon. Sec., Mrs. Arthur Smithells. A course of Natural History lectures was given by Miss Simpson in the Spring. In connection with the lectures, a Children's Natural History Exhibition was held in July. The children appeared to take pleasure in this exhibition, and their exhibits showed a real interest in the work. To avoid numerous objects of the same kind being displayed, the work was planned out among the children. Thus one little girl undertook to show the various ways in which plants climb; on the portion of the table allotted to her were beautiful living sprays of Virginia creeper, clamatis, honeysuckle, &c. Two little boys made their table attractive by their show of the fruits of trees. Another group of children showed examples of the leaves of British trees. The little ones brought bunches of wild flowers in some cases; the flowers freshly gathered were arranged separately, each with its label attached. The older children undertook to illustrate the natural orders of flowering plants; thus one took the nettle family, another the dandelion, and so on. Some of the living animals were of great interest to the children, especially newts and silkworms, water insects and pond snails. There were some good drawings of the leaves of trees, and also some beautiful pressed flowers and other objects of interest. Mrs. Francis Steinthal spoke to the parents and children present, and proposed was warmly seconded and carried unanimously. The children's Natural History Club has since been formed, and lectures and meetings will be held fortnightly throughout the year. October 30th--A drawing-room meeting was held, when Miss Caroline Hertford read a paper on "The training of the will." November 27th--The Hon. Mrs. Lyttleton will read a paper on "The home training of boys and girls in their `teens'."

Sheffield.--The first meeting of the winter session was held on October 14th, when Miss E. A. Barnett gave an address on "Education out of school."

Wallasey.--The first lecture to this branch was given by Mrs. Franklin, on October 29th, at "The Springs," on "The Formation of good Habits in children." Other meetings arranged are: On November 27th, at 3.30, Miss Sturge will speak on "The psychology of attention," at Bengairn, Grove Road (by kind permission of Mrs. Barker); on December 14th, at 3.30, Dr. Craigmile will lecture on "Health and physical education of children," at the High School, Manor Road.

Edinburgh.--Hon. Sec., Mrs. Berry Hart, 29, Charlotte Square. The opening address, on October 19th, by John Strachan, Esq., M.D., Dollar, subject, "The position of play in a system of rational education," will be followed on November 20th by a lecture on "Child study," by John Gunn, Esq., M.A., D.Sc. "by the kind invitation of Mrs. Freeland Barham), the meeting will be held at 4, Charlotte Square; John Kerr, Esq., M.A., L.L.D., will preside. Lectures have been arranged for the months of January, February and March. Programmes may be had from the Hon. Sec. Classes for teaching of Slöyd (cardboard) and Brush-drawing to children will commence in November.

Ilkley.--Hon. Sec., pro tem., Mrs. Francis Steinthal, Wharfemead. Miss Simpson, of the Yorkshire College, gave a lecture on "Seed scattering," to children, on October 13th. About a hundred were present, and the interest taken in the subject was so great that all but five stayed for the second, or students' class. An exhibition will be held on November 14th, of leaves, drawings, brush-drawings, seeds, &c., collected and drawn by the children.

Richmond and Kew.--Hon. Sec., pro tem., Mrs. D. H. Scott, Old Palace. It has been arranged to open this Branch on November 10th.

Weybridge.--The opening of this Branch took place on October 24th.

Derby.--Hon. Sec., pro tem., Mrs. Johnson, Little Over Hill. This Branch was started on October 30th.

Glasgow.--The meeting for the inauguration of this Branch is fixed for Nov. 27th. For particulars apply to Mrs. Mirrlees, Redlands, Glasgow.

Proofread by LNL, Sept 2020