The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1829-12-09
WORCESTER:
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 9, 1920.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR.

Every one no has had any thing to do with
the instruction. of youth, is aware of the obsta-
cies with which the study of English Gram
mar is attended, and of the difficulty which is
experienced in exciting such an interest in the
minds Of children, as will induce them to pur-
sue II with alacrity. The books on the sci
enSe, and the modes OF instruction, have been
such as to make it forbidding. The grammars
abound in abstract definitions and technicalites
which are call Greek" to thelearner, he does not
and cannot understand their application till fur
Their advanced and he finds that although he is
burthenng his memory with words, he acquires
no new ideas How discouraging Well do we
remember the many tedious hours, so spent in
our boyhood. While great improvements have
been made in almost every other branch of edu-
cation, this, which most of all needed reform,
has remained nearly stationary. The want of
some work on the subject, better adapted to
the capacities of children, into which improve
ments similar to those which have been adopt
ed in other branches of education, should be in
troduced, has been a subject of frequent re-
mark and regret among those who have reflect
ed upon the subject. 1t is not a new system Of
grammar that is wanted, for that is already
perhaps, brought as near to perfection as the
present state of language will admit of, but an
improved mode of acquiring knowledge ofthe
existing system.
1t, therefore, gives us great pleasure to say
that pioneer has appeared in the work of re-
form. A work has just issued from the press,
entitled Intellectual and Practical Grammar,
in series of inductive questions, connected
with exercises i'll composition" The author is
Roswell c. Smith, already favorably known as
the author of " Practical and Mental Arithme-
tic" The plan he has adopted is purely induc-
ticc, and his motto, Names should succeed
IDEAS" is strictly adhered to throughout the
work. The learner is first lead, by series Of
inductive questions, to understand the charac-
ter and office of a word and then to give it It's
appropriate designation. This is done, not on
ly in relation to the parts of speech, out is car
Tied through the whole system, including the
syntax, where the relation, agreement, and
government, are first taught, and then the rule
for it is given, or, rather, is arrived at by the
learner, so that, to him, it follows as q matter
of course.
We have not, for long time, met with
work which we could SO cheerfully and SO
heartily recommend to school committees and
teachers. We hazard but little in expressing
1t as our opinion, that pupil may be taught
more grammar, and may get better knowl-
edge of the philosophy of our language, in this
mode, in one month, than is ordinarily scqur-
ed, in the present mode of instruction, In
year. The book is not as perfect we could
wish, yet, on the whole, it 10 all we had right
to expect The faults are of a minor charac-
ter, in the details of the work, into which the
author has been led by following some who
have been mere innovators under the pretence
of improvement. These he will, doubtless, cor
rect in future edition. We will now advert
TO but one Of them, and that only because it is
kind of literary dandyism which has become
somewhat prevalent of late, " on this side of
the water We allude to the omission Of the
apostrophc in forming the posscssive case of
nouns ending in IN the singular number For
Instance, Charles book Now, would any cor.
rect speaker say Charles book, or would he
not say Charles's book: would he say Adams
Administration, or Adamss Administration? If
he should say the former, would stranger,
who did not know who our Presidents had been,
suspect that the name of the one spoken of, was
Adams, or would he not rather suppose that it
was Adam A year ago or more, we went in
to a bookstore, and a neat little volume was
handed to US, when, upon looking on the GOV.
err, we read in fair capitals, " Willis Poems"
Bah! Such barbarism at the outset was too
much; we threw the book down, and have new
er taken it up since. But, as we have said be-
fore, the faults of the work under notice are
mostly of minor character, confined to the
details ofthc work, and, when compared with its
excellence as a whole, are bat dust to the bal.
ance.
We would remark, in conclusion, that the
work is " got up" in very handsome style; the
paper is superior, and the type new, and, had
the press.work been of corresponding excel.
lence, it would have taken precedence, decid-
eddy, in appearance, of any school book within
our knowledge. AS it is, it will rarely suffer
by comparison with other works of similar
description.
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE. We are glad
TO learn from the New York papers, that " the
Contractors for carrying the mail on the great
mail route have volunteered their services to
the Postmaster General, to run the Presidents
Message in tho least possible time, by express,
through all the Atlantic States from Maine to
New Orleans, free Of expenses and that he
has accepted their offer, and arrangements have
accordingly been made for that purpose, by
placing the fleetest horses on the entire route.