Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1859-09-10

or the length and breadth of lake. could oil
viously convey no useful instruction to an
one. But, useful or otherwise, such was OF
regime--to set one of from fifty to sixty lad
day after day, week after week, repeating fact
and figures notorious to every little reader ,
penny guides to science, till all had the las
statistical returns at their tongues tip. an
knew, when all was done, as much OF wha
geography really meant as OH the day of thei
first naturalization. Small wonder, then,
some should later have forswom this study
and been revolted at the bare sight of map
: All our recolections of map, unlike those q
7 eoedsonal travel, are sufficiently distasteful.-
Often have we yawned YEARLY over them a
! iverdun, when our eyes were demanded t
follow the titubations OF Herr G--'s magi
wand, which, in its uncertain route, woult
! skip from Europe to Africa and back agoin-
; qu' modo 1he6as modo me point AMeais: ans
our dislike to them since has increased am
!, azingly. Does the reader care to be told the
. reason of this Let HMM order to obtaI
! the pragmatic sanction of some stitf-necked
examner-haye to "get up' all the anasto
mozing routes of st. Xaul's several Journey.
ings; have to follow those rebellious Israe.
lites mall their wanderings through the desert;
to draw the liue round them when in Paes-
tine; going from Dan to Beersheba, and
meeting out the valley of Succoth," or.
finally, have to cover large sheet of fools
cap with a progressive survey of the spread
of Christianity during the three first centuries
and he will easily enter into our feelings
To return to the classroom; The geographic
cal lesson, though of daily intliction, was ac-
tually circumscribed i'll its duration. Old
Time kept sharp lookout over his blooming
daughters, and neversuifered one hour to tread
upon the heels or trench upon the province OF
a sister hour. Sixty minutes to all. and not
an extra minute to any, was the old gentle
mans impartial rule; and he took care to sec
it was strictly adhered to. As the clock struck
ten, geography was showed aside by the muse
of mathematics. A sea of dirty water had
washed out in n twinkling all traces of the
continent of Europe, and the palmiest slate
presented a clean face for whatever figures
might next be traced upon it.
The hour for Euclidizintf was arrived and
anon the black parallelogran. was intersected
H'''e ,"i'e'o' % 'i'' iaosoeles anu
-" Outstanding VIZ
= "oo"', "o.'iuios naAe ihuch quickei
progress here than in the previous lesson>-
How should we, who had not only the difficult
ties inspnarable fran tha suhiact IN co,,, ,-;.t
.4es isVp"i"pie toi'' 'i'e suuJect socope with,
oue liucn more iorilioape aifhcuity,-yiz,,
'ne ops'fu0tioh "ilich we opposed to zach
".ee " 'uo Plaii' 80 ullwlsely al.
op'eo, VI iu"Aiiis "l' t'ie CLASS 10 the same
t..Ns 'i',.' 'te9 inisit Aeep peace together
~ = Poi''e piece oi ioily enough for whole !
party 10 pe kept waiting dinner by lounging |
sues', "ho eilooses 10 rl,.e in the park when
he ought 70 pc AZ rs toilet; but we We're the
fietiiis oi ..Auch greater absurdity, who lost
what night have proved an hour ofproltable /
Mof.,, out of tenderness to some ineorrigily |
ldle or BGotan boy, who could not get over
the POns Asinorum, (eyery proposition was
Pons to some diiaus or other,) and so made
those who We're over stand still, or come back
to help him across. Neither was this, though
very considerable drawback, our only him
drance--the guides were out always safc-l
Sometimes hewho acted in that capacity would
shot g Eureka too soon; and having under
taken to lead the van, lead it astray till Just
about as he supposed, to come down upon
the proof itself, and to come down with a q.
L. D.; the master would stop him short, and
bid him--as Coleridge told the ingenious
author of Guess at TraM-''to guess again."
But surprising the "guss" fortunate, or that a
boy had even succeeded, by his own industry
or reflection, in mastering a proposition, did it
follow that he would he clear expostor of
what he knew 1t was far otherwise. Our
young Archimedes-un with the
terms of the science, and being also Gas we
have hinted) lamentably defective in his
knowledge of the power of wordsworth mix
up such ''farragoi of irIelevancies and re-
petitions with the proof, as, in fact, to render
it TO the majority no proof at all. Euclid
should be taught in his own words-iust
enough and none to spare /; the employment
of less must engender obseurity; and of more |
want of neatness and perspicacity. The |
best geometrician amongst us would have cut |
but bad figure by the side of a lad of very |
average ability brought up to know Euclid by |
book.
Another twitch of the hell announced that
the hour for playing at triangles had expired |