, 1869-03-28

atecmI. Attacbrd Conple,h who bsbhles her
hopes aud expectations. touching the, result
orfhe electltr, IN sentences to this edeet:
There are go voteIs still nnpol!ed, and AIr.
ef 10 or 1so, / forgst which !; and do f1u see
nv ioree. we must subtract 3oir3m m45p, and
Isl frqm 1SO. apd then. add No, that Is
not rieht-sums a1e 80 diHcnlt, but that the
result would give Us majority; 7 know be
cause Mullins s.{s 80" 9mIo 9, so l,ay ID Mays
such : demot;elle .s Tolia, ia u Edmond
About's stury, who is described ns having
been IN carly pttlhood charmed With the curt,
dry, precise rules Of 'asithmetic, seeing 1t
once how ineeri as they ara In their
simplicity y.no,, And t'ses tbs asss
Pythseo.a.i table" Not that Lady Mary
could ever have become the terror cf her
prat dchIldren, as Mr. Pumbiechook was Of
Pip, IN Great Expectations" !" oy constantly
ste a5a E hst H1aaRDy @ S4s %q %s b
times uir E, bo7 n which how 81 hould Pip an
swer dosed In that way, on Al empty stom.
ach II was hungry; but before had
swallowed Dossel be began running sum
thst lasted Ill through the bte1klass. ss7-
and ten : and 90 on.h And On another oc.
caslon the pesseeutor Institutes demand Us
10 the qnotlent OF forty-threr pence; and
Pip calculates the consequences OF replying
"four hundred pouna;n aud, finding them
again St Lin, goes as near the aus~er as h.
can-which Is somewhere ebout eishtpence
OF. Mr.. fumhleehook then Pnts hin
through his pence table from .t twelve pence
make ono shi1ling," up to forty pence
make three and four-penee $" and then III
umphsnt'y demands, Now how much Is
.Iden't Eoov. Ana Nv sss $50 . :, .eera7ated,' a'
| that almost doubt II I did know.' There
arc echoolnmters OF the Pumhlechook order,
who tetd 10 make their scholars mo
scholars for life, by the mode they adopt Of
schooling them into scholarship. Dr. Oliver
W. Holmes somewhere records his d.parag-
hE estimate Of the calculating power PER x.
| He OWLS 10 have been troubled It times at not
I having deeper intuttiye apprehension OF the
| relations Of numbers; but the triumph oI
tho ciphertnk band organ cousoled him.
| Warrington Irving, when at school, being
Is backward Ia sulna IS he Naa forward il
any fancy composition, used to make an e1
change OF tasks with The other boys. IL
would write their themee, while they woull
work, out his sums !; 'for arithmetic" say.
his btographer, Twas the most tedious Of al
! to In after life.
We are told of the late Mr.. Asshetou smi.1
| and hts Eton career, that what he did moi
learn at Elton Was arithmetic. But be be
csmr ready reckcnes, notwithstanding. III
IL good tlmo Tor, according to Sir Eard1e,
Wtimot, ha acquired *.shs most useiul SCI
Melton Novbrsy with a broka ankle
after ore Of his severe falls on
bunting. UmpinK about the town, he en-
day entered the Post Office, and, s.etns ho 4
rapidly the fair official cast up bill, h
said. II wish Jon would teach me an b
@et!e:" The bargain VS. soon struck, ant
cation in Ibis branch Of kcience In kix wet k
and ever Afterwards to have been remarkable
fer bis skill III figures aud calculations. Else
20 far as Eton was concerned, he had con
tlnued through life pronounced detzultel
In this respect.
The aeeom plishments elsimed by N. Alex
andre Dumas In bis Autobiography arc 40 m
merous, that he can easily aHosd 10 adm (
lfnot to glory In. the fsct that, man OK boy
he never conld master short diTiaiou.
Lord Byron Is described By Mr.. TretawneJ
as In qusudary with the casting up Of som
"curted bills" one Of which he had bee
poring over for the best part OF two hours
"1n cases Of iunacy," his Lordshlp Ii repor,
ed here 10 have Eaid, "the old demon Edo
decided mans sanity b. figures. II I ha
been had up before him II was very near b
| trg eo,) and he had given nc the simple:
sum IN arithmetic, should have been COZ
| signed to d1rnnce vile for
"Ihe rule Of tn1te It puzzles me,
And practice d1tyea me mad.''
Yet the old demon on the woo1.ack afor1
enfd By no means plumed himself on b
powers in casting up accounts. There Is
letter Of Lord Eldon's, dated April, lSo,
which favcrs Us With this graphic fragmer
Of domestic autobiography, IN which We &c
Old Bags TO the life: II have the happine.
Of hayirR Rtithea my accounts with tnamn
in arithmetic In an Easter week. My 9oo
father spared no expense In teaching me ad
ditton, Multiplication, etc.; but expen!
without diligence docs not prevent Jack
being dull boy or Ounce; and SO Tcmal
to this day rather puzzle headed as to 6i
uses. However, mamma compliments II
rather, think, upon my performance th
mornipg. did not bl9uder quite so muc
as usua1.' Evidently, however, Il
tested BY hts own alleged ganse
sanity, might, lteforc some Of his learne
brethren, have been proved non eompos, n,
that senior wranglers on the bench (serer
have graced ~ would be extreme to MAJ
what Is done amlss In cipheriag; f,r. mar
q transeendant msthenatlc!an Is i'll Al ease
simple arithmetic. Even Chance1lors OF Il
ExcheQuer have been understood to get
pretty well with i very deficient mastery
AacAulay reminds us, Was very near bel
made Chancellor Of the Excheqner once
"Who could not work sum In long di,
e1cn." Dut had the brilliant Richard Bsinsl
, bscn made Finance Minister, snd failed, 4
; possible his failure might have been due
, other causes. negative or positive. than
effect defective OF duncedom ia figures.