Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1875-10-13

improvement. He promised to teach
a young lawyer more in one year than
could be learned in ten years in an or
binary way, and he kept bis promise.
Yet Burr's pupils were failures. They
copied his defects, his system Of life,
illustrating once more the old saying
IA teacher must be that which the
pupils ale desired to become A
teacher cannot conceal faults. Every
positive character impresses its pc
culiarities on those around it. If the
moral character of teacher is defect
i've, the evil is increased with every
increase Of her power as teacher.
AS Horace Mann has said, few fun
damental ideas give every mind its
character, and determine the nature of
all future thoughts. Believing this,
we cannot wonder that in time when
men give more thought to the devel
opment to their children than to that
Of their Durham cattle, the character
Of her under whom some of these ideas
may be formed, is subject to careful
scrutiny.
The one qualification, without which
all others avail not to make the COM
ing teacher, is perfect health. Though
she has been so long upon her journey,
her fresh and happy countenancs and
elastic step show pleasure and an ex-
liberation like that which Hawthorne
was describing when be said he felt as
though he had slept for fifty years.
Her looks aud motions show that mere
existence is a JOY to her Happiness
is In her eye, and her frequent laugh
is musical and merry. She has strong
er muscles and a larger waist than her
sister of to-day Her nerves are bet
ter covered, and she never has the
headache. She is deeper breather,
larger eater, sounder sleeper, aud
stcadier worker than any teacher We
have seen. The sources whence these
changes come are two: first, a wide
spread observation, through many gen
eralions Of the laws Of health; second,
a long line of educated grandmothers,
for though we tire little when biogra-
piers give the ''grand-mother" Of their
hero praise due her father only, and
credit Tor greatness never manifest In
her, yet we cannot, until the coming
woman comes, appreciate the whole
benefit to women of educated mothers
Marvellous to all observers eyes APP
pear the beauties aed the grace of the
coming teacher. Here, however, our
descriptions are somewhat meagre
Our observers tell US of the poetry of
motion, and Of wondrous natural
beauty, heightened by artistic dress;
but being men their reports of dress
Ind beauty are too general and to i'm
probable to be relied on. By tie
charming beauty Of her face ard voice
and manner, she wins all hearts, they
say and while she holds them willing
captives to her magic witoher55, sha ed
ucates them. Remembering those
grand ideals Of the various phases of
woman's life-the goddesses of the old
mythology-they liken the coming
teacher to that ideal maiden whose fa-
Their was the all-powerful Jupiter, and
whose mother, according to the oldest
legends, was the wisest of all the del
ties. The realization of all that was
best and most attractive in the strong
and beautiful Minerva, who was wor-
shipped as the patrons of education of
the industrial arts, and Of all intellect
ual progress, is seen they say, in the
coming teacher.
A word cow as to the age of the
new Minerva. Col. Higginson has
shown in reply to Prest. Eliot, that
certainly in some cities, probably in
all, the average length of service of
female teachers is greater than the av-
erage length Of service of male teach
Iers who make teaching a stepping
stone to other occupations. Because
Of the long preparation required of her,
the coming teacher must enter upon
her work at later age than teacher
| of to-day. She is not, on this account,
more likely to desert the educational
army. On the contrary, teaching is
her chosen life work. This does not
mean that she will teach without ces-
sation from the time she gets ser first
certificate until her grave is ready.
Like college presidents she may some
times have leave of absence for travel.
study, or whatever duties call her.
Her salary must be large enough to al
low occasional intervals of rest as we'll
as other means of Improvement, though
some have heard her speak of salary as
the smallest part of her reward. Those
who make this report tell of something
stranger. They have seen her, tell
her age truthfully and even proudly,
as though each year was the represen-
tative of something to be rejoiced over,
something attempted, something done.
If the middle aged women of the COM
ing time were like some of the faded,
jaded, doleful, commonplace creatures
who inhabit the earth in this stage OF
its history, perhaps an approach to
their time Of lite would be concealed by
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