The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1876-04-13
Aesrning Foreign Languages.

THE Russian is said to acquire Ian
guages with facility, and it is certainly
not uncommon to meet such who "speak
in tongues" with ease aud elegance.
There is nc druet that the elegant ex-
Miristef 10 Germany, Mr.. Bancroft,
speaks German with degree of fluency
and neatness second only to the cultured
native. 1t seems tibet Y. Thiers cannot
speak English, but the French confine
themselves to their own language as
matter of principle and vanity, and, be-
sides we can not expect NJ Thiers to do
everything, Goethe was at home in
French, but the adniirer Of Schiller will
remember hew annoyed this great poet
was In the piesence Of Madame De stael
Oh account of his imperfect command of
French. 1t would seem from these few
instances that while the entire better
class of a people, as the Russians, acquire
several languages with some uniformity
and while walters and clerks pride them
selves on the possession Of several Ian
SuaSCsI 1hC SlSat pSulllCI, VI lhlcio, vi
Pitt, never mastered, nor could master
them. The ene whose ideas have no
higher range than piece of meat we
find excelling the poet. Possibly, with
equal advantages, the cook might sur
pass the philosopher, just as he might
excel him in foot-race, simply because
he may have devoted his gigantic intel
lect TO mis- training. Practical expert
al road to language. Speaking Ian
guage requires plan of mastery different
| from the means used in learning TO read
or write it, the grammar is the common
ground, but in learning to speak the COM
| plcton of the grammar is only the be-
ginning of wisdom. When the Duke Of
Wellington was asked how he spoke
| French, with some humor and soldierly
pride, he answered, with the greatest IN.
trepidity," which quality is very essen,
tlal, but at the same time is only possible
or reasonable after one has a knowledge
of the structure of language. Whether
q -
without effort, and without practical ex
| perience with all sorts of men in all sorts
| of affairs If 1t he true that grammar is
Indispensable, and all grammar can differ
but little, the faults in our schools canno
| be in them. But it is possible that none
of the phrase books, or system, after the
grammar, are equal to the requirement,
Of the learner. 1t is possible that some
systems may yet appear whereby the pas
sage over those difficulties may never be
surmounted and that our school girls may
90 on as usual, year after year, in conju-
eating verbs they will never be able TO ap-
ply. We have no information sufficient
to form a belief as to whether or not The
instruction in the public schools is turn
ing us out boys and girls competent o.
carrying on conversations in German an6
French But that is not altogether the
! question; the schools are doubtless doing
all they can do. There are so many diff
culties in the way that it seems to be one
of those cases where minor IS allowed
to make contract; in other words, the
scholar must do his part and agree tC
study. II is certain that language may
| be taught and learned; but it is no holi
| day matter and not matter of a few
months, nor will be until the royal roac
is discovered, The student enlists not fol-
sly months, but for the war, when he en-
lists in a language. -Blackuo0d's Maya
| sj))o