Year: 1875

more our own the more we attempt to impart
them. The miracle of the widows cruise of
oil is constantly repeated in the experience of
every one as to his mental stores and their
use and bestowal. TO recur again to our
simile, as those who visited these great Fairs,
examples of which are still to be found, As at
Mimi -Novgorod, brought from distant sec
tions the peculiar products of their soil or
cline or skilled handiwork, so every teacher
from bis particular locality, and out of his
own quarries of experience, can bring up
something different and what all the others
will need.


1t has often struck me that the experience
of>teachcrs WAS peculiarly solitary and unre-
lieved, beyond the reach of the sustaining and
strengthening power Of sympathy. The
teacher is compelled to reject the tenders of
familiarity on the part Of the scholars for
fear of impairing discipline, creating jealous
les and encouraging presumption. And if
the teacher turns for this sympathy to the
parents, few if any seem inclined to give it,
and the poor teacher, for the most part, is
thrown out into the solitude Of sclf-comnun-
ion, where, the elasticity Of his spirits being
already consumed in the school-room, his
thoughts, in spite Of his efforts, drift back
into the ruts of his daily experience, and he
mounts the tread-mill and still pursues his la
bors even in his leisure and almost in his
Dreams 1t is not so with the lawyer. He
has no dead weight of uncongenial dignity or
watchful discipline over himself, and score
of others. He is in the arena, giving and
parrying blows with an antagonist like him
self. The clergyman, though not as well
circumstanced for natural and healthy growth
as the lawyer, yet has greater variety in the
range of his experiences. He has the exalted
communion with his God, the quiet and in
structive communion with the great authors
or the sympathetic companionship Of some of
his parishioners. And so with the members
of the journalistic professionally, like the
legal profession, think and talk and write as
if in the presence of sharp antagonist and a
crowd of admiring spectators ready to ap-





thrown In the profession of authorship
there is something of the same constant wear
as to teachers, especially err those who write
for daily bread and with a printers devil at
their elbow eyer crying for more copy. So
we might go on and through all the profess
sions old and new, those that used to be call
ed learned and those still more learned and
useful that have worked their way up to the
peerage in quite recent times, and we could
not find sirgle profession that stands more
in need of balance-wheel, as engineers
would say, to store up and evenly distribute
| the momentum Of vital forces, or OF counter
irritants, as physicians would perhaps term it,
to restore the equilibrium Of natural force
from its strong, constant tension in one un-
7arying direction, as in the occupation OF
teaching. If teachers could meet together
every day after the work of the schoo'-roonl
was done and in sympathizing, unrestrained
freedom unbend and relax their minds, re-
lease their cares, vexations and trials from
solitary, watchful confinement; absolutely
forgetting and abandoning cares till the mind
had become thoroughly refreshed by some
vigorous and hearty diversion, it would be
the best thing in the world for the health OF
body and mind of the poor, jaded teacher.
This. of course, is impossible to the retired
country school-teacher as daily antidote:
bnt such ORGANIZATIONS as this should be will
afford at regular intervals strong and re-
freshing corrective to the abnormal tension
of the school-room duties. The fact that
such an organization exists and that the
teacher is a member thereof, exerts happy
tempering influence in all the experience OF
the school-room. The teacher who has once
compared experiences with others and looks
forward to these experience meetings, finds re
lief from spirit of emulation. He imagines
other teachers as witnesses and critics, OF
studies how he may be able to report greater
success. The feeling of solitude which be.
gets so many morbid conditions OF the mind
and distorted views Of life and duty, is most
benefcially counteractcd by an active partici


patton in just such an organization as this
should be made to be.


The circumstance to which we have re-


ferred would represent the Teachers Associa
ton as almost a necessity to the healthy life
of teacher. It is beyond all question and
comparison promotive of teachers growth
in that knowledge and skill in his profession
out of which spring success, influence, use
fulness and emoluments. 1t is recent thing
and mostly growing out of such organizations