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The senses of children having revealed every object in its true light, they next desire to know its name, and then express their perceptions in words.  This you have to gratify, and from the time you tell them the name of an object, it is the representative of the thing in the mind of the child; if the object be not present, but you mention the name, this suggests it to the infant mind.  Had this been more frequently thought of by instructors, we should have found them less eager to make the child acquainted with the names of things of which it has no knowledge or perception.  Sounds and signs which give rise to no idea in the mind, because the child has never seen or known the things represented, are of no use, and can only burden the memory.  It is, therefore, the object of our system to give the children a knowledge of things, and then a knowledge of the words which represent those things.  These remarks not only apply to the names of visible things, but more particularly to those which are abstract.  If I would say, shew a child a horse, before you tell it the name of the animal, still more would I urge it on the teacher to let a child see what love, kindness, religion, &c. are, before it is told what names to designate those principles by.  If our ignorance as to material things be the result of instructing the children in names, instead of enabling them to become acquainted with things, so, on the other hand, I believe we may account, in the same way to some extent, for virtue being so frequently a mere word, an empty sound, amongst men, instead of an active principle.

Our next endeavour is to teach the children to express their thoughts upon things; and if they are not checked by injudicious treatment, they will have some on every subject.  We first teach them to express their notions, we then tell them ours, and truth will prevail even in the minds of children.  On this plan, it will operate by its own strength, not by the power of coercion, which renders even truth disagreeable and repulsive; the children will adopt it from choice in preference to error, and it will be firmly established in their minds.

It will no doubt be perceived, that for the promotion of the course here recommended, it will be advisable to connect with our alphabetical and reading lessons, as much information as we possibly can.  By so doing, the tedium of the task to the child will be considerably lessened, as well as much knowledge attained.  The means of doing this in a variety of ways will, no doubt, suggest themselves to the intelligent teacher; but as an illustration of what we mean, the following conversational plan may not be useless.

We have twenty-six cards, and each card has on it one letter of the alphabet, and some object in nature; the first, for instance, has the letter A on the top, and an apple painted on the bottom.  The children are desired to go into the gallery, which is formed of seats, one above the other, at one end of the school.  The master places himself before the children, so that they can see him, and he them, and being thus situated, proceeds in the following manner:—­