I should also mention that other systems have been tried both in England and Scotland, and that those teachers who employ them speak highly of their advantages, especially in the latter country.  I have now a paper before me, called The Reading Reformer, in which I find the following sentence, which tends to show that the system is approved of in France in the highest quarters:—­“The phonetic method of primary instruction is used in the 5th regiment of the line, the 12th Light, the Penitentiary of St. Germain, and the House of Correction for young prisoners.  The Minister of War has ordered that French should be taught by this method to the young Arabs, in the three schools of Algiers, Oran, and Philipville.”

One great mistake has been made by the champions of this mode of teaching, which is more fatal to its success, in my opinion, than any difficulty raised by its opponents, and that is the adoption by each champion of his own phonetic alphabet; and for which he claims a superiority over the alphabets of others.  The absurdity of this perpetual strife must be palpable.  If a Fireworshipper were to be converted, what hopes of success would there be if a Mormonite and a Mussulman were placed on one side of him, and a Free Kirk man and a Jesuit on the other?  The public, as regards phonetic teaching, are precisely in that Fireworshipper’s position.  Reader, you must form your own opinion:  I offer none.  And now, with your permission, we will quit the region of speculation and return to sober fact.

One of the most striking buildings I visited during my stay at Boston was the jail; the airiness and cleanliness were both perfect, and the arrangement was to me totally novel.  Independent of the ground outside, which is walled all round, the jail itself is built under a large outer case, affording abundance of light and ventilation.  This outer building forms a corridor all round the jail, affording protection to the keepers from all weathers, and thus enables them to keep an efficient watch over the inmates.  Supposing any prisoner to escape from his cell, he is still hemmed in by this outer case, which has only one door, so situated that no one can approach it without being seen from a considerable distance; and, even if these difficulties be overcome, the outer wall common to all prisons still remains.  As far as I could learn, no prisoner has ever been able to force his way out.  At night a blaze of gas in the outer hall lights all the dormitories and the corridor which runs round outside the jail, thus rendering escape as difficult at night as in broad daylight.  Water is freely supplied to every room on every storey, and means of bathing are arranged in various parts of the building.  School-rooms, private rooms, and a chapel are all contained within this leviathan outer case.  In short, to those who take an interest in improving the airiness of jails and the security of prisoners, this building is well worth the most careful examination; and I trust we may some day profit by the improvements which the ingenuity of the New Englanders has here exhibited, for the frequent escapes from our jails prove that some change is requisite.