riticisms and directions for which marks were
contrived:

Strokes rough. Too tall or too short.
Curve wrong. Stems not straight.
Bad termination Careless work.
Too slanting, and the reverse. Paper wasted.
Too broad, and the reverse. Almost well enough to pass.
Not parallel. Bring your book to the teacher.
Form of the letter bad. Former fault not corrected.
Large stroke made too fine, and the reverse.

A catalogue of these marks, with an explanation, was made out and placed
where it was accessible to all, and by means of them the books could be
very easily and rapidly, but thoroughly criticised.

After the plan had gone on for some time, and its operation was fully
understood, the teacher gave up the business of examining the books into
the hands of a committee, appointed by him from among the older and more
advanced pupils. That the committee might be unbiased in their judgment,
they were required to examine and decide upon the books without knowing
the names of the writers. Each scholar was, indeed, required to place
her name on the right hand upper corner of every page of her
writing-book, for the convenience of the distributors; but this corner
was turned down when the book was brought in, that it might not be seen
by the committee.

This committee was invested with plenary powers, and there was no appeal
from their decision. In case they exercised their authority in an
improper way, or failed on any account to give satisfaction, they were
liable to impeachment, but while they continued in office they were to
be strictly obeyed.

This plan went on successfully for three months, and with very little
diminution of interest. The whole school went regularly through the
lessons in coarse-hand, and afterward through a similar series in
fine-hand, and improvement in this branch was thought to be greater than
at any former period in the same length of time.

The same principle of arranging the several steps of an art or a study
into a series of lessons, and requiring the pupil to pass regularly from
one to the other, might easily be applied to other studies, and would
afford an agreeable variety.

12. THE CORRESPONDENCE.--A master of a district school was walking
through the room with a large rule in his hands, and as he came up
behind two small boys, he observed that they were playing with some
papers.