rrowed from a "valuable periodical," to save himself the
trouble of writing a preface, and, as he says, to "_assist_ [the reader] in
forming an opinion of the comparative merits of _the system_" is not only
destitute of all authority, but is totally irrelevant, except to the
whimsical _name_ of his book. If every word of it be true, it is
insufficient to give us even the slightest reason to suppose, that any
thing analogous to his production ever had existence in either of those
countries; and yet it is set forth on purpose to convey the idea that such
a system "_now predominates_" in the schools of both. (See _Pref._, p. 5.)
The infidel _Neef_, whose new method of education has been tried in our
country, and with its promulgator forgot, was an accredited disciple of
this boasted "productive school;" a zealous coadjutor with Pestalozzi
himself, from whose halls he emanated to "teach the offspring of a free
people"--to teach them the nature of things sensible, and a contempt for
all the wisdom of _books_. And what similarity is there between his method
of teaching and that of _Roswell C. Smith_, except their pretence to a
common parentage, and that both are worthless?

24. The success of Smith's Inductive and Productive Grammars, and the fame
perhaps of a certain "Grammar in Familiar Lectures," produced in 1836 a
rival work from the hands of a gentleman in New Hampshire, entitled, "An
Analytical Grammar of the English Language, embracing the _Inductive and
Productive Methods of Teaching_, with _Familiar Explanations in the Lecture
Style_" &c. This is a fair-looking duodecimo volume of three hundred pages,
the character and pretensions of which, if they could be clearly stated,
would throw further light upon the two fallacious schemes of teaching
mentioned above. For the writer says, "This grammar professes _to combine_
both the _Inductive_ and _Productive_ methods of imparting instruction, of
which much has been said within a few years _past_"--_Preface_, p. iv. And
again: "The inductive and productive methods of instruction contain the
essence of modern improvements."--_Gram._, p. 139. In what these modern
improvements consist, he does not inform us; but, it will be seen, that he
himself claims the _copyright_ of _all_ the improvements which he allows to
_English grammar_ since the appearance of Murray in 1795. More than two
hundred pretenders to such improvements, appear however within the time;
nor is the grammarian of