even if it was not pursued by his former
teacher. So far it is well. He throws greater interest into his school,
and into all its exercises by the spirit with which he conducts them. He
is successful. After the period of his services has expired, he returns
to the pursuit of his studies, encouraged by his success, and
anticipating further triumphs in his subsequent attempts.

He goes on through college we will suppose, teaching from time to time
in the vacations, as opportunity occurs, taking more and more interest
in the employment, and meeting with greater and greater success. This
success is owing in a very great degree to the _freedom_ of his
practice, that is to his escape from the thraldom of imitation. So long
as he leaves the great objects of the school untouched, and the great
features of its organization unchanged, his many plans for accomplishing
these objects in new and various ways, awaken interest and spirit both
in himself and in his scholars, and all goes on well.

Now in such a case as this, a young teacher philosophizing upon his
success and the causes of it, will almost invariably make this mistake;
viz., he will attribute to something essentially excellent in his plans,
the success which, in fact results from the novelty of them.

When he proposes something new to a class, they all take an interest in
it, because it is _new_. He takes, too, a special interest in it because
it is an experiment which he is trying, and he feels a sort of pride and
pleasure in securing its success. The new method which he adopts, may
not be, _in itself_, in the least degree better than old methods. Yet it
may succeed vastly better in his hands, than any old method he had tried
before. And why? Why because it is new. It awakens interest in his
class, because it offers them variety, and it awakens interest in him,
because it is a plan which he has devised, and for whose success
therefore he feels that his credit is at stake. Either of these
circumstances is abundantly sufficient to account for its success.
Either of these would secure success, unless the plan was a very bad one
indeed.

This may easily be illustrated by supposing a particular case. The
teacher has, we will imagine, been accustomed to teach spelling in the
usual way, by assigning a lesson in the spelling book, which the
scholars have studied in their seats, and then they have recited by
having the words put to them individually in the class. After someti