d communicated verbally before the whole
school, or sometimes before a class formed for this purpose, the next
day. The subjects are proposed both by teacher and scholars, and if
approved, adopted. The exercise is intended to be voluntary, but ought
to be managed in a way sufficiently interesting to induce all to join.

At the commencement of the exercise the teacher calls upon all who have
any information in regard to the topic assigned, suppose, for example it
is _Alabaster_, to rise. Perhaps twenty individuals out of forty rise.
The teacher may, perhaps, say to those in their seats,

"Do you not know any thing of this subject? Have you neither seen nor
heard of Alabaster, and had no means of ascertaining any thing in regard
to it? If you have, you ought to rise. It is not necessary that you
should state a fact altogether new and unheard of, but if you tell me
its color, or some of the uses to which it is applied, you will be
complying with my request."

After these remarks, perhaps a few more rise, and possibly the whole
school. Individuals are then called upon at random, each to state only
one particular in regard to the topic in question. This arrangement is
made so as to give all an opportunity to speak: If any scholar, after
having mentioned one fact, has something still farther to communicate,
she remains standing till called upon again. As soon as an individual
has exhausted her stock of information, or if the facts that she
intended to mention are stated by another, she takes her seat.

The topics at first most usually selected, are the common objects by
which we are surrounded; for example, glass, iron, mahogany, &c. The
list will gradually extend itself, until it will embrace a large number
of subjects.

The object of this exercise is to induce pupils to seek for general
information in an easy and pleasant manner, as by the perusal of books,
newspapers, periodicals, and conversation with friends. It induces care
and attention in reading, and discrimination in selecting the most
useful and important facts from the mass of information. As individuals
are called upon, also, to express their ideas _verbally_, they soon
acquire by practice, the power of expressing their ideas with clearness
and force, and communicating with ease and confidence the knowledge they
possess.

18. MUSIC. c. The girls of our school often amused themselves in recess
by collecting into little groups for singing. As there seemed t