ahogany board to which the card is attached.

A little reflection will, however, show the teacher that the form and
construction of the apparatus for marking the times of study and of
rest, may be greatly varied. The chief point is simply to secure the
_principle_, of whispering at definite and limited times, and at those
alone. If such an arrangement is adopted, and carried faithfully into
effect, it will be found to relieve the teacher of more than half of the
confusion and perplexity, which would otherwise be his hourly lot. I
have detailed thus particularly the method to be pursued in carrying
this principle into effect, because I am convinced of its importance,
and the incalculable assistance which such an arrangement will afford to
the teacher in all his plans. Of course, I would not be understood to
recommend its adoption, in those cases, where, teachers, from their own
experience, have devised and adopted _other_ plans, which accomplish as
effectually the same purpose. All that I mean, is to insist upon the
absolute necessity of _some_ plan, to remove this very common source of
interruption and confusion, and I recommend this mode where a better is
not known.

2. The second of the sources of interruption, as I have enumerated them,
is mending pens. This business ought, if possible, to have a specific
time assigned to it. Scholars are in general far too particular in
regard to their pens. The teacher ought to explain to them that, in the
transaction of the ordinary business of life, they cannot, always, have
exactly such a pen as they would like. They must learn to write with
various kinds of pens, and when furnished with one that the teacher
himself would consider suitable to write a letter to a friend with, he
must be content. They should understand that the _form_ of the letters
is what is important in learning to write, not the smoothness and
clearness of the hair lines; and that though writing looks better, when
executed with a perfect pen, a person may _learn_ to write, nearly as
well with one, which is not absolutely perfect. So certain is this,
though often overlooked, that a person would perhaps learn faster with
chalk upon a black board, than with the best goose-quill ever sharpened.

I do not make these remarks to show that it is of no consequence,
whether scholars have good or bad pens, but only that this subject
deserves very much less of the time and attention of the teacher,
than it usually recei