er the lapse of a little time, when it has been possible
to work out at leisure some of the practical points involved, that we
can perceive all the ground covered.

Many students have experienced considerable difficulty at first in doing
themselves what they have seen children do, who have been trained along
these lines, i.e. to write down two-, three-, or four-part exercises in
dictation, to transpose at sight, to extemporize without hesitation at
the piano, &c. The feeling of working against time, of examinations to
be passed, of discouragement at apparently slow progress, has possibly
produced a state of mental indigestion, and the only cure for this is
Time, the universal doctor.

The student is now at the point of entering a new sphere of work. The
instrument has been sharpened. How is the application to be directed? A
word of warning is necessary. The young and enthusiastic teacher, fresh
from the inspiration of a year's work with those interested in her
development, is too often apt to be over-rigid in enforcing a new
presentment of ideas.

'This way, or no way!' is her cry.

Now all sound educational work must possess an intrinsic quality of
pliability: it must grow, expand, and be capable of development in a
hundred ways. Small points of method must be adjusted to the particular
class and pupil, and a generous recognition of the useful parts of other
people's 'methods' will be the surest way of obtaining recognition of
our own ideals. Provided a firm attitude be maintained on essentials, it
is often possible to compromise on minor details. Above all, an open
mind must be preserved in the presence of advice, however
inexperienced. Many a young teacher has failed in her first post because
she has given the impression to those in authority that there is one,
and one only, way in which she can do her work--one, and one only,
possible scheme of division of classes and hours for lessons.

An arrangement far short of the ideal must often be accepted, with a
courteous protest, but it will assuredly be modified later by the
authorities when the teacher has won confidence by arousing the interest
and enthusiasm of the pupils, and by showing good results from the
lessons.

Has not every new presentment of every subject in the school curriculum
been greeted with the same chorus of depreciation at first? Why should
music, the latest arrived of the subjects on the regular curriculum,
fare differently?

Remember that