st to himself for the reason. There
are perhaps no circumstances in which a lack of interest does not
originate in the mode of instruction adopted by the teacher." This
statement assumes that all knowledge is about equally interesting to
pupils, and everything depends upon the _manner_ in which the teacher
deals with it. But different kinds of knowledge differ widely in their
power to awaken interest in children. The true idea of interest
demands that the subject matter be _in itself_ interesting, adapted to
appeal to a child, and to secure his participation. If the interest
awakened by bringing the mind in contact with the subject is not
spontaneous, it is not genuine and helpful in the best sense. One of
the first and greatest evils of all school courses has been a failure
to select those subjects, which in themselves are adapted to excite the
interest of children at each age of progress. If we could assume that
lessons had been so arranged, we might then with Mr. Quick justly
demand of a teacher a manner of teaching that must make the subjects
interesting, or in other words a manner of treatment that would be
appropriate to an interesting subject.

There are two kinds of interest that need to be clearly distinguished:
_direct_ interest, which is felt for the thing itself, for its own
sake, and _indirect_ interest which points to something else as the
real source. A miser loves gold coins for their own sake, but most
people love them only because of the things for which they may be
exchanged. The poet loves the beauty and fragrance of flowers, the
florist adds to this a mercenary interest. A snow-shovel may have no
interest for us ordinarily, but just when it is needed, on a winter
morning, it is an object of considerable interest. It is simply a
means to an end. The kind of interest which we think is so valuable
for instruction is direct and intrinsic. The life of Benjamin Franklin
calls out a strong direct interest in the man and his fortunes. A
humming bird attracts and appeals to us for its own sake. Indirect
interest, so called, has more of the character of _desire_. A desire
to restore one's health will produce great interest in a certain health
resort, like the Hot Springs, or in some method of treatment, as the
use of Koch's lymph. The desire for wealth and business success will
lead a merchant in the fur trade to take interest in seals and
seal-fishing, and in beavers, trapping, etc. The wis