as the means of acquiring it; to furnish, in a word, the key to the temple. He desired to awaken the intellect of each individual boy, and contended that the main movement must come from within, and not from without, the pupil; and that all that could be should be done by him, and not for him.

In a word, his scheme was to call forth in the little world of school those capabilities which best fitted boys for their career in the great one. He was not only possessed of strength, but had the art of imparting it to others; he had the power to grasp a subject himself, and then ingraft it on the intellect of others.

The three ends at which he aimed, in the order of their relative importance, were first and foremost to inculcate religious and moral principle, then gentlemanlike conduct, and lastly intellectual ability. To his mind, religion and politics - the going one's duty to God and man- were the two things really wanting. Unlike the schoolmasters of his early life, he held all the scholarship man ever had to be infinitely worthless in comparison with even a very humble degree of spiritual advancement. He loved tuition for itself, of which he fully felt the solemn responsibility and the ideal beauty, and which he was among the first to elevate to its true dignity. It was the destiny and business of his entire life. His own youthfulness of temperament and vigor suited him better for the society of the young than of the old; he enjoyed their spring of mind and body, and by personal intercourse hoped to train up and mould to good their pliant minds, while wax to receive, and marble to retain.

He led his pupils to place implicit trust on his decisions, and to esteem his approbation as their highest reward. He gained his end by treating them as gentlemen, as reasonable beings, in whose conscience and common sense he might confide; and to this appeal to their nobler faculties, to his relying on their honor, the ingenuous youth responded worthily.

One of his principal holds was in his boy-sermons; that is, in sermons to which

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GYMNASTIC EXERCISES.

GYMNASTICS are those exercises of the

body and limbs which tend to invigorate and develop their powers. In an ordinary course of living, without due regard to rules for promoting bodily strength, the frame becomes relaxed, the muscles are soft, the circulation of the blood languid, the bones and joints debilitated, and the stomach weakened and dainty. To avert as far as possible these imperfections, gymnastics ought to form a part of education in youth, when the joints and muscles are flexible, and time is permitted for the various kinds of exercises.

It has not been unusual of late years to conduct the gymnastics of schools on an improper scale, by impelling young persons of comparatively feeble frames to undertake feats and exercises which have been at variance with the bodily organization, or at least highly dangerous, and of no practical value. A caution is necessary on this subject.

"It is, no doubt," says Dr. Andrew Combe, "a good thing for a boy to be able to climb up a perpendicular pole or a slippery rope, when no other means present

at its upper end; and it is an equally good thing for a young lady to be able to sustain her own weight hanging by one or both hands, when there is no possibility of resting her feet on terra firma; and where boys and girls are strong enough to take pleasure in such amusements, there is no great reason to hinder them, provided they are impelled to them not by emulation, or any secondary motive which may lead to overexertion, but by the pure love of the exercise itself. But the case is entirely altered when such extraordinary evolutions are not only encouraged, but taught to all indiscriminately, whether they are strong or weak, resolute or timid.

"In the selection of exercises for the young, we should not be misled by a vain desire of surmounting difficulties and performing feats at the serious risk of inducing aneurism or rupture. We should be always careful to avoid great fatigue, and to modify the kind, degree, and duration of the exercise, so as to produce the desired results of increased nutrition and strength. and to remember that the point at which these results are to be obtained is not the same in any two individuals, and can be discovered only by experience and careful observation."

With the precautions suggested by these observations various gymnastic exercises may be pursued; some of which we shall describe in future numbers of the SCHOOL MONTHLY.

General Directions. The exercises are best performed in an open court or piece of ground, firm below, but without any stones to injure the feet or person; a grassplot is the most suitable. The fittings are a climbing-stand, vaulting-bar, leapingpoles, &c. The dress of the gymnast is to consist of easy-fitting trowsers, and encircled with a belt or girth. The belt should pass round the loins, and not be too tight. The performances should be in the forenoon, or at least before any heavy meal.

the person should be erect, the head held up, and the face looking straight forward; the shoulders are to be square, with the chest fully exposed, so as slightly to curve the back; the legs closed; the heels in a line, and closed; the toes turned out; the arms hanging straight down; the elbows held in to the body; the hands open to the front; the little

finger touching the legs; and the

Fig. 1. thumb flat to the forefinger. When perfected in the art of standing in this position, which is called attention, as shown in fig. 1, the next thing is to be taught to march or walk, as in the case of a soldier on drill, the feet being alternately thrown out, and both brought together into position, at the order to halt.

The pupil next learns to bend the body, and extend the arms. The first exercise of

this kind is to carry the hands to the front, the fingers lightly touching at the points; now raise the arms, the hands still together, till they are held over the head, as in fig. 2.

The second motion is to learn to hold the arms out in front,

the tips of the fingers touching, Fig. 2. and returning to the position of fig. 1: this is to be done repeatedly. The third is to extend the hands separately, and raise them over the respective shoulders, the fingers pointing upwards. The fourth

Fig. 3.

motion is to keep the arms and legs straight, and to bend the body forward, with the head down, and the tips of the fingers toward the ground. This somewhat difficult motion is represented in fig. 3.

A fifth motion is to resume the position of attention, allowing the arms to fall freely to their place, but still without bending the legs. These motions are trying to the pupil, and should be done gradually; the great object is to exercise the muscles bit

by bit, and perfection is not desirable at first. Then follow other motions, as throwing the arms out in opposite directions, swinging the arms, &c. In these, it is of importance to exercise the left hand and arm more fully than the right, in order to make them as active and strong.

For Declamation.

IN FAVOR OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.

BY SAMUEL ADAMS.

The following noble and spirited speech is from passages in an address delivered at the Statehouse in Philadelphia, August 1st, 1776 (twenty-seven days after the Declaration of Independence), by Samuel Adams, of Massachusetts. This address seems to have lain neglected from the time of its delivery up to the year 1857, when attention was first called to it and extracts given in Sargent's Intermediate Standard Speaker.

My countrymen, from the day on which an accommodation takes place between England and America on any other terms than as independent States, I shall date the ruin of this country. We are now, to the astonishment of the world, three millions of souls united in one common cause. This day we are called on to give a glorious example of what the wisest and best of men were rejoiced to view only in speculation. This day presents the world with the most august spectacle that its annals ever unfolded: Millions of freemen voluntarily and deliberately forming themselves into a society for their common defense and common happiness! Immortal spirits of Hampden, Locke, and Sydney! Will it not add to your benevolent joys to behold your posterity rising to the dignity of men, and evincing to the world the reality and expediency of your systems, and in the actual enjoyment of that equal liberty which you were happy when on earth in delineating and recommending to mankind!

Other nations have received their laws from conquerors some are indebted for a constitution to the sufferings of their ancestors through revolving centuries: - the people of this country alone have formally and deliberately chosen a government for themselves, and with open, uninfluenced consent bound themselves into a social compact.

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And, fellow-countrymen, if ever it was granted to mortals to trace the designs of Providence, and interpret its manifestations in favor of their cause, we may, with humility of soul, cry out, NOT UNTO US, NOT UNTO US, BUT TO THY NAME BE THE PRAISE! The confusion of the devices of our enemies, and the rage of the elements against them, have done almost as much toward our success as either our counsels or our arms.

The time at which this attempt on our liberties was made, - when we were ripened into maturity, had acquired a knowledge of war, and were free from the incursions of intestine enemies, the gradual advances of our oppressors enabling us to prepare for our defense, the unusual fertility of our lands, the clemency of the seasons, the success which at first attended our feeble arms, producing unanimity among our friends, and reducing our internal foes to acquiescence, these are all strong and palpable marks and assurances that Providence Is YET GRACIOUS UNTO ZION, THAT IT WILL TURN AWAY THE CAPTIVITY OF JACOB!

Driven from every other corner of the earth, freedom of thought and the right of private judgment in matters of conscience direct their course to this happy country, as their last asylum. Let us cherish the noble guests! Let us shelter them under the wings of universal toleration! Be this the seat of UNBOUNDED RELIGIOUS FREEDOM! She will bring with her in her train Industry, Wisdom, and Commerce.

Our union is now complete. You have in the field armies sufficient to repel the whole force of your enemies. The hearts of your soldiers beat high with the spirit of freedom. Go on, then, in your generous enterprise, with gratitude to Heaven for past success, and confidence of it in the future! For my own part, I ask no greater blessing than to share with you the common danger and the common glory. If I have a wish dearer to my soul than that my ashes may be mingled with those of a Warren and Montgomery, it is--THAT THESE AMERICAN STATES MAY NEVER CEASE TO BE FREE AND INDEPENDENT !

THE CITY OF DELHI.

DELHI, a city of British India, or Hindostan', situated on the western bank of the River Jumna, has been recently the scene of important events. Made the head-quarters of the rebellion among the native subjects of the north-western provinces, it was recaptured by the British on the 20th of September, 1857, and the enemy expelled. In the assault of the 14th, the British lost sixty-one officers, and eleven hundred men.

The present city of Delhi was founded by the Emperor Shah Jehan, in the year 1631. The gateways of the city are magnificent, and the principal streets are wide and handsome. Many of the houses are large and high, and the mosques, with their lofty minarets and gilded domes, are numerous; but the most striking and most elevated structure is the imperial palace, of which we give a picture.

This palace is quite a little town in itself, and used to contain, before the mutiny of 1857, full a thousand men, retainers of the King of Delhi, and as many women. It is surrounded by a wall thirty feet high, of reddish stone; is built along the banks of the river, and has gardens planted with orange-groves and apricot-trees surrounding

it.

The hall of audience was the chief pride of the palace, and an inscription over the principal gate proclaimed: "If there be an

Elysium on earth, it is this-this is it!" It contained a famous throne which stood on six legs of massy gold, set with rubies, emeralds, and diamonds, while golden peacocks covered with precious stones and pearls formed its canopy.

Henceforth travelers will be obliged to take for granted the stories of the magnificence of the palace; for by this time its splendors are all defaced or spoiled by war. The titular* King of Delhi, who rebelled against the British, is a captive; and three of his sons have been shot. The last of the Mogul monarchs has taken his seat in the hall of audience; and in the words of the Persian poet, quoted by Bishop Heber-the spider shall hang her tap'estry in the palace of the Cæsars.

Close to the walls of Delhi still exist pillars carved with readable inscriptions of a date 325 B. C. (325 years before Christ). Delhi is a city not of one creed, or of one dy'nasty. Buddhist, Brahmin, and Mussulman monuments are grouped or ruined together. For eight miles to the south of the present city, on an arid plain, along the banks of a brackish and unnavigable river, lie, in the belief of the native, the ruins of five thousand years. These ruins in the merry days of modern Delhi, fur nished the object and the scene for th jaunts and picnics of the British residents.

place;

Unskillful he to fawn or seek for power,
By doctrines fashioned to the varying hour, -
Far other aims his heart had learned to prize,
More bent to raise the wretched than to rise.

His house was known to all the vagrant train, He chid their wanderings, but relieved their pain; The long-remembered beggar was his guest, Whose beard descending swept his aged breast; The ruined spendthrift, now no longer proud,

His pity gave ere charity began.

Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride, And e'en his failings leaned to virtue's side; But, in his duty prompt at every call, He watched and wept, he prayed and felt, for all; And, as a bird each fond endearment tries To tempt its new-fledged offspring to the skies, He tried each art, reproved each dull delay, Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way. Beside the bed where parting life was laid,