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course, but I find the presumption is not generally a fact. I would suggest that a great lack is want of correlation. Civics, history, and all the sciences should be begun in the first grade and pursued as long as the pupil is in school."

In some of the schools from which data have been received the scope seems to be rather narrow, being confined merely to the State constitution and the Constitution of the United States.

Yet this would be valuable if studied in a manner calculated to bring out the features of the State and national governments, and not merely in the perfunctory manner of a rote recitation.

It would appear, therefore, that according to the requirements laid down for the proper study of civil government in the public schools the teaching now in vogue in the schools is not adequate.

The plan pursued in the Cleveland public schools seems to the writer well calculated to develop civic ideals in children, and might well be adopted in other cities. The superintendent, Mr. L. H. Jones, writes that the course of studies was planned with

-"the idea of trying to get something in each grade adapted especially to the development of the child in that grade. . . . Work in civics begins in concrete instances of city government which are already familiar to the child, and which are known to him as functions of government. In questions of conduct we rely largely on the story involving moral principles and conduct. In history we rely chiefly on biography in the lower grades, coupled with a few of the more striking events of our country's history. At the beginning of the fifth grade, however, we begin taking topics in a somewhat chronological order, so that sequences of time may be observed and to some extent the law of cause and effect may be seen. The fifth and sixth grades pass over in this manner the entire history of the United States, touching, of course, only a few salient features. Much more work is given in the outline than we expect any one teacher to teach. The seventh and eighth grades respectively repeat the work of the fifth and sixth grades, but do it with a good text-book in their hands and through the use, to some extent, of books of reference from the school libraries and the public libraries."

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In the outline of the course of study of the Cleveland public schools for 1898-99, the provision for the study of government in the first grade (the pupils of which are seven years of age) is that it should be by means of concrete examples only. For the second grade (the pupils of which are a year older), among the topics are: "The Letter Carrier and his Work,»location of one or two letter boxes, how to put a letter in. Among the history stories are "The Boy Columbus," "The Pilgrims at Plymouth," "The First Thanksgiving Day," references to appropriate books being given. For the third grade, among the topics are: The School Council and the Director,- treating of what they do,-as, providing school-houses, school furniture and equipment, for payment of expenses of the school, etc. Among the stories are tales of the colonial times and the Revo

lution. For the fourth grade, among the topics are: The City Government and its two Departments, the City Council and the Mayor and Directors, showing what some of these directors do for the public good,―as, the paving of streets, building of viaducts, keeping the city clean and healthful; organizing the police force, caring for persons and property, etc. In connection with this subject the suggestion is made to tell the pupils the story of the New York Children's Brigade as an aid to the Street Cleaning Department. Among the history stories are those of the formation of the Union and of the Civil War.

With the beginning of the fifth grade, as pointed out by the superintendent, there is more detailed study of the history of the United States. Among the instructions for teachers of the seventh grade is this:

"Throughout the year bring out the relation of cause and effect. So, when studying the Colonial and Revolutionary periods, refer to such political and social conditions in England, France, Spain, and Holland as affect conditions and events in America.»

Among the rules for the eighth or highest grade are the following:

"When studying the period of confederation, show the struggle between ideas standing for freedom of the individual and power of the government." "Trace the history of political parties." "There should be occasional discussion of such topics of contemporary and current history as arrest the attention of thoughtful people."

Sufficient has been here presented of the course of one school system to show what can be done in planning studies so as to include civil government in the lower grades and correlating it with American history. It must be obvious, too, that properly to carry out such a plan teachers must be well drilled and equipped, and the necessity for their special preparation has been adverted to.

A plan such as is here suggested is calculated to vitalize, in the understanding of the pupils, the principles and the practices of the American governments, and to instil, from early childhood, a love, a respect, and a reverence for that which is good in American institutions, and a desire to root out that which is evil in them. The study of civil government in the public schools will, I believe, free the average mind of much of the cobweb which now surrounds it with reference to political action; will lead to a clearer understanding of the duties and responsibilities of the American voter and citizen; will cause a deeper and more sustained interest to be taken in what is, in common parlance, called politics; will bring about a healthier sentiment respecting the doings of officials and representatives; and will eventuate in a more general and genuine participation of the people in the affairs of municipality, State, and nation.

PHILADELPHIA.

CHARLES S. BERNHEIMER.

SOME WONDERFUL PARALLELS-I

HOW MODERN SCIENCE HAS INVADED THE REALM OF FABLEDOM

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HOSE of us who have been accustomed to smile at the "impossibilities" of fairy tales and mythology will do well to reflect that modern science has already duplicated many of their greatest marvels. In some cases the reality has proved even more amazing than the fancy. A glance at the following parallels should convince the most skeptical that in this age of the world it is wise to be sparing in the use of the word "impossible."

The Frost Cap and Liquid Air

In German and Russian folk-lore is found the wonderful tale of the "Frost Cap." The German version tells how a party of travellers were beguiled by the wicked king of a certain country into a banquet-room built all of iron and located directly over a red-hot fire. As the heat began to be unbearable all sought to escape, but found that the doors and windows were barred. Finally, when all the rest had abandoned hope, one of them turned on his head the magical cap which he wore. Instantly there ensued such a great cold that the food froze fast to the plates, and frost formed on the window-panes in spite of the raging fire beneath.

So much for fable, now for fact. At a recent lecture in New York some experiments were performed with liquid air. In one of them a kettle-full of water was heated over a bunsen burner until it boiled violently. Then the lecturer lifted the cover and dropped into it a small quantity of the liquid air. Almost immediately frost formed on the outside of the kettle although the flame still burned beneath.

The Bag of Eolus and Compressed Air Greek mythology tells us that when Ulysses was on his voyage after the famous siege of Troy, the wind-god, Æolus, presented him with a bagful of favoring breezes, and these he used as occasion required upon the sails of his vessel. Here we have the principle of wind (or air-pressure) stored for use as motive power, but never until recent years has such a thing been possible outside of mythology.

To-day, however, in New York, in Paris, in Chester, England, and in other places, may be found street cars which whiz through the streets without horse, steam, trolley, or cable. Instead of these, each contains a tank of compressed air, from which, under direction, air rushes through the driving mechanism of the car and propels it. It is the bag of Eolus greatly improved.

Orpheus and Sympathetic Vibration

One of the most romantic characters of mythology was the musician Orpheus. So sweet

was the music which he made that even rocks moved from their foundations at its sound.

This principle of inanimate nature being influenced by rhythmical musical sound—a myth no longer is well-known to science under the name of "sympathetic vibration.» It has recently been discovered that every object has its vibratory period, or what is known as its sympathetic note. If this note is sounded persistently, there is produced in the object a responsive motion or vibration which may in time acquire considerable-even destructive-force. Glasses are sometimes cracked by continuously singing into them their sympathetic note.

The familiar story of the fiddler who threatened to destroy a bridge by fiddling before it is simply an example of the same scientific fact.

Vulcan's Invisible Chains and a
Modern Battery

The great fire-god, Vulcan, from whose name we get our verb, "vulcanize," and our noun, "volcano," was the most skilful artificer.known to fabledom. In his great forge under Mount Ætna were fashioned many wonderful pieces of work. One of the most famous of these was a chair so devised that the unsuspecting occupant would suddenly find himself bound with invisible chains, and unable to rise.

One need not be a god to-day in order to equal this. An ordinary chair provided with metal handles and a battery connection is all that is required. Let the occupant be induced to grasp the handles while enough of the current is turned on to contract his muscles, and he will find himself quite as firmly bound as the sitter in Vulcan's chair, and with chains equally invisible.

Jove's Thunderbolts and Electrocution

This same Vulcan forged the thunderbolts for great Jove, the supreme god of all, and the latter used them occasionally to destroy mortals who had incurred his displeasure.

Man has not yet, it is true, equalled the fearful stroke of a flash of lightning, but he has produced an electric current which will instantly destroy life, and has repeatedly used it for that purpose in Sing Sing prison.

Dædalus and Herr Lilienthal

Dædalus, who built the Labyrinth where the monster, Minotaur, was confined, became, we are told, weary of his exile in Crete, and in order to escape he constructed wings to be worked by his own muscles. With these he flew safely over the sea, although his son Icarus was less fortunate and fell into the water, since

known at that point as the Icarian Sea. This, of course, is the purest myth.

Recently, however, Otto Lilienthal, a German inventor, succeeded in taking a number of short flights with wings of his own construction, using no other motive power than that of his own muscles. His experiments realized for him the fate of Icarus, as in one of his flights he fell and received fatal injuries.

Aerial Navigation, Fictitious and Real Going a step farther, the idea of travelling through the air, not by wings of one's own manufacture like Dædalus, but by means of external machinery, occupies a large place in fable. Mythology and fairy-tales are so full of accounts of winged horses and flying carpets, of cars drawn by birds or dragons, and of other methods of magic, that the mere list would be a long one. And yet not until the advent of the balloon (about one hundred years ago) has it been possible for man to rise into the realms of the air without the direct or indirect support of the earth's surface.

To-day aëronautics have so far advanced that balloon ascensions are no longer a rarity. Balloons have also come to have a recognized value for military purposes, and even a polar expedition by balloon has been undertaken by scientists of standing. It is generally believed that we are on the eve of much greater things. Maxim, Langley, and other inventors have already accomplished so much in their experiments that, in the opinion of many scientists, aërial navigation will be an important factor in the travel of the early future.

Bazr Badim and a Submarine Diver Occasionally in fairy tales mortals are permitted to visit the bottom of the sea. The "Arabian Nights" tells of King Bazr Badim, who obtained his power to do so as the result of having his eyes pencilled with a mysterious powder, while there were recited over him the names graven on the seal ring of Solomon.

To-day the method of preparing a diver for a trip to the sea-bottom is rather more complicated and includes a metal helmet, rubber suit, leaden weights, air-pump connection, and other things; but once at the bottom he enjoys a considerable degree of freedom. He can view his surroundings, walk about and work for an hour or two if he desire before returning to the surface. This may seem less attractive than the method of the "Arabian Nights," but it has this point in its favorit can be done. Submarine boats are also beginning to be heard of and promise to figure largely in future enterprises of peace and war.

The River Lethe and Medical Chemistry There was a celebrated stream in ancient mythology of which it was said that whosoever drank of its waters would lose all remembrance of the past.

The modern pharmacopoeia also knows of drugs that will weaken and destroy memory. Carbon disulphide and others are claimed to have this effect.

The Water of Life and Toxicology

In fabledom we frequently encounter a mysterious "water of life," sometimes from an enchanted spring, sometimes from a witches' caldron, but often with the peculiarity that whosoever drinks of it sparingly is greatly invigorated, but the one who drinks to excess dies.

In this respect it bears a striking resemblance to a recently discovered law of toxicology, namely, that all poisons taken in sufficiently small doses are tonic in their effect, in slightly larger doses are narcotic, and in still larger doses are fatal.

Ancient and Modern Employment of

Apollo and Neptune

The crafty king of Troy made a bargain with Apollo, the sun-god, and Neptune, god of the sea, by which they were to build for him the walls of the city. He later failed to keep his part of the bargain, and the deities took revenge. Since to the imaginative Greek mind these gods represented respectively the power of the sun and of the sea, this fable practically pictures the sun and the sea as furnishing working energy to mankind.

To-day, while we no longer deify sun and sea, we do know them to be vast storehouses of power, and have been able to use that power for mechanical purposes. There have been various solar engines devised in which curved mirrors have been employed to focus the sun's rays upon boilers, wherein the water was thus heated to the steam-generating point.

Recently, too, considerable attention has been attracted by a proposition to construct great piers in the ocean and utilize the natural rise and fall of the ocean tides and swells, operating through a series of floats, air-compressors, and dynamos, to furnish power for all sorts of purposes.

It is claimed that practically unlimited mechanical energy could thus be obtained, and that Neptune might soon become a great manufacturer as well as wall-builder.

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A NATION OF OAT-EATERS.

In a recent interview, Secretary of Agriculture, James Wilson, stated some astounding facts relative to the increased consumption of oats among Americans. After giving some startling facts concerning the remarkable increase of manufacturing, he says:

"The amazing growth of the popularity of oats as human food in this country is due to an increased familiarity with its value in the diet. It contains a very large proportion of the substance that makes muscle and blood.

"Oats are destined to become steadily more popular in this country as food. As I have said, we are becoming a nation of oat-eaters. It is a good sign, and promises well for the future of the country and its people."

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All the maxims, the axioms, that apply to success in life apply equally well to success in advertising. Perhaps more men fail because they lack earnestness and persistence than for any other reason. In advertising, particularly, are these attributes indispensable. To advertise with the determination to succeed, and to persist in one's advertising and one's determination, is the way to accomplish one's purpose. Much advertising is discontinued at a time when a little more patience would have resulted in a turn of the tide.-Printers Ink.

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That writer does the most who gives his reader the most knowledge and takes from him the least time. Sidney Smith once remarked, "After you have written an article, take your pen and strike out half of the words, and you will be surprised to see how much stronger it is." In literature, our taste will be discovered by that which we give and our judgment by that which we withhold.

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Prof. W.H.PEEKE, F.D., 4 Cedar St., N.Y.

Jaeger

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ORIENTAL CREAM, or MAGICAL BEAUTIFIER,

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