Of

and the reading of it should not be out of proportion to other reading. Among fictions, the lecturer named first "Don Quixote," with which "Cervantes laughed Spain's chivalry away"; then "Gil Blas" then the "Vicar of Wakefield," most improbable of stories and most charming of the books of the century. "Clarissa Harlowe" is an admitted work of genius. Fielding, Smollett, and Swift must be rejected for their coarseness. Scott's novels, whose influence, as a whole, he regarded as nearer a religious one than the ordinary Sunday-school novel, he would recommend "Ivanhoe" and the "Heart of Mid-Lothian." Dickens, he said that there could never be any such human nature as he depicts, save of odd and bizarre specimens. His grotesque is more nearly natural than his pathos, which is not genuine. Thackeray was a man of finer make, and his Colonel Newcome is the most perfect gentleman in literature. "Vanity Fair" is among the great novels.

Of

After many changes, with leave to alter at will, President Buckham said he would give, as a list of the best English novels, "Robinson Crusoe"; the "Vicar of Wakefield"; one of Jane Austen's, -"Pride and Prejudice" or "Sense and Sensibility"; Scott's "Ivanhoe" and "Heart of MidLothian"; "Vanity Fair," "David Copperfield,” "Jane Eyre," "Romola," and the "Scarlet Let

ter." For Sunday reading there are works of the highest literary merit, combined with the finest devotional spirit, such as George Herbert's and Wordsworth's poetry, Stanley's "Sinai and Palestine," Lamartine's "Travels," Chateaubriand's "Essays on the Genius of Christianity," and the works of Jeremy Taylor.

One who has carefully read the great works mentioned may consider himself well instructed in literature. But no reader should think of confining himself to the great writers, but should give attention to those more nearly on our own level. A reader with a healthy appetite requires a new book every few days.

The lecturer concluded with a few practical suggestions on the moral side of the question, condemning all books, however attractive or ably written they may be, which tend to blunt the moral sense, lessen reverence for what is true and sacred, and obstruct the best development of the moral nature.

[We are unable to furnish this lecture in full: the lecturer, after the meeting, declining to furnish his paper for publication, and no stenographic report was taken. - ED.]

SECOND DAY, JULY 6.

A

LECTURE ȚI.

ADDRESS OF WELCOME.

BY GOVERNOR FARNHAM.

R. PRESIDENT AND LADIES AND GEN.

TLEMEN:

The pleasing duty of bidding welcome to the State of Vermont the intelligent and enthusiastic members of the American Institute of Instruction, devolves upon me. I am gratified that the soldiers of this great army of progress have chosen to make their annual encampment within the borders of our State; and I know that I but give utterance to the thoughts of all enlightened people within our commonwealth when I bid you a hearty welcome to the little we have to offer you. I would that your sojourn were to be throughout the year, throughout life, scattered among our needy towns, rather than for a single week. We need your help. What the generous town of St. Albans is doing for you now, the thoughtful people of the State would be glad to do for you everywhere in your daily labor.

But our welcome and your stay among us is tinged with sadness when we remember that he who was to have been with us, and given encouragement by his presence and by his words, lies stricken by the murderous hand of the assassin. We shall miss the help of his hearty manner and strong thoughts; but we know that if living, his heart is with us, for he once labored with the great army of teachers.

He

Only when about to be deprived of great blessings do we appreciate their true value. Never till the sad news of the President's assassination flashed over the wires did the people of our broad land realize how much they loved President Garfield. has taken hold of the hearts of the people as no other man has since the days of Abraham Lincoln. His broad basis of moral character, his large intellectual endowments, his rich and varied experience in camp and in civil life, his strong patriotism, but more than all, his deep sympathies with the people in all their trials and sorrows, nurtured by his growth upward through all ranks of society, have endeared him to all hearts. We never knew how we loved him till now. (Applause.) His death would rend the great heart of the nation. No man to-day can fill his place in the affections of the American people. Should his life be ended now, the whole world would have reason to mourn the premature death of one of its greatest and best

men, cut down in the very prime of manhood, in the maturity and richness of his varied powers; a Christian statesman of the modern school, who makes use of the diplomacy of truth and of conscience; a statesman who seeks not so much to govern the people as to elevate them, and thus establish a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

We welcome you to this beautiful village in our State of Vermont, as the representatives of a profession of the largest influence and of the highest importance, in what it attempts and in what it is daily accomplishing. No other influence in the formation of youthful character, except that of mothers, can be compared with that of the teachers of our common schools. Our colleges and high schools cultivate and adorn, but they do not form character. You mould the hearts as well as cultivate the intellects of your pupils. Whether you purpose to do it or not, by your words, by your looks, your frowns, your smiles, by your examples, you are forming the characters of your pupils faster than by your most diligent instruction you are cultivating their understandings.

Young teachers, as well as young people generally, are accustomed to esteem the mental powers as of more importance than the moral qualities; the mind, the intellect, as of higher value than all that goes to make up what we call character.