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AT THE FORKS OF THE GRAND T than the average Grade VIII pupil of today. Their level of education is suggested by the examination a candidate had to pass in i86o to get his third-class teacher's certificate: English Grammar 1. What is Grammar? 2. What is Syntax? 3. Correct the following: The lady and the lap dog which I saw at the window has gone. History 1. What is the most ancient record of events called? 2. What do you mean by the "calling of Abraham"? 3. Who founded Rome, how long was it governed by Kings, and who was the last? 4. Who is considered the first king of England? 5. What finally became of Charles I, and who succeeded him to the throne? 6. When was the first translation of our English Bible issued? Arithmetic 1. What is the difference between Troy weight and Avoirdupois? 2. How many quarters in an English ell? 3. Multiply 2 rods by 51/2 yards. 4. What is % of £50? 5. What is the interest on £210 from June 11, 1820 to April 20, 1822 ? Geography 1. How many zones are there, and in which is Spitzenburg? 2. Give the relative position and comparative size of the four continents. 3. Which is the most Northern, and which the most Southern of the United States? 4. How is Arabia bounded? 5. What is the largest island in the Mediterranean? 6. What two great rivers flow into the Caspian sea? Some of the Paris teachers, even as late as 1885, did not have even a third-class certificate; and frequently a monitor (an older pupil) was placed in charge of a class. The strap and the switch were continually in use. They were used as incentives both to industry and obedience. When a woman teacher found that her muscle was not strong enough, she would send a culprit to Mr. Acres - "To the 'igher power", one woman teacher used to say. The men teachers were sometimes violent. They dragged or kicked pupils from the room, and struck them with their fists. For example, in 1883, a teacher was fined $i.oo by Esquires O'Neail and Finlayson for striking a boy twenty-five times, until his eyes were black and his ears swollen. The esquires said that the teacher had exceeded his duty, and that "the teacher's position often is a very difficult one and scholars are often exasperating". The truth is that both teachers and pupils suffered from frustration because of dull textbooks, drab school-rooms, the rote system of learning, a lack of extra-curricular activities, and the belief that a multitude of stifling rules and regulations should be harshly enforced. Even the potentially efficient teachers labored under a multitude 160 :_=