were reached out for
his acceptance.

The boy looked at the pencils, and then at the teacher; he did not
exactly know, whether he was to take one or not.

"All those boys," said the teacher, pleasantly, "who have taken out
pencils, may rise."

"Have these boys done right, or wrong?"

"Right;" "Wrong;" "Right;" answered their companions, variously.

"Their motive was to help their classmate out of his difficulties; that
is a good feeling, certainly."

"Yes sir; right;" "Right."

"But I thought you promised me a moment ago," replied the teacher, "not
to do any thing, unless I commanded it. Did I ask for pencils?"

A pause.

"I do not blame these boys at all, in this case, still it is better to
adhere rigidly to the principle, of _exact obedience_, when numbers are
acting together. I thank them, therefore, for being so ready to assist a
companion, but they must put their pencils away, as they were taken out
without orders."

Now such a dialogue as this, if the teacher speaks in a good-humored,
though decided manner, would be universally well received, in any
school. Whenever strictness of discipline is unpopular, it is rendered
so, simply by the ill-humored and ill-judged means, by which it is
attempted to be introduced. But all children will love strict
discipline, if it is pleasantly, though firmly maintained. It is a
great, though very prevalent mistake, to imagine, that boys and girls
like a lax and inefficient government, and dislike the pressure of
steady control. What they dislike is, sour looks and irritating
language, and they therefore very naturally dislike every thing
introduced or sustained by their means. If, however, exactness and
precision in all the operations of a class and of the school, are
introduced and enforced, in the proper manner, i. e., by a firm, but
mild and good-humored authority, scholars will universally be pleased
with them. They like to see the uniform appearance,--the straight
line,--the simultaneous movement. They like to feel the operation of
system, and to realize, while they are at the school room, that they
form a community, governed by fixed and steady laws, firmly but
pleasantly administered. On the other hand, laxity of discipline, and
the disorder which will result from it, will only lead the pupils to
contemn their teacher, and to hate their school.

By introducing and maintaining such a discipline as I have described,
great facilities will be secured for examinin