was tastefully decorated, and on the tables were many articles of vertu, books, stereoscopes, &c, The chair was taken by the Rev. W. James, who read an interesting paper, written by Miss Carpenter, on "John Pounds, the originator or founder of Ragged Schools." The meeting was also addressed by Mr. Commissioner Hill, and the Rev. Mr. Hawkes; and, in the course of the evening, an agreeable selection of music was performed, under the direction of Mr. W. Hain. Perhaps, not the least interesting feature of this social gathering was, the union of the different religious sects. The Established Church was represented by the teachers of fifteen national schools, and the Nonconformist body by those of twentythree schools of various religious denominations. The next meeting will be held in the Friends' School in the Friars.

NORFOLK AND NORWICH TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION.-The fourth meeting of the teachers composing this Association was held at the Peckthorpe School-room, on the afternoon of Saturday, December 5th, 1857. The proceedings commenced with an excellent lesson on "The Skin," by Mr. M'Lachlan, of Hethersett, the inductive method of teaching being adopted throughout. This was succeeded by some friendly and useful criticism; after which, a very interesting paper was read by Mr. Rix, of the Somerleyton school, upon "Methods of Analysis of Reading Lessons." This was followed by a discussion, to which tea and free conversation succeeded. distance.

Twenty-seven teachers were present, many of whom were from a

GENERAL EXAMINATION OF TRAINING SCHOOLS. CHRISTMAS, 1857.-MALES: SECOND YEAR.

DRAW a map to exhibit

1. The river system of Russia.

2. The temperature of Europe; or,

GEOGRAPHY.

3. The vegetable geography of North America.

1. Give the present political divisions of Italy, with a more detailed account of the kingdom of Sardinia.

2. Enumerate, or draw a map of, the West India Islands, marking to what power each island belongs.

3. Draw three maps, dated 1650, 1750, 1850, to show the growth of the colonial empire of England.

1. Give an account of the present trade and apparent commercial capabilities of India.

2. Examine the effect of the prohibitive and protective system on the commerce of Europe.

3. The first step to the extension and improvement of commerce is to provide facilities of communication and transport. What great projects for this purpose have been lately proposed or attempted? What are the advantages expected from, and the difficulties in the way of each?

1. What is meant by the Precession of the Equinoxes?

2. Why is there not an eclipse of the sun and another of the moon every month?

3. Explain and demonstrate the method by which with a rule and protractor you may find for a given degree of latitude the ratio between the lengths of the degrees of latitude and longitude.

1. How would you give boys a clear and precise notion of the scale on which any given map was drawn? and to what purpose would you make them put the knowledge?

2. In what order would you teach physical, political, and commercial geography, and why?

3. Enumerate and classify the various devices by which you would endeavour to fix in the minds of your first class a precise knowledge of the coast line of England.

Write such notes and draw such maps and diagrams as would show how you would treat one of the following passages, considered as a reading lesson for your first class:

1. "Sweden and Norway have no manufactures of importance, but their commerce is considerable. There are extensive fisheries on the coast of Norway, and quantities of salt cod are exported, under

the name of stockfish; but their chief articles of trade are timber and iron. The iron mines of Sweden are the most productive in the world. There are also copper and lead mines of some importance; and the silver mines of Kongsberg, in Norway, are the richest in Europe."

2. "The ebbing and flowing of the sea, which regularly take place twice in 25 hours, are called the tides. The cause of the tides is the attraction of the sun and moon, but chiefly of the moon, on the waters of the ocean.

"In virtue of the universal principle of gravitation, the moon, by her attraction, draws or raises the waters towards her, but because the power of attraction diminishes as the squares of the distances increase, the waters on the opposite sides of the earth are not so much attracted as they are on the side nearest the moon."

3. "The two great continents present a remarkable similarity of appearance in one respect-the direction of their peninsulas; for, with the exception of two, Yucatan and Jutland, which consist only of plains of alluvial land, they are all turned towards the south. But the general direction of the land is entirely different in the two continents; in the new it extends from pole to pole; whilst in the old it is nearly parallel to the equator. The peculiarities of the isthmuses which divide each continent into two unequal parts,- Suez being composed of sand, and Panama of granite and porphyry,-lead us to remark another very singular difference in those two great islands of the globe. The ancient world is in almost every part open to the advances of the ocean; and from the Straits of Behring to those of Babelmandeb on the one side, and to those of Gibraltar on the other, the bays, gulfs, inland seas, &c., are in a sort of equilibrium, at least in respect to numbers; whilst the mass of Africa alone is not penetrated by a single gulf. The new continent, on the contrary, has only one considerable gulf, that of California, on its western shore; but presents, on its eastern, a continued chain of gulfs, inland seas, and magnificent rivers."

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT.

Show precisely from what registers, and how, the Capitation Schedule (a specimen of which is given below) is to be filled up.

What is the best mode of keeping your class register so as to be able at any time to tell the average age of a class within a quarter of a year?

How do you make out the quarterly statement of the number of children who have attended at all, and the average number of days in the quarter attended by each child present at all?

1. What is the best mode of securing regular payment of the children's pence? Give reasons for your answer.

2. What parts of the instruction ought the master to keep in his own hands, and what may he safely entrust to pupil-teachers? How far, in the latter case, is he justified in leaving the responsibility with them?

3. Explain the difficulties which attend the attempt to combine industrial with intellectual instruction. How far are these difficulties counterbalanced by the advantages?

What considerations must guide a schoolmaster in drawing up a time-table? Prepare a time-table for

1. A mixed school of £0 children, from six to ten, in a thoroughly rural district, previously much neglected.

2. A school of 150 boys, from seven to twelve, in a manufacturing town, where many of the children come from a considerable distance, but all belong to the upper rank of the poor. Or,

3. A school of 150 boys, from seven to eleven, in a seaport town, where the majority of the parents are very poor, and mean their sons to go to sea.

In each case the school to have as many pupil-teachers as the Committee of Council allow.

Write a short theme on the difficulties which a schoolmaster must expect in the control of the discipline of his school, and the best means of making that discipline efficient.

ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION.

The first and third sections refer to the First Book of Milton's " Paradise Lost."

The second and fourth to Shakspeare's play of "King Lear."

You are not at liberty to answer upon each author.

Your paper will not be read over unless it contains a paraphrase of one of the passages (including the parsing of the words in italics in the same passage).

You may take the other questions for answering at your discretion from any of the Sections, but you must not attempt to answer more than six questions (exclusive of the paraphrase and parsing). You are advised to confine yourself, as far as possible, to the questions arising upon the passage which you paraphrase.

You are requested to answer at least two questions in Section V.

Milton.

Forthwith upright he rears from off the pool

His mighty stature; on each hand the flames,

Driven backward, slope their pointing spires, and roll'd

In billows, leave in the midst a horrid vale.

Then with expanded wings he steers his flight

Aloft, incumbent on the dusky air,

That felt unusual weight; till on dry land

He lights, if it were land that ever burn'd
With solid, as the lake with liquid fire:
And such appear'd in hue, as when the force
Of subterranean wind transports a hill
Torn from Pelorus, or the shatter'd side
Of thundering Etna, whose combustible
And fuell'd entrails thence conceiving fire,
Sublimed with mineral fury, aid the winds,
And leave a singed bottom, all involved

With stench and smoke: such resting found the sole
Of unblest feet.

1. Paraphrase this passage.

2. Compare your paraphrase of the first four lines with the original, and explain why Milton used

the words and order that he did.

3. Parse the words printed in italics, and fully explain their construction with the rest of the

sentence.

4. What is meant by "thence" in the phrase "thence conceiving fire?"

5. "Such" is sometimes called a pronoun. Account for this, give the precise etymology of the word pronoun, and show how a slight change in our nomenclature has caused some confusion here in our grammatical definitions.

6. Write out the argument of the First Book.

7. Analyse the sentence beginning "And such appeared," and ending "stench and smoke.”

Shakspeare.

There is division,

Although as yet the face of it be cover'd

With mutual cunning, 'twixt Albany and Cornwall;
Who have (as who have not, that their great stars
Thron'd and set high!) servants, who seem n les ;
Which are to France the spies and speculations
Intelligent of our state; what hath been seen,
Either in snuffs and packings of the dukes;
Or the hard rein which both of them have borne
Against the old kind king; or something deeper,
Whereof, perchance, these are but furnishings;
But, true it is, from France there comes a power
Into this scatter'd kingdom; who already,
Wise in our negligence, have secret feet
In some of our best ports, and are at point
To show their open banner.

1. Paraphrase this passage.

2. Compare your paraphrase of the first five lines with the original, and explain why Shakspeare used the words and order that he did.

3. Parse the words in italics, explaining the construction of each, with the rest of the sentence. 4. Analyse the passage beginning "But, true it is," and ending "their open banner."

5. What are the different uses of the word "as?" Construct sentences to exhibit them, and point out how most of the anomalies in its use have grown out of elliptical constructions.

6. What is the probable origin of the use of the word "there" in such phrases as "there comes? In what light is the word to be now considered?

7. Give the plot of the Second Act.

Milton.

And now his heart

Distends with pride, and hardening in his strength
Glories for never since created man

Met such embodied force, as named with these,
Could merit more than that small infantry
Warr'd on by cranes: though all the giant brood
Of Phlegra with the heroic race were join'd
That fought at Thebes and Ilium, on each side
Mix'd with auxiliar gods; and what resounds
In fable or romance of Uther's son,
Begirt with British and Armoric knights;
And all who since, baptized or infidel,
Jousted in Aspramont, or Montalban,
Damasco, or Morocco, or Trebisond,

Or whom Biserta sent from Afric shore,
When Charlemain with all his peerage fell
By Fontarabia.

1. Paraphrase the above passage.

2. Parse the words printed in italics, and explain their construction with the rest of the sentence.

3. Analyse the passage beginning "for never," and ending "by cranes."

4. Explain the allusions in the passage, and give the locality of the places mentioned.

5. "Since created man" is a Latin construction. Give instances of other such constructions in Milton.

6. Distinguish accurately between adverbs and prepositions. Mention any words in which the distinction is difficult to maintain.

Shakspeare.

Come on, sir; here's the place;--stand still.
-How fearful

And dizzy 'tis, to cast one's eye so low!

The crows, and choughs, that wing the midway air,
Show scarce so gross as beetles: Half way down
Haugs one that gathers samphire; dreadful trade!
Methinks he seems no bigger than his head :
The fishermen, that walk upon the beach,
Appear like mice; and yon' tall anchoring bark,
Diminish'd to her cock; her cock, a buoy

Almost too small for sight: The murmuring surge,
That on the unnumber'd idle pebbles chafes,
Cannot be heard so high :-I'll look no more;

1. Paraphrase this passage.

2. Parse the words printed in italics, and explain their construction with the rest of the sentence. 3. Analyse the passage beginning "The fishermen," and ending "for sight."

4. Sketch and compare the characters of Gloucester and Kent.

5. In what different ways may the word "like," in the phrase "appear like mice" be parsed? Latham says that the adjective "like" is the only English adjective that governs a case. Examine this statement.

1. Describe how you would teach children to distinguish between the past tense of a verb, and the past participle derived from the same verb.

2. Give the steps by which you would teach the parsing of pronouns, and the reasons for the order that you adopt.

3. In what order ought children to learn the parsing of the different parts of speech, and what are the chief difficulties which they encounter at each stage?

4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of teaching children etymology?

ARITHMETIC.

(Books of Logarithmic Tables are allowed to be used with this paper, provided they contain no introductory treatise on logarithms.)

1. Prove the rules for multiplying and dividing by the aid of logarithmic tables.

2. Find the logarithms of 0075, 004, and 00003, and calculate, by means of them, the result produced by multiplying the two former numbers, and dividing the product by the latter.

3. Find the value of—(2.25)1o of 33753, and of 19683.

1. If 22*7**=1882384, what is the value of x?

2. In how many years will a sum of money treble itself at 8 per cent. compound interest?

3. Find the amount of £100 at the end of 8 years, compound interest 6 per cent. per annum, the interest being due every instant.

1. Find the present value of a debt of £173 12s. 10d., due 3 years hence, at 5 per cent. per annum, compound interest.

2. Find the amount of an annuity of £350, payable quarterly, which has remained unpaid for 7 years, interest being reckoned at 4 per cent. per annum.

3. Find the present value of an annuity of £150 for ever, payable monthly, interest being reckoned at 3 per cent. per annum.

1. Explain clearly the method of teaching compound proportion.

2. Show how you would explain to a pupil-teacher the best mode of handling circulating decimals. 3. Give the steps, and explain the process, of teaching division of fractions. Give such instances to illustrate your instruction as might require to be worked in real life.

HISTORY.

1. Sketch the history of the kingdom of Mercia down to the time of Egbert.

2. Give an account of Egbert, Edgar, Canute, or Edward the Confessor.

3. Sketch the life of St. Dunstan, and give a particular account of the history of the church in this country during his time,

4. What were the leading features of the Saxon judicial system? How far may it be considered to contain the germs of our present mode of administering justice?

5. What evidence can be adduced to show that the occupation of this country by the Saxons was much more complete than that by the Normans?

6. Sketch the most marked features in the Saxon character, and compare it with that of the English at present.

7. Give an account of Saxon manufactures and commerce.

1. What important changes in the judicial or legislative systems were introduced into this country by the Normans?

2. Give an account of the reign and character of William the Conqueror, Henry I., or John.

3. Compare the attempts made by the kings of England to extend their dominions over Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and the Continent, and examine the reasons for the difference in the success which attended them.

4. Describe the growth of trial by jury.

5. Compare the French war of Edward III. with that of Henry V., in regard to motive, circumstances, and consequences.

6. Give a history of English architecture from the Conquest to the accession of the Tudors, mentioning some of the great buildings which belong to each style.

7. Give instances prior to the reign of Henry VII. of parliamentary interference with (a) the succession to the crown, (b) the prerogativé of declaring war, (c) the levying of taxes, (d) the expenditure of the public revenue, (e) the appointment of the king's ministers. In what respect does this interference differ in character from that now exercised?

1. Give an account of the reign and character of Henry VIII. or James I.

2. Sketch the growth of naval enterprise in England from the time of Henry VII. to that of James I. (both inclusive), and give a particular account of Raleigh.

3. Give the substance of the Poor Law of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and an account of the legislation on the same subject that had preceded it.

4. Write the life and character of Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell, Lord Burleigh, the first Duke of Buckingham, or Lord Strafford.

5. What was the substance of the Petition of Right, and why was it forced upon the King by the Commons?