but the best French champagne, brandy and Scotch whiskey can be had at prices which to us seem fabulously low. In Manila and in the large centers there are a number of good shops where most of the necessities can be supplied, and the Chinese peddlers will bring almost anything for which you express a desire. Still, there are certain articles, such as shirts, collars and ties of the American styles, boots and shoes that we could wear, which could not be had at all a few months ago. The conditions in that respect are improving rapidly. The natives wear slippers and sandals, or go barefoot. Let us turn now from the grossly material to the more spiritual side of life. The American teachers will, for the most part, be located at some distance from Manila, and they will have to depend for society upon the people of the little towns where they may be located. Of these there will usually be three classes among whom the teachers will be able to find more or less congenial acquaintances. The first will be our own army officers and possibly a few foreign traders or merchants. If the town is large enough to be a garrison there will be at least a captain, two lieutenants, and a surgeon. Next will be the priests, native teacher, doctors, and advocates. Among them will be found many who are justly respected for right wise living and some learning. They are usually able to speak Spanish, and altho a knowledge of that language is not absolutely necessary, as the work of instruction is all to be in English, and very few of the natives know any Spanish, yet it is highly desirable in order to enjoy the society of the better educated people of the country. The third will be the well-to-do or even wealthy natives or mestizo planters. The name mestizo is applied to persons having some Chinese blood. The wealthy planters live in great luxury. Their houses, shaded by lofty cocoanut palms and rustling bamboo are often large and pretentious. They are not infrequently filled with handsomely carved hard wood furniture, their tables glisten with cut glass and fine porcelain from Dresden or Paris, and universally groan under the burden of good fare. Not infrequently a native orchestra drawn from the tenants of the estate provides music for feasting or for dancing. The natives have a great talent for music. The proprietors of these estates are often gentlemen of the most courtly manners. Many among them have been educated abroad. Spain was the favorite place to which the rich planter sent his son to be trained. They lead, in a way, the same life that was led by the Spanish grandee of years gone by. The ladies, often strikingly pretty, and this is especially the case with the mestizos, are particularly dainty in their native costumes. The native woman's dress, itself picturesque and quaintly attractive, lends itself readily to decoration. Embroidery of the most elaborate sort covers waist and skirt, and the richer ones make most elaborate use of the beautiful native fabrics, the jusi and the pina. They are lavish in the use of jewels, and their favorite stones are pearls and diamonds. It is safe to say that even Grau's opera in New York or San Francisco does not call out as rich a display of precious stones as did the governor-general's ball in Manila last New Year. The rich are very lavish in their entertainments, and the whole country side will gather round the leading planter's house to watch the proceedings and to share in the good things that may be given out. The Filipinos are intensely religious, and the Roman Catholic Church has retained there all its old pomp and pageantry. All the natives participate in the great festivities of the church, and in each town the festal day of the patron saint is scrupulously observed. The various observances of the church make up a large part of the life of all the people. The faith of the Romish Church has been ingrained in the Filipino nature both by precept and by the powerful influence of heredity. It has been bred in the bone and instilled into the blood with the ever increasing force in each of the many generations which have succeeded one another since the first cross was raised in Cebu, 380 years ago. Religious processions are one of the marked features of life everywhere, and I shall endeavor to describe very briefly one that I witnessed in Manila. It was the festival of the Patron Saint of the Philippine Islands. The sacred images of the virgin and of the greater of the saints had been taken from their sanctuaries and, borne aloft on the shoulders of acolytes gowned in red and white, were carried in solemn procession thru the streets. Each of the images was richly bedecked in silken robes, heavy with gold embroidery or of gold brocade. The robes were studded with diamonds, pearls, and other precious stones; above their heads were halos of gold richly set with flashing stones, while diamond necklaces, bracelets, and rings added to their glory. Each image stood upon a heavy pedestal of silver from which rose dozens of silver and gold candlesticks with burning tapers sheltered by cut glass globes. Behind the struggling red and white robed acolytes, who staggered along under the heavy burden of each image, came the priests, monks, or nuns in direct attendance on that image, while thousands of men with reverently bared heads, and thousands of women with their heads as reverently covered either with the black silken mantella or the more common panuela of sinamay, each with a tall lighted taper in hand and each dressed in his or her best, fell into line on each side and marched along to the solemn music played by the several church bands or to the chant of the priests. On either side, in open file at ten paces apart, marched a line of American soldiers in yellow kaki suits, with spiked bayonets, grim reminders at once of the troublous times which had passed during the five years since this festival had been last fully celebrated, and of the protection that the American government is bound to guarantee to the peaceful pursuits of the people whether religious or other. The procession, brilliant with its myriads of starlike tapers, wound its way thru the tortuous streets of the old city, along the medieaval walls out and in again at the arched gates, over the bridges which cross the now grass grown moats, much, as I imagine, similar processions have done for over three hundred years. Finally, with slow and lagging footsteps the weary acolytes carried the images to their sanctified nitches in the great churches, the organs rolled out the evening anthem, and the priest began the solemn closing services. The people, both those who had followed and those who in great throngs had reverently watched it pass, assembled in their various places of worship. The teacher, who to succeed, must know something of the spiritual life of his pupils, will do well to watch them at their religious exercises. For long years to come the educational department of the Philippines will be struggling with great difficulties, and the life of a teacher there will be an arduous one. The disturbed condition of the country, the disorder of commerce and industry, the impossibility of securing comfortable quarters for teachers and schools, the lack of local funds, the conservatism of the people, their hesitancy to take the initiative, their habit of leaning on the government, the absence of a common language, the difficulty of finding suitable text-books, these are some of the discouragements enumerated in a recent letter to me from General Superintendent Atkinson. On the other hand are many hopeful signs, such as a strong desire on the part of the people for education, great naturai capacity, eagerness to acquire English, now the official language, great interest in all educational matters, and the coincidence of American and Filipino interests in the schools. In conclusion, there is a sentence more I wish to quote from Mr. Atkinson. He says: "There is one thing I wish to emphasize, and that is, no more women teachers are wanted. The unsettled condition of the country, and the hardships of life in the provinces have proven that these islands are no place for even a man who has not more than his fair share of pluck." That is his practical way of stating the universal truth that no great cause is ever won without a great sacrifice and, possibly, some martyrdom. Ethics in The Grades. BY JAMES A. FOSHAY. At a teachers' institute, held recently, the conductor called attention to the three great subjects of study. One of the teachers asked him to name these subjects; and he, in turn, called upon one of the prominent teachers present for an opinion. The answer came, "Reading, Spelling, and Arithmetic." A large number assented to these subjects. The conductor then said that a distinction should be made, and asked those present to think of the studies most educative. The conclusion finally reached, was that there are many well educated people who are known to be poor spellers. Spelling was left out. Another point was made, that well educated people are marked as thinkers. When an individual is described to us as an educated person, we do not think of him as one skilled in arithmetic, grammar, geography, drawing, or music. Some one then suggested that a person's education was shown by his language. The point made was that such a one must not only have a vocabulary, and know the uses of many words, but that he must have thought. The conductor now took up the subject, making the application of these principles, and it is said that he left a deep impression upon his hearers. One of the teachers remarked that she had thought that the children went to school to learn to read, write, and cipher, but that the conductor had put a higher construction upon the teacher's work. To teach something outside of books, - to train the children to think, to give them power to express themselves, and at the same time have in view the formation of character, the training of the moral side of the children, -these should be the principal aims of the teacher; and to this end, reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic, etc., are taught. The great question, which has been before our people from time immemorial is, "What shall be taught in the public schools?" And while we may not all agree as to what are the necessary subjects, yet we do all believe that the chief end of a wise educational policy is to develop individual effort and inclination, to establish habits of industry, and above all, to inculcate sound principles, which shall grow into good moral character. While it is not our business in the grammar grades to make lawyers, physicians, merchants, or tradesmen, only in so far as we may aid in doing so by general preparation, it is our business to make men, to develop and discipline American character. It is far more important to understand how to make of a boy a good man than a good scholar. To the parent who is solicitous for the future of his children, this point is of greatest interest. If we bar the realm of moral training from the pupil, in our search for secular education, we make him one-sided; a part of his nature will not have been properly cared for. If we could give our pupils all the philosophy of Bacon, or the genius of Shakespeare, indeed, if it were possible to concentrate all these in every child, he would not be well educated unless his moral nature, too, had been trained. To become the vigorous, well-rounded man, he must have developed the fundamental elements which make for true manhood. "The highest mental development requires the mind to be occupied with elevating thoughts, for what food is to the body, thought is to the mind, and as the health of the body depends upon the quality of its food, so the health of the mind depends upon the quality of its thought." It is, indeed, a sad sight to find a brilliant boy, strong and vigorous in mind and body, but with a dead conscience. We desire to emphasize the value of character culture, and that the influence of a pure life is a potent agent to assist in the development of the mind, and to cultivate the principles of right living. We then conclude that the relation of the school to the correct development of character should at all times be practical, for many pupils must depend solely upon the force of the teacher's character to lift them out of the meshes of dishonesty and depravity. Then "O'er wayward children woulds't you hold firm rule, And sun thee in the light of happy faces? Love, Hope, and Patience, these three must be thy graces, Montaigne says: "It is not a soul, it is not a body, we are training up, but a man, and we cannot divide him." The true educator ever holds to this unity, as he trains the physical, moral, and mental growth of the children. Hegel says: "The end of all education is ethical." The great end to be accomplished in our educational field is to make good American citizens. The true theory of education is the development of the head, hand, and heart, or, as it is often quoted, the intellectual, manual, and moral. At present we are giving most attention to the head. Manual training educates the head and hand simultaneously, but that which is represented by heart education receives comparatively little attention. Greater demands are made upon teachers today than ever before. They are required to teach, not only a great variety of subjects, but it is necessary that they should have a wide acquaintance with every subject they teach; that which is above and beyond the work of the class. Still, the underlying principle of all teaching, is the formation of character, to make men and women. Amid all the demands upon the teacher's time, the public is asking, with increasing interest, something better than book knowledge, something more than what is obtained in books, or from the general recitation upon a subject. The discipline of today is very different from that of twenty-five, fifteen, or even ten years ago. Terrorism is banished from the schoolroom, and corporal punishment is being reduced to the minimum. The power of the teacher is shown in sympathy and love. The world is everywhere seeking for high ideals and noble personalities. Boards of education are asking, not so much for scholars, as for noble men and women. And, as such a small percentage of pupils in the public schools ever reach the high school, the subject of moral education should be emphatically taught in the kindergarten, primary, and grammar grades. We have learned that it is not the knowledge alone, nor the training passed thru to obtain it, which makes the true teacher, but, as in all other departments of life, it is largely the personality, a very important factor in the formation of character. Many children come to us from homes where the finer graces and qualities of life are unknown, and the teacher is the first person with whom the children come in contact, who has the finer and more beautiful graces of life. She must take the mischievous boy or girl, full of life, thoughtless, sometimes pert, often obstructive, and make of him, or her, a bright man, a sacrificing father, an exemplary neighbor, or a cultured lady, and sympathizing friend. To do this, she must impress them with the feeling that there are high ideals which may be attained, and that constant striving will bring its own reward. Occasionally a teacher is criticised for showing coarseness and ill-manners. Then the apology is made, "He does not mean what he says," or, "He means well." It is frequently a good thing to have some one make an apology for his rudeness. If it is tinentional, his certificate should be revoked, and he should not be permitted to be in the company of good society. If he means well, he should do well. Politeness should be learned in youth, and example is better than precept. The teacher must be, as well as do. Children should have high ideals. Their ideals often become the controlling motives or moral force. You remember how Ernest, in "The Great Stone Face," by constantly admiring and contemplating the face, its dignity and benevolence, came, all unconsciously, to possess the same qualities, and be transformed, until he at last stood revealed as the long-promised one who should be like the Great Stone Face. So the unrealized self is the unseen and all-powerful force that puts the will under subjection, and determines the conduct and character. If one's interest is developed along one line only, he will grow along that line, and become a narrow man. It is important that the teacher and parent should have in mind what is meant by character building, in order to give a well-rounded and harmonious development. Students of education, the deepest thinkers along educational lines, agree that there are no influences for greater help than art and literature. Literature is a means of education of the heart, because its influence is easily secured. We see a beautiful picture or statue which impresses us, and we leave it, but its influence goes with us thru life. The poet speaks with full power as often as we repeat his words, or think his thoughts. We may learn what we will, but the best should be learned and taken with us. Pupils should be induced to willingly memorize selections which are full of enthusiasm and inspiration. Good seed should be sown, that there may not be room for evil to exist. The young mind is ready to worship an ideal, good or bad. Instead of the ideal being a pirate or prizefighter, let him be a statesman or inventor. Assist in giving the children something noble to think about, and that will suppress much of the undesirable which seems to exist in their minds. I believe the greatest obstacle in the way of the dissemination of educational principles is the view taken by many of our people, that the essentials of education are limited to such subjects as reading, arithmetic, and geography. We not unfrequently see that the possession of knowledge in these branches alone may be a detriment to a man or woman, especially if it has been obtained at the expense of physical and moral habits. Good health is of greatest importance, and next to it, or on a par with it, is the training of the child's moral nature. That which stands first, and sums up all is, have a good school. Have a good school, and you help in a large degree to make good citizens. A school should be well managed or disciplined. The primary object of all discipline is the formation of character; and there is no need of attempting to teach without having good order. "Order is Heaven's first law," and without it there can be no attention, and hence no progress along proper lines. Order means systematic work, and shows activity and life, not necessarily being quiet. Children are governed by the teacher's continual watch-care, and the parents' guidance; and the confidence in the pupil's desire to do |