[Footnote A: I have since written a volume for juvenile schools; where the principles are carried out. This can be had of the publisher.]
Having in this manner told the children as simply as possible, a little about each country, the teacher should then tell the principal rivers; thus: The principal rivers of England are, the Thames, the Severn, the Trent, the Mersey. London, the capital of England, is is built on the banks of the River Thames; and ships from all parts of the world sail up this river, to bring us various things which we could not get without sending to other countries for them; such as tea and coffee and sugar. The principal rivers of France are, the Seine and the Rhone; the Seine is the river on which the capital of France, Paris, is built. The principal rivers of Russia are, the Wolga, the Don, the Nieper, the Dwina, and the Vistula. The Wolga is a very great river, being three thousand miles long. The Rhine, which is one of the largest rivers in Europe, rises in Switzerland. The principal rivers of Italy are, the Po, the Arno, and the Tiber; the chief town of Italy, Rome, is built on the banks of the Tiber. Rome was once the greatest city in the world. The principal rivers of Germany are, the Danube, the Rhine, and the Elbe; of Scotland, the Clyde and Tweed; of Ireland, the Shannon, Barrow, Boyne, Suire, and Nore. The capital of Ireland, Dublin, is built on a small river called the Liffey. The principal rivers of Turkey are, the Danube and the Don; of Spain, the Guidalquiver; of Portugal, the Tagus, on which the chief town, Lisbon, is built; and of Saxony, the Iser. In the same manner the children may receive instruction fitted for their tender understanding, concerning the other parts of the globe, always keeping in mind that, unless they are made to comprehend thoroughly what is given to them, it is quite useless to attempt to give them the lessons at all. When giving the lessons on African costumes, the teacher should explain in the simplest manner, that the Egyptian Bey is the chief governor of a country in Africa called Egypt; that Africa is one of the four great parts into which our earth is divided; that the Nile is a great river flowing through Egypt, which, at certain times of the year, overflows its banks, and that this fertilizes the ground, and causes the corn to grow, which, but for this, would be withered with the sun, because but very little rain ever falls in Egypt; that the cause of the Nile overflowing its banks is, the great rains which fall in the countries from whence the Nile flows: that the Ashantee is an inhabitant of another country of Africa, where the people are very ignorant, and do not know as much as the little children of an infant school: that the Algerine lives in a part of Africa called Algiers: the people there are very wicked and cruel, and used at one time to take the ships of every other country that they met on the seas, and make slaves of the people they found in them; but they cannot do so now, because the French have conquered them, and taken all their ships from them: that the Bedouin Arabs are people who rove about from place to place, amongst the great sandy deserts of Africa, and rob travellers who are passing over those deserts: the teacher should explain that these deserts are very large places, covered with sand, and the sun is so hot that no tree or shrub, or grass, will grow there, and there is no water to be had, so that travellers carry water in leathern bottles on the backs of camels; that camels are large animals, much larger than a horse, which are very useful in those warm countries, because they can carry very heavy loads on their backs, and go a great time without water. The Copts woman should be pointed out to the children, and notice should be taken of the large veil before her face. The Mameluke should be pointed out as belonging to a fierce tribe of soldiers. When speaking of the natives of Morocco, it should be mentioned that the Moors at one time had possession of Spain; that the Maltese is a native of an island called Malta; that Cairo (a picture of a native of which is in the lesson) is the chief city of Egypt. That the Bosjesman, native of Coronna, native of Namacqua, Caffree, native of Tamaka and of Ebo, belong to the savage nations of Africa, of which but little is known, who are of a black colour, and go with very little clothes on them, because the country is so warm.
From the lesson supposed to be at No. 12 lesson-post, a good deal of information may be given. The teacher may be thus supposed to address the children, pointing to each picture, as he describes it.
Little children, this is a picture of negroes: they live in Africa, but are often stolen from their own country to be made slaves of. Africa is a very hot part of the world, and the poor negroes are black, and have short black woolly hair, something like the hair on a black sheep; but we must not laugh at them for this; it was God who made them as well as he made you; and those poor negroes are very mild and quiet people, and like to amuse themselves by singing and dancing. You see the negroes in this picture; they are carrying a black lady in a kind of basket, called a palanquin: a pole goes through this, and they hold it on their shoulders. The next picture represents some of the people who live in a country called Otaheite; they are strong, stout people, and very mild and friendly. They are not black like the negroes; their complexion is of a pale brown, with black eyes and very handsome white teeth. The next picture represents Scotch Highlanders: they live in the cold parts of Scotland; they are very strong and healthy, and able to bear cold and hanger very well. They are fond of playing on the bagpipes. This is a picture of American Indians: they live in America, and are of a reddish colour; they build their huts in the thickest forests, as far from the white men as they can. The next is a picture of East Indians: their country is in the warmest part of Asia, and from it comes a great many beautiful things, such as ladies wear for shawls and dresses; there are a great many people in the East Indies, and twenty-five millions are subject to the Queen of England.
The Laplanders live in a very cold country, called Lapland, in which the ground is covered with snow all the year round; they are very happy notwithstanding, for God gives every people means to be happy, if they are good and love him; they have nice little huts to live in, and sledges to travel with, which are drawn by rein-deer—we will read about the rein-deer by and by. The Laplanders are kind to strangers, and are very brave, although they are the smallest people in the world.
This is a picture of Greeks: they were once a very great and powerful people, but afterwards the Turks conquered them; they have now, however, a king of their own.
The Persians, of whom this is a picture, live in a country of Asia called Persia, from whence the most beautiful silks, carpets, leather, gold and silver lace, and pearls, are brought. The Persian women are very handsome, and wear the most beautiful clothes of any women in the world—we should not like them the better for this, for handsome faces and fine clothes will not make people good or happy, unless they try to be so themselves.
This is a picture of the natives of the Sandwich islands: they are a very friendly people, and live together without fighting or quarrelling; they make mats and canoes, and the women make cloth.
The Turks (this is a picture of some of them) are very fine handsome people; they wear very long beards; and they shave their heads and wear white turbans instead of hair; they are very fond of drinking coffee and smoking from great long pipes.
The English are represented in this picture: you are English children—England is a very great country, and the Queen of England has many ships in every part of the world; and a great many places, many thousand miles away, belong to England.