The Infant System
by Samuel Wilderspin · English · Gutenberg #10985 · 718,075 chars · public domain (US)
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Infant System
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: The Infant System
Author: Samuel Wilderspin
Release date: February 1, 2004 [eBook #10985]
Most recently updated: October 28, 2024
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10985
Credits: Produced by Stan Goodman, Josephine Paolucci and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INFANT SYSTEM ***
[Illustration]
THE INFANT SYSTEM,
FOR
DEVELOPING THE INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL POWERS OF ALL CHILDREN,
FROM ONE TO SEVEN YEARS OF AGE
BY SAMUEL WILDERSPIN, INVENTOR OF THE SYSTEM OF INFANT TRAINING.
"Whoso shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me."
_Matt_. xviii. 5.
"Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones." _Matt_.
xvii. 10.
EIGHTH EDITION, CAREFULLY REVISED.
1852.
PREFACE
In again presenting this volume to the world, I trust I feel thankful
to God for the favour with which the Infant System has been received,
and for all the aid I have enjoyed in my course of labour. Had the
measures I originated for the development of the infant mind, and the
improvement of the moral character, been sanctioned at first, as many
now think they should have been, their progress would, undoubtedly,
have been far greater; but when I consider what has been accomplished
under the divine benediction, and amid greater difficulties than ever
beset the path of an individual similarly occupied, I know not how to
express the gratitude of which I am conscious. It seems proper and
even necessary to remark, that the system explained in this volume, is
the result of many years of labour. Thousands of children have been
attentively observed, and for the necessities that arose in their
instruction, provision has been made. Others have doubtless reached
some of the conclusions at which I have arrived, but this is only
another instance of the coincidence in judgment and effort, often
discoverable in persons far apart, whose attention has been directed
to similiar subjects; but with the exception of the elliptical plan,
devised by Dr. Gilchrist, I am not aware that I owe an idea or
contrivance to any individual whatever. Upwards of twenty-five
thousand children have been now under my own care, in various parts of
the United Kingdom, whose age has not exceeded six years; myself, my
daughters, and my agents, have organized many score of schools, and
thus I have had opportunities of studying the infant mind and heart,
such as none of my contemporaries have ever possessed.
Still I am aware I have much to learn. I am far less satisfied with
the extent of my knowledge, and far less confident of its perfection
and completeness now than I was in the earlier part of my course.
The whole energies of my mind, however, having been thrown upon the
subject, and the whole of my time for the third of a century having
been zealously devoted to it, I trust the volume will contain
knowledge of a more plain, simple, and practical character than is
elsewhere to be found:--perhaps it may not be presumption to say than
_can_ elsewhere be found. Should I have the pleasure to labour for
years to come, I trust I shall have much more to communicate on the
subject.
Two editions of this work in its former state have been printed in
German; and it has also been reprinted in America. I have, however,
felt it due to the friends of education, to make this volume as
complete as possible, and though still occasionally engaged in
superintending and organizing schools, I have felt it necessary to
revise this eighth edition very carefully throughout, and commence it
with a new and additional chapter.
_Moor Cottage,
Westgate Common,
Wakefield,
Nov. 1552_.
A FEW TESTIMONIALS TO THE INFANT SYSTEM.
It is said that we are aiming at carrying education too far; that we
are drawing it out to an extravagant length, and that, not satisfied
with dispensing education to children also have attained what in
former times was thought a proper age, we are now anxious to educate
mere infants, incapable of receiving benefit from such instruction.
This objection may be answered in two ways. In the first place, it
should be observed, that the objection comes from those very persons
who object to education being given to children when they arrive at a
more advanced period, on the ground that their parents then begin to
find them useful in labour, and consequently cannot spare so much of
their time as might be requisite: surely, that, the education of the
children should commence at that time when their labour can be of
value to their parents. But the other answer, in my opinion, is still
more decisive: it is found even at the early age of seven or eight,
that children are not void of those propensities, which are the
forerunners of vice, and I can give no better illustration of this,
than the fact of a child only eight years old, being convicted of a
capital offence at our tribunals of justice; when, therefore, I find
that at this early period of life, these habits of vice are formed, it
seems to me that we ought to begin still earlier to store their minds
with such tastes, and to instruct them in such a manner as to exclude
the admission of those practises that lead to such early crime and
depravity. A Noble friend has most justly stated, that it is not with
the experiences of yesterday that we come armed to the contest: it is
not a speculation that we are bringing forward to your notice, but an
experiment.'--_The Lord Chancellor_.
"In leaving poor children to the care of their parents, neglect is the
least that happens; it too frequently occurs that they are turned over
to delegates, where they meet with the worst treatment; so that we do
not in fact come so much into contact with the parents themselves as
with those delegates, who are so utterly unfit for the office they
undertake. Infant Schools, however, have completely succeeded, not
only in the negative plan they had in view, of keeping the children
out of vice and mischief, but even to the extent of engrafting
in their minds at an early age those principles of virtue, which
capacitated them for receiving a further stage of instruction at a
more advanced school, and finally, as they approached manhood, to be
ripened into the noblest sentiments of probity and integrity."--_The
Marquis of Lansdowne_.
"I am a zealous friend, upon conviction, to Infant Schools for the
children of the poor. No person who has not himself watched them, can
form an adequate action of what these institutions, when judiciously
conducted, may effect in forming the tempers and habits of young
children; in giving them, not so much actual knowledge, as that which
at their age is more important, the habit and faculty of acquiring it;
and it correcting those moral defects which neglect or injudicious
treatment would soon confirm and render incurable. The early age at
which children are taken out of our National Schools, is an additional
reason for commencing a regular and systematic discipline of their
minds and wills, as soon as they are capable of profiting by it; and
that is at the very earliest opening of the understanding, and at the
first manifestation of a corrupt nature in the shape of a childish
petulance and waywardness."--_The Bishop of London_.
"The claims of this Institution were of such a nature, that they
required no recommendation but a full statement of them. The
foundation of its happy results had been pointed out to exist in the
principles of policy, and of religion paramount to all policy--a
religion that appealed to every feeling of human nature. He would
recommend this charity, as one less attended with perplexity in its
operations or doubt as to its utility, than many, which, though
established with the best possible motives, frequently failed in
effecting the good proposed; but in this the most acute opponent could
not discover any mischief that would arise from its success."--_Sir
James Mackintosh_.
"I have always thought that that man that would be the greatest
benefactor to his country who did most for the suppression of crime;
this I am sorry to say, our legislature have neglected in a great
degree, while they have readily employed themselves in providing for
its punishment. Those acquainted with our prisons must know that those
found to have sunk deepest into vice and crime were persons who had
never received any education, moral or religious. In the Refuge for
the Destitute, an exact account was kept, and it was found that of the
great mass of culprits sent there by the magistrates on account of
their youth, two-thirds were the children of parents who had no
opportunity of educating them. By this institution they would at once
promote virtue and prevent vice."--_Dr. Lushington_.
"The real fact is, that the character of all mankind is formed very
early--much earlier than might be supposed: at the age of two or three
years, dispositions were found in children of a description the most
objectionable. In these schools the principles of mutual kindness and
assistance were carried as far as could well be conceived, and it was
most delightful to regard the conduct of the children towards each
other. Instead of opposition, they displayed mutual good-will,
inculcated to the greatest degree, so as to destroy in the minds of
the children that selfishness which was the bane of our nature. Such
effects appeared almost to realize the golden age, for the children
appeared always happy, and never so happy as when attending the
schools."--_W. Smith, Esq. M.P_.
"I feel, having witnessed the happy effects produced by these schools,
a warm zeal in support of such institutions. We cannot begin too soon
to impress religions principles on the minds of the young; it is an
affecting consideration, that while great statesmen have been busied
in their closets on some fine scheme or speculation, they have
neglected these salutary principles which the Almighty has given to
mankind. It is remarkable how eagerly the young mind receives the
histories of the Bible, and how well they are fitted to work on their
dispositions; and when I consider the miserable state of the poor, I
cannot but feel that the rich are in some degree, the authors of it,
in having neglected to afford them the means of education."--_W.
Wilberforce, Esq_.
"I am much delighted with what I have seen and heard. I confess I
entertained doubts of the practicability of the Infant School System,
but these doubts have this day been removed. If in _one month_ so much
can be done, what might not be expected from further training? I now
doubt no longer, and anticipate from the extension of such schools a
vast improvement in the morals and religion of the humble classes. I
conclude with moving a vote of thanks to Mr. Wilderspin."--_Lord Chief
Justice Clerk_.
"Sir John Sinclair, rose, and in addressing Mr. Wilderspin, said, that
he was astonished with the results of five weeks training in these
perfect infants. He had never seen a greater prodigy. He too had had
his prejudices--his doubts of the possibility of infant education;
but these doubts had now vanished, and for ever. The arrangements
for bodily exercise, connected with mental and moral improvement,
especially delighted him. He was amused as well as instructed by the
well-applied admixture of diverting expedients to keep the children
alive and alert. It was 'seria mixta jocis,' but there was practical
sense in the seemingly most frivolous part of the plan. He trusted
that the time was not far distant when there should be many such
institutions. He called on all present to join him in returning
cordial thanks to Mr. Wilderspin."--_Scotsman_.
"The grand secret of the improvement found to be derived from these
establishments, is their constant tendency to remove evil example and
misery from the little creatures during almost the whole of their
waking hours. Consider how a child belonging to one of these passes
his day. As soon as he is up, the indispensable condition, and the
only one of his admission to the school, that of clean face and hands,
is enforced, and the mother, in order to be relieved of the care of
him during the, day, is obliged to have him washed. He then leaves the
abode of filth and intemperance, and squalid poverty, and ill-temper,
for a clean, airy place, pleasant in summer, warm and dry in winter;
and where he sees not a face that is not lighted up with the smile of
kindness towards him. His whole day is passed in amusing exercises, or
interesting instruction; and he returns at evening-tide fatigued and
ready for his bed, so that the scenes passing at his comfortless home
make a slight impression on his mind or on his spirits."--_Edinburgh
Review_.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
RETROSPECT OF MY CAREER.
_Days and scenes of childhood--Parental care--Power of early
impressions--School experience--Commencements in business--Sunday
school teaching and its results--Experiment on a large
scale--Development of means and invention of implements--Heavy
bereavement--Propagation of the system of education in the
neighbourhood of London, and ultimately in most of the principal
places in England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland--Misapprehension
and perversion of the principles of infant education--Signs of
advancement--Hope for the future_
CHAPTER II.
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY.
_Teachers of theft--Children the dupes of the profligate--An effort at
detection--Afflicting cases of early depravity--Progress of a young
delinquent--Children employed in theft by their parents--Ingenuity of
juvenile thieves--Results of an early tuition in crime--The juvenile
thief incorrigible--Facility of disposing of stolen property--A
hardened child--Parents robbed by their children--A youthful
suicide--A youthful murderer_
CHAPTER III.
CAUSES OF EARLY CRIME.
_Degraded condition of parents--Dreadful effects of
drunkenness--Neglect of children inevitable and wilful--The tutorship
of wicked companions--Tricks of pantomines injurious--Mischiefs
arising from sending children to pawnbrokers--Fairs demoralizing--All
kinds of begging to be repressed_
CHAPTER IV.
REMEDY FOR EXISTING EVILS.
_Means long in operation important--Prisons awfully
corrupting--Deplorable condition of those released from
jail--Education of the infant poor--Its beneficial results--Cases
of inviolable honesty--Appeal of Mr. Serjeant Bosanquet--The
infant school an asylum from accident and a prevention of
various evils--Obstacles in the way of married persons obtaining
employment--Arguments for the plan of infant training--Prevalence of
profane swearing--The example often shewn by parents--Anecdote in
illustration--Parents ill used by their young children--Christian-like
wish of George III.--Education for poor children still objected
to--Folly of such objection illustrated--Lectures on the subject of
infant training_
CHAPTER V.
PRINCIPLES OF INFANT EDUCATION.
_Moral treatment--Importance of exercise--Play-ground
indispensable--The education of nature and human education should
be joined--Mental development--Children should think for
themselves--Intellectual food adapted for children--A spirit
of enquiry should be excited--Gradual development of the young
mind--Neglect of moral treatment--Inefficacy of maxims learned
by rote--Influence of love--The play-ground a field of
observation--Respect of private property inculcated--Force of
conscience on the alert--Anecdote--Advantages of a strict regard for
truth--The simple truths of the Bible fit for children_
CHAPTER VI.
REQUISITES FOR AN INFANT SCHOOL.
_The master and mistress should reside on the premises--Interior
arrangements--A school and its furniture--Lesson-posts and
lessons--The younger children should not be separated from the
older--Play-ground arrangements--Rotary swing--Its management and
advantages_
CHAPTER VII.
QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHERS.
_Teachers should practice what they teach--Necessity of patience--Mere
automatons will not do for infant teachers--Disadvantage of using
excessive restraint--A master and mistress more efficient than two
mistresses--Objections to the sole government of females--Too frequent
use of the divine names should be avoided--General observations_
CHAPTER VIII.
HINTS FOR CONDUCTING AN INFANT SCHOOL.
_Classification--Getting the children into order--Language--Lessons
on objects--Rules to be observed by parents--Daily routine of
instruction--Opening prayer and hymn--Object or developing
lessons--Synopsis of a week's instruction--Cleanliness--Never frighten
children--Guard against forgetfulness--Observe punctuality--Be
strictly accurate in your expressions--Guard against the entrance of
disease--Maxims for teachers--Resolutions_
CHAPTER IX.
GALLERY TEACHING.--MORAL AND RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION.
_Original intention of the gallery--What lessons are adapted for
it--Its misapplication--Selection of teachers--Observations--Gallery
lessons--on a feather--a spider--a piece of bog turf--a piece of
coal--Observations on the preceding lessons--Scripture lessons in
the gallery--The finding of Moses--Christ with the doctors--Moral
training--Its neglect in most schools--Should be commenced in
infancy--Beneficial effects of real moral culture--Ignorance of
teachers--The gallery most useful in moral training--Specimen of a
moral lesson--Illustrations of moral culture--Anecdotes--Simpson on
moral education--Observations--Hints to teachers_
CHAPTER X.
REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS.
_Necessity of some punishment--Rewards to monitors--Trial by
jury--Illustrative case--Necessity of firmness--Anecdotes--Playing
the truant--Its evils--Means for prevention--Devices for
punishment--Sympathy encouraged--Evil of expelling children--Case of
Hartley--Difficulty of legislating for rewards and punishments--Badges
of distinction not necessary_
CHAPTER XI.
LANGUAGE.
_Means for conveying instruction--Method of teaching the alphabet
in connection with objects--Spelling--Reading--Developing
lessons--Reading lessons in natural history--The arithmeticon--Brass
letters--Their uses_
CHAPTER XXI.
ARITHMETIC.
_The arithmeticon--How applied--Numeration--Addition--Subtraction
--Multiplication--Division--Fractions--Arithmetical
tables--Arithmetical songs--Observations_
CHAPTER XIII.
FORM, POSITION, AND SIZE.
_Method of instruction--Geometrical song--Anecdotes--Size--Long
measure--Observations_
CHAPTER XIV.
GEOGRAPHY.
_Its attraction for children--Sacred geography--Geographical
song--Lessons on geography_
CHAPTER XV.
PICTURES AND CONVERSATIONS.
_Pictures--Religious instruction--Specimens of picture lessons
on Scripture and natural history--Other means of religious
instruction--Effects of religious instruction--Observations_
CHAPTER XVI.
ON TEACHING BY OBJECTS.
_Object boards--Utility of this method_
CHAPTER XVII.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION.
_Exercise--Various positions--Exercise blended with instruction
Arithmetical and geometrical amusements_
CHAPTER XVIII.
MUSIC.
_Infant ditties--Songs on natural history--Moral lessons in
verse--Influence of music in softening the feelings--Illustrative
anecdote_
CHAPTER XIX.
GRAMMAR.
_Method of instruction--Grammatical rhymes_
CHAPTER XX.
THE ELLIPTICAL PLAN.
_Method Explained--Its success_
CHAPTER XXI.
REMARKS ON SCHOOLS.
_National schools--British and foreign societies--Sunday
schools--Observations_
CHAPTER XXII.
HINTS ON NURSERY EDUCATION.
_Introduction to botany--First lessons in natural history--First
truths of astronomy--Geographical instruction--Conclusion_
THE INFANT SYSTEM.
* * * * *
CHAPTER I.
RETROSPECT OF MY CAREER.
_Days and scenes of childhood--Parental care--Power of
early impressions--School experience--Commencement in
business--Sunday-school teaching and its results--Experiment on a
large scale--Development of plans and invention of implements--Heavy
bereavement--Propagation of the system of education, in the
neighborhood of London, and ultimately in most of the principal
places in England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland--Misapprehension
and perversion of the principles of infant education--Signs of
advancement--Hope for the future_.
* * * * *
Be it a weakness, it deserves some praise,
We love the play-place of our early days;
The scene is touching."--_Cowper_
"What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under
the sun?"--_Ecclesiastes i. 3_.
* * * * *
How came you to think of the Infant School system of teaching?--is
a question that I have often been asked; and my friends think it
advisable that it should, in part at least, be answered. I proceed
therefore, in compliance with their wishes, to give some little of
the required information in this place, as perhaps it may throw light
upon, or explain more clearly, the fundamental principles laid down
and advocated throughout this volume. In few words, then, I would
reply,--_circumstances_ forced me to it. Born an only child, under
peculiar circumstances, and living in an isolated neighbourhood, I had
no childish companions from infancy; I was, consequently, thrown much
on my own resources, and early became a _thinker_, and in some measure
a contriver too. I beheld a beautiful world around me, full of
everything to admire and to win attention. As soon as I could think at
all, I saw that there must be a Maker, Governor, and Protector of this
world. Such things as had life won my admiration, and thus I became
very fond of animals. Flowers and fruits, stones and minerals, I also
soon learned to observe and to mark their differences. This led to
enquiries as to how they came--where from--who made them? My mother
told me they came from God, that he made them and all things that I
saw; and also that he made herself and me. From that moment I never
doubted His wonderful existence. I could not, nor did I have, at that
age, any correct idea of God; but I soon learned to have elevated
notions of His works, and through them I was led to adore something
invisible--something I was convinced of within, but could not see. My
mother, to my knowledge, never deceived me, or told me an untruth:
therefore, I believed her implicitly; and to this day I never doubted.
So much for the implanting an early _faith_ in the Unseen. But the
beautiful world and the things in it which I saw, and with which I
came in contact, Oh! how wonderful they appeared to me! They were my
companions! Other children were strange to me, and they were not nigh
either to help or to thwart me.
My mother was my oracle during the first six years of childhood,
resolving my difficulties and answering my questions. I was
happy--very happy! and still look back to those days with
indescribable pleasure and satisfaction. I had no tasks. I was not
pestered with _A.B. C_., nor _ab. eb. ib_. From _things_ my parents
chiefly taught me my first lessons, and they have been as durable as
life. For days and weeks did I study such lessons. My parents waited
till I asked for information, and when it was required it was never
denied. The world and the wonders in it formed as it were a heaven to
me. I am told I gave but little trouble at this age. In the beautiful
fields and wild coppices about Hornsey, as yet unencroached upon by
suburban extension; and by the side of the then solitary banks of the
New River, I was always to be found. In cold and wet weather I had
a stock of similar lessons in my home. Small live animals were my
constant companions; they taught me that love begets love. I did love
and delight in them, and when they died I mourned their loss. Every
day brought me new information, which my parents perfected. At length
the alphabet was mastered, and afterwards spelling, reading, and
so forth. My mind _being thus previously filled with ideas_, the
acquirement of words and abstract terms became less irksome, and I
cannot remember that thus far it cost me any trouble, much less pain.
Information of every kind fit for childhood then really gave me
pleasure. No doubt I am greatly indebted to my parents for their
judicious management. My father always in the evening, took great
pains to explain things to me; he nurtured but never crammed; he knew
when to teach and when to let alone. Unfortunately, through very
peculiar circumstances, I was removed from the immediate care and
superintendence of both parents rather early in life; and, at an age
the most dangerous, was left to grapple nearly alone with the wide
world and the beings in it, with little of either parental guidance.
It was then I saw the immense importance and advantage of early
impressions. To me they were of incalculable benefit, and no doubt
led, when I became a man, to the thoughts which ended in the
development and practical working of the Infant System and method of
education.
Schools for infants then existed, but what were they? Simply
dame-schools, with the hornbook for boys and girls, and perhaps a
little sewing for the latter. Their sign was--"Children taught to read
and work here," and their furniture the cap and bells, the rod in
pickle, and a corner for dunces. The finishing stroke was seen in the
parlour of the inn, or the farm-house, in the shape of needlework as a
samplar;--"Lydia Languish, her work, done at ---- school, in the year
of our Lord, 1809." Such were the schools in country places then in
existence, the little ones doing nothing. In after-life, I thought
a remedy was required and might be found, and therefore set about
working it out. How it was done shall be hereafter explained.
I knew my own infant state had been a happy one, and I wondered to see
children crying to go to school, when learning had been such a delight
to me. But I soon ceased to wonder when I was sent there myself. At my
first school I can truly say I learnt nothing, except it be that I had
especially the sense of feeling. I often had raps with the cane on the
head, across the shoulders, and on the hand, and I found it was mainly
for not learning what the teacher had _forgotten to teach me_. The
terms used were "master" and "mistress," and they were tolerably
appropriate as far as I was concerned, for to me both became objects
of terror, so much so, that for the first time in my life, I really
fretted when the hour of teaching came. My parents were not long in
perceiving this although I did not complain. They told me it was for
my good that I should go to school, and I thoroughly believed them.
Yet I could not understand why it should be associated with so much
dislike and pain on my part, when my first school,--the beautiful
world of nature, had been so lovely, and my first teachers had always
increased the delight by removing my difficulties, and this so much
so that I now longed for evening to come to have fresh light and
instruction given. My father now decided that I should not go to
school, and he became my teacher as before, the world being my great
book. I was delighted with Robinson Crusoe, and this work became my
companion, and to which was added the Pilgrim's Progress. After these,
my great favourite was Buffon's Natural History. I used to go alone,
taking a volume at a time, to read amidst the pleasant country around,
but most frequently in the quiet nooks and retreats of Hornsey Wood.
It seems, however, that I was always watched and superintended by my
mother during these readings and rural rambles, for whenever danger
was near she generally appeared, but seldom otherwise, so that I had
perfect freedom in these matters. I have every reason to believe that
the first seven years of my life laid the basis of all I know that is
worth knowing, and led to the formation of my character and future
career in life. Of my schooling afterwards it is unnecessary to say
much, as it was the usual routine such as others had, but it never
satisfied me, and I even then saw errors throughout the whole, and
this strengthened my first impressions, and tended to mature the
after-thought in me, that something wanted doing and _must be done_.
It is not my intention in this introductory chapter to write an
auto-biography; but my object is simply to show, how one impression
followed another in my case, and what led to it; to point out briefly
the various plans and inventions I had recourse to in carrying out my
views and intentions; and, finally, to allude to their propagation
through the country personally by myself, on purpose to show, in
conclusion, that although infant education has been extensively
adopted, and many of its principles, being based on nature, have been
applied with great success to older children, yet especially in the
case of infants, that strict adherence to nature and simplicity which
is so fundamental and so requisite, has been often overlooked, and in
some cases totally discarded.
It will, I trust, appear from what has been already said, that even
from early childhood I both saw and felt that there was a period in
human life, and that the most important period, as experience has
proved to my full satisfaction, not legislated for, that is, not duly
provided with suitable and appropriate methods of education. To see
this was one thing, to provide a remedy for it and to _invent plans_
for carrying out that remedy, was another. The systems of Bell and of
Lancaster were then commencing operations, but were quite unsuitable
for children under seven years of age at least, and therefore took
little or no cognizance of that early period, which I had been
inwardly convinced was of such eminent importance. I was destined for
business, and served the usual apprenticeship to become qualified for
it, and also continued in it for a short period on my own account.
Even at this time the thought ever haunted me as to what should be
done for young children. At length the germ was developed at one of
the Sunday Schools, which were then rising into general notice. For
years I attended one of these in London, and here circumstances again
befriended me, regarding the matter so frequently in my thoughts. The
teachers mostly preferred having a class to superintend that knew
something, and I being then a junior, it fell to my lot to have a
class that knew little or nothing. I mean nothing that it was the
object of the Sunday-school to teach. It soon appeared clear to me,
that such a class required different treatment to those more advanced,
and especially the _young_ children. Nobody wanted this class, it was
always "to let," if I did not take it. The result was, I always had
it. Others looked to the post of honour, the Bible-class. I soon found
that to talk to such children as I had to teach, in the manner the
others did to the older and more advanced children, was useless, and
thus I was forced to simplify my mode of teaching to suit their state
of apprehension, and now and then even to amuse them. This succeeded
so well, that in the end my class became the popular class, and I
became still further convinced of the desirableness of an _especial
plan for teaching the very young_. I, however, still thought that the
alphabet should be taught first, with the usual things in their order.
At length, shortly after my marriage, which was rather early in life,
an opportunity presented itself for trying an experiment on a larger
scale; from having explained my views on early education to a friend,
I was solicited to take the superintendence of an asylum for young
children, about to be formed in a populous part of London. Having thus
an opportunity of carrying out my wishes, thoughts, and feelings, in
a way that I could not have anticipated, I gave up my connexion with
business, and devoted myself to the object. Great and unforseen
difficulties however had to be encountered. The first week was
dreadful. I began with too many children, and we had six whom the
mothers afterwards confessed they sent to _wean_. These not only cried
themselves, but set all the others crying also, and we regretted
having begun the experiment. At length, driven almost to despair, it
became evident that something new must be done to still the tumult. As
an expedient, I elevated a cap on a pole, which immediately attracted
their attention and occasioned silence. Thus I obtained a clue to
guide me, and my mind instantly perceived one of the most fundamental
principles in infant teaching, in fact of most teaching, and which
long experience has proved true, and that is, to appeal to the SENSES
of the children. After this, every day developed something new to me,
the children became happy beyond my expectations, and my course
onward was gradually progressive. Children and teachers became happy
together; difficulties vanished as we proceeded, and at length my wife
and I made up our minds to devote our whole lives to the perfecting of
our plans, and the carrying them out extensively. The novelty of the
thing drew numbers of visitors to a district, where the carriages of
the nobility and gentry had not been seen before; but the labour to us
was so greatly increased by this, that my wife sunk under it, and I
was left with four young children, to prosecute my plans alone in the
world.
From the day I caught the idea, that a great secret in teaching the
young was to teach through the _senses_, the various implements now in
such general use in infant schools, were step by step invented by me.
Objects of all kinds were introduced, and oral lessons given upon
them, to teach their qualities and properties, and amongst the various
visitors most frequently present at such times, was the gentleman who
has acquired fame by publishing "Lessons on Objects," which little
work has elsewhere been highly commended by me, albeit it came forth
into the world several years after the period I now speak of. To give
such lessons I found it requisite to have the children altogether, so
as better to attract their attention simultaneously. This was first
attempted by placing them at one end of the room, but it was found
inconvenient; then parallel lines were chalked across the floor, and
they sat down in order on these; but though attention was gained, the
posture was unsuitable. Cords were then stretched across to keep them
in proper rank, and various experiments tried with seats, until they
ended in the construction of a permanently fixed gallery of regularly
ascending seats. This implement or structure has now come into almost
universal use in infant schools, and, in fact, they are considered
incomplete without one; and also they are in much request in schools
for children of every age. To give an idea of number through the eye,
I had recourse at first to buttons strung on strings across a frame,
and this led to the substitution of wooden balls on wires, and other
improvements through experience, until the arithmeticon, hereafter
described, was fully formed. It having been found a useful instrument,
the credit of contriving it has been impugned, by liking it to the
Roman Abacus and Chinese Swanpan; but were those instruments like in
structure, or designed especially to teach the multiplication table?
if not, they are no more similar than "a hawk to a hand-saw." The
former I have never seen, and the first time I saw one of the Chinese
instruments was some five or six years ago in the Museum at Hull. The
clapping of hands, the moving of arms, marching in order, and
various other motions, all of which are now become the especial
characteristics of an infant-school, were gradually introduced as
circumstances or nature dictated, partly to obtain simultaneous action
and obedience, and partly to provide that physical exercise which
beings so young perpetually require, and which they are constantly
taking when left free and unrestrained. It is not requisite to make
mention here of the swing--the play grounds--the flower borders--and
various other matters which are fully treated of in the following
portions of this work, further than to add, that they are now
generally adopted in schools, and especially in some of the principal
training establishments in the British Empire. As these plans and
instruments are used by a certain religious infant-school society,
which professes to have imported its system from Switzerland,
where such things never had their origin, I feel it necessary most
emphatically to repeat, that they are entirely of my own invention.
After the severe bereavement mentioned above, I still persevered in
my favourite study, and learned more from my own children than I did
before, having to act in the double capacity of father and mother. I
am well aware of the loss my children sustained by the above calamity.
In the matter of training, nothing can replace a good mother,--and
such indeed she eminently was! I felt the heavy stroke more severely,
and my children did also; but I consoled myself with the reflection,
that my loss was her gain, and that she had lived to witness fruits of
her unparalleled labours, to the thorough abandonment of self, and the
glory of her Maker. "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of these
little ones, ye have done it unto me." Night and day, when I had time
to think, such promises as these cheered and sustained me in doing
what I could for my own motherless children, and more and more
cemented my affections on the children of others, and, finally,
enabled me to mature my plans, and gave me strength and courage to
carry them out, first in the villages and places near London, and,
ultimately, single-handed and alone, through more than a quarter of
a century, in many of the chief cities, towns, and villages of the
United Kingdom. Simply to state this fact is all that is requisite
here to answer my present purpose, and to enlarge more upon it is
needless, as a full detail of the whole career is given in my "Early
Discipline Illustrated; or, the Infant System Progressing and
Successful," third edition, published in 1840, and to which much
more would require adding to bring it down to the present time, if a
further edition should be called for.
That prejudice should assail me, and objections be started as I came
more out into the world, was to be expected. I knew my own intentions,
but the world did not, and I came in for a full share of obloquy and
persecution. This did me much good, and was a preparatory discipline,
to make me careless of the opinion of mankind in the matter, so long
as I felt that I was in the right, and had the approval of my own
conscience. The more I was opposed, the more were my energies lighted
up and strengthened; opposition always sharpened my faculties, instead
of overcoming and depressing me. The whole gradually prospered from
the first, under every disadvantage and notwithstanding the strenuous
efforts of the short-sighted and bigoted. These things laid my first
patrons prostrate, and the Society of great names which followed, was
soon dissolved. Every effort was made by the enemies of true training
and education, to crush the thing in the bud, and not only the thing,
but also the man who developed it and worked it out. Thank God, these
inimical aims did not succeed. Though worldly patrons failed, I had
one Patron who never deserted me, but Who upheld and encouraged me
from first to last, until the end was gained. Not, however, all that
was aimed at, but much of it, and the rest will follow or I am greatly
mistaken. I have in various places seen things that I earnestly
contended for, but which were rejected at the time, at length
established and their value seen. Look at the schools in existence
now, bad as some of them are, and compare them with those which
existed a third of a century ago, and it will be found that they have
progressed, and it may safely be anticipated that they will still
further progress, for there is much need of it. The system pourtrayed
in this book is intended to act on all the faculties of a child,
especially the highest, and to strengthen them at the time the mere
animal part of his nature is weak. The existing schools were not found
fit to take our children when they left us. The dull, monotonous,
sleepy, heavy system pursued, was quite unadapted to advance such
pupils. At this point of the history much damage was done to our
plans. The essence or kernel was omitted and the mere shell retained,
to make infant schools harmonise with the existing ones, instead of
the contrary. There were and are however two great exceptions to
this rule. The Model Schools at Dublin under the Government Board of
Education, and the Glasgow Training Schools for Scotland. At Dublin
all is progression. The infant department is the best in Europe,--I
believe the best in the world. The other departments are equally good
in most things, and are well managed, as far as regards a good secular
education being given, and better I think than any similar institution
in England. At Glasgow the same master whom I taught still exists. I
have not seen the schools for many years, but I hear from those who
have been trained there, that nothing can work better. The Glasgow
Committee, with Mr. Stow at their head, deserve the thanks of the
whole community for having applied the principles on which the Infant
School System is based, to juveniles, and carried out and proved the
practicability of it for the public good. I told them this in lectures
at Glasgow long ago, and exhibited before them children to prove the
truths I promulgated, both there and in other parts of Scotland,
to convince a doubting and cautious public that my views were
practicable. I may add, in passing, that I found the Scotch took
nothing on trust. They would listen to my lectures, but it always
ended in my being obliged to prove it with children. To David Stow
much credit is due, for having written useful books and performed
useful works. I am not the man to deprive him of this his just due,
but I have such faith in the honour of his countrymen in general, that
I believe the time is not far distant when some one of them will give
to me that credit which is fairly and justly due to me with respect to
the educational movements in Scotland. No class of men are better able
to appreciate and understand the principles on which a system of true
education should be based than Scotchmen, and hence, though cautious
in taking up new things, or new views of things, they can do justice
to, and appreciate, that which is worthy of their attention.
At the time I have been speaking of there were no lessons published
suitable for us. I searched the print shops in the metropolis, and
with the aid of drawings from friends, supplied this deficiency. Next
I had suitable lessons printed to accompany them, and also spelling
lessons of such words as could be _acted_ and _explained_. Then
followed suitable reading lessons, prints of objects, and the simple
forms of geometry. When a demand was created for all these, the
publishing trade took them up, and thus the numerous excellent plates
and lessons now published for the purposes of teaching, had their
first origin.
I ant thoroughly convinced that the first seven years of a child's
life is the _golden period_, and if I can induce mankind generally to
think with me, and to act on the principles humbly laid open in the
succeeding chapters of this book, I may feel some consolation that I
have not lived in vain. Sure I am that if the world will only give
man a fair chance, and train him from the beginning with care, with
prudence, with caution, with circumspection, with freedom, and above
all with _love_, he will bear such fruit, under the blessing of God,
as will make even this world as a paradise. From childhood up to age
has this truth been perfecting and strengthening in me, and I have no
more doubt that it is a truth, than I have of my own existence. Who
can look upon a child without admiring it, without loving it? With
my feelings it is impossible! When I compare the Revealed Will of
God,--the Scriptures, with His other Great Book, the book of nature,
which I read so early in life, and read with delight to this present
hour, I see the one illustrates the other. I see that the _best_
ground produces the _rankest weeds_--but not if cultivated. What does
not care do for all things in nature, why not then for man? Let him
run wild through neglect, and undoubtedly he produces weeds; but this,
to my mind, is an argument in his favour, and shews the ground is
capable of producing rich fruits. When we study the true nature of his
mind, with the same assiduity as we now do study the nature of his
body, then will mankind see it in this light, begin at the right
end, and cultivate from the first the beautiful faculties of his
own species. I say beautiful! and are not the budding faculties of
childhood both beautiful and lovely? "Feed my lambs," saith the Lord
Jesus. But, reader, are they all duly fed in this rich, wealthy,
and christian country? How many, on the contrary, are fed with evil
influences, street associations, and are thus poisoned at every pore,
until their being is thoroughly contaminated through neglect, public
and private, and, when not orphans, even parental neglect also; and
then after having increased our county rates, enlarged our prisons,
and built union workhouses (with respect to morals and training for
the young, I say pest-houses) we add ragged schools. We allow them to
become contaminated, and when that is accomplished, we go to work to
undo what has been done. If this does not succeed we punish by law the
poor neglected beings for taking the poisons we really offered them!
Oh, rare consistency in this boasted age of light, and science, and
learning! Let us, therefore, first seek an education worthy of the
name, and then find the best means of carrying it out. What exists at
present is fundamentally defective, especially by beginning too late,
and as regards the plans and principles laid down for infants in many
cases, much has been merely travestied, and many of the most essential
parts entirely set aside or overlooked.
The amount of solid information that may be given to an infant by a
wise and judicious mother, during the first two years only, would
appear to many persons astonishing. I have as clear a recollection of
what my mother taught me at two years old, as I have of that which she
taught me at the age of six. The facts crowd upon me so fast that
I scarcely know where to stop. Those lessons were the germs of the
inventions and babyisms--the hand-clapping, arm-twisting, and the
like--with which the infants are so delighted in their schools, and
which, at the time they were developed, about a third of a century
since, were scouted, and the inventor looked upon as a good natured
simpleton, or a well-meaning fool. I have a rather vivid recollection
of this fact, but in the end, as we proceeded, many who came to sneer,
went away with very different feelings. The plans were for infants,
for infants they answered well, but I wish I could say that no
excresences had grown upon them.
Now the ends to be answered in Infant Education, as intended by me,
are as follows. First, to feed the child's faculties with suitable
food; Second,--to simplify and explain everything, so as to adapt it
properly to those faculties; Third, not to overdo anything, either by
giving too much instruction, or instruction beyond their years, and
thus over-excite the brain, and injure the faculties; and, Fourth,
ever to blend both exercise and amusement with instruction at due
intervals, which is readily effected by a moderate amount of singing,
alternating with the usual motions and evolutions in the schoolroom,
and the unfettered freedom of the play-ground. If these rules be
attended to, the following results are certain,--a higher state of
physical, mental, and moral health. Physical health is essential to
mental vigour if it is to come to manhood. If the physical, mental,
moral, and spiritual constitution be properly acted upon, fed, and
trained, it adds to the happiness of the child; but if this is
not done, it becomes miserable, and as a consequence restless,
troublesome, and mischievous. Such facts were made very evident to me
by the infants under my care in the earlier part of my career, and
also have been fully confirmed throughout it, and they have forced
me as it were to that more lively, interesting, and amusing mode of
instruction, which I have through life endeavoured to propagate.
I found children to be highly delighted with pictures and
object-lessons; hence their value and high importance is so strongly
insisted on in all my books, and the best methods of using them
distinctly laid down. The trouble of rightly using such lessons has
caused them to be almost entirely laid aside in very many existing
infant schools, and in too many instances the mere learning and
repeating of sounds by rote, or what may very properly be called the
"parrot system," has been introduced in their place. But I yet hope
that the good sense of the public will in the end remedy such defects.
In such cases the memory is the only faculty exercised, and that at
the expense of those that are higher. Where this is persisted in, the
infant system is rendered nugatory, and my labours are in vain. It
therefore cannot be too strongly insisted on, and too frequently
repeated, that one of its most fundamental principles, as regards the
unfolding, properly and easily, of the intellectual faculties, is to
communicate _notions_ and _ideas_ rather than words and sounds, or at
least to let them be done together.
As before stated, the gallery had its origin in my desire to teach the
children simultaneously. It enables a teacher more readily to secure
their full attention in all oral lessons, and establishes a sympathy
between them. More real facts may be taught children simultaneously by
the master, than can be taught by all the monitors in a school. The
little infants should always sit at the bottom, and by no means be
confined to another room. They can see and hear all that is going on,
and understand it far more than you would suppose, though they cannot
yet tell all they learn and know; but when the power of speech comes,
they will surprise you with what they have learned. It is therefore a
great error to separate children and cut them off from the advantage
of all object-lessons, and gallery-teaching, because they are the
youngest. They learn more through sympathy and communion with their
five or six year elders, than the most clever adult can teach them. An
infant-school, is, in many respects, a community in a state of nature.
What one does, the other almost involuntarily learns. The merest
infants are not an exception to this rule, and therefore the
separation in many infant-schools of the children, invariably into
two classes, sometimes in two rooms, is a great mistake, and can only
arise from ignorance of the laws under which the young mind
unfolds itself, and a misunderstanding of the first principles of
infant-teaching.
Perhaps one reason that infant-school teaching has not been kept up to
its proper point and true standing, is, the desire to make a striking
shew before the visitors in a school. I fear the grounds for this
opinion are not slight. Perhaps nothing has lead more to the
multiplication of singing, even to the injury of the children. The
ease with which they learn a metrical piece by _rote_, and the
readiness with which they acquire a tune to it, is surprising, and as
the exhibition of such attainments forms a striking sinew, in many
cases little else is taught them. But to a sensible and thinking mind,
one single piece _understood_, that is, one where clear ideas are
annexed to the words in the minds of the children, is worth a hundred
where this is not the case. Intellectual improvement, and moral
training, are not thus easily exhibited, especially, the latter; but
on dilligent attention to these, the real and permanent utility of the
schools depends.
Many things have been taught most unsuitable for young children, and
that simplicity which is so absolutely requisite, both as regards
matter and language, seriously departed from. Let but the great
principle of teaching through the senses be borne distinctly in mind,
and of giving ideas in preference to sounds, and it will have a strong
tendency to put an end to the evil complained of. How much may
be taught by the simplest object, such as a stone?
Form--weight--hardness, colour, sound, and numerous other qualities
and properties, all of which must be clearly understood, because they
are demonstrated by the sight and other senses. Once give to the mind
a store of clear ideas in regular and natural order, and a series of
words that are distinct and definite in meaning, and you have laid a
firm foundation whereon to exercise the higher faculties of reflection
and reasoning. Still more is it of paramount importance to educate and
bring out the moral faculties, to cultivate the sense of right and
wrong, to enlighten and strengthen the young conscience, to teach the
love of good, and the hatred of evil, and to strive to bring the whole
being under the new commandment of Christ, "that ye love one another."
The golden rule, "to do unto others as ye would that they should do
unto you," is one of the most powerful precepts that can be applied to
awaken just moral feelings; and innumerable instances must occur,
in the varied events which happen in a school, to bring it home
powerfully to the heart, and illustrate it appropriately.
Perhaps in nothing has that simplicity of teaching so requisite for
the young, and so earnestly contended for by me throughout, been
so much disregarded, neglected, and preverted as in the matter of
religion. I taught from the first, by means of pictures properly
selected, scriptural truths and facts, histories and parables; and
also suitable texts, and simple hymns and prayers were added. This
surely was enough for _infants_. I thought so then, and I think so
still, for an overdoing always ends in an undoing, and the mind of a
child should never be crammed with that which it cannot understand, to
the neglect of that which it may. I have opened schools for many sects
and parties, and have been sorry to find them so prone to bind the
"grevious burdens" of their own peculiar dogmas on the feeble minds of
little children, to the neglect of the "weightier matters of the law,
justice, mercy, and the love of God." I hope a time will come when the
distinct precepts of Christ, in this respect, will be more faithfully
regarded. The religion for infants should be a simple trust in "the
love and kindness of God our Saviour," a desire of grace and strength
from Him, and an aim to live thereby in love and duty to their parents
and teachers, and in kindness and affection with their brothers,
sisters, and schoolfellows. Such things as these, their young
minds may apprehend, feel, and apply, and thus be strengthened and
benefitted, but scholastic subtelties, and controverted dogmas, such
as the grey-headed are perpetually disputing about, surely should
never be taught to infants by any one who has carefully considered the
subject, and properly studied the nature of the infant mind.
In all probability advancing years will prevent me in future from
personally labouring much in the cause, and from personally overcoming
objections, by presenting publicly, facts that cannot be refuted. It
is out of my power now to employ agents and pay them. I cannot
take infants by sea and land to convince unbelievers, and silence
gainsayers. Neither circumstances nor remaining strength, will allow
me to repeat these things. I must trust then to my pen, to the
thinkers amongst us, and above all to the good Providence of God, for
further success in behalf of the rising generation. Those who doubt
what I assert about children should recollect one fact--twenty-seven
thousand have passed through my hands, and were for a short time under
my training, and have then been examined by me to convince a doubting
public, on the spot where they happened to be in each town and
country, all this for the period of one-third of a century. Ought not
this to entitle me, as respects the education of children, to say such
a thing is right, or even such a thing is wrong? The abuse of a plan
is no argument against its use. That it has been abused I am well
aware,--that the _parrot-system_ has been revived and also applied in
infant-schools. It was never intended to injure the young brain by
over-exciting it, or to fill the memory with useless rubbish; yet this
is done. I cannot help it. I have done and will do my best to prevent
such a violation of the very first principles of infant teaching. To
conclude, there is much to be thankful for! Since the infant-system
was evolved, a very great improvement has taken place in the character
of school-books, and also in prints. The graphic illustrations and the
simplicity of style, on a variety of subjects, is admirable. The same
may be said with respect to nursery books; I see a great improvement
in all these. This is comforting to one situated as I am, and leads me
to hope much from the future. I trust the intellectual character of
the age will advance, and not only the intellectual but also the moral
and spiritual, and "that truth and justice, religion and piety may be
established amongst us for all generations."
CHAPTER II.
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY.
_Teachers of theft--Children the dupes of the profligate--An effort
at detection--Affecting cases of early depravity--Progress of a young
delinquent--Children employed in theft by their parents--Ingenuity of
juvenile thieves--Results of an early tuition in crime--The juvenile
thief incorrigible--Facility of disposing of stolen property--A
hardened child--Parents robbed by their children--A youthful
suicide--A youthful murderer_.
* * * * *
"An uneducated, unemployed poor, not only must be liable to fall into
a variety of temptations, but they will, at times, unavoidably prove
restless, dissatisfied, perverse, and seditious: nor is this all, even
their most useful and valuable qualities, for want of regular and
good habits, and a proper bias and direction from early religious
instruction, frequently became dangerous and hurtful to society;
their patience degenerates into sullenness, their perseverance into
obstinacy, their strength and courage into brutal ferocity."--_The
Bishop of Norwich_.
* * * * *
It has long been a subject of regret as well as of astonishment to
the reflecting and benevolent, that notwithstanding the numerous
institutions which exist in this country for the education and
improvement of the poor, and in defiance of the endeavours of our
magistracy and police establishment, crime should rather increase than
diminish. Many persons have been induced to conclude from this fact
that our Sunday, parochial, and national schools, as well as our Bible
Societies, and institutions of a similar nature, are of little or no
use. Absurd as the inference is, I have known more than one or two
persons draw it; not considering, that although these means may be
insufficient to counteract the cause of crime, or to prevent all
its evil effects, yet, nevertheless, they must certainly check
its progress;--that if there be many offenders, despite of these
institutions, there would, doubtless, be many more were they not in
existence; and hence to revile or neglect them is unworthy of good
sense or good feeling.
It is not my purpose in the present chapter to dwell on the commission
of crime generally, but on juvenile delinquency in particular; and
on this only so far as regards the case of young children. I will,
therefore, make public a collection of facts, some of which were
obtained at considerable personal hazard and inconvenience, which will
place it in a clear yet painful light.
It is said, that in the year 1819, the number of boys, in London
alone, who procured a considerable part of their subsistence by
pocket-picking and thieving in every possible form, was estimated at
from eleven to fifteen hundred. One man who lived in Wentworth-Street,
near Spitalfields, had forty boys in training to steal and pick
pockets, who were paid for their exertions with a part of the plunder;
fortunately, however, for the public, this notable tutor of thieves
was himself convicted of theft, and transported. This system of
tutorage is by no means uncommon, nor is it confined to the male sex.
I remember reading some time back, in the police reports, of a woman
who had entrapped _eight or ten children_ from their parents, had
trained them up, and sent them out thieving; nor was it until one of
these infantile depredators was taken in the act of stealing, that
this was made known, and the children restored to their homes. Here we
see eight or ten children, probably from the neglect of their parents,
enticed away, no doubt by the promise of a few cakes, or of some other
trifling reward, and in imminent danger of becoming confirmed thieves,
from which they were rescued by this providential discovery of their
situation; and we know not how many children may have been led to evil
practices in like manner.
I will give another instance which occurred at the office at Queen
Square.--A female, apparently no more than nineteen years of age,
named Jane Smith, and a child just turned of five years old, named
Mary Ann Ranniford, were put to the bar, before Edward Markland,
Esq., the magistrate, charged with circulating counterfeit coin in
Westminster and the county of Surrey, to a vast extent.
It appeared that the elder prisoner had long been known to be a common
utterer of base coin, in which she dealt very largely with those
individuals who are agents in London to the manufacturers of the
spurious commodity in Birmingham. She had been once or twice before
charged with the offence, and therefore she became so notorious that
she was necessitated to leave off putting the bad money away herself;
but so determined was she to keep up the traffic, that she was in the
habit of employing children of tender years to pass the counterfeit
money. On one occasion two Bow Street officers observed her at her old
trade, in company with the child Ranniford. The officers kept a strict
eye upon her movements, and saw her several times pass something to
the little girl; and she, by the direction of her instructor, went
into different shops (such as hosiers, where she purchased balls of
worsted, pastry-cooks, tobacconists, and fruiterers), where she passed
the bad money, and received in return goods and change. On the other
side of the bridge, the patroles saw the prisoner Smith deliver
something to the child, and point out the shop of Mr. Isaacs, a
fruiterer, in Bridge Street, Westminster. The child went in, and asked
for a juicy lemon, and gave a counterfeit shilling in payment. Mrs.
Isaacs had no suspicion from the tender age of the utterer, and its
respectable appearance, that the money was bad, and was about to give
change, when one of the officers entered, and took the deluded child
into custody, whilst his companion secured the elder prisoner (Smith),
and on searching her pockets he found twelve bad shillings, some
parcels of snuff, several balls of cotton and worsted, and other
trifling articles, which the child had purchased in the course of the
day. The officers who had secured them, learned from the child that
her parents lived in Cross Street, East Lane, Walworth, and that Smith
had taken her out for a walk. The patrol instantly communicated the
circumstance to the child's parents, who were hard-working honest
people, and their feelings on hearing that their infant had been
seduced into the commission of such a crime, can be more easily
conceived than described. They stated that the woman Smith had
formerly lived in the same street, and was frequently giving
half-pence and cakes to the child, who would, in consequence, follow
her anywhere. Some time since, she removed to Lock's Square, Lock's
Fields, and they (the parents) had not seen her for some time. On the
day referred to the child was playing in the street, and not finding
her come home they became alarmed, and went everywhere, broken
hearted, in quest of her, but they could hear no tidings of her till
the sad news was brought them by the officers. The poor mother was now
in attendance, and her feelings were dreadfully affected, and excited
the commiseration of all present.
The prisoner Smith made no defence, and held her head down during
the examination. The child stood by her, and took no notice of the
proceedings, and they were both fully committed for trial. The mother,
on seeing her infant consigned to prison, became quite frantic, and
wept hysterically, and had it it not been for the gaoler, she would
have inflicted some violence upon the woman Smith, for seducing her
infant.
Facts of this kind are sufficient to shew the utility, indeed I may
say, the most absolute necessity of providing some means, far, very
far more efficient than those at present in existence, for the
protection and improvement of the infant poor; that they may not thus
fall into the hands of evil and designing wretches, who make a living
by encouraging the children of the poor to commit crimes, of the
produce of which they themselves take the greatest part.
The younger the children are, the better they suit the purposes of
such miscreants; because, if children are detected in any dishonest
act, they know well, that few persons will do more than give the child
or children a tap on the head, and send them about their business. The
tenth part of the crimes committed by these juvenile offenders never
comes under public view, because should any person be robbed by a
child, and detect him in the act, he is silenced by the by-standers
with this remark,--Oh! he is but a child, let him go this time,
perhaps the poor thing has done it from necessity, being in want of
bread. Thus the delinquent is almost sure to escape, and, instead of
being punished, is not unfrequently rewarded for the adventure, as was
the case in the following instance.
Having had occasion to walk through Shoreditch some time since, I saw
a number of persons collected together round a little boy, who, it
appeared, had stolen a brass weight from the shop of a grocer. The
shopman stated that three boys came into the shop for half-an-ounce of
candied horehound, and that while he was getting down the glass which
contained it, one of them contrived to purloin the weight in question.
Having some suspicion of the boys, from the circumstance of having
recently lost a number of brass weights, he kept his eyes on them,
when he saw one put his hand into a box that was on the counter, take
out the largest weight, and then run out of the shop, followed by the
other two. The boy who stole it, slipped the weight into the hand of
one of the others; but the shopman, having observed this manoeuvre,
followed the boy who had the weight, who, being the youngest of the
three, could not run very fast; he, finding himself closely pursued,
threw the weight into the road, and when he was taken, declared that
it was not he who took it. The man wished to take the child back to
the shop, in order that his master might do with him as he thought
proper, but the by-standers, with a charitable _zeal_ which evinced
little _knowledge_, prevented him; one man in particular seemed to
interest himself much in the boy's behalf, stating that he knew the
child very well, and that he had neither father nor mother. The child
immediately took up this plea, and added that he had had no victuals
all day. The individual before mentioned then gave him a penny, and
his example was followed by many more, till I think the boy had
obtained nearly a shilling. I put several questions to him, but was
checked by this fellow, who told me, that as I had given the child
nothing, I had no right to ask so much? and, after a great deal of
abuse, he ended by telling me, that if I did not "take myself off" he
would "give me something for myself."
Feeling, however, a great desire to sift further into the matter, I
feigned to withdraw, but kept my eye upon the boy, and followed him
for nearly two hours, until I saw him join two other boys, one of whom
I had not seen before, and who had a bag with something very heavy in
it, which, I have every reason to believe, were weights, or something
which they had obtained in a similar manner. Wishing to ascertain the
fact, I approached them, but they no sooner perceived me, than the
little fellow who had been the principal actor in the affair, called
out "_Nose, Nose_,"--a signal-word, no doubt, agreed upon amongst
them,--when they all ran down some obscure alleys. I followed, but
was knocked down, as if by accident, by two ill-looking fellows, who
continued to detain me with apologies till the boys had got safely
away. I have little doubt that this was an instance of that organized
system of depredation of which I have before spoken, and that the
man who took so active a part at the first, was at the bottom of
the business; and, in fact, the tutor and employer of the predatory
urchins. His activity in preventing the boy from being taken back to
the shop--his anxiety to promote a subscription for the boy,--and,
lastly, his threat of personal violence if I interfered in the matter,
by continuing to question the child,--all these circumstances confirm
me in the opinion.
It is only by the knowledge of this fact--the association of infant
offenders with those of maturer and hardened habits--that we can
account for such cases as the following.--On the 17th of July, 1823,
a child _only seven years old_, was brought before the magistrate at
Lambeth Street office, charged with frequently robbing his mother,
and was ordered to be locked up all night in the gaol-room. In the
evening, however, when his mother returned, he forced his way out of
the room, and behaved with such violence that the attendants were
obliged to iron both his hands and legs! There can be no doubt that
this child had been for a long time under the instruction and evil
influence of some old and hardened offender; he must, indeed, have
undergone much training before he could have arrived at such a pitch
of hardihood, as to make it necessary to handcuff and fetter a child
of so tender an age; and to enable him to hold even the magistrates,
officers, and his own parent, at defiance.
The following cases afford further proof of the same lamentable truth;
the first is extracted from a morning paper of the 20th of September,
1824. "A little boy, not more than _six years of age_, was brought
before the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House, on Saturday, the 18th
instant, having been found in a warehouse, where he had secreted
himself for the purpose of thieving. At a late hour on Friday night,
a watchman was going his round, when, on trying a warehouse in which
there was much valuable property, to see whether it was safe, he heard
the little prisoner cry. The persons who had the care of the warehouse
were roused, and he was taken out. In his fright he acknowledged that
a man had taken him from his mother, and induced him, upon a promise
of reward, to steal into the warehouse; upon a concerted signal, he
was to act as directed by the fellow on the outside; but becoming
terrified at being confined so long in the dark, he had cried out
and discovered himself. His mother came forward, and received a good
character as the wife of a hard-working man. The Lord Mayor gave her
son up to her, with an injunction to act carefully and strictly with
him. There was reason to believe, he said, that several considerable
robberies had been recently committed by means of children like the
prisoner, who stole in and remained concealed until midnight, when
they gave admission to the robbers. The police should have their eyes
upon him."
The other instance is from a report of one of the sessions in
London:--
"William Hart, an urchin _seven years of age_, was indicted for
stealing twenty-two shillings in money, numbered, from the person of
Mary Conner. The prosecutrix stated, that on the day named in the
indictment, she took twenty-five shillings to get something out of
pledge, but as there was a crowd in Mary-le-bone, assembled to witness
a fight, she was induced to join the mob. While standing there she
felt something move in her pocket, and putting her hand outside her
clothes, she laid hold of what proved to be the hand of the prisoner,
which she held until she had given him a slap on the face, and then
she let him go; but on feeling in her pocket she discovered that the
theft had actually been committed, and that only three shillings were
left. A constable took the urchin into custody, and accused him of
robbing her of twenty-two shillings. The prisoner said, 'I have
twenty-two shillings in my pocket, but it is my mother's money; she
gets so drunk she gives me her money to take care of.' The officer
stated to the same effect as the prosecutrix, and added, that _in a
secret pocket in his jacket he found fourteen shilling and sixpence.
It was the practice of gangs of pickpockets to have a child like this
to commit the robbery, and hand the plunder to them_. Witness went to
his parents, who said he had been absent seven weeks, and they would
have nothing to do with him. Mr. Baron Garrow, in feeling terms,
lamented that a child of such tender years should be so depraved. He
added, 'I suppose, gentlemen, I need only to ask you to deliver your
verdict.' His lordship then observed, that he would consult with his
learned brother as to the best manner of disposing of the prisoner.
They at length decided, that although it might seem harsh, the court
would record against him fourteen years' transportation, and, no
doubt, government would place him in some school; if he behaved well
there, the sentence might not be carried into full effect."
I remember a query being once put to me by a person who visited the
Spitalfields Infant School at the time it was under my management:
"How can you account for the fact, that notwithstanding there are so
many old and experienced thieves detected, convicted, and sent out of
the country every session, we cannot perceive any dimunition of the
numbers of such characters; but that others seem always to supply
their places?" The foregoing instance of the systematized instruction
of young delinquents by old adepts in the art of pilfering, affords, I
think, a satisfactory answer the interrogatory.
The dexterity of experienced thieves shews, that no small degree of
care and attention is bestowed on their tuition. The first task of
novices, I have been informed, is to go in companies of threes or
fours, through the respectable streets and squares of the metropolis,
and with an old knife, or a similar instrument, to wrench off the
brass-work usually placed over the key-holes of the area-gates, &c.,
which they sell at the marine store-shops; and they are said sometimes
to realize three or four shillings a day, by this means. Wishing to
be satisfied on the point, I have walked round many of the squares in
town, and in more than a solitary experiment, have found that _not one
gate in ten_ had any brass-work over the key-hole; it had moreover
been evidently wrenched off,--a small piece of the brass still
remaining on many of the gates. Having practised this branch of the
profession a considerable time, and become adepts in its execution,
the next step, I have been informed, is to steal the handles and brass
knockers from doors, which is done by taking out the screw with a
small screw-driver: these are disposed of in the same manner as the
former things, till the young pilferers are progressively qualified
for stealing brass weights, &c., and at length, become expert thieves.
The following fact will shew what extensive depredations young
children are capable of committing. I have inserted the whole as
it appeared in the public papers:--"_Union Hall_; _Shop
Lifting_.--Yesterday, two little girls, sisters, very neatly dressed,
_one nine_, and the _other seven, years of age_, were put to the bar,
charged by Mr. Cornell, linen-draper, of High Street, Newington; with
having stolen a piece of printed calico, from the corner of his shop.
"Mr. Cornell stated, that the children came to his shop, yesterday
morning; and while he was engaged with his customers at the further
end of the shop, he happened to cast his eyes where the prisoners
were, and observed the oldest roll up a large piece of printed calico,
and put it into a basket, which her little sister carried: the witness
immediately advanced to her, and asked if she had taken any thing
from off the counter; but she positively asserted that she had not.
However, on searching her basket, the calico was found; together with
a piece of muslin, which Mr. Cornell identified as belonging to him,
and to have been taken in the above way. Mr. Allen questioned the
eldest girl about the robbery, but she positively denied any knowledge
as to how, or in what manner, the calico and muslin had got into her
basket, frequently appealing to her little sister to confirm the truth
of what she declared. When asked if she had ever been charged with any
offence, she replied, 'O yes, sir, some time back I was accused of
stealing a watch from a house, but I did not do it.' The magistrate
observed, that the father should be made acquainted with the
circumstance, and, in the mean time, gave the gaoler instructions that
the two little delinquents should be taken care of.
"Hall, the officer, stated that he had information that there was a
quantity of goods, which had been stolen by the prisoners, concealed
in a certain desk in the house of the father; and that a great deal of
stolen property would, in all probability, be found there, if a search
warrant were granted, as the two unfortunate children were believed to
be most extensive depredators.
"Mr. Allen immediately granted the warrant; and Hall, accompanied by
Mr. Cornell, proceeded to the residence of the father of the children,
who is an auctioneer and appraiser, at 12, Lyon Street, Newington.
"Hall returned in half an hour with the father in his custody, and
produced a great quantity of black silk handkerchiefs, which he had
found on the premises; but the desk, which had been spoken of by his
informers as containing stolen property, he had found quite empty.
The father, when questioned by the witness as to whether he had any
duplicates of property in his possession, positively denied that fact.
At the office he was searched, and about fifty duplicates were found
in his pockets, most of which were for silk handkerchiefs and shawls.
There were also a few rings, for the possession of which the prisoner
could not satisfactorily account. He was asked why he had assured the
officer he had no duplicates? He replied, that he had not said so;
but Mr. Cornell, who was present during the search, averred that the
prisoner had most positively declared that he had not a pawnbroker's
duplicate in his possession.
"Mr. Watt, a linen-draper, of Harper Street, Kent Road, stated that
he attended in consequence of seeing the police reports in the
newspapers, describing the two children; he immediately recognised the
two little girls as having frequently called at his shop for trifling
articles; and added, that he had been robbed of a variety of silk
handkerchiefs and shawls, and he had no doubt but that the prisoners
were the thieves. It was their practice, he said, to go into a shop,
and call for a quarter of a yard of muslin, and while the shopkeeper
was engaged, the eldest would very dexterously slip whatever article
was nearest, to her little sister, who was trained to the business,
and would thrust the stolen property into a basket which she always
carried for that purpose. Mr. Watt identified the silk handkerchiefs
as his property, and said that they had been stolen in the above
manner by the prisoners.
"The father was asked where he had got the handkerchiefs? He replied,
that he had bought them from a pedlar for half-a-crown a piece at his
door. However, his eldest daughter contradicted him by acknowledging
that her sister had stolen them from the shop of Mr. Watt. He became
dreadfully agitated, and then said--'What could I say? Surely I was
not to criminate my own children!'
"Mr. Allen observed, that there was a clear case against the two
children, but after consulting with the other magistrates, he was of
opinion that the youngest child should be given up into the charge of
the parish officers of Newington, as she was too young to go into a
prison, and desired that the other girl should be remanded, in order
to have some of the pledged goods produced. The father was committed
in default of bail for receiving stolen goods. The child has since
been found guilty. The prosecutor stated that the family consisted of
five children, _not one of whom could read or write_!"
Another very cruel practice of these young delinquents is, to go
into some chandlers shop as slily as possible, and take the first
opportunity of stealing the till with its contents, there being always
some older thief ready to take charge of it, as soon as the child
removes it from the shop.[A] Many a poor woman has had to lament
the loss of her till, with its contents, taken by a child, perhaps,
scarcely six years of age. There is always a plan laid down for the
child to act upon. Should he be unable to obtain possession of the
till himself, he is instructed to pretend that he has missed his way,
and to inquire for some street near the spot; or, he will address
her with, "Please, ma'am, can you tell me what it is o'clock?" The
unsuspecting woman, with the greatest kindness possible, shews the
child the street he inquires for, or leaves the shop to ascertain the
hour, and for her civility, she is sure to find herself robbed, when
she returns, by some of the child's companions. Should he be detected
in actual possession of the property, he is instructed to act his part
in the most artful manner, by pretending that some man sent him into
the shop to take it, who told him that he would give him sixpence to
buy cakes.
[Footnote A: So complete is the science of pilfering rendered by its
perpetrators, that they have even a peculiar vocabulary of their own,
rendering their conversation, to those who may chance to overhear
them, as mysterious and incomprehensible as though they were
conversing in a foreign tongue; for instance, the scutcheons they
steal from the key holes are called _porcupines_; brass weights,
_lueys_; while purloining the contents of a till, is called _taking
the ding_. In short, they have a peculiar name for almost every
thing.]
It is not uncommon for these young offenders to stop children, whom
they may meet in the street unprotected, and either by artifice or
violence, take from them their hats, necklaces, &c., thus initiating
themselves, as it were, into the desperate crime of assault and
highway robbery.
Young as the subjects of the foregoing narrations mostly were, I have
little doubt their pupilage commenced at a much earlier age; they
could not otherwise have attained so much proficiency in the practice
of crime, and hardihood on detection. However possible it maybe
thought to reclaim children of so tender an age, I am convinced that
thieves of more advanced years become so thoroughly perverted in
their wills and understandings, as to be incapable of perceiving the
disgrace of their conduct, or the enormity of the offence. I was once
told by an old thief that thieving was his profession, and he had
therefore a right to follow it; and I could plainly discover from
further conversation with him, that he had established in himself an
opinion that thieving was no harm, provided he used no violence to
the person; he seemed, indeed, to have no other idea of the rights of
property, than that described as the maxim of a celebrated Scottish
outlaw,--that
"They should take who have the power,
And they should keep who can."
When this most lamentable state is reached, it is to be feared all
modes of punishment, as correctives, are useless; and the only thing
left is to prevent further depredation by banishment.
The incorrigibility which a child may attain, who has once associated
with thieves at an early age, is apparent from the following fact.
"Richard Leworthy, aged fourteen, was indicted for stealing five
sovereigns, the property of William Newling, his master. The
prosecutor stated, that he resided in the Commercial Road, and is
by business a tailor; the prisoner had been his apprentice for four
months, up to the 28th of August, when he committed the robbery. On
that day he gave him five pounds to take to Mr. Wells, of Bishopsgate
Street, to discharge a bill; he never went, nor did he return home; he
did not hear of him for three weeks, when he found him at Windsor, and
apprehended him. The prisoner admitted having applied the money to his
own use. He was found at a public house, and said he had spent all his
money except one shilling and six pence. A shopman in the service of
Mr. Wells, stated that in August last the witness owed his master a
sum of money; he knew the prisoner; he did not bring money to their
shop, either on or since the 28th of August. The prisoner made no
defence, but called his master, who said he received him from the
Refuge for the Destitute, and had a good character with him. He would
not take him back again. Mr. Wontner stated, that he had received
two communications from the Rev. Mr. Crosby, the chaplain of the
institution, stating they would not interfere on his behalf. The jury
returned a verdict of _guilty_. Mr. Justice Park observed, that the
best course would be to send him out of the country."
Here we see, that notwithstanding the discipline he had undergone,
and the instructions he had received during his confinement in the
establishment of the Refuge for the Destitute, he had not been more
than four months from that place before he fell into his old habits.
It is moreover to be remarked, that such had been his conduct during
his confinement, that the directors of the establishment thought
themselves war ranted in giving a good character with him. They were
probably little surprised on hearing of this relapse on the part of
the boy,--experience had doubtless taught them it was no uncommon
thing, and we plainly see they were convinced that all further
attempts at reclaiming him were useless.
The facility with which property maybe disposed of, should be
mentioned as a powerful inducement to crime. The following case
suggests it to the mind:
Thomas Jackson, a mere child, not more than nine years of age, was
charged some time ago at the Town Hall, with committing a burglary
on the premises of Mr. James Whitelock, a master builder, Griffith's
Rents, St. Thomas's, Southwark. Mr. Whitelock, it appears, resided
in an old mansion, formerly an inn, which he had divided into two
separate tenements, occupying one part himself, and letting the other
to the parents of the prisoner. In this division he had deposited
building materials to a considerable amount, one hundred weight of
which, in iron holdfasts, hinges, nails, clamps, &c., he missed one
day on entering the room, the door of which had been blocked by a
large copper, and the partition door forced. The character of the
prisoner being of the worst description, he was apprehended, when
he confessed he had taken all the property, and disposed of it to a
woman, named Priscilla Fletcher, the keeper of a marine store, 34,
James Street. The receiver, who is _the last of the family that has
not been either hanged or transported_, refused to swear to the
prisoner, though she admitted she believed he was the person she
bought the property produced from, at the rate of one penny for each
three pounds. It was proved to be worth three half-pence per pound.
Alderman J.J. Smith regretted that the deficiency of evidence
prevented him sending the young delinquent for trial, and thereby
rescuing him from an ignominious death, and told Mrs. Priscilla, who
was all modesty, that he was convinced she had perjured herself,--and
not to exult at her own escape from transportation, a reward he could
not help considering she richly merited, and which in due season she
would doubtless receive.
The hardened child laughed during the hearing, and on being sentenced,
by the oath of the officers, as a reputed thief, spit at his accuser,
and exclaimed, as he was taken from the bar to be conveyed to
Brixton,--"Is this all? I'll torment you yet!"
To add one more case, I may state that, at the Exeter Sessions, some
time since, two children were convicted, who, it is believed, were not
above ten years of age. Previously to this they had been convicted of
felony, and had suffered six months imprisonment at Bodmin; and it
appears that two years before, they started alone from Bristol on this
circuit of youthful depredation.
Having collected the foregoing instances of juvenile delinquency, and
presented them to the public, I cannot refrain from adducing a few
other cases which came under my own observation.
Whilst conducting the Spitalfields' Infant School, several instances
of dishonesty in the children occurred. On one occasion the mother
herself came to complain of a little boy, not more than four years
old, on the following grounds. She stated, that being obliged to
be out at work all day, as well as her husband, she was under the
necessity of leaving the children by themselves. She had three besides
the little boy of whom she was complaining. Having to pay her rent,
she put eighteen-pence for that purpose in a cup at the top of a
cupboard. On stepping home to give the children their dinners, she
found the boy at the cupboard, mounted on a chair, which again was
placed on the top of a table. On looking for the money, she found
four-pence already gone; one penny of this she found in his pocket,
the rest he had divided amongst the other children, that they might
not tell of him. After this relation I kept a strict watch on the
child, and three or four days afterwards the children detected him
opening my desk, and taking half-pence out of it. They informed me of
this, and while they were bringing him up to me the half-pence dropped
out of his hand. I detected him in many other very bad actions, but
have reason to hope, that, by suitable discipline and instruction, he
was effectually cured of his sad propensities.
About the same time, I observed two little children very near the
school-house in close conversation, and from their frequently looking
at a fruit-stall that was near, I felt inclined to watch them; having
previously heard from some of the pupils, that they had frequently
seen children in the neighbourhood steal oysters and other things. I
accordingly placed myself in a convenient situation, and had not long
to wait, for the moment they saw there was no one passing, they went
up to the stall, the eldest walking alongside the other, apparently to
prevent his being seen, whilst the little one snatched an orange,
and conveyed it under his pinafore, with all the dexterity of an
experienced thief. The youngest of these children was not four years
old, and the eldest, apparently, not above five. There was reason to
believe this was not the first time they had been guilty of stealing,
though, perhaps, unknown to their parents, as I have found to be the
case in other instances.
Another little boy in the school, whose mother kept a little shop,
frequently brought money with him,--as much as three-pence at a time.
On questioning the child how he came by it, he always said that his
mother gave it to him, and I thought there was no reason to doubt his
word, for there was something so prepossessing in his appearance,
that, at the time, I could not doubt the truth of his story. But
finding that the child spent a great deal of money in fruit, cakes,
&c., and still had some remaining, I found it advisable to see the
mother, and to my astonishment found it all a fiction, for she had not
given him any, and we were both at a loss to conceive how he obtained
it. The child told _me_ his mother gave it to him; and he told
his _mother_ that it was given to him at school; but when he was
confronted with us both, not a word would he say. It was evident,
therefore, that he had obtained it by some unfair means, and we both
determined to suspend our judgment, and to keep a strict eye on him in
future. Nothing, however, transpired for some time;--I followed him
home several times, but saw nothing amiss. At length I received notice
from the mother, that she had detected taking money out of the till,
in her little shop. It then came out that there was some boy in the
neighbourhood who acted as banker to him, and for every two pence
which he received, he was allowed one penny for taking care of it. It
seems that the child was afraid to bring any more money to school, on
account of being so closely questioned as to where he obtained it, and
this, probably, induced him to give more to the boy than he otherwise
would have done. Suffice it, however, to say, that both children
at length were found out, and the mother declared that the child
conducted her to some old boards in the wash-house, and underneath
them there was upwards of a shilling, which he had pilfered at various
times.
The reader may remember too, that during the autumn of 1833, a boy of
_fourteen committed suicide_, and that another of the same age was
convicted of the dreadful crime of _murder_.
It appears he knew a boy a little younger than himself, who was going
to a distance with some money, and having taken a pocket-knife with
him, he way-laid him and threatened to murder him. The poor little
victim kneeled down,--offered him his money, his knife, and all he
had, and said he would love him all the days of his life if he would
spare him, and never tell what had happened; but the pathetic and
forcible appeal, which would have melted many a ruffian-heart, was
vain:--the little monster stabbed him in the throat, and then robbed
him. On his trial he discovered no feeling, and he even heard his
sentence with the utmost indifference, and without a tear.
It would have been easy to multiply cases of juvenile delinquency,
both those which have been brought under the cognizance of the law,
and those which have come to my own knowledge, but I think enough has
been related to shew how early children may, and do become depraved.
I have purposely given most of them with as few remarks of my own as
possible, that they may plead their own cause with the reader, and
excite a desire in his bosom to enter with me, in the next chapter, on
an inquiry into the causes of such early depravity.
Since the above incidents and facts were observed, and reports from
the public prints were recorded, general attention has been drawn more
fully to the very great increase of ignorance, demoralization, and
crime, amongst the lower classes, both old and young. These things
call on us most loudly for active effort and exertion; and it becomes
the patriot and philanthropist, but especially the Christian, to look
around, to think and to consider what effectual means may be found,
and what efficient plans may be adopted to strike the evil fatally at
its roots, and cause it to wither away. If these things be not done,
the moral pestilence must increase, and eventually deprive us of all
that is dear to us as men, and citizens.
CHAPTER III.
CAUSES OF EARLY CRIME.
_Degraded condition of parents--Dreadful effects of
drunkenness--Neglect of children inevitable and wilful--The tutorship
of wicked companions--Tricks of pantomimes injurious--Mischiefs
arising from sending children to pawnbrokers--Fairs demoralizing--All
Kinds of begging to be repressed_.
* * * * *
"Why thus surprised to see the infant race
Treading the paths of vice? Their eyes can trace
Their _parents_' footsteps in the way they go:
What shame, what fear, then, can their young hearts know?"
* * * * *
Appalling as the _effects_ of juvenile delinquency are, I think we may
discover a principal cause of them in the present condition and habits
of the adult part of the labouring classes. We shall find, very
frequently, that infant crime is the only natural produce of evil,
by the infallible means of precept and example. I do not intend to
assert, that the majority of parents amongst the poor, actually
encourage their children in the commission of theft; we may, indeed,
fear that some do; as in the instance of the two little girls detected
in shop-lifting, whose case was detailed in the preceding chapter; but
still, I should hope that such facts are not frequent. If, however,
they do not give them positive encouragement in pilfering, the example
they set is often calculated to deprave the heart of the child, and,
amongst other evil consequences, to induce dishonesty; whilst in other
cases we find, that from peculiar circumstances the child is deprived,
during the whole day, of the controling presence of a parent, and is
exposed to all the poisonous contamination which the streets of large
cities afford; and hence appears another cause of evil. Here children
come in contact with maturer vice, and are often drawn by its
influence from the paths of innocence; as we have already seen in
many instances. What resistance can the infant make to the insidious
serpents, which thus, as it, were, steal into its cradle, and infuse
their poison into its soul? The guardians of its helplessness are
heedless or unconscious of its danger, and, alas! it has not the
fabled strength of the infant Hercules to crush its venomous
assailants. Surely such a view of the frequent origin of crime must
awaken our commiseration for its miserable victims, and excite in us a
desire to become the defenders of the unprotected.
It will, however, be said by some, "Where are the natural guardians of
the child? Where are its parents? Are we to encourage their neglect
of duty, by becoming their substitutes? It is their business to look
after their children, and not ours." Frequently have I heard such
sentiments put forth, and sometimes by persons in whom I knew they
were rather owing to a want of reflection than of philanthropy. But a
want of thought, or of feeling, it must certainly be; because, on no
principle of reason or humanity can we make the unnatural conduct
of fathers and mothers, a plea for withholding our protection and
assistance from the helpless objects of their cruelty and neglect.
If we do so, we not only neglect our duty towards such children, but
permit the growth and extension of the evil. We must recollect that
they will not merely play their own wicked parts during their lives,
but will also become models to the next generation.
It should be remembered here, that I am treating of an evil which
extends itself to all classes of society; I am appealing to the
prudence of men, that they may, for their own sakes, investigate its
cause; I shall hereafter appeal to them as philanthropists, and, still
more urgently, as Christians, that they may examine the merits of the
remedy I shall propose.
The culpability of many parents is beyond dispute. They not only omit
to set their children good examples, and give them good advice, but,
on the contrary, instil into their minds the first rudiments of
wickedness, and lead them into the paths of vice. Their homes present
scenes which human nature shudders at, and which it is impossible
truly to describe. There are parents who, working at home, have every
opportunity of training up their children "in the way they should go,"
if they were inclined so to do. Instead of this, we often find, in
the case of the fathers, that they are so lost to every principle of
humanity, that as soon as they receive their wages, they leave their
homes, and hasten with eager steps to the public house; nor do they
re-pass its accursed threshold, till the vice-fattening landlord has
received the greater part of the money which should support their
half-fed, half-clothed wives and children; and till they have
qualified themselves, by intoxication, to act worse than brutes on
their return home. To men of this description it matters not whether
or not their children are proving themselves skilful imitators of
their evil example,--they may curse and swear, lie and steal,--so long
as they can enjoy the society of their pot companions, it is to them a
matter of total indifference.
During my superintendence of the first school, I had a painful
facility of examining these matters. Frequently, when I have inquired
the cause of the wretched plight in which some of the children were
sent to the school,--perhaps with scarcely a shoe to their feet,
sometimes altogether without,--I have heard from their mothers the
most heart-rending recitals of the husband's misconduct. One family in
particular I remember, consisting of seven children, two of whom were
in the school; four of them were supported entirely by the exertions
of the mother, who declared to me, that she did not receive a shilling
from their father for a month together; all the money he got he kept
to spend at the public-house; and his family, for what he cared, might
go naked, or starve. He was not only a great drunkard, but a reprobate
into the bargain; beating and abusing the poor woman, who thus
endeavoured to support his children by her labour.
The evil does not always stop here. Driven to the extreme of
wretchedness by her husband's conduct, the woman sometimes takes to
drinking likewise, and the poor babes are ten thousand times more
pitiable than orphans. I have witnessed the revolting sight of a
child leading home both father and mother from the public-house, in
a disgusting state of intoxication. With tears and entreaties I
have seen the poor infant vainly endeavouring to restrain them from
increasing their drunkenness, by going into the houses on their way
home; they have shaken off the clinging child, who, in the greatest
anxiety, waited without to resume its painful task; knowing, all the
time, perhaps, that whilst its parents were thus throwing away their
money, there was not so much as a crust of bread to appease its hunger
at home. Let it not be thought that this is an overcharged picture of
facts; it is but a faint, a very faint and imperfect sketch of reality
which defies exaggeration. Cases of such depravity, on the part of
mothers, I with much pleasure confess to be comparatively rare.
Maternal affection is the preventive. But what, let me ask, can be
hoped of the children of such parents? What are their characters
likely to become under such tuition? With such examples before their
eyes, need they leave their homes to seek contamination, or to learn
to do evil.
And here I must say, if I were asked to point out, in the metropolis,
or any large city, the greatest nuisance, the worst bane of society,
the most successful promoter of vice,--I should, without a moment's
hesitation, point to the first public-house or spirit dealer's
that met my view. Nor can I, in speaking of the causes of juvenile
delinquency, omit to say, I think these houses, indirectly, a very
great cause of it. Why I think so, my readers will readily conceive
from what I have already said. I am sure that Satan has no temple
in which he is so devoutly worshiped, or so highly honoured, as the
ale-house,--no priest is so devoted as its landlord,--no followers are
so zealous in his behalf as its frequenters.
Let any one in the evening visit the homes of the labouring class in
a poor neighbourhood, and he will find, in many cases, a
barely-furnished room, a numerous family of small children,--perhaps
forgetting the pangs of hunger in the obliviousness of sleep,--a wife,
with care-worn features, sitting in solitary wretchedness, ruminating
on wants she knows not how to supply--namely, clothes and food for
her children on the morrow, and on debts which she has no means of
discharging. But where is he who should be sharing her cares, bidding
her be of good cheer, and devising with her some means of alleviating
their mutual distress? Where is the father of the sleeping babes, the
husband of the watchful wife? Go to the public-house; you will see
him there with a host of his companions, of like character
and circumstances, smoking, drinking, singing, blaspheming,
gambling--ruining his health, spending his money; as jovial as though
he had no wretched wife, no starving babes at home! and as lavish of
money which should procure them food, as the man who is thriving on
his excesses could wish him to be.
I never look on a public-house without considering it as the abode of
the evil genius of the neighbourhood; the despoiler of industry, the
destroyer of domestic comfort; and heartily do I wish, that some means
could be devised for abolishing these resorts of wickedness; that some
legislative enactment may render it unlawful for any one to keep such
places. With respect to a peculiar sort of beverage, it has been
declared to be illegal to afford its purchasers accommodation for
drinking it on the premises. Why not extend it to other liquors? I
know this would be pronounced an infringement on English liberty! The
worst of men would raise this outcry against the measure. But surely
it should rather be called a preventive of English licentiousness. All
good men would consider it as such. I would not rob the labourer of
his daily allowance of a beverage which is believed by many to be of
essential service, when taken in moderation; but I would have him
drink it at home, that his wife and children may participate in his
enjoyment. Perhaps, it will be said, a man closely confined to labour
all day, needs some relaxation from domestic cares--that this can only
be found in change of scene, and in social company. I will concede
this. The plea of health, though often speciously advanced, cannot be
denied. But is it necessary for his health, that this change of scene
should be found in a close tap-room, within a few yards of his home,
where he drinks to a ruinous excess till a late hour,--breathing all
the while a hot atmosphere of tobacco-smoke? Is it not possible to
obtain the change of scene, and the relaxation of social converse, by
mutual visits amongst friends similarly situated,--by a ramble to the
suburbs,--or, in cases where the daily occupation affords too little
opportunity for exercise, are there not places established for
gymnastic exercises,--and might not others be formed for the like
purposes? Certain I am that the abolition of public-houses, in large
cities, as places of daily resort for the adult labouring poor, would
be attended with the most salutary consequences. I know of nothing
that must so certainly tend to their improvement both in character and
circumstances.
No man can witness the scenes, and doings, of many persons who attend
the new beer-houses, without pain and regret, that ever an act of
parliament was passed to legalize such places. I have visited some
hundreds of such, throughout the country, and can positively assert
that the demoralising tendency of too many is awful! Our magistrates
must be more careful in granting licences, or the efforts of the wise
and good will be neutralized, by the evils concocted at such places.
The old inkeepers had a character, and capital at stake. The new
beerhouse-keepers, I should say, a majority of them at least, have
neither, and consequently are less cautious, having less to lose.
Whatever the end of the legislature might have been in enabling the
poor to procure a good and cheap article more easily, to be drunk on
or off the premises, the thing has not answered the end, and no one
can deny, who will take the trouble to visit such places in different
counties, that the _Act_ has been a miserable failure, and has been
the fruitful source of crime and immorality. What a lesson is this for
speculative, short sighted legislators?
Another measure should then be adopted, I would say--destroy the
facility of spirit-drinking, by laying on a heavy duty. It is in vain
that interested sophistry would plead its benefits in particular
cases--such, for instance, as the ludicrous plea of the needfulness
of drams for market-women on wet and frosty mornings.[A] Set these
specious benefits against the dreadful results to men's health and
pockets, from the present low price of spirits, and their consequent
enormous consumption; and then let common sense and honesty deliver
its judgment.
I have spoken thus candidly and at length upon the subject in the
present chapter, though somewhat out of place, because my feelings
would not allow me to be less plain or more brief, or to postpone
the matter to "a more convenient season." Perhaps in talking of
legislative alterations I have been wandering upon forbidden ground;
if so, in returning to my proper path, I will comfort myself with this
thought:--the progress of improvement, however slow, is sure, and it
is certainly advancing in this country; I require no other assurance
than the establishment of Infant Schools and Mechanic's.
[Footnote A: Some conception of the fearful height which drunkenness
has attained, may be gathered from the fact, that in 1829, the
quantity of distilled spirits on which the duty was paid in the three
kingdoms, amounted to 23,000,000 of gallons. To form a due estimate,
however, of the actual consumption, an immense quantity must be added,
obtained by smuggling. Of the rum imported for home consumption,
allowing for that re-exported, the quantity was 5,000,000 of gallons.
Of brandy and other articles imported, 1,500,000 gallons; making a
total, with the omission of all on which the duty was evaded, of
30,000,000 of gallons of ardent spirits consumed in the year.
Five millions of revenue grew out of this, but it cost the people
15,000,000_l_. sterling, a which would have paid half-a-year's
interest of the national debt.]
"No person," says Sir Astley Cooper "has greater hostility to dram
drinking than myself, insomuch that I never suffer any ardent spirits
in my house--thinking _them evil spirits!_--and if the poor could
witness the white livers, the dropsies, the shattered nervous systems
which I love seen as the consequence of drinking, they would be aware
that _spirits_ and _poisons_ were synonymous terms."
Institutions; it _will_ advance, and what the legislature may never be
able to accomplish, the spirit of improvement eventually will.
But having considered those cases, in which wilful neglect and bad
example may be charged upon the parents, we should not forget to tell
those who object to our interference in the duty of a child's natural
protectors, that it is not, in every instance, from _wilful_ neglect
on their part, that their children are left unprotected in the
streets. The circumstances of the labouring classes are such, in many
cases, that they are compelled to leave their children either wholly
unprotected, or in the charge of some one who frequently becomes a
betrayer instead of a defender. The father, perhaps, goes to his daily
labour in the morning, before the children are out of bed, and does
not return till they are in bed again at night. The mother goes out in
like manner, the earnings of the husband being insufficient for the
maintenance of the family, and the children are intrusted throughout
the day to the care of some girl, whose parents are as poor as
themselves, and are glad to let her earn something towards her
support. Numbers of little girls thus go out before they are twelve
years old, and teach the little children all they know,--commonly
to be deceitful, and not unfrequently to be dishonest. The parents,
careless or unsuspecting, only make inquiry when they return home if
the children have been good and quiet, and of course receive an answer
in the affirmative. In the course of a few years the evil consequences
begin to show themselves, and then the good folks wonder how or when
the seeds of such depravity could have been sown. Many I know will be
inclined to smile at the insignificancy of the cause pointed out. I
can only say, it is from such springs, however regarded, that the
great stream of vice is supplied; and what we laugh at now, for its
insignificant origin, will hereafter, in its maturity, laugh at us for
our impotence, in vainly endeavouring to stem it. What are parents to
do with their children, situated as those are of whom we have just
spoken? And very many are so situated. Is it possible for them to
perform their duty, as protectors of their children? It requires all
their time to labour for their support, and they therefore leave them,
unavoidably, either in such hands as we have described, or to take
care of themselves; to range the streets, and form such associations
as may there happen to fall in their way. They get into company with
older delinquents, and become first their instruments, and then their
associates; till at length they find their way into a gaol.
This is no delusive way of accounting for the matter,--it is a
solution which experience and observation have taught and established.
I have traced the progress of delinquency, in actual life, from
its earliest stages,--from the little trembling pilferer of the
apple-stall, not more than four or five years old, to the confirmed
thief of nine or ten years--who had been in gaol three or four times,
and was as proud of his dexterity in thieving, and hardihood under
punishment, as he could have been of the most virtuous accomplishment,
or the most becoming fortitude. The infant thief, conscious of shame,
and trembling with fear, will tell you on detection, that "Tommy," or
"Billy," some older associate, set him to do it; you let him go: he
joins his companions, who laugh at the story he tells, ridicule him
for his fears, praise him for his dexterity, and rejoice in his
escape. It will be very easy to imagine how, under a course of such
treatment, the young offender so soon dismisses both shame and fear;
and learns to forget everything but the gain and glory of his crimes.
It is no small matter of credit with older thieves--(by older thieves
I still mean boys of nine or ten years old)--to have under their
tuition two or three pupils. I have seen in my walks as many as seven
or eight sallying forth from the alleys in the neighbourhood of
Spitalfields, under the command, as it were, of a leader, a boy
perhaps not more than nine or ten years old. I have watched their
plans, and have noticed that it was usual to send first the youngest
boy to attempt the theft--perhaps the object to be obtained was only
a bun from the open window of a pastry-cook's shop; if he failed,
another was sent, whilst the rest were lurking at the corner of some
court, ready to flee in case their companion was detected; and I have
sometimes seen, that after all the rest had failed, either from want
of skill, or the too great vigilance of the shop-keeper, the boy
who acted as leader has started out, and by a display of superior
dexterity, would have carried off the prize, had it not happened that
some one was thus purposely watching his conduct. When detected, if an
old offender, he will either look you in tire face with the greatest
effrontery and an expression of defiance, or he will feign to cry,
and tell you he was hungry, has no father nor mother, &c.; though
frequently, on further inquiry, I have found the whole story to be
false.
Alas! there is _one_ class of children, with whom I know not how to
deal, I mean those without the natural protectors. The man can for a
more trifle get rid of all responsibility, though in general, most
able to bear it, the woman has the dead weight, which often proves the
destruction of her offspring, and herself, suicide and murder are
the first-fruits frequently to her, but she loves her offspring, and
perhaps he who deceived her, and for both their sakes fights the
battle against fearful odds; for a few years at least, she will not
last long, at length she sinks! she dies! where, oh! where! is the
guardian for her child! Reader, there are many thousands of such!
What becomes of them? But there are other mothers of this class,
more ignorant, have less of feeling, no education, no training, they
advance from bad to worse, until they have five or six children, here
are circumstances for children to come into the world grievously
against them. What becomes of these? To avoid painful details I will
answer the question, they become a pest to society, each a demoralizer
of others, living upon the public--as tramps, begging impostors,
thieves, teachers of thieves, and _cost the country more than five
times their number born under other and better circumstances_. God
grant that spiritual light, philosophical light, and scientific light
united, may enable us to find the remedy!
The two grand causes of juvenile delinquency, we have seen then, to be
the evil example of parents themselves; and the bad associations
which children form at an early age, when, through neglect, they are
suffered to be in the streets. In the first instance, the parents of
the children are wholly without excuse; in the second, though in some
cases we may blame them, in others we cannot justly do so; but must
admit, as an exculpation, the unfortunate circumstances of their
condition in life.
It would be easy to shew, by a multitude of instances, the evil
effects produced on children of a tender age by street associations.
But I think enough has been said to convince every reflecting mind
that it is highly necessary that we should interfere in behalf of
children so situated; and I shall conclude the present chapter by some
remarks on the various habits and practices of the poor classes, which
have at least an injurious tendency on the character of the rising
generation.
As children are such imitative beings, I cannot help making a few
observations on the tricks which are usually introduced into our
_pantomimes_. It is well known that those of the clown form a
principal part of the entertainment. It is also equally well known,
that the pantomimes are particularly designed to amuse children, for
which reason they are generally represented during the Christmas
holidays, If, however, they were merely intended to _amuse_ them, they
who have introduced them have, perhaps, gained their object; but what
kind of _instruction_ they afford, I shall here attempt to shew. I
do not recollect to have seen a pantomime myself without _pilfering_
being introduced under every possible form, such as shop lifting,
picking pockets, &c. &c. Can it then be for a moment supposed
improbable that children, after having witnessed these exhibitions,
should endeavour to put the thing into practice, whenever an
opportunity offers, and try whether they cannot take a handkerchief
from a gentleman's pocket with the same ease and dexterity as the
clown in the play did; or, if unsuccessful in this part of the
business, that they should try their prowess in carrying off a
shoulder of mutton from a butcher's shop,--a loaf from a baker,--or
lighter articles from the pastry-cools, fruiterer, or linen-draper?
For, having seen the dexterity of the clown, in these cases, they will
not be at a loss for methods to accomplish, by sleight of hand, their
several purposes. In my humble opinion, children cannot go to a better
place for instruction in these matters, or to a place more calculated
to teach them the art of pilfering to perfection, than to the theatre,
when pantomimes are performed. To say that the persons who write and
introduce these pieces are in want of _sense_, may not be true; but I
must charge them with a want of sufficient thought, right feeling and
principle, in not calculating on their baneful effects on the rising
generation, for whose amusement it appears they are chiefly produced.
Many unfortunate persons, who have heard sentence of death passed upon
them, or who are now suffering under the law, in various ways, have
had to lament that the _first seeds of vice were sown in their minds
while viewing the pilfering tricks of clowns in pantomimes_. Alas!
too little do we calculate on the direful effects of this species of
amusement on the future character of the young. We first permit their
minds to be poisoned, by offering them the draught, and then punish
them by law for taking it. Does not the wide world afford a variety
of materials sufficient for virtuous imitation, without descending to
that which is vicious? It is much easier to make a pail of pure water
foul, than it is to make a pail of foul water pure. It must not be
supposed that I wish to sweep off every kind of amusement from the
juvenile part of society, but I do wish to sweep off all that has a
pernicious tendency. The limits which I have prescribed to myself will
not allow me to enter more at large into this subject; otherwise
I could produce a number of facts which would prove, most
unquestionably, the propriety of discontinuing these exhibitions.
A conversation which I once heard between some boys who were playing
at what is called _pitch-in-the-hole_, will prove the truth of my
assertions. "Bill," said one of the boys to the other, "when did you
go to the play last?" "On Monday night," was the reply. "Did you see
the new pantomime?"--"Yes." "Well, did you see any fun?"--"Yes, I
believe I did too. I saw the clown _bone_ a whole _hank_ of sausages,
and put them into his pocket, and then pour the gravy in after them.
You would have split your sides with laughing, had you been there.
A.B. and C.D. were with me, and they laughed as much as I did.
And what do you think A.B. did the next night?"--"How should I
know."--"Why," replied the other, "he and C.D. _boned_ about two
pounds of sausages from a pork shop, and we had them for supper." This
conversation I heard from a window, which looked into a ruinous place
where boys assembled to toss up for money, and other games. This fact
alone, without recording any more, is sufficient to show the evil of
which I have been speaking. And I do most sincerely hope that those
persons who have any influence over the stage, will use their utmost
endeavours, speedily, to expunge every thing thus calculated to
promote evil inclinations in the minds of children, and vicious habits
in the lives of men.
It is not impossible that scenic exhibitions might be made a most
powerful means of instruction to the young, and tend to promote virtue
and happiness, as well as be a means of rational amusement, but as
they now exist, their extirpation is desirable.
As I have had much experience from being brought up in London, I am
perfectly aware of the evil impressions and dangerous temptations that
the children of the poor are liable to fall into; and therefore most
solemnly affirm that nothing in my view would give so much happiness
to the community at large, as the taking care of the affections of the
infant children of the poor.
There is, moreover, a practice very prevalent among the poor, which
does greater mischief than the people are generally aware of, and that
is, sending their children to the _pawnbrokers_. It is well known that
many persons send children, scarcely seven years of age, to these
people, with pledges of various sorts, a thing that cannot be too
severely condemned. I know an instance of a little boy finding a shawl
in the street; and being in the habit of going to the pawnbroker's
for his mother, instead of taking the shawl home to his parents, he
actually pawned it and spent all the money, which might never have
been known by his parents, had not the mother found the duplicate in
his pocket. It is evident, then, that many parents have no one but
themselves to blame for the misconduct of their children; for had this
child not been accustomed to go to such a place _for his parents_, he
would never have thought of going there _for himself_; and the shawl
most likely would have been carried home to _them_. Indeed, there
is no knowing where such a system will end, for if the children are
suffered to go to such places, they may in time pledge that which does
not belong to them; and so easy is the way of turning any article
into money, that we find most young thieves, of both sexes, when
apprehended, have some duplicates about them. Those persons,
therefore, who take pledges of children (contrary to the act of
parliament, whether they know it or not,) ought to be severely
reprimanded; for I am persuaded, that such conduct is productive of
very great mischief indeed.
Taking children to _fairs_, is another thing which is also productive
of much harm. At the commencement of the first school, seventy or
eighty children were frequently absent whenever there was a fair near
London; but the parents were afterwards cured of this, and we seldom
had above twenty absentees at fair-time. Several of the children have
told me that their parents wished to take them, but they requested to
be permitted to come to school instead. Indeed the parents, finding
that they can enjoy themselves better without their children, are very
willing to leave them at school.
It is a difficult matter to persuade grown persons of the impropriety
of attending fairs, who have been accustomed to it when children;
but children are easily persuaded from it; for if they are properly
entertained at school, they will not have the least desire to go to
such places.
I cannot quit this subject without relating one or two more very bad
habits to which children are addicted, and which are, perhaps, fit
subjects for the consideration of the _Mendicity Society_. As it is
the object of that society to clear the streets of beggars, it would
be well if they would put a stop to those juvenile beggars, many of
whom are children of respectable parents, who assemble together
to build what they call a GROTTO; to the great annoyance of all
passengers in the street. However desirous persons may be of
encouraging ingenuity in children, I think it is doing them much harm
to give them money when they ask for it in this way. Indeed it would
appear, that some of the children have learned the art of begging so
well, that they are able to vie with the most experienced mendicants.
Ladies in particular are very much annoyed by children getting before
them and asking for money; nor will they take the answer given them,
but put their hats up to the ladies' faces, saying, "Please, ma'am,
remember the grotto;" and when told by the parties that they have
no money to give, they will still continue to follow, and be as
importunate as any common beggar. However innocent and trifling this
may appear to some, I am inclined to believe that such practices tend
to evil, for they teach children to be mean, and may cause some of
them to choose begging rather than work. I think that the best way to
stop this species of begging is, never to give them any thing. A fact
which came under my own observation will shew that the practice may
be productive of mischief. A foreign gentleman walking up Old Street
Road, was surrounded by three or four boys, saying, "Please, sir,
remember the grotto."--"Go away," was the reply, "I will give you
none." To this followed, "Do, pray sir, remember the grotto." "No, I
tell you, I will give you nothing." "Do, sir, only once a-year." At
length, I believe, he put something into one of their hats, and thus
got rid of them; but he had scarcely gone 200 yards, before he came
to another grotto, and out sallied three more boys, with the same
importunate request: he replied, "I will give you nothing; plague have
you and your grotto." The boys however persevered, till the gentleman,
having lost all patience, gave one of them a gentle tap to get out of
the way, but the boy being on the side of the foot-path fell into the
mud, which had been scraped off the road, and in this pickle followed
the gentleman, bellowing out, "That man knocked me down in the mud,
and I had done nothing to him." In consequence, a number of persons
soon collected, who insulted the gentleman very much, and he would
certainly have been roughly handled, had he not given the boy
something as a recompence. He then called a coach, declaring he could
not walk the streets of London in safety.
Those who know what mischief has arisen from very trifling causes,
will, of course, perceive the necessity of checking this growing evil;
for this man went away with very unfavourable impressions concerning
our country, and would, no doubt, prejudice many against us, and make
them suppose we are worse than we are.
Nearly allied to this is, "Pray remember poor Guy Faux;" which not
only teaches children the art of begging, but is frequently the means
of their becoming dishonest, for I have known children break down
fences, and water-spouts, and, in short, any thing that they could lay
their hands upon, in order to make a bonfire, to the great danger of
the inhabitants near it, without producing one good effect. Yet how
easily might this practice be put down. The ill effects of it are so
self-evident, that there can be no need for further enlargement.
I also disapprove of children going about begging at Christmas; this
practice is calculated to instil into the children's minds a principle
of meanness not becoming the English character, and the money they
get, seldom, if ever, does them any good. If persons choose to give
children any thing at this time of the year, there can be no objection
to it, but I dislike children going about to ask for money like common
beggars; it cannot be proper, and should be generally discountenanced.
All these things, to some men, may appear trifling, but to me and
others they are of consequence; for if we mean to improve the general
character of the labouring population, there is nothing like beginning
in time; and we should, amongst other things, get rid of all mean and
improper customs.
Before concluding this chapter I would hint to travellers not to give
children money for running after a coach. I have seen children of both
sexes run until their breath failed, and, completely exhausted, drop
down on the grass; merely because some injudicious persons had thrown
halfpence to them. I have also seen little boys turn over and over
before the horses, for the purpose of getting money, to the danger of
their own lives and of the passengers; and I recollect an instance of
one boy being, in consequence, killed on the spot. In some counties
children will, in spring and summer, run after a carriage with flowers
upon a long stick, thrusting it in the coach or the faces of the
travellers, begging halfpence, which habit had been taught them by the
same injudicious means.
The most virtuous and pious of men, on looking back to their early
lives, have almost invariably confessed that they owe the first
seeds of what is excellent in them, to the blessing of God, on the
instruction and example of their parents, and those around them in the
years of their childhood.
Reflections like these ought to make us humble and thankful for the
advantages we have enjoyed, and cause us to look with an eye of pity,
charity, and commiseration on the vices and delinquencies of the poor,
rather than to judge them with harsh and cruel severity. Had we been
in their places, might not--would not--our character and conduct have
been as theirs?--Still further, ought not such thoughts as these to
touch our hearts with deep compassion for them, and excite us to
strenuous endeavours to remedy these lamentable evils, by the most
powerful and effective measures that can be found; and more especially
to strive if possible to rescue the rising generation from the
contamination of surrounding vice and misery.
CHAPTER IV.
REMEDY FOR EXISTING EVILS.
_Means long in operation important--Prisons awfully
corrupting--Deplorable condition of those released from
jail--Education of the infant poor--Its beneficial results--Cases
of inviolable honesty--Appeal of Mr. Serjeant Bosanquet--The infant
school, an asylum from accidents, and a prevention of various
evils--Obstacles in the way of married persons obtaining
employment--Arguments for the plan of infant training--Prevalence of
profane swearing--The example often shewn by parents--Anecdote in
illustration--Parents ill used by their young children--Christian-like
wish of George III.--Education for poor children still objected
to--Folly of such objections illustrated--Lectures on the subject of
infant training_.
* * * * *
"The most likely and hopeful reformation of the road must begin with
children. Wholesome laws and good sermons are but slow and late ways;
the timely and most compendious way is a good education."--_Archbishop
Tillotson_.
* * * * *
Having brought the prevalency of juvenile delinquency immediately
before the eyes of my readers, by various examples in the second
chapter, and in the third exhibited a few of the causes of it, I shall
now proceed to point out what, in my humble opinion appears to be the
only efficient remedy, namely, the education of the infant poor.
It may not be amiss, however, to glance at the means which have
heretofore been employed, and found, though productive of some good,
inefficient for the end proposed.
As preventives, I may notice the numerous national and Sunday schools,
tract societies, &c., established throughout the kingdom. These have
doubtless much good effect, and deserve the zealous support of every
one who has at heart the welfare of society in general, and the
improvement of the labouring classes in particular. Many have been
plucked, "as brands from the burning," by these institutions; which
are a blessing to the objects of their benevolence, and an honour to
their conductors and supporters. That Sunday schools are not wholly
efficient, in conjunction with other institutions, to accomplish
the end desired, is to be attributed, on the one hand, to the small
portion of time in which their salutary influence is exerted; and, on
the other, to their not admitting children at a sufficiently early
age. At the period usually assigned for their entrance, they have not
only acquired many evil habits, but their affections have become
so thoroughly perverted, as to offer great, and, in some cases,
insuperable obstacles to the corrective efforts of their teachers.
Each child brings into the school some portion of acquired evil,
making, when united, a formidable aggregate, and affording every
facility for mutual contamination. Add to this, the counteracting
effect which the bad examples they meet with in the course of six days
must have upon the good they hear on the seventh, and it will be seen
how little comparatively is really practicable. I do not say this to
dishearten those who are engaged in this labour of love, or to abate
the zeal of its promoters. At the same time that their experience
confirms the truth of my observations--and I know they would candidly
confess that it does so--they must have many gratifying instances of a
contrary nature, in children, who from evil habits have been won to
a love of goodness and religion, shewn not merely in a punctual
attendance at their school, but in that good-will toward their
fellow-scholars, and grateful love to their teachers, which are the
only infallible signs of a change in the affections. These things
encourage them, in spite of many difficulties and mortifications, to
persevere in well doing; and may the God of love bless their labours
with an increase of fruitfulness! It is only my purpose here to state,
that the most likely human means to produce such an increase, is the
establishment of infant schools;--schools designed, particularly, for
the cultivation of the affections,--for preparing the heart to receive
that wisdom which teaches us to love God supremely, and to love our
neighbour as ourselves. As to the system of instruction pursued in
Sunday schools, as well as other free schools, it is, indeed, my
opinion, that some alteration for the better might be made, but as I
intend to speak of this matter in a future place, I shall say no
more on the subject at present, but pass on to notice prison
discipline--which is, I fear, entitled to any term but that of a
_remedy_.
That the end of punishment should be the prevention of future crime,
rather than the gratification of vindictive feelings--whether those of
states or of injured individuals--but few will venture to deny; and
yet how little calculated is the punishment usually inflicted on young
offenders in this country, to answer that end! They are shut up in
a prison, in company with other thieves, perhaps older and more
experienced than themselves, and all that was wanting to complete
their education in dishonesty is here attained. Previously to their
confinement within the walls of one of these places, in spite of the
assertions of their hardened associates, that it was nothing to fear,
it is probable, dread or apprehension hung over their minds; the last
vestige of shame had not been banished by a public appearance as
criminals--and this, properly taken advantage of, might have made
their reformation possible! But, having encountered the object of
their fears, and endured the shame of a trial--shame and fear are
alike gone for ever; and when once they find their way into those
sinks of iniquity, there is very little hope of amendment. From that
period a prison has not the least terror for them. Being a place of
idleness while there, it calls forth the evil inclinations of
its inmates, and as they have opportunities of indulging those
inclinations, it not only loses all its utility, but becomes
incalculably injurious. I heard a boy who had been confined in Newgate
say, that he did not care any thing about it; that his companions
supplied him with plenty of victuals, that there was some good fun to
be seen there, and that most likely he should soon be there again;
which proved too true, for he was shortly after taken up again for
stealing two pieces of printed calico, and transported. This, with a
multitude of similar facts, will shew that there are few who do not
become more depraved, and leave such places worse than when they
entered them. A gentleman who visited Newgate informed me that he had
been very much surprised at finding so many children there; some of
whom were ironed; and on his inquiring the cause of such severity
towards children so young, he was told by one of the turnkeys, that
_he had snuck more trouble with them than he had with old offenders_.
This fact has been verified by the chief officers of the Wakefield
Model Prison,--the boys give most trouble. In the matter of treating
juveniles as delinquents, I am sure we are wrong. I have seen both the
magistrates and the judges insulted on the bench by juveniles brought
before them, and taunted with the following: "You can do no more, you
with the big wig! I wish you may sit there until I come out!" And in
the month of May, 1852, the magistrates of Wakefield were insulted by
a boy 15 years old, who had been taken up as an impostor, with his
arm doubled in a sling, and shamming to be deaf and dumb,--a healthy
strong youth, able and fit for work--and when asked why he did not
work, answered, because he could get more by his own method! Hear!
this ye indiscriminate alms-givers! And, further, when expostulated
with by the magistrates for the sin and wickedness of pretending to
be lame, &c., he laughed at them outright for being so silly as to
suppose that he should not _live well if he could?_ When told he
should be committed for three months, he had the impudence to tell the
court that he would do the same again, when he came out, clapped his
hat on in open defiance, and shouted, "That's all you can do!" The
chairman expressed sorrow that he could not order a whipping, but
the prisoner laughed at him, and said, "I am too old for that." Such
things were not known in my younger days. I am afraid we have erred
in this matter. A little wholesome correction did wonders. In such
matters, it, at least, made the parties civil, and, I think, deterred
from crime. I am fearful that in this age mankind aim in some things
to be more perfect than the Great Ruler of the Universe!
To the bad habits of a prison, and the association with guilt, must be
added the deplorably unprovided state, in which, at the termination of
their period of imprisonment, they are sent forth into society. What
friends have they but their former companions? What habitations,
but their former resorts of iniquity? What means of procuring a
livelihood, but their former evil practices? We accordingly find, that
it is not unfrequently the case, with these young offenders, that
scarcely a day elapses after their liberation, before they find
themselves again in custody, and within the walls of a prison. One
cannot, indeed, view the exertions made by the "Society for the
Improvement of Prison Discipline" in this respect, without feelings of
gratitude to those who take an active part in it[A]; neither should we
forget to return thanks to the Author of all good, that he should
have encouraged the hearts of persons to venture even their lives, to
improve the condition of the prisoners in Newgate and elsewhere;--that
even females are found, who, conquering the timidity and diffidence
of their sex, have visited these abodes of vice and misery, for the
purpose of ameliorating the condition of their inhabitants. There have
been men, claiming to be considered wise men, who have ridiculed the
exertions of these daughters of philanthropy, and have made them
objects of ridicule, but, happily, they are impervious to the shafts
of folly; and as heedless of the unjust censures, as they are
undesirous of the applause of man. Their aim is, the good of their
fellow-creatures,--their reward, the pleasure of doing good, and the
approbation of Him who is goodness itself. That their well-meant and
praiseworthy exertions are not more successful can only be accounted
for by the awfully depraved affections which habitual vice produces;
when every principle of action, which should be subservient to virtue,
becomes actively employed in the cause of wickedness; for, whatever
may be the impulse which first induces offenders to do wrong, they
become, in course of time, so totally lost to all sense of what is
good as to "glory in their shame." Whether it maybe possible to devise
any plan of prison discipline sufficient to remedy the evil, I
cannot pretend to say; and I shall only repeat the burthen of my
song--_educate and protect the infant poor_; and it will be found that
_to prevent_ is not only better, but easier, than to _cure_.
[Footnote A: I will make a short extract from one of its reports,
to shew, that the chief end they have in view, is the prevention of
crime. They state, that "in the course of their visit, to the gaols
in the metropolis, the Committee very frequently meet with destitute
boys, who, on their discharge from confinement, literally know not
where to lay their heads. To assist such friendless outcasts has
been the practice of the society; and to render this relief more
efficacious, a temporary refuge has been established for such as
are disposed to abandon their vicious courses. This asylum has been
instrumental in affording assistance to a considerable number of
distressed youths, who, but for this seasonable aid, must have
resorted to criminal practices for support. On admission into this
establishment, the boys are instructed in moral and religious duty,
subjected to habits of order and industry, and after a time are placed
in situations which afford a reasonable prospect of their becoming
honest and useful members of society. To extend these objects, and to
render its exertions more widely beneficial, the society solicits the
aid of public benevolence. Its expenses are unavoidably serious, and
its funds are at present very low; but it is trusted that pecuniary
support will not be withheld, when it is considered, that on the
liberality with which this appeal is answered, depends, in a great
measure, the success of the society's objects--the reformation of the
vicious, and the prevention of crime."]
That this remedy is effectual, experience has taught me and many
others; and experience is a guide on whom we may safely rely. It has
shown me that by taking children at an early age out of the reach of
contamination in the streets, and removing them in a great measure
from the no less baneful influence of evil example at home, we may lay
such a foundation of virtue, as is not likely to be shaken. Nor do I
think it difficult to show the reason of this. It is confessed on all
hands that our first impressions are the most powerful, both as to
their immediate effects and future influence; that they not only form
the character of our childhood, but that of our maturer years. As the
mind of a child expands, it searches for new objects of employment or
gratification; and this is the time when the young fall an easy prey
to those who make a business of entrapping them into the paths of
dishonesty, and then of urging them to crimes of deeper dye. What,
then, but a most salutary result can ensue from placing a child in a
situation, where its first impressions will be those of the beauty of
goodness,--where its first feelings of happiness will consist in the
receiving and cherishing kind ness towards its little neighbours? In
after years, and in schools for older children, it is reckoned an
unavoidable evil, that they should be congregated together in numbers;
not so in the infant school; it is there made use of as a means of
developing and exercising those kindly feelings, which must conduce
to the individual and general comfort, not only there, but in society
generally. It is not merely by instructing them in _maxims_ of honesty
that we seek to provide against the evil; but by the surer way of
exciting that feeling of love towards each other--towards every
one--which, when found in activity, must not only prevent dishonesty,
but every other species of selfishness.
Consider the difference of the cases. In the one case we behold
a child associated, in happy communion, with a society--a little
world--of its own age and feelings,--continually proving the
possibility of giving and imparting happiness by receiving
and exercising kindness to its companions--secured from every
danger--supplied with a constant variety of amusement, which is at
the same time instruction; and all this under the care of a master or
mistress; acting the part, not of a petulant school-dame, or a stern
pedagogue, but of a kind and judicious parent.
In the case of the child not thus befriended, we see it, either
exposed to the dangerous associations of the street, or to the
bad examples of its parents; to their unkindness and severity, or
misguided indulgence; and presented, moreover, with every facility, as
well as every temptation, to do wrong. Now, is it to be wondered at,
that, in the former case, kind, obedient, honest characters should
be the result; and in the latter, such as we have, in our preceding
examples, exhibited? Reason tells us such a consequence is likely, and
experience has shewn us that it really happens. I could enumerate a
thousand cases of honest principle in the infants who have been
under my own care; but I can only mention one or two circumstances
illustrative of the matter.
I once had, for example, two little boys to travel with me; their
assistance was extremely valuable in organizing schools. They were
often invited to accompany me at dinner; the guests generally gave
them presents. I have watched them under many tempting circumstances,
and never found them steal. It is my firm conviction that dishonesty
is chiefly the effect of neglect. No child can be _born_ a _thief_,
in the strict sense of the term. In many schools, too, there are
fruit-trees planted in the play-ground, to which the children will not
do the least injury, nor will they touch the fruit. Flowers in pots,
such as geraniums, auriculas, and other plants, are placed in the
middle of the play-ground, without the least danger of being injured.
Such is their respect to private property.
Another instance particularly excited my notice amongst the children
in the first establishments in London. They were permitted to bring
their dinners with them, and there were boxes in the school to put
them in. Every child in the school had access to these boxes, for they
were never locked, and yet I never knew a child to lose his dinner, or
any part of it, notwithstanding many of the children, to my knowledge,
had been kept extremely short of food. I have known an instance of a
slice of bread and butter being left in the box for several weeks, by
some child that could not eat it, but none of the other children would
dare to touch it. I have found in the boxes two or three pieces of
bread, as hard as possible, and as a proof that many were hungry, and
that it did not remain there because they could not eat it, but out of
pure honesty, I have offered it to some of the children, and they have
eaten it in that state. Cold potatoes, pieces of fat, &c., were not
unacceptable to them when given; but sooner than take any thing
without leave, they have actually left it to spoil. These are facts
which shew, that notwithstanding all the disadvantages to which the
poor children are exposed, their character may be so far formed as to
produce the effects above described. "Would you take a piece of bread
out of this box that did not belong to you?" said I to the children
one day. "No, sir," replied a little girl of four years old. "Why
not?" "Because," said the child, "it would be thieving." "Well, but
suppose no one saw you?" Before I could speak another word, a number
of the children answered, "God can see everything that we do." "Yes,"
added another little boy, "if you steal a cherry, or a piece of
pencil, it is wicked." "To be sure," added another, "it is wicked to
steal any thing."
I cannot do better than introduce in this place the opinion of Judge
Bosanquet, on the subject of the education of the infant poor; and
some valuable hints will likewise be found in his remarks on prison
discipline. It is an extract from a charge to the jury delivered at
the Gloucester assizes for April, 1823. "Gentlemen, I have reason to
believe, that the offences for trial on this occasion, are rather less
than usual at this season, and, to whatever the diminution of crime
may be ascribed, I cannot forbear earnestly to press upon your
attention, a constant perseverance in two things, _which, above all
others, are calculated to diminish crime_,--the first is an unremitted
attention to the education of the children of the poor, and of all
classes of society, in the principles of true morality and sound
religion; the next is the constant and regular employment of such
persons as may be sentenced to imprisonment, in such labour as may be
adapted to their respective ages and conditions. I believe that these
observations may be considered as quite superfluous in this county,
and therefore I have taken the liberty of using the word perseverance,
because I believe your attention is already strongly drawn to that
subject, and it requires no exhortation of mine to induce your
attention to it. I am not quite sure whether in the gaol for this
city, the same means are provided for the employment of those persons
sentenced to terms of imprisonment, which are provided in the gaol
for the county. The magistrates for the city are equally desirous of
promoting the education of all the poor under their care, I have no
doubt; and I do hope and trust, if the means of labour have not been
provided in their gaol, that no time will be lost in providing those
means by which imprisonment may be made a real punishment, by which
offenders may be reformed during their imprisonment, and by which the
idle and dissolute may be prevented from any inclination to return
there."[A]
[Footnote A: From the time the judge referred to made the above
remarks, other judges, down to the present time, have added similar
sentiments. From 1823, until 1852, proof upon proof, has been added,
to show us the advantage of early training; and though much has been
cramming, and not training, still the results have been good. What
would they have been had the schooling given, really been _training?_
and what, if the training of children had been studied as _art_, if
the public looked on the teachers as artists, and treated them with
the consideration they deserve? Anticipations cannot be too sanguine
in estimating the results that must accrue to society from a system of
spiritual, intellectual, and moral culture, becoming universal, and
worked out by minds who will, I am sure hereafter, be able fully to
develope, from study, and practice of the _art_ of teaching, the great
principles of spiritual truths, intellectual vigour, and the moral
strength of the coming generations, which have been allowed to remain
in a state of torpor in the present.]
I have hitherto only being considering the _prudential_ motives which
should induce us to promote the education of the poor. I have shown,
that it will be for the benefit of society, inasmuch as it is likely
to decrease the number of those who transgress its laws--that it will
prove a greater security to our persons and property than laws or
prisons afford. But there are other motives which, if these selfish
ones were wholly wanting, might be sufficient to advocate, in every
humane heart, the same course of conduct. If the duty of promoting
honesty amongst the labouring classes did not exist, that of
increasing happiness and piety amongst them would not be the less
imperative. That there is much room for an augmentation of both, few,
I think, will be inclined to deny; the less so in proportion as
they have had the greater opportunity of ascertaining their actual
condition.
Let us now for a few moments consider how great a blessing an infant
school is, even when regarded as a mere asylum to take charge of the
child's bodily welfare. I have mentioned before, that the poor are
unable to take that care of their children which their tender age
requires, on account of their occupations; and have shewn, that it is
almost certain, that the children of such persons will learn every
species of vice. But there are other kinds of dangers which more
immediately affect the body, and are the cause of more accidents
than people in general imagine. I shall here notice some of the most
prominent, and hope to be able to convince the unprejudiced mind, that
it would be a charity to take charge of the infant poor, even leaving
the idea of their learning any thing good at school entirely out of
the question; and surely those persons, who disapprove of educating
the poor at all, will see the propriety of keeping, if possible, their
children safe from accidents, and preserving the lives of many little
ones, who would otherwise be lost to their country, from their falling
a prey to surrounding dangers.
It is well known that many poor people are obliged to live in garrets,
three or four stories high, with a family of six or seven children;
and it will not appear improbable that, when the children are left by
themselves, they should frequently meet with accidents by tumbling
down stairs; some breaking their backs, others their legs or arms;
and to this cause alone, perhaps, may be traced a vast number of the
cripples that daily appear as mendicants in our streets. When the
poor parents return from their daily labour, they sometimes have the
mortification of finding that one, or probably two, of their children,
are gone to an hospital; which of course makes them unhappy, and
unfits them for going through their daily labour. This dead weight,
which is continually on the minds of parents, is frequently the cause
of their being unable to please their employers, and the consequence
sometimes is, they are thrown out of work altogether; whereas, if
they were certain that their children were taken care of, they would
proceed with their daily labour cheerfully, and be enabled to give
more satisfaction to their employers than they otherwise can do.
Other parents I have known, who, when obliged to go out, have locked
their children in a room to prevent them from getting into the street,
or falling down stairs, and who have taken every precaution, as
they imagined, to protect their children; but the little creatures,
perhaps, after fretting and crying for hours at being thus confined,
have ventured to get up to the window, in order to see what was
passing in the street, when one, over-reaching itself, has fallen out
and been killed on the spot. A gentleman said, at a public meeting at
Exeter, when referring to this subject, "I have myself, twice in my
life, nearly occasioned the death of children. In one instance, a
child left to itself, ran out of the hedge by the road-side; I was
fortunately able to stop, and found the child, unconscious of its
escape, raising its hands to the reins of the horse. And on another
occasion, my horse threw a child down, and I had but just time to pull
up, and prevent the wheels from passing over the infant's head." And
it was stated in a Bristol paper, that in the short space of _one
fortnight, seven_ children were taken to the infirmary of that city so
dreadfully burnt that four of them died. Numerous cases of this kind
are to be found in the public prints, and hundreds of such accidents
occur which are not noticed in the papers at all. Many children,
again, strolling into the fields, fall into ponds and ditches, and
are drowned. So numerous, indeed, are the dangers which surround the
infant poor, as to make a forcible appeal to the hearts of the pious
and humane, and to call loudly on them to unite in rescuing this
hitherto neglected part of the rising generation from the evils to
which they are exposed.
It is much to be regretted that those persons who most need employment
should be the last to procure it; but such is the fact, for there
are so many obstacles thrown in the way of married persons, and
especially, those with a family, that many are tempted to deny that
they have any children, for fear they should lose their situations,
though it is certainly an additional stimulus to a servant to behave
orderly, when he knows that he has others to look to him for support.
Shall I close this appeal for the necessity of educating the infant
poor by another and weightier argument? They are _responsible_ and
_immortal_ beings. It may be thought that I should have given this
plea the precedence of every other. I did not, because I felt
more anxious to make good my ground with the prudent and the
philanthropic--to show them that self-interest and humanity demand our
exertions in this cause. I knew that when I came to urge such efforts
upon the attention of the Christian, I could not possibly fail. No one
who is a sincere follower of Him who said "Suffer little children to
come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom;" no one
who professes to abide by the maxims of Him whose commandment was,
"Love thy neighbour as thyself," can turn a deaf ear to the entreaties
of those who are necessitous and suffering. Thousands there are among
those of whom we have been speaking, who are brought up in as great
ignorance of God and religion, as though they had been born in a
country where the light of Revelation had never shone--where the glad
tidings of salvation have never been proclaimed. With examples of evil
continually before their eyes, both at home and abroad, we see and
hear its consequences daily in the wickedness with which our streets
abound, and in the lisped blasphemy and profanity of those who learn
to curse and swear before they can well walk.
Whilst I was at Lincoln, I was shocked beyond measure by the horrid
language of the boys; to such a pitch had the evil come, that the
magistrates were determined to fine all the men who were brought
before them for profane swearing; and I had the satisfaction of
hearing that four men had been fined whilst I was there. What a
blessing it would be if other magistrates throughout the kingdom would
follow their example!
Any person who has been accustomed to walk the streets of London, must
have heard how frequently children take the name of the Almighty in
vain; seldom or ever mentioning it but to confirm some oath. I have
seen boys playing at marbles, tops, and other games, and who, on
a dispute arising about some frivolous thing, would call upon the
Supreme Being to strike them deaf, dumb, or blind, nay, even dead,
if what they said were not true; when, nevertheless, I have been
satisfied from having observed the origin of the dispute, that the
party using the expressions has been telling a falsehood. Indeed so
common is this kind of language in the streets, that it often passes
without notice. I am inclined to think, that children accustomed to
use such expressions on every trifling occasion, will, when they grow
to riper years, pay very little respect to the sanctity of an oath. It
is, perhaps, one of the reasons why we hear of so much perjury in the
present day. At all events, little children cannot avoid hearing such
expressions, not only from those who are rather older than themselves,
but, I am sorry to say, even from their parents. I have known repeated
instances of this kind. Many little ones, when they first come to our
schools, make use of dreadful expressions, and when told that it is
wrong, will say that they did not know it was so; others, with the
greatest simplicity, have declared, that they had heard their fathers
or mothers say the same words. Hence I have had much difficulty in
persuading them that it was wrong, for they very naturally thought,
that if their parents made use of such language, they might do the
same. How great is the necessity of good example; and did parents
generally consider how apt children are to receive impressions, and to
become imitators, both in their words and actions, they would be more
cautious than they are. There are many parents who make use of very
bad expressions themselves, who would correct their children for using
the same;--as a proof of this, I will mention one circumstance, out of
many others, that took place in the school I superintended many years
since. We had a little girl there, five years old, who was so fond of
the school, that she frequently stopped after the usual hours to play
with my children and some others who chose to stay in the play-ground.
Many of them would stop till eight or nine o'clock at night, to which
I had no objection, provided their parents approved of it, and they
did not get into mischief; it being desirable to keep them out of the
streets as much as possible. It happened, however, one day, that some
of the children, offended this child, and she called them by dreadful
names, such as I cannot repeat; and, of course, the others were
terrified, and told me of them immediately. I was soon satisfied that
the child was ignorant of the meaning of what she said, for, as an
excuse for her conduct, she declared that she heard her father and
mother use the same words. I told the child, that notwithstanding her
parents might have done so, it was very wicked, and that I could not
let her stay another time to play, if ever she did so again. Having
sent for the mother, I informed her of the expressions the child had
used, but did not tell her what she had mentioned relative to her
parents, for if I had, she would have beaten her most unmercifully.
The mother, after having heard me relate the circumstance, immediately
flew into a passion with the child, and declared, that she would "skin
her alive," (this was her expression,) and I had much difficulty to
restrain her from correcting the child in the school. Having pacified
her a little, I inquired where the child could have heard such wicked
expressions. She said she could not tell. I then told her, I hoped the
child did not learn them of her, or her father. To this she made no
answer, but I could perceive that she stood self-convicted, and having
said what I conceived necessary upon the occasion, I dismissed her,
observing that it was useless for ladies and gentlemen to establish
schools for the education of the infant poor, if the parents did not
assist by setting them a good example.
I am happy to state, that the advice I gave her was not thrown away,
as I never knew the child guilty of saying a bad word afterwards; and
the mother soon brought me another child, of two years and a half old,
and said she should be very glad if I would take it into the school,
and that she wished a blessing might always attend the gentlemen
who supported the institution. She also requested me to take an
opportunity of speaking a few words to her husband, for she was
thankful for what had been said to her. And here I would observe, that
although it is most undoubtedly true, that the good taught to children
in our infant schools is greatly counteracted by the conduct they
witness on their return home, yet we occasionally see, that these
little children, by the blessing of God, are made the means of
reforming their own parents. What a gratifying fact it is, that the
adult and hardened sinner, may be turned from his evil ways--from
death unto life--by an infant's precept or example!
Nor is it only in profane expressions that we see the influence of
evil. Some children I have known, in the same neighbourhood, who even
beat their parents. There was a poor widow, very near the school, who
was frequently to be seen with her face dreadfully bruised by
blows from her own son. He had been taken before a magistrate, and
imprisoned for three months, but it did him no good, for he afterwards
beat his mother as much as ever, and the poor woman had it in
contemplation to get the miscreant sent out of the country. One
Sunday, I remember to have seen a boy, under twelve years of age, take
up a large stone to throw at his mother: he had done something wrong
in the house, and the mother followed him into the street with a small
cane, to correct him for it; but he told his mother, that if she dared
to approach him, he would knock her down. The mother retired, and
the boy went where he pleased. These and many similar scenes I have
witnessed; and I am afraid that many such characters have been so
completely formed as to be past reformation. So essential is it, to
embrace the first opportunity of impressing on the infant mind the
principles of duty and virtue.
I am aware that many excellent institutions are in existence for the
spread of the gospel amongst the ignorant and depraved at home as well
as abroad; but I must here again advert to the readier reception of
religious truths in infancy, than by the adult and confirmed sinner.
I would not say to those who are engaged in the painful task--painful
because so often unsuccessful--forego your labours; but I would call
upon all who have at heart the everlasting welfare of the souls of
men, to exert themselves, that the rising generation may not likewise
grow up into that state of perverseness--that they may not in future
years prove themselves to be a generation, which, "like the adder,
turneth a deaf ear to the charmer, charm he ever so wisely." I am
satisfied, from the experience I have had, that an amount of good
is attainable from early and judicious culture, which far, very far
surpasses all that has heretofore been accomplished; and on which not
a few are even unprepared to calculate.
It was a Christian-like wish expressed by King George III., that every
child in his dominions should be able to read the bible; and from the
increased facility of doing so from gratuitous education, the number
of those who cannot is much less than formerly; but in many cases the
necessitous circumstances of the parents prevent them from allowing
their children, except during their infant years, the advantage of
instruction, even though it cost them nothing. The time for the
children of the poor to receive instruction, is between the ages
of two and eight; after that period many are sent out to work, or
detained at home, for they then become useful to their parents, and
cannot be sent to school. There are many little girls who, having
left the infant school, go out to work for a shilling a week, and the
mothers have declared to me, when I have endeavoured to persuade them
to send them to the National School, for at least one year, that they
could not do it, for they were so poor, that every shilling was a
great help; they have, however, promised me that they would send them
to the Sunday school. This may account, in some measure, for there
being so many more boys than girls in almost every school in London,
and chews that great good has been done, and is doing, by those
valuable institutions.[A]
[Footnote A: It is to be observed here, that the children do not come
to or schools on Sundays, but many of them, between five and six years
old, who have brothers and sisters in the national school, go with
them to church, and others of the same age go to a Sunday school in
the neighbourhood. In short, I may venture to say, that almost all the
children that are able, go either to a Sunday school or to church: but
to take them all in a body, at the early age that they are admitted
into an infant school, to any place of worship, and to keep them there
for two or three hours, with a hope to profit them, and not to
disturb the congregation, is, according to my view, injurious if not
impracticable.]
Many of my readers, who have been in the habit of noticing and pitying
the poor, may think the detail into which I have entered superfluous,
but I can assure them the want of information on the subject is but
too general, and is sufficient to account for the indifference which
has so long been exhibited.
The objection, that education is altogether improper for poor people
is not quite obsolete. There are not wanting persons who still
entertain the most dreadful apprehensions of the _"march of
intellect,"_ as it has been termed; who see no alternative but that it
must over-turn every thing that is established, and subvert the whole
order of society. I would willingly impart comfort to the minds of
those who are afflicted with such nervous tremours, but I fear, if the
demonstration of experience has not quieted them, the voice of reason
never will. It cannot fail to remind us of the apprehensions of the
popish clergy in former times, who decried the art of printing,
then recently introduced, as a branch of the black art, which, if
encouraged, must eventually demolish the social fabric, and introduce
civil wars and discord into every country. Time, that test of truth,
has shewn us how groundless their apprehensions were. Instead of
injuring that fabric, it has strengthened its foundation so that it
cannot be shaken, and has surrounded it with defences, which bid
defiance to assaults.
Oh! that the time were come when every heart, being imbued with truly
christian principles, would see that the noblest and highest object
that could be set before us, would be to rear up the minds of the
young in knowledge, virtue, and piety; to train them to intelligence
and usefulness in this life, and for happiness and immortality in the
life to come. On such labours the blessing of God would inevitably
rest, and His promise of their success is positive and unconditional.
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will
not depart from it."
To the furtherance of the infant system I have devoted for many years
my utmost energies and resources, and to it I purpose to give them, so
long as I am permitted by the gracious Providence of God. I shall be
happy to render it any aid, either by supplying information to those
who need it, or by personal exertions, the expenses of so doing
being defrayed; on application to my Publisher, 22, Portugal Street,
Lincoln's Inn, London, or to myself', at Moor Cottage, Wakefield.
In order to urge the necessity, and explain the design of infant
schools, I have for some years been accustomed to deliver a course of
lectures, of which the following is an outline:--
FIRST LECTURE.--Affecting state of the children of the
poor--Lamentable condition of young delinquents--What are the
causes?--The question answered--Bodily and mental injuries now
sustained by children of all ranks, described and prevented--What is
the best remedy for existing evils?--Answer given--Origin and history
of the Infant System--Its progress in Scotland, where it might least
have been expected--What are the objections to the system?--Practical
refutation of them--Modes of instruction: The alphabet, spelling,
reading, arithmetic--Moral cultivation enforced, and the means
explained.
SECOND LECTURE.--A play-ground made not only delightful, but _mentally
and morally_ improving--The class-room adapted to produce and confirm
religious impressions--Music, its application to improve the feelings
and memory--Representations of natural objects and scriptural
subjects--Variety and extent of information attainable--Lying,
dishonesty, injustice, and cruelty corrected.
THIRD LECTURE.--New plans of reward and punishment--Influence of fear
and love--Great difference in the result--Infant system more fully
explained--Appeals to conscience--Emulation unnecessary--Elliptical
plan of teaching described--Trials by jury--Effect of
sympathy--Infants the instruments of improving one another.
FOURTH LECTURE.--Methods of teaching the elements of grammar,
geography, and geometry--Gallery described, and its application to
many useful purposes--Qualifications of instructors--Injury sustained
from their deficiencies and errors--The system contrasted with former
methods--Ultimate effects of its diffusion--Servants prepared to
become blessings to families--Hints to parents, and the application of
the whole system to children of every grade.
These lectures I am ready to deliver wherever it may be deemed
desirable, and to follow up the effect by the organization of schools.
The necessary apparatus may be obtained of myself.
CHAPTER V.
PRINCIPLES OF INFANT EDUCATION.
_Moral treatment--Importance of exercise--Play-ground
indispensable--The education of nature and human education should
be joined--Mental development, children should think for
themselves--Intellectual food adapted for children--A spirit
of inquiry should be excited--Gradual development of the young
mind--Neglect of moral treatment--Inefficacy of maxims learned by
wrote--Influence of love--The play-ground a field of observation--The
natural propensities there shew themselves--Respect of
private property inculcated--Force of conscience on the
alert--Anecdote--Advantages of a strict regard for truth--The simple
truths of the Bible fit for children_.
* * * * *
"The business of education, in respect of knowledge, is not, as I
think to perfect a learner in all or any one of the sciences, but to
give his mind that disposition, and those habits, that may enable
him to attain any part of knowledge he shall stand in need of in the
future coarse of his life."--_Locke_.
"When the obligations of morality are taught, let the sanctions of
Christianity, never be forgotten; by which it will be shewn not that
they give lustre and strength to each other: religion will appear to
be the voice of reason, and morality the will of God."--_Johnson_.
* * * * *
When Agesilaus, king of Sparta, was asked, "What should boys be
taught?" he answered, "What they ought to do when they become
men." Such a declaration was worthy of later times, since the most
intelligent now admit that the great end of all education is the
formation of solid, useful, and virtuous character. This work should
be, doubtless, commenced at the earliest possible period, to it the
system explained in this volume is considered to be adapted, and the
principles on which it proceeds are now to be illustrated. And here it
ought to be particularly observed that nothing is admissible, except
what is appropriate to the state of infancy, calculated to exercise
the physical energies, and likely, by their invigoration, to lay the
basis of a sound and powerful intellect. And yet all this is too often
forgotten. Look at the infant, the very embodying of vivacity and
activity, and its confinement to a particular posture, or the
requirement of a peculiar expression of countenance, is manifestly
unnatural. An inactive and healthy child under six years of age is
never seen. Whatever compels it to be otherwise consequently produces
what is artificial in character. A parent or a teacher may keep his
children quiet, and in what he terms order; but it does not follow
that this is a good preparation for after years. On the contrary,
bondage may issue in excess. The feelings and propensities which,
instead of being corrected, are unduly restrained, will be manifested
in some other ways, and under less favourable circumstances, and
frequently the reaction will be violent in maturity. Hence the system
now recommended is expressly one for _infants_, adapted to them just
as they are, and wholly designed to repress what is evil, and to
cherish what is good.
Accordingly, the utmost attention is given to the cheerfulness
and happiness of those on whom it acts. Instruction in reading,
arithmetic, geometry, and various other things is made exceedingly
amusing; smiling countenances and sparkling eyes are observable all
around when it is communicated; and what was dull and soporific,
according to the old plan, is now insinuated so agreeably, that
the child, while literally at play, is acquiring a large amount of
valuable knowledge. At play he sees Nature's book, that world of
beauties: he loves to look into it, there is no flogging to induce
him to do it. All is enquiry and anxiety on his part. "What is this?"
"What is that?" "What is it for?" "How did it come?" With numerous
other questions of similar import. Oh, that we had teachers to teach
more out of this divine book! Oh, that we had a public who would
encourage and cherish them for so doing! What blessed results even
have I seen, by one's being able to answer such enquiries! The absurd
notion that children can only be taught in a room, must be exploded.
I have done more in one hour in the garden, in the lanes, and in the
fields, to cherish and satisfy the budding faculties of childhood,
than could have been done in a room for months. Oh, mankind have yet
something to learn about teaching children! See how they catch at
truths through the medium of living things! See how it germinates in
them, by so doing; the teacher may forget, they do not, this I have
proved hundreds of times. Music has proved a most important auxiliary
for this purpose, and a stranger would be astonished at the hilarity
and delight with which much is rehearsed, with a full perception
of its meaning, when in any other way it would be irksome and
unintelligible.
These attainments, moreover, are accompanied by various movements
and evolutions which exercise the limbs, the joints, the muscles; in
addition to which, set times are appointed every morning and afternoon
for its exclusive enjoyment.
The conduct of inferior animals, when young, shows the propriety of
giving exercise to children. Every other creature makes use of its
organs of motion as soon as possible, and many of them, when under no
necessity of moving in quest of food, cannot be restrained without
force. Such is the case with the calf, the lamb, and many more. If
these creatures were not permitted to frisk about at pleasure, they
would soon die, or become diseased. The same inclination appears very
early in the human species; but as they are not able to take exercise
themselves, it is the business of their parents and nurses to give it
them. This may be done in various ways, and the methods included
in the system are shewn in other parts of this work. It is to be
regretted that men should be so inattentive to this matter; their
negligence is one reason why females know so little of it. Women will
always be desirous to excel in such accomplishments as recommend
them to the other sex; but men generally avoid even the slightest
acquaintance with the affairs of the nursery, and many would reckon
it an affront were they supposed to know any thing of them. Not so,
however, with the kennel or the stables; a gentleman of the first
rank, who is not ashamed to give directions concerning the management
of his dogs or horses, would blush were he surprised in performing the
same office for that being who is to be the heir of his fortunes, and,
perhaps, the future hope of his country.
Arguments to show the importance of exercise, might be drawn from
every part of the animal economy. Without it, the circulation of the
blood cannot be properly carried on, nor the different secretions duly
performed; neither can the fluids be properly prepared, nor the solids
rendered firm or strong. The action of the heart, the motion of the
lungs, and all the vital functions, are greatly assisted by exercise.
But to point out the manner in which these effects are produced, would
lead us beyond the present subject. We shall, therefore, only add,
that when exercise is neglected, none of the animal functions can be
duly performed; and when this is the case, the whole constitution must
go to wreck. Healthy parents, wholesome food, and suitable clothing
will avail little where it is disregarded. Sufficient exercise will
supply many defects in nursing, but nothing can compensate for its
want. A good constitution ought certainly to be our first object in
the management of children. It lays a foundation for their being
useful and happy in life; and whoever neglects it, not only fails in
his duty to his offspring, but to society.
While this is forgotten, let us not complain of weak and thoughtless
children, or of weak and thoughtless servants; for the former are so
from the neglect of their parents and the public; and the latter from
not having been taught to think at all--and yet the very persons that
object to the education of the poor are the first to complain of their
servants.
A notion that habits of industry must be established, has, however,
been the means, I regret to state, of a sad perversion of the system
in these respects. The time allowed for amusement and exercise has
been in some cases, very much abridged that the children might learn
and practise sewing, knitting, plaiting, &c. Now, no one can be more
disposed to the encouragement of industrious habits than myself, but I
would say not at the expense of health; which I am certain, in these
cases it must be. Deprive the children of their amusement, and they
will soon cease to be the lively, happy beings, we have hitherto seen
them, and will become the sickly, inanimate creatures, we have been
accustomed to behold and pity, under the confinement and restraint
of the dame's schools. I do not scruple to affirm, that if the
_play-grounds_ of infant schools are cut off from the system,--they
will from that moment cease to be a blessing to the country.
Nothing has given me greater pain than to witness the thorough neglect
of play-ground attendance on the part of teachers and the public;
the former leave the children to themselves at the very time their
attendance is most desirable; and when, if duly watched, the children
will give them _lessons_. Yes! such lessons as no book can give, and
such lessons as every efficient teacher _must_ learn, or efficiency
is out of the question. The public are too fond of hearing tasks and
memory work, and such book-learning as is taught in school, with the
singing, and the amusing indoor work, to the detriment and neglect
of the moral and physical outdoor work. Again and again, I say, the
outdoor training tells most upon the morals and the formation of
character.
The first faculties which develop themselves in childhood, are those
of observation. The infant, who is two months old, will notice a
lighted candle; immediately that sense is gratified, it seeks to
please another, that of _touch_, and every mother knows, if not
prevented, it will put its hand in the flame. The next effort is to
examine other objects: these it will seize if it can, and after having
examined one, it will put it aside to observe another. On its being
able to move about, it seeks objects within its reach, and wishing to
gratify the sense of taste, applies every thing to the mouth; by this
it distinguishes the bitter from the sweet, and on seeing what is
sweet a second time, will point to it and wish to obtain it, whilst
what is bitter will not be desired.
The _mental_ part of the system should now be adverted to. Hence it
has been well remarked, "From the time that children begin to use
their hands, nature directs them to handle every thing over and
over, to look at it while they handle it, and to put it into various
positions, and at various distances from the eye. We are apt to excuse
this as a childish diversion, because they must be doing something,
and have not reason to entertain themselves in a more manly way. But
if we think more justly, we shall find that they are engaged in the
most serious and important study; and if they had all the reason of a
philosopher, they could not be more properly employed. For it is this
childish employment that enables them to make the proper use of their
eyes. They are thereby every day acquiring habits of perception,
which are of greater importance than any thing we can teach them. The
original perceptions which nature gave them are few, and insufficient
for the purposes of life; and, therefore, she made them capable of
many more perceptions by habit. And to complete her work, she has
given them an unwearied assiduity in applying to the exercise by which
those perceptions are acquired."
Such is the education which nature gives her children, and we may add
that another part of her discipline is, that by the course of things,
children must exert all their muscular force, and employ all their
ingenuity, in order to gratify their curiosity and satisfy their
little appetites. What they desire is only to be obtained at the cost
of labour, patience, and many disappointments. By the exercise of the
body and mind necessary for satisfying their desires, they acquire
agility, strength, and dexterity in their motions, as well as
constitutional health and vigour; they learn to bear pain without
dejection, and disappointment without despondency. The education of
nature is most perfect in savages, who have no other tutor; and we see
that in the quickness of all their senses, in the agility of their
motions, in the hardiness of their constitutions, and in their ability
to bear hunger, thirst, pain, and disappointment, they commonly far
exceed civilized nations. On this account, a most ingenious writer
seems to prefer savage to social life. But it is the intention of
nature, that human education should assist to form the man, and she
has fitted us for it, by the natural principles of imitation and
belief, which discover themselves almost in infancy, as well as by
others which are of later growth.
When the education which we receive from men does not give scope to
that of nature, it is erroneous in its means and its tendency, and
enervates both the body and the mind. Nature has her way of rearing
men, as she has of healing their maladies. The art of education is to
follow her dictates, and the art of education is equally to obey her
laws. The ancient inhabitants of the Baleares followed nature in their
manner of teaching their children to be good archers, when they hung
their dinner aloft by a thread, and left them to bring it down: by
their skill in the use of the bow.
The education of nature, without any more human care than is necessary
to preserve life, makes a savage. Human education joined to that of
nature, may make a good citizen, a skilful artizan, or a well-bred
man; but a higher power is wanting in order to produce a Bacon or a
Newton.
The error of the _past_ system (for such I hope I may venture to call
it) as to _mental development_ was, that the inferior powers of the
mind were called into activity, in preference to its higher faculties.
The effort was to exercise the memory, and store it with information,
which, owing to the inactivity of the understanding and the judgment,
was seldom or never of use. To adopt the opinions of others was
thought quite enough, without the child being troubled to think for
itself, and to form an opinion of its own. But this is not as it
should be. Such a system is neither likely to produce great nor wise
men; and is much better adapted to parrots than children. Hence, the
first thing attempted in an infant school is, to set the children
thinking,--to induce them to examine, compare, and judge, in reference
to all those matters which their dawning intellects are capable of
mastering. It is of no use to tell a child, in the first place, _what
it should think_,--this is at once inducing mental indolence, which
is but too generally prevalent among adults; owing to this erroneous
method having been adopted by those who had the charge of their early
years. Were a child left to its own resources, to discover and judge
of things exclusively by itself, though the opposite evil would be
the consequence, namely, a state of comparative ignorance, yet I am
doubtful whether it would be greater or more lamentable than that
issuing from the injudicious system of giving children dogmas instead
of problems, the opinions of others instead of eliciting their own. In
the one case we should find a mind, uninformed and uncultivated, but
of a vigorous and masculine character, grasping the little knowledge
it possessed, with the power and right of a conqueror; in the other,
a memory occupied by a useless heap of notions,--without a single
opinion or idea it could call its own,--and an understanding indolent
and narrow, and, from long-indulged inactivity, almost incapable
of exertion. As the fundamental principle of the system, I would
therefore say, let the _children think for themselves_. If they arrive
at erroneous conclusions, assist them in attaining the truth; but
let them, with such assistance, arrive at it by their own exertions.
Little good will be done, if you say to a child,--_That_ is wrong,
_this_ is right, unless you enable it to perceive the error of the
one and the truth of the other. It is not only due to the child as a
rational being that you should act so, but it is essentially necessary
to the development of its intellectual faculties. It were not more
ridiculous for a master, in teaching arithmetic, to give his pupil the
problem and answer, without instructing him in the method of working
the question, than it is for a person to give a child results of
reasoning, without showing how the truth is arrived at. But some,
perhaps, will be ready to exclaim, "Surely the teacher should not
withhold the benefit of his knowledge and experience,--the child will
have time enough to examine the merits of his information when he
grows older and be more competent to do so!" To this I answer: in the
first place, nothing should be submitted to the child which it is not
fully competent to understand. To give the child tasks or subjects
too difficult for its mental powers, is a violation of nature; and as
foolish and detrimental as though you were to place a hundred pounds
weight on its shoulders when it is incapable of supporting ten. The
teacher's experience can only be of service to the child so far as it
is applicable to its own state; and as to postponing the period when
it is to think for itself, there is certainly no occasion for it.
Nature has provided food adapted to the powers of the infant's
stomach, and those who would rightly conduct the work of education,
should imitate her in providing its intellectual food. That this may
be done, I am attempting to shew in theory in the pages of this work;
and, that it answers equally well in practice, any one who has a
doubt, may assure himself by visiting any school conducted upon the
plan here laid down.
The charge has been brought against the system, that we are not
sufficiently anxious to teach the children to read. Now, though I may
venture to say, that under no other plan, do the children acquire a
knowledge of alphabetical characters, and the formation of words, so
soon as under the present, yet I am quite ready to concede that
I consider their learning to read a secondary object, to that of
teaching them to examine and find out the nature and properties of
things, of which words are but the _signs_. It is with _things_, and
not _words_ merely, we wish to make our children acquainted. If they
first learn the nature and properties of an object, there is no fear
of their afterwards inquiring its name; but we too frequently find,
that having acquired _names_, they are indifferent to, and forgetful
of, the objects represented.
Let children see and observe an object, and be taught the name of it
at the same time, and then both are indelibly fixed on the memory.
An infant at home is perpetually running around and looking at all
things, and hearing persons speaking about them; it soon becomes
acquainted with their names and properties, and then from time to time
speaks about them. "Ah!" exclaims papa or mama, "What an old-fashioned
child that is; one would wonder where it got such notions." A little
thought and reflection would soon tell where, and this thought
properly carried out would display an important fundamental principle
in teaching the young mind.
Our first endeavour is, therefore, to excite a spirit of inquiry,--to
foster that curiosity which is so natural to young children: till this
is properly done, your information will not be well received, and
it is most likely soon to be forgotten; but having once made them
inquisitive, you are more likely to tire of communicating than they
are of receiving. The skilful teacher will, indeed, rather leave them
with an appetite still craving, than satiate them by repletion. I have
frequently found the most beneficial results arise from the sudden
cessation of a lesson or a lecture on an interesting topic. The
children have looked for its renewal with the utmost impatience,
pondering over what they had already heard, and anticipating what was
yet to come with the greatest interest. Give a child a _task_, and
you impose a burthen on him,--permit him to learn something, and you
confer a favour.
Having excited a spirit of inquiry, the next endeavour is to direct it
to proper objects. These, of course, will be things which relate to
the senses of the child; the nature and properties of bodies, which
may be ascertained by the application of those senses, &c. Having
induced it to examine for itself, you are now to elicit its ideas of
each object respectively; and having taught it to use its reason
and judgment freely, and to express its own notions fearlessly and
candidly,--you are to attempt the correction of what is erroneous, by
putting forth your own views in as simple a way as possible: not so as
to induce the child to give up its own opinions and adopt yours, but
in such a way as to direct it to the attainment of truth; to induce a
comparison between its thoughts and yours, and thus to discover its
own error.
The powers of observation will speedily be improved under such a
course of instruction, and in all the subsequent stages of existence,
will not fail to constitute an independent and shrewd observer. But
some may think we are straining the child's faculties by the plan
recommended,--overstepping nature's laws,--and that the result must be
detrimental to the child, both in mind and body. So far, however, is
this from being true, that we have taken nature for our guide. We
deprecate strongly, most strongly, that unnatural system, which
gives children tasks so far beyond their powers, and for which their
infantile faculties are not qualified;--we would lead them on in the
path which nature has marked out--step by step--taking care that one
thing should be thoroughly mastered before another is attempted.
The mental powers of children are far stronger than is generally
supposed. No one who looks back to his early childhood, can fail of
recollecting, that, at times, his thoughts would even then reach
the very limits of human thought. All the powers of mind that are
exercised in after-life display themselves in infancy, and therefore
they all ought to be quietly and easily brought into exercise. This
maybe done by any object,--even a toy. Were we to tie up several of
our members so as to prevent their use, and at the same time exercise
strongly those at liberty, bodily distortion must result. If we, in
teaching, exercise the memory alone, and that merely with a knowledge
of words and not of things, an absolute mental distortion must result,
and the higher powers of reflection, judgment, and reason will remain
weak, feeble, and deficient from want of exercise. When all the powers
of the mind are brought out into harmonious action, the acquirement
of knowledge be comes pleasurable. Knowledge is the proper aliment to
expand and enlarge the mind, as natural food is for the growth of
the body; and when such as is proper to the age and character of the
recipient is selected, the one will be received with as much pleasure
as the other. As the due exercise of every bodily power causes it to
become strong, healthy, and vigorous, so the right and proper use of
every mental faculty will, in the end, occasion it to become active,
free, and powerful.
As soon as the child enters the school he is under command. He is
required to occupy certain places, to go through various motions, and
to attend to diversified instruction, at the sound of a foot, or the
raising of a hand. From this course no departure is allowed. At first
it is the work of sympathy and imitation, but afterwards it becomes a
matter of principle. Thus, then, the native reluctance of the infant
mind to obey, is overcome, and a solid basis laid for future efforts.
So far, however, the discipline is general; to be particular, the
individual character must be minutely observed. The movements of the
child, when unrestrained, must be diligently watched, its predominant
qualities ascertained, and such a mode of treatment adopted as sound
judgment of character may dictate. Wherever this is forgotten, some
evils will arise. The orders which are given to any other power than
those of sympathy and imitation, are not likely to be obeyed by the
untrained babe; the fact is, that as yet it has no other means of
obedience, and for this on higher principles we must wait till nature
furnishes instruments and opportunities for their exercise. When,
however, success is gained thus far, the way is prepared for
further development and culture, and the powers of observation and
discrimination, then gradually tasked, will accomplish all that is
desired. Thus the infant sits or rises, repeats or is silent, at
first, because those about him do so; afterwards he perceives a reason
for doing
Showing first 200,000 characters. Full text: gutenberg.org/ebooks/10985