--ROGER ASCHAM.
Having given the reader a slight sketch of the village schoolmaster,
he may be curious to learn something concerning his school. As the
Squire takes much interest in the education of the neighbouring
children, he put into the hands of the teacher, on first installing
him in office, a copy of Roger Ascham's Schoolmaster, and advised him,
moreover, to con over that portion of old Peacham which treats of the
duty of masters, and which condemns the favourite method of making
boys wise by flagellation.
He exhorted Slingsby not to break down or depress the free spirit of
the boys, by harshness and slavish fear, but to lead them freely and
joyously on in the path of knowledge, making it pleasant and desirable
in their eyes. He wished to see the youth trained up in the manners
and habitudes of the peasantry of the good old times, and thus to lay
a foundation for the accomplishment of his favorite object, the
revival of old English customs and character. He recommended that all
the ancient holidays should be observed, and that the sports of the
boys, in their hours of play, should be regulated according to the
standard authorities laid down in Strutt, a copy of whose invaluable
work, decorated with plates, was deposited in the school-house.
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