just and fallacious. "The standing of pupils should be established by the degree of thoroughness attained in their respective acquirements; that is the test of men in practical life, and it should be the same in school-life." The higher mathematics and the dead languages have received too much attention, because the fruits are of meager value and limited utility; but "more time should be spent in our schools in giving instruction in English words and expressions." The standard of English study should be raised everywhere.
Principles of Sea-Bathing.—Sea-bathing, when properly and carefully indulged in, is a most health-giving and enjoyable diversion. But a few broad principles should be remembered. Never bathe within two hours of a meal, never when overtired and exhausted, and never when overheated. At the same time the body should be warm, and not cold, when you plunge in. Do not remain in the water long enough to become tired or chilly, and when you come out dress quickly. It should also be remembered that bathing does not agree with everybody. Those who feel faint or giddy in the water, or whose hearts begin to beat overmuch, should consult a doctor who is thoroughly acquainted with their constitutions, before they enter the water again. Medical papers say that many of the bathing fatalities which have been generally attributed to "cramp" are really due to failure of the heart's action, induced by the plunge into cold water, and aggravated by swimming. A good result of the bath ought to make the bather feel warm and fresh. If, instead, shivering and cold ensue, harm is being done. Children should not be forced into sea-baths, for their reluctance may be occasioned by some constitutional drawback, testifying that the process is harmful to them.
The American Economic Association.—The American Economic Association has been founded by the co-operation of a number of students of that subject, for the encouragement of economic research, with the publication of monographs and the promotion of perfect freedom of discussion. It starts with the belief that political economy as a science is still in an early stage of its development; that its advance is to be sought through the historical and statistical study of actual conditions of economic life rather than through speculation. It recognizes that the conflict of labor and capital has brought into prominence a vast number of social problems, whose solution requires the united efforts, each in its own sphere, of church and the state. Without taking any partisan attitude in the study of the industrial and commercial policy of governments, it believes in a progressive development of economic conditions, which must be met by a corresponding development of legislative policy. Among the topics which are suggested as proper subjects for reports by the standing committees, are the employment of women in factories; municipal finance; rent in the United States; the National Railroad Commission; limitation of suffrage as a remedy for abuses in local administration; the effect of transportation on the laborer; and the silver question. The President of the Association is Dr. Francis A. Walker, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the Secretary is Richard T. Ely, Ph. D., of Johns Hopkins University.
Parsee Funerals.—As soon as the case of a Parsee about to die is seen to be hopeless, he is washed all over in gomez (ox's urine), and dressed in clean clothes, while the priests repeat prayers and Avesta texts. When life is extinct, the feet are tied together, the hands are joined, and the body is laid on the ground-floor. A priest remains by it, saying prayers and burning sandal-wood, till the bearers come to take it to the dakhma, or "tower of silence." As soon as the bearers arrive, the seven parts of the Ahurian hymn are chanted, to combat the power of death, which has come from hell to seize the corpse and threaten the living. When this is over, the body is taken off by the bearers on an iron bier to the dakhma, where it is exposed, "clothed only with the light of heaven," to the vultures, which will strip it to the skeleton in about an hour. The skeletons soon become perfectly desiccated, and are then thrown into the deep central pit of the tower, where they crumble and are washed away by the
