Who of us has not at this moment lying in wait for his convenience in

the dim future a number of things which he means to do just as soon as
this term of school is finished, or this job of work is completed, or
when he is not so busy as now? And how seldom does he ever get at these
things at all! Darwin tells that in his youth he loved poetry, art, and
music, but was so busy with his scientific work that he could ill spare
the time to indulge these tastes
Who of us has not at this moment lying in wait for his convenience in
the dim future a number of things which he means to do just as soon as
this term of school is finished, or this job of work is completed, or
when he is not so busy as now? And how seldom does he ever get at these
things at all! Darwin tells that in his youth he loved poetry, art, and
music, but was so busy with his scientific work that he could ill spare
the time to indulge these tastes. So he promised himself that he would
devote his time to scientific work and make his mark in this. Then he
would have time for the things that he loved, and would cultivate his
taste for the fine arts. He made his mark in the field of science, and
then turned again to poetry, to music, to art. But alas! they were all
dead and dry bones to him, without life or interest. He had passed the
time when he could ever form the taste for them. He had formed his
habits in another direction, and now it was forever too late to form new
habits. His own conclusion is, that if he had his life to live over
again, he would each week listen to some musical concert and visit some
art gallery, and that each day he would read some poetry, and thereby
keep alive and active the love for them.

'The result has exceeded my expectations

'The result has exceeded my expectations. About three-fourths of the
number taught can draw most of the simple mathematical lines and
figures, given as copies on the slates used, with tolerable accuracy,
and write all the letters of the alphabet in a fair script hand. This
experiment satisfies me that, with the proper facilities, the three
upper classes in graded primary schools can be taught to write the
letters of the alphabet in a plain script hand, and even to join them
into words, without any material hindrance to the other required
studies; and, moreover, that the great remedy for the complaint of want
of time, in these schools, is the increase of skill in the art of
teaching.'