I am glad to say that after prolonged correspondence the Department issued a duplicate. Of all endorsements the most difficult to frame was the initial entry. At the end of the term of probation the teacher had to give a formal lesson on any topic or object that he chose: it was supposed to last for twenty minutes, and H.M.I. was expected to sum up his opinion of the lesson and of the teacher’s general capacity in one compact sentence. Very often one disregarded the formal lesson, for the teacher might be all but speechless with fright, and the verdict had to be based on the general results of the year’s work. In one such case I was in great doubt. The mistress was very young and very pretty. She had light hair and blue eyes, and it follows that she was very nervous. I cannot say that her school did very well. I think it was deficient in Arithmetic: but she was very charming. Should the parchment be issued? My Assistant was susceptible, and soft-hearted: he pleaded for her: she was all alone in this country school: her Certificate examination at Whitelands--one of the leading Colleges--showed that she had plenty of brains: she had done her best, and she would improve. Finally I gave way, and suggested as the endorsement: “Miss X. is a pretty fair teacher.” He agreed rapturously, and so it was written. But the next year my chief visited the school, and according to custom called for the parchment. And (so the assistant told me) when he read the entry, and caught sight of the “pretty, fair” one in front of her class, it smote him suddenly, and he retreated hastily to the Infants’ class-room. All endorsements are now abolished; I am not sure whether there is even a parchment certificate. It is many years since I saw one. Oh, Miss O’Flaherty! do you remember your _bon mot_ at St. Petronius’ school? I asked, you know, whether you had any poetry to say as part of the examination for your certificate, and you replied with a twinkle of your Irish eyes: “I’ve got all the certificates I want--(and you added softly)--except one.” CHAPTER XXIV SINGING “I will but teach them to sing, and restore them to the owner.” _Much Ado._ The ordinary work of school inspection is not exciting to an outside spectator. There is nothing in the Three R’s to quicken the pulse, or to raise the temperature. Grammar, geography, history only seem to produce profound thankfulness in the onlooker’s mind, that he is not on the rack; there may be absurd answers, but if he laughs, the effect on the children may be disastrous. For varied interest of a mild kind, I should recommend composition and natural history. Ladies like needlework. Some can stand with a sweet smile on their faces while the children sing. Here, then, are four subjects upon which something may be said.