People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 September 1893 — EDUCATION IN CANADA. [ARTICLE]

EDUCATION IN CANADA.

Quebec's Varied and Extremely Interesting Exhibit—Work of the Blind. On gallery B, in the Liberal Arts department of Manufactures building, In two sections, are the educational exhibits of the province of Quebec, Can., under the charge of Canon Bruchesi, D. D., appointed by the government, assisted by Brother Pelerinus. The exhibits come from two hundred convents and academies, and the McGill university, Protestant, of Montreal. The exhibit of the latter is not as extensive as the merit of the university warrants, but the space could not be obtained. The work represented in the remaining portions of the two sections shows the system of education of the convents and academies by grades, from the first step to the graduating course. There are compositions in English, French, German and Spanish by pupils of the various schools, and some of these are illustrated with pen drawings by the student, the subject being told in a two-fold manner. Great albums contain samples of needlework from the simplest bit to the finest crochet and lacework. The name of each Worker and her age are appended to the article. The ages range from eight to sixteen years and some of the work is remarkable. In one exhibit work is shown in flax, from the preparation of it on through its several stages, the last being a woven article. This is done by the students of Ursaline convent, Robertvue, Lake St. John. The work of the blind in the asylum at Montreal, under the direction of the Gray Nuns, is but another revelation of the ability of the blind. One sample will illustrate: A blind girl eleven years old wrote a poem in French. The manuscript is shown. Then she copied it from a type machine and the typescript is perfect. The history of the Institute of the Congregation of Notre Dame (burned a few days ago) from its foundation in 1620, by Marguerite Bourgeoys, is shown in a large frame, the priests, sisters superior and others appearing in pen sketches. Oil paintings and sketches by the deaf mutes of Montreal are interesting. In a glass case are eighteen thousand pressed flowers, each analyzed, all from the soil of Canada. The exhibit, as a whole, is varied and many things there are curious, and all are creditable to the system of education in the old province.