HORiE CATECHETICiE ; 
 
 AN EXPOSITION 
 
 OP THE 
 
 DUTY AND ADVANTAGES 
 
 PUBLIC CATECHISING IN CHURCH. 
 
 JN A LETTER TO THE 
 
 LORD BISHOP OF LONDON. 
 
 " Sure I am, Catechising, in its original, true sense, implies some- 
 thing more lhau a bare running over an old form, though that consist 
 of proper iu- - ,ons and answers, and contains whatsoever is needful 
 either to beli- jr practice."— Bishop EDMUND Law. 
 
 BY W. S. GILLY, M.A. 
 
 PREBENDARY OF DURHAM, AND PERPETUAL CURATE OF ST. 
 
 Margaret's, Durham, 
 author of " researches among the waldenses," &c. 
 
 LONDON: 
 PRINTED FOR C. & J. RIV1NGTON, 
 
 J&TAUL's CHURCH-YARD, AND WATERLOO-PLACE. 
 
 1828. 
 
3 
 
 / 
 
 S THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, * / 
 | Princeton, N. J. % 
 
 BX 5139 .G485 1828 / 
 Gilly, William Stephen, ^ 
 
 > j\ 1789-1855. 
 
 //( Horae catecheticae 
 
HORiE CATECHETKLE ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 AN EXPOSITION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 DUTY AND ADVANTAGES 
 
 PUBLIC CATECHISING IN CHURCH. 
 
 IN A LETTER TO THE 
 
 LORD BISHOP OF LONDON. 
 
 " Sure I am, Catechising in its original, true sense, implies some- 
 thing more than a bare running over an old form, though that con- 
 sist of proper questions and answers, anr! contains whatsoever is 
 needful either to belief or practice."— Bishop Edmund Law. 
 
 BY W. S. GILLY, M.A. 
 
 prebendary of durham, and perpetual curate of st. 
 Margaret's, durham. 
 author of " researches among the waldensf.s," &c. 
 
 LONDON: 
 PRINTED FOR C. & J. RIVINGTON, 
 
 ST. FAUL'S CHURCH-YARD, AND WATERLOO-PLACE. 
 
 1828. 
 
LONDON: 
 PRINTED BY R. GILBERT, 
 ST. JOHN'S-SQIMRE. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The terms Catechise, Catechism, and Cate- 
 chetical, (from the Greek word Karrj^w, to 
 sound aloud, to resound) are applied to 
 signify instruction conveyed, not by writing, 
 or according to any regular and continued 
 discourse, but by some familiar and brief me- 
 thod of viva voce teaching. 
 
 Thus St. Luke, in his Gospel, chapter i. 
 ver. 3, 4. 
 
 ''ESo£e Kafxoi, 7rap»/KoXovSr)/cort avioStv iraaiv 
 a/cpiSwe, KaSt^rjc aoi ypaipai, Kpanare Qs6fi\e. 
 
 ' Iva E7riyvu>e iripl uy KaTrj^Tj Srje Xo-ywv tt\v 
 acMpaXtiav. 
 
 " It seemed good to me also, having had 
 perfect understanding of all things from the 
 very first, to write unto thee in order, most 
 excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest 
 know the certainty of those things wherein 
 a 2 
 
iv 
 
 thou hast been instructed" — i. e. I think it 
 right to give you a written and succinct ac- 
 count of those things in which you have heen 
 initiated, or which you have been taught, 
 catechetically *, or by word of mouth, or by 
 having them sounded in your ears? 
 
 St. Luke uses the same word in a similar 
 sense. — Acts xviii. 25. 
 
 OvToq i)v KaT?)^?};UEi>oc rr\v oSov ts Kvp'its. 
 
 " This man was [^catechetically^ instructed 
 in the Gospel." — i. e. He had been initiated 
 in the Gospel, or, he had acquired the prin- 
 ciples of it, by hearing them delivered to him 
 viva voce. 
 
 That the instruction which Apollos had 
 received was elementary only, is clear from 
 the context, ver. 26. " Whom when Aquila and 
 Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, 
 and expounded unto him the way of God 
 more perfectly? 
 
 St. Paul evidently applies the same term 
 in the sense of oral instruction, 1 Cor. xiv. 
 
 * Stephens, Parkhurst, Hammond, Horsley. 
 
V 
 
 19, — iva Kal aXAsc Karrj^ffw, " that by my 
 voice I might teach others." 
 
 After the Apostles had adopted the word, 
 it was in very common use among the Fathers 
 of the Primitive Church, to signify their pe- 
 culiar mode of teaching the rudiments of 
 Christianity by question and answer, and by 
 impressing the lessons of the Gospel on the 
 memories and hearts of their Neophytes by 
 frequent repetition. 
 
 Hence the Catechist was said to instruct, 
 by making the elements of Christian doctrine 
 resound in the ears of his students ; and the 
 Catechumen was said to be taught by repeat- 
 ing the words addressed to him, and by an- 
 swering questions. 
 
 " Catechism," says Comber, " according 
 to the definition of an ancient author, is, 
 the knowledge of Religion first delivered 
 to the ignorant by the Catechist, and 
 then by them repeated over and over again. 
 
 Karn^rjffic E<mv iiriaTr\firi Otoatfitlat; toiq 
 awupoiq, t) 7rapaSoSa<ra vivo fcaTJj^Tjrov, /cat 
 
 ■n-aXiv airoSoQuoa vtt' ovtwv." — Clemens Alexan- 
 
vi 
 
 driniis. Which, continues Comber, appears 
 farther from the very original of the word, 
 being derived from ^w, that is an echo, or 
 a repeated sound, because the Catechist did 
 first teach them, and then, by way of ques- 
 tion, try if they had learnt what he had 
 delivered to them, which gave good grounds 
 to the authors of the Roman Catechism to 
 say, " That the manner of the Apostles' 
 Catechising, which the Church yet imitates, 
 in the mysteries of Baptism, consisted of 
 Questions and Answers." 
 
 Another Expositor of Catechetical instruc- 
 tion calls Catechising " A general instruction 
 in the fundamental principles of the Christian 
 Religion, by way of question and answer." 
 
 I have merely to add to this statement, 
 that the questioning and answering must be 
 mutual, and that the Catechist does not do 
 his duty by the Catechumen, unless he gives 
 him an opportunity not only of repeating 
 the lesson, but of asking for explanations, 
 and of returning the sense as well as echoing 
 back the sound of his instructor. 
 
Preliminary Observations 1 
 
 Extract from the Bishop of London's Charge .... 4 
 Catechising, the uniform Practice of the Roman 
 
 Catholic Clergy abroad 6 
 
 The Practice of the Roman Catholic Clergy in 
 
 England 10 
 
 Its Success 13 
 
 An Instrument of Proselytism 17 
 
 Practised by the Foreign Protestant Clergy .... 21 
 
 Its Happy Effects 25 
 
 Measures which have been adopted in England to 
 enforce Catechising on the Part of the Esta- 
 blished Clergy 28 
 
 Canons of Edward VI 30 
 
 Penal Injunctions of Elizabeth 32 
 
 Canons of James 1 34 
 
 Rubric of 1661 39 
 
 Insufficiency of the Rubric to revive effective Cate- 
 chising 40 
 
 Motives derived from the Baptismal Service .... 46 
 Motives derived from the Ordination Service .... 50 
 A Mistaken Idea, that the Necessity of Catechising 
 
 is superseded by the National School System . . 57 
 Erroneous Estimate of the Importance of Catechising 62 
 Catechising practised by the Apostles and their 
 Successors 64 
 
Vlll 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Attention paid to it by the Early Church. ... 69 
 The Opinions of the Early Reformers, and other 
 
 Eminent Men 73 
 
 The supposed Difficulties of Catechising 80 
 
 Practical adoption of the Proposed System ... 85 
 In what Respect the old Practice may be modified 
 
 and improved 100 
 
 I. The Time of Catechising 101 
 
 II. The interspersed Explanations, and mixed Cha- 
 racter of the Practice 103 
 
 Methods of rendering Catechising attractive ... 105 
 Example of the System in reference to the Cate- 
 chism 116 
 
 An Example in Reference to a Scriptural Examina- 
 tion 119 
 
 The Mode of Interrogatory on the Principal Ar- 
 ticles of Religion, and giving Answers from 
 
 Scripture 130 
 
 Miscellaneous Doctrines explained in Answers 
 
 from Scripture 136 
 
 Explanations of Words and Phrases 138 
 
 The Progress of Children, who have been Cate- 
 chised exemplified by Questions proposed, and 
 
 Answers literally returned by them 140 
 
 Popularity of Catechising 147 
 
 Its Usefulness 157 
 
 It acts as a Stimulus to Domestic Instruction ..172 
 
 The same System adopted at Durham 179 
 
 Conclusion 189 
 
 Appendix 193 
 
HOR.E CATECHETICiE. 
 
 preliminary observations. 
 My Lord, 
 
 As one of the Incumbents in your Lordship's 
 diocese, I had the advantage of hearing that 
 Charge, in which you dwelt with consider- 
 able earnestness upon the duty of Catechis- 
 ing, a duty which has been well defined * to 
 be, " Instruction communicated by asking 
 questions, and hearing and correcting the 
 answers." 
 
 Your Lordship's directions upon this subject 
 were preceded by some strong observations 
 
 * Bishop Mant, Notes on the Catechism. 
 B 
 
upon the relation which ought to subsist 
 between a parochial clergyman and his con- 
 gregation, — and upon the means that should 
 be adopted to bring the parishioner, from his 
 earliest days, into immediate contact with his 
 spiritual guide. 
 
 I have reason to be thankful for the im- 
 pression, for the deep and lasting impression, 
 which this part of your Lordship's Charge 
 left on my mind. It led me to think more 
 seriously, than I had ever done before, upon 
 the practicability of establishing the relation 
 which you recommended, and of having re- 
 course to those primitive ordinances, and to 
 the exercise of those endearing pastoral du- 
 ties, which cannot fail of attaching the people 
 to their constituted ministers. Having derived 
 benefit from your Lordship's suggestions, and 
 having been permitted, as I trust, to become 
 an instrument of that good to others, which 
 is likely to result from a regular system of 
 catechetical instruction, I am anxious to give 
 some publicity to the mode which I have pur- 
 
3 
 
 sued, in conformity with your directions, and 
 to its successful issue. It is for this reason 
 that I now address your Lordship : and I am 
 encouraged to do so, not only by the patient 
 ear, which you have always lent to every per- 
 sonal communication, when I have reported 
 from time to time the progress of my expe- 
 riment, — but also by the desire expressed by 
 your Lordship, that I should commit an ac- 
 count of it to print. But judging from one 
 or two of the sentiments expressed in your 
 Charge, that much as you wish and hope to 
 see public catechising resumed, you entertain 
 doubts as to the success, which may attend it 
 equally in all places, I shall venture to follow 
 your Lordship through your remarks, and to 
 throw out a few reflections, as I proceed, 
 upon the duty and expediency of a universal 
 obedience to the instructions of the Church 
 on this subject, before I enter upon an ex- 
 planation of the system pursued by myself. 
 
 b 2 
 
EXTRACT FROM THE BISHOP OF LONDON'S 
 CHARGE. 
 
 The following is the passage in your Lord- 
 ship's Charge, to which I feel indebted for an 
 impulse, which has given a new and more 
 efficient character to my ministerial labours. 
 
 " The general disuse into which this prac- 
 tice (Catechising) has fallen, I consider as 
 calamitous to the interests of piety in the 
 highest degree, not only by removing one of 
 the strongest incitements to the parents to 
 teach, and to the children to learn, the doc- 
 trines and laws of their Christian profession, 
 but still more by its fatal effect in frustrating 
 the purpose, which it was the principal object 
 of the ordinances relating to these points to 
 attain. If at the age when the mind is sus- 
 ceptible of the strongest impressions, the 
 young are regularly brought into personal 
 intercourse with their minister, and accus- 
 tomed to receive their instructions from his 
 lips, they will naturally imbibe a respect for 
 
5 
 
 his person, and a reverence to the sacred 
 character of his office, which will prove the 
 strongest of harriers against immorality and 
 vice, as well as dissent and infidelity. They 
 will regard with deep veneration the truths 
 which they have received upon his authority, 
 and will feel, what reasoning can hardly 
 make clear to the ignorant, the danger no 
 less of guilt than of error, in deserting the 
 appointed guide of their youth for intrusive 
 and unknown teachers. The discontinuance 
 of this salutary practice is imputable, neither 
 to the neglect of the ecclesiastical governors, 
 — for they have constantly remonstrated 
 against it, — nor to the indolence of the pa- 
 rochial clergy ; but was a concession most 
 reluctantly yielded to the fastidious impa- 
 tience of their congregations. 
 
 " I am not so fondly attached to ancient 
 usages, however beneficial in themselves, as to 
 press the crude and hasty revival of a method 
 of teaching, which, at least in its ordinary 
 form, has proved on experience unsuitable to 
 
(i 
 
 the habits and feelings of modern times. To 
 ensure success to the experiment, much judg- 
 ment would be requisite in preparing the 
 way by the previous removal of objections, 
 and improving the practice itself by such 
 modifications, as would render it popular as 
 well as useful." 
 
 CATECHISING, THE UNIFORM PRACTICE OF THE 
 ROMAN CATHOLIC CLERGY ABROAD. 
 
 Very soon after hearing your Lordship 
 deliver these sentiments, I visited the Conti- 
 nent; but the impression was not to be 
 effaced by time or distance, nay, I may con- 
 fidently affirm that the convictions of my 
 mind were strengthened during this visit, 
 and that my intercourse with strangers, and 
 my personal observation of the practice of 
 foreign clergy, made it more and more clear 
 to me, that parochial discipline cannot be 
 duly maintained, without the assistance of a 
 regular Catechetical system. 
 
7 
 
 The Roman Catholic priesthood are hy 
 far too prudent to lose the advantages, which 
 are gained from an early and uninterrupted 
 relation with the younger part of their flock. 
 " Feed my lambs," is an injunction which 
 they obey to the very letter, and they suffer 
 none, no, not even parents themselves, to 
 stand between them and their sacred duty in 
 this department. It is from the priest's lips 
 that the children of the Romish communion 
 of every degree, receive religious instruction, 
 as soon as they can well understand what 
 religion is, and they naturally reverence the 
 teacher, who first approaches them in the 
 venerable character of God's minister, and 
 love the instructor, who mingles words of 
 kindness and encouragement with his solemn 
 lessons of Christianity. I bear willing testi- 
 mony to the zealous and affectionate manner 
 in which the Romish clergy acquit them- 
 selves in this duty. The council of Trent * 
 
 * Concil. Trid. Scss. 24. 
 
8 
 
 had the sagacity to make catechising one of 
 the most binding of the sacerdotal services, 
 and in the Preface of the Catechism which 
 was first published by order of this council, 
 a curious remark occurs, which shews how 
 great an advantage is to be gained over 
 our adversaries by strict attention to this 
 duty. " The age is sadly sensible what 
 mischief the Protestants have done the 
 Catholic Church, not only by their tongues, 
 but especially by their writings called Cate- 
 chisms." 
 
 The ministers of the Church of Rome 
 have the good sense to obey the Canon, not 
 as " by constraint, but willingly," and in 
 sincere admiration of their conduct in this 
 respect, I cannot forbear applying to them 
 the whole of that scriptural passage, towards 
 which my thoughts have been led, and 
 adding, that if, in taking the oversight of 
 their flock, with a ready mind, they bear 
 themselves towards their youthful charge, 
 as the Apostle enjoined, so they may like- 
 
9 
 
 wise be fairly held up to us, as "exam- 
 ples." 
 
 Nothing can be more kind or parental 
 than their catechetical examinations. They 
 do not leave it to parish clerks, or to 
 teachers of an ordinary stamp, to drawl 
 through the same form of words, day after 
 day, and to secure rote without meaning, 
 but they themselves are the judicious ex- 
 pounders. I have entered churches in France, 
 in Italy, and in Switzerland, and have wit- 
 nessed the same beautiful scene of a parish 
 priest, surrounded by children of various 
 ranks and ages, mildly questioning, patiently 
 explaining, exhorting, reproving, and in- 
 structing like " a man of God," rewarding 
 with smiles of approbation, and rewarded in 
 return by the happy and animated looks of 
 the cheerful circle. In almost all the cases 
 to which I allude, I myself, was the only 
 spectator, and that too often-times, unseen 
 by the priest, who therefore was manifestly 
 discharging this interesting duty, not to be 
 
LO 
 
 heard or seen of men, but to obtain that 
 influence over his juvenile audience, which 
 the sanctity of his office may justly claim. 
 
 THE PRACTICE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC 
 CLERGY IN ENGLAND. 
 
 My Lord, the same practice, and the same 
 tender and watchful concern over the rising 
 generation prevail among the clergy of the 
 Roman Catholic Church in England. They 
 begin to exert their influence during the 
 earliest infancy ; they do not suffer catechi- 
 sing to fall into inefficient hands; they do 
 not conduct it as a mere formulary ; they do 
 not confine it to seasons, but they make it to 
 be of substantial, and lasting use, by obtain- 
 ing through its instrumentality a fast hold 
 upon the affections and respect of their flock. 
 It will not be out of place to remark, that I 
 am inclined to attribute a very great measure 
 of the success which the papists have had of 
 late, in effecting conversion, to the mode of 
 4 
 
1 1 
 
 catechising which they have adopted. Their 
 catechetical instructions are not given, as on 
 the Continent, merely with a view to the be- 
 nefit of young hearers, of their own commu- 
 nion, but to seduce such of our people as may 
 chance to drop in, and listen to them. For 
 this purpose all possible notoriety is extended 
 to the proceeding, and the opportunity is 
 embraced, of putting forth such apologetical, 
 familiar, and attractive *, expositions of their 
 
 * The following extract from the form of Cathechism, 
 " recommended by authority, for the use of the faith- 
 ful in the four districts in England," under the signa- 
 ture of the four vicars apostolic, will give some idea of 
 the manner in which catechising is conducted in this 
 country by the Roman Catholics. — 
 
 The first Commandment. 
 
 Q. Say the first Commandment. 
 
 A. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of 
 the land of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage. 
 
 Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Thou 
 shall not make to thyself any graven thing, nor the 
 likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the 
 earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters 
 under the earth; thou shalt not adore them, nor serve 
 them. I am the Lord thy God, mighty , jealous, visiting 
 
12 
 
 doctrine and discipline, as may lead astray 
 the unsettled and wavering professors of a 
 purer faith. 
 
 the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, to the 
 third and fourth generation of them that hate me : and 
 shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, 
 and keep my commandments. Exod. xx. 2. 6. 
 
 Q. Why put you all this in one commandment ? 
 
 A. Because it all relates to one and the same thing. 
 
 Q. Does not the Scripture say that these words, 
 Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven thing, are 
 the second commandment ? 
 
 A. No : the Scripture does not say which is the first, 
 second, or third commandment. 
 
 Q. Do not those words, Thou shalt not make to thy- 
 self any graven thing, forbid the making of images ? 
 
 A. No : they forbid the making only of idols ; that 
 is, they forbid making images to be adored, or honoured, 
 as gods : as it is declared in these words, Thou shalt 
 not adore them, nor serve them. So that the words, 
 thou shalt not make to thyself any graven thing, &c. 
 are only an explanation of the foregoing words, Thou 
 shalt not have strange gods before me. We, therefore, 
 with Saint Augustine, make of them but one command- 
 ment. 
 
 Q. What is meant by these first words, / am the 
 Lord thy God, &c. ? 
 
 A. By these God declares to us, that he is our true 
 
13 
 
 ITS SUCCESS. 
 
 This sort of effort answers the purpose 
 better than all the controversy in the world ; 
 
 and supreme Lord, and therefore we are obliged to obey 
 him with all diligence. 
 
 Q. What are we commanded by this first command- 
 ment ? 
 
 A. By the first commandment, we are commanded to 
 love, serve, and worship one only true and living God, 
 and no more. 
 
 Q. What is forbidden by the first commandment ? 
 
 A. The first commandment forbids us to worship 
 idols, or give to any creature the honour due to God. 
 
 Q. What is the honour due to God ? 
 
 A. The honour due to God is a supreme and so- 
 vereign honour, which can be given to no other : we 
 must worship him as our Creator, Redeemer, and last 
 end. 
 
 Q. Is it lawful to honour the images of Christ and 
 his saints ? 
 
 A. Yes : it is lawful to honour the images of Christ 
 and his saints, with an inferior and relative honour, be- 
 cause the honour given them is referred to the things 
 they represent: so that by kissing the cross, or the 
 images of Christ, and by kneeling before them, we 
 honour and adore Christ himself. 
 
 Q. Do Catholics pray to images? 
 
I i 
 
 it is the argument of an active life which 
 convinces common understandings : and if 
 our own clergy would take similar pains 
 to render their personal office a pattern 
 of zeal, marked by affection, they would be 
 rebuilding the Church upon a basis of moral 
 strength, against which the storm raised by 
 papists or separatists, would beat in vain. 
 
 A. No, by no means; we pray before them indeed, to 
 keep us from distractions, but not to them ■ for we know 
 they can neither see, nor hear, nor help us. 
 
 Q. What benefit have we then by them ? 
 
 A. They movingly represent to us the mysteries of 
 our Saviour's passion, and the martyrdom of his saints. 
 
 Q What benefit have we by honouring and canoniz- 
 ing saints ? 
 
 A. It strongly moves us to imitate their example, by 
 shewing us their rewards. 
 
 Q. How do we honour saints and angels ? 
 
 A. We honour saints and angels with an inferior 
 honour, as the friends and creatures of God, not as gods, 
 nor with God's honour. 
 
 Q. Is it lawful to honour the relics of saints? 
 
 A. Yes, with a relative honour, as above explained ; 
 for the handkerchiefs and aprons which had but 
 touched the body of St. Paul, cast out devils, and 
 cured all diseases. Acts xix. 12. 
 
1.) 
 
 I would say with Archdeacon Baylcy, in his 
 admirable charge *, Let it not be a matter 
 of offence, if I venture to declare my honest 
 opinion, that in this labour of love, we, the 
 Establishment, have yet somewhat to learn 
 from other Protestant Societies, more espe- 
 cially from the Priesthood of the Roman Ca- 
 tholic communion. They are wise in their 
 generation. And as we were long since, and 
 truly told, " if we hope to be a match for 
 them, we must imitate them f ." 
 
 * Delivered to the clergy of the Archdeaconry of 
 Stowe, May, 1826. 
 
 f The observations which Bishop Burnet made upon 
 this subject, more than 130 years ago, are so strictly 
 applicable to the present times, that I cannot forbear 
 recording them in this place. " Though there is still 
 much ignorance among their mass-priests, their parish- 
 priests are generally another sort of men. They are 
 well instructed in their religion, lead regular lives, and 
 perform their parochial duties with most wonderful 
 diligence. They are almost perpetually employing 
 themselves in the several parts of their cures : — instruct- 
 ing the youth — hearing confessions, and visiting the 
 sick, &c. So that the reformation which popery hath 
 
16 
 
 Instruction given in Sunday, Charity, or 
 National Schools, is not an evidence of pas- 
 toral anxiety, equal to that of catechetical in- 
 struction in Church, it being conducted for 
 the most part with closed doors ; and con- 
 stant as a minister's attendance may be in 
 those schools, his labours are unknown to his 
 parishioners at large. Where is the wonder, 
 then, that unreflecting persons, who try modes 
 of faith by the zeal of its ministers, and who 
 have had no opportunity of seeing their own 
 clergy display anxious interest in the reli- 
 gious cultivation of the younger portion of 
 his flock, should be half won over to the side 
 of the Roman Catholic priest, when he be- 
 holds him devoting himself to the spiritual 
 
 been forced to make, has in a great measure stopped 
 the progress of the reformation of the doctrinal worship, 
 that did so long carry every thing before it." — Preface 
 to Pastoral Care. 
 
 " The argument," said Burnet, in another place, " in 
 favour of the Church, how clearly so ever made out, 
 will never have a full effect upon the world, till we can 
 shew a primitive spirit in its administration." 
 
1? 
 
 improvement of the youngest, and humblest, 
 and dullest of his congregation, and hears 
 him explaining the most beguiling of papal 
 doctrines, in a voice and with a manner which 
 seems to prove that his whole heart is in the 
 cause ? 
 
 AN INSTRUMENT OF PROSEL YTISM. 
 
 My Lord, I do not speak unadvisedly, 
 nor ill-naturedly, (for it is not in the shape 
 of a charge against them that I adduce 
 the fact,) when I touch upon the seductive 
 intention, and the seductive effect, of the 
 catechetical lectures held by Roman Catholic 
 priests in England. There is, in the imme- 
 diate vicinity of London, one of the most 
 flourishing of their establishments for the 
 education of poor children. Many of those 
 admitted here are the children of Protestant * 
 
 * The following case has been communicated to me 
 by the gentleman who took it down, as it was detailed by 
 the mouth of his informant. The child to whom it re- 
 
IS 
 
 parents, girls especially, for it is an object 
 to gain over females, the future mothers of 
 
 lates is now a well-behaved and intelligent scholar of 
 the Sunday school of Somers-Town New Church. — 
 
 " About two years and a half ago, soon after my 
 being left by my husband, a tall person (a priest) called 
 upon me, and having asked if my name was not Fames, 
 enquired if I had not a child, I replied, yes. He then 
 asked how I provided for him, I told him by my own 
 labour ; he then asked, did I not find it very difficult to 
 do it ? and, upon my replying that I did, he said, does 
 he go to any school ? I told him to Perry-street, a school 
 conducted on the Lancastrian system, where the chil- 
 dren's friends pay 2d per week, for the instruction given. 
 He then said, had I not better send him to some charity 
 school ? I replied, I should be glad if I could get him 
 into one where he could be boarded; upon this he told 
 me he knew where there was such an one ; — I then 
 asked where, and if he could inform me how I could 
 get him into it? He told me to come at eight o'clock, 
 (I think it was at eight o'clock) on the next Sunday 
 morning, to the Roman Catholic chapel in Clarendon- 
 square. Oh ! I said, you want to make a Catholic of him 
 then ? He said, no, he might come to the school, and 
 not be a Catholic ; and if I would send him every morning 
 by eight o'clock, that they would keep him ; they had a 
 great number they did so by. I said they did not allow 
 them to read the Bible ; — he replied they did, those 
 
19 
 
 families. Their infatuated parents have been 
 tempted to send them to this institution, not 
 
 parts which were fit for them, and that they taught 
 children their duty to their parents, that the Catholic 
 children were much better behaved than the Perry-street 
 boys. Then I perceive you are a Catholic yourself, I 
 observed. He replied " rather so." I then said, I could 
 not agree to his going : he said I was very wrong, for if 
 I did, that I might be sure I should have employment 
 for myself, and my child provided for ; he desired 
 me to come on the following Sunday, and hear the 
 children catechised, he was sure I should approve of it. 
 I told him 1 would consider of it. He then left me ; 
 but came again in about a fortnight, and complained 
 that I was not at the chapel. He then asked, where 
 was your boy on the Sabbath-day, if you were out at 
 work ? He told me if I would come on the Sunday 
 morning to the chapel, I should be relieved ; that I 
 need not work on the Sabbath-day : I stated I had 
 been in a Roman Catholic chapel but twice, and in 
 my present mind, I should not enter one again. He 
 then left me, saying, he should call again ; but did 
 not ; — Throughout these conversations he called me his 
 child." 
 
 It is notorious that many Protestant children, drawn 
 away thus, are brought up in this Roman Catholic 
 establishment. One poor man has been persuaded to 
 send two of his children there. 
 
 C 2 
 
1 
 
 merely for the sake of the aid which it affords 
 to persons of large families in an humble con- 
 dition of life, — but by the effect which the 
 priests' mode of catechising has had upon 
 their own judgment or imagination. 
 
 A reference to " The Laity's Directory to 
 the Church Service, for the year 1828," pub- 
 lished for Roman Catholics, with the authority 
 of the Vicar Apostolic in England, will fur- 
 nish some solid proofs of the importance 
 which the Hierarchy of Rome attach to the 
 duty of catechising young persons publicly, 
 in the place of divine worship. The hour of 
 catechising is regularly advertised among the 
 services of the Church : and in the notices of 
 twenty-five chapels in, or very near London, 
 care is taken to announce that catechetical 
 instruction forms part of the solemnities of 
 eleven out of that number. For example, 
 
 " St. Mary's, Moorfields. A discourse 
 after the gospel at high mass, and vespers 
 on Sundays at three o'clock, and catechism 
 immediately after." 
 
21 
 
 " Sardinian chapel, Duke-street, Lincoln's- 
 inn-fields. After the gospel, at high mass 
 on Sunday, a discourse in English : vespers 
 at three o'clock, immediately after which 
 catechism, and a catechetical discourse." 
 
 " Chelsea New Chapel. Catechism at 
 half-past two, and vespers, with benediction, 
 at half-past three." 
 
 " London Road. Vespers in summer at 
 half-past three, in winter at three o'clock : 
 after vespers the catechism explained." 
 
 " Somers Town. At six, catechism, fol- 
 lowed by the benediction of the blessed Sa- 
 crament" 
 
 PRACTISED BY THE FOREIGN PROTESTANT 
 CLERGY. 
 
 It would be needless to produce any fur- 
 ther testimony of the exemplary anxiety 
 displayed by the Romish clergy to bring 
 themselves into regular intercourse with the 
 young, I will therefore proceed to make a 
 
22 
 
 few brief remarks upon the value, which the 
 Protestant, as well as Roman Catholic, 
 Churches on the Continent attach to public 
 catechising, as an indispensable branch of 
 the clerical office. 
 
 De Thou's account of the pains, which 
 the ministers of the Reformed Churches of 
 France took, in past times, to lay a good foun- 
 dation, at an age, when the mind is suscepti- 
 ble of the strongest impressions, is literally 
 applicable to the present period of their 
 ecclesiastical history. " You can scarcely find 
 a boy among them who cannot give you an 
 intelligible account of the faith they profess." 
 This was said of them two hundred and fifty 
 years ago : and, at a still earlier date, a Po- 
 pish theologian, who was sent to convert the 
 Protestants of Dauphine, came back ashamed 
 of his errand, and avowed that it was a hope- 
 less case to attempt to make proselytes, in 
 a quarter where the youngest were so well 
 grounded in the principles of their creed by 
 their pastors. " I have learnt,'' exclaimed 
 
23 
 
 he, " more of the doctrine of salvation from 
 the answers of little children in their Cate- 
 chism, than in all my previous studies." 
 
 It is well known, that the Protestant con- 
 gregations in France and Switzerland, in 
 their solicitude to remove as far as possible 
 from the stumbling blocks of Popish error, 
 tolerate but very few forms of prayer. Most 
 of them have, however, strongly marked 
 their sense of the expediency of public 
 catechising, by admitting into their simple 
 Liturgies, an order of service and form of 
 prayer used for the preparation of Catechu- 
 mens. But it is not in the sanctuary only, 
 that our Protestant brethren on the Continent 
 impress upon the minds of their juvenile 
 congregations the awful responsibility of the 
 Christian covenant. They follow them to 
 their houses at stated intervals, and extending 
 their pastoral care to old as well as to 
 young, they ask for an account of their 
 studies and meditations in the bosoms of 
 their families. I have now an extract from 
 
24 
 
 a traveller's letter before me, in which he 
 writes thus of one of these interesting 
 scenes. 
 
 " The pastor of was engaged in 
 
 his district examination. The intention of 
 this is to ascertain the religious and moral 
 state of each hamlet. During the short time 
 we witnessed his labours, he asked his people 
 if any of them wished for an explanation of 
 any particular passages of Scripture, which 
 they had not clearly understood. After hav- 
 ing addressed himself to almost every one in 
 particular, he concluded by a most affectionate 
 exhortation, and a solemn prayer." 
 
 I myself had the satisfaction of being 
 present at more than one of the Catechetical 
 lectures, which constitute a regular division 
 of the parochial minister's labours in the 
 Protestant valleys of Piedmont. At stated 
 periods, the Churches are opened on Mon- 
 days and Wednesdays for this mode of 
 instruction expressly, and it is uniformly 
 imparted by the pastors themselves, although 
 
25 
 
 each village has its appointed schoolmaster. 
 Happily, the parochial clergy in these se- 
 cluded regions, are too sensibly alive to the 
 interests of religion, to resign religious in- 
 struction entirely to lay-teachers. 
 
 ITS HAPPY EFFECTS. 
 
 The effect of this watchfulness over the 
 spiritual progress of their youthful flock 
 is exactly what your Lordship has so well 
 expressed. " If the young are brought into 
 regular intercourse with their ministers, and 
 accustomed to receive their instructions from 
 his lips, they will naturally imbibe a respect 
 for his person, and a reverence to the sacred 
 character of his office, which will prove the 
 strongest of barriers against immorality and 
 vice, as well as dissent and infidelity. They 
 will regard with deep veneration the truths 
 which they have received upon his authority, 
 and ivill feel what reasoning can hardly 
 
26 
 
 make clear to the ignorant, the danger no 
 less of guilt than of error in deserting the 
 appointed guide of their youth, for intrusive 
 and unknown teachers." Should there ever 
 be that general disuse of the practice of 
 catechising in the little Church of the valleys, 
 which your Lordship bewails in this country, 
 as being " calamitous to the interests of 
 piety in the highest degree," and which has 
 been well pronounced by another authority 
 to be " as unreasonable, as the effect is 
 disastrous," I am persnaded that the light 
 which has been permitted by Divine Pro- 
 vidence, to shine so long in the midst of 
 Papal darkness, will soon tremble in its lamp, 
 and finally be extinguished by Papal violence 
 or stratagem. 
 
 I began this letter by expressing my 
 gratitude to your Lordship for directing my 
 attention to a serious duty, which, I trust 
 nothing will ever induce me to neglect ; the 
 mention of the Vaudois of Piemont, leads 
 me to acknowledge another heavy debt, (and 
 
27 
 
 the digression will be allowed,) under which 
 they and I are bound to you. 
 
 It required the influence of exhortation and 
 example to render successful those endea- 
 vours, which humbler advocates were making 
 in behalf of this Protestant community. 
 Had not their cause been espoused by some 
 person in authority, it would have been 
 hopeless. You, my Lord, were the first to 
 extend that aid which the case required. 
 Your influence, your advice, your time were 
 freely given. In the midst of many other press- 
 ing occupations, you were always accessible. 
 May you long have opportunities of exercis- 
 ing one of the most graceful privileges of 
 high station, and continue to secure perma- 
 nent sentiments of respect, by similar in- 
 stances of kindness and consideration ! 
 
 To return to the more immediate subject 
 in view. Your Lordship has stated that the 
 discontinuance of the salutary practice of 
 catechising "is imputable neither to the 
 neglect of the ecclesiastical governors, for 
 
28 
 
 they have constantly remonstrated against 
 it, nor to the indolence of the parochial 
 clergy ; but was a concession most reluctantly 
 yielded to the fastidious impatience of their 
 congregations." 
 
 MEASURES JmiCH HAVE BEEN ADOPTED IN 
 ENGLAND TO ENFORCE CATECHISING ON THE 
 PART OF THE ESTABLISHED CLERGY. 
 
 My Lord, you have done no more than 
 justice to the heads of our Church, in say- 
 ing that they have constantly remonstrated 
 against the neglect of this duty. The 
 charges of our most distinguished Prelates, 
 for the last century and a half, abound in ex- 
 postulations with their clergy on account of 
 their dereliction of it. Indeed the Liturgy, 
 the Canons, and the Rubric demand so strict 
 an attention to the letter of the precept, that 
 it is impossible for our ecclesiastical gover- 
 nors to pass over the violation of it in silence. 
 But, my Lord, I cannot help entertaining an 
 
29 
 
 opinion, that little as the custom of catechi- 
 sing- seems to prevail at this time among the 
 established clergy of England, as much atten- 
 tion is paid to the duty by the reflecting por- 
 tion of the profession now, as at any former 
 period of our ecclesiastical history. Yes, 
 lamentably remiss as we are in this point, I 
 think we can bear comparison with our an- 
 cestors, taken as a body. The theory of 
 catechetical instruction has always been ad- 
 mitted to be beautiful ; but, with strange 
 inconsistency, the practice has ever been slack 
 and irregular. My judgment is formed upon 
 the injunctions and canons which have been 
 put forth from time to time, imposing penal- 
 ties upon the non-performance of this service, 
 and upon the complaints which have never 
 ceased to issue from archbishops and bishops. 
 So that it is really difficult to ascertain which 
 was the golden period, when this " godly 
 discipline, and laudable custom of the Church 
 of England," was in perfection. 
 
 Archbishop Cranmer spoke of its neglect, 
 4 
 
30 
 
 in the Dedication of his Catechism * to king 
 Edward the Sixth, in the year 1548, although 
 a royal injunction for its strict observance had 
 been promulgated in the former reign, twelve 
 years before. 
 
 CANONS OF EDWARD VI. 
 
 Public authority twice interfered during 
 the last Edward's brief sovereignty. But 
 what great benefit could be expected from a 
 limited order like the following ? 
 
 " The curate of every parish, once in six 
 weeks at the least, upon warning by him 
 given, shall upon some Sunday, or holiday, 
 half an hour before evensong, openly in the 
 church, instruct, and examine so many chil- 
 dren of his parish sent unto him, as the time 
 will serve, and as he shall think convenient, 
 in some part of this catechism |- And all 
 
 * See Burnet's History of the Reformation. Vol. 
 II. 71. 
 
 f This catechism was nearly the same as that now in 
 
S3 
 
 fathers, mothers, masters, and dames, shall 
 cause their children, servants, and apprentices 
 (which are not yet confirmed), to come to 
 the Church, at the time appointed, and obe- 
 diently hear, and be ordered by the curate, 
 until such time as they have learnt all that 
 is here appointed for them to learn." 2. 5, 
 Ed. VI. 
 
 An interval of six weeks * was permitted 
 to elapse between each act of public instruc- 
 tion, and even then the time specified was 
 half an hour only. Little, indeed, was 
 likely to be gained, by such a process, on the 
 part of an illiterate population, very few of 
 
 use, save that the part which relates to the sacraments 
 had not yet been added. It was introduced after the 
 conference in the reign of king James I. between the 
 Episcopalians and Puritans. 
 
 * The injunctions and articles to be enquired of at 
 the king's visitation, in 1547, contained a query, put 
 to " parsons, vicars, and curates," which was better 
 calculated to secure the attention of the Clergy, " Have 
 you, on Sundays and holidays, taught your parishioners, 
 and especially the youth, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, 
 and the ten commandments, and expounded the same?" 
 
32 
 
 whom could read, and whose ignorance there- 
 fore required that the curate should recite 
 the leading articles of our faith, little by 
 little, till the learners could repeat them by 
 heart. 
 
 PENAL INJUNCTIONS OF ELIZABETH. 
 
 It is manifest enough, that nothing very 
 effectual could result from such an infrequent 
 exercise of the duty, as that with which the 
 framers of Edward's injunction would have 
 been satisfied. And so it was found ; for by a 
 very early act of queen Elizabeth, the curate 
 was required to perform this service every 
 second Sunday. The Constitutions of 1571 
 improved upon this provision, and inserted a 
 clause to the following effect : 
 
 " On every Sunday, and holiday, at twelve 
 o'clock, the clergy shall repair to their 
 churches, and there spend two hours at least 
 in reading and explaining the catechism ; and 
 they shall instruct therein all their parishion- 
 ers, of every age and condition ; and they 
 
33 
 
 shall take especial care that none be permit- 
 ted * to receive the Communion, or to con- 
 tract marriage, &c. before they can well and 
 sufficiently answer all the questions in the 
 catechism t. 
 
 From thenceforward we might suppose, 
 that the object of the Church was completely 
 attained, and that clergy and people submit- 
 ted equally to this peremptory law. But no ! 
 twenty years afterwards, Archbishop Whit- 
 gift felt himself constrained to notice the 
 desuetude into which the practice had fallen, 
 and to exhort his suffragans, " In the fear of 
 God, according to their pastoral care, and by 
 the duty which they owed both to God and 
 his Church, to give straight charge to the 
 
 * Another penalty proposed during this arbitrary 
 reign, was, " That he, whose child, at ten years old 
 and upwards, was not able to say the catechism, should 
 pay ten shillings to the poor's box ; the like penalty to 
 be inflicted upon masters and mistresses, who had ser- 
 vants of fourteen years and upwards, who could not 
 say the catechism by heart." 
 
 t Wilk. iv. '265. 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 clergy and their parishioners, to see that the 
 children, and other ignorant persons, were 
 duly instructed, and examined in their cate- 
 chism, as, by the orders of the Church, they 
 ought to be *." 
 
 CANONS OF JAMES I. 
 
 The 59th of " the Constitutions and Ca- 
 nons Ecclesiastical," agreed on in 1603, de- 
 parted, in some degree, from the severity of 
 Elizabeth's enactments, but its penal charac- 
 ter proves that the continued laxity of the 
 clergy still demanded a coercive hand. 
 
 " Every parson, vicar, or curate, upon 
 every Sunday and holy day, before evening 
 prayer, shall, for half an hour and more, ex- 
 amine and instruct the youth, and ignorant 
 persons of his parish, in the ten command- 
 ments, the Articles of the Belief, and in the 
 Lord's Prayer : and shall diligently hear, in- 
 
 * " Anno. 1591. Reg. Whitgift, vol. i. 185." 
 
35 
 
 struct, and teach them the catechism, set 
 forth in the Book of the Common Prayer. 
 And all fathers, mothers, masters, and mis- 
 tresses, shall cause their children, servants, 
 and apprentices, which have not learned the 
 catechism, to come to the church, at the 
 time appointed, obediently to hear, and to be 
 ordered by the minister until they have learn- 
 ed the same. And if any minister neglect 
 his duty herein, let him be sharply reproved 
 upon the first complaint, and true notice 
 thereof given to the Bishop or Ordinary of 
 the place. If, after submitting himself, he 
 shall wilfully offend again, let him be sus- 
 pended. If so the third time, there being 
 little hope he will be therein reformed, then 
 excommunicated, and so remain, until he will 
 be reformed. And likewise if any of the 
 said fathers, masters, mistresses of the chil- 
 dren, servants, or apprentices, shall neglect 
 their duties, as the one sort in not causing 
 them to come, and the other in refusing to 
 learn, as aforesaid, let them be suspended 
 d 2 
 
36 
 
 by their Ordinaries, (if they be not children,) 
 and if they so persist by the space of a 
 month, then let them be excommunicated." 
 
 It is manifest from the terms, " examine 
 and instruct" and "shall diligently hear, 
 instruct, and teach," that the canon exacts 
 much more, than that the clergyman should 
 merely hear the children say the form of 
 church catechism by rote. A careful instruc- 
 tion in the principles therein set forth is the 
 object of this canon : and in bishop Gibson's 
 "Codex Juris Ecclesiastici Anglicani," we 
 find a note upon the words " examine and 
 instruct the youth," to the following effect : — 
 
 " In the Reformatio Legion there is an 
 excellent rule upon this head. One hour or 
 more in the afternoon service, ' Let the 
 parish priest take up the Catechism, and 
 give great attention to the explanation of it ; 
 for a frequent exposition of the Catechism is 
 of the utmost use and benefit in the Church 
 of God. And we wish this instruction to be 
 given not only to the children, but to the 
 
37 
 
 young persons who are growing up, that 
 they also may be well informed in the prin- 
 ciples of their religion, and that the assiduity 
 of the children may be stimulated by their 
 presence.' " 
 
 But whether it was, that the express men- 
 tion of the Ten Commandments, the Arti- 
 cles of the Belief, and the Lord's Prayer, 
 gave such a formal and limited construction 
 to the canon, as to defeat the more substan- 
 tial object regarded by the clause that imme- 
 diately follows : viz. " shall diligently hear, 
 instruct, and teach them the Catechism," &c. 
 — or that the service was rendered obnoxious 
 by its appearance of constraint, and by the 
 penalties attached to the non-performance of 
 the duty, menacing both the negligent mi- 
 nister, and the careless parents and masters, 
 who would not send their children to be so 
 taught, — certain it is, that the Church gained 
 nothing in point of true allegiance by having 
 her ordinance thus defined and enforced. 
 
 " Your Majesty," said a Right Reverend 
 
38 
 
 preacher before King James, in 1624, " can 
 never be sufficiently commended, in taking 
 order, that the chief heads of the Catechism 
 should, in the ordinary ministry, be diligently 
 propounded, and explained unto the people 
 throughout the land ; which I wish were as 
 duly executed every where, as was piously 
 by you intended." 
 
 About the same period, the archbishop of 
 Canterbury, in a letter written to the arch- 
 bishop of York, complained thus grievously 
 of the neglect of catechising, by the English 
 clergy : " The which kind of teaching, (to 
 our amendment be it spoken,) is more dili- 
 gently observed in all the reformed Churches 
 of Europe, than of late it hath been here in 
 England. I find his majesty much moved 
 with this neglect, and resolved, if we bishops 
 do not see a reformation hereof, which I 
 trust we shall, to recommend it to the care 
 of the civil magistrate." 
 
39 
 
 RUBRIC OF 1661. 
 
 In pursuing the enquiry, we shall find that 
 the rubrics, which were re-modelled in the 
 reign of Charles II., have not been much 
 more successful, although they are in their 
 nature more obligatory than the canons, be- 
 cause they are made binding by statute, as 
 well as ecclesiastical law. Within so short a 
 period as ten years after their enactment, arch- 
 bishop Sheldon, by the king's command, sent 
 letters to the bishops, requiring them " to 
 enforce the execution of such laws and con- 
 stitutions, as enabled them to enjoin the use 
 and exercise of our Church Catechism ;" a 
 pretty clear proof of the general careless- 
 ness. Cosins, bishop of Durham, must have 
 understood the extent of this insufficiency, 
 when he observed*, that the rubric is ex- 
 pressed in indefinite terms, and that a paro- 
 chial Clergyman is not obliged by it to 
 
 * See Shepherd on the Common Prayer, vol. ii. 
 |>. 27(3. 
 
10 
 
 catechise more frequently than lie himself 
 thinks necessary. In one respect, by chang- 
 ing- the time from " half an hour before 
 evening prayer/' to an interval " after the 
 second Lesson," it varies directly from the 
 59th canon, and so far the trumpet of the 
 law gives an uncertain sound. " The curate 
 of every parish shall diligently, upon Sun- 
 days and holy days, after the second Lesson 
 at evening prayer, openly in the church 
 instruct and examine so many children of 
 his parish, sent unto him, as he shall think 
 convenient, in some part of the Catechism." 
 
 = 
 
 INSUFFICIENCY OF THE RUBRIC TO REVIVE 
 EFFECTIVE CATECHISING. 
 
 The principal inconvenience of this rubric 
 is found in the time it enjoins for the 
 exercise of the duty, which seldom fails of 
 exciting impatience in the congregation, and 
 of producing results inconsistent with the 
 spirit of the ordinance. To catechise during 
 
41 
 
 an interval of Divine Service, is to lose the 
 effect of that more familiar and personal 
 examination of each child, according to the 
 nature of his answers, which is the life and 
 essence of the practice. Moreover, while 
 the minister is in the midst of the evening 
 prayer, and the congregation are silenced hy 
 the solemnity of the Liturgy, it may be 
 thought ill-timed and injurious to the serious- 
 ness of their devotion, to interrupt them by 
 a process of interrogation, which may, occa- 
 sionally, sink into the ridiculous, by the replies 
 of simple and ignorant childhood. 
 
 I should be sorry to put any wrong con- 
 struction upon your Lordship's sentiments, 
 but I consider, that the following passage in 
 your Lordship's charge, has reference to the 
 inutility of confining ourselves to the system 
 proposed by the Rubric, and gives some 
 warrant to the observations which I have 
 just hazarded. " I am not so fondly attached 
 to ancient usages, however beneficial in them- 
 selves, as to press the crude and hasty revival 
 
12 
 
 of a method of teaching, which, at least in 
 its ordinary form, has proved, on experience, 
 unsuitable to the habits and feelings of mo- 
 dern times *." 
 
 What, indeed, is more likely to render a 
 congregation impatient, than to make a break 
 in their devotions, for the purpose of an ex- 
 hibition, which has nothing in it either of an 
 instructive or impressive nature ? They can 
 say the Catechism themselves, and they are 
 aware, that the children who are commanded 
 to stand up before them, can also repeat it. 
 It is a congregational, and not a scholastic 
 exercise that is required : a service which 
 shall employ men's thoughts, remind them of 
 that which they have forgotten, or explain 
 that which they do not understand. A well 
 known manual, equally familiar to all pre- 
 sent, repeated over and over again, Sunday 
 after Sunday, cannot by any possibility pro- 
 duce the effect contemplated by those who 
 
 * Charge of 1822, p. 24, 3d Edition. 
 
is 
 
 enjoined the ordinance. It might answer 
 some good when very few could read, and 
 when the children, apprentices, and servants, 
 had no other means of acquiring the form of 
 words, contained in the leading articles of the 
 Catechism, than from the mouth of the priest, 
 as he distinctly recited them from the desk 
 or pulpit. But now, when it may be taken 
 for granted, that the form is well taught else- 
 where, and that the attendant at church is 
 desirous to leave the principles, or at all 
 events, the mere enunciation of Christian 
 doctrines, and to go on unto perfection, it is, 
 really, nothing but disappointment and vexa- 
 tion, if he be detained to listen to the same 
 elementary examination, without the chance 
 of carrying away with him, a particle of ad- 
 ditional knowledge. 
 
 Any unvaried monotonous process is unable 
 to awaken interest either in the examinant or 
 by-stander, and therefore, even the best expo- 
 sition of the Catechism, if it be always drawn 
 from the mouths of the children in the same 
 
44 
 
 order of question and answer, would become 
 so cold in its style, and stiff in its application, 
 as to excite the same disrelish as the Cate- 
 chism itself when taught by rote only. It is 
 the lesson-like character of the mode, when 
 adopted in literal obedience to the Rubric, 
 and the dull task-work, which the querist, 
 the respondent, and the congregation feel 
 in an equal degree, which have rendered, and 
 will continue to render, the old method un- 
 inviting, and therefore uninfluential. 
 
 Seeing then, that the verbal construction 
 of the Injunctions, Canons, and Rubrics, have 
 had some tendency to defeat the object pro- 
 posed by them, in that they have prescribed 
 times and seasons, and induced a neglect, 
 or cold performance of duty, on the part 
 of those who give themselves no trouble to 
 enquire into the nature and duty of catechis- 
 ing, is the system to be abandoned altogether ? 
 Not so, but it becomes a question, whether 
 it may not be improved, and whether a spirit 
 of emulation may not be stirred up by other, 
 
45 
 
 and higher motives than a legislative enact- 
 ment. The letter of the law being dead, 
 or considered so, by those who forget their 
 subscriptions and declarations of conformity, 
 is there not some ever living spirit of the 
 rule by which we may be guided and 
 governed ? 
 
 Your Lordship has not overlooked this. 
 You have reminded us, that we are to con- 
 sult the tenor of the Liturgy and services 
 of the Church, and there we shall find, how 
 solemnly the attention of the pastor and his 
 people, is drawn to the demands of their 
 mutual relation as shepherd and fold, and 
 to the conduct of both parties in the per- 
 formance of their respective duties. " Whe- 
 ther we look to the dedication of the infant 
 to God by the ministry of the priest, to 
 the profession of faith and obedience which 
 is made in his presence by the sponsors, or 
 to the exhortation which designates their 
 duties, and specifies the instruction to be 
 given to the child, we discern the pervading 
 
id 
 
 intention of placing the rising generation in 
 the view of the minister, of giving them in 
 the tenderest infancy the advantage of his 
 paternal protection, and sending them to 
 the Church, to be publicly instructed by 
 him in faith and morals *." 
 
 MOTIVES DERIVED FROM THE BAPTISMAL 
 SERVICE. 
 
 In the baptismal service, the very first 
 supplication which the priest addresses to 
 the throne of Grace, publicly before the 
 congregation f> is that " the child may be 
 
 * The Rubric directs that baptism should be ad- 
 ministered upon Sundays and other holy days, " When 
 the most number of people come together" for the ex- 
 press purpose that " every man present may be put 
 in remembrance of his own profession made to God." 
 It adds " in his baptism," but can the reflecting priest 
 forget that his professions, made when he was con- 
 secrated to God, as the minister of God's word, demand 
 something of him also, viz. that he shall " teach, premo- 
 nish, feed, and provide for the Lord's family V 
 
 t Charge of 1822, p. 21, 3d Edition. 
 
received into the ark of Christ's Church" 
 The next petition is, that the infant " being 
 stedfast in faith, joyful through hope, and 
 rooted in charity, may so pass the waves 
 of this troublesome world, that finally he 
 may come to the land of everlasting life." 
 What clergyman is so dull, or so fanatical, 
 who would not shrink indignantly from the 
 reproach, if he were asked, Do you presume 
 then, that the prayers of the Church, without 
 any of the efforts of the Church, through 
 its ministers, are to go on accomplishing this 
 blessed effect? When the child arrives at 
 years of understading, if he shall live to 
 a period of temptation, will he pass safely 
 through the waves of this troublesome world, 
 without any helping hand, without any 
 spiritual guide to direct him ? 
 
 Were the infant left here, it would be 
 the veriest mockery, and therefore the ser- 
 vice proceeds to speak of the rebuke which 
 the disciples received from our Lord, when 
 they would have kept little children from 
 4 
 
•1-8 
 
 him, and to remind us by implication, that 
 we are to receive them, not only to for- 
 mularies, but to instruction; not only at 
 the baptismal font, but at the chair of the 
 catechist, to acquaint them with the nature 
 as well as with the words of Baptismal 
 Regeneration. 
 
 How is the child, who " is dedicated to 
 God by our office and ministry," to " remain 
 in the number of God's faithful and elect 
 children through J esus Christ," should length 
 of days be extended to him, unless he be 
 brought to a vital knowledge of Jesus Christ, 
 through our office and ministry ? It is mere 
 lip service "to give thanks unto Almighty 
 God, and to make our prayers unto him, 
 that this child may lead the rest of his life 
 according to this beginning," unless we our- 
 selves, to the utmost of our abilities, obey the 
 further injunctions of the Church, and ex- 
 plain to him, what it is, " to confess the 
 faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to 
 fight under his banner, against sin, the 
 
19 
 
 world, and the devil, and to continue Christ's 
 faithful soldier and servant unto his life's 
 end." Again, how can we seriously proceed 
 to exhort godfathers and godmothers to 
 " remember that it is their parts and duties 
 to see that the infant be taught what a solemn 
 vow, promise, and profession he hath made, 
 and to provide that he may learn the Creed, 
 the Lord's Prayer, and Ten commandments 
 in the vulgar tongue, and all the things 
 which a Christian ought to know to his 
 soul's health," unless we ourselves are pre- 
 pared to be at our posts, when the time shall 
 come, and to teach them to understand the 
 same? Who can conceive that the same 
 Church, which propounds the form and " mi- 
 nistration of public baptism," and the form 
 of " Catechism to be learnt of every person, 
 &c." has greater claims upon the sponsors 
 who are to see that infants be taught, than 
 upon the ministers whose duty it is to ex- 
 plain the lesson in question ? 
 
 E 
 
so 
 
 MOTIVES DERIVED FROM THE ORDINATION 
 SERVICE. 
 
 But a more sacred appeal yet remains, 
 and it can be shewn, that what a sponsor 
 undertakes for his god-child, the parochial 
 minister undertakes for " all such as are, or 
 shall be committed to his charge," within 
 the extent of a possible quantity of duty, i. e. 
 as far as it is practicable. Yes, there is a 
 solemn account which every Parish Priest 
 has to render, in conformity with his Ordina- 
 tion vow, infinitely beyond all the obligation 
 which Acts of Parliament, Constitutions, or 
 Canons, can impose. He may evade the letter 
 of these, and may persuade himself that he 
 has catechised, and taught and initiated, 
 according to Rubrick or Canon, if during 
 certain seasons of the year, he have gathered 
 together the school children, or others of his 
 parish, about the rails of the altar, or read- 
 ing-desk, and questioned them as to their 
 
51 
 
 proficiency in saying by heart the form of 
 the Church catechism. But a reference to 
 the Ordination Service will lead to a bitter 
 reprehension of himself, should he not have 
 carried his instructions to a much greater 
 extent, and questioned personally as many 
 young people as he could induce to answer, 
 concerning " the reason of the hope which 
 is in them." 
 
 I conceive, therefore, that your Lordship, 
 in common with the other Prelates of the 
 realm, would be able to admonish and re- 
 prove a negligent catechist with irresistible 
 authority, by censures resting solely on the 
 solemn engagements made by Deacons and 
 Priests under the imposition of hands, and the 
 awful sponsion at the altar. " The ques- 
 tions," says Burnet, " are put in the name 
 of God and of his Church, which make the 
 answers to them to be of the nature of vows 
 and oaths, so that if men do make conscience 
 of any thing, and if it is possible to strike 
 terror into them, the forms of our Ordination 
 f, 2 
 
52 
 
 are the most effectually contrived for that 
 end that could have been framed *." 
 
 " It appertaineth to the office of a Deacon — 
 to instruct the youth in the catechism. — Will 
 you do this gladly and willingly ?" demands 
 the Bishop. 
 
 " I will do so by the help of God !" is the 
 answer. 
 
 That the Deacon may understand that it 
 is no hasty and formal compliance with this 
 and other duties of his profession, which is 
 required, but an essential performance of 
 them, he is further asked, — 
 
 <c Will you apply all your diligence to 
 frame and fashion your own life, and the 
 lives of your families, according to the doc- 
 trine of Christ : and to make both yourselves 
 and them, as much as in you lieth, whole- 
 some examples of the flock of Christ ?" 
 
 " I will do so, the Lord being my helper." 
 
 In the Ordination of Priests, the duty of 
 
 * Pastoral Care. 
 
53 
 
 pastoral and catechetical instruction, as inde- 
 pendent of that of public preaching, and in 
 addition to it, is so distinctly marked, and 
 seriously denned, that none could evade it } 
 without the help of a supposed obedience to 
 the letter of the Canons and Rubric. 
 
 " And now again we exhort you, in the 
 name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you 
 have in remembrance into how high a dignity, 
 and to how weighty an office and charge, ye 
 are called : that is to say, to be messengers, 
 watchmen, and stewards, of the Lord ; to 
 teach, to premonish, to feed and provide for 
 the Lord's family, and to seek for Christ's 
 sheep that are scattered abroad, and for his 
 children who are in the midst of this naughty 
 world, that they may be saved through Christ 
 for ever. If it shall happen that any mem- 
 ber thereof take any hurt or hindrance, by 
 reason of your negligence, ye know the 
 greatness of the fault, and also the horrible 
 punishment that will ensue. Wherefore con- 
 sider, within yourselves, the end of your 
 
ministry towards the children of God, to- 
 wards the spouse, and body of Christ ; and 
 see that you never cease your labour, your 
 care and diligence, until you have done all 
 that lieth in you, according to your bounden 
 duty, to bring all such as are, or shall be, 
 committed to your charge, unto that agree- 
 ment in the faith and knowledge of God, and 
 to that ripeness and perfectness of age in 
 Christ, that there be no place left among you, 
 either for error in religion, or for viciousness 
 in life," &c. 
 
 After this exhortation follow these ques- 
 tions : — 
 
 " Are you determined out of the said 
 Scripture to instruct the people committed 
 to your charge," fyc. ? 
 
 Answer — " I am so determined by God's 
 grace." 
 
 " Will you then give your faithful dili- 
 gence, so that you may teach the people 
 committed to your care and charge, to keep 
 and observe the same ?" 
 
 4 
 
55 
 
 Answer — " I will do so by the help of 
 God." 
 
 " Will you be ready, with all faithful dili- 
 gence, to banish and drive away all erroneous 
 and strange doctrines, contrary to God's 
 word : and to use both public and private 
 monitions and exhortations, as well to the 
 sick, as to the whole, within your cure, as 
 need shall require, and occasion shall be 
 given ?" 
 
 Answer — " I will, the Lord being my 
 helper." 
 
 Such are the duties of Catechising and 
 of pastoral instruction, according to the 
 ordination engagements. The Ordination 
 Service demies them, and the bishop who 
 ordains, imperatively exacts them, as an obli- 
 gation binding on the souls of priests and 
 deacons, not only according to the letter, 
 but to the spirit, and the full meaning of the 
 words in which it is conveyed. It is a stipu- 
 lation entered upon at the altar : it is a co- 
 venant ratified before God, and in the pre- 
 
56 
 
 sence of the congregation, that the person 
 who is admitted into Holy Orders, " shall 
 never cease his labour, care, or diligence, 
 till he hath done all that lieth in him, both 
 by public and private monitions and ex- 
 hortations to bring those committed to his 
 charge to the ripeness and perfectness of 
 ChrisL" 
 
 ** My advice," said Bishop Burnet in his 
 Discourse on the Pastoral Care, " is, that 
 those who are already in Orders, will at 
 least four times a year, on the Ordination 
 Sundays, read over the offices of the degrees 
 of the Church in which they are ; and will 
 particularly consider the charge that was 
 given, and the answers that were made by 
 them : and then ask themselves as before 
 God, who will judge them at the great day, 
 upon their religious performance of them, 
 whether they had been true to them or not." 
 
57 
 
 A MISTAKEN IDEA, THAT THE NECESSITY OF 
 CATECHISING IS SUPERSEDED BY THE NA- 
 TIONAL SCHOOL SYSTEM. 
 
 Your Lordship has expressed yourself un- 
 willing to impute the discontinuance of cate- 
 chising to the " indolence of the parochial 
 clergy." Indolence is not, I would hope, 
 the fault of the clergy of the day ; and if 
 there be any disinclination to exercise the 
 functions of catechists, it is more likely to 
 arise from an erroneous persuasion, that their 
 other labours have been such as to render it 
 unnecessary, than from any unwillingness to 
 encounter personal trouble. There is scarcely 
 a parish, in your Lordship's diocese at least, 
 where a school of some description, Sunday 
 or weekly, has not been instituted, under the 
 superintendence of the parochial minister, 
 for the religious improvement of the children 
 of the poor. To the internal management 
 of such establishments the clergyman devotes 
 much of his time and attention : he is pre- 
 
58 
 
 sent at examinations, — he provides that 
 scriptural lessons shall form the principal 
 subjects of instruction ; and all being under 
 his immediate care, he believes that he does 
 enough, and obeys the Rubric and the Canon, 
 while he thus " causes the children, who have 
 not learnt the catechism, to come to hear and 
 be ordered, till they have learned the same." 
 I am confident there is so much good inten- 
 tion in these and other labours of the gene- 
 rality of my Clerical brethren, that there are 
 but few of them, who could not be soon 
 brought to admit, that in this superintend- 
 ence of parish schools, they are performing 
 only half of their catechetical duties, and that 
 they are falling very far short of the good 
 which they conscientiously propose to them- 
 selves. Parents, and parishioners at large, 
 in their own persons, are not benefited by 
 this substitution for the old practice ; young 
 persons of a higher degree, who are not in 
 the habit of receiving instruction in parochial 
 schools,— servants, apprentices, — and all, at 
 
59 
 
 that dangerous crisis, between childhood and 
 maturity, lose the advantage of those prac- 
 tical and familiar illustrations of divine truth, 
 which the interrogatory system affords, when 
 it is transferred from the church to the 
 school-room. Catechising should always be 
 a congregational service ; for well-ordered 
 questions draw out the attention, and quicken 
 the apprehension, not only of those who have 
 to make a reply, but of those who are mere 
 listeners, and take no further part in the 
 service. 
 
 But this is not the only reason why the 
 institution of parish schools should not be 
 permitted to dispense with the primitive cus- 
 tom. The more general that education 
 becomes, the more imperative is the duty of 
 the parochial minister to ascertain its effects 
 upon the minds of his young flock, beyond 
 the period of their probation as eleemosynary 
 scholars. If he have laid the foundation, he 
 should carry up the building, or, at least, he 
 should make himself acquainted with the 
 
60 
 
 scriptural soundness of the superstructure. 
 As he has heen instrumental in giving his 
 youthful parishioners new powers of acquiring 
 good and evil, — he should continue to direct 
 their application. He should provide whole- 
 some food for the craving appetite which he 
 has excited ; and by examination in the face 
 of the congregation, should prove that he is 
 not indifferent to the spiritual wants and in- 
 terests of ripening years. 
 
 As long as Sunday, parish, and national 
 schools are used as helps to the parochial 
 clergy, and the services of the schoolmasters 
 therein engaged, are employed to prepare 
 children for their appointed catechist, the 
 incumbent or his curate, and to relieve him 
 from the toilsome work of primary instruc- 
 tion, they will continue to be beneficial in no 
 ordinary degree. But whenever they shall 
 be regarded as sufficient for all the purposes 
 of elementary training in religious know- 
 ledge, — and the ordained guide to Christian 
 truth shall think himself justified in deputing 
 
01 
 
 his catechetical duties to an incompetent lay- 
 assistant, and in breaking the tie of con- 
 nexion between himself and his flock, effects 
 will follow, which may, in the end, direct the 
 engine of national education against the hand 
 that first applied it *. 
 
 • " Do the times then no longer require it ?" asks 
 Archdeacon Bayley, in his eloquent and animated 
 Charge, " Far other is the case. Much of that igno- 
 rant impatience of discipline, that ever learning, and 
 never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, that 
 heartless indifference, which usurps the name of liberality, 
 and that licentiousness of self-will, which marks the 
 latter days, as it disgraced the worst period, perhaps, of 
 our annals ; much of all this, as well as of viciousness of 
 life and error in religion, is owing to ' ungroundedness 
 'n the points of Catechism.' Equally fallacious is the 
 notion, that Sunday Schools, and more especially the 
 national system, preclude its use, or remove the minis- 
 ter's responsibility. No ; but one of the great objects, 
 one of the prime merits of both, is to train and prepare 
 the rising generation for the hands of the Clergyman, to 
 facilitate thereby his labour, and to make the necessity 
 of public exhibition less frequent. But still his constant 
 supervisal and personal direction of the whole machinery 
 are equally, or more than ever demanded — they are, I 
 had nearly said, all in all. Through him, moreover, the 
 
62 
 
 ERRONEOUS ESTIMATE OF THE IMPORTANCE 
 OF CATECHISING. 
 
 A late Prelate, Bishop Edmund Law, who 
 published, in the last century, an excellent 
 " Dissertation on the nature and necessity of 
 Catechising," attributed the discontinuance 
 of the service to two causes : First, a low 
 estimate of its importance, on the part of 
 some ; and, secondly, a sense of its difficul- 
 ties on the part of others. " At present this 
 is a work which many, either discouraged by 
 disuse, and the despicable notions which are 
 apt to be entertained of it, or deterred by 
 its difficulty, are extremely shy of undertak- 
 ing. Some have not the desire, some not 
 the resolution to set about it !" 
 
 With respect to the first cause assigned, I 
 can easily understand that the younger clergy 
 may learn to entertain a contemptible opi- 
 
 children are to profess in Church, what they have been 
 taught in the school, and he is bound not merely to 
 listen to a formal and cold repetition, but also in the 
 fullest sense of the term, to 'examine, and to instruct.'" 
 
63 
 
 nion of that which their elders and superiors 
 refuse to practise. 
 
 Where it is the custom to commit the 
 sacred charge as a work of drudgery, to lay 
 persons, whose habits, condition, and attain- 
 ments, are unequal to it, — there it may be 
 concluded, that inexperienced and unreflect- 
 ing clergymen will be indisposed to enter 
 upon a work, which has been rendered dis- 
 tasteful by neglect and abuse. But will the 
 Church of England ever sink so low, as that 
 the great body of her ministers shall openly 
 hold in contempt a practice, which has been 
 sanctified by the example of Evangelists and 
 Apostles, and of men eminent for their rank 
 in the Church, for their piety and attain- 
 ments, from the first preaching of the Gospel 
 to the present hour ? To devote public and 
 private attention to the young, and the ig- 
 norant, and the dull, — to explain to these the 
 first principles of Christianity, by a slow and 
 wearisome process, — to question, and to con- 
 sent to be questioned in the face of the con- 
 
64 
 
 gregation, — to have recourse to one expedient 
 after another, for the purpose of touching the 
 heart, or stirring up the conscience, or en- 
 lightening the understanding, — to aim every 
 discourse at the same mark, — to adapt the 
 system to different tempers and capacities, — 
 and never to consider the work done, until 
 every term used is thoroughly understood, — 
 every vow and promise distinctly explained, 
 and every condition of the covenant made 
 plain, — this may be laborious, and trying, and 
 oftentimes disheartening, but it never can be 
 pronounced inconsistent with the dignity of 
 the most elevated station. 
 
 CATECHISING PRACTISED BY THE APOSTLES 
 AND THEIR SUCCESSORS. 
 
 I have said that the Apostles and Evan- 
 gelists themselves did not disdain that pa- 
 tient, simple, and interrogatory mode of 
 instruction, which is called Catechising *. 
 
 * It was principally by catechising, that the religion 
 
65 
 
 Added to the concurrent voice of antiquity * 
 to this effect, we have the more unquestion- 
 ed Jesus, as Hegesippus observes, was in a few years 
 spread over the greater part of the known world." — 
 Bishop Mant. 
 
 " By catechising, under heaven, was planted the 
 Apostolical Church ; by catechising, the sound of the 
 Gospel was sent forth into all lands." — Archdeacon 
 Bay ley. 
 
 " St. Paul's converts had all been instructed in the 
 faith, as the custom was, catechetically." — Rev. J. B. 
 Sumner. 
 
 * The author of the Epistle called " Clementis ad 
 Jacobum Epistola," (who, at all events, expressed the 
 traditionary belief of the early Church, at whatever pe- 
 riod he himself may have lived,) professes to give an 
 account of St. Peter's last charge, in which the Apostle 
 is made to speak of himself, as having catechised at 
 Rome. " They who catechise, should be well rooted 
 in the faith, for the salvation of men's souls is at stake. 
 Wherefore it is important that he who administers, and 
 teaches, shall accommodate himself to the various opi- 
 nions and dispositions of such as he may have to teach. 
 It is indispensable that a catechist be learned, blameless, 
 practised and perspicuous in his mode of instruction. 
 Such as you will find Clement to be, who, when I am 
 gone, will succeed me." — Clem, ad Jac. Epist. apud 
 Cot. Pat. P. 619. 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 able evidence of Scripture, gathered from the 
 application of the Greek word, from whence 
 the term now in use is derived. 
 
 Fortified with this etymological argument, 
 it was the opinion of Cave and Grotius *, 
 that St. Peter alluded to the catechetical 
 system, when he spoke of the " answer of a 
 good conscience towards God :" and it has 
 been thought still more probable, that Philip's 
 conversation with the eunuch, before he bap- 
 tized him, had some reference to the Apos- 
 tolical practice of teaching by question and 
 answer. Cyril distinctly relates, in terms, 
 that St. Paul catechised. " Paul," says he, 
 "preached the Gospel from Jerusalem to 
 Illyria, and taught at Rome catechetical- 
 ly f." \jcaTvyr)<;avTa.~] Cyril, Catechesis, 
 xvii. 16. 
 
 • Bingley's Orig. Sacr. B. xi. ch. 7. 5. 3. 
 
 f St. Paul's general style affords evidence to this 
 effect. From the 2nd chapter to the end of the 12th 
 chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, there appears a 
 manner of putting his subject, which is peculiarly cha- 
 
<>7 
 
 This statement receives strong confirma- 
 tion from the two last verses of Acts xxviii. 
 " And Paul dwelt two whole years in his 
 own hired house, £at Rome,^ and received 
 all that came unto him, preaching the king- 
 dom of God, and teaching those things 
 which concern the Lord Jesus Christ." There 
 is manifestly meant to be, in this passage, an 
 account of two modes which the Apostle 
 adopted of promulgating the Faith. Com- 
 
 racteristic of the Apostle, who, according to Cyril, cate~ 
 chised at Rome. For example — 
 
 Q. What advantage then hath the Jew? or what 
 profit is there of circumcision? Rom. iii. 1. 
 
 A. Much every way— chiefly, because that unto them 
 were committed the oracles of God. V. 2. 
 
 Q. For what if some did not believe ? shall their un- 
 belief make the faith of God without effect ? V. 3. 
 
 A. God forbid. Yea let God be true, but every man 
 a liar, as it is written, That thou mightest be justified 
 in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art 
 judged. V. 4. 
 
 Q. What, then, are we better than they ? V. 9. 
 
 A. No, in no wise, for we have before proved both 
 Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin. V.9. 
 <Src. &c. 
 
 F 2 
 
GS 
 
 paring it with Acts v. 42, — " they ceased not 
 to teach, and preach Jesus Christ," — with 
 Acts xv. 35, — " Paul and Barnabas continued 
 in Antioch, teaching and preaching the 
 word of the Lord," — and with 1 Tim. i. 11, 
 " Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, 
 and an apostle, and a teacher" — and find- 
 ing that the term itself, Catechise *, is 
 used three times by St. Paul himself, and 
 four times by St. Luke f, the sacred historian 
 of St. Paul, — I can have no doubt that the 
 catechetical form of teaching was adopted 
 by the Apostles as the most efficient, though 
 the most humble and fatiguing method, of 
 explaining the first principles of the Gospel. 
 St. Paul's charge to Timothy was, that he 
 should be " apt to teach" £SiSaKrcKov]] (twice 
 this expression was repeated,) " in meekness 
 instructing %" [Vai&vovra/] 
 
 * See the Introduction. 
 
 -j- Luke i. 4. Acts xviii. 25. xxi. 21, 24. Rom. ii. 
 18. 1 Cor. xiv. 19. Gal. vi. 6. 
 % 1 Tim. ii. 2. 2 Tim. ii. 24, 25. 
 
69 
 
 THE ATTENTION PAID TO IT BY THE EARLY 
 CHURCH. 
 
 In conformity with this precept, the high- 
 est officers in the primitive Church, and the 
 most distinguished of her ornaments, exer- 
 cised the functions of Catechists, with a spirit 
 that took delight in teaching even the first 
 elements, — with gentleness that could not be 
 moved by the perverseness of their catechu- 
 mens, and with patience which was proof 
 against all fatigue or disgust. 
 
 " The chair of the catechist of old was 
 filled by the highest authorities, the finest 
 talents, and the deepest learning *," and 
 among the number of those whom I would 
 bring to the recollection of such as under- 
 value the humble task of interrogatory in- 
 struction, was Pantaenus His taste in ele- 
 gant and classic literature was so refined, that 
 he was called the " Sicilian bee" by his con- 
 
 * Archdeacon Bayley. 
 
 •f Karr;x>/<7£u>£ ■Kpoiarr) SidaaKaXttov. Euseb. 
 
70 
 
 temporaries ; and there is an incident in his 
 life, which, connected with his literary acquire- 
 ments, may induce not a few to take more 
 than common interest in his history. Like 
 our own lamented Heber, he made a sacrifice 
 of his dearest interests, and went a voluntary 
 missionary to India. Though Alexandria, 
 the place of his abode, contained all that 
 could gratify a mind ardent in the pursuit of 
 science and letters, yet he cheerfully regarded 
 an invitation by some Indian ambassadors, as 
 a call of Providence, and journeyed to regions 
 beyond the Indus, with that singleness of 
 purpose, which proved his heart to be with the 
 Author and Finisher of his faith, and chose a 
 rugged path which nothing could smooth, 
 but the strongest sense of Christian duty. 
 
 Clemens Alexandrinus, Heraclias, after- 
 wards bishop of Alexandria, and Origen, were 
 Catechists ; and the latter was so eminently 
 successful in proceeding upon the golden rule, 
 line upon line, and precept upon precept, 
 that he not only achieved conversions among 
 
71 
 
 the more ignorant and uninformed, but 
 among accomplished scholars # . Heathen 
 philosophers, and Christians by outward pro- 
 fession, who had departed from the purer 
 doctrines of the Gospel, were brought to the 
 obedience of the cross, by listening accidentally 
 to the close questions which he put to his 
 catechumens, and to the truth which he illus- 
 trated through their answers. This is one 
 of the important advantages resulting from 
 public catechising. The instructor reaches 
 the hearts and consciences of by-standers, 
 through queries and observations meant for 
 young neophytes. The simplicity of the 
 Gospel thus triumphs unexpectedly over the 
 wisdom of the wise ; and praise is perfected 
 out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, 
 for " God hath chosen the foolish things of 
 the world to confound the wise, and the weak 
 things of the world to confound the things 
 which are mighty, and base things of the 
 
 * Euseb. vi. 18. 
 2 
 
72 
 
 world, and things that are despised hath God 
 chosen, yea, and things, which are not, to 
 bring to nought things that are, that no 
 flesh should glory in his presence." 
 
 It will be enough to mention two other 
 names, selected from the Fathers, of men, re- 
 nowned in their generation, who thought it 
 no condescension to labour in furtherance of 
 that sacred Ordinance, which your Lord- 
 ship has taken such pains to press upon the 
 attention of your Clergy. Cyril of Jerusa- 
 lem, and Augustine of Hippo, are no mean 
 names in the annals of the Church. The 
 first has left behind him proofs in his " Cate- 
 chesis," that a catechist's duties are not the 
 least important among the pastoral functions. 
 The second assisted the labours of a young 
 deacon by a treatise on Catechising, which 
 none can read without feeling all the best 
 energies of his nature invited to exercise 
 themselves in the same department of the 
 Lord's vineyard. 
 
73 
 
 THE OPINIONS OF THE EARLY BE FORMERS, 
 AND OTHER EMINENT MEN. 
 
 As nothing extended the doctrines of the, 
 primitive Church more than diligent Cate- 
 chising, so has the enlargement of the Pro- 
 testant faith been effected by the same means. 
 From the earliest dawn of the Reformation, 
 there has never been a time, when its zealous 
 advocates have entirely neglected it. The 
 sixteenth century produced a host of cate- 
 chists and catechisms. Luther wrote two, 
 and declared that catechising afforded him 
 more delight than any other duty *. I have 
 already noticed what was done in England 
 to promote this service, in the infancy of the 
 Established Church ; and however lax at dif- 
 ferent periods may have been the conduct of 
 too great a portion of the Clergy of the land, 
 yet the sentiments and the practice of our 
 more distinguished divines have always been 
 in this respect strictly Apostolical. 
 
 * See Mant's Notes on the Catechism. 
 
" There is no employment in the world," 
 said Bishop Hall, " wherein God's ministers 
 can so profitably employ themselves, as in 
 this of plain and familiar catechising. What 
 is a building without a foundation ? If this 
 ground-work therefore be not surely laid, all 
 their divine discourses (for such their sermons 
 are) lie upon the loose sand, and are easily 
 washed away by the insinuative suggestions 
 of false teachers. As for matter of belief, 
 where the foundation is surely laid of the 
 doctrines of faith, contained in the Apostolic, 
 Nicene, Athanasian Creeds; and of the 
 doctrine of the Sacraments, briefly comprised 
 in our publicly allowed catechism ; I see no 
 reason but to think our people so sufficiently 
 defenced against the danger of error, that no 
 heretical machinations could be able to batter 
 or undermine them. And surely, if ever 
 there were or can be a time, wherein this duty 
 of catechising were fit to be enforced, it is 
 this upon which we are fallen, when the souls 
 of Christian people are so hard laid at, not 
 
75 
 
 only by Papery, Anabaptism, Antinomian- 
 ism, Pelagianism ; but by tbe confounding 
 and hellish heresies of Socinianism, Anti- 
 trinltarianism, prodigious mischiefs; tendr 
 ing not only to the disturbance of our 
 peace, but to the utter destruction of Chris- 
 tianity." — From the Peace Maker. — Sec. 
 23. 
 
 " There is no one thing of which I repent 
 so much," said the same prelate, " as not to 
 have bestowed more hours in this public ex- 
 ercise of catechising : in regard whereof I 
 could quarrel with my very sermons, and 
 wish that a great part of them had been ex- 
 changed for this preaching conference." 
 
 " Great scholars," said the celebrated 
 Usher, in a Sermon preached before king 
 James the First, " possibly may think, that 
 it stands not so well with their credit to stoop 
 thus low, and to spend so much of their time 
 in teaching these rudiments and first princi- 
 ples of the doctrine of Christ. But they should 
 consider, that the laying the foundation skil- 
 
76 
 
 fully, as it is the matter of greatest importance 
 in the whole building, so it is the very master- 
 piece of the wisest builder. According to the 
 grace of God which is given unto me, as a 
 wise master-builder, I have laid the foun- 
 dation ; saith the great Apostle, 1 Cor. hi. 
 10. And let the learnedest of all try it when- 
 ever we please, we shall find, that to lay the 
 ground-work rightly (that is, to apply our- 
 selves unto the capacity of the common au- 
 ditory, and to make an ignorant man under- 
 stand these mysteries in some good measure) 
 will put us to the trial of our skill, and trouble 
 us a great deal more, than if we were to dis- 
 cuss a controversy, or handle a subtle point 
 of learning in the schools." 
 
 There is every reason to believe, that 
 Herbert's character of " the Country Par- 
 son" was drawn from real life. His biogra- 
 pher, Isaac Walton, relates, that his own con- 
 duct was a practical comment upon the rules 
 which he laid down in that delightful Trea- 
 tise. " In his first sermon to his parishioners, 
 
7? 
 
 he made it his humble request, that they 
 would be constant to the afternoon's service 
 and catechising, and shewed them convincing 
 reasons why he desired it ; and his obliging 
 example and persuasions, brought them to a 
 conformity to his desires." With this evi- 
 dence before us, we may conclude that his 
 twenty-first chapter, entitled, " the Parson 
 Catechising," is an exact description of the 
 manner in which the most able and pious 
 Clergy of that period, were in the habit of 
 performing this duty. 
 
 " The country parson values catechising 
 highly, — he useth and preferreth the ordinary 
 Church Catechism, partly for obedience to 
 authority, partly for uniformity sake, that the 
 same common truths may be every where pro- 
 fessed, especially since many remove from 
 parish to parish, who like Christian soldiers, 
 are to give the word, and to satisfy the congre- 
 gation by their Catholic answers. He exacts 
 of all the doctrines of the Catechism : of the 
 younger sort the very words : of the elder, 
 
78 
 
 the substance. Those he catechiseth publicly ; 
 these privately, giving age honour, according 
 to the apostle's rules. He requires all to be 
 present at catechising : first for the authority 
 of the work, secondly, that parents and 
 masters, as they hear the answers prove, 
 may, when they come home either command 
 or reprove, either reward or punish : thirdly, 
 that those of the elder sort, who are not well 
 grounded, may then by an honourable way, 
 take occasion to be better instructed : fourthly 
 that those who are well grown in the know- 
 ledge of religion, may examine their grounds, 
 review their errors, and by occasion of both 
 enlarge their meditations. When once all 
 have learnt the words of the Catechism, he 
 thinks it the most useful way that a pastor 
 can take, to go over the same, but in other 
 words. How many say the catechism by rote, 
 as parrots, without ever piercing into the 
 sense of it. In this course the order of the 
 catechism would be kept, but the rest varied, 
 as thus: In the Creed, — How came this 
 
79 
 
 world to be as it is ? Was it made, or came 
 it by chance ? Who made it ? Did you 
 see God make it? Then there are some 
 things to be believed that are not seen ? 
 Is this the nature of belief ? Is not Christian- 
 ity full of such things as are not to be seen, 
 but believed ? You said God made the 
 world ; Who is God ? and so forward, re- 
 quiring answers to all these, and helping and 
 cherishing the answerer, by making the ques- 
 tions very plain by comparisons, and making 
 much even of a word of truth from him." 
 
 Baxter, though a non-conformist, attri- 
 buted much of his success at Kidderminster 
 to his adherence to catechising, as a regular 
 system. " When I set upon a personal con- 
 ference with each family," said he, " and cate- 
 chising them, there were very few families 
 in all the town, that refused to come." 
 
 Bishop Burnet catechised three times a 
 week, while he was the incumbent of Saltown 
 in Scotland, and even after his consecration 
 to the see of Salisbury, he examined the youth 
 
BO 
 
 of the two great schools of the town in the 
 cathedral Church, every week during the 
 season of Lent. To enumerate all the great 
 names, Wake, Seeker, &c. who have dedi- 
 cated their labours to the same cause, would, 
 be to adduce a " cloud of witnesses" to its 
 expediency. 
 
 THE SUPPOSED DIFFICULTIES OF CATECHISING. 
 
 Another cause, which the late Bishop Law, 
 thought might have its effect in contributing 
 to the neglect of catechising, is one, which 
 in the present age cannot be fairly admitted. 
 " Some deterred by its difficulties have not 
 the resolution." There are so many helps 
 in the shape of expositions and illustrations 
 of the Catechism, and the parish minister is, 
 in most places, so accustomed to address 
 young persons, in the common examinations, 
 during his superintendence of National or 
 Sunday Schools, that it would be a reproach 
 to the clergy, to allow any weight whatever 
 
81 
 
 to such a plea. Timidity and hesitation 
 there naturally will be on the part of many, 
 whose duty calls them to stand forth in the 
 face of a congregation, and to deliver such 
 unpremeditated observations, as the nature 
 of a child's answer may require : but very 
 little practice, and a heart fairly enlisted in 
 the service, will soon give both confidence 
 to the mind, and utterance to the tongue. 
 We are not to suppose that an audience, 
 collected together to hear youth and igno- 
 rance instructed in the elements of Christi- 
 anity, are nice and critical. If the tone 
 and manner of the teacher, and the pains 
 which he takes to make himself understood, 
 render it manifest that he is thoroughly 
 in earnest, any little particular deficiencies 
 will be overlooked, and the general effect 
 only will be noticed. A broken discourse, 
 and remarks arising out of circumstances, and 
 replies which occur at the moment, are not 
 so likely to weary hearers, as a continued 
 lecture : and for this reason a diffident clergy- 
 
82 
 
 man may enter upon his catechetical work 
 with much less apprehension of being tire- 
 some, than when he has to deliver a sermon. 
 He cannot express himself too plainly; he 
 has no occasion whatever to study language 
 or style. As long as he is unaffected, 
 audible, and intelligible, he is sure to interest 
 his listeners, who will not be dissatisfied even 
 with that which is familiar and common 
 place, because they are aware, that the in- 
 structor has to address himself principally 
 to those, who require first principles, and 
 come for milk, and not for strong meat. 
 
 My Lord, it is a remark, which has lately 
 been put forth in print, in more than one 
 form of publication, " that religious know- 
 ledge is more eagerly sought for, and more 
 generally diffused,'' — that " Religion has a 
 much stronger hold on the affections of 
 the English nation now," than in preceding 
 times, — that we live in an age, when many 
 jealous and observant eyes are upon us, 
 that much is expected of us, — and that to 
 
83 
 
 the ordinary obligations, religions and civil, 
 which the ministers of our Church have 
 always been expected to observe, are super- 
 added, the obligations arising from the 
 increased and increasing force of public 
 opinion. 
 
 Such being the admitted fact, it would 
 seem that any parochial Clergyman, who 
 should undertake to restore the system of 
 catechising, according to the plan which your 
 Lordship has suggested, namely " by improv- 
 ing the practice by such modifications as 
 would render it popular as well as useful," 
 would have all the encouragement that a 
 grateful flock could give him, in full attend- 
 ance both of young and old, high and low, 
 rich and poor, one with another, in manifes- 
 tation of awakened hopes and fears, and 
 in general improvement throughout the 
 parish. There would be no unwillingness 
 either in parent or child, master or apprentice, 
 to wait upon the teaching of a Clergyman, 
 whose kind and affectionate earnestness in 
 c 2 
 
84 
 
 the cause, and efficient mode of explanation, 
 should offer some pledge, that they would 
 be the happier and better for it. To insure 
 success to his experiment, He has only to 
 treat his Catechumens as thinking and 
 reflecting beings, and not as mere mechani- 
 cal creatures, who are assembled around 
 him to repeat for the hundredth time, what 
 they have repeated ninety-nine times before. 
 Children as well as grown persons, may be 
 made to understand, that they have a per- 
 sonal interest in the Christian covenant : and 
 as the preacher's first care should be to rouse 
 each of his hearers to a sense of his own 
 individual concern in that which is addressed 
 to him, so should the Catechist's be, to lead 
 his young charge to employ their thoughts 
 about themselves, to tempt them to think, 
 and to prevail on them to exercise their 
 minds upon that which they have been 
 reading or learning. Who shall limit the 
 period of life, when a desire to obey the 
 Gospel may become the active principle of 
 
85 
 
 the soul ? The highest authority has spoken 
 of childhood as an age of docility. God has 
 implanted even in infancy a natural curiosity 
 about himself and the things of eternity : 
 and we are encouraged by the brightest pro- 
 mises of success to try the experiment, which 
 the Church invites and commands us to make. 
 
 PRACTICAL ADOPTION OF THE PROPOSED 
 SYSTEM. 
 
 The consecration of the new church, in 
 Somer's Town, St. Pancras, to which I was 
 appointed Minister in May, 1826, afforded 
 me an ample opportunity of making the 
 experiment of public catechising upon the 
 scale, and with the modifications, which your 
 Lordship's Charge had recommended. The 
 scene of duty presented a view of all the 
 disadvantages, and all the advantages, under 
 which a parochial clergyman may be sup- 
 posed to be placed. If there was much 
 to encounter, there was a wide field for use- 
 
st; 
 
 f'ul exertion. Somer's Town forms one of 
 the districts of a very extensive and popu- 
 lous parish, which is said to be seventeen 
 miles in circuit, and to contain not less than 
 eighty thousand souls. The population of 
 St. Pancras has been increasing rapidly during 
 the last forty years ; and, until very lately, its 
 provision for the due performance of Church 
 Services was of the most limited kind. The 
 small and ancient mother-church will not ac- 
 commodate a congregation of three hundred. 
 The new parochial chapel, in Kentish Town, 
 is situated at a great distance from the body 
 of the population. Yet such were the con- 
 flicting opinions, that tended to dissever the 
 people more and more from their constituted 
 pastor, that the exemplary and indefatigable 
 Dr. Middleton, late Bishop of Calcutta, was 
 unable to realize the hope that lay nearest to 
 his heart, and to accomplish the construction 
 of a new edifice, capable of holding a con- 
 gregation in any degree proportionable to 
 the magnitude of the parish. His successor, 
 
87 
 
 Dr. Moore, has been more fortunate, and his 
 incumbency lias been distinguished not only 
 by the completion of one of the finest and 
 largest parish churches in London, but by , 
 the erection of three additional churches, or 
 parochial chapels, capable of receiving from 
 fifteen hundred to two thousand persons 
 each ; viz. one at Camden Town, another in 
 Regent Square, and a third in Somer's Town. 
 The influence, the activity, and the zeal, 
 which have enabled the present Vicar to 
 achieve so much for the interests of the 
 Church, and for the spiritual welfare of his 
 parishioners, are such as entitle him to the 
 highest consideration. 
 
 This brief sketch, of the state of the 
 parish of St. Pancras, will sufficiently explain 
 that a newly-appointed minister, to either of 
 these churches, might have some reason to 
 fe^ar, that he was not entering upon an easy 
 cure, where he would find all things made 
 smooth for his career. Such was found to 
 be the case at the opening of the new church 
 
88 
 
 in Somer's Town ; and the statement, that I 
 am now making, is necessary to a proper 
 understanding of the course which I was 
 impelled to adopt. A thin congregation, 
 which became much more thin in the after- 
 noon, and free seats not half occupied, con- 
 stituted no bright prospect. Even those few 
 sheep in the wilderness did not belong to 
 one fold, — the scanty flock was made up of 
 many who came out of curiosity, or from a 
 distance, or with very unsettled notions of 
 unity. It was evidently not entirely com- 
 posed of persons in regular communion with 
 the Establishment. 
 
 The want of school-children to assist in 
 the singing, and responses, was another evil, 
 of no small weight in the scale. The chil- 
 dren of the well-conducted St. Pancras Na- 
 tional School resorted in a body to the 
 parish church ; and there were reasons, why 
 even a small detachment could not conve- 
 niently be spared to assist at the Services in 
 Somer's Town. 
 
89 
 
 Upon casting about to ascertain the pro- 
 bable causes of the many empty seats, which 
 continued, for the first two or three Sundays, 
 to excite uneasiness, I discovered them in the , 
 condition and various denominations of the 
 majority of the inhabitants of the district. 
 There are several families of great respecta- 
 bility in Somer's Town, and its vicinity, and 
 from these the clergyman may look to receive 
 every attention, but for the most part the 
 houses are of an inferior description, occu- 
 pied in separate floors and apartments, by 
 tenants, who often shift their abode, and 
 become unaccustomed to hold any regular 
 communication with parochial clergy. Very 
 many of these occupants are dissenters, of 
 all sects, and a large proportion of them are 
 Roman Catholics. During the war, Somer*s 
 Town was the resort of French emigrants ; 
 and it is now the receptacle of Spanish and 
 Italian refugees. There is no part of the 
 metropolis, where the Roman Catholics have 
 more prosperous establishments than here. 
 
90 
 
 A chapel of old standing, and now under- 
 going considerable enlargement, — a corps of 
 zealous, able, and well-educated priests, who 
 leave no means untried to make proselytes *, 
 
 * At the same time that I put forth the following 
 statements, I distinctly disavow any intention of charg- 
 ing the Roman Catholic Clergy of the neighbourhood 
 of Somer's-Town, with having had any hand in the 
 transactions alluded to. They may pass without their 
 agency : the only acts of theirs, which have come to my 
 knowledge, are in the fair course of professional zeal, 
 and I heartily wish that all our own priesthood would 
 take equal pains to seek, as well as to save. 
 
 The spirit of avowed hostility is so busy at work in 
 Somer's-Town, on the part of Roman Catholics, that 
 there have been circulated not less than eight thousand 
 six hundred tracts within this district during the past 
 year, of which the greatest proportion is calculated not 
 so much to confirm the truth of their 'own tenets, as to 
 turn ours into derision, and therefore evidently intended 
 more for the perusal of loose Protestants, than of pro- 
 fessed Papists. Of an inflammatory and ribald tract, in 
 four pages, entitled, " Monkish Superstition and Modern 
 Improvements," more than nine hundred have been dis- 
 tributed. This tract is headed by a wood-cut, repre- 
 senting men harnessed like horses, and compelled by an 
 overseer, armed with an enormous whip, to draw carts 
 
91 
 
 and " two numerous schools of gratuitous 
 education for the poor," to quote their own 
 
 on the road. The text, illustrative of the print, asserts, 
 that " women as well as men have been set to repair 
 the roads in Sussex and Hampshire." 
 
 According to the statement of a printed schedule of 
 distribution, 550 is the number circulated of "The mo- 
 dern method of converting Idolators, by Bible Saints," 
 adorned by a plate, in which Protestant disputants are 
 drawn in the act of assailing the Papists, sword and 
 bayonet in hand — 500 of" Protestant Inquisition," 400 
 of " Samples of the Blessings of the Reformation ;" 
 150 of " Tolerance of the Law Church." Another 
 notable treatise, which has found its way by hundreds 
 into the district, is " a Review of Fox's Book of Martyrs :" 
 this is decorated with a print, under which the publishers 
 have been at the trouble to give the following descrip- 
 tion — " Explanation of the engraving. John Fox is 
 seen writing his book, originally called Acts and Monu- 
 ments, but now metamorphosed into a Book of Martyrs. 
 The devil is looking over his shoulder prompting him, 
 for under no other influence but that of an evil spirit 
 could he write, since he has been convicted of falsehood 
 by father Parsons, who charges him with telling directly 
 and indirectly not less than ten thousand lies in this work. 
 In the perspective is a printing press chained, to denote 
 that it was shut to the Catholics by the Operation of the 
 
92 
 
 report, — these form an effective phalanx in 
 the very centre of the position assigned to 
 the district minister. A large academy for 
 Roman Catholic children, whose parents can 
 afford to pay for their education, adjoins the 
 new parochial chapel. 
 
 Under such circumstances as these, it was 
 manifest that there could be no chance of 
 making a ministry as extensively useful as 
 the place required, but by becoming person- 
 ally, and accessibly known, to as many as 
 would be willing to profit by such intercourse. 
 But how was this to be done ? by whom 
 could the introduction be made ? Unlike a 
 country parish, the inhabitants of a London 
 district are unknown to each other ; they 
 hold but little communication ; they are not 
 
 Penal Code, as will be seen in the course of the present 
 work." 
 
 It is well that the Clergy of the metropolis should 
 know how busily Roman Catholic agents are employed 
 in their parishes. 72,000 of similar tracts were circulated 
 in London last year. 
 
98 
 
 neighbours, to say to each other, Have you 
 conversed with the clergyman ? I will bring 
 him to you. From one end to another of 
 the district it was a land of strangers ; and , 
 the common mode of getting at the well- 
 disposed, and at those in error, would have 
 demanded an interval of several months, 
 before any apparent good could result. 
 Preaching would not suffice, because there 
 were comparatively but few hearers, and 
 those few needed proofs of the clergyman's 
 devotion to the sacred cause beyond his 
 energy in the pulpit. An immediate lever 
 was wanted to move the feelings and affec- 
 tions of the people. It was now that your 
 Lordship's Charge recurred to my mind in 
 all its force. 
 
 " The Liturgical formularies of the Church, 
 • — conceived on an accurate notion of the 
 relation between the pastor and his flock, 
 are designed to connect them by a regular 
 intercourse, and to direct the conduct of 
 both parties in the performance of their 
 
94 
 
 respective duties. As the ground-work or 
 
 THIS PLAN, IT IS HER PECULIAR OBJECT TO 
 BRING THE PARISHIONER, FROM HIS EARLIEST 
 DAYS, INTO IMMEDIATE CONTACT WITH HIS 
 SPIRITUAL TEACHER AND GUIDE*." 
 
 I saw that I must go back to first princi- 
 ples, — that I must tread in the humble, and 
 almost forsaken path of the Catechist, — that 
 I must yield substantial obedience to a rule, 
 which, if duly observed, would help me to 
 attain my object. 
 
 But fresh difficulties presented themselves : 
 how was I to get at the children, when I 
 was unknown to their parents, and unable to 
 find my way to houses, where the voice of a 
 Clergyman of the Church would be heard in 
 preference to that of any other ? The Na- 
 tional School of which I have previously 
 spoken, offered me none of the facilities which 
 I required. 
 
 The more I contemplated my position, 
 
 * See Charge of 1822, p. 21, Third Edition. 
 4 
 
95 
 
 the more plainly did I perceive the necessity 
 of making my way to notice and esteem, by 
 being the immediate origin of some method, 
 not yet in practice in this particular quarter : , 
 of opening a fountain of elementary religious 
 instruction, which had not yet sprung up ; of 
 training some children, who should be exclu- 
 sively indebted to myself for some advan- 
 tages : of forming a plan for which parents 
 and families would have reason to be grate- 
 ful ; and who, beginning to love me for the 
 concern I had shewn in behalf of their little 
 ones, would at length be led to ask them- 
 selves, May not we too become better by 
 going to him for instruction ? 
 
 While I was in doubt as to the exact 
 course to be pursued, it came to my know- 
 ledge that the master of an extensive Lan- 
 casterian school in Somer's Town, was a mem- 
 ber of the Church of England, and sincerely 
 disposed to promote my views. He had been 
 one of the Catechists under the Society for 
 the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign 
 
96 
 
 Parts, in North America, and came home 
 with strong recommendations to the National 
 School Society. But not finding employ- 
 ment so soon as his circumstances required, 
 he accepted an offer which placed him at the 
 head of this Lancasterian institution. The 
 number of boys and girls, instructed there, 
 amounted at the time to more than five hun- 
 dred, of whom it was represented to me, that 
 many, being children of parents in communion 
 with the Established Church, might be per- 
 suaded to come to Church, and to form a 
 Sunday school. The master himself under- 
 took to bring such as should be willing to at- 
 tend, and to devote his Sundays to whatever 
 mode of instruction I might choose to adopt. 
 
 With these elements my system began, 
 and on the first Sunday after the arrange- 
 ment, the .master presented himself at the 
 head of about seventy children, who were 
 gathered together near the altar, after the 
 afternoon sermon, and prepared by classifica- 
 tion for future operations. They were not 
 
97 
 
 then catechised, for scarcely one could say 
 any part of the Church Catechism. It was 
 explained to them, that their attendance would 
 be required every Sunday morning, at nine 
 o'clock, in the Church, that their first business ' 
 would be to learn the catechism, and that 
 prayer books would be given, or sold at very 
 reduced prices, to such as should entitle 
 themselves to the privilege by regular appli- 
 cation and proficiency. On the following 
 Sunday the number of voluntary scholars was 
 increased, and several of them had learned 
 enough of their lesson to undergo a respect- 
 able examination in the Chancel. The wheels 
 of the machine were now in motion ; but that 
 they might not drag heavily, I began at once 
 by infusing a little variety into the exercise, 
 and instead of confining my enquiries to the 
 Catechism, I put questions and made observa- 
 tions relating to the Morning and Evening 
 Services, which interested the children, and 
 removed every appearance of unpleasant task- 
 work. 
 
 n 
 
98 
 
 For some months the teacher of the Lan- 
 casterian school continued to act as the very 
 efficient master of this my Sunday School ; 
 but at the beginning of last year, he declined 
 the office, partly from a desire of having the 
 one only day in the week, which he could 
 call his own, a day of perfect leisure, and 
 partly from some apprehension lest he should 
 excite disagreeable surmises in the minds of 
 the persons connected with the management 
 of the weekly school, his principal depend- 
 ence. It is the regulation in that school, 
 that no particular form of religion should be 
 taught, and it is possible he had reason to 
 fear, that some suspicions might be enter- 
 tained of his preparing the Church of Eng- 
 land boys for their Sunday examinations, by 
 a process carried on in the course of the 
 week, during school hours, inconsistent with 
 the spirit of the Lancasterian system. Be 
 this as it may, the Committee of that esta- 
 blishment, so far from manifesting any open 
 jealousy, or from throwing obstacles in the 
 
9!) 
 
 way of my Sunday School, do, to this day, 
 promote it, by continuing to pay a young 
 woman five pounds a year, for her services 
 on the Sabbath, in superintending the con- ( 
 duct of such of their female children, as at- 
 tend Church during the hours of instruction 
 and of divine service. She is in no other 
 way connected with them. 
 
 In a very short time, all the advantages 
 which your Lordship has predicted as being 
 likely to result from " an improved modifica- 
 tion of the ancient and laudable practice of 
 catechising children in Church," displayed 
 themselves in the District committed to my 
 charge. What these advantages were, I 
 shall describe more fully in their proper 
 place. But I may now briefly state, that 
 from the day I commenced catechising, until 
 the present time, it has been regularly pur- 
 sued every Sunday, without any omission, 
 either by myself, or by the assistant minister, 
 Mr. Judkin, or by both of us in conjunction, 
 at the conclusion of the afternoon sermon ; 
 h 2 
 
100 
 
 and that a full congregation, — an intercourse 
 opened, and established with a great part of 
 the inhabitants of the District, — and a Sunday 
 school increased from 77 to 280, and still in- 
 creasing, are the results. 
 
 Now for the modifications suggested and 
 adopted. 
 
 IN WHAT RESPECTS THE OLD PRACTICE MAY 
 BE MODIFED AND IMPROVED. 
 
 Your Lordship did not speak of modifica- 
 tions and improvement in the ancient prac- 
 tice, without giving us some further insight 
 into your own ideas of a mode of catechising, 
 suitable to the habits and feelings of modern 
 times. 
 
 L " A short space before or after the 
 Church Service, devoted to the examination 
 of the children *." And, 
 
 II. An " examination judiciously inter- 
 
 * Charge of 1822, p. 27. 
 
101 
 
 spersed with short explanations, which might 
 be generally edifying to the congregation, 
 leaving these matters to the judgment of in- 
 dividual Clergymen, and the suggestions of 
 local circumstances*." 
 
 These were the groundworks proposed in 
 your Lordship's Charges, as substitutions for 
 the half-hour prescribed by the rubric, after 
 the second Lesson at Evening Prayer, and 
 for the dry custom of confining the ordinance 
 to a repetition of question and answer, as set 
 down in the Catechism. Upon these I have 
 acted. 
 
 I. THE TIME OF CATECHISING. 
 
 In regard to the first improvement ; I 
 have preferred a space immediately after the 
 Evening Service, because there can then be 
 no interruption whatever to the congrega- 
 tion, and the time employed may depend 
 
 • Charge of 1822, p. 27. 
 
102 
 
 entirely upon circumstances, i. e. upon the 
 nature of the examination, and upon the in- 
 terest which is taken in it. If the children 
 and by-standers shew no symptoms of weari- 
 ness, it may be lengthened at pleasure ; 
 whereas a space before the Evening Prayers 
 must necessarily terminate, when the hour 
 for prayer shall arrive. Another considera- 
 tion in favour of this choice, is, the better 
 chance of having more hearers to derive be- 
 nefit from the service. When the people 
 observe that there is something going on, 
 and that one and another stay behind, the 
 inclination to remain becomes pretty gene- 
 ral, and the catechist has the satisfaction of 
 finding that he is surrounded by a numerous 
 audience. I have found this to be the case 
 invariably ; a very large proportion of the 
 congregation, of the superior orders, of ser- 
 vants, of young persons, and the parents of 
 the children who are to be examined, remain 
 in their places, or approach the chancel to 
 listen to the questions and answers. 
 4 
 
103 
 
 Again, there can be no appearance of fas- 
 tidious impatience to dishearten the Clergy- 
 man, when he catechises after the prayers 
 and sermon, because every person who stops 1 
 to hear him does so by choice, and can go 
 away at any moment he pleases. There is 
 nothing indecorous, either in not staying to 
 witness the examination, or in retiring from 
 it before it is concluded ; so that the perfect 
 and unrestrained liberty, to go or to stop, 
 renders it an attendance entirely optional. 
 
 II. THE INTERSPERSED EXPLANATIONS, AND 
 THE MIXED CHARACTER OF THE PRACTICE. 
 
 As soon as I discovered that I had succeed- 
 ed in divesting the examination of all irksome- 
 ness * to the young persons principally con- 
 
 * " Your instructions should be given mildly and 
 cheerfully. They should not be given with a magisterial 
 air, or in the way of a solemn lecture, where the hearer 
 is kept, as it were, at a distance, and not allowed to pro- 
 pose, or to answer questions. All angry or threatening 
 
101 
 
 cerned, I began to draw more largely upon 
 their time and industry, by expressing a 
 desire that in the course of every week, and 
 in addition to portions tjf the Catechism, and 
 expositions of it, they would learn by heart, 
 or at least read attentively, the Collect, the 
 Lessons, and the Gospel of the next Sunday, 
 so as to be prepared to answer questions 
 relating to the sacred narrative, precepts, 
 and doctrines therein contained. I have not 
 made a practice of fixing their attention upon 
 the Epistles, considering them to be beyond 
 the understanding of children, nor have I 
 selected the Lessons out of the Old Testa- 
 ment, so often as those which are taken from 
 the Gospels. In short the latter, with the 
 Gospel of the day, have constituted our 
 principal exercise, and it has rarely happened, 
 
 expressions are to be carefully avoided. When instruc- 
 tions are given with a dogmatical air, an austere aspect, 
 and attended with threats, children are discouraged 
 from attempting to learn." — " Religious Instruction of 
 Children," by the Rev. Sir J. Stonehouse. 
 
105 
 
 that I have asked the children to commit any 
 Scriptural passage to memory, without having 
 had the satisfaction of finding many of them 
 able to repeat it at our next meeting. The* 
 willingness, the delight, the emulation, which 
 is exhibited Sunday after Sunday, is as 
 affecting, as it is encouraging ; and I am 
 quite sure that the majority of the children 
 would be extremely grieved, if the system, 
 after being adopted, should be abandoned. 
 
 METHODS OF RENDERING CATECHISING 
 ATTRACTIVE. 
 
 But how is the interest of the children so 
 excited, and how is their attention so en- 
 gaged, in the first instance, that they become 
 willing learners ? Public praise, and rewards 
 given in the face of the congregation ; and 
 the reverse, — rebukes, mildly delivered, and 
 expected privileges withheld, have wonderful 
 effect. I have made it a rule to give no dis- 
 
106 
 
 tinction to displays of talent, unless they be 
 accompanied by good behaviour. If a child 
 answer ever so well, he is not noticed, unless 
 he has behaved well ; and none are permitted 
 to purchase Bibles, Testaments, or Prayer- 
 books, unless they can produce tickets of 
 merit, and of regular attendance. Almost 
 every Sabbath the master of the Sunday- 
 School puts into my hand books, which cer- 
 tain of the children have qualified themselves 
 to possess, partly by tickets of merit, of an 
 assigned pecuniary value, and partly by pur- 
 chase ; and these are delivered to them at 
 the end of the service, with a few words of 
 commendation. No less than twenty-nine 
 Bibles, five Testaments, and one hundred and 
 twenty Prayer-books, have been earned by 
 the youthful aspirants in this way during 
 the past year ; and no doubt they set a 
 high value upon them after being thus 
 obtained. 
 
 But there are two other more effective 
 modes yet, which I know by experience tend 
 
107 
 
 greatly to secure the attention of such as are 
 capable of reflection. The first is to con- 
 vince them, that we ourselves are in earnest, 
 that we have their interest at heart, — that it 
 is entirely for their sakes that we take the 
 trouble of instructing them *. The second 
 is to make them feel in earnest about them- 
 selves, — to awaken a serious inquisitiveness 
 about their own present and eternal condi- 
 tion, and to shew them, that what we have 
 to say on matters of religion concerns every 
 one of them personally. 
 
 The congregation is edifyed by these means 
 quite as much as the juvenile circle which is 
 more immediately addressed. The home- 
 
 * " Let your children see that you take pleasure in 
 instructing them. A mild speech and cheerful counte- 
 nance are perfectly consistent with great seriousness of 
 spirit, and with keeping up a proper authority. Let 
 them see that all your advice proceeds from love. Let 
 nothing rough and morose appear in your instructions : 
 but shew all gentleness, which will give weight and influ- 
 ence to every thing you say." — Sir J. Stonehouse's In- 
 structions. 
 
108 
 
 questions which arc put to the children, the 
 by-standers, in their turn, apply to their own 
 hearts and consciences. For example ; a 
 child has been repeating the Collect for the 
 fourth Sunday after Lent, " Grant we be- 
 seech thee, Almighty God, that we, who for 
 our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be 
 punished," &c. &c. The question naturally 
 arises, and may be addressed to one of ten- 
 der years, "Have you committed any evil 
 deeds, for which you deserve punishment T 
 After a short pause, the Catechist himself 
 may proceed to give the answer ; " Yes, 
 unhappily, young as you are, you have bro- 
 ken some of God's commandments. When 
 you have irreverently pronounced his holy 
 name, — when you have acted disobediently 
 to your parents, — when you have wished for 
 that which does not belong to you, you have 
 done what is displeasing to Almighty God. 
 Now you shall see how the language of the 
 Collect, which adds, ' By the comfort of thy 
 grace may be relieved,' agrees with the 
 
109 
 
 Catechism, where it directs you to pray for 
 divine help. ' My good child, know this, 
 that thou art not able to do these things of 
 thyself, nor to walk in the commandments of 
 God, and to serve him, without his special 
 grace.' " 
 
 I have often noticed with considerable 
 pleasure, how the attention of individuals, 
 arrived at maturity, is riveted, when they 
 discover, that the lessons of their earliest as- 
 sociation contain notes which now strike to 
 their heart ; and which they feel would have 
 responded there at a more tender age, had 
 they been skilfully touched. Whether a con- 
 gregation be listening to a preacher or a cate- 
 chist, as long as the topics of a discourse 
 are directed to that, in which all have the 
 same personal concern, be they young or old, 
 the speaker is sure to have willing hearers, 
 whose consciences will not suffer their " taste 
 to be fastidious." Every excited hope or 
 fear puts the mind on the alert — every new 
 perception and acquirement gives pleasure, — 
 and the by-stander and the catechumen are 
 
110 
 
 equally attentive as soon as they discover that 
 they can apply religious maxims to their own 
 case ; that they can draw from their own hearts 
 or conduct proofs of the truth of the doc- 
 trines that are delivered to them. 
 
 Nothing can be more erroneous, than to 
 limit catechetical lessons to the mere heart- 
 less business of ascertaining whether the 
 formularies have been committed to memory, 
 under the idea, that childhood being the 
 season for the mechanical process only, we 
 must wait for riper years, before the word 
 engrafted on the memory can be expected to 
 engage the heart and the understanding, in 
 a salutary inquiry after truth. Why is me- 
 mory to be considered the only active power 
 of the youthful mind ? Why is it to be sup- 
 posed that the child can retain forms of 
 words, but not impressions of hope, fear, 
 love, desire, and longings after a heavenly 
 state of things ? Why may he not be sup- 
 posed to feel and to digest, to compare, and 
 to weigh eternity against the present ? 
 
 An authority, ^Bishop Wilson^ whose opi- 
 
Ill 
 
 nion has been permitted to carry great weight 
 in all questions of this kind, declared that he 
 would neither suspend, nor retard the impor- 
 tant work of instructing a rational and im- 
 mortal being in the concerns, that interest his 
 soul : that he would make the understanding 
 travel on with the mechanical process of learn- 
 ing by heart. He insisted that " children 
 being the most proper subjects of an educa- 
 tion which regards another life" we should 
 never cease to put people in mind, that the 
 object of religious education is to " make 
 children Christians in deed as well as in 
 name." His expressions are too strong to 
 allow us to mistake his meaning : he adds, 
 " lest not knowing or not feeling the power 
 of religion in their souls, they become a 
 scandal to their education. " My meaning," 
 says he, " is this, children may be, and often 
 have been, taught the general truths and 
 duties of Christianity, without any great 
 good following, for want of such previous 
 knowledge and dispositions as we have been 
 
112 
 
 speaking of, such as are necessary to fit them 
 
 for RECEIVING THE TRVTH IN THE LOVE OF IT." 
 
 In another place he asks, " Should not this 
 be our first and great concern ? To plant the 
 fear of God in their hearts betimes," namely : 
 
 " By giving them a just and distinct know- 
 ledge of God and his attributes. 
 
 " By making them sensible of the relation 
 they bear to him, and that they are account- 
 able to his justice for every thing they do. 
 
 " By explaining to them the condition 
 they are brought into, by the fall of our first 
 parents. 
 
 " By shewing them to themselves, and 
 convincing them from their own reason, 
 and experience, that " things are wretch- 
 edly amiss to them *." 
 
 * See Bishop Wilson's " Sermon preached at the 
 Anniversary Meeting of the Children Educated in the 
 Charity Schools about the Cities of London and West- 
 minster, May 28, 1724." 
 
 The Bishop's text to this Sermon stands thus : 
 Acts xiii. 48. " As many as were ordained to [that 
 is, disposed or prepared for,] eternal life, believed.'' 
 
113 
 
 Now it must be quite manifest, that if 
 there be any reason and wisdom in these 
 observations, a formal, forced, and artificial 
 
 I cannot withhold my expression of pleasure at seeing 
 the Calvinistic rendering- ordained met boldly, and ef- 
 fectually corrected, in limine, at the very outset of this 
 Sermon. " For," as the Right Rev. Author well said, 
 " if the opinion be true, which has sometimes been 
 founded on this text, it would render all education, with 
 regard to another world, useless." In many other in- 
 stances, I could almost venture to say, in all, where 
 the terms, ordained, foreordained, predestinated, fore- 
 knew, &c. occur in the Authorized Version, and are 
 wrested to imply some doctrine of necessity, of personal 
 election, or rejection, it will be found by reference to the 
 Greek, that they admit of a very different construction. 
 A philological investigation, with a sound knowledge of 
 grammar and derivation-, would do more to shake the 
 authority of Calvinistic readings of Scripture, than any 
 mode of reasoning whatever. One hint to the reader 
 shall suffice. Let him trace the Greek preposition IlPO' 
 through its different acceptations, and then let him 
 search for the meaning of the Apostle, by interpreting 
 icpoOeotv, wpoeyvu), Trpowpiae, (see Romans viii.) accord- 
 ing to grammatical and etymological rules ; and I think 
 he will not be likely to rise from the inquiry — a con- 
 firmed Predestinarian. 
 
114 
 
 system of catechising, in which there is no 
 departure from a set form of words, and no 
 personal application of the maxims to the 
 individual under examination, cannot exercise 
 the mind of the respondent in a sufficiently 
 profitable manner. Ask a child who has 
 been for years repeating our Church summary 
 of doctrine, to give you in his own language 
 an answer to the simplest doctrinal question, 
 and he will look confused and stupid, unless 
 the same pains have been taken to make the 
 sense reach his understanding, as to convey 
 the sounds to his ears. 
 
 By following the rules laid down by all, 
 who have seriously considered the subject, 
 that is, by exercising the intellect and feel- 
 ings, as well as the organs of hearing, the 
 understandings of children will gradually 
 open, their hearts will take part in the ser- 
 vice, and their conduct and answers will 
 become more and more natural, and more in 
 conformity with the grand object to be at- 
 tained . It must be so ; for when truths, in 
 
115 
 
 unison with experience and nature, and the 
 intelligible will of God, are again and again 
 set before them, not solely by loading the 
 memory with words and sentences, but by ( 
 fixing their thoughts upon the. subject-mat- 
 ter of their lessons, in short remarks and 
 reflections suited to their comprehension, and 
 growing out of the subjects of the cateche- 
 tical or Scriptural passage, which they have 
 been learning by heart, it is impossible that 
 they can listen with indifference. They can- 
 not fail of seeing the practical tendency of 
 the knowledge imparted to them, — of being 
 moved, — of hoping or fearing for themselves, 
 — and of looking out for substantial grounds, 
 on which they may rest their confidence of 
 acceptance with God *. 
 
 * Bishop Wilson recommends an earnest " inculca- 
 tion of the fear of God," as the shortest and most ef- 
 fectual method of creating in young people a tenderness 
 of conscience, and a desire to be thoroughly instructed in 
 the doctrines of our Holy Faith. Rejecting the use of 
 " arguments purely moral," such as " virtue is its own 
 reward," he says, " we should utterly despair of giving 
 I 2 
 
11G 
 
 EXAMPLE OF THE SYSTEM PURSUED IN RE- 
 FERENCE TO THE CATECHISM. 
 
 Keeping these considerations in view, and 
 with the desire also of bringing the by-stand- 
 ers, as well as the children, to a recollection 
 of the principal incidents connected with the 
 promulgation of the Christian covenant, I 
 have endeavoured to vary the examination : 
 and to put intermediate questions between 
 the- several questions and answers of the 
 Catechism, in the following manner, sug- 
 gesting the replies, when not given by the 
 
 them a full sight and knowledge of their duty, if God 
 had not himself directed us to this consideration." "But 
 will not this method of dealing wich children make them 
 melancholy ? By no means : it may make them serious, 
 and that they ought to be ; and they ought to be so 
 by times, lest they never be so as long as they live. That 
 which makes people melancholy is, when they have 
 wrong apprehensions of God, as if he had ordained 
 them for misery, or when they are shewn the danger 
 they are in, without being shewn the way of escape." — 
 See same Sermon, preached May, 1724. 
 
117 
 
 children, in the language of Scripture, when- 
 ever it could be done appropriately. 
 
 Where were the servants of God first 
 called Christians ? 
 
 " The disciples were called Christians first 
 in Antioch." — Acts xi. 25. 
 
 Do you remember any other passage in 
 the book of Acts, which shews that this name 
 was commonly applied to them 1 
 
 " Almost thou persuadest me to be a 
 Christian." — Acts xxvi. 28. 
 
 Is there any promise, or prophecy in Scrip- 
 ture, that the people of the Lord should have 
 a new name given to them ? 
 
 " The Lord shall call his servants by ano- 
 ther name." — Isaiah lxv. 
 
 What is required to be a child of God, 
 now that you are old enough to understand 
 the promises made for you in your baptism ? 
 
 Faith in Jesus Christ. "Ye are all chil- 
 dren of God by faith in Jesus Christ." — 
 Gal. iii. 26. 
 
 How can you convince others, that you 
 
118 
 
 have faith, that you believe truly in God and 
 Jesus Christ ? 
 
 By keeping his commandments. 
 
 How can you keep the commandments ? 
 
 By God's help. 
 
 By what means do you hope to obtain 
 God's help ? 
 
 By praying unto God to give me his grace, 
 that I may continue in the same way unto 
 my life's end. 
 
 Where were the commandments first de- 
 livered ? 
 
 To Moses, on Mount Sinai. Exodus xix. 
 
 Did any thing happen upon that occasion, 
 to shew how much God is to be feared when 
 he delivers his commandments ? 
 
 " There were thunders, and lightnings, 
 and a thick cloud upon the mount, — and the 
 voice of a trumpet exceeding loud, so that 
 all the people that were in the camp trem- 
 bled." — Exodus xix. 16. 
 
 When does a young person begin to com- 
 mit wilful and actual sin ? 
 
119 
 
 When he ceases to love God, or to fear 
 God, or to think of God. 
 
 When Joseph was tempted to do wrong, 
 what did he say ? 
 
 " How can I do this great wickedness and' 
 sin against God." — Gen. xxxix. 9. 
 
 The Commandments and the Law came 
 by Moses — what came by Jesus Christ ? 
 
 "Grace and truth." — John i. 17. 
 
 But did Christ dispense with the Com- 
 mandments ? 
 
 No : Christ said, " I am not come to de- 
 stroy the law, but to fulfil it."— Matt. v. 17. 
 
 AN EXAMPLE IN REFERENCE TO A SCRIPTURAL 
 EXAMINATION. 
 
 In conducting the Sunday examination 
 arising out of the Gospel, or Second Lesson 
 of the day, I have endeavoured to make it 
 attractive, as well as instructive, by a method 
 which I will exemplify by means of the Gos- 
 
120 
 
 pel for the third* Sunday after Epiphany. 
 One of the objects of interrogation being to 
 ascertain, whether children give their atten- 
 tion to what they learn by heart, it is better 
 to draw the Lesson out of their mouths, by 
 leading questions, than by requiring a recital 
 by rote. 
 
 Matthew viii. 1 — 18. 
 
 1. " When Jesus was come down from 
 the mountain," what happened 1 
 
 " Great multitudes followed him." 
 From whence ? 
 
 " From Galilee, from Decapolis, and from 
 Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond 
 Jordan."— Matt. iv. 25. 
 
 2. Who " came and worshipped him," and 
 what was said ? 
 
 " A leper, saying, Lord if thou wilt thou 
 canst make me clean." 
 
 Do you remember any case of a person 
 being smitten with leprosy for his offences ? 
 
 Gehasi, the servant of Elisha. — 2 Kings 
 v. 27. 
 
121 
 
 What was his sin ? 
 
 Falsehood and covetousness. ^Remarks 
 upon these two vices naturally follow.]] 
 
 3. Did Jesus cure the leper ? 
 
 Yes. " Jesus put forth his hand, and 
 touched him, saying, I will, be thou clean ; 
 and immediately his leprosy was cleansed." 
 
 When Naaman's leprosy was cured by 
 Elisha the prophet, was it done thus imme- 
 diately, and by a word ? 
 
 No. Naaman was directed to wash in 
 Jordan seven times. — 2 Kings v. 
 
 ^Remarks upon the superiority of Christ 
 over the prophets, &c/] 
 
 4. What did Christ command the leper to 
 do, after he had cured him ? 
 
 " See thou tell no man ; but go thy way, 
 shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift 
 that Moses commanded for a testimony unto 
 them." 
 
 What did the priests do, according to the 
 Mosaic law, when a leper was to be cleansed ? 
 " The priest commanded two birds to be 
 
122 
 
 cleansed alive, — one to be killed, and the 
 other to be dipped in the blood of the bird 
 that was killed, and then let loose into the 
 open field." — Levit. xiv. 1 — 7. 
 
 Did this ceremony represent any thing in 
 which Christians should believe ? 
 
 It represented or signified the shedding 
 of Christ's blood for sinners, by which they 
 are cleansed from their sin *. 
 
 5. When Jesus entered into Capernaum, 
 who came to him ? 
 
 6. "A Centurion, beseeching him, and say- 
 ing, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of 
 the palsy, grievously tormented." 
 
 What three virtues did this Centurion 
 shew, in coming in this manner to Jesus ? 
 
 Faith, in that he believed in Christ's divine 
 mission, — Hope, in that he trusted in Christ's 
 mercy, — Charity, in that he left his home on 
 
 * At a Catechetical Examination in my parish church 
 in Durham, a boy of about 14 years of age came so 
 well prepared, that he answered these two last questions 
 in nearly the same words that I have here used. 
 
123 
 
 a work of kindness and love, not for his own, 
 but for his servant's sake. 
 
 Do you remember any other example of a 
 good and pious Centurion ? 
 
 "Cornelius, a devout man, and one that' 
 feared God, with all his house, which gave 
 much alms to the people, and prayed to God 
 alway." — Acts x. 2. 
 
 7. Was Jesus inclined to grant the Centu- 
 rion's request ? 
 
 " Jesus saith unto him, I will come and 
 heal him." 
 
 8. Did he go ? 
 
 " The centurion answered and said, Lord, 
 I am not worthy that thou shouldest come 
 under my roof ; but speak the word only, and 
 my servant shall be healed. 
 
 9. " For I am a man under authority, 
 having soldiers under me : and I say to this 
 man, Go, and he goeth ; and to another, 
 Come, and he cometh ; and to my servant, 
 do this, and he doeth it." 
 
 What stranger, a great and honourable 
 
124 
 
 man, went like this Centurion to a pro- 
 phet, to ask for a miracle, but with less 
 humility ? 
 
 Naaman, who was wroth when his request 
 was not immediately granted, and turned 
 and went away in a rage. — 2 Kings v. 3, 4. 
 
 10. When Jesus heard the Centurion, what 
 did he say ? 
 
 " He marvelled, and said to them that 
 followed, Verily, I say unto you, I have not 
 found so great faith, no, not in Israel." 
 
 If the Centurion was not an Israelite, what 
 do you suppose him to have been ? 
 
 A Roman, — and a " proselyte," — that is, 
 one believing in the true God, but not con- 
 forming to the whole of the Mosaic law. 
 
 How did the Centurion's answer shew his 
 great faith ? 
 
 He did not require Christ's presence at 
 his house. " Speak the word only, and my 
 servant shall be healed." For I am a man 
 under authority ; at my bidding I am obeyed. 
 How much more shalt thou be obeyed by thy 
 
125 
 
 ministering spirits. If thou shalt but express 
 thy will, it will be accomplished. 
 
 In what manner did Christ signify, that 
 strangers and Gentiles should be admitted , 
 into the covenant of God ? 
 
 11. " And I say unto you, that many shall 
 come from the east, and the west, and shall 
 sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, 
 in the kingdom of heaven." 
 
 Do you remember upon what occasion this 
 truth was again announced to an Apostle, in 
 reference to another Gentile ? 
 
 When Peter was commanded in a vision 
 to baptize Cornelius. Acts x. 
 
 How did Christ signify that outward pro- 
 fession and privileges will not avail, unless 
 the terms of the covenant be obeyed ? 
 
 12. " But the children of the kingdom 
 shall be cast out, into outer darkness, there 
 shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 
 
 You call yourself a member of Christ, a 
 child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom 
 of heaven; for what must you pray, that 
 
126 
 
 you may not be cast into this darkness, where 
 there will be such anguish and tribulation ? 
 
 " A death unto sin, and a new birth unto 
 righteousness." 
 
 How will your conduct testify that you 
 have this grace ? 
 
 By repentance for my past sins, and by 
 forsaking sin in future, and by believing sted- 
 fastly the promises of God, made to me, by 
 the Sacrament of Baptism *. 
 
 How did Jesus proclaim his divine power 
 and mercy, in reference to the Centurion ? 
 
 13. " And Jesus said, Go thy way, and as 
 thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. 
 And his servant was healed in the self same 
 hour." 
 
 Do you see any proofs of the Godhead of 
 Christ, and of the doctrine of the Trinity in 
 this miracle ? 
 
 Christ knew what was passing in the Cen- 
 
 * Upon all occasions it is my endeavour to lead the 
 mind of the catechumen to compare the Catechism 
 with Scripture. 
 
 4 
 
127 
 
 turion's heart, " as thou believest he knew 
 his wish, and his faith ; he knew that he had 
 perfect and stedfast faith. This was a proof 
 of his Omniscience. 
 
 He healed with a word — " So be it done 
 unto thee." As at the first creation, God said, 
 " Let there be light, and there was light ;" 
 so " He commanded, and it was done." 
 This was a proof of Christ's Omnipotence. 
 
 " The servant was healed in the self-same 
 hour." This was a proof of Christ's Ubiquity. 
 His spirit was searching the Centurion's soul, 
 and restoring the servant at a distance to 
 health, at the same time. 
 
 What similar proof was given of Christ's 
 Divinity, as related in another place by St. 
 Matthew ? 
 
 When he cured the daughter of the woman 
 of Canaan. " Be it unto thee as thou wilt : 
 and her daughter was made whole from that 
 very hour." Matt. xv. 28. 
 
 It is by such a method as this, by relieving 
 the subject, and carrying on the exercise 
 
128 
 
 with as much spirit and cheerfulness as pos- 
 sible, by putting questions out of the com- 
 mon course ; by making one question lead 
 to another ; by sounding the child's state of 
 mind, or depth of understanding ; by putting 
 searching interrogatories; by drawing at- 
 tention to incidents and examples of Scrip- 
 ture that bear contrasting with some case 
 before you ; by permitting the catechumen 
 to proceed with his simple, and if it should be 
 so, with his erroneous answer, that out of 
 error you may illustrate truth ; by asking 
 for the child's reasons, whether he makes a 
 right or a wrong reply ; by persuading him 
 to speak out, and declare himself ; by direct- 
 ing the examination judiciously to some point 
 of doctrine, upon which it is apprehended 
 there may be some misconstruction in the 
 minds of any of the parishioners, who happen 
 to be present ; and by interspersing such re- 
 marks, admonitions, and illustrations, as the 
 occasion may suggest or require ; — it is thus, 
 that powerful effects are produced. 
 
129 
 
 Catechising conducted upon this principle is 
 not a matter of parade or form, it is something 
 infinitely more ; it is performed with the cer- 
 tainty that we are exercising, developing, and ' 
 directing the spiritual energies of the young; 
 while we are rousing their elders to recollec- 
 tion, and provoking them to emulation. 
 
 Another extremely beneficial modification 
 of the ordinance, is to put questions upon 
 the leading articles of religion, and to re- 
 quire answers, in the literal words of Scrip- 
 ture. Very little practice, and a few scholars 
 well taught will soon put the mode in train. 
 Nothing can be more salutary, more instruc- 
 tive, and I may add, more deeply interesting 
 to by-standers, than to witness an exercise of 
 this description ; to see the young Christian 
 led up to the very fountain-head, to the 
 well-spring of truth ; and to find that every 
 word which proceeds from, or is put into his 
 mouth, in illustration of the doctrines of his 
 Church, is derived from Revelation. It can- 
 not fail of exciting a spirit of enquiry, and in 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 some instances of producing entire conviction. 
 " The Catechist claims a right to be heard as 
 soon as he begins, and carries with him every 
 unprejudiced suffrage as he advances *." 
 
 THE MODE OF INTERROGATORY ON THE PRIN- 
 CIPAL ARTICLES OF RELIGION, AND GIVING 
 ANSWERS FROM SCRIPTURE. 
 
 GOD. 
 
 How did God make himself known ? 
 
 " He made known his ways unto Moses, 
 his acts unto the children of Israel." — Psalm 
 ciii. 7. 
 
 Could God be known without Revelation ? 
 " The world by wisdom knew not God." — 
 1 Cor. i. 21. 
 What is God ? 
 
 * See the Bible Catechism, by W. F. Lloyd. A 
 cheap and unpretending little volume, but well worthy 
 of attention, which will greatly assist any Catechist who 
 may feel inclined to adopt the system here recom- 
 mended. 
 
 4 
 
131 
 
 " God is a Spirit, and they that worship 
 him must worship him in spirit and in truth." 
 — John iv. 24. 
 
 Where is God ? 
 
 " Do I not fill heaven and earth, saith the 
 Lord." — Jer. xxiii. 24. 
 
 Does God see all that we do ? 
 
 " Thou God seest me."- — Gen. xvi. 13. 
 
 Is God inclined to forgive our sins ? 
 
 " Thou art a God ready to pardon, — slow 
 to anger." — Nehem. ix. 17. 
 
 Must we always obey God in all cases ? 
 
 " We ought to obey God rather than 
 men." — Acts v. 29. 
 
 By what name did God announce himself? 
 
 " I am that I am." — Exod. iii. 14. 
 
 By what attributes does St. Paul desig- 
 nate God ? 
 
 " The King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, 
 the only wise God." — 1 Tim. i. 17. 
 
 JESUS CHRIST. 
 Why was the Messiah called Jesus ? 
 k 2 
 
132 
 
 " Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he 
 shall save his people from their sins." — 
 Matt. i. 21. 
 
 Why was he called Emmanuel ? 
 
 " They shall call his name Emmanuel, 
 which, being interpreted, is, God with us." — 
 Matt. i. 23. 
 
 What was Christ called in prophecy ? 
 
 " His name shall be called Wonderful, 
 Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting 
 Father, the Prince of Peace." — Isaiah ix. 
 
 What did Christ call himself? 
 
 "Because I said, I am the Son of God." 
 —John x. 36. 
 
 What did the Apostles say of Christ ? 
 
 " And the Word was made flesh, and 
 dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, — 
 the glory of the only begotten of the Father, 
 full of light and truth." — John i. 14. 
 
 " He is the propitiation of our sins." — 
 1 John ii. 2. 
 
 " The Shepherd and Bishop of our souls." 
 — 1 Pet. ii. 25. 
 
133 
 
 " He is the Mediator of abetter covenant." 
 — Heb. viii. 6. 
 
 " He ever liveth to make intercession for 
 them." — Heb. vii. 25. 
 
 HOLY GHOST. 
 
 What promise did Christ give concerning 
 the Holy Ghost ? 
 
 " I will pray the Father, and he shall give 
 you another Comforter ; that he may abide 
 with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth. 
 — John xiv. 16, 17. 
 
 " The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, 
 whom the Father will send in my name." 
 — John xxvi. 
 
 Will the Holy Ghost be given to those 
 who pray for him ? 
 
 " If ye being evil, know how to give good 
 gifts unto your children, how much more 
 shall your heavenly Father give the Holy 
 Ghost to them that ask him." — Luke xi. 13. 
 
 For what purpose is the Holy Ghost 
 given ? 
 
134 
 
 " Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our in- 
 firmities. — Rom. viii. 26. 
 
 In what manner are the operations of the 
 Holy Ghost described in Scripture ? 
 
 " The Holy Ghost said, separate me Bar- 
 nabas and Saul, for the work whereunto thou 
 called them." — Acts xiii. 2. 
 
 " They were forbidden by the Holy Ghost 
 to preach in Asia." — Acts xvi. 6. 
 
 " The Holy Ghost witnesseth in every 
 city." — Acts xx. 23. 
 
 " Take heed unto the flock, over which 
 the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers." 
 —Acts xx. 28. 
 
 THE GODHEAD OF CHRIST. 
 
 What does St. John say of Christ's Di- 
 vinity ? 
 
 " In the beginning was the Word, and the 
 Word was with God, and the Word was 
 God." — John 1.1. 
 
 What does St. Paul say .' 
 
135 
 
 " God was manifest in the flesh." — 1 Tim. 
 iii. 16. 
 
 Prove the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, 
 by shewing that eternity is ascribed to the 
 Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 
 
 " The mystery made manifest according 
 to the commandment of the everlasting 
 God."— Rom. xvi. 25, 26. 
 
 "If Jesus ) am the first and the last." 
 — Rev. xxii. 13. 
 
 " Through the everlasting Sjririt." — Heb. 
 ix. 14. 
 
 Prove it by the application of the term 
 Holy One ? 
 
 " I am the Lord, your Holy One, the 
 Creator." — Isaiah xliii. 15. 
 
 " But ye denied the Holy One, and de- 
 sired a murderer to be released unto you." 
 — Acts iii. 14. 
 
 " Ye have an unction from the Holy 
 One."— 1 John ii. 20. 
 
136 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS DOCTRINES EXPLAINED IN 
 ANSWERS FROM SCRIPTURE. 
 
 What is original sin ? 
 
 " By one man sin entered into the world, 
 and death by sin, and so death passed upon 
 all men, for that all have sinned." — Rom. 
 v. 12. 
 
 What sacrifice or ransom has been offered 
 for sin ? 
 
 " Christ appeared to put away sin by the 
 sacrifice of himself. Christ was once offered 
 to bear the sins of many." — Heb. ix. 26. 
 
 What is the atonement of Christ ? 
 
 " The Lord hath laid on him the iniquities 
 of us all." — Isaiah lv. 6. 
 
 " He hath made him to be sin for us, who 
 knew no sin." — 2 Cor. v. 19. 
 
 What is the efficacy of prayer ? 
 
 " Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in 
 my name, he shall give it you." — John xvi. 
 23. 
 
 Why are we to keep the sabbath holy 
 
137 
 
 " Hallow my sabbaths, they shall be u 
 sign between me and you, that ye may know 
 that I am the Lord your God." — Ezekiel 
 xx. 20. 
 
 Why is the new birth necessary ? 
 
 " Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except 
 a man be born again, he cannot see the 
 kingdom of God. Ye must be born again." 
 — John iii. 3. 7. 
 
 What is the promise that the prayers of 
 the young shall be heard ? 
 
 " Those that seek me early shall find me." 
 — Prov. viii. 17. 
 
 What examples have we of early piety ? 
 
 " The child Samuel ministered unto the 
 Lord." And " Samuel grew, and the Lord 
 was with him." — 1 Sam. iii. 1. 8. 
 
 "In the eighth year of his reign, while 
 he was yet young, Josiah began to seek 
 after the God of David his father/' — 2 Chr. 
 xxxiv. 3. 
 
 " From a child thou (Timothy) hast 
 
138 
 
 known the Holy Scriptures." — 2 Tim. hi. 
 15. 
 
 Are disposition and true character mani- 
 fested at an early age ? 
 
 " Even a child is known by his doings, 
 whether his work be pure, and whether it 
 be right." — Prov. xx. 11. 
 
 There are not many Catechumens who 
 could readily furnish answers to half these 
 questions, but an important advantage is 
 gained by proposing them, inasmuch as the 
 instructor has the opportunity of directing 
 attention to the passages referred to, and 
 of proving that the basis of his doctrines 
 is founded on the rock of truth. 
 
 EXPLANATIONS OF WORDS AND PHRASES. 
 
 A third branch of the interrogatory system, 
 equally salutary, is to ask for explanations 
 and definitions of the phrases and terms 
 
139 
 
 which occur in the Catechism, or which are 
 in common use in the Church. Such as 
 Baptism, Sacrament, Vow, Salvation, Catho- 
 lic Church, Communion of Saints, Forgive- 
 ness, Resurrection, Redeemed, Sanctified, 1 
 Elect people, Idol, Sabbath day, Covet, 
 Neighbour, Spiritual, Ghostly enemy, King- 
 dom of God, New birth, Righteousness, 
 Death unto Sin, Grace, Repentance, Sacrifice, 
 New life, &c. &c. 
 
 I do not recommend that these definitions 
 should be required only as opportunities 
 arise in the course of the examination, but 
 that half an hour should be occasionally 
 devoted to the express purpose of explaining 
 the Christian vocabulary. Any thing which 
 varies the service, and produces rapid tran- 
 sition from one idea to another, quickens 
 attention, and is therefore usefully reduced 
 to practice, where one of the first objects 
 is to engage willing attention. 
 
140 
 
 THE PROGRESS OF CHILDREN, WHO HAVE BEEN 
 CATECHISED EXEMPLIFIED BY QUESTIONS 
 PROPOSED, AND ANSWERS LITERALLY RE- 
 TURNED BY THEM. 
 
 Before I conclude this part of my subject, 
 I wish to furnish your Lordship with a more 
 distinct view of the real progress made by 
 children under the system which has been 
 adopted ; and for this purpose, I will beg 
 your attention to the ensuing questions and 
 answers, which formed a leading feature of 
 the examination on the Sunday before Easter, 
 in the present year. The children drawn 
 up in the chancel were of all ages from six 
 to fifteen. Some of them had been in the 
 Sunday School from its commencement, and 
 had been trained weekly by myself, or by 
 the assistant minister, Mr. Judkin, with the 
 aid of Mr. Roberts the indefatigable super- 
 intendent master, and twelve or fifteen of 
 the most repectable of the congregation of 
 Somer's Town new Church, who volunteer 
 their services every Sabbath before Morning 
 Prayers. The Catechumens were not in any 
 
141 
 
 respect prepared for the particular queries 
 which were proposed to them, hut as it was 
 my wish on this occasion to obtain satisfac- 
 tory answers, I must plainly acknowledge, , 
 that I addressed myself to those, who were 
 most likely to give them. The replies were 
 taken down at the time by a person whom 
 I had previously requested to undertake this 
 office, and they are now transcribed from his 
 paper. 
 
 Why is Passion Week so called ? 
 Because Christ suffered and died in that 
 week. 
 
 What were Christ's sufferings, which gave 
 name to this week ? 
 
 His agony in the garden of Gethsemane, 
 and death upon the cross. 
 
 What does God require in those, who hope 
 to benefit by Christ's sufferings ? 
 
 Faith in his word. -\ 
 
 Repentance of past sins. \ 
 
 Obedience to his precepts. j 
 
 What are the means of Grace 1 
 
142 
 
 God's word. } 
 Prayer. > 
 The Sacrament. 3 
 In whose name are we to pray ? 
 
 In Christ's. He told his disciples, Ask 
 in my name. 
 
 In what part of our Liturgy do you find 
 this set forth ? 
 
 At the end of all the prayers, " Through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 
 What do you learn from the sufferings 
 and death of Christ 1 
 
 Not answered. 
 
 Why are you afraid of God's displeasure, 
 more than man's ? 
 
 " Because he can destroy both body and 
 soul in hell." 
 
 Do you remember any cases of God 
 depriving men of life for their sins ? 
 
 The destruction of all but Noah's family \ 
 at the flood. f 
 
 Korah's company, Dathan and Abiram. C 
 
 Ananias and Sapphira. j 
 
143 
 
 Can you state the names of any trans- 
 gressors recorded in Scripture, whose souls, 
 you have reason to believe, have perished ? 
 
 Dives mentioned in the parable. 7 
 
 Judas Iscariot. ) 
 
 Can you tell me of any sinners mentioned 
 in Scripture, who repented, and of whom 
 it is believed that they are receiving the 
 benefit of Christ's sacrifice ? 
 
 The penitent thief. -\ 
 
 St. Paul, who once persecuted Chris- (. 
 tians. ) 
 
 What must you do, when you are con- 
 scious of having offended God ? 
 
 I must pray for forgiveness, and repent, 
 and mend my life. 
 
 Can you do this of yourself ? 
 
 Not without the help of God's Spirit, the 
 Holy Ghost. 
 
 How has Christ described the joys of 
 heaven and the punishment of Hell ? 
 
 Not answered. 
 
 Summing up the Gospel history, what 
 
144 
 
 three great things did Christ do for man- 
 kind ? 
 
 Not answered. 
 
 How was Jesus received by the Jews ? 
 Answer if you can in the words of Scripture. 
 
 " He was despised and rejected of men." 
 
 How did he endure his insults and suffer- 
 ings ? Answer again from Scripture. 
 
 " When he was reviled, he reviled not 
 again : when he suffered he threatened not." 
 
 When Christ drew near the time of his 
 death, and. his agony increased, what did 
 he do? 
 
 Not answered. 
 
 What did his disciples do, when he was 
 taken before Pilate ? 
 
 Forsook him and fled. 
 
 What did Pilate say of him ? 
 
 I find no fault in him. 
 
 How did Christ pray for his enemies ? 
 
 Father forgive them, they know not what 
 they do. 
 
 What was Christ's last prayer ? 
 
145 
 
 " Father into thy hands I commend my 
 spirit." 
 
 After such evidence that the mental pow- 
 ers of children are called into action, and 
 improved by this system, and that they 
 soon become emulous to prepare themselves 
 by previous study and application for the 
 weekly scrutiny, it will naturally be asked, 
 what proof have you, that they are the 
 better in their general conduct, and that 
 the truths which they are learning, make 
 an impression upon their hearts 1 I have 
 many proofs to give, but I shall reserve 
 them until I discuss the utility of the plan, 
 under its own head. 
 
 The modifications proposed by your Lord- 
 ship having been thus reduced to practice, it 
 now becomes my very agreeable business to 
 shew, that the success secured by them has 
 amply justified your Lordship's prediction, 
 and my own experiment. 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 " Catechising may be rendered popular 
 as well as useful, and furnish an exhibition 
 peculiarly interesting, and not uninstructive 
 to the congregation. — It will give to the 
 clergy, in populous places, an opportunity 
 
 OF BECOMING KNOWN TO THE RISING GENERA- 
 TION, in the character of pastors invested 
 by lawful authority with the charge of their 
 spiritual interests, and having a right to their 
 attention and obedience. It will act as a 
 
 STIMULUS tO DOMESTIC INSTRUCTION, and piOVC 
 
 one of the strongest incitements to the 
 parents to teach, and to the children to 
 learn *." 
 
 Such were your Lordship's anticipations, 
 and I will notice the accomplishment of them 
 in order. 
 
 * Charge of 1818. p. 27, 28. also 1822. p. 25. 
 3rd Edit. 
 
147 
 
 POPULARITY OF CATECHISING. 
 
 There are very few human productions, , 
 upon which a Christian teacher can ground 
 his instructions, with so much confidence as 
 the Church Catechism. The Roman Catho- 
 lic Catechisms run away into many points of 
 faith and discipline, which have no support 
 whatever from the plain word of Scripture. 
 Several of the best Catechisms of reformed 
 congregations are abstrusely doctrinal, — 
 others are diffuse, and lengthened out into 
 treatises ; while our own is neither redundant 
 nor dogmatical. It never wanders from 
 Scripture, or runs into nice distinctions : it 
 contains that alone in which all Christians 
 are agreed. It raises no scruples, — it offends 
 no prejudices, and its very brevity implies, 
 that it leaves much to the judgment of th 
 parish priest, and demands, that he does 
 more than confine himself to its concise 
 phraseology ; that, taking its letter as his 
 l 2 
 
148 
 
 guide, he makes a full and complete illustra- 
 tion of its Apostolical lessons. 
 
 Hence the clergyman, who commences his 
 catechetical lectures with this manual in his 
 hand, sets out in good humour with all 
 Christian men : every body is with him, — no 
 man is against him. Those, who think the 
 Catechism too short, look to him for amplifi- 
 cation : those, who fancy it requires some 
 explanation, are glad to have him for an ex- 
 pounder. 
 
 His next advantage consists in the neces- 
 sity, under which he lies, of adapting his 
 style of instruction to the level of every age 
 and capacity. He is not catechising, when 
 he ceases to be perfectly intelligible, easy, 
 and familiar. The advice which has been so 
 judiciously given to the Preacher, applies 
 with tenfold force to the Catechist. " He 
 must descend from the high and lofty tone 
 of language, to walk in the humble terms 
 of Scripture. He must limit his rounded 
 periods, to the extent of vulgar comprehen- 
 
149 
 
 sion. He must abound in interrogations 
 and addresses, which the rules of composi- 
 tion condemn, in writing, though the rules 
 of nature sanction them in speaking *." 
 
 For the lower orders especially, the system 
 has " charms in its very homeliness ;" and it 
 is the more attractive, because it allows of 
 many topics being intermixed, which a cler- 
 gyman would be unwilling to discuss from 
 the pulpit, but which he may beneficially, 
 and without any compromise of the gravity 
 of his office, introduce from the Catechetical 
 chair. " Whereas in sermons there is a kind 
 of state, in catechising there is an humbleness 
 very suitable to Christian regeneration, f" 
 
 By-standers, of all degrees and attain- 
 ments, take an interest in observing how the 
 scroll of human nature is unfolded by this 
 exercise, and how easily it is read on such 
 occasions : they are pleased in seeing the effects 
 which religious doctrine have upon youthful 
 
 * See Sumner's Apostolical Preaching, p. 11, Ed. 5. 
 + Herbert's Country Parson. 
 
150 
 
 minds and spirits, — in listening to replies, 
 which display the different dispositions and 
 abilities of children ; — in witnessing the deve- 
 lopement of character and genius, — and in 
 comparing their own religious advancement 
 and acquirements with those of the juvenile 
 circle before them. Many of my congrega- 
 tion have made no secret of confessing, that 
 they could not answer questions proposed, as 
 well as the children have done, and that they 
 have been thankful for the opportunity of 
 picking up information, without the shame 
 or the trouble of asking for it. They have 
 made a still more important acknowledg- 
 ment, — viz. that they have taken hints and 
 rebukes kindly, which were aimed at them 
 through younger marks, when a direct reproof 
 would have been intolerable. " Admonitions 
 directed to the young find their way, obliquely 
 indeed, but often effectually, to the bosoms 
 of the old." * 
 
 * Archdeacon Bayley. 
 
151 
 
 A parish priest, who resides among his peo- 
 ple, and who is acquainted with their spiri- 
 tual state, may indeed, with perfect fearless- 
 ness, take advantage of a Catechetical ex- 
 amination, to hazard remarks which would 
 be thought indicative of a jealous and con- 
 troversial spirit towards persons of a different 
 persuasion, or personally offensive towards in- 
 dividuals, were they spoken solemnly and 
 with premeditation from the pulpit. It is 
 the informal, the extemporaneous, the natu- 
 ral character of the address ; it is the observa- 
 tion growing out of circumstances, and out of 
 the unexpected turn, which is sometimes given 
 to the discourse ; it is the word forced from the 
 mouth, while the heart is full ; it is the genuine 
 feeling, and honest opinion of the Pastor, 
 which will have utterance, when all his con- 
 cern is awakened in behalf of his young flock ; 
 it is the tongue that speaks, when the fire of 
 truth is kindled ; it is this, which makes in- 
 dulgent and attentive hearers, and renders all 
 that is said welcome and impressive. 
 
152 
 
 For these reasons, the Catechist may make 
 his instructions local, and adapt them to the 
 particular state of thought, knowledge, opi- 
 nion, errors or morals, which prevail in his 
 neighbourhood, and yet give no disgust, be- 
 cause personality cannot be imputed when chil- 
 dren are the parties immediately addressed *. 
 
 * Is there not reason to believe, that the doctrines of 
 the Reformation would find their way more generally to 
 the hearts and understandings of the people in Ireland, 
 if the Clergy of the Established Church would practise 
 Catechising upon a more extended scale ? In India 
 many prejudices have been removed by this means; and 
 where the natives will not listen to a Sermon, or to a 
 controversial discussion, professedly directed against 
 their superstitions, they will gather round children, who 
 are being examined in Scriptural exercises, and take 
 pleasure in hearing their explanations. 
 
 The following is an extract from the Report of a 
 Missionary : — 
 
 " A relation of the Rajah of Tanjore, who sends his 
 son to our school for instruction, sent me word, that if 
 I would examine the school at his house, he should feel 
 obliged, and would be present at the examination. I 
 wished him to allow me to occupy his verandah instead 
 of the house, which he got in readiness for the examina- 
 
153 
 
 But even supposing that the parochial minis- 
 ter's voice may sound harshly in some ears, or 
 touch chords that vibrate unpleasantly in some 
 hearts, yet all will admit, that he has a right 
 to address himself, as a reprover, a counsellor, 
 or an expounder of doctrine, to the children 
 of his own flock, and that it is nothing more 
 than just deference to the parental authority 
 in which he stands invested, to bear with him, 
 as with a person privileged to use plainness, 
 or sharpness. 
 
 It is not for me to say how many of the 
 causes here recited have had their operation 
 in the scene of my own labours ; but I may 
 
 tion. When I was examining the children, a crowd, 
 and among them some very respectable heathens, came 
 to the place to be present ; but, as I had anticipated, his 
 servants were posted to keep the people at such a dis- 
 tance, that but very few could hear me: on my ob- 
 serving to him, that the Word of God should be made 
 known to every one who has a desire for it, he ordered 
 his servants to let the people come near the verandah. 
 I had now an advantage, by having more hearers than 
 usual." 
 
154 
 
 affirm, without any fear of contradiction, that 
 since Catechising has been regularly pursued 
 in Somer's Town, there has been no other 
 sentiment expressed, than that of satisfaction 
 and approbation. Many come to Church re- 
 gularly, who were not regular before ; some 
 come who never entered Church doors be- 
 fore. The interest taken in the practice is 
 so great, that no small inconvenience arises 
 from the numbers, who crowd up to the place 
 of examination, exhibiting an eagerness to 
 catch every word ; and it is difficult to find 
 space enough, near the chancel, to accommo- 
 date such as are anxious to see, as well as to 
 hear, all that is going on. 
 
 The most respectable inhabitants of the 
 parish are in the habit of bringing their 
 children, and some of them have warmly 
 expressed their thankfulness for the example, 
 as well as for the instruction, which they find 
 so profitable to the younger members of 
 their families. Parents, and relatives of the 
 children examined, take, as it may be ex- 
 
155 
 
 pected, more than ordinary pleasure in the 
 service, and tears of joy are often seen gush- 
 ing from their eyes, when the objects of their 
 more immediate concern are rewarded, or 
 commended for the manner in which they 
 may have acquitted themselves. 
 
 But perhaps nothing has contributed to 
 prove the efficacy and popularity of the 
 system more strongly, than the inducement 
 it is found to hold out to young persons, 
 beyond the usual age of scholars, to present 
 themselves Sunday after Sunday for the 
 acquirement of further knowledge, or for 
 the purpose of instructing others. I shall 
 have to speak elsewhere of such as come 
 with the praiseworthy motive of offering their 
 services as teachers; it is enough to state 
 here in a few words, that there are many 
 apprentices and servants of both sexes, who 
 take their places regularly amidst the child- 
 ren, and shew an anxiety to be questioned 
 with the rest. In fact, the catechumens of 
 
156 
 
 all ages take so lively a concern in the 
 endeavours that are made to improve them, 
 and to inculcate salutary religious sentiments, 
 that they are not only voluntary, but cheerful 
 attendants. The time occupied is usually 
 less than an hour, but when it is exceeded, 
 there are few symptoms of impatience, and 
 many indications that these exercises, and 
 the preparation for them, are considered as 
 among the happier hours of their life. 
 
 How can I doubt that even the youngest 
 of my charge find entertainment as well as 
 improvement, when I perceive that as the 
 interrogations advance, their eyes lighten up, 
 their imaginations outrun their power of 
 utterance, their anxiety to reply gets the 
 better of bashfulness, and their mental ac- 
 tivity encreases, as long as I continue to 
 propose questions, which exercise thought or 
 ingenuity ? In fact, they are pleased to find 
 themselves taking part in a conversational 
 exercise, and delighted at every fresh dis- 
 
157 
 
 covery of the secret, that their own minds 
 are capable of effort, and that they themselves 
 can explain as well as repeat. 
 
 ITS USEFULNESS. 
 
 When a religious service finds so many 
 persons of all ages and conditions, who are 
 willingly disposed to wait upon it, — it cannot 
 but lead to some results which are of the 
 highest importance to the Christian cause. 
 
 A strong regard, and a strong reciprocity 
 of confidence grow out of the Clergyman's 
 attempt to train up his young flock in the 
 way they should go, and out of the disposi- 
 tion evinced by the congregation, to stimu- 
 late the assiduity of the children by their 
 presence. — He has our best interests at 
 heart, he labours to build us up in our holy 
 faith, to lead our thoughts, and to fix our 
 attention on that which is necessary to salva- 
 tion. He is not satisfied with our formal 
 
158 
 
 and verbal acquiescence, he requires a sincere 
 and a conscientious assent. He takes a pa- 
 rental interest in our children, and as though 
 he were Parent, Sponsor, and Priest, he 
 provides in all things for their ' soul's health.' 
 He acts towards them as though he had the 
 Scriptural portrait of the good shepherd ever 
 before his eyes. He gathers the lambs with 
 his arm, and carries them in his bosom. He 
 brings back that which was driven awa}\ 
 He seeks that which was lost. — Such are 
 the reflections of the parishioners in regard 
 to their Pastor. The Parish Priest enter- 
 tains corresponding sentiments. He loves 
 his flock the more affectionately, because 
 they follow him, and know his voice, be- 
 cause they will not follow a stranger. They 
 are the more and more endeared to him, in 
 that they place themselves under his guid- 
 ance, and consent to be directed by his hand. 
 It is the willingness of parents, children, 
 masters of families and of their dependents, to 
 be taught of him, and to give themselves 
 11 
 
159 
 
 up to his supervisal, which animates his 
 affection, and cements the union *. 
 
 But these are general reflections. I am 
 bound to shew, not what the state of things 
 is likely to be, but what it is, as actually 
 resulting from the system under my own 
 management. 
 
 Here then, in a district, situated between 
 a dense population on one side, where there 
 are numberless evil seductions : and the out- 
 skirts of London on the other, where young 
 people are tempted to spend the Sabbath 
 in profaneness, or in idle roaming about the 
 fields : here, between two and three hundred 
 children are not only persuaded to come to 
 
 • Should it become more general in the Parochial 
 Clergy to devote a portion of their time to the public 
 instruction of children in Church, might we not hope, 
 that sponsors also would begin to entertain more serious 
 notions of the responsibility of their office ? " Ye shall 
 call upon them to hear sermons," is one of the baptis- 
 mal exhortations. The short and practical discourses, 
 which find their way into catechetical examinations, are 
 " sermons" which it would do well for sponsors to invite 
 their adopted children to attend. 
 
1G0 
 
 Church, but to devote the hours immediately 
 before and after public worship to religious 
 acquirements. And not only so, but many of 
 their relatives and friends, moved by their 
 example, or anxious or curious to know the 
 extent of their proficiency, are induced to 
 follow them to the same place of instruction, 
 and to pass, in seriousness, time which might 
 otherwise be consumed in levity or sin. So 
 much of the Sabbath being spent becomingly, 
 it is reasonable to hope, that the remainder 
 of it will not be mis-spent, and that a great 
 number of responsible beings are put in the 
 way, by this simple ordinance, of cultivating 
 a spirit of true devotion, and of reflecting 
 at home on what they have been learning in 
 the house of God. 
 
 Have we not cause to expect a blessing 
 upon such labours, when a blessing has been 
 promised ? 
 
 After all, says Seeker, the most valuable 
 instruction * for servants, for children, and 
 
 * Wherever the system is adopted, that is where 
 instruction is conveyed, not merely by teaching the 
 
1G1 
 
 for all persons, is the public one of the 
 Church, which our Saviour himself hath 
 promised to Mess with his presence. 
 
 " Gather the people together, men, and 
 women, and children, that they may hear, 
 and that they may learn and fear the Lord 
 your God, and observe to do all the words 
 of his law, and that their children which have 
 
 catechisms, as by catechising, the blessing of God 
 appears to crown the undertaking. The annexed ac- 
 count is extracted from the last Report of the Society 
 for Promoting Christian Knowledge, p. 39. 
 
 " From Barbados the Society learns that there is a pro- 
 gressive desire on the part of the slave to receive, and of 
 the higher classes to impart the blessings of religion. The 
 Catechetical system explained in the last Annual Re- 
 port, has advanced materially during the year which 
 has just closed ; and Sunday Schools have been opened 
 in many places. It appears that by the united exertions 
 of the clergy and their catechists, with the personal 
 co-operation of the proprietors, their families, and 
 overseers, by far the greater number of estates in this 
 island are receiving the benefits of religious instruction ; 
 and one good effect already perceived has been an in- 
 creased attendance of the Negroes at Church, where 
 they behave with exemplary decorum." 
 
 M 
 
1G2 
 
 not known any thing, may hear and learn to 
 fear the Lord your God *." 
 
 Several Adults, who had not been pre- 
 viously admitted into the Church, have, at 
 their own request, received the Sacrament 
 of Baptism, in consequence of the impression 
 made upon their minds, by remarks which 
 they have heard, after questions on the na- 
 ture of baptismal vows and promises, and 
 the efficacy of the bapismal covenant. 
 
 Many young persons of both sexes, and 
 of different conditions in life, have kindly 
 proffered their aid, and have requested per- 
 mission to act as Teachers, and to prepare the 
 children for their catechetical examination. 
 They not only attend at an early hour on Sun- 
 day mornings, but they have signified their 
 readiness to give Lessons, during the summer 
 months, from six till half-past seven on Sun- 
 day evenings. Not to dwell upon the ad- 
 vantage, which the children themselves derive 
 from the superintendence of steady instruc- 
 * Deut. xxxi. 12, 13. 
 
163 
 
 tors, who are fully aware of the obligations 
 of the Christian Covenant, whose age and re- 
 spectability give weight to their admonitions, 
 and who exercise an authority over the minds 
 of boys and girls, which monitors chosen from 
 among themselves could not be expected to 
 attain ; it is a most important point gained, 
 to have such coadjutors enlisted in our cause, 
 and to unite them closer and closer to our 
 Church, by bringing them into frequent con- 
 verse with us. 
 
 The relation does not end here ; the in- 
 tercourse which begins so kindly is improved, 
 and in all his pastoral functions the parish 
 priest may look to have his hands strengthened, 
 his plans seconded, and his influence extended, 
 by the zeal and affectionate partizanship of 
 these his lay friends and assistants, who are 
 first united with him as fellow-labourers in 
 the work of religious education. 
 
 With regard to the children themselves, 
 out of several cases, to which my inquiries and 
 observations have been directed, the following 
 m 2 
 
]G4 
 
 will not be thought unworthy of selection : — 
 A boy of fourteen years of age, after having 
 attended the catechising for some months, was 
 bound apprentice, or placed in the service of 
 a tradesman in the Borough. His master 
 employs him on Sunday mornings, but per- 
 mits him to call his time his own after noon- 
 day. The lad regularly finds his way to the 
 Church in Somer's Town, makes his appear- 
 ance at afternoon Prayers and Sermon, and 
 takes his place in the chancel for examination, 
 among his former companions. None answer 
 better than himself ; he evidently devotes 
 many of his leisure hours to religious study, 
 and has made himself master of a Bible and 
 Prayer Book, partly by producing tickets of 
 merit, and partly by purchase money. He is 
 altogether, from disposition, good conduct, 
 and application, a youth of considerable pro- 
 mise. 
 
 The annexed letter from another lad of 
 fourteen years and a half, who has also left 
 the Parish, but is occasionally seen among 
 7 
 
165 
 
 our children,, will tell his history and state 
 of mind better than any words I can adopt. 
 It is addressed to the master of the Sunday 
 School. — 
 " Sir, 
 
 " I hardly know how to express my grati- 
 tude enough for the kindness and learning 
 which I received while at your Sunday School, 
 but am obliged to discontinue attending, as 
 
 I have got a situation at Mr. , 
 
 Westminster, who is a very religious good 
 man, and with him I am very comfortable and 
 happy. I should feel obliged to you, if you 
 would give my best thanks to Mr. Judkin *, 
 for the learning I have received from him, 
 which I hope will never die in my memory. 
 I have paid one shilling to a large Bible, and 
 will send all as soon as possible ; if you will 
 have the goodness to send me one, when I 
 have paid enough to purchase one. I think 
 you have also some tickets of mine, if you 
 
 * Assistant minister of Somer's Town. 
 
166 
 
 please to send me a little book for them, you 
 would oblige, dear Sir, 
 
 Your ever grateful servant, 
 
 R. B." 
 
 These two boys have displayed the same 
 uniform attention and good conduct, during 
 the whole of their connexion with us. The 
 subjoined cases are of a different descrip- 
 tion. — - 
 
 Samuel , long after his admission 
 
 into the Sunday-school, was so untractable 
 and perverse, that his teachers began to de- 
 spair of his reformation. It was even pro- 
 posed to expel him. But indications of 
 improvement were gradually exhibited, and 
 he is now pronounced to be among the most 
 attentive and best behaved of his class. 
 
 Another lad, whose name it is not neces- 
 sary to mention, was for many weeks in the 
 habit of mixing unwillingly among the chil- 
 dren at their Sunday examinations. His 
 master insisted upon it, under the hope of 
 seeing an obstinate and disobedient temper 
 
167 
 
 improved. The boy has derived so much 
 benefit by his attendance, that his master is 
 trying the same experiment with a second 
 youth in his service. 
 
 A girl, whose ready answers and good 
 conduct lately attracted my notice, was re- 
 presented to me, as having been so giddy and 
 ill-behaved, when she first came among us, 
 that it would have been pronounced " en- 
 thusiasm" to have looked for any effectual 
 change. She is now in the highest class, 
 and after receiving several rewards, has saved 
 money enough to purchase one of our best 
 bibles. 
 
 Added to these, and many other examples 
 of the same nature, there are several very 
 young children, whose emulation has been so 
 strongly excited, that I have been obliged to 
 check it, lest their application during the 
 week should prove injurious to their health. 
 One of these, not seven years of age, came 
 prepared, upon a late occasion, to repeat the 
 
168 
 
 whole of the eighth chapter of St. John, — 
 fifty-nine verses, — the self-imposed exercise 
 of the past week. Every Sunday, a hundred 
 voices exclaim, " I have learnt the Collect — 
 and I the Gospel, — and I a page of Lewis's 
 Exposition of the Catechism." 
 
 The system thus affords the clergyman an 
 opportunity of becoming known to the rising 
 generation, and extending his influence among 
 them. This is one of the most substantial 
 advantages obtained by catechising. It fol- 
 lows as a certain consequence. Kindness al- 
 ways finds its way to the hearts of young 
 persons, and more particularly when it pro- 
 ceeds from those, whom they are in the habit 
 of regarding as persons vested with authority. 
 From the very constitution of our Church 
 Establishment, and from other causes, which 
 it is unnecessary to discuss, the youth of the 
 lower orders seem to require more than ordi- 
 nary invitation to approach us. Catechising, 
 well conducted, breaks down this partition 
 
169 
 
 wall ; the child's bosom opens to the minister, 
 who frequently accosts him in a voice of affec- 
 tionate concern, and manifests an interest in 
 his behalf. Seeing that there is some feeling 
 for him, he loves and reverences the man, for 
 whom he before entertained nothing more than 
 cold respect. The parents also are bound by 
 cords of love to the priest, who takes more 
 than formal and official notice of their chil- 
 dren, — who holds his station among them, 
 not merely as a national functionary, render- 
 ing back a measured return of duty for the 
 revenue he draws, — but whose intercourse is 
 an intercourse of zeal, and friendship, and 
 affection, exercised equally towards old and 
 young. In more instances than one, I have 
 found a whole family moved by means of a 
 child, who has been desired to repeat at home 
 what he has learnt at church, and to read a 
 particular passage to his father or mother, or 
 to warn a brother or a sister, who has not yet 
 been restrained by the fear of God. 
 
 The catechumens themselves, conscious 
 
170 
 
 that the clergyman has his eye upon them, 
 measure their conduct accordingly, and are 
 oftentimes restrained in an hour of tempta- 
 tion, by the apprehension, that a knowledge 
 of their transgression would expose them to 
 his reproof, and to the charge of inconsistency. 
 It is frequently enough to say to them, 
 What, will you, who have answered so well 
 at the examination in Church, and received 
 the commendations of your minister, will you 
 now act in direct violation of the precepts, 
 which you then professed to observe ? Will 
 you, who have had a kind counsellor and 
 friend in your parish priest, turn your back 
 upon him, and go to unauthorised persons 
 for spiritual direction, when you have had so 
 many proofs that he is much more deeply 
 concerned in your spiritual integrity and 
 safety, than any stranger can be ? 
 
 It is not, however, my wish to go into any 
 great length upon these topics, important as 
 they are. I have merely proposed to give a 
 sketch, in outline, of the superstructure which 
 
171 
 
 a good master builder may erect upon cate- 
 chising : it will therefore be enough to add, 
 on this head, that one great desideratum in 
 our ecclesiastical system, may be supplied 
 by it. 
 
 For the most part we lose sight of our 
 flock at a very dangerous period of life, — 
 after they leave the Parochial Schools. Ex- 
 cept during the short seasons, few and far 
 between, which are devoted to the prepara- 
 tion for Confirmation, young persons, from 
 fifteen to twenty years of age, are seldom 
 brought into contact with their Clergyman. 
 The Catechist makes opportunities of inter- 
 course, of familiarising himself with names 
 and countenances and dispositions, which 
 other ministers, especially in very large 
 parishes, cannot hope to enjoy. He gives 
 himself a right, which is willingly conceded 
 to him, of enquiring after those, whom he 
 has been in the habit of instructing every 
 week, in their progress from tender to riper 
 years. Should he hear, or see, or learn from 
 
172 
 
 others that they are going astray, either in 
 opinion or practice, he has an appeal to 
 them, which they cannot easily resist. Whe- 
 ther he shall miss them at Church, or at the 
 Sacrament, or whatever be his reason to 
 suspect that they are departing from the 
 way of truth, he has opened a door to their 
 hearts and understandings, which no man 
 can shut : which they themselves cannot close 
 against him, and through which he may 
 regain access whenever he pleases. 
 
 IT ACTS AS A STIMULUS TO DOMESTIC 
 INSTRUCTION. 
 
 Of all excitements that have ever been 
 devised, to encourage the parents to teach, 
 and the children to learn, there is none like 
 this. The publicity of the proceedings, — the 
 solemnity of the place, — the presence and 
 earnestness of the Pastor of the flock, — the 
 honest pride which the parents take in hav- 
 ing an opportunity of proving to their neigh- 
 
17.3 
 
 bours and acquaintances,, that they have not 
 neglected their children, — and the gratification 
 of the children in receiving praise or rewards * 
 in the face of all whom they are accustomed 
 to hold in respect ; each of these is enough 
 in itself to operate powerfully upon the mind 
 during the week, and to spur on old and young 
 to make preparation against the ensuing en- 
 quiry. What then may be expected to be 
 the result when these motives act in combi- 
 nation, when they are constantly at work, 
 when there is no intermission, but when 
 every Sabbath makes new demands upon the 
 same attention + ? 
 
 * The Bishop of Salisbury was present at one of 
 these examinations in Somer's Town Chapel, and being 
 highly pleased with the answers of three or four children 
 he kindly gave them a piece of money each. These young 
 folks were so excessively gratified by the notice of his 
 Lordship, that they preserve his presents, and wear 
 them as medals round their necks. 
 
 f A Letter from my parish in the country, where the 
 system has been tried upon the same plan, gives the 
 following pleasing account of its success. 
 
 " The new plan answers remarkably well, and I have 
 
174 
 
 I will confine myself to the mention of 
 two facts in proof of the strong feeling, 
 which prevails in families to qualify the chil- 
 dren for their catechetical examination in 
 Church. 
 
 The mother of eleven children in Somer's 
 Town, sends seven of them to Church to be 
 catechised, and three of these are so well 
 trained by her, that they are among the best 
 of those who answer. They all come pre- 
 pared with some portion of the Scripture, or 
 expositions of the catechism, committed to 
 memory during the week. 
 
 At a very early stage of our proceedings, 
 a boy of about eleven years of age was 
 noticed for the extraordinary readiness of his 
 answers, when he was asked for Scriptural 
 references. It was explained to me, that his 
 
 had clear proof that it will operate as a stimulus, not 
 only to the children themselves, but to those connected 
 with them. I drew out several little confessions, thaj 
 brother A., and sister B., and aunt D., had been hear- 
 ing and questioning the young folks at home." — See 
 Letter from the same ivriter, page 182. 
 
175 
 
 father, who had previously been inattentive 
 to his religious duties, began to " search 
 Scripture" with this child every evening, with 
 the view of preparing him for the Sunday ques- 
 tions. That, which commenced with the mere 
 desire of making his son a proficient in an 
 exercise of memory, has ended in conviction, 
 and the man is now a reformed character. 
 
 Such, my Lord, are the remarks which I 
 have thrown together as concisely as possible, 
 more in the form of fragments and hints, 
 than of a regular disquisition, under the hope 
 of inducing other Clergymen to give their 
 serious consideration to the merits of an 
 ordinance, which most men know how to ap- 
 preciate in theory, while few are disposed to 
 try its effect in its several practical bearings. 
 But since a plan adopted by myself may seem 
 to require something more than my own 
 testimony in evidence of its practicability and 
 success, I beg attention to the annexed ex- 
 tract of a letter, addressed to me by a Lay 
 friend, who witnessed the manner in which 
 6 
 
176 
 
 the business of catechising was carried on by 
 my Curate, during my absence from Somer's 
 Town, and the impression made upon the 
 children and the congregation. 
 
 " I was last Sunday afternoon at Somer's 
 Town chapel. Perceiving many of the con- 
 gregation collecting round the Communion- 
 table after the service, to hear the children 
 of the district Schools catechised : I joined 
 the throng. It was indeed a most grati- 
 fying scene. The children, to the number 
 of one hundred and fifty, or sixty, evi- 
 dently assembled willingly ; they came not as 
 by constraint to an ungrateful task. They 
 seemed to feel that they were in the presence 
 of their fathers and their mothers, their rela- 
 tions and their friends ; they were cheered 
 too, by the interest which was manifested by 
 many of their richer neighbours. The spec- 
 tators, I was glad to observe, were numerous, 
 and of all ranks and ages. Nothing could 
 exceed the kindness of Mr. Judkin's manner. 
 His questions related chiefly to the Lessons, 
 
177 
 
 the Collect, and the Epistle and Gospel for 
 the day, parts of which many of the children 
 had learned during the week. Their answers 
 were frequently extremely pertinent and 
 correct ; and if they hesitated, they were en- 
 couraged to say what they did think and 
 know, though they might err widely from the 
 mark ; and by thus learning the extent and 
 nature of their ignorance, the Catechist was 
 the better able to instruct them, Karrf^uv tov 
 \oyov. The young Catechumens seemed to 
 feel that something more was required of 
 them than answers, with which their lips had 
 been long familiar. When a question was 
 proposed, it immediately arrested their atten- 
 tion ; and if they perceived, or thought they 
 perceived the answer, they strove to catch the 
 eye of the examiner. The sacredness of the 
 place prevented any unseemly bursts, but their 
 emulation was not checked by unnecessary 
 form. 
 
 " It is imposible to suppose that the by- 
 standers did not profit by such an examina- 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 tion ; the mere questions must have incited 
 many to reflect ; and the words of instruc- 
 tion and advice, which were offered from 
 time to time by the Catechist, could not be 
 lost. And surely he does not rightly con- 
 ceive the duty of a Catechist, who thinks it 
 satisfied by asking certain formal questions, 
 and hearing the prescribed answers. The 
 occasions which an examination must offer, 
 are the most valuable for reproof and expla- 
 nation of the doctrines of the Gospel. 
 
 " What a contrast between the animated 
 scene I have faintly sketched, and the system 
 set forth by the Canon ! The service of the 
 Church is interrupted ; a dozen children are 
 drawn up before the reading desk in prim 
 array, and repeat the words of their Cate- 
 chism. This mode is inconvenient and unin- 
 teresting, and is therefore seldom adopted. 
 But what is the consequence ? Catechetical 
 instruction is almost disused in our churches, 
 though its observance is recommended by the 
 most potent considerations." 
 
179 
 
 THE SAME SYSTEM ADOPTED AT DURHAM. 
 
 The preceding pages give an account of 
 an experiment made in the metropolis : your 
 Lordship will have no objection to hear how 
 the system may work in a country town, and 
 in a parish where it might be thought, that 
 the introduction of a new force was not so 
 imperiously necessary. 
 
 In November last I became the Incumbent 
 of St. Margaret's, a parish in Durham. The 
 population is about three thousand, and I 
 found the way prepared for me by the labours 
 of two eminent predecessors *, each of whom 
 had distinguished the period of his cure by 
 some beneficial improvement in the parish. 
 The clergyman, whom I immediately suc- 
 ceeded, had put into efficient training a Sun- 
 day-school, and an Infant-school, and had 
 secured such an ample provision of Bibles, 
 
 * The Dean of Chester, and the Rev. W. N. 
 Darnell. 
 
180 
 
 Testaments, and Prayer-books, that there is 
 scarcely a family which cannot produce a 
 proof of his zeal, in their possession of a 
 copy of the Scriptures. The path thus 
 smoothed had been further improved by the 
 constant residence of a curate *, who has 
 been, during sixteen years, The Parish 
 Priest, in every sense of that term, full of 
 meaning as it is. All possible means were 
 open to me of putting myself in immediate 
 communication with my new flock, through 
 the introduction of one who knew them all, 
 and was known of them. Therefore, if 
 Somer's Town presented a fair spot for the 
 experiment of catechising, on your Lordship's 
 modified plan, in consequence of the difficul- 
 ties, which a parochial clergyman would have 
 to encounter there, St. Margaret's might also 
 be regarded as favourable ground, in consi- 
 deration of its facilities. 
 
 Perceiving afternoon prayers to be indif- 
 
 * The Rev. P. George. 
 
181 
 
 ferently attended, and the Sunday-school to 
 furnish a muster very unequal to the numbers 
 on the list, I determined to have recourse to 
 catechising forthwith, and I looked with san- 
 guine expectation to the result. The effect 
 was even greater than that which I antici- 
 pated. The afternoon congregation increased 
 every Sunday ; and in ten weeks the number 
 of children in attendance at school, which 
 did not exceed 60 on the first day I offici- 
 ated, had swelled to 146. It has now reach- 
 ed 160. 
 
 I derive no small satisfaction from having 
 an opportunity of inserting the following 
 Report, by Mr. George, of the improve- 
 ment already resulting from steady perse- 
 verance in the practice. It is important to 
 have the opinion of a clergyman who has 
 reflected so much and so seriously upon the 
 nature of clerical duties, and to adduce such 
 an accession as this to the valuable authorities 
 which I have already cited in behalf of Public 
 Catechising. 
 
182 
 
 " In compliance with your request, I send 
 you a hasty sketch of the plan of Catechising 
 in the Church first adopted when you be- 
 came the Incumbent, and still continued ; 
 together with a statement of the effects it has 
 produced. 
 
 " It seems proper, in the first place, to ad- 
 vert briefly to the nature and extent of our 
 population ; and also to certain measures which 
 had previously been put into operation. The 
 population of the Parish amounts to more 
 than 3000 ; and is of a very indigent and 
 fluctuating character. Being a detached 
 suburb of a considerable town, and abound- 
 ing in mean houses, which are, moreover, in 
 a multitude of instances, divided into tene- 
 ments occupied by distinct families ; — it natu- 
 rally becomes, for these reasons, the abode of 
 the poorest orders ; and, on some other ac- 
 counts, also attracts very many of the va- 
 grants, and loose and suspicious characters, 
 who pass along the great North-road. These 
 circumstances, in conjunction with the almost 
 
183 
 
 total want of accommodation in the Church, 
 for the mass of the poorer orders, (until within 
 the last three or four years) tended, in no ordi- 
 nary degree, to cherish vice and ignorance, 
 and a total apathy to religion, and, indeed, to 
 improvement of any kind. One essential step 
 towards the amelioration of a Parish so cir- 
 cumstanced, seemed to be the providing ac- 
 commodation for the poorer orders in the 
 Church. A free gallery was, accordingly, 
 erected at the suggestion, and through the 
 exertions of the last Incumbent ; which, al- 
 though by no means adequate to supply the 
 wants of the Parish, has proved a material 
 aid. The education of the children was ob- 
 viously the next step, which afforded any 
 prospect of success. By giving them religious 
 instruction, and training them to habits of 
 due observance of the Lord's day, and at- 
 tendance at Church, it was hoped that many 
 of them would not only be rescued from 
 the ignorance and irreligion which surrounded 
 them, but that they might be made the means 
 
184 
 
 of bringing a beneficial influence to bear on 
 their parents and relatives, whose habits had 
 become such as to make them scarcely access- 
 ible by other means. With this view, a 
 Sunday-school was established, and subse- 
 quently, an Infant-school, by way of nursery 
 and preparation, for it. In addition to this, 
 the several dames' and other schools in the 
 Parish, were regularly visited by the Clergy- 
 man, for the purpose of securing due atten- 
 tion to the teaching of the Church Catechism, 
 and of watching over the progress of the 
 children in it. By these means religious in- 
 struction was, in some measure, advanced 
 among the mass of the children, and the way 
 cleared for the adoption of your plan of Ca- 
 techising in Church ; which, before, would 
 have been, if not impracticable, at least much 
 less interesting and efficient, on account of 
 the very small number of children, who were 
 capable of any thing beyond the merest ele- 
 mentary instruction. 
 
185 
 
 " In forming a plan for Catechising in 
 the Church, it was of great importance to 
 adapt it, not only to the instruction of the 
 children themselves, but so as also to excite 
 the notice of their parents and relatives, and 
 to render it a vehicle of attractive instruc- 
 tion ; and consequently of some general in- 
 terest to a congregation. With these views 
 a portion of the Church Catechism is given 
 out to be got up during the week, together 
 with some texts of Scripture, that are con- 
 firmatory or explanatory of the doctrines or 
 precepts, which it contains. The Sunday 
 Collect is also committed to memory, and 
 the children are encouraged to endeavour to 
 prepare themselves to answer such questions 
 as the matter it contains may suggest. In 
 addition to these, the Gospel for the day 
 is learnt or read over by the children ; a 
 certain number of verses by each, (several of 
 them voluntarily get up the whole) and they 
 are required to state the incidents recorded 
 
18G 
 
 in it ; the doctrines or precepts it teaches ; 
 the promises or threatenings it holds forth, 
 &c. ; and to quote the references it may con- 
 tain, on any of the above particulars, to the 
 Scriptures of the Old Testament. Tickets 
 of merit are distributed publicly in Church, 
 at the conclusion of the Catechising, to those 
 who have answered best ; and a certain num- 
 ber of these entitle their possessors to a Bible, 
 New Testament, or Prayer-book, or some 
 other suitable gift, which is also bestowed 
 publicly. The Sunday-school is now so re- 
 gulated as to be in every respect preparatory 
 for the above plan of Catechising in Church, 
 which is held out, and is considered by the 
 children in a remarkable degree, as a great 
 distinction and privilege to be attained to. 
 
 " If it be now asked, what have been the 
 effects of this plan ? It is answered, First, 
 It has more than doubled the numbers at the 
 Sunday-school. Secondly, The order and 
 discipline among the children have been 
 
187 
 
 greatly improved ; and are now maintained 
 with a degree of ease before unknown ; in 
 consequence of the value attached to the 
 Catechising in Church, both by children and 
 parents, and the desire to merit the distinc- 
 tion of being admitted to it. Thirdly, It 
 has attracted a respectable congregation in 
 the afternoon, when very few attended before. 
 Fourthly, It has excited many among the 
 poorer classes (of which several striking proofs 
 have occurred) to endeavour to assist their 
 children in preparing themselves, as well for 
 the Catechising in the Church, as for the ex- 
 aminations in the School ; a circumstance 
 which cannot fail to prove highly beneficial, 
 and of which there have been already proofs, 
 especially in the attendance of many poor 
 parents, and others, on divine worship, who 
 formerly, very much, if not altogether, ne- 
 glected it. Fifthly, It is evidently working 
 a great improvement in the general behaviour 
 of the children during the week, probably 
 from the feeling, that the eyes of the public 
 
188 
 
 are more particularly fixed on them, in con- 
 sequence of their appearing at the Catechis- 
 ing in Church, and also, it may be hoped, 
 in consequence of the instruction they have 
 there received. These are plain facts, which 
 admit not of being doubted ; and which fully 
 bear out the expectations entertained by you, 
 with regard to the utility of public Catechis- 
 ing in Church, if judiciously managed, and 
 vigorously pursued. Its influence may be 
 made to operate where a Clergyman's preach- 
 ing never, perhaps, reaches ; and where his 
 advice and admonitions can be heard only on 
 an occasional visit, and will then be heard 
 too often only to be speedily forgotten. It 
 operates upon parents through a channel 
 which remains open, when every other is, 
 perhaps, shut — through their feelings for 
 their children. It forms the most effectual 
 check to dissent ; and if it were generally 
 adopted, and well conducted, would, if I may 
 venture to state my humble opinion, more 
 powerfully extend the influence and useful- 
 
189 
 
 ness of the Church among the mass of the 
 people than any other expedient that could 
 he devised." 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 My Lord, I have now come to a termina- 
 tion of my proposed task. The system which 
 I have adopted in your diocese, will, I trust, 
 be continued by my successor, and I take 
 leave of the district, with an earnest hope, 
 that the beneficial results of a plan originat- 
 ing in your Lordship's Charge, will be of a 
 lasting nature. The experiment has been 
 tried, and fully stated ; and my object will 
 be as fully attained, if any persons who 
 entertain low views concerning the duty of 
 Catechising, or if any, whose practice does 
 not correspond with their proper estimate 
 of its importance, shall be induced to give 
 their serious attention to the subject. 
 
190 
 
 A service, which has been sanctioned by 
 the example of the primitive Church, and of 
 early reformed Churches : which has been en- 
 joined by the Canons and Rubrics, and re- 
 commended by the most distinguished divines 
 of our Establishment, which has been adopted 
 by the Roman Catholics, and exercised by 
 Protestant congregations of every name and 
 sect throughout the Christian world, cannot 
 but be practicable, instructive, and lovely in 
 itself. " For, however individuals and socie- 
 ties may have differed in all other points, on 
 the utility and necessity of Catechising all 
 have agreed. — Europeans, Asiatics, and Afri- 
 cans, Greeks and Latins, Papists and Pro- 
 testants, Lutherans and Calvinistics *." 
 Wherever, therefore, it has been discon- 
 tinued, the blame must rest upon individuals, 
 whose duty it is to embrace every means, 
 which the Church sets forth, of explaining 
 its doctrines, and extending its influence. 
 
 Mant. 
 
191 
 
 At the present crisis, when the Church of 
 England has descended from her vantage 
 ground, and declared her willingness to de- 
 pend upon her moral strength — the purity of 
 her Creed — the strictness of her discipline — 
 the attachment of her supporters — and the 
 fidelity of her ministers, for maintenance and 
 ascendancy, there is a louder demand than 
 ever for pastoral exertion in every branch of 
 her ordinances. It will no longer suffice to 
 talk of attachment to the Establishment, to 
 write in its defence, or to controvert the 
 arguments of its adversaries. Ours must be 
 the persuasive reasoning of effective ministry. 
 We must find our way to the hearts of the 
 people, by exercising every duty which the 
 Church imposes, as a test of usefulness and 
 sincerity. The Dissenters boldly measure 
 strength with us; the Roman Catholics openly 
 menace and oppose us — they argue with us, 
 they challenge us to a contest of words, and to 
 a comparison of professional activity. But as 
 long as we are vigilant and ti ne to ourselves 
 4 
 
192 
 
 we have nothing to fear. Our former triumphs 
 have been achieved by a lively zeal in the 
 diffusion of light and knowledge, by guiding 
 the public mind in the search of truth, and 
 by taking the lead in all pursuits that conduct 
 to it. But having, by the blessing of God 
 obtained our pre-eminence, in part at least, 
 by promoting national education, and religi- 
 ous inquiry, we must now preserve our station 
 by personally superintending their progress, 
 not only in Schools, and among individuals, 
 but in the face of the congregation. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 My Lord, 
 Your Lordship's most obliged 
 And faithful servant, 
 WILLIAM STEPHEN GILLY. 
 
 May 1, 1828. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Nothing can be more strongly conclusive of the 
 advantages which arise out of a system, where in- 
 struction is imparted to children, through exami- 
 nations in Scripture, and in elementary knowledge, 
 than the Reports which arrive in this country from 
 India. When Bishop Heber declared " the 
 
 STRENGTH OF THE CHRISTIAN CAUSE IN INDIA 
 
 lies here," he was speaking of the Missions in 
 Tanjore, where well-conducted schools, for the 
 diffusion, in the first place of European, and ulti- 
 mately of Christian Knowledge, are prominent 
 among the means employed of enlightening the 
 natives. 
 
 " I can assure the Society," says the Rev. Tho- 
 mas Robinson, secretary to the Calcutta District 
 Committee, addressing himself to the Society for 
 Promoting Christian Knowledge, " that their native 
 schools in Bengal hold out most encouraging pros- 
 pects of success in converting the heathen to our holy 
 faith. I have visited these seminaries, and am sa- 
 tisfied that no human means can be so effectual in 
 sapping the foundations of idolatry as they are. 
 o 
 
194 
 
 The work may not immediately be followed by 
 brilliant results, but there can be no doubt of the 
 ultimate effect. Prejudice and alarm are rapidly 
 subsiding, and difficulties which a few years ago 
 presented a formidable barrier are now unknown. 
 We are at liberty to introduce the Scriptures and 
 other religious books without a murmur. The 
 word of God is taught daily; the Lord's Prayer is 
 committed to memory, whilst treatises, calculated 
 to convey useful knowledge, are received and learnt 
 with avidity." 
 
 The following extracts from Reports of proceed- 
 ings in India *, relative to hopes entertained of 
 reaching the hearts of the population at large, 
 through the young, will not be thought foreign to 
 
 • Similar expectations are indulged in another part of the 
 world upon the same principle. 
 
 " Besides the model schools at Bridge Town, the Bishop 
 of Barbados has adopted a plan for the general instruction of 
 the black population throughout his diocese. He proposes 
 to appoint one or more catechists in every parish, whose 
 especial duty it will he to instruct the slaves, under the direc- 
 tion of the Clergy, and with the permission of their respective 
 masters. His Lordship has been so fortunate as to procure 
 the services of several highly respectable persons in the 
 situation of catechists ; and the system is undoubtedly calcu- 
 lated to communicate religious knowledge, both to the adult 
 and to the child, with greater rapidity and greater regularity 
 than any that had been previously proposed." — Report of the 
 Society for Promoting Christian Knon Jedge, 1S26, p. 31. 
 
Wo 
 
 the question discussed in this volume. We may 
 argue from the unconverted heathen abroad, to the 
 nominal professors of Christianity at home, and 
 expect the same results to follow. 
 
 " Each succeeding despatch, and every fresh ar- 
 rival from the East furnish accumulated evidence 
 to prove that education, and education alone, can 
 overcome the prejudices of the Heathen, and pre- 
 pare the way for the reception of Christianity. 
 And when this fact is understood in Europe as 
 completely as it appears to be understood in India, 
 the Society may expect those important additions 
 to its Native School Fund, which will enable it to 
 answer the purposes for which it was formed." — 
 Report of the Society for Promoting Christian 
 Knowledge, 1826, p. 27. 
 
 " Stimulated by these encouraging assurances, 
 the Society will continue to give its most earnest 
 attention to the increase and maintenance of native 
 schools. The liberal provision now made by the 
 Indian Government for the literary instruction of 
 its subjects, seems to point out the communication 
 of religious knowledge as the peculiar field for the 
 operation of the Society."— Society's Report of 
 1827, p. 29. 
 
 " At Bombay, to which a Missionary has now 
 been appointed by the Society for the Propagation 
 of the Gospel, there has been a considerable in- 
 crease in the number of children educated in the 
 
196 
 
 Native Schools ; a large supply of books has been 
 requested; a large remittance in payment for for- 
 mer supplies has been received ; and it is hoped 
 that Christianity will soon be introduced into the 
 schools in this Presidency in the same unobtrusive 
 and effectual manner which has been already adopted 
 in the neighbourhood of Calcutta. 
 
 " In Ceylon, where the number of Native Chris- 
 tians has long been considerable, and where nothing 
 seems to be wanted but an improved and extensive 
 system of schooling, the plan suggested by Bishop 
 Heber for the education of native teachers has been 
 unavoidably interrupted by his death. But so 
 valuable a suggestion will not be lost sight of." — 
 Society s Report of 1827, p. 32. 
 
 " In these schools the Scriptures are read as a 
 book of elementary instruction, without opposition 
 from the natives, or any appearance of dislike. 
 Here, it would seem, a great door, and effectual, 
 is opened to the preaching and reception of the 
 Gospel. For it may reasonably be hoped that 
 many, whose minds have been thus seasoned in 
 early life with the words of truth and soberness, 
 will see, when they grow up to manhood, the folly 
 and wickedness of their popular creed and super- 
 stitions ; will listen with gladness to those messen- 
 gers of Christ who propound to them the truths, 
 and ply them with the lessons of godliness, to 
 which they had been accustomed in their child- 
 
197 
 
 hood ; will renounce the errors and idols of their 
 forefathers, and become sincere and willing con- 
 verts to our pure and holy religion. Under these 
 convictions of their tendency to advance the good 
 work of conversion, a separate fund has been 
 formed for their support. And the Society enter- 
 tains a sanguine hope that, under your protection, 
 they may, through God's blessing upon the instru- 
 ments which he vouchsafes to employ, serve to 
 promote the knowledge of the Gospel, and to ex- 
 tend the boundaries of the kingdom of heaven." — 
 From the Bishop of Gloucester's Valedictory 
 Address to the Bishop of Calcutta, Society s Re- 
 port of 1827, p. 91. 
 
 " Six schools have been established in different 
 parts of the city, (Benares), containing about 240 
 boys : in these schools, after the first books, the 
 Gospels are read, and the treatise on Geography 
 in Hinduwee printed by the School-Book Society. 
 The streets of Benares being mostly very narrow, 
 the boys assemble in long verandahs, and the 
 passers-by see and hear all that takes place : this, 
 though unfavourable for the purposes of a school, 
 yet causes what the boys read to be heard by many, 
 and sometimes a hundred people or upwards will 
 crowd around while the boys are examined in the 
 previous week's exercises, and their knowledge is 
 diffused." — Report of the Church Missionary So- 
 ciety, 1827. Page 114. 
 
198 
 
 The Calcutta Committee gives the following ac- 
 count of an examination of the schools : — 
 
 " On the 23d of April, a general examination was 
 held of all the schools, previous to the Annual 
 Meeting of the Committee. About sixty attended, 
 from seven years old and upwards. The business 
 of the day commenced with the Third Chapter of 
 Galatians, read by one of the elder boys in Hindoo- 
 stanee, and a Hindoostanee prayer by Mr. Wilkin- 
 son, in which the Christian boys joined, the teachers 
 and other boys attending in a very orderly manner. 
 The different classes were then examined in an 
 Elementary Catechism composed by Mr. Wilkinson, 
 the Assembly's Catechism, and Watts's Catechism 
 of Scripture Names, various Native Class-books, 
 the Hindee, Oordoo and Persian Testaments, the 
 Pentateuch in Oordoo, and the Psalms in Persian. 
 One boy repeated a Poem of considerable length, 
 on the Being and Attributes of God ; and all per- 
 formed very well with reference to their ages and 
 periods of attendance. But what appeared to give 
 most general satisfaction, was the performance of a 
 class of six boys, (two from the Seminary, and four 
 from the Central School,) who read various passages 
 from the New Testament, Pentateuch, and Psalms, 
 in Persian and Hindee. The feeling and intelligent 
 manner in which they delivered their various por- 
 tions, contrasted with the formal drawl so generally 
 exhibited by native readers — the readiness, ac- 
 
199 
 
 curacy, and facility with which they referred to 
 different Scriptures bearing on the subject of their 
 Lecture, particularly from Psalm viii. to the inter- 
 prefatory passage in Matthew xxi. and Hebrews ii. 
 — and the good sense and correctness with which 
 they answered the various questions proposed to 
 them, could not fail to excite mingled gratification 
 and surprise in the minds of all who considered 
 how lately they had come under this species of in- 
 struction. The interest also taken in the Lecture 
 by the native teachers, and their inquiries respect- 
 ing passages of which an explanation was offered, 
 could not but be highly pleasing." — Report of the 
 Church Missionary Society, 1827, p. 121. 
 
 " I sent out the schoolmaster last Sunday while 
 the bell was ringing, to those who lived near, to in- 
 vite them to come ; but they would not : they asked 
 what profit they should get by going to hear a 
 sermon. Finding that no adults attended the ser- 
 vices on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, I dis- 
 pensed with preaching", and now read the prayers, 
 and catechise the children on the history of the 
 Bible and the leading truths of Christianity : by 
 beginning these services an hour before the usual 
 time of closing the school the attendance of most of 
 the children is secured; for though they are not 
 compelled to remain, yet they generally do — that 
 is, the Cingalese boys on the Wednesday, and the 
 Portuguese on the Thursday. Several also of the 
 6 
 
200 
 
 Headmen's sons, who come to school to learn 
 English, are, by this means, brought to engage in 
 Christian Worship, who would not venture to come 
 on the Sunday for the express purpose : in this way 
 it may be hoped that some good may be effected — 
 that their prejudices against our religion will, in 
 time, wear away — and that the truths of the Gospel, 
 becoming familiar to them, will, through the bless- 
 ing of God, enlighten their minds : they will not 
 kneel with the other children at prayers, but they 
 do not object to take a book and join in the ser- 
 vice." — Report of the Church Missionary Society, 
 1827, p. 149. 
 
 Of the schools generally, Mr. Ward writes — 
 " They are all visited twice, and in some cases 
 three times, a week, by our young people ; which, 
 together with our own visits, will be productive, I 
 trust, of a gradual improvement in the rising gener- 
 ation. We have never before possessed the means 
 which we now do for the accomplishment of this 
 important object." — Ibid. p. 150. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Printed by R. Giliiekt, St. John's Square, London. 
 
i 
 
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 NARRATIVE 
 
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