pnii|iip 
 
 PftyTears 
 
 abbath jjchools 
 
 BULLARD 
 

 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
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 BV 1520 .B9 1876 
 Bullard, Asa, 1804-1888. 
 Fifty years with the Sabbath 
 schools 
 
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 Inf^bjSBEiU & SonsJiBarday S,I.Y: 
 
FIFTY YEARS 
 
 WITH THE 
 
 SABBATH SCHOOLS, 
 
 BY 
 
 REY. ASA 'BULLARD, A. M., 
 
 AUTHOR OF " CHILDREN'S ALBUM OF PICTURES AND STORIES,' 
 
 "children's book FOR SABBATH HOURS," 
 
 " SUNNY BANK STORIES," 
 
 ETC. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 LOCKWOOD, BROOKS AND COMPANY. 
 
 1876. 
 
Copyright, 
 
 LOCKWOOD, BROOKS & CO. 
 
 1876. 
 
 Press f.f Rockwell & Churchill. 
 
 Stereotyped at the Boston Stereotype Foundry, 
 
 19 Spring Lane. 
 
NUMEROUS FAMILIES AND FRIENDS 
 
 WHOSE CORDIAL GREETINGS, KIND HOSPITALITIES, AND HEARTY 
 
 CO-OPERATION HAVE BEEN EXTENDED TO THE 
 
 AUTHOR DURING THESE 
 
 Jiftg gears foitlj tlje Sabbatlj Schools, 
 
 AND TO 
 
 ALL CO-LABORERS m THE SABBATH SCHOOL WORK, 
 
 AND IN THE MORAL AND 
 RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION OF THE YOUNG, 
 
 THIS VOLUME 
 
 IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 An experience of fifty years in any work entitles a 
 man to speak. The impressions which are in the mind 
 after so long service, cannot fail to be instructive. 
 Although very much has been written in connection 
 with Sabbath schools, very little has been said of their 
 history, — what was their origin in this country, what 
 has been their course, what have they accomplished, 
 what are their resources at the present time ? These 
 are inquiries of great interest. He who shall answer 
 them intelligently must, almost of necessity, have lived 
 and advanced with them. 
 
 It will be acknowledged on every hand that the 
 author of this book has rare qualifications for the work 
 he has done. His personal career is nearly coeval and 
 parallel with Sabbath schools in this land. He has had 
 his life among them. A great part of them he has 
 been. He will be associated with them as long as his 
 name is remembered. He has been active in pro- 
 moting their interests, has had a true sympathy with 
 
 5 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 their design and methods, has seen their strength and 
 weakness, and has gained by a large experience a 
 vantage gronnd for instructing the people. 
 
 Whoever reads this book, whether he be minister, 
 superintendent, teacher, librarian, parent, child, will 
 find that which will serve him well. In the prominent 
 position now accorded to the Sabbath school, and the 
 inestimable work committed to its charge, will be 
 found good reason for drawing wisdom from the past, 
 for listening to the elders, for widening knowledge 
 and deepening devotion. To this end this book is 
 commended to all who hold any relation to the subjects 
 of which it treats. 
 
 Alexander McKenzie. 
 
 Cambridge, 1876. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Elihu says, " Days should speak, and multitude of 
 years should teach wisdom." And it is thought that 
 some of the observations and experiences of fifty years 
 with the Sabbath schools, in regard to their conduct 
 and progress, gathered into permanent form, might be 
 of interest and profit to the friends of this institution 
 at the present day. 
 
 This volume is not intended to be an autobiography 
 of the author, only so far as relates to his connection 
 with Sabbath schools. Nor is it intended to be a full 
 and complete history of the rise and progress of this 
 institution. 
 
 All that is attempted is to give some brief sketches 
 of the earlier schools, the modes of conducting them, 
 and some of the changes that have taken place, and to 
 present such incidents and illustrations that have fallen 
 under his observation, in regard to the various depart- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 ments and agencies of the Sabbath school work, as 
 will be likely to aid and quicken all who are in any 
 way interested in the right training of the young, 
 or in promoting the more earnest study of the word 
 
 of God. 
 
 A. B. 
 
 SUNNYBANK, CAMBRIDGE, 1876. 
 
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 CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter Page 
 I. Personal Connection and Labors with the Insti- 
 tution. . . 11 
 
 II. Sketch of the Eise and Progress of Sabbath 
 
 Schools. ........ 29 
 
 III. Modes of Conducting Sabbath Schools. . 
 
 rV. Revival of the Study of the Catechism. 
 
 V. Relation of Parents to the Sabbath School. . 81 
 
 VI. Labors of Pastors 99 
 
 VII. Relation of the Church to the Sabbath School. 103 
 
 VIIL Superintendents and Teachers. . . . .112 
 
 IX. Religious Influence of the Sabbath School. . 147 
 
 X. The Library 158 
 
 XI. Adult Classes in the Sabbath School. . . . 180 
 
 XII. Infant Department 195 
 
 XIII. Woman's Mission in the Sabbath School. . . 202 
 
 XIV. Mission Sabbath Schools 207 
 
 XV. Gathering in New Scholars • 215 
 
 XVI. The Sabbath School Concert 223 
 
 XVII. Benevolence among the Young. .... 235 
 
 9 
 
 .0 
 
 49 J 
 75 1/ 
 
10 CONTENTS. 
 
 XVIII. Juvenile Music .241 
 
 XIX. Teaching the Children Temperance. .' . . 246 
 
 XX. Sabbath School Conventions, Celebrations, and 
 
 Picnics.. 259 
 
 ' XXI. Evils resulting from Sabbath Schools. . . . 268 
 
 XXII. The Family 278 
 
 XXIII. Sabbath Schools an Auxiliary to the Church. . 318 
 
FIFTY YEARS 
 
 WITH 
 
 THE SABBATH SCHOOLS 
 
 I. 
 
 PERSONAL CONNECTION AND LABORS WITH THE 
 INSTITUTION. 
 
 The author's first connection with the Sabbath school 
 was in Sutton, Mass. This school, his now sainted 
 mother used to say, commenced with only three schol- 
 ars — his older brother and sister and himself. The peo- 
 ple generally, and even the minister, at that time were 
 a little doubtful whether it was right to keep school 
 Sabbatl^-day, and did not at first allow their children to 
 join it. At length, as it w^as seen that the lady who had 
 the charge of it was doing no injury to her three schol- 
 ars, but was rather interesting them in committing 
 verses of the Bible and hymns to memory, one child 
 after another was permitted to enter the school, so that 
 ere long there were several pews w^ell filled with attentive 
 and interested scholars. Then the school was transferred 
 to a large school-house near by, and organized regularly 
 with a superintendent and other officers and teachers. 
 
 This must have been in 1817 or 1818. 
 
 Since then, for nearly sixty years, he has always been 
 
 11 
 
12 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 connected with this institution as a scholar, teacher, 
 superintendent, or in a public capacity, and more than 
 forty-five years in public labors connected with Sabbath 
 schools. 
 
 During his preparatory and collegiate course of study 
 in Amherst, Mass., of five or six years, ending Septem- 
 ber, 1828, he was a teacher or superintendent. For most 
 of the four years in college he conducted a Sabbath school 
 or Bible class among the colored people, in a private 
 dwelling about a mile from college. 
 
 A year after graduating was spent in teaching a school 
 for fitting boys for college in Augusta, Me. The follow- 
 ing, is an account of his Sabbath school labors during 
 that year. 
 
 Soon after commencing his school, at the request of 
 the pastor of the Congregational church, the late Rev. 
 Benjamin Tappan, D. D., he prepared and read to the 
 people an address on the subject of Sabbath schools. 
 In a short time he took measures to form a Bible class 
 on the Sabbath for. colored people. There were only 
 six or eight of that class of persons in the place, but 
 so much interest was awakened that they came from 
 two to six miles, and he soon had a class of twenty-five 
 or thirty. 
 
 The following account of the origin and history of 
 this class was published in the ''Sabbath School Treas- 
 ury," of Boston, in October, 1829: — 
 
 "About twelve raonths since I took up my residence for a 
 year in Augusta, Me. After the exercises of the first Sabbath 
 I sat down in rather a melancholy mood, and began to think 
 of my Sabbaths spent in Massachusetts. On no public ex- 
 ercise of the Sabbath did my mind rest with such intense 
 interest as on that of my colored class. The recollection that 
 
PERSONAL CONNECTION AND LABORS. 13 
 
 the many pleasant seasons spent in that class were now at 
 an end not a little increased my sadness. But the inquiry 
 soon arose in my mind, May there not be some of that 
 neg-lected people in this place ? If so, can they not be col- 
 lected into a class ? On learning that there were two or 
 three small families, consisting in all of some six or eight 
 souls, I resolved to search them out. Accordingly the next 
 week I called at one of their dwellings and found a very 
 intelligent-looking woman, who listened with much appar- 
 ent interest to the explanation of my object, and said she 
 could not read, but she should like to learn, so that she 
 might read her Bible. This readiness to enter into my 
 plans greatly encouraged me to hope that a class could be 
 collected with but little diflSculty. 
 
 "As I approached the next dwelling, near by, I heard 
 the loud laugh and the voice of merriment. This damped 
 my early hopes. I stopped, turned about, and well-nigh 
 resolved to abandon my object, at least for that time. But 
 a moment's reflection influenced me to seize the present 
 opportunity, and go forward. I entered with some reluc- 
 tance, and there found six or eight colored persons, some 
 from other towns, who had collected together to spend their 
 Sabbath evening in amusement. 
 
 " It would be rather difficult for a person not familiar 
 with such scenes to conceive the variety of emotions which 
 the presence of a stranger, especially on such an errand, 
 produced among them. At first they manifested an aston- 
 ishment bordering on consternation. But, as the object of 
 my visit was explained, and the advantages of spending a 
 part of the Sabbath in the study of the Bible mentioned, 
 together with the interest manifested by a class of colored 
 persons in Massachusetts, the first excitement subsided, and 
 some began to show great interest ; some appeared indiffer- 
 ent, and some half-concealed a smile of derision. 
 
 "After more conversation they concluded to consider the 
 
14 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 subject and decide in reference to it at my next call. Dur- 
 ing the week I called again, and found the subject of my 
 compensation the only thing concerning which they had 
 further inquiries to make. Being informed that the only 
 compensation expected or wished for was their attendance 
 and improvement, they readily accepted my proposals, and 
 appointed the next Sabbath for organization. 
 
 •'On the next Sabbath I found some six or seven assem- 
 bled, awaiting my arrival. Having implored the aid of the 
 Divine Spirit, without which all our efforts are ineflScient, 
 they were requested to read a chapter in the Bible. Some 
 could read with considerable ease, some very little, and 
 some none at all. 
 
 " I felt that the success of this experiment depended in a 
 great measure upon the impression made at the first meet- 
 ing ; and it was so ordered that the impression was most 
 favorable. A very lively interest was evidently awakened 
 among several of the class, who soon visited many of the 
 colored people living two and even six miles distant, and 
 told them all about their class, and invited their attendance. 
 
 "On the following Sabbath our number was somewhat 
 enlarged, and the interest increased. One middle-aged 
 female, who barely knew her alphabet, had purchased a 
 Testament, and began to spell out some of the small words. 
 She continued to improve every week, and was soon able 
 to read with the class with some ease. Not unfrequently 
 she would repeat five or ten verses of Scripture which she 
 had learned with much painstaking during the week. 
 
 "One girl, eighteen or twenty years of age, who was 
 quite intelligent, was of great service in hearing some of the 
 children read and recite their lessons. She usually recited 
 herself from fifteen to fifty verses every Sabbath. Another 
 little girl of nine recited ten, sometimes forty, verses with 
 great propriety. 
 
 "Almost every week would show some increase of inter- 
 
PERSONAL CONNECTION AND LABORS. 15 
 
 est, sometimes of numbers. During the latter part of au- 
 tumn the class varied in number from twelve to twenty, 
 some of whom came a distance of six miles, most of them 
 with their new Bibles or Testaments. 
 
 "About this time one of the class suggested the expe- 
 diency of meeting a part of the time at an adjoining town, 
 for the better accommodation of members living at a dis- 
 tance, at the same time manifesting his interest by gener- 
 ously offering to procure a carriage for my conveyance. 
 This suggestion led to the organization of another class in 
 that town, under the care of several resident young men. 
 My class was somewhat diminished by the formation of this 
 new one, but continued to have an average number of twelve 
 or fourteen. 
 
 "The interest of the class, which decreased a little dur- 
 ing the intense cold of winter, revived again in the spring, 
 and continued to increase through the summer. At some 
 meetings a very deep solemnity pervaded the class, and per- 
 sonal conversation in some instances discovered a tender- 
 ness of conscience, which encouraged the hope that the 
 Lord, who ' hath made of one blood all the nations of men, for 
 to dwell on all the face of the earth,' intended to prepare 
 some of these poor souls for his heavenly kingdom. 
 
 "A girl about twenty years of age, who, having long 
 striven hard, in opposition to many natural obstacles, to 
 learn to read, having made but little or no progress, one 
 day burst into tears, and said, 'I do warrt to learn to read 
 my Bible.' 
 
 "Another girl, about the same age, who had made con- 
 siderable progress in her efforts to read, said, with eyes full 
 of tears, ' 0, how I want to be able to sit down and read 
 one chapter in my Bible ! But I am almost discouraged, 
 and sometimes think I will give it up.' After a little encour- 
 agement she said, ' 1 will begin once more and try harder, 
 for I do want to read my Bible.' 
 
16 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 "The woman mentioned above, who had begun to read 
 with the class, appeared exceedingly interested ever after 
 the class was organized. She refused to work out on 
 Wednesday, for she wished to spend that day at home, so 
 as to devote a part of it to her lessons for the Bible class. 
 She often showed much sorrow for sin, and expressed strong 
 desires to become a Christian. This class, which I have 
 now left, I commend to the prayers of those who love the 
 souls of all men, and to the protection of the God of all 
 grace, praying with earnestness that I may meet each mem- 
 ber of it in the kingdom of glory.'' 
 
 At nine o'clock, Sabbath morning, be bad a class of tbe 
 boys of bis school in tbe Sabbatb scbool at tbe cburcb. 
 He then rode three miles and held a public service in a 
 large scbool-bouse in tbe North Parish, as it was called, 
 reading a printed sermon. He soon organized a Sabbatb 
 scbool, wbicb be superintended in this scbool-bouse, at 
 tbe close of tbe morning service;' then in tbe afternoon 
 be conducted a Bible service, wbicb became so crowded 
 that tbe bouse and entry were full, and many gatbered 
 on tbe outside about tbe windows. TJj^en at five o'clock 
 in tbe afternoon be held bis Bible class for colored peo- 
 ple in tbe village. 
 
 A revival of great interest commenced soon after be 
 began bis various services at tbe scbool-bouse, wbicb 
 resulted, in a year or two, in the organization of a cburcb 
 of about sixty members. All bis balf-bolidays be spent, 
 after tbe revival commenced, in visiting among tbe 
 people of bis little parish. 
 
 In tbe Annual Report of tbe Maine Sabbatb Scbool 
 Union for 18B2, tbe Board of Managers tbus speak of 
 tbe scbool bere referred to : — 
 
 "In the North Parish of Augusta the Sabbath school 
 
PERSONAL CONNECTION AND LABORS. 17 
 
 embraces almost the entire number of adults and children 
 \Tho usually meet togetlier for worship. The whole history 
 of this cliurch is identified with the history of Sabbath 
 school operations among them. The exercises of the school 
 have constituted their choicest means of grace and salva- 
 tion ; and, perhaps, in no place have the privileges of 
 Sabbath school instruction been, or can be, more affection- 
 ately cherished. Within the year, eleven have been con- 
 verted from three classes, and nine of these are adults who 
 have never, before the last spring, been connected with a 
 Sabbath school.'' 
 
 During his two years, beginning September, 1829, in 
 the Theological Seminary, at Andover, Mass., he was 
 connected with the Sabbath school in the Old South 
 Congregational church in the village ; the first year as 
 teacher of a class of mothers, and the second as associate 
 superintendent with the late Rev. Thomas Brainard, 
 D. D., of Philadelphia. 
 
 That school, at that tim e, was probably the largest in 
 the state. On one Sabbath there were present six hun- 
 dred and seven, persons, including those of all ages, from 
 three to about ninety. 
 
 One vacation, during this course at Andover, the 
 writer was employed, under the appointment of the 
 Massachusetts Sabbath School Union, which was com- 
 posed of the Congregational and Baptist churches of the 
 state, in visiting and addressing eighteen of the churches 
 in the northern part of Worcester county, in regard to 
 the interests of Sabbath schools ; and one vacation he 
 was employed by the friends of this institution in Ken- 
 nebec county, Maine, in promoting this cause among the 
 churches in that county. 
 
 About this time quite an impulse was given to the 
 2 
 
18 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 cause of Sabbath schools extensively. In 1829 a Sabbati 
 school and Bible class association was formed among the 
 students of the Theological Seminary at Andover, and a 
 similar one was also formed the same year in the theo- 
 logical department of Yale College, in New Haven. The 
 objects of these societies were to collect and diffuse in- 
 formation concerning Bible classes and Sabbath schools, 
 and to ascertain the best mode of conducting and extend- 
 ing them. 
 
 The association at Andover held frequent meetings 
 for discussion on various practical subjects connected 
 with the management of Sabbath schools. There were 
 several committees ; one of correspondence, whose duty 
 it was to correspond with clergymen and others, in all 
 parts of this and foreign lands, in regard to the interests 
 of this institution ; one on review, whose duty it was to 
 examine and recommend books for the library ; and an- 
 other on publication, with which the writer was con- 
 nected, whose duty it was to prepare articles from the 
 communications received by the committee of corre- 
 spondence, &c., for the press. 
 
 The association published twelve or fifteen articles in 
 the "Sabbath School Treasury" for 1830-31 on subjects 
 like the following : " How can ministers of the gospel 
 best promote the interests of Sabbath schools?" "Mu- 
 tual instruction;" "What is your mode of teaching?" 
 "How can Sabbath schools be made to benefit remote 
 parts of the town?" "Methods of replenishing the 
 library," &c. 
 
 From some of the letters to this association, and some 
 of our communications for the press, we have given 
 extracts in the following pages, as they help to pre- 
 sent a correct idea of the state of Sabbath schools 
 
PERSONAL CONNECTION AND LABORS. 19 
 
 at that early period, and of the manner of conducting 
 them. 
 
 The students in this seminary, at a meeting, June 
 12th, the year previous to the establishment of the asso- 
 ciation, exhibited the interest they felt in this cause 
 by passing the following resolution: — 
 
 "Resolved, That we will endeavor to make ourselves 
 acquainted with the best system of Sabbath-school manage- 
 ment -and instruction, and to qualify ourselves in all 
 respects, as far as we are able, to lend our influence to 
 this cause ; and that we consider ourselves obligated to 
 aid, according to the measure of our ability, in promoting 
 its advancement, wherever God, in his providence, may 
 call us.'' 
 
 And all these students carried the spirit of this 
 resolution with them into the ministry, and they have 
 ever been the warm friends and supporters of this 
 institution. 
 
 In 1831, the writer accepted an invitation from 
 the board of managers of the Maine Sabbath School 
 Union, and became its general agent, and labored in 
 that capacity, and as corresponding secretary, for three 
 years. An account of these three years' service may 
 not be out of place here. 
 
 At that time the institution of Sabbath schools in 
 what was then called the ''District of Maine," was 
 comparatively in its infancy. There were in all only 
 about three hundred schools connected with the union, 
 and not over five hundred in the whole state, contain- 
 ing, perhaps, a total of twenty thousand teachers and 
 scholars. 
 
 The action of the union and the friends of the cause, 
 during those tliree years, is not wanting in interest and 
 
20 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 instruction to the most zealous Sabbath school workers 
 of the present day. 
 
 At the sixth annual meeting of the union, January, 
 1832, so important did this work appear, that the 
 following resolution was presented, and, after a most 
 earnest advocacy, unanimously and with much enthusi- 
 asm, adopted: — 
 
 " Resolved, That, relying upon divine assistance, we will 
 establish a Sabbath school in every town and school 
 district in the state, where it is practicable and advisable, 
 within a year and a half from this time." 
 
 During the discussion of this subject, a member of the 
 board offered, in case the resolution should be carried 
 into effect, to pay one hundred and fifty dollars towards 
 the expense of the undertaking. 
 
 It was understood that it was not generally advisable 
 to establish a school in any district where the children 
 could attend any existing school ; and it was not con- 
 sidered practicable unless it could be accomplished at a 
 reasonable expense of money and labor. 
 
 It was comparatively an easy matter, on a pleasant 
 January evening and in a warm and comfortable house, 
 to pass this resolution, but it was found to be a very 
 different matter to carry it into effect. But this action 
 ^ of the union deeply stirred the hearts of all the friends 
 of the cause in the state ; and it is believed there never 
 has been a period when there was a greater amount 
 of Sabbath school work done in Maine than during the 
 year and a half contemplated in that resolution. 
 
 Early in the spring the general agent traversed the 
 state in every direction, visited the auxiliary unions, 
 and held meetings to secure in every county and town 
 
PERSONAL CONNECTION AND LABORS. 21 
 
 committees and individuals who would become responsi- 
 ble for the accomplishment of their portion of the 
 work. Nearly the whole state was thus appropriated to 
 committees and individuals. And a vast amount of 
 labor from voluntary and unpaid agents was secured 
 during the year. Young ladies were obtained to teach 
 district schools, with special reference to the establish- 
 ment of Sabbath schools in the towns and neighbor- 
 hoods where they taught. Merchants were engaged 
 to converse with their customers from adjacent towns 
 or districts, and persuade them, if possible, to see that 
 the work was accomplished in their respective com- 
 munities. Juvenile sewing circles were formed to help 
 furnish funds for -carrying on the enterprise. 
 
 It is interesting, at this distance of time, to look 
 back and see the enthusiasm manifested so extensively 
 in this undertaking. Men and women everywhere 
 entered into it most heartily. Ten gentlemen took 
 seventeen towns, and promised to visit them on the 
 Sabbath, and, so far as it was practicable, establish 
 schools where they were needed. An aged minister, 
 with whitened locks, pledged himself to carry the 
 resolution into effect in seven different towns, in some 
 of which there never had been a school. 
 
 The plan he adopted for the establishment of a school 
 in one of these towns was quite novel and interesting. 
 Having consulted with the minister of the place, and 
 appointed a meeting for the purpose, he took his 
 superintendent and several teachers and went to the 
 meeting. After addressing the people on the subject, 
 he assisted in oro^anizino- a school into classes, and 
 choosing a superintendent and teachers. Then, with 
 his superintendent and teachers, he gave the people a 
 
22 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 practical illustration of his manner of teaching and con- 
 ducting a Sabbath school. This was, over forty years 
 ago, precisely like the " Sabbath School Exercise " at 
 our conventions of the present day. A few weeks 
 after this, two other schools \Y.ere in operation, and 
 arrangements were made to organize two more. 
 
 At the close of a meeting in another place, while 
 several gentlemen were consulting together on this 
 work, a young woman offered to assume the responsi- 
 bility of establishing and conducting a Sabbath school 
 in a certain district in an adjoining town, vs^here she 
 expected to teach the public school. " But if I should 
 not," said she, " it is only four miles and a half, and I 
 can walk out on Saturday, spend the Sabbath in the 
 Sabbath school, and then return on Monday." 
 
 She taught the public school as she expected, and 
 also established and sustained a Sabbath school through 
 the season almost unaided by any one. 
 
 " There is such a neighborhood," said a man, " where 
 there must be a Sabbath school. I don't know whom 
 we can get to go out there. I don't know as there is 
 any one : but I will see that the work is done." As he 
 finished this remark, a woman, perhaps fifty years of 
 age, said, "Why won't you let me go to that neigh- 
 borhood ? " 
 
 One of the managers of a county union proposed 
 at their meeting for consultation that an agent should 
 be employed six months to assist them in redeeming 
 their pledge. He also informed them where no small 
 part of the necessary funds could be obtained. " There 
 are fifteen or sixteen young ladies," said he, " who have 
 been, or are now, connected with my class in the 
 Sabbath school, and have all become hopefully pious. 
 
■ PERSONAL CONNECTION AND LABORS. 28 
 
 Two months since they formed themselves into a sewing 
 society, to meet once in two weeks. They have already 
 in their treasur}^ about thirty dollars, and they say they 
 will increase it to seventy-five or one hundred dollars, 
 and give it towards defraying the expense of an agent 
 in this county, if the board will employ one. They 
 have also pledged themselves to redeem one hour from 
 sleep every morning, to work for the cause of Sabbath 
 schools." 
 
 In another county, instead of employing an agent, 
 the pastors of the Congregational churches made an 
 arrangement in the spring for a general exchange, 
 when all were to present the subject of Sabbath schools 
 to each other's people. In addition to this, each minis- 
 ter was to spend a few days with the brother with 
 whom he exchanged ] and they were to go into all parts 
 of the parish, where it was needful, and hold meetings 
 on the subject, to establish, revive, or encourage Sab- 
 bath schools, as the case might require. The effect of 
 this labor was most happy, both upon the ministers and 
 upon the people. The former, from the very fact that 
 they labored in the cause, became more deeply inter- 
 ested in it, while the latter naturally concluded that 
 an object which had taken such a strong hold upon the 
 feelings of their ministers, must be an important one, 
 deserving their hearty cooperation. These are but a 
 few specimens of the zeal with which men and women 
 all over the state entered into this noble work. 
 
 At the next annual meeting it was reported that a 
 great amount of work had been performed, and one 
 hundred' new schools had been organized ; but more 
 remained to be done to carry out the resolution than 
 could be accomplished by the general agent alone. 
 
24 FIFTY TEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 Early in the spring, therefore, he visited many of our 
 colleges, theological and other seminaries, and clergy- 
 men, and secured the services in this work of eighteen 
 students and eight or ten ministers, from one or two to 
 seven weeks each. So that, at the anniversary in 1834, 
 it was reported that the objects of the resolution, 
 passed in 1832, had been substantially accomplished. 
 During that year one hundred and eighty-nine new 
 schools were organized, making the whole number 
 connected with the union nine hundred and twenty- 
 nine, containing a membership of over thirty-eight 
 thousand. 
 
 During the three years of this agency about three 
 hundred new schools were organized, under the direc- 
 tion of the general agent. Some of those schools, for 
 want of the fostering care of the church, in a few 
 months became extinct, but many of them are now 
 among the most interesting and efficfent schools in the 
 state. And there are many men and women, who took 
 part in that work, who now look back upon it with no 
 small degree of satisfaction. And there were many 
 laborers in those days — more than two score years 
 ago — in Maine, who would compare favorably with 
 the most zealous and successful Sabbath school laborers 
 of the present day in any part of the country. 
 
 In order to give more influence and greater facility 
 to the agent, in his- labors among the churches, he was 
 licensed, by an association of ministers, at Augusta, 
 October 25, 1831 ; and was ordained as an evangelist, 
 in connection with the annual meeting of the union, 
 January 13, 1832. The exercises were peculiar for 
 such an occasion, inasmuch as they were all more or 
 less directly connected with the special work of the 
 
PERSONAL CONNECTION AND LABORS. 25 
 
 candidate for ordination. The following account of 
 the services was communicated to the " Sabbath School 
 Instructor," published in Portland, by the union : — 
 
 " Ordained, in Portland, on the 13th instant, Rev. Asa Bul- 
 lard, as an Evangelist. Introductory prayer by Rev, Adam 
 Wilson, of Portland. [Mr. Wilson was the editor of a 
 Baptist paper, and a member of the board of managers of 
 the union.] Sermon by Rev. Benjamin Tappan, of Augusta ; 
 text, Deut. xxxi. 12, 13. Consecrating prayer by Rev. 
 Jotham Sewall, of Chesterville. Charge by Rev. Dr. Tyler, 
 of Portland. Right hand of fellowship by Rev. Prof. Alvin 
 Bond, of Bangor. Address by Rev. Daniel D. Tappan, of 
 Alfred. Concluding prayer by Rev. Mr. Butler, of the Baptist 
 church, North Yarmouth. 
 
 " The exercises of the occasion were appropriate, and of a 
 peculiarly interesting character. The sermon exhibited, in 
 a happy and impressive manner, the importance of biblical 
 instruction. Among other topics the preacher dwelt upon 
 the Sabbath school institution, as combining the most suc- 
 cessful means for diffusing a knowledge of the Bible, and 
 preoccupying the minds of the rising generation in favor 
 of the sacred truths and pure morality of the Gospel." 
 
 On resigning his connection with the Maine Sabbath 
 School Union, the board expressed, in an official form, 
 their appreciation of his labors. 
 
 Immediately after his resignation, he was invited to 
 become the secretary and general agent of the Massa- 
 chusetts Sabbath School Society, now called the Congre- 
 gational Publishing Societj^ upon which service he en- 
 tered March 1, 1804. 
 
 Having completed a period of forty-two years of labor 
 in connection with this society, a brief review of this 
 
26 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 period, in its relations to the secretary of the society, 
 may be interesting and suggestive. 
 
 There is not a person now connected with the officers 
 of the society or the board of managers who was con- 
 nected with either of them when the writer entered upon 
 his office forty-two years ago. 
 
 There have been during this period five presidents, 
 three of whom have deceased, forty vice-presidents, eight 
 of whom have died, eighty-three members of the board 
 of managers, of whom thirty-two are not living. One 
 agent of the depository and two treasurers have also 
 passed away. 
 
 In his work as general agent for forty-five years, in- 
 cluding his three years in Maine, the writer has made 
 about thirty-four hundred visits in nearly one thousand 
 different towns and parishes, preached or given addresses 
 seven thousand one hundred and forty-five times, and 
 travelled about two hundred and forty-five thousand 
 miles. With the exception of two western towns, all 
 this has been in comparatively short journeys, mostly in 
 New England and Canada. He has attended every year 
 more or less public meetings, state and county confer- 
 ences and associations of churches, Sabbath school con- 
 ventions, festivals, &c., in different parts of the country. 
 In connection with these visits he probably addressed 
 between one million eight hundred thousand and two 
 millions of persons, perhaps more than six hundred 
 thousand different persons, and a large portion of them 
 many times. 
 
 In his connection with this society he edited every 
 number of the society's monthly periodical, the " Sab- 
 bath School Visitor," for ten years ; was assistant editor 
 
PERSONAL CONNECTION AND LABORS. 27 
 
 of the "Congregational Visitor" for three years, and 
 he edited every number of its weekly periodical, the 
 " Weil-Spring," for thirty-one years, from its commence- 
 ment, January 1, 1844, and has since aided in editing it. 
 
 He was the corresponding and recording secretary of 
 the society, of the board of managers, and of the Sab- 
 bath school publishing department, and several years 
 of the theological publishing department also ; he pre- 
 pared all but five or six of the annual reports of the 
 society, and all of the quarterly reports of the Sabbath 
 school committee, and the committee on agencies for the 
 same period. He wrote numerous circulars, letters to 
 Sabbath schools and juvenile societies, and other public 
 documents ; and also wrote or compiled about forty of 
 its 18mo books, containing over four thousand pages, 
 thirty-six 32mo books, containing eight hundred pages, 
 and numerous cards, and performed whatever other labors 
 he could make of service to the society in its work in 
 behalf of Sabbath schools. 
 
 At the end of forty-one years a new secretary was 
 chosen, and the writer was chosen honorary secretary, 
 and relieved from a portion of his accustomed duties. 
 
 The secretary, during the long period of his service, 
 was seldom absent for personal recreation more than a 
 few days at a time, and never so as to remit his care of 
 the " Well-Spring " for a single number, or the perform- 
 ance of any of his duties connected with the society. 
 
 During the forty-two years here referred to the society 
 issued, not including the fifty or more theological works 
 and various tracts of the late Congregational Board of 
 Publication, before it was united in this society, about 
 thirty-four hundred different publications, containing in 
 
28 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 all about one hundred and eighty thousand pages of new 
 matter. Of these publications over two thousand were 
 bound volumes. This estimate does not include the 
 eleven volumes of the " Sabbath School Visitor," the 
 five volumes of the " Congregational Visitor," nor the 
 thirty-two volumes of the " Well-Spring." Nor does it 
 include the forty-two annual reports, nor the numerous 
 catalogues, circulars, and other special documents that 
 were published. 
 
 The amount of business connected with the depository 
 during this period was at least two million five hundred 
 thousand dollars, and the amount of charitable contri- 
 butions that the society disbursed, mostly in books and 
 papers, to aid in organizing and maintaining Sabbath 
 schools in every part of the country, at least two hun- 
 dred thousand dollars. 
 
II. 
 
 SKETCH OF THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF SAB- 
 BATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 It is well known that Robert Raikes, of Gloucester, 
 England, is generally acknowledged as the founder of 
 Sabbath schools. His first school was started in 1781, 
 when he was forty-six years of age. 
 
 " The beginning of this scheme," he says, in a letter 
 dated November 25, 1783, "was entirely owing to acci- 
 dent. Some business leading me, one morning, into the 
 suburbs of the city, where the lowest of the people (who 
 are principally employed in the pin manufactory) chiefly 
 reside, I was struck with concern at seeing a group of cliil- 
 dren, wretchedly ragged, at play in the street. I asked an 
 inhabitant whether these children belonged to that part 
 of the town, and lamented their misery and idleness. 
 'Ah, sir,' said the woman to whom I was speaking, ' coidd 
 you take a view of this part of the town on a Sunday 
 you would be shocked, indeed ; for then the street is 
 filled with multitudes of these wretches, who, released 
 on that day from employment, spend their time in noise 
 and riot, playing at chuck, cursing and swearing in a 
 manner so horrid as to convey to any serious mind an 
 idea of hell rather than any other place.' 
 
 •' This conversation suggested to me that it would be 
 at least a harmless attempt, if it were productive of no 
 
 29 
 
30 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 good, should some little plan be formed to check this de- 
 plorable profanation of the Sabbath. I then inquired of 
 the woman if there were any decent, well-disposed women 
 in the neighborhood who kept schools for teaching to 
 read. I presently was directed to four. To them I 
 applied, and made an agreement with them to receive as 
 many children as I should send uj)on a Sunday, whom 
 they were to instruct in reading and in the church cate- 
 chism. For this I engaged to pay them each a shilling 
 for their day's employment. 
 
 " This was the commencement of the plan." 
 
 A union society, established at Stockport, near Man- 
 chester, in 1784, had a school of about five thousand 
 scholars. In one building there were over four thousand 
 under the same roof, divided among eighty-six rooms. 
 There were over three hundred teachers, and all except- 
 ing five of these had been scholars. What is remarka- 
 ble is, that over two thousand of the scholars were past 
 sixteen years of age, and more of them were boys than 
 girls, and more of the teachers males than females. 
 Besides instruction in the Scriptures, they taught writ- 
 ing and elementary book-keeping, with no book used 
 excepting the Bible. A great portion of the scholars 
 were operatives in the factories, and had no other means 
 of education. 
 
 There were individuals many years before this, in 
 various places, who instructed children on the Sabbath ; 
 but Robert Raikes began what is now so generally adopt- 
 ed in all Christian lands, the system of Sabbath schools. 
 At first they were designed especially for the children 
 of the poor and neglected. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Ranch, in a letter on German charac- 
 teristics, published in the ''Home Missionary " for Janu- 
 
RISE AND PROGRESS. 31 
 
 aiy, 1886, speaks of the existence of Sabbath schools 
 nearly a century before their establishment by Robert 
 Raikes. 
 
 "As early as the year 1695," he says, " we find the 
 Sunday schools already introduced into Wurtemberg, 
 the object of which was to make the scholars, every 
 morning before service, recite psalms, verses of the 
 Bible, and parts of the catechism. In the year 1789 it 
 was made the duty of all ministers to have Sunday and 
 holy-day schools established, which differed from those 
 mentioned above in some particulars. All unmarried 
 persons were required, from the time of their confirma- 
 tion till their twentieth or twenty-eighth year, to attend, 
 bring their Bibles, catechisms, and hymn-books with 
 them, repeat their whole course of religious instruction, 
 and enlarge upon it. These exercises were as interest- 
 ing to the congregation as useful to the youth, and are 
 fully retained till the present day." 
 
 Nicholas Ferrar was born in London in 1591. In 
 1625 he established his family at Little Gidding, a 
 retired part of Huntingdonshire. Here, in his family 
 and neighborhood, we find, two hundred and fifty-one 
 years ago, what was in truth a vSabbath school. 
 
 In returning from divine service in the morning, Mr. 
 Ferrar's elder nieces, and some others appointed for that 
 duty, heard the children repeat the psalms which they 
 had learned the week before. Mr. F., desiring the 
 religious improvement of all around him, offered such 
 children as would come to his house Sabbath morn- 
 ing a penny for every psalm they would commit to 
 memory perfectly, and also a dinner. Sometimes there 
 were present forty or fifty at once. He gave a Psalter 
 to every one who came. The psalm-children, as they 
 
32 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 were called, used frequently to recite portions of what 
 they had learned before, in addition to what they had 
 committed that week, so as to fix them more strongly 
 in their memories. 
 
 "The influence of this Sabbath school," says the 
 biographer, "Avas such that the neighboring ministers 
 declared a mighty change was wrought, not only on 
 the children, but on the men and women at home; 
 for the parents would naturally hear their children 
 repeating their sacred lessons, whereas, heretofore their 
 tongues had been exercised in singing lewd or profane 
 songs, or, at least, idle ballads. Now the streets and 
 doors resounded with the sacred poetry of David's harp. 
 Thus it is that little children, in multitudes of instances, 
 become the instructors of their parents, and this is one 
 of the greatest encouragements which we have in the 
 work of Sabbath schools." 
 
 In the early history of our own country, great inter- 
 est was manifested in the moral and religious instruc- 
 tion of the young in the family, the church, and the 
 public school. 
 
 Cotton Mather, in his life of the Rev. John Eliot, 
 says of him, " He always had a mighty concern upon 
 his mind for the little children. 'Twas an affectionate 
 stroke in one of the little papers he published for them ; 
 sure Christ is not willing to lose his lambs ; and I 
 have come to remember with what a hearty, fervent, 
 zealous application he addressed himself, when, in the 
 name of the neighboring pastors and churches, he gave 
 me the right hand of their fellowship at my ordination, 
 and said, ' Brother, art thou a lover of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ? Then, pray, Feed his lambs.' " * 
 
 * Magnalia, third book, art. 4th, p. 186. 
 
RTSE AND PROGRESS. 33 
 
 Ministers very generally were in the habit of catechis- 
 ing the children of their respective parishes on a week 
 clay, sometimes in tlie public schools or on the Sabbath. 
 Of Mr. Brock, of Keding, it was said, at his funeral, 
 June 10, 1688, he was " a worthy, good minister, gen- 
 erally lamented ; was very laborious in catechising and 
 instructing youth." * And even the General Court of 
 Massachusetts took this subject under consideration. 
 
 In 1642, a law was passed by this court which 
 required the selectmen to see " that all masters of 
 families do, once a week at least, catechise their chil- 
 dren and servants in the grounds and principles of 
 religion ; and if any be unable to do so much, that then, 
 at least, they procure such children and apprentices to 
 learn some short orthodox catechism without book, that 
 they may be able to answer unto the questions that shall 
 be propounded to them out of such catechism, by their 
 parents or masters, or any of the selectmen, when they 
 shall call them to a trial of what they have learned in 
 that kind." f 
 
 A law similar to the above was also in force in 
 Connecticut. J Evils, however, having arisen from the 
 neglect of some, if not all the provisions of the above 
 law, in some places, the court again interposed. 
 
 " March 9, 1669 or '70. The governor and council 
 advised the clergymen of all the towns ' to catechise and 
 instruct all people (especially youth) in the sound 
 principles of the Christian religion, and that not only in 
 public, but privately, from house to house, or at least 
 three, four, or more families meeting together, as time 
 
 * Sewall's Journal. f Colony Laws, chap. xxii. 
 
 X Trumbull's His. Cons. R. I., chap. xiii. 
 
 3 
 
34 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 and strength may permit; taking to your assistance 
 such godly and grave persons as to you may seem 
 expedient.' " * This " advice " and " orders " were 
 frequently renewed as occasion required. " November 
 8, 1675. According to notice from General Court, Mr. 
 Higginson revives his attention to the children of his 
 congregation. He proposed to catechise them every 
 second week, in the fifth and sixth days, as formerly."! 
 
 " The Selectmen mette the 5 : day of Octob. 1674 ,: 
 and agreed on the 15 : day of this instant mo. to goe 
 throo the Town and examin the famil3^s about catechiz- 
 ing." X 
 
 Nor did the care of our pious ancestors to maintain 
 catechetical instruction subside in their posterity, till 
 comparatively a recent period. '' 1808, May 19. Voted, 
 that the sacred Scriptures and the Assembly's Catechism 
 be in future introduced into all our schools." § 
 
 There are many persons now living, who were born 
 in New England, who can remember when catechising 
 was common, not only by ministers, but in the family 
 and at the public schools. 
 
 At the first settlement of New England, there was 
 no catechism which the settlers entirely approved ; and, 
 in 1641, the General Court ordered " that the ministers 
 should agree upon a form of catechism, which should 
 be printed for general use." || Several ministers wrote 
 and published catechisms in their individual capacity. 
 Rev. Mr. Cotton, of Boston, published one of his own 
 
 * Felt's Annals of Salem, p. 236. t Felt's Annals of Salem, p. 251. 
 
 X Wobuin Record, selectmen ; day book, vol. i. p. 166. 
 
 § Lexington church record, p. 145, supposed to be a transcript from the 
 Town Records. 
 
 11 Emerson's Fii'st Church, Boston, p. 71. 
 
RISE AND PROGRESS. 35 
 
 composing, entitled, " INIilk for Babes ; " and this was 
 used in otlier congregations besides his own. " 1660, 
 September 10th. It was voted, that Mr. Cotton's cate- 
 chism should be used in families for teaching children, 
 so that they might be prepared for public catechising in 
 the congregation." * Rev. Mr. Fiske, first pastor of the 
 church of Chelmsford, at the earnest solicitation of his 
 people, composed and published a catechism, 1657, 
 entitled, " Watering of the Olive Plants in Christ's 
 Kingdom, or, a Short Catecliism for the Entrance of our 
 Chelmsford Children ; enlarged by a threefold Appen- 
 dix," which was '' designed for youth of maturer 
 years." f 
 
 But the Westminster Shorter Catechism was intro- 
 duced into New England soon after its publication, in 
 1647, and came at length to be almost universally used. 
 
 The gradual subsidence of interest in the catechising 
 of the young in the family, the church, and the public 
 school, it is believed, was among the causes wliich led 
 to the introduction of the system of Sabbath school 
 instruction. We cannot think that Sabbath schools 
 were the means of driving catechisms into the shade, as 
 some have suggested. 
 
 There were isolated schools organized early in this 
 country. The first one known, was established by 
 Ludwig Thacher, in the town of Ephrata, Lancaster 
 County, Pennsylvania, as early as the middle of the 
 last century, some thirty or forty years previous to 
 those established by Raikes, and it was conducted by 
 him for more than thirt}^ years. 
 
 In 1783, Bishop Asbury, it is claimed, organized a 
 
 * Felt's Annals of Salem, p. 307. t Allen's Histoiy of Chelmsford, p. 123. 
 
36 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 school of this kind in Hanover, Virginia. The First- 
 day, or Sunday school Society was organized in the city 
 of Philadelphia, on the 11th of January, 1791, and the 
 first school opened by it was in IMarch, 1791. In 1800 
 there had been admitted to the several schools of this 
 society more than two thousand scholars. But oral 
 religious instruction was not given in these schools. 
 The instruction was confined to reading and writing, 
 after 1793, from the Bible. 
 
 The Newburyport " Herald," of January 12, 1791, in 
 giving an account of the establishment of this first 
 Sabbath school in Philadelphia, adds this comment: 
 " Pity their benevolence did not extend so far as to 
 afford them tuition on days when it is lawful to follow 
 such pursuits, and not thereby lay a foundation for the 
 profanation of the Sabbath." 
 
 Truly, times and opinions change, but truth, never. 
 Now the parents who keep their children away from 
 the Sabbath school are the ones who are supposed to 
 " profane " the Sabbath. 
 
 A Sabbath school was started in Paterson, N. J., in 
 1794, by Sarah Colt, a little girl of eleven years of 
 age. 
 
 At the suggestion of Samuel Slater, Esq., a student 
 of Brown University established a school in Paw- 
 tucket, R. L, in 1797 ; and one was opened in Hudson, 
 N. Y., in 1803 ; and one in Pittsburg, Penn., on the 
 22d of August, 1809.* 
 
 The first Sabbath school in New England, for the 
 sole purpose of the religious instruction of children, so 
 far as is now known, was established in Bath, N. H., 
 
 * Fray's Histoiy of Sunday Schools. 
 
BISE AND PROGRESS. 37 
 
 in 1805. Shortly before, the Rev. David Sutherland, 
 — who had been engaged in early efforts to found Sab- 
 bath schools in Scotland, his native country, — was 
 settled as pastor of the church in Bath, and at once 
 started a Sabbath school in the principal village, which 
 he conducted with various success, and with very little 
 aid from others, for thirteen years. In 1817 a new 
 spirit was awakened, and other schools were opened in 
 different parts of the town.* 
 
 In 1850 the writer prepared a brief history of the 
 rise and progress of Sabbath schools in the Congrega- 
 tional denomination in Massachusetts, which was pub- 
 lished by the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, 
 and from which we gather the following items : — 
 
 The first Sabbath school, so far as we are able to 
 learn, in this state, and probably in New England, 
 intended for moral and religious instruction, was estab- 
 lished in Beverly, in 1810. This school was commenced 
 by two young ladies, Joanna Prince and Hannah Hill. 
 The latter died in 1838. The former is still living, at 
 Brunswick, JNIe., the respected lady of Ebenezer Ever- 
 ett, Esq. She is a member of Rev. Dr. Adams's church, 
 and is now (1850) a teacher in his Sabbath school, forty 
 years from the time she established the school in Bev- 
 erly.f Miss Prince was teaching a day school in a room 
 of her mother's house. She and Miss Hill opened a Sab- 
 bath school in her school-room. This school was held 
 in the morning, and after the afternoon service. About 
 thirty scholars attended the first season, and manifested 
 great enthusiasm. Some of the members were very 
 
 * Sketch of the Rise of Sabbath Schools, p. 138. 
 
 t Mrs. Everett died September 5, 1859, having sei-ved as a Sabbath soliool 
 teacher about half a centuiy. 
 
38 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 zealous in learning^ to read, while others had lonor 
 Scripture lessons to recite from memory. The ladies 
 continued their school, all by themselves, with great 
 success, for three years. The second season they hired 
 a larger room. After the third year the enterprise was 
 taken up by others, and a general school was estab- 
 lished, in Avhich all the societies united. Jealousies 
 soon sprung up, and separate parish schools were 
 established. 
 
 The founders of this school were both of them 
 Orthodox Congregationalists. 
 
 The first school in Boston was established in 1812, 
 by Miss Lydia Adams. While on a visit to Beverly, 
 in October of that year, — as we learn from herself, — 
 she heard of the school in that place, and, although 
 she did not see it, she was at once impressed with the 
 importance of a similar one in Boston, and on her 
 return immediately commenced the work. " She was 
 then teaching a week-day charity school, and was 
 supported by the ladies of the West Parish — Dr. 
 LowelFs. This school was continued until the year 
 1822, when, the parish Sunday school having been 
 established, her pupils, from that time, became mem- 
 bers of that for religious instruction." * The plan of 
 the school, the founder of it regards as exclusively her 
 own, though the pastor gave it his sanction and hearty 
 cooperation. This lady united with the Orthodox 
 church in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, in 1805, and she 
 ever maintained the faith she then professed. For 
 many years she was known in this cit}^, by many of the 
 prominent members of the Orthodox churches, as a 
 
 * Pray's History of Sunday Schools, &c., page 210. 
 
RISE AND PROGRESS. 39 
 
 truly evangelical, devoted Christian. So that the 
 honor of establishing the first two Sabbath schools in 
 this commonwealth, instead of belonging, as is indi- 
 rectly claimecf in Pray's " History of Sunday Schools," 
 to the Unitarian denomina|:ion, is, beyond all contro- 
 versy, due to Orthodox Congregationalists, the true 
 descendants of the Puritans, who first planted the 
 gospel upon these shores. 
 
 The late Charles AYalley, Esq., of Boston, having 
 heard of the enterprise of this lady, sent her a donation 
 of books for her school, consisting of six Bibles, twelve 
 New Testaments, twelve Watts's "Shorter Catechisms," 
 twelve "Watts's " Divine Songs for Children," and 
 twelve '' H3'mns for Infant Minds ; " in all, fifty-four 
 volumes. This donation constituted the first Sabbath 
 school library in Boston. 
 
 A Sabbath school was commenced in Brunswick, 
 Me., in 1812. In the winter of the same year a Sab- 
 bath school was formed in Salem, under the patronage 
 of a company of ladies belonging to the society of the 
 Rev. Dr. Hopkins, predecessor of the Rev. Dr. Emer- 
 son. The pupils were placed under the tuition of a 
 teacher of a school of young ladies.* The same j^ear 
 a school was established in connection with the Taber- 
 nacle church. 
 
 A Sabbath school was established in Newburyport, 
 in 1814, by three young ladies, two of whom became 
 wives of clergymen. 
 
 The young ladies secured the use of the Rev. Dr. 
 Spring's vestry for their purposes, and, without aid or 
 cocperation from the churches, began their benevolent 
 
 * Correspondent of Xew York Obsei-ver, March 23, 1850. 
 
40 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 undertaking. The first year the number of pupils did 
 not exceed one hundred. In four years it had grown 
 into favor, and numbered eight hundred. 
 
 The school began after public service in the after- 
 noon, and occupied more than three hours. The whole 
 instruction was given by these young ladies, and princi- 
 pally by two of them. 
 
 In 1815, the school in Dr. Spring's vestry was intrust- 
 ed to some members of his society ; and two of the 
 young ladies, originators of the school, commenced 
 another in Joppa, a more destitute part of the town. 
 In 1816, one of the young ladies started another school 
 at Kennebunkport, Me.* 
 
 The first school in Franklin, Conn., was established 
 in 1815, and in a few years it contained a very large 
 portion of people of the parish, of all ages. 
 
 The first Sabbath school established in Charles- 
 town, was in connection with the First Congregational 
 church, under the pastoral care of Rev. Dr. Morse, in 
 the autumn of ISlG.f 
 
 Among the Sabbath schools next established in 
 Massachusetts, in connection with the Orthodox Con- 
 gregational churches and societies, were those estab- 
 lished under the auspices of the Boston Society for 
 the Moral and Religious Instruction of the Poor. 
 That society was organized in 1816, and its first Sab- 
 bath school was established in 1817. In a few years 
 there were, in the city of Boston, fourteen schools 
 under the special care of that society.^ 
 
 * Editor of [N. H.] Parents' Monitor, 
 t Report of Winthi'op Sabbath school, Charlestown, 1850. 
 X Seventeenth Annual Report of The Boston Society for the Moral and 
 Religious Instruction of the Poor. 
 
RISE AND PROGRESS. 41 
 
 A Sabbath school was opened in Concord, Mass., in 
 1810, by Miss Sarah Ripley, daughter of Rev. Dr. Rip- 
 ley. She gathered a few children upon Sabbath after- 
 noons, after church, at her father's house, and taught 
 them the Scriptures and catechism. After this school 
 had continued four or five years, through the warm 
 season, three pious young ladies opened a school in a 
 room at a house in the centre of the town ; l)ut the 
 peoj)le generally did not give their influence to the 
 project, and a regular Sabbath school was not organized 
 till June, 1818.* 
 
 Rev. Samuel Goddard, in a letter to the Sabbath 
 School and Bible Association at Andover, dated Nor- 
 wich, Vt., January 12, 1830, says : — 
 
 " It is now about twenty years since I was first settled 
 in the ministry in one of the new towns in the north part 
 of this state. They had never before had a minister, and 
 the youth and children were growing up in ignorance, and 
 the Bible had been neglected by the parents, 
 
 " I had never seen and rarely heard of a Sabbath school, 
 I, however, attempted to engage the children to study 
 the Scriptures, and collected a few together in what I 
 called a * Bible school.' At first I could obtain only the 
 children of two or three families. For several years I 
 could not persuade an individual to assist in the instruc- 
 tion ; but the school increased, and one after another was 
 induced to assist in instructing. In a few years there 
 were teachers enough, and the children of every family 
 but one in town were members of the Sabbath school, and 
 I have seen a child of that family sorry because her father 
 would not permit her to attend. 
 
 "Although I had never heard of a Bible class, I invited 
 
 * Sketch of the Rise of Sabbath Schools, p, 139. 
 
42 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 my neighbors, old and young, to collect together once 
 a week, on winter evenings, to attend to the Scriptures. 
 A chapter was given out one week for the next. When 
 we mot, the chapter was read and then taken up, verse 
 by verse, compared with other Scriptures, explanations 
 and illustrations were made, and the truths enforced on 
 the consciences. These exercises excited interest in the 
 Scriptures. 
 
 "xifter I left that people, who were very poorly able 
 to support the gospel, they were much disheartened, and 
 ready to despair of ever seeing another minister settled 
 among them. But these Sabbath school children were not 
 satisfied. Their anxiety to have the Sabbath school and 
 their solicitations with their parents were the very efficient 
 means in establishing again the preached gospel among 
 them ; and many of these scholars are now hopefully in 
 the kingdom of Christ.^' 
 
 Although the precise date of this Sabbath school and 
 Bible class movement is not here s^iven, it was evi- 
 dently among the earlier ones in New England ; and 
 the name given, " Bible school," is almost identical with 
 the modern name, " Bible service." 
 
 At this time there seems to have been awakened quite 
 a general interest in the subject of doing more for the 
 children, and in interesting persons of all ages in the 
 Bible. The report of the Sabbath school movement in 
 England had doubtless led ministers and the churches 
 to inquiries on the subject. 
 
 In 1814, in addition to the school established in New- 
 buryport, one was organized in New York by two young 
 ladies ; one in Wilmington, Delaware, and one in Cam- 
 bridgeport. 
 
 Several schools were founded in 1815 ; one in con- 
 
RISE AND PROGRESS. 43 
 
 nection with Christ Church, Boston; one in the Northern 
 Liberties of PhiLiclelphia, and one in Newark, N. J. 
 
 In 1816 a Sabbath school was instituted in Chilli- 
 cothe, O., in Westboro', Mass., in Cambridge, in Greens- 
 borough and Hardwick, Vt., in Carlisle, Penn., in the 
 Third, Second, and First Baptist churches, Boston, in 
 Northampton, JNIass., New London, Conn., in the First 
 church in Charlestown, and in Framingham. After 
 this, schools were organized rapidly in various parts 
 of the land. 
 
 The thirtieth Annual Report of the Sabbath school in 
 Newburyport gives the following account of the early 
 history of this school : — 
 
 " In 1814 three young ladies estabhshed the first Sab- 
 bath school in this city, in the old chapel that formerly 
 belonged to this church. This they continued for one year, 
 without aid or assistance from any of the churches. The 
 largest number they had did not exceed one hundred. 
 
 "In 1815 members of this society took charge of the 
 school, and continued it for two years. In 18K the New- 
 buryport Sabbath school was formed, or, as is more prob- 
 able, the school established in this place removed to the 
 court-house, and associated with it other societies. There 
 were present at the first meeting of the Newburyport sciiool 
 thirty teachers and three hundred and fifty scholars. This 
 school was continued thirteen years, to 1830, and, from the 
 records we have of it, seems to have been very successfully 
 conducted ; and through the exertions of its teachers and 
 friends many were brought to receive religious instruc- 
 tion who otherwise would have known nothing of divine 
 things. 
 
 "In 182*7 there were connected with this school eight 
 hundred scholars and teachers, and we find it recorded that 
 
44 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 there were present at one time five hundred and twenty- 
 three scholars and seveiity-two teachers. All tliis was 
 done in the inlancy of the Sabbath school movement in 
 this country, this school being among the first that were 
 established. There were no Sabbath school societies, 
 papers, libraries, text-books, or Sabbath school music ; in 
 short, scarcely nothing of which we now have showered 
 upon us so abundantly. 
 
 " This was effected, and the interest kept up, in a great 
 measure, by a well-ordered weekly teachers' meeting. These 
 meetings appear to have been very interesting, and they 
 were punctually attended by the teachers. On three suc- 
 cessive meetings there were present sixty-six, sixty-five, 
 and eighty-four.'' 
 
 Among the early doings of the teachers' meeting, as 
 given in this report, are the following : — 
 
 " Voted, That the * Evangelical and Familiar Catechism 
 for Sunday Schools in New York,' abridged from the Rev. 
 Joseph Emerson's, and * The Assembly's Shorter Cate- 
 chism,' be taught in this school. Also, as some provision 
 is made for black children, at the African school, in their 
 vicinity, and as their presence at this school might prevent 
 the attendance of some white children, it was Voted, 'That 
 for the present no blacks be admitted.' This last vote, 
 however, was reconsidered at the next meeting, and it was 
 voted 'that the blacks be admitted.' 
 
 '* The subjects of opening the school with singing, requir- 
 ing the scholars to give the text and leading ideas of the 
 sermons, assisting in tli.e formation of other schools, inter- 
 esting the scholars in committing the Scriptures to memory'-, 
 were acted on at these teachers' meetings. 
 
 " One girl, ten years of age, Abigail Follensbee, in a 
 little less than six months committed to memorv the Book 
 
RISE AND PROGRESS. 45 
 
 I of Matthew and the one hundred and nineteenth Psalm, 
 containing one thousand one hundred and ninety-nine 
 verses, together with twent^^-two texts, consisting of fifty- 
 four verses, twenty hymns, forty-four Scripture proofs, and 
 one tract; also the principal part of the 'Assembly's 
 Shorter Catechism.'. The Annual Report of the twenty- 
 second of August, 1818, gives the number of verses com- 
 mitted to memory the first four months of the season as 
 something near one hundred thousand.'' 
 
 " In the summer of 1815," — according to an account 
 given by Rev. Alexander McKenzie, in liis volume of 
 •' Lectures on the History of the First Church in Cam- 
 bridge,"* "a Sabbath school was opened at the meeting- 
 house, with the design of promoting the moral and 
 religious improvement of children and youth. The 
 school was taught during three summers by Miss Mary 
 Munro and Miss Hannah Tenney. Then five other 
 young ladies came to their assistance ; and Mr. James 
 D. Farnsworth, master of the grammar school, tendered 
 his services for the instruction of the boys. More than 
 eighty children of both sexes received instruction at 
 the Sabbath school. They Avere taught to read and to 
 commit to memory select portions of the Bible, cate- 
 chisms, hymns, and prayers, and to answer Cummings's 
 questions on the New Testament. Books and tracts 
 were early provided for their use." 
 
 In 1817 the General Association of Congregational 
 Churches in Massachusetts recommended the establish- 
 ment of schools for the pious education of children and 
 youth. 
 
 At the semi-centennial anniversary of the Sabbath 
 school in West Boylston, the pastor, Rev. James H. 
 
 * p. 180. 
 
46 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 Fitts, gave an historical address, from which it appears 
 that the first school in that place, for strictly religious 
 instruction, was established in 1818. It met, at first, in 
 an unfinished room in a private house, which had been 
 fitted up for holding meetings. The extemporized seats 
 consisted of rough boards, resting on chairs arranged 
 throughout the room. There Avere about twenty schol- 
 ars. Soon the school adjourned to meet in the " old 
 centre school-house." 
 
 The first mention of Sabbath schools in this country, 
 in the '' Boston Recorder," so far as we can find, was 
 in vol. xi., for 1817, in an article by Thomas Vose^ 
 Secretary of the Boston Society for the ]\Ioral and 
 Religious Instruction of the Poor. It spoke of the 
 interest that had been excited by the establishment of 
 Sabbath schools in towns among the poor ; and men- 
 tioned that " the anniversary of the society would be 
 held on Wednesday, in the afternoon, at the Old 
 South Church, where the children of their Sabbath 
 school would be present, and a sermon, composed for 
 the occasion, would be preached by the Rev. Mr. 
 Huntington, and a contribution would be taken to aid 
 in defraying the expenses incidental to this important 
 object." * 
 
 In the same volume of the " Recorder," p. 110, there 
 is published a brief account of the origin, progress, 
 and improvement of the Sabbath school system of 
 education, taken from the " Sunday School Guide," by 
 J. A. James, published in England, and republished in 
 New York. 
 
 And on p. 177 of the same volume, there is a long 
 editorial article defending Sabbath schools from some 
 
 * Boston Recorder, vol. xi. p. 173. 
 
RISE AND PROGRESS. 47 
 
 of the objections that were urged against them, as that 
 they are a novelty ; are unnecessary ; that they will 
 interfere with the sanctity of the Sabbath ; deprive 
 children of their only time for relaxation, &c. 
 
 The semi-centennial anniversary of the school estab- 
 lished in Beverly, in 1810, Avas celebrated in that town 
 in 1860 with appropriate and very interesting services. 
 And similar anniversaries of most of the earlier schools, 
 in various parts of New England and of the country, 
 have also been celebrated, and historical sketches of 
 them, full of instructive incidents and reminiscences, 
 have been published. 
 
 It is interesting, in this centennial year of our country, 
 1876, to contrast the present condition of the Sabbath 
 school work, even in the single state of Massachusetts, 
 with its " day of small things " sixty-six years ago. 
 Then there was but a single school of two teachers and 
 thirty scholars. Now there are in the state, probably, 
 more than three hundred and fifty thousand scholars, 
 and from fifty to sixty thousand teachers engaged in 
 giving or receiving instruction in the Word of Life ! 
 Sixty-six years ago the Sabbath school cause was but 
 a little rill, like a silver thread, flowing down the 
 mountain-side, that a child with his hand or foot could 
 have stopped. But through these years it has gone 
 on increasing in size and rapidity ; it has widened and 
 deepened ; its waters have accumulated and swelled, 
 till it now rolls on, a mighty Amazon ! 
 
 If we compare the Sabbath school literature of the 
 present day with that of sixty-six years ago, the same 
 striking contrast is seen. Then the "New England 
 Primer " was almost the only book published specially 
 for the young. Now, every denomination has its own 
 
48 FIFTY TEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 juvenile literature, comprising from three or four hun- 
 dred to several thousand volumes each. 
 
 Looking at this wonderful progress for these past 
 almost threescore years and ten, and then looking for- 
 vs^ard through a similar period to come, our minds 
 almost stagger at the prospect. What progress may 
 we not anticipate in connection with the Sabbath 
 school enterprise ! Instead of a new and untried 
 enterprise, with but few teachers, few helps, and no 
 experience, we now have a sacramental host — many 
 of them with years of experience, and all of them 
 trained in the Sabbath school work, with the accumu- 
 lated wisdom of the past, and. a great variety of other 
 helps — and the hundreds of thousands of scholars, all 
 receiving that instruction which will fit large numbers 
 of them in turn to become themselves teachers. What, 
 then, may not the friends of Sabbath schools in our 
 churches hope, with the divine blessing, to accomplish 
 in the future ? 
 
 In 1825, the Massachusetts Sabbath School Union, 
 at first composed of the different evangelical denomina- 
 tions, was formed, "to promote the opening of new 
 and the increase and prosperity of old Sabbath schools, 
 within the limits of this state ; to form depositories for 
 supplying the schools with suitable books on the lowest 
 terms possible ; to stimulate and encourage each other 
 in the moral and religious instruction of children and 
 others," &c. 
 
 On the 31st of May, 1832, the Massachusetts Sab- 
 bath School Society, composed only of the Congre- 
 gational denomination, was formed for similar purposes. 
 
 In 1870, the name was changed to Congregational 
 Publishing Society. 
 
III. 
 
 MODES OF CONDUCTING SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 The general mode of conducting Sabbath schools, 
 almost from their first establishment to the present 
 time, has been somewhat uniform, while the details in 
 different schools have been various. And there have 
 been frequent changes even in the same schools — 
 though changes have not always been improvements — 
 in the attempts that have been made to secure greater 
 efficiency. Then, again, old modes have been revived. 
 
 The past history of this institution has taught us the 
 importance of variety in our plans of promoting the 
 cause. A certain plan may be adopted which, for a 
 time, will be very useful in creating an increased inter- 
 est and zeal in the work. By and by this plan may 
 seem to have lost especial power to interest, and may be 
 superseded by some new plan, and so on. In a few 
 years some of these obsolete plans may be revived, and 
 with the same happy results as at first, or as would 
 attend a new plan. They are new to most of those 
 who revive them. 
 
 It is interesting to look back and see how many of 
 the exercises and various modes of conducting Sabbath 
 schools twenty-five "and thirty years ago have within 
 the past few 3^ears been introduced, and some of them 
 as though they were now adopted for the first time. 
 4 49 
 
50 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 Among the plans acLopted in many of the earlier 
 schools, and that are now extensively in use, were the 
 following: Opening or closing the school with sing- 
 ing by the scholars and teachers ; repeating together 
 the Lord's Prayer ; reading the Scriptures alternately ; 
 the Sabbath school concert, w^hich, even as far back as 
 when it was held Monday evening, was represented, as 
 is now the case, as being the most interesting meeting 
 held ; teachers' meeting ; class records and monthly or 
 quarterly reports by the teachers, to be read at the 
 concerts ; anniversaries and various celebrations ; con- 
 tributions in the school for benevolent purposes ; tem- 
 perance societies among the young ; various measures 
 for getting in new scholars ; mission schools ; the black- 
 board even; conventions, &c. ; — so that we can almost 
 say, in regard to this institution, as in regard to other 
 things, " There is nothing new under the sun." 
 
 Of course, with all the experience of more than a 
 generation, and with all the talent, wisdom, and piety 
 of so many able men directed to this subject, there 
 have been improvements, in reference to many things, 
 in the present conduct of our schools. 
 
 There were some plans that were adopted extensively 
 in the earlier schools, that might be introduced with 
 the improvements which the age Avould suggest, to 
 great advantage at the present day. For example, 
 correspondence of schools with each other ; the letters 
 to be read at the concert ; reciprocal visits by commit- 
 tees, between different schools, at the schools and the 
 concerts ; celebrations on the Fourth of July ; a com- 
 mittee of vigilance to bring intd the school any in the 
 entry, and around the church, &c. These and many 
 other plans that have been adopted from time to time 
 
MODES OF CONDUCTING. 51 
 
 in conducting Sabbath schools, will be more fully con- 
 sidered in the sequel. 
 
 At the first, the chief exercise of most schools in 
 this country consisted mainly in hearing the children 
 repeat verses of Scripture and hymns. There were not 
 generally any lessons assigned. The scholars learned 
 such verses, and as many, as they chose ; and not 
 unfrequently whole chapters were recited. In a class 
 of six or eight, it would sometimes occur that so many 
 chapters had been committed to memory, that not more 
 than one half or two thirds of the members would have 
 time during the session to recite. There was no time 
 for explanations or any remarks. 
 
 The excellence of a school seemed to consist in the 
 amount committed to memory. Rewards were given 
 to stimulate the scholars in this work. A ticket, on 
 which was written or printed " Merit," was given in 
 some schools for every ten verses ; when ten tickets 
 were obtained, or one hundred verses had been recited, 
 a tract was given ; and when five tracts were obtained, 
 then a. book was the reward. And the first book we 
 ever received in this way was " Henry and his Bearer," 
 one of the earlier books published for the use of Sab- 
 bath schools. 
 
 After a few years, the friends of this institution, or, 
 as they are now called, " the workers," began to think 
 that, instead of crowding the minds of the young with 
 whole chapters of the Bible, a better way would be to 
 give out a certain number of verses, from six to ten, 
 as a lesson to be committed to memory, and studied, 
 so that the scholars would be able to answer the ques- 
 tions their teachers might ask them on the subject. 
 
 The first "Annual Report of the Maine Sabbath 
 
52 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 School Union " for 1827 says : " The practice of hearing 
 long lessons, and estimating the merit of the scholar 
 by the quantity committed to memory, has been dis- 
 carded to a considerable extent ; and many advantages 
 have been found to result from limited recitation, 
 accompanied with full and easy explanations from the 
 teachers. It is evident that to understand and remem- 
 ber the lesson, rather than to display his own part, 
 should be the object of the learner. All that is com- 
 mitted to memory, without being understood, — al- 
 though it may, after being long hidden and unprofita- 
 ble, be recalled in after life to great advantage, — seems, 
 on the whole, to be little better than lost. At the best, 
 much valuable time is unnecessarily consumed, the 
 mind of the child is oppressed with a useless burden, 
 and a pernicious habit of superficial reading and study 
 contracted, which will ever after prove a source of 
 inconvenience. The classes should be small, and the 
 lesson confined to a few verses ; and the same lesson 
 should generally be assigned to the whole school, 
 and always to the members of the same class. Then 
 the teachers should converse with each scholar, to see, 
 as far as possible, that he understands the lesson, and 
 comprehends the manner in which it ought to affect 
 him." 
 
 This plan of a limited number of verses was then 
 very generally adopted by the schools. But it was 
 found, after a short time, that many of the teachers 
 could do but little more than hear the scholars repeat 
 these few verses, as they used to repeat their chapters. 
 They were not able to ask questions and interest the 
 scholars by any instructions connected with the lesson. 
 And then, too, many of the scholars did not understand 
 
MODES OF CONDUCTING. 53 
 
 how to study the verses they had committed to memory. 
 If the verse were, " Come unto me, all ye that labor 
 and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," they did 
 not know how to analyze it ; to take up the different 
 clauses and inquire what their meaning was. They 
 would not, perhaps, ask themselves, "Who says this?" 
 " Is this a command or an invitation ? " " What is it to 
 ' labor and be heavy laden ' ? " " What is it to come to 
 Christ ? " " What is the ' rest ' he promises to give ? " 
 This state of things led many to see the need of some 
 helps and questions to be prepared by persons especially 
 qualified for this work, on the lessons, both to aid the 
 scholars in studying the lessons and the teachers in 
 imparting instruction. And this led to the preparation 
 of question books, which for many years, till the pub- 
 lication of the " Uniform Lesson Papers," most of the 
 schools, at least in New England, have used ; and, in- 
 deed, most of them still prefer question books, though 
 on the uniform lessons, to the lesson papers. 
 
 The superintendent of the Congregational Sabbath 
 school, in Portsmouth, N. H., the late Rev. Prof. Pea- 
 body, of Dartmouth College, in a letter to the commit- 
 tee of correspondence of the Sabbath School and Bible 
 Class Association of Andover Theological Seminary, 
 dated December 25, 1829, thus speaks of the mode of 
 conducting that school : — 
 
 "First, prayer by the superintendent, all the children 
 standing in one and the same attitude, and, at the close, 
 audibly joining in the Lord's Prayer. Then the class reci- 
 tations. Then the superintendent relates some anecdote, 
 or remarks on some Scripture truth or some remarkable 
 providence, 
 
 ''Since requiring the children to join in the Lord's Prayer, 
 
54 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 the superintendent has usually occupied teu or fifteen min- 
 utes in illustrating and enforcing practically the several 
 parts of it. 
 
 " The school is closed by singing, in which all are desired 
 to unite. Our plan has thus far succeeded admirably.'' 
 
 Rev. Frederick E. Cannon, of Ludlow, Vt., in a letter 
 to the above committee, dated December 19, 1829, thus 
 describes liis mode of conducting his school at that early 
 day. In the spring of that year he united his Bible 
 classes with the Sabbath school for the purpose of 
 giving character and importance to the school. He 
 says: — . 
 
 " Of the two hundred and fifty persons, old and young, 
 who had given their names as willing to attend, twelve 
 classes were made, besides about one hundred adults, which 
 I reserved for myself. One of the twelve classes was made 
 up of about thirty young ladies, and another of about 
 twenty young men. All the classes take the same lesson 
 of twelve verses. As early as the middle of each week I 
 endeavor to have my preparation made for the school on 
 the ensuing Sabbath ; and the preparation consists of a 
 series of forty or fifty carefully written questions upon the 
 lesson in course, and all the answers. Between this time 
 and the Sabbath, the teachers are in the habit of obtaining 
 the questions, and transcribing them for the benefit of their 
 several classes. This method is adopted to render their 
 preparation more thorough than it would be by a mere 
 exposition of the lesson to them at a meeting appointed for 
 the purpose. 
 
 " On the Sabbath immediately after the morning service, 
 the classes and teachers are at their places, when a rap is 
 heard from the superintendent, calling all to the attitude 
 of prayer for the opening of the school. Then the business 
 of the school commences. I devote myself entirely to my 
 
MODES OF CONDUCTING, 55 
 
 class, and the assistant superintendent takes a general 
 oversight of the school. At the close of the exercises in 
 the several classes, the librarian will have made all neces- 
 sary arrangements of the books for the day, and I then turn 
 to the whole school and give a plain, familiar, and practical 
 exposition of the lesson, interspersing it with a variety of 
 questions to the children, generally chosen from the list 
 of questions used with the adults. And it is in no small 
 degree interesting to see with what promptness and eager- 
 ness the questions are answered by the children from all 
 parts of the house. 
 
 "After this I require the children to give some account 
 of the morning text and sermon, and to direct me to the 
 psalm or hymn given out on the previous Sabbath to be 
 sung at this time by the school. Alter the hymn is read, 
 the superintendent's rap is again heard, and we all rise and 
 sing, old trembling voices mingling with the voices of 
 youth and children in the song of Zion. This is the clos- 
 ing scene, except a short prayer; and it is like heaven/' 
 
 Rev. Samuel Goddard, in a letter to the above asso- 
 ciation, dated Norwich, Vt., January 18, 1830, writes : — 
 
 " The method which, on the whole, appears to me the 
 best of any we have tried since I have been with this people 
 the past eight years, is the one pursued- by us the past 
 season. We have had our Bible classes and Sabbath school 
 all together in the meeting-house during the intermission 
 of public service, except several small schools in the outer 
 parts of the town, where it is so far that the children 
 could not come. We all, except some small children, 
 take the same portion of Scripture. Questions are asked 
 and remarks made by the teachers. After the classes have 
 gone through, the pastor addresses the whole school a few 
 minutes on some prominent truth in the lesson. 
 
 " We introduce the exercises with singing and a short 
 
56 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 prayer, and close with prayer and singing the Doxology. 
 This method has excited more interest, and called in 
 greater numbers, than any other which we have tried. 
 Parents and old people, some over seventy years of age, 
 encourage the children and youth by their attendance. 
 Two thirds of the worshipping assembly are engaged in the 
 Bible classes and Sabbath school. We have, in all, over 
 three hundred connected with both departments. Some 
 of the children have pretty constantly walked four or five 
 miles. 
 
 "Our Bible classes and Sabbath school are the concern 
 of the church. The church attends to their interests, and 
 appoints the superintendent and teachers. It is the busi- 
 ness of the pastor, though not the superintendent, to be as 
 really the pastor of the Sabbath school and Bible classes as 
 of the church.'' 
 
 The late Charles Stoddard, Esq., of Boston, in a 
 letter to the above association, dated December 22, 
 1829, thus describes his mode of conducting the Fort 
 Hill school, which was established in 1820. This school, 
 like most of the schools, especially in the cities and 
 larger towns, for some years held two sessions a day. 
 It used only the Bible for a text-book. He says : — 
 
 "In the morning, when the school meets, precisely at 
 eight and a half, one stroke of the bell brings the faces of 
 the scholars towards the superintendent, whofoldshis hands, 
 which is to them a signal to do the same. He then makes 
 a short introductory address, in simple language, and at its 
 close holds up a book, at noticing which the scholars all 
 rise and close their eyes for prayer. This is very short 
 and simple. No one is permitted to enter the school dur- 
 ing this exercise, and everything is still. 
 
 " The teachers then hear their scholars recite their lesson, 
 
MODES OF CONDUCTING. 57 
 
 which is committed to memory at home, and spend the 
 remainder of the time in asking and answering questions, 
 and exhorting their scholars, until the bell strikes and 
 the book is held up again, which is a signal for the schol- 
 ars to rise and fold their hands for singing. They are 
 then dismissed and go out single file, headed by their 
 teachers. 
 
 " We act upon the nerves of the scholars, in our govern- 
 ment, by signs, raising a book, &c., to call the school to 
 order. This, I am persuaded, is the true secret of govern- 
 ment, I have seen some superintendents almost break 
 their knuckles in rapping the school into order, and strain 
 their lungs by expressions such as these : ' We cannot have 
 such a noise ! ' ' The children must be more quiet ! ' &c. 
 Such scolding tones produce no good effect, but are worse 
 than useless. All you want is to gain their attention by 
 one stroke of the bell, and then, if there are a hundred 
 children present, and no teachers, they can all be made 
 perfectly quiet without uttering a word. 
 
 " In the afternoon, the introductory address is omitted. 
 After prayer, the time is occupied by the teachers in ex- 
 plaining the lesson for the following Sabbath. The library 
 books are given out to those who are punctual and have 
 good lessons and conduct. 
 
 " On the first Sabbath of the month we question the 
 scholars audibly, to which audible answers are given, and 
 we vary the exercises from time to time.'' 
 
 In school, one subject only is presented on the 
 
 same Sabbath. A motto, in large characters, is hung 
 up in a conspicuous part of the school, where all can 
 see, consisting of the prominent verse or sentiment in 
 the lesson of the day. 
 
 This, it will be seen, is much like the golden text 
 upon the blackboard at the present day. 
 
58 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 Questions are proposed montlily to the scholars, and 
 all who are capable are desired to bring written answers 
 from the Bible. For example : " How can you prove 
 that it is the duty of parents to correct disobedient 
 children ? " These answers are corrected by the super- 
 intendent and returned to the scholars. This exercise 
 became quite general in that school. 
 
 Rev. Daniel A. Clark, in a letter to the Sabbath 
 School and Bible Class Association, referred to above, 
 dated Bennington, Yt., March 24, 1830, gives an account 
 of his Bible class and Sabbath school labors at that 
 early day, that is so interesting and suggestive that it 
 deserves to be made known. He says : — 
 
 *' I commenced a Bible class among the youth of my 
 charge in 1816, while yet there was no name that had 
 reached my ear appropriate to such an institution. I drew 
 out a system of questions on the text to be examined, which 
 were copied and used by the class, composed of fifty of 
 my youth, all of whom engaged to be present at every 
 exercise. The questions were intended to make the youth 
 exercise some thought. The class were greatly interested 
 in the. Study. 
 
 " At a public examination, a large audience, filling the 
 house, was held in silent suspense two and a half hours, 
 while my class answered these questions. 
 
 " I have had a Bible class in one shape and another ever 
 since. 
 
 "At present [1830] I have what I call, for want of a 
 better name, a 'bibliary,' embracing my whole parish, old 
 and young, male and female. I attend upon their instruc- 
 tion in the intermission of divine service on the Lord's 
 day. I name a week beforehand the portion of Scripture, 
 and on Monday morning prepare on the passage a set of 
 questions drawing out the history of the parts. Then a set 
 
MODES OF CONDUCTING. 59 
 
 of reflections, &c., which I give out to be copied and used by 
 the people. They soon multiply the copies till, before the 
 Sabbath comes, there is a copy in every family in the parish. 
 
 " Soon as I have dismissed the congreg-ation in the morn- 
 ing, all who will stay arrange themselves in pews, with 
 some sprightly, active man at the head of each pew. These 
 are called sponsors. To them I put the questions, and 
 they put them to their respective classes. After a moment's 
 pause, for them to get an answer, I ask any one of the 
 sponsors for the answer. He rises and gives me, audibly, 
 the best answer he can get from his class. The same 
 question is, of course, agitated in every class through the 
 house ; each child and youth, man and woman, has, in turn, 
 opportunity to answer the sponsor, and each sponsor oppor- 
 tunity to answer me, no one knowing from whom I shall 
 demand an answer. 
 
 " I have suffered this bibliary to swallow up, at present, 
 Bible class and Sabbath school, except that there are sev- 
 eral district Sabbath schools at five o'clock ; and I am per- 
 fectly satisfied that I have never yet hit upon a plan so 
 useful. More attend upon biblical instruction on this plan. 
 All are interested through the week, as well as during the 
 hour of recitation. Young men have come in that never 
 could be urged to the work before." 
 
 The Sabbath school in Pawlet, Vt., in 1830, had two 
 hundred and eleven scholars, divided into two divis- 
 ions : those from fourteen to eighty-eight years of age 
 in one division, and the infant class composing the 
 other. This school, from the first, used the " Sabbath 
 School Guide." Those above twenty-five years of age 
 were taught in a class by themselves by the pastor. 
 The school was held Sabbath noon, and was kept up 
 smumer and winter. 
 
 The pastor occupied ten or fifteen minutes before the 
 
60 FIFTY TEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 school closed in questioning the whole school in their 
 respective lessons, aiming in his inquiries to elicit a 
 train of thought which the teachers would not be likely 
 to have taught them, and yet so simple as to secure 
 twenty answers at once to each inquiry. The pastor 
 says : — 
 
 '•' Our quarter-day occurs on the Sabbath. In the morn- 
 ing a sermon is preached to the children on a subject and 
 in a style calculated to interest and profit them. In the 
 afternoon, after singing and prayer, a report is read, giving 
 a succinct account of the state of the school during the 
 last quarter, and some principle is discussed which is inti- 
 mately connected with the prosperity of the school and the 
 good of the children ; objections to Sabbath school opera- 
 tions are met, and greater interest is enjoined on parents 
 and guardians in behalf of the school and the institution 
 generally. The scholars are then examined on the lessons 
 over which they have passed during the quarter, and oppor- 
 tunity given to friends of Sabbath schools to make remarks. 
 
 " The system was new to all of us, and at first it did not 
 excite interest ; some were even opposed to this method 
 of spending the Sabbath ; but now we have few Sabbaths 
 of more general or deeper interest during the year than 
 our quarter-days. 
 
 " We are in the habit of receiving and dismissing schol- 
 ars with some ceremony. 
 
 '' The scholar, if willing-, on entering the school, accom- 
 panies the teacher to the superintendent's stand, who ad- 
 dresses a few words of counsel and encouragement to the 
 new scholar, gives him concisely the rules of the school, 
 and prays for him. This service is attended to at the 
 close of the school in presence of all the members. 
 
 " When any one is about to leave the school, he is pre- 
 sented as before, and after receiving advice and an affec- 
 
MODES OF CONDUCTING. 61 
 
 tionate farewell, in tlie name of the school a certificate is 
 given, signifying that he has attended our school, and is, 
 consequently, recommended to the special regard and over- 
 sight of all friends of the institution. As you may imagine, 
 this is an impressive service, and draws the cords of attach- 
 ment too close to leave the members of our school very 
 widely apart." 
 
 At a meeting of the Andover Sabbatli School and 
 Bible Class Association, in 1830, the subject considered 
 was the mode of teaching. Each member gave an ac- 
 count of his own mode. From these accounts the com- 
 mittee of publication, of which we were a member, 
 prepared the following facts, which were published in 
 the " Sabbath School Treasury : " — 
 
 *' Ileihod of teaching children under twelve years of age. — 
 I have a class of boys about twelve years old, who use the 
 'Union Questions.' I first endeavor to ascertain whether 
 they have studied the lesson ; for if they have not treas- 
 ured at least some part of it in their memory, they are 
 poorly prepared to derive benefit from my instructions. 
 To ascertain this point, I require each one to repeat averse 
 or two of the lesson from the Bible. I then proceed to ask 
 .those questions, which are printed in large type, pausing 
 upon each question to ascertain how far the scholar under- 
 stands what he has recited. For this purpose I take up 
 some of the questions in small type, and suggest such inci- 
 dental circumstances as will exercise his powers of mind, 
 and elicit his views on the subject. The answers will often 
 be correct, in a limited or modified sense, in which case I 
 admit their correctness with the necessary qualifications. 
 If the answer be wholly incorrect, I put the question in 
 another shape, or let it go to the next, or call upon any 
 one in the class to answer it who can. If no one is able 
 to do it, then, and not otherwise, I answer it myself, and 
 
62 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 explain the difficulty by familiar illustrations, until I am 
 sure that they all understand it. Tlie practical application 
 of the lesson requires much prudence, and cannot, I am 
 sure, be rightly made without a deep tone of pious feeling 
 in my own heart. A formal appeal at the close of every 
 recitation, I observe, is not so useful as to apply the truth 
 at any part of tlie lesson, when such an application can 
 naturally be made. To attempt it indiscriminately on every 
 verse becomes tiresome to the class, if not disgusting. I 
 have found, also, that much is depending on the manner of 
 applying divine truth, and endeavor to be so various in my 
 manner that the class shall not be able to anticipate my 
 remarks. Sometimes it seems best to make an appeal to 
 the whole class ; sometimes to address the individual who 
 is reciting ; and at other times to apply the truth to some 
 supposed person, of a similar character and in like circum- 
 stances. I have often observed that the interest of the 
 class is in a great measure graduated by the interest which 
 I feel myself; and nothing tends more powerfully to keep 
 my feelings in a proper state than to consider these immor- 
 tal souls as committed to my care for one great and definite 
 object — their conversion to God. In addition to the above 
 exercise, I require from each pupil some account of the 
 book which he returned to the library. 
 
 ** This, while it serves to form habits of attentive reading 
 on their part, also affords me an excellent opportunity to 
 introduce and urge the subject of personal piety. 
 
 " Method of teaching young persons from twenty to twenty- 
 five years old. — I have under my instruction a class of young 
 ladies from twenty to twenty-five years of age, in the first 
 number of ' Fisk and Abbott's Bible Class Book.' I usually 
 divide the time allotted to the recitation into two equal 
 portions, and proceed in the following manner: The first 
 half is devoted to a critical examination of the lesson, ac- 
 cording to the directions found in the beginning of the 
 
MODES OF CONDUCTING. QZ 
 
 'Bible Class Book/ with such variations, however, as seem 
 necessary to keep the attention of the class. To effect tliis 
 fundamental object, as well as to render the exercise more 
 profitable to them, I encourage the utmost freedom of 
 inquiry, and on some subjects endeavor to lead them into 
 a discussion among themselves. I dwell particularly upon 
 the different traits of character exhibited in the lesson, and 
 the tendencies of such and such courses of conduct. I 
 make the Bible its own interpreter as far as possible ; and 
 whenever a promise is made, a threatening denounced, or 
 a prophecy uttered, I always require my scholars to tdl 
 me where, and when, and how it was fulfilled. When we 
 have gone through the lesson in this manner, the first half 
 of our time has usually expired. The remaining half is 
 spent in remarking upon the lesson as a whole, showing its 
 connection with what precedes it, and noticing a few prom- 
 inent points as landmarks, to aid in obtaining a connected 
 view of sacred history. If testimony can be had from pro- 
 fane authors, illustrative of any part of the lesson, it is 
 introduced. I always reserve some prominent, interesting 
 particular for the last, and dwell upon it at considerable 
 length. For example, in the call of Abraham I would 
 select the offering up of Isaac, and endeavor to impress on 
 the minds of my scholars an idea of faith and obedience 
 by describing minutely the probable feelings of Abraham 
 in all the trying circumstances of that event, his regard for 
 the divine authority urging him against the strongest cur- 
 rent of natural affection. In addition to the regular lesson 
 I give out to the class each Sabbath one book of the Old 
 Testament, in chronological order, and request them to 
 ascertain when and by whom it w^as written, and to give 
 an account of its author and contents. This usually costs 
 me much labor and time ; but the interest and profit of the 
 exercise to myself and the class more than compensates for 
 all the toil. I formerly learned by experience the disas- 
 
64 FIFTY TEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 trous effects of closing- my instructions, even a few mo- 
 ments only, before the time expired, and consequently I 
 now endeavor to be broken off by the rap of the superin- 
 tendent in the midst of some interesting remarks. I meet 
 my class one evening during the week, at which time we 
 also have a Bible exercise, and familiar conversation on 
 Bible subjects. 
 
 *' General method of teaching persons from thirty to eighty 
 years of age. — The venerable appearance of my class con- 
 tinually suggests to me the importance of avoiding every- 
 tfiing dictatorial in my manner of teaching. We use no 
 book but the Bible. Sometimes I select a chapter myself 
 for examination, at other times I request them to do it. 
 Though it belongs to me to conduct the exercise, still I 
 always place myself along with them as an inquirer after 
 ' what saith the Scriptures ? ' We .proceed in the following 
 manner : I read a verse, or request one of them to do it, 
 and then we all enter into a familiar conversation about its 
 meaning. At first I had to ask nearly all the questions 
 myself, and to do most of the talking. I convinced my 
 class, at length, that this was not the most profitable 
 method, and now they ask nearly all the questions them- 
 selves. If any one is dissatisfied with the answer or ex- 
 planation, he has full liberty to state his reasons, and to 
 give his own views. When opposite opinions are advanced, 
 I attempt to harmonize them. If I fail in this attempt, as 
 is sometimes the case, I never think it best to enter into a 
 long discussion, but generally sum up the evidence for each 
 opinion and the diflSculties attending it, and leave each 
 member of the class to form his own opinion. 
 
 "Plain illustrations and simple language are no less im- 
 portant in teaching old persons than in teaching children. 
 I have often found it profitable to direct their attention to 
 recent occurrences in God's providence for illustration of 
 the Bible. Appeals can be made to the experience of old 
 
MODES OF CONDUCTING, 65 
 
 persons much oftener and with more advantage than to the 
 young." 
 
 Twenty-five or thirty years ago the superintendent 
 of the Sabbath school in Dedham writes : — 
 
 " Of late we have resorted to the blackboard, A Hberal- 
 minded teacher, aided by the superintendent, procured one, 
 six feet by four. We now use it almost every Sabbath. 
 When the other duties begin to grow rather irksome, we 
 call the attention of the teachers and pupils to something 
 else. Sometimes we teach the geography of the lesson, as 
 the situation of Capernaum or Nazareth, or the Sea of 
 Galilee, or Mount Carmel. Sometimes we mark out a city, 
 as Jerusalem, or make a map of some river, as the Jordan. 
 At other times, for the sake of variety, we make a map of 
 some missionary station, as Constantinople, or Beyroot, or 
 Ooromiah. In this way we often spend ten or fifteen min- 
 utes, not only very pleasantly, but also very profitably. '^ 
 
 In some schools, the older scholars, in addition to 
 the usual exercises, have read biographical sketches of 
 Scripture characters which they have written. Then, 
 again, they have written answers to the more difficult 
 questions in a small book prepared for the purpose. 
 
 Some one class has been publicly examined on the 
 lesson, so that parents, and all others present, might 
 see what attention had been given to it. 
 
 Constancy and punctuality in attendance, for bring- 
 ing -in new scholars, &c., have often been stimulated by 
 the offer of certificates, or other rewards. 
 
 In 1831 a Sabbath school adopted the method of hav- 
 ing all the recitations made in a whisper. Nothing ever 
 undertaken before, it was said, so much improved the 
 school. Order and solemnity, it w^as thought, cannot 
 be so effectually secured in any other way. 
 5 
 
66 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 But few of the Sabbath schools, the first fifteen or 
 twenty years after their mtroduction into this country, 
 were continued through the winter. The subject was 
 very earnestly discussed in all the religious papers and 
 in addresses. It was clearly shown that the winter 
 months were even more favorable for study than the 
 warmer seasons. Now there are but few schools any- 
 where that are suspended during any part of the year, 
 except for a short summer vacation. This is a compar- 
 atively recent practice in some schools, and is by many 
 regarded as a practice of doubtful utility. 
 
 EEWAEDS OF MEEIT. 
 
 The Congregational school in Portsmouth, N. H., in 
 1829, had the following system of rewards. The teach- 
 ers were furnished with class bills, on which they kept 
 an exact account of the conduct of every scholar in 
 the class, including punctual attendance, correct recita- 
 tions, proper deportment, &c. At the end of each 
 quarter, a general report, made out from these bills, was 
 given to the superintendent. By this report he was 
 able, at once, to know who wer§ the good and who the 
 bad scholars in every class. The names of the most 
 punctual and exemplary scholars were read before the 
 school. At the end of the first and third quarters, bills 
 of credit were awarded to the exemplary scholars in each 
 class, making punctuality one of the principal grounds 
 of the award ; and at the end of the second and fourth 
 quarters, rewards consisting of suitable books, one or 
 more, were presented to those classes whose members, in 
 general, had been exemplary in their conduct, punctual 
 in their attendance, &c. These books were presented on 
 condition that, after being read by all the members of 
 
MODES OF CONDUCTING. 67 
 
 the class, tlie}^ should be deposited in the library of the 
 school, with a card on the cover bearing the names of 
 those scholars on whose account they were presented. 
 
 This mode of rewarding, as it addresses itself to 
 classes rather than individuals, it was said, seems less 
 calculated to excite invidious emulation than any 
 other. Besides, it answers two purposes at once : that 
 of rewarding merit, and at the same time that of con- 
 stantly replenishing the library, which then numbered 
 three hundred volumes.* 
 
 There was one feature, in the early history of the 
 First Parish Sabbath School, in Charlestown, that would 
 seem strange to us at the present day. At the first 
 meeting of the Board of Managers, it was voted to 
 print one thousand tickets, to be given as rewards for 
 punctual attendance, good behavior, &c. The reward 
 tickets represented a money value. If constantly punc- 
 tual and well-behaved, the value for the fifty-two Sab- 
 baths would amount to twenty-six cents. This, however, 
 was payable quarterly in books or clothing. Disor- 
 derly behavior in school or church, or neglect in bring- 
 ing their books, caused a forfeiture of tickets. 
 
 At the annual meeting in 1822, the value of the 
 tickets was reduced, twenty marks being valued at only 
 one mill. This was payable in money. This tariff of 
 prices was, we think, well calculated to check that 
 " evil eye " that " hasteth to be rich ; " for, with this 
 reduced value, if always punctual, a child might in 
 two years receive one cent ; and the money thus 
 received the children were expected to give for the 
 education of heathen youth! 
 
 * Letter of D. Peabody to S. S. and B. C Asso., at Andover. 
 
68 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 One of the rules of the school reqiih'ed cleanliness, 
 as well as strict attention to the commands of the 
 teacher. Another designated the punishment for a 
 lack of punctual attendance at school or church, for 
 loss of books, &c. Then follow rules for conduct cf 
 scholars when out of school. Becoming deportment at 
 home was enjoined ; spending their time on the Sabbath 
 in the study of their books was required ; thus showing 
 that, in the estimation of the founders, it was a privi- 
 lege to become a member of the Sabbath school. 
 
 In the ''Sunday School Repository " for 1818, under 
 the head of " Internal Ilegulations of Sunday Schools," 
 blue and red tickets are recommended for " Rewards." 
 Six blue tickets, given for the correct recitation of 
 thirty-six verses of Scripture, should be equal to one 
 red one, and one red one equal to half a cent in value : 
 the tickets to be redeemed, every three months, with 
 religious books and tracts suitable to the capacities of 
 children. Under the head of " Penalties," teachers 
 absent at roll-call should forfeit twelve* and a half cents 
 each. If unavoidably prevented from attending, they 
 must provide a substitute, or forfeit twenty-five cents. 
 For not reporting the reason of the absence of their 
 scholars, twelve and a half cents. S^iperintendents,* 
 fines double.* 
 
 Some of the pupils in the Sabbath school at West 
 Boylston, which was established in 1818, recited from 
 one to two hundred verses and hymns per week. From 
 the first, premiums, consisting of valuable books and 
 tracts, were given to scholars in proportion to the 
 lessons i;^ cited. Some of the books were the " Dairy- 
 
 * Semi-centeauial Celebration of the First Parish Sabbath School, Charles- 
 towu, pp. 60-62. 
 
MODES OF CONDUCTING. 69 
 
 man's Daughter;" ''Two Lambs;" "Life of Ruby 
 Foster;" "Walks of Usefulness;" "The Robber's 
 Daughter, or the Sunday School Convert : a Narrative 
 founded on Fact ; " " Alfred Galba, or History of Two 
 Brothers, supposed to be written by themselves."* 
 
 QUESTION BOOKS. 
 
 Question books and catechisms were introduced 
 into some schools quite early. The school connected 
 with the First Church in Cambridge, which was organ- 
 ized in 1815, from the beginning used Cummings's 
 " Questions on the New Testament," and various cate- 
 chisms. The school in Framingham, which was formed 
 in 1816, used Emerson's catechism, and Cummings's 
 questions ; the " Assembly's Shorter Catechism," and 
 Wilbur's " Biblical Catechism ; " Baldwin's catechism ; 
 and " Doctrinal and Historical Catechisms." 
 
 The " Christian Mirror," of Portland, Me., published 
 a series of selected lessons for Sabbath schools for 
 several years, beginning 1827. To accommodate those 
 who might wish them, copies were struck off on cards, 
 or separate papers.* 
 
 Judson's " Question Book " was published in 1827 or 
 1828, by the American Sabbath School Union. The 
 Massachusetts Sabbath School Union published " Fiske 
 and Abbott's Bible Class Book, for the use of Sabbath 
 Schools and Bible Classes," in 1829. Li 1836, the 
 Massachusetts Sabbath School Society began the publi- 
 cation of a series of "Biblical Catechisms for Infant 
 Sabbath Schools ; " and the same year it published a 
 question book on Romans. It was prepared with 
 
 * Semi-centennial Anniversary of the Sabbath School of West Boylston. 
 t Boston Recorder, 1829, p. 65. 
 
70 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 great care and labor. It was divided into two parts : 
 the first for tlie younger classes, and the second for the 
 older classes. The author, the late Harvey Newcomb, 
 resided in Pittsburg, Penn. ; and the whole of this 
 large volume was sent by mail, in letters, written in 
 large folio sheets, two columns on a page ; the postage 
 being twenty-five cents a letter. 
 
 Soon after the publication of this book on Romans, 
 the society published "Newcomb's First Question 
 Book," in two volumes, on topics. Since then, the 
 society has published about one hundred question 
 books and catechisms ; and all other Sabbath school 
 publishing associations, and many private publishing 
 houses, have issued a great variety of text-books for 
 the use of Sabbath schools. 
 
 Within a few years, the "Uniform Lessons," now 
 called the "International Lessons," have been very 
 generally adopted by the schools of nearly all denomina- 
 tions throughout the country. The subject of uniform 
 lessons for all our Sabbath schools, it is said, was 
 first proposed in 1865 or 1866, by the Chicago Sunday 
 School Union, through the " Sunday School Teacher," 
 a periodical published under its direction. The firrst 
 schedule of lessons was agreed upon for 1872. And 
 Mr. B. F. Jacobs, a member of that union, is claimed 
 to be the father of the idea of a national uniformity 
 of lessons. These lessons have now become interna- 
 tional. 
 
 It is stated, on what is regarded as good authority, 
 that these lessons have been adopted by the Pres- 
 byterian, Methodist, Baptist, Congregational, Episco- 
 palian, Lutheran, Moravian, and some Universalist 
 churches in our own country ; and that they are being 
 
MODES OF CONDUCTING. 71 
 
 published and used in Great Britain, France, Germany, 
 Norway, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, North- 
 ern India, Burmah, China, Japan, Australia, Fiji Islands, 
 Sandwich Islands, Siam, and the language of the Choc- 
 taw Indians. 
 
 Most of the different denominations have prepared 
 their own lesson papers, or question books, and their 
 distinctive annotations. And the various religious 
 newspapers are also publishing the lessons, from week 
 to week, with appropriate illustrations and comments. 
 
 Some have objected to the use of question books 
 at all. They have said they make the teacher's work 
 too easy. Many leaned upon them too much ; that 
 they merely ask the questions, without making any 
 effort to enforce the truth contained in the lesson, 
 allowing the scholars to read the answers. 
 
 In answer to this, it may be said that very much 
 depends upon the teacher, whether the exercises of the 
 class, with or without the use of such a help, is inter- 
 esting and beneficial. A teacher who would make 
 such an exercise interesting without a question book, 
 would not fail to do so with one. The question book 
 contains the Scripture lesson ; and it need be no 
 hinderance to the teacher's freedom. He could use 
 questions, little or much, as he chose. But a portion 
 of our teachers find the question book 9, great help to 
 them ; and to some teachers it is indispensable. They 
 would be unable to take charge of a class, and make 
 the exercises tolerably interesting, without it. 
 
 A question book used as every teacher should use 
 it, cannot be an injury ; and those wdio use it improp- 
 erly would do still worse in attempting to teach a 
 class without any such aid. And then the question 
 
72 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 book is intended especially to help the scholars in their 
 study of the lesson, like many of the catechetical text- 
 books on the various branches of study in our public 
 schools and higher seminaries of learning. The 
 younger scholars, without such a course of lessons, with 
 questions and answers and references, would do noth- 
 ing but commit the text to memory, and this much all 
 scholars should do with a question book. They would 
 not know how to study the lesson beyond committing 
 it to memory. They would not, without such a guide, 
 search the Scriptures for parallel passages, and to 
 ascertain how one passage sheds light upon another. 
 This the question book, with its references, would 
 teach them. And having studied the lesson with this 
 help of the question book, they would be prepared to 
 answer any appropriate and intelligible questions the 
 teacher might ask in regard to the passage under 
 consideration, whether they were in the question book 
 or not* Intelligent and well-informed teachers in such 
 cases might, if they chose, dispense themselves with 
 the use of the question book. The scholars, having 
 studied the passage and learned its general meaning in 
 this way, would of course understand the teacher's 
 questions and explanations, whether he used the ques- 
 tion book or not. For most younger scholars, there- 
 fore, the question book, with a suitable teacher, cannot 
 be otherwise than useful. And at the present time, 
 those who formerly objected to question books are 
 freely using, more or less, the lesson papers, with 
 their explanations, questions, and references, or the 
 question books on the international lessons. 
 
 A judicious clergyman in 1830 said : " Where ques- 
 tions are used, an experienced and capable teacher will 
 
MODES OF CONDUCTING. 73 
 
 not feel confined to them, but will omit and add as he 
 pleases, and make various remarks of his own as he 
 goes along." 
 
 The great defect in regard to the lessons in our Sab- 
 bath schools is, and ever has been, with or without a 
 question book, that both teachers and scholars do not 
 give the lessons the amount of study that is necessary 
 to secure interest and profit from the exercise of the 
 class. How can a Sabbath school deserve the name of 
 school, if there be no earnest study on the part of the 
 teaclier and the taught? How can it, without this 
 study, be of any real, practical benefit to any one? 
 If superintendents feel obliged to say, as one certainly 
 did say, " I really suppose there are some classes pres- 
 ent in wdiich neither the teachers nor the scholars yet 
 know where the lesson for to-day is ! " how can there 
 be any interest? 
 
 Let the teachers set an example of an earnest prepa- 
 ration of the lesson, and then insist on a similar prepa- 
 ration on the part of the scholars, and this important 
 defect would be removed. No scholar should be 
 allowed to read the answers to his • questions in the 
 Sabbath school, any more than he is in his lessons in 
 geography or history in the public school. Then recit- 
 ing a Sabbath school lesson would mean something. 
 Till such a course of study and recitation is insisted 
 upon, it is surely unfair to throw the blame for any 
 want of interest in the exercises upon the question 
 book. It should be understood that nothing can com- 
 pensate for the want of study in the Sabbath school. 
 No amount of external interest that may be secured by 
 other means — singing, festivals, concerts, with what- 
 ever attractions, measures to bring in new scholars, 
 
74 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 &;c., — can be an equivalent for thorough, earnest study 
 of the lesson. The study of God's Word is one of the 
 primary objects of the Sabbath school. Without this, 
 — where the scholars are advanced enough to study, — 
 the holding of such a school on the Lord's day would 
 be a desecration of the Sabbath. A meeting for reli- 
 gious exercises, of singing, prayer, and exhortation, with 
 the children on the Sabbath, may be appropriate ; but 
 a school on that day, week after week, without any 
 study of the Bible, or books founded on the Bible, 
 would be inappropriate to the sacred hours. 
 
IV. 
 
 REVIVAL OF THE STUDY OF THE CATECHISM. 
 
 For a long time previous to 1835, the use of the 
 " Assembl3^'s Shorter Catechism " and the " New Eng- 
 land Primer " were almost unknown to the young. In 
 the early part of that year, a series of articles, each con- 
 sisting of one question and answer of the catechism, 
 with the proof-texts, explanations, and an anecdote to 
 illustrate it, was published in the " Sabbath School 
 Visitor," the monthly periodical of the Massachusetts 
 Sabbath School Societ}^ 
 
 After the publication of two or three articles, there 
 began to be received letters, inquiring, " What has 
 become of the shorter catechism ? " " Why has 
 the catechism been banished from our families and 
 schools?" &c. 
 
 About that time a clergyman inquired, " Why does 
 not the society publish a cheap edition of the cate- 
 chism ? " As an inducement to the society to do it, he 
 offered to take five hundred copies. In less than two 
 weeks an edition of five thousand copies was published. 
 In a short time some of the religious periodicals and 
 ecclesiastical associations began to speak on the subject, 
 and to recommend the restoration of this banished or 
 neglected manual. 
 
 The following resolution was adopted by a Sab- 
 
 75 
 
76 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 batli School Convention held in Hallowell, Me., in 
 1836 : — 
 
 " Eesolved, That the convention cordially recommend the 
 use of the ' Westminster Assembly's Shorter Catechism ' 
 in Sabbath schools/' 
 
 Rev. Mr. J., one of the leading ministers of the 
 state, in presenting this resolution, said it would not 
 have been necessary thirty j^ears ago. A change has 
 taken place ; we do all by explanation now, nothing 
 by thought ; not so in former ages, when there were 
 giant minds. Now all is on the surface, and fades 
 away from the mind almost as soon as received. Some- 
 thing to administer to gratification is sought, some- 
 thing merely to excite. Now is the time to meet the 
 evil by training the rising generation to think, and 
 not to be merely passive recipients. He referred to his 
 early life when the catechism was taught in families. 
 Is it so now? How comes it that it is not so ? He 
 knew there were objections to this system of truth. 
 Some may be for making a compromise. But with 
 whom ? The enemies of truth ? Truth must be sought 
 after, not relinquished. The catechism holds up a 
 bird's-eye view of doctrines, and exceeds every other 
 book but the Bible. There is mind running through 
 it; it overflows with mind, and piety too. 
 
 If desiring posthumous fame, he would rather be 
 the author of the " Assembly's Catechism " than any 
 other book, besides the Bible ; and ought not this 
 catechism to be introduced into our Sabbath schools ? 
 Two editions of the jcatechism were soon after pub- 
 lished by private houses. One weekly religious paper 
 published a brief commentary on every question and 
 answer, one each week. 
 
THE STUDY OF THE CATECHISM. 
 
 Then the society published an edition with proof- 
 texts and explanations ; then a larger work, called 
 " Exercises on the Shorter Catechism ; " and in 1836 the 
 " New England Primer." Several editions of the primer 
 were afterwards issued by individual publishers. 
 
 This little book — the "children's book" of past 
 generations — found a very ready demand. For ten 
 or fifteen years the study of the catecliism was revived 
 in the families and Sabbath schools of the Congrega- 
 tional denomination very generally throughout New 
 England. From fifty to one hundred or more children, 
 in some parishes, committed the catechism accurately 
 to memory, and received the reward of a Testament, 
 Bible, or a handsome certificate that had been pub- 
 lished, wdiich had been offered. 
 
 Among the many interes.ting incidents connected 
 with the revived study of the catechism in the Sab- 
 bath school, is the following : — 
 
 The superintendent of the Sabbath school at West 
 Springfield offered to give every scholar who would 
 commit it perfectly to memory, — not partly commit 
 it, but commit it perfectly, — a beautiful little pocket 
 Bible, with gilt edges and a tuck. He was willing to 
 pay out of his own pocket five or ten dollars to encour- 
 age the children in this work. 
 
 About six months after this,' we were invited to 
 spend a Sabbath there, and witness the result of the 
 superintendent's offer. 
 
 At the third service, at five o'clock, on a pleasant 
 Sabbath afternoon in June, all assembled at the church. 
 It appeared that one hundred and five scholars had 
 committed the catechism, of whom about seventy-five 
 were present ; so that, instead of costing the good super- 
 
78 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 intendent five or ten dollars, the prospect was that it 
 would cost hnn between seventy-five and one hundred 
 dollars. However, he got his Bibles bound very 
 cheaply, though very beautifully, so that it actually 
 cost him only about sixty dollars to redeem his pledge. 
 And any one could see that he would not have had it 
 one dollar less, he was so delighted with the result. 
 
 After the introductory services, the pastor took the 
 catechism, and in just thirty minutes every question 
 was asked and every answer given. And there were 
 only six mistakes of any kind that we could detect. 
 Every one was surprised at the promptness and accuracy 
 with which it was recited. 
 
 A lady offered a Bible to every member of a Sabbath 
 school who would commit the catechism to memory. 
 She had to give ninety-five Bibles to redeem her pledge. 
 She then offered a valuable present to every one who 
 would commit the catechism, questions and answers, 
 and proof-texts, and five young ladies obtained the 
 prizes. 
 
 In some cases the catechism was used at the quar- 
 terly meetings of maternal associations, and at the 
 Sabbath school concert; and it was made in many 
 cases the subject of remarks, by the pastor and breth- 
 ren, at the weekly church meeting, and at the third 
 service on the Sabbath ; and very great interest was 
 excited in this exercise. 
 
 In many cases arrangements were made to have 
 the " New England Primer " placed in every family 
 in the parish or in the town. And in some instances, 
 as the children and youth who were engaged in the 
 work of distribution, went from house to house with 
 the primer, this little book was welcomed almost with 
 
THE STUDY OF THE CATECHISM. 79 
 
 tears of joy by fathers and mothers, as the cherished 
 friend of their childhood and youth. 
 
 The late Charles A. Spring, of Rock Island, 111., who 
 was interested in the " New England Primer " when a 
 boy, after his conversion, about the time the primer was 
 republished in 1836, engaged in introducing it into that 
 state ; and he distributed personally about ten thousand 
 copies. 
 
 Within fifteen years from the time the study of the 
 catechism was revived, probably more than half a mil- 
 lion copies of it, in various forms, were published and 
 sold. 
 
 Many regarded the general introduction of this ex- 
 cellent compendium of religious truth into our Sabbath 
 schools, and the restoration of the primer to the fire- 
 side, as events full of promise to the church and the 
 cause of Christ. ^ 
 
 " This little manual has been," in the language of a 
 correspondent of a secular newspaper, "one of the 
 greatest blessings to New England that God, in his 
 wisdom and goodness, ever bestowed on a race of 
 sinners. What numberless individuals and families 
 thence drew their first instruction in reading, and had 
 their minds imbued with a taste for knowledge, and 
 their hearts inspired with moral and religious principles 
 by studying its pages ! " 
 
 In regard to the importance of catechetical instruc- 
 tion, the late Rev. Dr. Lyman Beecher, in one of his 
 occasional sermons, says : " It was adopted universally 
 by the primitive Christians ; -was preached by the Wal- 
 denses as their safeguard against the seductions of the 
 Papists ; was resorted to by the churches of the Refor- 
 mation, and continued by the churches of New England ; 
 
80 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 and has uniformly been followed by -the revival or de- 
 cline of religion as it lias been persisted in or neglected. 
 It is preeminently important that there be in the church 
 symbols of evangelical doctrine associated with the 
 earliest recollections of her children. 
 
 " The sure consequence of leaving children to grow 
 up without religious instruction will be irreligion and 
 prejudice against the truth. Whenever, therefore, our 
 doctrinal catechisms, are laid aside, a breach wide as the 
 sea is opened for the enemy to come in." 
 
 The value of laying up the catechism in early life is 
 illustrated by the following incident: — 
 
 An intelligent lady, sixty years old, during a severe 
 sickness, was unable to fix her mind on any subject for 
 a long time. At length the catechism, which she learned 
 in early life, came fresh to her recollection, and she re- 
 membered it fully. Here she found a subject on which 
 her mind could rest. Here was a brief compend of 
 the great doctrines of the Bible, those doctrines which 
 constitute the foundation of all our hopes, upon which 
 she Avas able to meditate with much profit and pleasure. 
 
 All the evangelical denominations have their respec- 
 tive catechisms for this purpose, the "Assembly's Shorter 
 Catechism " being the one more generally used in the 
 Congregational churches and the various branches of 
 the Presbyterian church. 
 
i 
 
 V. 
 
 RELATION OF PARENTS TO THE SABBATH 
 SCHOOL. 
 
 The interest children feel in tlie Sabbath school, and 
 the benefit they derive from it, depend very much on 
 their parents. The children usually bring to the school 
 the famil}^ likeness. If they do not look like their 
 parents, they show the influence of home training. If 
 all the arrangements of the family, on Saturday evening 
 and Sabbath morning, are such as to prevent or not to 
 aid the children in the preparation of their lessons, and 
 in a punctual attendance at the school, it will be seen 
 in their frequent absences, late arrivals, and imperfect 
 lessons, and their general indifference to the school. 
 Punctual attendance and well-studied lessons greatly 
 encourage the hearts and strengthen the hands of teach- 
 ers. They are an assurance of parental cooperation 
 and sympathy. This assurance teachers ought to have. 
 It is justly their due. And in reference to this matter 
 there is a special duty resting on the father. 
 
 The lessons of the Sabbath school ought, in part at 
 least, to be prepared during the week, and both parents, 
 as opportunity may present or occasion require, may 
 encourage and aid their children in this work. 
 
 But in many cases, it is to be feared, nearly the 
 6 81 
 
82 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 whole of this preparation is deferred till Sabbath morn- 
 ing, when the mother's time is fully occupied with 
 various family duties. Not so with the father. If a 
 layman, — and especially a mechanic or merchant, in- 
 stead of a farmer with the care of his flocks and herds, 
 — his time is almost entirely at his command, and a 
 portion of it he can, and ought to, employ in preparing 
 his children for the exercises of the Sabbath school. 
 How can he spend an hour more pleasantly to his chil- 
 dren, or profitably to himself, than by sitting down with 
 them and aiding in the preparation of their lesson? 
 As he encourages them to make their inquiries, and 
 familiarly explains their difficulties, what an interest 
 will kindle in their eyes and glow in their coun- 
 tenances ! What an opportunity is here presented, in 
 answering some questions, or explaining some fact, to 
 enforce truth on the heart and conscience ! 
 
 Every Christian parent acknowledges the duty of 
 giving his children religious instruction. How does 
 the exercise here proposed facilitate the performance 
 of this duty? When can the father find an occasion 
 so favorable, in all respects, to sit down and instruct 
 his children, as on the morning and evening of the 
 holy Sabbath? No worldly cares are then pressing his 
 mind, and no domestic labors call for his attention. 
 Why, then, should not the father regard it as peculiarly 
 his duty to see that the children's Sabbath lessons are 
 well prepared ? Why should this labor, as is often the 
 case, be left wholly to the mother ? It should not. It 
 is the father's duty : a duty he owes to his companion, 
 to his children, to the teachers, and to himself. Will 
 not every parent give this subject a serious considera- 
 tion? 
 
RELATION OF PARENTS. 83 
 
 DELATION OF PARENTS TO THE SABBATH SCHOOL. 
 
 Perhaps we cannot better .give the result of our ex- 
 perience and observation in regard to the relation and 
 duties of parents to the Sabbath school than we did, 
 some years ago, in the following "Superintendent's 
 Letter to Parents." 
 
 Respected Friends : — Permit me, in behalf of the 
 teachers, to address you in regard to our Sabbath 
 school. 
 
 AVe take it for granted that* ypu are interested in the 
 spiritual and eternal welfare of your children. You 
 believe that their highest happiness depends, instru- 
 mentally, on their moral and religious training. 
 
 We take it for granted, likewise, that you are, with 
 us, interested in the institution of Sabbath schools. 
 You regard it as an institution rich in promises of good 
 to the young ; an institution whose special office is to 
 help take care of the children, to aid in their moral and 
 religious education. Through its influence thousands 
 of the young have obtained great benefit to their 
 minds, morals, and hearts, and have been, at least, 
 aided in becoming the children of God. As evidence 
 that you do regard the Sabbath school favorably, you 
 have committed your own children to our institution. 
 
 But, respected friends, we wish it here distinctly 
 understood that it is no part of our object, as Sabbath 
 school teachers, to assume any of your responsibilities, 
 or in any degree to lessen your obligations in regard to 
 the training of your children. Our only object is to 
 aid you in this work, to add our efforts to your faith- 
 ful labors for their salvation. 
 
84 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 You are no doubt aware that it is often said that the 
 Sabbath school is made a substitute for parental instruc- 
 tion ; that many parents favor this institution, and bring 
 their children under its influence for the very purpose 
 of relieving themselves of the responsibility of attend- 
 ing to their religious instruction at home. 
 
 Now we cannot believe this is true to anything like 
 the extent that some suppose. Very few parents, who 
 neglect the religious instruction of their children now, 
 would attend to it were the Sabbath school abolished. 
 
 Still we fear it is true, in regard to a large portion of 
 the young, that the Sabbath school is their only source 
 of personal religious instruction, except so far as they 
 receive it from the ;ninistry. They either have no 
 parents, or they have such parents as concern not them- 
 selves with the religious education of their children. 
 In their dwellings there is no closet or altar of prayer, 
 no Bible read, no parental example or instruction that 
 will lead the children in the way of truth and holiness. 
 Sabbath school or no Sabbath school, it is all the same 
 to them. 
 
 To these multitudes of the young we do, indeed, 
 wish to perform, as far as may be, the kind offices of 
 pious parents. We would take them by the hand and 
 lead them, with all the earnestness and love of parental 
 piety, to the Saviour. 
 
 How awful will be the account those parents must 
 hereafter give, who, while they have been carefully 
 nourishing the body and the mind of their children, 
 have neglected the soul ! But while we wish, in the 
 Sabbath school, to supply their lack of religious instruc- 
 tion to their children, we do not, we dare not, even in 
 such cases, assume any of their responsibility in this 
 
RELATION OF PARENTS. 85 
 
 matter. We cannot appear as their substitutes at the 
 Judgment. They must answer themselves for the right 
 training of their children. 
 
 But it is said that pious parents sometimes transfer 
 their responsibilities in regard to the religious instruc- 
 tion of their children to Sabbath school teachers. So 
 far as this is attempted, it is a most unnatural evil. 
 " Shall our children be turned away from their father's 
 table and sent to find bread at the hand of strangers ? " 
 Alas, for such cruelty ! God has laid duties on parents 
 which they can neither throw off nor delegate to others. 
 
 The obligation of parents to attend personally to 
 the spiritual interests of their children is founded upon 
 that immutable relation that subsists between parents 
 and children ; and no circumstances w^hich do not anni- 
 hilate this relation can destroy or diminish its force. 
 So long as the ties which bind parents and children 
 together exist, so long must the obligation rest upon 
 parents to " bring up their children in the nurture and 
 admonition of the Lord." This obligation cannot be 
 transferred to another. So far from it, new responsibil- 
 ities are laid upon them from the very circumstance 
 that their children are intrusted to the care of the 
 Sabbath school teacher. They must now not only 
 instruct their children themselves, but they must also 
 look after the seed sown^ by the teacher, that it may 
 not be lost, but bring forth fruit to the glory of God. 
 
 It is not merely for the good of the children that 
 God has placed this work in the hands of parents ; it 
 is also for the personal good of parents themselves. 
 Nothing will more surely promote a parent's own 
 growth in grace than the daily prayers and instruc- 
 tions which deep parental solicitude will call forth. 
 
86 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 All this good the parents lose when they transfer the 
 religious education of their children to the Sabbath 
 school teacher. 
 
 While we would thus earnestly warn you against 
 looking upon the Sabbath school as a substitute for 
 parental instruction, we would encourage you to regard 
 it as a most important auxiliary. And we pledge you 
 our prayers and labors, in cooperation with yours, in 
 training your children for usefulness and for heaven. 
 
 You Avill find, we trust, that our Sabbath school will 
 aid you in the intellectual improvement of your chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Although this is not our great object, yet " the 
 instructions in the Sabbath school are wonderfully 
 adapted to quicken, enlarge, and strengthen all the 
 intellectual faculties." There are no fields of knowl- 
 edge that can be thrown open to the human mind so 
 rich, and varied, and interesting, as those spread out 
 before us in the Scriptures. And there is nothing so 
 well adapted to arouse and stimulate to diligence in 
 •exploring those fieWs as that same wonderful book 
 itself, which is our book of instruction in the Sabbath 
 school. 
 
 You will find this instruction an auxiliary to parental 
 government. 
 
 You consider it, we doubt not, of immense conse- 
 quence that young children early possess the spirit and 
 form the habit of subordination and cheerful obedience. 
 You feel that the temper which will lead to cheerful 
 obedience to parental authority is the temper of the 
 Bible. This you wish to teach your children, and any 
 assistance in this work you would thankfully receive. 
 Here is the very place where we come in as your fellow- 
 
RELATION OF PARENT^. 87 
 
 helpers. In the Sahbath school your children have this 
 instruction and discipline. " Every week they subject 
 their will to the will of their teachers ; submit to re- 
 straint and government. They are subdued ; they are 
 chained down by the law of kindness and the bonds of 
 love." 
 
 But the principal object of the Sabbath school is to 
 aid you in training up your children for heaven. 
 
 This, we trust, is the great end of all your solicitude 
 and effort in regard to them. You feel that your family 
 has been constituted, and you placed at its head, to hold 
 the affections of your children and sway over them an 
 unbounded influence, so that you may guide them home 
 to God. 
 
 To aid you in this most interesting work we cheer- 
 fully proffer our services. We will do all we can to 
 assist you in cultivating the consciences and the hearts 
 of your children, that they may be fitted for the duties 
 of life and for the rewards of the faithful in heaven. 
 
 And now, respected friends, you will allow us, your 
 fellow-helpers, freely to suggest a few things which we 
 regard as essential on your part, to render our labors, and 
 the whole influence of the Sabbath school, in the highest 
 degree interesting and profitable to your children. 
 
 In the first place, then, we look to you for the con- 
 stant and punctual attendance of your children. 
 
 To secure the benefits of the school, your children 
 must, of course, attend, and attend constantly and 
 punctually. We have no authority and no power, ex- 
 cepting that of persuasion and love, and the general 
 interest the school may awaken, to secure their attend- 
 ance. For this we must look to you. And shall we 
 not receive your cooperation in this matter ? Will you 
 
88 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 not arrange all your domestic affairs on the Sabbath 
 with reference to their constant and punctual attend- 
 ance? All such arrangements will magnify, in their 
 view, the value of tliis institution. Let no slight 
 cause, no trivial excuse which the indolence or caprice 
 of your children may plead, be a sufficient reason for 
 their absence. The constant and seasonable attendance 
 of their parents at church will have a powerful influ- 
 ence on their minds in regard to their attendance at 
 scho'ol. 
 
 The importance to the young of a habit of punctual- 
 ity in meeting all their duties and engagements you 
 acknowledge. 
 
 We hope you think with us that no one is ever too 
 old or too Avise to study the Word of God, and to study 
 it in the Sabbath school ; and that you will teach this 
 distinctly to your children. It pains us to see so many 
 of our older youth and young people, and even the 
 children of professedly pious parents, withdrawing from 
 the Sabbath school. We are confident this would not 
 often occur were parents faithful in regard to this sub- 
 ject. 
 
 While your children are under age, you are answer- 
 able for the instruction they receive ; and consequently 
 you have the right to direct them in regard to that 
 instruction. 
 
 The manner in Avhich the attendance of older chil- 
 dren and youth can be secured is described in the 
 sequel. 
 
 In the second place, we must look to you to see that 
 your children's lessons are properly prepared. 
 
 In order that a school may be of any practical service 
 to the scholars, there must be study, earnest, thorough 
 
RELATION OF PARENTS. 89 
 
 study. Tliis is as needful in regard to the Sabbath 
 school as any other. Perhaps there is no one thing in 
 our Sabbath schools more discouraging at the present 
 time than the superficial manner in which the lessons, 
 in many instances, are prepared. Indeed, with many 
 scholars, it is to be feared, there is no preparation, not 
 even an examination of the lessons before they reach 
 the class. They seem not to understand that the Sab- 
 bath school is not the place to study, that it should all 
 be done at home. The business at the school is to 
 recite what has before been studied, and to listen to 
 the explanations and remarks of the teacher. Without 
 such a preparation of the lessons, the Sabbath school 
 can be of but little benefit. And for such a prepara- 
 tion we must look to the parents. Shall we look in 
 vain? 
 
 There is scarcely anything that so disheartens the 
 teachers in their work as irregular attendance and neg- 
 lected lessons on the part of the scholars. They see 
 evidence in this that the parents feel no interest in all 
 their labors. They are comjDelled to exclaim, " We are 
 toiling and praying for the spiritual welfare of their 
 children, and what do they care for it ? " 
 
 On the other hand, the constant and regular attend- 
 ance of their scholars, with well-prepared lessons, cheers 
 and encourages the teachers. It shows that they have 
 the sympathy and cooperation of their parents at home. 
 
 What exercise could you find more pleasant and 
 profitable for an hour Saturday evening, or Sabbath 
 morning, than to sit down with your children and go 
 over the lessons, explaining the more difficult parts, and 
 encouraging them to learn and reflect upon their mean- 
 ing? We are certain such an exercise would be pleas- 
 
90 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 ant to most children. Their attention at the outset 
 would be arrested, and their interest excited, by the 
 very circumstance that they are to enjoy the society 
 and instruction of their dear father or mother. The 
 mind and heart of each would thus be all open to 
 receive the full power of ever}^ truth you might address 
 to them. 
 
 Then, parents, you should examine your children 
 after the school, and ascertain what kind of instruction 
 they have received, — how this or that truth or duty 
 was explained by the teachers. If your child is learn- 
 ing a trade, or attending the public school, you often 
 make inquiries as to his progress, and whether any 
 wrong instruction is given. _ But what is a mistake or 
 error in regard to mere human science, or business, 
 compared with wrong instruction in divine truth and 
 the great matter of salvation ? 
 
 The Sabbath school will often furnish you with 
 favorable opportunities for personal religious conversa- 
 tion with your children. How often, as they come to 
 you with their inquiries respecting the lesson, does 
 their deportment invite such conversation ! What 
 favorable opportunities are these for sowing the good 
 seed' Here some highly practical truth or duty occurs 
 in the lesson; what is more natural than that you 
 should seize hold of that truth or duty, and make a 
 practical application of it? A word, under such cir- 
 cumstances, may prove " a word in season," — a word 
 of life and salvation to them. Should you not hail 
 and eagerly improve every such occasion, when you 
 can so naturally, and without weariness to your chil- 
 dren, direct their thoughts to the subject of their per- 
 sonal salvation ? 
 
RELATION OF PARENTS. 91 
 
 This view of the Sabbath school, inasmuch as it 
 increases your opportunities of doing good to your 
 children, increases, instead of lessens, your responsi- 
 bility. And this very fact will endear the Sabbath 
 school to the faithful parent. He will not care how 
 momentous the responsibilities that press upon him, so 
 long as he can hear his Saviour saying to him, " As 
 thy day, so shall thy strength be. ^ly grace is suffi- 
 cient for thee." 
 
 May we not, then, expect your special cooperation in 
 securing a thorough preparation of the lessons, and in 
 exciting an interest in them? 
 
 Again, you can help give much interest and efficiency 
 to our Sabbath school by your own constant presence 
 at the concert. « 
 
 In many places the Sabbath school concert is the 
 most interesting meeting of the month. It is regarded 
 as the children's meeting. They perform that delight- 
 ful part of the service, the singing. The pastor and 
 the superintendent make special preparation to give 
 interest to the meeting. The teachers are all there, 
 together with many Christian friends, to unite their 
 fervent supplications for the selectest blessings of 
 heaven upon the young. 
 
 And will not you be there, to unite in all these 
 services and to witness these exhibitions of interest in 
 the welfare of your own children ; to hear the kind 
 words that will be spoken to them, and the earnest 
 prayers that will be offered for them ; and to listen to 
 their sweet songs of praise ? All heaven, we doubt 
 not, is interested in these scenes. Angels bend their 
 wings and listen to these infant notes of praise. And 
 shall not every father and mother be there to listen too ? 
 
92 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 What place is there like the Sabbath school concert 
 to awaken mutual interest between parents, teachers, 
 and children ? A teacher is requested to pray. With 
 all the fervor of a Christian heart, he pleads with God 
 for blessings upon the young. Will not such a prayer 
 draw forth the affections of the parents towards that 
 teacher ? 
 
 Then a father prays. He prays especially for those 
 who are so faithfully laboring for his children. O, how 
 such a prayer encourages the hearts of the teachers ; 
 and what new interest it awakens among them in 
 their labors ! 
 
 And then, how can you more certainly interest the 
 young than by exhibitions of such mutual interest, 
 on the part of parents and teachers both, in their 
 behalf ? We trust, parents, that your hearts, and ours, 
 and the hearts of your children, will ever be cheered 
 by your presence at the concert. 
 
 If you would help to make the Sabbath school in 
 the highest degree a blessing to your children, we* 
 would suggest that you should become personally con- 
 nected with the school. 
 
 We are aware that various circumstances — such as 
 infirmity, domestic cares and duties, especially where 
 there are small children, &c., — are often given as 
 reasons for not uniting with the Sabbath school. But 
 we think that all should regard themselves, in some 
 relation, as members to this institution. This all owe 
 to themselves, to the young, and to the whole com- 
 munity. Let every one, of whatever age, be connected 
 with the school, as superintendents, teachers, pupils, or, 
 at least, as an occasional visitor. Let your names be 
 
RELATION OF PARENTS. 93 
 
 enrolled as members ; and then, as Providence shall 
 enable 3^ou, attend in some of these relations. In this 
 way you would help create a public sentiment in refer- 
 ence to the school, so that every individual in the 
 society, of whatever age or standing, would feel that 
 his or her connection with the school would be 
 reputable. 
 
 We often hear young people, and even youth, saying 
 they are too old to attend the Sabbath school ! But 
 who ever heard them saying this in regard to public 
 worship ? Let parents manifest an interest in the Sab- 
 bath school, as they do in public worship — by their 
 attendance — and their children will never think of 
 being too old to attend. The truth of this can be 
 shown by numerous cases. We know of instances 
 where whole families of children have grown up, with 
 their parents, in the Sabbath school. Even the older 
 ones — some now of age, some in college, some in 
 business — still accompany their parents to Sabbath 
 school as in their childhood. The question of leaving 
 the school is one they have never entertained for a 
 moment, if it has ever occurred to them. They would 
 not leave it if they could. They would be as restless, 
 as much lost, on the Sabbath, without the Sabbath 
 school, as they would without public worship. This is 
 all the result of parental example. 
 
 There are also numerous instances, where the indiffer- 
 ence of even professedly Christian parents is giving 
 us just the opposite result. At the age of twelve or 
 thirteen, all their children become too smart for the 
 Sabbath school. A teacher asked a lad why he had 
 left the school. His answer was, " You don't catch me 
 
94 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 at that business again." It was ascertained that he 
 had heard his professedly pious parents speak very 
 lightly of the Sabbath school. They had also said, 
 " The children may attend or not, as they wish ; we 
 shall not interfere with them about it." How long 
 before such indifference to public worship would lead 
 all their children to forsake the house of .God? 
 
 Let it be remembered, then, that the question, 
 whether or not our young people shall be retained 
 in the Sabbath school, depends upon the example and 
 influence of their parents. 
 
 Once more, permit us to entreat you, by every means 
 in your power, to cooperate with the teachers in their 
 work. 
 
 If there are any two classes of laborers in the king- 
 dom of Christ, whose situation and duties seem to point 
 them out peculiarly as fellow-laborers, they are parents 
 and Sabbath school teachers. The field in which they 
 labor is one ; and the object for which they are laboring 
 is one. Why then should they not join heart and hand, 
 and labor together? The same difficulties and dis- 
 couragements meet them both ; why, then, should they 
 not unite their strength to resist or overcome them? 
 The same precious promises are held out to them both ; 
 the same bright hopes inspire them ; and the same 
 glorious reward awaits them both, if they are faithful ; 
 why, then, should they not walk together, cheering 
 and gladdening each other's hearts by mutual counsel 
 and encouragement? 
 
 Parents, be fellow-laborers with the teachers of your 
 children. Encourage them in their work by your 
 prayers, your affectionate counsel, and your hearty 
 cooperation. Let them see you constantly imploring 
 
RELATION OF PARENTS. 95 
 
 the blessing of God upon their instructions, and water- 
 ing with your tears the seed they have sown in the 
 hearts of your children. Then will they take courage 
 to go on in their labor of love ; then will they join their 
 prayers and mingle their tears with yours; and together 
 with you will they rejoice over your dear offspring 
 turning unto God, if by your mutual labors and 
 prayers this unspeakable blessing shall be brought 
 down from above. 
 
 But how it must discourage and distress the faitliful 
 teacher to see all his efforts lost, or nearly so, because 
 parents do not cooperate with him! 
 
 To counteract the influence of teachers, it is not 
 necessary that parents should go so far as to oppose 
 Sabbath schools. It is not necessary that they should 
 tell their children that this or that thing which their 
 teachers taught them is not true. No. Let parents 
 manifest before their children merely an indifference 
 to the cause of Sabbath schools, or an indifference 
 to the commands of the Bible, — in a word, let them 
 only fail to commend to their children, by their pre-» 
 cepts and example, the great truths of the Scriptures 
 which are taught in the Sabbath school, and teachers 
 will have sad reason to fear that they are laboring 
 in vain. 
 
 The teacher meets his class on the Sabbath. His 
 very countenance, like that of Moses, shows that he has 
 just come from holy communion with God. Under 
 the influence of this love to souls, which he has fanned 
 to a flame in his closet, he enters upon his pleasing but 
 responsible duties. Even the smallest child sees affec- 
 tion and anxiety beaming in the teacher's e3^e. All 
 know that they are the objects of this affection and 
 
96 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 anxiety. Now, who does not see that this teacher, so 
 far as he himself is concerned, has the most flattering 
 prospects of doing good? 
 
 Cheered with these prospects, at length he begins to 
 press home upon the hearts of his dear children the 
 duty of loving God " now in the days of their youth." 
 One, and another, and another of his class begin to 
 show that truth is reaching their hearts — they weep. 
 He becomes more and more earnest and affectionate; 
 but, alas ! there is one member of his class that remains 
 unmoved. Truth falls upon liis ear just as it does 
 upon the others, but, unlike the others, he can keep it 
 from his heart. When the teacher tells him he must 
 love God, he immediately says to himself, if not to the 
 teacher, " Why, my father and mother love me ; but 
 they never told me I must love God. They would 
 have told me if I ought to love him." In this way the 
 truth is repelled from the heart. And the efforts of the 
 teacher with that scholar are almost as hopeless as they 
 would be if his parents were heathen. 
 
 And oh, how often, too, do even Christian parents, by 
 their coldness in the performance of religious duties, or 
 by their neglect of them, counteract, in the same way, 
 tJie influence of the Sabbath school ! 
 
 And parents, be especially watchful, if you would 
 not counteract the influence of the teachers, how you 
 speak of them before your children. Their influence for 
 good, as well as that of a pastor, is ruined, unless 
 they are respected and esteemed by those for whose 
 good they labor. And one disparaging remark from a 
 parent, in regard to the person, character, manners, 
 ability, instruction, &c., of a teacher or minister, may 
 destroy all the respect and esteem which the children 
 
RELATION OF PARENTS. 97 
 
 have been cherishing for him. Are parents aware of 
 the sj)iritual injury they do their own children, when 
 they speak lightly, or in any way disparagingly, before 
 them, of their teachers or ministers? 
 
 Permit us, respected friends, briefly to recapitulate, 
 and say, you cannot too deeply feel that the great 
 object of the Sabbath school is the religious instruc- 
 tion and salvation of your children. For the accom- 
 plishment of this object there must be, on your part, 
 an earnest, constant, and practical interest in the 
 institution. There is no class of persons whom it 
 so deeply concerns. It seeks the good of 3^our own 
 offspring. If you, then, are not interested in its exist- 
 ence and efficiency, who can we expect will be ? The 
 friends of this institution have a right to expect the 
 warm sympathy and most earnest cooperation of parents 
 in this work. Indeed, the character and object of 
 the Sabbath school are such, that one would suppose 
 parents would be its principal supporters. They would 
 take the lead in the work, and others come in only as 
 their assistants. 
 
 If you do not engage in the work personally as 
 superintendents and teachers, you certainly should 
 manifest an interest in it greater than all others, — 
 by using your influence to secure the constant, punc- 
 tual, and interested attendance of your children; by 
 seeing that they come with lessons properly studied ; 
 and by your own presence at the concert, and, so 
 far as may be, at the school ; and by giving the teach- 
 ers your cheerful and hearty cooperation in every way 
 possible. 
 
 We renewedly pledge you our most earnest en- 
 ■ T 
 
98 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 deavors, by labor and prayer, to aid you in training 
 up your beloved children to be useful on earth,' 
 and at last to meet you and us in the kingdom of 
 heaven. 
 
 In behalf of the Teachers, 
 
 Yours, : 
 
VI. 
 
 LABORS OF PASTORS. 
 
 Pastoes, with all their other numerous and respon- 
 sible duties, cannot generally, and especially on the 
 Sabbath, perform much direct labor in connection with 
 the Sabbath school. This is the peculiarly appropriate 
 field of labor for private Christians. Pastors may be 
 expected to take a general supervision of the school; 
 but the teacliing and the immediate superintendence of 
 the school may well be attended to by private Chris- 
 tians. Circumstances have induced some pastors to 
 take the sole superintendence of their schools, and 
 oftener to perform the labor of teachers in their schools. 
 Some of these testify that they never passed their Sab- 
 baths so profitably and pleasantly as when thus con- 
 nected with the Sabbath school. Yet it is doubted 
 whether there are many pastors who can consistently 
 perform this labor: By throwing the burden of this 
 work upon the private members of the church, not 
 a little of their moral power, which otherwise might be 
 lost to Zion, is thus brought into operation, and at the 
 same time a larger amount of the pastor's energies may 
 be directed to that department more properly minis- 
 terial. Another consideration is that a greater number 
 of persons are thus engaged in the work, and they can 
 labor to greater advantage. 
 
 99 
 
100 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 But though the pastor cannot perform much labor 
 dh^ectly in the school, yet he may m many ways indi- 
 rectly do more to give interest and efficiency to it than 
 any other individual, and that, too, without greatly 
 increasinof the amount of his labors. 
 
 In every parochial visit he may exert a secret but 
 most happy influence on the prosperity of his school. 
 His occasional prayers, also, and short addresses in the 
 school and at the concert, and his word of encourage- 
 ment, counsel, or admonition, whenever he may feel 
 able to tarry a moment, and pass from one smiling 
 group to another, will kindle a glow of interest in 
 every heart. Even his occasional presence, though he 
 speak not a word, and do nothing more than pass 
 through the school, dispensing here and there his ex- 
 pressions of interest and affection, will exert an impor- 
 tant influence. 
 
 " Do you care," inquired a father of his little daugh- 
 ter, as they returned from the Sabbath school, " do you 
 care about having the minister visit the school, unless 
 he talks to the scholars ? " 
 
 " O, yes, sir," said she, with the greatest enthusiasm, 
 
 "because he looks on us so pleasantly." There is an 
 
 • eloquence in the approving, affectionate look of an 
 
 interested pastor that will often move the heart of the 
 
 young more effectually than any eloquence of words. 
 
 "Mr. L ," said a mother to her minrster, "my 
 
 little James will never forget you as long as he lives. 
 He often says, ' Mother, the minister, when he 'W^as 
 going out of meeting, put his hand on my head.' " 
 
 Children notice these little attentions at church and 
 in the Sabbath school; and no minister can take the 
 trouble to pat his hand on the head of a child without 
 
LABORS OF PASTORS. 101 
 
 gaining a warm and permanent place in that child's 
 young hear-t. These apparently trifling attentions may 
 procure the minister many a true friend to stand by 
 him in the hour of adversity and in the decline of life. 
 
 We have known but few, if any, pastors who regard 
 this sort of supervision of the Sabbath school, and such 
 an attention to its interest and its welfare, as an inter- 
 ference with their other duties, or as too great an addi- 
 tion to their other labors. On the other hand, most 
 regard the institution as their auxiliary, and watch 
 over it and use it accordingly. The case can hardly be 
 conceived where a minister's duties and labors are so 
 numerous and fatiguing as to demand or even justify 
 an entire neglect of this institution. As a faithful 
 pastor he must see that the lambs as well as the sheep 
 of his flock are fed, and that if he choose to commit 
 them in part to other hands, still the responsibility of 
 seeing that they are fed, and fed, too, with the sincere 
 milk of the word, rests upon him. 
 
 One pastor, at least, — and one who ranked among 
 those most abundant in their labors in the pulpit, at 
 the social meeting, and from house to house, — used to 
 meet his school every Sabbath, when at home, and 
 spend the whole time of its session in various labors to 
 promote its efficiency. And his testimony in this re- 
 spect was, that he was better fitted in body, mind, and 
 heart for his other duties in consequence. It afforded 
 variety to the labors of the day, and was to him really 
 a season of rest. This, however, might not, and prob- 
 ably would not, be the experience of every pastor ; nor, 
 however gratifying it might be to the school, should 
 it be expected of every pastor that he should imitate 
 such an example. 
 
102 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 There is hardly any way in which a pastor can, indi- 
 rectly, exert so great an influence on his school as 
 through the teachers' meeting. A short season spent 
 with the teachers, once in one or two weeks, in explain- 
 ing to them the lesson for the school, could hardly be 
 employed' more profitably. 
 
 By attending the teachers' meeting, the pastor greatly 
 increases the power of his ministry. The teachers 
 become the instruments with which he works. Teach- 
 ers, it has been well said, are the pastor's colleagues to 
 the extent of their ability. He electrotypes himself, as 
 it were, upon them, and through them becomes himself 
 a teacher in every class in the school. His remarks 
 and illustrations of truth will be repeated by them in 
 every class. He becomes himself acquainted with the 
 lessons, so that his prayers for the school, and his own 
 teachings from the pulpit, his remarks at the school 
 and the concerts, and his personal addresses to the 
 members of his school, as he meets them in their 
 homes or b}^ the way, will be more appropriate and 
 practical. 
 
 A large proportion of the pastors at the present day 
 are doing more or less for the prosperity of their respec- 
 tive Sabbath schools. Some open the school every Sab- 
 bath, or occasionally, with prayer and a short address ; 
 some spend the whole season the school is in session in 
 various labors for its prosperity ; others take charge of a 
 class of 3^oung people ; some preach once or twice every 
 year on the subject of Sabbath schools ; others preach 
 frequently on some portion of the lessons ; some al- 
 ways attend the teachers' meeting and the concert, 
 and some few take the entire superintendence of their 
 school. 
 
VII. 
 
 RELATION OF THE CHURCH TO THE SABBATH 
 SCHOOL. 
 
 The Sabbath school is the child of the church, and 
 to the church it should ever look for its support and 
 instruction. It is called the nursery of the church. 
 From this nursery the church is to obtain many of her 
 most vigorous, thrifty, fruitful plants. 
 
 An institution, then, so intimately connected with the 
 growth of the church should be vigorously sustained. 
 Its general management and support should be under 
 the care of the church. 
 
 Many of the churches are organized professedly into 
 Sabbath school societies, as stated heretofore, and have 
 their schools under their control. The superintendents 
 are church officers. They are chosen, like other officers 
 and committees, at the annual church meeting. Usually 
 the teachers are requested to nominate the superinten- 
 dent ; and then the church, if the nomination is regarded 
 a suitable one, confirms the action of the teachers. In 
 some cases, not only the superintendents, but all the 
 officers and teachers are appointed at the annual meet- 
 ing of the church. A committee is also appointed, 
 who, with the pastor, have the general supervision of 
 the school for the year. This committee visit the 
 school in rotation, one each Sabbath ; they are con- 
 
 103 
 
104 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 suited in regard to all new or special measures, examine 
 the class papers, &c. They hold quarterly meetings for 
 consultation. This committee, in some cases, is a board 
 of counsellors, with whom the superintendent may, at 
 all times, confer. 
 
 The church, by this committee, is consulted in regard 
 to the course of lessons to be used, and in the purchase 
 of the books for the library. And then the church, as 
 should be the case, furnishes the means for the in-* 
 crease of the library and to meet all the expenses 
 of the school. In too many cases this expense is all 
 left to fall upon the teachers, who are doing all the 
 work. 
 
 The church is God's ordained, divinely appointed 
 institution for all moral and religious instruction and 
 reformation. 
 
 No Sabbath school, or any other organization, should 
 come between the professing disciples of Christ and 
 the church. No other organization or institution — 
 except the family, which is also divinely appointed — 
 can have prior or superior claims upon them. To no 
 other should they feel under such obligations to give 
 their toils and prayers as to the church. She should be 
 preferred above their chief joy. We cannot enlist in 
 the Sabbath school work, or any other system of means 
 for building up the kingdom of Christ, irrespective of 
 the church, All these should be the outgrowth of the 
 church. The church combines in herself every possible 
 means for doing the work. She can put in operation 
 and direct all the machinery needed for its accomplish- 
 ment. 
 
 What is the church established for, in any given loca- 
 tion, if not to labor, not only in seeking the spiritual 
 
RELATION OF THE CHURCH. 105 
 
 growth of her own members, but also for Christ in 
 seeking the salvation of all, old and youth, within her 
 reach ? The Sabbath school she will cherish as a ver}^ 
 important auxiliary in this work, or rather as one of her 
 own agencies, which she has called into existence, 
 through which to do the work. It and all other plans 
 of doing Christian work are to be under the direction 
 of the church, — they are but different modes in which 
 the church herself is carrying on her great mission 
 in the world. All should be conducted so as not to 
 interfere with the highest efficiency of the church, 
 but rather to give scope for all her activities. As no 
 weapon formed against the church shall prosper, so no 
 plan that may be devised to take the place of the 
 church and do its work can prosper. 
 
 Such being the relation of the church to the Sab- 
 bath school, and the instruction of this institution being 
 adapted to all of every age, of course all the members 
 of the church, so far as circumstances will permit, 
 should give it the encouragement and support of their 
 presence as teachers or scholars. No one is too old to 
 study the Scriptures. No one can have finished his 
 education in the Bible. No one has yet penetrated all 
 the rich mines of the Word of God. 
 
 As to the particular relation the pastor sustains to 
 the Sabbath school, it may be said, he is the modera- 
 tor of all meetings of the church. The general super- 
 vision of all plans adopted by the church for the moral 
 and religious improvement of the people, is liis preroga- 
 tive — not less of the Sabbath school, than of the meet- 
 ings of the church for prayer and conference. His 
 relations to the Sabbath school and all the various meet- 
 ings of the church, are such, that he may at any time 
 
106 FIFTY TEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 feel a perfect liberty to be present, and make such 
 suggestions, and give such advice, counsel, and exhorta- 
 tion, as he shall think the best interests of the school 
 and the people require. 
 
 There ought not to be — in a parish Sabbath school 
 especially — the most distant appearance of interests 
 distinct from those of the pastor, the church, and 
 society. Such a school, organized and conducted 
 independently of the ministry and the church, may be 
 managed so as to exert the most baneful influence on 
 the usefulness of the pastor, and the prosperity of the 
 church and congregation. The superintendent and his 
 cabinet of teachers, bound together, as they usually 
 are, by strong sympathy and fellow-feeling, — should 
 they become disaffected, or for any reason disposed, — 
 might make the Sabbath school anything but a bless- 
 ing, — a kingdom within a kingdom, — an engine of 
 the greatest mischief. 
 
 We do not say that such has ever been the case. 
 But we have known a few instances where pastors have 
 been not a little embarrassed, and have felt their 
 influence much crippled and abridged, by such an 
 organization of the Sabbath school as has shut them 
 out from that general oversight and supervision which 
 properly belongs to them, and deprived them of the 
 cheerful and harmonious cooperation of their superin- 
 tendents. 
 
 This difficulty is avoided where the churches, as is 
 now extensively the case, take this institution under 
 their own care, organizing themselves in some instances 
 into Sabbath school societies, with the pastors of course 
 for the presidents or moderators, electing their superin- 
 tendents and teachers, and adopting such a course of 
 
RELATION OF THE CHURCH. 107 
 
 instruction and such plans to give interest and efficiency 
 to the schools, as their wisdom may suggest. 
 
 A clergynian, in one of our cities, in 1830 wrote : 
 " The class under my care has been organized about 
 eighteen months. Between twenty and tliirty young 
 ladies, from sixteen to twenty-five years of age, were 
 connected with it. Since the class commenced, two 
 thirds of the whole number have become pious. I do 
 not feel as if any more need be said to show the utility 
 of ministers becoming Sabbath school teachers. Should 
 it be said another might fill their place as well and 
 even better, I would answer, no other person could have 
 collected the class of young ladies under my care. 
 They would have felt too wise and old to be Sabbath 
 school scholars, but from the fact that their pastor was 
 their teacher. I can truly say, if I ever felt I was 
 honored, it is when I am seated as a Sabbath school 
 teacher. Some may intimate that it must be too 
 laborious for me, with my other duties on the Sabbath. 
 Paul did more in one day than I do in a month ! I 
 need say no more." 
 
 The late Rev. Dr. Hawes, of Hartford, Conn., in a 
 letter to the Sabbath School and Bible Association, in 
 Andover Theological Seminary, dated March 16, 1830, 
 writes : — 
 
 " I can assure my brethren who are preparing for the 
 ministry, that no part of their future duties will be more 
 important and more interesting than instructing the young 
 in Bible classes and Sabbath schools.'' 
 
 He thus describes his own labors among his young 
 people : — 
 
 ** From the first of my ministry here, I have endeav- 
 
108 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 ored to engage the confidence of my young people, and 
 especially of young men. In attempting to draw them 
 around me for instruction, I have had recourse to various 
 expedients. Soon after I came here, I formed a class of 
 my most intelligent young people for the purpose of study- 
 ing Porter's 'Evidences of Christianity.' Subsequently I 
 collected a pircle of my first young ladies to recite Paley's 
 ' Moral Philosophy.' This I found very useful, as it gave 
 me access to some minds that I could not well reach in any 
 other way. I have also made use of Weeks's catechism, 
 and afterwards of AVilbur's, and last of all, the Bible, 
 which is by far the best class-book I have yet found. 
 
 " My method of teaching is very simple. Nearly three 
 years ago I requested my young people over twelve years 
 of age, who were desirous of uniting in a Bible class, to 
 give me their names. A class of about two hundred was 
 soon formed. I met them once in two weeks, and began 
 with Matthew. I generally gave out a chapter, or a part 
 of a chapter, as the case might be, and requested them to 
 study it in the most thorough manner they were able. At 
 the meeting I questioned any I chose. And here the 
 great point, I have thought, to be arrived at, is familiarity. 
 I have endeavored to make the meetings as social as pos- 
 sible, giving myself great latitude, both as to the topics 
 discussed and the manner of discussing them. I have 
 wished to make the exercise a rallying point for m}^ young 
 people. I have, therefore, studied to interest .them by 
 varying my addresses and remarks so as to keep up their 
 attention, and send them away with subjects to think of 
 and talk about. In this way I find no diflSculty in calling 
 them together. 
 
 " I meet the class now once a week. The place of 
 meeting will seat nearly five hundred persons, and for 
 more than two years it has been constantly filled, often 
 thronged, and sometimes hundreds have gone away. I 
 
RELATION OF THE CHURCH. 109 
 
 have been exceedingly interested in the exercise myself, 
 and every week, I have reason to believe, the interest of 
 those who attend has been increasing. I open and close 
 the meeting with a short prayer, sometimes sing, and usu- 
 ally spend just one hour in the service. This is important. 
 Long meetings weary. The class know my rule, and they 
 are always. in their seats within five minutes of the time, 
 and then I always begin. 
 
 "If T maj^ judge from my own limited experience, I 
 would say that the great secret of conducting Bible classes 
 is in making them interesting. Do this, and all obstacles 
 are removed. There is no difiSculty in getting young per- 
 sons together if you can only interest them. To effect 
 this, we must be familiar, st>cial, not abstract, not critical, 
 not always serious, solemn, not always driving at the heart 
 and conscience. Choose your time, then strike, and strike 
 hard." 
 
 Rev. Fred. E. Cannon, of Ludlow, Yt., in a letter to 
 the above association, dated December 19, 1829, writes : 
 
 "I would express it as my full conviction that a large 
 share of ministerial labor can in no way be better bestowed 
 than in Bible class and Sabbath school efforts. If I have 
 accomplished any good to the souls of men in this place, 
 the past year especially, I believe it has been principally 
 through this medium. I believe, also, that a very essential 
 service would be done to this cause if some person would 
 publish a system of high intellectual and critical questions 
 upon the Scriptures, adapted to assist the minds of think- 
 ing men in Bible classes. I have in vain sought for such a 
 system, and, for want of it, I have been driven to the her- 
 culean task of making my own. • Such a work is a great 
 desideratum, and perhaps the gentlemen of your associa- 
 tion may devise some method of placing it in the hands of 
 the churches.'^ 
 
110 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 Since 1829, numerous books have been prepared in 
 accordance with this suggestion. Among others, the 
 "Pastor's Bible Class Question Book," published by 
 the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, in 1850, was 
 extensively used by pastors in their instructions to 
 Bible classes, and especially classes of converts. 
 
 Rev. Moses Miller, of Heath, Mass., who organized a 
 Sabbath srchool in his parish in 1815, which was the first 
 one in Franklin county, and who had previously, for 
 several years, conducted Bible classes in the different 
 districts of this town, recommended, in 1829, that the 
 school should, as far as practical, have the same lesson, 
 and the preacher should select the themes of his dis- 
 course from the lesson, and expound, as far as he can 
 consistently with variety, selecting either the most diffi- 
 cult or prominent texts in the lesson. 
 
 In a few years after his settlement in 1803, he became 
 interested in the instruction of the young, and he com- 
 menced teaching the children Emerson's catechisms 
 during the intermission of public worship. Soon after 
 he commenced teaching a class of youth in Wilbur's 
 catechism during the week, and immediately after 
 formed a Bible class ; then Bible classes in the different 
 districts for persons of all ages ; then a Bible class for 
 the young during the intermission of worship, — thus 
 alternately instructing the youth and children on the 
 Sabbath. In the weekly Bible classes in the school 
 districts, parents and children met and were question-ed 
 upon the lesson given out on the Sabbath previous. 
 He longed to see the whole congregation studying the 
 Bible, especially during the intermission on the Sab- 
 bath, instead of engaging, as he feared was the case, in 
 
RELATION OF THE CHURCH. Ill 
 
 vain conversation. He entered warmly into every plan 
 connected with the Sabbath school after it was estab- 
 lished, and in a few years he had the pleasure of seeing 
 a larger portion of the people in the school than proba- 
 bly in any other school in the land. 
 
VIII. 
 
 SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 
 
 A VERY common subject for essays and discussions at 
 conventions and other Sabbath, school meetings has 
 ever been, " The Qualifications of Superintendents and 
 Teachers." 
 
 These qualifications have often been placed so high 
 and imposing that many of our most devoted and suc- 
 cessful superintendents and teachers have shrunk back 
 abashed and discouraged at the solemn array of respon- 
 sibilities and duties of this work. These qualifications 
 have been simply impracticable in the case of most 
 teachers. None but theological professors could possi- 
 bly attain to the standard presented. 
 
 But we cannot have such professors for superinten- 
 dents and teachers in all our Sabbath schools. And the 
 only practical question in any given church or place 
 where tliere is to be a school is, What can we do that 
 will best promote the interests of the school with the 
 materials we have ? Who is the best man among us 
 for superintendent, and who are the best men and 
 women among us for teachers? These selected, the 
 next thing is. How can such best qualify themselves for 
 their work ? We must remember that a large portion 
 of them are engaged in daily employments that call for 
 their undivided time and thought during most of the 
 
 112 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 113 
 
 hours of their week-days. They have but little time, 
 except on the Sabbath, to prepare themselves for 
 teaching*. 
 
 Fathers and mothers, who have some experience in 
 the training of their own children, in learning the 
 peculiarities of mind and the various temperaments of 
 the young, and what is the best way to lead them into 
 the paths of truth and piety, other things being equal, 
 may be expected to make the best teachers in the Sab- 
 bath school. But it is often the case that young Chris- 
 tians have far better natural qualifications for this im- 
 portant office than many older Christians, even parents. 
 They are more apt to teach, have a special faculty of 
 getting the attention and awakening the interest of the 
 young. They have not yet forgotten, as some older per- 
 sons often seem to have done, that they were once chil- 
 dren themselves. They can recall all the embarrass- 
 ments and restraints they felt in their associations with 
 older people ; how they longed for something bright 
 and cheerful connected with religious instruction.- 
 
 There may be some even, who are not Christians, 
 whose moral tone of character is so high, who have 
 such a love for children, such an aptness for communi- 
 cating instruction, and such a magnetism in drawing 
 the young to them, that they will be much more likely 
 to benefit their pupils than some professors of religion 
 who have none of these qualifications. 
 
 Of course we should, ordinarily, make personal piety 
 the first and the most important qualification in a 
 teacher. But we must not forget that in many places, 
 especially in the early days of this institution, there 
 could be no successful Sabbath school if none but pro- 
 fessors of religion were to be employed as. teachers. 
 
114 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 Having selected tlie best materials the church has for 
 superintendent and teachers, then everytliing should be 
 done that can be to impress them with the importance 
 and solemnity of their office, and their need of earnest 
 effort to qualify themselves, in the best manner possible, 
 for their work, by reading such books and periodicals 
 as they can obtain on the subject ; by the most careful 
 study of the lesson; by a constant attendance of the 
 teachers' meeting; by seeking the aid and advice of 
 their pastor as they have opportunity, and by much 
 prayer for the teaching and aid of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 A superintendent, in 1829, was accustomed to devote 
 a large share of his time to making preparation for his 
 Sabbath labors in the school. He usually j)repared a 
 course of lectures, explaining, in a simple and interest- 
 ing manner, the historical parts of the Bible, or the 
 practical parts, connecting together the fragments of 
 history or moral precepts in chronological or natural 
 order. 
 
 Another superintendent, about the same time, was 
 accustomed to spend two whole days a week in prepar- 
 ing for his school. But few persons, of course, can 
 command their time in this way. And we must not 
 expect it from the great body of superintendents and 
 teachers. 
 
 Some of the most successful superintendents and 
 teachers ever connected with Sabbath schools, — those 
 who have had the honor of leading the largest number 
 of scholars to the Saviour, — have been those who, ap- 
 parently, have had very small advantages for qualify- 
 ing themselves for their work. They have been men 
 and women whose daily employments have left them 
 but little time during the week-days for this purpose ; 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 115 
 
 but they have been persons of a plain and simple piety 
 and of earnest prayer. They have been accustomed to 
 study their lessons on their knees, and go from their 
 closets as from the very presence-chamber of the Al- 
 mighty to their schools and classes, and their faces 
 almost shone with a heavenly radiance, as did the face 
 of Moses when he came down from the Mount of God. 
 They received their qualifications mainly from the 
 teachings of the Holy Spirit. God was with them, 
 and they taught under the divine guidance. Their 
 great end was not merely to please and interest their 
 pupils, but to secure their salvation. For this they 
 labored earnestly in the class, and for this they daily 
 prayed. And the fruit of their labor was a Rch har- 
 vest of souls. A teacher of a class of thirty-two 
 scholars during six months in 1832 had the pleasure of 
 seeing twenty-eight of those scholars make a public 
 profession of religion. 
 
 In a school, the same year, where only four were 
 converted, three of them were from a class whose 
 teacher resolved to "attempt great things." 
 
 A teacher, more than thirty years ago, frequently 
 rose before light, in the coldest winter weather, to pre- 
 pare her heart for the responsible duties of the Sabbath 
 school. In a short time she had evidence that five of 
 her scholars had become reconciled to God. 
 
 Another teacher, about the same time, labored for 
 several months with strong confidence that she would 
 see her whole class converted ; and some thirteen of 
 them were soon after hopefully converted, and the re- 
 maining one was an anxious inquirer. 
 
 A scholar expressed a preference for Mr. as a 
 
 teacher, "because," he said, "he always talks to his 
 
116 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 class till lie cries." And this is one example out of 
 many that might be given, to show that scholars gen- 
 erally prefer faithful teachers, and that such, generally, 
 rather than those who are using any special machinery, 
 or introducing novelties, are the ones that interest their 
 scholars and secure their conversion. 
 
 A teacher for a long time had been unusually anx- 
 ious for her class of six little girls. She urged them 
 to attend a protracted meeting in a neighboring parish. 
 On the third day she saw her superintendent, and, tak- 
 ing him by the hand, while the tears of Christian joy 
 were gushing from her eyes, she exclaimed, " Can you 
 believe it? — all my class are rejoicing in hope I " 
 
 A teacher, in speaking of some hopeful appearances 
 in a member of his class, said, " I shall not fail to bear 
 him upon my mind in prayer in an especial manner ; " 
 and added, '^If I can be instrumental in saving one 
 soul from ruin, and preparing it for heaven, how abun- 
 dantly shall I be rewarded for all the toil and effort I 
 may make in such an enterprise." 
 
 A teacher in Maine, in 1831, said : " One Sabbath 
 morning I was engaged in the exercise of family wor- 
 ship. As I came to pray for the Sabbath school, as I 
 always do, the thought flashed upon my mind that I 
 had not been faithful to my class. I became very 
 much affected, and made confession of my WTong, and 
 earnestly prayed that the Lord would forgive me, and 
 help me henceforth to be faithful. I went to the Sab- 
 bath school, and, after hearing my class recite their 
 lesson, began to converse with them faithfully. To 
 my astonishment, they were all melted into tears. Sev- 
 eral of my scholars were hopefully converted." 
 
 5ow many teachers have been astonished, and had 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 117 
 
 tlieir hearts made glad, by faithful labors among the 
 members of their classes ! 
 
 Mrs. R., in the same state, in the summer of 1833, 
 feeling that a Sabbath school was much needed in her 
 neighborhood, began to make inquiries about having 
 one commenced. There had formerly been one, but 
 the teachers did not find it convenient again to enlist 
 in the work. 
 
 She felt the delicacy of engaging alone ; but, after 
 having sought wisdom and guidance from above, she 
 ventured to commence a school. Sometimes her hus- 
 band, sometimes her children, and sometimes other 
 females gave their assistance. About forty children 
 were brought under the influence of this school. 
 
 She confined her lessons to the Bible, commencing 
 with the gospel of John, and taking one chapter for a 
 Sabbath, but requesting the scholars to commit only 
 ten verses. She studied her lessons upon her knees, 
 with Scott's " Notes and Observations," taking one di- 
 vision each da}^ till she had completed the chapter. At 
 the school, — which was opened and closed with singing 
 and prayer, — the scholars read the chapter, and she 
 asked questions, and made such remarks as were 
 deemed suitable. In relation to this exercise she 
 remarked : — 
 
 " Though this book has long seemed peculiarly interest- 
 ing to me, yet I never discovered such beauty, such sub- 
 limity, and such glory in it before. I hope my scholars 
 made some progress in studying the Bible, but I really 
 believe that I made far more. than awy of them. It seems 
 to me as though I reaped all the good m}- self ; for while I 
 was waiting about the Temple, and sowing in tears, the 
 Lord visited my own family in mercy, and drew, as it 
 
118 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 were, my own flesh and bones to himself. Our eldest son, 
 then seventy miles distant, was awakened by the Holy 
 Spirit, and led to turn his feet into the testimonies of the 
 Lord, and to rejoice in God his Saviour. come, and 
 rejoice with us.'' 
 
 Twenty-five or thirty years ago, a class of fourteen 
 young ladies was formed in a Sabbath school, and 
 they were requested to select their teacher. They 
 chose a lady about sixty years of age, who was herself 
 a scholar in the school, as most of the members of the 
 church were connected with it as scholars or teachers. 
 
 For some time this lady declined to take charge of 
 that class, on account of the great responsibility of 
 such a position. Many of the sisters in the church 
 urged her to become the teacher of that interesting 
 class. At length she consented, on the promise of 
 these sisters that they would unite with her in praying 
 for the conversion of the thirteen impenitent members 
 of the class. 
 
 The plan of this teacher on assuming the charge of 
 that class was, to select one member, for whom the 
 pious scholar and these sisters in the church were to 
 unite with her in praying. The very next Sabbath, 
 that scholar was rejoicing in hope. She then chose 
 another, and soon that one also was hopefully con- 
 verted. She then informed the class what she was 
 doing, when another member burst into tears, and ex- 
 claimed, " Won't you choose me to pray for this week ? 
 Do choose me." 
 
 She did choose her, and in a few weeks she too was 
 rejoicing in 'hope. In about three months, all the 
 members of that class were hopefully converted. We 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 119 
 
 have often related this incident, with the declaration 
 that that teacher was our own dear mother. 
 
 These are specimens of what was accomplished many 
 years ago by a common class of teachers, whose prin- 
 cipal preparation was simple prayer, thorough study, 
 and deep earnestness for the salvation of those under 
 their care. And they are very instructive to all the 
 friends of this institution, and especially to teachers, at 
 the present day. 
 
 After these many years of careful observation, we 
 feel that it is hardly possible to represent too strongly 
 the responsibility that rests upon those who have the 
 moral and religious instruction of the young. In some 
 cases almost the whole of this training, and in many 
 cases an important part of it, must be performed, if 
 performed at all, by Sabbath school teachers ; and on 
 them, therefore, rests a large share of this responsibil- 
 ity. The more deeply teachers realize this solemn 
 truth,, of course, the more zealously and prayerfully 
 wiR they engage in their work ; and constantly occur- 
 ring facts show that the results of their labors are 
 nearly in proportion to their prayerfulness and fidelity. 
 If they engage in their work with proper zeal and de- 
 pendence on God, they may be instrumental, in his 
 hands, of spreading a Christian influence over the 
 whole earth. 
 
 That little ragged boy, who by the kind Christian 
 teacher is brought under the influence of the Sabbath 
 school, may prove a spiritual Samson to demolish the 
 temple of many a Dagon. 
 
 Most of the young who are hereafter to be converted 
 will doubtless belong to this institution. Teachers are 
 called upon, then, in their labors in this cause, to super- 
 
120 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 intend the early training of most of those who will 
 hereafter constitute the sacramental host, and stand up 
 the fearless champions for the Lord Jesus Christ. To 
 their culture may be intrusted the budding intellect of 
 an Edwards or a Payson, a Hannah More or a Mrs. 
 Huntington. Yes, by their labors a single year they 
 may give a turn and direction to some giant mind, 
 which shall hereafter, like the Reformers, pour a flood 
 of light upon the moral darkness and corruption of 
 the world. 
 
 These considerations have led many anxiously to 
 ask, -»- 
 
 WHAT IS TO BE THE CHARACTER OF OUR FUTURE 
 CONVERTS ? 
 
 The time of the world's conversion, it is believed, 
 depends very much upon the character of the church ; 
 and there can be no doubt that the character of the 
 church, in ages to come, will be greatly modified by 
 the training which her future members shall receive in 
 the Sabbath school. 
 
 To the hands of teachers, therefore, not only the 
 character of the church, but also the period of the 
 world's conversion, in a fearful manner, are intrusted. 
 The piety of their scholars, if converted, will very 
 much resemble their own. Thus we see one good and 
 probable reason why the scholars of many teachers are 
 not converted. If converted, they would be converted 
 to the standard of piety which they have been accus- 
 tomed to see in their teachers. As Christians, they 
 would resemble them ; and what would be the char- 
 acter of a church, were it to be composed of such 
 members ? When would the world be converted, were 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 121 
 
 the great mass of children and yo\\i\\ in our Sabbath 
 schools to become such Christians as many of their 
 teachers are? 
 
 This question is asked kindly, and with a strong 
 desire that it may lead all of us who are engaged in 
 the religious training of the young, solemnly to con- 
 sider the character of our influence. Would it really 
 be a blessing to the church and the world to have all 
 the children and youth under our influence become just 
 such Christians as we are ourselves ? If not, can we 
 expect that God will convert; them, to become a burden 
 and a hinderance to his cause ? 
 
 It is true that the only perfect and proper standard 
 of Christian character is in the Bible ; and all ought to 
 seek after a likeness to Christ, our only perfect pattern. 
 But we must take the world as we find it. We are all, 
 more or less, creatures of imitation, and are influenced, 
 even in our views of Christian character and Christian 
 duty, in no small measure by those around us, espe- 
 cially by our superiors and instructors. 
 
 We see, then, why some teachers, like those already 
 referred to, are so much blessed in their labors for the 
 conversion of their scholars. The great reason, so far 
 as concerns human instrumentality, no doubt is, that 
 those means which God is w^ont to bless in the con- 
 version of souls are faithfully used, and that earnest, 
 persevering prayer, which God is wont to answer, is 
 offered. But another reason doubtless is, that God 
 sees that the standard of piety exhibited by these 
 teachers, to which their scholars will be likely to be 
 converted, is such as will make their conversion a real 
 blessing to his cause. 
 
 It is not strange that the devoted Harlan Page was 
 
122 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 blessed in his labors for the salvation of souls. Were 
 there such a standard of personal consecration to God 
 seen in all our teachers as he exhibited, our Sabbath' 
 schools would become the spiritual birthplaces of thou- 
 sands and thousands of precious youth. Then, no youtli 
 could be encouraged by the example of his teacher to 
 think himself a Christian unless he were disposed and 
 impelled to engage with all his heart and strength in 
 personal labors for the salvation of others. What a 
 moral power a church of two or three hundred mem- 
 bers like Harlan Page would be able to wield against 
 the kingdom of darkness I Think of the power of the 
 whole church of Christ on earth, were all her members 
 like that eminent Christian ! Through the instrumen- 
 tality of such an almost omnipotent influence, how 
 would the period of the world's conversion roll on, 
 and draw nearer and nearer, like the fast rising light 
 of the morning! 
 
 THE orphan's parents. 
 
 What object can make a stronger appeal to a Chris- 
 tian heart than a helpless orphan? No Christian can 
 think of the dangers and temptations to which such 
 a child or youth will be exposed without deep emo- 
 tions ; without a prayer to the God of the fatherless 
 that He will raise up friends and spiritual guardians 
 for them. 
 
 There are, no doubt, many orphan children con- 
 nected with our Sabbath schools. Upon the teachers 
 of such there rests a special and most solemn obliga- 
 tion. They are, so far as relates to religious instruc- 
 tion, to become these orphans' parents. For their souls,- 
 peculiarly, they are to watch as those that must give 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 123 
 
 account. Perhaps there are no others that care for 
 their souls; certainly there are none who would be 
 more likely to exercise a faithful guardianship over 
 their spiritual, and, so far as possible, their temporal 
 interests, than pious, faithful teachers. 
 
 We once heard a father, one who feels a tender inter- 
 est for orphan children, and who knows, by his own 
 mournful experience, what it is to be left an orphan 
 child, with orphan brothers and sisters looking up to 
 him for protection, — we heard such a father say, "Were 
 I to leave my children fatherless, I know of no one to 
 whose care and guardianship I would intrust them 
 sooner than to a faithful Sabbath school teacher." 
 
 Such is the confidence many parents repose in faith- 
 ful teachers. Such confidence, it may be, many parents 
 now in heaven felt, when on their dying-bed, in those 
 to whose instructions they were then leaving their 
 fatherless and motherless children. 
 
 Teachers, have you been faithful to those children ? 
 Are you still worthy of that confidence ? O, forget not 
 the hopes of those dying parents, and forget not your 
 obligations to their orphan children ! If you are faith- 
 ful and wise in training their children for heaven, with 
 what blessings will those parents hail you when you 
 finish your labors and enter upon your rest ! 
 
 But, teachers, how much better than orphans, so far 
 as respects their spiritual interests, are all those of your 
 scholars whose parents care not for their souls? In- 
 deed, it may be, in some instances, that their situation 
 is even worse than that of orphans, inasmuch as parental 
 example, and perhaps instruction, are obstructing their 
 way to heaven and leading them on to ruin. For their 
 souls, then, you must watch and pray. 
 
124 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 There ever have been large numbers of superinten- 
 dents and teachers — and we gladly record the state- 
 ment — who most deeply feel the huportance of their 
 work. They are accustomed to look upon their schools 
 and their classes — as all indeed should — as their little 
 parishes ; and, like faithful pastors, they feel that they 
 are watching for souls. They feel some of the same 
 responsibility that a pastor does, to be constant and 
 punctual in their attendance, and to come with thor- 
 ough preparations for their work. They do not forget 
 the disappointment a people would feel to have the 
 pastor absent, or even tardy, or to have him come with 
 no preparation for the pulpit. 
 
 Those superintendents and teachers who are most suc- 
 cessful in their work occupy as many spare moments as 
 they can. through the week in reading and study, with 
 reference to their preparation for the Sabbath. They 
 gather and study out in their minds all the illustrations 
 they can to give variety and interest to their instruc- 
 tions, and which will aid their pupils in understanding 
 their lessons, and in feeling an interest in all the exer- 
 cises of the school. 
 
 Among the many reminiscences in regard to teachers 
 that we have from time to time gathered up, the follow- 
 ing, though fragmentary, may be interesting and in- 
 structive to some ; — 
 
 PEAYING FOE A DEFINITE OBJECT. 
 
 Mr. took charge of a class of young ladies, some 
 
 of whom were professedly Christians. One day, after 
 a solemn conversation with them, he inquired if any 
 member of the class wished a particular remembrance 
 in prayer that week. 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 125 
 
 He noticed one young lady, who had appeared quite 
 serious during his remarks, struggling with the deep 
 emotions which this inquiry awakened in her mind. 
 He then addressed her personally, and asked if she 
 wished to be made the subject of special prayer. She 
 answered in the affirmative. He then told her, that as 
 many of the class as lived sufficiently near would meet 
 that evening for prayer, and that they would bear her 
 case especially on their hearts before God. 
 
 The next Sabbath this scholar entered the class with 
 a heart heavily burdened with a sense of sin, having 
 found no peace in believing. The teacher talked faith- 
 fully with her, and pointed her to the sinner's only 
 friend and hope. At the close of the exercises he told 
 her that they would again remember her case that even- 
 ing in their class prayer-meeting. 
 
 After the afternoon service, the minister requested 
 several of the church, if they knew of any persons who 
 were in an inquiring state of mind, to invite tliem to 
 call at his house on the coming Thursday. On that 
 
 day Llr. went to see this inquiring scholar, that 
 
 he might learn the state of her mind and inform her of 
 the request of her pastor. He had no sooner begun 
 to converse, than he saw her eyes commence to beam. 
 She could not repress the joy of her heart, and she 
 frankly told her teacher what the Lord had done for 
 her soul. 
 
 " When did you begin to experience this change in 
 your feelings ? " inquired the teacher. 
 
 " Last Sabbath evening," was the reply. 
 
 "At what time ? " And it appeared that it was the 
 very hour when her teacher and the pious members of 
 
126 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 her class were offering up their united prayers for her 
 salvation. 
 
 How strange it is that so many teachers, with all the 
 encouragements held out to them in the word and prov- 
 idence of God, take so little encouragement to pray! 
 
 This incident should encourage every teacher to pray 
 — to pray for a definite object; namely, the salvation 
 of particular individuals, and to enlist the united and 
 the secret prayer of his pious scholars in the same 
 object; and it should also encourage him to frequent 
 personal conversation with each scholar, both in the 
 class and at their homes. 
 
 SCHOLAES EXPECT FAITHFULNESS. 
 
 Teachers will rarely, if ever, alienate the affections 
 of their scholars, or drive them from the school, by 
 a kind, faithful, personal application of religious truth. 
 Many facts have occurred which show that even impen- 
 itent, thoughtless children respect and love those teach- 
 ers best who are the most earnest in endeavors to save 
 their souls. Some of the most thoughtless and giddy 
 scholars have requested the privilege of leaving a 
 teacher, who never did anything but hear the lesson 
 and ask a few general questions, that they might join a 
 class where the teacher was known to make direct ap- 
 peals to the heart and conscience of each scholar. 
 
 This might be illustrated by numerous facts. The 
 following may be taken as a specimen : — 
 
 Mr. E had a class of seven lads, about fourteen 
 
 years of age. As none of them gave evidence of piety, 
 their conversion became a special object of his daily 
 desire and prayer, and of his faithful labors in the class. 
 He was accustomed to converse with members Individ- 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 127 
 
 ually in regard to his salvation ; and all his instructions 
 were highly practical and direct. 
 
 So far from fearing that this course of faithfulness 
 would offend his pupils and break up his class, he felt 
 confident that this was the surest way to gain their 
 attention and regard, and secure their willing and inter- 
 ested attendance. And he felt, also, that their good 
 and the glory of God demanded of him this faitliful- 
 ness. 
 
 The class directly in front of Mr. E 's consisted of 
 
 seven lads, of about the same age as his own. But the 
 teacher seemed to have no just apprehension of the 
 duties and responsibilities of his station. The exer- 
 cises of his class consisted merely in asking and an- 
 swering the questions of the lesson. No explanations 
 or application of the truths it contained were ever 
 given. 
 
 One Sabbath this teacher was absent^ and the super- 
 intendent, after much reasoning and entreaty, persuaded 
 
 Mr. E to leave his own class for one Sabbath, and 
 
 supply the place of the absent teacher. 
 
 Mr. E was aware that he was now with a class 
 
 that had been accustomed to hear but little in regard to 
 their salvation. Some might suppose that the direct, 
 personal, faithful mode of address wliich he used to his 
 own scholars would offend these. Mr. E might pos- 
 sibly have feared it himself ; but he resolved that they 
 should not go from a Sabbath school to the judgment- 
 seat of Christ without at least one faithful, affectionate 
 warning. And such he gave them, and with tears. 
 
 The next Sabbath came, and such was the effect of 
 
 these faithful instructions of Mr. E upon the minds 
 
 of those seven boys, that they all wished to unite with 
 
128 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 his class. And so strong were their desires for this, 
 that the superintendent and their teacher felt that they 
 
 should be regarded. Mr. E accordingly received 
 
 these seven lads into his own class, increasing the num- 
 ber to fourteen promising youths. 
 
 This occurrence imparted a new zeal and earnestness 
 to the labors of Mr. E for the salvation of his inter- 
 esting charge. From Sabbath to Sabbath their attention 
 became more and more fixed, and a growing interest in 
 the subject of personal religion more and more apparent. 
 At length the tear of penitence and the anxious 
 inquiry, "What must I do to be saved ? " showed that 
 the Spirit of God was indeed present. 
 
 In less than three months from the time these two 
 
 classes were united, six of Mr. E 's original scholars, 
 
 and all the new ones, thirteen out of fourteen, were 
 hopefully converted. 
 
 The first fifteen minutes of the concert, after the 
 opening exercises, in one school, were devoted by all 
 the teachers to personal conversation with the scholars 
 of their respective classes, on the subject of their salva- 
 tion. This was a season of great interest and solemnity. 
 Stillness and attention reigned through the school. 
 And the influence of this exercise was thought to be 
 very salutary. 
 
 No one, not even among the older scholars, manifested 
 any unwillingness to engage in this exercise. And it 
 is believed that few, if any scholars in any school would 
 object to such an exercise if the teachers are wise and 
 judicious in addressing them. Many scholars, no doubt, 
 are longing for just such personal conversation with 
 their teachers. 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 129 
 
 EFFECT OF PEESEVEllANCE. 
 
 In the town of there was no Sabbath school ; the 
 
 church had become very inefficient, and religion was 
 languishing. This state of things excited the benevo- 
 lent spirit of a young Christian female, Miss Smith. 
 She resolved to attempt the establishment of a Sabbath 
 school as the most hopeful effort she could make for the 
 good of the people. 
 
 A ]\Ir. Page was keeping the district school ; and, 
 though sceptical in his views, he was much beloved by 
 his pupils. Miss Smith visited him, and explained her 
 plan for a Sabbath school. She told him she had 
 divided the district, one half of which she was going 
 to canvass to see how many scholars could be secured, 
 and she wished him to canvass the other half. He said 
 he would not do it. Miss Smith then told him she 
 would call on Friday and compare papers, and see 
 which had obtained the most scholars. He again said 
 that he could not engage in that work. 
 
 On Friday this persevering female called, as she had 
 promised, and informed ]\Ir. Page that she had obtained 
 the names of about thirty scholars ; and that she 
 had told them all he was going to superintend the 
 school. He told her that he should not superintend the 
 school, and that he had not visited the section she had 
 assigned to him, and that he should not visit it. 
 
 Miss "Smith again left him, after having told him that 
 she would call the next day and make arrangements 
 for the school. 
 
 The subject of this interview rested on the mind of 
 the teacher through the night. In the morning he rose 
 and said to himself, " I will not be outdone by a female." 
 9 
 
130 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 He canvassed his district, and obtained twenty-five or 
 thirty scholars, all of whom seemed pleased that he was 
 to superintend the school. 
 
 The school was organized the 1st of June. After 
 two Sabbaths, Mr. Page*became troubled about prayers 
 in the school, and asked Miss Smith what should be 
 done. She told him he must pray himself. At length 
 he succeeded in persuading a deacon to come into the 
 school and pray. 
 
 The mind of Mr. Page soon became deeply impressed 
 with divine truth. On the 4th of July, which was the 
 Sabbath, at an evening meeting he rose and addressed 
 his associates in regard to a contemplated excursion the 
 next day. He told them he could not go, and must not 
 go, for he had a soul to take care of. The effect of his 
 address was almost overwhelming ; and it was instru- 
 mental in the conversion of eight or ten of his asso- 
 ciates. A general revival of religion immediately 
 began, of which some of the leading men of the town 
 became subjects. 
 
 Mr. Page soon became hopefully pious himself, and 
 commenced study for the gospel ministry. At the 
 academy, where he studied, he was instrumental by his 
 personal labors with the students in the conversion 
 of several. One of these the next winter engaged in 
 school teaching, and was the means of a revival among 
 his scholars. In a letter to Mr. Page, he said, " Had it 
 not been for the conversation you had with me respect- 
 ing my soul, I should have been spending this winter 
 in pleasure and amusement, but now I am in the midst 
 of a revival of religion." 
 
 Mr. Page's piety was of no ordinary character. He 
 often visited the sick and sorrowful, and was always 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 131 
 
 received by the afflicted as a ''son of consolation." 
 His influence at the Theological Seminary, of which he 
 was a member, Avas very salutary, till his last sickness 
 and triumphant death. 
 
 ANOTHER EXAMPLE. 
 
 Mr. C began to attend the Sabbath school at the 
 
 age of nineteen, in the year 1817. For three years he 
 seldom, if ever, failed to get a lesson, although he was 
 naturally so dull a scholar, that from two to ten verses 
 a week were all he was able to commit to memory. 
 Sometimes he used to say, "he did not know as it 
 would do him any good to attend the Sabbath school, 
 but he thought he would try to learn some of the 
 Bible." 
 
 In a revival in 1821 he became interested in religion. 
 He now found the benefit of his toils in committing 
 to memory every week a few verses of the Scriptures. 
 He became a very active Christian, though he suffered 
 great embarrassment from an uncommon share of 
 diffidence. 
 
 In the spring of 1822 he moved into another place, 
 and set up business as a mechanic. He was the only 
 pious young person in the place. There was no meet- 
 ing, no meeting-house, and only a few professors of 
 religion. 
 
 His heart yearned over the young around him who 
 were growing up without religious instruction. He 
 remembered where he had been taught to study and 
 love the word of God. It was not long before he 
 effected the establishment of a Sabbath school, of which 
 he was the only teacher. At length he so far secured 
 the cooperation of one professor as to persuade him to 
 
132 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 come into the school and pray. The school soon began 
 to awaken, among some, a desire for religious meetings. 
 This desire spread and deepened, till, in the autumn, it 
 began to secure occasional preaching. Nor did it stop 
 here. Arrangements began to l)e made for the erection 
 of a house of worship. The next season, the house 
 was completed, a minister of the gospel was settled, the 
 rains and the dews of divine grace were bestowed, and 
 a flourishing church was established. Most of the 
 young men in the place were hoj)efully converted. 
 
 We saw a letter from Mr. C , from which we 
 
 gathered the following facts respecting his usual labors 
 on the Sabbath. At eight o'clock in the morning he 
 attended a Sabbath school, sometimes one, and some- 
 times five miles from his home. At noon, he attended 
 the school at the meeting-house. At three o'clock in 
 the afternoon, he attended another school six miles 
 distant. At five o'clock, another eight miles from his 
 home ! These schools were the scenes of frequent re- 
 vivals. Can any teacher, in view of this incident, say 
 he has no influence ? Are there greater obstacles in 
 the way of any one becoming eminently useful than 
 were surmounted by Mr. C ? 
 
 THE teacher's hire. 
 
 The parable of the householder, who hired laborers 
 into his vineyard, is very encouraging to the faithful 
 teacher. The great Householder says to every disciple, 
 " Go thou also into the vineyard ; and whatsoever is 
 right, that shall ye receive." And what a hire the 
 earnest laborer is sure to receive I 
 
 See that little group of youths listening to the words 
 of piety and affection as they fall from that devoted 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 133 
 
 teacher's lips I See, here and there the tear of pen- 
 itence is silently stealing from eyes that never wept for 
 sin before. Hear the half-stiflecl but earnest inquiry, 
 " What must I do to be saved? " Hark ! Do you hear 
 those seraphic strains? How they rise and swell! 
 What a tide of joy rolls through all the plains of 
 heaven ! It is the angels' song of rejoicing over those 
 newrborn youths. Teacher, such is thy hire. 
 
 See that little girl returning to her miserable home, 
 and more miserable parents. Hear her telling them of 
 the blessed Bible she now loves to study, and of the 
 dear Saviour who is now precious to her soul. See her 
 tears ; hear her tender expostulations. How affection- 
 ately she entreats those parents to repent and learn to 
 pray. Now she has fallen upon her knees, and her 
 voice, half choked with sobs, is ascending in earnest 
 prayer to God, who hears the young ravens when they 
 cry. This is too much. Those eyes for the first time 
 begin to weep over sin ; those hard and icy hearts now 
 begin to warm and soften : they melt. Yes, her parents 
 repent and are forgiven. How great the change ! That 
 house, before the abode of wretchedness and woe, has 
 become the dwelling-place of comfort and holy joy. It 
 is a little Bethel, from wliich goes up the morning and 
 evening incense, and where ascend and descend the 
 angels of God. A holy influence emanates from that 
 converted family ; it pervades the neighborhood ; and 
 now, where seldom was heard the voice of prayer and 
 praise till it fell from the lips of that little child, you 
 may see the multitude assembling from Sabbath to 
 Sabbath to engage in the worship of the sanctuary. 
 Teacher, what a hire for the prayers and self-denying 
 labors it cost you to establish and sustain a Sabbath 
 
134 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 school in that neglected neighborhood! Did yon an- 
 ticipate snch a hire ? Did not the great Master of the 
 vineyard more than fulfil his promise, " Whatsoever is 
 rio-ht, that shalt thou receive " ? 
 
 See that devoted youth, tearing himself from the 
 embraces of his weeping parents and friends, and bid- 
 ding farewell to the land of his birth and the scenes of 
 his boyhood, to become the almoner of the bread and 
 water of life to the perishing millions in the darkness 
 of heathenism ! Look again. There he stands at the 
 judgment-seat of Christ, encircled by a multitude of 
 those whom he has led from darkness into light, who 
 are to be his crown of rejoicing forever. Teacher, that 
 missionary was once that profane and miserable youth 
 whom you persuaded by your repeated and earnest 
 solicitations to join your class in the Sabbath-school! 
 Did you anticipate that you were then taking such a 
 hold on the eternal destinies of multitudes who were 
 sitting in the shades of death? O, did you look for 
 such hire for your toil ? 
 
 RESPONSIBLE FOK SOULS. 
 
 A foreign missionary once said he believed we should 
 be held responsible for the salvation of every soul that 
 we could in any possible way have saved. This state- 
 ment seems to accord with some very solemn words in 
 the thirty-third chapter of the prophecy of Ezekiel, 
 connected with the responsibility of watchmen. 
 
 With this subject in mind, let us look at the fol- 
 lowing narrative in relation to two Sabbath school 
 teachers : — 
 
 Susan was a member of the Sabbath school. She 
 was favored with a very piou's, devoted teacher, who 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 135 
 
 always met her class not only with a lesson thoroughly 
 prepared, but also with her own heart prepared and 
 warmed by frequent visits to her closet and earnest 
 intercessions for her pupils. Every scholar could see, 
 by her every expression, that she had come from the 
 very presence-chamber of the Almighty. 
 
 She not only endeavored to communicate clearly and 
 forcibly the truths contained in the lessons, but she 
 sought every Sabbath to gain access to the hearts and 
 consciences of her charge, by inquiries, exhortations, 
 warnings and entreaties, addressed to each one person- 
 ally. She felt that she was set to watch for these souls 
 as one that must give account. The salvation of the 
 dear youth thus committed to her watch and care 
 seemed to her an object of unutterable solemnity and 
 importance ; and she labored as though their salvation 
 might depend upon her fidelity. She was not satisfied 
 with what she could do for them during one or two 
 hours on the Sabbath and in her closet, but she often 
 addressed them by letter, in the most solemn, affection- 
 ate, and earnest manner, respecting the interests of 
 their souls. 
 
 Under the instructions of such a teacher, it is not 
 strange that Susan became deeply anxious about her 
 salvation, and that her parents began to cherish the 
 fond hope that they would soon be able to exclaim, 
 " This our child was dead, and is alive again ; and was 
 lost, and is found." 
 
 Soon after this the family of which Susan was a 
 member moved to another community, where she came 
 under the instruction of another teacher ; but O, how 
 different from the one who had labored so earnestly for 
 her spiritual good ! She was professedly a Christian, 
 
136 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 but she seemed to have no heart for her work, nor the 
 famtest idea of its importance, her own responsibility 
 in the case, or that, in any sense, she was to watch for 
 the souls of her scholars. The possibility of benefiting 
 them for eternity did not appear to have entered her 
 mind. She was probably ignorant of their religious 
 feelings, and did not suspect that one of them had been 
 almost upon the very threshold of heaven. 
 
 Susan, whose seriousness had been gradually dimin- 
 ishing ever since she lost the faithful instructions of 
 her former teacher, at length disclosed to her disap- 
 pointed parents this astonishing fact, that her last 
 teacher had never spoken a word to her respecting the 
 concerns of her soul ! All she pretended to do, as a 
 teacher, was merely to propound the questions as she 
 found them in the book or on the lesson paper. 
 
 We do not believe that the unfaithfulness of that 
 teacher is any good excuse for Susan to continue an 
 enemy to God, or that she will dare mention it as an 
 excuse at the judgment ; but we do believe that this 
 want of fidelity and watchfulness in regard to the souls 
 of her pupils, if unrepented of, will be a subject of 
 most bitter reflection for that teacher when she lies on 
 her dying-bed. 
 
 UNCONVERTED TEACHERS. 
 
 The following incidents may help to answer the 
 question whether it is ever right to employ teachers 
 who are not Christians. 
 
 Among the three hundred Sabbath schools organized 
 in Maine during our agency, two were in the town of 
 
 W . The church in this place was almost extinct, 
 
 being reduced to only one male, and a small number 
 of female members. 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 137 
 
 Under these circumstances, these two schools were 
 established. In the one at the centre there was hut one 
 pious teacher. A lawyer, physician, hotel-keeper, and 
 postmaster were among the male teachers. At the 
 close of the fourth Sabbath, after the scholars had left, 
 the hotel-keeper, with much emotion, said to the teach- 
 ers, " I don't know what ails me lately ; I never felt so 
 in my life. I find I am trying to teach these children 
 what I do not understand myself, and it does seem to 
 me there ought to be some one to pray in this Sabbath 
 school." 
 
 All the teachers, it seemed, were in much the same 
 state of mind, without knowing it of each other ; and 
 the lawyer said to him, — 
 
 " Won't you pray now ? " 
 
 "No," said he, "I can't pray; I never did pray." 
 But, being urged, he prayed. As he returned home, 
 his wife, seeing that he was in trouble, inquired if he 
 was sick. " Not in my body," said he ; ''but I am sick 
 in my soul. I find I am trying to teach children the 
 way to Heaven when I do not know the way myself." 
 
 That same week, he and his wife Avere both hope- 
 fully converted. It Avas the commencement of an in- 
 teresting work of grace, which brought all those teach- 
 ers, and a large number of the scholars, and others, 
 into the church. 
 
 In the earlier days of Sabbath schools, the reports, 
 like the above, of the conversion of teachers, were too 
 numerous, and of a character too deeply interesting, to 
 justify the decision, that teachers not experimentally 
 acquainted with the truth should never be employed in 
 Sabbath schools. If pious teachers, well qualified in 
 other respects, can be obtained, they certainly should 
 
be in most cases. There are instances, however, when 
 individuals of good moral character, and well fitted for 
 the business in every respect, excepting that of personal 
 piety, can be brought 'into the school only by appointing 
 them to the office of teachers. It may not be so advan- 
 tageous for the scholars, but there can be no more hope- 
 ful place for an unconverted teacher. He must soon 
 see how perfectly unqualified he is for one important 
 part of his duty. How can he lead a child to Christ if 
 he has never learned the way himself? And how can 
 he withstand the inquiry which will often drop from the 
 lips of some inquisitive child? 
 
 Mr. , who has died in the triumph of the gospel, 
 
 received his first impressions from his appointment to 
 teach a class in the Sabbath school. The consideration 
 that he was appointed to instruct others while destitute 
 of religion himself was the means of his awakening. 
 
 TEACHEES' VISITS. 
 
 Much is said of the importance of teachers visiting 
 their scholars at their homes, and also visiting neglected 
 families. The happy results of such visits among the 
 neglected is favorably illustrated by the following inci- 
 dent : — 
 
 A female teacher, while laboring to obtain new scholars 
 for the Sabbath school, visited a house in which there 
 were two families, consisting of parents and children, 
 and three other adult members. These families were 
 extremely uncultivated and heathenish. The men had 
 not attended religious worship for fourteen years, and 
 none of the other members were in the habit of attend- 
 ing. The teacher succeeded in getting two little girls, 
 one of nine years of age and the other younger, to join the 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 139 
 
 Sabbath school. After six weeks the oldest child was 
 taken sick. Her sickness soon became very distressing 
 and dangerous, and she requested her parents to send 
 for her teacher. They complied with her request, and 
 the teacher came, and talked and prayed with her. She 
 became so much interested in the state of mind exhib- 
 ited by her afflicted pupil that she often repeated her 
 visits, and at length took other teachers with her that 
 they might see the work of grace wdiich she believed 
 God was carrying on in the heart of this till recently 
 neglected child. 
 
 In about three weeks this dear child died, giving her 
 teacher and Christian friends as good evidence as the 
 circumstances of the case avouIcI admit that she died in 
 the Lord. 
 
 During the sickness of this departed one she often 
 exhorted her parents and uncle to attend meeting on 
 the Sabbath, and no more to take God's name in vain. 
 Her exhortations reached their hearts, and the very 
 next Sabbath after her death all the seven adults, with 
 the remaining children of those two families, were found 
 in the house of God, where they continued regularly to 
 attend, and several of them became personally inter- 
 ested in the subject of religion. 
 
 Such are some of the happy results, through the 
 blessing of God, of that teacher's visit to that neg- 
 lected family. 
 
 " They that be wise shall shine as the brig-litness of 
 the firmament ; and they that turn many to righteous- 
 ness, as the stars forever and ever." 
 
 Many years ago we prepared two cards, as pocket 
 companions for superintendents and teachers, with a 
 brief statement of what seemed to us at that time, and 
 
140 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 what seems to us at the present time, some of the more 
 important duties connected with their office, as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 DUTIES OF THE SUPERINTENDENT. 
 
 1. Punctuality, to a minute, in commencing the exer- 
 cises at the appointed hour. Mr. R , for seven 
 
 years, was never absent a Sabbath from his school, and 
 
 seldom tardy a moment. Mr. C , for six years, was 
 
 absent but once. 
 
 2. In the opening and closing exercises, whether 
 reading, singing, remarks, or prayer, be very brief. 
 
 3. Have the utmost order and decorum through the 
 whole school. 
 
 4. Go from class to class with a word of instruction, 
 advice, encouragement, or admonition, to scholars and 
 teachers. 
 
 5. The superintendent should make himself perfectly 
 familiar with the lesson. 
 
 6. He should become acquainted with the teachers, 
 their characters, qualifications, fidelity, and methods of 
 communicatinof' instruction and illustratino^ truth. 
 
 7. He must be a bright example to his teachers in 
 familiarity, in impartiality of conduct, in love for his 
 work, in piety, in zeal and holy earnestness for the sal- 
 vation of the scholars. 
 
 8. He should learn the names of the scholars, always 
 meet them with exhibitions of affectionate interest, 
 notice all absences, and the next Sabbath go round 
 to each and learn the cause, and keep a record of 
 everything encouraging or otherwise respecting each 
 member of the school. 
 
 9. Daily study ways and means, and weekly make 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 141 
 
 thorough preparations, to give variety to the exercises 
 and secure the highest interest and efficiency of the 
 
 school. Mr. P used to devote two whole days, 
 
 weekly, to these preparations. 
 
 10. Devise plans to enlist the scholars in the cause of 
 missions, temperance, and all the objects of benevolence. 
 
 11. He should feel and manifest a deep interest in 
 the teachers' meeting and the concert. 
 
 12. A good superintendent will be eminently a per- 
 son of prayer. 
 
 DUTIES OF^THE SABBATH SCHOOL TEACHER. 
 
 1. Constant and strict punctualit}^. 
 
 2. Thorough acquaintance with the lesson. 
 
 3. Regular attendance on the teachers' meeting and 
 the concert. 
 
 4. Go from the closet to the class. 
 
 5. In teaching, be familiar, affectionate, practical, seri- 
 ous, earnest. 
 
 6. Converse personally with each scholar respecting 
 his soul. Merely asking the questions on the lesson 
 will produce but little good. 
 
 7. See that your instructions are enforced by your 
 habitual life and conversation. 
 
 8. Study the characters of your scholars, their tem- 
 pers, habits, associations, &c., and adapt instruction 
 accordingly. 
 
 9. Visit the scholars at their homes, especially when 
 they have been absent. 
 
 10. Often look at the names on the back of this 
 card,* and think of the Judgment. (See Dan. xii. 3. 
 James v. 20.) 
 
 * The teacher was directed to put the scholars' names on the back. 
 
142 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 11. Bear each scholar on your heart in daily, earnest 
 prayer. 
 
 12. Make their salvation the great object of all your 
 instructions. 
 
 13. Regard your office as second in importance to 
 none, excepting that of the parent and the pastor. 
 
 14. Cultivate a spirit of ardent piety, self-consecra- 
 tion, and a constant dependence on God for success. 
 
 Teacher ! Momentous consequences may result from 
 your performance or neglect of these duties. Will you 
 
 not pray over them daily? 
 
 » 
 
 THAT CLASS OF BOYS. 
 
 In 1847 we met that class of eleven boys, about eight 
 or ten years of age, one Saturday evening at the house 
 of their minister. The minister's wife was their Sab- 
 bath school teacher. 
 
 These boys were all bright and intelligent, and their 
 countenances were never more radiant than when they 
 met their teacher. They were very constant and punc- 
 tual at school, with well-prepared lessons. That their 
 lessons were thus prepared will not seem strange when 
 we learn how and where most of the class study them. 
 
 One Friday evening, about a year before, just as the 
 teacher of this class was rejoicing at the arrival of some 
 distant friend, she heard a knock at her door. On 
 opening it, there stood two or three of the younger 
 members of her class. 
 
 " Well, boys," said she, " what books are those you 
 have with you ? " 
 
 " Our question books, ma'am," they answered. 
 
 " Have you come to have me assist you in getting 
 your lesson ? " 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 143 
 
 "Yes, ma'am," said they, with animated counte- 
 nances. 
 
 "Well, I am very glad; but I have company just 
 come in, so that I do not see as it will be possible for 
 me to assist you this evening. Can't you come to-mor- 
 row evening?" 
 
 " Yes, ma'am, just as well," they replied. 
 
 " Well, you come to-morrow evening, and I will then 
 be very happy to aid you." 
 
 As they turned to leave, the teacher saw one or two 
 of her older scholars behind a tree, where they had 
 been waiting to learn what reception the younger ones, 
 whom they had sent before th'em, met with. 
 
 The next evening some five or six of her class came, 
 according to appointment ; and ever after that, through 
 the autumn and winter, while the evenings were long, 
 a portion of this class were in the habit of spending an 
 hour Saturday evening with their teacher in the study 
 of their lessons. 
 
 The Saturday evening we spent with this family, five 
 of these boys were punctually present at the appointed 
 hour. So great was their interest in their Sabbath 
 school and their teacher that one of these lads had 
 come on foot two miles, and another three miles. 
 
 The next day this class were in the sanctuary and 
 the Sabbath school, giving the most careful and inter- 
 ested attention to all that was said and done. 
 
 TEACHEES MEETINGS. 
 
 / 
 
 Teachers' meetings, for prayer and mutual study of 
 the lesson, were established quite early in the history 
 of Sabbath schools. 
 
144 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 The managers of the Mame Sabbath School Union, 
 in their first annual Report, in 1827, say : — 
 
 " Teachers should make special efforts to obtain a minute 
 and extensive knowledge of their lesson, that they may 
 impart it to their pupils. For this purpose they would do 
 well to form themselves into a Bible class, and seek for the 
 assistance of their minister, or, if that cannot be had, the 
 help of their elder brethren and of pious commentators. 
 They should thus anticipate every lesson." 
 
 In the early history of the Massachusetts Sabbath 
 School Society, great importance was given to the 
 teachers' meeting. It was regarded by many as a sort 
 of thermonaeter of the state of a school. There was 
 scarcely any one thing that the friends of this institu- 
 tion insisted on with more urgency. 
 
 In the Report of this society, in May, 1834, it was 
 stated that returns had been received from one hundred 
 and seventy-one schools, of which forty-nine reported 
 teachers' meetings. 
 
 A superintendent, in his report of his school more 
 than thirty years ago, said : — 
 
 " Here is a surprising question : ' Do you hold teachers' 
 meetings ? ' How long do you think we should have a 
 Sabbath school without a teachers' meeting for social 
 prayer and mutual study of the lesson ? Yes, sir ; we 
 kave a teachers' meeting, and we should as soon think 
 of putting to sea without a sheet-anchor as to attempt to 
 conduct a Sabbath school without such a meeting. It 
 must be hard work, indeed, to sustain any good degree of 
 interest in a school, and presumptuous to expect the bless- 
 ing of God, without such a meeting," 
 
 The chief object of this meeting should not be to 
 study the lesson — to relieve the teachers from faithful 
 
SUPERINTENDENTS AND TEACHERS. 145 
 
 antecedent efforts on their own behalf. This should be 
 done, so far as possible, at home, before the meeting; 
 then they should come together at this meeting as a 
 class for mutual instruction, under the pastor or super- 
 intendent, and go over the lesson, comparing their 
 views, freely making inquiries, solving any difficulties 
 they may have met with, giving illustrations, and thus 
 acquiring, by this mutual consultation, a more correct 
 and thorough understanding of the lesson, and treasur- 
 ing up all that is important for use in the instruction 
 of their respective classes.. Then, if they have any 
 aptitude to teach, they will be able to interest and 
 benefit their scholars. Even teachers of only moderate 
 abilities and limited education, with this aid for every 
 lesson, may become very useful in the work. 
 
 One of the most interesting and spirited teachers' 
 meetings we ever attended was where the lesson had 
 been thoroughly studied at home. There Avere no 
 books present but the question book, and a few others 
 for reference in the hands of the superintendent. Every 
 teacher answered the questions from memory, as every 
 scholar in the school should be required to do ; and all 
 entered enthusiastically into the work of unfolding and 
 elucidating the meaning of every verse. Such a prep- 
 aration of the lesson would, of course, be observed and 
 felt by every scholar on the Sabbath. Even children 
 are quick to discover any want of preparation on the 
 part of the teacher. 
 
 One important influence of the teachers' meeting is 
 that uniformity of instruction is secured. A boy twelve 
 years of age once wrote an anonymous communication 
 to be read at the Sabbath school concert, on the impor- 
 tance of the teachers' meeting; and he illustrated the 
 10 
 
146 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 subject by the fact that he heard three teachers, his own, 
 and the one behind him and the one before him, give 
 each a different answer to the same question; and he 
 thought they ought to meet together to harmonize their 
 views. In another school the question was as to the 
 length of time between the selling of Joseph into 
 Egypt and his standing before Pharaoh. Some teach- 
 ers gave one answer, the superintendent at the close of 
 the school gave a different one, and the pastor, coming 
 in at the time, gave still another. 
 
 Without consultation on the lesson there must be 
 much diversity of opinion, and all that diversity will 
 go to the classes, and who can foretell the evils that 
 may follow ? If the teachers disagree, the scholars will 
 also disagree, and be led into doubt and scepticism. 
 But where this meeting is properly maintained, there is 
 such a harmony in the interpretation of the doctrines 
 and precepts of the Bible that the scholars of different 
 classes, when they converse together on the subject, 
 will all understand it alike, and have no ground of 
 dispute. 
 
 Among other advantages of the teachers' meetings, 
 they are eminently suited to unite teachers in Christian 
 love, and to encourage and stimulate them to persevere 
 in their labors. 
 
IX. 
 
 RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE OF THE SABBATH 
 SCHOOL. 
 
 Sabbath scliools, almost from their estabHshment 
 in our country, have been more or less directly instru- 
 mental in at least promoting the conversion of souls, 
 especially among the young. There is scarcely any 
 portion of the land where there are not more or less 
 ready to rise up and call this institution " Blessed," and 
 to acknowledge it, with heartfelt gratitude, as the in- 
 strument in promoting their salvation. 
 
 Revivals have been intimately connected with Sab- 
 bath schools; frequently they have originated in them, 
 and sometimes they have been confined almost exclu- 
 sively within their limits. This sacred inclosure, un- 
 der the influence of the showers of divine grace, has 
 often appeared verdant as the garden of God, in the 
 midst of surrounding drought and sterility. From fifty 
 to over one hundred members of a single school, in a 
 single season, have been hopefully converted. A large 
 portion of all the accessions to our churches, from year 
 to year, have been from among those who are con- 
 nected with the Sabbath school. 
 
 It has become a common thing, in the report on the 
 state of religion, in all our conferences and associations, 
 to hear it said, that most of the conversions have been 
 
 147 
 
148 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 among the young, and especially among those connected 
 with the Sabbath school. Pastors very generally re- 
 gard the members of the Sabbath school as the most 
 hopeful part of their people, in regard to their own 
 labors. 
 
 But it should not be supposed that all who are con- 
 verted in the Sabbath school are converted through the 
 instrumentality of this institution alone. A great 
 variety of influences — parental, where there is right 
 parental instruction, the preaching of the gospel, &c., 
 — have no doubt usually been connected with the in- 
 fluence of this institution, in these conversions. All 
 we need to say in relation to this subject is, that those 
 who are engaged in the study of the Bible in the Sab- 
 bath school are much more likely to be converted, 
 through the combined good influences that are brought 
 to bear upon them, than any other class of persons. 
 There is usually more truth in the minds of such, on 
 which the Spirit of God can operate, and they seem 
 more directly within the sphere of the Spirit's in- 
 fluence. This qualification we should ever be ready to 
 make, so as not to overlook the divinely appointed in- 
 stitutions of the family and the ministry. 
 
 But, with the above qualification, all that is claimed 
 for the institution of Sabbath schools in the conversion 
 of men, and especially of the young, is no doubt true. 
 It is filling heaven with joy arid earth with rejoicing. 
 Multitudes of youth, more or less directly through this 
 influence, have learned their way to the New Jerusa- 
 lem, and other multitudes are fast treading in their 
 footsteps. 
 
 The whole history of the past is an encouragement 
 to all who labor in this institution. 
 
RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE. 149 
 
 EARLY CONVERSIONS. 
 
 Numerous well authenticated facts have compelled 
 many to believe that there may be such a thing as the 
 conversion of a little child. The providence of God 
 has, within the past half century, effected a great 
 change on this subject. Pastors have acknowledged 
 that, when they used to urge their teachers to labor for 
 the speedy conversion of little children, they did not 
 mean such little ones as have since evidently been con- 
 verted in their Sabbath schools. But even now, though 
 many Christians profess to believe that young children 
 may be converted, still few make vigorous, consistent 
 efforts to secure the blessing. 
 
 , The conversion of a young child generally awakens 
 in the church but little interest, compared with the 
 same change in a man of forty. And yet the child, if 
 destined to move in the same sphere, will probably 
 accomplish many times more for the redemption of the 
 world, before he arrives at the meridian of life, than 
 the man will ever be able to effect. But when the 
 child has numbered the years of the man, how widely 
 will his enjoyment and influence differ from what they 
 must have been had he lived to this period unreconciled 
 to God, and he now been compelled to expend his best 
 energies in eradicating the evil associations and habits 
 he had previously cherished. Many spend the best 
 portion of their days in nourishing those appetites and 
 passions which are at open war with every Christian 
 excellence ! 
 
 The opinion that early conversion is impracticable is 
 very pernicious in its influence. It pervades the minds 
 of parents, teachers, and children. It prevents the 
 
150 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 teacher and the parents from praying and laboring as 
 they ought for the conversion of children. It is very 
 pernicious in its influence on the young. They look at 
 their parents, and say, " My father and mother did not 
 become pious while young ; it is only a few years since 
 they united with the people of God. What, then, if 
 we do not become pious now ? We undoubtedly shall 
 when we are as old as our parents were when they 
 turned to God." This opinion bars the hearts of the 
 rising generation from immediate repentance, quiets 
 their fears, and urges them on in a course of impen- 
 itence. 
 
 All well know that there is no period of our ex- 
 istence when we are so susceptible of religious impres- 
 sions as in childhood. Tender anxieties are felt for the 
 young, and prayer is offered which, in the case of 
 many at least, fails not in any day of life. Moreover, 
 the church is in constant contact with these tender and 
 susceptible minds. She needs not to stretch her hands 
 across an ocean or a continent to reach them. They 
 are nigh her, in her very bosom. And all the hallowed 
 influence she ought to have upon them can be exerted 
 all the while. Not in the sanctuary and Sabbath school 
 only does this contact exist, but in the nursery, in the 
 domestic circle, in the varied forms of social inter- 
 course. The almost infinitely varied and attractive 
 forms in which divine truth is prepared for the youth- 
 ful mind increases the facilities of their conversion ; 
 and more than all, the blessing of God, which is multi- 
 plying greatly, among children and youth, the subjects 
 of his holy kingdom. In view of all this, is it not 
 true that there are great encouragements to labor for 
 the salvation of the young? 
 
RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE. 151 
 
 It is well known, too, that the influence of every- 
 day 's continuance in sin is to remove the soul farther 
 and farther from God and salvation. Who has not 
 seen the inveteracy of those habits which are formed 
 by protracted impenitence ? Who does not know that 
 sin long indulged encases the soul as with a shield of 
 brass ? Look at the man who has grown old in forget- 
 fulness of God and the violation of all his commands ; 
 see the shafts of truth all broken at his feet! Do rot 
 the comparative prospects of success, as well as the 
 interests of the church and the world, call upon us to 
 devote a larger amount of labor for the conversion of 
 the young? And then, how much easier it is for a 
 little child to surrender himself to the Saviour, than 
 for the man of years — of cares, and of many sins — 
 to become " as a little child." 
 
 The interest on the subject of the conversion of chil- 
 dren has greatly increased since the establishment of 
 Sabbath schools. 
 
 Said a pastor in 1842, in communicating the fact 
 that forty-six of the members of the Sabbath school 
 had been hopefully converted within a few months, 
 "Our deacons and church committee are much tried 
 and perplexed to know what to do with so many young 
 Christians." 
 
 This subject certainly requires great wisdom and 
 good judgment. The proper course to be pursued, in 
 reference to pious children, depends very much on 
 their previous instruction, their maturity of character, 
 and the various circumstances by which they are sur- 
 rounded. Some children of seven, and even younger, 
 are much older in knowledge, stability of character, 
 and in all their intellectual, moral, and religious devel- 
 
152 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 opments, than others of fifteen. Now it would not be 
 judicious to pursue the same course with both these 
 classes of children. As a general remark, however, it 
 may be said, that in the case of all children there should 
 be a suitable season of probation, in which they are to 
 be carefully and faithfully instructed in the truths of 
 the gospel, and in what is implied in making a public 
 profession of religion. Nothing can be more unhappy 
 aiT 1 dangerous in its influence upon them than the 
 course often pursued, of leaving them six months or a 
 year, or several years, unguarded and uninstructed, as 
 a trial of their religious principles. Scarcely less wise 
 or less fatal would it be to l^ave a new-born infant 
 without protection and nourishment, as a test of its: 
 constitution. No wonder that many of them, by de- 
 grees, lose their serious impressions. 
 
 As soon as a child or youth begins to exhibit serious- 
 ness on the subject of religion, he should at once — 
 especially if not favored with pious, judicious par- 
 ents — receive the particular care of the pastor and 
 the church. Such an one requires far more care and 
 attention than an adult. There is more danger that 
 his seriousness may be the result of sympathy, or ex- 
 citement, or a desire to be like others. 
 
 After a suitable season for instruction, and proper 
 evidence of piety, children, of whatever age, should be 
 admitted to the church, to enjoy all the privileges of . 
 the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. No child, how- 
 ever young, that gives evidence of repentance for sin 
 and love to the Saviour, should be denied the privilege 
 of obeying the command of the Saviour, " Do this in 
 remembrance of me." Such may indeed be, as one 
 has said, " like the early, small stars of evening, very 
 
RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE. 153 
 
 small ; " but if they have been faithfully instructed, 
 they will also be, like them, " pure, and bright, and 
 beautiful. And they Avill hold on their way gloriously." 
 
 Some pastors have classes of converts to which they 
 admit persons of any age as soon as converted. These 
 classes they meet, at regular periods, for instruction 
 and prayer, and in communion seasons have them sit 
 by themselves, near the communicants. The influence 
 of this course is found to be, in all respects, salutary. 
 
 The late Rev. Dr. Bardwell, of Holden, in August, 
 1830, thus wrote : — 
 
 " Since the 1st of February, of the present year, one hun- 
 dred and sixty-one persons have been admitted to this church, 
 most of whom have generally attended my Bible class in- 
 struction for the last six years, and nearly sixty of them 
 have been members of the Sabbath school, I have a class 
 of twenty children, all of whom are members of the Sabbath 
 school, who are cherishing the hope that they have passed 
 from death unto life. These children are from eight to 
 fourteen years of age. The object of bringing them into 
 a class has reference to their making a profession of reli- 
 gion. 1 meet them once in two months for the purpose of 
 making personal inquiries concerning their religious feel- 
 ings, and imparting to them such instruction concerning 
 the doctrines and duties of religion as may enable them to 
 act understandingly in uniting with the church. Of most 
 of these children we think there is evidence of piety. 
 Four or five of them have already been admitted to the 
 church ; others will probably be admitted, from time to 
 time, as may be thought expedient. Some of these chil- 
 dren have shown a maturity of mind on religious subjects 
 which is peculiarly pleasing, and affords great encourage- 
 ment to parental and Sabbath school instruction.'' 
 
154 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 In the revival with which the church in W was 
 
 blessed, the last part of 1835 and the early part of 1836, 
 great interest was manifested among the young. There 
 was organized a class, called ' the class of probationers,' 
 of thirty children under fourteen years of age, who had 
 sought the Lord early, and who hoped they had found 
 him, according to his gracious promise. They were 
 enjoying the special watch and care of the pastor and 
 the church, and were receiving instruction, preparatory 
 to a public profession of their faith in Christ. 
 
 In a Sabbath school in Massachusetts, in 1845, it was 
 reported that ninety-five scholars had been hopefully 
 converted, and, in addition, that there were thirty chil- 
 dren, between the ages of five and eleven, who had 
 expressed some hope that they had become Christ's 
 lambs. 
 
 In a class of twelve boys, of from eleven to fourteen, 
 nine were hopefully converted. 
 
 In a school in which large numbers were converted, 
 it was said that some of the children gave striking evi- 
 dence of conversion, and discover much knowledge of 
 divine things. Among the large number to be ad- 
 mitted to the church, were some children of twelve or 
 fourteen. 
 
 A little girl of seven wished to unite with the 
 church, but some thought she was too young. One 
 day she came to her mother, the tears running down 
 her cheeks, and said, " Mother, some one said I was too 
 young — too little — to join the church. I didn't 
 know it was the blood, and the flesh, and the bones 
 that made a Christian; I thought it was the heart." 
 With this answer, which seemed to indicate that she 
 understood herself, she was admitted to the church. 
 
RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE. 155 
 
 Two years after, the pastor said that there was no 
 member of his church who walked more correctly, or 
 who had made more progress in the divine life, than 
 that little girl of seven years. 
 
 A few years ago, a little girl five years of age was led 
 to love the Saviour. She was greatly distressed to think 
 she had lived so many years without loving him. 
 When she was about six years old, she went to her 
 minister, — then one of the most judicious and excel- 
 lent pastors in New Hampshire, — and expressed her 
 wish to confess Christ by uniting with the church. 
 
 The venerable man received her with great tender- 
 ness, and listened with deep interest to her request, but 
 then kindly suggested that she was very young yet to 
 think of uniting with the church. She at once replied 
 that Jesus says, " Suffer the little children to come unto 
 me, 2indi forbid theiii not'^ 
 
 The good shepherd felt the force of her reply, and 
 immediately answered, "I. have nothing more to say." 
 And in due time this lamb of the flock was admitted 
 to the fold. For several years she honored her profes- 
 sion by a lovely. Christian walk, when the Great Shep- 
 herd took her to the fold on high. 
 
 And why should not the lamb — the younger and the 
 feebler all the more so — be ^in the fold ? If we have 
 the evidence of true love to God, why should the age 
 have anything to do with the question of church-mem- 
 bership ? Why should converted children be told that 
 they had better wait four or five years and see if they 
 continue to be interested? What becomes of those 
 adults who wait four or five years after their hopeful 
 conversion, to see if — by disobedience to the command 
 of Christ to confess him before men, and " do this in 
 
156 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 remembrance of me," — they can get clearer evidence 
 that they are truly his disciples? Do they ever con- 
 fess him? 
 
 A mother, in a letter to the writer, says : — 
 
 " Twenty years ago, I was at a pubHc meeting with my^ 
 little daughter, who was hoping she was a Christian, and 
 was very anxious to unite with the church, but her ex- 
 treme youth was urged as an objection. The subject of 
 admitting young children to the church was the topic of 
 discussion at this meeting. You advocated their admis- 
 sion where there was decided evidence of piety, and after 
 suitable instruction. On our return, my little girl said to 
 me, with a glowing countenance, and an earnest tone of 
 voice, * Now, mother, may I not unite with the church ? ' 
 I answered that we would see what our minister said about 
 it. On presenting the subject to him, he at once decided 
 that she was too young for such an important step, and 
 that she must wait some years, and see if her interest in 
 the subject of religion continued. 
 
 " She was greatly disappointed, and grieved at this de- 
 cision. Ever since — now twenty years — she has cher- 
 ished a hope that she is a Christian, but she has never so 
 far recovered from the shock of that early disappointment 
 as to feel that she could make a public profession of her 
 faith, and she probably never will. All these early aspira- 
 tions to be united with the* people of God seem to have 
 been crushed, and she became discouraged, and lost her 
 confidence that she was worthy to be a member of the 
 church of Christ. '^ 
 
 How sad is this history ! And it is only a specimen 
 of many, many similar cases. 
 
 After a most careful observation and extensive in- 
 quiry, for the forty-five years of our public Sabbath 
 
RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE. 157 
 
 school labors, we hesitate not to affirm that a much 
 smaller proportion of children who unite with the 
 church dishonor, their profession than of adults. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Spurgeon gives a most remarkable testi- 
 mony in regard to this subject, and confirmatory of the 
 above statement. He says that out of more than two 
 thousand children that he had admitted to his church, 
 he had not been obliged to exclude a single one ! 
 Would not the Saviour say, in regard to the admission 
 of the smallest children in whom there is evidence of 
 real love to him, to his church, " Suffer little children, 
 and forbid them not to come unto me " ? And will he 
 not be much displeased when his ministers and churches 
 forbid them thus to come ? How solemn his words to 
 those who should offend one of these little ones that 
 believe in him ! 
 
X. 
 
 THE LIBRARY. 
 
 Very early in the history of Sabbath schools, when 
 there were comparatively few books published for the 
 young, a library was regarded as almost indispensable 
 to the existence of a school. And even now, when 
 Sabbath school and tract societies, and many private 
 publishing houses, have flooded the country with juve- 
 nile literature, a library is generally regarded as essen- 
 tial to a prosperous school. 
 
 In 1827, the annual Report of the Maine Sabbath 
 School Union speaks of it as a subject of congratula- 
 tion that Sabbath school libraries Avere becoming so 
 generally popular. "We consider them," says this -Re- 
 port, " among the most interesting and useful means of 
 religious instruction now employed ; and probably, as a 
 stimulus to induce the poor classes of children to come 
 to the schools and to continue in them, they will be 
 more powerful than anything else. 
 
 "And, further, as the children become interested in 
 this kind of reading, it will, in many instances, extend 
 its happy influence to the parents. Parents not given 
 to religious reading are not unfrequently induced to 
 read the books which the children carry home. 
 
 " Special care should be taken that no books profess- 
 ing to be religious should have a place in a library for 
 
 158 
 
THE LIBRARY. 159 
 
 children which contain any sentiments adverse to pure 
 Christianity." 
 
 A superintendent, more than thirty years ago, 
 wrote : — 
 
 " We have a well-selected library of eleven hundred vol- 
 umes ; and we consider a good library as essential, under 
 God, to the prosperity of the Sabbath school as any other 
 means which can be employed. Our scholars are great 
 readers; and, by having books of the best kind to read 
 during the week, their minds are imbued with the sublime 
 truths of the Bible, their understandings are enlightened, 
 their reasoning powers are invigorated, their perceptibili- 
 ties are quickened, and their hearts become susceptible. 
 Nor is this all ; the parents of the scholars, many of whom 
 are not pious, read the books their children bring home, 
 and are thereby brought under the influence of truth, and 
 are often led to serious reflection in reference to death, 
 judgment, and eternity. Very much might be said respect- 
 ing the advantages of a well-selected library in a Sabbath 
 school. It would be very difficult to estimate the amount 
 of good, real and prospective, which we owe, under God, 
 to the library connected with our Sabbath school. A Sab- 
 bath school without a library must present a very dreary 
 aspect, '^ 
 
 Another superintendent says : — 
 
 ^' We have found our library, which contains about one 
 hundred and eighty volumes, a main-spring in our school. 
 While it stimulated to exertion, it became a teacher of 
 religion by examples. Next to the Sabbath school institu- 
 tion as a blessing to our land, a library is the happiest 
 thought. This noiseless teacher among us has found its 
 way to many abodes of the honest yet uninformed, and 
 has been efficacious in dispelling a cloud of errors and 
 
160 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 prejudices that has been collecting for years. It has 
 taught, in some. degree, that ignorance is not a necessary 
 concomitant of religion/' 
 
 Says another superintendent : — 
 
 " We have a library of six hundred volumes. The 
 books are well selected, and contain much information and 
 instruction on all matters of religious interest. We can- 
 not help comparing the condition of members of Sabbath 
 schools now, with the Christians and young people of 
 former days, in the matter of information. Some, now in 
 our Sabbath schools, can remember the time when there 
 were no books of religious instruction fitted for the youth- 
 ful mind. The only reading for children was fairy tales. 
 And even older Christians had but few of those written 
 helps which at the present time are so abundant. Chil- 
 dren's books, making plain the doctrines of the gospel and 
 clear and practical the duties of life, memoirs of pious 
 men, histories of missions, &c., are, or may be, in every 
 house. If knowledge is power, then we see an engine of 
 great power in the Sabbath school library. We feel confi- 
 dent that it has already been of incalculable advantage, 
 both to the teachers and scholars, and I may also add, 
 with emphasis, in many cases to parents. The books from 
 our library are sent out weekly to the number of more than 
 two hundred to preach the gospel in many places where it 
 would be difficult for the minister or lay Christian to find 
 access. We would not silence the tongue of one of these 
 little, yet eloquent, pleaders for ' whatsoever things are 
 true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are 
 just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are 
 lovely, whatsoever things are of good report,' and for all 
 that is virtuous and praiseworthy. No ; we would rather 
 increase their number yearly an hundred-fold. We would 
 thus unloose and put in requisition, weekly, one or more of 
 
THE LIBRARY. 161 
 
 these unpretending" yet powerful helpers in the formation 
 of the character of the young ; yea, these messengers of 
 God, that have already been a blessing to many an impeni- 
 tent parent's conscience and heart." 
 
 Says another superintendent : — 
 
 " We have experienced sig-nal advantages from our Sab- 
 bath school library. It has furnished a powerful induce- 
 ment to faithful attendance on the school. And, what we. 
 esteem of special importance, it has excited among the 
 youth generally a taste for reading, especially of religious 
 books. More books of this class are now read among 
 them than of any other.'' 
 
 The first library of the Sabbath school in Framing- 
 ham, which was established in 1816, was bought in 
 1821. A small sum of money was raised by personal 
 solicitation from the leading church-members and others, 
 and a selection made from the comparatively limited 
 number of children's books then published. The library 
 was composed of small books, mostly in paper covers, 
 some of which might properly be called tracts. The 
 following list is a sample : " Shepherd of Salisbury 
 Plain ; " " Gooseberry Bush ; " '' Worlds Displayed ; " 
 " Pleasures of Piety in Youth ; " " Little Henry and 
 his Bearer ; " " New Testament Stories ; " " The Rob- 
 bers Daughter;" "The Two Lambs;" "Alfred and 
 Galba ; " " Hymns for Infant Minds." 
 
 This small library of small books was yet a matter 
 of great consequence to the school. It was a good col- 
 lection for those days. The books were mostly new to 
 children, and they were of an interesting character. 
 
 In 1819, the pastor of the First Church in Cam- 
 bridge, stated the object of the Sabbath school, which 
 11 
 
162 FIFTY TEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 was organized four years before, to the congregation, 
 and a collection was afterwards taken to purchase small 
 books to be distributed among the children, as an en- 
 couragement for punctual attendance, correct lessons, 
 and good behavior. In 1827, books and tracts were 
 collected by subscription for a juvenile library. A 
 board of trustees was chosen, with the pastor at the 
 head. He was also chosen librarian. In July, 1831, 
 the trustees were authorized to make selections from 
 the library to form a Sabbath school library for the 
 Shepard Congregational Society ; and in 1835 both of 
 the libraries were brought together under the name of 
 " Juvenile and Shepard Sabbath School Library." * 
 
 After the reorganization of the school in 1831, the 
 library comprised two hundred and five volumes, and it 
 became an important means of keeping up an interest 
 in the school, and drawing in pupils. f 
 
 The library of the First Parish Sabbath school, in 
 Charlestown, which was organized in 1816, was estab- 
 lished in 1826, and comprised three hundred and thirty 
 volumes, and was increased the next year to five hun- 
 dred and fifty. % 
 
 A writer in the " Sabbath School Visitant," in 1829, 
 said : — 
 
 '^ I began to make some calculations about the amount 
 of reading which is produced in our country by means of 
 Sabbath school libraries. I thought probably there were 
 three thousand copies of each library book in circulation ; 
 each copy is read annually by two hundred persons. Then 
 
 * History of the First Church in Cambridge, pp. 180, 181. 
 t History of First Sabbath School in Framingham, pp. 35, 69. 
 + Semi-centennial Celebration of the First Parish Sabbath School, Charles- 
 town, p. 62. • 
 
THE LIBRARY. 163 
 
 multiply three thousand by two hundred, gives, in Amer- 
 ica, six hundred thousand persons who read a book annu- 
 ally. These six hundred thousand persons read not only one 
 book, but probably lifty-two each, and some more. What 
 a channel is this, thought I, for the dissemination of useful 
 knowledge. 0, who would be such a monster as to oppose 
 an institution that promises such benefits to our qpuntry ! 
 
 " While these thoughts were passing, I fell asleep, and 
 dreamed that there was a Sabbath school union in every 
 state and in every county of our country, and an associa- 
 tion in every township ; and that every township had 
 a Sabbath school in ever^^ religious society ; and that every 
 school had a library of useful books ; that instead of three 
 thousand there were twenty thousand libraries, and each 
 book read by four hundred individuals, which would make 
 each kind read by eight millions annually. When I thought 
 of this, my country seemed to rise in peace, waving in 
 perennial greenness, and presenting to the world a scene 
 of prophetic millennial glory." 
 
 Although it has, for half a century, been almost uni- 
 versally considered indispensable, in a well organized 
 Sabbath school, to have a library of carefully selected 
 books, yet there has been no department of this insti- 
 tution where there has been so much difficulty in find- 
 ing out the best way of managing it. 
 
 The great desideratum has been, how to distribute the 
 books with the least interference with the exercises of 
 the classes. The plans adopted have been very numer- 
 ous. In some cases the scholars have all gone to the 
 library before the school is opened, or at the close, each 
 to exchange his book ; in others, different classes, one 
 or more at a time, through the whole session of the 
 school, have gone up for this purpose ; in others, the 
 librarians have gone round, with armfuls of books, to 
 
164 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 the classes, interrupting the recitations of each class, 
 while the scholars selected their books ; in some cases 
 the library books have been exchanged on a Aveek-day, 
 but this has been inconvenient to those who live at a 
 distance. Many inconveniences have been found in 
 connection with all these and many other plans that 
 have be^n adopted. 
 
 The Sabbath School and Bible Class Association in 
 the Theological Seminary at Andover, in 1830, took up 
 this subject of the management of the library, with 
 much earnestness. The students generally were re- 
 quested, during their vacation, to visit all the Sabbath 
 schools they could, and ascertain the manner in which 
 the libraries were conducted, and be prepared, on their 
 return, to give a careful report. 
 
 The next term, the association appointed a committee 
 to examine these reports and make out from them what 
 they might consider the best mode of conducting a 
 Sabbath school library. At another meeting of the 
 association the committee reported, in substance, the 
 following plan : — 
 
 All the classes in a given school must have the same 
 number of scholars, say six, and be arranged according 
 to their numbers, one, two, three, &c. 
 
 Each class was to be supplied with its six books, 
 which they were to exchange among themselves for six 
 weeks. At the end of six weeks each class was to pass 
 its six books to the next class ; that is, number one was 
 to pass its books to number two, number two to number 
 three, and so on through the school. 
 
 This was reported by the committee as being the 
 nearest perfect of any plan they could contrive. In 
 this plan there would be very little for the librarian to 
 
THE LIBRARY. 165 
 
 do. There would be no change of books except in the 
 different classes, and that only once in six weeks ; and 
 then it would take but a minute or tAVO, at the opening 
 or at the close of the school, for the classes to pass on 
 their books. This would avoid all noise and all inter- 
 ference with the recitations of the various classes. 
 
 The committee also suggested that it might be well 
 for the library to contain six copies of each book, so 
 that all the members of a given class would read the 
 same book the same week, and then change them every 
 Sabbath. 
 
 In the discussion that took place in considering this 
 report, it was interesting to see how soon this perfect 
 plan of the committee went to pieces. To begin with, 
 all the members of some of the classes might not be 
 present on the Sabbath this plan was acloi^ted, so that 
 some classes might not have more than three or four 
 books to pass to the next class ; or such a thing might 
 happen that some members of some of the classes might, 
 now and then, be absent, or might forget to bring their 
 books, and then the same difficulty would arise. 
 
 To this it was replied that the librarian must be pre- 
 pared to meet this difficulty by having a certain number 
 of extra books to take the place of those that were absent. 
 
 But it was concluded that it would not be long be- 
 fore, by the absence of scholars or of their books, the 
 whole beautiful plan would be broken up. 
 
 Then, again, it was suggested that, by this plan, the 
 larger and the smaller scholars would have the same 
 class of books, without regard to which ones would be 
 appropriate to their age and capacity. And so the plan 
 reported by the committee was not recommended to the 
 schools. 
 
166 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 For many years past, most of our schools have 
 adopted the plan, as, on the whole, the best that has 
 yet been devised, of " library cards and numbers." 
 Catalogues are furnished to all the families in which 
 there are scholars in the school ; each scholar has a 
 card on which he writes the titles of several books, 
 either of which is desired. These cards, with the 
 names of the scholars, are placed in the books of a 
 given class, and all returned to the librarian, who 
 replaces these books with those desired, and leaves 
 them with the teacher of that class, to distribute 
 at the close of the school. The books and the scholars 
 are all numbered; and the librarian keeps his record 
 of the books by means of numbers corresponding to 
 the numbers of the scholars, on small tin or pasteboard 
 labels, which are placed on hooks by the numbers 
 corresponding with the numbers or names of the 
 scholars. When a book is taken out, the number of 
 the scholar is placed over the number of the book. 
 That is the charge of the book to that scholar ; and he 
 cannot have another book till his number is restored 
 to the number of his name, or placed over the number 
 of another book. In this way, there is no conversation 
 between scholars and librarian. All the exchanges are 
 made in silence. 
 
 This plan seems to obviate most or all of the objec- 
 tions that have been felt in regard to all former plans. 
 
 A printed label, like that on the next page, is pasted 
 inside of each book. 
 
 A subject of much complaint, in connection with the 
 library, has always been the great loss of books. 
 
 In 1844, we learned the following fact, which is a 
 striking illustration of the evil here complained of. 
 
THE LIBRARY. 
 
 16T 
 
 A library, four years before, contained four hundred and 
 fifty-four volumes. At the end of that time it con- 
 tained only two hundred and three volumes ! Showing 
 that two hundred and fifty-one books had been lost or 
 not returned, in four years ! It is to be feared that the 
 
 LIBR A.R Y 
 
 SABBATH SCHOOL, 
 
 No member of the School is to be allowed 
 to have out more than one Book at once, nor 
 to retain any Book more than two weeks in 
 succession. 
 
 Readers are requested to be careful in using 
 this Book, and punctual in returning it. To 
 injui'e a Libraiy Book, or to retain it longer 
 than is right, is to do an injury to others which 
 cannot be easily repaired. 
 
 history of many of our libraries would reveal a fa 
 nearly if not quite as melancholy. While thousands, 
 of children and youths, in our land, are destitute of 
 Sabbath school books, it is surely wrong — it is sinful, 
 that so many of these volumes are lost or thrown aside 
 to gather dust upon the shelves. Christ's lesson to his 
 
168 FIFTY TEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS, 
 
 disciples should be studied by the members of our 
 Sabbath schools : " Gather up the fragments, . . . that 
 nothing be lost." 
 
 The following facts, in regard to several libraries 
 in Massachusetts, show that much depends upon the 
 management of the librarian. Says a superintendent: — 
 
 " Our library is exerting a most happy influence. Since 
 our present librarian has had charge of it, — nearly five 
 years, — not a single book has been lost. .Under its present 
 excellent regulations, it has increased from two hundred 
 and ten to four hundred and fifty-two volumes, many of 
 which are valuable books calculated for the adult portion 
 of the school. Although the strictness of the present 
 librarian at first caused some to be offended, who had 
 taken out books under previous librarians, yet to that 
 strictness is to be attributed the present prosperity of the 
 library. There is double the amount of reading from it 
 that there was formerly, one hundred and fifty volumes 
 being frequently out at a time, scattered through every 
 part of the town. In going through our manufacturing 
 establishments, the books of the library are scattered among 
 the operatives, exerting, as it is believed, a most happy 
 effect. Although its privileges are extended to all the 
 members of the congregation, yet many, it is believed, join 
 the school in order to get a more ready access to the 
 library. A lad ten or twelve years of age, formerly con- 
 nected with our school, told me, a few days since, that he 
 did not like the school he was connected with, and wished 
 to come back to ours ; and gave as a reason, our having 
 such a good library. We consider our library an indispen- 
 sable auxiliary to the school, while the school retains the 
 same relation to the more public ministrations of the 
 word.'' 
 
 The library of the Sabbath school in East Medway, 
 
THE LIBRAB.Y. 169 
 
 in 1844, embraced about eight hunclred volumes. It is 
 adapted to persons of every age and capacity, and is 
 open to the whole congregation. It is a society^ as well 
 as Sabbath school, library. There is one fact in rela- 
 tion to it, worthy the special attention of all the mem- 
 bers of our Sabbath schools, viz. : although the library 
 is so large, and is accessible to the whole congregation, 
 young and old, yet not one book, at the time the last 
 examination was made, in 1844, had been lost for three 
 years ! Mr. D. Walker, who generously gave one hun- 
 dred dollars towards its establishment, on condition that 
 the society would give as much more, was the librarian ; 
 and it was owing very much to his care and skill in 
 its management, that it had been so well preserved. 
 He kept an accurate record of every book that was 
 taken or returned, and seemed to have led all to form 
 the habit of using their books with care and returning 
 them with punctuality. He thought it was better for 
 his own family, than it would have been had he given 
 his donation of books directly to them ; inasmuch as 
 they had access to a larger number of volumes, and had 
 also been led to make greater exertions to form this 
 important habit of care and attention in the use of 
 books. 
 
 In 1844, the following fact was communicated : — 
 
 " The library connected with the First Congregational 
 Sabbath school in Methuen, was reorganized in June, 1836, 
 and then contained about three hundred volumes. Addi- 
 tions have since been made to it from time to time, so that 
 it now numbers six hundred and seventy-seven volumes. 
 Since its reorganization — a period of more than seven 
 years and a half — not a single volume has been lost ! 
 During the year ending the 1st of last July, 1843, two 
 
170 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 thousand seven hundred and fifty-five volumes were delivered 
 from the librar3S and this is supposed to have been about 
 an average delivery for the last five or six years. Aside 
 from our pastor, no one thing has exerted a more healthy 
 influence amongst our people, than the library. As it is 
 open to the whole congregation, a good portion of the 
 books have been selected to meet the wants of adults. At 
 the time of its reorganization, nearly a hundred volumes 
 on the catalogue were not to be found ; and when the 
 attempt was first made to enforce the rules of the library, 
 some thought the librarian too particular ; but all are now 
 satisfied that its present prosperity is owing to the rigid 
 observance of those rules. Since the reorganization of 
 the library, the amount of reading from it has nearly 
 doubled. During the time referred to, three difierent 
 individuals have had charge of the library, which goes to 
 prove that there need be no difiiculty in selecting a librarian 
 in any of our religious societies, who can keep a library 
 together if he tries/' 
 
 SELECTING BOOKS. ' 
 
 Much care should be taken in selecting books for the 
 library. Those published by Sabbath school societies 
 — as they profess to be issued under the careful exam- 
 ination and supervision of committees appointed for 
 the purpose — are supposed to be, and ought -to be, safe 
 without further examination. But the miscellaneous 
 works, by private publishing houses, it may be the 
 wisest course to examine before they are placed in the 
 library. 
 
 The Unitarian Sabbath School Society of Boston has 
 a committee to examine all books published for the 
 young, and only those approved by this committee are 
 admitted into any of their Sabbath school libraries. 
 
THE LIBRARY, 171 
 
 Some of our churches have such a committee, and no 
 books, by whomsoever published, excepting those recom- 
 mended by that committee, can find a place in the Sab- 
 bath school library. This caution, though requiring 
 much time and labor, is certainly a safe one. And no 
 Sabbath school society even has any just grounds for 
 complaint of such an inspection of its issues. 
 
 No book should have a place in the Sabbath school 
 library, however excellent for week-day reading, that 
 is not suitable to be read on the Sabbath. 
 
 Some schools have a secular department of books in 
 their libraries, intended especially for week-day reading. 
 But such a department should be entirely distinct from 
 the other, and the books should be given out on a week- 
 day. Any book from either department, taken from a 
 Sabbath school library, will be likely to be read on the 
 Sabbath day. 
 
 An excellent system of replenishing the library, 
 adopted by some schools, is to have a committee 
 examine all books for the young as soon as they are 
 published, and those approved are at once added to the 
 library. This secures fresh additions continually, thus 
 keeping up an interest all the wdiile. "Where additions 
 are made only once a year, the new books soon become 
 old, and in a measure lose their freshness and interest. 
 
 HOW TO MAKE OLD LIBRABIES AS GOOD AS NEW. 
 
 Many children, it is feared, have formed the* habit of 
 reading very hastily. Some do but little more than 
 get a general run of the story, and then hasten to 
 exchange it for another, to be treated in the same way. 
 And some only look over their books, examine the 
 illustrations, &c., and learn but little else about their 
 
172 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 contents. In a short time they will take up a book and 
 just look at it and say, " I've had this ; " and very 
 soon, in this way, they have had all the books of the 
 library, and have also lost all their interest in them, 
 though they cannot tell a word about what any volume 
 contains. Whereas, if they could be made acquainted 
 with a single incident in any one- of them, by the 
 librarian or a teacher, they would eagerly devour its 
 contents. 
 
 To remedy this evil, in some schools, every book has 
 been called in, and, perhaps, covered anew, and then 
 the teachers are requested to spend a few moments in 
 asking each scholar to give a little account of the book 
 he has had the previous week. In some cases the whole 
 class is supplied with a copy of the same book, and it 
 is divided into three or four parts, one part for a week, 
 and the whole class examined on that part. Where this, 
 •plan has been adopted, the books are read with all the 
 interest of new ones, and read, too, with great profit. 
 A good book needs to be read more than once. One 
 teacher says his little girl, not four years old, will read 
 a book over and over till she has it all by heart. 
 
 This plan of requiring the children to give an account 
 of what they have read, will soon compel them to read 
 with care. This will greatly assist them in remember- 
 ing what they have read, and aid them in acquiring the 
 habit of communicating their ideas, in familiar conversa- 
 tions and extempore speaking, with fluency and ease. 
 
 A teacher in 1880 says : — 
 
 " I required every scholar to take home his book, and 
 told them I expected to hear a particular account of the con- 
 tents from each one', the next Sabbath. The next Sabbath, 
 the account they gave was very loose and disjointed, but 
 
THE LIBRARY. 173 
 
 as all except one gave evidence of having tried to remem- 
 ber what they had read, and to relate it in the best manner 
 they were able, I allowed them to take out new books. I 
 found every week that there were decided marks of im- 
 provement ; and after continuing this course a few weeks, 
 it was quite animating to see them enter the class with 
 bright, smiling faces, beaming with intelligence, each anx- 
 ious to relate the contents of her book. After a few 
 weekly efforts, one little girl, under nine years old, gave 
 me a correct account of fourteen different characters intro- 
 duced into her book, after only one week's reading 1 And 
 one week ago, a number of the class gave a handsome 
 relation of a story consisting of a variety of characters, 
 and containing over a hundred pages. The advantages of 
 this method I have found to exceed every other I have 
 ever tried, to rouse the intellectual and, I think I may 
 with truth add, the moral energies of my class ; for never 
 have I found such easy and natural openings for pressing 
 home upon the heart and conscience the momentous truths 
 of the gospel, as since I adopted this plan. 1 am sur- 
 prised at the improvement already made in a ready utter- 
 ance. They catch not only the thoughts of the writer, 
 but his very expressions ; and the remarks of these chil- 
 dren, and their turn for conversation, have recently been 
 noticed with surprise and pleasure by many persons be- 
 sides their fondly attached teacher." * 
 
 "I MUST TAKE THAT OR NONE." 
 
 A librarian, in giving out books, found great diffi- 
 culty in satisfying the wishes of the scholars. One 
 took a book, opened it, turned over a leaf or two, and 
 returned it, saying, with a sour look and dissatisfied 
 tone, " I don't want this book ; it isn't a pretty one." 
 
 * Sabbath School Treasury, p. 221. 
 
174 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 Another took the book that was handed to him, and 
 cast his eyes over the pictures a moment, and saict, 
 '• I've had tliis." A second book was given him, and 
 he did the same. Another scholar just looked at a 
 volume which the librarian held out for him^ and as 
 the appearance of the cover did not quite suit his taste, 
 turned away his head, saying, ''I don't want that book; 
 I've had it before." 
 
 What could the poor librarian do ? Some objection 
 seemed to be made against receiving almost every book 
 he presented. He was quite discouraged, and was on 
 the point of giving up all attempts to please such diffi- 
 cult, unreasonable, and complaining children. But just 
 then he was cheered by the appearance of a modest, 
 smiling little girl, who, seeing the perplexity and 
 trouble he was in, stepped up close to him, and said, — 
 
 " My mother says, when the librarian gives me a 
 book, I must take that or none; and I have got a 
 beautiful book ; " holding up the little volume she had 
 taken without a word of complaint. It was a real 
 comfort to the poor man, in his perplexity, to find one 
 child that could be suited. 
 
 WEONG THINGS TO BE COBEECTED. 
 
 There are several things connected with the use of 
 the library in many schools, that are wrong, and ought 
 to be corrected. 
 
 One is the practice of carrying the books into the 
 house of God, to be read and looked at in time of wor- 
 ship. This is wrong and sinful. Such conduct is 
 enough to make all the instructions of the Sabbath 
 school and of the sanctuar}^ a ''savor of death unto 
 death " to those who are guilty of it. 
 
THE LIBRARY. 175 
 
 Another thing that is wrong, is the careless manner 
 of treating the books at home. How many of the 
 beautiful volumes of the library are brought back — if, 
 indeed, they are returned at all — with soiled, rumpled, 
 and torn leaves, and broken covers I Some complain 
 that books are so poorly bound, they soon come to 
 pieces. But were they iron-bound, they would scarcel}' 
 stand such usage as too many of them receive. 
 
 And then the careless, hasty manner in which many 
 read their books, is another thing that is wrong. No 
 book ought to be returned to the library till it has been 
 so thoroughly read that a full account can be given of 
 what it contains. And such an account ought to be 
 given to the parents or teachers. 
 
 The young are m great danger, now that there are 
 so many juvenile books, of forming the habit of reading 
 without reflection — reading merely to get the story. 
 These are the scholars most difQcult to please when 
 taking books. Half an hour is sufficient time for them 
 to dispatch any book ; and by looking over their own 
 in this way, and those taken by their brothers, sisters, 
 and associates, they will be able, in a few months, to 
 say of every book in the library, they have had it, or 
 seen it before. 
 
 Let every scholar begin to read the library anew. 
 Take the first book that is given. No matter if it has 
 been seen, and even read before ; whether there be few 
 or many pictures in it ; whether the cover be handsome 
 or otherwise, — let it be taken. Now let it be read so 
 slowly and carefully that an account of it can be given, 
 and the scholar will feel a new interest in the library, 
 and will derive a benefit from it such as he has never 
 before. If all will adopt this course, the librarian's 
 
176 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 troubles will soon have an end. If a scholar says he 
 has had that book before, the librarian will know that 
 it has been read, as well as looked at, and that the wish 
 for another is reasonable, and he will cheerfully ex- 
 change it for a new one. 
 
 METHODS OF REPLENISHING THE LIBRAKY. 
 
 The Sabbath School and Bible Class Association of 
 the Theological Seminary at Andover published the 
 following method in the " Sabbath School Treasury " 
 for August, 1830: — 
 
 " When a Sabbath school book enters a family, it seldom 
 comes out again without having passed through the hands 
 of every individual in the family. They are consequently 
 soon worn out, and the libraries need to be frequently 
 replenished. Money should be raised for this purpose as 
 often as once or twice a year ; for sm'all additions, fre- 
 quently made, are found to be more advantageous than 
 larger additions less frequently. The fact that there are 
 new books in the library awakens fresh interest, among the 
 scholars. 
 
 " Various expedients have been resorted to in order to 
 keep the library in repair. Sometimes the parents, and 
 sometimes the children have been solicited to give. At 
 one time, money has been raised by subscription ; at an- 
 other, by contribution ; and it not unfrequently happens 
 that a very scanty collection is the result of any one or all 
 of these expedients together. Now it seems desirable to 
 adopt some systematic arrangement, if possible, by which 
 this object shall be permanently secured. The following 
 plan has been adopted in several places with unexpected 
 success. 
 
 " A catalogue was prepared, by the author of the plan, 
 containing the names of all the persons in the parish whom 
 
THE LIBRARY. 177 
 
 he thought suitable to call upon for money. He then 
 handed twelve or fifteen of these names on paper to a 
 couple of little girls, and said to them, * Do you go and 
 call on the persons whose names are on this paper^ and 
 ask them each to give you twelve and a half cents for the 
 Sabbath school librar3^' He put another slip of paper, 
 with other names, into the hands of two other little girls, 
 and bade them do the same. Thus he divided the business 
 among a suitable number, who undertook it with much 
 pleasure. They were strictly charged to ask for no more 
 than twelve and a half cents of any individual. It was 
 not long before the little beggars returned with counte- 
 nances of delight, which indicated their success before 
 they had time to relate it. The result was, a collection of 
 about as many ninepences as there w-ere names on the pa- 
 pers. No one could find it in his heart to turn away a 
 little smiling girl, who solicited only twelve and a half 
 cents, and that, too, for the Sabbath school library. This 
 has been repeated twice a year in that parish, and the 
 avails of such a collection are sufficient to keep the library 
 in good repair." 
 
 A pastor, in 1853, said, " We want fi^fty dollars for 
 our library, and I do not know how to raise it." We 
 suggested a plan, wliicli, on the Sabbath, he proposed 
 to the school. He told all the scholars that he wanted 
 them to see how much money they could raise for the 
 library during the week. As many of them as chose 
 could engage in the work, and they might go to any- 
 body they pleased, and just as many as pleased might 
 go to the same persons, and see how much money they 
 could collect. Early Monday morning, the village was 
 all astir with these young collectors. Some of them 
 were at the minister's house before he was up, and 
 12 
 
178 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 before ten o'clock, fourteen of them had called on the 
 pastor for contributions. One boy went to the richest 
 man in the parish, and he gave him only one cent. 
 The little fellow, as he went away, said to himself, 
 "That isn't fair." Then he went to as many of the 
 scholars as he could find, and sent all of them to the 
 rich man, and, among them all, they drained him pretty 
 thoroughly of his change. The result of this effort of 
 the children, in which the whole people seemed not less 
 interested than the young collectors themselves, was 
 over sixty dollars, to enlarge their library. 
 
 This plan has been adopted in many places, with 
 about the same results. 
 
 The members of one class in a Sabbath school pre- 
 sented a request to their teacher for some new books ; 
 they said they found it difficult to obtain any from the 
 library which they had not read. 
 
 The teacher told them they must contribute for the 
 object, and she would see that some new books were 
 procured. They all readily contributed twenty-five or 
 thirty cents each. The teacher took the money and 
 gave it to the superintendent, with an account of the 
 manner in which it was procured, and of the wishes of 
 her scholars. The superintendent immediately appro- 
 priated the money, and procured as many new books as 
 there were scholars in that class. 
 
 These books, after he had numbered them, he gave 
 to the teacher, with the request that she would retain 
 them in her class, exchanging them once in two weeks, 
 according to the practice of the school, till each scholar 
 had read them all, and then return them to the library. 
 
 This plan excited so much interest in that class, that 
 the superintendent mentioned it to the school, and in- 
 
THE LIBRARY. 179 
 
 vited other classes to try the same experiment. The 
 result was, so many of the classes contributed, that 
 the sviperintendent found no small difficulty in pro- 
 curing new books enough to meet the demand. The 
 library soon comprised a very full assortment of books ; 
 and these books were much more highly prized by the 
 members of the school from the fact that they had 
 aided in their purchase. 
 
XI. 
 
 ADULT CLASSES IN THE SABBATH SCHOOL. 
 
 Although the institution of Sabbath schools was 
 originally intended merely for children, and particularly 
 the children of poverty and neglect, yet quite early in 
 its history in New England, persons of all ages began to 
 connect themselves with it as pupils. Bible classes, or, 
 as they were then called, '' adult " classes, were formed 
 for the mutual study of the Scriptures. 
 
 In 1828, an aged man, connected with the South Con- 
 gregational Church, Andover, used to remain at the ses- 
 sion of the school. Sabbath noon, and always manifested 
 much interest in watching the school. The superinten- 
 dent asked him, one day, if he could hear the children 
 recite. " No," said he ; " but I love to see them ; and 
 then I can hear you, when you make remarks at the . 
 close." 
 
 " Well," said the superintendent, " should you not 
 like, while waiting, to have a teacher come and sit down 
 with you and talk about the Bible ? " 
 
 " Yes," he replied, earnestly ; " and I guess I can get 
 some others to join with me." 
 
 This soon grew into a class of elderly men, number- 
 ing over thirty. There was also formed a class of 
 about the same number of aged women, while most of 
 the young people of both sexes were in the school ; and 
 
 180 
 
ADULT CLASSES. 181 
 
 no one ever intimated that he was either too old or too 
 wise to be in the Sabbath school studying the Bible. 
 
 From tliis time the attendance of older persons in- 
 creased very rapidly all through New England. For 
 many years the schools generally embraced a larger 
 portion of the congregations than most of them do at 
 the present day. An imaginary visit to a few of the 
 schools at that early period will be interesting and 
 instructive. 
 
 • Here, in a school in Maine, in 1832, we see parents 
 and children — the child of four years with the hoary 
 head of fourscore — attending to the same lesson from 
 the Bible. In another school, in the same state and 
 year, we find an adult class composed of persons past 
 middle age, and who have "as little need of Sabbath 
 school instruction as any in the parish ; and yet they re- 
 gard it as a boon and a privilege which they would not 
 willingly relinquish. In it they find both profit and 
 enjoyment. In another school, in 1833, we have the 
 grateful sight of four generations engaged in the social 
 study of the sacred Scriptures, and of which the super- 
 intendent says : "If holy angels and the spirits of the 
 just made perfect look down with satisfaction upon 
 earthly scenes, is it not upon a scene like this ? " 
 
 An old gentleman of eighty years, says, " Well, I'm 
 in the Sabbath school yet." " You have been studying 
 the Bible now so long, don't you find it becomes rather 
 dry ? " " No, no," says the aged disciple ; " the older I 
 grow, the newer and better it seems." 
 
 A few years later, let us enter a school in Franklin 
 County, Mass. It belongs to the parish where the pres- 
 ident of one of our colleges then ministered. He in- 
 forms us that the Sabbath before he counted only 
 
182 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 eleven of all his congregation who, at the close of 
 the morning service, turned away from the Sabbath 
 school. In another school, in the same county, we find 
 enrolled as members five hundred and twelve, when 
 the entire membership of the parish is only five hun- 
 dred and thirty-six. How bfeautiful the scene, — nine- 
 teen twentieths of all the people, embracing all ages 
 from three to eighty-two, feeding upon the bread of 
 life! 
 
 A superintendent, as we enter his school, informs us 
 that all the members of the church who can conven- 
 iently attend are in the school. Another, that there 
 are only three members of the church out of the school 
 without a reason. 
 
 Thus we might go from school to school by the 
 scores, if not the hundreds, and hear the statements : 
 " Our school includes most of the society, old and 
 young." "All the resident members of the church but 
 six or eight, who are prevented by sickness or the care 
 of families, are members of our school." " Our school 
 consists of almost all the stated members of the con- 
 gregation." " In our school are mingled together those 
 who are tottering on the brink of the grave and those 
 who can but imperfectly lisp the commandments" of 
 God." " Nearly all the stated congregation are con- 
 nected with our school ; and if there is any portion of 
 the school that prizes more highly than another its ad- 
 vantages, it is the adults." "About two hundred adults 
 have associated themselves for mutual instruction in 
 connectioii with the school. They seem to take as 
 much pleasure in the exercises as any of the children ; 
 and their example has had a happy influence upon the 
 school." "Almost every one in the society, from four 
 
ADULT CLASSES. 183 
 
 years old to eighty, are engaged in our school, either as 
 teachers or scholars. It is accounted almost a disgrace 
 for any one not to attend ; and but very few of those 
 who would attend to any good thing, fail in attending 
 the Sabbath school. One mind seems to influence all, 
 old and young. And all are making good progress in 
 the knowledge of the word of God." 
 
 In many schools these classes of adults were called 
 " classes for mutual instruction." 
 
 These classes, every Sabbath, choose one of their 
 number to act as teacher, or " monitor," as they were 
 sometimes called, for the, next Sabbath. All were to 
 study the lesson assigned for that Sabbath, and be pre- 
 pared to answer or ask questions. While one was to 
 act as leader,, all were to feel an individual responsi- 
 bility to help make the exercise interesting and profit- 
 able. 
 
 One mode of conducting such a class is given as 
 follows : — 
 
 " On the Sabbath, the teacher introduced the lesson to 
 the class by proposing questions, when they immediately 
 enter upon a free discussion, and interchange of views and 
 opinions relative to the various parts of the passage before 
 them ; and each member communicates any explanatory 
 remarks with which he may have met, or which his own 
 mind ma}'' have suggested. The teacher also brings for- 
 ward whatever illustrations his more careful investigation 
 of the subject has furnished him ; and, so far as he is able, 
 solves the difficulties, and answers the questions which the 
 class may propound. 
 
 " The following method is more generally adopted where 
 such classes exist. It differs from the one just described 
 only in this respect. Instead of having one permanent 
 
184 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 teacher, the members of the class ofiSciate in rotation ; each 
 for a Sabbath or a particular number of Sabbaths. 
 
 " Another method is like the other two, except that it 
 recognizes no one as a teacher. All feel themselves under 
 equal obligation to examine the lesson and contribute to the 
 interest of the exercise. 
 
 " A number of ladies, from forty to seventy j^ears of age, 
 joined the Sabbath school, and associated themselves 
 together for mutual assistance in the study of the Bible. 
 The interest created in this class was very great. Rarely 
 is there seen more interest manifested in a class of girls 
 than was exhibited by these mothers. One member of the 
 class, aboLft fourscore, whose memory had been considerably 
 impaired by age, said, ' I have never seen the time, for a 
 great many years, that I could wish to be young again, till 
 since I commenced going to the Sabbath school, but I now 
 feel the great need of the memory of my youth.' 
 
 "In a Sabbath school consisting of four hundred schol- 
 ars, two hundred were adults, some of whom were over 
 sixty. These two hundred adults were associated together 
 in studying the Bible on this plan of mutual conference 
 and instruction. 
 
 " All who reflect upon the plan here suggested, in con- 
 nection with the examples given, must feel that no insur- 
 mountable obstacle lies against the general adoption ol' the 
 system of mutual instruction.'' 
 
 The late Rev. Dr. Bardwell, Avhen settled in Holden^ 
 said, in January, 1830, when his people were favored 
 with an extensive revival : — 
 
 " Within the past two months our Sabbath school has 
 increased from two to nearly four hundred, about one half 
 of whom are adults up to sixty years of age. The adults 
 have the same lesson with the rest of the school. They 
 
ADULT CLASSES. 185 
 
 appoint their own teachers ; indeed, their plan is that of 
 mutual conference and instruction. In our Bible class, con- 
 sisting of young' persons from fourteen to thirty years of 
 age, the course of instruction is intentionally varied from 
 time to time. Sometimes questions are proposed by the 
 teacher and sometimes by the scholars ; and sometimes 
 topics are given out to be v^ritten upon. Nearly all of 
 the members of this class have been brought into the king- 
 dom.'' 
 
 What sight can be more interesting than that of a 
 Sabbath school tlius engaged? What can be better 
 adapted to increase the interest of the children in the 
 school and in the study of the Bible, than to see parents 
 and grand-parents, and the people generally, uniting 
 with them in this delightful work. Then the influence 
 of these adult classes that come into school, helps to 
 revive the school and give it new life. 
 
 A school in 1836 had become very languishing. It 
 was suspended during the winter. At the end of three 
 years, during which time it had continued to decline 
 more and more, the question was asked, — 
 
 " What can be done to save the school from extinc- 
 tion and make it efficient? " 
 
 In answer to this question, one man said, " I will go in, 
 become a member of the school as a scholar, unless I 
 am needed as a teacher, if the church, as a body, will 
 do the same." 
 
 The church immediately acceded to the proposal, and 
 united with the school. The school was at once revived, 
 and went on prosperously. 
 
 There is scarcely anything, save the visitations of the 
 Holy Spirit, that will exert such a reviving, encourag- 
 ing influence on a school, as a large accession of classes. 
 
186 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 It will almost reinfuse vitality where the spark of life 
 has expired ; and it always imparts new animation and 
 encouragement to a school, however flourishing it may 
 have been before. 
 
 This subject was urged in an address to a congrega- 
 tion in the neighborhood of a city. At the close of the 
 address, the pastor invited all the members of the 
 congregation who were willing to unite with the school, 
 to meet with it the next Sabbath. And the next Sab- 
 bath that school of three hundred members received an 
 accession of about forty. Every one can see that such 
 an accession, even to a comparatively large school, must 
 have been most inspiring. Every teacher and pupil felt 
 animated and encouraged. 
 
 The presence of the older people in the Sabbath school 
 magnifies and gives character to the institution. It 
 takes away the excuse from any among the children and 
 the young people, "that they are getting too old to 
 belong to the Sabbath school." And where this excuse 
 is offered, and the young people leave the Sabbath 
 school, the cause may usually be found in the fact that 
 adults are not connected with it. 
 
 There is no way in which the church can more 
 strongly commend the Sabbath school to the young 
 than by their personal attendance as learners. 
 
 This social study of the Scriptures by the older mem- 
 bers of the church is one of the best ways to cultivafe 
 their own Christian graces. The familiar and social 
 study of those pure and sublime thoughts of God, and 
 the free interchange of thought and feeling in regard to 
 them, will ennoble, and elevate, and purify the whole 
 inner man. Under the combined research of a whole 
 circle of Christians, longing, and laboring too, for new 
 
ADULT CLASSES. 187 
 
 and clearer views of truth, the Scriptures will be 
 opened ; gems of unsurpassed beauty and richness will 
 be discovered ; yea, it will be seen that, — 
 
 ** A glory gilds the sacred page, 
 Majestic, like the sun." 
 
 Mutual sympathy and interest will be excited. All 
 that cold and cruel distance too often existing among 
 the members of Christ's own family will be anni- 
 hilated. Heart will warm heart, till, by their mutual 
 warmth, they melt, and flow out, and mingle into one. 
 What does the church need so much as this familiar 
 intercourse, this mutual bond of sympathy and love, 
 this mingling of heart with heart? What a moral 
 powxr over others this state of things would give the 
 church. HoAV would such a united, sympathizing 
 brotherhood of Christians, all actively engaged in 
 searching the Scriptures, silence the gainsay er, and 
 bring all to "gaze and admire," though they might 
 "hate the change." 
 
 Then the adults, as well as those in early life, find 
 the study of the Scriptures a source of mental im- 
 provement. The memory, the judgment, the taste, and 
 all the intellectual faculties, are cultivated and strength- 
 ened. It prevents that entire neglect of the mind 
 which the cares and business of the world too often 
 produce. The exercises of the Sabbath school, if en- 
 gaged in with zeal, will prove a better discipline to the 
 mind than the exercises of the best conducted lyceum. 
 This advantage alone, were there no higher, should 
 induce all, young men and maidens, old men and chil- 
 dren, to engage in this work. 
 
 While the adult members of the church and congre- 
 
188 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 gation are largely represented in many of our Sabbath 
 schools at the present day, this is by no means fo gen- 
 eral as in these former times. And in this respect, as 
 well as in many others, — notwithstanding all onr im- 
 provements in the conduct of this institution, — we 
 can learn wisdom from the past. 
 
 Several years ago there was a large and flourishing- 
 Sabbath school in the town of N . This institution 
 
 had taken a deep hold on the affections of the church, 
 most of whose members manifested their interest in it 
 in the best possible manner, viz., by their personal 
 attendance. The school was often a scene of much 
 religious awakening, when one and another, of different 
 ages, were converted. 
 
 Mr. A , a member of the church, was a conscien- 
 tious Christian. His advantages for intellectual im- 
 provement had been quite limited, and, Avhat is not the 
 case with every one in similar circumstances, he was 
 sensible of his deficiency in this respect, and conse- 
 quently was very diflident. For a long time he was 
 unable so to overcome this diffidence as to connect him- 
 self with a class in the Sabbath school. He longed to 
 be united with his brethren in the study of the Scrip- 
 tures ; he felt that it was the very thing for him ; he 
 needed just such assistance in understanding the Bible 
 as he should there be likely to obtain. But he could 
 not overcome his timidity ; it was too great a trial to 
 think of exposing his ignorance. Perhaps he had 
 never heard of the adage, '' Not to know is bad ; not to 
 ask is worse." 
 
 But ]\Ir. A had also another trial ; he knew that 
 
 he was not only depriving himself of a rich privilege 
 by standing aloof from the Sabbath school, but he was 
 
ADULT CLASSES. 189 
 
 also exerting a bad influence by liis example on his un- 
 converted neighbors. He was a professing Christian, 
 and if he neglected the Sabbath school, many others 
 might be encouraged to do the same. The thought of 
 this was a severe trial to his feelings ; and, after much 
 study on the subject, he finally fixed on a plan by 
 which he hoped to avoid exerting any unfavorable in- 
 fluence on others, however much he might suffer him- 
 self by yielding to his diffidence. The plan was this : 
 every Sabbath, as soon as the morning services were 
 closed, and the Sabbath school began to assemble, he 
 betook himself to the neighboring woods, and there, 
 alone, passed his intermission. He hoped in this man- 
 ner at least to prevent the injurious influence which 
 his example would be likely to have on others, were he 
 seen passing the Sabbath school hours around the 
 house of God. 
 
 This plan certainly deserves the attention of those 
 professors of religion — if there be such — who are 
 accustomed to spend their intermissions in groups 
 around the sanctuary, under the horse-sheds, or, still 
 worse, in the bar-room of the tavern, in company with 
 their impenitent neighbors, conversing about their 
 farms and stock, "the times," the weather, &c. 
 
 Mr. A was at length enabled, after many strug- 
 gles and prayers, so far to overcome his diffidence as to 
 join a class in the Sabbath school ; and ere long he 
 could hardly find terms sufficiently strong to describe 
 the pleasure and the profit he was receiving in the 
 social study of the word of God. And we doubt not 
 that every diffident Christian who will engage in the 
 study of the Scriptures in the same way will find a 
 similar pleasure and profit. 
 
190 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 AN AGED christian's TESTIMONY. 
 
 Mr. H had almost numbered the days of the 
 
 years allotted to man on earth. He had long been a 
 constant reader of the Bible and a professed disciple 
 of Jesus, and from a child had sat under the preaching 
 of the gospel. Under these circumstances, it is nat- 
 ural to suppose that his mind would have become thor- 
 oughly imbued with the truths of the Scriptures. And 
 no doubt this was the case, and that his knowledge of 
 the Scriptures compared well with that of most who 
 have enjoyed similar privileges. 
 
 Some time since, this aged disciple united with a 
 class of men in the Sabbath school for the mutual 
 study of the Bible. In this exercise he became deeply 
 interested, and was always present. At a Sabbath 
 school meeting, having referred to his past habit of 
 studying the Scriptures, he said he used to think he 
 understood them as well as others who had enjoyed the 
 same advantages ; but he could now see that he knew 
 comparatively nothing about the Bible until since he 
 connected himself with the Sabbath school. He now 
 had a complete chain of the truths of the Bible, from 
 Genesis to Revelation. He felt that the school had 
 been a great blessing to him, in leading him to a more 
 careful and connected study of the word of God, and 
 that nothing would induce him to leave it. 
 
 It was the opinion of Mr. H that comparatively 
 
 few Christians, not engaged in this manner of study- 
 ing the Bible, though they may read it, ever do really 
 study it. And it is very certain that, without study, 
 the chain of the truths of Scripture spoken of by this 
 aged Christian can never be obtained. 
 
ADULT CLASSES. 191 
 
 It is a very important fact, that almost every one 
 who engages heartily in this mode of studying the 
 word of God bears a similar testimony to its beneficial 
 influence upon his mind and heart. It is also an im- 
 portant fact, that those who once become interested in 
 the social study of the Bible are not often inclined to 
 give it up. 
 
 This testimony and these facts should encourage 
 the adult members of our Sabbath schools to unabated 
 diligence in studying the Scriptures, and should also 
 lead them to use their influence in persuading all the 
 adult members of our congregations, and especially all 
 members of our churches, to avail themselves, so far as 
 is practicable, of the same precious privileges whicli 
 are proffered to all without money and without price. 
 
 YOUNG MEN. 
 
 There is no class in the community whose attendance 
 on the Sabbath school it is so difficult in many places to 
 secure as that of young men. And, when we consider 
 the influence they are exerting, and are destined here- 
 after to exert on the world, there is scarcely any class 
 whose attendance seems so desirable. All the sacred 
 and momentous interests of the church and of the 
 various benevolent institutions which are the glory of 
 our age and of our land, and all the interests of our 
 literary and civil institutions, will soon be bequeathed 
 to them. No Christian, philanthropist, or even patriot, 
 can look on those to whose possession an inheritance so 
 rich, and to whose guardianship interests so precious, 
 are to be committed, without the deepest emotions. 
 
 Woe to the world if these guardians of the church 
 and of the nation are not wise and faithful ! And 
 
192 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 where is our security that they will be either wise or 
 faithful, if they neglect the only fountain of wisdom 
 and the man of their counsel, and never offer the 
 prayer of the young man Solomon, " Give me now 
 wisdom and knowleds^-e ; a wise and understandino; 
 heart " ? In no way can young men better cleanse 
 their way, and prepare themselves to meet and sustain 
 the responsibilities that are coming upon them, than by 
 taking heed thereto, according to the word of infinite 
 wisdom. And in no way can they give their dying 
 parents better security that they are committing the 
 interests of the church and of the nation to faithful 
 hands. 
 
 The beloved disciple well understood the poAver and 
 influence of young men when he said, " I have written 
 unto you, young men, because ye are strong." Ye are 
 in your prime of "fitness for active service. What an 
 illustration of this was that same disciple, who received 
 from his divine Lord the appellation " son of thunder." 
 
 With what safety might the interests of the church 
 and of the world be intrusted to the supervision of the 
 young men of the present age, did they possess the ster- 
 ling character of John, the youngest of the twelve ? O, 
 that the remaining words of that disciple were as appli- 
 cable to them as those already repeated, ''And the word 
 of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked 
 one." There are some young men of Avhom it may be 
 said, " The word of God abideth in them," and accord- 
 ing to that word they are taking heed unto their ways. 
 The Lord increase their number an hundred and a thou- 
 sand fold I 
 
 The influence of those young men who are connected 
 with Sabbath schools is strongly felt on others around 
 
ADULT CLASSES. 193 
 
 them ; and all that is wanting, in a multitude of cases, 
 to engage many of their associates in the same delight- 
 ful employment, is a friendly invitation. Young men 
 who are already interested should give that invitation, 
 give it kindly, give it courteously. Xone can do it so 
 well and with so much promise of success. 
 
 Soon after a revival in the First Church in Charles- 
 town, in 1841-42, a large class of young men was 
 formed. The teacher reported twenty-eight members of 
 the class, six of whom soon after united with the church, 
 and five more were indulging hope. The attendance was 
 usually good, and the class uniformly attentive, and 
 apparently interested in receiving instruction. Much 
 good was anticipated from the formation of tliis class. 
 The erroneous impression, so common among young men, 
 that they are " too old to attend the Sabbath school," 
 seemed to have given place to the better one that " none 
 are too old ; " and the influence of this class upon the 
 remainder of the school was highly salutary. 
 
 LABGE BOYS. 
 
 There is a class of pupils who are just between the 
 periods of childhood and manhood, — large boys, — 
 that should receive the special attention of the guar- 
 dians of Sabbath schools. High-spirited, inclined to 
 throw off restraints, often reckless, generally overes- 
 timating themselves, perfectly confident of their own 
 wisdom, and somewhat ashamed to be numbered among 
 children, these large boys are not only often inclined 
 to leave the school, but are among the prominent can- 
 didates for temptation and ruin. They should have 
 the teachers of their choice, if it can be done consist- 
 ently. Certainly they should have one of the ablest, 
 13 
 
194 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 most discreet, as well as most godly men of the church, 
 a person, if possible, who understands this class of 
 pupils, who can appreciate their feelings, and knows 
 how to acquire an influence over them. 
 
 There are good men whom the large boys respect ; 
 and there are other good men who, for some reason or 
 other, cannot gain their confidence. A teacher of the 
 former description should be chosen for such a class of 
 pupils. If he sees them often, shows himself their 
 friend, encourages in them habits of industry and true 
 manliness, holds up before them great and good exam- 
 ples, suggests principles on which success in life de- 
 pends, while he inculcates the, great truth that "the fear 
 of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," he will gain 
 their confidence and esteem. It is important that this 
 class of large boys be retained in the school, not only 
 for their own benefit, but also on account of their influ- 
 ence over the younger class of boys and the whole 
 school. 
 
XII. 
 
 INFANT DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Infant classes in the Sabbath school, or infant 
 departments separate from the main schools, began to 
 be formed as early as 1827-28. A correspondent in 
 the '^ Sabbath School Treasury," for 1829, inquires if 
 " it would not be a useful plan to introduce that part 
 of the infant school system into Sabbath schools, which 
 consists of Scripture questions and singing hymns? 
 As far as I know the management of the Sabbath 
 schools in this vicinity, the children three or four years 
 old have but little to interest them, and do not appear 
 to receive much benefit." 
 
 To this, the editor in a foot-note replies : " In many 
 places in this vicinity, most of the cliildren from two to 
 five, are connected with the Sabbath schools, and mani- 
 fest a deep interest in their exercises. In one school 
 there are twenty under five years of age, who form 
 one of the most attractive and diligent classes in the 
 whole school. The teacher furnishes her little pupils 
 with an historical verse of Scripture, accompanied with 
 a picture, and requests them to study it till next Sabbath, 
 when she will explain it to them. With this historical 
 picture and text she never fails to interest them during 
 the whole exercise of the school." 
 
 The above correspondent, a few months later, writes : 
 
 195 
 
196 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 " I have heard of a Sabbath school in Boston, in which 
 an infant class has been commenced that bids fair to 
 succeed well." 
 
 The plan of this class is thus described : " The chil- 
 dren are placed in such a manner as that all may see 
 every movement of the teacher, and hear without diffi- 
 culty. The exercises are commenced by reading a few 
 verses from the Bible with explanations, followed by a 
 short prayer. Then they sing or repeat a hymn, which 
 the children can easily learn by repeating it, line by line, 
 after the teacher. Passages of Scripture, from ' Series 
 of Scripture Prints,' are then read and learned in the 
 same way. After a hymn, ten minutes are occupied by 
 reading, reciting, and explaining by the picture the 
 lesson on one of the cards ; then they change to some 
 other subject, and continue to change sufficiently often, 
 to keep up the attention of the children, closing with a 
 doxology. In all the recitations, &c., the children speak 
 in concert, and thus help each other alpng. 
 
 The following^ is an account of the infant Sabbath 
 school connected with the First Baptist church in 
 Boston : — 
 
 " In December last, 1829, the names of twenty of the 
 smallest boys were taken from the main school, and formed 
 into an infant class. At first they met in the gallery of the 
 meeting-house, and the average attendance was about ten. 
 With an apparatus consisting of seven of the pictures 
 commonly called schoolpieces, — for which we were under 
 the necessity of preparing questions, — the Infant School 
 and Nursery Hymn Book, and a library which cost fifty 
 cents, we commenced our attempts at instruction. We 
 were not then aware of the existence of any infant Sabbath 
 school in this vicinity, and consequently were obliged to 
 
INFANT DEPARTMENT. 197 
 
 form a plan of action as well as we could, from visiting an 
 infant day school, which plan has not been essentially 
 varied to the present time. 
 
 "At the ringing of the bell, both in the forenoon and 
 afternoon, the children assemble in the vestry with the 
 older scholars, ^here they remain till the school has been 
 opened by reading a portion of Scripture, and prayer. 
 They then retire to a small room adjoining, for instruction, 
 and commence by singing or reciting a hymn in concert. 
 Then they answer the questions of some one of the 
 ' Lessons for Infant Sabbath Schools,' which book we have 
 used since it was published. They continue alternatel}" 
 singing and reciting till the time of closing the school, 
 when they sing a doxology or dismission hymn. The 
 pictures are occasionally used to assist their memory or 
 attract their attention. The average attendance, at present, 
 is about thirty. Thirty-five is the greatest number that 
 .has been present at one time, though we have a much 
 larger number of names on the roll. About one third part 
 of the scholars now are girls. 
 
 "The success that has attended our efforts thus far is 
 greater than was anticipated at the commencement, and 
 we have more than once heard it remarked that it was the 
 most interesting part of the school. The children appear 
 to be very much pleased, and would be as unwilling as the 
 teachers could be, to have it discontinued." * 
 
 The infant class, or infant department, very soon 
 became a most interesting feature in the Sabbath schools 
 throughout the country, often numbering over one hun- 
 dred of these little ones. Question books, and cate- 
 chisms, and library books, and little papers in great 
 numbers, have been provided for them. 
 
 * Sabbath School Treasury, Vol. in. p. 214. 
 
198 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 Some seem to think that almost any person will do 
 to teach these little ones. So far from this, the very 
 best teacher the church can furnish is not too good for 
 this important station — right here at the foundation — 
 at the beginning of influence. 
 
 The requirements for success in this department are 
 many and comparatively rare. The teacher, to be suc- 
 cessful, must be a person of special aptness to teach, of 
 a kind and loving disposition, with a large degree of 
 patience and perseverance, and one who feels a special 
 love for children ; and it is very desirable that there 
 should be some knowledge of music, so as to lead the 
 children in their frequent singing. Nothing does more 
 to keep up an interest among these little children than 
 singing. 
 
 The infant class connected with the Sabbath school 
 in Pawlet, Vt., in 1830, had eighteen members, the^ 
 oldest not over eight years of age. The " Sabbath 
 School Guide " was used, and the children recited the 
 lessons in the first part of the work. Interesting Bible 
 stories were told them, and the scholars Avere ques- 
 tioned in regard to their meaning and application. 
 
 " Our infant department," said the superintendent 
 in 1846, " is the hope of the church. It numbers, dur- 
 ing most of the year, about one hundred and forty, 
 including the principal and fifteen teachers." 
 
 " No department of the school," says another super- 
 intendent, ',' is more interesting than the infant depart- 
 ment." This, at that period, was a very general report 
 from most of our schools. 
 
INFANT DEPARTMENT. 199 
 
 METHOD OF TEACHING CHH^DBEN FROM FOUR TO SIX 
 YEARS OF AGE. 
 
 A teacher says : — 
 
 *'My class consists of little girls from four to six years 
 old. Only two or three of them can read in the Bible, and 
 consequently I use no question book. My usual method 
 is, to tell them a story from the Bible in the most familiar 
 manner, just as I would tell little children any other story, 
 in language which they can understand. For example, in 
 giving them an account of the flood, I begin by saying, 
 * Once there was a man whose name was Noah. He lived 
 a great many years ago, and a great way off. Ho was a 
 good man, and he was the only good man in the world at 
 that time. All the rest of the men were wicked, and so 
 were the women and children. And because they were so 
 wicked, God said he would destroy them all but Noah and 
 his family.' 
 
 "Having proceeded thus far, perhaps one of the chil- 
 dren becomes inattentive,, and, as it is useless to go on 
 with such a class without their attention, I resort to some 
 such method as this : 
 
 " ' Eliza,' addressing the inattentive one, 'now what way 
 should you think God would take to destroy all those 
 wicked men, and save Noah and his family alive ? For 
 there are a great many ways, you know, in which he can 
 destroy men.' 
 
 " Such an inquiry as this generally brings Eliza's 
 thoughts back to the subject, and awakens her curiosity to 
 hear how God did actually destroy the world. After 
 I have gained her attention in some such way, and heard 
 two or three of the class give their opinion on the ques- 
 tion, I then proceed through the story, and draw such 
 practical inferences from it as a child can make. I request 
 
200 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 them all to remember the story, and tell it to me on the 
 following Sabbath. In addition to this, I commonly give 
 them a verse from the Bible, which, by the help of their 
 parents, I expect they will learn, and repeat to me the 
 next time they come to school. On the next Sabbath I 
 ask them about the story which I last told them, and, if I 
 succeeded in keeping their attention while relating it, they 
 can sometimes state particulars with astonishing accuracy. 
 I then recite their verse, and after such remarks upon it 
 as seem important for them to hear, i proceed to tell them 
 another story, and to give another verse." 
 
 A LITTLE TALK WITH AN INFANT CLASS. 
 
 We visited a school in which there was an infant 
 class of about thirty little boys. On approaching this 
 class, we noticed one intelligent, bright-eyed boy, 
 standing up by his teacher, and listening with the 
 greatest interest to every word of instru.ction as it 
 dropped from her lips. As we began to address these 
 children, the little boy's attention was instantly trans- 
 ferred to us, and his bright eye beamed intelligence. 
 The children were asked, — 
 
 " Supposing there were a stain on your faces, in w^hat 
 way could you find it out?" The bright-eyed boy 
 answered in a moment, — 
 
 " By looking in the looking-glass." 
 
 They were then told that there were a great man}^ 
 stains on their hearts, and they were shown how they 
 could see them by looking into the mirror of God's 
 law — the ten commandments. Every sin made, as it 
 were, a stain on their hearts. Some of the ways in 
 which they sin were mentioned ; and after " Thou shalt 
 not kill," and some of the other commandments, were 
 
INFANT DEPARTMENT. 201 
 
 repeated, they were asked if they had not broken every 
 one of them. The little boy answered, — 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 " Haven't you ? " 
 
 " No, sir ; I never killed," said he ; and his lip quiv- 
 ered, and his eyes filled with tears, as though he was 
 grieved that any one should think such a thing of him. 
 
 " But what have you done, which the Bible says 
 makes you a murderer ? " 
 
 . His countenance fell, and his features all relaxed, 
 while, with a frankness and a tone of penitence which 
 cannot be forgotten, he answered, "I striked "He that 
 hateth his brother is a murderer." 
 
 After some further conversation, the children were 
 asked, "Why is it best to become Christians while 
 young?" The countenance of the little boy again 
 kindled with intelligence, and with the greatest ear- 
 nestness in his looks and the gestures of his little 
 hands to give impressiveness to what he said, he an- 
 swered, " Because it is just like bending a little tree, — 
 it will grow just as you bend it. But if we do not 
 become Christians till we are old, it is like trying to 
 bend a great tree, — it won't bend." 
 
 Very little children understand much more about 
 the important truths of the Bible than we sometimes 
 suppose. 
 
XIII. 
 
 WOMAN'S MISSION IN THE SABBATH SCHOOL. 
 
 Whatever may be said on the questions of "wo- 
 man's rights " and " woman's sphere," she has ever had 
 a most important and interesting mission in connection 
 with the institution of Sabbath schools. This institu- 
 tion has opened before her a broad and most inviting 
 field for Christian labor and influence. Here she finds 
 the most ample scope for all her warmest love and most 
 ardent zeal in the cause of the Master. No object of 
 benevolent labor can be more appropriate and con- 
 genial than this mission of love and mercy among the 
 young. 
 
 The whole history of the institution, from the days 
 of Raikes till now, shows that this class of disciples 
 have been among the most zealous and successful work- 
 ers in the cause. Young women, bright and earnest, 
 have special advantages oftentimes for this work. 
 They have time, and spirit, and tact. They have no 
 ruts, but are ingenious in methods. Many a mission 
 school in some dark alley or filthy corner has bee^ 
 planted by such a disciple ; and under her unwearied 
 toil and prayer, light^ and purity have broken in, and 
 made all radiant with love, and peace, and holy joy. 
 Many a wilderness has been made to bud and blossom 
 like the rose. In the place of revelry, and profane- 
 
 202 
 
WOMAN'S MISSION. 203 
 
 ness, and broils, have come up the voice of prayer and 
 the songs of praise and worship. 
 
 It would be interesting to know how large a propor- 
 tion of the earlier fSabbath schools in this country and 
 in Europe were organized and conducted by Christian 
 women. Though Robert Raikes is called the founder 
 of Sabbath schools, yet nearly all, if not all, the teach- 
 ers he employed to conduct them were females. The 
 first three schools established in Massachusetts — one 
 in Beverly and one in Concord in 1810, and one in 
 Boston in 1812 — were established and taught by young 
 ladies. It is said that a Sabbath school was started in 
 Paterson, N. J.^ in 1791, by a little girl eleven years of 
 age. She collected the children of the factories to- 
 gether, and taught them from Sabbath to Sabbath, 
 until she had as many as sixty under her care. She 
 was a teacher for forty years. 
 
 In most of the semi-centennial celebrations of Sab- 
 bath schools that have been held the past several years, 
 the historical reports have shown that they were or- 
 ganized by women. 
 
 Then in most of our Sabbath schools, from the first, 
 the number of female teachers has ever been larger 
 than that of male teachers. With very few exceptions, 
 the infant department has always been under the care 
 of such. All seem to concede that this is woman's 
 mission — woman's appropriate sphere of labor. We 
 should almost as soon choose a man as a nurse for our 
 infant children as to be the teacher of an infant Sab- 
 bath school. 
 
 This class of teachers have also been among the most 
 successful in leading their scholars to Jesus. Many of 
 the most wonderful cases of religious interest in the 
 
204 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 Sabbath school — of whole classes converted, as many 
 a superintendent can testify — have been in connection 
 with the labors of female teachers. A pious young 
 lady, who had been successful in leading a large class 
 of Sabbath school girls to Jesus, was asked, " What is 
 the secret of your success in teaching ? " She an- 
 swered, without a moment's hesitation, " Prayer." 
 
 She was in the habit of having her class every week 
 at her own house, and there prayed with them and 
 talked about their salvation. The result was that 
 nearly every scholar under her tuition became a Chris- 
 tian. 
 
 Some years ago there were three female teachers in 
 Maine who were rejoicing over the hopeful conversion 
 of eighteen scholars each. A female teacher in Mas- 
 sachusetts says: — 
 
 '* Nineteen persons have enrolled themselves as mem- 
 bers of my class. Of this number, two were previously 
 professors of religion, and sixteen have, I trust, passed 
 from death unto life, and are now members of the church 
 of Christ. The remaining member, who indulged a trem- 
 bling hope, has taken her flight from time, and, it is hoped, 
 now walks with the Redeemer in glory." 
 
 A teacher had for a long time been unusually anx- 
 ious for her class of six little girls. On the Sabbath 
 previous to a protracted meeting, which was held in a 
 neighboring parish, she urged them all to attend. On 
 the second or third day of the meetings she saw her super- 
 intendent, and, taking him by the hand, while tears of 
 Christian joy were gushing from her eyes, she exclaimed, 
 " Can you believe it ? all my class are rejoicing iu 
 hope ! " 
 
WOMAN'S MISSION. 205 
 
 A teacher, who had witnessed five conversions in her 
 class, says of one of them : — 
 
 " She is much engaged in the Master's cause. She has 
 been an instrument in the hands of God of two or three 
 
 This teacher was in the habit of meeting her class 
 once a week for religious conversation and prayer. She 
 was also in the practice of giving a religious tract fre- 
 quently to each of her scholars, with the request that 
 they would read and give it away where they thought 
 it would do the most good. One of these tracts was 
 given to an intemperate sailor. He took it with him, 
 read it, and on his return he appeared to be a reformed 
 man. 
 
 These are only specimens of facts that might be 
 given to almost any number. 
 
 Many a missionary amoilg the heathen looks back to 
 the instruction of a warm-hearted female teacher in the 
 Sabbath school as the means of awakening the first 
 desire to carry the gospel to the benighted. Some such 
 teachers have kindled a missionary spirit in a whole 
 class who are now scattered to the ends of the earth, 
 and through them these teachers have thus rolled an 
 influence round the world. It has touched every conti- 
 nent, every island, every shore, and it will not cease to 
 roll on till it shall reach every hamlet, every dwelling, 
 every soul, and incense and a pure offering shall ascend 
 from every heart on earth, as from one great altar unto 
 God. What work can be made more noble, more glo- 
 rious than this ? 
 
 Who can contemplate the influence of such a noble 
 Christian woman as Miss Mary Lyon without the great- 
 
206 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 est admiration ? What multitudes of youths, under her 
 instruction, have been inspired with her own ardent 
 spirit, her own love of everything good and holy.. 
 Where is the spot on earth that has not felt her influ- 
 ence ? 
 
 And such, in her measure, every female teacher in 
 the Sabbath school may become. Next to the parent 
 and the pastor, no one has a more blessed ministry in 
 leading young souls to Jesus. Let, then, every Chris- 
 tian female, whose circumstances will allow, and who 
 longs for some sphere of usefulness, . enter this field 
 of labor. There is no spot in the whole vineyard of 
 God more inviting ; none where the soil is more mel- 
 low and ready for the good seed of the word ; none 
 where the rains and the dews of divine grace are more 
 richly bestowed, and none where the seed more readily 
 springs ' up, or where it yields ,a more golden and 
 abundant harvest. Let every Christian female remem- 
 ber the declaration of the psalmist : " He that goeth 
 forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubt- 
 less come again rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with 
 him." 
 
XIV. 
 
 MISSION SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 MissiOi^ Sabbath scbools in cities are very different 
 from those in most of our country towns. And hence 
 much that is said, in the discussions on this subject at 
 conventions, from the standpoint of the city, is wholly 
 inappropriate to that of the country. These schools in 
 the cities are, to a great extent, among foreigners, or the 
 poorer and more neglected class of children. In country 
 towns they are in remote neighborhoods and outskirts, 
 •not necessarily among the poor and ignorant only. In 
 the country these schools are more frequently called 
 '•neighborhood," or ''branch schools." They purposely 
 avoid the word " mission " or " missionary." 
 
 The fewer of these outside schools the better, if the 
 children and youth can be induced to attend the schools 
 at the churches. 
 
 Some twenty-five or thirty years ago, the question 
 came before the late Bowdoin Street Congregational 
 Church, in Boston, in the days of its prosperity, " What 
 shall we do for the neglected children and youth of our 
 city ? Shall we form mission schools, as some of the 
 churches are doing, or shall we try to gather these 
 neglected ones into our own school ? " 
 
 The decision was to gather them into their own 
 school, and seat them with their own children. And 
 the result was, that that Sabbath school, in one year 
 
 207 
 
208 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 and a half, was increased from one hundred and fifty 
 scholars to three hundred and fifty. Of the infant 
 class of about one hundred children, all but fifteen or 
 twenty were gathered out of the streets, whose parents 
 were not accustomed to attend public worship on the 
 Sabbath. 
 
 A class of eighteen Swedes was gathered, thirteen of 
 whom, in a year and a half, were hopefully converted 
 and united with that church. And the pastor said of 
 them, " They learned the ' language of Israel * before 
 they had learned our own language." 
 
 Outside neighborhood schools in the country, where 
 the young might have been gathered into existing 
 schools, lead to unnecessary expense and labor ; and 
 they encourage many to be satisfied with the exercises 
 of the Sabbath school, who would otherwise attend 
 worship. 
 
 Then such schools sometimes lead to an unnecessary 
 multiplication of feeble churches. Every little neigh- 
 borhood of a few families, to save themselves the trouble 
 of going two or three or four miles to church, may, 
 by the establishment of a Sabbath school, be led to 
 attempt the formation of a new society, thus rendering 
 all the societies in town too weak for healthy and 
 vigorous existence. 
 
 A few years ago, a Sabbath school missionary came to 
 a pastor in Massachusetts, and wanted to organize 
 schools in the various school districts of the town. The 
 pastor told him that he did not wish such schools 
 organized. It would injure the schools already exist- 
 ing. There might be one or two out-districts where 
 schools might possibly be established, if any person 
 could be found to enlist in the work. 
 
MISSION SABBATH SCHOOLS. 209 
 
 The missionary, nevertlieless, went to work and 
 Organized six Sabbath schools in different districts. 
 The result was that a large portion of the members of 
 the school at the church, who resided in those districts, 
 left the church school and united with the local school. 
 And most of them very soon made these schools 
 a substitute for " public worship,, and gave up going 
 to church ; and it almost broke up the school at the 
 church. 
 
 In about two years, only two of those six schools 
 existed, and one of these was under the care of errorists. 
 The influence of the whole movement was most dis- 
 astrous to the spiritual interests of the young in every 
 part of the town. It was the result of '' zeal without 
 knowledge." 
 
 A Sabbath school missionary, some years ago, visited 
 a minister in Central New York. That minister under- 
 stood that his special object was to organize Sabbath 
 schools in the outskirts of the town. He received him 
 cordially, and, as the missionary seemed labor-worn, 
 persuaded him to be his guest for a few days for relaxa- 
 tion and rest. He then told him he understood his 
 work, but that he did not wish any of it done in his 
 town. He said : — 
 
 ^* For three years I preached every Sabbath evening in a 
 neighborhood three miles distant, where the people did not 
 attend my preaching at the church or any other. Some 
 time since I told them I could not go there any more. For 
 three years I had visited them every Sabbath and con- 
 ducted worship with them. It was no further for them to 
 go to my church than it was for me to visit them ; and I 
 invited and urged them now to attend worship at the 
 church. The result was that nearly all are now my con- 
 14 
 
210 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS, 
 
 8tant hearers at church and attend my Sabbath school. 
 Should you go there and establish a Sabbath school, it 
 would soon satisfy many of them, and they would no longer 
 take the trouble to come here to attend public worship." 
 
 The missionary at once saw the force of the minister's 
 statement, and felt that there was danger of establish- 
 ing too many outside schools. 
 
 Special efforts should first be made, both in the coun- 
 try and in the city, as in the case referred to above, to 
 secure the attendance of all at the church schools. 
 Then, if for any reason — distance, social position, or 
 poverty — there are places where they cannot be brought 
 to the Sabbath school and the sanctuary, the Sabbath 
 school must be carried to them. These districts are 
 often literally missionary fields. They are the rough 
 and stony places ; but they are not to be left unculti- 
 vated. It is regarded as bad husbandry for a farmer to 
 leave any such unimproved and unsightly corners on 
 his premises. How much more so for the church to do 
 it. If every church would extend its watch and care 
 over all within a circuit of six or eight, or even five 
 miles around its centre, most of the neglecters of this 
 institution — if persuasive argument and any reasonable 
 amount of effort can avail — might be gathered into 
 the Sabbath school. 
 
 Many of the churches are now each maintaining a 
 branch or mission school. It is a centre of attraction 
 around which the sympathy, the prayers, and. the chari- 
 ties of the church cluster. It is a portion of the vine- 
 yard they are specially cultivating. We are always 
 interested where we have invested our money or given 
 our labor. We find it in this work more blessed to 
 give than to receive. 
 
MISSION SABBATH SCHOOLS. 211 
 
 Reports are made in regard to it at the Sabbath 
 school concert and the church meeting. And this in- 
 terest and labor all react in promoting a quickened zeal 
 and a true missionary spirit upon the whole church. 
 Thus is the church doing its legitimate work, — going 
 out into the highways and hedges, inviting and com- 
 pelling them to come in to the gospel feast. 
 
 Some years ago there was a very interesting branch 
 or mission school connected with the former High 
 Street Sabbath school, Providence, R. I., taught by a 
 poor, infirm woman. She was a regular and an inter- 
 ested attendant at the Sabbath school and the church 
 so long as she was able to leave her home. When de- 
 prived of this privilege, she induced several poor chil- 
 dren in her neighborhood, who were accustomed to 
 spend the Sabbath in play on the streets, to come to her 
 room and receive instruction from her. 
 
 This school, in the extreme outskirts of the cit3^ was 
 a branch of the High Street school. As such it was 
 regarded by the church and all the members of the 
 main school. It was always reported at the Sabbath 
 school concert, and was often made the subject of 
 special prayer. 
 
 Many among our efficient and active churches have 
 grown out of these mission or branch Sabbath schools. 
 The Prospect Street Congregational church in Cam- 
 bridgeport has formed two such churches — the Pil- 
 grim, and the Chapel church — in this way. The 
 Rockville church in Peabody, Tower Hill, Lynn, 
 Chambers Street chapel, Boston, West Congregational 
 church, Portland, Me., &;c., were started as neighbor- 
 hood Sabbath schools; and also the famous Lee Avenue 
 church, in Brooklyn, N. Y., which was called the model 
 
212 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 Sabbath school of the world. They were, in most cases, 
 started with this ultimate result in view. 
 
 This kind of labor for the outskirts was begun very 
 early. Indeed, almost all the earlier Sabbath schools 
 were of this character. When church schools were 
 established, those who became interested in the work 
 began to look out the distant and destitute portions of 
 the neighborhood or town. As early as 1833, the Con- 
 gregational church in Fall River, in addition to the 
 school at the church, sustained eight other schools in 
 the town and vicinity from one to seven miles distant, 
 embracing in all three hundred scholars. Some years 
 ago the Congregational church in Augusta, Me., had 
 seven Sabbath schools under its care. In March, 1815, 
 a society was organized in Winthrop, Me., the expressed 
 objects being " to discourage profaneness, idleness, gross 
 breaches of the Sabbath, and intemperance." This so- 
 ciety continued in operation till 1832, having, in the 
 meantime, established Sabbath schools in seven school 
 districts.* 
 
 The work of mission Sabbath schools, therefore, is not 
 a new enterprise that has sprung up within a few years. 
 It has long proved a very important work in its reflex 
 influence upon the church. There is scarcely any labor 
 like this that so effectually enlists the services of the 
 churches. It is a broad field for the exercise of the 
 talent of private Christians. Here the longings of 
 every one to be useful will find ample scope. 
 
 In 1859, a minister said: — 
 
 "In one part of m}'- parish I held a meeting, and urged 
 upon the people the importance of having a Sabbath school 
 
 * Centennial Celebration at Winthrop, Me., 1871, p. 40. 
 
MISSION SABBATH SCHOOLS. 213 
 
 for their children. I then invited those who were disposed 
 to fav^or it to remain and consult about it. Not one re- 
 mained. 
 
 " But a poor widow of seventy, the only member of my 
 church in the district, felt that she could not have it so. 
 She lived all alone in a retired spot, and she went from 
 house to house through the neig-hborhood, talked with the 
 parents, and invited them and their children to come to her 
 house Sabbath afternoons. As the result, she soon had a 
 delightful school of about thirty members. The next time 
 I saw her, she was rejoicing in her school, and said, — 
 
 " * We have great need of some books to interest the 
 children. Do you know of any way we can get some ? ' 
 
 " I happened to have a couple of packages of children's 
 books in the buggy, and when I brought them to her, she 
 exclaimed, — 
 
 " ' 0, that is just what we need. If you had given me 
 as many pieces of gold, you would not have made me so 
 happy.'. 
 
 " And I believe it. That school is her meat and drink, 
 and company in her loneliness." 
 
 In 1817, the Chillicotlie Association of Sabbath School 
 Teachers, Ohio, says : — 
 
 " The town has been divided into eight school districts., 
 in each of which there is a school, under the direction of 
 competent teachers. To secure the regular attendance of 
 the scholars, parents, guardians, and masters are requested 
 to enter them by subscriptions for the term of one year, 
 engaging to provide for them the necessary books. The 
 society has under its care four hundred scholars. They 
 are taught to read the Scriptures, and memorize select 
 passages. They are also taught to sing the praises of 
 God. The schools are brought together monthly, to sing 
 
214 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 in concert, and have an address from a minister of the 
 gospel.'' * 
 
 A Sabbath school association was formed, in the 
 spring of 1841, in Marietta College, Ohio, for the pur- 
 pose of establishing Sabbath schools in all the destitute 
 neighborhoods within a reasonable distance, and to fur- 
 nish teachers for schools already established, where 
 they were needed. That summer this association con- 
 ducted twenty-three schools, in which about one thou- 
 sand scholars were taught. 
 
 The Mason Street Sabbath school in Boston was es- 
 tablished in 1817, by the Society for the Moral and 
 Religious Instruction of the Poor in Boston. In the 
 early days of this school, more than one hundred of 
 the children between five and fifteen years of age could 
 not tell their letters ; and one, about twelve years old, 
 on being asked about Jesus Christ, replied, that she 
 had never heard of such a person ! Some of them had 
 never attended a place of worship till taken thither by 
 the teachers of the Sabbath school. 
 
 In 1839, at the twenty-second anniversary, it was 
 stated that nearly three thousand children and youth 
 had come under religious instruction in that school, 
 and more than one hundred and forty teachers had 
 been connected with the school. 
 
 * Boston Recorder, Vol. II. p. 142. 
 
XV. 
 
 GATHERING IN NEW SCHOLARS. 
 
 A GREAT variety of plans have been adopted during 
 the fifty years of our connection with Sabbath schools 
 for gathering in the neglected and those that neglect 
 this institution. There are probably but few places 
 where this work is not still needed. 
 
 In a large parish in the suburbs of Boston, some 
 years ago, the common plan of offering rewards for 
 new scholars was adopted. Almost every Sabbath new 
 scholars were brought in and rewards given. One da}' 
 a bright little girl came to the superintendent, and, 
 with a discouraged look and tone of voice, said, " Mr. 
 
 , the other children get rewards, but I can't get 
 
 any, although I keep trying to get new scholars." 
 
 " What is the reason you cannot get any new schol- 
 ars ? " said the superintendent kindly to her. 
 
 " Well, the fact is, I do not live in a pick-up neigh- 
 borhood." 
 
 There may be some such neighborhoods ; but the 
 number, it is believed, is very small, and various expe- 
 dients to bring in new scholars must still be devised. 
 
 On addressing a school in one of our New England 
 manufacturing cities, a few years ago, we suggested the 
 following plan to increase their number. Let the 
 superintendent appoint a class of boys and a class of 
 
 215 
 
216 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 girls to visit as many as they can during the week, and 
 urge them to attend. Next Sabbath let them report how 
 many visits they have made, how many persons have 
 promised to attend, and how many of them are then pres- 
 ent. Then let two more classes be appointed in the same 
 way, and keep up this measure through the season. 
 
 In one case Avhere this plan was adopted, the first 
 two classes appointed made, during the week, sixty-six 
 visits, and twenty-seven of those visited promised to 
 attend, of whom twelve were present the first Sabbath 
 after they were invited. 
 
 This plan was adopted in the above school ; only a 
 class of young men and a class of young women were 
 appointed, as the school embraced a large number of 
 operatives belonging to the mills. The next Sabbath 
 the young men reported that fourteen persons had 
 promised to attend, and half of them were present. 
 The young ladies reported that thirty-five had promised 
 to attend, and fifteen of them were present. The next 
 spring the superintendent wrote : "At the time of 
 your visit our Sabbath school numbered one hundred 
 and sixty scholars. We adopted the plan you proposed 
 and have followed it ever since, and I now have the 
 pleasure of reporting to you a school of five hundred 
 and fifty-seven members." 
 
 \\\ some cases the parish has been divided into dis- 
 tricts, and a committee of the teachers appointed, some- 
 times of teachers and scholars, and sometimes of one 
 scholar from each class, to visit, within a given time — 
 a month, or week, or day, frequently the 4th of July — 
 every family, and invite every member to attend. In 
 this way many a school has been increased fifty and 
 even one hundred per cent. 
 
GATHERING IN NEW SCHOLARS. 217 
 
 Some schools have appointed what they have called a 
 " vigilance committee," whose business it is to watch 
 about the sanctuary and visit any places where the 
 neglecters of the Sabbath school may resort, and kindly 
 urge them to attend. This plan has prevented noise 
 about the church, and has also been the means of increas- 
 incy the schools. 
 
 In one school in 1838, after the pastor had preached 
 on the subject, a committee was appointed to circulate 
 a paper through the parish to obtain the names of all 
 who would join the school. This plan was attended 
 with great success. In three months the school was 
 increased from about one hundred, all under fifteen 
 years of age, to three hundred and twenty-nine, and 
 about one half of them were over sixteen years of age. 
 
 A female teacher some years ago resolved, at the 
 beginning of the year, not to go to the Sabbath school 
 a single Sabbath that j^ear, without taking with her, if 
 possible, at least one new scholar. She attended fifty- 
 one Sabbaths, and she brought into the school fifty-one 
 new scholars who had never attended a Sabbath school 
 before I And they were also led to attend public 
 worship regularl}^, and eleven of them were hopefully 
 converted during the year. How eventful in good 
 would be such a resolution by every Sabbath school 
 teacher. 
 
 A very successful device in securing new scholars 
 has been the giving of an illustrated certificate to both 
 the new scholars and to those who bring them in. 
 
 In some cases the members of the infant classes are 
 all invited to get new scholars, and are promised a little 
 book or pretty card for every new scholar they bring 
 into the school. These little ones will go directly home 
 
218 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 to their parents, — if they are not already connected 
 with the school, — and with earnest looks and words, 
 say, " Mother, or father, the superintendent says he will 
 give me a beautiful book if I will get a new scholar into 
 the school. Now, mother, or now, father, won't you 
 go ? " Of course they will go. How can they help it ? 
 Many and many a parent has thus been brought in, 
 whom no one else could persuade to attend. 
 
 We visited a school in 1836 where there were several 
 classes of adults for mutual instruction — one a class 
 of young men. In passing round among these classes, 
 we suggested the following plan for increasing the num- 
 ber of similar classes. 
 
 Let these classes all disband, and each member, or 
 each two, form the nucleus of a new class, to be collected 
 by the personal efforts of this member, or couple. In 
 this way a class of six members might multiply itself 
 into three or six classes, each with equal number with 
 the original class. This simple plan has three important 
 feature. 
 
 1. These personal efforts to obtain new members will 
 greatly increase the interest of those by whom they are 
 made. 
 
 2. A personal invitation to become a member of such 
 a class will persuade many who would remain unaffected 
 by a general invitation from the superintendent or pastor. 
 
 3. Each class will have one or two experienced per- 
 sons, who will be of great service in preventing dis- 
 couragement and failure at the outset. 
 
 This plan was received with much apparent interest 
 by the members of the above classes ; and it was 
 expected that it would be adopted and result in a large 
 increase to the adult department of that school. 
 
GATHERING IN NEW SCHOLARS. 219 
 
 Each class in one school selected one of its num- 
 ber to constitute a committee for the school. It was 
 the duty of this committee to invite all into the school 
 who did not attend, and to secure, so far as possible, a 
 constant and regular attendance, and report at the end 
 of the month. The results were happy. The school 
 was increased ; and some were brought in who had 
 never before attended. 
 
 A lad about twelve years of age found his way to a 
 school from an adjoining town, where they had no 
 school. The next Sabbath he brought others with him, 
 and then others, till, through his influence, seven or 
 eight attended from that place regularly. 
 
 ''There is a large number in this school," says a corre- 
 spondent, " who have been gathered in from the ' highways 
 and hedges ' of our city ; and among them are some of the 
 most promising children in the school. Many, whose parents 
 are never seen in the sanctuary, are regular in their attend- 
 ance there, with their teachers, and they have become so 
 deeply interested, that we hope they will never forsake the 
 assembling of themselves together in the house of God. 
 One little girl, of this class of children, has, within the last 
 year, brought in fifteen others to share with her the privi- 
 leges she so highly prizes. 
 
 " About forty of this class of children have been pro- 
 vided with seats made for this special purpose, suited to 
 their age, near the pulpit ; and no seats in our house are 
 more crowded than these." 
 
 A superintendent, some thirty years ago, told his 
 school one day, that he wanted some new scholars for 
 Thanksgiving. Within three weeks from that time, 
 forty new ones were brought into the school ! And 
 twenty-five of them were obtained by one female teacher, 
 
220 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 who devoted the whole of Thanksgivmg-day week to 
 the work of finding tliem ! Thanksgiving must have 
 been a joyful day to that teacher, stormy though it was. 
 Some of these new scholars were so eager to attend the 
 school and be there punctually at the commencement, 
 quarter before nine, in the morning, that they came to 
 the teacher's residence as early as seven o'clock. One 
 of them, stimulated by the example of her teacher, 
 herself brought in five others. So soon we see the 
 second and third generations — the children and the 
 children's children. 
 
 The next year she obtained twenty new scholars. 
 The next Thanksgiving-day week was very stormy. But 
 this faithful teacher could not forego the happiness she 
 had experienced before ; and she addressed herself again 
 to her benevolent labors. The week after, she met her 
 superintendent^ and, with a sad countenance, said, " I 
 have not succeeded in getting new scholars this year as 
 I had hoped to. I made last week three hundred visits 
 for this purpose, but was able to obtain only eighteen ! " 
 
 Who can estimate the good that may result from 
 these labors? Many of these children and youth — 
 gathered, as some of them may have been, from the 
 lanes and by-ways of the city, and from among those 
 but little favored with moral and religious training — 
 may, through the influence of these labors, be saved 
 from a life of sin and from becoming a curse to society, 
 and trained up to become blessings to the community, 
 and ornaments to the church of Christ. 
 
 In 1851 there were fifteen Sabbath schools in the 
 city of Indianapolis. In the month of September there 
 were in the city seventeen hundred children and youth 
 of suitable age to attend Sabbath school, and all of 
 
GATHERING IN NEW SCHOLARS. 221 
 
 these but one hundred and ten were connected with 
 these schools. This was probably a larger per cent, of 
 attendance than could be found in any other city in the 
 world. Every family was visited once a month by 
 members of an association comprising of the different 
 schools. The Bible classes were composed of the first 
 young ladies and gentlemen in the city.* 
 
 At a large evening meeting in a manufacturing vil- 
 lage, in a front pew there were three small girls and a 
 young man at the head of the pew, who was supposed 
 to be the teacher, as the teachers were generally seated 
 with their classes. In the course of the exercises the 
 pastor said : — 
 
 " We have a Bible to give to the one who has brought 
 into our Sabbath school the largest number of scholars 
 who belonged to no other school, according to our 
 promise a month ago. Indeed, we propose to give 
 four Bibles." 
 
 He took a beautiful copy of the Scriptures and gave 
 it to the first little girl, who Jiad brought in twenty-five 
 new scholars. He then gave another copy to the next 
 little girl, who had brought in fifteen new scholars. 
 He then took a small, beautiful Bible, and gave it to 
 the next wee thing, who, with a great deal of effort 
 and perseverance, had persuaded two or three to join 
 the Sabbath school, and the good minister wished to 
 reward her effort. The pastor then took up a substan- 
 tial and finely-bound copy of the word of God, and, to 
 our surprise, gave it to that young man, who, it seemed, 
 had brought eleven young men into a new Bible class 
 for young men. He was not a Christian ; and yet he 
 had, in the face of the remonstrances of his whole class, 
 
 * Family Visitor. 
 
222 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 come up before a whole congregation and taken his 
 seat with these little children, and publicly received a 
 copy of the Scriptures. Was not that a specimen of true 
 moral courage ? And did not Jesus, as he saw that act, 
 as in the case of the young man in the gospel, love this 
 young man ? And did he not say to him, " Thou art 
 not far from the kingdom of heaven ? " He had out- 
 wardly, in taking his seat with those little children, 
 become as a little child. 
 
 Every school in the land should, once or twice a year 
 at least, adopt some of these plans here suggested, or 
 some better ones, to gather in those who are deprived 
 of, or are neglecting the instructions of the Sabbath 
 school. There are everywhere neglected children, a 
 " sort of spiritual orphans," they have been called, 
 through parental impenitence and unbelief, " aliens 
 frorfl the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the 
 covenant of promise ; " through parental neglect starv- 
 ing for the bread of life. Shall not teachers and Chris- 
 tian disciples seek them out and become foster-parents 
 to them, and in the Sabbath school and in the house of 
 God seek for them the bread and water of life ? How 
 many, thus reclaimed from ignorance and sin, have be- 
 come bright and shining lights in the church, ministers 
 of the gospel, and even missionaries of the cross among 
 the heathen ! Then " gather them in, gather them in." 
 
XVI. 
 
 THE SABBATH SCHOOL CONCERT. 
 
 One of the most noticeable and attractive features 
 of the Sabbath school has ever been the monthly con- 
 cert. Thirty or forty years ago the concert was gener- 
 ally spoken of as one of the fullest and most interesting 
 meetings held, enlisting alike the interested attendance 
 of parents, teachers, and children. 
 
 A little boy, in 1830, came to his minister and asked 
 if the concert could not be held once in two weeks, for 
 he said that he did not know how to wait so long as 
 four weeks. 
 
 In a report from a school, in 1839, it was said : " I 
 doubt if we have a stated meeting that is looked for- 
 ward to with greater desire, or attended with greater 
 interest, than the Sabbath school concert." 
 
 A pastor, in 1834, said : " The children live some- 
 what scattered ; yet they are so much interested that 
 they go to the concert the coldest winter evenings." 
 The same year there were sixteen schools under the 
 care of the Congregational churches in Boston. All 
 but three observed this meeting, and nearly all used to 
 speak of it as their fullest and most interesting meeting. 
 
 At the concert of one school, in January, 1835, there 
 were two hundred present. Some of the children, who 
 had never attended before, expressed much wonder that 
 
 223 
 
224 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 they had not heard what an interesting meeting the 
 concert was, and said that '' nothing would tempt them 
 to stay away in future." 
 
 A pastor, in 1837, says : '^ The concert is one of our 
 most thrilling meetings ; and, further, it is one of our 
 most overflowing meetings, and most highly favored of 
 heaven." 
 
 A single fact will show the remarkable interest taken 
 in the concert as long ago as this meeting was held on 
 Monday evenings. " On the evening of the concert in 
 October," says a report, " there was a display of fire- 
 works, firing of guns, &c., in the vicinity of the vestry. 
 To our great surprise and joy, most of the older pupils 
 of the school, boys and girls, came in and were quietly 
 seated through the whole exercise of the evening, 
 apparently unmoved by the roar of the cannon and 
 blaze of rockets without." 
 
 We doubt whether the present day, with all our im- 
 provements, can show an example of greater interest in 
 this important meeting. 
 
 The concert was often spoken of as an efficient aid in 
 increasing the interest of parents, guardians, and the 
 adult portions of the church and congregation in the 
 Sarbbath school cause, and of promoting the general 
 prosperity of the school. It has also been the means 
 of bringing out parents and others who seldom or 
 never attended worship on the Sabbath. They become 
 interested in the concert, and finally are seen in the 
 sanctuary. 
 
 A pastor said : " We regard the concert as having a 
 most important bearing on the interests and prosperity 
 of the school, and as standing at the head of many 
 sacred influences, which, like leaven, are diffusing a 
 TiAalthful energy through the community." 
 
THE SABBATH SCHOOL CONCERT. 225 
 
 The concert was also often spoken of as the means 
 of special religious interest in the school. In 18^35 the 
 Holy Spirit was sent down upon a school. The report 
 says : — 
 
 " Yet it was most manifest that this inestimable blessing 
 was obtained only through the operation of efEcient means. 
 These were various ; but none more happily successful than 
 the efibrts made to interest the teachers, scholars, and peo- 
 ple generally in the concert." 
 
 In 1832, in a school of two hundred and four schol- 
 ars, more than one hundred were hopefully converted. 
 The pastor, in speaking of the influence of the concert 
 and other meetings for prayer, in promoting that glo- 
 rious refreshing, says : — 
 
 " The Sabbath school concert of prayer was attended 
 with special interest. A stated prayer meeting in behalf 
 of the school was held Sabbath morning, between the 
 ringings of the bell. Members of the church, teachers, 
 and pupils came together for this purpose. If I had looked 
 into the streets, and not at the hour, I might have mistaken 
 the first for the second bell. It seemed as if the congre- 
 gation were assembling." 
 
 With such a spirit of prayer, the results are not so 
 wonderful. 
 
 In one town in Maine there were eight schools, and 
 during one season seven of these schools enjoyed special 
 religious interest. All these seven schools observed the 
 concert, and also had a meeting of prayer for the schools 
 Sabbath morning. The other school did not observe 
 the concert, or have any season of prayer. This sin- 
 gular fact was noticed with interest by the people. 
 
 There was in the earlier days of this institution less 
 15 
 
226 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 of machinery, less that was theatric and operatic in the 
 exercises of the concert than exists in some schools 
 at the present day. A few years ago we were invited 
 to attend and address a concert. We found a pro- 
 gramme all made out of nine songs, solos, duets, and 
 choruses, and fifteen dialogues and single pieces to be 
 spoken by scholars. The speakers were all young 
 Misses. They came forward upon the platform, made 
 their bows, and accompanied their rehearsals with all 
 the gestures and other accompaniments of an academic 
 exhibition. At the close, eight minutes were allowed 
 the invited speaker for an address. 
 
 Variety is always essential to an interesting concert ; 
 and that existed in the earlier concerts, as it does now. 
 There was perhaps less singing, but more prayer. The 
 prayers were short, interspersed with the recital of 
 interesting information or incidents respecting Sabbath 
 schools in this and other lands ; their origin, progress, 
 present condition, manner of conducting, plans to 
 awaken an interest ; the condition of children in other 
 countries, particularly heathen ; the reading of short 
 anonymous pieces, written by teachers and scholars, on 
 subjects previously given out ; in giving an account of 
 the writer's own relio^ious feelings, &c. In some in- 
 stances these accounts were the first intimations that 
 there were inquirers after the way of life among the 
 scholars. In one school there were nine pieces writ- 
 ten on the subject " Jesus Christ." In another school, 
 in two years and a half, about one hundred pieces 
 were written on various subjects, which it was said 
 added much interest to the exercises, and helped to 
 secure a good attendance. Sometimes, as is now very 
 generally the case, all the scholars repeated verses, on 
 
THE SABBATH SCHOOL CONCERT. 227 
 
 which the pastor or superintendent would make appro- 
 priate remarks. These verses were sometimes selected 
 by the scholars themselves, and sometimes they were 
 connected with a subject previously assigned by the 
 suj)eriiitendent. It was an object formerly, as it is now, to 
 make the concert as attractive as possible to the chil- 
 dren, — a meeting which they would anticipate with 
 pleasure, and from wliich they would absent themselves 
 only from necessity. 
 
 A successful plan of exciting and maintaining an 
 interest in the concert, extensively adopted in former 
 years, was full monthly reports by the teachers of their 
 classes. 
 
 The superintendent of the Sabbath school in West 
 Boylston — wdiich was organized in 1818, — in 1821 
 circulated among the teachers class-books, in which 
 they were to keep weekly accounts of each scholar and 
 recitation. From these class-books the superintendent 
 made a monthly report to the school, and also a general 
 report at the close of the season, which the pastor made 
 the foundation of a Sabbath school sermon on the 
 Sabbath.* 
 
 This was regarded by some superintendents of vital 
 importance to Sabbath school operations. By this plan 
 the condition of each class was represented every 
 month; every fact or incident worthy of notice was 
 brought to view, accompanied with such suggestions 
 and remarks as the teacher felt the circumstances re- 
 quired, and often with warm exhortations and entreaties 
 to their pupils. These reports were put into the hands 
 of the superintendent, and by him arranged and read 
 
 * Semi-centennial Anniversaiy of the Sabbath School of West Boyl- 
 ston, &c. 
 
228 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 at the concert. " By this means," another report says, 
 "we get more knowledge of the school, and have a 
 fuller attendance at the concert." 
 
 Another plan, adopted by many schools, that awak- 
 ened great interest at this meeting, was for the pastor 
 to give a short and familiar sermon or lecture at the 
 close of the other exercises. In one instance, this plan 
 excited so much interest among the people generally, 
 that sometimes the children found fault because so 
 many of the older people attended that all the children 
 could not be accommodated. 
 
 The time of holding the concert has varied with dif- 
 ferent schools at different periods. The more general 
 time has been Sabbath evening. Some hold it Sabbath 
 noon, in place of the usual exercises of the school ; and 
 some, of late, hold it in place of the afternoon service 
 in the church. Whatever may be the opinion or feel- 
 ings of any in regard to giving up the afternoon sermon, 
 generally, to the Sabbath school, a public meeting like 
 the concert once a month certainly has not the same 
 objections that some urge so strongly in the other case. 
 All the people will attend such a meeting, and the pas- 
 tor is usually present to aid in its exercises, and to 
 close with an address. 
 
 A practice in former years, that had some advantages 
 over that in many schools at the present time, was, that 
 the short addresses or remarks that were interspersed 
 among the prayers, singing, and recitations, were usu- 
 ally made by those connected Avith the school, — the 
 pastor, superintendent, and teachers, — instead of de- 
 pending on some one from abroad. In this way, the 
 talents of the teachers were developed and cultivated, 
 and by this exercise many a teacher became a more 
 
THE SABBATH SCHOOL CONCERT. 229 
 
 active helper in the church-meeting, and many a teacher 
 was also led to see that he possessed talents that called 
 him to fit for the ministry. 
 
 While variety is necessary to give a proper spirit and 
 interest to this important meeting, we need not make 
 an exhibition of the children, either in repeating verses 
 or hymns, or in singing. And we should ever be 
 watchful lest we overlook the great object of the con- 
 cert and the school ; and any forms or machinery that 
 may tend to this will endanger the best interests and 
 usefulness of this precious institution. 
 
 We should not forget the original design of the Sab- 
 bath school concert. Like that of the missionary con- 
 cert, it was a meeting especially for prayer for God's 
 blessing on our Sabbath schools, and on all the labors 
 of the teachers and others in connection with them. 
 The object of remarks, or reports from schools, or let- 
 ters from missionaries and others, should be to impart 
 such information as may awaken an interest in the 
 object, and direct that interest so as to inspire all with 
 the spirit of devotion. 
 
 As the concert has become so especially a meeting 
 for the children, there must be, in the remarks or 
 addresses that are made, more or less of incidents and 
 stories to keep their attention. But they should always 
 be used, not merely for the sake of repeating them to 
 amuse or interest the children, but to illustrate or en- 
 force some important truth or duty. 
 
 A superintendent in 1829, finding that the interest in 
 the concert was decreasing, resolved to try an experi- 
 ment. During the month he collected all the facts he 
 could find in the religious papers and Sabbath school 
 periodicals, which showed the utility and importance of 
 
230 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 Sabbath schools. These facts were then arranged in 
 proper order, interspersed with remarks and inferences, 
 and read at the next concert. The same was done the 
 two following months. 
 
 The effect was what might have been expected. At 
 the next concert, when the evening was so extremely 
 unpleasant and stormy that he could hardly expect any 
 to attend, and almost doubted whether it were best to 
 go himself, he found between two and three hundred 
 present. 
 
 A pastor, in 1830, said: " The way in which the concert 
 has been conducted, and which has excited so much 
 interest of late, is simply this : I have read or related 
 some anecdotes respecting Sabbath schools and Sabbath 
 school children, which I have requested the children to 
 remember until the next concert. At the next I first 
 inquire of the children respecting the last meeting. 1 
 enter into all the particulars of the different anecdotes. 
 All who have attended have been astonished at the 
 quickness and accuracy with which the children answer 
 the questions propounded. The children are all alive 
 to attend the next Sabbath school concert. Nothing 
 short of this, or some similar plan, can long sustain a 
 suitable interest in any concert." 
 
 Many superintendents, from the commencement of 
 the concert, have been accustomed to spend much time 
 in preparing for this interesting meeting. The plans 
 devised to give attraction and interest to the exercises, 
 are almost as various as are the tastes and modes of 
 thinking of the superintendents. 
 
 A marked feature in the exercises of the concert, at 
 the present day, is the repetition of Scripture verses 
 and poems by the scholars. Where small children 
 
TUE SABBATH SCHOOL CONCERT. 281 
 
 recite, unless they will speak so as to be heard over the 
 house, it is better that several, or a whole class, should 
 repeat their verses together, so as to give volume to 
 their voices. 
 
 In these recitations the design is to let every one, or 
 most of those who are present, take a part in the exer- 
 cises, and not to see how much two or three scholars 
 can recite. At one concert, conducted, too, by the 
 pastor, two small girls repeated each three or four 
 chapters of Scripture, and probably not twenty persons 
 in a large audience in the church heard scarcely as 
 many words. 
 
 The Sabbath school in T , in 1861, held its anni- 
 versary on the afternoon of Fast Day. Although the 
 storms for several days interrupted some of their prepa- 
 rations, yet the exercises of the school, which had all 
 been arranged by the pastor, were well performed and 
 very interesting. These exercises consisted mostly in 
 the repetition of Scripture by individuals, by whole 
 classes and by the school in concert, interspersed with 
 frequent singing by the school. 
 
 The infant class repeated " The sweetest thing," &c. 
 in eight parts. Two little girls repeated a dialogue 
 about the Saviour. Then the pastor repeated several 
 verses, to each of which two or three little children 
 responded, one at a time, by a verse. Two classes then 
 repeated, individually, the Beatitudes, the whole school 
 repeated together the last, " Blessed are ye when men 
 shall revile you," &c. Then the different classes, even 
 to the young men and women, repeated numerous and 
 appropriate verses, sometimes separately and sometimes 
 in concert, on the following subjects: — the Bible, 
 Industry, Honesty and Uprightness ; Peace, the duty, 
 
232 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 conditions, and future prevalence of peace ; Profane- 
 ness, Intemperance, Oppression, and the Sabbath ; 
 Beneficence, the Saviour, Heaven. At the close of the 
 verses on Peace, the whole school repeated, "Blessed 
 are the peace-makers." At the close of the verses on 
 Beneficence, the last of which was " How shall they 
 hear without a preacher," &c., the whole school repeated 
 the verse, " Go ye into all the world, and preach the gos- 
 pel to every creature." At the close of the verses on 
 Heaven, the last of which were the description of 
 heaven, the tree of life, &c., the whole school repeated. 
 " Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they 
 may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in 
 through the gates into the city." 
 
 The happy effect of these exercises was seen in the 
 unabated attention and deep interest of the whole 
 congregation. It was truly impressive to see those 
 young men stand up, with so much apparent interest, 
 with no appearance of a false shame or bashfulness, and 
 repeat all those appropriate verses on such subjects as 
 Profaneness, Intemperance, Oppression, the Sabbath, 
 Industry, Honesty, &c. 
 
 On another occasion this school had for its exercises 
 the character of God, His existence. His greatness and 
 majesty, His omniscience and omnipotence. His provi- 
 dence. His holiness. His merc}^ and gospel invitations. 
 
 On the first, one person repeated nine proof-texts ; 
 another, the ninety-first psalm ; another, the one hun- 
 dred and twenty-first psalm ; then singing appropriate 
 to the subject. 
 
 On the second, one repeated seven proof-texts ; an- 
 other, twenty-three verses of the one hundred and fourth 
 psalm, the whole repeating the twenty-fourth verse, " O 
 
THE SABBATH SCHOOL CONCERT. 233 
 
 Lord, how manifold are thy works," &c. ; another re- 
 peated from the twenty-fourth to the thirty-fifth verse, 
 the whole school repeating the last part of the thirty- 
 fifth verse, ^' Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise 3'e 
 the Lord." This was followed by spontaneous singing 
 of an appropriate hymn. And so on through all the 
 topics. 
 
 The more common plan has been, for many years 
 past, to enlist all the scholars in the exercises. In some 
 cases a promise, or invitation, or warning, or an histor- 
 ical fact, — as the deluge, the offering of Isaac, the 
 captivities, the crucifixion, the conversion of Paul, or 
 the jailer, — or some topic, — as the Sabbath, baptism, 
 the Christian graces, or fruits of the Spirit, &c., — is 
 given out, and each scholar is to recite a verse relating 
 to the subject. More frequently a single word, as holy 
 or holiness, pride, humility, &c., and verses in which 
 such words occur, are recited by the whole school. 
 
 Books of exercises for the concert, within a few 
 years, have been published, and many schemes have 
 been devised, such as large representations of the cross, 
 the crown, the star of Bethlehem, the anchor of hope ; 
 monuments composed of various blocks, on which are 
 written the different truths and doctrines of the Bible ; 
 temples, &c., upon Avhich different scholars w^ill come 
 forward and hang cards with letters that will spell out 
 particular words, each scholar repeating a verse begin- 
 ning with his letter. If not too complicated, and if not 
 attended with too much machinery and display, these 
 representations may serve to fix the great truths repre- 
 sented in the minds especially of the younger scholars ; 
 and, if accompanied with suitable remarks by the super- 
 intendent or pastor, may be made impressive. 
 
234 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 A plain Christian woman said she could understand 
 " Pilgrim's Progress," but she could not understand the 
 explanatory notes. And some of these attempts to 
 make truth simple have been harder for the children to 
 comprehend than the truths themselves, as plainly 
 taught in the Bible. A little girl returned home from 
 the concert, where there had been erected a monument 
 of blocks, each block representing some important 
 Scripture truth, and a dove on the top to represent 
 the Holy Spirit. She was full of enthusiasm as she 
 described the monument, and how they made it by 
 placing one block upon another. '' O, mother," said 
 she, " it was beautiful ! And when they got through, 
 they put a hen on the top. O, mother, it was beau- 
 tiful ! " 
 
 She evidently had misapprehended the whole design 
 of the representation. She saw only the material ob- 
 ject, without a single idea of the great truths intended 
 to be taught. A description, in simple language, of the 
 various truths of which that monument was constructed, 
 and of the Holy Spirit — the heavenly dove — who 
 teaches us, she very likely would have understood ; but 
 this display of visible objects filled her vision and occu- 
 pied all her thoughts. 
 
 This singular case is mentioned to show the need of 
 great wisdom and care lest we complicate and obscure 
 truth by our attempts to explain it, instead of making 
 it plain to the understanding of childhood. The old, 
 old story, and every truth of the gospel, should be told 
 simply, as to a little child. 
 
XVII. 
 BENEVOLENCE AMONG THE YOUNG. 
 
 Much has been said, for some years past, on the sub- 
 ject of Christian, systematic benevolence, and on the 
 Christian use of money. 
 
 Premium tracts have been published, numerous ser- 
 mons preached, and the religious press has often spoken 
 with emphasis on the subject. And it is believed the 
 spirit of benevolence, from year to year, has in conse- 
 quence been rising in the churches. 
 
 But still many feel that we need a much higher 
 standard in regard to Christian giving. There is too 
 little principle about it. JNIany give only under the 
 influence of an appeal ; they have no system to regu- 
 late their charities. 
 
 Every one knows that a spirit of benevolent giving 
 can be cultivated — can be increased by a proper course 
 of training. There must be education on this subject. 
 And one reason why so many church-members manifest 
 no deep, fixed principle in regard to Christian giving, is 
 that their education on the subject has been neglected. 
 They have never been trained and educated to give. 
 
 It is said that the muscles with which we close the 
 hand are much stronger than those with which we open 
 it. Now it is the weaker, opening muscles we use in 
 giving money, and the stronger ones we use in holding 
 
 235 
 
236 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 on to our money. Every one can see the importance 
 of a frequent use of these weaker muscles, to keep them 
 supple ; else they will become so stiff and rigid that no 
 call of charity can relax them. 
 
 Now, education on this subject, as on all others, should 
 begin in childhood. Then the duty and the blessed- 
 ness of giving for the benefit of those less favored than 
 ourselves should be taught. Then the habit of giving 
 should be formed — of giving what is our own, what 
 we have earned or saved. 
 
 There is no one thing in regard to the early religious 
 training of the young, next to their conversion, that we 
 have considered in our fifty years with the Sabbath 
 schools as so important as right instruction on this 
 subject of benevolence. It is too late in manhood to 
 expect that all the habits that have been strengthening 
 from early life can be broken up, and new ones formed. 
 Our hope is with the young. And it is delightful to 
 witness the eagerness with which children will enter 
 into any plan for the alleviation of human woe. Noth- 
 ing so easily excites their sympathies as the story of 
 pagan ignorance and wretchedness. Their hearts have 
 not yet felt the deadening influence of that practical 
 infidelity in reference to the condition of the h*eathen, 
 and that spirit of selfishness, which prevails so extensive- 
 ly among the more mature in years. They believe what 
 the Bible says of the lost and perishing state of the 
 heathen, and their charities flow out almost sponta- 
 neously for their relief. 
 
 It has long been a part of the Sabbath school system 
 to train its members to form the habit of giving. At 
 first their little offerings — no matter hoAV small, if they 
 were earned or saved — were brought once a quarter, 
 
BENEVOLENCE AMONG THE YOUNG. 237 
 
 then once a month at the concert, and now most schools 
 take a collection every Sabbath. And there are few, if 
 any, exercises in which the children manifest more 
 interest than in making their contributions. 
 
 More than forty years ago, in a large school, where 
 a collection was taken monthly, we used to pass round 
 among the little ones, just before the collection was to 
 be taken, and loan a cent to any who had forgotten to 
 bring one. One of those pupils, many years after, said 
 she used somxetimes to leave her cent at home on pur- 
 pose, that the superintendent, if he loaned her one, 
 might see that she would certainly remember to pay it 
 the next Sabbath. She spoke with great enthusiasm of 
 her interest in these contributions. 
 
 It has ever been a source of interest to see the 
 various and often curious plans children adopt to obtain 
 their money for the contribution. Going on errands, 
 picking berries and nuts, holding a gentleman's horse, 
 cultivating a little plot of land, raising poultry, helping 
 mother, rising early in the morning, breaking some bad 
 habit, &c. One little boy earned twenty-five cents by 
 "sitting up straight." Two little boys in Maine got 
 into a rivalry in seeing which would give the most. 
 One Sabbath, Roswell brought twenty-five cents. Frank 
 said he should beat him the next Sabbath. But the next 
 Sabbath Roswell brought thirty-three cents ! When 
 Frank, with a discouraged tone of voice, said, — 
 
 " Well, my father doesn't let me pull gray hairs out 
 of his head for half a cent a dozen, as Roswell's does ; 
 and I have no baby sister to rock for so much an hour, 
 as Roswell has." 
 
 If Roswell earned all of his thirty-three cents in 
 pulling gray hairs out of his father's head, there must 
 
238 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 have been a harvest of sixty-six dozen in one week ; 
 and at that rate one would suppose it would not be long 
 before all of the poor man's hairs could be easily 
 numbered. 
 
 These contributions in our Sabbath schools have 
 awakened among the members a lasting interest in the 
 various objects of benevolence. Many have been led, 
 through this interest, to devote their lives to the cause 
 of missions among the heathen. A missionary said she 
 owed it to the fact that she gave, when a little child, by 
 the suggestion of her mother, a cherished article of 
 clothing to the Sandwich Islands Mission that she her- 
 self became a missionary to the heathen. Her dust, 
 with that of her husband, now mingles with that distant 
 heathen soil ; but no doubt the soul of many a Nestorian 
 will hereafter gem her crown of rejoicing on account 
 of that little offering she made in her childhood. 
 
 The hundreds of thousands of dollars which our 
 New England Sabbath schools, by their small weekly 
 collections, have sent in donations of books all over 
 the great West, have been silken cords — unnoticed 
 by statesmen and politicians, it may be — that have 
 greatly helped to bind together these different sections 
 of our great country. Few are the men and women 
 now, in any part of the West, who cannot remember — 
 and they can never forget — their deep interest, perhaps 
 their tears of gratitude, when told in the Sabbath 
 school that these pleasant and attractive books and 
 papers were the gift of New England children, and 
 that many of those children earned the money to make 
 the gift by acts of self-denial and severe toil. 
 
 A vigorous- prosecution of this work of training the 
 young to habits of benevolence will do more in bring- 
 
BENEVOLENCE AMONG THE YOUNG. 2'^9 
 
 ing forward a generation of large-hearted, liberal 
 Christians than all the various plans that can be adopted 
 to awaken the spirit of benevolence among adults. 
 Parents and teachers have a great responsibility, and 
 also great encouragement, in regard to this work. The 
 man who quarries the stone in a distant mountain is no 
 less really engaged in erecting the temple, than he who 
 lays the stone upon the rising walls; and the humble 
 Sabbath school teacher, who instils lessons of piety 
 and benevolence into the impressible mind of child- 
 hood, is no less really bearing a part in the magnificent 
 enterprise of converting this world to Christ, than the 
 man who forsakes all the hallowed endearments of life, 
 and goes forth to erect the standard of the cross amid 
 polar snows or tropic suns. Indeed, many a teacher 
 thus faithful has been the honored means of training 
 those who have gone on this errand of mercy to the 
 heathen. And the number and the character of those 
 who shall hereafter go forth on this same errand will 
 depend, under God, in no small degree, on the instruc- 
 tion given to the young in regard to the claims which 
 the heathen world, and the claims which Christ has on 
 them. 
 
 The district secretary of the American Board for the 
 Valley of the Mississippi, many years ago, said, that 
 more good was accomplished for the American Board 
 in awakening a missionary spirit, by the Sabbath 
 school libraries sent West, than as if all the money 
 those libraries cost were put directly into the treasury 
 of the Board. And he gave this illustration : — 
 
 "Louisa Ralston, or What can I do for the Hea- 
 then," found its way, in connection with other books, 
 through the benevolence of some Sabbath school in 
 
240 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 Massachusetts, to L , Kentucky. This little book 
 
 was read by the children. Such was the interest awak- 
 ened among a company of fourteen or fifteen young 
 girls, that they organized a missionary society on the 
 plan proposed in the book. In one year and a half this 
 society of fourteen or fifteen young girls paid into the 
 treasury of the Foreign Missionary Society two hun- 
 dred and forty dollars! The price of that book was 
 about twenty cents. 
 
 Very early in the history of Sabbath schools, juvenile 
 benevolent societies began to be formed, and they have 
 existed, more or less generally, ever since. They have 
 taken all sorts of names, according to the taste and 
 fancy of the members. Among these names are the 
 following : " Robert Raikes' Juvenile Association ; " 
 " The Twig Society ; " " The Gleaners ; " '' The Frag- 
 ment Society;" "Sabbath School Missionary," or "Tem- 
 perance Association ; " " Golden Sheaf," &c. Some 
 schools select, at the beginning of the year, the special 
 object they will aid. This serves to increase the inter- 
 est and the amount collected. 
 
XVIII. 
 JUVENILE MUSIC. 
 
 SiKGiNG by the children has become a marked fea- 
 ture in our Sabbath schools, both in connection with 
 the weekly exercises and with those of the concert. 
 Some suppose this is one of the more recent improve- 
 ments that have been introduced to give interest to the 
 institution. 
 
 Much more attention has been given to the subject, 
 it is true, within comparatively a few years, than was 
 given in the earlier history of Sabbath schools. Nu- 
 merous volumes of juvenile hymns and tunes have been 
 prepared and published; and more has been done to 
 instruct the young in music, and to prepare them to 
 take part in the exercise of song in the school and the 
 concert. 
 
 And yet it is interesting to see how early singing by 
 the children was practised in many of the Sabbath 
 schools. The hymns and tunes were the same that 
 were used in church, and the children did not seem less 
 interested in singing them than do the children of the 
 present day in those prepared especially for them. 
 
 In what has been said about the various modes of 
 conducting Sabbath schools, it will be remembered 
 that singing was common in most of the earlier schools 
 mentioned, as a part of the opening and closing exer- 
 cises. 
 
 16 241 
 
242 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 An excellent judge of music in the Theological Sem- 
 inary at Anclover, in a review of the " Sabbath School 
 Psalmody," by Mr. Ezra Barrett, published in the 
 "Sabbath School Treasury," dated March 27, 1829, 
 says : — 
 
 " I have long felt anxious that something might be done 
 to promote singing in our Sabbath schools. To me it is 
 one of the most delightful and inspiring acts of sacred 
 devotion ; and I have no doubt it would have a most happy 
 tendency could it be more generally introduced into our 
 Sabbath schools, and executed with propriety, as it might 
 be, by the scholars." 
 
 A single sheet was published, in 1829, containing 
 seven tunes, and three verses for each tune, for use in 
 Sabbath schools.* 
 
 It was common, as early as 1832-33, to hear superin- 
 tendents say that successful efforts had been made to 
 instruct the children in sacred music : that the singing 
 in the school on the Sabbath and at the concerts was 
 performed by them, and that it had contributed much 
 to the interest ; and that they thought it desirable that 
 juvenile singilig should be introduced into all the Sab- 
 bath schools. A superintendent, in 1832, said : — 
 
 " There was no exercise in which the children took so 
 much delight as in singing hymns. A hymn suited to their 
 capacities was chalked on a blackboard, and committed to 
 memory by the whole school. This was sung, when all 
 had learned it, in some simple tune adapted to the words ; 
 and if the Sabbath school room may ever be said to resem- 
 ble ' a little heaven below,' it was while the hundred youth- 
 ful voices united in a song of praise. '^ 
 
 * Boston Recorder for 1829, p. 36. 
 
JUVENILE MUSIC. 243 
 
 In 1836, the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society 
 began to publish hymn and tune books adapted to the 
 circumstances and wants of the schools. Among these 
 were " Sabbath School Songs," and " Sabbath School 
 Harp," prepared by the late Dr. Lowell Mason; 
 " Juvenile Music ; " the " Sabbath School Melodist ; " 
 the " Massachusetts Sabbath School Hymn Book ; " 
 "Vestry Songs," &c. 
 
 For the first eight or ten years after the establishment 
 of this society, in 1832, there was hardly any subject 
 connected with the management of Sabbath schools 
 that received more attention, or that awakened more 
 interest, than this singing by the children. A new 
 impulse, it was everywhere reported, was given to the 
 school by this exercise, and the interest increased from 
 year to year. It was spoken of as a delightful em- 
 ployment for the young. A superintendent, in 1837, 
 says : — 
 
 " An employment which, if engaged in with correct 
 motives and feeUngs, seems more than any other exercise 
 on earth to place us by the very side of those who have 
 tuned their harps on high, and are now singing the song of 
 Moses and the Lamb. Why may not infant voices, here in 
 the Sabbath school, be made to catch the strain, and praise 
 — as the redeemed will praise in heaven — the Lamb their 
 Redeemer ! " 
 
 Another says : — 
 
 " After the concert is over, you will hear aged fathers 
 and mothers exclaim, ' Did you ever hear anything like it ? 
 How the little creatures did sing ! ^ '' 
 
 In order to make this interesting exercise effective 
 for good, the children should be reminded that the 
 
244 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 singing in the Sabbath school is not a mere musical 
 concert or singing school, but that it is a religious 
 exercise no less than praying ; and that it is as improper 
 to be thoughtless and irreverent in our songs as in our 
 prayers. It is the words we are to think of, and not 
 merely the tune. 
 
 A little mission Sabbath school boy, as he took a seat 
 in the car, began to hum to himself, " We'll anchor by 
 and by." When asked what that meant, he answered 
 reverently, " I suppose, sir, it means that we shall rest 
 in heaven." He was humming that Sabbath school 
 song not merely for the music, but also for the words. 
 
 Two or three hundred little children at a Sabbath 
 school convention, all arrayed as for the opera, sang, — 
 
 " The angels are coming, 
 Don't you hear them ? " 
 
 Almost the whole audience was affected, not a few to 
 tears, but many of those thoughtless little fairies were 
 nudging each other, looking about and laughing, with- 
 out the least evidence that they thought of what they 
 were singing ; and in this, it is to be feared, they have 
 the example of many older singers. 
 
 Then, in many of our schools, comparatively few of 
 the boys engage in this delightful service. A proper 
 attention to these two things on the part of super- 
 intendents and teachers — more thoughtfulness and 
 reverence in this exercise, and the enlisting of the boys 
 and all the members of the school to take part in it — 
 would make this exercise a great power for good in our 
 Sabbath schools. 
 
 In some of our schools, at the present time, it is the 
 practice to sing, at least once, from the book used in 
 
JUVENILE MUSIC. 245 
 
 the church. This practice will serve to prepare the 
 scholars, as they come forward in life, to take part in 
 the singing, in public worship, either in choir or in 
 congregational singing, as the case may be. 
 
 Most of the young are now taught to sing in the 
 public schools. Then, in many of our Sabbath schools, 
 there are those who are accustomed to meet the mem- 
 bers, before or after the regular sessions, for practice. 
 All this attention to this beautiful science ought to fur- 
 nish the church with all needed help in the service of 
 song. 
 
XIX. 
 
 TEACHING THE CHILDREN TEMPERANCE. 
 
 " The drunkards will never be dead, 
 And I'll tell you the reason why : 
 The young ones they'll grow iip 
 Before the old ones die." 
 
 The jolly soldier who added this chorus to all his 
 bacchanalian songs understood what he sung. There 
 is philosophy in his words. He well knew, if all the 
 children and youth of the land could be enlisted in the 
 cause of temperance, the drunkards would all die out 
 with this generation, and intemperance, with all its 
 woes, would disappear. Many believe this can be 
 done, — at least, that by this method a vast amount of 
 good can be effected. 
 
 In 1829, a correspondent of the " Sabbath School 
 Visitant and Magazine " said : — 
 
 " I perceive, by the New York papers, that something 
 considerable is doing by the Sunday schools in that city in 
 aid of the cause of temperance. And surely, if any cause 
 of public concernment demands the entire co-operation of 
 this humble yet powerful institution, it is the cause of tem- 
 perance. Our efforts heretofore have had in view only those 
 above the age of childhood. It was well to begin there ; 
 but if we stop there, we leave the work more than half 
 undone. Our children may exhibit, when they arrive at 
 
 246 
 
TEACHING THE CHILDREN TEMPERANCE. 247 
 
 maturity, the sad reverse of all our reformation. If we 
 would lay the axe at the root of this devastating evil, we 
 must plant an abhorrence of it in the minds of the young. 
 We must make upon their minds such an impression of the 
 evil of intemperance, as that ardent spirits shall forever be 
 associated in their thoughts with all that is detestable in 
 conduct or horrible in crime.'' 
 
 The Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, from its 
 organization in 1832, by its various publications, and 
 visits to the churches and Sabbath schools, has been 
 laboring for this object. Some of the most interesting 
 and effective temperance publications of the times have 
 been found among its books. 
 
 At first, the plan was to enlist the members of the 
 Sabbath schools, so far as possible, in the parish or 
 town temperance society ; then " juvenile temperance " 
 or " total abstinence " societies were formed ; then 
 " cold water armies ; " and now these temperance or- 
 ganizations for the young are often called " Bands of 
 Hope." 
 
 In 1832, a juvenile temperance society was formed in 
 one of our Sabbath schools, which embraced almost all 
 the youth. They held frequent meetings during the 
 intermission on the Sabbath, and they purchased and 
 distributed publications of different Idnds on temper- 
 ance ; and it is confidently hoped that all the youth 
 trained up in this way will be secured against this great 
 evil of intemperance. 
 
 The Essex Street Sabbath school in Boston reported 
 in 1836 that they had formed a " juvenile temperance 
 society," and enrolled in it one hundred and fifty of the 
 scholars, with the consent of the parents. In 1837, 
 ma ay schools in different parts of Massachusetts re- 
 
248 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 ported that nearly all tlie members were connected 
 with temperance societies. The school in Pepperell, in 
 1838; reported one hundred and fifty under fifteen 
 years of age, members of the "juvenile temperance 
 society." 
 
 In 1839, special efforts in promotion of the temper- 
 ance cause were made in the Tabernacle Sabbath 
 school, Salem; and more than seven thousand signa- 
 tures to the temperance pledge were obtained by the 
 pupils of that school. Thirty members of the infant 
 classes obtained from three to one hundred and fifty 
 names each. In Granby, in 1842, the "Cold Water 
 Army " connected with the Congregational Sabbath 
 school numbered about three hundred. Thus early in 
 the temperance movement were efforts made to enlist 
 the young. 
 
 The following incidents show that young children 
 can thoroughly understand the total abstinence prin- 
 ciples : One little boy's definition of temperance was, 
 "Not to drink any rum, and but very little cider." 
 Another one's definition of total abstinence was, " Not 
 to taste the first drop." A little boy, hardly able to 
 speak plain, when asked if he did not intend to drink 
 any cider, should his father ask him to, quickly replied, 
 " No, because I am a totaler." 
 
 A little boy of six years, whose older brothers had 
 joined the temperance society, came to his father one 
 evening, when there was to be a temperance address, 
 and made this original but significant request. 
 
 " Pa, I want to be temperanced." His father under- 
 stood his wishes, but told him he felt unable to go out 
 with him to the meeting that evening. But the little 
 fellow's entreaties to be temperanced were so importu- 
 
TEACHING THE CHILDREN TEMPERANCE. 249 
 
 nate that they prevailed, and his father accompanied 
 him to the meeting. After the address, the lad's name 
 was set to the pledge of total abstinence, and he was 
 thus temperanced to his entire satisfaction. And he 
 understood, too, what it meant to be temperanced. 
 
 " Mother," said little Charley, " there is going to be 
 a temperance meeting this evening, and father has had 
 an invitation to go ; and I want to go too. May I, 
 mother?" 
 
 " Yes, my child, you may go if your father does." 
 " Mother, you look very sick, but I guess you will be 
 well when father comes home, for he has been talking 
 with a gentleman about drinking rum, and father al- 
 most cried ; and I think they are going to do some- 
 thing. I mean to make father go ; mayn't T, mother? " 
 " If you think it will make him any better, you may." 
 *' You need not be afraid about that, mother, for the 
 gentleman said it would make him a great deal better." 
 So' little Charley went to the meeting. About nine 
 o'clock, the door opened, and in ran the little boy, 
 almost out of breath, exclaiming, " Mother, mother, 
 father is going to be a good man, — he is, mother. 
 They have made him write his name on a piece of pa- 
 per which they call the temperance pledge. Now, 
 mother, I guess he won't be so cross nights, and break 
 all the cups and saucers, and behave so like a madman. 
 Ain't you better, mother? " 
 
 '' Yes, my child ; if this be true, I am well." 
 "If he acts like my little brother, — be good a little 
 while, and then be bad, — I mean to go and find that 
 gentleman, and ask him to come and see him, and talk 
 to him, and make him a good man." 
 
 '' Well, my child, I hope with all my heart that you 
 will succeed." 
 
250 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 And lie did succeed. And may the Lord bless him, 
 and all others who try to reform. 
 
 Here is a child's pledge : — 
 
 " Good people, old and young, iu all parts of the world, 
 are joining the temperance cause. And why should not I? 
 Have I not a right to ? I hope I have. I will join. Here, 
 then, with heart and hand, I put my name, and declare 
 myself a friend of temperance, — an enemy of all intox- 
 icating drinks. I will say No to every drop. Those who 
 will may laugh, but I hope never to be ashamed of my 
 resolution. May tlie great Being above aid me ! '' 
 
 The ministry of children has often been of great ser- 
 vice in the temperance cause in enlisting other children, 
 and also older persons, and even their parents, and in 
 reclaiming the intemperate. 
 
 Thi:i is strikingly illustrated in the following inci- 
 dent, which occurred some twent3^-five or thirty years 
 ago : — 
 
 A female teacher, feeling a desire to do something for 
 the cause of Christ, resolved to collect some poor chil- 
 dren into a Sabbath school, where they might receive 
 religious instruction, of which the}^ and their parents 
 were then entirely ignorant. The first family she vis- 
 ited was that of a poor, miserable drunkard. His wife 
 and children, and everything around them, bore the 
 marks of poverty, degradation, and wretchedness. 
 They had four small children, only two of whom, Mar- 
 tha, of six years, and her little brother Francis, of four, 
 were old enough to attend school. After learning that 
 clothes would be furnished for them, the father con- 
 sented to let his children attend. They soon became 
 deeply interested in learning about the Saviour. Al- 
 though they lived a mile from church, they were usu- 
 
TEACHING THE CHILDREN TEMPERANCE. 251 
 
 ally first at school. Martha was taken sick, and for 
 some time deprived of the privileges of her school. 
 One morning, as she began to recover, she appeared 
 unusually pleased on receiving a visit from her teacher. 
 " The children," said the mother, " have been almost 
 impatient for you to come ; they have a new* plan in 
 view. For a few days past their thoughts and conver- 
 sations have been about the temperance society. Mar- 
 tha has come to the conclusion that she can live all her 
 days without tasting another drop, and wants to sign 
 the pledge. 1 have tried to put them off by telling 
 them I did not know that children so young were per- 
 mitted to join. But they would not give it up." 
 
 Said Martha, " O, I think if mother and Francis and 
 myself join, we can persuade father to." 
 
 " Francis," said their teacher, " do you think you can 
 always refuse the sweet bottom of the glass when your 
 father offers it ? " '' Yes ; I will stick and hang as long 
 as I live." Their names were taken, and they were 
 requested to get their associates to join with them. 
 
 Martha at once exclaimed, " I will see H. C ; I 
 
 guess I can get her to join, for her mother drinks as 
 much as pa does, and the little children surely suffer 
 for victuals and clothes. O, mother, I wish we could 
 get them to join the temperance society." 
 
 As soon as she was well enough to walk out, she 
 
 went to the house of Mrs. C . She first enlisted 
 
 little H. in the cause ; then they told the mother about 
 it, and entreated her to join. She was awakened by 
 the earnest solicitations of these children ; and they 
 did not leave her until she had promised to think of 
 the subject. At the end of three days she put her 
 name to the pledge, and ever since has been a temper- 
 ate woman. 
 
252 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS, 
 
 Encouraged by past success, they commenced the 
 work at home. They not only begged of their father 
 to put away the poisonous stuff, but daily, in secret and 
 at his side, they prayed that God would give him a new 
 heart, that he might love and serve Him on earth, and 
 be prepared to dwell in heaven ; Francis, in particular, 
 would kneel by him and earnestly beg God to give 
 them all new hearts, and save his poor father from the 
 drunkard's grave. 
 
 Whenever the father came home at night under the 
 influence of intoxicating liquor, cross and angry, his 
 mouth was shut when he saw his little son kneeling 
 with his Bible before him, begging that he would re- 
 pent, for no drunkard could enter the kingdom of 
 heaven. By the decision and zeal of his children he 
 was silenced and confounded. Neither by flattery nor 
 persuasion could they be made to taste one drop of 
 ardent spirit, or even to take water from a glass where 
 it had been used. One night little Francis was taken 
 suddenly ill. His father arose and brought him some 
 water. He no sooner took it than he exclaimed, " It is 
 in your rum-tumbler ; I can't take it ! " When he was 
 so sick that he was not expected to live, he refused to 
 have rum applied externally, because he had signed the 
 pledge. 
 
 The prayers of these children have been heard and 
 answered, for many months have elapsed since this 
 once miserable drunkard has tasted the poison ; and it 
 is hoped the prayer they now offer will also be heard, 
 and that he will yet be seen " clothed and in his right 
 mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus." 
 
TEACHING THE CHILDREN TEMPERANCE. 253 
 
 A LITTLE TEMPERANCE TALK TO THE YOUNG. 
 
 When I was a boy, it used to be a great wonder to 
 me why the rivers did not all run out. Have you never 
 felt a similar wonder ? You stand on the banks of the 
 Connecticut, for example, and see that immense body 
 of water rolling past you ; and thus it has been rolling 
 for generations, for centuries. Now why does not the 
 water all run out, and the river become dry ? 
 
 In the town of Glover, Vt., there was a pond, some 
 years ago, from which a small stream ran that carried a 
 mill. Some men, one day, cut a small place to increase 
 the stream. The bank through which they cut proved 
 to be quicksand ; and suddenly it gave way, and the 
 whole pond ran out, and left nothing but a very small 
 brook. The road now passes right through where the 
 pond was. They call it the " Runaway Pond." 
 
 Now why do not the rivers run away in the same 
 manner ? Most of you probably know that, although 
 the source of rivers may be of a small spring, or a 
 small pond or lake, yet all along, on either side, there 
 are smaller rivers, streams, brooks, and tiny rills, con- 
 stantly running into them. Now if we could cut off 
 all these smaller streams, and thus stop the supplies, 
 the rivers would run out and become dry. 
 
 Young friends, do you know that there is a mighty 
 river rolling its dark and bitter waters through our 
 land, and is carrying destruction and woe wherever 
 it flows ? It is the river of intemperance. And many 
 good people feel alarmed, because they think this river 
 is becoming more and more swollen, and that it is 
 threatening a more fearful desolation than ever be- 
 fore. 
 
254 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 Tliey are now asking in what way tliis river can be 
 dried up. Like other rivers, there are numerous smaller 
 streamlets constantly running into it. The only way, 
 then, is to cut off these supplies, and let it run out and 
 dry up. 
 
 Some one says, " Drunkards are drinking young men 
 grown up." There, then, is where drunkards come 
 from. To stop the increase of drunkards, then, we 
 must cut off the supply ; we. must have no more 
 '' drinking young men." But how can we prevent 
 this ? Where do the " drinking young men " come 
 from. Why, they are large boys grown up ; and large 
 boys are made out of little boys. Large boys and little 
 boys, and large girls and little girls, are the springs, the 
 little rills, the sources, from whence drinking young 
 men and drinking young women come who grow up 
 into drunkards. 
 
 Now, young friends, is it not quite plain what we are 
 to do if wx wish to cut off all supplies to this river of 
 Intemperance, and let it dry up? In other words, if 
 we would let the old drunkards die off, and have no 
 more to take their place, there must be no more sipping 
 little boys and girls to become tippling large boys and 
 girls, to grow into drinking young men and women ; 
 then there will be nobody to grow up into drunkards. 
 Is not that just as plain as that the stopping of all little 
 streams will dry up the rivers, or preventing all little 
 fires will prevent all large ones ? 
 
 Now^, boys and girls, good people who have become 
 so alarmed at the increase of intemperance the past few 
 years, are making an effort to stop it, just in the way I 
 have been describing, — by cutting off all the supplies, 
 — preventing, if possible, every boy and girl in the land 
 
TEACHING THE CHILDREN TEMPERANCE. 255 
 
 from beginning to sip and drink, so that there shall be 
 no more " drinking young men " and women to grow up 
 into drunkards. 
 
 What do you say to this, young friends ? Are you 
 willing to unite with us in this work ? Are you willing 
 to aid in preventing all that sorrow and woe that darken 
 the homes and settle down upon the hearts of the wives 
 and children of poor drunkards ? 
 
 If you w^ould take for your next Sabbath's lesson 
 what the Bible says about drunkards, strong drink, &c., 
 you would be alarmed at the greatness of this sin of 
 intemperance. And no one who tastes or touches or 
 handles the intoxicating cup is safe. All drunkards 
 were once moderate drinkers; no one ever meant to 
 become a drunkard. 
 
 The only safety, then, is to resolve, with the little 
 boy, " not to taste the first drop." Will not all in this 
 Sabbath school make that resolve, as a New Year's gift 
 to the cause of temperance ? Such a resolve may not 
 only save you from personal danger, but it will influ- 
 ence others in the work of cutting off the supply of 
 drunkards, so that our land may no longer be called a 
 " land of drunkards." 
 
 As I have been " reasoning of temperance," have any 
 of my young friends trembled, in view of the danger 
 from this evil ? Then do not, like Felix, say, " Go thy 
 way for this time," but resolve now never to taste, 
 touch, or handle any thing that will intoxicate. 
 
 PRIZE COMPOSITIONS. 
 
 A few years ago, a total abstinence society in this 
 slate, v/ith which we were connected, offered prizes to 
 the scholars in our high and grammar schools for the 
 
256 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 best compositions on the " Evils of Intemperance, and 
 the Remedy." In two years, seven thousand scholars, 
 in one hundred and fifty towns, accepted the offer, and 
 wrote on this subject ; and one hundxed and eighty 
 prizes, of from two dollars to ten dollars, were awarded. 
 
 This plan is, in some respects, one of the most 
 important ones ever adopted in connection with the 
 interests of temperance. It is beginning at the right 
 place, with the young. All these five thousand children 
 and youth who have written on the subject, have com- 
 mitted themselves to the cause. The very effort they 
 have made to describe and illustrate the evils of intem- 
 perance, and to point out the remedy, has impressed 
 them as no temperance lecture could have done. 
 
 The amount of reading on the subject has been truly 
 wonderful. All the books on the subject, in the Sab- 
 bath school and public libraries, have been sought for ; 
 and messages have been sent to the city for works on 
 temperance and intemperance. There has been much 
 conversation in the family, and all the knowledge of 
 parents, and older brothers and sisters, and friends, has 
 been laid under contribution to aid in this work. 
 This has awakened new interest in the subject in these 
 families, and especially in those in which prizes have 
 been obtained. A prize of ten dollars was obtained by 
 the daughter of an intemperate father, who in conse- 
 quence has been reformed. All the members of these 
 schools have also had their attention turned especially 
 to the subject. 
 
 Then, in nearly every town where these prizes have 
 been given, there have been held public meetings, at 
 which the prize compositions have been read and the 
 prizes publicly presented to the successful competitors, 
 
TEACHING THE CHILDREN TEMPERANCE. 257 
 
 followed by addresses. These meetings in some in- 
 stances have been very largely attended. The people 
 seemed to have felt honored in the honor conferred 
 upon their sons and daughters. 
 
 Then the society is selecting some of the more inter- 
 esting of these prize articles for publication in pam- 
 phlets, and also in permanent volumes. The committee 
 of award were greatly surprised at the merit of many 
 of these compositions, especially from the high schools. 
 They would do credit to much older and wiser persons. 
 While the subject of all was the same, there w^as great 
 variety in the manner of treating it. Most spoke of 
 the evils of intemperance upon the community, the 
 family, and the individual. Some of the papers were 
 replete with sound, logical argument ; some contained 
 touching illustrations, and some an array of statistical 
 facts. Most referred, in presenting the remedy, to the 
 " woman's movement," some with hearty approval, others 
 with doubts and hesitation ; some were for the most 
 stringent prohibition, and others would rely wholly on 
 moral means ; some would abolish the manufacture of 
 spirits entirely, and others felt that the remedy of this 
 great evil must be principally in the right training 
 of the young. 
 
 Many of the papers were long enough for a sermon, 
 and showed a great amount of research and earnest 
 thought. 
 
 The result of all this cannot be otherwise than most 
 salutary in its influence upon the writers, the families, 
 the schools, and the communities where this plan has 
 been adopted. 
 
 Some there maybe — and even many — who, in after 
 life, when appetite or companions have tempted them, 
 17 
 
258 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 have broken away from their early pledges. They may 
 have quieted their consciences by saying that they took 
 the pledge when they were so young they did not un- 
 derstand what they were doing, and hence they ought 
 not to be held by it. Be this as it may, there can be 
 no doubt that vast numbers have been protected by 
 their early pledges, and by what they then learned 
 about the evil of intemperance, from the snares of this 
 destroyer. 
 
 It is true that great care and judgment should be 
 used on this subject. No child should be encouraged 
 to sign any pledge till he has been thoroughly in- 
 structed as to its meaning and solemnity. It should be 
 remembered that children are creatures of imitation; 
 that they are sympathetic and impulsive. But, v/ith 
 due care, they can be confirmed very early in the right 
 way. 
 
 The late Rev. Dr. Alexander said, "It is the chil- 
 dren — the children — that we want ; for are they not 
 the stuff that states are made of?" No wonder some 
 communities, cities, and states, with their rulers, judges, 
 and citizens, are so bad, considering the bad stuff, the 
 poor material, they have been made of. But a whole 
 generation of children and youth, pledged to temper- 
 ance and virtue, would be splendid stuff out of which 
 to make splendid states. Then — 
 
 "The drunkards will be dead, 
 
 And I'll tell you the reason why : 
 Young * totalers ' they'll grow up 
 As fast as the drunkards die." 
 
XX. 
 
 SABBATH SCHOOL CONVENTIONS, CELEBRATIONS, 
 AND PICNICS. 
 
 In September, 1855, one thousand Sabbath school 
 teachers of Massachusetts, in answer to an invitation 
 from the teachers in New York and Brooklyn, vis- 
 ited those cities. They were received in the Crystal 
 Palace, where were gathered many thousand children 
 connected with the various charitable institutions — the 
 Oiphan and Half Orphan Asylums, Home for the 
 Friendless, Mission Schools, &c., who were addressed 
 by some of the visitors. 
 
 Meetings were held in each city for social interviews 
 among the friends of Sabbath schools, and for the dis- 
 cussion of various practical subjects connected with 
 the Sabbath school work. This gathering greatly stim- 
 ulated all who participated in it in their labors in this 
 cause. The teachers from Massachusetts returned with 
 fresh zeal and interest in promoting the efficiency of 
 their respective schools. 
 
 Soon after this, Sabbath school conventions began to 
 be held in different states, and now they have become 
 quite common. When they first commenced, many 
 supposed the}^ were a new thing, the outgrowth and 
 evidence of special interest and progress in the Sabbath 
 school work. But, so far from being new, it was but 
 
 259 
 
260 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 the revival of a plan that had had its day, and a day 
 of great success, and~ been discontinued. 
 
 The Worcester North Conference Sabbath School 
 Society held a Sabbath school convention in 1833. The 
 next year it held a similar convention at Templeton. 
 All the schools but one belonging to that county soci- 
 ety were represented by delegates. The forenoon was 
 occupied in hearing reports from the various schools, 
 most of which had enjoyed revivals. About forty con- 
 nected with the school in Athol had been hopefully 
 converted ; thirty-three in Gardner, eight of whom 
 were between the ages of seven and ten ; a whole class 
 of twelve or fourteen young men, and all but ten of 
 the Misses from twelve to tAVenty years of age, were 
 among the number ; forty in Phillipston, six between 
 the ages of seven and ten ; thirty in Templeton ; and 
 one hundred in Ashburnham. 
 
 A convention of the friends of Sabbath schools 
 within the limits of Middlesex South Conference was 
 held on the 18th and 10th of August, 1835, at Hop- 
 kinton. There was a very general representation of 
 the ministers, superintendents, and delegates from the 
 various schools and churches. The exercises of the 
 convention were almost precisely like those of the con- 
 ventions of the present day: dissertations, essays, and 
 discussions on various subjects, as " Obligations of the 
 chvirch to sustain the Sabbath school ; " " Duties of 
 teachers and superintendents ; " " How shall the library 
 be rendered in the highest degree useful ? " " Impor- 
 tance of a department for the instruction of teachers;" 
 (and that in 1805 ! Is there any thing new under the 
 sun ?) '' The cultivation of a spirit of systematic be- 
 nevolence in children, with special reference to the 
 
SABBATH SCHOOL CONVENTIONS, ETC. 261 
 
 efforts of the day ; " " Plan for infant cliildren's meet- 
 ings ; " " The importance of systematizing truth in Sab- 
 bath school instruction;" "How shall unconverted 
 parents be made to feel an interest in the Sabbath 
 school ? " " How shall a Sabbath school be induced to 
 read the Bible?" &c. 
 
 At two o'clock p. M., on Wednesday, the children, 
 to the number of about three hundred, were collected 
 into the body of the house and addressed. 
 
 Practical resolutions were also discussed and adopted. 
 And in the discussions on some of these topics fifteen 
 or twenty persons took part. 
 
 Essex County Congregational Sabbath School Society 
 held a convention in 1835, and in the account of it 
 published in the periodical of the Massachusetts Sab- 
 bath School Society at the time, there is an earnest 
 appeal for all the county societies of the state to hold 
 such conventions. 
 
 A convention of the Sabbath schools in Kennebec 
 County, Maine, was held at Hallowell in 1836, which 
 was a meeting of great interest. Delegates were pres- 
 ent from eleven towns. Several dissertations were 
 read on specific questions, and sixteen resolutions were 
 presented, accompanied with interesting and appropri- 
 ate remarks. There were thirty-seven schools reported 
 from seventeen towns. 
 
 The same year, on the 24th of August, Worcester 
 Harmony Conference Sabbath School Society held a 
 convention at Grafton, at which most of the schools 
 belonging to the society were represented by delegates, 
 and there was a large attendance of pastors, superin- 
 tendents, teacher.:;, and friends of the cause. 
 
 Among the subjects which elicited animated and 
 
262 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 useful discussions were the following : " What are the 
 objects to be arrived at in Sabbath school instruction ? " 
 "What are the obstacles to success ?" " How can the 
 ' church be made to take a deeper interest in Sabbath 
 schools ? " " How can the cociperation of parents, and 
 the attendance of adults generally, be secured ? " 
 " What are the peculiar and appropriate qualifications 
 of teachers, and what are their most prominent defi- 
 ciencies?" &c. The next annual convention of this 
 same society discussed, with great interest and effect, 
 several other equally practical subjects. 
 
 In all the exercises of these early conventions there 
 was the greatest harmony. It is pleasant, at the pres- 
 ent time, when such meetings have become so common 
 through the country, to look back and see how perfectly 
 those of more than thirty years ago correspond, in most 
 particulars, with those of to-day. 
 
 There is one respect in which they differed from 
 many of the present conventions, and in which, we 
 think, they had the advantage. They were generally 
 confined to the schools of a single county or conference, 
 and were consequently less unwieldy ; and they were 
 also confined to a single denomination, and were conse- 
 quently more unrestrained and harmonious. We have 
 attended two state union conventions, where the best 
 part of two sessions was occupied in an excited and 
 somewhat bitter discussion of a remonstrance sent in 
 by one denomination that they were not properly rep- 
 resented on the offices of the convention ! At another 
 state union convention, an Episcopal minister, well 
 knoAvn as intensely denominational, delivered an ear- 
 nest essay in vindication of the rite of infant baptism. 
 At the same time the Baptists of that association were 
 
SABBATH SCHOOL CONVENTIONS, ETC. 263 
 
 holding, in the same city, a Sabbath school convention 
 of their own. Then there are always some strongly 
 sectarian persons at such union meetings, who seem 
 inclined to gain eclat by a special show of liberality, 
 and they are ever referring, in their prayers or ad- 
 dresses, to " this delightful scene of union, where we 
 can meet on this broad Christian platform our brethren 
 of different denominations," &c. All this " unpleas- 
 antness " is avoided, and the meetings are less expen- 
 sive, and much more effective for good, when confined 
 to a smaller number of schools and those of a single 
 denomination. 
 
 For several years past the Baptist churches of Mas- 
 sachusetts, and the Congregational churches of Hano- 
 ver, Marshfield, Scituate, and Woburn conference, have 
 adopted this plan of denominational conventions, and 
 with the greatest success. These meetings are a sort 
 of reunion of those especially interested in the work ; 
 and there is the utmost freedom and earnestness in the 
 discussion of all practical subjects relating to the inter- 
 ests of their own denomination. A long experience 
 and careful observation have led us to the belief that 
 denominational conventions are always the most inter- 
 esting and effective. 
 
 j\Iore than forty years ago many of those interested 
 in the right training of the young became alarmed at 
 the noisy, riotous, and irrational manner in which many 
 were celebrating our national independence. The influ- 
 ences of such celebrations were seen to be injurious to 
 the moral training of the young. 
 
 This state of feeling led to the more appropriate and 
 delightful mode of commemorating the anniversary of 
 our nation's freedom by Sabbath school celebrations, 
 
264 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 where the young were instructed in the great principles 
 of civil and moral freedom. In the year 1836 there 
 were eight or ten such celebrations among the schools 
 connected with the Massachusetts Sabbath School Soci- 
 ety, some of them embracing most of the children and 
 youth from thirty or forty schools. In some cases they 
 were Sabbath school and juvenile temperance celebra- 
 tions. 
 
 Everything was done, by singing, addresses, and 
 various entertainments, that could be, to make these 
 occasions interesting and profitable to all present. 
 
 For many years a large number of schools observed 
 the Fourth of July in this manner, and, in many cases, 
 at the time of the celebration, or on some Sabbath near, 
 took up an '' independence offering," to aid in establish- 
 ing and sustaining Sabbath schools in the destitute 
 sections of the covmtry. 
 
 In 1844, these celebrations were very numerous, and 
 they passed off with much interest ; and the improve- 
 ments in the manner of commemorating the birthday 
 of our national independence, within five or ten years, 
 was truly wonderful. 
 
 . In some cases Independence Day was made the occa- 
 sion of a general canvass of the parish or town to get 
 in new scholars. 
 
 In 1884, several schools were greatly enlarged by a 
 general visitation of all the families within the limits of 
 
 o 
 
 the parish on the Fourth of July. Large committees 
 were chosen, who employed the day in presenting the 
 claims of Sabbath schools in every dwelling, and in in- 
 viting every man, woman, and child to become mem- 
 bers. Wherever this experiment was tried, the results 
 were most happy. Class.es of adults were formed, and 
 
SABBATH SCHOOL CONVENTIONS, ETC. 265 
 
 children and youth from the highways and hedges were 
 "compelled to come in." The committee themselves, 
 by their very efforts, were made more active and faith- 
 ful teachers. In one family visited there were the 
 parents and fourteen children. None of them attended 
 the Sabbath school, though efforts had often been made 
 to secure their attendance. This Fourth-of-July visit, 
 however, proved successful in gaining the permission of 
 the parents for some of the children to go. Soon they 
 became much interested in the school. A new child 
 was fitted out every Sabbath, till most of them were 
 enrolled as members. Ere long those parents and sev- 
 eral of their children were hoping in the mercy of God. 
 
 In the same year, the Sabbath school society in one 
 town, embracing the different evangelical schools, chose 
 forty-one persons to visit, on the Fourth of July, every 
 family in town. Each visitor had his particular field 
 allotted to him, containing from six to ten families, and 
 in such connection as to make the work of visiting 
 light. Every individual, adults and children, was to be 
 invited to attend the Sabbath school, leaving it for each 
 one to decide wdiere. 
 
 The result was most gratifying. In some families, 
 where, at least, much indifference was supposed to 
 exist, some of the visitors were rebuked for having 
 so long neglected this department of duty, and urged 
 to come again. 
 
 This undertaking made all the families acquainted 
 with the fact that they might avail themselves of the 
 advantages of a Sabbath school. It served to make the 
 teachers — and most of the visitors were such — ac- 
 quainted with the field of their labors. It showed that 
 God is with them that devise and execute liberal things, 
 
266 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 and that he will not fail to water them that labor to 
 water others. 
 
 These Fourth-of-July celebrations and visitations, so 
 common years ago, it is believed might be revived, with 
 very great benefit to the young and to the cause of 
 Sabbath schools, at the present day. 
 
 Within the past fifteen or twenty years. Sabbath 
 school picnics and excursions have become a prominent 
 feature of most of our Sabbath schools. Many of the 
 members of the schools in our cities and large towns 
 find this the only opportunity through the whole year 
 to visit the country and breathe its pure and invigorat- 
 ing air, and gaze upon the fresh grass and beautiful 
 flowers with which our Heavenly Father has clothed 
 and decorated the hills and the valleys, and upon the 
 trees of the wood as they clap their hands. 
 
 If these excursions and annual gatherings in the 
 woods are properly directed, they may be made very 
 useful. They may be the means, not only of keeping 
 up an interest in the school, but of bringing in new 
 scholars. They will show the children, too, that, at a 
 proper time, and in a proper manner, the church, their 
 pastor and teachers, as well as their parents, are glad 
 to please and entertain them to make them happy. 
 When they see this, they may be more ready to make 
 returns by their constant and interested attendance 
 on the instructions of the school. 
 
 This feature of our Sabbath school is, to a great 
 extent, comparatively a modern one. Though there 
 are not wanting individual cases of something like this. 
 
 One measure in A , more than forty-five years 
 
 ago, which produced a great amount of good feeling, 
 both among parents and scholars, and did much for the 
 
SABBATH SCHOOL CONVENTIONS, ETC. 267 
 
 interests of the school, was the following : An invita- 
 tion was given to all the girls under sixteen years of 
 age, who belonged to the school, and those who would 
 unite with it within two weeks, to make the wife of 
 their pastor some social, religious visits. These visits 
 were made on different days, and by three divisions. 
 First, all under eight years of age; second, those 
 between eight and twelve ; and third, those between 
 twelve and sixteen. At the three meetings, eighty 
 were present. They were entertained by infant and 
 Sabbath school anecdotes, familiar religious instruction, 
 &c. Some of the first division were asked if they 
 belonged to the school ? They answered, " No, ma'am." 
 They were then told that none were expected at the 
 meeting but Sabbath school scholars. 
 
 " But," said the little girls, " we are going to the Sab- 
 bath school." The next Sabbath, a new class had to be 
 formed. A similar invitation was given to the boys 
 under sixteen years of age, to make their pastor a visit. 
 When the hour arrived, sixty were present. It was a 
 season of peculiar interest, and profit to the children, 
 and was long remembered. 
 
XXI. 
 
 EVILS RESULTING FROM SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 The institution of Sabbath schools, though it has 
 proved to be a great blessing to the young and to the 
 world, like most good things, can be perverted, and 
 there are some who do pervert it. One evil resulting 
 from this institution, apprehended and even complained 
 of as already existing, is, that parents are making it a 
 substitute for parental instruction — that they are 
 throwing off responsibility upon the teachers. 
 
 So far as this is the case, a note of alarm and of 
 warning ought to be given, and it should be sounded 
 loud enough to startle the slumbering conscience of 
 every parent who is guilty in this matter. 
 
 But no one surely can regard the evil here spoken of 
 as necessarily incident to this institution. The evil 
 exists only where the institution is perverted. Sab- 
 bath schools are designed only as an auxiliary — a help 
 to parents in the religious instruction of their children. 
 It is not intended to lessen one iota of the parent's re- 
 sponsibleness in this work, but only to aid him, — to 
 supplement, so far as may be, his efforts. 
 
 In reference to far the larger portion of the young, 
 it is true — however lamentable the fact — that the 
 Sabbath school is the only source of personal religious 
 instruction they have, except so far as they receive it 
 
EVILS RESULTING FROM SABBATH SCHOOLS. 269 
 
 from their pastors. They either have no parents — they 
 are orphans — or they have such as concern not them- 
 selves with the religious education of their children. 
 Sabbath school or not, it is all the same to them. To 
 these multitudes of the young, surely no one will object 
 that this institution comes forward with the kind offices 
 of the faithful, pious parent. 
 
 The only ground of apprehension is, that pious par- 
 ents are transferring their responsibilities to the teach- 
 ers of the Sabbath school. And so far as this is the 
 case, it is a serious evil, and it is a most unnatural evil. 
 
 Sabbath schools a substitute for parental instruction ! 
 Why, a parent may as well transfer to this institution 
 his obligation to maintain prayer and communion with 
 God in secret, or good works before men. If he is to 
 throw off his obligation to teach his children the fear 
 of the Lord, and to bring them up in his nurture and 
 admonition, and to watch for their souls as those that 
 must give account, he may as well hire a family priest, 
 and commit to him the whole care of his own, and the 
 salvation of his household, and give himself no more 
 concern or solicitude for anything but the present life. 
 And indeed this would be a far better course than to 
 give up the religious instruction of his children to a 
 Sabbath school teacher, who could meet those children 
 only one hour in a week; for the priest could more 
 fully meet the requirement, " Thou shalt teach them 
 diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them 
 when ihou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest 
 by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou 
 risect up." 
 
 It is not merely for the good of the children that 
 God has placed this work in the hands of parents, but 
 
270 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 it is for the personal good of parents themselves. 
 Nothing will more rapidly promote the parent's own 
 growth in grace than the' prayers and instructions 
 which deep parental solicitude will call forth. All this 
 inestimable good to the parent is lost entirely when he 
 gives up his individual responsibility in the religious 
 instruction of his children to the Sabbath school 
 teacher. The institutions of the gospel are in har- 
 mony with each other. Jerusalem is builded as a city 
 that is compact together. The buildings, closely 
 joined together, strengthen each other ; and the citi- 
 zens, pursuing their various avocations, all help one 
 another. Thus the ministry of the word encourages 
 the Sabbath school, and the Sabbath school helps to 
 gather the young to the house of God and prepare 
 them to understand and receive the word of life. Re- 
 ligion in the family also helps the teachers and scholars 
 of the Sabbath schools in their duties, and the teachers 
 add their prayers and faithful teachings to aid parents 
 in the training of their children. 
 
 In the days of our Puritan fathers, the afternoon 
 public exercise on the Sabbath was, in some cases, a 
 catechetical one ; but this was never understood to 
 supersede faithful catechising in the family, but rather 
 presupposed it. And so, now, we would have every 
 family to be as much as possible a Sabbath school. If 
 our Sabbath schools flourish, such family religion will 
 flourish ; and if such family religion flourishes. Sab- 
 bath schools will flourish also. The influence will be 
 reciprocal. 
 
 An extensive observation for many years shows that 
 those parents who are most faithful in family instruc- 
 tion are the most faithful and successful teachers in the 
 
EVILS RESULTING FROM SABBATH SCHOOLS. 271 
 
 Sabbath school. And the most numerous, the largest, 
 and the most flourishing Sabbath schools are in locali- 
 ties where there is the most constant preaching of the 
 gospel, where there are the largest churches, and where 
 families may be supposed to maintain the best Christian 
 order. The church should be a city compact together ; 
 the family, the ministry, the Sabbath school, and all our 
 institutions of benevolence, morality, and religion, 
 should stand close, compact together. 
 
 But the Sabbath school, as an auxiliary, no parent 
 will be in any great danger of overestimating. Prop- 
 erly viewed, it will be found to increase, rather than 
 lessen, the obligations and responsibilities of parents. 
 It will furnish favorable opportunities for personal con- 
 versation with children, and greatly aid the faithful 
 parent in this important duty, which is so much neg- 
 lected by many. 
 
 Another evil in connection with our Sabbath schools, 
 of w^hich many complain, and, it is feared, have reason 
 to complain, is that many scholars are acquiring the 
 habit of studying the Bible superficially, or of "neglect- 
 ing a suitable preparation of their lessons. The nature 
 of this evil may be exhibited b}^ a single fact. 
 
 The Sabbath school bell had rung, and James had 
 found his Bible and question book, and was just ready 
 to start for school. 
 
 '' James," said one to him, " you had better leave 
 your Bible at home ; 3^ou will not need that at school." 
 
 " O, yes, I shall ; I shall want it to find the refer- 
 ences." 
 
 " But you ought to have looked those all out and 
 committed them to memory in getting your lesson, so 
 that you coul-d recite them without the Bible." 
 
272 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 " But our teacher lets us read them. We never look 
 them out till we get to school, and the teacher asks the 
 questions." 
 
 This boy, it was found, seldom looked at his lesson 
 at all till he came to recite. And the teacher did not 
 require his scholars to commit any of the lessons to 
 memory. All they did was merely to look out the 
 references, and read them as the teacher asked the 
 questions. 
 
 Here is, indeed, a very serious evil. Should it be- 
 come general, it would render the whole system of Sab- 
 bath school instruction comparatively worthless. What 
 would be the value of our public schools if conducted 
 in this manner ? The. Sabbath school certainly prom- 
 ises but very little good to any where there is not, on the 
 part of superintendent, teachers, and pupils, thorough 
 and earnest study of the lesson. It is a school, and 
 that implies study. 
 
 Another growing evil of our times, resulting from 
 Sabbath schools, is the non-attendance of children upon 
 the public services of the sanctuary. 
 
 There has been no one thing that has caused so much 
 anxiety among great numbers of good people, as this 
 evil, which has been so rapidly developed the past few 
 years. In various ways the note of alarm has been 
 given, but the evil goes on with increasing strength. 
 In many of our large congregations scarcely a score of 
 children will be seen at public worship. They attend 
 the Sabbath school, and then turn their backs on the 
 sanctuary and go to their homes ; thus we are training 
 up a generation of church neglecters. 
 
 Till within comparatively a few years, one of our 
 favorite, and, as we thought, most persuasive arguments, 
 
EVILS RESULTING FROM SABBATH SCHOOLS. 273 
 
 in commending this institution as an auxiliary to the 
 church, has been that the \Sabbath school is increasing 
 the number of those who attend on her ministry. 
 Whole families and whole neighborhoods, we have been 
 wont to say, through the influence of this institution, 
 are allured to the sanctuary. But now the Sabbath 
 school is taking away from the house of God most of 
 the children and youth even of Christian families, and 
 leaving only a w^orshipping assembly of adults. We no 
 longer see, as in former times, households, whole fam- 
 ilies of parents and children, going in company to wor- 
 ship God, as the Israelites went up in tribes to the 
 temple. 
 
 Our children are thus losing all the interesting 
 associations of childhood connected with the sanc- 
 tuary. Who can estimate the happy influence of the 
 habit formed in early life, of frequenting the sanctuary 
 every Sabbath day? There can be no substitute for a 
 constant and regular attendance by young and old, on 
 the preaching of the gospel. Nothing can compensate 
 for the loss of it. 
 
 It should be remembered that the pastor is ordained 
 just as much the pastor of the children and youth, as 
 of their parents. He is the shepherd of the lambs 
 not less than of the sheep ; and nothing except the 
 parents should come between him and the lambs of his 
 flock. We have often said to the young, and shall 
 continue to say in the most emphatic manner, " If you 
 cannot go to but one, — the church or the Sabbath 
 school, — go to church, whatever becomes of the Sab- 
 bath school." 
 
 What if the* children do not comprehend all, or even 
 but a small part of the sermon? Will any one say 
 18 
 
274 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 they are not to be encouraged to learn anything they do 
 not fully understand ? How many of them, then, must 
 give up the study of grammar, and geography, and 
 arithmetic, and philosophy, till they are capable of fully 
 understanding them ? The importance of these studies, 
 and the full meaning of everything connected with 
 them, they cannot, of course, understand yet, as they 
 will by and by ; and much of the instruction from the 
 pulpit they may not now comprehend as they will when 
 their minds become more enlightened and their under- 
 standings more enlarged. And yet who has not often 
 recalled, in after life, what he heard in the house of God 
 in his childhood, but did not then understand, and 
 found it of inestimable value ? The wicked sea-captain, 
 in his last sickness while at sea, some will remember, 
 recalled the answer to the question, " What is justifica- 
 tion ? " which he learned in childhood without under- 
 standing a word of it, and by those wondrous truths, 
 now all made plain by the Spirit of God, he was cheered 
 in the dying hour with the hope that through faith in 
 the righteousness of Jesus Christ he had obtained 
 justification. 
 
 But little children do hear and understand more than 
 we sometimes think. 
 
 A little girl five years old, in the neighborhood of 
 Boston, attended church with her parents, a few weeks 
 since. The text was in Rev. ii. 4 : " Nevertheless I 
 have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy 
 first love." 
 
 " Well, what would a child of five years be likely to 
 understand on such a subject?" 
 
 On Monday her parents had some little conflict of 
 opinion on some subject, and when the father had gone, 
 
EVILS RESULTING FROM SABBATH SCHOOLS. 275 
 
 the child said, " Mother, you mustn't forget what the 
 minister said yesterday, about leaving your first love ! " 
 
 A minister, as he took his leave of a family in his 
 parish, which he was visiting, placed his hand on the 
 head of a little child about two years old, and said a 
 word respecting the Saviour. 
 
 " That child," interrupted the mother, " does not 
 understand anything about that subject." 
 
 How little did that mother suspect that this single 
 remark of her minister, was fixing an important truth 
 in the mind of her child, never to be effaced ! 
 
 Some months after this interview, the minister was 
 in another family, and was told that this little child had 
 just been there on a visit, and one day said to them, — 
 
 " The minister has been to our house, and he told me 
 that Jesus Christ came into the world to die for little 
 children ! " 
 
 This incident shows that children, at a very early 
 age, often notice and treasure up whatever they hear 
 on religious subjects ; and it should encourage parents 
 to commence the religious instiaiction of their children 
 early. 
 
 Children who can attend the public school six days 
 in the week and six hours a day, and then be all fresh 
 for their sports, surely can attend the Sabbath school, 
 and at least one service at church, one day in a week, 
 without any alarming weariness. 
 
 Another subject that should be referred to in this 
 connection, is the want of proper reverence in the 
 house of God, that is sometimes manifested by those 
 children and youth who do attend public worship. 
 
 We do not wish the young to have any superstitious 
 regard for the sanctuary ; but there is a reverence and 
 
276 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 a decorum of manners that they always should manifest 
 in the house of God. All play and levity should be 
 avoided. Such conduct is profaning a sacred place. 
 
 No boy Avould think of entering a gentleman's parlor 
 without removing his hat, and maintaining propriety of 
 conduct. Certainly as much regard to proper behavior 
 should be shown when he enters the holy place that has 
 been dedicated to the worship of the great God. 
 
 The Psalmist says, " Holiness becometh thine house, 
 O Lord, forever." 
 
 The wise man says, " Keep thy foot when thou goest 
 to the house of God." 
 
 And the apostle says, " Attend upon the Lord with- 
 out distraction." " Let all things be done decently and 
 in order." 
 
 Complaints have been made that some children and 
 youth, even members of the Sabbath school, when en- 
 tering the house of God, or warming themselves around 
 the register, and also during divine service, are not suf- 
 ficiently careful to maintain that stillness, sobriety, and 
 general reverence and- decorum of conduct that be- 
 cometh the sanctuary of the Most High. 
 
 A lesson on this subject can be learned from the 
 heathen. 
 
 Plutarch tells us of a Spartan youth who held the 
 censer to Alexander whilst he was sacrificing. A coal 
 fell upon the arm of the youth ; and he suffered it to 
 burn there, rather than, by crying, disturb the rites of 
 their heathenish superstition. And yet how many 
 thoughtless youth do many things, even when suffering 
 no pain, that greatly disturb the worship of the holy 
 God! 
 
 Many are often grieved to see children and young 
 
EVILS RESULTING FROM SABBATH SCHOOLS. 277 
 
 persons, in the midst of the services of the sanctuary, 
 engaged in reading their library book, or " Well-Spring," 
 or in some even more improper behavior, in the house 
 of God. 
 
 Such conduct is disrespectful to the preacher, often 
 annoying to worshippers around them, and very irrev- 
 erent towards God. All are pleased to see the young 
 interested in their books and papers at proper times, 
 but never during the services of the sanctuary. 
 
 Perhaps this subject should receive the thoughtful 
 attention of the peoj)le generally. A traveller in Eng- 
 land, some years ago, said, " There is one thing that I 
 see in England everywhere in places of worship, that 
 I long to see in our New England. I allude to the 
 deep, solemn composure all over the congregation at 
 the close of the service, when the benediction is uttered. 
 It lasts for half a minute. Not a head is raised, not a 
 foot stirs, and there is a reverence apparent." 
 
XXII. 
 
 ^ THE FAMILY. 
 
 Under this general head we have grouped various 
 scenes and incidents connected with the family, that 
 have fallen under our observation, or have been sug- 
 gested to our thoughts, which, though somewhat mis- 
 cellaneous and disconnected, are deemed worthy of 
 preservation for the use of others. 
 
 RELIGION AND THE FAMILY. 
 
 Sin has spread a withering blight over all the rela- 
 tions of life. Nowhere has its influence been more 
 destructive than in the various relations of the family. 
 And still, the united, affectionate family — even where 
 the rains and dews of divine grace have never fallen — 
 is one of the most verdant spots in our world. Here 
 one common bond of sympathy and love binds all hearts 
 together. The dear names of father and mother, broth- 
 er and sister, are music to each other's ears. Each helps 
 bear the other's burdens. Envy and selfishness seem to 
 have so far yielded to the power of even natural, un- 
 sanctified affection, that the happiness of each is to see 
 the others happy. This is, indeed, a comparatively 
 green spot in the midst of a surrounding desert. 
 
 But let the rains of heaven be shed down upon this 
 spot, and what a change ! A more abundant luxuriance 
 
 278 
 
THE FAMILY. 279 
 
 now springs forth on every side, and it is clothed with 
 a far deeper verdure and a far richer beauty. Religion 
 purifies and sweetens all the tender and endearing 
 relations of such a family. It adds a silken cord to the 
 bonds of sympathy and love. It diffuses a softening, 
 hallowed influence amo^ng all its members ; and makes 
 the good parent, the obedient child, the affectionate 
 brother and sister, the amiable companion, a better 
 parent, a more obedient, loving child, a more affectionate 
 brother or sister, and a more arniable companion. Re- 
 ligion produces such a union of feeling and sentiment 
 that a discordant note seldom mars the harmony of 
 their lives. If one suffer, all suffer alike with him ; and 
 if one rejoice, all are made happy. 
 
 Religion erects, too, in the pious household, an altar, 
 around which all the members daily assemble with 
 united and joyful hearts. The priest of the household 
 now opens the sacred volume. The world, for a little 
 season is dismissed; every passion is hushed, every 
 bosom quieted, every mind awake, and every thought 
 is fixed. The words of eternal life fall upon the ear as 
 if from the lips of the Almighty. The song of praise 
 now unites every voice in sweet melody ; then all bow 
 in solemn prayer, and offer incense and a pure offering 
 to their Maker. Here, around this altar, their union 
 and love are most perfect and endearing. 
 
 " Their souls, by love together knit, 
 Cemented, mixed in one. 
 One hope, one heart, one mind, one voice, 
 'Tis heaven on earth begun." 
 
 If there is here below an emblem of the household 
 of the blessed, it surely is the united, affectionate, 
 Cliristian family. "What power there is in that religion 
 
280 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 which can make such a scene in such a sin-blighted 
 world as this ! 
 
 And there is efficacy in this religion, could it pervade 
 every heart, to convert every family into such a scene ; 
 to sweeten all the relations of kindred and friendship, 
 and to change earth into heaven. God speed the day 
 when all our homes shall be Christian homes. 
 
 THE DAEK CLOSET. 
 
 Mrs. W was the mother of ten children. She 
 
 ever sought by precept, example, and prayer, to bring 
 them up for Him. The salvation of a particular child 
 was sometimes a special burden upon her soul; and 
 more than once, as she believed, a special answer to her 
 importunities in that child's behalf was granted. For 
 many years she has had the great happiness of seeing 
 all her children members of the church of Christ. 
 
 The quiet. Christian spirit of that mother, and her 
 fervent prayers in the closet, were her chief sources of 
 religious power over her children. She did not talk 
 with them on the subject of religion directly as much, 
 perhaps, as some mothers do; but there was a reli- 
 gious atmosphere around her at all times. Every cliild 
 breathed that atmosphere, and felt her influence. They 
 all believed their mother to be a sincere Christian. 
 
 One of the sons, when but a lad, became interested 
 in religion. In seeking a place of retirement for his 
 secret devotions, where he would be undisturbed, he 
 thought of a large closet out of the spare chamber. 
 That closet was the repository of blankets, comforta- 
 bles, and various kinds of bedclothes. It was large, 
 and without any window. When the door was shut, it 
 was total darkness, — no eye but that of " Him who 
 
THE FAMILY. 281 
 
 seeth in secret," could behold any one who there sought 
 retirement from the world. 
 
 In that dark closet that lad erected his altar for 
 secret prayer ; it was his Bethel. And none but God 
 can ever know the Bethel-seasons he there enjoyed, in 
 communing with his Saviour, before he left his home to 
 prepare for the work of the gospel ministry. 
 
 Some years since, in one of his visits to his dear old 
 home, as he arose in the morning, he had a desire to 
 visit the dark closet, and see how it would seem to 
 " shut the door and pray to his Father which is in se- 
 cret," as he was wont to do in his young days. He 
 opened the door, and what a scene greeted his eyes ! 
 There in the centre of the closet stood a chair, and be- 
 fore that chair there was a cushion in which were deep 
 prints, where some one evidently was accustomed to 
 kneel in secret prayer. And who could it be ? Who 
 but that blessed mother who had prayed all her ten 
 children into the kingdom ? 
 
 What a hallowed spot did it seem to that son ! A 
 thrill of sacred awe came over him, and a voice almost 
 seemed to say, as it did to Moses of old, " Put off thy 
 shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou 
 standest is holy ground." 
 
 We gaze with interest upon the desk at which a dis- 
 tinguished author composed his works of world-wide 
 fame ; at the studio of a great artist ; at the chair 
 where sat a renowned statesman or hero. But what 
 are all these to the prints in that cushion, where knelt 
 that "mothdl' in Israel," in her communings with the 
 Saviour, and where she " had power with God " ? 
 
 ^/ 
 
282 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 ]\nNISTERS' AND DEACONS' CHILDREN. 
 
 Some years ago we were led to make some careful 
 investigations in regard to the children of ministers 
 and deacons, and also of pious parents generally. 
 
 The special object of these investigations was to re- 
 fute — as they did most satisfactorily — the oft-repeated 
 proverb, that "the children of ministers and deacons 
 are worse than other children." 
 
 Our inquiries extended to all the families of Ortho- 
 dox Congregational clergymen and deacons in every 
 town in Massachusetts which we visited in the course 
 of our labors as secretary of the Massachusetts Sabbath 
 School Society, and in the neighboring towns so far as 
 information could be obtained. The results were as 
 follows : — 
 
 In two hundred and forty families of ministers and 
 deacons there were eleven hundred and sixty-four chil- 
 dren over fifteen years of age. Our faith in regard to 
 the conversion of children under that age, we are sorry 
 to say, was not as strong then as it is now. Of these 
 eleven hundred and sixty-four children, eight hundred 
 and fourteen — about three fourths — were hopefully 
 pious ; seven hundred and thirty-two had united with 
 the church; fifty-seven had entered the ministry, or 
 were engaged in their preparatory studies; and only 
 fourteen were dissipated, about one half of whom only 
 became so while residing with their parents* In eleven 
 of these families — four of them ministers' and seven 
 deacons' — there were one hundred and twenty-three 
 children, of whom all but seven were hopefully pious ; 
 seven of them were deacons and fifteen ministers. In 
 fifty-six of these eleven hundred and sixty-four families 
 
THE FAMILY. 283 
 
 there were two hundred and forty-nine children over 
 fifteen years of age, and all of them were hopefully 
 pious. 
 
 Investigations similar . to the above, and about the 
 same time, which were made by a gentleman laboring 
 in the Sabbath school cause in the state of Connecticut, 
 include two hundred and seven families of ministers 
 and deacons. In these families there were nine hun- 
 dred and thirty-seven children over fifteen years of age, 
 of whom six hundred — almost two thirds — gave evi- 
 dence of piety, and thirty-six of them were in the min- 
 istry, or in a course of preparation for it. Twenty 
 were intemperate, but one of the parents of several of 
 them were accustomed to the use of strong drink, or 
 were opposed to the temperance cause. The results of 
 both of these investigations united are as follows : — 
 
 In four hundred and forty-eight families there were 
 two thousand one hundred and one children over fifteen 
 years of age, of whom one thousand four hundred and 
 fourteen were hopefully pious ; ninety-three were in the 
 ministry or fitting for it; and only thirty-four dissi- 
 pated ! And all the remaining children, with very few 
 exceptions, were respectable and useful citizens. 
 
 Can results like these be obtained from the same 
 number of families — taken impartially, as these were 
 — of any class or profession of parents, especially of 
 those who are not professing Christians? How false 
 and unjust, then, the proverb, that '^Ministers' and 
 deacons' children are worse than other children." 
 
 Leigh Richmond, in his directions to his children, 
 said, ''Never lose sight of this, that the more public 
 my name, character, and ministry is become, the more 
 eyes and ears are turned to my children's conduct." 
 
284 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 They are expected, in knowledge and circumcpection, 
 in religion and morals, in opinions and habits, to chow 
 where they have been educated, and to adorn, not only 
 their profession, but their parents' principles. 
 
 It is no doubt true that any impropriety of conduct 
 in the child of a minister, or other officer or prominent 
 member of the church, appears worse and becomes 
 more notorious, and indeed may actually be worse, 
 more aggravated, than similar conduct in the child of 
 any other parent. The former child, too, if he become 
 wayward, will probably be more reckless in his way- 
 wardness, and plunge deeper into the gulf of sin and 
 ruin, than the latter, because he will have to break 
 over greater barriers in forsaking the pa h of virtue. 
 But that a larger proportion of the former class of chil- 
 dren than of the latter, or anything like as large a 
 proportion, do become wayward, our statistics most 
 clearly show is not in accordance with facts. Indeed, 
 they show that there never was a proverb more unjust 
 and false than the one in regard to this class of children. 
 
 The character of the facts presented in these statistics 
 is interesting, probably, beyond the expectations of 
 almost every one ; and their interest will be greatly in- 
 creased if we consider some of the peculiar obstacles 
 with which this class of parents have to contend in the 
 education of their children. 
 
 The Sabbath — that day when everything conspires 
 to aid other parents in the religious instruction of their 
 children — is with the minister a day of labor, fatigue, 
 and anxiety; a day in which he can command but litJe 
 time and but little strength, either of body or mind, to 
 devote to his family. 
 
 Again, the employment of the minister is very unlike 
 
THE FAMFLY. 285 
 
 that of most other parents, — the farmer, the mechanic, 
 and even the merchant, — which will enable a father 
 often to take his sons with him, and exert an almost 
 constant influence in forming their characters. A large 
 part of his time the minister must be shut out from the 
 world, engaged in severe mental labor that demands 
 his entire and undisturbed attention. 
 
 But one of the greatest obstacles with which minis- 
 ters and deacons both have to coiitencl, in the religious 
 education of their children, is the influence of the irre- 
 ligious. This obstacle is, indeed, felt to a great extent 
 by all Christian parents. 
 
 A clergyman, whose parents were not professedly 
 pious, with whom we once conversed on this subject, 
 said it used to be his daily study and effort, when a 
 school-boy, to persuade or provoke the children of reli- 
 gious parents to do things that he knew were wrong, — 
 to quarrel, and swear, and lie, — thinking that their 
 improper conduct would afford a sort of license to do 
 wrong himself. This kind of influence is exerted pecu- 
 liarly on the children of ministers and deacons. Deep 
 plans and combinations are often formed to lead them 
 into sin. Who has not witnessed the cruel and fiend- 
 like efforts of these vile wretches who congregate and 
 lounge about the drunkard's resort, to tempt this class 
 of children to taste their cup of shame, or indulge in 
 their other wicked practices, for the purpose of dishon- 
 oring the holy religion and the profession of their fa- 
 thers ? So strong is the power of ridicule and shame 
 on an unsanctiiied heart, that many a youth has been 
 tempted to plunge into open sin, just that he might 
 prove to his wicked associates that his father's title, 
 " parson " or " deacon," which they in ridicule had ap- 
 plied to him, was inappropriate. 
 
286 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 These are some of the peculiar obstacles with which 
 this class of parents have to contend ; and yet it appears, 
 from the facts contained in our statistics, that a large 
 proportion of their children, through the blessing of 
 God on parental instruction, are hopefully converted ; 
 and they are among the most virtuous, respectable, use- 
 ful members of society. That there have been instances, 
 ever since the days of Eli, the priest of Israel, where 
 some of this class of parents have come short in duty, 
 and where their children have, in consequence, become 
 wayward and profligate, no one will pretend to ques- 
 tion ; but these instances do not compare, in number, 
 with those that have always been occurring in connec- 
 tion with any other and every other class of parents. 
 
 THE CHILDKEN OF PIOUS PARENTS. 
 
 Several years ago we gathered some facts in regard 
 to the influence of Christian homes very encouraging 
 to pious parents, and not less suggestive and admoni- 
 tory to irreligious parents. These facts were as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 In one neighborhood there were in all ninety-eight 
 families. Of these families, both parents in twenty- 
 seven were hopefully pious ; and of their one hundred 
 and twenty-five children over fifteen years of age, 
 eighty-four, or about two thirds, were hopefully pious. 
 Four of these children were ministers, five deacons, 
 and but one of the forty-one unconverted children was 
 dissipated. But his father, though a professor of re- 
 ligion, was in the daily habit of using intoxicating 
 drink. 
 
 In nineteen of these families only one parent in each 
 was professedly pious, and in every case but one that 
 
THE FAMILY. 287 
 
 parent was the mother. Of the ninety-five children 
 over fifteen years of age, in these families, thirty-one, 
 or about one third, were hopefully pious, four of whom 
 were ministers of the gospel. Of the sixty-four uncon- 
 verted children, seven were dissipated ; but five of 
 them had the example of dissipated fathers. 
 
 In the remaining fifty-two of the ninety-eight families 
 included in the investigation, neither parent gave evi- 
 dence of piety ; and of their one hundred and thirty- 
 nine children over fifteen years of age, only thirteen, or 
 about one tenth, were pious ; and not one of these be- 
 came so while living at home. Twenty-five of the un- 
 converted children were dissipated. 
 
 There were two families . in that neighborhood in 
 which there were ten children each. The outward cir- 
 cumstances of the families were much the same. They 
 both attended the same meeting on the Sabbath. The 
 parents in one family, while they were moral, kind to 
 the poor, and good neighbors, were not professedly 
 Christians ; and not one of their children has ever 
 become personally interested in the subject of religion. 
 The parents of the other family were members of the 
 church. The domestic altar was established when the 
 family was instituted, and it was ever maintained ; and 
 all the ten children became members of the church, 
 nearly every one while under age. Three of the sons 
 entered the ministry, and two others studied with the 
 ministry in view, but in the providence of God did not 
 enter that sacred profession ; and two of the daughters 
 became the wives of clergymen. 
 
 In a town in Maine, some years ago, there were three 
 brothers who resided near each other, all with large 
 families ; in two of them there were ten children, and 
 
288 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 in one eleven. The parents of two of these families, 
 including the one of eleven children, were members of 
 the church of Christ, and maintained family prayers ; 
 and they had the satisfaction of seeing all their children 
 " walking in truth," and honoring a Christian profes- 
 sion. The parents in the other family were not pro- 
 fessedly pious. They were moral and upright in their 
 dealings with men, observing conscientiously the last 
 six of the ten commandments, but their hearts were not 
 right towards God. They were kind and affectionate 
 to their children, but they did not, by example and in- 
 struction, " bring them up in the nurture and admoni- 
 tion of the Lord ; " and only one of their ten children 
 gave evidence of having become a child of God, and 
 three of them became wayward and intemperate. 
 
 How can we account for facts like these, without ac- 
 knowledging the power of parental influence ? 
 
 CONFIDENCE IN THE DIVINE PROMISES. 
 
 Mr. C and his wife both made a profession of reli- 
 gion soon after their marriage. They maintained the 
 lives of consistent Christians, and were highly respected 
 both as Christians and as neighbors, and were much 
 prospered in the pursuits of life. 
 
 Mr. C was taken suddenly ill, when about forty 
 
 years of age, and died, leaving his wife a widow, and 
 his five children fatherless, the eldest of whom was 
 fifteen. As the wife closed the eyes of the companion 
 of her life and the father of her now orphan children, 
 she sunk into her chair, and exclaimed, with unshaken 
 confidence in the divine promises, " Leave thy father- 
 less children ; I will preserve them alive." 
 
 Some of the neighbors, who had come in out of respect 
 
THE FAMILY. 289 
 
 to the departed, and to symj)atliize with the bereaved, 
 said, " What will become of this family of little chil- 
 dren ? " 
 
 A godly deacon arose, and addressing the people, 
 said : '' I believe in the promises of God to such chil- 
 dren. See what this mother has just said. These 
 children now have this promise to rest upon ; it did not 
 take effect in their case till their earthly father was 
 taken away. I almost feel willing to become responsi- 
 ble for their future prosperity." 
 
 This shows the strong confidence he felt in the 
 promise of God, Vvdiile others were unbelieving. And 
 the subsequent history of these children showed that 
 his confidence was not misplaced. 
 
 The very next year, the eldest child — a son in col- 
 lege — was converted ; and three years after, another 
 son, both of whom became devoted and useful ministers 
 of the gospel. The three younger children were daugh- 
 ters, and they all became hopefully ]Dious successively, 
 according to their ages, and at about the same age. 
 The eldest and the youngest of the daughters died in 
 the triumphs of faith, and the remaining daughter is 
 now adorning her profession as an active disciple of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Just as the youngest daughter was dying, she was 
 asked if she could think of any passage or hymn that ex- 
 pressed her views and feelings in relation to her past life. 
 
 " Yes," she replied, — 
 
 " ' I send the joys of earth away,' " &c. 
 
 She dwelt on each verse as descriptiA'e of her feel- 
 ings, either in reference to her present condition, or to 
 the different periods of her past life. 
 19 
 
290 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 How surprising that any Christian, in any circum- 
 stances of affliction, — with all the precious promises of 
 God before him, verified as they are by the constantly 
 occurring events of his providence, — should ever lack 
 confidence in his heavenly Father ! How full of con- 
 solation is this incident to the pious widowed mother, 
 and to the orphan children of pious parents. 
 
 " Leave thy fatherless children : I will preserve them 
 alive." 
 
 A mother's voice in prayer. 
 
 D was, from his birth, " lent unto the Lord," to 
 
 minister in his temple " all the days of his life." His 
 early conversion, and his preparation for the sacred 
 office, was the burden of parental desire and the subject 
 of frequent and earnest prayers. Long and severe was 
 the trial of their faith, but the promises of the God of 
 Abraham kept them from despair. 
 
 At an early age D entered college. During the 
 
 first part of his course, his attention was frequently 
 turned to the subject of personal religion. But the 
 serious impressions of those seasons gradually wore 
 away, leaving him, each time, apparently farther and 
 farther from the kingdom of heaven. His mind became 
 restless and uneasy. Sceptical thoughts respecting the 
 religion in which he had been educated, now and then 
 were suggested to his mind. These he began to cherish, 
 till at length he had built up quite a little system of 
 infidelity — a system of fashionable religion that leaves 
 the feelings of the natural heart undisturbed. This he 
 found perfectly congenial to his own state of mind. 
 He searched the Scriptures daily, that he might defend 
 the views he was endeavoring to embrace. But every 
 
THE FAMILY. 291 
 
 time he sat down to this work, he found many things 
 entirely opposed to his system, which he was obliged to 
 wrest or reject. 
 
 One day, during his last collegiate year, while engaged 
 in his dreadful work, he found the Bible so inflexible — 
 that its teachings were so utterly different from what he 
 wished them to be — that, in a paroxysm of rage, he 
 threw the sacred volume into one corner of his room, 
 where it lay upon the floor, unhonored and unread, for 
 six months. He then resolved to spend his life in doing 
 all he could in destrojdng the religion of the Bible. 
 Such was the desperation and such the mad resolve of 
 this young infidel. 
 
 D 's last vacation was spent at home. One day, 
 
 as he was amasing himself with some work of imagina- 
 tion, his mother entered the room. Her expectations 
 in reference to this son had so often been disappointed, 
 and her hopes so long deferred, that her heart was well- 
 nigh sick, and her faith almost ready to fail. His col- 
 lege course was now soon to close, and a profession for 
 life to be chosen, and the son of her prayers and vows 
 was still unconverted. Her heart yearned over him, 
 and, with all the tenderness and affection of a mother, 
 she began to address him on the subject of his salvation. 
 But he suddenly arrested her remarks, and said, — 
 
 " Mother, I respect your motives, and would not do 
 anything to injure your feelings ; but, I may as well 
 tell you now as ever, I do not believe anything about 
 this religion. It is all an imposition ! " 
 
 O, it fell upon that mother's ear like the knell of 
 death, and she cried out, *' O, my son, my sonP' and 
 sank into a chair, sobbing aloud as though her very 
 heart were broken. 
 
292 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 This unexpected burst of maternal grief touched, 
 
 for- a moment, the cold, infidel heart of D ; but he 
 
 soon arose and left the house. He retired to a book- 
 store, where he diverted his thoughts and amused him- 
 self till he supposed '' the storm had passed away at 
 home," and then, returned. 
 
 As he was ascending the stairs to the sitting-room, a 
 faint, plaintive voice arrested his attention. He stopped 
 and listened. It was that mother, still in the chair 
 where she had fallen, amid broken sobs and many tears, 
 pouring out the anguish of her soul in prayer for her 
 son. That voice, like an arrow from the quiver of the 
 
 Almighty, entered the heart of D , and he cried out 
 
 involantarily, " My God ! " 
 
 That mother's voice in prayer rang in his ear contin- 
 ually. It followed him back to college ; it was with 
 him in his studies, and he heard it in the visions of the 
 night ; and it gave him no rest or j)eace till he found 
 them in cordially embracing that God and Saviour to 
 whose service his parents had given him with so much 
 prayer and faith from his infant days. 
 
 We have had the pleasure of standing in the pulpit 
 
 of D , where is preached, not that fashionable, 
 
 heartless religion that lulls the conscience into the sleep 
 of death, and robs the divine Saviour of his crown, 
 but that religion which represents the " natural heart " 
 as " enmity against God," and holds up " Jesus Christ 
 and Him crucified " as the lost sinner's only hope of 
 salvation. Shall not this incident strengthen the faith, 
 encourage the hope, and increase the importunity in 
 prayer of every Christian parent? 
 
THE FAMILY. 293 
 
 PATTERNING AFTER MOTHER. 
 
 Oliver Crosby was a youth sixteen or eighteen years 
 of age. He was the youngest of a large family of chil- 
 dren. From very early life he manifested unusual sen- 
 sibility and tenderness on the subject of religion, and 
 the friend whom he made his principal counsellor, and 
 to whom he ever unbosomed his feelings on tliis subject 
 with the utmost freedom, was his own dear mother. 
 
 One day he was reading some work on education, 
 and his mother was sitting near him. At length he 
 stopped, and, addressing himself to her, said, — 
 
 " jMother, 3^ou do not know how much you have been 
 watched. When I Avas small, I used to Avatch you in 
 everything you did, so as to see what it was right for 
 me to do. If I ever wanted to do anything that I 
 thought might be wrong, I used to devise every plan to 
 find out what you thought of it, and if you approved, 
 I always felt safe in doing it. I never thought of going 
 to father. I used to think that he had to see about 
 supporting the family, and that you had everything to 
 do about the soul ; so I used to pattern after you." 
 
 " Wh}^ my son," said the astonished mother, " what 
 did you think when you saw me do things that were 
 wrong?" 
 
 " I knew," replied the son, " that you used to say 
 that you were a sinner, like other people, but I used to 
 think that everything was right that you did. I could 
 not believe that mother did anything that was Avrong." 
 
 The effect of thece remarks on the feelings of that 
 mother was of course almot.t overwhelming. She was 
 ready to give herself up to bitter weeping when she 
 found how great her influence over her children had 
 
294 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 been, and how little she had realized it. " Had I only 
 known," she said, ''that I was observed in this way, 
 how differently I should have felt, especially when 
 indulging in feelings that were wrong." And yet there 
 are few mothers whose feelings were more uniform, and. 
 whose influence was more salutary, or who have wit- 
 nessed greater blessings on their children. 
 
 It is a most solemn truth that, in most cases, children 
 do pattern after their parents, and especially their 
 mother. Do parents generall}^ realize this ? Do they 
 think that they are watched in all their words and 
 actions, in all their intercourse with each other and the 
 world, and in all their conduct towards their children ? 
 Do they remember that even what is wrong in them 
 will be seen by the watchful eyes of their children, and 
 be regarded and copied as proper and right? How can 
 a parent think of this subject and not, like this mother, 
 be overwhelmed, and ready to exclaim, " Who is suffi- 
 cient for these things ? " . But there are most precious 
 promises to encourage the pious parent. " My grace," 
 says the Saviour, "is sufficient for thee." "As thy 
 day, so shall thy strength be." "If any of you lack 
 wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men lib- 
 erally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." 
 
 "HOW SHALL WE ORDEK THE CHILD?" 
 
 The prayer of Manoah, "How shall we order the 
 child, and how shall we do unto him ? " is one that 
 many Christian parents often feel like offering in re- 
 gard to the proper training, and especially the proper 
 discipline, of their children. If ever they need divine 
 wisdom and guidance, it is in reference to this subject. 
 
 Some years ago we became acquainted with the fol- 
 
THE FAMILY. 295 
 
 lowing case of discipline, that may be useful to some 
 parents in similar circumstances. 
 
 Among the rules of conduct which the Rev. Mr. 
 B early taught his children they must strictly ob- 
 serve, were these two, namely, never to take anything, 
 however small, without the permission of the owner; 
 and always to speak the truth. 
 
 Henry, his oldest child, one da}^ when about four years 
 old, saw the boys around the house where his parents 
 boarded busily engaged in trundling their hoops. They 
 seemed to be full of glee and happiness. The little 
 fellow, as he watched their happy sports, longed to be 
 a partaker with them, but he had no hoop. At length, 
 as he went under the shed, he espied an old iron hoop. 
 He seized it with joy, and began to mingle with the 
 other boys in their amusement. 
 
 When he came in, his mother said to him, " Henry, 
 where did you get that hoop ? " 
 
 '' One of the boys gave it to me," said he. But his 
 countenance and faltering voice betrayed his guilt. 
 
 Mrs. B , not being able at that time to give the 
 
 subject the attention which its importance demanded, 
 related the particulars, and gave him up to his father. 
 
 Henry at length confessed that he found the hoop 
 under the shed, and that he had told a falsehood. 
 Thus he had broken two of the established rules of the 
 family. The father told him he could not settle the 
 business then, as it w^as Saturday night ; but he would 
 attend to it Monday morning, and that he might think 
 of it tiJl then. 
 
 Monday morning, after breakfast, Mr. B took his 
 
 little boy into his study, and, without saying a word, 
 tied his hands together, and then tied them to a nail. 
 
296 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 As he commenced doing this, the little fellow began to 
 tremble and beg to be forgiven. 
 
 "But, my son," said the father, "I cannot forgive 
 sin. God alone can do that, and I must leave you here 
 to settle this business with God." 
 
 At this the child became greatly agitated; but the 
 father left the room, turned the key, and went across 
 an adjoining room to the stairs, so distinctly that the 
 child should know that he was left alone. As the key 
 turned, Henry gave two or three distressing cries, and 
 all was silent. 
 
 The father waited fifteen or twenty minutes with the 
 greatest solicitude, and returned. As he entered the 
 room, the little boy stood with his eyes cast down, 
 looking very pensive and sad, and so absorbed in 
 thought that he seemed not to have noticed his father's 
 return. 
 
 "My son," said the father, "has God forgiven you?" 
 
 "I don't know. How shall T know, father?" 
 
 " Why, my son, if you are really sorry that you have 
 sinned, if you trust in the Saviour for pardon, and are 
 resolved never to do so again, you may hope that God 
 has forgiven you. But, my son, how shall 1 know that 
 you have asked God to forgive you? You have once 
 told a falsehood; how shall I ever again know when 
 to believe you?" 
 
 The broken-hearted child immediately dropped on 
 his knees, and, raising his little hands, he offered up to 
 his heavenly Father his simple, child-like petitions for 
 forgiveness. This was too much for a parent's eye to 
 witness, or his heart to endure. 
 
 The father untied the penitent child, now tenfold 
 dearer to him, if possible, than ever before, freely for- 
 
THE FAMILY. 297 
 
 gave him, so far as lie had offended him and violated 
 the rules of the family, and then sent him to his mother, 
 to seek her fors^iveness also. 
 
 Tliat child was never afterwards known to indulge 
 in the least equivocation. Years afterwards, whenever 
 he wished anything, he would say, "• Father, I should 
 like such a thing, if you think it is best." 
 
 This single case of discipline, though it was truly 
 affecting, and must have been peculiarly so to that 
 parent's heart, may prove the salvation of the child. 
 It may instrumentally save him from bringing his par- 
 ents down-broken-hearted- to the grave, and of plunging 
 his own soul into the gulf of despair. 
 
 A mother's BUEDEN cast on JESUS. 
 
 " Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and ITe shall sustain thee." "Casting all 
 your care upon Him, for He careth for you." 
 
 These precepts are strikingly illustrated in the fol- 
 lowing simple narrative • — 
 
 Mrs. L is the mother of a large family of chil- 
 dren. Having given herself to the Saviour, she ever 
 sought to " bring her children up in the nurture and 
 admonition of the Lord," and she was afterwards sus- 
 tained and cheered in her advanced years, as she had 
 long been, in seeing all her "children walking in truth." 
 
 Several years since, one of her younger sons went to 
 a Western city to commence a coilrse of study for the 
 ministry. Three of her sons were already in different 
 stages of preparation for that sacred office. This son 
 was to proceed by land to the place of his future home, 
 and his baggage, containing most of his clothes and 
 books, was to be sent in a large box by water. 
 
 A part of the evening previous to his departure, he 
 
298 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 willi the other children was absent from home, and the 
 mother was engaged in packing that box ; and a mother 
 only can tell the feelings with which she undertakes the 
 sad yet pleasant office. Her son, still in early youth, 
 with the morrow's light was to leave the parental roof 
 to seek a home among strangers. As she dwelt on 
 this important era in his history, at length parental 
 solicitude suggested to her mind the possibility that 
 this box, with its precious treasures, might never reach 
 her son. This suggestion raised a tempest of anxious 
 thoughts : " What would my poor child do should it be 
 lost ? How he would suffer, far away from a mother's 
 care, without these articles I have toiled so many long 
 evenings to prepare for his comfort. They must not, 
 they cannot be lost ! " 
 
 Thus, for a time, she bore all this burden alone, 
 and it well-nigh crushed her aching heart. At length 
 she said, " Why should not I cast this burden upon my 
 Saviour? Why not tell Him of my sorrows ? ' She 
 fell upon her knees, and poured her complaint into the 
 ear of her sympathizing Saviour. 
 
 She again resumed her work, but the burden was 
 still upon her heart. Again she prostrated herself at 
 the Mercy-seat, but no light came to her mind, when, 
 for the "third time, she knelt beside that box, and ear- 
 nestly sought submission to her Father's will. And 
 now her Saviour, who had so often appeared for her, 
 interposed in her behalf, saying, " Daughter, thy tears 
 are seen ; thy prayer is heard. According to thy faith 
 be it unto thee." 
 
 That burden was now removed, and she was able to 
 say " Thy will be done,'" and she felt a sweet assurance 
 that her prayer had been heard. She cheerfully finished 
 
THE FAMILY. 299 
 
 her work, and then commended anew that precious 
 treasure to her Saviour. Ever after she felt a confi- 
 dence that His eye would watch over it, and that He 
 would bring it in safety to the hand of her child. 
 
 The next morning that son, having been commended 
 at the family altar to a faithful God, took a tender leave 
 of kindred and home, and commenced his long journey 
 to a land of strangers. His box was also started on its 
 still longer and more adventurous tour, but its safety 
 was insured by a mother's prayers and a Saviour's 
 promise. 
 
 At length a letter brought the strange news that the 
 box had not arrived, and that the boat, on which it was 
 probably shipped at New Orleans, had been wrecked on 
 the great western river. This was strange news, indeed, 
 to the mother ; but still she trusted in her Saviour's 
 faithfulness. Other letters from time to time came, 
 detailing the inconvenience, and almost suffering, this 
 loss had occasioned the absent son. 
 
 Several months after the boat was wrecked, and the 
 son had given up all hope in regard to Iiis lost treasure, 
 one day, to his great surprise and joy, it was brought 
 safely to his room. He learned that the boat, on which 
 it was shipped at New Orleans, was wrecked hundreds 
 of miles from him, and the baggage on board was 
 mostly lost. But his box, under the guidance of a 
 watchful providence, was borne upon the bosom of the 
 river, and landed safely upon the shore. 
 
 " But will it be found ? And if found, will it not 
 fall into the hands of those cruel wreckers, who fatten 
 upon the losses of others ? " 
 
 Yes, it will be found, and it will be protected ; for 
 that mother's prayers have insured its safety. All the 
 
300 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 waters of that mighty river, and all the avaricious men 
 that swarm along its shores, cannot countermand the 
 Saviour's purposes in regard to it. As a protector was ' 
 divinely guided to the Hebrew infant among the flags 
 of the Nile, so an honest man, a protector, is directed 
 to this lost treasure upon this western river's bank. 
 The directions, though so long exposed to the floods 
 and the storms, he finds uneffaced, and at once sends it 
 on its way. After a few days its adventurous wander- 
 ings are completed, the mother's faith is sufficiently 
 tried, and it is safe in the possession of its owner, its 
 contents all in the same good condition as when that 
 anxious mother wept over them, closed so carefully 
 every chink, and in faith committed it to the care of 
 her Saviour. 
 
 Anxious mother, burdened Sabbath school teacher, 
 careworn disciple, " cast your burden — all your cares 
 — upon the Lord, for He careth for you." 
 
 HOW DR. BELL TRAINED HIS BOYS. 
 
 Dr. Bell believed in boys. He had seven of his own. 
 He believed, with Abraham, in the duty of " command- 
 ing his children and his household," and in the Solomon 
 mode of family discipline ; but, while he ever insisted 
 on prompt and implicit obedience from his children, a 
 look was generally sufficient to secure it. The rod 
 was, like his lancet and some of his deadly poisons, 
 only for extreme cases, which seldom occurred. No 
 child ever thought of hesitating, or asking " Why ? " 
 when a command was given. 
 
 Dr. Bell believed in treating his boys as associates, 
 and not as slaves. He was ever ready to talk with 
 them, and to enter into all their plans, and show an 
 
THE FAMILY. 301 
 
 interest in whatever interested tliem. He was once a 
 boy himself ; and he had not forgotten, as a great many 
 seem to, how a boy feels and what a boy wants. 
 
 When his eldest son was about three years of age. 
 Dr. Bell purchased a large farm at Hillside, in one of 
 the finest agricultural towns in Central Massachusetts. 
 He was led to this both from his own love of agricul- 
 ture, and because he felt that the farm was the best 
 place for the early training of his boys. 
 
 This farm was pleasantly situated, about half a mile 
 from a village. The panoramic view from the large 
 farm-house, with its cluster of barns and various out- 
 houses, was called one of the most beautiful in the 
 state. The village, in its natural appearance, was a 
 little gem in the centre of a small valley, surrounded 
 with verdant fields and gentle slopes. But morally, 
 this village was much like the " cities of the plain." The 
 evil spirit of rum ruled in almost every family. Many 
 of that generation have gone to the drunkard's grave, 
 some in their youth. 
 
 On all public occasions the men and boys of the 
 village and of the surrounding country there congre- 
 gated, and gave loose to almost every wicked passion. 
 On ''Election Day " — the chief and well-known holiday 
 of those times, and then more observed in Massachu- 
 setts than the Fourth of July — it was a scene of riot- 
 ing and confusion. Shooting-matches, horse-racing, the 
 bowling-alley, cock-fighting, profanity, and drunken- 
 ness were the employments of the day. What a neigh- 
 borhood in which to train a family of boys ! There was 
 no Sabbath there, and a God was scarcely acknowledged 
 except in oaths. 
 
 Dr. Bell showed no little wisdom and tact in mana- 
 
302 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 ging hio boys on these occasions. All other boys went 
 to the village ; and how could he safely deny his from 
 doing what all others did? He well knew that, should 
 he take such a course, without providing some other 
 amusement at least equally attractive, they would be 
 likely to become impatient of restraint, and by and by 
 seek to break away from his control. 
 
 When Dr. Bell first began the practice of medicine, 
 he procured a lad to attend his horse, go on errands, and 
 help about the house. In a few days this lad was taken 
 with that distressing illness for which the doctor had 
 among his medicines no remedy -r- homesickness ; and 
 he ran off home to his grandmother. The good old 
 lady, perhaps, never experienced that kind of illness, 
 and did not know how to sympathize with the poor 
 child ; and, giving him a good grandmotherly scolding, 
 she sent him back. 
 
 In a day or two he was home again, feeling worse 
 than before. Grandmother sent him back once more, 
 with the assurance of what he well knew how to dread, 
 if he returned again. 
 
 This threat aroused all the wicked there was in him, 
 and he burst out, in the midst of his sobs, and his 
 words a little mixed ; " Well, when I get to be a big boy, 
 T guess I shall come when I go, and please when I'm a 
 mind to, for all nobody." 
 
 Dr. Bell well knew that his boys, if restrained from 
 the amusements which all other boys enjoyed, — if he 
 simply forbade their going to the village, and left them 
 to find their means of recreation as best they could, — 
 might for the time being hush down their sense of 
 oppression and wrong; but they would say in their 
 hearts, if not in words, " When we are older we 
 
THE FAMILY. 303 
 
 shall come when we go and please when we're a 
 mmd to." 
 
 But how did Dr. Bell meet the emergency ? As soon 
 as his boys became large enough to think of the attrac- 
 tions of the village, he at once said, " I must provide 
 something for them more attractive." He sent invita- 
 tions into town, three miles distant, where the family 
 attended church on the Sabbath, to the sons of the 
 minister and of four or five other families with whom 
 they were especially familiar, to spend Election day at 
 Hillside Farm. The}^ all gladly accepted the invitation, 
 and there was a company of twenty or twenty-five boys 
 gathered to celebrate the great holiday. No labor or 
 expense was spared in providing entertainment and 
 every kind of amusement for this young and happy 
 party. 
 
 And what should be their amusements? Should 
 they be left to themselves to devise them as best they 
 might? No. Dr. Bell entered into all their scenes of 
 recreation with them. AVhen one amusement began to 
 lose its power to please, he would suggest another. 
 When they played ball he kept tally. And how it 
 thrilled every young heart when he occasionally lent a 
 helping hand, and united with them in some favorite 
 sport of his boyish days. 
 
 According to the universal custom of those days — 
 a custom at which we are now amazed as we think of it 
 — all the men and boys, and even many women and 
 girls, partook, on all joyous occasions, of the social glass, 
 and Dr. Bell brought out to his young friends the tall 
 fluted glass of lemon punch ; and the good mother, who 
 fully entered into all the plans of her husband in the 
 right training of their children, did her best to prepare 
 
304 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 an attractive dinner, in which the huge plum-pudding 
 and the shiny "Election cake" were prominent. 
 
 Few companies of boys ever enjoyed election as did 
 this one at Dr. Bell's Hillside Farm. AVhen they 
 separated at the close of the day, it was with the most 
 enthusiastic declarations. " What a good time we have 
 had ! " " Splendid I " " Capital ! " " No boys ever had 
 a better ! " &c. Not a boy of Dr. Bell's but was more 
 than satisfied with their father's plan of keeping elec- 
 tion ; not one who ever again wished to be with the low 
 rabble at the village. 
 
 The next year this party of boys all spent their elec- 
 tion at the parsonage, and had a good time ; the next at 
 Esquire T.'s ; and so on. They went round about once 
 and a half, when they were old enough to find their 
 amusement in some other rational way, and unite in 
 social visits with their sisters. 
 
 And then, when the young people who had attended 
 the dancing-schools, and spent their earlier holidays at 
 the village and the tavern, united in a sleigh-ride and a 
 ball. Dr. Bell was ever ready to propose a ride for his 
 children. They always saw that it was not to avoid 
 expense, if they were not permitted to unite in the 
 amusements of others, but it was their father's wish 
 to shelter them, from temptation to evil. 
 
 Dr. Bell's mode of training his boys proved a happy 
 success. Before he was called to leave his ten children 
 fatherless, he and his praying wife had the great pleas 
 lire of seeing all of them choosing God as their " father, 
 and the guide of their youth;" and half of them 
 enter the sacred office as ministers, or the wives of 
 clergymen. 
 
THE FAMILY. 305 
 
 EFFECTS OF PARENTAL INDULGENCE. 
 
 The sad effects of the improper indulgence of chil- 
 dren, the neglect to exercise proper parental authority 
 in restraining them from wrong, and in bringing them 
 up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, are 
 strikingly seen in many examples given us in the 
 Scriptures. 
 
 Look at the domestic trials of David. See him flee- 
 ing for his life from a rebel son, who seeks the paternal 
 throne at the price of a father's blood. We learn the 
 cause of these severe trials in what is said of Adonijah, 
 another rebel son, who also had exalted himself to be a 
 king, and usurped the throne in his father's, old age. 
 "His father had not displeased him at any time, in say- 
 ing, Why hast thou done so ? " Such indulgence 
 never did, it never can, secure filial respect, love, and 
 obedience. Look at the awful judgments sent upon 
 Eli and all his family, in consequence of his neglecting 
 the exercise of parental authority. His sons "were the 
 sons of Belial." They made themselves vile, and the 
 father restrained them not. "Their sins were very 
 great before the Lord," and they called for the most 
 rigorous and severe exercise of parental authority. 
 Instead of this, the indulgent father, when he heard of 
 their vile conduct, mildly says, "Why do ye such 
 things ? For I hear of your evil dealings by all this 
 people. Nay, my sons, for it is no good report I hear." 
 
 This afflicted father, for his cruel lenity, must not 
 only suffer by seeing his sons making themselves vile, 
 but he must be pained to the very heart by a message 
 from God, that his sons are to be slain by the sword, as 
 a judgment upon himself for not restraining them from 
 20 
 
306 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 sin. And to make his affliction still more severe and 
 intolerable, he is told that this iniquity of his house 
 shall not be purged with sacrifice or offering forever. 
 O, with Avhat bitterness of soul must the father reflect 
 that his own indulgence had not only caused "men," 
 by the sins he had neglected to restrain, " to abhor the 
 offering of the Lord," but had also caused the prema- 
 ture and violent death and everlasting ruin of his 
 children. 
 
 How different would be the state of many families 
 in our day, which are now scenes of unhappiness, con- 
 fusion, and discord, were parental authority properly 
 maintained ; were parents, like Abraham, to command 
 their children and their households after them. 
 
 The happiest families, the most affectionate and duti- 
 ful children, are those where the most perfect and un- 
 conditional submission to parental authority is main- 
 tained. Indulgence at the expense of authority always 
 begets disrespect and insubordination. 
 
 Why do so many parents of the present day affect to 
 lightly esteem, or even ridicule, the advice of the wise 
 king of Israel, — advice given, too, under the special 
 guidance of the Holy Spirit, — "Correct thy son, and 
 he shall give thee rest ; yea, he shall give delight unto 
 thy soul. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt 
 deliver his soul from hell " ? 
 
 With what eloquence will these passages enable 
 parents to describe to their children the reasons why 
 they insist on their obedience, and do not indulge them 
 in all their childish and unreasonable whims. They 
 can show them that however trying to parental affec- 
 tion, they must restrain them from sin and disobedience, 
 or break themselves the commands of God, and incur 
 his awful displeasure and judgments. 
 
THE FAMILY. 307 
 
 There is a strong conviction in the minds of many 
 that family government has, of late years, greatly de- 
 clined among us ; that indulgence has taken the place 
 of authority. j\Iany of our public school teachers 
 assert that it is far more difficult to govern their schools 
 and secure the obedience of their scholars, than it used 
 to be in former years. And they attribute this to pa- 
 rental indulgence, and a want of the proper exercise of 
 authority in the family. The influence upon the com- 
 munity at large of a decline in family government must 
 be most baneful. 
 
 INCONSIDERATE THREATENING. 
 
 Henry B , when a little boy about three years 
 
 old. accompanied his father and mother on a visit to his 
 grandparents. He was of just the age to attract notice 
 and be petted. His grandfather called him his little 
 man, and dandled him on his knee ; his grandmother 
 covered his cheeks with kisses, and filled his hands with 
 sweetmeats ; and many were the marks of attention 
 and little presents by which his uncles and aunts ex- 
 cited his sweet smiles and won his young affections. 
 
 This v/as a gladsome day to little Henry. For many 
 weeks after his^ return, the sweets of that visit were 
 made almost the only theme of his chatter. Among 
 the presents which endeared to him his uncles and 
 aunts, was a tiny bow and arrow. For hours he would 
 amuse himself in the yard in shooting at flies, many of 
 which he greatly frightened. At length he began to 
 fire in the house, with no small danger to the windows, 
 and to the eyes of his b^aby brother. His mother 
 showed him the danger, and told him he must not do it 
 any more. This he soon forgot, and began again to 
 
308 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 fire at the marks and flies on the walls and the ceiling. 
 His mother saw it, and, without any consideration, told 
 him if he did it again she should burn his bow and 
 arrow. 
 
 Henry's memory was rather short, especially in rela- 
 tion to anything that interfered with his play. In a 
 few days he again resumed his favorite amusement in 
 the house, as if no danger had been threatened to his 
 bow and arrow. His mother reminded him of what she 
 had threatened. 
 
 Poor Henry ! He knew his mother never broke her 
 word ; jQt he pleaded as for his life, and promised not to 
 disobey again. Till now the mother was not aware how 
 much he valued his bow and arrow. She did not know 
 that it had become the idol of his heart. She now 
 regretted that she had spoken so inconsiderately, with 
 so little reflection as to the consequences. But she 
 could not recall her word, or commute the penalty, 
 without injuring parental authority. 
 
 As she cast the toy into the flames, poor Henry 
 clasped his little hands, and walked to and fro before 
 the fire in the greatest agony. He watched the idol 
 object till it broke asunder and fell among the embers ; ' 
 then, with a deep-drawn sigh of despair, as though his 
 very heart were broken, ar,d casting an anxious look 
 into the face of his mother, whose heart was also ready 
 to burst, he exclaimed, — 
 
 " There, it's all gone ! " And long did he mourn 
 under this infliction, and refuse to be comforted. 
 
 No one who has never felt the same can conceive that 
 mother's feelings. Gladly would she have fasted days, 
 coidd she have recalled that rash tlireatening, and have 
 restored to her distressed child the object so dear to his 
 
THE FAMILY. 309 
 
 little heart. She did not reproach herself because she 
 had prohibited firing in the house ; that prohibition was 
 proper. Neither because she had threatened puniLih- 
 ment in case the offence were repeated. Henry's dis- 
 obedience deserved punishment, perhaps as severe as 
 was inflicted. But that mother did reproach herself 
 for the inconsiderateness with which she threatened the 
 punishment. She did not stop to think of the conse- 
 quences of its infliction. She did not stop to choose 
 the kind of punishment that would best answer the 
 purpose for which it was intended. 
 
 For many years that event was fresh in the recollec- 
 tion of that mother. There was hardly an act of her 
 whole life, as a mother, that she so much regretted. 
 She said, — 
 
 " Parents should reflect before they threaten punish- 
 ment, and ponder well the consequences of its ex- 
 ecution." 
 
 This is a remark of wisdom. By not acting in ac- 
 cordance with it, many parents acquire the habit of 
 threatening unnatural punishments, which they never 
 dream of executing. By such false declarations they 
 sin against God, destroy in the minds of their children 
 all respect for their authority, and all confidence in 
 their word, and all regard to truth themselves. 
 
 DECEIVING CHILDREN. 
 
 It is a very unwise and pernicious practice with some 
 parents to use deception in seeking to influence and 
 govern their children. This practice, like frequent and 
 inconsiderate threatening, is soon understood b}^ the 
 children, and loses its power to influence them. 
 
 Dr. Bell was called to visit a sick boy twelve years 
 
310 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 of age. As he entered the house the mother took him 
 aside, and told him he could not get her hoy to take any 
 medicine except he deceived him. 
 
 "- Well, then," said Dr. Bell, " I shall not give him 
 any. He is old enough to be reasoned v/ith." 
 
 He went to the boy, and after an examination, said 
 to him, " My little man, you are very sick, and you 
 must take some medicine. It will taste badly, and 
 make you feel badly for a little while, and then I ex- 
 pect it will make you feel better." 
 
 The doctor prepared the medicine, and the boy took 
 it like a man, without the least resistance ; and he would 
 take from his mother anything the physician prescribed, 
 but he would take nothing else from her. She had so 
 often deceived him, and told him " it was good," Avhen 
 she gave him medicines, that he would not trust to 
 anything she said. But he saw at once that Dr. Bell 
 was telling him the truth, and he trusted him. He 
 knew, wlien he took the bitter draught, just what to 
 expect. 
 
 A mother came with her boy, eight or ten years old, 
 to a dentist. The little fellow had for days been suffer- 
 ing all the cruel pains of the toothache. She had used 
 in vain every possible influence to induce him to go 
 with her and have the offending tooth extracted. But he 
 could not forget that she had once before persuaded him 
 to have an aching one removed by assuring him that it 
 would not hurt him much. But O, how it did hurt 
 him ! She deceived him then, and he would bear the 
 pain rather than be so deceived again. Had she at first 
 frankly told him it would hurt him, but it would be 
 only for a minute, and he must be brave and bear it 
 like a man, it would all have been well. But the suffer- 
 
THE FAMILY. 311 
 
 ing at length became so terrible, that he was induced by 
 his mother's new methods of deceiving him, and by her 
 promises of rewards, to go with her again to the place 
 of torture, as he regarded it. 
 
 He had no sooner reached the dentist's office than the 
 tooth ceased to ache, and he resisted every effort of his 
 mother to have it extracted. He screamed, and fought, 
 and struggled, till the dentist, wearied with the delay, 
 and out of patience with this exhibition of bad training 
 or want of government, said to the mother, " Madam, 
 do you want me to extract that boy's tooth ? " She 
 replied that she did ; Avhen he quietly took the boy, 
 before he had time to suspect what he was going to do, 
 placed his head firmly between his knees, and removed 
 the tooth. The un governed child," as soon as he was 
 released, ran round the room, screaming, " You shan't 
 pull it ! you shan't pull it ! " 
 
 These simple incidents contain instructions of deep 
 importance, deserving the careful consideration of every 
 parent. " Honesty," with children as well as with 
 others, and in all things, " is the best policy." 
 
 THE SINS OF OUR YOUTH. 
 
 The penitent David, as he looked back and thought 
 of his early days, exclaimed, " Remember not the sins 
 of my youth." And afflicted Job cries out in his dis- 
 tress, " Thou makest me to possess the inic[uities of my 
 youth." 
 
 Two aged disciples, one eighty-seven years old, one 
 day met. " Well," inquired the younger of his fellow- 
 pilgrim, " how long have you been interested in reli- 
 gion ? " " Fifty years," was his reply. " Well, have 
 you ever regretted that j^ou began so young to devote 
 
312 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 yourself to the cause of the Saviour ? " " O, no," said 
 he, aud the tears trickled down his furrowed cheeks ; 
 " I weep when I think of the sins of my youth. It is 
 this which makes me weep now." 
 
 Another man of eighty, who had been a Christian 
 fifty or sixty years, was asked if he was grieved that he 
 had become a disciple of Christ ? " O, no," said he ; 
 " if I grieve for anything it is that I did not become a 
 Christian before." 
 
 We visited a woman of ninety, as she lay on her last 
 bed of sickness. She had been hoping in Christ for 
 half a century. In the course of conversation she said, 
 " Tell all the children that an old woman, who is just 
 on the borders of eternity, is very much grieved that 
 she did not begin -to love the Saviour when she was 
 a child. Tell them ' Youth is the time to serve the 
 Lord.' " 
 
 Said an old man of seventy-six, "I did not become 
 interested in religion till I was forty-five ; and I often 
 have to tell God I have nothing to bring him but the 
 dregs of old age." 
 
 Said another man, between sixty and seventy years 
 of age, " I hope I became a disciple of the Lord Jesus 
 when I was seventeen ; " and he burst into a flood of 
 tears as he added, " and there is nothing which causes 
 me so much distress as to think of those seventeen 
 years — some of the very best portions of my life 
 which I devoted to sin and the world." 
 
 This testimony is only a specimen of the testimony 
 of all Christians on this subject. Why, then, are we 
 not more earnest in our endeavors to convince the young 
 that their present forge tfulness of God will be the 
 occasion of many a bitter tear of sorrow when they are 
 
THE FAMILY. 313 
 
 old, even should they hereafter be converted? They 
 will then cry out with David, " Remember not the sins 
 of my youth ; " and with Job, " Thou makest me to 
 possess the iniquities of my youth." 
 
 A FEAKFUL ENTAILMENT. 
 
 Impenitent parents are entailing impenitence, with all 
 its consequent temporal and eternal calamities, upon 
 their children. This is, indeed, a fearful entailment. 
 But it accords with the testimony of the Scripture. 
 God said, amid the thunderings and lightnings of Sinai, 
 " for T the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting 
 the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto 
 the third and fourth generations of them that hate 
 me." In speaking of the judgments of God against 
 the wicked, the prophet Jeremiah says, " Thou recom- 
 pensest the iniquities of the fathers into the bosom of 
 their children after them." And this will not be un- 
 righteousness in God, because the children will be 
 induced, in the natural course of things, to imbibe the 
 corrupt principles and copy the bad examples of their 
 parents. 
 
 The history of the kings of Israel and Judah teaches 
 the same lesson on this subject. As one king after 
 another is introduced to us, it is almost invariably 
 said, " And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and 
 walked in the way of his father." Sometimes they did 
 worse than all that were before them. Such were Omri, 
 and Ahab his son. 
 
 On account of the high-handed wickedness of Jero- 
 boam, in forgetting Jehovah, the Lord -denounced 
 destruction upon his whole house. This denunciation 
 was soon after fearfully fulfilled. Nadab, the son of 
 
314 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 Jeroboam, succeeded him, doing evil in the sight of the 
 Lord, and walking in the way of his father. After 
 three years, Baasha conspired against him and slew him. 
 He no sooner established himself in his usurped domin> 
 ion, than he slew all the house of Jeroboam, and he left 
 not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had de- 
 stroyed them, according unto the saying of the Lord." 
 
 The same destruction was also denounced, in turn, 
 against this wicked usurper and his posterity and the 
 posterity of his house and all his kinsfolks and friends, 
 because he walked in the way of Jeroboam. And this 
 threatening was perfectly fulfilled a short time after by 
 Omri, who usurped the throne of Elah, the son of 
 Baasha. 
 
 Ahab, being stirred up by Jezebel his wife, sold him- 
 self to work evil in the sight of the Lord. The sins of 
 these wicked parents were speedily visited upon them- 
 selves and their children, and their house was made like 
 the house of Jeroboam and like the house of Baasha. 
 
 No one can read the stories of Achan, of Korah, 
 Dathan and Abiram, of Gehazi, &c., without trembling 
 in view of the terrible calamities which they, by their 
 sins, brought upon themselves, their sons and their 
 daughters, their wives and their little ones, and upon all 
 they possessed. 
 
 And how many and affecting are the examples in our 
 day, in which irreligious, and especially vicious and 
 intemperate parents, are making a fearful entailment of 
 evil for this life and the future, upon their children ! 
 
 And what more natural than that their children 
 should be preparing themselves to receive such an 
 entailment? While young, how unsuspecting, how 
 credulous ! Whatever instruction is 'given, whatever 
 
THE FAMILY. 315 
 
 example is set by a parent, is received and followed 
 with the most unquestioning confidence. Let a parent 
 neglect the Bible, profane the sacred name of his 
 Maker, violate the Sabbath, indulo^e in the intoxicatinor 
 cup, and disregard all the duties of the gospel, and his 
 children, with the sanction of parental example, will 
 not hesitate to do the same. And why should they ? 
 What more natural than that they should imbibe the 
 sentiments and feelings, and walk in the footsteps of 
 their parents? Like parents, like children. 
 
 And we are driven to the painful conclusion that 
 impenitent parents, by their instruction and example, 
 are entailing impenitence, with all its consequent 
 temporal and eternal calamities, upon their children; 
 that, because they are forgetting the law of their God, 
 God is also forgetting their children. 
 
 INFLUENCE OF PIOUS BROTHERS AND SISTERS. 
 
 There was a family of seven brothers and three sis- 
 ters, all of whom became interested in the subject of 
 religion in early life, and all became members of the 
 church of Christ. They will never forget their feelings 
 when only one of their number remained unconverted. 
 All their sympathy and interest seemed to concentrate 
 upon that brother. With what prayers and entreaties 
 did they labor for his conversion ! And when their 
 prayers were answered, there was joy in their hearts 
 like that among the angels in heaven when a sinner 
 repenteth. 
 
 The son of a clergyman, some j^ears ago, was hope- 
 fully converted while a member of college, at a distance 
 from his home. He was a child of many prayers. 
 Like Samuel, he had been " lent unto the Lord ; " and 
 
316 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 it was for His service in tlie sanctuary that these pious 
 parents were educating him. But their hope as yet was 
 deferred, and their faith was still tried. Under these 
 circumstances, what emotions of joy and gratitude to 
 God must the intelligence of that son's conversion have 
 awakened in that father's and mother's bosom ! Similar 
 intelligence, from that same favored institution, has 
 often gladdened the hearts of distant parents and 
 friends. 
 
 But what was the particular way in which God saw 
 fit to answer the prayers of these parents, and to show 
 that he was faithful to his promises ? In other words, 
 what were the special means of that young man's con- 
 version Avhile at a distance from his home. 
 
 He was favored not only with praying parents, but 
 also with a praying brother and sister ; and they were 
 the special means of leading him to the Saviour. A 
 few weeks before the concert of prayer for our literary 
 institutions, this pious brother and sister, — the latter 
 then absent from home, — wrote letters almost simulta- 
 neously to their impenitent brother in college. These 
 letters, warm from the hearts of a dear brother and 
 sister, and breathing forth such tender and anxious 
 expressions of fraternal and sisterly piety and love, 
 reached his heart, and awakened the inmost feelings of 
 his soul. This state of mind rendered the concert of 
 prayer, when it arrived, a meeting of great interest to 
 him, and he was soon led to rejoice in hope of par- 
 doned sin. This brother was converted into an active 
 Christian. The influence of religion, in its purity and 
 power, dees indeed, or it should always make those 
 who truly embrace it active Christians. 
 
 Soon after he became interested, he, and an associate 
 
THE FAMILY. 317 
 
 with like ardor, went to a neighborhood several miles 
 distant, where the people had few, if any, religious 
 privileges, and where there was but little interest man- 
 ifested in religious things. They there set up a prayer- 
 meeting, and soon established a Sabbath school of sixty 
 scholars, both of which were the means of awakening 
 much interest among the people. 
 
 Such are the happy results, as already seen, that have 
 followed the efforts of that pious brother and sister in 
 behalf of their unconverted brother. 
 
 What an encouragement these incidents should afford 
 pious brothers and sisters, and, indeed, all Christians, 
 to labor for the salvation of their impenitent friends. 
 How great must be the influence of the daily lives of 
 truly Christian brothers and sisters in their homes ! 
 
XXIII. 
 
 SABBATH SCHOOLS AN AUXILIARY TO THE 
 CHURCH. 
 
 It may not be inappropriate to close this account of 
 " Fifty Years with the Sabbath Schools " with one of 
 the author's sermons on "Sabbath Schools an Auxil- 
 iary to the Church." 
 
 " And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, 
 thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, govern- 
 ments, diversities of tongues." — 1 CoR. xii. 28. 
 
 God has furnished the church, in performing the 
 great and responsible work intrusted to her hands, 
 with many and efficient auxiliaries. He has permitted 
 her to lay everything, to the utmost of her power, 
 under contribution for assistance in this work. And 
 in the text Ave are informed that he has appointed or 
 ordained various orders or ranks in the church, for the 
 accomplishment of this object. Among these are speci- 
 fied teachers and helps. The precise meaning of these 
 terms, or the precise duties assigned to these orders, it 
 is now perhaps difficult to determine. But that they 
 were employed, to a greater or less extent, in communi- 
 cating instruction to the ignorant, in teaching the doc- 
 trines of religion, and in rendering various assistance 
 to the apostles, — the ministers, the servants of the 
 church, — is more than probable. Although the apostle, 
 probably, had not in mind, in recording these words, 
 
 318 
 
AN AUXILIARY TO THE CHURCH. 319 
 
 the modern institution of Sabbath sehools, yet it is 
 obvious that Sabbath schools may very appropriately 
 be denominated helps. They are helps to the ministry 
 in discharging the duties of that high and holy office ; 
 helps to Christian parents in bringing up their children 
 in the nurture and admonition of the Lord ; and helps 
 to the church generally in training up her sons and 
 daughters for her own service, and in all her efforts for 
 the conversion of the world. And it will be my object, 
 in this discourse, to consider the institution of Sabbath 
 schools as a help — an auxiliary to the church in her 
 labors for the salvation of men. 
 
 I. I remark, then, in the first place, that this institu- 
 tion aids the church hy increasing the number of tJiose 
 who attend on her ministry. 
 
 The great work of the church is to proclaim, espe 
 cially through her ministry, the messages of salvation 
 to men. She is to persuade as many of them as pos- 
 sible to be reconciled to God. Whatever has a ten- 
 dency to increase the number who listen to these mes- 
 sages aids the church in her labor ; for the more there 
 are to hear her proclamation, the greater will probably 
 be the number who will accept the salvation she pro- 
 claims. 
 
 Now, to do this, is a direct tendency of Sabbath 
 schools. Few are the churches that do not acknowledge 
 the attendance of whole families, through the influence 
 of this institution. And whole neighborhoods, too, — 
 where there was no sanctuary, no Sabbath, and no 
 voice of prayer, and where vice had long held undis- 
 puted sway, — through this instrumentality have been 
 renovated, and most of the inhabitants now go in com- 
 
320 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 pany to the house of the Lord, and an altar of prayer 
 is erected in many a dwelling, and a throne for the 
 Saviour in many a heart. 
 
 The following testimony of a pastor might be made 
 respecting many of our churches : — 
 
 " I consider the Sabbath school as an institution, in con- 
 nection with every reh'gious society, of the highest impor- 
 tance, and as intimately connected with its prosperity in 
 "every respect. Nothing, under God, is effecting more for 
 my church and society than the Sabbath school. It is a 
 powerful auxiliary to the enlargement of both. It has 
 done wonders here in bringing under the means of grace 
 many who for years have not stepped their foot over the 
 threshold of God's sanctuary.'' 
 
 II. Sabbath schools assist the church in gaining access 
 to the hearts of parents. 
 
 The whole tendency of this institution — of its les- 
 sons, its instructions, all its exercises and its library 
 books — is to produce in the minds of the pupils reflec- 
 tion, and lead to serious inquiry. The questions elici- 
 ted by this state of mind have often come home to the 
 bosom of parents with a power that has melted into 
 contrition hearts that have long resisted the impressive 
 appeals of the pulpit, and all other efforts of the church. 
 Many parents, who never honor God by their presence 
 in his sanctuary, will grant their children the privileges 
 of this institution. These parents are usually inacces- 
 sible by the direct influence of the church, whether 
 exerted by her ministry or her private members. The 
 only medium of access to them seems to be through 
 their children. There are, indeed, chords in their 
 hearts, but they will vibrate to no human touch except 
 
AN AUXILIARY TO THE CIIURCII. 321 
 
 the soft yet irresistible touch of an affectionate child. 
 O, what parent can resist such an influence? How 
 often has almost an infant one carried home from its 
 loved Sabbath school the first message of mercy that 
 has ever fallen upon the consciences, and reached the 
 hearts of such parents ! They have been melted into 
 godly sorrow, and praise has been perfected out of the 
 mouth of infancy. Says Baxter : — 
 
 " My first and greatest success was among the young ; 
 and so it was that when God Ijad touched the hearts of the 
 young with love and goodness, in various instances their 
 friends — their fathers and tlieir grandfathers, who had 
 lived in ignorance before — became religious, induced by 
 their love to their children, who now appeared so much 
 wiser, and better, and more dutiful than before. In a little 
 time, religion spread through many families, and after a 
 few years there was scarcely a house in which the worship 
 of God was not maintained." 
 
 What exhortations have ungodly parents often re- 
 ceived, and what prayers and songs have they heard 
 around the dying-beds of pious Sabbath school chil- 
 dren ! How often, too, have parents blessed God on 
 their own dying-beds for the consolation, the support, 
 and the immortal hopes they have received from this 
 institution through a beloved child ! 
 
 in. This institution greatly aids the church in her 
 direct efforts for the good of the YOUNG. 
 
 That the church has duties to perform for the good 
 of her ovv^n children, and for the good of the young 
 all around, surely no one can question. With the 
 example of the Saviour before us, how can there be 
 any doubt ? For no class of persons did he labor, while 
 21 
 
322 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 on earth, with a more tender interest than for the young. 
 And there is every possible motive to lead the church, 
 through her ministry and all her private members, to 
 copy this example of the Great Shepherd, and " feed 
 the lambs " of his flock. Though young, their life is 
 not the less uncertain, as many a broken-hearted parent 
 can testify. Their salvation, too, is as important as 
 that of the mature in age — its purchase cost the same. 
 Indeed, should life be prolonged, — other things being 
 equal, — the salvation of the young is far more impor- 
 tant than that of the aged : because they will have a 
 much longer period in which to labor in the vineyard, 
 they Vvdll be able to labor, too, with greater efficiency 
 and to far better advantage. The person converted in 
 middle life or old age, must spend much of his time 
 and strength, as a Christian, in counteracting the 
 ludiappy influences of the habits and associations 
 and prejudices of his impenitent days ; while, on the 
 other hand, most of the habits and associations that 
 a pious child has formed, are of a religious charac- 
 ter, so that most of his time and strength may be 
 employed directly in the service of God. " I have not 
 half the fears," said the late Dr. Todd, who labored 
 abundantly for the lambs of his flock, " that a convert- 
 ed child will dishonor religion, that I have that the 
 aged sinner, who has lived in the iron habits of sin for 
 half a century, will do it. With him, it is the work of 
 life and death to break off those old habits. His 
 thoughts, wicked and vile, will, ever and anon, flow 
 back into their old, deep-worn channels. But piety in 
 the child gushes up like the breaking out of a new 
 spring, making its owji new channel, growing and 
 widening, and beautifying as it flows." 
 
AN AUXILIARY TO THE CHURCH. 323 
 
 Again, every effort to persuade the young to seek 
 the Lord early and to consecrate the dew of their 
 youth to God, is full of promise and encouragement. 
 Childhood is the most interestiLg and favorable period 
 of existence for receiving religious instruction. The 
 impressions then made are like the deep lines of the 
 sculptor's chisel : ages will not efface them. All the 
 wicked propensities, too, are yet in their infancy ; 
 indeed, many of those wicked propensities which in- 
 creasing age will develop, are yet imperceptible. 
 
 The fact, too, that the young may be converted, that 
 very young children may become subjects of renewing 
 grace, should encourage the church to labor for their 
 salvation^ Some of the most lovely and brightest exam- 
 ples of piety the history of the chux^ch has ever afforded, 
 have been among children and youth. They have exhib- 
 ited all the graces of the Christian, — repentance, faith, 
 hope, joy, meekness, humility, benevolence ; love for the 
 Saviour, for prayer, the Bible, the Sabbath, and the 
 people of God ; patience and resignation in sickness, 
 and triumph in death. 
 
 But I have said that the Sabbath school greatly aids 
 the church in her direct efforts for the good of the 
 young. 
 
 In the Sabbath school, any given church, through the 
 pastor, the superintendent and teachers, meets most of 
 the young connected with the congregation. And there, 
 by a short visit, a brief prayer and address, when other 
 duties Avill permit, by the pastor, and the instructions of 
 an hour by the superintendent and teachers, an influ- 
 ence is exerted upon them wdiich it would cost days of 
 fatiguing labor to exert in any other way. In the Sab- 
 bath school we meet the young under very favorable 
 
324 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 circumstances. They are in the mitlst of their asso- 
 ciates, and the kindness and affectionate familiarity with 
 which they are there regarded by their teachers and 
 other Christian friends, have banished all that reserve 
 and constraint, and almost fear, that children used to 
 feel in presence of a superior, and especially in the 
 presence of a minister. 
 
 These labors for the good of the young, and this 
 kindly notice of them, will convince them that the 
 minister, and that Christians generally are their friends, 
 will secure their confidence and respect, — yea, will 
 entwine silken cords around their hearts and bind them 
 to their own. And as they come forward in life, they 
 will be found among the warmest friends of the church, 
 the sharers of the pastor's burdens, and the lighteners 
 of his toils. 
 
 O, what a reward does every minister and every 
 Christian receive for all their labors among the young ! 
 No smile, no look of affectionate interest with which 
 they regard them, will ever be lost. No attention, how- 
 ever small, though it be but the placing of the hand on 
 the curly head of the little one by his mother's side, will 
 go unrewarded. And that reward may be no less than 
 the unspeakable joy of guiding these lambs of the flock 
 home to the fold of the Great Shepherd above ! 
 
 IV. Sabbath schools help to educate the conscience and 
 prepare the hearts of its members for the instructions of 
 the sanctuary. 
 
 One of the great obstacles to success in the labors of 
 the church for the salvation of men, is a hardened, in- 
 sensible conscience. Such a conscience never gives the 
 truth a self-application. The word preached or ad- 
 
AN AUXILIARY TO THE CHURCH. 325 
 
 dressed to the individual in private may, indeed, be a 
 sharp, two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing 
 asunder of soul and spirit ; but it will fall upon an 
 obdurate conscience as upon a rock of adamant : there 
 will be no impression there. 
 
 No conscience will be tender and impressible that is 
 not enlightened by the word of God. But where the 
 mind is imbued with the truth, the conscience will be 
 so full of light that the smallest sin will be perceived ; 
 and it will be so tremblingly alive to what is right that 
 it will shrink, as it were instinctively, from the very 
 thought of what is wrong. If we hide the word of 
 God in our hearts, we shall not sin against Him. 
 
 Now one great object of the institution of Sabbath 
 schools is to store the mind with truth. The Bible is 
 the text-book, or books or lessons founded upon the 
 Bible ; and all connected with the institution are ex- 
 pected to engage in a careful and earnest examination 
 of its important doctrines and precepts. What a 
 knowledge of the sacred oracles is thus obtained ! ' And 
 what a preparation of mind and heart for the instruc- 
 tions of the sanctuary will all this secure I Supposing 
 the subject qf discourse is from Paul's Epistle to the 
 Romans, and suppose the school are studying that epis- 
 tle, what a preparation among the members of that 
 school for hearing a sermon on such a subject ! A 
 stranger might almost select from among that congrega- 
 tion every member of the Sabbath school. They would 
 be recognized by the interest which the bare mention 
 of the text would excite among them, and by the intel- 
 ligent and interested attention with which they would 
 follow the speaker through every stage of his discourse. 
 The subject is one which they have just investigated 
 
326 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 themselves. It was made the topic of familiar and free 
 discussion at the teachers' meeting and at the Sabbath 
 school, and all will now be eager to see wherein the 
 speaker's views harmonize with or differ from their own. 
 Their minds will thus be all open to receive the full 
 power of the word of God. 
 
 Why is it that there are generally such large and 
 very attentive audiences when the people assemble to 
 listen to political speakers ? Who ever heard of persons 
 reading books and papers at a political meeting ? Who 
 ever heard of persons falling asleep at such a meeting ? 
 These speakers seem to have an advantage over the min- 
 isters of the gospel. Every eye is fixed upon them, every 
 mind is intent upon what they have to say ; and if they 
 have a soul, they can't help being eloquent under the in- 
 spiration of such a waiting, attentive audience. 'And. 
 why is it? Why, it is because, if I may so say, there has 
 been a sort of Sabbath school preparation for the meet- 
 ing. All the week the people have been reading on 
 the subject, they have discussed it at every corner of 
 the street, and it has been the subject of their daily 
 meditation. No wonder, then, that they come to the 
 political meeting all absorbed in what may be communi- 
 cated. Now would it not be an encouragement to the 
 ministers of the gospel if they could find their jDCople 
 as well prepared by previous reading, conversation, and 
 meditation as in the case supposed? I knoAv the preacher 
 has some of this encouragement, for, as he looks round 
 uj^on the members of his Sabbath school, he knows that 
 in every conscience he has an advocate for his doctrine 
 that cannot be resisted. He knows that this portion of 
 his people are intelligent in regard to the Bible, what- 
 ever may be the case in regard to all other matters. 
 
AN AUXILIARY TO THE CHURCH. 327 
 
 If there were, therefore, no other benefit from this 
 institution but this one, that it is preparing the peo- 
 ple to listen with more interest and profit to the preach- 
 ing of the gospel than they otherwise would do, it is 
 worth all it costs, and should be sustained. 
 
 V. This institution is an auxiliary to the church, inas- 
 much as it enlarges and develops her own energies^ — calls 
 into employment the moral powers of God's people. 
 
 The energies of Christians are enlarged or developed 
 in the same way that the energies of any other class of 
 men are, namely, by cultivation, by exercise. And that 
 there is a vast amount of moral power in the church of 
 Christ lying dormant, inoperative, there can be no 
 doubt. And whatever instrumentality shall call forth 
 this power, or shall furnish exercise for those energies 
 that are already in a measure developed, will prove an 
 important auxiliary to the church in her labors for the 
 salvation of men. 
 
 That the Sabbath school is often such an instrumen- 
 tality, almost every church can bear witness. Some of 
 our most efficient male and female Christians were in 
 the habit of doing comparatively little for the cause of 
 Christ till after they enlisted in this enterprise. Here 
 they were placed where they were, obliged to be active. 
 Their energies were developed and strengthened. The 
 more they exercised them, the more they were en- 
 larged, just as the intellectual powers are enlarged and 
 strengthened by cultivation. 
 
 In some churches, there are more or less members 
 who have never opened their lips in prayer in a social 
 meeting. They have never uttered a word of exhorta- 
 tion or comfort to their fellow-Christians ; they are just 
 
328 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 like an infant child that never took a step without the 
 aid of its mother's finger ; all confidence forsakes them, 
 and they begin to tremble and fall the moment they 
 are left unaided. Now, what shall be done with these 
 friends ? Why, if they can be placed in circumstances 
 where they will feel a little responsibility, they will 
 find, as others will, that they possess moral power 
 enough, but that it has never been developed. And 
 there is moral power in the church, if it were brought 
 out into active operation, to electrify the land, and give 
 a new and brighter aspect to all our Christian enter- 
 prises. 
 
 I wish to illustrate this train of remark by a single 
 incident. In the suburbs of one of our cities, some 
 years ago, there resided a man who, though a member 
 of the church, had never prayed in meeting. He and 
 many of his neighbors attended worship in the city, 
 because- there was no church where they lived that they 
 wished to attend. One day this man said to himself. 
 Why should there not be such a church here ? That 
 very thought greatly stirred and interested him. He 
 conversed with those neighbors, and they all became 
 interested, and soon said among themselves. Why 
 should we not do something to accomplish an object 
 we think so desirable ? They at once began the work, 
 and in a year and a half they had organized a small 
 church and society, erected a house of worship, and 
 settled a minister. 
 
 At the organization of this church, the man who had 
 never prayed in meeting had become so developed as a 
 Christian that he was chosen one of the officers, and 
 also the superintendent of the Sabbath school ; and 
 he at once became one of the leading men in all 
 
AN AUXILIARY TO THE CHURCH. 329 
 
 their social meetings. He was fourfold the man, as 
 well as the Christian, that he was a year and a half 
 before. 
 
 As there was a small debt on the chapel, he wished 
 an introduction to a church where he could solicit a 
 little help in meeting this debt. He was asked if they 
 were doing all they could among themselves? He 
 thought they were. "Why," said he, "were you to 
 sell everything I own in the world at auction, — my 
 furniture, my wearing apparel, everything belonging to 
 myself, my wife, and my two little boys, — I don't think 
 it would bring you tAVo hundred dollars. I have just paid 
 eighty dollars towards the chapel, I pay twenty dollars 
 towards the preaching, and I have just paid ten dollars 
 for the benefit of the choir." And that was the man 
 who, a year and a half before, couldn't pray in meeting! 
 He stood up a full-grown man and a Christian ; and 
 there was no way of accounting for this change, so 
 marvellous to himself as well as others, but on the 
 ground that he had been placed in circumstances where 
 his moral power had been called into action. And 
 might we not expect like results from like causes in all 
 our churches? What would be the influence of any 
 and of every church, supposing all its members were 
 actively enlisted as teachers or scholars in the Sabbath 
 school ? Not a dwelling in the most obscure corner of 
 the parish would be left one week unvisited. No child 
 or youth — if repeated and pressing invitations, and 
 every variety of persuasive argument and motive, could 
 secure his attendance, or for want of suitable clothing 
 or books — would be found out of this sacred en- 
 closure, strolling the streets or the fields on God's holy 
 day. 
 
330 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 VI. I remark, once more, that the Sabbath school 
 renders important aid to the church, in at least pro- 
 moting tlie conversion of souls. 
 
 This point is surely too obvious to need extended 
 consideration. There is hardly a town in this part of 
 the land, where there are not more or less to rise up and 
 call this institution blessed, and acknowledge it, with 
 heartfelt gratitude, as the instrument of at least pro- 
 moting their salvation. And there is hardly a church 
 in the country that does not regard the Sabbath school 
 as her nursery, from which she is to obtain her most 
 thrifty, fruitful plants. Revivals have been intimately 
 connected with this institution ; frequently they have 
 originated in it ; and sometimes they have been confined 
 exclusivel}^ within its limits. This sacred enclosure, 
 under the influence of the showers of divine grace, has 
 often appeared verdant as the garden of the Lord, in 
 the midst of surrounding drought and sterility. Not 
 unfrequently, from fifty to more than one hundred 
 members of a single school have been hopefully con- 
 verted in a sinoie season. In our visits to ecclesiastical 
 bodies in all parts of the country, it is a common thing 
 to hear the declaration, in the report on the state of 
 religion, that most of the conversions have been among 
 the young, and especially among the members of the 
 Sabbath schools. The pastors generally are finding the 
 members of this institution the most hopeful part of 
 their people for their own labors. 
 
 It should not be supposed, however, that all who are 
 reported as having been converted in our Sabbath 
 schools were converted through the instrumentality of 
 this institution alone. A great variety of influences — 
 parental instruction, where it is right, the preaching 
 
AN AUXILIARY TO THE CHURCH. 331 
 
 of the gospel, &c. — has no doubt been usually con- 
 nected with the influence of this institution in the con- 
 version of these individuals. All we can say in relation 
 to the influence of Sabbath schools generally, in the 
 conversion of sinners, is this : that those who are con- 
 nected with this institution are much more likely to be 
 converted, through the combined good influences that 
 are brought to bear upon them, than any other class of 
 persons. And why should it not be so? There is usu- 
 ally more truth in the minds of such, on which the 
 Spirit of God can operate ; and they seem, too, more 
 directly within the sphere of the Spirit's influence. 
 
 Many years ago we had the pleasure of being con- 
 nected with the superintendence of a Sabbath school in 
 which, on one Sabbath, there were present six hundred 
 and seven members, including all ages, from those of 
 three or four to those of almost ninety years. Most of 
 the females in the parish were in the school, and in the 
 galleries, sweeping round three sides of the great 
 church, were the young men. And what was the result 
 of such an attention to the Scriptures among that 
 people ? Why, blessing after blessing, rich as could 
 come from the throne of God, was constantly showering 
 down upon them. 
 
 At length most of the young men, for some reason, 
 left the school. The same season there was an exten- 
 sive outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and quite a number 
 of the school were hopefully converted. But that 
 class of young men — they were just like that field we 
 sometimes see, all parched and desolate, while every 
 other field around is verdant as the paradise of God. 
 Not one of them was converted. They had placed 
 themselves beyond the limits of that rain of grace. 
 
332 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 A year or two subsequent to this, and sixty of those 
 young men were brought back into a Bible class. And 
 the pastor said, one day, " I now have great hopes of 
 all these young men." And are there not hopes for 
 those who are willing to break away from the power of 
 shame and pride, and come and sit down together in 
 the study of the Word of God? Here is the ground 
 of encouragement in regard to the religious influence 
 of the Sabbath schools, we are bringing the people 
 together under circumstances where the Spirit of God 
 is most likely to operate. 
 
 We are in danger of limiting the means which may, 
 in any given case, be employed in the conversion of a 
 soul. Every influence felt in urging one towards the 
 cross has its part in this work. 
 
 Abbott, in one of his works, illustrates this point, in 
 substance, in this way. Here is a large rock to be cleft 
 asunder. It will take a thousand blows to cleave it. 
 A thousand persons pass along and give a blow. Now, 
 to a careless observer, much of this labor seems unne- 
 cessary. The rock seemed to cleave asunder under 
 the influence of a few of the later blows. But if it 
 required a thousand blows, of course the first blow and 
 every intermediate blow were just as important as the 
 last, under which it cleft asunder. How encouraging 
 this thought is to every pastor, parent, teacher. Chris- 
 tian I No word of truth shall fall from the lips of any 
 one, and no right effort be put forth, but it may be one 
 in the series of influences which shall bring some soul 
 to repentance. 
 
 With this qualification, however, all that is claimed 
 for this institution is true. Though an humble, it is a 
 mighty instrumentality in promoting the salvation of 
 
AN AUXILIARY TO THE CHURCIF. 383 
 
 men, and especially of the young. Tlie rising genera- 
 tion will yet see Sabbath schools more or less instru- 
 mental in filling heaven with joy and earth with re- 
 joicing. Multitudes through this means have already 
 learned their way to the new Jerusalem, and other 
 multitudes are fast treading in their footsteps. 
 
 But Sabbath schools are not only often instrumental 
 in making Christians, but also in making the best kind 
 of Christians, and Christians with large and liberal 
 hearts. In examining young persons for admission to 
 the church, it has usually been an easy matter to selecfc 
 those who have enjoyed the instructions of this institu- 
 tion. They exhibit a better knowledge of the Scrip- 
 tures, clearer views respecting the doctrines, and can 
 give a more satisfactory reason for the hope that is in 
 them. Should the church look on the Sabbath school 
 as an auxiliary, and should she watch over it and use it 
 as such, all that is accomplished through it she may be 
 said herself to have been instrumental in accomplish- 
 ing. Should she give it the place it deserves among 
 the instrumentalities that are to bless and save men, 
 she may hope here to polish many a precious gem to 
 adorn and beautify the diadem of her Saviour. 
 
 I have noAV mentioned a few of the more obvious 
 ways in which the institution of Sabbath schools aids 
 the church in her labors for the salvation of men. And 
 how forcibly does this view of the subject, if it be a 
 correct view, lead us to this conclusion, that the church 
 is under the most solemn ohllgations to see that this insti- 
 tution is sustained.. 
 
 There need be no express command in the Scriptures 
 to prove this obligation. The providence of God, in a 
 
334 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 voice so clear and intelligible that no one can have 
 misapprehended it, has been proclaiming this institu- 
 tion to be an approved means of grace ; an institu- 
 tion of peculiar importance to the church; an auxiliary 
 to her ministry and to all her labors for the promotion 
 of her own prosperity and the redemption of the 
 world. Thousands on earth and thousands in heaven 
 are rejoicing over this institution as the instrument 
 of their salvation. 
 
 The materials which constitute the frame-work of the 
 church are perishable, and they are fast dropping into 
 decay and crumbling into dust. This institution is fur- 
 nishing the materials for repairing these wastes of time, 
 and for enlarging and beautifying this building of God, 
 the church. Here we are to find those living stones 
 and polished pillars which are to give strength and pro- 
 portion and adornment to this glorious temple. 
 
 Here, then, is the ground of the obligation resting on 
 the church to sustain this institution, — the voice of 
 Providence. 
 
 If the church consult her own interests, or the 
 good of others, she cannot resist the obligation to 
 bestow on this institution her most watchful care and 
 encouragement, and to see that it is vigorously sus- 
 tained. As the church is composed of various members, 
 this obligation rests on each and every member. No 
 one has a right to free himself from responsibility in 
 this matter. Every Christian, unless imperious circum- 
 stances prevent, should give the influence of his per- 
 sonal labors in sustaining this institution. There can 
 be no reason why one class of Christians more than 
 another, except so far as their qualifications for the 
 work are better, or their circumstances more favorable, 
 
AN AUXILIARY TO THE CHURCIL 335 
 
 should forego the rest and retirement of home on the 
 Sabbath to engage in the toils and anxieties of teachers. 
 
 But some one may say, " There are few places where 
 the services of the whole church, as teachers, are re- 
 quired." True ; but this cannot justify any one mem- 
 ber of a church in the conclusion that his or her ser- 
 vices are not needed till the fact has been ascertained 
 by personal inquiry. 
 
 But the truth is, there is scarcel}^ a Sabbath school 
 in the country that is not this moment more or less em- 
 barrassed for want of teachers ; not because there are no 
 Christians in the place who are competent to fill this 
 office, or who might easily render themselves competent, 
 but because tliey are so unwilling to do it. There is no 
 one thing of which superintendents so often complain, 
 and which so breaks down their spirits and disheartens 
 them in their arduous work, as the unwillingness of 
 Christians to enter this field of labor. Were it the 
 very field of death, they could hardly avoid it more 
 anxiously than some do. 
 
 But supposing all the classes are supplied with teach- 
 ers, may there not be room for more classes ? And 
 would not a little self-denying labor persuade or " com- 
 pel " others " to come in," till all might be gathered 
 into the fold of the Sabbath school, and the house be 
 filled, so tliat the whole church might be enlisted in this 
 holy enterprise ? 
 
 But if all may not be employed as teachers, there 
 surely is room enough and to spare, or it may easily be 
 obtained, for them as scholars. And in this capacity 
 the church may exert a powerful influence in sustaining 
 the school, in giving to it interest and efficiency, while 
 at the same time every Christian will derive great 
 
836 FIFTY YEARS WITH THE SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 personal benefit from the social study of the 'Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 Finally, those members of the church who are en- 
 gaged in sustaining this institution have much to en- 
 courage them. They are co-workers with the ministers 
 of the gospel. Without a tithe of the dreadful respon- 
 sibleness and anxiety that often crush, with a mountain's 
 weight, those at the altar, the faithful teacher and super- 
 intendent can participate in much of their sweetest 
 pleasure. O what pleasure, compared with that which 
 thrills the bosom of him who has just guided a soul to 
 the Lamb of God, or who is faithfully giving instruc- 
 tion with reference to a result so glorious I In that 
 pleasure teachers may participate. And, if faithful 
 to the end, they will hereafter share in the reward of 
 those who have turned many to righteousness, sar\'ed 
 souls from death, and hid a multitude of sins ; yea, 
 they will hear that blessed welcome from their Saviour, 
 " Well done, good and faithful servants ; enter ye into 
 the joy of your Lord ! " 
 
''ffilifimilte'SliS^,! Seminary Libra 
 
 1 1012 01237 1987 
 
 Date Due 
 
 
 
 
 
 mi5-^^ 
 
 
 
 
 nn?h'50 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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