Chapter IV: A Sprig of Evergreen, broken off, may teach us to abide in (2)

In a very short time the destinies of our country and of our churches will be in the hands of these young people. To a large extent they have been neglected in the family, in society, in the Sabbath-school, and in the Church; and as Dr. James W. Alexander said: "Be it ever remembered, that the neglecters of the Church have been neglected by the Church." These young people can no longer be petted as children, and they are not generally treated with the respect due to them as rising young men and women. Said a youth of fifteen once: "Uncle, I don't know what I can do with myself. I am too old to play with children, and I am not old enough to be interesting to the older people." This anomalous position such young people sadly feel. They are sensitive, beyond any other period of life, to any slight or neglect, and after a vain struggle to gain a recognition and position anywhere, they rush to the gilded saloons or the giddy dance for that sympathy, kindness, and regard which they vainly seek for in the family, the Sabbath-school and the Church of Christ.

This should never be, and it must not be. But can these persons be reached and gained by the Sabbath-school? And how? After due consideration, I reply, in the first place, that they _can_ be reached. My reasons are:

1. Because earnest, warm-hearted, disinterested efforts in this direction have ever been successful. When building the Brick Church in Rochester, N.Y., the names of all the scholars and their ages were transcribed and placed in the corner-stone, when it was ascertained that, of the whole number--I think 652--the average age was fourteen years and ten months; and other churches in that city present a similar record, because the able and influential Christian business men and women of Rochester devote themselves to this great work.

2. Because no class of persons is more susceptible to kind attention and real sympathy. They are quick to perceive and prompt to act. No class is more hopeful.

3. Because these senior classes, when appropriately conducted, are well adapted to meet the wants of their personal, social, intellectual, and religious nature, and to fill a secret void that is keenly felt by these precious youth.

In the second place, _How_ can our young men and women be reached? I answer:

1. Christian men and women of real talent and character, of religious and social position, must be thoroughly aroused to a self-sacrificing, devoted, heartfelt interest for them. They must put their hearts into it. No feigned respect will do. Nothing but real sympathy will be received. No mere professions will answer. These youth are quick and sharp-sighted to detect anything insincere or unreal. The best men and women of our churches must be chosen to take charge of their classes--persons who can and will understand, appreciate, and respect young people. They must evince a more anxious and watchful desire to notice and approve what is right in them, than to condemn that which is wrong. They must be patient and forbearing, with a good control of their countenance, tone of voice, language, quick to discover the value and bearing of the half-uttered opinions of the class, with an earnest personal interest in each one and all things that concern them. They should be enabled to prove themselves sincere friends and counsellors of all--both for this life, in employment, business, social questions, amusements, etc., and for the life that is to come. They should have an intelligent enthusiasm in the great work, with a strong faith in God, in his Word, and in his Spirit, and a hearty good-will to man.

2. Lay your plans for these classes on so large and liberal a scale as to command the scholars' respect as well as your own. Render them as pleasant and as attractive as possible. Make the best arrangements you can as to room, seats, library, and periodicals. I am sure _The Sunday-School Times_ and other Sabbath-school journals and magazines, would be very useful in such a service. Do all you can to raise these classes in their own estimation, and omit no opportunity to cherish self-respect on the part of each member, and try to inspire them all with higher aspirations and better hopes. Manifest, as well as feel, a _personal_ interest in each one.

3. Aim high and direct. Have a distinct, definite aim and object in all your teachings, and see that each member of the class clearly understands it. Young people want drawing out and leading forward in gentle confidence. In these classes we ought to select and train for the purpose our best Sabbath-school teachers. If the exercises are allowed to degenerate into unprofitable discussions, the examination of curious questions, controversies, or skeptical subjects, they may be productive of positive evil. Care should be taken, therefore, to engross them with the most ennobling themes. None can better appreciate what is truly excellent than these young people. An appeal to the Word and to the Testimony they will understand and respect. Lead them to compare Scripture with Scripture. Illustrate the Old Testament from the New, and also bring illustration for the New Testament from the Old. Induce the young people to make the best use of a good reference Bible, searching out parallel passages for comparison, inference, and illustration, and all will be interested and benefited. Use similes, metaphors, etc., which so abound, as well as comparisons and inferences. The following quotation may serve as an illustration of four figures of speech, all brought into one sentence:

"Imagine a father bewailing the loss of his son, by drowning.

_Simile_--He stood firmly upon the beach, like an oak of the forest,

_Metaphor_--and cried out, with trumpet voice,

_Hyperbole_--louder than the cannon's roar:--

_Apostrophe_--Oh ocean! thou hast robbed me of a beloved and courageous son."

4. The character, interests, and feelings of the class should be the teacher's unwearied, daily study. This will be a noble work. Nothing which concerns them should be treated by the teacher with indifference. His profoundest thoughts, reading, observation, and study should be laid under contribution to his class. Painstaking saves thousands, neglect ruins millions. Count no sacrifice too dear to win souls.

5. It is indispensable that the teacher of such a class should always be courteous. Religion should at least make its possessor a gentleman, and this the young people all know right well. His whole life and bearing will influence the little circle. The personal appearance also should be duly regarded. Says a teacher: "The manner of a teacher should always be marked by these qualities: 1. Animation--a quickened, active state of the whole soul; 2. Intention--the aim and endeavor to impart the information required; 3. Earnestness--zeal in executing the instruction."

6. The class should be consulted, as far as possible, respecting the subject of study. The teacher should lose no opportunity to evince his respect for their opinions. His difficult questions should be asked generally of the class, while the personal questions should be easy and adapted. He should receive all their answers with an abounding charity and confidence, and make the most of the feeblest responses. A tart reply to a single remark will ofttimes seal the lips and hearts of a whole class. They love confidence, and become afraid to trust a teacher with their stammering, half-uttered, imperfect answers, particularly if he appears more anxious to be smart and witty than to do them good and honor them. Let the lessons be systematic and complete. The teacher should aim to draw out the thoughts of his pupils in an easy way, instead of pouring in his own. "_Thoughts_, not words," should be the class-motto, and none can appreciate them better than young people. Let the illustrations be well-chosen and appropriate. If you strike an important practical question during the lesson, do not leave it until satisfactorily investigated, whether the lesson is covered or not. Let every mind be calm and unembarrassed, so that it will work well; much depends upon the class, as well as upon the capacity of the teacher. "A few pebbles, a piece of leather, and a cord, are in some hands, a more formidable weapon than the sword of a giant, although it be strong as a weaver's beam and keen as a blade of Damascus steel."

7. These young people should be especially induced to look into their own hearts, and study their own mental and moral mechanism. Lead them often to converse about themselves. It has been truly said, that "it is a law of human nature, that man is interested in nothing so much as about himself." Whatever relates to his own personal experience always claims his especial regard. Many quite fail as teachers, as well as preachers, because they are so impersonal.

8. Social meetings of the class should be held now and then, and pains should be taken to make them attractive and useful. Young men and women must have their social nature regarded. The teacher should on such occasions strive to recall the freshness and vivacity of his own youth, and live it over again; enter into it heartily, and show the class his acquaintance and sympathy with all their peculiar wants, fears, and trials. Band the young people together, in social bonds and mutual pledges if you please, to attend church, prayer-meeting, and Sabbath-school, to read the Bible and pray _regularly_, and perhaps pledge also against improper reading, associates, games, drinking, smoking, late hours, neglect of the Sabbath, and unite them in associated literary efforts, in tract missions, Sabbath-school work, in visitation, and in all ways of doing good. There should be social prayer-meetings of the class at convenient times. Have, also, a well-chosen library for them, and point out from time to time the books best adapted to peculiar wants and circumstances.

9. Give each pupil distinctly to understand that every step in your efforts on his behalf is intended to lead him to Christ; that all there is to be desired in this life and in that which is to come, is embodied in this idea; that you expect, as soon as they get their minds clear upon the glad tidings of the gospel, that they will embrace them at once. Life is short, and there is no time to lose. Besides, young people when convinced are generally prompt to act, and therefore there is great encouragement. In fact, no field of benevolent effort is more full of hope and encouragement than this one of which we speak. In a Bible-class in one of our church Sabbath-schools not long since, fifty-five persons united with that church during the current year; and in another church and class, _fifty_, and in another still, _thirty-four_--all as the results of one year's labor. How glorious! Let then our sons and daughters, our clerks, scholars, and servant-girls, all be gathered without delay by the churches of Christ into these adult classes. Thus let the warm, burning influences of the living teacher reach every youthful heart. Says an earnest worker: "Among persons of all ages, truth most frequently has power when spoken by the living voice. The words of a teacher's mouth should be ever warm with the Spirit's breath, and strong with the vital impulses of his throbbing heart. Such words children feel." In the language of one of our Bible commentators, the truth evidently is this: "_That personal effort for the souls of individuals_--the lip, the thought, and the heart of a living man--brought into contact with the lip, thought, and heart of a living man, IS A GRAND INSTITUTION OF GOD FOR THE CONVERSION OF THE WORLD."

There is such a great necessity for adapting each lesson perfectly to the age, acquirements, etc., of the scholar, that I add a single specimen lesson from "The Sunday Teachers' Treasury." It is upon the same subject as that taken up in Mr. Wells's infant-class lesson--"The Passover"--and is given that, by comparison of style, the adaptation of the same lesson to infant and Bible-classes may be seen:

_Specimen Lesson for a Senior Class._

_The Feast of the Passover._

(Exodus xii.)

Circumstances of the Israelites at this time; how solemn, how stirring, how intense in interest! The institution of the Passover seems to have a threefold design. It was--1. An act of faith and obedience on the part of Israel. 2. A memorial of their deliverance. 3. A type of Christ. In the last view we will study it to-day, looking less closely at those points which we had on a former occasion, and connecting with the actual celebration of the Passover that which God connected with it--the feast of unleavened bread and the offering of the first-fruits of the barley harvest.

The Passover, then, was a type of Christ.

I. The victim was to be a lamb; and this title is applied to Christ (John i. 29).

The first altar exhibits a lamb slain; the first act of God for Israel is the slaying of the lamb; the first deed of the new dispensation was presenting, and then offering, the Lamb; the first opening of the sanctuary above, shows the "Lamb that was slain."

1. Without blemish (Matt. xxvii. 4; 1 Pet. i. 19; Heb. vii. 26).

2. Set apart four days (ver. 3, 6; John xii. 1, 12).

3. Roasted with fire (Isa. liii.; Ps. xxii.; Luke xxii. 44).

4. Not a bone to be broken (John xix. 33).

5. All the congregation were to take part (ver. 6; Matt. xxvi. 1; Acts ii. 23-36).

6. The blood was to be shed and sprinkled. Where? On the side-post and upper door-post; not on the floor, where it would be trampled on (compare 1 Pet. i. 19; Heb. x. 29).

It is not enough that Christ's blood is shed; it must be sprinkled on our hearts (Heb. xii. 24; 1 Pet. i. 2). The act of sprinkling it upon the door-posts was equivalent to a profession, "I am the Lord's." It was the means of safety, "When _I see the blood_," etc.

What encouragement for timid Christians! Perhaps, as the angel went on his awful mission, the shriek and wail from some neighboring house would reach the ears of an Israelitish family. A mother might tremble and clasp her child to her breast with fear; her faith might be weak; but if the blood were on the door she was safe, though trembling. "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." "Pass over." The general idea that God was passing through by his destroying angel, and left those doors on which the blood was seen. This, perhaps, is not strictly the meaning. At least, Bishop Lowth, an eminent Hebrew scholar, says, "Two agents are supposed--the destroying angel on his errand of judgment, and Jehovah Himself, as it were, accompanying him; and when he sees the sign, 'springing forward before the door,' he makes Himself the safety of his own" (compare Isa. xxxi. 5).

Peculiar beauty of the type thus viewed. If the blood of the Lamb is sprinkled upon us, we are as safe, though not yet as happy, as the redeemed in heaven (Rom. viii. 1, 31, 33, 34). Nothing but the blood of the great Sacrifice will save the soul. Have you come to it? No outward membership, no self-denial, no suffering, nothing but Christ can save.

II. The paschal sacrifice was to be eaten.

1. The blood was to be sprinkled _before_ the food was eaten. It was consciousness of safety through the blood that enabled them with gladness to partake of the feast. We must have faith in Jesus before we can have communion with him.

2. It was to be eaten with bitter herbs and unleavened bread--the former the emblem of their bitter oppression and the type of sorrow for sin; the latter showing that the redeemed must be holy. They are set free, but it is to be made pure.

III. The Passover was to be kept.

The feast of unleavened bread was to last seven days. It was, as it were, the continuance of the Passover. The one exhibits the _way_ of pardon; the other, the holiness which follows pardon.

IV. In closing our subject, not exhausting it, turn to Leviticus xxiii. 9-11.

1. "On the morrow after the Sabbath," that is, the first day after Passover Sabbath, sometimes the third day after the Passover, sometimes later.

2. The sheaf is evidently "Christ the first-fruits" (1 Cor. xv. 23). Jesus rose the third day after the Passover, and this has become our Sabbath ever since.

3. The first sheaf is the pledge of our resurrection--that is, of our declared acceptance and full freedom by our resurrection (1 Cor. xv. 20).

How full the meaning of the apostle's words, "Christ _our_ _Passover_ is sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feast!" Ours is a greater danger, a nobler deliverance, a higher ransom, a grander freedom. Let as live as those who are not their own, but are redeemed from "vain conversation" as well as from death and condemnation.

XVII.

THE ART OF SECURING ATTENTION.

Every one will acknowledge the indispensable necessity of a teacher's securing good attention. By attention we mean "fixity of thought, steadiness of mind."

1. Says Mr. Fitch: "Attention is--1. An act of the _will_. 2. It is _the one_ of all the mental faculties which is most under our control. Therefore the degree of attention we give depends upon our disposition, and is therefore largely a matter of _discipline_, and other things being equal, that teacher will gain the best attention who has most personal influence, and who is looked up to with the greatest respect." (Teacher! is your character, conduct, and manner such as will entitle you to respect?) "3. Attention is a _habit_. If truly given, every day it becomes the easier. And every day we listen languidly to a lesson or sermon the habit of inattention is strengthened."

2. Attention is promoted by a deep and earnest interest in and sympathy with the child, as well as for him. We must enter into sympathy with him, so as to understand his nature, his weaknesses, and his trials, and make all due allowance for them.

3. If the teacher would secure attention, he must be _accurately and abundantly prepared_; for no teacher can teach all he knows, and the moment a teacher approaches the limit of his preparation, he shows his weakness and embarrassment, the child detects it, and he is gone.

4. Improve well the circumstances which surround the daily life of the child, for you must here gather your best illustrations. Teachers can do this, if they are industrious, and will keep their "Sunday-school spectacles on."

5. Give the children frequent change of posture to relieve them. Study to do this especially in infant-classes. Give much freedom of motion and gesture to the little ones. If they speak of God and heaven, let them point and look upward in harmony, and thus teach them in a reverent manner to _act out_ their words and feelings.

6. Simultaneous reading and making of ellipses, leaving the children to fill in a word at the close of the sentence or lesson, will aid in securing attention.

7. Recapitulation is very important to gain the attention. The scholar must give attention to be prepared for the expected review. Therefore always ask in detail, in order to see that all is understood. No child or man ever takes pains to grasp a subject, so as to fasten it in his memory, unless he expects to be called upon for it, or in some way to find use for it hereafter. We cannot retain in our minds isolated or abstract knowledge. Todd beautifully says, "Ask a child if he knows what whiteness is, and he will tell you no; ask him if he knows what a white wall or white paper is, and he knows at once. Ask him if he knows what hardness is, and he will only stare at you; but ask him if he knows what a hard wall, or hard hand, or a hard apple is, and he will tell you at once." Connect the lesson with previous knowledge, and take great care to sustain attention with abundant resources, for if it is once lost, it is a very difficult thing to regain it on the same lesson.

8. _Pictorial_ power. Word-painting by the aid of the imagination and ample details; the power of describing scenes and incidents, so as to appear real to the child's imagination, will assist you in gaining his attention. If you will dwell on all the little details of a fact clearly, you will be graphic in picturing it out in words; and without these details, the teacher may sometimes be very graphic with children, even in the simple act of reading with suitable _emotion_, _emphasis_, and _action_. Said a little girl, "Oh, father, Mr. F., the minister, read the 21st chapter of Revelation in church to-day, and it was just as if he had taken a pencil and paper and pictured it right out before us." It is St. John's elegant description of the Holy City. The Bible makes great use of the imagination in its numerous emblems, metaphors, similes, etc. In fact, we cannot worship God without the aid of the imagination. God is compared to a sun and shield; a rock and refuge. Heaven itself is described with its streets and harps and crowns of gold, its arches, mansions, rivers, etc. Even our divine Redeemer calls himself the vine, the tree, the lamb, the bread, and fountain of living waters.

9. Avoid a stereotyped or routine mode of teaching. If ever so good, strive to improve it; vary it, and freshen it up in some way, and thus keep each child expecting something.

10. Awaken _curiosity_. Archbishop Whately says: "Curiosity is the parent of attention; and a teacher has no more right to expect success from those who have no curiosity to learn, than a husbandman has who sows a field without ploughing it;" duly regard their love of _approbation_ by cherishing their self-respect; and if you would retain attention, patiently cultivate their _inquisitiveness_, for it will prove one of the grateful rewards for your kindness. Says an old writer: "The general occupation of infancy is to inquire. Education _directs_ their _inquiries_." Therefore, bear patiently with your little ones, and answer all their endless questionings. Do not rashly check the rising spirit of free inquiry with an impatient word or frown. Says the poet:

"Answer all a child's questions, and ask others as simple
As its own, yet wisely framed
To waken and prove the young child's faculties,
As though its mind was some sweet instrument,
And you with breath and touch were finding out
What stops and keys would yield the sweetest music."

Now, I will freely acknowledge--1. That attention, such as we want to get from children, is a very difficult thing for anybody to give. The incidents of yesterday and the cares of to-day and business and pleasures of to-morrow, will divert and scatter attention. 2. That fixed attention to religious subjects is particularly hard for any one, and _especially_ hard for children to give; but hard as it is, _we must have it_, and no half-hearted, languid attention either, if we are to do any real good in the Sunday-school. 3. Says an old writer to Sunday-school teachers: "Let me tell you, you will not get it by claiming it; by demanding it as a right; or entreating it as a favor, by urging upon your pupils the importance of the subject, the sacredness of the day, the kindness of the teachers, or the great and solemn character of the truths which you have to impart. All these are legitimate arguments to be used with older Christians, but will not do to rely upon with children. Nothing in the long run--except fear, which is a very unsatisfactory motive--can keep a child's attention fixed but a sense of _real interest_ in the things which you are saying. The subject must claim attention for itself, and therefore, the teacher needs always to be accurately prepared and well furnished with correct knowledge, parallel passages, illustrations, facts, anecdotes, definitions of hard words, allusions, poetry, etc. In all your teaching, forget not to recall the fresh spirit of your childhood in all its warmth and earnestness, remembering that he is the wisest teacher who can combine the man's intellect with the child's heart."

Now it may be, after all, teacher, that your children may be inattentive, or they will disobey your commands, or they will fail to treat you with respect; but if that should be so, we will reply, in conclusion, in the impressive words of Mr. Fitch: "Ask yourself in that case whether your own behavior is uniform and dignified; whether you ever give commands without seeing that they are obeyed; whether you waste your words or your influence in an injudicious way; whether there is anything in your conduct that reveals to the children a want of punctuality or order, or of earnestness or steadfastness on your part? For children are very keen observers of character, and, in the long run, are sure to feel loyalty and affection for one who is manifestly anxious to do them good, and who can be uniformly relied on in word and in deed."

XVIII.

THE ART OF QUESTIONING.

There is a real _art_ in knowing where, when, and how to put a good question, that shall quicken the memory, set the mind to thinking, and call back the reflective faculties. Such are the possibilities of a question. A large proportion of all the good teaching in our Sabbath-schools is brought about by the simple process of questions and answers. "A question unveils the soul. Nothing can escape a question. A question reveals decision." Hence the skill required. Mr. J. G. Fitch says: "The success and efficiency of our teaching depend more on the skill and judgment with which we put questions than on any other single circumstance."

This art is to be learned, like any other art, by much study and patient practice, for we best learn the art of questioning _by questioning_. Augustine says: "A boy can preach, but a man only can catechise," and Lord Bacon says: "A wise question is the half of knowledge." Therefore the great skill in teaching consists mainly in the right forming and asking of questions.

If this be true, it follows that this subject should be regarded as of special importance by every teacher. Teachers often say that they cannot succeed in asking questions without the book; that they do not know what to ask. To this I reply, 1. There is never any difficulty in forming the question where there is an interest to obtain the answer. 2. It is generally unwise to ask any question unless we have an interest in obtaining the answer. Do not tantalize the little ones. Says Mr. Hassell: "A question under some circumstances will merely produce an exercise of the memory; under others an exercise of reasoning; and under others again it will stimulate inquiry," and we may add, awaken curiosity. Mr. Groser says: "The true scope of questioning-power is as follows: To awaken curiosity or the desire to know; to arouse the memory or the recollection of what is already known; or to point out something unknown, which may be inferred from that which is known." A question skillfully put will arouse, will fix attention, concentrate the thoughts, and so discipline the mind of the pupil.

There are, however, many bad and indifferent questions put, in religious teaching, which a little knowledge of the correct rules of the art of questioning will enable us to avoid. Frequently a slight variation in the form changes a bad question into a good one. For instance: "Moses was a good man, was he not?" is a bad question. "What kind of a man was Moses?" is a good question, as it awakens thought. "What do you understand by faith and repentance?" is a bad question, for it is ambiguous and indefinite, and perplexes the child. "Will you tell me what is faith?" is a good question, for it compels the child to think and to inquire--it puts into his hand the laboring oar and he must row. "Did David kill Goliath with a stone or with a sword?" This is a bad question. It is involved and suggestive. Ask the child simply, "With what did David kill Goliath?" and the question is a good one, in strict conformity with the laws of questioning and of the child-mind.

Another class of questions is very common, but well nigh useless, namely, leading questions, such as, "Was David a good man?" "Was Goliath a wicked man?" These are mostly bad or indifferent questions, and are almost a total loss to the teacher. Slightly vary them in the following way, and you make them at once, in every aspect, good questions. "What kind of a man was David?" "What kind of a man was Goliath?" Teachers will remember, therefore, to avoid ambiguous or indefinite, involved or suggestive, and leading questions, which latter are answered "Yes" or "No," for they are generally of little avail.

What kind of questions, then, shall Sabbath-school teachers seek to use? I reply:

1. Questions of _Examination_, in order to find out what the pupil already knows; to gauge his present knowledge, and ascertain what he needs to know.

2. Questions of _explanation_ of particular words, which should be put freely while reading the lesson.

3. Questions of _actual instruction_, or reflective questions, thus making the pupil teach himself, or find out as much as possible by thinking and inquiring, and thus leading him to correct his own answers. Much instruction may be communicated by asking questions and correcting the answers, but great care should be taken to make the most of the answers, and to do full justice to them. Socrates's plan was to lead the pupil by a pleasant question to discover his own error, instead of directly charging him with it. Encourage your scholars by all means to ask questions with freedom, and give your teaching more the form of an earnest conversation.

4. Questions of _recapitulation_ or review. In this way you ascertain whether your lessons are received, for the test is their telling it back to you in their own language. You question the lesson _into_ the minds of the scholars, and then question it _out_ again. Herbert, in his "Country Parson," gives us an illustration. After asking, "Since man is so miserable, what is to be done?" and the answerer could not tell, instead of telling him, he properly asked the following simple question, "What would he do if he were in a ditch?" This familiar illustration made the answer so plain that he was even ashamed of his ignorance; for he could not but say, "He would make haste out of it as fast as he could." Then he proceeded to ask whether he could get out of the ditch alone or whether he needed a helper, and who was that helper? This is the skill; and doubtless the Holy Scripture intends thus much when it condescends to the naming of a plough, leaven, boys piping and dancing, showing that ordinary things are to be washed and cleansed, and serve as lights for heavenly truths.

5. Questions with an _ellipsis_ are most useful in the review or summing up of the lesson, as, "He says, I am the good--_Shepherd_. Come unto--_me_," etc.

6. Questions may often be used to kindle the reflective faculties, to exercise the mind and to develope ideas.

7. And, lastly, questions _applying_ divine truth--softly, thoughtfully, and in a few words--should never be forgotten. Jesus did so and so. "_Do you?_" David said, "Oh how love I thy law?" "_Do you so love it?_" Solomon said, "Remember now thy Creator." Charlie, "_Do you love to remember your Creator?_" or "_Why not?_" etc.

Not only are the character and adaptation of the question of great importance, but the manner and look of the eye and the tone of voice and the manner of receiving the answer. The manner should be kind, gentle, life-like, and winning; the look of the eye should beam with life and interest, while the tone of voice should bespeak great tenderness and sympathy. A cold, formal tone of voice will repel the answer, even with a good question. It should be sprightly, and respectfully familiar and natural. Children cannot endure coldness nor dullness nor dryness; therefore avoid all long pauses and sluggish manner and heavy voice. The way which you receive the answers will determine the question whether your scholars will freely answer you or not. Make the most of an answer unless it is absolutely wrong, and if wrong, say, "Will some scholar tell me why that answer is wrong?" Search out for all the points or hints of truth you can find in the answer of the child, and unfold it and hold it up in the most favorable and gracious light.

Never snap up a scholar, or neglect or ridicule his answers, however faulty. Always be candid and sincere, and your scholars will soon learn to trust themselves with you. A sharp, harsh reply will close the lips of a whole class. Enunciate every word with clearness. Vary the questions with all patience if not answered readily, and never think a child does not know because he does not answer the question at once. Be sure "never to tell a child what you could make that child tell you."

Let your questions have a regular connection, so that one will naturally follow another, and in fact, glide into the next, and "say as little as you can in questioning and teaching, but so say it as to cause the children to say as much as possible."

Then again be careful to adapt your questions well. Do not tell much in your questions. Put the right question to the right scholar, for it will not do to ask A or B or C a question which only D in the class can answer, for we are not to ask any child any question unless we suppose the answer is in the mind of the child.

It is of particular importance that in the commencement of a lesson we always start aright. Have some easy, pleasant questions ready, which they will be glad to answer. No matter what occurs, never manifest impatience or severity, or descend to a witticism or a sneer. A sneering, sarcastic teacher should be left out of the school. Therefore gladly receive and develope, in the most charitable manner, the half-uttered, stammering answer of the child at your feet, and your children, in their hearts, will bless you.

Dr. Arnold, the great teacher at Rugby, said: "It was his practice to teach by questioning, and as a general rule, he never gave information except as a kind of reward for an answer. His explanations were as short as possible, and his questions were of a kind to call the attention of the boys to the real point of every subject, and to disclose to them the exact boundaries of what they knew and what they did not know." Let me add to this Archdeacon Bather's account of how he became a catechist. He says in his "Hints on Catechising:"

"Perhaps, gentle reader, before I actually enter upon my task of teaching you to teach others by catechising, it may be as well to tell you how I became a catechist myself; for the thought seized upon me and occupied me much in very early life. I was at school at Rugby, and at the time I speak of, was in what we called the '_upper third_.' The '_upper fourth_' was under the care of Mr. Innes, afterwards Head Master of the Royal Free Grammar School at Warwick. As I was sitting one evening in the room of my private tutor, Mr. Homer, some one knocked at the door, and in came Mr. Innes. 'Bather,' says he, 'when Mr. Homer has done with you, will you come up into my room? I want to speak to you; you will find nobody there but O---- (naming one of my school-fellows) and myself.' Of course I went; and Mr. Innes, motioning my companion to a chair and myself to another, took his own and addressed us thus: 'I am going to set you two boys very hard at work. Pray, O----, do you know anything about astronomy?' 'Not much, I am afraid, sir.' 'And you, Bather?' 'Not so much as O----, I am afraid.' 'Well, now, do not flatter yourselves that I am going to tell you anything about it, for I shall do no such thing. Nevertheless, you shall know more about it, and a good deal, too, before you go out of this room.' He then put questions to us both, by which he soon elicited all the particulars of such little knowledge as we possessed; and then he questioned us further, soon causing us to make many blunders, and then making us correct our answers, so that we certainly did quit the room with fuller and more orderly notions of the matter than we brought into it." He says, although this did not make him an astronomer, yet it led him to think and discern what must be the most effectual way of imparting knowledge, for "under Mr. Innes his interest never flagged; he could have listened all night."

From the same source is here added another illustration of teaching by the means of leading questions. "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness," etc. "Then was Jesus." What do you mean by "then was Jesus?" (Hesitates.) "Then took Mary a pound of ointment." What do you mean by "then took Mary?" Then Mary took. What do you mean by "then was Jesus?" and the answer came readily, "Then Jesus was." Now you shall question me. Put me a question to which each clause shall be a reply, beginning with the first. "When was Jesus led up to be tempted?" "Then." So here you are taught--what? The time when these things took place. Put me a question to which the words "led up" shall be an answer. "What was done to Jesus?" He was "led up." Put a question for the word "Spirit." "Who led him up?" "The Spirit." So of the word "wilderness." "Whither did the Spirit lead him?" "Into the wilderness."

Let us add one more illustration, showing how to put questions to help and lead. The manner must, of course, be right, for a clumsy method will hinder rather than help, and if we expect a right answer the question must be a simple one, or one that will not admit of being put as _two_ questions. The following anecdote may serve as the illustration: "A lady came one day to my school and requested me to let her hear the children catechised. The class happened to be reading the third chapter of the Acts, the first of which reads thus: 'Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.' 'Well,' I said to the teacher, 'stop there and question them on that verse.' 'At what time of day?' said he, 'did those things take place which are here set down?' 'At the ninth hour,' replied the class. But then a poor boy became a little frightened at something or other, and consequently puzzled; and after some hesitation said, 'Well, then, at the ninth hour, _who went where?_' The first boy in the class smiled a little, but made no answer; the next seemed to think a little, but still no voice came. I took care that nobody should answer out of his turn, and the question was put to every boy severally to the bottom of the class. The lady turned to me and expressed her surprise that out of a class of five-and-twenty boys nobody could answer. 'Well, ma'am, I am afraid you will consider these five-and-twenty boys very stupid, but let us look a little further into the matter.' And then, turning round, my eye caught that of Jack Thompson. 'Jack,' said I, 'how many stupid boys have we got in our second class?' 'One, sir,' says Jack. 'And who may he be?' 'The teacher, sir.' 'You must prove your words, Jack: come and teach the class yourself.' Now Jack was not an impudent boy; but as he advanced and saw the lady looking at him, he did not appear so confused as poor Peter had done before, and he betook himself at once to business. 'You have told us,' said he, 'that the things related in this verse took place at the ninth hour of the day; to what was that hour wont to be devoted?' 'To prayer.' 'And what was the building called that was open, at that time, to receive the worshippers?' 'The temple.' 'Are not some persons specially mentioned who came to the temple at that time?' 'Yes.' 'How many?' 'Two.' 'What were their names?' 'Peter and John.' 'Where did Peter and John go at the ninth hour?' 'Into the temple.' 'What for?' 'To pray,' etc. The lady began to perceive that the children did know something about the matter, and Jack Thompson, being concerned for the conduct of his class, proceeded to ask them a great many more questions, to which the answers were very satisfactory. The lady good-humoredly expressed her approval, and I said, 'Now, madam, you see that all that was the matter was, that poor Peter, being a little confused, put his questions in a clumsy manner. Depend upon it, he will not soon do the like again.'"

Questions should be progressive, that is, they should proceed from the simple and the known to the faintly known, and thence to the unknown.

XIX.

THE TEACHERS' MEETING.

A regular weekly meeting of Sabbath-school teachers for conference and prayer about all school matters, and a mutual contribution of thoughts and illustrations and plans of teaching adapted to each and to all the various classes on the next Sabbath's lesson, is now considered an indispensable necessity. And it is a great social and religious privilege as well.

We are all unworthy, and need to learn how to teach Scripture truths attractively to youthful minds. All need training for the work, and the weekly teachers' meetings ought to be the grand normal training-schools for Sabbath-school teachers everywhere. Every Sabbath-school ought also to have a Bible-class or two for the training of teachers. The almost half a million of Sabbath-school teachers in our land--the _masses_--cannot mingle with us in council in our great Conventions and Institutes, and consequently the few favored ones must imbibe the spirit and avail themselves of ample materials, and carry it down to the quiet, devoted workers in common Sabbath-schools through the means of a well-ordered teachers' meeting. The meeting can be held for one hour and a half on a week-day evening at the lecture-room, or, better yet, at the superintendent's house or that of one of the teachers, alternately. It is conducted usually by the superintendent, but sometimes by the pastor, or by one of the teachers who can sustain the interest.

But we are met at this point with a stubborn and overwhelming fact, viz.: a large proportion of all these meetings attempted to be held have resulted in a failure, and have been abandoned, so that now in some places not one school in ten or twenty holds such a meeting. With such an experience we can never ask Sabbath-school teachers to try the experiment on the old plan. We must count the cost, and Sabbath-school men, with only an hour or two in a week for it, cannot afford to make mistakes or failures. Time is too precious.

The great practical question arises, What are the causes of failure? Is it anything inherent in these meetings? or is it in the wrong mode of conducting them? After a most careful investigation of the subject, especially during the last fifteen or twenty years, I have come to the deliberate conclusion that it is owing almost entirely to the wrong plans on which they are conducted. What have been these wrong plans?

1st. They have ordinarily been conducted on the Bible-class, question-book, commentary-studying, and theological-discussing plans; and on those plans they have, and will, in at least nine cases out of ten, result in failure, whether in the hands of pastors or of superintendents. Teachers do not gain enough in such meetings to reward them for their time and trouble in coming, and consequently they cannot be censured for non-attendance.

2d. Another plan of conducting them is in the form of lectures. But on this plan not even an expository lecture has prevented the meeting from being a failure. Occasionally a pastor or a superintendent, with great expository powers and a sprightly manner of analyzing truth and a personal sympathy with the teachers and children, can sustain and make these meetings interesting and profitable on this plan, and to such we can say--God bless you--_go on_! But we cannot afford to recommend any plan for general adoption with such a prospect of failure.

What, then, must be done? We say decidedly, _revolutionize your plans_, and meet with the direct aim and purpose of _helping one another_ in your work, and especially on the next Sabbath's lesson.

What then are the objects of teachers' meetings, and how should they be conducted? The objects appear to me to be--1. To get all the teachers well acquainted, socially and religiously, and as teachers. 2. To combine our mutual confidences, sympathies and prayers. 3. To mutually help each other and relieve each other's difficulties by conferring together on such questions as--how best to secure and retain attention;--how to question;--how to prepare the lesson and present it, and teach it;--how to draw lessons of instruction, illustrate and apply truth;--how to analyze the lesson, lay out the plan of it, and break it up into small, convenient parcels, adapted to all capacities from the infant up to the adult classes;--how to make the Word of God most useful, most interesting and most impressive to youthful minds, convicting of sin and converting to God; and the thorough training of the young in the Christian life, and in the sound knowledge of revealed truth.

The way to conduct these meetings is, to go to work naturally, systematically and directly, in a common-sense way, to accomplish these grand objects. Suppose, after singing two verses of an appropriate hymn, a direct prayer of two or three minutes, and one verse of Scripture that just meets the case, the leader inquires for the next half hour the size, regularity, etc., of the different classes, and asks counsel to correct irregularities. In this way the teachers will become so well acquainted with each other's classes that they can intelligently pray for each other. Then have a recess of ten or fifteen minutes for introduction and social intercourse; after which another half hour should be devoted to inquiring of each teacher for the various _best thoughts_ of the lesson for them to use. Let the next meeting be directed to the difficulties, and how to relieve them, and the last half hour to asking for illustrations for the week or month's lesson. At the next meeting inquire, Have you _visited_ your scholars during the month, and what have you found of interest in your visits? Then devote the last half hour to examples and _plans of teaching_ different verses by several teachers. At the fourth and last meeting of the month inquire, Is there any special religious interest in your class? or, Why not? and lastly, How can you _apply_ the lesson so as best to make a saving impression?

In some such way I would meet real present wants, avoiding routine, and providing something fresh and varied at every meeting, just adapted to all. In some such way conduct your meetings, and no teacher can afford to be absent.

In a country school district Sabbath-school let the teachers turn all their sociability into this channel, and set apart, say Thursday evening of each week, for a pleasant social teachers' meeting at the residence of the superintendent or one of the teachers, alternating about. Let the farmers arrange to leave their work an hour earlier on that evening for the sake of the great blessing to their children. Provide attendants for the lady teachers. Suppose the superintendent lives one mile north of the school-house, and two teachers are one mile east, three south, and four west. The two young lady teachers "one mile east" have no escort, but the superintendent remembers that in the next house further east, the only son of Esquire Jones, a fine young man of sixteen years, has just drifted out of the Sabbath-school, and is inclining toward fast horses and gay companions. The superintendent yearns to reach and save him. He thinks and prays over the matter until he feels deeply for the youth. He then visits him, and approaches him with unusual respect--informs him that he has come to ask a particular favor--will he accept the post of librarian in our flourishing little Sabbath-school? He readily consents. The superintendent then says, "Charlie, we teachers have a delightful social gathering at each other's houses every Thursday evening, and as you have a fine horse and buggy, cannot you make it convenient to bring up the two Misses S---- to that meeting?" Why, of course, it is just what the superintendent wants, and it is also just what Charlie wants--something to do, and soon, by God's grace, Charlie becomes a true Christian.

In whatever form the teachers' meetings are conducted it is indispensable--1. That the conductor feels a sincere respect for each teacher, and treats his opinions with candor. 2. That the conductor shall adapt his questions to each individual, and ask those questions with real courtesy and consideration. 3. It is absolutely necessary that the conductor should receive all replies in a life-like manner, with due respect, and make the best of them. If the answers are not well received, it will close the lips of the teachers. They must draw together, and a dull, prosy conductor will check them all.

There is great value in the combined counsels and experience of almost any common band of teachers if fairly and fully drawn out. It will often be seen that "the commonest mind has thoughts worthy of the rarest." In this way the teachers' meetings can be sustained in the hands of ordinary superintendents, and will become the most attractive gatherings in the whole community. An accomplished young lady said to me: "One such meeting as this is worth more than a dozen costly New York parties." The teachers will regularly attend, for they need the assistance which can here be obtained. As well ask a brakeman to run a locomotive, or a spinner to superintend a factory, or an untaught man to teach an academy, as to ask an inexperienced person, or even a classical scholar, to teach divine truth when no one has taught him how. James Gall says, most truly, "Education is the highest of all the sciences, and teaching the most important of all the arts." Teachers then, need training, and the teachers' meeting can be made one of the most valuable means of securing it. One of the great objects of Sabbath-School Teachers' Institutes is to train superintendents, teachers, etc., so that they can interestingly and profitably conduct their weekly teachers' meetings, which are the real institutes for the great mass of teachers.

_Examples._

The following Examples are real, as taken from my note-book during the present year:

I. At one time the lesson was the parable of the Prodigal Son. The first teacher was called up for the best thought for his class in the lesson. He replied, "Like the prodigal, all children want to have their own way." The second teacher, "The farther he wandered the greater his misery." The third, "When _starving_, came to himself." 4. He resolved to "arise and go to his father." 5. "He _returned_." 6. "After his father fell on his neck, he _confessed_." 7. "His confidence in his father when he returned." 8. "His father saw him a _great way off_." 9. "Father _ran_,"--old men do not usually run. 10. "With joy _embraced_ and kissed him," etc. 11. "The degradation of a sinful course." 12. The father's wonderful condescension and willingness.

II. At another teachers' meeting the lesson was Luke xviii. 18-27. The Young Ruler.--First, prayer, singing, and reading of the lesson. Then called on the teachers for their plan of teaching the lesson.

The _First Teacher_ gave five heads. 1. Question, "What shall I do?" 2. Knowing the law. 3. Taking up the cross. 4. Rejecting the cross. 5. The great obstacle.

_Second Teacher._--1. Eternal life, what is it? 2. Have you kept the law? 3. What else was required? 4. Come. 5. Overcome every obstacle. 6. You must love nothing better than Christ.