humana was represented by a squalling baby. Such were the "maestri, " and with them a countless chorus of lesser fry, ten times more numerous and active than Jullien's band."

For the song itself we refer to the little volume, which is beautifully got up, containing many amusing illustrations.

Publications of the Sunday School Union. THE Sunday School movement, like all efforts of circumstantial origin, had to fight its way through primitive difficulties, when in a state of unavoidable isolation and weakness. It required some central agency to collect its scattered elements, and to arrange and systematize them. Hence the origin of The Sunday School Union. It undertook a difficult work; but its varied committees are composed of practical men, of zeal, energy, and selfdevotedness, and they have done their work wisely and well. They have looked at it in its breadth and depth, and realised its magnitude; nor has this dissuaded them from their purpose. Men who, week after week, will brave the damps and fogs of the city, and after a walk of several miles, be found sitting in committee at seven o'clock on a winter's morning, are just such men as are likely to accomplish their purposes, however difficult. Some of the fruits of these labours are to be found in the publications before us. They are not the results of a trade speculation, but of a felt necessity. The first five have been compiled for the use of teachers, and they are just such as every one ought to possess. Their titles sufficiently indicate the nature of their contents; of their merits we need only say, that they do honour to the practical men under whose auspices they are published.—

21

Notes to the Scripture Lessons. 1850.
The Sunday School Class Register and
Diary. 1851.

The Sunday School Teachers' Class
Register. 1851.

This is an excellent abridgment of the former, but contains less space for notes and memoranda.

The Union Spelling Book, and Pronouncing Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names. A valuable addition to our Sunday School literature. The Dictionary may be had separate, at half the price of the Spelling Book; every teacher ought to possess it.

The Juvenile Harmonist, a Selection of Tunes and Pieces for Children.

The Sunday School Union Magazine. 1850.

The Bible Class Magazine. 1850.
The Child's Own Book, new

1850.

series.

These will form.suitable gifts or rewards for the elder scholars, and be useful to the teachers for reference.

Pleasant Pages for Young People. Parts II. to VI. By S. P. NEWCOME. London: Houlston & Stoneman. WE have already spoken in very high terms of this interesting work, and glad should we be if, by a second notice, we could introduce it into an additional thousand families. We strongly recommend those parents who have so far neglected the pleasure and best interests of their little ones, as not to have supplied them with the numbers as they appeared, to lose no time in procuring for them the first volume, which we doubt not will be got-up in a style every way worthy of the excellent work.

THE GARRET HOME.

A GENTLEMAN was one day visiting some destitute families in one of the poorest parts of London. After climbing a number of stairs, which conducted to the top of one of the houses, he observed a ladder leading to a door close upon the slates. He thought it most unlikely that any living being would be found dwelling there; but in order to satisfy himself, he resolved on ascending the ladder. On reaching the door, he found it so low, that he was obliged to stoop before he could enter. "Is there any one there ?" he inquired.

"No, sir," replied the boy sorrowfully. "My father gets drunk. He used to send me out to steal, and whatever I stole he spent in drinking."

"Does he not make you do so still ?" "I went," replied the boy, "to the Ragged School, and I was there taught the words, 'Thou shalt not steal.' I was told about heaven and hell- that Jesus Christ came to save sinners-that God punishes the bad and loves the good; and I resolved, from that time, I would steal no more. Now," continued the

little sufferer, "my father himself steals, and then gets tipsy; and then he gets angry at me, and is cruel to me, and whips me, because I will no longer steal."

"Poor little boy!" said the gentleman, deeply interested in the sad history. "I am sorry, indeed, for you. feel very lonely here."

You must

"No," said the other, with a smile on his face; "I am not alone. God is with me; Christ is with me. I am not alone!"

The gentleman took out his purse, and gave him a small trifle, promising that he would come back again and see him on the morrow.

"Stop!" said the little fellow, as his kind visitor was preparing to go down the ladder, "I can sing." And so saying, he commenced, in simple strains, the beautiful hymn with which he loved to cheer his solitude :

"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,
Look upon a little child,
Pity my simplicity.

Suffer me to come to thee.

"Fain would I to thee be brought, Gracious God! forbid it not, In the kingdom of thy grace, Give a little child a place !" The gentleman was touched with the tale of distress, and the character of the desolate child; and next day he told the case to a lady he knew would feel interested in him. The lady requested that he would kindly accompany her to the boy's dwelling, to which he readily consented. Taking along with her a bundle of clothes, which might be useful to him, they made their way together up the dark stairs of the house, till they reached the ladder. On ascending the steps, and coming to the door, they knocked; but there was no reply. They knocked again, still no reply! Again; but still no voice, as before, calling, "Come in."

The gen

tleman opened the door. The bed, the straw, the shavings, were just as he had left them. The boy was there too; but he was DEAD! The body lay on the bed of straw; but the spirit had fled away to the God who gave it!

I. The poorest may serve God. II. The loneliest need not feel solitary. III. The youngest may die.

I. The poorest may serve God.

I know many think, that if they were not so poor as they are, they might serve God better, or if they had friends who loved God more, they would serve him better. This little boy tells us how wrong it is to think so. Whatever our situation in life may be, we may (if we will) love and serve the Lord Jesus. This boy was poor-the poorest of the poor. He had every temptation to be bad. His father was a wicked man. His example might have made his child wicked too. In order to get his daily bread, he was strongly tempted to tell lies, and steal, and do sinful things. He had no mother to teach him to love God, and say his prayers, and read his Bible. He had even no clothes to go to church, and yet he feared God, and would rather be beaten than do what was sinful. He praised the name of Jesus, and died happy. Angels carried him up to heaven.

Children, remember wherever you are now, or wherever you go in after life, you never can say, "I cannot serve God. I have no time or opportunity to be religious." Think of this poor outcast, with his tattered clothes, and straw bed, and wicked father, and many temptations, and yet he was a Christian.

II. The loneliest need not feel solitary.

This little boy was left alone by himself in that miserable garret. No kindly voice was there to speak to him. The angry tones of his drunken father's voice was all he ever heard, and they made him tremble. But he was not alone. The great God, the best friend, was with him. He could say in his solitary hours, "My father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord has taken me up!" He had heard the gentle voice of his Saviour, saying, "I will not leave you an orphan-Iwill come to you." Oh! how was that dark and desolate chamber made bright with the face of Jesus! When the little boy came to die, there was no earthly hand to smooth his pillow. He died alone; and yet he was not alone. In walking through "the valley of the shadow of death," he could say, "I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me!"

Reader, how blessed to think that if you are a child of God you never can be

alone! In the dark night-in the lonely way-in the far off land-in the raging ocean-on the bed of sickness-on the couch of death-Jesus is with you. He will make the darkest place bright, and the saddest place happy. What a glorious assurance! How it should drive away all our fears, to think, "Jesus is my friend!"

III. The youngest may die.

The little beggar boy was cheerful and happy in his garret one day-the next he was in eternity! One forenoon an earthly friend came with a bundle of clothes to cover his body; but they were not needed. He was already clothed in better garments. He was wearing the white robe of the redeemed saints before the throne.

Happy exchange! From singing about Jesus in a miserable dwelling on earth, to be carried up to be with Jesus for ever in heaven!

Reader, would you be ready for such a call? To-day you are in health, perhaps you may never see to-morrow's sun. "This night thy soul may be required of thee!" "Prepare to meet thy God!"

WHAT CAN I DO FOR GOD? A LITTLE boy asked me this question one day in the Sunday School, when I was telling him about the talents that God had given to all of us, to use for him; and that at the last day we should all be asked, What we had done for God? Every little boy who reads his Bible and goes to school, can tell me what God

tr

has done for him; but perhaps they cannot tell what they can do for God. Now I will tell you what a little girl did to help the missionaries, although she had no money at all to help them. She saw her mother one day with a basket of eggs, going to set a hen upon them; and because she had been a good girl at school, her mother gave her one, and she put it along with the rest for the hen to hatch. Some months after this, when I passed the house, this little girl came running out, and said to me, Do, sir, come in, and look at my missionary hen." "What do you call a missionary hen ?" I asked; so she told me what she had done; and that she sold all the eggs which this hen laid, and kept the money for the missionaries, and at the same time she put five shillings into my hand. I then asked her what made her think of this plan, and she said, that she had thought what she could do for God for a long time, ever since the last missionary meeting; and when I asked again, why she wished to do something for God, she replied, with tears in her eyes, "Oh, sir, he is so good to me; he has sent his Son Jesus to die for me, and how can I ever do too much for him." Now, my dear young friends, cannot you do something also for God? If you pitied the poor ragged children as much as this girl did the heathen, and felt as thankful to God as she did, you would soon find out some plan for doing them good. "Where there is the will, there is a way."

IPSWICH RAGGED SCHOOLS. ABOUT a year since, some benevolent persons in Ipswich, who felt that it was highly desirable that the youth amongst the very humblest classes in this town should be educated, set on foot a movement which had this special purpose in view. David Power, Esq., the learned-and we more rejoice to add, the humane and enlightenedRecorder for the borough, threw the weight of his influence into the project, and, as a result of combined effort, schools for the ragged were opened, and attendance at them solicited.

Not

a few zealous ladies and gentlemen offered themselves as teachers, and in a few weeks' time numbers of boys and girls of the roughest order formed the at first noisy and nearly intractable pupils of these self-denying labourers. The elements out of which the schools were formed made it certain that considerable difficulty would be felt at the outset in securing anything like tolerable order and attention, and at first there was almost rebellion enough to dishearten the teachers. Perseverance, however, was determined on, and with its exercise came a cheering measure of success; for the future, with a little extra

So

assistance, the entire plan will accomplish all that its most ardent advocates expected. interesting is the Report of these schools, published last October, that nothing but want of space prevents us from giving it entire. Although far exceeding our usual limits, we cannot refrain from laying before our readers a large portion of the Report of those devoted ladies who are engaged in the good work. We bespeak for it an attentive perusal, not only by the "unemployed" ladies in Ipswich, but everywhere; and we fondly trust that the piety and devotedness, so eloquently expressed in their appeal, may reach the hearts of many who are chiefly occupied in "standing all the day idle."

"On a dark and miserable night in December, almost as disheartening as many consider the work to be, was the school commenced; and the four teachers who were present will ever remember the wondering gaze of the children, their ignorance, filth, and rudeness. Fifteen girls only were present, collected by the kind exertions of our zealous town missionary, Mr. Baillie; these soon spread the intelligence among their companions, and in a few weeks the numbers

increased fourfold. The room was too small, and the teachers were glad to occupy another in addition, which rooms have, during the summer, been exchanged for one more commodious, which will contain the whole school.

"The number of girls whose names have been entered on the books is 290.

"The average attendance on the Sabbath evening, when religious instruction only is imparted, is, in the summer months, 25, and in winter, 60.

"The average attendance on Tuesday evening, when writing and arithmetic are taught, is, in the summer months, 23, and in winter, 58. Thus showing a much larger proportion in the long evenings of winter than in summer, as is always found to be the case in schools of this description.

"The Committee feel pleasure in stating, that all the children who were present on the first night are still belonging to the school; and to show their desire for instruction, which they obtain from no other source, very earnestly have they requested their teachers to meet them on other evenings of the week. This request, hitherto, it has been impossible to grant. But the Committee, feeling how little is the influence which they can exert over these children by the instruction at present afforded, long for the time when, with the co-operation of the Christian public, every evening of the week the school will be open, and a paid mistress will be employed to assist in the great work of reclaiming the vicious and the outcast.

"The teachers cannot (as they would wish) record real and satisfactory instances of conversion, but they can gratefully name impressions and convictions which have been produced. Many lessons of holy writ, hymns, and prayers, have been committed to memory. A general improvement as to moral influence and conduct they decidedly see, and they are encouraged to go on by the promise that, in due season they shall reap if they faint not.'

The ladies cannot close their brief report without naming their one great discouragement; it is that they do not find the help which they want in the work of teaching. In this work but few are engaged. Hundreds of children in various parts of the town are ready to be taught, but there are few to care for their souls. Not only so, but the very existence of the present school is endangered by the lack of service. For what description of teachers are the life and sinew of such an enterprise? Who are they upon whom the Committee can depend that through evil and through good report, through calm and through tempest, through discouragement and through success, the school shall remain faithfully worked, opening its door as an asylum for wretched and sinful youth? It is not the teacher who at first willingly pledges herself to take a share in the work, and then, as soon as it loses its novelty, loses her zeal; it is not the teacher who considers it a matter of indifference whether she is punctual or not at the appointed hour of commencement, or even whether she is present at all; it is not the teacher who takes her seat and goes through the round of duties mechanically and grudgingly; this is not the teacher upon whom the Christian public can rely for carrying out their philanthropic designs. The souls of the perishing need some better efforts than these. Your Committee look imploringly around, and ask for something better. He to whom we owe all our blessings, and who has made us our brother's keeper, demands something better from us.

"We want teachers who will take upon their shoulders a heavy burden, and will, for the sake of their Saviour, esteem it light; who will not grudge their time, and the expenditure of their strength, or the sacrifice of their comfort; who

will feel the responsibility of the work as much as if it rested entirely on themselves; and who will be anxious to be at their post at the appointed times, as though the whole machinery would stop if they were not present. Teachers whose hearts are bathed in Divine love, and who, in the Spirit of Christ, will set about the work of Christ; teachers who will not count their comforts, their convenience, aye, their lives, dear to them for the sake of their work; and who, after their utmost efforts, and their utmost self-sacrifice, will yet remain ashamed of their slothfulness, and will exclaim, 'We are unprofitable servants.'

"Oh, for teachers of this order! Are there not in Ipswich some ready to say, 'Here am I?' May He, whose work it is, and with whom it rests to carry it on, pour out His Spirit of love and zeal, and incline many to assist in this important and glorious work."

As

NORTH STREET SCHOOLS, BETHNAL GREEN. THE first Annual Meeting of these Schools was held in Crosby Hall, December 10th, 1850, the Rt. Hon. Lord Ashley, M.P., in the Chair. we purpose, shortly, giving a more detailed account of the benefits arising from this interesting field of labour than can possibly be done in the present instance, we append a brief abstract from the Annual Report.

Eight years ago, no school existed in this part of Bethnal Green, so densely populated, except here and there a dame-school, which would only accommodate a few of the children of the more respectable poor. In 1842, a Sabbath School was commenced, and Divine service was regularly conducted on the Lord's day, and two evenings in the week. The Infant School system was adopted, and was found to answer remarkably well, the daily attendance averaging 130. In 1845, a few friends resolved on establishing a Sunday Evening School, which was soon after opened on two evenings in the week. At first the numbers that poured in caused the teachers speedily to retire from the field, thankful to escape unhurt, and both the Sabbath and Week Evening Schools were closed. In the summer of 1848 these friends again resolved on receiving a small number of these destitute creatures on the week evenings; but it was impossible adequately to describe what they had to contend with. The school was first opened in October, 1848, in one of the very worst parts of the neighbourhood. With some assistance from the Ragged School Union, they were able to proceed, and fitted up two rooms. Further assistance was rendered when needed, and a second house was fitted up in Pleasant Place, in November, 1849, and opened as a Free Day School, with a paid teacher. bazaar in the spring of this year produced £30. 2s. 6d. The new school-room was quickly filled, upwards of one hundred children being in weekly attendance. This and the other schools were in a prosperous state. Since the opening of the Thomas's Place School, many youths of the vilest character had been reclaimed. A large number of Bibles, Testaments, Hymn-books, and Magazines, had been purchased by the children. A clothing fund and a youths' benevolent society had been established, and were in a flourishing condition. As soon as the funds would permit, the committee proposed erecting a new schoolroom in a most destitute situation. In aid of this desirable object, they called on the friends of these institutions for increased support. Two of the boys connected with the school were about to proceed to the colonies in a week or two.

A

The Meeting was afterwards addressed by the Rev. W. W. Champneys, Rev. Dr. Hewlett, Rev. Dr. M'Caul, Rev. H. Allen, Rev. W. Tyler, and Messrs. Payne, Anderson, and Williams.