MR. ALCOTT. Are there any such fishermen now-adays?

LUCY. No; yes; ministers.

CHARLES.

I think he meant they should toil hard
after his death, preaching the Gospel; until all men
should be caught in the net. All are not caught yet.
LEMUEL. The Gospels did not catch any at first.
MR. ALCOTT. Have you ever been caught?
LEMUEL. When they catch they do not always keep.
MR. ALCOTT. How do they get out of the net?
LEMUEL. They do wrong.

MR. ALCOTT. Have you been caught?
LEMUEL. Yes.

MR. ALCOTT. Did you stay, or go back?
LEMUEL. I went back.

CHARLES. Sometimes the fishes try to break the meshes and get out - that is doing wrong.

JOHN B. I think as Charles does. I did not think so till Charles spoke.

AUGUSTINE. It means the disciples should be good, and talk like him, and bring the bad people back to goodness.

ANDREW. Men are more spiritual than fish; so they were made fishers of men.

FRANKLIN. It means that when they preach they should make people believe.

MR. ALCOTT. Which is the best kind of fishing, to catch fish to support men's bodies, or believing men? ALL. The last!

MR. ALCOTT. How many of you ever sought to catch one of your friends to make him better?

LUCY. I have tried to teach my little brother Frank not to do something wrong, when he was going to do so. CHARLES Some boys have taught me something.

Example.

MR. ALCOTT. Can you remember the time when you left off catching outward fishes,

and tried to do right to catch spiritual things?

LUCY. Since I have been in this school.

LUCIA.

That is the time when I began.

MR. ALCOTT. What are outward fish?
JOHN D.

Trout.

OTHERS. Appetites, pleasures, &c.

MR. ALCOTT. When did you leave off fishing for outward pleasures, and think of Spirit.

GEORGE K. At the beginning of this year.

SAMUEL R. I used to fish for other things a great deal before I came here.

CHARLES. I have not left off yet, though I have begun many times.

JOSIAH.

Amusement.

I never caught a fish in my whole life.

MR. ALCOTT. You mean real fishes. How many have been fishing with hook and line

for amusement?

(Many held up hands.)

Do you think it is any amusement to the fishes?

(No answer.)

How many think it is pleasant to see the bait-worm writhe on the hook, and that it is very delightful to see the fish struggling up?

(No answer.)

Is this humane?

(No answer.)

ANDREW. It is pleasant to catch some fish, such as sharks; because they catch other fish.

MR. ALCOTT. Did you ever fish for that purpose? ANDREW. No.

JOHN B. I have fished perch for the pigs.

MR. ALCOTT. Who would go to fish this afternoon, if they could?

(Some boys and two girls.)

Who would not go if they could?
(The rest of the girls and boys.)

Allegory of
Cruelty.

Suppose the roof of this temple were taken off, and a man should present himself with a long pole, and on the end of it a line, a golden one, and he should want something to do,some sport and looking down he should see all of us, and should put on the hook something we are fond of — a very nice piece of bread, and should drop it down here, and dangle it along, and one of us should catch hold of it, and he should draw that one up, and look at him, tear him off, and tear his throat out at the same time, (he described farther,) what should we think of that man?

AUGUSTINE.

I think it would be better to have a large fish, catching, for that would teach us to do as we are done by.

MR. ALCOTT. You need not understand by these questions of mine, that I disapprove of all fishing. Fish are caught for food, perhaps were intended for food; these men caught them for the food of the people who bought them. Who think that Simon and Zebedee's children caught fish for sport?

ALL. No; but to sell.

Idea of the
Miracle.

Lucy.

Mr. Alcott, I think the reason Jesus made the fishes go in the net, was because he did not want the men to be disappointed

after toiling all night.

(Others agreed.)

ELLEN. I think it was because they had faith to let down the net. Jesus rewarded them for their faith. (Many agreed.)

JOSEPH. The faith was in the fishes; and if the men had not had faith, the fishes would have gone away.

(William C. agreed.)

AUGUSTINE. I think Jesus wanted them to have a great many fishes, because this was the last time they should fish.

GEORGE. B. I think Jesus called the fish.

GEORGE K. I think it was to reward their patience in letting down the net.

GEORGE B. The reason the fishes came into the net was because God made the fishes, and so they obeyed him; for Jesus was God in a Body.

LEMUEL. The fishes followed the disciples, because the disciples followed Jesus.

CHARLES. And others have followed the disciples ; and others have followed those; and now almost all the world is following.

WELLES. Jesus wanted to show his disciples that he had a great deal of power, so as to make them more willing to follow him.

MR. ALCOTT. What is a net an emblem Emblem of of?

Providence

caught in a net.

JOHN B. When we get angry we are

WELLES. The net in this place was Preaching.

(Many hands were raised in assent.)

MR. ALCOTT. Is there an invisible something which seems to be always spread, and includes all events and men?

(No answer.)

What do we call that which works all the changes around us? (He specified.)

LUCIA. Providence.

MR. ALCOTT. And is a net an emblem of Providence? (Many held up hands.)

Pictures of the Scene.

MR. ALCOTT. Did any of you picture this scene as I read?

JOSIAH. Yes; I saw a great multitude of people standing — more than would fill all this temple in all the rooms. And they were asking Jesus to teach them. And Jesus did teach them a little while on the shore, before he went into the ship. And Simon went off from land only a little way. And, Mr. Alcott, I don't see why Jesus wanted him to row off from the land at all why it was not enough to get into the boat.

MR. ALCOTT. Would not the people see and hear him better, if the boat was out a little way on the lake? JOSIAH. Oh yes; and after he had preached a great while, he told Simon to row out into the middle of the pond; and Simon looked, in my mind, as if he expected him to do some miracle. But, Mr. Alcott, I don't see how one draught of fishes could fill two ships, if the net was ever so full.

MR. ALCOTT. The boats were smaller than our ships; and perhaps the nets were let down more than

once.

JOSIAH. Yes; and then I saw the partners in the other ship dividing the fishes equally; and they sailed along a little before they began to sink.

LEMUEL. I thought the boats were close by the land; and Jesus was coming, and the multitude was following him, and he did not want to be in such a crowd; so he got into the boat, and asked Simon to push it off a very little way. Then he preached; and then he made the He knew they were there.

fishes come.

MR. ALCOTT. How did he know?

(No answer.)

Have you any faculty of Foresight?

LEMUEL. I don't know. And the net broke; but yet

the fishes stayed in.