during that eventful and exciting period when he was fighting the battles of his country in the Peninsula, how hope and fear alternately possessed our bosom; and, when the news of victory after victory arrived, we rejoiced-not because Frenchmen were slaughtered by thousandsbut because every victory seemed to remove further from us the threatened invasion of Old England. Many a time and often was the rumour spread far and wide that Old Bony, as Napoleon Buonaparte was commonly called, was coming in his flat-bottomed boats, and our young heart, almost half-a-century ago, fired with the love of fatherland, prompted us at the age of sixteen to join the Volunteers, put on military habili ments, shoulder a firelock, and learn to walk with measured step to martial music. Often in those days did we join the multitude on public occasions, in singing God save the King and Rule Britannia. Thank God, those times of fear, and noise, and blood, are gone by-we hope for ever; but should they, as some predict, return again,-though not now so young and active; yet in case of invasion by a foreign foe, (we do not approve of any war, excepting one of defence) then in defence of our own country, our liberties and religion, we would help our sons to buckle on the armour, and send them forth to the field of conflict, charging them not to disgrace the name of Englishmen by any cowardly or unworthy conduct, while we tended our daughters and grandchildren, endeavouring to soothe their sorrows on account of absent husbands and fathers. We could lead them to a throne of grace and teach them by our example to bow the suppliant knee, beseeching the Lord of Host to fight our battles, save our country, and shield our friends. Our national sins are numerous, and call loudly for national punishment, but let all those who love the Lord Jesus, pray daily, and earnestly plead with heaven for our guilty land, and say-Send us peace in our day, good Lord.-EDTS.

SABBATH MORNINGS WITH SABBATH

SCHOLARS.*

HAVING been both pleased and instructed by my former visit to the little school, I was not long before I made it convenient in the course of my walks to pass that way again. This time, however, I took care to be earlier, as I was anxious to witness the whole course of instruction, from the opening of the school to its close. Accordingly I reached it just as the scholars were assembling. The superintendent had already arrived, who, as it was now time to begin by calling the names, proceeded so to do. I found him very pleasant and intelligent, and disposed to be communicative; but at this time evidently embarrassed, which embarrassment became more and more plain as the business proceeded. John Thomas, William Jones, Henry Phillips, Stephen Rogers, and a host of other names were called; but no one replied. He called the names of the girls, with the same success. And I found on hearing the names called throughout, that of the whole number on the books, not more than one in every five or six were present, although it was now half-anhour after the time for assembling. As I stood by him, I saw on the books a long list of teachers' names, on a page to themselves, which I noticed he did not call at this time. I guessed the reason: for on looking around at the little classes, forming by the slow arrival of the scholars, I perceived that two or three teachers (the best of them) were all that had arrived out of a list of twenty names. A hymn was next given out, and the children sung to the best of their ability, as did also the teachers who were there; but the voices wanted the support of numbers, and the air needed to be filled up by the other parts to constitute it music. Prayer followed-sensible, intelligent, earnest prayer, for the children and teachers, whether present or absent-prayer that the children might be obedient and kind to their parents, and also attentive to their teachers-(alas! where were they?)— prayer that the teachers might be patient and persevering in toiling for the young and rising race-that they might be examples of diligence and punctuality, and kindness, and holiness—in a word, patterns of piety. I was pleased and grieved

*See No. XI., Vol. I., Page 158.

with what I was a witness to. My feelings were much mingled, my opinions much divided by the quiet docility of the children and the devoted ardour of the teachers who were present, and by the manifest indifference of such as were now absent from such a place and such a scene. Prayer being over, and the opening of the school concluded, the children arose and seated themselves. When the superintendent said “proceed," the teachers present did so. The classes without teachers looked at the superintendent, and he on them, neither knowing what to do. Full three-quarters-of-an-hour were expired from the time of assembling, during which time two or three more of the teachers had crept slowly enough to their places. The scholars had also continued to come. And now several classes—each from six to twelve scholars were sitting without a teacher. The chagrin and disappointment of the man at the head of the school became more and more evident to me. His feelings I could only guess at, having not experienced them; but it must be admitted that few situations can have more of trial in them, than when a single individual is placed at the head of an institution or movement of any kind, and then deserted by those who ought to be, and who take credit for being, his supporters. What could the superintendent do? He could not teach three or four classes at the same time; and each had an equal right to expect that in the absence of the proper person, he should attend to the duties of the teacher. Beside the cruelty of his false friends and the claims, the equal claims of each child in all the classes, were pressing upon him at the same time, added to which he had duties of his own, duties which devolved upon him in consequence of his office, and which called as loudly for their discharge as did the duties of any individual teacher. The roll-book wanted looking over, and absent scholars noting-aye, and absent teachers, too-that they might be visited; it was the end of the quarter, too, and the entire names of teachers and scholars wanted re-writing, and the book dating; the accounts needed to be balanced for the inspection of the teachers; the classes wanted visiting, in order that scholars might be promoted, as they had made progress, to higher classes; the unruly and careless needed admonishing; the industrious and painstaking encouraged by a proper and equitable distribution of the stated rewards, and by kind and sympathetic remarks: As it was, however, all these things must of necessity be passed by, while the

superintendent with a heavy heart and bewildered min deavoured to supply the places of the absentees by un several classes, and spinning himself out into three of teachers, the result of which was, that while his own d were entirely neglected, those of the teachers were partially and indifferently performed. I did not and v not pain the mind of the superintendent by any ques on so painful a subject, which I could see pressed he enough upon him; but at the close of the school I gath from a female teacher the following particulars: Tha whole of the long list of teachers which I saw, had, wit exception or two, been scholars in the same school, owed every thing, under God, to the blessed influence of institution; that they all loved the school to a certain ex and might have been there if they would only try, but for want of that warm, devoted attachment to the welfare of -immortal souls-which characterizes the true disciple the Saviour, their absence, which was too frequent, was ca by sheer neglect and want of management; in other wor certain little things which ought to be done on Saturday ings, were left undone until Sunday morning, and that, b tired with their week's toil, they indulged themselves lo in bed on Sabbath mornings, by which they were drive late attendance or total absence. Further, that it was n the same with the scholars: the parents, whether wholl gardless of God's day, or professing to observe it, did only suffer such things in their children, but in too many stances, set them the examples, by cleaning their shoes their dwellings on the Sabbath morning, and by doin variety of things which ought not to be done on that da things, also, for the doing of which God has, does, and visit the sins of the parents upon the children to the t and fourth generation.-Oliver Inkyfinger.

LETTER TO MR. COLLEDGE, INDEPENDENT MINISTER, RIDDINGS.

(This Letter was written for the October number, Vol. I., but deferred for want of room.)

South Normanton, Sept. 28th, 18 SIR,-I consider it a duty which I owe to myself and religious denomination with which I stand connected, thus address you, as the chairman of a public meeting of

teachers, friends, and representatives of seven Sabbath-schools, which was held in your chapel, at Riddings, on the 10th of August, one of which schools I had the honour to represent in that meeting. In doing this I will in the first place observe, that I felt both astonished and grieved as soon as I came within sight of the chapel, at seeing perhaps from forty to fifty young men and women playing, almost on the very threshold of the house of prayer, at a game which I accidentally understood to be called " tag." If they had been mere children, I could have excused it; but to see full-grown persons-for they wore the garb and were the size of adults, though I suspect they had only babies' heads-to see them thus engaged, and then to see them walk from their play direct into the Lord's house to engage in the solemnities of God's worship, grieved me. It was altogether new to me, and seemed an approach towards what our Lord Jesus Christ said the temple at Jerusalem was in his day.

After the meeting had been opened in the usual way, and the time came for choosing a person to preside as chairman, there only being two paid preachers present, one of the two proposed the other-apparently without any hesitation, and as a matter of course-to sustain that office. I saw there was a considerable number of unpaid preachers in the chapel, belonging to different Christian Churches-men who were respectable for piety, talent, and standing in the Church; and others connected with one or other of the seven schools, men of influence, property, and usefulness, and all of them acquainted with the nature of public meetings-to see them all passed over, and for one paid preacher to push the other over the heads of all these, I confess it caused me to begin to suspect that instead of a Union of Sabbath-school Teachers, there was a combination of money-bought preachers, who were making use of the word union in order to obtain additional, personal, official, and profitable influence.

This impression was soon strengthened by yourself and Mr. Barnett telling us that the present race of Sabbath-school teachers, in their present state of ignorance and incompetence, could not meet the requirements of the age, unless they were intructed one night in each week by paid preachers, and by them made to understand both how they must teach and what they must teach. If you and Mr. Barnett did not say so in exactly so many words, yet you said that which in my mind

was tantamount to it.