same wants, and are liable to the same infirmities; all come into the world and will leave it in the same manner; all have a conscience, and have essentially the same duties to fulfil; and none can say to another, "I shall never stand in need of thee."

It will then pass on to the close relationship which binds all men together, and will say to the pupils, that all men have one and the same mother upon earth, Eve, the mother of all men; that they all have the same flesh; the same blood flows in their veins; that all men upon earth, in spite of their distinctions, remain members of one and the same great human family, and can never shake off this relationship.

Rising afterwards towards heaven, our course of language will say, that God is the Father of all men; that He presides over their birth, fashions all their members, and calls out of nothing the soul which is to animate them; that our common Father lodges us all in His world, causes His sun to shine upon us all, and feeds us all at His table; that we all belong to His school, because He instructs us all by the glories of His universe, and by the voice of conscience, which speaks in His name; that we are all destined to pass into another world, where we shall reap as we have sown.

With the same view, it will collect all men round their common Redeemer; it will say that He was sent to the whole human family; that He called all men His brethren; that He died for all, and redeemed us all with His precious blood.

If our pupils apprehend these truths, and if they are duly received into their hearts, no mortal man will be deemed alien to them. At the sight of a man, be he who he may, they will put themselves in his place, and will feel interested for him, unless some obstacle impedes the course of nature. And of this we shall speak hereafter.

Extension of Natural Compassion.

Compassion will naturally seek to relieve suffering; but children born in affluence have much more experience

of the sweets of life than of its trials and privations. Therefore compassion is not much awakened in them. In order that it may be, their parents should take them to visit the sick and the infirm; and our lessons will do what they can in this matter, but will guard against over-straining sensibility. We shall pass in review the different trials which afflict a large portion of their fellow-creatures, and we shall contrast these with the ease and comfort they themselves for the most part enjoy. We shall say, for example,—

"You are well clothed; how many poor are there, who have only rags and tatters wherewith to cover their nakedness. Like Lazarus, there are many who endure hunger, and would fain feed on the crumbs which fall from the rich man's table, but no man gives to them. You suppose, perhaps, that everybody has as comfortable a bed as you have; but there are many who have hardly a bundle of straw on which to stretch themselves at night. Is not that poor blind man greatly to be pitied, for he never sees the sweet light of day? How many poor sick are racked with pain, and have no one to comfort or relieve them! You have parents who love you, but how many poor orphans have been bereft of theirs," &c.

We shall require active compassion in our pupils; a compassion which will overcome repugnance, submit to privation, and incur trouble; not a compassion which merely speaks to the heart, without impelling it to action. We must, therefore, give to this emotion a helping hand, and how can we better do so than by calling in the aid of religious motives?

We shall then say to our pupils that our Heavenly Father has placed the poor and needy around us, in order that we should help them for His name's sake; that He has given to us enough and to spare, in order that we should impart to those who want; that we are unworthy to be called the children of the Father of mercies, if we do not strive to assist His suffering children; that it is a noble privilege to be allowed to walk in the steps of our Saviour, who, while on earth, constantly went about doing good; that whatever we do to the least of our brethren,

He counts it as done to Himself; that in the great day of retribution, those who have shown mercy will find mercy, and the unmerciful will find none; that nothing is so noble as to co-operate with our Heavenly Father in His tender mercies to all His creatures," &c.

Moreover, we shall not fear to call in the aid of the personal tendency, to promote the interests of compassion. We shall not, indeed, speak of earthly advantages, though we might say, without offending against Christian charity, that nothing is so sweet in life as to afford relief to others; but it is towards eternity that we shall direct the attention of our pupils, by engraving on their minds the sentence which will be passed by the Great Judge, "Come unto me, ye blessed of my Father, for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat," &c. And again, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, for I was an hungered, and ye gave me no bread," &c. As self-interest is very active in its opposition to what is right, it will be well to regulate it by itself, and to lose no time in doing so.

Correction of Prejudices contrary to the Love of our

Neighbour.

There is very commonly among the affluent, a degree of prejudice against servants, mechanics, and labourers; a sort of contempt which paralyses the social tendency; and although what we have already said will tend to counteract this feeling, yet it may be well to combat it directly.

As to servants, it would be desirable that parents should repress the insolence of their children as soon as it begins to show itself; by authorising servants to refuse to wait upon the child, whenever he is imperious or unmannerly; for this lesson, if early given, would not be ineffectual. On our part, we shall tell our pupils that it is trying to servants to live in dependence upon masters, who are by nature no better than themselves; and who might have been born in a situation that would have obliged them to take service; that servants do not cease to be men, and have not forfeited any of the rights of men; that they are often much better than their masters; that

our one common Father wills not that any of His children should be ill-used, whatever may be their condition in life; that, in another world, there will be no distinction between masters and servants.

Most of these thoughts are equally applicable to operatives and labourers; but for further security our course of language will add the following, which refer specially to them; for example:-"It is neither your own doing, nor your merit, if you are not yourself obliged to eat your bread in the sweat of your brow. There is true honour in industry, and none in idleness. What would become of you if the labourers did not till the fields which supply your food? How dare you then despise those working classes, whose labour and ingenuity provide for your wants, and procure for you the comforts of life? To despise operatives is to contemn our Saviour, for He worked in the workshop of His foster-father, who was a carpenter. The rich and the powerful persecuted our Lord; and it was among the people that He met with upright minds and honest hearts. To whom are we

indebted for the light of the Gospel? to the rich and to the learned at Jerusalem? No, but to poor fishermen of Galilee."

Repugnance to be overcome in the Love of our Neighbour.

We know how easily men attach themselves to those who are remarkable for beauty of form, talent in conversation, or charm of manner. The sympathy which these advantages inspire awakens benevolent affections, and we feel naturally drawn towards their possessors. But it is not so with those who are destitute of them; here there is no attraction, there is repulsion; and the love of our neighbour suffers.

Our course of language will combat this feeling, by representing that the handsomest and liveliest child is not always the best or the most amiable; that a noble mind may be found under a coarse exterior; that we must look to conduct, if we would discover those who are worthy of our esteem and confidence; that we must not judge by outward appearances, for they are often deceitful; that

persons destitute of external charm are still the children of God, and our fellow-creatures, &c.

The vices of an individual, when ascertained, inspire us with aversion for him. When esteem vanishes, benevolence follows in its train, and conscience, which assigns its due reward to guilt, seems to sanction its doing so. Nor must we bid conscience be silent; still less must we reverse its judgment. It is only the application of the sentence to individuals which is to be objected to; and in order to prevent this, and the fatal consequences it involves, our course of language will say, "Children are full of faults; and what would become of them if great indulgence were not shown to them? Open your eyes to the faults you daily commit, and then you will not be ready to cast the first stone at your neighbours. We often discover the mote in our brother's eye, and behold not the beam in our own. Judgment belongs to Him who reads the hearts, and holds in His hands the balance of justice. Be ye kind, as your Father in heaven, who makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good. Did not our Saviour come into the world and die on the cross for sinners?"

Little children are so volatile that they soon forget any affront they may have received; but this is no longer the case when their memory and reflective powers strengthen. Their anger is no longer an evanescent feeling; it takes root as it were in the heart; it grows into malevolence, and produces premeditated acts of revenge. Here education must step in to prevent the evil, if it does not yet exist, or to cure it if it does; and our course of language will say to the pupils :

"Where would you be if your fellow-creatures did not forgive your trespasses against them? He is his own enemy who fosters hatred in his heart, for it makes him sad and unhappy. He who has injured you has wandered out of the right way; so the crime carries its own punishment. How hateful! to find pleasure in inflicting pain! To overcome evil with good, this is true magnanimity. If ve only love those who love you, what do ye more than he heathen? Our Heavenly Father makes His sun to