judicious plans, and succeeded by seminaries of a higher order, conducted on similar moral principles-society would soon assume a new moral aspect, wickedness and debauchery would be banished from our streets, thefts and robberies would gradually be diminished, brawlings, contentions and execrations would cease, and harmony and good-will be introduced into the schemes and associations of mankind.

It is an injunction inculcated by the highest authority, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." The last part of this sentence contains a most important truth, stated without the least exception or modi. fication. The interpretation generally given of it by divines is, "He will not ordinarily depart from it." But what warrant have we thus to limit and modify the dictates of inspiration? Let the declaration be viewed as a universal and eternal truth, and the problem to be solved will be, "Has ever a child hitherto, in all points of view, intellectually and morally, been trained up in the way he should go?" If so, we ought to believe that the declaration in this passage was fully realized in such a case. Much has been said respecting the children of pious parents turning aside from the paths of rectitude in their riper years. But the fact to be determined is, Have such parents trained up their children in a rational, judicious, and benevolent manner? I have seen persons piously disposed, and even ministers of the gospel, train up their children as foolishly and injudiciously as those who made no profession of religion, and even with less wisdom and discretion. Not that they intended to train their offspring in any bad principles and practices, but that they were either ignorant of the true mode of training children, or had imbibed false maxims, or indulged a foolish fondness, or had neglected to bring their children under a judicious control, or had humoured their whims and pampered their appetites, or were placed in certain circumstances, and in the midst of difficulties over which they had little control. Even in attempting to teach their children the principles of Christianity, their plans have been calculated rather to excite disgust at religion, than to allure their hearts to the practice of its heavenly precepts. What else could be expected, when children, on the Sabbath, were confined to a corner, conning memorial tasks, committing to memory catechisms, Psalms, and chapters from their tattered New Testaments, of which they understood not a single sentence-and at the same time deprived of their usual sensitive enjoyments, and, doubtless, exclaiming in their hearts, "O what a weariness is it! when will the Sabbath be over?"-just as if religion consisted in the acquisition of tech

nical terms, sounds and sentences, and metaphysical dogmas. Is this the way to induce the young to love God, "to call his Sabbaths a delight, and the holy of the Lord, honourable?" or is it to be wondered at, that those who have been brought up in this way have sometimes struck off at a tangent from the restraints of religion to the ways of sin and folly? If the whole train of education through which such children passed, from the first year of their existence to the period when they turned aside from the paths of righteousness, were laid open to our view, we should, doubtless, be enabled to account for all such moral aberrations, and to trace the intimate connection between cause and effect.

I have thrown out these remarks for the purpose of showing, that if public and domestic education be conducted with judgment and piety, if children be trained in infant schools and other seminaries in useful knowledge, and to the habits of piety and moral order, we have the surest grounds for concluding, that, when arrived at mature age, they will become intelligent and useful members both of Christian and of civil society, and that our arrangements and labours in these respects "shall not be in vain in the Lord." The dictates of Inspiration on this point are in perfect unison with the laws of the moral world, and are corroborated by universal experience. Almost every person feels that early impressions are the most vivid and the most lasting; and it is a fact, that, according to the bent which the habits, dispositions, and conduct of the young receive, during the first ten or twelve years of their existence, such will it generally remain, with a few slight modifications, during the future periods of their lives. Hence the difficulties-in many cases insurmountable-which must be encountered, in order to counteract the habits and vicious propensities acquired during this early period; and hence the comparative ease with which children may be trained to intelligence and moral habits, when they are committed, at a very early age, to the care of a judicious and intelligent teacher of an infant school.*

* As an illustration of the moral and intellectual effects of infant teaching, I subjoin the following examples, taken from Mr. Wilderspin's "Infant Education," as what occurred in the course of his own experience :

1. The Whistle. Many of the children were in the habit of bringing marbles, tops, whistles, and other toys, to the school, which often caused much disturbance: I found it necessary to forbid the children from bringing any thing of the kind. After giving notice two or three times in the school, I told them, that if any of them brought such things, they would be taken from them. In consequence, several things fell into my hands, which I did not always think of returning; and among other things, a whistle from a little boy. The child asked me for it as he was going home, but having

4. Infant schools are calculated to rescue thousands of chil dren from the pernicious influence of ignorant and immoral pa

several visitors at the time, I put the child off, telling him not to plague me, and he went home. I had forgotten the circumstance altogether, but it appears the child did not; for some time after, while I was lecturing the children upon the necessity of telling truth, and on the wickedness of stealing, the little fellow approached me, and said, 'Please, sir, you stole my whistle.' 'Stole your whistle,' said I, 'did I not give it you again?' 'No, teacher; I asked you for it, and you would not give it to me.' I stood selfconvicted, being accused in the middle of my lecture, before all the children, and really at a loss to know what excuse to make, for I had mislaid the whistle, and could not return it to the child. I immediately gave the child a halfpenny, and said all I could to persuade the children that it was not my intention to keep it.-This trifling mistake of mine did more harm than I was able to repair for some time; for if we wish to teach children to be honest, we should never take any thing from them without returning it again." This story shows how necessary it is to teach by example as well as precept—and that children have a clear perception of any discrepancy that may take place in this respect.

2. The boy and the song. "One day while I was walking in the playground, I saw at one end of it about twenty children, apparently arguing a subject, pro and con. From the attitude of several of the orators, I judged it was about something which appeared to them of considerable importance. I wished to know the subject of debate, but was satisfied that if I approached the children it might put an end to the matter altogether. Some of the by-standers saw me looking very attentively at the principal actor; and, as I suppose, suggested to the party the propriety of retiring to some other spot; for immediately they all retired behind a partition, which afforded me an opportunity of distinctly hearing all that passed, without being observed by them. I soon found that the subject of debate was a song. It seems that one of the children had brought a song to the school, which some of the monitors had read, and having decided that it was an improper thing for the child to have in his possession, one of them had taken it from the owner, and destroyed it; the aggrieved party had complained to some of the other children, who said that it was thieving for one child to take any thing from another child without his consent. The boy, nettled at being called a thief, defended himself by saying that he, as a monitor, had a right to take away from any of his class any thing that was calculated to do them harm; and was, it seems, backed in this opinion by many others. On the other hand, it was contended, that no such right existed; and it was doubtful to me, for a considerable time, on which side the strength of the argument lay. At last, one of the children observed to the following effect: 'You should have taken it to master, because he would know if it was bad better than you.' This was a convincing argument, and to my great delight the boy replied- How much did the song cost? The reply was, 'A halfpenny.' Here, then, take it,' says the child, 'I had one given me today; so now remember I have paid you for it; but if you bring any more songs to school, I will tell master.' This seemed to give general satisfaction to the whole party, who immediately dispersed to their several amusements. A struggle like this between the principles of duty and honesty, among children so very young, exemplifies, beyond a doubt, the immense advantage

rents, and to prevent most of those crimes which injure the peace and prosperity of society. The immoral principles and vicious. habits in which multitudes of children are trained under the domestic roof, not only lay the foundation of their own unhappiness and ruin, but are productive of many pests and nuisances to general society. In cities and populous towns, this fact is too frequently realized. Many children are trained up, even by their parents, to habits of pilfering, which they sometimes learn to

of early instruction."-Here we have a specimen, in the case of very young children, of nice discrimination in regard to the principles of moral rectitude and of reasoning, which would have done no discredit to an assembly of

senators.

3. Infant critics. "Having discoursed one day on the difference between isosceles and scalene triangles, I observed that an acute isosceles triangle had all its angles acute; and proceeded to observe that a right-angled scalene triangle had all its angles acute. The children immediately began to laugh, for which I was at a loss to account, and told them of the impropriety of laughing at me. One of the children immediately replied, 'Please, sir, do you know what we were laughing at?' I replied in the negative. Then, sir,' says the boy, 'I will tell you. Please, sir, you have made a blunder.' I, thinking I had not, proceeded to defend myself, when the children replied, Please, sir, you convict yourself.' I replied, How so?' Why,' say the children, 'you said a right-angled triangle had one right angle, and that all its angles are acute. If it has one right angle, how can all its angles be acute?' I soon perceived that the children were right, and that I was wrong.-At another time, when lecturing the children on the subject of cruelty to animals, one of the little children observed, 'Please, sir, my big brother catches the poor flies, and then sticks a pin through them, and makes them draw the pin along the table.' This afforded me an excel lent opportunity of appealing to their feelings on the enormity of this of fence; and, among other things, I observed, that if a poor fly had been gifted with powers of speech like their own, it probably would have exclaimed, while dead, as follows;- You naughty child, how can you think of torturing me so? Is there not room enough in the world for you and me? Did I ever do you any harm? Does it do you any good to put me to such harm? How would you like a man to run a piece of wire through your body, and make you draw things about? Would you not cry at the pain?' &c. Having finished, one of the children replied, 'How can any thing speak if it is dead?' 'Why,' said I, 'supposing it could speak.' 'You meant to say, sir, dying, instead of dead.'-In this case I purposely misused a word, and the children detected it."-Here we have another instance of the nice discrimination of which children are capable, and of the great importance of their being taught to think-one of the most important parts of education, which has been so long overlooked. In consequence of their having acquired the elements of thought, they were enabled, in the one case, to refute the assertion of their teacher, by a conclusive argument; and, in the other, to detect the misapplication of a term. A whole community taught to think and reason, would be the means of preventing numerous evils, and of introducing innumerable blessings into the social state.

practise with the utmost cunning and expertness, without the least sense of moral delinquency. It was estimated, that in the year 1819, in the city of London alone, the number of boys who procured the greater part of their subsistence by picking pockets, and thieving in every possible form, amounted to from twelve to fifteen hundred! One man had forty boys in training to steal and pick pockets, who were paid for their exertions with a part of the plunder; and a woman who had entrapped eight or ten children from their parents, had them trained up and sent out in every direction for the purpose of thieving, till she was happily detected. Such children, in all probability, were chiefly procured from the families of the ignorant and the vicious; and when a habit of pilfering is early indulged, it not only leads to the practice of falsehood, cunning and deceit, in all their diversified forms, but entirely blunts the moral sense, and leads to the commission of almost every other crime. It is no uncommon thing to observe in the police reports of London, accounts of boys, and even girls, of six or seven years of age, being apprehended for the offences of pocket-picking, shop-lifting, stripping children of their clothes and ornaments, and similar depredations committed with all the expertness of an experienced delinquent. And, if such mental activities are so early displayed in the arts of wickedness, how important must it be to bend the active powers of the young in a contrary direction, and how many useful energies might we soon bring to bear upon the renovation of the moral world! For, notwithstanding the depravity of human nature, children may be trained to exert their skill and activities in the cause of virtue, as well as in the arts of mischief, if the same care and ingenuity be employed in their instruction.-Now, infant schools are peculiarly calculated to promote in children habits of virtuous activity. They are taught to think and reason, and to apply the rules of Christianity to their actions and social intercourses with each other-are instructed in the evil of lying, swearing, stealing, and other vices; and some of them who had previously been addicted to these vices have been effectually cured of such evil propensi. ties. Not only so, but the sentiments and habits they have carried home to their parents have sometimes been the means of arousing them to consideration, and turning them " from the error of their ways." And, although infant schools were established for no other purpose than prevention of crimes, it would save to the public ten times the expense that might be incurred in their erection and superintendence; for, in large cities, such young de. linquents as I have now alluded to, regularly supply the place of the hundreds of old and experienced thieves that are yearly con