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oh come

home! Come home, Come, oh come home!

oh come home! Come home, Come, oh come home, come home!

Come home! come home!
From the sorrow and blame,
From the sin and the shame,
And the tempter that smiled,
O prodigal child;

Come home, oh, come home!

Come home! come home!
There is bread and to spare,
And a warm welcome there,
Then, to friends reconciled,
O prodigal child,
Come home, oh, come home.

ORDER IN SABBATH SCHOOLS.

(The substance of a paper read before the Teachers of the Glebe Sabbath-school, South Shields, by RICHARD GOODWIN, a Teacher of the School).

RDER is said to be heaven's first law, but I sometimes think it is the last recognised in our Sabbath schools. Very few teachers seem aware of its importance. Most painful is the degree to which disorder at times prevails, and to attempt to teach amidst such tumult and inattention is like sowing seed in a whirlwind. I do not say that the teachers are always and alone biamable, for

some children are so resolute in spirit, and so ingeniously mischievous, that they will, at times, baffle the most experienced teacher. Those who are tried have need of patience and grace. But is there not a great amount of disorder which by the teachers might be prevented?

It is sometimes wonderful to know what a teacher does with his eyes and ears when he comes to school. His children may all be talking together, but he does not hear; their eyes may be going all round the room, or they may be playing each all kinds of tricks, or some may even leave the class for a time, and he does not see. Even in tolerably quiet and well ordered schools attention is very much lacking. A certain amount of inattention may be expected in large schools, but by proper care it may be reduced to a small extent.

Order should be the natural and certain result of the internal arrangement, management, and proper discharge of duty by superintendent and teachers.

I shall first notice a few of the duties of the superintendent, and then those of the teachers.

Much has been said and written upon this subject. It is generally acknowledged that much depends upon the character and efficiency of the superintendent. One has said that 'the first look at a Sundayschool will, to an experienced eye, declare the character and adapta

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tion of the superintendent.' Another, that it is the superintendent's duty to enforce quietness and order, that discipline must be carried out with a firm hand, and that when he entered a noisy, disorderly school he never thought of attributing any blame to the teacher, for it is the superintendent's duty to remove them, if they do not enforce stillness and prompt obedience in their classes.' Doubtless the character, life, prosperity, and usefulness of the school depend more upon the superintendent than upon any other person. His position is a very important one. It is no easy thing properly and thoroughly to govern a body of voluntary adult agents, and at the same time rule children of all ages and dispositions whose attendance is often as voluntary as that of the teachers. To govern both rightly, to maintain discipline with an unfaltering hand without giving offence to any, to be firm yet ever kind, he must be a man of ready mind, sound judgment, and a most Christian disposition, he must unite the wisdom of the serpent with the harmlessness of the dove.

I think a superintendent should not attempt to act on the children directly, but should reach them through the teachers. When a school is in disorder, how often the superintendent calls upon the scholars to be still and quiet, instead of saying, 'I would thank the teachers if they would kindly keep their classes in order. your class is unruly; secure quiet, please.'

Mr. A.,

boy in

He should see that the laws of the school are honoured, and for this he must scrupulously observe them himself. Unless he respect law and obey a proper government, the school cannot exist. Firmness in the execution of law is essential. Through the lack of this quality many excellent and intelligent teachers make but indifferent superintendents. Their feelings triumph over their judgment, and instead of inflicting the proper penalty on the offender, they say they will overlook it this time; yet as often as the fault is committed it is pardoned. Thus rule becomes only a thing of name. A superintendent should be a thorough disciplinarian, should not allow one jot or tittle of the law to be contemned. If he allow indifference to the smallest regulations, he will soon find that (the more important ones are neglected too. Every rule on the code should be honoured or abolished; if it has its use, obey it at all costs, if it has no use, remove it. Every superintendent who is consistent in enforcing rule, and will not allow it to be trifled with, will win the esteem of the school, and rarely have much difficulty in se curing obedience.

The Mother's Last Letter.

143

Punctuality, regularity, a devout demeanour, and a respectful bearing to his fellow-labourers, are more necessary to him than to any other person in the school. His faults and his excellencies both are more marked than those of others. He should never be a minute too late in opening, dividing the work, or in closing the school. Punctuality in him will spread its influence over all the school, while his want of it will injure the school and his own best works. Order in arrangement, and in the execution of his work, is indispensable. Nowhere is this habit of more value or efficacy.

(To be continued.)

THE MOTHER'S LAST LETTER.

A REAL INCIDENT.

The golden hues of sunset illumed the quiet sky,
And with its plaintive music the evening breeze swept by;
It was a fitting moment for life's short day to close,
And one meek saint was passing to heaven's serene repose.
Her feet were almost touching death's narrow rippling stream,
And o'er her pallid features joy shed its quivering gleam,
For to the home she longed for she now was drawing near,
And soon Christ's loving welcome would fall upon her ear;
Yet 'midst the solemn gladness which thrilled her spirit now
One bitter memory shaded the radiance of her brow;
Her only son, her first-born, with tenderest thoughts allied,
Disowned his mother's Saviour, his mother's God denied,
For moral worth distinguished, endowed with talents rare,
His name was linked with honour, his future path looked fair.
But though the world's best treasures were all before him cast,
What profit would they yield him were he unsaved at last ?
No marvel that his mother, beset with painful fears,
Should bathe her dying pillow with warm and gushing tears.
With him she would have pleaded, but he was far away,
Her summons had not reached him,—she could but weep and pray.
A sudden thought flashed o'er her, she nerved herself and wrote.
Ah, with what trembling fingers a brief but touching note,
Beseeching him to ponder her last appeal of love,
And cease his proud rebellion against the God above.
And then her work was ended, her earthly cares were o'er,
She crossed the peaceful river and gained the heavenly shore.

They closed her eyes, and softly, as she herself had planned,
They placed her parting letter within her lifeless hand.

When day once more had faded, and stars were bright and clear,
That son in silent anguish approached his mother's bier,
And as on her calm features his mournful glances fell,
His heart was almost broken, for he had loved her well,
And his distress was deepened because he had not heard
From those dear lips before him one loving, farewell word.
Oh, could she but have spoken! With strange surprise and awe
Within her hand a letter addressed to him he saw.

The fond, pathetic counsels of her who now was dead,

God blessed that mother's message, and ere the daylight dawned
Her son believed in Jesus whom he so long had scorned.
At once in Christ's glad service he all his powers employed,
And soon he preached with boldness the faith he once destroyed.
Can your imagination conceive his mother's bliss,

When the sweet tidings reached her of such a change as this ?
O weeping, anxious mothers, pray on and never faint,
God hears your supplications and answers each complaint;
And now, or else hereafter, with joy you shall behold

The child for whom you wrestled safe gathered to Christ's fold.
H. ADDISON, junr.

PAPERS FROM FERNANDO PO.

No. IV.

REMEMBERING the promise made in our last paper, we will now attempt to furnish the readers of the 'Juvenile Magazine' with a short account of a trip round the island. Having to attend the Quarterly Meeting at George's Bay on the 18th of January, we started from Santa Isabel at 9 o'clock on the previous evening, with a crew of five boys-viz., John, Tom, Dimminy, Friday, and Yellow Will. The moon shone brightly, and the atmosphere was beautifully clear; the sea was not only calm and placid, but also very phosphorescent; hence with each dip of the oars the 'feather'd spray' sparkled like fire. The boys, too, appeared to be in excellent spirits, chanting in capital time a series of disconnected, weird-like tones as they bent to their oars, the whole combining to form one of the many African experiences which cannot be easily forgotten.

Winds and waves being so favourable, we had an easy passage to

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