had no real love for the work, no sympathy with the school, or in the teachers' He learnt that he must have a substitute ready, and that at all meetings. times. How long he bore that teaching I cannot say, nor whether he had stood in need of it. But one good came of it, after all; though no thanks to the unintentional teacher for that! He learnt to thank God for steady perseverance in well-doing whenever he looked on those who did their duty: and he learnt to appreciate and esteem them for God's grace in them! But our friend's fellow-teachers came in for a share of his good offices, and you will have half guessed what he taught them! Thoughtless man! he never meant to do such mischief. I am sure that had he seen himself in a faithful mirror he would have been quite shocked. But so it was, he taught them by his example how to get through their work with the least possible amount of trouble and exertion. He taught them to look on the teachers' meeting as a needless drain on their time. He taught them to evince a brave disregard of all rules and regulations. He taught them how to excuse themselves; as Franklin would have said, he was a capital hand at that. But he did better, too, for he taught them to exercise forbearance to an erring companion, and frequent indeed were the demands he made on that Christian grace in them. He taught them besides to pray; to pray that the harmony of the school might be preserved, or rather restored, and that he, the blind agent in the mischief, might see, repent, and amend. But the most painful part of the story remains behind! He taught his class. Ah, that indeed he did, and many more lessons he gave them than were ever allotted! First, he speedily taught his boys that he did not much care if they came or not; for if they played truant he never looked after them, and if they were ill he never enquired for them. They quickly learnt that lesson, and very soon he had but a skeleton of a class. Then he went a step farther, and taught them ten or fifteen minutes after school time was quite early enough. You can hardly imagine how soon they gained this knowledge, and how entirely they approved of an arrangement which left them a little time to play at hide and seek round the school-house, with the superintendent poking his head out now and then to try and catch them, until the cry "Here comes teacher," sent them pell-mell into the school, to the utter confusion of the other poor teachers. But alas! there were worse things than this He taught the boys to think but lightly of the Sacred Day, the Holy Book, the solemn prayer, the cheerful hymn. Why should they think so much of all these when his manner was evidently that of a man on whom these things made but slight impressions? Why should they prize their Bible lesson, when he evidently had no heart for it? or the hymn, when he never looked at his hymn-book? or the prayer, when he walked about rapping their heads? But, quick observers as they were, there was one thing in him that puzzled them exceedingly, and that was, why he was a teacher at all. They looked at others and saw that they were busy, active, regular, and interested; they looked at him, and he was none of these. Why then did he teach? He soon solved this question, and relieved them from their cogitations, for-he resigned!-Church of England Sunday School Magazine. MENTAL IMPROVEMENT OF TEACHERS. IN connection with the North-west London Institute for Sunday School Teachers and Senior Scholars, Mr. ELVINS, Professor of Ethics, on the 14th of April, delivered a lecture in Shouldham-street Chapel, on the benefits derivable from Mental Improvement Societies. After expatiating at considerable length, on the direful effects of what Edmund Burke calls "a powerful and authorized ignorance," the lecturer dismissed his audience in these emphatic words:— "Some persons look upon a mental improvement institution as nothing more important than a place of amusement, or a theatre upon which individuals congregate merely for the sake of passing away an hour or two. With this view, I need scarcely tell my audience, it is impossible I can concur, and for this reason: if I am to believe that literature is nothing but a plaything, and science nothing but a toy, it can be of no material importance whether or not I take pains to acquire or to cultivate a taste for either the one or the other. To speak the truth, it would be more consistent that I, as an adult, should abstain altogether from the use of playthings, which, though fit for children, are not exactly the sort of things for an overgrown boy like me, having, as I trust I have, to some limited extent, the mens sana in corpore sano. "Where the members of a mental improvement society are of various religious persuasions, some being Episcopalians, some Presbyterians, some Wesleyans, some Baptists, some Independents, an accommodation must, of necessity, be rendered to each of these; and this accommodation may, in my opinion, be easily, very easily, rendered, without any one party repudiating the peculiarities of his own religious system, (which peculiarities, of course, a mental improvement institute is not the proper place for discussing,) without, I say, any one party repudiating the peculiarities of his own religious system, or depriving the institution of the blessing conferred exclusively upon those who confess, with faith and meekness, that knowledge which 'puffeth up' is worse than useless, and that every good gift and every perfect gift' (whether upon literature, art, science, head-work, or handwork,) cometh down from the Father of Lights, with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning.' Let the managers, then, of every literary and scientific institution and mental improvement society, make it a positive rule, (determining on no occasion to depart from it,) that the Bible shall be the foundation (as it really is,) of all human learning; and that none be excluded from the benefits of the institute except the infidel, who presumptuously denies the Trinity, and is unwilling to listen to broad truths, such as are controverted by no professing christians. It is evident that the mind, being itself dependently immortal, must correspond, perpetually, with the independently eternal. On this topic I shall add nothing further; and with two or three recommendations of a prudential character, I shall conclude. "Aim always at that which is solid, remembering that mental improvement must depend mainly upon mental association. A single chapter of Cicero's Offices, is worth more than a hundred chapters of a frivolous novel, or a silly and unfructiferous romance. I do not condemn all fiction, but too much that is called by that plausible name is more fit for the burning than for the bookshelf. A certain man was boasting that he had read and learned many things. 'Ah,' said Aristippus, those who eat very much, are not better in health, than those who eat moderately; and, after the same ratio, those who read and learn many things, are not the truly erudite or accomplished, but those who read and learn what is useful, they are the real scholars.' "In discussions, never contend for victory, but strive only for truth. A mere logomachy, or war of words, will leave both parties lifeless on the battle-field; and, though both fall together, no wreath of triumph will be due to either. A literary or mental improvement institution, should be distinguished by the mutual forbearance, kindness, and urbanity of its members; for, if instead of reasoning, they quarrel, and reciprocate hard and offensive epithets (such as are not unfrequently heard in the House of Commons) a sort of civil war will be the upshot. It is, indeed, a fact that the semina of civil war may, sometimes, be discovered in places sacred to friendly association, and where we should little expect to find them. "Use perseverance. If we mean to succeed, we, most likely, shall succeed. An institution capable of affording rich mental luxuries, at an almost unprece dentedly low premium has been established in this neighbourhood; what is in the way of its success? Apathy is in the way; and apathy is a cold and withered carcass. Selfishness is in the way; and selfishness is an unsympathising monster. Covetousness is in the way; and covetousness is a heartless robber. Jealousy is in the way; and what the great poet of nature says of the jealous I will not utter in this place. Cicero says 'indagatio ipsa rerum magnarum occultarumque habet oblectationem,' which in plain English signifies nothing more or less than this 'the very investigation of great and hidden things is productive of delight.' "A country lad is reported to have said were I a king, I would eat my fill of fat bacon, and swing on a gate all the day long.' Now, my friends, this is precisely what I want you to do. Let us, I say, eat our fill of fat bacon, and swing on a gate all the day long. Our bacon, however, must be Lord Bacon and his inductive philosophy, and our gate, the gate of truthful information. A gate such as this will open upon avenues of fertility and brightness, and bacon such as this will never make us plethoric or unwell. "Well then, by making known, as widely as possible, the elevating capabilities of this institution, we shall be imparting substantial delight to many who, at the present moment, seem to have no storehouse to which they can resort for so excellent a treasure. Persevere! Proceed! Avoid getting into debt! Pursue your course steadily--don't aim at the chimerical-be content always, with the substantial! and then the very feeling of delight which is always inseparable from the pursuit of science, shall so wean and abstract men's minds from what is dishonorable and degrading, that apathy will be transformed into energy, selfishness into sympathy, covetousness into come. liness, and jealousy into generosity. And thus, its formidable impediments removed, or rather, converted into assistances, the Shouldham-street Institute will flourish, increasing year by year its claims upon public attention, and securing week after week its hold upon public affection." REQUISITES FOR A GOOD TEACHER. Sunday school agency has been instrumental in the conversion of the young to God. The fact that the sincere consecration of human talent to the accomplishment of so benevolent an object is accepted by God, fills the heart with the most lively pleasure. "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings"" even on earth, "God has perfected praise:" and in the hallelujahs of the skies the voices of children shall not be wanting to swell the chorus. "The harp of heaven Had lacked its least, but not its meanest string, -How interesting, viewed in this light, is the vocation of a Sunday school teacher. There are many mistaken ideas as to what a teacher ought to be. There are not a few who think that piety alone will justify a person in entering the list of instructors. When the mind of a young person becomes thoughtful, and the newly-enkindled flame of love to the Redeemer burns warmly on the altar of the heart, he thinks that an entrance upon the duties of a Sunday school teacher would be an easy and fit expression of his consecration to the Redeemer's service. There are others who think that piety is not essential→ that a young man whose life is outwardly moral-whose powers of mind are above the common order-whose intellect is well-informed-whose professed belief is orthodox-and who possesses a more than ordinary aptitude to communicate instruction, even though there be the absence of personal obedience to the truth-may well be encouraged to communicate to the minds of the young the theory of truth in which he is so well versed. We would not discourage the former, but we must tell them they need the qualities of the latter; and while we are thankful for the service of the intellect and talent of the latter, we must in faithful kindness address to them the words of our Saviour, "Friend, yet lackest thou one thing." We need the combination of the two. Talent should be sanctified and piety enlightened. In the concerns of every day life we acknowledge a principle that should not be left out in regard to Sunday schools, i. e., the adaptation of means to ends. This is a principle that is observable in the procedure of God himself. If we read the account of the Creation we shall see how this principle is exemplified. When he formed the light he hung the sun in the firmament of heaven, and qualified it for its functions of diffusion and attraction. When he adorned the night with the silvery moon and twinkling stars, and gave them their ordinations and appointments, he invested them with those powers that would fit them to answer the purpose for which they were made. When he formed man, and gave him universal dominion and control, it was not without enduing him with those powers that rendered him capable of an swering all the purposes of his being. In his government of the world in after ages-in his raising up from time to time men qualified to lead and guide his church-and especially in the instructions of his word relative to the fitness of ministers and teachers, we see that he recognizes this principle. Nor in secular things do men overlook it. What means the discipline of our soldiery? What means the apprenticeship of our youth to the various trades they intend to follow? What is it but an universal recognition of the great principle, that a mind must be qualified and prepared for the station it is called to fill-that success in any enterprise depends under God upon the fitness of the agent. A mere glance at the objects of a teacher will serve to remove all scruples from the minds of those who seem to think qualification unnecessary. A teacher of youth! what is his object? It is to emancipate the mind of a child from the moral slavery to which it is hereditary, and in which it is held captive-to disperse those clouds of mental darkness and ignorance by which the soul is enshrouded-to remove prejudice and sin, those barriers that surround the shores of the human soul, and prevent the landing of that bark that brings salvation-to produce a character, from which hereafter shall emanate light, love, and usefulness-to train a mind for the skies-to educate for eternity! There is much to undo as well as to do. To uproot the weeds of sin and error that overrun the minds of youth, requires a prudent and faithful treatment; and on the soil of a child's heart, to cause the flowers of holiness to bloom, requires the culture of a gentle hand. The soul of a child, when committed to the hand of a Sunday school teacher, is like an unpolished gem; and before that soul can sparkle in the Redeemer's coronet it must be prepared for the setting-and this is a teacher's work. The soul of a child is like a confusion of Babel sounds. Sin has entered, and marred the harmony of its music; and ere it leaves the earth to join the melodies of the skies it must be put in tune for the heavenly song. Every discordant note and jarring sound must be attuned to harmony, and made to strike a chord in unison with the song of Moses and the Lamb. These are glorious ends, to the accomplishment of which no consecration of human talent can be considered lavish. The holy eloquence of Apollos-the untiring zeal of Paul-the glowing enthusiasm of Peter-the good will of angelsthe help and sympathy of our Redeemer-have been expended in the cause; and we are called to be "workers together" with Christ. Oh! who would not be ashamed to lay at his feet anything save the best which ability and talent can attain! Who would not aspire to be a worthier instrument in a cause so glorious as that of a Sunday school teacher! In tracing the outlines of a good teacher, we do it on the supposition, that the character is decided, and the heart yielded to the Saviour; we think that to be a good teacher in the full sense of the term he must be a Christian, because we want a teaching that will affect the heart. One of the most important elements in a teacher's character, is a holy anxiety, and a living consistency. Our schools have not now the need of secular teaching as they once had; days are gone by when agents were paid to give this kind of instruction. The knell of pay agency has long since tolled, and the hoary head of mere secular instruction in Sunday schools is about to be laid in the grave; and the instrumentality we now look for, is that which springs from a voluntary love to the work, and manifests itself in an entire consecration to the cause, an agency that understanding its responsibility and high mission, seek to enlarge its powers, and improve its capacity for usefulness. While therefore, we would |