THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL.
Miss Etta Mountjoy was a young lady of the period. She was the youngest
of Mr. Mountjoy's children, and the baby and pet of all. Her mother died
when she was about five years old, and since then she had always done
exactly as she pleased; her father would not control her, and her eldest
sister, who took charge of the family in her mother's place, could not.
It was well that the girl had no evil tendencies and was, upon the
whole, well-principled, warm-hearted, and good-natured, or she might have
gone very grievously astray. As it was, she was now at seventeen a
bright butterfly, flitting from one to another of the flowers of life,
and sipping as much honey as she could from each. She was fond of all
sorts of bright, pretty things, handsome clothes and jewelry included.
She liked to sing and she liked to dance, to go to parties when there
were any, and to attend concerts and theatres when she went to town; in
a word, she was fond of "having a good time," as Americans express it,
whenever and wherever she could get a chance.
Nor did Miss Etta mind work. She was a girl of energy, who would
willingly walk miles to attend a picnic or climb a mountain, and she did
not hesitate to work for hours on a trimming for her dress, or even some
more useful piece of sewing. She was always having _furores_ for
something; at one time it was gardening, when she coaxed her father to
have a good-sized piece of ground dug up and laid out for her, and
actually raised, not flowers, as one would expect, but quite respectable
vegetables, hoeing the beans, corn, and cabbages herself, and weeding
out the cucumbers, lettuce, and radishes with persistent fidelity.
At another time she had a poultry-mania, and a chicken-house with the
most approved nests, warming-apparatus, etc., was constructed for the
little lady, and here she daily set the hens, fed the chickens, and
collected the eggs, selling them to her father at exorbitant prices.
Again, cooking absorbed her time and gave occupation to her energies;
and the family were treated to strange compounds of her concocting,
while the old servant who reigned supreme in the kitchen was in the
depths of despair at the number of dishes and pans she was called upon
to clear up, the waste and breakage that went on, and the general
disorganization of her lifelong arrangements.
Happily, or unhappily, these moods never were of long duration. The
reading-mania lasted just long enough for a handsome bookcase to be
stocked with histories, biographies, etc.; a few volumes of poems were
dipped into, several novels read, and a big history attacked, when the
mood changed into a passion for skating, and the remainder of the winter
was consumed in preparing a fancy costume, getting the most approved
club-skates, and learning to keep upright upon them; but by the time so
much was accomplished, the ice broke up and Miss Etta was obliged to
find some other occupation. Art came next in the list of the girl's
absorbing avocations. A studio was fitted up, canvas stretched upon
easels, pencils sharpened, and quite a creditable beginning made upon
some pictures which showed considerable native taste and ability.
Just now Sunday-school teaching had taken the place of all other things,
and Etta Mountjoy devoted the energies of her many-sided nature to her
class. There had been more than one person opposed to entrusting so
sacred a work to so light-minded and trivial a girl. Her brother James
considered it nothing short of sacrilege, and her oldest sister Eunice
reasoned with her very gravely, and tried to show her that, in order to
teach the truths of God, one should have some personal knowledge of
them, and that the only acceptable motive for religious work was a
sincere desire to please God and benefit the souls of those whom Christ
came to save. But Etta was not accustomed to be guided by her brother
and sister; she went to her father, told him she wanted to take a class
in Sunday-school, and of course he said "Yes." Then she went to the
superintendent and made known her request, saying it was at her father's
desire, which, as he was book-keeper at the paper-mill, would, she knew,
have great weight.
Mr. Scoville paused, hesitated, and finally resolved to consult the
pastor, promising Etta her answer before Sunday came round. He would
have given an unqualified refusal had the petitioner been any one else
than his employer's daughter.
Mr. Morven, the pastor, however, thought differently. He had known the
young girl ever since she was a very little one; he knew there was no
positive evil in her, and though he had not heretofore suspected her of
any serious thought, he looked upon her request as an indication of
good, and said that perhaps the very familiarity with sacred things
which teaching a Sunday-school class would necessitate might be as
beneficial to the teacher as to the scholars. So Mr. Scoville, though
rather against his better judgment, sent a note to Miss Etta granting
her request, having in his mind a certain class of little ones just out
of the infant class, the teacher of which had announced her intention of
leaving the school. When he went to see this teacher, however, he found
she had changed her mind, and there was no other class available except
one composed of seven "big girls," of whom Katie Robertson was one. Of
course, Mr. Scoville could not go back on his word, so Miss Etta
Mountjoy was formally installed as teacher of one of the most important
classes of the school.
Most of the girls liked her; some were seized with a violent admiration,
if not of her, of her beautiful hats, delicate kid gloves, and all the
_et cetera_ which go to make up the toilet of a modern young lady.
Others liked her fresh, frank manner and sympathy with them and their
interests. Indeed, she was so nearly on their own level as to age that
there was no room for condescension on this account; while, as to
position, where was there ever an American girl of any age who
acknowledged to social inferiority? Katie alone felt, though she could
hardly explain it, the want of something in her new teacher which had
been peculiarly characteristic of the old one, who was a plain, elderly
woman, without much education,--namely, personal love and devotion to
the Lord Jesus, showing itself in an earnest desire that her scholars
might also learn to love and serve him. This good teacher's prayers had
been answered, and her efforts blessed, in Katie Robertson's case, and
hence the girl knew how to appreciate the difference.
In some ways, however, Etta agreeably disappointed all their
expectations. She set herself to study and prepare her lessons with an
energy that carried all before it; consulted commentaries, studied
dates, compared contemporary history, committed to memory schedules, and
looked out illustrations, all of which she imparted to her class till
its members far surpassed all the others in the school in their
knowledge of scripture geography and history and biography. They could
give complete lists of the patriarchs, the judges, the kings of Israel
and Judah, and the major and minor prophets; and they never failed with
the dates of the deluge, the "call of Abraham," the Exodus, the
Captivity, and all the periodic points by which the Bible is marked and
mapped off in the voluminous Sunday-school literature of the day. As to
distinctively religious teachings, every scholar had the catechism
verbatim, ready to recite at a moment's notice, and a failure in the
"golden text" was unknown. To be sure, other teachers in her vicinity,
whose classes failed to win the unqualified praise accorded to hers, did
say that Miss Etta never failed to prompt her scholars if there seemed
to be any hesitation; but perhaps that was due to a tinge of jealousy in
consequence of all the prizes given at a quarterly examination,
including one for the teacher, having been won by this "banner class."
All this was very well in its way. There is certainly no harm in knowing
all we can about the Bible; it helps us to understand and appreciate it,
and to answer the objections which foolish infidels are constantly
bringing against it; but the girls, especially Katie, missed the pointed
application; the showing how every wrong thing is sin; how sin must be
punished; how Jesus has borne the punishment, and so is ready and
willing to forgive the sin; how he loves all men, even though they are
sinners, and is ready to give them strength to resist temptation and
conquer sin, if they will diligently seek the aid of his Holy Spirit--in
Bible words, to make them "whiter than snow." These are the true themes
of Sunday-school teaching; the one end to be aimed at is so to bring up
the children in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord," as that when
they come to years of discretion they shall gladly confess him as their
Master, and become noble, intelligent, active Christian men and women.
Lacking this, all outside things are, as the apostle says, "sounding
brass and a tinkling cymbal."
The only positive harm which Miss Etta did to her class was to foster in
some of the girls a great admiration for dress and an ardent desire to
imitate their teacher in this respect. Since the days of Eve a taste for
dress has always been an inherent part of a girl's constitution, and is
apt to become one of her greatest temptations, especially if she be a
poor girl, as were most of these, and must procure cheap imitations of
finery; or, if even these are beyond their reach, indulge in
discontented repinings, which are really rebellion against God.
Squantown Sunday-school was a very pleasant one. Quite unlike the usual
oblong wooden building, which in many country places serves for a
secular school during the week and a Sunday-school on Sunday, it was a
pretty gothic brick building, handsomely fitted up with folding-seats, a
reed organ, and an uncommonly good library. A nice carpet was upon the
floor, and pretty illuminated texts painted upon the walls; the windows
were narrow and pointed, with little diamond-shaped panes, and when
opened gave a near view of the minister's garden full of bright-hued
flowers, and a more distant one of softly outlined blue mountains, whose
tops, capped in summer with snowy clouds and in winter with veritable
snow, formed apt illustrations to thoughtful teachers of the "mountains
that stand round about Jerusalem," and symbolized the protecting love
and care of the Lord for his people.
The beautiful Sunday-school building was largely due to the efforts of
Mr. James, who had his father's well-filled purse to draw from; and he
had interested himself in getting the scholars together, as well as in
introducing among them all modern improvements. He was greatly
interested in his class of big boys, over whom his influence was most
beneficial. Nearly all of them had already confessed Christ, and were
mostly manly Christians, exercising a good influence upon the other boys
in the mill or bindery, to which they, as well as nearly all the members
of the school, belonged.
Miss Eunice Mountjoy was also engaged in the Sunday-school, having
charge of the Bible-class, which contained all the oldest scholars, some
of them quite young men and women. She was a very different sort of
person from her youngest sister. Fully twelve years her senior, she
looked and seemed much older than she really was, and no one had for
years thought of calling her a "girl," although now she was only
twenty-nine. When she was quite a girl her mother had died, leaving her
with the care of all her sisters and her brother, to whom she had,
indeed, done a mother's part. Her chief aim in life had always been to
"do all to the glory of God," and to her Bible-class she gave her most
earnest efforts and her warmest prayers. Her influence was great at
home, in the mill, and throughout the town of Squantown, though, as far
as possible, she obeyed the scripture injunction not to let her left
hand know what her right hand was doing. She always invited the female
members of her class to take tea with her every Wednesday night; the
boys and young men being expected to come afterward, remain a little
while, and then escort their sisters, cousins, and friends home. These
little meetings were very pleasant; sometimes pretty fancy-work--to be
sold for the benefit of the class missionary fund--was done; sometimes
clothes were cut out and made for some of the poorer factory children,
or some fatherless baby, while Miss Eunice read aloud some interesting
book; sometimes when the topics suggested by last Sunday's lesson had
proved too voluminous for the time of the session, they were taken up
and discussed on Wednesday; sometimes difficult points in next week's
lesson were anticipated. In this way the teacher became really
acquainted with the members of her class, their dispositions,
temptations, and interests; she gained their confidence, and was often
able to advise and assist them in many ways, and they learned to look
upon her as a friend to whom they might apply in time of need. And, as
a secondary benefit, the girls learned a great deal in the way of
cutting out, basting, and other mysteries of needlework calculated to
prove very useful to them in their future capacity of wives and mothers.
Eunice had often wished that the same plan could be pursued in the other
elder classes; but their teachers, who were mostly employed in some
capacity in the mill, could hardly spare the time, and Etta certainly
was not fitted for the work. As an experiment, however, on the first
Sunday after Katie entered the mill she came over to her sister's class
and invited all the girls, or as many as chose to do so, to join hers on
Wednesday afternoon next, saying she had something of interest and
importance to talk about. As the invitation was one that seemed to place
those to whom it was given in the rank of grown-up girls, it was at once
gladly accepted, especially as most of the girls had never been inside
of Mr. Mountjoy's house and grounds, and would gladly see the luxury of
which they had heard so much.
There was a great deal of talk after the close of the session about the
invitation and the proposed meeting, and some curiosity was expressed
as to the "important thing" Miss Eunice was to talk about. One or two of
the girls said they were sorry they had accepted the invitation; they
didn't like "to have religion poked at them"; they guessed they wouldn't
go. Before the appointed day, however, curiosity got the better of these
fainthearted ones, and not a girl of Etta's class was wanting when the
time arrived.