202 RELIGION IN SCHOOL.

Barry. Willingly. Let the class in composition try
their hands upon this subject for Wednesday.

After some talk about verbenas, geraniums, and the
painting of sticks to support the dahlias, as well as some
inspection of butterflies emerging from their wintry
coffins or cradles, and some peeping through microscopes
the school went in again, at the tinkle of a bell, to hard
work at Greek, Latin, and mathematics.

Where the conductors of a school are truly pious,
they are every day making religious impressions on the
young, without any constraint or violent effort. They
cannot help doing so; and the scholars imperceptibly,
but surely, receive a large amount of religious knowledge.
This is very unlike the sour, hypocritical, or sancti-:
monious method, which ungodly people ascribe to
evangelical schools. Religious truth, interspersed
among the common studies of every day, is so far from
making youth dull and unhappy, that it elevates and
cheers them as truly as it protects and purifies them.
But there are also more stated means, which promote
the religious training of a school. A few of these may
be mentioned. |

Secret devotion is too sacred and delicate a matter to
be managed by school regulations, yet it is too impor-
tant to be neglected. A boy had better never go to
any school than go to one where he shall lose the habit
of secret devotion. Mr. Barry neglects no good oppor-
tunity of inculcating this duty in the short lectures, of