SINGING BY THE SCHOOL.

[During the singing of the last verse three scholars come forward and stand facing the school.]

Superintendent. What can you tell us about the three lands referred to.

First Scholar. Most of our lessons belong to the land of Palestine and the city of Jerusalem. It is a small land, not larger than the States of Massachusetts and Connecticut, yet it has filled the earth with its fame, for out of it came the Gospel for all the world. In the days of David, its empire extended from the Euphrates to the Nile, but at the period of our lessons its scepter was shortened, and finally swept away. For fifty years Zion was a desolation, and ever afterward the land of Judah was subject to foreign rule. At Jerusalem, in our lessons, Josiah reigned and reformed his kingdom, Jeremiah wept while he delivered God's warning of judgment, Zedekiah, the last king, was taken prisoner and dethroned, the returning exiles rebuilt the altar, Ezra read the law, and Malachi gave the last utterances of the Old Testament.

Second Scholar. Another land presented in our lessons is Chaldea, of which Babylon was the capital. This city was one of the most ancient in the world, for the Tower of Babel stands at the beginning of human history. For many centuries it was ruled by its younger sister Nineveh, on the banks of the Tigris, but about the time when Josiah reigned in Judah it won its independence, and then transferred the rule of the Oriental world to the Euphrates. For ninety years Chaldea was the mistress of all lands, and Babylon the lady of kingdoms. Its walls were three hundred feet high, and so wide that six chariots could drive abreast upon them. Within them were the hanging gardens and the palaces of Nebuchadnezzar; and near the city rose the golden image before which all the nobles of the kingdoms howed, save the three Hebrew worthies. Here the Jews were captives, hanging their harps upon the willows by the streams, until in one night the handwriting appeared upon the wall, and the Persian hosts seized the city. To Babylon belong the lessons

which tell of Daniel and his three companions, of Belshazzar's feast, and of the return of the captives.

Third Scholar. The third of the countries in our lessons is Persia, which succeeded Babylon in the empire of the East, and ruled all the lands from India to Ethiopia and the Hellespont. Its capital was Shushan, among the mountains north of the Persian Gulf. Here the kings of Persia sat enthroned in their splendid palace, of which the ruins still remain. Here Esther knelt before Ahasuerus, touching the tip of the golden scepter; and here Nehemiah presented his request to King Artaxerxes that he might rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

SINGING BY THE SCHOOL.

[During the singing of the last verse twelve scholars come forward.]

Superintendent. What prominent persons are named in the lessons of the past quarter?

First Scholar. I speak of Josiah, the young reformer, who lived in a time when Judah had forsaken God and was following idols. At the age of sixteen years he chose the God of his fathers, and thenceforth served him with his whole heart. He destroyed the idols, read the law of the Lord, and strove to lead his people back to the right way.

School. "He did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left."

Second Scholar. I speak of Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. He arose just when the young king Josiah fell in battle, and the reformation of Judah fell with him. He lived through the darkest age of Judah's history, when the people were sinking lower and lower in wickedness. He was a man of tender and gentle spirit, who wept while he delivered God's message, but delivered it though persecuted, imprisoned, and scourged. From him we learn the lesson of faithful testimony against sin.

School. "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved... Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?"

Third Scholar. I speak of the Rechabites, a strange family, who appeared in Jerusalem in the days before its fall. Their conduct gives us two noble examples, that of obedience to parents, and of total abstinence from strong drink.

School. "The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father's commandment... Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel... Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me forever."

Fourth Scholar. I speak of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. He received the throne upon the promise of loyalty to the great king of Babylon; but he broke his plighted faith, and rebelled. As a result he saw his land laid waste, his warriors

slain, his people carried away captive, and his own sons murdered. His eyes were then put out, and he was borne in chains to a dungeon in Babylon.

School. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion." Fifth Scholar. I speak of Daniel, the prophet and the prince. He was a captive in Babylon, but for his graces of mind and body promoted to a place in the palace. Here he lived unspotted amid temptation, temperate though surrounded by drunkenness, and in communion with God while all around were idol-worshipers. At the peril of his life he was faithful to duty, and when thrown among the lions he was guarded by God's care.

School. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word."

Sixth Scholar. I speak of the three young Hebrews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. While all the other nobles bowed down before the golden image, they stood erect, for they worshiped God alone. Thrown into the fiery furnace, they were preserved alive, and the form of the Son of God was seen walking in the fire by their side. From them we learn the lesson of fidelity to conscience. School. "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace."

Seventh Scholar. I speak of Belshazzar, the youth who sat upon the throue of Babylon when it fell. As if to ridicule the enemies who were besieging his capital, he held a great feast in his palace; and as if to cast contempt upon the God of the Jews, he brought the holy vessels from the temple to his banqueting hall, and out of them drank in honor of his gods. But in the midst of the revelry appeared the handwriting on the wall warning him of doom, and in that very night the Persian besiegers entered the palace and slew the king upon his throne. His fate warns us against the sin of irreverence toward

the God of heaven.

School. "And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians."

praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid."

Ninth Scholar. I speak of Nehemiah the nobleman, who left a high station in the court of the Persian king, and journeyed twelve hundred miles to unite his fortunes with his depressed people in Jerusalem. By his energy, courage, and tact the wall of the city was built, and Jerusalem arose once more as the capital of the new Jewish nation. He was earnest in prayer, self-denying in liberality, and zealous for the purity of God's people.

School. "Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. . . Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we, his servants, will arise and build."

Tenth Scholar. I speak of Ezra the reformer. He was a priest who came from Chaidea to Jerusalem in the days of Nehemiah, to instruct the people in the law of God, in which he was a deep student. Through his labors the writings of the Old Testament were gathered together and united into one book. He read the law before a great assembly of the people, and instituted schools and synagogues for its teaching. From his great work, he has been called "the second founder of the Jewish people."

School. "So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading."

Eleventh Scholar. I speak of Esther, the beautiful queen, whose lovely face was the reflection of a more lovely character. She was the queen of Persia, but to save her people she risked her life, and offered herself to die with them if she might not save them. By her act of self-sacrifice she won for herself the love of her people and an undying re

nown.

School. "So will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish." Twelfth Scholar. I speak of Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets. He lived in the age after Ezra and Nehemiah, when their reformation had spent its strength, and the Jews were outwardly worshipers of God, but in heart following their own ways. Boldly did he rebuke the sins of priests and people, and faithfully did he exhort to paths of

ship of Zerubbabel journeyed back to Palestine. Their first act was to rebuild the altar of God upon its old foundation, and to renew the sacrifices; but it was twenty-one years before the temple was completed. From their leader we learn the lesson of love and labor for the house of God.

School." And they sang together by course in

One who should come as the Messiah of Israel and the Saviour of the world.

School. "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me... Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings."

SINGING BY THE SCHOOL.

The Presiding Elder's Normal

Class.

HERE and there a presiding elder in the Methedist Episcopal Church has shown the possibilities of his office in the promotion of intelligent Christianity, Bible study, and efficient Sunday-school work. Recently we have noted the labors of Rev. Horace Reed, presiding elder of the Mattoon District in Illinois. He has organized normal classes in many charges, has given normal lessons in many churches, and has circulated over two hundred copies of the Outline Normal Lessons among the Sunday-school teachers of his district. One can scarcely overestimate the results of such work as this. It may not immediately show its power, for the best things are of slow growth. But it will influence the Sunday-school work of that region long after the district shall have passed into other hands. There will be in many places families where the religion is of an intelligent and scriptural type; schools with here and there a teacher with the highest aims and the most earnest work; young people who will be far above the average in thoughtfulness; and classes which shall send forth trained young men to become preachers of the Gospel, as the result of the high ideals in life set before them. And all these will go on perpetuating, widening, and reproducing the influence set in motion by one earnest presiding elder. Our presiding elders as a class are laborious men, and faithful to their duties. But few of them are brought into direct contact with the young life that is growing up on their districts. It will do them good, and will mightily help the efficiency of the Sunday-school work if they can give close attention to the young people and their needs.

At Home.

CHILDREN'S classes, held on week-day afternoons for religious instruction, are increasing in number. From various quarters we receive inquiries concerning their organization and management. Some pastors hold large meetings, with a plan of mingled entertainment and religious teaching. For half an hour they have readings, declamations, vocal and instrumental music, and calisthenic exercises, by the children, and then occupy the other half-hour with a talk by the pastor on some religious topic. Others hold them, as at Chautauqua and the various assemblies, for instruction in general Bible knowledge. Every Sunday-school assembly has its children's meeting, in which are taught the construction of the Bible, Bible history, and Bible geography, in simple lessons adapted to childhood. In

order to meet the demand for children's class lessens at assemblies, Sunday-school institutes, and in churches, a series of leaflets has been prepared by the Rev. J. L. Hurlbut, D.D., which will be used in at least six large Assemblies next summer, and probably in as many more. They contain a course of lessons, with maps, diagrams, blackboard outlines, questions for review and examination. The first series embraces eight leaflets of four pages each, and may be ordered of

Phillips & Hunt, New York, or Cranston & Stowe, Cincinnati or Chicago, at two cents for a single leaflet, or ten cents for the set of eight leaflets.

About three months ago the church at Fulton Street, Elizabeth, N.J., was repaired and painted. Among other improvements the Sunday school room was enlarged and beautified. All around the room, just over the wainscoat, there are pasted the pictures from the Leaf Cluster. The effect is very beautiful and striking. At first sight there is the appearance of frescoing. The colors harmonize with the other colors of the room, and the figures are, of course, appropriate to the purpose for which the room is designed.

During the last week in this month the managers of the Industrial Education Association of the city of New York propose to hold an exhibition of children's handiwork. The makers of goods offered must be under fourteen years of age, and must live in the city or within thirty miles of it. The articles made are divided into seven classes: 1. Wood-work; 2. Metal-work; 3. Needle-work; 4. Practical cookery; 5. Modeling in clay; 6. Designs; 7. Leather-work. The office of the Association is at 21 University Place, where further particulars can be obtained. This idea is something new, and if the boys and girls of New York and vicinity once get interested in it the exhibition will be well worthy of a visit.

Book Notices.

Cassandra's Casket. By Emma Marshall. New York: Robert Carter & Co. Cassandra was a neglected halforphan whose associations at home were not of a sort to develop a genuine Christian character. Her struggles with misfortune, neglect, suspicion, and her own careless spirit, and the final victory achieved, are here described in a very attractive way.

David Elliott. A Cornish Story. By C. E. Irvine. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers. A very good story of life among the fishermen on the Cornish coast. David was a poor lonely lad who had at first a hard fight with evil, but at last he conquered in the way that every tempted soul may conquer.

Afloat. A Story. By the Author of "The Caged Linnet." New York: Robert Carter & Brothers. A very touching story of sea-life, and of life by the seashore, showing the fortunes and the misfortunes of a worthy fisherman and his family.

A Lucky Waif. A Story for Mothers, of Home and School Life. By Ellen E. Kenyon. New York: Fowler & Wells Co. In the form of a pleasing story the writer gives her views on the training of children, in the family and in school.

Michael's Treasures; or, Choice Silver. By Emma Marshall. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers. The greatest treasure Michael had was a poor waif of a child whom he picked up on the beach during a storm and after a wreck. The boy's mother took the child for her own and brought her up. The narrative tells how the treasure was lost and found again.

Over the Sea, and What I Saw. A Monograph. By Rev. Wilbur L. Davidson. Cincinnati: Cranston & Stowe. New York: Phillips & Hunt. A story of European travel in the year 1883. Some of the author's criticisms on works of art will hardly pass unchallenged by all his readers.

The Secret of the Forest; or, A Strange Inheritance. By E. Chapman. With Illustrations. New York:

Robert Carter & Brothers. The romantic finding of a perfect copy of the first edition of Miles Coverdale's Bible (1535) is made the central incident, around which are gathered other incidents of an interesting and instructive character.

A Tangled Web. A Tale of the Fifteenth Century. By Emily Sarah Holt. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers. The story deals with some of the most exciting and important facts in English and Scottish history. It is well written, with an evident desire on the part of the author to adhere to the facts of history. The last chapter, on a vexed historic question, will be found especially interesting.

Rose Raymond's Wards. By Margaret Vandegrift. Philadelphia: Porter & Coates. A well-told story of home life, in which loss of property, the struggles with unaccustomed poverty, and the final victory are described. Not the least entertaining part of the narrative is to be found in the poems and stories within the story which were read before the "Society."

The Garroters. A Farce. By W. D. Howells. New York: Harper & Brothers. A very amusing representation of "playing at cross purposes," showing what might happen, and, if a story we once read be true, illustrating what actually happened, in the city of Rome, to a celebrated English author many years ago.

The Mormon Problem. An Appeal to the American People. By Rev. C. P. Lyford. New York: Phillips & Hunt. Cincinnati: Cranston & Stowe. What to do with Mormonism, the great festering sore upon the body politic, is one of the gravest problems now demanding consideration by our statesmen. Mr. Lyford, by a long residence in Utah, as well as by many years' careful study of the subject, is well qualified to speak on it. He lays bare the ugly ulcer, fixes the responsibility for its existence, and recommends stringent legislation for its extirpation.

Under the Apple Trees. By Sophie Worthington. New York: Phillips & Hunt, Cincinnati: Cranston & Stowe. A quiet but interesting story, showing the unfolding of a girl's life, from a stormy, passionate childhood to a self-controlled, noble womanhood. It will prove a healthful and inspiring book to every girl who reads it, and will be a valuable addition to the Sundayschool library.

Sent to Coventry; or, the Boys of Highbeech. By M. L. Ridley. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers. This is a story of life in a boys' school; and when we learn that the offense for which the hero of the tale is "sent to coventry" (or in a more modern phrase "boycotted ") by his fellow pupils is that his father is a dry-goods' merchant, and not a " gentleman," we perceive that the scene is laid in England. Perhaps it is well for American boys to learn how narrow is the social horizon of their English cousins; and also that the use of slang is not confined to this side of the Atlantic.

Five Minutes Too Late; or, Leslie Harcourt's Resolve. By Emily Brodie. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers. This is a better story than many of the English reprints of this house, and will make an excellent book for the Sunday-school library. It is the story of a boy who was apt to be a laggard with unpleasant duties, such as getting up in the morning and studying his lessons. As he improved in character, let us hope that other boys who read the book may be induced to follow his example.

Lesson Studies from the Book of Genesis. By Eugene

Stock. London: The Religious Tract Society. Mr. Stock for several years wrote the "English Teacher's Notes" for our JOURNAL. The "Studies" in this volume are the "Notes" which appeared in the JOURNAL for 1880. We are glad to welcome them in this form, and we doubt not they will be as acceptable and useful in England as they were in this country.

On the Cliff; or, Alick's Neighbors. By Catharine Shaw. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers. A sequel to "Fathoms Deep," by the same author, and, like its predecessor, pure in its moral and religioustone, but possessing a rather commonplace line of incidents, padded out with much conversation.

East and West; or, the Strolling Artist. By Emily Brodie. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers. AD English story of average merit, mainly occupied with life among the lower classes.

Oughts and Crosses. New York: Carter & Brothers By Jennie Chappell. About a boy who found some "crosses" in the path of doing as he " ought," but found, too, that every cross has its compensation.

Wakulla: A Story of Adventure in Florida. By Kirk Munroe. New York: Harper & Brothers. One of the square little books of the "Harper's Young People's Series," all of which seem to be interesting. This is the story of a family which removed from Maine to Florida, and passed through quite a romantic series of experiences.

Key Words to the King's Treasury. By C. E. Paxson. St. Louis Parker, Ritter, Nicholls Stationery Company. A little vest-pocket volume of choice Bible readings in outline, with some precious extracts from the letters of Samuel Rutherford.

425845

Feb. 21. THE SECOND TEMPLE.. Ezra 1. 1-4, and 3. 8-13. 28. NEHEMIAH'S PRAYER.

Mar. 7. Reading the Law..

.Neh. 1. 1-11. ....Neh. 8. 1-12.

14. Esther's Petition... Esther 4. 10-17, and 5. 1-3. 21. Messiah's Messenger.. Mal. 3. 1-6, and 4. 1-6. 28. First Quarterly Review.

THE

SUNDAY-SCHOOL JOURNAL

Is published Monthly by Phillips & Hunt, at New York, and Cranston & Stowe, at Cincinnati. TERMS: SIXTY-FIVE CENTS a year for single subscribers, and FIFTY-FIVE CENTS each for clubs of six or over sent to one address. This includes the postage, which the publishers are obliged to prepay. If the names are to be written on each copy they will be charged at same rate as for a single copy. Subscriptions may commence at any time, but must expire with March, June, September, or December. Subscribers will please send their orders at least one month in advance.

Orders may be directed to PHILLIPS & HUNT, New York and Detroit; CRANSTON & STOWE, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis; J. B. HILL, San Francisco, Cal.; J. P. MAGEE, Boston; J. HORNER, Pittsburg; H. H. OTIS, Buffalo; PERKINPINE & HIGGINS, or F. B. CLEGG, Philadelphia; D. H. CARROLL, Baltimore.

RATES FOR ADVERTISING.