vored occasion for the parent to drop a word of practical instruction, which may prove a word in season,-a word of life and salvation to the child! The faithful parent hails and eagerly improves every occasion when he may naturally, and without disgust or weariness to his children, direct their thoughts to the subject of their personal salvation. He feels under solemn obligations to improve all such occasions; and, of course, whatever tends to increase them, he regards as increasing his responsibility. There is, probably, no one department of the various means of religious instruction, respecting which children so often and so freely make inquiries and converse, as the Sabbath school. If, then, the parent wishes to throw off responsibility, as was very judiciously remarked, by a superintendent, at a recent Sabbath school convention,-let him withhold his child from this institution. For it increases his opportunities of doing them good; and, consequently, increases his responsibility. This very fact endears the Sabbath school to the faithful parent. He cares not how great the responsibleness that presses down upon him, so long as he can hear his Savior saying unto him, "As thy day, so shall thy strength be," "My grace is sufficient for thee." SHE HAD A MIND TO WORK. It is comparatively easy to carry forward any enterprise, when those engaged in it "have a mind to work." The great work of repairing the ruined walls of Jerusalem, though undertaken amid almost every possible discouragement, succeeded beyond the anticipations of its warmest friends, and to the amazement and confusion of its enemies; "for the people had a mind to work," they were deeply interested in it, and went about it cheerfully. There are but few enterprises where " mind to work" is more indispensable to any important success, than the enterprise of Sabbath schools. What results would not follow the labors of teachers, were they all to feel a deep interest in their work, and to engage in it cheerfully! There a are many delightful examples of teachers who possess this spirit. We have recently been made acquainted with the following: About a year since, a young lady,—a member of a Baptist Church in one of our cities,-went to the superintendent of a Congregational Sabbath school, and said to him, "Our school is full. There is no room for any more classes. But," said she, suppressing the deep emotion of her bosom, "But I want to be engaged in the work: will you admit me into 66 school?" your Certainly," was the ready reply. She entered the school, and, in one month, collected a fine class, for whose spiritual good she has ever since labored with untiring assiduity. During the year she has brought into that school fifteen new scholars! She had a mind to work. Teachers! have you such an irrepressible desire to be engaged in the delightful work of directing the young in the way to heaven? Rather than have no part in this work would you even go into another denomination? Christians! had you all “a mind to work" in this benevolent, heaven-born enterprise, would the almost universal complaint any longer be, "a want of teachers,”—of faithful teachers? MINISTER'S ATTENTION TO CHILDREN. “Mr. L., little James will never forget you as long as he lives. He often says, ' Mother, the minister when he was going out of meeting, put his hand on my head!'" And what minister will not take the trouble to put his hand on the head of a child, to gain a warm and permanent place in that child's young heart? These apparantly trifling attentions may procure the minister many a true friend, to stand by him in the hour of adversity and in the decline of life. WEATHERSFIELD AND BERLIN S. S. UNION. The anniversary of the Weathersfield and Berlin Sabbath School Union, was held at New Britain, on Tuesday the 12th of September. From a report published in the Connecticut Observer, it appears that one hundred of the children and youth have been converted the past year,—about seventy in New Britain and about thirty in Rocky Hill. In the late revival in New Britain, almost every one that was convicted of sin, was hopefully converted, and one or both of the parents of every child hopefully "I will pour converted was pious-thus verifying the truth of God's word, my spirit upon thy SEED, and my blessing upon thine OFFSPRING." MEMOIR OF LUSANNA T. PIERCE. "The The publication of this book was announced in the last Visiter. memoirs of pious children," says the introduction, "are valuable auxiliaries to the system of Sabbath school instruction. They are among the best and most approved means of exciting little children to the subject of their own personal salvation. They predispose the young and tender mind to receive the earliest and happiest impressions from the instruction of their pious teachers. And they often deeply affect the heart, with the manifest love of Christ to their little companions. Few means or instruments have contributed more to the conversion of little children. In the wisdom of God, they have directed the young mind, in its first inquiries after the truth; and turned the feet of the little wanderer into the fold of Christ." With these remarks we fully accord; and yet we believe there is danger of having too large a proportion of our juvenile books of this character. The fear has been expressed that the Mass. S. S. Society might be in danger of erring on this point. The Publishing Committee fearing this themselves, have approved of fewer memoirs of late, than formerly. About one sixth of the publications of the Society are of this character. If the history of a youth,-his instruction, conversion, Christian character, sickness and death,—is similar to that of the great mass of pious youth who die, we think, generally, it should not be given to the public. But if, in the case of another youth, there has been an uncommon development of some one or all of the Christian graces; or something uncommon in his early advantages and education either favorable or otherwise, or in the circumstances of his conversion, sickness or death, an account of his life should be published, for the benefit of the world; that all may learn the various and wonderful operations of the grace of God, in fitting his children for admission to the kingdom of his glory. In the history of LUSANNA T. PIERCE, who died at the early age of seven years and ten months, we have an uncommon example of Christian patience under severe bodily suffering. The book is divided into seven chapters, containing an account of her natural amiableness of disposition-her early instruction and attachment to the Sabbath school-her early attachment to her books; especially the Bible-the evidences of her piety, or the early consecration of herself to the service of God-her patience under bodily suffering from a tumor in the throat, which resulted in nine distinct eperations, and subsequently in her death-and of her peaceful and happy death. > A WORD TO SUBSCRIBERS. All our subscribers understand, that a portion of the means, by which the MASS. SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY is enabled to carry forward its operations, is derived from the income of THE VISITER. Every one who neglects to pay his subscription, of course, deducts so much from the funds of the society. And every subscriber who wishes to discontinue his subscription, and does not give notice, till two or three numbers have been sent, also deducts the same amount, because the whole volume, being broken, is lost to the Society. From the fact that losses, of the kinds here men. tioned, are yearly increasing, we have felt, that the interests of the Society demanded the following arrangements, viz: To SEND THE VISITER, AFTER THE CLOSE OF THE PRESENT VOLUME, TO NO ONE, excepting agents and clergymen who are life members, UNLESS PAID FOR IN ADVANCE. Agents must make their payments within six months, or they will receive but one half of their usual commission.-After the reasons given above, our friends will certainly approve of this arrangement; and, we trust, all of them will evince their approval, by transmitting their subscriptions to Mr. C. C. DEAN, Agent of the Depository, No. 13 Cornhill, Boston, as early as the last week in December, 1837, or the first week in January, 1838. An edition of 10,000 copies has been printed the present year, several hundred of which have not been circulated. May we not expect that an edition of at least 10,000 copies will be demanded the coming year? Any person who will transmit the money for eight copies, to be directed to one individual, shall receive the ninth copy gratis. JUVENILE MUSIC. Furnished for this work by LOWELL MASON, Professor in the Boston Academy of Music. THOU GOD OF THE SKY. @# Not too fast. 1. Thou God of the sky, Who rulest on high, Yet grantest thine Only-be-gotten to die! Our ransom and peace, Our Thou, Lord, in the day Of vengeance didst lay Our sins on the Lamb, and he bore them away: He died to atone For sins not his own; The work of salvation, our Saviour hath done. |