■HHHH 
 
 
 
I 
 
 
THE 
 
 HOO 
 
 AUTHENTIC HISTORY OF THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF 
 
 SABBATH-SCHOOLS FOR THE PAST CENTURY. 
 
 THE WORK OF RAIKES, FOX, PARDEE, 
 
 JACOBS, VINCENT, EGGLESTON, 
 
 AND MANY OTHERS. 
 
 vi 
 
 / 
 REV. FRANKLIN EDDY. 
 
 ( EC ^6 1882 
 
 HAMILTON, OHIO: 
 J. H. LONG, STEAM BOOK AND JOE PRINTER. 
 
 1882. 
 
 y Of V: 
 
The Library 
 ©f Congress 
 
 Washington 
 
 
 ENTERED ACCORDING TO THE ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1882, 
 
 BY REV. HOMER EDDY, 
 
 IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, AT WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 By request of the Executive Commit- 
 tee of the Wayne County Sunday School 
 Union, the Author delivered an address, 
 on "The Origin of the Sabbath School, 
 and its progress during its First Century/" 
 at the annual convention of that Society 
 at West-Salem, May 25, 1880. 
 
 And upon the invitation of the Stand- 
 ing Committee on Sabbath-school Work, 
 of the Presbytery of Wooster, it was re- 
 peated before Presbytery, at its meeting 
 in Perrysville, June 16, 1880. 
 
 Desiring to make a small contribution 
 to the Sabbath-school literature of this 
 
IV PREFACE.. 
 
 Centennial year, he has revised, and en- 
 larged, that address, and now gives it to 
 the public in this form, trusting that it 
 may prove serviceable to all Sabbath- 
 school workers, into whose hands it may 
 fall. 
 
 He has chosen the path of historic de- 
 tail, believing that the times, places, per- 
 sons, circumstances, names, dates, facts, 
 figures and influences, which belong to 
 this subject, can never cease to be inter- 
 esting to those who labor in this vine- 
 yard. 
 
 And although other pens have touched 
 upon this same theme at many points, yet 
 the Author has seen nothing upon this 
 subject, in the line which he proposes to 
 follow in this work. 
 
 His purpose is to put the main facts of 
 our Sabbath-school history into so small a 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 compass, as to secure a popular reading, 
 and in doing so 7 to appropriate all the 
 facts that are vital to the story of the 
 Sabbath-school/ for the Century. 
 
 The Author wishes to acknowledge the 
 following works, as sources of valuable 
 information in the preparation* of this 
 little volume : 
 
 Rise and Progress of Snnday-schools, - By J. C. Power. 
 The Sabbath-school Index, - - - By R. G. Pardee. 
 
 Fifty Years with the Sabbath-schools, By Rev, A. Bullaed, 
 The Lesson System, . - - - - - By S. Gilbert. 
 Sunday-school Journal, - - - - By J. H. Vixcent. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Origin of Sabbath-Schools, ... 9 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 PRE-HrsTORic Sabbath- Schools, - - - 20 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Two Inquiries, 35 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Robert Raikes, - 47 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 William Fox and His Work, - - - 60 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Early American Sabbath-Schools, - - 70 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Conventions and Institutes, - - - 103 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Sabbath-School Literature and Music, - 124 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Our International Lessons, - - - 146 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 Origin of Sabbath-Schools. 
 
 sMIIiET us first inquire; is there any 
 "?^fP scripture warrant for the Sab- 
 bath-school? Oris the Sabbath-school of 
 modern invention, only one hundred 
 years old? Will it have only an ephem- 
 eral life, or will it continue to be one of 
 the permanent institutions of the Church, 
 in the ages to come? TVas Robert Raikes 
 the founder of the Sabbath-school, or 
 was William Fox the founder of a 
 Sabbath-school Society? Are we to at- 
 tribute the origin of the Sabbath-school to 
 these grand philanthropists who graced 
 
10 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 English society a century ago, or to 
 Martin Luther the leading spirit of the 
 Reformation, or to the Apostle Paul, that 
 eminent teacher of the Gentiles in the 
 primitive Church, or to Christ himself, 
 who took the children in his arms and 
 blessed them, who said "Suffer the little 
 children to come unto me/' and who said 
 to Peter "Feed my lambs?' 7 Or may we 
 not find the germ of the Sabbath-school 
 still further back in the theocratic teach- 
 ings of the Mosaic economy? That the 
 Sabbath-school has a plain scriptural war- 
 rant is manifest. 
 
 1. From the nature of the Sabbath. 
 Being one of the fruits of Eden, the Sab- 
 bath was designed to bless the whole 
 family of man. And if the primary 
 thought of the Sabbath is that of rest, the 
 secondary thought is not less important, 
 
ORIGIN OF SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 11 
 
 which is that it is a holy clay. So if we are 
 to rest, we are also to worship. But all ac- 
 ceptable worship presupposes some knowl- 
 edge of God, and some instruction in 
 divine things, and to prepare the way for 
 the proper observance of the Sabbath, the 
 Sabbath-school for the masses becomes a 
 great necessity. Filling up the morning 
 hours of the Sabbath with a judicious 
 Sabbath-school exercise is one of the 
 greatest safe-guards against Sabbath 
 breaking, and so, inferentially the Sab- 
 bath-school is warranted by the very law 
 which says, "Remember the Sabbath-day 
 to keep it holy." 
 
 2. From the parental obligations en- 
 joined in the scripture. We read, "And 
 it shall come to pass when your children 
 shall say unto you, what mean ye by 
 this service ? That ye shall say, it is the 
 
12 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who pass- 
 ed over the houses of the children of 
 Israel in Egypt, when he smote the 
 Egyptians, and delivered our houses. 7 ' 
 Again it is written, "And these words, 
 which I command thee this day, shall be 
 in thine heart. And thou shalt teach 
 them dilligently unto thy children, and 
 shalt talk of them when thou sittest in 
 thine house, and when thou walkest by 
 the way, and when thou liest down, and 
 when thou risest up." And again we 
 read, "Gather the people together, men 
 and women, and children, and thy 
 stranger that is within thy gates, that 
 they may hear, and that they may learn, 
 and fear the Lord your God, and ob- 
 serve to do all the words of this law: 
 and that their children, which have 
 not known anything, may hear, and 
 
ORIGIN OF SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 13 
 
 learn to fear the Lord vour God, as long 
 as ye live in the land whither ye go over 
 Jordon to possess it." And again it is 
 written, "And all thy children shall be 
 taught of the Lord, and great shall be the 
 peace of thy children." — "Train up a 
 child in the way he should g;o, and when 
 he is old he will not depart from it." — 
 "Remember now thy Creator in the days 
 of thy youth, while the evil days come 
 not. nor the years draw nigh, when thou 
 shalt say, I have no pleasure in them." — 
 "And ye fathers provoke not your chil- 
 dren to wrath, but bring them up in the 
 nurture and admonition of the Lord." 
 Now the Sabbath-school is not designed 
 to take the place of parental instruction 
 nor to supplant family training, but it is 
 a most hopeful and helpful auxiliary to 
 these parental duties, and supplies an 
 
14 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 important defect when these are wanting, 
 3. From the nature of the Christian 
 Congregation which was always composed 
 of believers and their families, and under 
 the New Testament economy was modled 
 after the Jewish Synagogue. In Acts we 
 read, "For Moses of old time hath in 
 every city them that preach him, being 
 read in the Synagogue every Sabbath- 
 day." — Dr. Smith says, "The whole law 
 was read consecutively so as to be com- 
 pleted according to one cycle in three 
 years." Our own "International Lessons 
 composed of segments of the Law, the 
 Prophets, the Psalms, and the New 
 Testament covers a cycle of seven 
 years. It seems that the practice so 
 happily inaugurated by Nehemiah when 
 "They read in the book, in the law 
 of God distinctly, and gave the sense, 
 
ORIGIN OF SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 15 
 
 and caused them to understand the read- 
 ing/' had grown into a regular system of 
 Sabbath instruction in the latter days of 
 Jewish history; and we can hardly esti- 
 mate the influence of this synagogue sys- 
 tem of instruction upon the Jewish mind, 
 after the captivity, in holding them to 
 the religion of their fathers, and in pre- 
 venting them from ever again relapsing 
 into idolatry. The law of God was thus 
 kept constantly before the mind of the 
 rising generation and was hedged about 
 with the most solemn ordinances of re- 
 ligious worship. What else is a modern 
 Sabbath-school but the revival of the 
 inherent principles of the primitive 
 Congregation? 
 
 4. From the character -of the Great 
 Commission. It authorizes the Church — 
 not its ministers alone — to go into all the 
 
16 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 world, and to preach the gospel to every 
 creature. So every Sabbath-school work- 
 er, wheather he be missionary, superin- 
 tendent, teacher, supporter or friend is 
 bearing some humble part in the fulfill- 
 ment of that commission. Many a sin- 
 ner has been made savingly acquainted 
 with the truth, through the instrumen- 
 tality of the Sabbath-school, who but for 
 that agency might have perished in 
 his sins. 
 
 "I'll make your great commission known, 
 And ye shall prove my gospel true, 
 By all the works that I have done 
 By all the wonders ye shall do." 
 
 Those same lips which spake as never 
 
 man spake, that spake with authority, 
 
 that said to his disciples, go preach, said 
 
 also to the same disciples go teach, "and, 
 
 lo, I am with you always, even unto the 
 
 end of the world." 
 
ORIGIN OF SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 1 7 
 
 5. From the fact that the Lord has so 
 signally blessed the Sabbath-school cause. 
 Because God's people have come to ap- 
 preciate more fully the value of early re- 
 ligious impressions; a principle taught 
 nearly four thousand years as;o, when the 
 Lord said of Abraham "For I know him. 
 that he will command his children and 
 his household after him, and they shall 
 keep the way of the Lord/' a principle 
 singularly true in the history of Joseph, 
 and Samuel, and Josiah, and Daniel, and 
 Timothy, and in ten thousand unwritten 
 instances; a principle more manifest to- 
 day than ever before in the care the 
 Church at large is taking of the 
 children. Because we have fallen in 
 with the divine plan, God has wonder- 
 fully blessed the Sabbath-school. Every 
 pastor knows that no agency aside from 
 
18 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 the preaching of the gospel, has been so 
 fruitful in spiritual results as the Sab- 
 bath-school. It Avas reported at the In- 
 ternational Sabbath-school Convention 
 which met in Atlanta, Ga., in April, 
 1878, that 123,471 persons had been re- 
 ceived into the Church from the Sabbath- 
 schools of sixteen States of the Union, 
 and two Provinces of Canada. Now 
 while this, in the very nature of the case, 
 can only be a partial report, it is suffici- 
 ent to show the wonderful blessing, God 
 has bestowed upon this arm of the 
 Church's service. Dr. Vincent says, 
 "There is just as much divine author- 
 ity for the Sabbath-school as there is for 
 the Sanctuary — no more." R. G. Pardee 
 says, "The Sabbath-school is simply the 
 Church of Christ putting forth its legiti- 
 mate effort in its most inviting field of 
 
ORIGIX OF SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 19 
 
 action/' Now as "wisdom is the princi- 
 pal thing," and as "the fear of the Lord 
 is the beginning of wisdom/' and as "the 
 law of the Lord is perfect, converting the 
 soul/' and as "the testimony of the Lord 
 is sure, making wise the simple/' and as 
 that Law, and that Testimony is the only 
 text-book in the Sabbath-school, we there- 
 fore conclude that the Sabbath-school has 
 divine authority; that in its highest con- 
 ception it is in line with God's method of 
 purifying "unto himself a peculiar peo- 
 ple," and that in principle, if not in name, 
 it is "built upon the foundation of the 
 apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ him- 
 self being the chief corner stone." 
 
20 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Pre-Histobic Sabbath-Schools. 
 
 ^[m|HE fact that Jesus, "as his custom 
 tflp was, went into the Synagogue on 
 the Sabbath-day, and stood up for to read," 
 may not seem to us much like a modern 
 Sabbath-school, but teaching by means of 
 Bible readers has been more or less com- 
 mon during the Christian era, and is one 
 of the favorite methods employed in our 
 missionary operations even at the pres- 
 ent time. — The historian Mosheim, in 
 speaking of the primitive Church says, 
 "There can be no doubt but that the chil- 
 dren of Christians were carefully trained 
 
PRE-HISTORIC SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 21 
 
 up from infancy, and were early put to 
 reading the sacred books and learning the 
 principles of religion. For this purpose 
 schools were erected from the beginning." 
 Coleman, in his Ancient Christanity, 
 says, "The tender solicitude of the early 
 Christians for the religious instruction of 
 their children is one of their most beauti- 
 ful characteristics. — The Bible was the 
 entertainment of the fireside. It was the 
 first, the last, the only school-book, al- 
 most of the child; and sacred psalmody 
 the only song with which his infant cry 
 was hushed as he was lulled to rest on his 
 mother's arm. — As the mind of the child 
 expanded, the parents made it their 
 sacred duty and delightful task daily to 
 exercise him in the recital of select pass- 
 ages of Scripture relating to the doctrines 
 and duties of religion.' 7 
 
22 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 According to Turtullian it was near 
 the close of the second century when the 
 Church established those celebrated Cate- 
 chumenical Schools for the systematic re- 
 ligious instruction of the children and 
 youth. Of the early Christian Fathers 
 engaged in this noble catechetical work, 
 Origen stands as a notable example. 
 And though there is not an exact analogy 
 between those ancient Catechism classes 
 and our modern Sabbath-schools, yet the 
 former, like the latter, sought to impart 
 a knowledge of the Holy Scripture, both 
 in its letter, and its spirit, and to develop 
 a life of faith in the pupil. Those 
 schools are said to have flourished till 
 near the close of the sixth century, when 
 the darkness of the Dark Ages, for a 
 thousand years shrouded the world in 
 spiritual gloom. About the year 1527 
 
PRE-HISTORIC SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 23 
 
 Martin Luther, the great reformer, laid 
 the foundation of the magnificent school 
 system of Germany, and at the same time 
 established, religious schools, on the 
 Lord's day, "devoted to the study of a 
 Biblical Cathechism, singing the praises 
 of God, and the great duty of prayer." 
 From this it appears that Germany had 
 a Sabbath-school, more than three and a 
 half centuries ago. 
 
 Nor is the Sabbath-school of recent 
 origin in Scotland. That system of 
 teaching through the instrumentality of 
 "Readers" is said to have been devised by 
 John Knox at the very beginning of the 
 Reformation, and has always been, to 
 some extent, practiced in that country 
 since 1560. History says that even as a 
 modern system it was not borrowed from 
 England as some suppose, for schools 
 
24 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 were in existence at Glasgow and other 
 places about the middle of the last cen- 
 tury. Dr. Brown says that Dr. Burns of 
 Glasgow, had written him that he was a 
 scholar in the Sabbath-school of that 
 place in 1782; and also that he had in- 
 formation that a Sabbath-school was in 
 existence at Banorchy and Devinick the 
 same year, and that in both cases they 
 were without the knowledge of any simi- 
 lar schools. 
 
 About the year 1570 — or as some au- 
 thors claim 1580 — Carlo Barromeo, 
 Archbishop of Milan, organized Sab- 
 bath-schools, first in the Cathedral at 
 Milan, and afterward throughout his 
 diocese, which extended over a consid- 
 erable portion of Lombardy. He was 
 the nephew of Pope Pius IV. was a godly 
 man, but was much hated for his piety 
 
PRE-HISTORIC SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 25 
 
 and zeal by the lazy and dissolute monks, 
 one of whom, it is said, shot at him while 
 he was praying in his own chapel. But 
 God kept him, and greatly blessed his 
 labors. So after Southern Germany, on 
 the North of the Alps, had enjoyed the 
 light of the Sabbath-school for half a 
 century, Northern Italy, on the South, 
 in spite of her Roman bondage, began 
 to see the same light, iust three centuries 
 
 ago. 
 
 Passing now to the next century we 
 find that in 1625 one Nicolas Ferrar es- 
 tablished a Sabbath-school in his own 
 family at Little Gidding, a retired part 
 of Huntingdon Co., England. Desiring 
 the religious improvement of all around 
 him, he offered such children as would 
 come to his house on Sabbath morning, 
 a penny and a dinner, for every psalm 
 
26 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 they would commit to memory per- 
 fectly. Sometimes there were present 
 forty or fifty at once. It was said by the 
 neighboring ministers that this early ef- 
 fort of Mr. Ferrar had wrought a great 
 change in that community, not only 
 among the children, but among their 
 parents also; and that now instead of the 
 lewd or profane songs, or idle ballads, 
 the streets resounded with the Psalms of 
 David. So it happens in many instan- 
 ces, that the children become the instruc- 
 tors of their parents, and this fact alone 
 is cause for great encouragement in all 
 our Sabbath-school work. From this it 
 appears that England had, what was in 
 fact a Sabbath-school, more than two and 
 a half centuries ago. 
 
 Roxbury, Mass. — now a part of Bos- 
 ton — had the first Sabbath-school known 
 
PRE-HISTORIC SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 27 
 
 in the history of this country, in 1674; 
 and as early as 1680 — a century or more 
 before their general introduction — the 
 records of Pilgrim Church, Plymouth, 
 Mass., show that a Sabbath-school was 
 organized at that time in connection with 
 the Church. A yote of the Church in 
 the form of a request is as follows: "That 
 the Deacons of the Church be requested 
 to assist the minister, in teaching the 
 children during the intermission on the 
 Sabbath." 
 
 In 1688 Key. Joseph Alleine, author 
 of the "Alarm to the Unconyerted," had 
 a Sabbath-school in connection with his 
 Church at Taunton, Sommerset Co., 
 England. This was nearly fifty years be- 
 fore Robert Raikes was born. 
 
 Dr. Rauch says, "As^ early as the year 
 1695, we find the Sunday-school already 
 
28 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 introduced into Wurtemburg, Germany , 
 tbe object of which was to make the 
 scholars, every morning before service, 
 recite psalms, verses of the Bible, and 
 parts of the Catechism. In the year 1739 
 it was made the duty of all ministers to 
 have Sunday and Holy-day schools estab- 
 lished, which differed from those men- 
 tioned above in some particulars. All 
 unmarried persons were required, from 
 the time of their confirmation till 
 their twentieth or twenty-eighth year, to 
 attend, bring their Bibles, catechisms, 
 and hymn-books, with them, repeat their 
 whole course of religious instruction and 
 enlarge upon it. These exercises were as 
 interesting to the congregation as useful 
 to the youth, and are fully retained till 
 the present day.' 7 
 
 It appears that John Wesley instituted 
 
PRE-HISTORIC SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 29 
 
 Sabbath-schools in Savannah, Ga,, as 
 early as 1737, and that they were .con- 
 tinued by Charles Wesley and George 
 Whitefield. 
 
 It is also said that Dr. Joseph Billamy 
 established a Sabbath-school in Bethle- 
 hem, Conn., in the year 1740; which by 
 adapting itself to the modern improve- 
 ments has continued to the present 
 time. 
 
 About the same time, 1,7-40, a Ger- 
 man Seventh-clay Baptist, at Ephrata, 
 Lancaster Go. Pa., commenced a Sab- 
 bath-school, under the direction of one 
 Ludwig Hoecker, a common school 
 teacher, who conducted it for more than 
 thirty years. I find his name spelled 
 also, Strecker, Hacker, and Thacher. 
 We are informed that this school was in 
 operation at the time of our Revolution- 
 
30 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 ary War, and that after the battle of 
 Brandywine, it was interrupted by its 
 building being taken for a soldier's hos- 
 pital, and that the school was never af- 
 terwards resumed. It is said that this 
 school, during its history, held child- 
 ren's meetings, enjoyed precious seasons 
 of revival, and that manv of its members 
 were hopefully converted. Mr. Pardee 
 says, this is "the first Sabbath-school of 
 which we have any authentic, definite and 
 detailed account." Mr. Bullard says, that 
 this is "the first one known in this, 
 country." 
 
 In 1767 Rev. John F. Oberlin became 
 pastor of Waldbach, in the Bam de la 
 Roche, France, were he established the 
 first infant school known. He also re- 
 quired the children from the five villages 
 comprising his parish, to attend the par- 
 
PRE-HISTORIC SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 31 
 
 ish Church every Sabbath in rotation "to 
 sing the hymns they had learned, to re- 
 cite the religious lessons they had com- 
 mitted to memory during the week, and 
 to receive instruction from the pastor." 
 
 As early as 1769, a Wesleyan lady, 
 Miss Hannah Ball, established a Sab- 
 bath-school in High Wycomb, England, 
 and was instrumental in training many 
 children in the knowledge of the Holy 
 Scriptures. 
 
 In 1773 a clergyman named Kinder- 
 maun organized a Sabbath-school in a 
 Bohemian village in which he had settled. 
 Others followed his example, and it pro- 
 duced such good results that Maria 
 Theresa, Empress of Austria, conferred 
 upon him a title of nobility as a reward 
 for his beneficent services in this s;ood 
 work. In 1775, James Hey, a poor bob- 
 
32 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTUKY. 
 
 bin-winder opened a Sabbath-school at a 
 place called Little Lever, England, and 
 called in the children twice every Sab- 
 bath and taught them to read; using for 
 his bell an old brass mortar and pestle, 
 as he stood upon the streets to call his 
 school together. So effective was this 
 enterprise that three branch schools grew 
 out of it, for the support of which sub- 
 scriptions were made and the teachers 
 were paid one shilling per Sabbath for 
 their services. 
 
 No doubt other Sabbath-schools exis- 
 ted prior to this date, of which Ave have 
 no information, but this is sufficient to 
 show that many such schools were in 
 operation before the days of Robert 
 Raikes; and if there were others it is 
 fairly presumable that they were similar 
 in character, and quite as ephemeral as 
 
PRE-HISTOKIC SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 33 
 
 those mentioned in this Pre-Historic 
 Sketch. From this it will be seen that 
 many Sabbath-schools had been started 
 during the three and a half centuries 
 which preceeded this date — 1775 — and 
 that Germany, Scotland, Itlay, England, 
 America, France, and Austria had each 
 at times some isolated schools; but it will 
 also be seen that their influence was usu- 
 ally confined to a single Church, a single 
 town or city, or to some particular neigh- 
 borhood or section of a country; and 
 that generally they had no permanent 
 existence. But all those noble spirits 
 were Pioneers in the Sabbath-school 
 work, who served well their day and gen- 
 eration who died in the Lord, "and their 
 works do follow them/ 7 who seem as 
 beacon lights along the s-hores of the 
 Dark Ages, and who may be regarded as 
 
34 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 the van-guard of a mighty advancing 
 host. This brings us down to the era 
 of Historic Sabbath-schools, or to the 
 time when Robert Raikes organized his 
 first schools in Gloucester, England, in 
 1780. But before passing to that period 
 there are two inquiries we ought to 
 make : 
 
 1. Is this (1880) the Centennial year 
 of this Historic period ? 
 
 2. Why is the entire honor of found- 
 ing Sabbath-schools conferred upon Rob- 
 ert Raikes? 
 
 These questions we w r ill consider in the 
 next chapter. 
 
TWO INQUIRIES. 35 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Two Inquiries. 
 
 u 
 
 
 |S this the Centennial year of this 
 WSm Historic period? The only per- 
 plexity in this question arises from a 
 discrepancy of dates in the writings of 
 Mr. Raikes himself. Most of the authori- 
 ties, such as the "Encyclopedia Brit- 
 tanica," the "American Encyclopedia," 
 the "Pictorial Cylopedia of Biography/' 
 Stephens' History of Methodism," and 
 many others say that Raikes' school was 
 first organized in 1781. This date is 
 from a memorandum in Mr. Raikes' own 
 handwriting, but in a letter written to 
 
36 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 Colonel Townley, a gentleman of Lan- 
 cashire, near Liverpool, and dated Nov. 
 25, 1783, he says — after describing his 
 first school — "This, sir, was the com- 
 mencement of the plan — it is now about 
 three years since we began." — This carries 
 us back to 1780 as the date of organiza- 
 tion. It is supposed that the authorities 
 referred to were guided by a statement 
 in Mr. Lloyd's "Sketch of Robert Raikes, 
 Esq./' in which the date of memorandum 
 is clearly set forth. But the same 
 "Sketch" contains the letter above refer- 
 red to, and the author makes no attempt 
 to explain the discrepancy. Now it is 
 not a matter of vital importance which 
 of these dates we adopt, but the English 
 people, regarding the date of the letter as 
 more probably correct than the date 
 of the memorandum, adopted 1780 as 
 
TWO INQUIRIES. 37 
 
 the proper date, and consequently ar- 
 ranged to celebrate the Sabbath-school 
 Centennial that year, at London, from June 
 26th to July 5th. A few words concern- 
 ing this universal convention of Sab- 
 bath-school workers and friends from all 
 parts of the world may serve to show 
 how universally that year (1880) had been 
 adopted as the Centennial year by those 
 who ought to know. The "London Sab- 
 bath-school Union' 1 invited the Sabbath- 
 schools of the world to participate in this 
 Ecumenical Centenary Anniversary and 
 in response about eight hundred Chris- 
 tian men and women, representing four- 
 teen nationalities attended. The United 
 States sent over two hundred delegates. 
 Continental Europe was well represented, 
 and even Australia, New Zelanrt and 
 Tasmania sent able advocates of the 
 
38 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 cause to tell what God had wrought by 
 means of the Sabbath-schools at their 
 "Ends of the Earth." 
 
 • At the reception of the delegates, at 56 
 Old Bailey, on Saturday, June 26th, 1880, 
 Sir Charles Reade, M. P., gave them a 
 very hearty welcome, and on Monday, 
 June 28th, the grand "Inaugural Meet- 
 ing 7 ' at Guildhall was presided over by 
 the Lord Mayor of London, and the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury moved the 
 first resolution which was as follows: 
 "That this meeting, inspired with feel- 
 ings of profound thankfulness to Al- 
 mighty God for the blessing vouchsafed 
 to Sunday-schools during the past hun- 
 dred years, desires, on the occasion of the 
 commemoration of this centenary, to ac- 
 knowledge the benefits which have ac- 
 crued from their establishment to the 
 
TWO INQUIRIES. 39 
 
 whole of Christendom;" and followed it 
 with a grand address. At the subsequent 
 meetings of this International Conven- 
 tion, reports were made upon Sabbath- 
 school work from all parts of the world, 
 and many excellent speeches were made 
 by many strong advocates of the Sab- 
 bath-school cause. On Monday, June 
 28th, the Earl of Shaftsbury, unveiled a 
 statue to the memory of Robert Raikes, 
 at Gloucester, and on Saturday, July 
 3rd, the ceremony of unveiling the 
 Raikes' Memorial Statue took place on the 
 Thames Embankment. Never before, in 
 the history of the world, has there been 
 such a meeting, for such a purpose, and 
 as it stirred the world's metropolis — 
 London — from center to circumference, 
 its influence for good will not cease to be 
 felt throughout Christendom, in the 
 
40 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 Centuries to come. But as Dr. Vincent 
 has remarked "The thing to be com- 
 memorated is the Sunday-school, not the 
 precise day of its inauguration/' 
 
 2. Why is the entire honor of founding 
 Sabbath-schools conferred upon Robert 
 Raikes? Why is Luther, Knox, Bar- 
 romeo, Alleine, Oberlin, Kindermaun, 
 Hey and others in Europe, and Wesley, 
 Billamy, Strecker and others in America 
 passed by and the entire honor conferred 
 upon Robert Raikes? This is a question 
 that may be more easily asked than an- 
 swered. 
 
 1. It has been suggested that others 
 failed, and that he succeeded, and that 
 success is always honored. But it does 
 not appear that all the others failed, 
 or that his schools alone were successful; 
 for history informs us that many other 
 
TWO INQUIRIES. 41 
 
 schools did great good in their day, and 
 that the Raikes schools did actually cease 
 to exist in Gloucester about the time of 
 his death, in 1811. But Robert Raikes 
 was a spiritual genius, a real reformer, 
 Avhose ideal was unique in his day, and in 
 the developement of it he was magnani- 
 mous and grand. His was the germ or 
 seed thought of the Union Schools or Mis- 
 sion Schools; and as specimens of the 
 fruit of that seed we have the Ragged 
 Schools of London — the Wanamaker 
 School of Philadelphia — the South Mis- 
 sion School of St, Louis — the Rail Road 
 Mission School of Chicago, and thousands 
 of Mission Schools upon the Union Plan 
 throughout the world. Raikes organized 
 Sabbath-schools for the neglected chil- 
 dren of the poor, and taught Christians 
 how to go out together and work for the 
 
42 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 salvation of sinners irrespective of de- 
 nominational lines. His ideal has also 
 very much improved the character of our 
 Church Schools, and has given us a prac- 
 tical illustration of teaching the nations, 
 and preaching the gospel to the poor. He 
 organized, and popularized a system 
 of Sabbath-schools that spread as by con- 
 tagion, and it is said that in five years 
 after Mr. Raikes had organized his first 
 school at Gloucester, more than 250,000 
 children in England were enjoying the 
 blessings of Sabbath-school instruction. 
 
 2. The circumstances of the case have 
 much to do in making most men re- 
 nowned. While Robert Raikes was 
 patiently attending to his schools in 
 Gloucester, unknown to the rest of the 
 world, a wholesale merchant in London 
 named Wm. Fox, was busily engaged in 
 
TWO INQUIRIES. 43 
 
 the organization of *a Society, in which 
 the children of the poor might be taught 
 to read the Bible. Having seen a pub- 
 lished account of Mr. Raikes' Schools he 
 at once opened a correspondence with 
 him, adopted his plans, and called his 
 organization "The Society for Promoting 
 Sabbath-schools throughout the British 
 Dominion.'' — So it happened that the ex- 
 tension and perpetuation of the Sabbath- 
 school idea of Mr. Raikes was provided 
 for by the society organized by Mr. Fox. 
 It is no disparagement to the labors of 
 either of these great and good men to say 
 that neither of them without the assist- 
 ance of the other was at all likely to ac- 
 complish such a grand result as the gen- 
 eral establishment of Sabbath-schools. 
 
 When the Society established by Mr. 
 Fox had been in operation nearly two 
 
44 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 years the following action was taken at a 
 general meeting, July 11th, 1787. The 
 Executive Committee offered the follow- 
 ing report, which was unamimously 
 adopted: "Your committee taking into 
 consideration the humble zeal and merits 
 of Robert Raikes, Esq., of Gloucester, 
 who may justly be considered as the ori- 
 ginal founder, as well as a liberal pro- 
 moter of Sabbath-schools, beg leave to 
 recommend to the general meeting, that 
 he be chosen as honorary member of 
 this Society. " This not only constituted 
 Mr. Raikes the first honorary member of 
 a Sabbath-school Society, but it shows 
 the high estimate in which Mr. Raikes 
 was held by his London brethren, and 
 their willingness to ascribe to him the 
 honor of being the ''original founder' of 
 Sabbath-schools. 
 
TWO INQUIRIES. 45 
 
 3. God in his inscrutable Providence 
 raises up and qualifies men for the par- 
 ticular mission they are to fill. Just as 
 he raised up Abraham, Moses, David, 
 Paul, Luther, Wesley, Spurgeon and 
 Moody for their respective missions in 
 Church work; so also he has in this last 
 century given to the world a host of Sab- 
 bath-school worthies; but first on this 
 list stands the name of Robert Raikes. 
 A man less humble, less patient, less 
 sympathetic, less benevolent, or less mag- 
 nanimous could hardly have accom- 
 plished what he did. He seems to have 
 been peculiarly fitted for his mission by 
 his circumstances in life; a natural endow- 
 ment, a liberal education, and best of all 
 by a gracious disposition. The time, and 
 place, and work to be done required just 
 such a spirit as Robert Raikes. Then 
 
46 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 too with his name stands a brilliant array 
 of eotemporaries, such as Wm. Fox, John 
 Wesley, Wm. Cowper, John Newton, 
 Wm. Wilberforce, Thomas Scott, Jonas 
 Hanaway, Granville Sharp, and John 
 Howard, all of whom have distinguished 
 themselves in other spheres; in religion, 
 in philanthropy, and in literature, but 
 all were coadjutors in the great Sabbath- 
 school work inaugurated by Robert 
 Raikes. 
 
ROBERT RAIKES. 47 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Robert Raikes. 
 
 HOEVER would write the story 
 of the Sabbath-school for the 
 Century must begin with Robert Raikes, 
 who is very justly regarded as the found- 
 er of our present Sabbath-school system. 
 He was born in Gloucester, England, 
 September 14th, 1736; and at the age of 
 twenty-one succeeded his father in the 
 publication of the Gloucester Journal. 
 His first beneyolent work, of which we 
 have any account, was among the crimi- 
 nals of the work-house, and next the 
 wretched condition of the poor children 
 
48 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 of his native city, led him to organize a 
 Sabbath-school on their behalf. Going 
 out one morning into the suburbs of the 
 city, into the neighborhood of a pin fac- 
 tory, to hire a gardener, his attention 
 was drawn to a group of very rude and 
 noisy children. As he awaited the re- 
 turn of the gardener — who was not then 
 at home — he inquired of his wife whether 
 those children belonged in that part of 
 the city, and lamented their misery and 
 idleness. "Ah sir," said the woman, "could 
 you take a view of this part of the town 
 on a Sunday, you would be shocked in- 
 deed, for then the street is filled with 
 multitudes of these wretches who re- 
 leased on that day from employment 
 spend their time in noise and riot, play- 
 ing at chuck, and cursing, and swearing 
 in a manner so horrid as to convey to 
 
KOBERT RAIKES. 49 
 
 any serious mind an idea of hell rather 
 than any other place. We have a clergy- 
 man — the Rev. Thomas Stock, minister 
 of our parish — who has put some of them 
 to school, but upon the Sabbath they are 
 all given up to follow their own inclina- 
 tions without restraint — as their parents, 
 totally abandoned themselves, have no 
 idea of instilling into the minds of their 
 children, principles to which they them- 
 selves are entire strangers." This con- 
 versation together witli what he saw of 
 the wretched and depraved condition of 
 children made such a profound impres- 
 sion upon the mind of Mr. Raikes that 
 he at once resolved to "/ry" to do some- 
 thing to ameliorate their condition. He 
 then inquired of the gardener's wife if 
 there were any decent, well disposed 
 women in the neighborhood who kept 
 
50 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 schools for teaching children to read, and 
 was presently directed to four. He at 
 once hired these four female teachers, to 
 take charge of as many of these rag- 
 amuffins the next Sabbath as he should 
 send them, to instruct them in reading 
 and in the Church Catechism, and for 
 this service these teachers were to receive 
 a shilling a day. At first the expense 
 was borne by Mr. Raikes himself, and he 
 says these lady teachers seemed well 
 pleased with his proposal to give them 
 this extra service and extra pay. 
 
 That would be regarded as a curious 
 Sabbath-school in our own times, in 
 which four paid teachers instructed such 
 children from six to fourteen years of 
 age, as could be induced to attend, and 
 who were taught from ten to twelve 
 o'clock, and from one till Church time, 
 
ROBERT RAIKES. 51 
 
 and after attending Church with their 
 teachers, returned to their school-rooms 
 and received instruction till half-past five 
 o'clock. Yet such was the rude begin- 
 ning of our modern Sabbath-schools. 
 The only conditions Mr. Raikes required 
 for admission to those schools were clean 
 faces, clean hands, and combed hair. 
 There are many evidences that these 
 primitive Sabbath-schools of a century 
 ago, worked a wonderful reformation in 
 the manners and morals of those 
 wretched children. Mr. Raikes says, 
 "A woman who lives in a lane where I 
 had fixed a School told me some time ago 
 that the place was quite a heaven upon 
 Sunday, compared with what it used 
 to be." 
 
 No one can read the correspondence 
 of Mr. Raikes with other Christian gen- 
 
52 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 tlemen in regard to these primitive Sab- 
 bath-schools without being impressed 
 with the benevolent and magnanimous 
 spirit of the man. The following in- 
 cident, given by one of his relatives tells 
 the same story and shows him to have 
 been a kindred spirit with Wilberforce 
 and Howard. "The Judge always dined 
 one day with Mr. Raikes during the 
 Assizes at Gloucester, and upon one of 
 these occasions he took an opportunity 
 of bringing before the Judge the case of 
 a felon, who had been condemned to 
 death that morning for sheep-stealing, 
 and earnestly entreated that the man's 
 life should be spared. The Judge at first 
 refused to listen to the petition on the 
 ground that he was an old offender, and 
 that the law must take its course. Mr. 
 Raikes replied, he knew the man had 
 
ROBERT RAIKES. 53 
 
 been a very wicked fellow, but that he 
 now believed him to be a most sincere 
 penitent. The Judge then replied, 
 'Well, Mr. Raikes, I am sure we are 
 much indebted to you for the pains you 
 have taken with poor criminals, and I 
 will grant the request you so much de- 
 sire, and give you the man, but he must 
 be transported, for life, to Botany Bay. 7 
 Mr. Raikes said, 'That quite satisfies. 
 me. 7 The sheep-stealer was accordingly 
 sent to Botany Bay, where his conduct 
 was so exemplary that in the course of a 
 few years he was released from all future 
 punishment and confinement in the 
 colonies, and established a Sabbath- 
 school of his own at Botany Bay. He 
 was in correspondence with Mr. Raikes* 
 till within a few years of his death. " 
 Mr. Raikes was a member of the 
 
54 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 Episcopalian Church, and was strictly 
 .moral and upright in his character, and 
 punctual in his attendance upon all the 
 services of the Church. The following 
 quotation is from a little volume entitled 
 "Robert Raikes; his Sabbath-schools and 
 his Friends" published in 1859 by the 
 "American Baptist Publication Society." 
 The author signs himself J. B. who is 
 understood to be Rev. Joseph Blecher, 
 D. D., a native of England, who died at 
 an advanced age in Philadelphia in 1860. 
 He says, "Of the strictly religious history 
 of this eminent man, we know even 
 less than we do of his early life. Forty 
 years ago we were well acquainted with 
 a distinguished Christian gentleman in 
 London, who was intimately acquainted 
 with Mr. Raikes at the time he com- 
 menced Sabbath-schools, and he was en- 
 
ROBERT RAIKES. 00 
 
 tirely convinced that his friend at that 
 period was inexperienced in the religion 
 of the heart; and that he was resting his 
 expectation of eternal life on the morality 
 of his conduct, and his obseravance of the 
 forms of devotion. — And with this accord- 
 ed the testimony borne in the memoir of 
 the Rev. Thomas English, an excellent 
 Congregational minister,who died in 1809. 
 This was to the effect that Mr. Raikes' 
 first thorough conviction of sin, and his 
 first approach to the Cross of Christ for 
 mercy, was the result of reading the fifty- 
 third chapter of Isaiah to a little girl, 
 one of his own Sabbath-scholars." 
 
 However this may be, and however 
 frequently God may bless his word to the 
 conversion of unconverted teachers, yet 
 we too often limit God in the bestowal of 
 his grace, and too frequently adjudge 
 
56 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 men to be unconverted because their ex- 
 periences, as to time, and place, and 
 means, are not exactly like our own. We 
 cannot however resist the conviction 
 that the benevolent, and charitable works 
 of Robert Raikes were done in the spirit 
 of the Master who said: "Inasmuch as 
 ye have done it unto one of the least of 
 these, my brethren, ye have done it 
 unto me." Mr. Raikes was permitted 
 to labor for the promotion and ex- 
 tension of Sabbath-schools for nearly 
 thirty years, and had the pleasure 
 of seeing them wonderfully blessed and 
 wonderfully extended. While the days 
 of Robert Raikes were the days of small 
 things, yet they are not to be despised; 
 for the Sabbath-school has gone out into 
 all the earth, and wherever the Cross of 
 Christ has been planted, there also the 
 
ROBERT RAIKES. 57 
 
 Sabbath-school has sprung up. Instead 
 of four "decent well-disposed women/' as 
 Mr. Raikes described his first teachers, 
 we have an innumerable company of men 
 and women, some young, some old, some 
 of fine culture, some of fine spirit, who 
 are sowing the good seed, and gathering 
 fruit unto eternal life. Instead of a 
 shilling a day, it is the love of Christ 
 that constraineth them; and instead of 
 the children of the poor alone, "the rich 
 and poor meet together; the Lord is the 
 Maker of them all," The rich are poor 
 without it, and the poor are rich with it; 
 and the fathers and mothers in the Sab- 
 bath-school are only children of larger 
 growth. Now we aim not chiefly at 
 head culture, and civilization; but at 
 heart culture and Christianization. May 
 we not well say, "It is the Lord's doing 
 
58 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 and it is marvelous in our eyes? 77 Mr. 
 Raikes himself said, "I can never pass 
 by the spot where the word try came so 
 powerfully into my mind without lifting 
 my hand and heart to heaven, in grati- 
 tude to God for having put such a 
 thought into my heart. 77 He knew "the 
 luxury of doing good. 77 He died in 
 Gloucester, April 5th, 1811, at the age 
 of seventy-five. 
 
 Now while it is not in keeping with 
 the under current of our Yankee notions 
 to encourage hero worship, yet it is scrip- 
 tural to give honor to whom honor is due, 
 and we believe that the universal verdict 
 of Sabbath-school men will be like that 
 of Dr. Vincent who says, "All honor to 
 Raikes./ ' Paint his picture, carve his 
 statue, build his monument, but look 
 above him to the Lord who began the 
 
ROBERT RAIKES. 59 
 
 work, and raised up the worker." Let us 
 cherish his memory. Let us honor the 
 monument he built. But let us give gloiy 
 to Him, who spoke peace to his soul, 
 and who is year by year speaking peace 
 to so many souls through the agency of 
 the Sabbath-school. But the chief co- 
 adjutor of Robert Raikes in the inaugura- 
 tion of the Sabbath-school work was 
 William Fox. 
 
60 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 William Fox and His Work. 
 
 ^^KlLLIAM FOX was born in the 
 ▼ f«p!> village of Clapton, only a few 
 miles north-east of the city of Gloucester, 
 Feb. 14th, 1736, just seven months be- 
 fore his illustrious compeer. He was a 
 member of the Baptist Church, became 
 a prosperous London merchant, and pur- 
 chased the Clapton manor. He was a 
 very pious, benevolent man, and was the 
 prime mover and principal agent in the 
 organization of the first Sabbath-school 
 Society of its kind ever known. It was or- 
 ganized in the city of London, Sept. 7th, 
 1785, and as before mentioned, was called 
 "The Society for Promoting Sabbath- 
 
WILLIAM FOX AND HIS WORK. 61 
 
 schools throughout the British Domin- 
 ion." The name of this society was 
 soon abbreviated into "The Sabbath- 
 school Society." It employed paid 
 teachers, conducted its business with 
 great financial caution, was in every way 
 successful, and received large contribu- 
 tions from various sources, and soon had 
 a full treasury and a large invested stock 
 drawing interest. But the weight of its 
 treasury, and its ponderous conservatism 
 soon caused it to fall behind the spirit of 
 the age, and as free teaching became 
 more and more popular, this society be- 
 gan to wane. But it had accomplished 
 grand results. The Sabbath-school re- 
 vival of that age was wonderful. As 
 early as 1784, a Union Sabbath-school at 
 Stockport, near Manchester, had a mem- 
 bership of five thousand scholars. In the 
 
62 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 same year John Wesley said, "I find 
 these Schools springing up wherever I go. 
 Perhaps God may have a deeper end 
 therein than men are aware of. Who 
 knows but some of these . schools may 
 become nurseries for Christians? 77 
 
 This reads like prophecy. Of course 
 he did not see Sabbath-schools as we 
 see them, for they were then in their in- 
 fancy. In 1785 Mr. Wesley published all 
 that Mr. Raikes had written on Sabbath- 
 schools, and recommended them to his 
 people. He says, " that in 1786 five hun- 
 dred and fifty children were taught in 
 the Sabbath-schools of his society at Bol- 
 ton, and that the next year he found 
 about eight hundred poor children, 
 taught by about eighty masters/ who re- 
 ceived no pay, but what they received 
 from their great Master. 77 
 
WILLIAM FOX AND HIS WORK. 63 
 
 From this it appears that the practice 
 of paving Sabbath-school teachers did 
 not continue long, but soon began to be 
 supplanted by our better system of free 
 teaching. The, instruction in these early 
 schools was ; largely secular, but many 
 persons, who attended them had no other 
 means of education, and while they 
 taught spelling, reading, writing, a little 
 arithmetic, and even book-keeping, yet 
 they taught the catechism, and the ob- 
 servance of the Sabbath. The Bible was 
 almost the only text-book from the be- 
 ginning. Mr. Pardee, says, " Within the 
 short space of four years from the period 
 when Mr. Raikes established his first 
 Sabbath-school in Gloucester, England, 
 more than a quarter of a million of chil- 
 'dren in England, were enjoying the bless- 
 ing of Sabbath-school instruction." 
 
64 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 Sabbath-schools were introduced in 
 Wales as early as 1789. Rev. Thomas 
 Charles, an Episcopalian Minister of 
 Bala, Merioneth Co., North Wales, who 
 had been a warm friend and supporter of 
 Sabbath-schools from the beginning, ap- 
 plied to the London Society, in 1798, for 
 aid, and from a fund raised expressly for 
 Wales, received three thousand books in- 
 cluding Bibles and Testaments. This led 
 the Executive Committee of that Society 
 to consider the propriety of publishing 
 the New Testament in the Welsh lan- 
 guage, which however they were unable 
 to do; whereupon Mr. Charles, in 1802, 
 laid this matter before the Executive 
 Committee of the Religious Tract Society. 
 Rev. J. Hughes, a Baptist Minister, sug- 
 gested, that as Wales was not the only 
 part of the Kingdom where such a want 
 
WILLIAM FOX AND HIS WORK. 65 
 
 might be supposed to prevail, it would 
 be desirable to take such steps, as might 
 be likely to stir up the public mind to a 
 general dissemination of the Scriptures. 
 
 This suggestion was warmly received 
 by the rest of the company, and devel- 
 oped by time and discussion, till it 
 culminated in the establishment of the 
 "British and Foreign Bible Society" in 
 1804. Of this Society, Dr. Mason said, 
 "It was ten thousand times more glorious 
 than all the exploits of the sword. " And 
 Dr. Spring has said, "Old England has 
 no brighter jewel in her crown." And 
 Dr. Ferris has since said, "The Christian 
 world joins to-day in thanksgiving to 
 God for the world-wide blessings it has 
 diffused and is diffusing." 
 
 The Sabbath-school Society organized 
 by Mr. Fox, in 1785, made a report 
 
66 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 through its Executive Committee in 1805, 
 just twenty years after its organization, 
 which shows that the Society had 
 granted to schools needing pecuniary 
 assistance more than $20,000; had estab- 
 lished and assisted, 2,500 Schools, con- 
 taining 226,000 pupils, had donated 
 219,000 Spelling Books, 50,000 copies of 
 the New Testament, and 7,000 Bibles. The 
 "Edinburgh Gratis ' Sabbath-school So- 
 ciety 7 ' 'was organized in March, 1797. 
 About the year 1803, Mr. Wm. B. 
 Gurney, of Cambenvell, removed to the 
 western part of London, and being an 
 active Christian agreed with some friends, 
 to proceed in their Sabbath-school work 
 upon the system of free teaching, and in 
 the early part of the same year suggested 
 to the Sabbath-school teachers of London, 
 that it might be to their mutual advan- 
 
WILLIAM FOX AND HIS WORK. 67 
 
 tage and for the good of the cause, for 
 them to unite to discuss their plans of 
 operation, and as far as possible extend 
 them over the world. God has wonder- 
 fully blessed those early teacher's meet- 
 ings/ and their influence for good will 
 continue to be felt as long as the "London 
 Sabbath-school Union" has an existence. 
 Rev. Rowland Hill, a Calvinistic 
 Methodist, who was at that time pastor 
 of Surrey Chapel, threw open his school- 
 rooms for their use, and there on July 
 13th, 1803, the "London Sabbath-school 
 L^mon'' was organized. Of this blessed 
 institution, which still lives, and so far 
 as we know is the oldest Society of its 
 kind in existence, Mr. Gurney was as 
 truly the founder as Mr. Fox was of its 
 predecessor, the "Sabbath-school Society. " 
 The idea of free teaching was embodied 
 
68 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 in the organization of the "London Sab- 
 bath-school Union/ 7 and by 1805 gratui- 
 tous teaching prevailed in nearly all 
 the Sabbath-schools. A "Sabbath-school 
 Society for Ireland" was organized in Nov. 
 1809. The "Nottingham and Hampshire 
 Sabbath-school Union" was organized 
 in 1810. 
 
 "Mr. Fox was personally acquainted, 
 and on terms of intimacy with Jonas 
 Hanway, Granville Sharp, and John 
 Howard, whose well known philan- 
 thropy would naturally produce this 
 association of kindred spirits." He lived 
 long to see the good work prosper which 
 he and Raikes had begun, long enough to 
 see Sabbath-schools planted in nearly all 
 parts of the Christian world, long enough 
 to see Sabbath-school Societies spring- 
 ing up everywhere, and long enough to 
 
WILLIAM FOX AND HIS WORK. 69 
 
 see our own "American Sabbath-school 
 Union" organized in 1824. 
 
 From the above it will be seen that this 
 first "Sabbath-school Society/' organized 
 by Mr. Fox, w r as the seed thought of 
 many Sabbath-school Societies in various 
 parts of the world, and was the root 
 whence sprang tw r o of the grandest evan- 
 galizing agencies of the present century; 
 viz: "The London Sabbath-school Un- 
 ion," and "The British and Foreign 
 Bible Society." How large the stream! 
 How small the fountain ! How grand the 
 man at its head ! How noble his soul ! How r 
 blessed the Spirit that guided that soul, 
 that man, that fountain, that ever deep- 
 ening ever broadening stream, by which 
 peace and good will are borne to men. 
 
 William Fox died at Cirencester, April 
 1st, 1826, at the ripe age of ninety years. 
 
70 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Early American Sabbath-Schools. 
 
 ^|E|pAVING already spoken of the 
 fl||| Sabbath-schools that were in 
 operation here in America prior to 1780; 
 I now propose to call attention to their 
 more permanent establishment in the 
 early part of onr National History. About 
 the middle of the eighteenth century a 
 very extraordinary revival of religion 
 took place in England, Ireland, Scotland, 
 and America, by the preaching of the 
 Wesleys, Edwardses, Tennants, of White- 
 field, Hervy, Brainerd, Fletcher, Davies, 
 and others, and it seems reasonable to 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOL. 71 
 
 suppose, that this outpouring of the Holy 
 Spirit was very efficacious, in putting in- 
 to the hearts and heads of such men as 
 Raikes and Fox, those benevolent designs 
 which resulted in the organization of Sab- 
 bath-schools and Sabbath-school Societies. 
 Let us not forget, that they began to 
 flourish in the hands of these philanthro- 
 pists about the time of the close of our 
 Revolutionary War; and that great 
 changes had been wrought in them be- 
 fore many schools had been established 
 in this country. Their secular character 
 was gradually falling out, free teaching 
 was becoming more and more popular, 
 and the Bible more and more exclusively 
 the text-book. They were beginning to 
 embrace all classes of persons, and were 
 no longer designed chiefly to civilize but 
 •to evangelize. It was a long time how- 
 
72 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 ever before the prejudice^ of the better 
 classes, both in England and America, 
 could be so far overcome, as to induce 
 them to attend the Sabbath-school, which 
 they had looked upon from the begin- 
 ning as being designed exclusively for 
 the poor. 
 
 Mr. Pardee gives an account of an in- 
 terview he once had with Dr. Lyman 
 Beecher upon this subject, in which he 
 says, "Our conversation turned upon that 
 unfortunate feature of the cause in Eng- 
 land which virtually excluded all the bet- 
 ter-to-do children of that country. Dr. 
 Beecher's eye lit up at once, and with 
 great animation, as he said to me, 'It 
 was the same here at first, and I do not 
 know but I had an important hand in 
 producing the change. I saw the ten- 
 dency of things and feared that our Sab- 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 73 
 
 bath-schools would result in a failure if 
 only the poor children gained the bene- 
 fit of them in this land, and it troubled 
 me for some year or two. At last, said 
 he, energetically, 'I resolved to overthrow 
 that system, and went and called upon 
 Judge W.j one of my most influential 
 families, and said Judge W., I want you 
 to bring your chidren to Sabbath-school 
 next Sabbath. 'Me! 7 exclaimed the 
 Judge in amazement. 'Yes, you/ calmly 
 responded Dr. Beecher. 'I have made 
 up my mind to take my children, and I 
 want you and a few others of the best 
 families to popularize the thing.' A lit- 
 tle explanation secured the object. He 
 then called upon Mrs. S., the most aristo- 
 cratic lady iii the community and said 
 'Mrs. S., I want vou to lead vour two 
 daughters into our Sabbath-school next 
 
74 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 Sabbath/ and said the Doctor, Mrs. S., 
 almost shouted in astonishment;' but a 
 more particular and careful explanation 
 than sufficed with Judge W., succeeded 
 here; and then the family of the first 
 physician was in like manner secured, 
 and we all turned our labors, and influ- 
 ence on the Sabbath-school movement, 
 and it gave an unheard-of impetus 
 to our Sabbath-school, and by means of 
 the press, and by letters, and by personal 
 conversation, the facts became known 
 and met with almost universal approval, 
 and adoption, in our country, and the re- 
 form soon became complete." 
 
 We must not suppose that because our 
 American people had little or no Sab- 
 bath-school advantages, during their col- 
 onial history, that therefore they were 
 unmindful of their educational interests, 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 75 
 
 or even neglected the religious culture of 
 their children; for the very opposite ap- 
 pears to be the fact, and the Sabbath- 
 school was as yet a thing almost entirely 
 unknown at the time of our Revolution. 
 Education received early and special at- 
 tention in the colonies, particularly in 
 New England. Schools for the educa- 
 tion of both White and Indian children 
 were formed in Virginia, also as early as 
 1621; and in 1692 William and Mary 
 College was established at Williams- 
 burgh. The Reformed Dutch Church es- 
 tablished a school in New Amsterdam, 
 (New York), in 1633. Harvard College, 
 at Cambridge, Massachusetts, was found- 
 ed in 1637. Yale College in Connecticut, 
 was first established at Saybrook in 1701, 
 and removed to its present location, in 
 New Haven, in 1717. The College of 
 
76 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 New Jersey at Princeton, called Nassau 
 Hall, was incorporated in 1738. 
 
 But the common school, which has 
 ever been the pride and glory of our peo- 
 ple, received the earliest and most earnest 
 attention. In 1636, just one hundred 
 years before Robert Raikes was born,, 
 the Legislature of Connecticut, enacted 
 a law, which required every town that 
 contained fifty families to maintain a 
 good school, and every town containing 
 one hundred households, to have a gram- 
 mar school. Similar provisions for gen- 
 eral education soon prevailed throughout 
 the New England States, and the people 
 became remarkable for their intelli- 
 gence. It is said that as early as 1686 
 several booksellers in Boston had "made 
 fortunes by their business." 
 
 The first newspaper ever printed in 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 77 
 
 America was the Boston News Letter, in 
 1704. The next was established in 
 Philadelphia in 1719, and the first one 
 published in New York was in 1725. 
 
 At the beginning of our Revolution- 
 ary War in 1775, the estimated popula- 
 tion of the thirteen colonies, as given in 
 round numbers, was 3,000,000. Even at 
 that early period in the history of our 
 country, great interest was manifested in 
 the moral and religious instruction of the 
 children. Cotton Mather says of the 
 Rev. John Eliot, "He always had a 
 mighty concern upon his mind for the 
 little children. And when he gave me 
 the right hand of fellowship at my or- 
 dination, he said, 'Brother, art thou a 
 lover of the Lord Jesus Christ? Then, 
 pray, feed his lambs.' ' Ministers, very 
 generally were in the habit of catechising 
 
78, THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 the children of their respective parishes, 
 on a week day, sometimes in the public 
 schools, or on the Sabbath. 
 
 The laws of the colony of Massa- 
 chusetts, show that even the General 
 Court took this subject under considera- 
 tion. In 1642 a law was passed Avhich 
 required the selectmen to see "that all 
 masters of families do, once a week at 
 least, catechise their children and ser- 
 vants, in the grounds and principles of 
 religion." Connecticut also had similar 
 laws on this subject. Rev. AsaBullard, a 
 New England Congregationalist, who for 
 more than half a century, was an active 
 Sabbath-school man, and evidently knew 
 whereof he affirmed, leaves the following 
 testimony upon this subject: "Nor did 
 the care of our pious ancestors to main- 
 tain catechetical instruction subside in 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 79 
 
 their posterity, till comparatively a re- 
 cent period. There are many persons 
 now (1876) living \vho were born in New 
 England, who can remember when cathe- 
 chising was common, not only by Min- 
 isters, but in the family, and at the public 
 schools. The Westminster Shorter Cate- 
 chism was introduced into New England 
 soon after its publication, in 1647, and 
 came at length, to be almost universally 
 used. The gradual subsidence of inter- 
 est in the catechising of the young in the 
 family, the church, and the public 
 school, it is believed, was among the 
 causes which led to the introduction of 
 the system of Sabbath-school instruction. 
 We cannot think that Sabbath-schools 
 were the means of driving cathechisms 
 into the shade, as some have suggested. " 
 It is not easy to determine who it was 
 
80 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 that first introduced Sabbath-schools in- 
 to this country , after the Revolution. 
 The first of which we have any account, 
 were those organized by Bishop Asbury, 
 of the M. E. Church, in Hanover Co., 
 Virginia, in 1786, who being in constant 
 communication with Mr. Wesley, by cor- 
 respondence, learned from him the fact 
 of their establishment in England. 
 
 Dr. McClintock says that "in 1787 
 George Daughaday, a Methodist preacher 
 in Charlestown, S. C, was drenched with 
 water pumped from a public cistern, 'for 
 the crime of conducting a Sabbath-school 
 for the benefit of the African children of 
 that vicinity."' He also says, "The 
 minutes of 1790 contain the first Church 
 legislation on the subject known, per- 
 haps, either in Europe or America. " By 
 this legislation "the Ministers and 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 81 
 
 Preachers were required to establish Sab- 
 bath-schools in or near the place of wor- 
 ship, for the benefit of white and black 
 children, and to appoint suitable persons 
 to teach gratis, all who would attend, and 
 who had a capacity to learn." 
 
 The first Sabbath-school Society organ- 
 ized in this country, was called, "The 
 First-day or Sunday-school Society of 
 Philadelphia," and was organized on the 
 11th of January, 1791. Right Rev. Wil- 
 liam White, D. D., Bishop of Pennsylva- 
 nia (Episcopalian), was chosen its first 
 president, and continued to act in that 
 capacity for more than thirty years. But 
 the schools of this society, like those of 
 the London prototype, organized only a 
 little more than five years before, were 
 chiefly secular, and their teachers were 
 usually paid, so that could not in the 
 
82 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 nature of the case continue long to sub- 
 serve the Sabbath-school cause. A co- 
 temporary paper makes this comment 
 upon the schools of this Society. "Pity 
 their benevolence did not extend so far, 
 as to afford them tuition, on days when it 
 is lawful to follow such pursuits, and not 
 thereby lay a foundation for the profana- 
 tion of the Sabbath." This Society was 
 to America what the first London Society 
 was to England; and as the latter was 
 soon supplanted by the "London Sunday- 
 school Union," so, the former was soon 
 supplanted by the "Philadelphia Sunday 
 and Adult School Union, in 1817, which 
 was itself supplanted by the "American 
 Sunday-school Union," in May, 1824. 
 This first Philadelphia Society contiued 
 its existence for many years, but the 
 weight of its conservatism caused it to 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 83 
 
 fall behind the Sabbath-school spirit of 
 the age, and gave it a waining history. 
 Mr. Power says, "I learn that the 
 Society was in existence as late as 1859, 
 with an income of about three thousand 
 dollars from accumulated funds/' 
 
 It is said at the suggestion, and by the 
 assistance of Samuel Slater, Esq. — the 
 man who first introduced machinery for 
 the manufacture of cotton, into this 
 country — one Mr. Collier, a Baptist Stu- 
 dent of Brown University, opened a Sab- 
 bath-school in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, 
 in 1791, or according to some authors 
 in 1797. 
 
 The first Sabbath-school supposed to 
 have been organized in the State of New 
 York, was opened at Stockbridge, in 
 1792, in the house of an Indian woman, 
 a sister of Rev. Samson Occum, who was 
 
84 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 a distinguished Indian preacher. This 
 school was not commenced until a few 
 months after his death. 
 
 The first Sabbath-school known in 
 New Jersey/ was started at Patterson, 
 Passaic Co., in 1794. Of this school Mr. 
 Bullard says, that it "was started by 
 Sarah Colt,, a little girl eleven years of 
 age." And Power says, "a cotton manu- 
 facturing company employed a teacher 
 to instruct gratuitously, on the Sabbath, 
 the children employed in the factory." 
 We suppose these circumstances to be 
 nearly identical, and that they allude to 
 the same school. 
 
 It appears that a Sabbath-school was 
 opened at Hudson, New York, in 1803; 
 and also, that Mrs. Amos Tappan com- 
 menced a Sabbath-school the same year 
 at Postmouth, New Hampshire; and ac- 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 85 
 
 cording to Mr. Pardee, the first Sabbath- 
 school in New York City, was also organ- 
 ized in 1803. He says, "We learn from 
 a carefully prepared editorial, in the first 
 volume of the 'Sunday-school Teacher's 
 Magazine and Journal of Education/ 
 published in New York, 1823, that after 
 a careful personal interview of the editor, 
 with the parties, he had been enabled to as- 
 certain the precise time, and the circum- 
 stances, under which the first Sabbath- 
 school was commenced, in New York City. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Divie Bethune had spent a 
 part of the years 1801 and 1802 in England, 
 where they had observed the progress, of 
 Sabbath-schools in Great Britian; and on 
 their return, in connection with their 
 pious mother, the late Mrs. Isabella 
 Graham, they arranged their plans, and 
 in the autumn of 1803, these three Chris- 
 
86 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTUEY. 
 
 tian philanthropists opened, the first Sab- 
 bath-school in New York, for religious 
 and catechetical purposes, at their own 
 expense, at the house of Mrs. Leech, in 
 Mott Street. Mrs. Graham and Mr. and 
 Mrs. Bethune then established two other 
 Sabbath-schools, in other parts of the city, 
 and soon after one for the children, in the 
 alms-house in New York. It is to the 
 same source, too, that adult-schools owe 
 their commencement in this country, or 
 at least in New York. Mrs. Graham, it 
 is stated, opened the first adult-school in 
 Greenwich, in 1814, on the second Sab- 
 bath in June, only about two months be- 
 fore her death. We are thus particular to 
 state these facts, for we are aware that a 
 later date has been insisted upon, for the 
 inauguration of the first Sabbath-school 
 of New York." Mr. Bethune was a 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 87 
 
 Scotchman by birth, and became a 
 wealthy merchant in New York; and the 
 circumstance of his mother-in-law, Mrs. 
 Graham, having organized a school at 
 Greenwich, in 1814, shortly before her 
 death, may have led some writers to give 
 this late date to the organization of the 
 New York Sabbath-school. 
 
 In 1804, the Broadway Baptist Sab- 
 bath-school in Baltimore was organized, 
 and is still in operation. 
 
 In 1805, Rev. David Sutherland, who 
 had been engaged in Sabbath-school 
 work, in Scotland, his native country, or- 
 ganized a Sabbath-school in Bath, New 
 Hampshire, which is thought by some 
 writers to be the first one established in 
 New England, for the sole purpose, of the 
 religious instruction of the children. 
 
 Rev. S. Wilmer commenced a Sabbath- 
 
88 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 school at Kent, Maryland, in 1806, 
 which was probably the first in that 
 State. 
 
 In 1809/ a Society was organized in 
 Pittsburg, Pa. — then only a village— for 
 "the suppression of vice, reformation of 
 manners, and the propagation of useful 
 knowledge. 7 ' Accordingly a Sabbath- 
 school was commenced on the first Sab- 
 bath of September of that year, in the 
 jury room of the Court House, with two 
 hundred and forty children and adults. 
 It had a good constitution, and embraced 
 all the best features of the Sabbath- 
 schools of our own times. 
 
 In 1809 or 1810, two young Congrega- 
 tional ladies, Miss Hannah Hill, and 
 Miss Joanna Prince organized a Sabbath- 
 school in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 
 consequence of hearing of the success 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 89 
 
 of Robert Raikes' school in England. 
 
 Dr. Fowler savs, that Dr. C. G. Somers 
 and Rev. Joseph Griffiths, commenced the 
 Sabbath-school in America on the plan 
 of Robert Raikes, in New York, in 1810. 
 
 One Miss Sarah Shipley opened a Sab- 
 bath-school in Concord, Massachusetts, 
 in 1810. 
 
 Some have supposed, that our present 
 system of gratuitous teaching, was first 
 suggested, in this country by Rev. Robert 
 May, a Congregational Missionary, from 
 London, who conducted a school estab- 
 lished in Philadelphia, in 1811. But 
 this seems hardly consistent with some 
 of the foregoing facts. 
 
 The first Sabbath-school in Boston was 
 established in 1812, by Miss Lydia 
 Adams. Mr. Charles Walley having 
 heard of this enterprise, sent her a dona- 
 
90 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 tion of books for her school, consisting of 
 six Bibles, twelve New Testaments, 
 twelve Watt's Shorter Catechisms, twelve 
 Watt's Divine Songs for Children, and 
 twelve Hymns for Infant Minds, in all fifty- 
 four volumes. This donation constituted 
 the first Sabbath-school Library in Boston. 
 
 During this same year Sabbath-schools 
 were organized in Brunswick, Me., Salem, 
 Mass., and in the Tabernacle Church, 
 Boston. 
 
 In 1814, Sabbath-schools were organ- 
 ized in Newburyport, Mass.; New York 
 City; Wilminton, Del.; and in Cam- 
 bridgeport, Mass. 
 
 In 1815, Sabbath-schools were founded 
 in Christ's Church, Boston; in Franklin, 
 Conn.; in the Northern Liberties, of 
 Phila., and in Newark, N. J. 
 
 It was in this same year, 1815, that the 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 91 
 
 First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, at 
 the suggestion of Mrs. Anna Rhees or- 
 ganized a Sabbath-school, and when the 
 pastor, Dr. Holcomb, was consulted about 
 it, he seemed to have but little faith in 
 the undertaking, j^but with a smile, re- 
 plied, "Well my sisters, you can but try 
 it; blossoms are sweet, and beautiful even 
 though they produce no fruit." 
 
 In 1816, Sabbath-schools were institu- 
 ted in Chillicothe, 0.; Westboro, Mass.; 
 Cambridge, Greenborough, and Hard- 
 wick, Vt.; Carlisle, Pa., in several of the 
 Boston Churches, and in many other 
 New England towns. 
 
 By this time a general interest began 
 to be felt in the cause of Sabbath-schools 
 throughout the country, and they were 
 organized rapidly in various parts of the 
 land. — Union Societies now began to be 
 
92 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 organized for the promotion of Sabbath- 
 school work, especially in the cities; and 
 the various Churches began the good 
 work vigorously. 
 
 In 1816, the "Boston Society for the 
 Moral and Religous Instruction of the 
 Poor" was organized; and in January of 
 the same year the "New York Female 
 Sunday-School Union" was organized 
 through the agency of Mrs. Bethune, and 
 so great was its success that by July of 
 that year more than three thousand 
 scholars, and two hundred and fifty 
 teachers had been gathered into their 
 schools. Through the influence of Mr. 
 Eleazar Lord, a similar Society for males 
 had also been organized in February of 
 that year, with very gratifying success,, 
 having up to July ? admitted two thousand 
 five hundred scholars, and two hundred 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 93 
 
 and fifty teachers. Now as we under- 
 stand, it was by a combination of these 
 two Societies, that the New York Sunday- 
 school Union was formed the same year, 
 which has had a working existence ever 
 since, and is consequently the oldest Un- 
 ion Society in this country. 
 
 The first Episcopal Sabbath-school in 
 the United States is said to have been or- 
 ganized in connection with St. Paul's 
 Church, Philadelphia, in the latter part 
 of 1816. About this time Bishop As- 
 bury's schools in Virginia began to be 
 prosperous, and a school was organized 
 in Lynchburg, where in a short time, two 
 hundred scholars of both sexes were col- 
 lected, many of whom had no other oppor- 
 tunity of acquiring the slightest education. 
 
 In 1816, a Sabbath-school was organ- 
 ized in a Baptist Church, called Ground- 
 
94 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 Squirrel in Hanover Co., Va., by a young 
 man named Jesse Snead, who was teach- 
 ing school on the farm, where Patrick 
 Henry was born and brought up. He 
 first secured the co-operation of Charles 
 P. Goodall, Captain of a Military Com- 
 pany, who, at the April training, formed 
 his men into a hollow square, and told 
 them what had been done in England 
 for the Sabbath-school cause, and invited 
 those who were friendly to the object, to 
 meet at the Ground-Squirrel Meeting- 
 house, to organize a Sabbath-school free 
 of charge. Funds were then subscribed 
 for the purchase of books, and the next 
 Sabbath the school went into operation. 
 
 In 1817, the "Philadelphia Sunday and 
 Adult School Union/' was organized and 
 after a successful career of seven years, 
 was merged into, or supplanted by the 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 95 
 
 "American Sunday-school Union/' May 
 25th, 1824. This Society was organized 
 and held its two first anniversaries in the 
 First Presbyterian Church of Philadel- 
 phia, Pa., of which Rev. Albert Barns 
 was pastor. This is the only Society of 
 its kind ever organized in this country. 
 Its characteristics are as follows: 
 
 1 . It is purely a Sabbath-school Society, 
 
 2. It is strictly undenominational. 
 
 3. Its officers and managers are all 
 laymen. 
 
 4. It is a National Society, as its name 
 indicates. 
 
 5. It is not a union of Churches, but 
 a union of individuals, connected with 
 the different evangelical denominations. 
 
 Its purposes are briefly stated as follows : 
 1. To plant a Sabbath-school wherever 
 there is a population. 
 
96 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 2. To aid in the support and improve- 
 ment of existing schools. 
 
 3. To publish and circulate moral and 
 religious books in every part of the land. 
 
 This grand old Society , the " American 
 Sunday-school Union/' hasdone, and is still 
 doing a glorious work in the destitute por- 
 tions of our country, and in the densely po- 
 pulated cities. Notice the following facts : 
 
 1. It has had a working existence of 
 more than fifty-five years. 
 
 2. It has organized an average of 1226 
 schools a year, or more than three per 
 day during that time. 
 
 3. It has reached and aided 6,000,000 
 of scholars. 
 
 4. It has expended nearly $2,500,000 
 in its missonary operations. 
 
 5. It has sold and donated about $7,000,- 
 000 worth of books and papers. 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 97 
 
 Rev. B. W. Chidlaw, a Welshman by 
 birth, but now a resident of Cleves, Ohio, 
 entered the service of this Society as a 
 Sabbath-school Missionary in 1836, has 
 continued in that service to the present 
 time, and has therefore spent more than 
 forty years of his vigorous life in active 
 Sabbath-school Missionary work. In the 
 good providence of God he was permitted 
 to attend the Robert Raikes' Centennial, 
 held in London, during the past summer 
 (1876), and to see the identical room in 
 the city of Gloucester, where Robert 
 Raikes started his first Sabbath-school on 
 the last Sabbath of June, 1780. Though 
 well advanced in life, this veteran still re- 
 tains much of his native fervor, is a man 
 of fine spirit, is an impressive speaker, 
 and an able minister of the Gospel. 
 
 The " Massachusetts Sabbath-school 
 
98 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 Union" was organized in 1825; and the 
 first annual report of the "Maine Sab- 
 bath-school Union" was made for the 
 year 1827. So much had the Union Idea 
 grown upon the people, in spite of their 
 denominational proclivities, that by 1825, 
 State and City Unions were quite com- 
 mon, but upon the organization of the 
 ''American Sunday-school Union," most 
 of the evangelical denominations united 
 in its support, for in the plan of its or- 
 ganization the following principles were 
 heartilv reconized: 
 
 1. "That the essential truths of Pro- 
 testant Christianity are held in common, 
 by all the evangelical denominations, 
 Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Bap- 
 tists, Episcopalians, Reformed Dutch, 
 German Reformed, Methodists, Luther- 
 ans, Moravians, and others." 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 99 
 
 2. "That to promulgate these truths, 
 especially among ignorant and neglected 
 children and youth, is an object of such 
 general interest, that religious people, 
 whatever the creed, or sect, may well 
 unite to advance it," 
 
 3. "That in the multiplicity and variety 
 of religious persuasions, prevailing in 
 those communities, where the organiza- 
 tion of Sabbath-schools is chiefly needed, 
 it is generally quite impracticable for any 
 one denomination to sustain a school, 
 which the children of other denomina- 
 tions would be disposed to attend." 
 
 4. "That it is therefore necessary for 
 persons of various denominations to com- 
 bine as a Union, and so secure the con- 
 fidence of all, that the agency they counte- 
 nance and the books they receive may 
 be such as will be generally approved." 
 
100 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 The Publication Committee of this So- 
 ciety is composed of twelve members 
 from various denominations of Christians, 
 not more than three of whom can be of 
 the same denomination, and no books can 
 be published to which any member of 
 the Committee shall object. And this 
 principle of Union is preserved in all de- 
 partments of the Society's operation. 
 There has been such a constant growth 
 of this Union Idea, that at this time we 
 see it in the State, County and Township 
 Sabbath-school Unions in all parts of the 
 land, and its fruitage in that climax of 
 union, the use of the International Lessons. 
 
 Many of the Protestant Churches had 
 attained considerable strength in this 
 country, before the beginning of the pres- 
 ent century, and when we had recovered 
 from the desolating influences of our 
 
EARLY AMERICAN SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 101 
 
 Revolutionary struggle, there came the 
 great revival period, commencing about 
 the year 1800, which very much revived 
 the Sabbath-school work, throughout the 
 country. Concerning this period Dr. 
 Gardiner Spring has said, "From the 
 year 1800 down to the year 1825, there 
 was an uninterrupted series of these 
 celestial visitations, spreading over dif- 
 ferent parts of the land. During the 
 whole of these twenty-five years, there was 
 not a month in which we could not point to 
 some village, some city, some seminary 
 of learning, and say, 'Behold what Gocl 
 hath wrought.' ?? 
 
 It was this period that gave birth to 
 such evangelizing agencies as the "Ameri- 
 can Board of Commissioners for Foreign 
 Missions" in 1810; the "Baptist Mission- 
 ary Union" in 1814; the "American 
 
102 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 Bible Society" in 1816; "The Methodist 
 Episcopal Board in 1819;" the "Protestant 
 Episcopal Church" in 1821; the "Ameri- 
 can Sunday-school Union" in 1824; and 
 the "American Tract Society" in 1825. 
 It would be impracticable to trace the 
 growth of the Sabbath-schools in the 
 separate denominations but they have 
 grown with the growth of the Churches, in 
 this country as well as in Europe, and their 
 progress is simply wonderful, if we com- 
 pare the schools of 1880 with those of 1780. 
 Most of the denominations finding the 
 Sabbath-school a fertile field for lay 
 effort, a fruitful source of substantial 
 growth, and really the most efficient arm 
 of the Church's service, were ready to 
 adopt them, and the history of their rise 
 and progress is almost identical with 
 that of the respective Churches. 
 
CONVENTIONS AND INSTITUTES. 103 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Conventions and Institutes. 
 
 ^KABBATH-SCHOOL Conventions of 
 flip a "National" character began to 
 be held as early as 1832 in this country, 
 but Sabbath-school Institutes are of more 
 recent orgin. The Conventions brought 
 together pastors, superintendents, teach- 
 ers, and friends of the Sabbath-school, 
 sometimes in large numbers, and some- 
 times in small, to discuss the various in- 
 terests of the cause, and to devise ways 
 and means for its advancement within 
 the bounderiesof some city; county, state, 
 denomination, or of the entire nation. 
 
104 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 By this means the best methods, and real 
 improvements became better known, and 
 they served to generate an immense en- 
 thusiasm, and were of great service in 
 bringing together people of various 
 creeds, and engendering a loving spirit of 
 union. Dr. Tyng made the following 
 observation at one of these conventions. 
 "In every countenance before me, I see 
 the reflection of love, and kindness, and 
 fellowship, and -mutual sympathy and 
 regard. I stand in the midst of an as- 
 sembly, as united as, any assembly ever 
 can be upon earth, and never until I 
 reach that higher world where all have 
 but one mind, because there is but one 
 mind to rule in all, shall I find more en- 
 tire fellowship of feeling, unity of senti- 
 ment, sympathy of experience, and 
 grateful co-operation in effort. 7 ' 
 
CONVENTIONS AND INSTITUTES. 105 
 
 At a meeting of Superintendents and 
 Teachers from fifteen different States 
 held in Philadelphia, May 23, 1832, a 
 resolution was adopted "recommending 
 to Teachers and Superintendents of Sun- 
 day-schools in the United States, to con- 
 vene at some suitable place, for the pur- 
 pose of considering the principles of the 
 institution, the duties of officers, and the 
 best plans of organization, instruction 
 and discipline." Accordingly the first 
 National Sabbath-school Convention in 
 this country was held in New York, com- 
 mencing October 10, 1832, and continu- 
 ing through three days. The late Hon. 
 Theodore Frelinghuysen was chosen 
 moderator. 
 
 It was he who said that he never held 
 but one office higher than that of United 
 States Senator, and that was when he 
 
106 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 held the office of a Sabbath-school Teacher. 
 Prior to this convention a series of 
 seventy-eight questions, under thirteen 
 different heads were prepared, and 
 twenty-five hundred copies sent out, and 
 a committee appointed to receive and 
 condense the replies, and arrange them 
 for the use of the covention. These re- 
 plies when collected made a volume of 
 twenty-four hundred pages, relating to 
 organization, discipline, visiting, modes 
 of instruction, union question books, lib- 
 raries, adult classes, superintendents, 
 <&c, which made it somewhat difficult to 
 determine, which of the various topics 
 presented, should be entertained by the 
 convention. 
 
 The Second National Sabbath-school 
 Convention, was held in Philadelphia, in 
 May, of the next year, 1833; after which 
 
CONVENTIONS AND INSTITUTES. 107 
 
 there appears to have been a long interval 
 of about twenty-six years, before the next 
 one of these National gatherings of Sab- 
 bath-sehool workers, for we find that the 
 third one was held in Philadephia in the 
 year 1859. Gerret Smith was one of its 
 vice-presidents. It is said to have been 
 an important one, and to have given a 
 new impulse to the cause. But city, 
 county, State and denominational con- 
 ventions were not uncommon during that 
 period, specially in Xew England, and 
 many of them were quite as important 
 and not less fruitful in good results than 
 those occassional National Conventions. 
 The noisy, riotous and irrational man- 
 ner in which our National Independence 
 was often celebrated, led good men to the 
 practice of holding Sabbath-school cele- 
 brations on the Fourth of July, where the 
 
108 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 young were instructed in the principles 
 of civil and religious freedom, which 
 were attended with most gratifying re- 
 sults, and continued to be practiced for 
 many years. 
 
 Sometimes that day was made the oc- 
 casion of a general canvass of the town 
 or parish, to secure new scholars for the 
 Sabbath-school. A revival of this prac- 
 tice might prove serviceable both to our 
 Sabbath-schools, and to our patriotism 
 even at the present day. 
 
 In 1856, one thousand Sabbath-school 
 teachers of Massachusetts, in answer to 
 an invitation from the teachers of New 
 York and Brooklyn, visited those cities, 
 and were received at the Crystal Palace, 
 where thousands of children were assem- 
 bled from the various charitable institu- 
 tions, the Orphan Asylum, Home for the 
 
CONVENTIONS AND INSTITUTES. 109 
 
 Friendless, Mission Schools, &c, who 
 were addressed by some of the visitors. 
 They were received with great cordiality 
 and mingled delightfully with the Sab- 
 bath-school teachers of New York and 
 Brooklyn for two or three days, closing 
 with a Grand Farewell Meeting in the 
 Plvmouth Church. Brooklvn. This eath- 
 ering greatly stimulated those who parti- 
 cipated in it, and provoked a general de- 
 sire to renew these prolonged conferences 
 of Sabbath-school teachers. 
 
 Accordingly Massachusetts called a 
 three-day State Sabbath-school Conven- 
 tion to be held in the city of Boston later 
 in the autumn of the same year. In the 
 month of January, 1857, New York held 
 its First State Sabbath-school Conven- 
 tion , for three days, in the city of 
 Albany. * 
 
110 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 It was in the same year of our Third 
 National Sabbath-school Convention, 
 1859, that the First State Sabbath-school 
 Convention was held in Illinois. 
 
 Ten years later our Fourth National 
 Sabbath-school Convention was held in 
 Newark, New Jersey, April 1869. Hon. 
 Geo. H. Stuart was chosen President, and 
 on that occasion he said: "Who can 
 write the history of American Sunday- 
 schools in the last ten years? Has not 
 the cause made glorious progress ? Look 
 at the institutes for teachers — schools 
 of instruction in the best ways of carry- 
 ing the truth of Gocl 7 's word to the child's 
 heart; look at the conventions and as- 
 sociations, and town, and county gather- 
 ings, for the stimulus and instruction of 
 workers in the cause; look at the more 
 modern plans and appliances— the black- 
 
CONVENTIONS AND INSTITUTES. Ill 
 
 board, and object lessons, and model ex- 
 ercises, and maps, and pictures, and 
 mottoes, and improved buildings, and 
 all; and shall we not see the wonderful 
 advance, that has been made in the 
 material resources and power of our 
 schools ? And all as a means to the end of 
 better study, and better teaching, and 
 more spiritual power and larger spiritual 
 results." 
 
 It was on that same occasion that he 
 paid the following well deserved tribute 
 to Richard Gay Pardee, who had entered 
 the service of the Xew York Sunday- 
 school Union in 1853, and who had died 
 Feb. 4, 1869 — the same year of this con- 
 vention, — and whose wonderful success in 
 Convention and Institute work, entitles 
 him to be held in everlasting remember- 
 ance by all his Sabbath-school country- 
 
112 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 men. Mr. Stuart said, "This was the 
 beloved Pardee, whom God in his loving 
 providence lent to the American Church, 
 to give a standing, and character, and 
 an impulse to Sunday-school work, that 
 no other man of his day had been able 
 to give it. 77 
 
 Of this convention which was one of 
 the best ever held in this country, we 
 shall have occasion to speak in a subse- 
 quent chapter, as also of the three fol- 
 lowing. Three years later our Fifth 
 National Sabbath-school Convention met 
 at Indianapolis, Ind., in April, 1872; and 
 the Sixth one met at Baltimore, Md., in 
 May, 1875; and the Seventh or last one 
 met at Atlanta, Ga., in April, 1878. The 
 last two are known as "International 
 Conventions. " 
 
 Of Sabbath-school Institutes it may be 
 
CONVENTIONS AND INSTITUTES. 113 
 
 said that they are of quite recent origin, 
 having a history of less than twenty 
 years; that they are a kind of temporary 
 Sabbath-school normal class; that the 
 idea was borrowed from the "Teacher's 
 Institutes" connected with the secular 
 public schools; and that they have been 
 largely instrumental in reviving the 
 the study of the Bible, and in preparing 
 the teachers for their work. In speak- 
 ing of Institutes Mr. Pardee has said, 
 "The object is. by means of practical es- 
 says, model lessons, lectures and drill ex- 
 ercises, to train the teachers and officers 
 for their work." 
 
 He further savs, "There are two 2;reat 
 subjects which should • always be before 
 every Institute as well as every Conven- 
 tion, viz: 1. The extension of the Sab- 
 bath-school so as to reach all of the ne- 
 
114 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 ■ glected. 2. The elevation and improve- 
 ment of existing schools; and they need 
 improving if not reforming in every 
 part.' 7 
 
 As long ago as 1827 the "New York 
 Sunday-school Union' 7 in its Eleventh 
 Annual Report particularly recommended 
 this plan, "of a school for the training of 
 Sabbath-school teachers.' 7 Twenty years 
 later— 1847— Dr. D. P. Kidder, then the 
 corresponding secretary of the M. E. 
 Sunday-school Union, in his annual re- 
 port strongly urged the formation of 
 Normal Sunday-Schools.' 7 
 
 It was ten years after this : — 1857 — when 
 Rev. J. H. Vincent, that prince of living 
 Sabbath-school men, then the pastor of 
 the M. E. Church at Joliet, 111., or- 
 ganized what he called a "Normal Class' 7 
 in his own church. At the Rock River 
 
CONVENTIONS AND INSTITUTES. 115 
 
 Annual Conference of the M. E. Church 
 held in Chicago, in October 1860, the 
 Conference Sunday-school Committee, at 
 the suggestion of Mr. Vincent reported 
 as follows: 
 
 "The importance of Teachers' Insti- 
 tutes to the educational interests of the 
 country cannot have escaped your atten- 
 tion. May we not profitably introduce 
 something similar among us? Such an 
 institute conducted by our ablest Sunday- 
 school educators, could not fail to elevate 
 our standard, and improve our system of 
 religious culture." ' 
 
 The report was unanimously adopted 
 by the Conference, and the next year at 
 the Galena District Conference, held at 
 Freeport, 111., a Sabbath-school Institute 
 was organized, which is the first of which 
 we have any information. 
 
116 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 Iii 1864, Messrs. R. G. Pardee and 
 Ralph Wells, acting upon the suggestion 
 of Rev. W. A. Niles, held their first regu- 
 lar Sabbath-school Institute in Stuben 
 County, N. Y. These experiments prov- 
 ed to be very successful and Sabbath- 
 school Institutes were multiplied in quick 
 succession both east and west, until they 
 have become one of the common features 
 of this noble cause throughout the 
 country; and Messrs. Vincent, Pardee 
 and Wells may be regarded as their 
 prime movers. Mr. Gilbert, editor of 
 "The Advance" has said, "For effective- 
 ness in kindling 'the white heat of 
 spiritual enthusiasm, at Sunday-school 
 Conventions, Ralph Wells of New York 
 has not been surpassed. For instructive- 
 ness at Sunday-school Institutes, in cer- 
 tain respects, Mr. Pardee, for a number 
 
CONVENTIONS AND INSTITUTES. 117 
 
 of years was unequalled. From this 
 time on Mr. Vincent, then in the flush 
 morning of a manhood which, one sus- 
 pects, never will know how to part with its 
 youth, who has a way of always facing 
 the morning, gave himself, with the 
 utmost enthusiasm of his nature, to 
 the promotion of this form of aggressive 
 institute work, east and west." 
 
 Nothing has contributed more to the 
 advancement of the Sabbath-school cause, 
 in the last twenty years, than Conven- 
 tions and Institutes. 
 
 If the Convention was instrumental in 
 promoting a more general enthusiasm, 
 the Institute served an important pur- 
 pose in the more universal instruction of 
 Sabbath-school teachers. They seem to 
 have prepared the way for the introduc- 
 tion of that last and noblest era of our 
 
118 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 Sabbath-school progress which gave us 
 our present system of International Les- 
 sons. Then the Normal Classes, the 
 Teachers 7 Meetings, the Monthly or 
 Quarterly Concerts, the Picnics and Ex- 
 cursions, which are so common among 
 us as to need no especial mention, are 
 some of the evidences of general interest, 
 growth and prosperity. 
 
 But this chapter would be incomplete 
 without some notice of Chautauqua, The 
 highest point reached by Conventions, by 
 Institutes, and by the demand for better 
 teaching rendered necessary by the In- 
 ternational Lessons, finds its best ex- 
 pression in the Chautauqua Idea. In 
 the dreamy visions of some enthusiastic 
 Sabbath-school man, years ago, there 
 arose an air castle of an "Endowed 
 National Sabbath-school University/ 7 of 
 
CONVENTIONS AND INSTITUTES. 119 
 
 some sort, somewhere in the land, when, 
 where or by whom this idea was first con- 
 ceived we are not able to say, but it was 
 talked of in the Conventions, and as a 
 creature of fancy it was beautiful, but no 
 one had the temerity to suggest how it 
 was to be brought about, or from what 
 ashes its Phoenix form would rise. 
 
 But the nearest approach we have ever 
 made to that imaginary boon is to be 
 seen at Chautuqua. And as the ideal is 
 the parent of the real, who can tell but 
 this "Castle of fancy" may yet be more 
 than realized, in the outgrowth of what is 
 already a fact at Chautauqua? It is the 
 name of a beautiful lake in Chautauqua 
 Co., N.Y. This lake is about eighteen miles 
 in length, from Mayville on the north- 
 west, to Jamestown on the south-east, and 
 its greatest width is about three miles. It 
 
120 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 is only about seven miles from Lake Erie, 
 but its waters have a greater altitude by 
 more than seven hundred feet, are about 
 thirteen hundred feet above the At- 
 lantic level, and are discharged through 
 the rivers southward. It is said to be 
 the highest navigated water on the conti- 
 nent, and if so it is certainly a fitting 
 place for the best Sabbath-school 
 thoughts of the age. Mr. Gilbert says, 
 " Chautauqua stands for what it is fresh- 
 est, wisest, most intelligent, comprehen- 
 sive, and inventive in modern Sunday- 
 school effort." The National Sunday- 
 school Association has purchased a tract 
 of fine wood-land on its western shores, 
 at Four Points, the site of a former 
 Methodist Camp Ground, and has laid 
 the foundation of what? Ask Lewis 
 Miller, Esq., of Akron, 0., who with Dr. 
 
CONVENTIONS AND INSTITUTES. 121 
 
 Vincent first suggested the plan. May 
 we not in our audacity of faith, or else in 
 the true spirit of prophecy call it the 
 "Chautauqua National Sabbath-school Uni- 
 versity '?" 
 
 Mr. Gilbert said, "It was not an insti- 
 tute, or convention, or assembly, or pic- 
 nic, or camp meeting, merely but all 
 these in one, and something more — mak- 
 ing it, in the highest sens^ of the term, a 
 real school.'' 
 
 Mr. Joseph Cook said, "Within the 
 same amount of time there are no under- 
 graduated populations in our colleges, 
 that have an equal opportunity for intel- 
 lectual stimulus, and none that have an 
 equal chance for being furrowed through 
 all their fields by the plow-shares that 
 open the heart to God's seed of piety." 
 
 The Chautauqua Assembly Herald 
 
122 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 said, "It is the fulfillment of prophecy. 
 Many shall run to and fro, and knowl- 
 edge shall be increased. This language 
 expresses exactly the Chautauqua Idea/ 7 
 Whatever may have been done in the same 
 direction at the Thousand Islands, Round 
 Lake, Loveland, Lakeside, Clear Lake, 
 Lake Bluff or elsewhere, none of them 
 have equalled Chautauqua in wealth 
 of interest. Under its present manage- 
 ment, it gathers there during term time 
 the ablest instructors the country affords, 
 and the subjects embrace almost every 
 variety of useful discussion and study, 
 such as Theology,' Metaphysics, Science, 
 Language, History, Literature, Elocution, 
 Music and Teaching; and with its Audi- 
 torium, Amphitheater, Temple, Hall of 
 Philosophy, Chapel, Oriental House, Tab- 
 ernacle, Herods Temple, Pyramids, Jeru- 
 
CONTENTIONS AND INSTITUTES. 123 
 
 salem, Park of Palestine; and with its 
 Lake of exquisite beauty, and facilities 
 for bathing and boat-riding, its salubrious 
 atmosphere, its shady grove, its cottages, 
 tents, hotels, boarding houses, stores, post 
 office, printing office, and telegraph; and 
 best of all, with its freedom from popu- 
 lar vices, Chautauqua is a most delight- 
 ful summer resort, for those who wish to 
 combine intellectual and spiritual, busi- 
 ness with pleasure, and who while rest- 
 ing the body, love to cultivate the mind 
 and heart. 
 
124 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Sabbath-School Literature and Music. 
 
 Hi 
 
 ■«^ 
 
 18 IT was in the early days of our 
 If common schools, when the Bible 
 was the principal reading book, so for 
 those who were' able to read, the Bible 
 was the great text-book in the Sabbath- 
 school, even when the Sabbath-school 
 was largely secular in its character, and 
 it became more and more so as their 
 secular character became gradually eli- 
 minated. For those who were not able 
 to read, the more juvenile books of the 
 common schools, were a long time 
 employed in the Sabbath-school, till the 
 
LITERATURE AND MUSIC. 125 
 
 more recent methods were introduced, of 
 instructing the primary scholars by 
 means of oral lessons, easy and familiar 
 Bible stories, or by questions and an- 
 swers. 
 
 The Sabbath-school has been a won- 
 derful agency in creating a demand for 
 books. Robert Raikes said in the ac- 
 count he gave of his first school, that the 
 teachers he employed "were to instruct 
 in reading, and the Church Catechism." 
 He then adds, "As my profession is that 
 of a printer, I have printed a little book 
 which I gave amongst them, and some 
 friends of mine, subscribers to the 
 Society for promoting Christian knowl- 
 edge, sometimes make me a present of a 
 parcel of Bibles, Testaments, &c, which 
 I distribute as rewards to their de- 
 servings/' 
 
126 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 In the first Sabbath-school Society 
 formed by Wm. Fox we find its four- 
 teenth rule reads as follows: "The So- 
 ciety shall provide Bibles, Testaments, and 
 Spelling-books for the use of the schools/ 7 
 And the fourth rule of the same Society, 
 for the government of the individual 
 school says, "The religious observance of 
 the Christian Sabbath being an essential 
 object with the Society for the support 
 and encouragement of Sunday-schools, 
 the exercise of the scholars on that 
 day shall be restricted to reading in the 
 Old and NeAv Testament, and to spelling 
 as a preparative for it.' 7 In the account 
 of Mr. Charles' Sabbath-school work we 
 find, that the London Society presented 
 him three thousand books, including 
 Bibles and Testaments, for the work in 
 Wales. 
 
LITERATURE AND MUSIC. 12/ 
 
 Although the art of printing was more 
 than three hundred years old at that 
 time, and the art of paper-making was 
 much older, yet book-making was in its 
 infancy, and their scarcity and price, as 
 a general rule, put them far beyond the 
 reach of the common people. But as 
 their knowledge increased their desire for 
 books increased: and the demand for the 
 Bible in the AVelsh language was the 
 small seed, which has grown into such 
 magnificent proportions in the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society. 
 
 To supply a like demand for religious 
 literature, we refer with special pride to 
 our own National Societies, the Ameri- 
 can Bible Society, the American Tract 
 Society, and the American Sunday- 
 school Union. Since the introduction of 
 our admirable system of International 
 
128, THF SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 Lessons, the Bible is more exclusively 
 the text book of the Sabbath-school than 
 ever before. This is well; is just as it 
 should be; and as Dr. Alexander has 
 said, "The Sunday-school might with 
 great propriety be . called the Bible 
 School. He further adds, "The Bible as 
 the one Sunday Book, is the great Sun- 
 day-school book/ 7 
 
 Sir Walter Scott, who was himself a pro- 
 lific writer of books, expressed the wish in 
 his dying hour that his son-in-law, Lock- 
 heart, should read to him, and when the 
 latter asked from what book he should 
 read; the great poet said, "Need you ask? 
 There is but one." Whereupon he read 
 to him the fourteenth chapter of John. 
 "Well," said Scott, when he had finished 
 "this is a great comfort/ 7 We are firmly 
 of the opinion that there never was a 
 
LITERATURE AND MUSIC. 120 
 
 time when the Bible was so universally 
 
 studied as it is now. And if this be true, 
 the credit is largely due to the Sabbath- 
 school. It is the only school in all the 
 world that makes the Bible its only text- 
 book, and so long as this is the case every 
 lover of the Bible ought also to be a lover 
 of the Sabbath-school. 
 
 To instruct the scholar, old or young;, 
 in the letter and spirit of the Bible, seems 
 to have been the great end and aim of 
 the Sabbath-school in all its past history. 
 And it is a noticeable fact, that the chief 
 improvement in Sabbath-school work 
 during the Century, has been the aid that 
 has been rendered to the study of the 
 Bible. These aids too, were used to some 
 extent from the very beginning;, for the 
 Church Catechism Avas among its first 
 agencies. The Westminster Shorter Gate- 
 
130 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 ehism, which had been published more 
 than a century before the establishment 
 of Sabbath-schools by Robert Raikes, be- 
 came one of the early Sabbath-school 
 books in this country, especially among 
 New England Congregationalists. They 
 also used "Cmnmings 7 Questions on the 
 New Testament/ 7 "Emerson's Catechism/ 7 
 Wilber's Biblical Catechism, Baldwin's 
 Cetechism, and the "Doctrinal and His- 
 torical Catechism/' as early as 1816. 
 
 Rev. Asa Bullard says, "The Christian 
 Mirror of Portland, Me., published a 
 series of select lessons for Sunday-schools 
 for several years, beginning in 1827." 
 
 The practice of committing scripture to 
 memory, however profitable when limi- 
 ted, had at sundry times became almost 
 a mania, and as a mere achievement 
 of the memory it was of little value, 
 
LITERATURE AXD MUSIC. 131 
 
 especially when the whole of the Sabbath- 
 school hour was occupied in a thought- 
 less repetition of scripture. In view of this 
 prevaling error some thoughtful friends 
 of the cause devised and published a 
 "Limited Lesson Scheme" in 1825. The 
 next year. Rev. Albert Judson who was 
 then employed as the agent of the New 
 York Sunday-school Union, was engaged 
 to prepare a monthly series of questions 
 on the lesson, which was published by 
 the American Sunday-school Union in 
 1827, and soon came to be very generally 
 used. By 1840 more than one million six 
 hundred thousand copies had been sold. 
 The introduction of this system of "Select- 
 ed Lessons'' and questions upon them, 
 was an era of no ordinary importance. 
 Nothing of the kind had ever been pro- 
 vided before, and the revolution it caused 
 
182 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 in the process of instruction was, for a 
 time, very marked indeed. A correspon- 
 dent of the (London) Evangelical Maga- 
 zine for December, 1828, attributes the re- 
 markable "revival of religion/' then pre- 
 vailing in the United States, .first of all 
 to "the superior mode of conducting Sab- 
 bath-school instruction. 7 ' 
 
 In 1829, the Massachusetts Sabbath- 
 school Union published "Fisk and Ab- 
 bott's Bible Class Book, for the use of 
 Sabbath-schools and Bible Classes." 
 
 The system of rewards of merit in 
 some form, either by books or by the ticket 
 currency, as it may be- called, has been 
 practiced to some extent in Europe and 
 America during most of the Century, 
 but that system has been well nigh sup- 
 plemented, by the " circulating library" 
 which during the last half of the Century 
 
LITERATURE AX1) MUSIC. 133 
 
 has grown to be a very important ad- 
 junct of most of our first-class Sunday- 
 schools. 
 
 While we had made a little progress 
 during the first fifty years of our Sab- 
 bath-school Century, yet up to 1830 our 
 Sabbath-school literature was very mea- 
 ger indeed. We have already spoken of 
 the first Sabbath-school library of Boston 
 — 1812 — as consisting of fifty four vol- 
 umes, but it had only five different books. 
 And though the American Sunday-school 
 Union, during its first year published over 
 one million copies of books, tracts, cate- 
 chisms, almanacs, tickets, cards, and re- 
 ports, yet its bound volumes suitable for 
 a circulating library did not exceed eigh- 
 teen. Since then this Society, the Ameri- 
 can Tract Society, the various denomina- 
 tional Publishing Boards, and many in- 
 
134 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 dividual Publishing Houses, have made 
 special efforts to supply the great de- 
 mand for Sabbath-school books, and 
 while much light and trashy reading has 
 thus crept into our Sabbath-school lib- 
 raries, yet on the whole, and in spite of 
 all this, a great service has been rendered 
 to the cause of religion by means of the 
 circulating libraries of the Sabbath- 
 schools. 
 
 Now while it would be impracticable 
 to trace in detail the wonderful develop- 
 ment of this branch of our subject, yet as 
 showing its gigantic proportions, it will 
 be interesting to notice what three of 
 the leading denominations have done in 
 a single year, in providing the literature 
 of their respective Sabbath-schools. 
 
 The following figures show the num- 
 ber of copies published by the Methodist, 
 
LITERATURE AND MUSIC. 135 
 
 Baptist, and Presbyterian Churches of 
 the United States, as reported in 1880. 
 
 THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
 
 Sunday-school Journal, . . 1,375,000 
 Berean Lesson Leaf, . . . 13,285,000 
 Sunday-school Advocate, . . 4,278,500 
 Sunday-school Classmate, . 1,079,000 
 Picture Lesson Papers, . . . 2,037,000 . 
 Good Tidings, . . ... . . 966,000 
 
 Berean Quarterly, .... 124,000 
 
 Leaf Cluster, 11,500 
 
 The Church Teacher, . . . 50,000 
 
 The Seven Years, 1,500 
 
 Picture Paper, 15,000 
 
 Library and other Books, . . 436,161 
 
 THE BAPTIST CHURCH. 
 
 The National Baptist, . . . 329,368 
 The Baptist Teacher, . . . 323,000 
 
136 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 The Young Reaper, .... 2,935,000 
 Our Little Ones, . . ... 2,156,000 
 Bible Lesson Monthly, . . 11,968,000 
 Our Children's Picture Lesson, 2,835,000 
 Bible Lesson Quarterly, . . . 85,000 
 Books and Tracts, .... 265,425 
 
 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 
 
 Westminster Teacher, . . . 292,269 
 Westminster Lesson Leaf, . . 3,296,879 
 Sabbath-school Visitor, . . . 2,456,904 
 
 Sunbeam, 2,964,624 
 
 Westminster Quarterly, snos. . 133,079 
 Westminster Question Book. 75,000 
 
 Books and Tracts, . ' .... 521,000 
 
 Most of the other denominations have 
 their separate Sabbath-school publica- 
 tions, and many individual publishers 
 are doing an immense business in this 
 
LITERATURE AXD MUSIC. 137 
 
 same line. Now put these facts and fig- 
 ures together and who can comprehend 
 the magnitude of this business? And 
 Ave might reasonably expect the next gen- 
 eration to be very orthodox, if this vast 
 amount of Sabbath-school literature were 
 as good as it is voluminous. 
 
 Beside the denominational publica- 
 tions that are devoted entirely to Sab- 
 bath-school work, several unsectarian 
 periodicals are doing noble service, in the 
 same cause; prominent among which are 
 The Sunday-school Times, and The Sun- 
 day-school World, each of which has been 
 in active operation about twenty years. 
 But this vast multiplication of Sabbath- 
 school library books and other reading 
 matter, has not been without its attendant 
 evils. By it a vast amount of light, trashy, 
 and worthless reading has been put into 
 
138 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 the hands of our boys and girls, and has 
 created a vitiated taste for a very perni- 
 cious literature; and so great has this 
 evil become, that a very judicious culling 
 is an imperative necessity in order to 
 secure anything like a pure library. 
 
 Another evil has been noticed by many 
 good Sabbath-school workers, who lament 
 the fact that our many books and papers 
 crowd out the Bible, and leave the 
 scholar no time for the study of God's 
 Book. And consequently some have 
 discarded the circulating library, and 
 use only the children's papers instead. 
 At this point we have danger on either 
 hand, but as we see it, the greater dan- 
 ger lies upon the side of too many books. 
 Many are yet living, who in early life had 
 few books besides the Bible and Hymn 
 Book, whose biblical knowledge and deep- 
 
LITERATURE AXD MUSIC. 139 
 
 toned piety sufficiently attest the good 
 impression made upon their minds by 
 the continuous study of their few books. 
 It has been said of the late Abraham 
 Lincoln, our martyred President, whose 
 early life was spent amidst the hardships 
 of our then western frontier, and whose 
 principal books were the Bible, Pilgrims 
 Progress, Aesops Fables, and the Biogra- 
 phies of Washington, Franklin, and 
 Clay, that "the poverty of his books was the 
 wealth of his life." And if we notice the 
 dissipating effect of our many books and 
 papers, we shall easily understand the 
 philosophy of this wise and truthful 
 remark. 
 
 Of our Sabbath-school music it may be 
 said, that it has kept pace with all our 
 strides of progress. In early times the 
 Sabbath-school children sang the same 
 
140 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 hymns and tunes, that were used by the 
 older people in Church, and then as now, 
 the singing was chiefly confined to the 
 opening and closing exercises of the 
 school. But the introduction of hymns 
 and tunes more expressly adapted to the 
 capacities and tastes of the children, has 
 almost entirely revolutionized our Sab- 
 bath-school music. And while this 
 change from hymns infinitely above the 
 child's comprehension, and music whole- 
 ly unsuited to the tastes of his youthful 
 and buoyant nature, to the more juvenile 
 hymns and more sprightly music has 
 wrought incalculable benefit to the Sab- 
 bath-school cause on the whole, yet it is 
 accompanied with great danger of drifting 
 to the other extreme where the hymns 
 themselves are only a gingle of nonsense, 
 and the tunes are of a very doubtful char- 
 
LITERATURE AND MUSIC. 141 
 
 acter. Bad hymns are as corrupting to the 
 religious notions of our young people, and 
 bad tunes are as corrupting to their 
 musical tastes, as bad novels or bad com- 
 pany are to their moral character. 
 
 It was the remark of a wise man who 
 said, "Let me make the ballads of a na- 
 tion and I care not who makes the laws." 
 It requires as much care and discretion 
 to keep out bad music from our Sabbath- 
 schools, as it does to keep out bad books 
 from our Sabbath-school libraries. And 
 a more potent agency can scarcely be em- 
 ployed for making deep and lasting im- 
 pressions upon the youthful mind, than 
 the service of song in the Sabbath-school. I 
 am happy in the belief that our Sabbath- 
 schools are doing more for the general 
 culture of music among the children than 
 any other instrumentality; for you may 
 
142 THF SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 hear the Sabbath-school songs sung by 
 the plough-boy, the kitchen maid, the 
 apprentice, and the school children every 
 where; and we have reason to believe 
 that many can attribute their first religi- 
 ous impressions to these delightful spngs 
 of Zion. Many of the best of them have 
 been translated into the languages of the 
 heathen nations, and are sung all round 
 the world, and are thus conserving the 
 cause of Christ abroad, as well as at 
 home. 
 
 The Boston Recorder says, as early as 
 1829, a single sheet Avas published con- 
 taining seven tunes, and three verses for 
 each tune, for the use of the Sabbath- 
 school. "In 1836 the Massachusetts 
 Sabbath-school Society began to publish 
 hymn and tune books adapted to the 
 circumstances and wants of the school ;" 
 
LITERATURE AND MUSIC. 143 
 
 some of which were prepared by Dr. 
 Lowell Mason. Xo names stand higher 
 on the roll of honor in this country, as 
 pioneer reformers in Church and Sun- 
 day-school music than Lowell Mason, 
 Thomas Hastings and Wm. B. Brad- 
 bury. Since these worthies have fallen 
 asleep, their "name is legion" who have 
 done noble service in giving us our Sun- 
 day-school Music. Some of these have 
 passed away but "their works do fol- 
 low them/' and it will be a long time be- 
 fore their songs will cease to be sung; and 
 many will yet arise to bless the names of 
 Root, Perkins, Phillips, O'Kane, Doane, 
 Lowry, Yail, Bliss, Sankey, Sherwin, 
 Case, and many other sweet singers in 
 Israel; and 
 
 "Though they may foiget the singer, 
 They will not forget the song." 
 
144 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 Dr. Potter very wisely remarks in a 
 late number of the Princeton Review, "As 
 conducive to true progress in this matter, 
 a principle should be enforced, which is 
 not new but which has been greatly 
 neglected — that Church music should 
 express the worthiest worship, which we 
 can render to God, and should tend to the 
 highest edification of the worshiper. By 
 the adoption of a good hymnal giving 
 both words and .music; by frequently 
 using a few of the noblest hymns, till they 
 become beloved and familiar as house- 
 hold words; by leading the melody clear- 
 ly and distinctly either by a trumpet, or 
 by the human voice; by making the Sun- 
 day-school in some measure, and in the 
 best sense of the term, a Christian Sing- 
 ing-school, congregational singing can be 
 developed. Psalm or hymn singing is a 
 
LITEEATUEE AND MUSIC. 145 
 
 mode of worship in which Christians of 
 every name can unite. AVe lament the 
 lack of Christian Unity. There is ample 
 room for an effort toward its restoration 
 on this broad basis of co-operation." 
 
146 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Our International Lessons. 
 
 ^ifptHAT system of uniform lessons 
 ?f|p which has so happily united the 
 different branches of the Evangelical 
 Church, in the study of the same scrip- 
 ture lesson on the same day, year by 
 year; and that has wrought the great- 
 est change in the history of Sabbath- 
 schools since the days of Robert Raikes, 
 deserves more than a passing notice. If 
 the Sabbath-school was born in 1780, it 
 was bom again in 1872. The introduc- 
 tion of the "International Lessons" mark- 
 ed the greatest era of the Sabbath-school 
 
OUR INTERNATIONAL LESSONS. 147 
 
 Century. A variety of circumstances 
 prepared the way for that system of les- 
 sons, which has so completely revolution- 
 ized and systemized our course of Sab- 
 bath-school study, in the last eight years- 
 We have already alluded to the "Limi- 
 ted Lesson Scheme" of 1825, to a series 
 of selected lessons for Sunday-schools, pub- 
 lished in Portland, Me., as early as 1827, 
 and to Judson's "Question Book," pub- 
 lished by the American Sunday-school 
 Union the same year, and we have no- 
 ticed the great change wrought by these 
 endeavors to unify the Sunday-school 
 lessons. But it was only so far as Union 
 Sunday-schools were concerned, that any 
 of these movements ever became Nation- 
 al. The "Union Question Book/' and 
 similar ones prepared for denomina- 
 tional schools, held an important place in 
 
148 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 our Sabbath-school system for many 
 years. These were the pioneer reform- 
 ers that preceeded the reformation. Mr. 
 Simeon Gilbert says, "The history of 
 Sunday-schools during the first sixty 
 years of our century, can hardly be called 
 intellectually at least brilliant. There 
 was enterprise, but it groped dubiously, 
 wildly, tentatively. It was slow of heart 
 to see the things that were better. It was 
 too uninventive." 
 
 It was not till within the last twenty 
 years that Messrs. Pardee, Wells, and 
 Vincent began their Institute work, which 
 has had a national influence, in creating 
 a better intelligence among Sabbath- 
 school workers generally, and this better 
 intelligence demanded a more systematic, 
 thorough and uniform system of lessons. 
 It was a demand of the times, and God 
 
OUR INTERNATIONAL LESSONS. 149 
 
 raised up, and qualified, both in head and 
 in heart the men, that were to bring it to 
 pass. Mr. Gilbert thinks, "The Lesson 
 System would never have been practica- 
 ble, even if it might have been at some 
 time experimented with, had it not been 
 preceeded, by this Sunday-school institute move- 
 ment." 
 
 It was in 1864, that the Illinois State 
 Sunday-school Convention at Springfield, 
 received such a baptism of the Holy 
 Spirit as to give a fresh impulse to the 
 Sabbath-school work in the West, and it 
 is said that more than ten thousand con- 
 versions in connection with the Sabbath- 
 schools of the State of Illinois were report- 
 ed the following year. The principal ac- 
 tors in this Sabbath-school revival work 
 were Messrs. Moody, Jacobs, Eggleston, 
 Wilder, Reynolds, Tyng, Farwell,. Whittle 
 
150 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 and Bliss. In 1865 Mr. Vincent origina- 
 ted and became the Editor of the "Sun- 
 day-school Teacher's Quarterly," pub- 
 lished under the auspices of the "Chicago 
 Sunday-school Union/ 7 one feature of 
 which was, that it had four optional les- 
 sons, one of them arranged from the 
 "London Sunday-school Union," and 
 one prepared by the Editor. The next 
 year — 1866 — the Quarterly was by its 
 founder changed to a Monthly, called 
 "The Sunday-school Teacher," which ap- 
 pears to have been the organ that first 
 advocated the uniform system of lessons 
 for all our schools. . It was under this 
 management that a new system of Sab- 
 bath-school study called "Two years with 
 Jesus," by Rev. J. H.Vincent, began to be 
 published in 1866, but before the end of 
 the year Mr. Vincent withdrew from the 
 
OUR INTERNATIONAL LESSONS. 151 
 
 editorial management of the Teacher, 
 and severed his connection with the 
 Chicago Union, to enter the service 
 of the Sabbath-school department of the 
 M. E. Church at New York, where he 
 soon began to publish the "Berean Series 7 ' 
 for his own denomination. 
 
 But the idea of a uniform lesson sys- 
 tem for the whole country and for all de- 
 nominations was yet to be developed. 
 Mr. Eggleston soon became the Editor of 
 "The Teacher 77 and taking up the lesson 
 system where Mr. Vincent had left it, 
 was so successful in its management that 
 in a few years "The Teacher" reached a 
 circulation of 35,000 copies, and the 
 Scholars Lesson Paper more than 350,000. 
 This measure of success may contain the 
 motive which led Mr. Eggleston to op- 
 pose our present "International Lessons," 
 
152 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 till opposition was no longer practicable, 
 when he became one of its staunchest 
 advocates. 
 
 It was not long till several other peri- 
 odicals had adopted "The Teacher's" 
 Course of Lessons giving their own ex- 
 position. The first weekly paper to do 
 this was the "Chicago Standard/' a Bap- 
 tist paper in which the expositions were 
 given by Mr. B. F. Jacobs. Shortly af- 
 ter this the "Chicago Advance" began to 
 publish the same system of lessons with 
 an exposition by the editor. Many 
 things were already pointing toward a 
 Uniform Lesson System, and many per- 
 sons contributed to the growth and de- 
 velopment of that idea, but let it ever be 
 remembered that Mr. B. F. Jacobs, a pro- 
 duce merchant, of Chicago, and a mem- 
 ber of the Baptist Church, was the first 
 
OUR INTERNATIONAL LESSONS. 153 
 
 man to advocate that idea, the design of 
 which he briefly stated as follows: 
 
 1. One lesson for the whole school. 
 
 2. One lesson for all schools of the 
 country. 
 
 3. The publication of lesson notes by, 
 not only the Monthly, but also by the 
 religious press, and copied by the secular 
 press. 
 
 Dr. Vincent said, in his Monthly, "The 
 Normal Class'' for June 1876, "The con- 
 ception of a uniform lesson for the whole 
 count r if was, so far as we can see, the fruit 
 of Mr. Jacobs' brain and heart. He pro- 
 posed it. He pleaded for it. He per- 
 severed, when denominational and com- 
 mercial rivalries embarrassed those who 
 were in sympathy with it. He was full 
 of enthusiasm and good natured persis- 
 tency. He would not let any man say 
 
154 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTUKY. 
 
 him, nay." Dr. Eggleston said before the 
 New York Teacher's Association in 1869, 
 that the Uniform Lesson was the "dream 
 of his enthusiastic friend/' Mr. Jacobs. 
 And in 1872 after the adoption of the 
 Uniform Lessons at the Indianapolis Con- 
 vention he thus wrote in the "Teacher/' 
 "But whether permanent or not the 
 moral effect will be excellent. We vote 
 the cross of the Legion of Honor to B. F. 
 Jacobs. He is the original Jacobs, to 
 whose tireless persistency, vehement urg- 
 ing, unruffled and imperturbable good 
 nature, and general facility for having 
 his own way, we are indebted for the 
 present consummation." 
 
 In 1868, Mr. Jacobs urged his plan up- 
 on the Baptist papers of Chicago, Bos- 
 ton, New York and Philadelphia and 
 also upon the "Sunday-school Times," 
 
OUR INTERNATIONAL LESSONS. 155 
 
 then edited by I. N. Baker. The same 
 year he advocated his plan before the 
 Illinois State Convention at Du Quoin, 
 and also before the New York State Con- 
 vention at Elmira. 
 
 Let it not be forgotten that Dr. Eggles- 
 ton was already publishing the "Na- 
 tional Series" in Chicago, and that Dr. 
 Vincent was publishing the "Berean 
 Series" at New York; but as showing 
 how these great men could rise above all 
 selfish considerations, Dr. Vincent said 
 at the Indianapolis Convention, U A 
 year ago he opposed* the scheme of 
 National Uniformity. To-day he was 
 thoroughly converted to the other side. 
 So completely converted that although 
 
 * "It is dne however to Dr Vincent to add that this opposi- 
 tion was based on what he regarded as an insuperable difficul- 
 ty between rival publishers. He had long before this been in 
 correspondence with English workers to secure the adoption 
 of International Lessons/' 
 
156 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 his denomination was now in the sixth 
 year of the Berean System, proposing to 
 cover the entire Bible in seven years, 
 they were ready to break every stereotype 
 plate, abandon their selection, and begin 
 de novo on the broadest platform." — 
 (Great Applause). 
 
 In 1870, Dr. Eggleston wrote, "That 
 which a year ago seemed an impractica- 
 ble dream, has come to look quite possi- 
 ble; we mean the Uniform Lessons for 
 the whole country." And though he op- 
 posed it at the Indianapolis Convention 
 in 1872, yet he too was soon converted 
 and did much to render the Uniform 
 Lesson, National. 
 
 At the Newark National Convention 
 in 1869, Mr. Jacobs, in behalf of the 
 superintendent's section reported, "That 
 a Uniform Lesson is essential to the 
 
OUR INTERNATIONAL LESSOXS. 157 
 
 highest success of every school, and that 
 it is practical and desirable, to unite all 
 the schools of the whole country, upon 
 one and the same series. " 
 
 The Executive Committee appointed 
 to arrange for the Indianapolis Conven- 
 tion of 1872, met in New York, July 10, 
 1871, and decided to call a meeting of 
 publishers for August 8, and in re- 
 sponse to this call twenty, of the various 
 publishers or their representatives, met 
 to consider the subject of the Uniform 
 Lessons. 
 
 Mr. Jacobs was chosen chairman of 
 this meeting, and after an earnest dis- 
 cussion of the whole subject, it was de- 
 cided to appoint a committee to select a 
 list of lessons for 1872, and Drs. Eggles- 
 ton, Vincent, and Newton, Rev. H. C. 
 McCook and B, F. Jacobs were appoin- 
 
158 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 • 
 
 ted as that committee. Two of the mem- 
 bers of this committee, Dr. Newton and 
 Mr. Jacobs being obliged to leave the 
 city the same day, and the other three 
 members being unable to agree upon a 
 course of lessons, the whole scheme 
 seemed to be almost a failure through 
 the personal, denominational, and publi- 
 cational, interests involved. 
 
 This was indeed a very critical period 
 in the history of our "International Les- 
 sons. 7 ' The three members of the com- 
 mittee, after a brief consultation agreed 
 to disagree and published the following 
 card : 
 
 UNIFORM LESSONS THE FAILURE. 
 
 "The undersigned, having been ap- 
 pointed, at a conference held at the call 
 of the National Executive Committee, a 
 
OUR INTERNATIONAL LESSOXS. 159 
 
 committee to select a course of lessons for 
 the whole Sunday-school public, find it 
 impossible at this late day, to select a list 
 of subjects acceptable to all, or creditable 
 enough to put the experiment on a fair 
 basis. The compromise necessary to ef- 
 fect a union at this moment, renders it 
 out of the question to get a good list, and 
 with the most entire unanimity, we agree, 
 that it is best to defer action until the 
 matter shall have been discussed in the 
 National Convention." 
 
 Edward Egglestox, 
 (Signed) J. H. Vincent, 
 
 Henry C. McCook. 
 
 New York, August 8, 1871. 
 
 Mr. Jacobs, who had gone to Long 
 Branch, was informed that the commit- 
 
160 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 tee had agreed to disagree, and that Dr. 
 Vincent had gone home ' to Plainfield, 
 whereupon he telegraphed him to meet 
 him the next morning in New York, say- 
 ing, "the plan must not fail. 1 ' The next 
 day, at Dr. Vincent's office, after a vigor- 
 ous discussion of the subject, it was 
 agreed to reconsider the action of the day 
 before, to recall the card they had pub- 
 lished, and to issue another announcing 
 that the committee had agreed upon a 
 series of lessons for 1872. The following 
 is their card: 
 
 "The undersigned desire to recall the 
 circular forwarded yesterday, entitled 
 'Uniform Lessons — The Failure. 7 We de- 
 sire to state that, having reconsidered 
 the whole subject, we have agreed upon 
 a series for 1872. Will you acommodate 
 the committee by withholding the publi- 
 
CUE IXTERXATIOXAL LESSORS. 161 
 
 cation of the former circular? A list of 
 lessons for 1872 will be forwarded soon/' 
 
 Edward Egglestox, 
 (Signed) J. H. Yixcext, 
 
 B. F. Jacobs. 
 
 Subsequently the entire committee ex- 
 cept Mr. McCook, made the selection of 
 the lessons for 1872, but it was not until 
 after that memorable discussion of the 
 subject, in the National Convention at 
 Indianapolis, in April, 1872, that the Uni- 
 form Lesson System was formally adop- 
 ted and became a great National fact. 
 
 It was through the agency of Mr. 
 Jacobs and Mr. Vincent more than any 
 other, that the subject was so success- 
 fully advocated before that Convention, 
 as to secure its adoption; and the ap- 
 pointment of a committee of five minis- 
 
162 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 ters and five laymen, from different parts 
 of the United States, with one minister 
 and one layman from the Dominion of 
 Canada, to arrange a series of Bible les- 
 sons, for a term of seven years, covering 
 a general study of the whole Bible. 
 
 Concerning the discussion in that 
 Convention, Mr. Gilbert says, "Not many 
 times has any deliberative body in 
 America, witnessed a nobler debate. In 
 spirit, manner, method, and convincing 
 power, several of the arguments made, 
 were of surprising felicity, power and 
 real eloquence. No one who was present 
 can ever forget the scene." 
 
 The discussion was on this topic, "The 
 Uniform System of Sabbath-school Les- 
 sons for the Whole Country." It was 
 opened by Mr, Jacobs and participated 
 in by Messrs. Eggleston, Vincent, Peltz, 
 
OUR INTERNATIONAL LESSONS. 163 
 
 and Foote, and when the question was 
 called for, it was decided by a rising 
 vote, and carried by an overwhelming 
 majority, only ten voting in the nega- 
 tive. The Convention then rose and sang 
 the long meter doxology, "Praise God 
 from whom all blessings flow, etc." The 
 committee consisted of J. H. Vincent, 
 chairman; Warren Randolph, secretary; 
 John Hall, Richard Newton, A. L. 
 Chapin, Geo. H. Stuart, B. F. Jacobs, P. 
 G. Gillett, A. G. Tyng, and H. P. Haven. 
 The following gentlemen from Canada 
 were afterward added: J. Munro Gibson 
 and A. Macallum. Subsequently Geo. H. 
 Straut resigned and J. B. Tyler was ap- 
 pointed in his place. This convention rec- 
 ommended the adoption by the Sabbath- 
 schools of the entire country the series of 
 lessons thus planned for. This scheme had 
 
164 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 so many obvious advantages, and was so 
 generally fascinating to progressive Sab- 
 bath-school workers, that its adoption by 
 the Sabbath-schools of the country, was 
 spontaneous, synonomous, and almost 
 universal; and the most sanguine hopes 
 of its friends have been more than real- 
 ized, in the experience of the last seven 
 years. By correspondence with the 
 Sabbath-school men of London, and Ed- 
 inburgh, opened long before the Indiana- 
 polis Convention, Dr. Vincent has ac- 
 complished much in the way of making 
 our Uniform Lessons, "International." 
 And while some across the Atlantic have 
 regarded the scheme as impracticable, 
 others seem willing to fall in with the 
 plan, and the "London Sunday-school 
 Union" has appointed two, and Canada 
 two of the members of the Committee of 
 
OUR INTERNATIONAL LESSONS. 165 
 
 Sixteen", to prepare the "International 
 Lessons" for the second seven year 
 course. 
 
 Having now completed the first, and 
 entered upon the second trial of this new 
 system, and looking back from our pres- 
 ent standpoint, we wonder why we did 
 not think of it before, and why so much 
 of the "Sabbath-school Century" passed 
 away, and we made so little progress. I 
 think we may safely say, that we have 
 had more real substantial study of the 
 Bible' in our Sabbath-schools, during the 
 last seven years, than in any other simi- 
 lar period during the Century. 
 
 Dr. C. S. Robinson has recently said, 
 "There never has been more industri- 
 ous study of the Scripture, than dur- 
 ing the last seven or eight years. A 
 bright literature has been born and bred 
 
166 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 of the International Lessons. The best 
 minds of the English speaking world, 
 have been engaged for all this time in 
 making comment, on the various selec- 
 tions, till nearly the whole Bible has pass- 
 ed in review. No religious newspaper of 
 high standing can afford to be without 
 its weekly columns of exposition." 
 
 The Sixth National Sabbath-school 
 Convention was held in Baltimore, in 
 May, 1875; when Dr. Randolph, the 
 secretary of the committee, made a con- 
 cise report of the committee's action dur- 
 ing the three years, graphically sketch- 
 ing the enthusiastic reception accorded 
 to these lessons, in this and other coun- 
 tries; from which it appears that "these 
 selected passages of Scripture are used in 
 this country and Canada, by Baptists, 
 Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Meth- 
 
OUR INTERNATIONAL LESSONS. 167 
 
 odists, Presbyterians, Reformed, Luther- 
 ans, Unitarians, Friends, and by Chris- 
 tian people of all names, all along the 
 Atlantic slope, down the Pacific shore 
 and through all the lands between. Eng- 
 land has adopted the entire scheme, and it 
 has found its way into France, Germany, 
 Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Syria, Greece, 
 Turkey, Hindoostan, Burmah, China, 
 Mexico, and the islands of the sea." At 
 the same convention Dr. John Hall in 
 his masterly address recognized the Uni- 
 form Lesson movement as distinctly from 
 God. "Man did not orginate it. Man 
 will not likely materially mar it. Its 
 significance inheres in the fact that it 
 has so clearly, and unmistakably, stimu- 
 lated the study of the word of God." 
 
 The American portion of the Commit- 
 tee of Sixteen above alluded to, were ap- 
 
168 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 pointed by the seventh and last National 
 Sabbath-school Convention held at Atlan- 
 ta, Ga>, in April, 1878 and the entire 
 committee composed as follows: 
 
 Rev. John H. Vincent, D. D., New 
 Jersey; Methodist Episcopal. 
 
 Rev. John Hall, D. D., New York 
 Presbyterian. 
 
 Mr. Benjamin F. Jacobs, Illinois 
 Baptist. 
 
 Prof. P. G. Gillett, L. L. D, Illinois 
 Methodist Episcopal. 
 
 Rev. Richard Newton, D. D., Protestant 
 Episcopal. 
 
 Rev. B. M. Palmer, I). I)., New Orleans; 
 Southern Presbyterian. 
 
 Rev. W. G. E. Cunnyngham, D. D., 
 Tennessee; M. E. South. 
 
 Franklin Fairbanks, Esq., Vermont; 
 Congregationalist. 
 
OUR INTERNATIONAL LESSONS. 169 
 
 Rev. John A. Broadus, D. D., Ken- 
 tucky; Baptist. 
 
 Prof. H. L. Bangher, D. D., Pennsyl- 
 vania; Evangelical Lutheran. 
 
 Rev. James A. Warden, New Jersey; 
 Presbyterian. 
 
 Rev. Warren Randolph, D. D., Indiana, 
 Baptist, 
 
 Rev. D/-D. H. McVIcar, L. L. D., 
 Quebec; Presbyterian. 
 
 Rev. John Potts, D. D., Ontario; Wes- 
 leyan — Now Methodist, 
 
 English Committe — appointed by the 
 London Sunday-school Union: 
 
 Fountain J. Hartley, Esq. 
 
 William H. Groser, Esq. 
 
 The following is a summary of the re- 
 port made at the Atlanta Convention ■ 
 for the United States and Canada: 
 
170 THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CENTURY. 
 
 Number of Sunday-schools, . . 83,441 
 Increase since last Report, . . 9,169 
 Number of Officers and Teachers, 894,793 
 Number of Scholars, . . . 6,843,997 
 
 Total, 7,738,790 
 
 Received into Church from S. S. 123,471 
 
 At the Centenary Convention held in 
 London this year, it was reported that 
 the Sunday-school army in the various 
 parts of the world, had reached the hand- 
 some aggregate of 12,000,000 of Scholars, 
 and 1,500,000 Teachers; and that 7,500,- 
 000 of these, or more than half of the 
 whole, are reported from the United 
 States. 
 
 From this Pisgah height of the Cen- 
 tury's progress what can we further say, 
 but that "This is the Lord's doing, and it 
 is marvelous in our eyes." 
 
TESTIMONIALS. 
 
 I have examined with some care your book on 
 the Sunday School Century. I think it an ad- 
 mirable condensation. I have ventured to intro- 
 duce a word or two in a few places, where I hap- 
 pened to know all about it. Wishing you great 
 success, and hoping to see an early copy after its 
 publication, I remain sincerely yours, 
 
 J. H VINCENT. 
 
 After reading the chapters, so far as printed, 
 of Mr, Eddy's little volume on the "Sabbath- 
 school Century,'* I would say, that the work 
 evinces careful historical research. Sound judg- 
 ment is displayed, in the selection of the most im- 
 portant points. The facts are presented in a sim- 
 ple, prespicuous, and interesting manner. Great 
 multitudes are now practically engaged in Sab- 
 bath-school work. Not a few of them, will be glad 
 to procure a neat, and handy volume, like this, 
 giving an account of the rise and progress of a work, 
 
which is becoming so vast, and so vitally connec- 
 ted with the extension of the Redeemer's Kingdom 
 
 THOS. K. DAVIS, 
 Librarian of Wooster University. 
 
 A cursory examination of the Rev. Franklin 
 Eddy s "Sabbath-school Century" shows the work 
 to be one of careful and diligent examination. It 
 will in my judgment, rank high in the literature of 
 the Sabbath-school cause, and will be of great 
 value to those seeking reliable information on the 
 progress of this very important, and highly essen- 
 tial part of Church work. 
 
 T. A. McCURDY, 
 Pastor 1st Presbyterian Church, Wooster. Ohio. 
 
 The Sabbath-school Century ; 1780-1880; by 
 Rev Franklin Eddy, has been submitted to me in 
 manuscript for examination It gives the history 
 of the rise and progress, of the Sabbath school in 
 all its departments, during the century This work 
 evinces learned,extensive, laborious and exhaustive 
 research. It is well written ; and presents in an 
 attractive and forcible manner, an array of facts 
 bearing upon the subject in hand, which will never 
 lose their interest, as long as Christians retain 
 their interest in an institution, whose object is 
 the spiritual culture of the children, and youth, 
 who are the hope of the Church and of the world. 
 It is a desideratum in this department of Christian 
 
literature. It will make a volume replete with 
 information elsewhere unattainable, except by the 
 closest scrutiny of whole libraries. It will doubt- 
 less receive the emphatic imprimature of Sabbath- 
 school workers, of all denominations of Christians, 
 who may be favored with its persual. It will 
 prove an invaluable vade mecum, a polymikrion 
 indispensable to those who desire in brief com- 
 pass, to possess all the important facts connected 
 with the origin and developement of the Sabbath- 
 school idea. We predict that when its merits be- 
 come known, a copy of it will be found in every 
 Sabbath school library, and in the posession of 
 every superintendent, teacher and private Chris- 
 tian, interested in knowing all that is important in 
 regard to this grand department of Church work. 
 
 JOHN H. AUGHEY, 
 Author of The Iron Furnace ; and Pastor of The 
 
 West Union Presbyterian Church, Dallas, 
 
 West Va. 
 

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