EPHRAIM HOLDING'S

HOMELY HINTS.

I.

HOW ARE YOU GOING ABOUT IT?

AND have I lived in the world till my hairs are grey, without picking up a thought that may be useful to a Sunday school teacher? Surely not. Have I nothing to say that will lighten his spirit, encourage his heart, strengthen his hand, quicken his foot, or increase his zeal in the enterprize he has undertaken? Oh, yes, I hope so! If a small seed will produce a large tree, a single feather turn a scale, and a mere spark kindle a conflagration, why should I fear that an old man's words coming warm from his heart, will be altogether worthless? Putting it down as an axiom, as I do, that no well-meant endeavor to be useful, prudently and zealously persevered in, is ever made altogether in vain, I feel a confidence which is as a cordial to me.

Think not, because time has sprinkled a little snow on my head, that I am weak-minded and peevish; but rather give me credit for energy and good temper, as well as for sincerity and uprightness of intention. Kindly feelings, one towards another, are of great value; try then to think as favorably of me as I think of you :

Though his hair may be scattered and grey,

And the strength of his manhood depart;

Though the shadows of thought o'er his temples may stray,
Yet affection, and zeal, as he wends on his way,
May be strong in an old man's heart.

Experience, among many other things, has told and taught me this, that in pursuance of the most laudable objects, the mind stands in need of an occasional stimulus; the affections of the heart require to be excited and called forth. A striking example, a well-timed reproof, a word of encouragement and christian counsel, often impart to us an increased zeal, a doubled diligence, and a new principle of action.

If experience has told me this, most likely it has taught you something of the same kind, young as some of you are in comparison of the years I have numbered. There have been times, perhaps, when going to and attending your classes, you have felt heavy, uninterested, out of spirits, disappointed, and ready to say, "What is the use of my being a Sunday school teacher ?" Now it is just in such moments as these that I want to step in with my humble

hints. When you feel strong; when your school prospers, and your scholars are grateful; when you are listening to some eloquent speech, or reading some talented essay, wherein Sunday school teachers are spoken well of; when the sun shines on your heads and in your hearts, I will trust you for going on perseveringly, and very cheerfully leave you to yourselves; but in the dull, dark, dabbling day, and in the hour of disappointment and despondency, as I said before, willingly would I become your companion, and, in a kindly spirit, offer a few of my homely observations.

There is, I believe, a general impression in society, that youth and age cannot pleasantly keep each other company. Now this appears to me to be a reflection on them both. It seems to say, that young people in their buoyant spirits forget what is due to the more sober and quiet habits of age, and that old people are not sufficiently considerate and forbearing towards their more youthful friends. It would certainly be out of the question for youth to affect the gravity of age, and still more so for age to adopt the light-hearted buoyancy of youth; yet do I feel certain, that young and aged people may mingle together with mutual advantage. You would not, I trust, desire to trespass on the peaceful inclinations of those who are in years; and I would not willingly be a peevish old man, out of temper with the cheerful habits of youth, for all the gold that is to be found in Mexico.

Sunday school teachers, however, are not all young, for though some can hardly be said to be out of their boyhood, others are much farther advanced in years and knowledge, in judgment and christian graces. I hope to say something that will commend me to all, by a cheerful, kindly, and encouraging spirit; approving with readiness, rebuking with tenderness and regret, ever bearing in mind my own abundant infirmities, and endeavoring to manifest that charity that "suffereth long and is kind, that envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, and doth not behave itself unseemly, that seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, and endureth all things."

Every lover of nature must be struck with the abundant variety that the natural creation presents to the eye and the heart. Spring gives way to summer, and autumn is succeeded by winter. But not the year only, the day and the hour are diversified by grateful changes. The sun is now in the east, by and by in the south, and afterwards sinks in the west. The winds of heaven seldom blow long together from the same quarter, and the beautiful clouds above us are continually forming new and delightful combinations. Hardly shall I be suspected of an affectation of wisdom, in noticing things ich every one is familiar.

W

is the conclusion to be drawn from the

variety in nature? simply this, that change is necessary for the well being of creation. An enduring spring, a continual summer, a perpetual autumn, and a never-ending winter, would be anything but desirable. Neither the vegetable nor the animal world could endure the constant glare of sunshine, or thrive beneath continual shade: the wise, the necessary, the merciful admixture of the one with the other, spreads around a grateful and reviving influence: the trees bud, and blossom, and bear; the flowers expand, the fruits ripen; the bee and the butterfly roam abroad; the bird warbles in the brake, or in the air; man goes forth to his labour, and all creation holds a jubilee of joy.

If it be thus in the natural world, there is something very like it in the intellectual, the moral, and the religious world: there are changes which are necessary, and variety imparts fresh vigour to the faculties of our heads, and the affections of our hearts. Now, I want the homely hints of Ephraim Holding, mingling with the observations of wiser and better men, so far to affect you by their novelty, that you may reap from them the advantage of a change. With this view, it is my intention to lay before you such remarks as may appear to me likely to effect my purpose.

As Sunday school teachers, you are of different ages, dispositions, and attainments; but you are all alike in this--that you have taken on yourselves to communicate instruction to a class of young people