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    something , indeed , exceedingly chilling in the doubt that the spirit of devotion may not * on these occasions , warm the hearts of the young as well as the old ; though , when the parent ' s attendance on public worship is an act different in spirit and character from the rest of life ; when the child sees no religion but a Sabbath-religion , it cannot be expected that its own devotion should be kindled . But we have in view better cases than these , and , this supposed , it is no exaggerated thing to believe that even a young child may be bearing a part in acceptable worship . Still the plea of greater suitability to the comprehension of the youns :, is urged in behalf of separate services . And who is to judge of the suitability ? The mind of one child may , for aught we know , and even for aught that a parent knows , be in a state of far greater advancement than another , and to keep it in the juvenile congregation will , perhaps , be disgusting it for life . So few men , so very few know how to address children , as children , aright , that we are exceedingly sceptical as to this whole matter of adaptation to the wants and wishes of the young . Could children speak out , were they not often checked by a fear of saying something wrong , or were there not , in * their little minds , a host of

    undefined feelings which they have not yet learned to clothe with language , it might be found that no sermons please or strike them so little as those made expressly for them . There is a kind of preaching , indeed—a hard , cold , metaphysical style—from which they can never be supposed to glean the smallest benefit . But whom does such a style benefit ? And who would be the worse for getting rid of it altogether ? The best preachers , by far , are those of whom we may predict that their earnestness , simplicity , pathos , and affectionate zeal , will procure for them an early attention from , and

    constantly growing power of comprehension by , children . There are passages in the sermons of Dr . Channing—that splendid one , for instance , on the Ordination of Farley—in which he introduces the names of the great of former days , of Fenelon and Howard , of Alfred and Washington ( names which ought to be as familiar as household words to children ); there are passages of this kind , scattered up and down the writings of Dr . Channing , high and above the ordinary range of sermon-writers as he is , which we cannot help thinking a well-educated child would treasure up and bear in his mind ; while of the sermon " on the Duties of Children , " by the same hand , it is

    only remembered that such an one was preached , and that it seemed as cold and comfortless as such pieces of good advice generally are . And , if even Dr . Channing has failed in a case like this , where are we to find preachers for our children ? To whom shall such an office be entrusted ? How easy , to the mind of the self-sufficient ! To him who has taken a just measure of the difficulty , how arduous 1 We mean not to holdup the-public services designed for adults as bringing to children a sufficiency of religious instruction ; for this , either at home or in the Sunday-school , there is still ample room , and there it is best dispensed in the most familiar style . We only

    wish still to have the sight of the parent and child attending together in the house of God , preserved to the Christian community . Let not refinements

    and distinctions creep in here . A general impression of affectionate duty , the feeling that makes a child unwilling to be left behind when its mother goes to church , uninviting as the services may appear , is a very harmless beginning of a valuable habit ; and , farther , children may have real sympathy in the pious purposes of a beloved parent , while yet unable to follow far in the actual services : they do not like always to go to school , and be addressed b y the schoolmaster . The voice that speaks kindly and admonishingly to their elders , is heard by themselves without suspicion , or question-

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    48 Children ' s Books .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Jan. 2, 1831, page 48, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2593/page/48/