experiment, and after writing the questions, I will read them to some younger members of the family, to see if they can find the answers." Perhaps the individual who resolves on this experiment is the head of a family-a mother. She gathers her children around, after the public services on the Sabbath, and says to them, "We will study a chapter in the Bible. I will study, and you shall study. I will read it carefully, and write in this little book all the questions I can think of; and you at the same time may read it attentively, and try to understand it, and remember what it says. Then, after tea, we will gather around the table before our bright fire, and I will read my questions, and you may see if you can answer them." The children enter with spirit into the plan. They gather into a little circle, and read their lesson aloud, verse by verse, questioning each other in regard to its difficulties, and endeavoring to anticipate the questions which the mother is preparing. Even the little Benjamin of the family is interested; who, though he can scarcely read, looks attentively upon his Bible with the large print, hoping that there will be some easy question which will come to him. At the appointed hour they gather with eager interest to their recitation. The mother finds that many of her questions are ambiguous, some too difficult, and others could not be answered from fault of the scholars; still, a large proportion are understood and answered. The moral lessons of the chapter are brought to view, and gently but forcibly impressed upon the heart. Are you a Sabbath-school teacher? Lay aside your printed question-book for one Sabbath, and write questions yourself upon the lesson of the day. Then compare what you have written with those printed for your use. Strike out from your own list all which are upon the other, and carry the rest with you to your class, and say to your pupi somewhat as follows: "I have been writing some new questions on this lesson. Now I do not suppose you can answer many of them, because you did not have them while you were studying. But should you like to have me read them to you, and let you try?" You will in such a case find the curiosity and interest of your class strongly awakened; and though your first experiment may not fully succeed, you may say to them, "I will write some more for next week. When you are studying your lessons then, I should like to have you remember that I am writing other questions than those in the book, and endeavor to understand and remember every fact stated in the lesson, so that you can answer all my questions as well as the printed ones. I know it will be hard, but I presume you can do it." A Sabbath-school teacher who will make such efforts as these to render his work more intellectual, and to interest himself and his pupils more deeply in the thorough study of their lessons, will find that both himself and his pupils will advance with at least double rapidity. 3. Re-writing portions of Scripture. Read, or rather study some portion of Scripture thoroughly, and then write the substance of it in your own language. I can illustrate this best, perhaps, by repeating the following dialogue. It is, I will suppose, Sabbath evening: the family are going out, and one son, a boy of fourteen, is to be left at home. "What shall I do this evening?" asks the son. " I don't know. I am to be all the evening alone, and I want something to employ my time." says, The father turns to the fifth chapter of Luke, and "Take this chapter, read the first eleven verses, and form a clear and distinct conception of the whole scene, just as if you had witnessed it. Then write an account of it in your own language. Be careful to write entirely in your own language." "Must I not use the language of the Bible at all?" "No. You have two separate things to do. First read the account attentively and thoroughly, in order to form in your own mind a distinct picture of the whole. Try to see it as plainly as if you had stood upon the bank, and actually looked down upon the whole transaction. Then shut your Bible, and write your own account of it, just as if you were writing a letter to me, and describing something which you had yourself seen." Now suppose the boy engages in this work in the manner described above, with how much more interest than usual will he read the passage. He will scrutinize it carefully, examine every circumstance of the narrative minutely, and notice many points of interest which would ordinarily escape him. Once when I asked a lad, under similar circumstances to the above, to re-write this passage, he had not been five minutes at his work before he came with a question which I presume hundreds of my readers have never thought to ask, though they all have doubtless read the passage again and again. I will first give the passage. LUKE 5:1-11. "1. And it came to pass, that as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, "2. And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. "3. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. "4. Now, when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. "5. And Simon answering, said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing; nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net. "6. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. "7. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. "8. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. "9. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: "10. And so was also James and John the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not: from henceforth thou shalt catch men. "11. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him." The difficulty proposed was this : "In the second verse," says he, "it is said, that the fishermen had gone out of their boats, and were washing their nets; but in the third, Christ enters one of them and asks Simon to move off a little from the shore: that seems as if Simon was in his boat." How apparent was it from this question, that he was reading the Bible understandingly, and not merely repeating once more the familiar sounds by which the scenes of that passage are described. Upon a little reflection it was manifest that Simon might have remained in his boat, while the fishermen generally had gone ashore; or he might have stood near, so as to be easily addressed by the Saviour. The difficulty vanished in a moment. But by the ordinary, dull, sluggish reading of the Bible, both difficulty and solution would have been alike unseen. The following was the description produced in this case: I copy it without alteration, that my readers may see, from actual inspection of an actual example, what degree of success they may expect to attain. "Once, as Jesus was standing near a lake called Gennesaret, a great multitude crowded around him, wishing to have him THE YOF HEIGHTS WASHINGTON =? LIBRARY address them. He saw near the shore two fishing-vessels, but the fishermen had gone away to clean their nets. He went into one of them, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to shove the vessel out a little way into the water, and he talked to the people from the deck. When he had finished, he told Simon to go out into the sea and cast in their nets, in order to get some fish. And Simon said to him, we have been working all night, and have not caught any thing; but as you have desired it, we will let down our nets again. Having done it, they took a greatmany fishes, and their net was broken, and there were so many fishes that both ships were filled and began to sink. Simon was so much astonished, and they that were with him, at taking so many fishes this time, when they had been laboring all night and caught nothing, that (he fell down before Jesus, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man.) Simon's companions, James and John, were also surprised at the fishes. And when they had brought their ships to the shore, they left all their things and followed Jesus." The part enclosed in a parenthesis is scripture language. The boy said he could not express that idea in any other way, and he adopted that method of indicating that the language of the Bible was in that clause retained. I have obtained also several other specimens of a similar character, written by persons of different ages and of various intellectual attainments, two or three of which I will insert here. The reader will observe that these were written by persons of very different degrees of mental maturity. The style is very dissimilar in the different specimens, and they show therefore more distinctly, that the exercise is of such a nature as to be adapted to every age and capacity. THE STORY OF MICAH. "A woman belonging to one of the tribes of the Israelites, from a mistaken idea of true religion, resolved to procure some images for her household worship, intending to consecrate her son to act as priest. She accordingly dedicated to the Lord the sum to be paid for making the images, and laid it aside for the purpose. This money was stolen from her by Micah, the very |