untoward the circumstances, or hopeless the appear- ance. And we can bear witness to the truth of the prophet's observation : for in many places, and on many hearts, where there has been as little prospect of success as could well be conceived, God has given efficacy to the word of his grace ; and the handful of corn sown upon the top of the mountains has sprung up, so that the fruit thereof has shaken like the woods of Lebanon ; and those of the city where it has been cast have flourished like the piles of grass upon the earth °."
To Infant Schools, for the promotion of which I now more immediately address you, the text is pe- culiarly apphcable ; since nothing can be supposed more hopeless than any attempt to benefit the rising generation, from the ages of two to five or six. But I must say, that, if you cast your seed upon these waters, you shall find it again, in very abundant be- nefits conferred on all the poorer classes of society —
[What a relief is it to the mother to have her infants duly attended to through the day ; whilst she, instead of having her hands tied by the care of thein, is enabled to earn bread for their support! What a benefit, too, is it to her elder daughter; who would otherwise have her time occupied in attending upon her younger brothers and sisters, and be thereby deprived of education for herself, whilst she was discharging that important office ! This is of immense importance, because it secures to all the children of the poor the same advantages ; the elder and the younger being alike partakers of the benefits thus freely accorded to them.
But to the children themselves the benefits are incalculably great. We cannot but have seen, times without number, what depraved habits are contracted by the children of the poor when playing about the streets or lanes of a town without control. At home, for the most part, they see nothing but evil; and abroad, they practise it in every way with sad profi- ciency, lying, swearing, quarrelling, the very pests of the neigli- ]jourhood wherein they dwell. As for any thing good, they learn it not ; having no good principles instilled into them, and no good examples set before them. But by being brought into a school at the early age of two or three years, tliey are
° Ps. Ixxii. 16. If this be a subject for Missions, tins idea must be enlarged, and all that follows it be omitted.