PREFACE. 5 ready to defend the protestant succession in this illustrious house, with their tongues, and their hands, and with all their powers. It may be useful also to put other little books into their hands, to assist thedevotion of their youn- ger years, and to encourage and confirm them in the principles and practices of all moral and divine virtues. Some of these may be written in verse as well as in prose, which will allure children to readthem and assist their me- mories in getting them by heart : They should all have lessons appointed in their books, and they should be required to repeat them to their teachers, at stated hours or seasons, once or twice in a week. V. As the children arenot constantly under their master's eye and care, but spend much of their time with their parents, so there should be some care taken to charge their parents to make them read at home, at least once or twice a day, and to keep them by due discipline to a regular behaviour, that they may not be guilty of profaneness or immorality, obsti- nacy, disobedience to superiors of any wickedness at home or abroad. VI. Let not the Lord's-day be spent by them at random, nor let them wander after their own wills where they please: But let them be obliged to attend at some place of public worship, either with their masters or mistres. ses, that they maybe under the eyeand observation ; or with their parents, who should be charged and engaged to take particular care of their religious observation of the Lord's-day. And wheresoever children go to worship on the Lord's-day, whether it be with their parents or with their teachers, let it be a constant part of the business on the Monday mornings, for their teachers to enquire what they remember of the sermons they have heard, at least, so far as to make them repeat the text by heart, on which the minister preached. VII. Let there be certain seasons of examination appointed, two or three times a year, not only to enquire into the state of the schoolin general, or fill up Vacancies as thechildren are dismissed, but to make a particular en- quiry how the children improve in their learning; and if there be any defect, to find out whether it be the fault of the scholars, or of the teachers : If the child's incapacity or low natural parts be the occasion of it, let him be excited and encouraged to double diligence: If the child has been negligent, reproofs and threatenings should be added : But if it be found that the non-improve- ment of children be owing to the neglect, or the mismanagement of the teachers, let there be due cognizance taken of it in a proper way, and new teachers bechosen, if two or three admonitions obtain no success. VIII. It would bea great and unspeakable advantage to these schools of charity, if you could contrive some methods whereby all thechildren of the poor, might be employed insome useful labours one part of the day ; that those who are to earn their bread by the labour of their hands, might be engaged inwork for this purpose even from the younger years of life. This would fix them betimes in such a manner of life, as the providence of God has suited to their circumstances in the world. This would have a manifest tendency to secure them from pride and sloth, andwould be the most effec- tual answer to a very common and powerful objection, in the lips of many persons against charity schools. IX. For this reason I would propose, that if the parents can and will employ their children one part of the day in useful labours toward their sub- sistence, this should rather be encouraged then forbidden; always provided that there be such due care taken dailyby the parents, that it may be no A3
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