The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-03-26
north Pownal.

The seriously sick in our midst, we
are glad to hear, are much better. Some
almost given up by their friends, are do
ing so well that there are reasonable
hopes of their final recovery. The
chronic "grunters" however are loud in
their complaints, and like frogs their
choruses assure us that the ICY fOundG-
tons of winter are giving away.
Sunday Schools There are two sun
day Schools in our village. The Roman
Catholics have one, and the Congrega-
tionalists another. We think the latter
have more graduates than the other, be-
cause they graduate much sooner. Our
girls and boys are very precociOus in the
Scriptures, especially in regard to short
verses. But graduating so early in life
they soon lose these traits and the fash
ion is when lady IS asked for the text
to reply somewhat after this manners:
Excuse me, somehow these things are
out of my sphere. | seem to have out
grown them. | have no interest in
those things. The Sunday-schOOl which
| loved once to attend, | long ago put
away with the rattle box and playthings
of my childhood. My leisure is wholly
divided between dancing parties, con
certs, shows, weddings, excursions and
picnics. have no time for these, were
even so unfortunate as to retain a
taste for such childish things" She
would este en- it extremely prudish to
answer this question more seriously
She would fear to lose nothing in self
respect or reputation by such a comics
sion, and the young man to whom this
is addressed, equally foolish, would con
graduate her for her ignorance and re
joice in his heart that he at last had founC
his affinity, with such profound menta
characteristics. We will not follow the
vein farther for fear of telling toe
much truth, but will express a few gen
eral ideas which alike apply to mos
country towns. AS the law fixes no tint
when child shall become pupil in thu
Sunday-school nor when he can no longel
remain one, custom, is therefore thu
only criterion, and this has few vaT1a
tons. 1t is expected that boys and girl
so long as they are such, at least shall
belong to n Sunday-school somewhere
and wherever this law or custom is no
observed it is feared that something
must be wrong in the family. But com
paratively few parents set an example il
this respect. and their children, as soOl
/ tS liNN hlllNt db
their liberty by emitting this require
ment of previous parental authority
Comparatively few men and women ar,
in the Sunday-school, and excepting al
occasional instance, this means tina
only few study the Scriptures with an.
regularity. How much loss this practic,
implies depends largely upon the prem
Uses employed, but there can be no doub
that the habit is bad one, if not dan
geTous also, where it is considered in al
OF its bearings. There is hope, however
that in methods recommended by the in
ternational committee a new departure
shall ultimately be taken to awaken il
the family new spirit of interest anC
inquiry, by means of which young mel
and women shall be brought under tn
influence of higher and better senti
ment in the study of that which opens III
into broader and more sublime fields o
thought as we advance in years.