whatever may be said of the increasing luxury and dissipation of englishmen, their hearts have not yet lost any part of their ancient reputation for the feelings of humanity, and they are still ever ready to provide clothing for the naked, medical assistance for the sick and lame, and education for the untaught children of the poor.
the great number of hospitals, infirmaries, free-schools, and other charitable establishments, with which almost every part of this country abounds, afford an ample display of british benevolence. the institution of sunday schools owes its foundation to the humanity of the present times, and will be a credit to it in future ages. the following history of dorcas and amarillis may serve as one instance of the happy effects of sunday schools.
in a solitary village, far remote from the metropolis, and not near to any capital city, lived the parents of dorcas and amarillis. the husband was a shepherd and his wife a shepherdess; but their earnings were so little, that even with their joint labour they could hardly procure bread for themselves and their children, and a morsel of meat once a week was the highest pitch of their luxury, though even that was of the very coarsest kind.
as soon as dorcas and amarillis grew up, the former was sent into the fields to frighten birds from the grain, and the latter was kept at home to knit coarse yarn stockings for the use of the family.
their whole library consisted only of a testament and a prayer-book; but these were so injured by the depredations of time, having passed from hand to hand for many years, that what was not torn away, was rendered nearly illegible. however, that was of little consequence, since neither of them could read, and consequently could have no idea of writing. the church was at some distance from them, which served as an excuse to be absent from thence.
dorcas had neither hat, shirt, shoes, nor stockings; and all the apparel of poor amarillis was only a straw hat and a coarse gown and petticoat.—these considerations alone were sufficient to keep them from church, admitting they had any inclination to go there. in course, as sunday was the only day of rest they had from their labour, both boys and girls passed it in such tricks and gambols as were most suitable to their age and taste.
thus they lived almost in a state of nature, without knowing any thing of the supreme being, or of any of the duties we owe to him. they had no idea of prayer, further than, "i thank god we have had a fine season this year, &c." and herein consisted all their devotion. however, amidst all this ignorance and poverty, dorcas, his sister, and family, were all strictly honest, and never, like others in their village, employed their sunday in stealing fowls, and other things from their rich neighbours, which they thought it no crime to do: the only dread they had of the commission of these robberies, was the fear of being discovered, and the punishment that would inevitably follow it.
these two children, dorcas and amarillis, lived in this state of ignorance till they were ten or eleven years of age. it had been some time a custom with dorcas and his sister, with a black-lead pencil they had found by chance, to imitate, on the back of a clean white trencher, all the letters they found in the remains of their common prayer-book, though they knew not the sound, nor combination of the different letters of the alphabet, in order to form and connect words.
as they were one winter's evening hovering over the fire, dorcas said to his sister, "how happy are those young people, who, having parents that can afford to pay for their education, are taught to read, write, and cast accounts! and yet how many of those children prefer the most idle pastimes to the more invaluable improvement of their minds? there must be something vastly pretty, in being able to read that testament and prayer-book."
"i agree with you, my dear dorcas," said the blooming amarillis, "that there must be something uncommonly delightful, to be able to unriddle the meaning of all those words we see in that book. what a hardship it is, that we should be born to spend our days in ignorance, and know none of the pleasures which learning must undoubtedly bring with it!"
the next morning, the principal person in the village, who owned a great part of it, came to their hovel, and acquainted the old folks that they might the next sunday send their children to church, where they would be instructed in the principles of the christian religion, and be likewise taught to read, without any expence to themselves.
the next sunday morning, accompanied by other children in the village, they accordingly repaired to church, where they were all dressed in new apparel, prepared for them by the voluntary subscriptions of the humane and generous. though their clothes were but of coarse materials, yet dorcas and amarillis had never been so fine before; the one thought herself as elegant as cleopatra, and the other considered himself as great as cæsar.
besides clothing, such as could read tolerably well had a bible, testament, and common prayer given them; while others who could not read, had only a spelling-book. a schoolmaster was appointed in each village to instruct the poor children in the evening; and every sunday they went regularly to church, to be examined by the parson in public.
it was a pleasing change to behold: instead of noise, riot, and confusion, every sunday, from one end of the village to the other, peace, order, and decorum were every where seen. instead of having recourse to mischievous inventions to pass away the time, each was now seen quietly seated on the enamelled turf, with a book in his hand, and either reading to himself or to some others.
among all these youthful students, dorcas and amarillis made the most distinguished figures, and displayed such a genius and attention as attracted the wonder and amazement of every one. in a few months they learned to read with some degree of emphasis, and could write a hand sufficient for any of the common concerns of business.
such an uncommon display of genius created them many friends, and they frequently received invitations from the younger branches of the neighbouring gentry. from these visits they learned a polite and graceful behaviour, and consequently soon got rid of their awkward rusticity. as they increased in knowledge, so their minds opened and expanded; and, though their wishes were at first only to learn to read, they now sighed after the higher branches of literature.
"what a pleasing thing it must be," said dorcas one day to his sister, "to read of what passed in the former ages of the world, and trace out the tempers and dispositions of the people in those days! what a narrow span of earth are we confined to, in comparison of what we are told the world is at large! i should like to read those books which give a description of the different parts of the earth and seas; what animals inhabit them, and what curiosities they contain superior to our own."
"i have the same wish," replied amarillis; "but let us be thankful to that good god, and to the generosity of our opulent neighbours, by whose bounty and goodness we were rescued from a state of ignorance and gloomy despair,have been enabled to read the sacred writings, and imbibe the glorious doctrines of salvation."
this conversation was overheard by a gentleman, who immediately bought them some small books of history and geography, of which they made so proper a use, that there were very few young people, within several miles of them, who were able to converse with them on geographical and historical subjects.
within the course of two years, dorcas and his sister had made great improvements in the sciences, when it was thought necessary to send them into the world to provide for themselves, as their parents were now engaged in a gentleman's family, in a much better situation than that of a shepherd and shepherdess. amarillis was taken as a waiting maid, attendant and companion of a young lady of distinction and fortune; and dorcas thought himself happy in being taken as clerk in the shop of a capital tradesman.
in this situation all parties at present remain, and afford an unanswerable proof of the utility of sunday schools. had it not been for that noble institution, dorcas and amarillis must have lived and died in the grossest ignorance, overwhelmed with poverty and despair; their parents must have lingered out a half-starved life in their miserable cot, without being able to bequeath any thing to their children but rags and poverty. what may be the future situation of dorcas and amarillis we cannot say; but we need not search the roll of fate to know this, that they are bound to pray, as they undoubtedly do, for the first promoters of sunday schools.
let me advise my youthful readers, whatever their condition in life may be, to imitate the industry of dorcas and amarillis. let them remember that, however painful a few years of hard study may be, how pleasing will be the consequences to them all the rest of their lives, when they will be possessed of that which nothing but their final dissolution can take from them!
