aring most profanely, altogether formed a scene of confusion and
riot that disheartened the teachers in the start, and made them begin to
think they had undertaken a hopeless task.

"As to the appearance of these young Ishmaelites, it was plain that they
had rarely made the acquaintance of soap and water. Hands, feet and
face exhibited a uniform crust of mud and filth. As it was necessary to
obtain order, the superintendent, remembering that 'music hath charms
to soothe the savage breast,' decided to try its effects on the untamed
group before him; and giving out a line of a hymn adapted to the tune of
'Lily Dale,' he commenced to sing. The effect was instantaneous. It was
like oil on troubled waters. The delighted youngsters listened to the
first line, and then joined in with such hearty good-will that the old
shanty rang again.

"The attempt to engage and lead them in prayer was, however, a matter of
great difficulty. They seemed to regard the attitude of kneeling as very
amusing, and were reluctant to commit themselves so far to the ridicule
of their companions as to be caught in such a posture. After reading to
them a portion of the Holy Scriptures and telling them of Jesus,
they were dismissed, greatly pleased with their first visit to a
Sabbath-school.

"As for ourselves, we had also received a lesson. We found--what indeed
we had expected--that the poor children were very ignorant, but we also
found what we did not expect--namely, such an acute intelligence and
aptitude to receive instruction as admonished us of the danger of
leaving them to grow up under evil influences to become master-spirits
in crime and pests to society. Many of the faces that we had just seen
were very expressive--indeed, painfully so. Some of them seemed to
exhibit an unnatural and premature development of those passions whose
absence makes childhood so attractive.

"Hunger! ay, its traces were also plainly written there. It is painful
to see the marks of hunger on the human face, but to see the cheeks of
childhood blanched by famine, to behold the attenuated limbs and bright
wolfish eyes, ah! that is a sight.

"The organization of a day-school came next. There were hundreds of
children in the district close about the mission who were wholly without
instruction. They were too dirty, vicious and disorderly to be admitted
into any of the public schools; and unless some special means of
education were provided, they must grow up in ignor