imately employed
in an after-development of the Church.

Indeed, so entirely in this matter is the Free Church at sea,
without chart or compass, that it has still to be determined
whether the religious teaching of her schools be of a tendency to
add to or to diminish the religious feeling of the country. 'I
sometimes regretted to observe,' says Dr. Reid, in his Report on
the Schools in connection with the Free Presbytery of Edinburgh,
'that [their lessons in the Bible and Shorter Catechism] were
taught rather too much in the style of the ordinary lessons. I
do not object to _places being taken_, or any other means
employed, which a teacher may consider necessary to secure
attention during a Scripture lesson; but divine truth should
always be communicated with solemnity.' Now, such is the
general defect of the religious teaching of the schoolroom. Nor
is it to be obviated, we fear, by any expression of extra
solemnity thrown into the pedagogical face, or even by the
_taking of places_ or the _taws_. And there seems reason to
dread that lessons of this character can have but the effect
of commonplacing the great truths of religion in the mind,
and hardening the heart against their after application from
the pulpit. But some ten or twelve years will serve to unveil
to the Free Church the real nature of the experiment in which
she is now engaged. For our own part, we can have little doubt,
be the matter decided as it may, that experience will serve
ultimately to show how vast the inferiority really is of man's
'teachers of religion' to Christ's preachers of the gospel.

We shall never forget at least the more prominent particulars
of a conversation on this subject which we were privileged to
hold with one of the most original-minded clergymen (now,
alas, no more) our Church ever produced. He referred, first,
to the false association which those words of world-wide
meaning, 'religious education,' are almost sure to induce,
when restricted, in a narrow, inadequate sense, to the teaching
of the schoolmaster; and next, to the divine commission of the
minister of the gospel. 'Perverted as human nature is,' he
remarked, 'there are cases in which, by appealing to its
sentiments and affections, we may derive a very nice evidence
respecting th