THERE is no department of the Sabbath-school work of greater importance and interest than this. We have known marked cases of hopeful conversion of children from four to seven years of age to result from the first hour of Bible instruction in the youngest infant classes. Often the character and habits of scholars as such are formed at the very first interview with their teacher, who thus meets them at the very entering in of "the gates of life." It is well known that some of our most distinguished divines, as well as active Christian ladies, date their conversion back to the early age of four, five, or six years. Therefore take measures in every Sabbath-school to organize and sustain a first-class infant-school department.

1. Get a light, warm, airy room. A lean-to added to your chapel for the purpose, or the use of the next-door neighbor's dining-room for an hour a week, will answer. Give the children a room by themselves if possible, to rise and sing, talk, recite, and pray. Furnish the room with a good blackboard and crayons, and such Scripture prints and cards and maps as you can obtain for the walls and for use. Provide for them small, comfortable seats.

2. Select and call to the charge of this class the most pious, bright, cheerful, patient, loving, gentle, winning teacher for children there is to be found in the whole church, with a like assistant. Generally the teacher will be a lady, although some men greatly excel as infant-class teachers, so that the complaining remark of the little girl to her mother, that she "hadn't any teacher to-day—it was only a man," was quite too severe to be just. The little ones are greatly blessed in their love for their teachers, for they want a large share of demonstrative, life-like sympathy, expressed by a soft, loving voice and a gentle manner—hands that will speak in all their gestures, and a patience that endureth and a heart that loves to teach them for Christ's sake. If the teacher feels the need of learning how to do this good work, let him visit good week-day infant-schools, and gather up suggestions and lessons, as well as confidence and inspiration, for the great work.

3. Visit and gather in all the children from the ages of three or four to seven years, whose parents are willing to send them, and at once teach them habits of punctuality, order, regularity, and pleasant worship. When they become well drilled and instructed, so that they can clearly read the Bible, then transfer them to older classes, unless there are good reasons to the contrary. Although they are little, they are very precious, and amply worth all the painstaking effort you can make for them.

4. Let the teacher of such a class ponder and consider the characteristics of his precious charge. 1. Activity.—Says Mr. Hassell, "A healthful child abhors quietude," and rightly so, as much as nature does a vacuum. Every mother knows that her little ones, if in health, "cannot bear to be still for a minute." 2. Curiosity.—Archbishop Whately says: "Curiosity is the parent of attention." 3. Inquisitiveness.—Happy is that child who is blest with a mother or teacher who will "bide patiently all the endless questionings of the little one, and will not rudely crush the rising spirit of free inquiry with an impatient nod or a frown." Rather see in their many questions but the untutored pleadings of the little ones for care and cultivation. Oh, how much they want and deserve to have their inquisitiveness satisfied by a kind, considerate answer to all their questions! 4. Fear.—Oh, how much children suffer from this cause! Their natural timidity should be respected, and not cruelly wrought upon. 5. Then, too, children have wonder, and like to talk and hear of "wonderful things." 6. They have also a proper love of approbation, and they should be cheered and encouraged when they try to do well.

Now let the teacher take up the first of these well-known characteristics, and act upon it. An excellent teacher of an infant class, some years ago, was accustomed to gain order by appealing to their love of activity. She would stand quietly at the desk and ask the children: "Children, will you please tell me what the gods of the heathen are like?" This was always a pleasing request to them, and every form would stand erect, with every hand by their sides, and they would together begin the part of the 115th Psalm which answers that question. They would repeat all together, "Eyes have they, but they see not," and every pair of little hands would go with the teacher's, pointing to, and resting upon, their eyes. In like manner, "mouths have they," "noses," "ears," "feet," "hands," etc., always suiting the action to the word. All are in perfect order, and the next step for the teacher would naturally be to talk a little about the gods of the heathen, and then sing a verse about "bowing down to gods of wood and stone." The transition is then natural and easy to "Our God" in heaven, where angels, saints, parents, and children too, are; and they sing the hymn to which all leads, viz.: "Around the throne of God in heaven, Thousands of children stand," etc., etc.

Another mode of conducting an infant-school is to place the children in little classes, of six scholars, with a teacher for each, and proceed with singing, repeating commandments, singing, recitation for ten minutes, study of emblems, a ten-minute address, and prayers, having a verse or two of singing between every exercise, and no exercise longer than ten minutes. Thus an excellent system of infant-class instruction proceeds, while the lady who has charge gives the address and superintends the teachers, etc., for the hour devoted to the school.

Another way is to take the two central verses of the regular lesson for the whole school and bring it out on the blackboard, and question, instruct, and pray and sing about the same thought of God in the lesson; as, "Who formed you, child, and made you live?" Ans. "God did my life and spirit give," etc., with singing and prayer.

Another infant-class teacher has a different plan, as follows: She has arranged with a gentleman, who teaches a large class of young ladies of sixteen to twenty years of age, to come in with his class and conduct the opening exercises of the infant-school. He then goes into another room and instructs his class for thirty minutes, and the lady instructs the children for the same time. Then the Bible-class, with their teacher, return, and the infant-school is divided into classes, in which the young ladies teach the same lesson which they have just received from their teacher. In this way practice in teaching, and variety are gained, and the lady teacher in the infant-school is relieved of a part of her burden.

I have never found two infant-class teachers who conducted their schools exactly alike. Each one has some peculiarity in his or her mode. There is no standard mode of infant-class instruction. Adaptation according to circumstances is the rule. The children should be received with great care into the infant-school, and be given to understand that it is a place for the holy worship of God, and to learn of him. The children should always be greeted by the teacher with a loving smile, that is free from every trace of giddiness, and with words of sincere, respectful welcome. Great evil is done if the teacher is cold, morose, or fretful in spirit or manner. The teacher should pray with, as well as for, the children. They may repeat the words of the prayer after the teacher; and it is well to prepare them for the act, by some such remark as, "Children, we want to thank God this morning for this holy Sabbath, for the Sabbath-school, for kind teachers, for the blessed Bible, for our God and Saviour Jesus Christ," and so on, mentioning the different objects of desire. Let the prayers always be short and simple, and sing but one, two or three verses at a time. The addresses should always be clear and suited to the children. An excellent model of scriptural talks to infant-class children will be found in "Peep of Day," "Line upon Line," and "Precept upon Precept." "The Tract Primer" and "Child's Scripture Question Book" have also some good things to work up for infant-classes. There are various other helps from which good suggestions can be gathered.

The children should recite their verse or verses simultaneously; then by benches, or classes, and then by a few individual scholars called upon, so as to ascertain if all have learned it. The time cannot be wasted by hearing each scholar recite in turn where there are only one or two teachers. Care should be taken not to burden the young mind. A small, bright, clear, pleasant Bible truth is best. As the good Dr. Ryland used to say, "Simplify and repeat: Simplify and repeat," remembering that simplicity is not poverty of expression. Learn, also, how to carry thoughts into a child's mind, and not leave them, as many do, at the doorway. Aim at Christ and salvation. Let no hymn be sung which you are not, beforehand, careful to see that the children really understand. Make every truth clear and simple, and let them act the lesson out with appropriate gesticulations and motions. When speaking of God, let them do it reverently, and perhaps by all pointing their little fingers upward.

Bible stories and anecdotes are generally best and most interesting for infant-classes. Use the blackboard freely with words and appropriate figures, for such little ones learn best that which they learn through the eye. Teach little at a time, but teach that little well and thoroughly, is a grand motto for the infant-class teacher.

It is of great importance that the children should always feel that their teachers are the best and happiest persons they ever saw, and that they are always so very bright and happy because the religion of Jesus makes them so full of love and joy, and they cannot help its overflow; and that they consider it the greatest privilege of life thus to tell their scholars of Jesus, and lead the little children cheerfully along Zion's road towards the heavenly Canaan.

Examples of Infant-class Lessons.

Example No. 1.

The following lesson was publicly taught by Ralph Wells before the Philadelphia Sunday-School Teachers' Institute, in September, 1867. and phonographically reported for the columns of The Sunday-School Times. The class was composed of some twenty children:

The Lesson.

Teacher.—Look around just for a moment, children, and see how many people are looking at us. I want you to have one good look, and then to give me all the rest of your attention. After you have had your look, I want you to sing a little with me. [The children face the audience for a moment, smiling, parents and teachers returning their gaze with fond affection, and shall we not say, with many prayers that the lesson might be abundantly blessed?]

Now let me see how exactly you can repeat the hymn after me. I will speak first, and you will follow me:

"Jesus loves me, this I know,"

[Children repeat, in earnest harmony.]

"For the Bible tells me so."

[Children repeat thus, after the teacher, the first stanza.]

Teacher.—"Jesus loves me." Let us look at this a moment. We think that praying and reading the Bible, and saying the lesson are worshipping God; and so they are; but we often forget that in reading and singing these beautiful Sabbath-school hymns we are worshipping God, too.

"Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so."

[After the hymn was sweetly sung, the teacher talked very pleasantly about the beautiful Letter which our dear heavenly Father has sent to us.] That Letter is the blessed Bible. We are going to have a lesson out of it to-night. But we cannot understand it unless our Father sends some one to open our hearts to understand it. We have sung a verse to him: now we will look to him in prayer and ask him to be our Teacher. [The class close their eyes, fold their hands, and repeat the prayer after their teacher.]

Dear Lord Jesus!—We thank thee for the Bible—we thank thee that it tells us—that God loves us—that he sent Jesus to die for us.—We thank thee—for all its promises;—that it tells us—if we love Jesus—and trust in him—we shall go to heaven;—that if we love Jesus—and trust in him—he will never leave us.—To-night, dear Father—send the blessed Spirit—to make us attentive—to help us to find Jesus—and what he would have us to do—and how we can get to heaven.—O dear Saviour!—sometimes when we try—we find it very hard—to do right.—Let us never be discouraged—but whenever we sin—go to Jesus and tell him all—and get his help.—Dear Jesus—help us to live for thee—to do good while we live—to be a blessing to all around us—and to show that we love thee—in our homes—to little brothers and sisters—and to all our companions—at home—at school—and everywhere.—May we so live—that everybody shall see—that we are Jesus' little lambs.—Hear our prayer—and come to-night and be our Teacher—and may our little hearts—to-night—be given away to Jesus—to love and serve him—as long as we live.—We ask for Jesus' sake.—Amen.

[This simple petition was offered by the children, as with one voice, the tone and accentuation of the leader being caught up and carried by them with affecting earnestness of pleading. One could not but feel that the exercise was real, with both teacher and class.]

Teacher.—Now sing with me one verse more, children, and we will take a Bible lesson together. It is new to you, but we sung it over once this afternoon, and I guess you can sing it now. I will sing one verse for you, because it is new to you, and then we will sing it together. It begins with

"Oh, I must be a lover of the Lord!"

Let me sing it for you. [Teacher sings.]

[The children then sing it with Mr. Wells, and finally by themselves, clearly, loudly and accurately.]

There is a little sentence of only four words, children, that has been more precious to me than any other in the world. I wrote it on a piece of paper years ago, and put it in my pocket-book—here it is, with little flowers around it—[Producing it and holding it up to the class.] Would you like me to give you these four words? Yes, sir! Well, I will write them on the board. [Writes:]

I do not know whether you can read—[the children, quickly interrupting, read "Christ died for me".] Yes, if ever this world loves Jesus, it will be because these four little words get into everybody's heart. Try and remember them.

I am now going to read a verse out of our Father's Letter. It is a sad story. After I read it, I am going to tell it to you in my way; and after I have told it to you, I am going to ask you, to see if you can tell me all about it. Then I am going to tell you the meaning; then the lesson—three things: the story, the meaning, the lesson. Can you give them to me? First, the—story, next, the—meaning, and last, the—lesson, [the children say.] Once more, give them to me.—Story, meaning, lesson.

I will read it first out of the Bible, for I always want to give you God's word first; then I will tell it to you. It is in the twelfth chapter of the Book of Exodus. "Exodus" means the "going out." When you leave this room you "go out" of it—it is your "Exodus" of the room. So, in the Bible story, God's people went out. Let me read to you:

"Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side-posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side-posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you."

And it happened just as God said. Now, I do not want to tell you anything that you can tell me. In the first place, we want to find out where this took place. Can any of you tell me the name of the country? [Egypt! shout three or four little voices—to the surprise even of the teacher, who, as well as the audience, was repeatedly astonished at the accuracy, promptness, and clearness of the children's answers.]

The Israelites, or God's people, are spoken of in the lesson. They are now in Egypt. Let me mark it on the board. Here is Egypt, [drawing a rough outline of the Red Sea, river Nile, and the Mediterranean; and, proceeding northerly, of Palestine.] Pointing to the latter, the teacher said, Here is—Canaan, one child replied. Yes! that little girl has it. And what city is this? [making a dot near the corner of the Dead Sea.] Je-rusalem! [a little boy finishes the word.] God's people had been dwelling in Canaan; how did they come to be in Egypt, where we find them in our lesson? Who first went down to get corn? Joseph. Yes. There was no corn in the land. What do you call it when there is nothing to eat? Famine! a bright boy replies. Very well, indeed. Who, then, went first to buy corn? Joseph. And who followed him? His brethren. What did they go for?—to keep them from—Starving! That is it, exactly. I like to hear children answer so well. Can any of you tell me how many Israelites or Jews there were in Egypt? How many is that? [Writing the figures 2,000,000 on the board.] Two million! [eagerly responded a little fellow, who certainly did credit to his week-day instructors.] Yes, there were probably two million—men, women, and children. What was the name of the king of Egypt? It begins with P.—Pharaoh. Yes, God said to him, "Let my people—go." but Pharaoh said, "I—won't!" Then God said, "I will show him what I will do. My people shall go, that they may serve me." So God told his people to get ready that night, when our lesson begins.

What should you think this was? [Drawing a rough figure of the face of a clock.] A clock. Yes. What hour is the hand pointing to? Twelve o'clock. What time of night do you call that? Midnight. Yes, at midnight God said he would go from house to house in the land of Egypt, and every house where he did not see something on the door he would go in and kill the first-born. Let us make a door, now. [Drawing the outline of a door.] We won't take time to draw it very nicely. "Every house where I see something on the door," God said. What was it he must see on the door? Blood! blood! [Taking the red crayon, spots of red are dotted here and there over the white door-posts, representing blood.] Yes; wherever I see the blood of a little killed lamb on the door, I will not go in and slay the first-born.

This blood must first be in a—[Drawing an outline of a bowl or basin,]—Basin, the children reply. Yes; and how are you to get the blood on the door? [Taking the green chalk, and drawing a bush.] Here is a little bush, called hyssop, something like a huckleberry bush, and the people were to take that and dip it in the basin, into the blood, and do what? Sprinkle it on the door! Yes. What part of the door? (A pause.) L-i-n-t-e-l; what does that spell? Lintel.

Then, "when I see the—blood—on the—lintel—and on the two—side-posts—I will not go in and—kill the first-born!" Yes. That was what God said.

I have sometimes thought I could see an Egyptian soldier that night with his armor on, going up to one of the Israelites and asking, "What is that you are putting on the door?" "It is some lamb's blood." "What are you putting it on for?" "Because my God has told me to." Then with a strut he has turned on his heel and walked away, muttering to himself, "What a big fool that Jew is!"

But see! the hands on the clock begin to get around. It is now pointing to—midnight. Yes, pretty soon it strikes one—two—three, up to—twelve. And then! Oh! the angel of death went from one house to another, and in every one that didn't have—the blood—on it, the first-born was—killed. Yes! And one wail of woe went up from Egypt that night. Fathers and mothers, from Pharaoh in his beautiful palace, to his poorest servant, were weeping and wailing and lamenting their first-born, slain by the hand of the angel of God.

But some houses escaped. The ones with the—blood on. Had there been any death in those houses? No, sir. Think. What had died? A little lamb. Yes; a little lamb had been killed and his blood put in—a basin. And then—suppose the basin had been set behind the door, would that have done? No, sir. The blood must be sprinkled on the—door, and it most be sprinkled by a bunch of—hyssop. Yes; it must all be done exactly as God had said. Then the door that had the blood upon it was passed over by the angel, was it? Yes, sir. And what was done to the house where there was no blood? What did the angel do? Went in. Yes, and—slew the first-born. [Mr. Wells then called a little boy up to the board, drew a rough sketch of three or four door-frames, on two of which he used the red chalk, making marks to represent blood. The boy was then asked, with the class, to point out which houses the angel would enter, and which pass over, thus drilling the fact impressively and perfectly into the scholars' minds, as also the reason for the angel's choice—the blood of the lamb.]

How do you think I got here? On the cars. What drew the cars? An engine. Did you ever see an engine? Yes, sir! (with emphasis). This summer, where I live, at Tarrytown, a gentleman said to me, "Don't you want to go down on the track and see the express train go by to-night?" I said yes: so we went. By-and-by I heard a rumble: it seemed to come nearer and nearer, and got louder and louder. What was coming? The express train. Yes, it was going to rush by us at thirty miles an hour. Could we have held out our hands and stopped it? No, sir! (emphatically, and incredulously). Suppose we had had you to help us, could we then? No, sir! Well, suppose all the people in this house had caught hold of the cars?—what then? It would have pulled them to pieces! [a little girl says]. Well, in a minute or two I heard a sharp toot! toot!—what was that? The whistle. Yes, and the man on the engine put his hand on a little iron bar and pushed it, and the cars began to go slower and slower and slower until they stopped. The man put his hand on the right place, the place of power, the place that made the engine go or stop. Now, what does Jesus say to us? "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Can you tell me at what door Jesus knocks? Our hearts. "If any man," or child, "will hear my voice, and open—the door—I will come in and—sup with him." Yes, "and he with me;" and we shall be saved. But there must be something on the door, or we cannot be saved, any more than the Jews, if they forgot, or would not, put the blood on the doors of their houses. What must we have on the door? Blood. Yes. Well, will it do if you cut your finger, and sprinkle the blood on your house? No, sir. Suppose you kill a little lamb, and put the blood on your front door, will that save you? No, sir, no, sir! What must the blood be on? Our hearts! Yes, the blood must be put upon the right place, the place where Jesus knocks, the place of power. Our hearts then are—the door. And what must be sprinkled on the door? Blood.

Why did our soldiers go off to the war? To fight; yes, and to shed their—blood—for their country. And what does shedding their blood mean? They died—[a little girl answers]. Right; they shed their blood, they died for our country. Jesus shed his blood, That means the same as Jesus—died; yes; how? On the cross. He hung there for you, did he? Yes, sir. And for me? Yes, sir; and for us all? A little girl in a mission-school, named Mary, sat on the front seat, and when the superintendent was telling about how they hanged Jesus on the cross, the tears came to her eyes, and when he got to where they took the hammer and the nails to nail him, little Mary could not stand it any longer, but she had to get up and go out. In the afternoon she came back smiling, and the superintendent asked her, "Mary, where did you go this morning?" and she said, "Oh, teacher, I could not stand it when you spoke to us about Jesus being nailed on the cross, for I felt just as if I helped to pound the nails in, and I went off a little piece from the school, and got down on my knees and told Jesus that my sins helped to hang him on the cross, and I asked him to please forgive me for helping to kill him—that I was so sorry; but now I feel so happy." Jesus forgave her, and to-day Mary is a little Christian girl.

I have something in my pocket (drawing out a roll) that I want you to see. Years ago I went thousands of miles away, and I sent on to Washington and got this paper, It is called a "passport." There is the great seal of the United States on it, and here is the Secretary's signature at the bottom. And when I was away, in strange countries, where I could not speak the language, all I had to do was to show this paper, and they said, "Let him pass," or something that meant that, and I was allowed to go on. If I had not had this passport, I could not have got through. The blood of Jesus must be our passport. When God sees this blood sprinkled on the door of our hearts, he will say, "Let him pass," and we will be allowed to go through this life in safety, and get to heaven when we die. But oh, how many times we have to use this passport! How often we sin and need to come to Jesus for forgiveness, and to point to his precious blood sprinkled on our hearts!