THERE is a real art in knowing where, when, and how to put a good question, that shall quicken the memory, set the mind to thinking, and call back the reflective faculties. Such are the possibilities of a question. A large proportion of all the good teaching in our Sabbath-schools is brought about by the simple process of questions and answers. "A question unveils the soul. Nothing can escape a question. A question reveals decision." Hence the skill required. Mr. J. G. Fitch says: "The success and efficiency of our teaching depend more on the skill and judgment with which we put questions than on any other single circumstance."

This art is to be learned, like any other art, by much study and patient practice, for we best learn the art of questioning by questioning. Augustine says: "A boy can preach, but a man only can catechise," and Lord Bacon says: "A wise question is the half of knowledge." Therefore the great skill in teaching consists mainly in the right forming and asking of questions.

If this be true, it follows that this subject should be regarded as of special importance by every teacher. Teachers often say that they cannot succeed in asking questions without the book; that they do not know what to ask. To this I reply, 1. There is never any difficulty in forming the question where there is an interest to obtain the answer. 2. It is generally unwise to ask any question unless we have an interest in obtaining the answer. Do not tantalize the little ones. Says Mr. Hassell: "A question under some circumstances will merely produce an exercise of the memory; under others an exercise of reasoning; and under others again it will stimulate inquiry," and we may add, awaken curiosity. Mr. Groser says: "The true scope of questioning-power is as follows: To awaken curiosity or the desire to know; to arouse the memory or the recollection of what is already known; or to point out something unknown, which may be inferred from that which is known." A question skillfully put will arouse, will fix attention, concentrate the thoughts, and so discipline the mind of the pupil.

There are, however, many bad and indifferent questions put, in religious teaching, which a little knowledge of the correct rules of the art of questioning will enable us to avoid. Frequently a slight variation in the form changes a bad question into a good one. For instance: "Moses was a good man, was he not?" is a bad question. "What kind of a man was Moses?" is a good question, as it awakens thought. "What do you understand by faith and repentance?" is a bad question, for it is ambiguous and indefinite, and perplexes the child. "Will you tell me what is faith?" is a good question, for it compels the child to think and to inquire—it puts into his hand the laboring oar and he must row. "Did David kill Goliath with a stone or with a sword?" This is a bad question. It is involved and suggestive. Ask the child simply, "With what did David kill Goliath?" and the question is a good one, in strict conformity with the laws of questioning and of the child-mind.

Another class of questions is very common, but well nigh useless, namely, leading questions, such as, "Was David a good man?" "Was Goliath a wicked man?" These are mostly bad or indifferent questions, and are almost a total loss to the teacher. Slightly vary them in the following way, and you make them at once, in every aspect, good questions. "What kind of a man was David?" "What kind of a man was Goliath?" Teachers will remember, therefore, to avoid ambiguous or indefinite, involved or suggestive, and leading questions, which latter are answered "Yes" or "No," for they are generally of little avail.

What kind of questions, then, shall Sabbath-school teachers seek to use? I reply:

1. Questions of Examination, in order to find out what the pupil already knows; to gauge his present knowledge, and ascertain what he needs to know.

2. Questions of explanation of particular words, which should be put freely while reading the lesson.

3. Questions of actual instruction, or reflective questions, thus making the pupil teach himself, or find out as much as possible by thinking and inquiring, and thus leading him to correct his own answers. Much instruction may be communicated by asking questions and correcting the answers, but great care should be taken to make the most of the answers, and to do full justice to them. Socrates's plan was to lead the pupil by a pleasant question to discover his own error, instead of directly charging him with it. Encourage your scholars by all means to ask questions with freedom, and give your teaching more the form of an earnest conversation.

4. Questions of recapitulation or review. In this way you ascertain whether your lessons are received, for the test is their telling it back to you in their own language. You question the lesson into the minds of the scholars, and then question it out again. Herbert, in his "Country Parson," gives us an illustration. After asking, "Since man is so miserable, what is to be done?" and the answerer could not tell, instead of telling him, he properly asked the following simple question, "What would he do if he were in a ditch?" This familiar illustration made the answer so plain that he was even ashamed of his ignorance; for he could not but say, "He would make haste out of it as fast as he could." Then he proceeded to ask whether he could get out of the ditch alone or whether he needed a helper, and who was that helper? This is the skill; and doubtless the Holy Scripture intends thus much when it condescends to the naming of a plough, leaven, boys piping and dancing, showing that ordinary things are to be washed and cleansed, and serve as lights for heavenly truths.

5. Questions with an ellipsis are most useful in the review or summing up of the lesson, as, "He says, I am the good—Shepherd. Come unto—me," etc.

6. Questions may often be used to kindle the reflective faculties, to exercise the mind and to develope ideas.

7. And, lastly, questions applying divine truth—softly, thoughtfully, and in a few words—should never be forgotten. Jesus did so and so. "Do you?" David said, "Oh how love I thy law?" "Do you so love it?" Solomon said, "Remember now thy Creator." Charlie, "Do you love to remember your Creator?" or "Why not?" etc.

Not only are the character and adaptation of the question of great importance, but the manner and look of the eye and the tone of voice and the manner of receiving the answer. The manner should be kind, gentle, life-like, and winning; the look of the eye should beam with life and interest, while the tone of voice should bespeak great tenderness and sympathy. A cold, formal tone of voice will repel the answer, even with a good question. It should be sprightly, and respectfully familiar and natural. Children cannot endure coldness nor dullness nor dryness; therefore avoid all long pauses and sluggish manner and heavy voice. The way which you receive the answers will determine the question whether your scholars will freely answer you or not. Make the most of an answer unless it is absolutely wrong, and if wrong, say, "Will some scholar tell me why that answer is wrong?" Search out for all the points or hints of truth you can find in the answer of the child, and unfold it and hold it up in the most favorable and gracious light.

Never snap up a scholar, or neglect or ridicule his answers, however faulty. Always be candid and sincere, and your scholars will soon learn to trust themselves with you. A sharp, harsh reply will close the lips of a whole class. Enunciate every word with clearness. Vary the questions with all patience if not answered readily, and never think a child does not know because he does not answer the question at once. Be sure "never to tell a child what you could make that child tell you."

Let your questions have a regular connection, so that one will naturally follow another, and in fact, glide into the next, and "say as little as you can in questioning and teaching, but so say it as to cause the children to say as much as possible." Then again be careful to adapt your questions well. Do not tell much in your questions. Put the right question to the right scholar, for it will not do to ask A or B or C a question which only D in the class can answer, for we are not to ask any child any question unless we suppose the answer is in the mind of the child.

It is of particular importance that in the commencement of a lesson we always start aright. Have some easy, pleasant questions ready, which they will be glad to answer. No matter what occurs, never manifest impatience or severity, or descend to a witticism or a sneer. A sneering, sarcastic teacher should be left out of the school. Therefore gladly receive and develope, in the most charitable manner, the half-uttered, stammering answer of the child at your feet, and your children, in their hearts, will bless you.

Dr. Arnold, the great teacher at Rugby, said: "It was his practice to teach by questioning, and as a general rule, he never gave information except as a kind of reward for an answer. His explanations were as short as possible, and his questions were of a kind to call the attention of the boys to the real point of every subject, and to disclose to them the exact boundaries of what they knew and what they did not know." Let me add to this Archdeacon Bather's account of how he became a catechist. He says in his "Hints on Catechising:"

"Perhaps, gentle reader, before I actually enter upon my task of teaching you to teach others by catechising, it may be as well to tell you how I became a catechist myself; for the thought seized upon me and occupied me much in very early life. I was at school at Rugby, and at the time I speak of, was in what we called the 'upper third.' The 'upper fourth' was under the care of Mr. Innes, afterwards Head Master of the Royal Free Grammar School at Warwick. As I was sitting one evening in the room of my private tutor, Mr. Homer, some one knocked at the door, and in came Mr. Innes. 'Bather,' says he, 'when Mr. Homer has done with you, will you come up into my room? I want to speak to you; you will find nobody there but O—— (naming one of my school-fellows) and myself.' Of course I went; and Mr. Innes, motioning my companion to a chair and myself to another, took his own and addressed us thus: 'I am going to set you two boys very hard at work. Pray, O——, do you know anything about astronomy?' 'Not much, I am afraid, sir.' 'And you, Bather?' 'Not so much as O——, I am afraid.' 'Well, now, do not flatter yourselves that I am going to tell you anything about it, for I shall do no such thing. Nevertheless, you shall know more about it, and a good deal, too, before you go out of this room.' He then put questions to us both, by which he soon elicited all the particulars of such little knowledge as we possessed; and then he questioned us further, soon causing us to make many blunders, and then making us correct our answers, so that we certainly did quit the room with fuller and more orderly notions of the matter than we brought into it." He says, although this did not make him an astronomer, yet it led him to think and discern what must be the most effectual way of imparting knowledge, for "under Mr. Innes his interest never flagged; he could have listened all night."

From the same source is here added another illustration of teaching by the means of leading questions. "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness," etc. "Then was Jesus." What do you mean by "then was Jesus?" (Hesitates.) "Then took Mary a pound of ointment." What do you mean by "then took Mary?" Then Mary took. What do you mean by "then was Jesus?" and the answer came readily, "Then Jesus was." Now you shall question me. Put me a question to which each clause shall be a reply, beginning with the first. "When was Jesus led up to be tempted?" "Then." So here you are taught—what? The time when these things took place. Put me a question to which the words "led up" shall be an answer. "What was done to Jesus?" He was "led up." Put a question for the word "Spirit." "Who led him up?" "The Spirit." So of the word "wilderness." "Whither did the Spirit lead him?" "Into the wilderness."

Let us add one more illustration, showing how to put questions to help and lead. The manner must, of course, be right, for a clumsy method will hinder rather than help, and if we expect a right answer the question must be a simple one, or one that will not admit of being put as two questions. The following anecdote may serve as the illustration: "A lady came one day to my school and requested me to let her hear the children catechised. The class happened to be reading the third chapter of the Acts, the first of which reads thus: 'Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.' 'Well,' I said to the teacher, 'stop there and question them on that verse.' 'At what time of day?' said he, 'did those things take place which are here set down?' 'At the ninth hour,' replied the class. But then a poor boy became a little frightened at something or other, and consequently puzzled; and after some hesitation said, 'Well, then, at the ninth hour, who went where?' The first boy in the class smiled a little, but made no answer; the next seemed to think a little, but still no voice came. I took care that nobody should answer out of his turn, and the question was put to every boy severally to the bottom of the class. The lady turned to me and expressed her surprise that out of a class of five-and-twenty boys nobody could answer. 'Well, ma'am, I am afraid you will consider these five-and-twenty boys very stupid, but let us look a little further into the matter.' And then, turning round, my eye caught that of Jack Thompson. 'Jack,' said I, 'how many stupid boys have we got in our second class?' 'One, sir,' says Jack. 'And who may he be?' 'The teacher, sir.' 'You must prove your words, Jack: come and teach the class yourself.' Now Jack was not an impudent boy; but as he advanced and saw the lady looking at him, he did not appear so confused as poor Peter had done before, and he betook himself at once to business. 'You have told us,' said he, 'that the things related in this verse took place at the ninth hour of the day; to what was that hour wont to be devoted?' 'To prayer.' 'And what was the building called that was open, at that time, to receive the worshippers?' 'The temple.' 'Are not some persons specially mentioned who came to the temple at that time?' 'Yes.' 'How many?' 'Two.' 'What were their names?' 'Peter and John.' 'Where did Peter and John go at the ninth hour?' 'Into the temple.' 'What for?' 'To pray,' etc. The lady began to perceive that the children did know something about the matter, and Jack Thompson, being concerned for the conduct of his class, proceeded to ask them a great many more questions, to which the answers were very satisfactory. The lady good-humoredly expressed her approval, and I said, 'Now, madam, you see that all that was the matter was, that poor Peter, being a little confused, put his questions in a clumsy manner. Depend upon it, he will not soon do the like again.'"

Questions should be progressive, that is, they should proceed from the simple and the known to the faintly known, and thence to the unknown.