Parvus Jacobus, or Footprints of a Teacher [pp. 412-415]

Parvus Jacobus, or Footprints of a Teacher.
but I must say of that I had no experi ence the two and a half years it was Un- a
der my charge. Though there was no
case of such tender feelings as were expressed by this little boy, there was none
of perversity. Gathered as the school
was from narrow limits, the instances of
manliness and propriety were remarkably
numerous. When unexpected circumstances removed me from the village, I
parted from my school with sorrow. I
knew this little boy loved me, but had no
idea of the depth and abiding nature of
his fondness, and I must say that when- t
ever I meet with the pupils of those two
and a half years-and I meet them in all
departments of life, in domestic scenes, in
mechanical arts, in trade, in professional
life, in the halls of legislation and on the
bench-lI meet a fSiend.
Iorse,
again
1 felt
little
mat dnd in
eerful
pula at an
of all
bligarofess —all
e, not
oups.
~stion
~s Jarayer
e sal
assed
le int that
d the
liable
?e, as
ving
ers of
on to
Our interview was cut short on account
of the long ride before, but the effects of
it followed me. I rode the whole day
alone, and the events and providences of
twenty years called up bythe young man's
words and looks, crowded upon me and
filled my heart and imagination. Memo ry poured forth her stores, recollection ar ranged them, and imagination clothed
them with the vividness of life.
I had gone to reside in that village in
the spring of 1822, and there had made
my first trial of a large academy and of
housekeeping: there my eldest child first
smiled upon me; there I had been per mitted of the Lord to gather a little church
on the avowed principles of the Westmin ster Confession of Faith, some of whose
members still remain, but most have entered the spiritual world and are with
their Redeemer; there a Bible class sowed seed, the fruit of which remains to this
day; there too I taught a great company
of children who are now the acting generation. All these events, with their attending circumstances, were marshalled
as in a panorama on which the sun is
pouring its brightest rays. Over some
tears flowed, others filled my heart with
joy. I saw again the solemn procession,
heard the sobs, the groans, the cries of
parents, lover, kindred and children of
the school, as we buried one of our schol
Iowv much then is in a name! It may
carry joy or sorrow —inspire the soul with
desires of excellence, or depress it to
meanness as it is associated in the mind
of the bearer with kindness and purity,
or wrath and disgrace. Ilad some unkind
or disgraceful name been given to that
little boy, who can tell the event?
Htow indelible are the impressions made
on the memory! She sometimes seems to
lose them, and are we ready to say they
are gone forever. She locks up her stores
and we cannot find an entrance. But in
an unexpected moment the spring is
touched that throws wide open the doors,
and there in order are all the treasures
committed to her care, truth and error,
honorable and dishonorable deeds, follies
414
[JUNE
Christ and hope iii his mercy.
and sins, scenes of sorrow and hours of
joy, she has thorn all ready to give in her
account.
What a thin- memory will be to teacher and scholar in eternity! It is fearful