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"She saw Susan sitting among thl trees upon a log."   p.:6.




SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
IN THE
MOUNTAINS.
WRITTEN FOR THE AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION.
PHILADELPHIA:
AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION,
No. 1122 CHESTNUT STREET.
NEW YORK: 599 BROADWAY.




Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by the
AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania.




PREFACE.
FEW persons who have not considered
the subject particularly, and for a length
of time, have any just conception of the
character and extent of Sunday-school influences. There is a general impression
in their favour, and a readiness to admit
their claims to some share in Christian
sympathy and benevolence; but, to make
their benign effects obvious and striking,
we must look at them in detail. To judge
of their prevailing tendency everywhere,
we must analyze it in some particular
place, or section of country.
We have been kindly favoured with
1*           5




6               PREFACE.
some sketches from a memorandum-book
containing the history and results of a
Sunday-school effort in a neighbourhood
familiar, perhaps, to some of our readers.
It is a very simple narrative of actual
occurrences; nothing is put down for
effect; and so easy and plain does the good
work appear in the review, that one is
almost led to say, "Why, anybody could
do all this!"  And yet if one in a hundred of sober and  intelligent citizens
would really make a like effort in a like
spirit, but a very few years would be required to change the moral and religious
face of our whole land.




CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
THE FIRST EFFORT-OBSTACLES, AND HOW THEY VANISHED-UNEXPECTED SUCCESS............................  9
CHAPTER II.
HOW THE LEAVEN SPREAD-REMARKABLE CASES OF
IGNORANCE-MRS. M. S SELF-DENIAL AND SUCCESS
-A   ROOT  OF  BITTERNESS..................................    17
CHAPTER III.
INCREASE OF SCHOOLS-ATTRACTION OF BOOKS-INTERESTING   INCIDENTS......................................    24
CHAPTER IV.
SCENES REVISITED-INCREASE OF SCHOOLS-A RELIGION THAT DID NOT SERVE FOR A DEATH-BEDTHE   POWER   OF  TRUTH......................................    31
CHAPTER V.
ANOTHER VISIT-CHANGES IN THE INTERIOR-INFLUENCE OF GOOD BOOKS-A HAPPY SAINT............... 45
7




8                  CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI.
PAGE
INTERESTING REPORTS-REMONSTRANCE OF TWO ORPHAN CHILDREN AGAINST CLOSING A SCHOOL-A
SHEPHERD'S STRANGE DESERTION OF THE SHEEP.... 53
CHAPTER VII.
NEW AND EXCITING SCENES-THE BREAKING UP OF A
SCHOOL-GOOD INFLUENCES NEVER LOST.............. 61
CHAPTER VIII.
UNEXPECTED CHANGES-A FAITHFUL LABOURER GOES
HOME-A SENSATION-A BELL CONVENTION........... 75
CHAPTER IX.
THE INROADS OF DEATH-A LITTLE BOY'S GREETING
- A  PRAYERLESS  SOUL......................................    80




SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
IN THE MOUNTAINS.
CHAPTER I.
THE FIRST EFFORT-OBSTACLES, AND HOW THEY VANISHED
-UNEXPECTED SUCCESS.
EARLY in the summer of 1837 an overruling
Providence directed Mr. H. and the writer to
go from the city into the county of Sullivan,
in the State of New York, to reside and do
business for a time in a community of strangers.
Although glad to escape from  the commercial distress and troubles then pervading
the city, we found, on our arriving at the
place which we were to call our home, (for a
few months at least,) that we had left those
9




10           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
things which had constituted our chief enjoyments. Particularly when the first Sabbath came did we observe "an aching void."
Although the place had been settled by an
American community for more than half a
century, still there was no house of God, no
Sunday-school, nor minister of the gospel of
any name or denomination, within ten miles
of our residence.
There was much in the romantic scenery
of the place calculated to lift the heart to God;
but we found that, by almost all, God was forgotten; the Sabbath was openly profaned by
all classes. And how were we pained, on that
first Sunday morning, to see the young men,
with their guns and their fishing-poles, going
off to their sports, and the boys playing ball
before the doors of their houses! We wept
when we remembered Zion and the many
gospel privileges we had left. But we felt
that it was no time to fold our hands. We
resolved to make an immediate effort to establish a Sunday-school.  We went out to visit
the inhabitants, and to lay the subject before
them, and show them the necessity of seeking
first the kingdom of God for themselves and
for their children.




IN THE MOUNTAINS.          11
The people, generally, received us kindly,
and we found but few opposed to the establishment of a Sunday-school, though there was
a general indifference in regard to it.
Late in the afternoon, while crossing a
bridge over the Delaware & Hudson Canal,
four miles from our home, we were met by a
gentleman, (a stranger to us both,) and, calling
one of us by name, he inquired if we were the
men who were talking of commencing a Sunday-school. We replied that we were trying,
and hoped to succeed. He assured us that
there was no possibility of succeeding with it,
on account of the opposition that would be
raised against it. He told us that, some years
before, one or two pious individuals had resided there, and that they attempted to raise
a Sunday-school, but it was never commenced,
because of the determined and open opposition
of a number of the most wealthy and influential persons, who still resided there.
On our way home, while talking of the discouragements in our way, we overtook two
women, and we spoke to them of our intention
to begin a Sunday-school. One of them told
us that her three children and herself and
her husband would come.  We replied that




12           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
if we could depend on three children we would
begin.
We circulated the notice as far as possible
during the week; and the next Sunday morning we met fifteen children and seven grown
persons in the district or public school-house.
The next Sunday after, we had twenty-two
children and nearly as many adults.  This
was a much better beginning than we had expected. But what could we do?-as we were
without the requisite books. The woman who
had given us encouragement to commence
brought a Bible, and one scholar brought a
spelling-book; and these were all, excepting
the few we were able to furnish. A part of
the older scholars recited their lessons very
promptly; but others, we found on inquiry,
could not learn the lessons for want of Bibles
at home. All present behaved with decorum,
and appeared delighted with the school.
At the close we appointed a prayer-meeting
in that place that afternoon; and we were
astonished and rejoiced, as we reached the
house, to find it filled with an attentive congregation. They listened with attention to our
feeble attempt to exhort them to repent and




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           13
believe the gospel.  They appeared hungry
and eager for the word of life.
We immediately addressed a letter to Mr.
F. T. Peet, the superintendent of the Sundayschool we had lately left, describing the interesting field we were beginning to occupy, and
our pressing need of books. On visiting the
city soon after, we were glad to find that the
teachers and scholars had contributed abundantly to relieve our wants.  The Sabbath
when our library was first opened was a day
of great joy to both teachers and scholars.
The house was filled by old and young, and
the utmost eagerness was evinced by all to
partake of the benefits of the Sunday-school
and the valuable library that had been given
them.
A very aged and infirm  lady, who worshipped God, and who had from  the first
walked more than a mile to the Sunday-school
and to the prayer-meetings also, sat with
marks of joy in her countenance as the librarian gave out the books. I put one of them
into her hand, and, as she took it, tears of joy
ran down her furrowed face, and she said to
me,"I have prayed to God a great many years
2




14           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
that he would send something good to this
place; and now I believe it has come."
From this time we had a regular attendance of both children and grown persons, and
no opposition was made in any shape. A few,
who had formerly opposed a Sunday-school,
did not favour us with their presence; and
this was all the mark of disapprobation that
we could discover.
The man who had been the most forward
opposer to every thing like religion, and the
one who had done the most to hinder a school
years before, happened to pass by, one Sunday, at the hour of dismission.  I desired
him to notice the respectable appearance of
our school. He replied that he thought the
Sunday-school a very good thing, and said
that, if it did no other good, it was a good plan
for keeping the children out of idleness and
bad employments on the Sabbath.
Incidents to encourage us in our very feeble
efforts to do good multiplied around us continually. A number of persons became anxious for the salvation of their souls, and the
face of the whole community seemed in a great
degree changed. Formerly it was no uncommon occurrence, we were told, for the young




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           15
people to take a stroll to the school-house on
the Sabbath, and to unite in a dance; but now
all the young attend on the means of grace.
Soon after the Sunday-school commenced, they
had a horse-race one Sunday, and one of our
oldest boys was detained from the school by
his father to ride one of the horses. This was
the last instance of sporting on the Sabbath
that we noticed in the place.
Many of our scholars came a distance of
three and four miles to the Sunday-school.
One of these was a lad, who told me that he
was once a scholar in a Sunday-school in
the city which I had lately left, and I was a
teacher in the same school. He recollected me
as soon as I came into the school. He was a
very exemplary and attentive scholar.
A young lady read one of the books from
our library. It had the effect to cause her to
inquire whether she was prepared to die. She
had before been one of the first to engage in
the dance and parties of pleasure, and her
youthful associates invited her to go to a ball
on the Fourth of July; but she refused to go,
and told the young man who invited her
that she had made up her mind to forsake the
vain things of the world, and to serve the




16           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
Lord. A number of boys, from eight to ten
years old, who could not read when our school
commenced, made astonishing progress in elementary learning.
After the school had continued three months,
the tide of feeling which was apparent when it
commenced became entirely changed, and almost all attended the Sunday-school, and the
prayer-meetings also, and acknowledged the
benefits which they and their families derived
from them.




IN THE MOUNTAINS.            17
CHAPTER  II.
HOW THE LEAVEN SPREAD-REMARKABLE CASES OF IGNORANCE-MRS. M.'S SELF-DENIAL AND SUCCESS-A ROOT
OF BITTERNESS.
AT a neighbourhood four miles from us, a
few Universalists commenced a Sunday-school
of their own, and sent a request to us for
Bibles and Testaments.  They began with a
good number of scholars, and circulated Universalist books among  the  children; but,
although all who sent their children were of
that belief, the school soon fell off in numbers,
and the fourth Sunday found only one teacher
and one scholar (a little coloured boy) in the
school-room.  Thus ended the  attempt to
teach the young, publicly in this place, the
doctrine of universal salvation.
During the summer we made great efforts
to get a number of ministers residing at a distance to come and preach for us; but during
the six months that I remained there, but one
2*




18           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
sermon was preached in our neighbourhood,for which we were thankful. The Rev. Mr.
E., living twelve miles off, came within four
miles, and preached several times during the
summer.
For the first four months we could find
none to assist us in conducting our religious
meetings.  Mr. S. had been a professor of
religion  and  a  church-member, but had
sadly backslidden. Intemperance had nearly
ruined him  in both soul and body; but
he became alarmed, and inquired what he
should do to be saved. He became temperate,
too, and for a number of weeks was overwhelmed with the thought of his sin and
danger, and by deep repentance turned to
God. He took an opportunity at one of our
prayer-meetings to confess his sins, and, with
streaming  eyes, to ask forgiveness of his
neighbours, and afterwards engaged in every
good work.
We had repeated calls from all parts of the
country round about, begging us to come and
commence Sunday-schools; and it grieved us
that we were compelled to refuse their requests. We had, indeed, more to do in our
own neighbourhood than we were able to do.




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           19
The harvest truly was plenteous, but the
labourers were few. In the month of September the writer received a very pressing
invitation from Mrs. M. (residing seven miles
from us) to come and assist her for one Sabbath in her Sunday-school which she had
recently commenced. In the course of a few
weeks, I went.
When two miles from the house of Mr. M.,
I overtook two little girls on their way to the
school; and, as I had never travelled in that
direction before, they did me much service in
showing me the way.  On reaching the house
I found fifteen children present, and one male
and one female teacher.  Mrs. M. came in,
and we soon became acquainted.  I learned
that she had formerly been a teacher in St.
George's Sunday-school in New  York, (of
which the late Dr. Milnor was rector,) and a
co-worker with Mr. P., Mr. T., and others
with whom I am well acquainted.
Mrs. M. had many difficulties to surmount
in getting her school into operation.
Having no books suitable for a Sundayschool, she had sent to New York and purchased them. Still, she had no library; and as
a substitute she lent to her scholars a few




20            SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
numbers of the Youth's Friend and the Sunday-School Journal.*
Mrs. M. told me (to illustrate the great
ignorance of most of her pupils in any thing
relating to religion) that she had said to a
number of the largest boys in the schoolboys from ten to fourteen years of age-that it
was their duty to pray daily to God; and she
learned, by their own confession, that they did
not know what she meant by prayer.  They
had never before been in a house of prayer,
and never had before heard a prayer!
On the next Sabbath I related  to our
children at F. the wants of the school I had
visited, and told them that if they were willing
and desirous to part with forty  of their
library-books to send there, they might express it by rising; and they were all on their
feet in a moment.  Accordingly, the books
were forwarded the same week.
I would here appeal for a moment to those
who have it in their power to become teachers
of the young, but refuse their aid.  Mrs. M.
* Then published by the American Sunday-School
Union. The Sunday-School World and the Child's World
are now published in their stead.




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           21
was surrounded with many cares, she had a
family of very small children, but still she
was willing to assemble the children of her
neighbourhood in her own house, in order to
teach them  the way to heaven.  How will
those acquit themselves in the great day of
the Lord, who, without any thing to hinder
them from this work, are excusing themselves,
while multitudes of children in the city and
in the country are perishing in ignorance?
As the time drew near when I was to leave
the place and return home, I was glad at the
thought of mingling again with those I loved:
yet the idea of leaving the Sunday-school
which had been under my charge, and a
society so endeared to me, was exceedingly
painful. As yet they were as sheep without
a shepherd. No minister of the gospel was
there to counsel the young convert, or to stir
up older Christians to the importance of
living for God.  Mr. H., my partner and
fellow-labourer, was to remain and spend the
winter. Before I went away, we conversed
with the people on the importance of sustaining the preaching of the gospel among them.
They were poor, and unable to support a
minister. Two or three were anxious to pro



22           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
cure the services of some travelling Methodist
minister; and although neither Mr. H. nor
myself were of that denomination, yet we
mutually advised them  to try this means.
But as yet they could not form a society large
enough, according to the rules of that denomination, to secure the services of a minister.
There were then less than twelve Christians
in the region; but the unanimous determination was, that as soon as their strength was
sufficient, they would apply to the Methodist
Conference for help.
Up to this time (November) we had lived
in perfect peace with our neighbours; but now
a root of bitterness sprang up to trouble us.
We had a disagreement with Mr. D., an old
inhabitant of the town, with whom we had
been dealing.  Although conscious on our
part that we had done every thing honestly,
yet it was impossible to convince him, stubborn as he was, that we had done him no
injury.
He was a very profane and wicked man,
and a professed Universalist, and from this
time did much to prejudice the people against
us, and thereby hinder our usefulness. He
came to the prayer-meeting one Sunday after



IN THE MOUNTAINS.            23
noon with the avowed determination to disturb
our worship, and, as he threatened when he
left his home, to tell the congregation that we
were impostors and liars; but he kept his seat
during the service, said nothing, and then left
the house in silence. A few days after, on
meeting me, he swore at me in a most revolting manner; and when I came away and left
that people sorrowing over their destitution,
I felt the most sorrow for Mr. D. He was
the last, thought I, to enter the kingdom of
God.
The next news that I heard from  there
was that this Mr. D., shortly after I went
away, had become alarmed for the welfare of
his soul. For some days his distress in view
of his past life was very great. He submitted
his heart to Christ, and became meek and
humble as a little child. The change in him
was most remarkable.
"Great was the work, his neighbours cried,
And own'd the power divine."
I was exceedingly rejoiced at this display of
God's sovereign grace.




24           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
CHAPTER  III.
INCREASE OF SCHOOLS-ATTRACTION OF BOOKS-INTERESTING INCIDENTS.
IN the spring of 1838  the number of
Christ's followers had so increased that they
formed themselves into a church of twelve
members, and secured the preaching of the
gospel once in two weeks. In the month of
May they celebrated the Lord's Supper for the
first time. That day will be long remembered
by that little band of Christians.  Then it
seemed to that church in the wilderness that
the day-star from on high was visiting them.
The people who had sat in darkness saw a
great light.
During the summer of 1838 the calls from
the neighbouring towns became more and
more urgent that Sunday-schools might be
established among them; and this band of
brethren resolved to do all in their power to




IN THE MOUNTAINS.            25
carry forward the work.  I proposed to them
to forward books as Sunday-schools and families should contribute for the expense of them.
Communications were repeatedly sent to me
for more books.  I visited most of the larger
Sunday-schools in Brooklyn, and presented to
them the wants of that people; and a number
of schools, and also one in New York, contributed very liberally.
Three new schools were started during the
summer in as many different towns, and each
of them was supplied with elementary books,
hymn, question and library books. We learned
that it was indispensable in the formation
of a new school that it be supplied with a
library of good religious books; and we were
careful that none but books of a strictly
moral and religious character were sent. We
learned that families of children would come
cheerfully a very great distance, and learn
their lessons promptly, if they could carry
home with them a good library-book.
And how  changed were the habits, the
morals and character of very many families
as soon as these schools were formed! I have
called upon families on the Sabbath, and, in3




26           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
stead of the idle and wicked profanation of the
day as formerly, I have seen, on entering the
house, every member of the family engaged in
reading.
Many interesting incidents have been related to me in connection with the commencement and progress of these schools.'One relates to a school commenced in the township
of T. One of the teachers of our school
at F, who had been instrumental in starting the school some weeks before their supply
arrived, took with him, on the Sabbath morning, a small stock of books which had just
reached them.  As there were three schools
requiring aid at the same time, he was only
able to take to this school fifteen library-books.
On entering the school he found thirty children;
and he related to them the means that had
been used to procure the books,-that Sundayschool children in Brooklyn had given them,
&c.  ie told me that as he related this to
the children many of them shed tears of joy,
and tihat he scarcely ever saw stronger demonstrations of gladness than on that occasion.
The hour for the school to close being come,
they proceeded to give out the books. But
how were they to proceed? There were thirty




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           27
children, and but fifteen books. So, to make
the distribution as impartial as possible, they
drew a line through the middle of the school,
and all the books were given to those on one
side of the line, and the others were told that
they must wait till the books were returned
on the next Sabbath.  Another package of
books was sent soon after, and they were fully
supplied.
There is reason to rejoice that even so scanty
means of knowledge were sent to that destitute region; yet how painful the thought that
many towns, containing many scores of children, were at the moment destitute of religious
instruction, growing up regardless of the Sabbath, ignorant of the Bible, and "without God
in the world"!
And, strange to say, this destitute population was found within one hundred miles of
the city of New York!  While we are sending out foreign missionaries, (and what Christian heart will not rejoice for every one that
goes?) our own countrymen in the region I
have described are almost as destitute as the
people in many places where our missions are
planted.  It is my hope and prayer that appeals from such quarters will be heard, and




28           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
that the Church will arise to go and preach
Christ to our destitute at home.
There came to our school, one Sunday morning, a very aged woman, of whom  I desire
to make honourable mention.  It was with
great effort that she made this, her only, visit
to us. She was indeed a holy woman. I have
seldom known a person who appeared to live
so near to God as she did. Her log house was
situated about a mile from us, upon the mountain, and for forty years she had inhabited
that lowly dwelling. She was now about to
put off her earthly tabernacle, and she lived
daily with heaven in view.  On her table
might always be seen her Bible and hymnbook,-all the library she had. The former
was generally open, and most of her time was
spent in reading it, and in devout meditation
and prayer.
I was talking with her, one day, upon the
reading of the Scriptures, when she remarked
that it had been her daily practice for about
fifty years to read a number of chapters; and,
in later years, she thought that on an average
she had read about seven chapters in a day;
and " although," said she, "I am more or less
familiar with all parts of the Bible, yet I never




IN THE MOUNTAINS.            29
read a chapter attentively without finding in it
some new beauty or excellency that I had not
discovered before."
Her mind was of a superior order; and,
considering her great age, its faculties were
remarkably  active.  None could  converse
with her on the subject of religion without deriving instruction. Her knowledge of spiritual things was derived almost entirely from
the pure fountain of truth, the word of
God.
A pleasing incident occurred at one of my
visits to her house, that I cannot forbear to
mention. I was sitting in her room near the
front door, when a beautiful deer came bounding across the field, and, leaping into the yard,
drew up cautiously before the door, and, with
head erect, stood and waited for a pittance
that he had learned daily to expect from the
kind old creature within.  I looked at him
with admiration,-when, seeing me approach
the door, he disappeared in a moment.  I
learned that he had been partially tamed by
one of the neighbours.
This devoted Christian woman lived but a
few months after I left the place. She died,
as she had lived, full of faith, and went peace3-*




30             SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
fully to her rest. Just before she died, she
desired her friends to assure me of her happiness in death, and to thank me for a copy of
Baxter's Saint's Rest, that I sent to her after
my return home..~~~~~~~~~~~~~-~ —=~




IN THE MOUNTAINS.            31
CHAPTER IV.
SCENES REVISITED-INCREASE OF SCHOOLS-A RELIGION
THAT DID NOT SERVE FOR A DEATH-BED-THE POWER
OF TRUTH.
IN the autumn of 1838, I revisited the region I have described. The next morning after
my arrival I set forth to visit the inhabitants,
and took a route leading to the house of Mr.
D., the man whose conversion has been already
mentioned.  He received me joyfully.  Seldom, perhaps, were two more glad to meet
each other.  The lion was transformed into
the lamb.  We bowed ourselves together frequently during my stay there, and thanked
the God of grace who had converted him in
his old age.  In all my conversations with
him he appeared the most pleased and interested when talking of his hope in the blessed
Saviour.
I was much refreshed in spirit, at our meetings for prayer and praise, to see a number of




32           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
men now uniting with us who, at my former
stay there, had never attended on such occasions. They had appeared then to be among
the most hardened; now how changed!
Three of these were men who, at the time
of their conversion, could not read a word;
and one of them  was the Mr. D. to whom I
have referred. The other two lived near each
other in a remote part of the town. One of
these last knew a part of the alphabet at the
time of his conversion, and he immediately
applied himself to learn to read. At the time
of my visit he could read a little, and was
teaching his neighbour the alphabet.
These three men came to see me at my
lodgings together, and, during their stay, I
gave each a parcel of tracts. The one who
could read commenced looking over one of the
tracts; the other two put them  into their
pockets, the old man (Mr. D.) remarking, "My
wife will read them to me when I go home."
We made it our business, from the first, to
circulate these as extensively as possible among
that people, and we have reason to believe that
they have done much good.
I was delighted to find the Sunday-school at
F      in successful operation, as were also




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           33
the other schools we had established, so far as
I could learn. A new and flourishing Sundayschool was organized in that very schoolhouse where the Universalist school had been
opened and failed.
During the summer of 1839 I was desired to
furnish books for a new school in the large
township of M. This place had been for
many years before an awfully wicked place.
Up to within a few months of the time when
the Sunday-school commenced, there was not
one professor of religion in that section of the
town, comprising about twenty families.  The
Sunday-school, as I shall proceed to show, has
proved a most signal blssing.
I was called on, in town, by Mr. R., of that
place, early in the summer of 1841.  He said
that he had come to the city to tell me of the
great benefit that he and his neighbours had
derived from  the Sunday-school; that the
aspect of things in his neighbourhood was altogether changed, and that six men, with their
wives, and six other individuals, making eighteen in all, had professed religion, and gave
good evidence of a change of heart. He invited me earnestly to visit them.  "If you
come," said he, "come to my house, and make




34           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
it your home.  I am ignorant, and have but
lately learned that I am going to the judgment; and I wish you to instruct me; for I
feel that I need a great preparation for that
day."
I said to him, " Mr. Reeves, will you tell
me how it was that when all the people around
you were living in sin, and careless about their
souls, you began to think about your own salvation?"
Said he, "I will tell you. My father, like
all the people around us, was a Universalist,
or rather he had no religion. He said, whenever the subject was mentioned,' We are all
going to heaven.  HIll, in the Bible, means
the grave.'  So we-the children-were all
brought up to believe the same thing.  We
cared nothing for the Sabbath. It was a general holiday.  The Bible was seldom seen or
read; and all our neighbours lived very much
as we did. Drunkenness had become dreadful
in our neighbourhood and all about us, and it
had been so for a long time."
He continued, " My father was on his deathbed, and the day he died he said to me, as I
was standing beside his bed,'John, I cannot
die so!' I asked him what he meant; and he




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           35
repeated,'John, I cannot die so!' My father
went on to say,'I have called myself a Universalist, and I have brought you up to think
the same thing; but, I tell you, I am not fit
for heaven; I have no fitness for heaven.  It
was all a delusion. There is no such thing.
John, pray for me. Do pray for me!' I said
to him,' I can't pray for you, father. I can't
pray for myself.'"
And said he, " My father prayed as long as
his breath lasted, and died; and, after my father's death, I said to myself,'If my father
could not die in the Universalist's belief, certainly I cannot.' And this feeling increased.
There was nobody that I could speak to about
my distress of mind, and it kept on and increased as I kept on thinking of my father's
death; and I went out into the woods back of
my house, and I kneeled down by the side of a
big log, and I prayed to God for mercy, and I
kept on praying, I don't know how long. But
I felt, before I stopped praying, that Jesus had
forgiven me all my sins. I felt happy; I felt
light. I came out of the woods feeling very
different from  what I did when I went in.
And I have hoped ever since that my sins are
forgiven. I have many doubts and fears, but




36           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
I have hope. When I found peace, there was
but one other in all our section who felt as I
did, and that was Mr. Moore,-a mile off.
"After you sent us the Sunday-school books,
as there was no other man to take charge of
the Sunday-school, I had to be the superintendent; but I knew nothing about Sundayschools, and there was none to teach me.. I
have done the best I could. If you will come
and teach us one Sunday, you will do us
good."
Such was the simple story of the honest
backwoodsman; and hard is the heart that
could hear it unmoved. We had never met
before, but I have since learned to love him as
a brother for his meekness and good works.
He was a faithful worker there for about three
years, and then removed to the West.
I visited that section of country a few months
after, and, according to the request of Mr. R.,
made my home at his house. I had never been
in that town before. I visited nearly all the
families connected with the Sunday-school, and
often found cause for devout thankfulness to
God while talking with the woodman of the
forest, with the farmer in the field, and in the
family circle; to hear the aged with gray hairs,




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           37
and the middle-aged, and the young, rejoicing
in the blessed hope that they had recently
found the Saviour precious to their souls.
Mr. M. was the first convert in this place.
A few months before, he with his wife went
to F. to attend the prayer-meeting on Sunday
afternoon, which had been continued since
Mr. H. and myself first commenced it. Here
Mr. M. was convinced of sin, and went home
deeply affected, and not many days after found
peace in believing. His wife also soon gave
her heart to God.  With this family I was
truly refreshed.
I will mention but one other instance of
conversion in this place, as it was related to
me by the individual himself in part, and more
in detail by his neighbours, showing conclusively in this instance that " the word of God
is quick and powerful."  Mr. G. had long been
a prominent man in the place. He was a Universalist, and a most violent opposer of religion. A few months previous to the commencement of the Sunday-school, a prayer-meeting
was appointed in their school-house by a young
student who was spending a vacation about
ten miles off. After the meeting had assembiled, Mr'. G. came in, and tl told the people that,
4




38             SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
as he was the committee in charge of the schoolhouse, he should not suffer the congregation
to remain there, and peremptorily forbade the
use of the house; and the meeting was broken
up at its commencement.*
But God had mercy on Mr. G.  When the
Sunday-school commenced, his children were
suffered to attend. After a few Sundays he
had the curiosity to follow his children to see
what he had never seen,-A SUNDAY-SCHOOL.
He sat down beside his own little girls and
listened as they repeated their lessons from
the Bible. The truth of God from the mouths
of his own children awakened him  to a sense
of his awful sinfulness, and he retired to his
house deeply affected.  The next morning his
sense of guilt and danger was so great that,
instead of going to his farm, he resolved to
inquire what he should do to be saved. For
this purpose he walked four miles from his
house to see Mr. P., the superintendent of the
* This circumstance was related to me, very soon after
it occurred, by the student himself, as he returned to
New York to finish his studies preparatory to the ministry. His name is —  Otis, formerly of Otisville, Orange
co., N.Y., since settled in the ministry in New Jersey.




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           39
Sunday-school, who was at work alone in the
woods. As Mr. G. came near to the superintendent, he said to him, "I have come to
ask you to tell me something that I know
nothing about." Here his feelings choked his
utterance.  He made several attempts to
speak, but could say no more.  He wept
like a child.  Mr. P. invited him  to his
house, and began to instruct him in the first
principles of the doctrine of Christ.  He
continued with  Mr. P. through  the d.ay,
and until twelve o'clock at night, listening
most attentively as his spiritual teacher unfolded to him  the "way, the truth and the
life."
From that day Mr. G. was a changed man.
His habits of profaneness, intemperance and
Sabbath-breaking were now  entirely abandoned.  He immediately became a teacher in
the Sunday-school; and there I met him, on
the Sabbath I spent there, teaching a large
class of boys that religion he had so long despised. I had several interviews with him
while I was there.  When he spoke of the
Sunday-school, he wanted words to express his
gratitude for what it had done for him and
for his neighbours.  We indeed took sweet




40              SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
counsel together, and he is " to me a brother
beloved."
I found their Sunday-school in a flourishing
condition, well provided with pious teachers,
male and female. Their superintendent (Mr.
S.) was formerly a teacher in our Sundayschool at F. Their school-house was a small
log building, with but one small window with
four panes of glass; no chimney, but a large
hole in the roof to let out the smoke.
Since my visit, they have built a large and
commodious frame building for the Sundayschool and for religious meetings. One class
in their school particularly elicited my sympathies.  It was composed entirely  of aged
men, none of whom, as I was told, were able
to read. They have never learned. Another
class consisted of men from twenty to forty
years of age.*
On leaving this place, I felt, after all I had
heard and seen  there, that there was much
* We beg to commend to the attention of those who
are called to teach the art of reading (especially to
adults) the "word-method," as it is called, and which is
adopted in the " BibleReader" published by the American
Sunday-School Union. As a means of saving time and
labour and patience, it will be found invaluable.




IN THE MOUNTAINS.            41
cause for both joy and sorrow,-joy to think
that God had so mercifully blessed the Sunday-school to the spiritual benefit of so many
souls, and sorrow at the reflection that these
young and ignorant disciples had no minister
of the gospel rightly to divide to them the
word of life.  Still, it is a blessed reflection that the good Shepherd who has hitherto
led them is still able to guide and protect
the sheep, and to carry the lambs in his
bosom.
Leaving this place, I went to F., where our
work began, to visit that people whose spiritual
interest ought ever to lie near my heart. On
the evening of my reaching there (notice having been previously given) I attended a crowded
meeting in the school-house where our first
Sunday-school efforts in that region were commenced.  Through much bodily indisposition
I spoke to the people on the concerns of the
soul.
Mr. D., the aged convert whom I have mentioned frequently before, sent me his regards
by his son, regretting that he was not able
(on account of lameness) to attend the meeting. I found here new cause for grief. Their
Sunday-school had been discontinued during
4-*




42           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
the summer, and for many months no minister
had visited them.  Early in the spring, when
the Neversink River broke up, the flood carried
away an  establishment for manufacturing
blocks of stone for paving streets; consequently, a number of families had removed,
and all the Sunday-school teachers, with one
exception, (a female,) were scattered abroad.
Among the number was Mr. S., their former
superintendent, who is now the superintendent
at M. Nearly all the children who were still
living there were at our evening meeting; and
it was a painful thought, as they gathered
around me with their parents to shake my
hand, that they were then situated very much
as they were before any Sunday-school was
established among them.  No man was living
there who cared for their souls. I had intended to visit all the families in that section,
but in my feeble health felt it my duty the
next morning to set out for home.  After
walking my horse to the next town, I called
at the house of Mr. M., where I mentioned
having visited in 1837 a Sunday-school conducted by Mrs. MI. They constrained me to
remain with them a few days. By their care
and attention,-for which I shall ever feel




IN THE MOUNTAINS.            43
grateful,-I was restored, and, after attending
a meeting for prayer and exhortation, they
brought me on my way.
I omitted to state in the proper place that
Mr. J. N. Hildreth, who was my partner and
fellow-labourer at F. in our first Sundayschool, removed to Brooklyn in 1839.
His health failing, he was obliged to give
up his business there, and leave that little
band of Christians to whom he had become
endeared  by a two-years residence among
them.  He was a devoted Christian, the faithful superintendent of their Sunday-school.
They felt keenly his loss, and not only that,
but the loss of his wife, who was a kind neighbour and an affectionate friend.
It was apparent when Mr. H. first arrived
among us that his days were nearly numbered.
He was visited by many of his fellow-disciples,
-the members of the First Presbyterian
Church, of which he had been for about eight
years a consistent and active member.  It
was a privilege to visit him. His faith was
strong; he was cheerful in prospect of the
bright inheritance upon which he was soon to
enter.
He said to me, a few days before his death,




44            SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
that he desired me to be with him whenever
he should die. That desire being mutual, I
was sent for one morning before daylight.
He said to me, "I sent for you, for the time
has come."  He could only speak a few words
at intervals,-such  as, "Jesus is precious!
Almost gone!" His last words were, " Sands'most run!" and, placing his hands in mine, he
fell asleep. As from time to time I have visited
that region of our former labours, Mr. Hildreth and his good works are often spoken of.
__A~'~ -V  ~'
w, NVA




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           45
CHAPTER V.
ANOTHER VISIT-CHANGES IN THE INTERIOR-INFLUENCE
OF GOOD BOOKS-A HAPPY SAINT.
HAVING made another tour to the section
of country I have previously described, I will
mention some incidents that I met with during
my visit. It was on Saturday afternoon that
I arrived at the town of M., and proceeded to
the house of my friend Mr. R., now the superintendent of their Sunday-school.
I was told immediately that Mr. M., a
minister of the Methodist denomination, was
expected there that afternoon to preach in
their school-house. For three years they had
been striving in various ways to procure the
preaching of the gospel, and an arrangement
had lately been made for this minister (who
lives sixteen miles off) to preach on Saturday afternoon once in two weeks. They had
endeavoured to procure the services of this




46           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
minister on Sunday  instead of Saturday,
which was a very unpropitious day on various
accounts, but, as his engagements would not
allow of that, they were glad to have him
come to them at any time that suited his convenience. At the appointed hour we repaired
to the school-house, where were assembled
most of the people of all ages in the neighbourhood.  The sermon was listened to with
marked attention. It was the first they had
heard for many months. They felt that it
was a new era in their history, and they told
me at the close of the service that it was their
determination to do all in their power to make
the services of the minister a blessing to their
neighbourhood.
As he mounted his horse and rode up the
mountain on his way to the next town, (to
preach there also,) I felt inclined to say to
those around me, in the words of Holy Scripture, "How beautiful upon the mountains are
the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that
publisheth peace!"  On Sunday morning I
met their Sunday-school.
Their number had more than doubled since
I was there before. (There were about eighty
persons present.) Instead of the little log




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           47
cabin, they were in a commodious school-house,
which was well filled. Their school was in a
most flourishing condition, and both teachers
and scholars had greatly improved since my
former visit.  Mr. G., whose conversion I
have before mentioned, (who was awakened
by hearing his two little girls repeat their
lessons,) was still most ardently devoted to
his work as a teacher. I had learned shortly
before my last visit that previous to his conversion he had no Bible in his family, and
that after his conversion he obtained from the
package of books we sent them a mutilated
copy of the Bible, which (being a poor man)
was all that he had been able to obtain. I
accordingly had the pleasure of presenting
him  with  a Bible  after the  school had
closed.
My visit to this school, and indeed all
my intercourse with that people, was most
gratifying. I found those Christian brethren
(numbering now about twenty) united harmoniously not only in the Sunday-school, but
also in distributing tracts and doing good to
their ungodly neighbours.
Immediately after the close of the school
the superintendent accompanied me to the




48           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
town of D., in Orange county, to visit the
school that Mrs. M. had commenced in 1837.
Mrs. M. had removed, and the school had
been discontinued for two seasons previous.
I supplied this school with an assortment
of books which were furnished by two Sundayschools in New York. I felt, as we returned
at night, that some good had been done that.
day. The scholars and teachers and numerous visitors at both these schools had listened
with seriousness, and some of them with tears,
to our feeble attempts to lead them to the
Saviour.
The next day was spent in visiting the
families in a distant section of the town, whom
I had not seen before. Accompanied by one
of the boys of the Sunday-school as a guide,
I visited during the day nine families. Almost
every person I saw I had seen the Sunday
morning  previous at the  Sunday-school.
These families are scattered widely apart,
over the roughest mountain I had ever seen
inhabited.  Seven out of the nine families
live in log houses. Although this was a tiresome day for the body, I felt, on returning at
night, that I had renewed my strength,-that
it had been a day of spiritual benefit. In




IN THE MOUNTAINS.          49
these lowly dwellings I met sometimes with
an humble follower of Christ, and sometimes
a soul seeking after the pearl of great price.
In almost every house the family was called
together, and I was requested to pray with
them.  I found none to dispute or cavil
upon the great doctrines of the gospel,although until the Sunday-school was commenced they had been generally deluded by
Universalism.
In almost every house I found one or more
books from their Sunday-school library. On
opening some of them I found occasionally
written on a blank-leaf the name of some old
acquaintance among our scholars at B. who
were the former owners of the books.
Several families mentioned to me the great
good that had been effected by two temperance
volumes. They had been read and re-read by
almost every family in that region, and the
result had been to banish intemperance almost
totally from that quarter. I was told that at
that time they were fifteen miles off in a
course of active circulation. I might go on
to enumerate facts showing the good that has
been done by this simple and cheap instrumentality in those four towns where Sunday5




50           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
schools have been established.  Would to
God that Christians in our cities-those who
love to do good,-knew  and felt the vast
importance of disseminating among the youthful population of our own neighbourhoods
the blessings that flow from Sunday-schools!
To me this subject is so important that
I have no words wherewith to express my
feelings.
After concluding my visits in this town, I
proceeded to visit the people at F. I had
learned that Mrs. B., the woman who first
gave us encouragement to begin a Sundayschool there in 1837, was very sick. I went
immediately to see her.  She was very low
with consumption, but glad to see me. Her
hope of heaven was bright, and she was waiting patiently till her change should come. I
remarked to her that one situated as she
was required much patience and resignation.
She replied that "she was thankful, that she
felt completely resigned to the will of God,
and that during the many months of her sickness she had not for a moment doubted her
acceptance nor felt impatient under her sufferings."  For the last few years she has been a
devoted, praying, happy Christian.  While




IN THE MOUNTAINS.            51
the Sunday-school continued there, she was a
laborious, devoted teacher. After conversing
some time with her and uniting in prayer, I
left her, promising if possible to see her
again before I left the place; and I was thankful for the privilege of seeing her again, for
the last time, the day I started for home.
I approached her house, as before, by a
winding footpath that led up through the
wood from the main road.  It was a lowly
habitation, built of logs high up the mountain,
in the centre of a "clearing" of two or three
acres; and when within the enclosure I could
see nothing around me but the vast forests of
Sullivan county. As I approached the house
of this dying Christian woman, I felt it to be
a time fitted for reflection. Not a sound could
be heard but the song of the forest-bird.  I
thought, How vain is all the glitter of this
world! " Happy saint," I said, "soon to exchange thy humble dwelling for a house not
made with hands!"
Mr. B. met me in the garden and welcomed
me in.  Mrs. B. was very much as when I
saw her before.  All was peace.  We communed together of those things that God hath
prepared for them that love him. Again we




52            SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
prayed, feeling that it was our last prayer together, and we took the parting hand, assured
that we should meet no more till the judgmentday.  A few weeks after my return I heard
of her death.
A,}  L1t  ~.11,(..  O1L




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           53
CHAPTER VI.
INTERESTING REPORTS-REMONSTRANCE OF TWO ORPHAN
CHILDREN AGAINST CLOSING A SCHOOL-A SHEPHERD'S
STRANGE DESERTION OF THE SHEEP.
IT was my purpose when I last visited Sullivan county to have gone again the next season; but other engagements and circumstances
prevented,-though I have corresponded with
them, and often heard from them.
An effort was made when I was there in
1843 to commence a school at C., a small
settlement on the border of Orange county. I
talked with a pious woman who was anxious
to have a Sunday-school there; but she assured
me that there was no man there who felt any
interest in the matter. Still, she engaged that
another season they would try to have a
school. She came the past summer and put
into my hands a small sum of money that she
and two other women had collected for the
purpose of buying books for their new school.
5,




54            SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
This, with a contribution from our own school,
furnished them with a good library.
A letter received from one of the teachers
of this school, dated November 30, 1844,
says,
"The children have been pretty regular in
their attendance through the summer and fall.
About thirty have generally attended. The
children, in fact, have been more punctual in
their attendance than the teachers, in which
we have been sadly deficient, and most of
those we had were not professors of religion.
We have had an excellent librarian, and he
was punctual in his attendance.  Our books
have not been injured at all,-at least not more
than the natural wear of them. Not one has
been lost or left out. Our school closed last
Sunday for the winter."
She continues:" Your object in trying to have a missionary sent out here to this neglected part of the
country, if successful, I am confident would
result in great good. I do not know of any
place where a self-denying missionary of the
cross is needed more, or where religion is
more disregarded and despised than it is here.
You have the sincere prayers of my husband




IN THE MOUNTAINS.            55
and myself that your efforts may be signally
blessed."
I have-also just received a report of the
school at M, written by Mr. G., the
teacher before mentioned. The superintendent,
Mr. R., has given me also a most gratifying
account of the progress of the school the past
summer.  When cold weather came, it was
thought best, as in former years, to discontinue the school during the winter. When
this was announced, part of the  scholars
strongly remonstrated, and urged that the
school might be continued through the winter; but, on account of the great distance at
which many of the children lived from  the
school-house, it was finally agreed that the
school should be discontinued.
Two children, Charles and Susan A, a
brother and sister, who are orphans, about
nine and twelve years old, who have been
adopted by their uncle, were the first to urge
that the school might be continued.  "Although," said they, "we live almost as far as
any from the school, yet if it is kept open we
will always come."  Charles has learned and
recited, during the past summer, the entire
Gospel of Matthew, and his sister has recited




56           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
an equal amount, and no promise of reward in
any way was offered them.  The superintendent informs me that one Sabbath they
were kept at home for some reason until near
sundown, when they came to his house (which
is a greater distance than to the school-house)
to recite their lessons! It seemed mysterious
how they found time to learn so much. Charles
worked on the farm  during the week, and
Susan went to school. But the wife of the superintendent discovered one day how Susan found
time to learn the Sunday-school lessons. She
(Mrs. R.) was walking to the house of a neighbour, and, passing the school-house during the
noon intermission, she saw the children playing as usual on the green; and, going on, she
passed by a grove of trees, when she heard,
indistinctly, a voice, and, drawing up to the
edge of the grove, she saw Susan sitting among
the trees upon a log, with the Bible open before her, and, listening, heard her read and
repeat her Sunday-school lesson.
The teachers of that school are encouraged
by the belief that the seed which has been
sown there in the minds of the children has
already taken root in their hearts. The superintendent informs me that Mr. G. has invited




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           57
all the children in his neighbourhood, including the two orphans, to come to Sunday-school
in his house every Sabbath during the present
winter, and I learn that he has a class of about
twelve children who attend. Thus it is that
he who was once a persecutor and a blasphemer, having himself obtained mercy, is now
teaching that religion that he once endeavoured
to destroy.
But, while we rejoice in the continuance and
prosperity of the school in that place, we
lament that our hopes which we entertained
in 1843, that the gospel would continue to be
preached there, have been disappointed.
The minister who commenced preaching
there at the time of my visit came but a few
times afterwards; and since then they have
been left, as before, without any stated preaching, but are occasionally addressed by an
itinerant.
They tell me that their inability to contribute their share towards paying the minister was the reason that he left them. But,
even had he continued to preach as he commenced, how inadequate is such a ministry to
the wants of such a people! He comes at the
hour appointed (if he can) and preaches a




58           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
sermon, and they see him no more until the
next "appointment;" whereas they need him
with them on every Sabbath, and constantly
to "go about" among them, "doing good."
Many cases in point might be mentioned to
show this necessity; but one will suffice.
About six weeks after my last visit at M,
a boy of their school, about fourteen years old,
a thoughtful and interesting lad, (who came to
the house where I stayed to see me, and whose
parents I visited,) was taken sick, and died
after a short illness. At the time appointed
for his funeral, the neighbours, and the teachers and children of the Sunday-school, met;
but there was no minister there to console the
afflicted, and improve the occasion in warning
and exhortation to the living!
I have heard indirectly, of late, from one
other Sunday-school, situated about twenty
miles from the school at M, which was
started  and furnished with  a library by
our school in B      three years ago.  It
has been kept up with a good degree of
interest the past season, and has been, since
its formation, of incalculable benefit to the
benighted  neighbourhood  in  which  it is
situated.




IN THE MOUNTAINS.          59
A summary of the schools mentioned in the
foregoing account is as follows:-Eight Sunday-schools in all have been established, and
each of them has been furnished, in whole or
in part, with a library, &c., from the Sundayschool with which the writer is connected in
the city of Brooklyn.
Three of them  have been discontinued,
broken up and scattered,-and, in every case,
for the want of teachers to conduct them;
two schools have been merged in one; and
three have been sustained thus far, and, judging from the faithfulness and zeal of their
superintendents and teachers, it is hoped and
believed they will still be continued.
The writer of the present narrative has had
two objects in view. The first was, at the
time it was commenced, in 1838, to refresh
his own mind with the facts. The second and
chief object in continuing them has been to
awaken the attention of the few ministers of
the gospel and the few private Christians
who may be induced to read these facts, to the
great spiritual destitution of sections of country lying near them.
For years that people have depended upon
the writer, and many times urged him to let




60           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
their wants be known. His hope and prayer
is, that while the Church endeavours to obey
the last command of Christ, and preaches the
gospel in foreign lands, she will, by all means,
preach it also to our own people.




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           61
CHAPTER VII.
NEW AND EXCITING SCENES-THE BREAKING UP OF A
SCHOOL-GOOD INFLUENCES NEVER LOST.
FIFTEEN years have passed since I commenced this narrative,-during which I have
made those Sunday-schools several visits, and
kept up a correspondence with them; and having, from time to time, taken " some notes by
the way," perhaps some interest may be felt
in tracing the ways of God which he takes to
build up Zion by the means of the Sundayschool.  But I shall be asked, Where are
the "mountains" that you are going to tell
us about in which these Sunday-schools are?
They are in the counties of Sullivan and
Orange, in the State of New York.  The
reader will remember that the first of these
Sunday-schools was begun in the month of
May, 1837.  In the course of three or four
years, eight Sunday-schools were planted in
6




62            SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
sections where they had never been known
before, and were all supplied with libraries
and necessary apparatus.  During the first
twenty-two years, there was great difficulty
in sustaining each one of them.  The chief
obstacle has been the want of the one man or
the one woman to take the superintendence.
Let it be remembered that all these schools
were in places where there was no minister of
the gospel to oversee and sustain them. One
was continued several summers in a barn; one
in a log school-house, with only four panes of
six-by-eight glass; one in a farm-house; and
others in district school-houses. With regard
to the success of each one of them, hope and
fear have alternately  predominated.  One
school and another has failed, and been closed
for a season, purely for want (as I have said)
of a superintendent or of teachers to sustain
them; but after a time they have been revived.  Then again, in another place, some
new effort has been more successful.  Some
of them  were twenty miles apart, scattered
over a region rough, mountainous and rugged
in the extreme. Generally from three to six
of these schools have, at all times, been in existence.




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           63
During the year 1846, the writer heard of
Mr. William Littell, then living in the city of
New York, as being an excellent Sundayschool man, a member and worker of St.
Stephen's Church and Sunday-school, and who
was then about to remove and settle upon a
farm that he had purchased some four miles
from two of our schools.
Calling upon Mr. L., I gave him some account of the varied success and discouragements that had attended the work there, and
pointed out to him the peculiarities of each
location.  He was enlisted at once, and engaged to do all in his power in saving the
precious souls that were scattered over that
vast region of moral darkness.
During the first two years of his stay there,
he superintended three of the schools that
were nearest to his residence. One was four
miles in one direction from him, another was
about the same distance the other way, and
the other was eight miles off. He laboured
hard, and God blessed him, as he told me
from time to time, in his work of love, as in
weariness and painfulness he thus went about
to do his Master's work.  But his strength
failed; and the third year he left his farm,




64           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
and went to Cuddebackville, where one of
these schools was, and, with undiminished
zeal, for ten years he laboured there to build
up Zion.
During the year 1852, Mr. Littell, with a
few like-minded with himself, began the effort
to build a church there; and by strenuous
efforts, seconded by men of property and influence, the church was completed in the year
1854.
For a period of six years I made no visits
to these Sunday-schools, having in 1849 gone
to reside in Northern Massachusetts.  But
having at length returned to the city of
Brooklyn, and being again connected with the
faithful Sunday-school teachers and the associations of former years, I once more (1856)
paid a visit to the mountains. I am about to
give some brief account of the journey. But
first I would premise that my way to that
region previously had been by the slow process of the steamboat by the way of Newburg,
and the following day by stage, some fortyfive miles. But in the visit now to be described a few hours' ride by the New York
& Erie Railroad finds me at Otisville; and
from thence a walk of three miles down the




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           65
Shawangunk Mountain brings me to the hospitable dwelling of my friend Mr. Littell.
But what did I see on my way down that
steep descent that I had never seen before?.
It was the church before alluded to.'How
shall I describe it? I was far up the mountain when I first came in sight of it. The
sun had just begun to go down behind the opposite western mountain, and to leave in alternate
light and shade all the beautiful vale below.
Still, it shone brightly upon the church, with
its snow-white exterior, its tasteful cupola and
green window-blinds, and upon the elevation,
the grassy mound, on which it stood. That
church was to my eyes one of the most interesting sights that I had ever looked upon.
In a few moments my mind ran over the experiences of the past nineteen years among that
people, the struggles to keep alive the feeble
Sunday-school, which was the pioneer of the
church.  " See," said I, " how near it stands
to that bridge where the Universalist met us
in the month of May, 1837, and gave us some
friendly advice,-inquiring if we were the
Sunday-school men, telling us that every effort
to start a Sunday-school in that region must
fail, because of the open and determined opposi6*




66           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
tion that would certainly be raised against it.
Here, too, it was that a few Universalists, that
same year, commenced a Sunday-school, which
lasted but a few Sabbaths. Here, too, it was
that a faithful Christian lady started the Sunday-school which still lives to bless the whole
region round. There, near the church, stands
the house in which she lived."
A walk of two miles more brought me to
the pleasant home of my friend Mr. Littell,
which "joined hard" to the church.
After tea, Mr. L. proposed a walk to the
parsonage, where I was introduced to their
excellent pastor, the Rev. Henry Morris, his
wife, and several daughters. Mr. M. had been
settled about two years, and was the first
minister of the gospel that had ever been located in that region.
The next day was the Sabbath; and a bright
and lovely Sabbath it was. We met the Sunday-school at nine o'clock in the morning, and
had a session of an hour and a half in their
new and commodious school-room  near the
church.  The venerable pastor came in, and
showed a lively interest in the affairs of the
school.  Mrs. M., his wife, and one of their
daughters, were teachers.  The school was




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6          i           1~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~5~ ~ ~ ~~~!1/l! tjll lit~I
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i''~', it''",~ ~                    ~U'it~ ~,11t,~,,,,,!~  ~~~i
cD~~~~~~~~~~~~',,~~t, "i~I,
F~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!''''",,,,'1~








IN THE MOUNTAINS.           67
composed of about twelve teachers and seventy
scholars. All was conducted with great propriety and order.  It was evident that the
work was not a new thing to Mr. L., the superintendent.  I felt it good to be there. It was
a privilege indeed to speak to them of the way
by which the Good Shepherd had hitherto led
them, and to encourage them to labour on in
hope.
At half-past ten o'clock the school walked
in order into the church, which was well filled
with an attentive congregation.  The choir
was composed of about twenty, who were almost all either teachers or scholars in the
Sunday-school; and seldom have I heard a
choir in the country sing with better taste.
The inner part of the church compares favourably with the outer part.  It is tastefully
painted throughout, the aisles carpeted, every
thing neat and in order, and all paid for.
Soon after the morning service Mr. Littell
accompanied me to the "Fallbrook" schoolhouse, four miles off, the place where our first
effort was made,-our first Sunday-school in
1837. We met a goodly number of persons,
both old and young; but it was not the Sunday-school.  I was grieved that no Sunday



68           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
school had been there during that season. On
inquiring the cause of its suspension, I learned
that an enemy had done it. For about a year
there had not been a man in that vicinity
who could be persuaded to take charge of the
school; but the year previous, the children
being most anxious to have the school continued, they applied to one man, and then another; but no man cared enough for their
souls: none could be found for superintendent.  They then applied to some women of
the neighbourhood, and were more successful.
Two married ladies were persuaded to undertake it, and, until near winter, had continued it.
I endeavoured at this meeting to persuade
all who heard me to seek first the kingdom
of God, and also spoke of the importance of
reviving and sustaining the Sunday-school.
Two men, at the close of the meeting, gave
us some assurance that the school should be
resumed.  Soon after we left the place a
thunder-shower compelled us to stop at the
house of Mr. C., whose wife was one of the
ladies referred to as having sustained the
school for most of the previous year. Mrs. C.,
who had attended the meeting, soon followed




~unbancrdools tn thJe  lountaills.
1N
~-~
~~ ~~~7
-,-.', chl Houe atXFall Brook           p
~chool House at Fall Brook.        p. 67.








IN THE MOUNTAINS.           69
us to her home, and she related to us some of
her difficulties, and why she and her companion felt compelled to give up the charge.
She said that after the school had been continued for some months, and they were congratulating themselves that some good was
done to the children and young people who
came regularly for instruction, there came in
some evil-minded young men, enemies of all
righteousness, and raised a disturbance and an
uproar. These evil practices being continued,
the ladies were compelled, much to their grief,
to abandon their work.  The children expressed the greatest grief when they were
thus forced to give up their attendance on the
Sunday-school, which they had learned to
prize so highly.
Mrs. C. wept much while giving us this recital, and added that neither the other lady
nor herself had felt themselves at all qualified
for the work, as they did not consider themselves to be Christians.  "As for myself,"
said Mrs. C., "I have felt a great concern for
my soul for many years; and while I was
teaching those children my anxiety increased,
and now it is greater than it was ever before."
Feeling thus anxious for her own soul, she




70            SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
had also learned to feel for the souls of others.
She was fearful that, after teaching others the
way of life, she herself would be a castaway.
I told her that there was abundant evidence
that it was her duty to teach others, from the
fact that her own mind had thus been led to
seek the Saviour for herself.
On Monday I visited Mr. G., at a village
six miles down the canal.  It was my purpose, if possible, to be in the Sunday-school at
this place on the Sabbath; but it was impossible to make an arrangement to enable me to
do so. The Sunday-school here was in active
operation. I went into the school-house,-not
the little, old building that I had formerly
found there, but a new, large and tasteful
building, painted neatly throughout, and well
furnished with missionary maps. I found Mr.
G. was still a zealous worker for Christ, and
active in every good cause.
It was good to find him, who was once a
persecutor and injurious, now endeavouring to
build up that which he had once destroyed.
They had preaching there once in two weeks.
Another Sunday-school, some four miles farther
down the canal, I was unable to visit.
I also visited several families at Fallbrook








6unbap-Scboolg in tfje Ai1ountains.
ffi;  --                      H
Methodist Church at Oakland.      p. 71.




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           71
and Oakland.  Fallbrook, as I have before
said, designates the old school-house where our
first Sunday-school was commenced in 1837.
In almost every family I found some traces of
our first year's work there. Said one woman,
-with several children around her, and busied
with domestic cares, —"I was in Mrs. B.'s
class in your first Sunday-school over there,"
(pointing to the old school-house nearly opposite.) She said that she was sure that the
Sunday-school had been a great blessing to
her, as well as to several others whom she
mentioned.
The afternoon found me at Oakland, the
place where Mr. H. and I had made our home
during our short stay there.
Here my eyes were delighted again with the
sight of their newly-built Methodist church.
And here again my mind reverted to the year
1837. The church stands but a few rods from
the house we occupied, where, on that first
Sabbath morning, we saw the hunters going
up the mountain with hounds and guns to hunt
the deer, and others, going up and down the
Neversink stream, fishing.
Most gladly I now learned that this people
generally repair to God's house, and spend the




72           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
day in his service. Here the pastor, the Rev.
John Blakesley, met me on his return from
his " appointment" at Forestburg, which was
at the last of the previous Sabbath. Mr. B.
is ardently devoted to his work; and work it
is to travel over rough mountains and long
distances to preach to his entire charge.
Mr. B. told me that a few rods from where
our Sunday-school was located (at "Forestburg Centre") in the year 1838, the people
had built a neat little church, which he had
occupied the previous day.  That church I
have not seen. The pastor, as he took me to
his lodgings, said to me, " Come in to see the
family of Mr. C.,"-telling me that there had
been a great change in Mr. C., as well as in
all the household. Formerly, they were indifferent to the interests of religion, but now
they were pillars in his church.  I took
dinner with this family, and was refreshed in
both body and soul.
Mr. W., the enterprising tanner, took me
through his large establishment. To him and
his energy much of the present prosperity of
the place is due. His liberality and efficiency
did much to build and complete the church
that stands near his house.




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           73
Returning to the house of Mr. Littell, I
found a letter from my family, stating that
the alarming sickness of a child must abridge
my stay there; and I accordingly returned
home the next morning. Before leaving there
I learned that there was a desire to procure
a bell for their new church; but, having expended so much for the church, they felt unable
to raise the money.
Ascending the mountain, on my return
home, just as the morning light was streaking
the east, the natural reflection from what I
had seen and heard during my short stay
there was that, on the whole, I had seen
more of moral light and less of moral darkness than at any former visit.  During the
Sabbath I saw nothing of the desecration that
had marked the first few Sabbaths spent there
with my excellent deceased brother, twentyone years before.
The contrast in this respect was striking
indeed. It reminded me of the quiet Sabbaths
of my childhood at my New England home.
I thanked God, with a full heart, for his mercies bestowed upon that people, and especially
that I had been permitted to worship him
there in a temple consecrated to his service.
7




74           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
Another reflection was that that one man,
Mr. Littell, and he of a timid and retiring
disposition, had done a good work for Christ
and his cause. He was the right-hand man
of the pastor, going with him  and attending prayer-meetings throughout the parish,
and assisting him in every good work. It was
apparent that much of the prosperity of the
parish was due, by God's blessing, to the welldirected efforts of Mr. Littell.
-'




IN THE MOUNTAINS.            75
CHAPTER VIII.
UNEXPECTED CHANGES - A FAITHFUL LABOURER GOES
HOME-A SENSATION-A BELL CONVENTION.
AGAIN, in 1859, I am returned from a Sabbath spent among the mountains.
How varied have been the causes of joy and
sorrow as I have from  year to year noted
these visits to these Sunday-schools! During
the year previous, my beloved Christian friend
and brother, Mr. William Littell, had rested
from his labours and gone to his reward.
On a Saturday, towards evening, as the
labours of the week were drawing to a close,
having prepared himself by the study of the
lesson for the approaching Sabbath, and expecting to meet the Sunday-school again as
usual, being a short distance from his home,
he was taken with a fainting sensation, and
was conducted by a neighbour to his house
and to his bed.  The family physician was




76           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
called in, and, after administering some remedies, left him  more comfortable.  Mrs. L.
being alone with him, the kind pastor's wife,
Mrs. M., came in and sat an hour or two with
them; and, as she was leaving, Mr. L. remarked that perhaps his work on earth was
done, and, if so, it was all right, and that he
was ready to go home. Still, there seemed no
reason to think that death was near.  His
most faithful and affectionate wife sat beside
him, and watching what appeared to be a quiet
sleep,-when, at near midnight, suddenly and
almost silently, the lamp of life went out!
The Sunday-school met the next morning.
What was the grief and surprise of that faithful band of teachers, and the, sorrow of the
scholars, for whom he had devoted years of
self-denying labour, to whom he was endeared
by such tender ties,-what were their feelings
when told that he was lying in his house,
close by them, in the embrace of death!
The pastor told me how sorely he felt the
stroke which had so suddenly taken his fellowhelper from his side.
The following day the inhabitants of the
valley and the mountain, from youth to hoary
age, assembled at his burial, and made great




IN THE MOUNTAINS.           77
lamentation over him.  The church met with
one accord to mingle their tears for him who,
long before the pastor was settled over the
church, had gone out and in before them, and
had always acted the part of a good shepherd
to both old and young.
The bereaved and lonely widow, soon after
the death of her husband, returned to her
father's house, the home of her youth.
About two weeks before my visit they had
procured a bell for their church.
It furnished quite an era in their history.
It came into the place upon the deck of a canalboat, and, being hung upon its axle, when it
came within a few miles of its destination it
was rung continually until it reached the village, causing no little sensation and joy to the
whole population.
It was soon elevated to its position in the
church-belfry, and, a few days after, the event
was duly celebrated by (shall I call it?) a bell
convention.  The church was filled, many
coming from the adjoining towns. The oldest
man (Mr. G., a resident of the valley) was
duly "nominated and elected" to ring the bell
for the first time after it was raised; and he
was also appointed to deliver an oration,-which
7*




78            SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
he did, giving a history of past events of especial interest since the first settlement there,
more than a hundred years ago.
On this occasion of my stay there, the kind
pastor took me to his own house, and he and
his family gave me many particulars of the
character, life and death of Mr. Littell.
The following Sabbath found me, at nine
o'clock, in their beloved Sunday-school, now
superintended by Mr. Pierson. My. visit was
unexpected at that time.  The number in
attendance was quite equal to what it was when
I was there before.
While I was speaking to the school, the
"first bell" began to ring for the church-service. It was the first time of my hearing it.
The sound of it was indeed melodious, as it
echoed clearly from mountain to mountain. I
said to the school that next to the harmony
of their sweet voices, as they sang the praises
of Jesus, was the melody of that Sabbathbell; and why? It was the thought that this
was the first Sabbath-bell that had echoed in
that valley since "the morning stars sang
together." I said to them, from a full heart,
that, sweet and silvery as was the sound of the
bell of their church, a thousand times more




IN THE MOUNTAINS.          79
sweet was the sound of the precious gospel
that had been brought to their ears and to
their hearts by their Sunday-school, and by
the church of Christ, which had been planted
among them.
Truly it was a day of joy and gladness. And
when from this point I looked back over the
entire history of these "Schools among the
Mountains," —when I saw how the grain of mustard-seed, sown in so much weakness, had taken
root and become such a hardy and thrifty
plant,-when I saw how, from these feeble missionary efforts, vigorous living churches, and
the settled ordinances of the gospel, were springing up,-I could not but devoutly thank God
and take courage. For the pioneer work of
the Church, what instrumentality so simple and
so powerful as the mission Sunday-school?




80           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
CHAPTER IX.
THE INROADS OF DEATH-A LITTLE BOY'S GREETING  A
PRAYERLESS SOUL.
ANOTHER short visit, recently made to one
only of those Sunday-schools among the mountains, seems to call for one more brief chapter.
Being on my way to the New York State
Sunday-School Convention that was held at
Binghamton on the 20th of August, 1861, I
had only time, under the circumstances, to
spend the Sabbath at Cuddebackville, Orange
county.  On reaching the parsonage of my
friend, the Rev. H. Morris, on Saturday evening, the pastor resolved that instead of a sermon on the approaching Sabbath morning his
people should be addressed on the subject of
Sunday-schools, remarking that he greatly desired they should be brought to feel their obligations to strive more for the salvation of the




IN THE MOUNTAINS.          81
souls of their children, and, to this end, to
take a more lively interest in their Sundayschool.
In assenting to the pastor's proposition to
speak to his people in the morning, and also
meet the Sunday-school in the afternoon, I
was cut off from meeting with another Sunday-school during the day, as had been my
practice in former years. A pleasant Sabbath
morning found a good congregation in the
church,-that beautiful house of God.
At the close of the service, several expressed
their sympathy with my subject. One man
cordially shook my hand, who I was told was
the same man who met us in the year 1837 on
the canal-bridge, near where the church now
stands, and advised us to abandon all idea of
any Sunday-school in that quarter, assuring
us that opposition would surely crush it. This
man is now a constant attendant at church;
and his wife is a member, and their children
regularly attend the Sunday-school.
At two o'clock, the Sunday-school met in
the school-room. From forty to fifty scholars
were present, and a small company of teachers.
Still, the few made up in zeal what was lacking
in numbers. They felt the necessity and the




82           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
value of the work. The pastor was' now the
superintendent. Since my last visit, two years
ago, Mr. Pierson, then the superintendent, had
gone to his reward. Mr. P. had been for years
a faithful teacher under that veteran leader,
Mr. Littell, who preceded him. Two faithful
men-active leaders in the blessed work-had,
within five years, been removed by death.
God's ways are not as our ways.
To me it was a blessed privilege, "above
the common walks of life," to meet that day
with that little band. We prayed and talked
and sung together; and some of us, I am sure,
anticipated by faith "a happier day."
Before dismissing the school, the pastor distributed to each a copy of the " Sunday-School
Banner," (now the " Child's World,") that had
reached them by mail from the Sunday-School
Union. It was a pleasing thought that those
papers were sent continually to these dear
children of the mountains from the children's
mites of our own Sunday-school in Brooklyn.
And as these teachers and scholars took my
hand, and separated to their homes, up and
down the valley and far up the mountains,
carrying their papers and library-books with
them, my heart was glad that we had been




IN THE MOUNTAINS.            83'
able in any degree to do good to this beloved
people, who at our first acquaintance with
them twenty-four years ago were so destitute
of the means of grace.
I may mention a trifling incident that occurred as we were leaving the school-room. A
little boy of five years, who had patiently sat
beside his mother, took hold of my coat-sleeve,
and, hand-over-hand, pulling down my face to
his, with a soft voice, said in my ear, " I like
you!"  My heart and tongue replied, taking
him in my arms, "My dear little fellow, and
I like you!"  Turning to the good pastor, I
said, "The salutation of your little scholar has
vastly overpaid me for my poor efforts to-day."
Passing the graveyard on our way to the
parsonage, I inquired if Mr. Littell and Mr.
Pierson were both buried there.  "Yes, both
of them," said he; and, opening the gate, he led
me first to the grave of Mr. Littell, on whose
headstone was an appropriate inscription:"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord."
Near by was the grave of Mr. Pierson, on
whose stone is written,-' There is rest in heaven."




84           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
As we were leaving the graveyard, filled
with nearly all who had died in that vicinity
during a hundred years, "Stop," said Mr. M.,
as he turned aside to a beautiful stone at the
head of a grave on which the grass was just
beginning to grow: " Here," said he, " we laid,
a few months ago, Mrs. J. N. She was one
of the many of this valley who had neglected
her soul. She was the wife of a man in good
circumstances as to this world, and the mother
of a family of children. I was one evening
called to go in haste to her dying bed.  Her
physician had told the family that she would
probably last but a few hours. As I went to
her bed, she said,'Mr. M., do pray for me.'
I said,' Do you pray for yourself?' Her reply was,'How can I pray? for nobody ever
taught me to pray; nor I never prayed!' I
knelt," said he, " and prayed for her soul as
on the confines of the eternal world; and she
repeated after me every word of the prayer.
And I then pointed her to Christ as her only
hope.
" I left her, to call on another sick person, and
returned and prayed with her again,-when I
found her failing fast, and in an hour or two
she was gone! How natural the reflection,



IN THE MOUNTAINS.           85
Too late! too late!  Poor soul! the world to
you was the first concern, and the soul the
last,-the very last.  Too late, also, we fear,
came the minister of Christ to many souls
whose bodies are lying here till the resurrection,-too late for you came the Church of
Christ,-too late the Sunday-school, the pioneer
of the Church, and the ministry!"
After tea, that evening, the pastor told me
of the death of Mr. Cyrus N. Gillet, in the
town of Mamakating, six miles off. He had
died suddenly a few weeks before. This Mr.
G. is the man whose remarkable conversion
was mentioned in a former report of my visits.
Mr. G. was, until about twenty years ago, a
bold and reckless opposer of religion. He was
converted by the word of God from the lips
of his own little girl, as she repeated her lesson
in that little old school-house, where he had
gone to see a Sunday-school, (a thing he had
never seen before.) Since his conversion he
has manfully contended for the faith. A man
of stern will and perseverance, he has sustained, sometimes almost alone, the Sundayschool, and in every way recommended Christ
to his neighbours.  He too has gone to his
8




86           SUNDAY-SCHOOLS
rest. And (the pastor added) "the Sundayschool there is dead, too!  He was its
life."
" Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth;
for the faithful fail from among the children
of men!" Oh, who can estimate the value of
one man whom God employs to work in earnest
for him?
A retrospect of what God has done by the
feeble efforts of a few of his people shows now
that three churches have been built where
three of our first Sunday-schools were planted
in that region.  In the first article of this
series-published in the " Sunday-School Journal" in April, 1845-it was stated that no
church, minister, or Sunday-school of any
name could be found within ten miles, in any
direction, from the place where our first school
commenced, which was in the month of May,
1837.  On that first Sabbath spent there,
Sabbath-breaking, in almost every conceivable
way, was open and unblushing; but from
that day to this, wherever Sunday-schools
have been sustained, the change has been
truly wonderful.  To God alone be all the
praise!
Should any reader of this be encouraged by




IN THE MOUNTAINS.             87
it to begin and continue the blessed work of
Sunday-school teaching, either in the sparselypopulated wild regions of the land, such as
these described, or in the crowded city, again
we say, "To God alone be all the praise!"
FINIS