human
O, Mr. Hoskins! replied Mrs. Jones,
gpt
Why, as to the matter of that, I do not value a crown; only I think it may be better bestowed; and I am afraid my own workmen will fly in my face if once they are made scholars; and that they will think themselves too good to work.
human
Now you talk soberly, and give your reasons, said Mrs. Jones;
gpt
human
No, perhaps not.
gpt
Now, the whole extent of learning which we intend to give the poor, is only to enable them to read the Bible; a book which brings to us the glad tidings of salvation, in which every duty is explained, every doctrine brought into practice, and the highest truths made level to the meanest understanding. The knowledge of that book, and its practical influence on the heart, is the best security you can have, both for the industry and obedience of your servants. Now, can you think any man will be the worse servant for being a good Christian?
human
Perhaps not.
gpt
Are not the duties of children, of servants, and the poor, individually and expressly set forth in the Bible?
human
Yes.
gpt
Do you think any duties are likely to be as well performed from any human motives, such as fear or prudence, as from those religious motives which are backed with the sanction of rewards and punishments, of heaven or hell? Even upon your own principles of worldly policy, do you think a poor man is not less likely to steal a sheep or a horse, who was taught when a boy that it was a sin, that it was breaking a commandment, to rob a hen-roost, or an orchard, than one who has been bred in ignorance of God's law? Will your property be secured so effectually by the stocks on the green, as by teaching the boys in the school, that _for all these things God will bring them in to judgment_? Is a poor fellow who can read his Bible, so likely to sleep or to drink away his few hours of leisure, as one who _can not_ read? He may, and he often does, make a bad use of his reading; but I doubt he would have been as bad without it; and the hours spent in learning to read will always have been among the most harmless ones of his life.
human
Well, madam, said the farmer,
gpt
human
Half a guinea, said Mrs. Jones.
gpt
Well, cried the farmer,
human
gpt
Perhaps, replied Mrs. Jones,
human
gpt
Well, put me down a guinea, cried the farmer;
human
gpt
Yes, and you must exert yourself beside, in insisting that your workmen send their children, and often look into the school yourself, to see if they are there, and reward or discourage them accordingly, added Mrs. Jones.
human
The most zealous teachers will flag in their exertions, if they are not animated and supported by the wealthy; and your poor youth will soon despise religious instruction as a thing forced upon them, as a hardship added to their other hardships, if it be not made pleasant by the encouraging presence, kind words, and little gratuities, from their betters.
gpt
Young woman, what do you think should be done to a person who should be found carrying a box of poison round the country, and leaving a little at every house? The girls agreed that such a person ought to be hanged.
human
That he should, said the farmer,
gpt
The fiddler and his woman were of the same opinion, declaring, _they_ would do no such a wicked thing for the world, for if they were poor they were honest. Mr. Simpson, turning to the other girl, said,
human
Which is of most value, the soul or the body?
gpt
The soul, sir, said the girl.
human
Why so? said he.
gpt
Because, sir, I have heard you say in the pulpit, the soul is to last forever.
human
Then, cried Mr. Simpson, in a stern voice, turning to the fiddler's woman,
gpt
human
Poison? said the terrified girl, throwing down the book, and shuddering as people do who are afraid they have touched something infectious.
gpt
Poison! echoed the farmer's daughters, recollecting with horror the ratsbane which Lion, the old house-dog, had got at the day before, and after eating which she had seen him drop down dead in convulsions.
human
Yes, said Mr. Simpson to the woman,
gpt
I do again repeat, the souls of these innocent girls will be poisoned, and may be eternally ruined by this vile trash which you carry about.
human
I now see, said Mrs. Jones to the farmer,