P U B L I C I N S T R U C T I O N .
λHI.
Whether we suffer mentally or corporeally,
he said, it was still the same person who
suffered. He then asked a boy what became
of the soul when the body was buried ;
does it go back to the house ^pour arranger
ses affaires^ to look after its affairs ?” “ No,
it goes into limbo, or purgatory, (we could
not distinctly hear which) to await its doom.”
Observing a little girl asleep, he cried out.
“ Fanchette eveillez vous, vous avez toujours
un grand talent, pour vous endormir
tout suiteF And another time he called
to a little boy to reply to a question— “ Répondez
Paul, car vous etes un petit homme de
grand talent, surtout pour repondre quand il
rb est pas necessaireF Among the means of
grace, he particularly recommended making
the sign of the cross, as an acknowledgment
of putting themselves immediately under
the protection of God. One boy being
asked when he should make the sign, replied,
in the morning and evening; on
which the priest told him it was of equal
importance at all hours ; as, when he was in
a passion, or tempted to commit a bad action
; or when he had followed his sheep
among the rocks, and was in danger of
falling down a precipice, &c. In this manner
he also explained various moral duties.
Whatever opinion we may entertain of the
catholic faith and ceremonies, it cannot be
denied, that this easy conversational style of
communicating instruction by questions and
illustrations, suited to the capacities of
children, is better adapted to excite attention,
and to make a lasting impression on
the mind, than the method of catechising
in some protestant churches, where the
children are taught to repeat a series of
printed answers to a series of printed questions,
to which they attach little or no
meaning; nor, indeed, is it expected that
they should : it is sufficient, if, like parrots,
they can repeat the answers by rote. The
priest here, as in many districts of Savoy,
is the only schoolmaster in the village, and
teaches the children of the peasants to read
without any remuneration.