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was delivered on the duties of females, and
their future influence on the religious and
moral character of society, in their situations
as daughters, sisters, wives and mothers
; after which the catechumens were
called upon to stand up before the congregation,
as a public act of acknowledging
their belief in the truth of Christianity,
when a solemn exhortation was addressed to
them, as newly received members into the
Christian community. The children, the
parents, and the congregation, were deeply
affected, and in tears, during this part of
the service. On the following Sunday, the
newly received members of the church partook
of the Lord’s supper. There is no
imposition of hands by the minister during
the ceremony.
The college at Geneva for teaching Latin,
Greek, and French, was founded a year
after the Reformation ; and in 1559, an academy
was instituted for literature and the
sciences, and professors were appointed for
each department.
Beside the college, (which may be called
a large public grammar school,) where the
children of the citizens are educated, masters
are paid by the government' for instructing
the children of the poorer classes
in the evening. The parents pay a very
small sum per week, probably to make them
attentive to the regular attendance of their
children. These schools are open from
six o’clock to nine for the boys in the
winter months, and for the girls in summer,
that the latter may not suffer from
the weather in going or returning. The
children are taught reading, writing, and
arithmetic ; and as it is thought proper not
to leave the mind an entire blank, they
also learn something of history, natural
history, geography, and astronomy. To
those who travel, this kind of knowledge
may be useful ; nor can it be without its
advantages to those who remain at home,
if it be desirable that all men and women
should be reasonable and thinking beings,
which none but bigots or ultra legitimates,
who wish to profit from the ignorance of
the people, can deny. We were several
months in Geneva before we were acquainted
with the existence o f these schools.
One evening, being on the Place St. Antoine
at sun-set, we observed two chiL
dren, evidently of the lower class, in deep
conversation. The one was about nine,
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