several thousand dollars; and when he assured them that he could not possibly furnish them, he was termed uncharitable, unmerciful, and not a man of such powerful faith as was supposed. Without any previous announcement, poor people, children, scholars, and students in abundance were sent to him, and if any needy person in Hallé was spoken of no one was to blame but Franké, for he ought reasonably to provide for him; and such backbitings, such partial and premature judgments, such lies and calumnies, were able to find admission, even amongst those who were regarded as pious, and were disseminated also by those who, by so doing, were guilty of the basest ingratitude towards Franké! This must have pained him the more deeply; yet it was unable to confuse him: he only admonished his adversaries not to judge before the time, when the Lord would come to render unto every one according to his work, and when every one's work would be made manifest. Even in the evil which was done him, he recognized a divine direction towards a good end. "I can say with truth," says he, "that the more the work is vilified by many, both in word and writing the more are the well-disposed-who, by personal inspection, have been fully convinced of the contrary-excited to favour the work; so that even adversaries and calumniators must serve against their will, to promote it."

The work, which God, by his servant Franké, founded and established in Hallé, never perished in the storms of the times; a numerous host of faithful

1 Franké was once asked, 'why he had built the orphan-house out of the gates, and not within the city walls; for if once an enemy came before the place, it would be exposed to the first attack.' His reply

witnesses for Jesus Christ, who thankfully acknowledged the spirit that produced it, have come forth from its walls; and if men could be silent, the very stones would cry out.

was, "If the skies fall upon us, we shall all be killed; but if the case you mention should occur, we will see whether the city will protect the orphan-house, or the orphan-house the city."

CHAPTER VII.

Franke's Method of Instruction.-Labours in behalf of the Bible and Missionary Cause.-Journies.-Domestic Life.-Decease.-Concluding Observations.

AFTER becoming acquainted with Franké as the founder of an extensive institution for the instruction of the young, we naturally inquire upon what principles he acted in the capacity of preceptor. But it would carry us too far, were we to enter into particulars, for which the reader is referred to Franké's own writings on the subject, and to those of a modern date, which treat of him in that capacity; and we therefore limit ourselves at present to the chief maxim of Franke's plan of tuition, which could not possibly be any other than that, with which the spirit pervading the whole of Franké's life and conduct, hitherto described, will have already made us acquainted.

His principal attention was directed to the religious and moral education of the young. "The chief object," says he, "in all these schools, is, that the children may be instructed, above all things, in the vital knowledge of God and Christ, and be initiated into the principles of true religion." And in

another place—“ the chief object in view, and to which all the rest tends, consists in duly instructing the youths intrusted to us, not only in carefully impressing upon them the fundamental principles of religion, the knowledge of God and themselves, and how they ought to come to the Father, through Christ -but also how they may be incited to the real exercise of the doctrines thus apprehended, by constant admonitions and good examples,1 which have generally the greatest effect upon the young, and impress themselves the most durably upon the mind." 2

But he speaks the most copiously respecting the chief maxim, in his method of tuition, in a work entitled, “On bringing up the young to godliness and christian prudence." Amongst other things he particularly exhorts, that "the reading of the Holy Scriptures should be commenced with the children as early as possible, that they might so much the sooner be instructed in the way of salvation from the Holy Scriptures themselves.... At the same time, care must be taken, that the children do not make an opus operatum of the reading of the Bible, or imagine

1 Franké had the more reason to expect he should be able to obtain many piously-disposed teachers for his schools, since he selected them from the students who were formed under the superintendence of himself and his like-minded colleagues.

2 "It may be justly affirmed," says Dr. Knapp,-" that Franké's schools have far exceeded the generality of those existing in Germany at the commencement of the eighteenth century, even with respect to the learned and scientific instruction of their pupils."

"It is good and laudable,”—observes Franké,-"that the original languages are studied, although not sufficiently, nor with due diligence, at schools and universities. But care ought to be taken not to stop short in the knowledge of languages and philology, but that the thing itself, which is proposed to us in the word of God, may be duly recognized, for which purpose God ought to be called upon for the enlightening influences of his Holy Spirit."

that it is enough to have become acquainted with the outward letter of Scripture; but they must be continually examined, whether they manifest the fruits of it in their whole lives; and when it is found that the contrary is the case, they must be most diligently reminded, to use the Holy Scriptures as a rule and standard of their faith and life; and those things in which their conduct departs from it, must be pointed out to them. Especially Christ must be shewn to them from the Holy Scriptures, as being the perfect atonement for our sins, and the perfect pattern or example, according to which we have to regulate our whole lives. This must be frequently brought before them in an affecting manner, and with kindness and meekness, that they themselves may feel incited continually to bear, in their memories and their hearts, the perfect image of the Lord Jesus; how he is made of God unto them, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption."1

It may be naturally expected, that Franké also urgently recommended that children should be taught to pray of themselves. In that part of his book, where he treats of training up children to true wisdom, he fixes it as a principle, that "all wisdom,

1 Franké published in 1709 for the benefit of the young, "A short extract from the introduction to the study of the Holy Scriptures, in question and answer." He says in his preface to it, "Dearly beloved children.... If you learn the Scriptures, diligently from your youth up, they will teach you the way of salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus. It would give me much pleasure, if you were very fond of the word of God, and perused it gladly. Believe me, dear children, that no one is so miserable as he, who has no fixed principle in his heart from the word of God. On the contrary, though you had nothing all your life but God and his word, and clung to it with your whole heart, you would be the happiest of mortals; for every thing else that is in the world, has no stability; but God and his word endure for ever."