LATER WORKS AND FRIENDSHIPS 161 



own parish was one which he brought out two or 

 three years later upon the Church Catechism. The 

 idea of it was in part suggested by his noticing the 

 inability of children to answer some questions put 

 by her Majesty's Inspectors, whose duty it was at 

 that time to examine in religious as well as in secular 

 knowledge. The ordinary questions of the Cate- 

 chism were here broken up, and the whole expanded 

 and explained by sub-questions. In those days he 

 used from time to time, though always a difficulty 

 to him, to catechise the children in church, and he 

 found his enlarged Catechism of help on these occa- 

 sions, for he used to confess that he never had the 

 gift of being a good catechist, nor the patience to be- 

 come a successful teacher ; so that it was also partly 

 with the object of supplying an aid against this 

 defect in himself, as well as for the teacher gene- 

 rally, that he framed this useful little manual. He 

 also found it of great service to himself when pre- 

 paring young people for Confirmation. Although 

 possessed of no gift for teaching, yet whenever duty 

 imposed this task upon him, his aim always was to 

 be plain and definite in all he taught ; to the last, 

 however, this was a work that was never congenial 

 to him. 



In face of the floods of corrupting publications 

 that have been for years poured over the country, 

 the question of providing wholesome literature for 

 the masses is one that cannot but concern every 

 clergyman, especially in these days. For Mr. Morris 

 it seemed to have had, at all times, a special interest, 



