MARY CARPENTER. 67 



geology the t\vo last she seems to understand very 

 well. In short, she seems to be universal." 



While Miss Carpenter was thus busily occupied in 

 teaching both living and dead languages, and scientific 

 subjects on the week days, her time on Sundays was 

 given to the Sunday school. From a very early age 

 she had taken part in this work, and had always been 

 very much interested in it. But in 1831 she was ap- 

 pointed superintendent of the school. It is scarcely 

 necessary to say that she threw her whole heart into 

 her task. She was not content with simply teaching 

 her class on the Sunday. She made herself the friend 

 of her scholars, inquired into their circumstances.^ / 

 followed them to their homes, introduced herself /t^ / 

 their parents, and learnt all that she could about ' S: } 

 them. In this way she found out how miserable anc| ^ 

 poor many of them were, and, living as they did 

 such a degraded condition, how difficult it was f^, .^ 

 them to escape from sinking yet lower and lower. 



Even in these days we sometimes think that 

 people who differ in politics are very much more 

 excited and bitter than they need be, and that if 

 opponents would only discuss quietly and talk plea- 

 santly together, they would respect each other more. 

 What would the persons who think thus have said if 

 they had watched events fifty or sixty years ago? 

 At the very time that Miss Carpenter was made 

 superintendent of the Sunday school, the country was 

 in the greatest state of excitement. The House of 

 E 2 



