he makings
of a real graded Sunday school. Don't you remember, mother, how proud
you were when young J.W. there was graduated from the Primary into the
Junior Department?"

All this was before Pastor Drury's time, of course, but he had gone
through the same experiences in other pastorates, and needed not to have
anything explained.

"How long have we had a teacher-training class in our Sunday school?" he
asked.

That called out the story of the struggles to set up what many openly
called a useless and foolish enterprise. The Sunday school was
chronically short of teachers, and yet J.W., Sr., and the other
reformers insisted on taking out of the regular classes the best
teachers in the school, and a score of the most promising young people.
This group went off by itself into a remote part of the church. It
furnished no substitute teachers. It wasn't heard of at all. And loud
were the complaints about its crippling the school.

"But, pastor, you should have seen the difference when the first dozen
real teachers came out of that class; we were able to reorganize the
whole school. Our John Wesley got a teacher he'll never forget. And, of
course, we kept the training class going; it's never stopped since. The
Board of Sunday Schools has given us the courses and helped us keep the
class up to grade in its work, and you know what sort of teachers we
have now."

The pastor did, and was properly thankful. In some of his other
pastorates it had been otherwise, to his sorrow.

"Speaking of the Board of Sunday Schools," the elder Farwell resumed,
for this was a hobby he missed no chance to ride, "it made all the
difference with us in our work for a better Sunday school--gave us
expert backing, you know. And I notice by its latest annual report--yes,
I always get a copy, though J.W. thinks it dry reading--that it is
helping Sunday schools by the thousand, not in this country only, but
wherever in the world our church is at work. Of course you know how it
starts Sunday schools, and how often they grow into churches. Well, it
didn't quite do that here, but this church is a sight better and bigger
because we began to take the Board's advice when we did. It was a good
thing for our boy, and many another boy and girl, that the Board woke us
up."

"It hasn't all been easy work, though," the minister suggested. "I
remember that when I came I found there was a good deal of discontent
over the Graded Lessons."

"Sure there was,"