“Now all may repeat it together,” said Mary Jay. “Begin.”
At the word begin, they all commenced with one voice, and went through the verse with great correctness and precision.
“Very well, children,” said Mary Jay. “Here ends your lesson. Now we will sing a verse. Rise.”
And all the children rose.
Then Mary Jay commenced singing, and all the children joined with her. When it was concluded, she directed them to sit down again. And then she said, “Recess;”—and all her scholars arose, and began to walk about the room, mingling with each other, and talking in low and subdued tones.
“Why, Mary Jay,” said Marielle, “do you have a recess in your Sunday school? I never heard of a recess in a Sunday school.”
“Nor I,” said Mary Jay; “but my scholars are so little that they get tired of sitting still so long; and so I let them have a little recess, to move about a few minutes and rest themselves. But I tell them that they must remember that it is the Sabbath day, and so be very still. And I think that they are pretty still.”
“Yes,” said Marielle, “I think they are very still, indeed.”
“What comes after the recess?” asked Lucy.
“Why, what I call my sermon comes next,” said Mary Jay, with a smile.