where teachers are pleased with the confession of faults, and scholars perceive it, and the latter get into the habit of coming to the teacher when they have done something which they think may get them into difficulty, and make a sort of half confession, which, by bringing forward every palliating circumstance, and suppressing every thing of different character, keeps entirely out of view all the real guilt of the transgression.  The criminal is praised by the teacher for the frankness and honesty of the confession, and his fault is freely forgiven.  He goes away, therefore, well satisfied with himself, when, in fact, he has been only submitting to a little mortification, voluntarily, to avoid the danger of a greater; much in the same spirit with that which leads a man to receive the small-pox by inoculation, to avoid the danger of taking it in the natural way.

The teacher who accustoms his pupils to confess their faults voluntarily ought to guard carefully against this danger.  When such a case as the one just described occurs, it will afford a favorable opportunity of showing distinctly to pupils the difference between an honest and a hypocritical confession.  In this instance the teacher proceeded thus: 

“Now there is one more question which I wish you all to answer by your votes honestly.  It is this.  Do you think that the real disorder which has been in this class—­that is, the real cases which you referred to when you stated to me that you thought that the class was not in good order—­have been now really exposed, so that I honestly and fully understand the case?  How many suppose so?”

Not a single hand was raised.

“How many of you think, and are willing to avow your opinion, that I have not been fully informed of the case?”

A large proportion held up their hands.

“Now it seems the class pretended to be willing that I should know all the affair.  You pretended to be willing to tell me the whole, but when I call upon you for the information, instead of telling me honestly, you attempt to amuse me by little trifles, which in reality made no disturbance, and you omit the things which you know were the real objects of my inquiries.  Am I right in my supposition?”

They were silent.  After a moment’s pause, one perhaps raised her hand, and began now to confess something which she had before concealed.

The teacher, however, interrupted her by saying,

“I do not wish to have the confession made now.  I gave you all time to do that, and now I should rather not hear any more about the disorder.  I gave an opportunity to have it acknowledged, but it was not honestly improved, and now I should rather not hear.  I shall probably never know.

“I wished to see whether this class would be honest—­really honest, or whether they would have the insincerity to pretend to be confessing when they were not doing so honestly, so as to get the credit of being frank and sincere, when in reality they are not so.  Now am I not compelled to conclude that this latter is the case?”