PETERSFIELD.
THE ANNUAL NATIONAL SCHOOL TREAT.— On Thursday the annual school treat, so eagerly looked forward to by the youngsters, took place at two o'clock, at the schools. At half-past two a procession was formed to the church, where a most appropriate sermon for the occasion was preached by the Rev. H. Haigh (in the absence of the rector), who took his text from the 21st chap. of Matthew, the 15th and 16th verses—"And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David, they were sore displeased, and said unto him, hear thou what they say? And Jesus said unto them, yea: have ye never read, out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise?" Upon leaving, the procession reformed, when the children paraded around the Square, and down the Sheep-street to the lawn near the school, where the girls and boys in turn sang the pieces selected for the occasion, which were varied, and gave great satisfaction to the visitors and others assembled. Tea was then partaken of, with a bountiful supply of cake, bread and butter, &c., and which, it is needless to add, was relishably enjoyed by the youngsters. This being over, the girls and boys, and friends, proceeded to Mr. Smart's meadow, where the annual pastime commenced, with the varied games and amusements, so long looked forward to by the rising generation present, and was enjoyed with delighted satisfaction to their hearts’ content. At six o'clock the parents of the children were regaled with a capital tea, &c., in the school rooms, and as the shades of evening set in, the happy party returned to the playground, where the boys lined on one side, and the girls on the other. "God save the Queen," from the gathering, was very effectively rendered, and upon retiring, each one was presented with cake, when they departed with light hearts and quick steps for their respective homes. We may note that the early harvest operations visibly diminished the attendance of the children to fully one-third of their usual number, although, as the evening came on, many fell in.