,,household ,,education4 ,,household ,,education4 ,,by ,,harriet ,,martineau4 ,,london3 ,,edward ,,moxon1 ,,dover ,,street4 ,,mdcccxlix4 ,,london ,,bradbury ,,and ,,evans1 ,,printers1 ,,whitefriars4 ,,preface4 ,a portion of this work appeared1 some months ago1 in papers in the ,people's ,journal4 ,the appearance of these papers was suspended by the change in the affairs of that ,journal4 ,from that time to the present1 applications have been made to me at intervals1 to request me to finish my subject4 ,in deference to these requests1 ,i have completed my original design4 ,for its suggestion1 ,i am indebted to ,mr4 ,saunders1 the late editor of the ,people's ,journal4 ,for the imperfections of the work1 which ,i know to be many and great1 notwithstanding my earnest interest in what ,i was writing1 no one is responsible but myself4 ,,ambleside1 ,november #afth1 #ahdh4 ,,contents4 ,,chap4 ,,page ,i4 ,,old ,,and ,,young ,,in ,,school #a ,,ii4 ,,what ,,the ,,schooling ,,is ,,for #aa ,,iii4 ,,the ,,natural ,,possessions ,,of ,,man #ba ,,iv4 ,,how ,,to ,,expect #cb ,v4 ,,the ,,golden ,,mean #da ,,vi4 ,,the ,,new ,,comer #ej ,,vii4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,frame #fj ,,viii4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,powers4--,,will #gj ,,ix4 ,,hope #gi ,x4 ,,fear #hi ,,xi4 ,,patience #ajc ,,xii4 ,,patience4 ,,infirmity #aad ,,xiii4 ,,patience4 ,,infirmity #abg ,,xiv4 ,,love #acf ,,xv4 ,,veneration #adh ,,xvi4 ,,truthfulness #aei ,,xvii4 ,,conscientiousness #agb ,,xviii4 ,,intellectual ,,training4--,,its ,,requisites #ahf ,,xix4 ,,order ,,of ,,development4 ,,the ,,perceptive ,,faculties #aii ,,xx4 ,,the ,,conceptive ,,faculties #bac ,,xxi4 ,,the ,,reasoning ,,faculties4 ,,female ,,education #bcj ,,xxii4 ,,the ,,imaginative ,,faculties #bdf ,,xxiii4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,habits4--,,importance ,,of ,,habit #bfb ,,xxiv4 ,,personal ,,habits #bge ,,xxv4 ,,family ,,habits #bih ,,xxvi4 ,,conclusion #cbj ,,household ,,education4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,old ,,and ,,young ,,in ,,school4 ,household education is a subject so important in its bearings on every one's happiness1 and so inexhaustible in itself1 that ,i do not see how any person whatever can undertake to lecture upon it authoritatively1 as if it was a matter completely known and entirely settled4 ,it seems to me that all that we can do is to reflect1 and say what we think1 and learn of one another4 ,this is1 at least1 all that ,i venture to offer4 ,i propose to say1 in a series of chapters1 what ,i have observed and thought on the subject of ,,life ,,at ,,home1 during upwards of twenty years' study of domestic life in great variety4 ,it will be for my readers to discover whether they agree in my views1 and whether their minds are set to work by what ,i say on a matter which concerns them as seriously as any in the world4 ,once for all1 let me declare here what ,i hope will be remembered throughout1 that ,i have no ambition to teach2 but a strong desire to set members of households consulting together about their course of action towards each other4 ,it will be seen by these last words that ,i consider all the members of a household to be going through a process of education together4 ,i am not thinking only of parents drawing their chairs together when the children have gone to bed1 to talk over the young people's qualities and ways4 ,that is all very well2 but it is only a small part of the business4 ,i am not thinking of the old1 experienced grandfather or grandmother talking at the fireside1 telling the parents of the sleeping children how they ought to manage them1 and what rules and methods were in force in their day4 ,this is all very well2 and every sensible person will be thankful to hear what the aged have to tell1 out of their long knowledge of life3 but this again is a very small part of the matter4 ,every member of the household--children1 servants1 apprentices--every inmate of the dwelling1 must have a share in the family plan2 or those who make it are despots1 and those who are excluded are slaves4 ,of course1 this does not mean that children who have scarcely any knowledge1 little judgment1 and no experience1 are to have a choice about the rules of their own training4 ,the object of training is one thing2 and the rules and methods are another4 ,with rules and methods they have nothing to do but to obey them till they become able to command themselves4 ,but there is no rational being who is not capable of understanding1 from the time he can speak1 what it is to wish to be good4 ,the stupidest servant-girl1 and the most thoughtless apprentice-boy1 are always impressed by seeing those about them anxious to improve2 and especially the oldest of all endeavouring the more to become wiser and wiser1 better and better1 as their few remaining days dwindle away4 ,if the family plan therefore be the grand comprehensive plan which is alone worthy of people who care about education at all--a plan to do the best that is possible by each other for the improvement of all--every member of the family above the yearling infant must be a member of the domestic school of mutual instruction1 and must know that he is so4 ,it is a common saying that every child thinks his father the wisest man in the world4 ,this is very natural2 as parents are their children's fountains of knowledge4 ,to them their children come for anything they want to know3 and by them they are generally satisfied4 ,but every wise parent has occasion to say1 now and then--,i do not know1 my dear4 ,the surprise of the child on first hearing that there is anything that his parents do not know fixes the fact in his mind4 ,when he has once discovered that his parents have something more to learn1 he becomes aware--and this also ought to be fixed in his mind--that their education is not finished2 and that it is their business1 as it is his1 to learn something more every day1 as long as they live4 ,so much for knowledge4 ,the case ought to be as clear to him with regard to goodness4 ,it is not enough that in church he hears that all men and women are sinners2 and that in prayers at home he hears his parents pray that they may become more worthy of the goodness of ,god1 and more like the ,christ who is set before them4 ,these things may set him thinking2 but there will be1 or ought to be1 more light every day to clear up his ideas4 ,the same parents who honestly own to their child that they are ignorant of things about which he questions them will own to him that they are not nearly so good as they wish to be4 ,thus is the truth opened to the feeblest and smallest mind that education has still to go on1 even when people are so inconceivably old as children are apt to think their parents4 ,to us1 grown up to this mighty age1 there can be no doubt on such a point4 ,we know very well that we are all1 through the whole range of society1 like a set of ignorant and wayward children1 compared with what we are made capable of being4 ,our best knowledge is but a glimmering--a dawn of light which we may hope will increase more and more unto the perfect day4 ,our best goodness is so weak1 so mixed1 so inferior to what we can conceive of1 that we should blush to say that during any day of our lives we had been as good as we ought to be4 ,it is as clear to us as to children1 that there is room for improvement in both ways as long as we live4 ,to us there is another question which children cannot enter into1 and have no present business with2--whether human beings remain capable of improvement as long as they live4 ,about this1 there are different opinions4 ,i rather think the prevailing belief is that they are not2 and that this prevailing belief arises from the commonness of the spectacle1 not only of the faults of old age1 but of the inability of even amiable and lively old people to receive new ideas1 or correct bad habits4 ,this is certainly the commonest aspect of old age2 and serious is the warning it affords to correct our faulty tempers and ways before we grow stiff in mind1 as well as in body4 ,but ,i do not think that this spectacle settles the question4 ,we might as well say that the human intellect can achieve no great work after five-and-twenty1 because the ill-educated mind never does4 ,as long as we see one single instance of a mind still expanding in a man of eighty-five1 of a temper improving in one of ninety1 of a troublesome daily habit conscientiously cured1 after the indulgence of a life-time1 by an old lady of seventy-five1 we perceive that education may go on to the extreme limit of life1 and should suppose that it might be generally so1 but for the imperfect training of preceding years4 ,i have known of one old man whose mind was certainly still growing when he died1 at the age of eighty-six4 ,i have known of another1 whose study through life had been the laws of the mind1 and who1 when his faculties were failing him1 applied himself to that study1 marking the gradual decline of certain of his powers1 adding the new facts to his stores of knowledge1 and thus1 nourishing to the last a part of his mind with the decay of the rest4 ,this instance of persevering self-improvement under conditions which any one would admit to be those of release from labour1 appears to me even more affecting than that of the great physician who watched his own approaching death with his finger on his pulse1 notifying its last beat as his heart came to a stop1 hoping to contribute one more fact to useful science4 ,with cases like these before us1 how shall we dare to suppose our education completed while we have one faculty remaining1 or our hearts have yet one more beat to give8 ,as for the continuance of moral education to the last1 ,i have seen two contrasted cases1 in close neighbourhood1 which make the matter pretty plain1 in a practical sense1 to me4 ,i knew two old ladies1 living only the length of a street apart1 who were fair specimens of educated and uneducated old age4 ,the one belonged to a family who were remarkable for attaining a great age2 and she always confidently reckoned on her lot being the same as that of her predecessors4 ,it is true1 her mother1 being above a hundred1 called her and her sister the girls when they were above seventy2 but still one would have thought that grey hairs and wrinkles would have gone some way as a warning to her4 ,instead1 however1 of reckoning on her future years 7if she must reckon on them7 as so much time to grow wiser in1 she was merely surprised at her friends when they advised her 7she being then eighty7 to make some other terms for her house than taking another lease of fourteen years4 ,she could not conceive1 as the last lease had answered so well1 why the next should not4 ,i remember seeing her face1 all puckered with wrinkles1 surmounted by rows of bright brown false curls1 and her arms1 bare above the elbows1 adorned with armlets1 such as young ladies wore half a century before4 ,i remember a clever pert youth setting himself to quiz and amuse her by humouring her in her notions about the state of the world1 drawing her out to praise the last century and express her ignorant contempt of this1 till she nodded emphatically over her hand of cards1 and declared that the depravity of the age was owing to gas-lamps and macadamisation4 ,she died very old1 but no wiser than this4 ,her case proves only that her education did stop2 and not that it need have stopped4 ,the other was a woman of no great cultivation1 but of a humble1 earnest1 benevolent nature1 full of a sense of duty towards ,god and man2 and1 in them1 towards herself4 ,having survived her nearest connections1 she had no strong desire to live2 and her affairs were always arranged for departure1 down to the labelling of every paper1 and the neatness of every drawer4 ,yet no one was more alive to the improvements of the modern world4 ,i shall never forget the earnest look with which she would listen to any tidings of new knowledge1 or new social conveniences4 ,a more dignified woman ,i never knew2 yet she listened to the young who brought information--listened as a learner--with a deference which was most touching to witness4 ,but there was more than this4 ,she was conscious of having been1 in her earlier days1 somewhat hard1 somewhat given to lecture and lay down the law1 and criticise people all round by family notions2 a tendency which1 if it really existed1 arose from family and not personal pride2 for1 though she might overrate the wisdom of parents and brothers1 there never was any sign of her overvaluing her own4 ,however this might be1 she believed that she had been hard and critical in former times2 and she went on softening and growing liberal to the day of her death4 ,i never observed any weakness--much less any laxity--in her gentleness towards the feeble and the frail4 ,it was the holy tenderness which the pure and upright can afford to indulge and impart4 ,the crowning proof that her improvement was the result of self-discipline and not of circumstances was that when1 at above seventy years of age1 she became the inmate of a family whose habits were somewhat rigid1 and in many respects unlike her own1 she changed her own to suit theirs1 even forcing herself to an observance of punctuality1 in which she had been deficient all her life1 and about which she had scarcely ever needed to think while for many years living alone4 ,of course1 this moral discipline implies some considerable use of the intellect4 ,she read a good deal2 and carried an earnest mind into all her pursuits4 ,and when her memory began to fail1 and she could not retain beyond the day what she had read1 her mind did not become weak4 ,it was always at work1 and always on good subjects1 though she could no longer add much to her store of mere knowledge4 ,her case proves surely that education need never stop4 ,now1 if we picture to ourselves a household1 with an honoured being like this as the occupant of the fireside chair1 we can at once see how it may be completely understood and agreed upon among them all that the education of every one of them is always going on1 and to go on for ever while they live4 ,no child could ever stand at the knee of my old friend without feeling that she was incessantly bent on self-improvement--as earnest to learn from the humblest and youngest as ready to yield the benefits of her experience and reflections to any whom she could inform and guide4 ,when taken severely ill1 she said with a smile1 to one by her bedside1 ,why do you look so anxious8 ,if ,i do die to-day1 there is nothing to be unhappy about4 ,i have long passed the time when ,i expected to go4 ,what does it matter whether ,i die now or a twelve-month hence8 ,and when that illness was over1 she regarded it as a process in her training1 and persevered1 as before1 in trying to grow wiser and more worthy4 ,here was a case in which ,household ,education visibly included the oldest as naturally as the youngest4 ,and in all dwellings1 all the members are included in the influences which work upon the whole1 whether they have the wisdom to see it or not4 ,henceforward1 therefore1 ,i shall write on the supposition that we are all children together--from the greatest to the least--the wisest and the best needing all the good they can get from the peculiar influences of ,home4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,what ,,the ,,schooling ,,is ,,for4 ,every home being a school for old and young together1 it is necessary1 if the training is to be a good one1 to be clear as to what the schooling is for4 ,for the improvement of the pupils1 is the most obvious answer4 ,yes2 but what do you mean by improvement8 ,we must settle what we want to make of the pupils1 or everything will go on at random4 ,in every country of the world there is some sort of general notion of what the men and women in it ought to be3 and the men and women turn out accordingly3 and the more certainly1 the more clear the notion is4 ,the patriarchs1 some thousands of years ago1 had very clear notions of their own of what people ought to be4 ,one of these sitting in the evening of a hot day under a terebinth tree ten times his own age1 would be able to give a distinct account of what he would have the training of his great-grandchildren tend to4 ,he would lay it down as the first point of all that the highest honour and the greatest privilege in the world was to be extremely old4 ,the next most desirable thing was to have the largest possible number of descendants2 because the earth was very wide1 with not half enough people in it2 and the more people a patriarch had about him1 the richer and more beautiful would the valleys and pastures be1 and the more power and authority he would have--every patriarch being an absolute ruler over his own family1 and the more like a king the larger his tribe4 ,of course1 the old man would say decidedly that to make the best possible man you must train a child to obey his parents1 and yet more the head of the tribe1 with the most absolute submission2 to do in the cleverest way what was necessary for defence against an enemy1 and to obtain food1 and the skins of beasts for clothing4 ,the more wives and the more children the better4 ,these were the principal points4 ,after these1 he would speak of its being right for such as would probably become the head of a tribe to cultivate such wisdom and temper as would make them good rulers1 and enable them to maintain peace among their followers4 ,such was the patriarchal notion of improving a man to the utmost--omitting certain considerations which we think important1--truthfulness1 temperance1 amiability1 respect for other men1 and reverence for something a good deal more solemn than mere old age4 ,some wise men in ,greece would have given a different account of the aim of ,education4 ,a ,spartan1 for instance1 living in a little country which was always in danger from enemies without and slaves within1 looked upon every boy as a future soldier1 and as born to help to preserve the state4 ,every sickly or deformed child might be killed off at the desire of his father's kin4 ,the healthy and promising were looked after by the state from their earliest years2 and at the age of seven were put under public training entirely4 ,they were taught to bear hunger1 and be content with coarse food2 to endure flogging without a groan1 sometimes to the point of death2 and all for practice in bearing pain4 ,they were trained to all warlike exercises2 their amusements were wrestling and sham battles2 their accomplishments singing martial songs4 ,they were taught to reverence rank and age2 to hate their enemies2 to use fraud in war2 to be unable to bear shame1 whether deserved or not2 and to treat women with respect1 not at all for their own sakes1 but because despised women could not be the mothers of heroes4 ,thus1 to make a perfect soldier was what a good ,spartan considered the great object of education4 ,the ,jew in his own ,palestine would have given a different answer1 in some respects1 though he also reared his children to hate their enemies1 and to covet both martial and patriarchal glory4 ,his leading belief was that a greater ,god than any other nation had ever worshipped was the special ruler and protector of his own4 ,jehovah was the king as well as the ,god of the ,jews2 and the first virtue of a ,jew was to obey every tittle of the ,law1 which ordered all things whatsoever in the lives of those who lived under it4 ,obedience to the ,law1 in affairs of food1 dress1 seasons of work1 sleep1 worship1 journeying1 c41 as well as in some higher matters1 was the main thing taught by a good parent1 while he knew and thought nothing of the higher and holier aims opened by the ,gospel2 of which1 indeed1 many a well-meaning ,jewish parent could not bear to hear from the lips of ,christ1 when he came to declare what every man should be4 ,when he declared that men should rise above the ,law1 and be perfect as their ,father in ,heaven is perfect1 some strict ,jewish educators crucified him4 ,in a ,jew's mind1 the best man was he who most servilely obeyed the letter of the ,law4 ,when ,i was in ,america1 ,i saw three kinds of people who had their own notions of what it was to be a perfect man--each their own idea of the chief aim in ,education2 notions as wide of each other as those of the ,patriarch1 the ,spartan1 and the ,jew4 ,there were the dwellers in the cities2 men speaking our language1 and looking very like ourselves4 ,these men were1 as was natural1 proud of their young and prosperous republic2 and they thought more about politics than appears to us necessary or wise in a life which contains so many other great interests4 ,their children were brought up to talk politics before they could be qualified to have an opinion2 and taught at school to despise other nations1 and glorify their own1 as a preparation for exercising the suffrage at twenty-one1 and thereby becoming1 in a republic so constituted1 a member of the government4 ,the privilege--the trust--is a most important one2 and we cannot wonder that the subject is an engrossing one to parents and children4 ,the object of education among a very large proportion of ,american parents is to make politicians3 and it certainly is attained4 ,on the same continent1 ,i saw something of a very different race--the red men4 ,their idea of perfection is a man's being a perfect warrior2 and yet in a way quite unlike the ,spartans4 ,the red ,indian is not trained as a servant of the ,state1 but as an individual3 and the ,indian women are degraded and oppressed1 while the ,spartan women were considered and respected--whatever the ground of consideration might be4 ,the ,indian boy is trained to use his five senses till they reach an unequalled degree of nicety4 ,and1 when old enough to bear the pain without dying1 he is subjected first to hunger and want of sleep1 and then to such horrible tortures as it turns one sick to think of4 ,he who comes out of this trial the most bravely1 and who afterwards shows himself the most alert sentinel1 the strongest and most enduring soldier1 the most revengeful enemy1 the most cruel conqueror1 and the sternest husband and father1 is1 in the eyes of his people1 the most perfect man4 ,the red ,indians1 therefore1 generally make an approach to this kind of character4 ,in the island of ,mackinaw lives the other sort of people ,i have referred to4 ,this island rises out of the wide waters of the great northern lakes1 a perfect paradise in the midst of the boundless blue expanse4 ,the people who inhabit it are1 for the most part1 half-breeds--the offspring of the red race and the ,french colonists who first settled on the island4 ,the great object here seems to be to become amphibious2 and truly1 it appeared to me pretty well attained4 ,the dark-skinned boys who surrounded our ship1 and all others that ,i saw1 were poppling about in the water1 as easily as so many fowl3 and they scud about in their tiny birch-bark canoes as readily as we walk on our feet1 thinking no more of being capsized than we do of falling4 ,the aim here has about the same level as that of the ,arabs1 to whom water is the greatest rarity1 and to whom the sandy desert serves much the same purpose as the inland seas to the dwellers in ,mackinaw4 ,the horse of the ,arab is to him as the bark-canoe to the half-breed of ,mackinaw3 and children are launched into the desert1 to live in it as they best may1 as the half-breed boys are into the watery waste4 ,and they succeed as well1 conquering the desert1 turning its dangers into sport1 and making a living out of it4 ,and so it is with the native dwellers in the icy deserts of ,siberia4 ,a perfectly educated person there is one who can surprise the greatest number of water-fowl in summer1 foretell soonest the snow storm in winter1 best learn the hour from the stars1 bank up the most sheltered sleeping-place in the snow1 and light a fire within it the most quickly2 dive among the beavers for the longest time2 see in the dark like an owl1 track game like a pointer1 fetch it like a spaniel1 hearken like a deer1 and run like an ostrich4 ,such being the ,mongolian notion of perfection1 it is more nearly approached by them than by others4 ,none of these aims are ours1 or such as we approve4 ,what then is ours8 ,it is easy to answer1 to grow wiser and better every day3 but then comes the question1 what is the wisdom1 what is the goodness1 that we aspire to8 ,all the people ,i have mentioned aim at improvement in wisdom and goodness every day4 ,our difference with them is precisely about what wisdom and goodness are4 ,we are not likely to agree by setting up each our own notion of wisdom and goodness4 ,hear children at school talking of the heroes they admire most1 and see how seldom they agree4 ,one admires the brave man2 another the patient man2 another the philanthropist2 another the man of power2 another the man of holiness2 another the patriot4 ,hear men talking by the fireside of the sages of the race2 how they vary in their preferences1 and select for themselves from among the group of mighty minds--the fathers of philosophy1 of science1 of art1 of law and government1 of morals4 ,we shall never arrive at a practical point by setting up our separate preferences as aims for all4 ,nor will it answer to fix our aim by any single example3 no1 not even--with reverence be it spoken--by the great ,exemplar1 ,christ himself4 ,the fault and weakness of this inability are in ourselves4 ,it is not any cloud in him1 but partial blindness in us1 which renders this method insufficient by itself4 ,all-perfect as is the example1 we cannot all1 and constantly1 use its full perfection1 from our tendency to contemplate it from the favourite point of view which every one of us has4 ,one of us dwells most on the tenderness of his character2 another on its righteous sternness2 one on his power2 another on his meek patience2 and so on4 ,and thus1 while it is1 and ever will be1 of the utmost importance that we should preserve the aim of becoming like ,christ1 it yet remains to be settled among us1 in fact though not perhaps in words1 what ,christ was1 the images of him in different minds varying so endlessly as they certainly do4 ,the only method that appears to me absolutely safe and wise1 is one which perfectly well agrees with our taking this great ,exemplar as our model4 ,each of us has a frame1 fearfully and wonderfully made2 with such a variety of powers1 that no one yet knows them all1 or can be sure that he understands the extent of any one of them4 ,it is impossible that we can be wrong in desiring and endeavouring to bring out and strengthen and exercise all the powers given to every human being4 ,in my opinion1 this should be the aim of education4 ,i have said to bring out1 and strengthen1 and exercise all the powers4 ,some would add1 and balance them4 ,but if all were faithfully exercised1 ,i am of opinion that a better balance would ensue than we could secure1 so partial as are our views1 and so imperfect as has been the training of the best of us4 ,i shall gladly proceed1 in my next chapter1 to declare what ,i think we have learned as to what the powers of the human being are4 ,at present1 ,i can only just point out that the aim proposed is superior to every other mentioned1 and ,i believe to any other that can be mentioned for this reason2 that it applies universally--meets every case that can be conceived of4 ,in the patriarch's scheme of education1 the women--half the race--were slighted4 ,in the ,spartan system1 the slaves and all work-people were left out4 ,among the modern republicans1 citizens have the preference over women and slaves3 and under the savage training--the ,indian1 ,arab1 and ,mongolian--no individual whatever is done justice to4 ,and there is not a country in ,christendom where equal justice is done to all those whom we see entering the world so endowed as that we ought to look on every one of them with religious awe as a being too noble for our estimate4 ,the aim proposed--of doing justice to all the powers of every human being under training--includes all alike1 and must therefore be just4 ,it includes women1 the poor1 the infirm--all who were rejected or slighted under former systems--while it does more for the privileged than any lower principle ever proposed to do4 ,it appears that under it none will be the worse1 but all the better1 in comparison of this with any lower aim4 ,to obtain a clearer and firmer notion of what this object really comprehends1 we must next make out1 as well as our present knowledge allows1 what the powers of the human being are4 ,i mean as to their kind2 for ,i do not think any one will venture to say what is the extent of endowments so vast2 and in their vastness so obscure4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,the ,,natural ,,possessions ,,of ,,man4 ,what are the powers of the human being8 ,i speak of those powers only which are the object of education4 ,there are some which work of themselves for the preservation of life1 and with which we have nothing to do but to let them work freely4 ,the heart beats1 the stomach digests1 the lungs play1 the skin transpires1 without any care of ours1 and we have only to avoid hindering any of these actions4 ,next1 man has four limbs4 ,of these1 two have to be trained to move him from place to place in a great variety of ways4 ,there are many degrees of agility between the bow-legged cripple1 set too early upon his feet1 and the chamois hunter of the ,alps1 who leaps the icy chasms of the glacier1 and springs from point to point of the rock4 ,the two seem hardly to be of the same race2 yet education has made each of them what he is4 ,the two other limbs depend upon training for much of their strength and use4 ,look at the pale student1 who lives shut up in his study1 never having been trained to use his arms and hands but for dressing and feeding himself1 turning over books1 and guiding the pen4 ,look at his spindles of arms and his thin fingers1 and compare them with the brawny limbs of the blacksmith1 or the hands of the quay porter1 whose grasp is like that of a piece of strong machinery4 ,compare the feeble and awkward touch of the book-worm who can hardly button his waistcoat1 or carry his cup of tea to his mouth1 with the power that the modeller1 the ivory carver1 and the watchmaker have over their fingers4 ,it is education which has made the difference between these4 ,man has five senses4 ,though much is done by the incidents of daily life to exercise all the five1 still a vast difference ensues upon varieties of training4 ,a fireman in ,london1 and an ,indian in the prairie1 can smell smoke when nobody else is aware of it4 ,an epicure can taste a cork in wine1 or a spice in a stew1 to the dismay of the butler1 and the delight of the cook1 when every one else is insensible4 ,one person can feel by the skin whether the wind is east or west before he gets out of bed in the morning2 while another has to hold up a handkerchief in the open air1 or look at the weathercock1 before he can answer the question--,how's the wind8 ,as for the two noblest senses1 there are great constitutional differences among men4 ,some are naturally short-sighted1 and some dull of hearing2 but the differences caused by training are more frequent and striking4 ,if1 of two boys born with equally good eyes and ears1 one is very early put1 all alone1 to keep sheep on a hill side1 where he never speaks or is spoken to1 and comes home only to sleep1 and the other works with his father at joiner's work1 or in sea-fishing1 or at a water-mill1 they will1 at manhood1 hardly appear to belong to the same race4 ,while the one can tell veneer from mahogany in passing a shop-window1 the other cannot see any difference between one stranger's face and another's4 ,while the sleepy clown cannot distinguish sea from land half a mile off1 the fisherman can see the greyest sail of the smallest sloop among the billows on the horizon4 ,while the shepherd does not hear himself called till the shout is in his ear1 the miller tells by the fireside1 by the run of the water1 whether the stream is deepening or threatening to go dry4 ,of course1 the quickness or slowness of the mind has much to do with these differences of eye and ear2 but besides that1 the eye and ear differ according to training4 ,the miller1 with his mind and ear all awake1 would hear1 with all his efforts1 only four or five birds' notes in a wood1 where a naturalist would hear twenty2 and the fisherman might declare the wide air to be vacant1 when a mountain sportsman would see an eagle1 like a minute speck1 indicating by its mode of flight where the game lay below4 ,man has a capacity for pleasure and pain4 ,this is an all-important part of his nature of which we can give no account1 because it is incomprehensible4 ,how he feels pleasure and pain1 and why one sensation or thought delights him and another makes him miserable1 nobody ever knew yet1 or perhaps ever will know4 ,it is enough for us that the fact is so4 ,of all the solemn considerations involved in the great work of education1 none is so awful as this--the right exercise and training of the sense of pleasure and pain4 ,the man who feels most pleasure in putting brandy into his stomach1 or in any other way gratifying his nerves of sensation1 is a mere beast4 ,one whose chief pleasure is in the exercise of the limbs1 and who plays without any exercise of the mind1 is a more harmless sort of animal1 like the lamb in the field1 or the swallow skimming over meadow or pool4 ,he whose delight is to represent nature by painting1 or to build edifices by some beautiful idea1 or to echo feelings in music1 is of an immeasurably higher order4 ,higher still is he who is charmed by thought1 above everything--whose understanding gives him more satisfaction than any other power he has4 ,higher still is he who is never so happy as when he is making other people happy--when he is relieving pain1 and giving pleasure to two1 or three1 or more people about him4 ,higher yet is he whose chief joy it is to labour at great and eternal thoughts1 in which lies bound up the happiness of a whole nation and perhaps a whole world1 at a future time when he will be mouldering in his grave4 ,any man who is capable of this joy1 and at the same time of spreading comfort and pleasure among the few who live round about him1 is the noblest human being we can conceive of4 ,he is also the happiest4 ,it is true that his capacity for pain is exercised and enlarged1 as well as his power of feeling pleasure4 ,but what pains such a man is the vice1 and folly1 and misery of his fellow-men2 and he knows that these must melt away hereafter in the light of the great ideas which he perceives to be in store for them3 while his pleasure being in the faith of a better future is as vivid and as sure as great thoughts are clear and eternal4 ,for an illustration of this noblest means of happiness1 we had better look to the highest instance of all4 ,i have always thought that we are apt to dwell too much on the suffering and sorrow of the lot and mind of ,christ4 ,our reverence and sympathy should be more with his abounding joy4 ,i think those who read with clear eyes and an open mind will see evidences of an unutterable joy in his words--may almost think they hear it in his tones1 when he promised heaven to the disinterested and earth to the meek1 and satisfaction to the earnest2 when he welcomed the faith of the centurion1 and the hope of the penitent1 and the charity of the widow2 when he foresaw the incoming of the ,gentiles1 and knew that heaven and earth should pass away sooner than his words of life and truth4 ,the sufferings of the holy can never surely transcend their peace3 and whose fulness of joy can compare with theirs8 ,before man can feel pleasure or pain from outward objects or from thoughts1 he must perceive them4 ,to a new-born infant1 or a blind person enabled to see for the first time1 objects before the eyes can hardly be said to exist4 ,the blue sky and a green tree beside a white house are not seen but as a blotch of colours which touches the eye4 ,this is the account given by persons couched for cataract1 who have never before seen a ray of light4 ,they see as if they saw not4 ,but the power is in them4 ,by degrees they receive the images1 and perceive the objects4 ,a child learns to receive sounds separately2 then to perceive one voice among others2 then to distinguish one tone from another--the voice of soothing from that of playfulness--the tone of warning from that of approbation2 then it receives thoughts through the sounds2 and so on1 till the power is exercised to the fullest extent that we know of--when distinct ideas are admitted from the minutest appearances or leadings--strange bodies detected in the heavens1 and fresh truths in the loftiest regions of human speculation4 ,it depends much on training whether objects and thoughts remain for life indistinct and confused before the perceptive power1 as before infant vision1 or whether all is clear and vivid as before a keen and practised eye4 ,we know not how ,memory acts1 any more than we understand how we feel pleasure and pain4 ,but we all know how the power of recalling images1 words1 thoughts1 and feelings1 depends on exercise4 ,a person whose power of memory has been neglected has little use of his past life4 ,the time1 and people1 and events that have passed by have left him little better than they found him3 while every day1 every person1 and every incident deposits some wealth of knowledge with him whose memory can receive and retain his experience4 ,then there are other powers which it will be enough merely to mention here1 as we shall have to consider them more fully hereafter4 ,man has the power1 after perceiving objects and thoughts1 to compare them1 and see when they differ and agree2 to penetrate their nature1 and understand their purpose and action4 ,it is thus that he obtains a knowledge of creation1 and the curious powers1 whether hidden or open to view1 which are for ever at work in it4 ,he can reason from what he knows to what he has reason to suppose1 and put his idea to the proof4 ,he can imitate what he sees2 and also the idea in his mind2 and hence comes invention2 and that wise kind of guess into what is possible which leads to great discovery2 discovery sometimes of a vast continent1 sometimes of a vast agency in nature for men's uses1 sometimes of a vast truth which may prove a greater acquisition to men's souls than a new hemisphere for their habitation4 ,man has also a wonderful power of conceiving of things about which he cannot reason4 ,we do not know how it is1 but the more we dwell on what is beautiful and striking1 what is true before our eyes and impressive to our minds1 the more able we become to conceive of things more beautiful1 striking1 and noble1 which have never existed1 but might well be true4 ,none of our powers require more earnest and careful exercise than this grand one of the ,imagination4 ,those in whom it is suppressed can never be capable of heroic acts1 of lofty wisdom1 of the purest happiness4 ,those in whom it is neglected may exercise the little power they have in a fruitless direction1 probably aggravating their own faults1 and certainly wasting the power on ideas too low for it1 as the voluptuary who dreams of selfish pleasure1 or the despot1 grand or petty1 who makes visions of unchecked tyranny4 ,those in whom it is healthily exercised will become as elevated and expanded as their nature admits1 and one here and there proves a ,mahommed1 lifting up half the human race into a higher condition2 or a ,raffaelle1 bringing down seraphs and cherubs from heaven1 and so clothing them as that men may look upon them and grow like them2 or a ,shakspere who became a creator in that way which is truly no impiety1 but1 on the contrary1 the highest worship4 ,men are apt1 in all times and everywhere1 to blaspheme1 by attributing to ,god their own evil passions and narrow ideas4 ,it is through this power of the ,imagination that they rise to that highest ideal which is the truest piety4 ,they rise to share godlike attributes2 the prophet seeing the things that are not as though they were1 and the poet creating beings that live and move and have their being1 immortal in the mind of man4 ,such a power resides more or less in every infant that lies in the bosom of every family4 ,alas for its guardians if they quench this power1 or turn it into a curse and disease by foul feeding6 ,then1 the ,emotions of men are so many powers1 to be recognised and trained4 ,of the power of ,hope there is no need to speak1 for all see what it is as a stimulus1 both in particular acts1 and through the whole course of a life4 ,fear is hardly less important1 though it is intended to die out1 or rather to pass into other and higher kinds of feeling4 ,a child who has never known a sensation of fear 7if there be such an one7 can never be a man of a high order4 ,he must either be coarsely made in body1 or unable to conceive of anything but what is familiar to him4 ,a child whose heart beats at shadows and the fitful sounds of the invisible wind1 and who hides his face on his mother's bosom when the stars seem to be looking at him as they roll1 is no philosopher at present2 but he is likely to grow into one if this fear is duly trained into awe1 humility1 thoughtfulness1 till1 united with knowledge1 it becomes contemplation1 and grows into that glorious courage which searches all through creation for ultimate truth4 ,out of ,fear1 too1 grows our power of ,pity4 ,without fear of pain1 we could not enter into the pain of others4 ,fear must be lost in reverence and love3 but reverence and love could never be so powerful as they ought to be1 if they were not first vivified by the power of ,fear4 ,what the power of ,love is1 in all its forms1 there is no need to declare to any one who has an eye and a heart4 ,in the form of ,pity1 how it led ,howard to spend his life in loathsome prisons1 crowded with yet more loathsome guilt6 ,in other forms1 how it sustains the unwearied mother watching through long nights over her wailing infant6 ,how it makes of a father1 rough perhaps to all others1 a holy and tender guardian of his pure daughters6 and how it makes ministering angels of them to him in turn6 ,how we see it1 everywhere in the world1 making the feeble and otherwise scantily-endowed strong in self-denial1 cheerful to endure1 fearless to die6 ,a mighty power surely is that which1 breathing from the soul of an individual man1 can conquer ,death1 and triumph over ,time4 ,then there is in man a force by which he can win and conquer his way through all opposition of circumstance1 and the same force in others4 ,this power of ,will is the greatest force on earth--the most important to the individual1 and the most influential over the whole race4 ,a strong ,will turned to evil lets hell loose upon the world4 ,a strong ,will wholly occupied with good might do more than we can tell to bring down ,heaven into the midst of us4 ,if among all the homes of our land1 there be one infant in whom this force is discerned working strongly1 and if that infant be under such guardianship as to have its will brought to bear on things that are pure1 holy1 and lovely1 to that being we may look as to a regenerator of his race4 ,he may be anywhere where there are children4 ,are there any parents who will not look reverently into the awful nature of their children1 search into their endowments1 and try of every one of them whether it may not be he8 ,if not he1 it is certain that every one of them is a being too mysterious1 too richly gifted1 and too noble in faculties not to be welcomed and cherished as a heaven-sent stranger4 ,how can we too carefully set in order the home in which it is to dwell8 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,how ,,to ,,expect4 ,whatever method parents may choose for educating a child1 they must have some idea in their minds of what they would have him turn out4 ,even if they set before them the highest aim of all--exercising and training all his powers--still they must have some thoughts and wishes1 some hopes and fears1 as to what the issue will prove to be4 ,in all states of society1 the generality of parents have wished that their children should turn out such as the opinion of their own time and country should approve4 ,there is a law of opinion in every society as to what people should be4 ,we have seen something of what this opinion was among the ,patriarchs of old1 the ,spartans1 the ,jews1 and others4 ,in our own day1 we find wide differences among neighbouring nations1 civilised1 and so-called1 christianised4 ,the ,french have a greater value for kindness and cheerfulness of temper and manners than the ,english1 and a less value for truth4 ,the ,russians have a greater value for social order and obedience1 and less for honesty4 ,the ,americans have a greater value for activity of mind and pursuits1 and less for peace and comfort4 ,in these and all other countries1 parents in general will naturally desire that their children should turn out that which is taken for granted to be most valuable4 ,an ordinary ,english parent of our time1 who had not given much thought to the subject1 would wish that his son should turn out as follows4 ,he would wish that the child should be docile and obedient1 clever enough to make teaching him an easy matter1 and to afford promise of his being a distinguished man2 truthful1 affectionate1 and spirited2 that as a man he should be upright and amiable1 sufficiently religious to preserve his tranquillity of mind and integrity of conduct3 steady in his business and prudent in his marriage1 so far as to be prosperous in his affairs4 ,now1 this looks all very well to a careless eye3 but it will not satisfy a thoughtful mind4 ,in all the ages and societies we have spoken of1 there have been a few men wiser than the average1 who have seen that the human being might and ought to be something better than the law of ,opinion required that he should be4 ,there are certainly ,hindoos now living and meditating who do not consider that men are so good as they might be1 while they think no harm of lying and stealing1 and who are sorry for the superstition which makes it an unpardonable crime to hurt a cow4 ,there are men among the ,americans who see virtue in repose of mind1 and moderation of desires to which the majority of their countrymen are insensible4 ,and so it is in our country4 ,we are all agreed1 from end to end of society1 that ,truthfulness1 ,integrity1 ,courage1 ,purity1 ,industry1 ,benevolence1 and a spirit of ,reverence for sacred things are inexpressibly desirable and excellent4 ,but when it comes to the question of the degree of these good things which it is desirable to attain1 we find the difference between the opinion of the many and that of the higher few4 ,a being who had these qualities in the highest degree could not get on in our existing society without coming into conflict with our law of ,opinion at almost every step4 ,if he were perfectly truthful1 he must say and do things in the course of his business which would make him wondered at and disliked2 he might be unable to take an oath1 or enter into any sort of vow1 or sell his goods prosperously1 or keep on good terms with bad neighbours4 ,if he were perfectly honourable and generous1 he might find it impossible to trade or labour on the competitive principle1 and might thus find himself helpless and despised among a busy and wealth-gathering society4 ,if he were perfectly courageous1 he might find himself spurned for cowardice in declining to go to war or fight a duel4 ,if he were perfectly pure1 he might find himself rebuked and pitied for avoiding a mercenary marriage1 and entering upon one which brings with it no advantage of connexion or money4 ,if the same purity should lead him to see that though the virtue of chastity cannot be overrated1 it has1 for low purposes1 been made so prominent as to interfere with others quite as important3 if he should see how thus a large proportion of the girlhood of ,england is plunged into sin and shame1 and then excluded from all justice and mercy2 if1 seeing this1 he is just and merciful to the fallen1 it is probable that his own respectability will be impeached1 and that some stain of impurity will be upon his name4 ,if he is perfectly industrious1 strenuously employing his various faculties upon important objects1 he will be called an idler in comparison with those who work in only one narrow track2 as an eminent author of our time was accused by the housemaid1 who was for ever dusting the house1 of wasting his time a-writing and reading so much4 ,just so the majority of men who have one sort of work to do accuse him of idleness who has more directions for his industry than they can comprehend4 ,if he is perfectly benevolent1 he cannot hope to be considered a prudent1 orderly1 quiet member of society4 ,he will be either incessantly spreading himself abroad1 and spending himself in the service of all about him1 or maturing in retirement some plan of rectification which will be troublesome to existing interests4 ,if he be perfectly reverent in soul1 looking up to the loftiest subjects of human contemplation with an awe too deep and true to admit any mixture of either levity or superstition1 he will probably be called an infidel2 or at least1 a dangerous person1 for not passively accepting the sayings of men instead of searching out the truth by the faithful use of his own powers4 ,thus we see how in our own1 as in every other society1 the law of ,opinion as to what men should be agrees in the large1 general points of character with the ideas of the wisest1 while there are great differences in the practical management of men's lives4 ,the perplexity to many thoughtful parents is what to wish and aim at4 ,now1 it must never be forgotten that it is a good thing that there must everywhere be such a law of ,opinion on this subject1 though it necessarily falls below the estimate of the wisest4 ,some rule and method in the rearing of human beings there must be2 and if some are dwarfed under it1 many more have a better chance than they would have if it were not a settled matter that truth1 courage1 benevolence1 c41 are good things4 ,till the constitution and training of the human being are better and more extensively understood than they are1 the general rule is something to go by1 as the product of a general instinct2 and it will work upon nearly all those who are born under it1 so as to bring them into something like order4 ,in our country1 there is1 ,i suppose1 scarcely a den so dark as that its inhabitants really think no harm whatever of lying and stealing1 or consider them merits1 as is the case in some parts of the world4 ,while we have among us far too many who thieve and cheat1 and quarrel1 and drink1 we can scarcely meet with any who do not think these things wrong1 or have not thought so before they were too far gone in them4 ,on the whole1 the law of ,opinion1 though far below what the wise see it might be1 is a great benefit1 and a thing worthy of serious regard in fixing our educational aims4 ,this prevalent opinion being a good thing as far as it goes1 having its origin in nature1 there can be no doubt that a good education1 having also its origin in nature1 would issue in a sufficient accordance with it for purposes of social happiness4 ,as human beings are born with limbs and senses whose thorough exercise brings them out in a high state of bodily perfection1 they are born with powers of the brain which1 thoroughly exercised1 would1 in like manner1 bring them out as great1 mentally and morally1 as their constitution enables them to be4 ,there must ever be innumerable varieties1 as no two infants could ever be said to be born perfectly alike2 and perhaps no two adults could be found who had precisely the same powers of limb and sense3 but out of this infinite variety must come such an amount of evidence as to what is best in human character as would constitute a law of ,opinion1 higher than the present1 but agreeing with it in its main points4 ,let us conceive of a county of ,england where every inhabitant should be not only saved from ignorance1 but having every power of body and mind made the very most of4 ,the variety would appear much greater than anything we now see4 ,there would be more people decidedly musical1 or decidedly mechanical1 or decidedly scientific3 more who would occupy their lives with works of benevolence1 or of art1 or of ingenuity3 more who would speculate boldly1 speak eloquently1 and show openly their high opinion of themselves1 or their anxiety for the good opinion of others4 ,the more variety and the greater strength of powers1 the clearer would be the evidence before all eyes of what is really the most to be desired for men4 ,it would come out more plainly than now that it is a bad and unhappy thing for men to have immoderate desires for money1 or luxury1 or fame1 or to have quarrelsome tendencies1 or to be subject to distrust and jealousy of others1 or to be afraid of pain of body or mind4 ,it would be more plain than ever that there is a soulfelt charm and nobleness and happiness in a spirit of reverence1 of justice1 of charity1 of domestic attachment1 and of devotion to truth4 ,thus1 in such a society1 there would be an agreement1 more clear and strong than now1 in all the best points of our present law of ,opinion1 while there would be fuller scope for carrying up the highest qualities of the human being to their perfection4 ,moreover1 as men are made every where with a general likeness of the powers of the mind1 as with the same number of limbs and senses1 there must come out of a thorough exercise of their faculties a sufficient agreement as to what is best to generate a universal idea of duty or moral good4 ,no varieties of endowment can interfere essentially with this result4 ,the ,hindoo has slender arms1 with soft muscles1 and cannot do the hard work which suits the ,german peasant3 yet both agree as to what arms are for1 and how they are to be used4 ,the ,red ,indian can see1 hear1 smell1 and taste twice as well as factory children or plough-boys2 yet all will agree that it is a good thing to have perfect sight and hearing4 ,and1 in the same way1 the ,african may have less power of thought than the ,englishman2 and the ,englishman may have less genius for music than the ,african3 but not only is the ,african able to think1 more or less1 and the ,englishman to enjoy music1 but they will agree that it is a good thing to have the highest power of thought1 and the greatest genius for music4 ,in the same manner1 again1 one race1 as well as one individual1 may have more power of reverence1 another of love1 another of self-reliance2 but all will agree that all these are inestimably good4 ,it follows from this1 that parents must be safe in aiming at thoroughly exercising and training all the powers of a child4 ,if it would be safest for all to do so1 in the certainty that the result would be in accordance with the best points of the law of ,opinion1 it must be a safe practice for individuals2 and they may proceed in the faith that their work 7if they do it well7 will turn out a noble one in the eyes of the men of their own day1 while they are doing their best to help on a clearer and brighter day1 when the law of ,opinion will itself be greatly ennobled4 ,here ,i must end my chapter4 ,but ,i must just say a word to guard against any hasty supposition that when ,i speak of exercising 7as well as training7 all the human powers thoroughly1 ,i contemplate any indulgence of strong passions or of evil inclinations4 ,it cannot be too carefully remembered that what ,i am speaking of is human ,,powers or ,faculties2 and that every power which a human being possesses may be exercised to good1 and is actually necessary to make him perfect4 ,it will be my business hereafter to show what this exercise and training should be4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,golden ,,mean4 ,it is a large subject that we have to treat2--that of household education2 for the main part of every process of education is carried on at home1 except in the instance of boarding-schools1 where a few years are spent by a small number of the youth of our country4 ,the queen was brought up under a method of household education2 and so was1 no doubt1 the last pauper who went to his grave in a workhouse coffin4 ,elizabeth ,fry was brought up at home2 so was the most ignorant and brutish convict that was blessed by the saving light of her pitying eye4 ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 to whom the starry heavens were as a home-field for intellectual exercises1 was reared at home2 and so were the poor children in the ,durham coal-pits in our own time1 who never heard of ,god1 and indeed could not tell the names of their own fathers and mothers4 ,if thus1 the loftiest and the lowliest1 the purest and the most criminal1 the wisest and the most ignorant1 are comprehended under the process of household education1 what a wide and serious subject it is that we have to consider6 ,the royal child must1 of course1 be trained wholly at home2 that is1 little princes and princesses cannot be sent to school4 ,but1 while reared in the house with their parents1 the influences they are under scarcely agree with our ideas of home4 ,the royal infant does not receive its food from the bosom first1 or afterwards from the hands of its mother4 ,she does not wash and dress it2 and those sweet seasons are lost which in humbler homes are so rich in caresses and play1 so fruitful in endearing influences both to mother and child4 ,it is a thing to be remarked and praised by a whole court1 if not a whole kingdom1 if a royal mother is seen with her child in her arms2 while the cottager's child is blessed with countless embraces between morning and night1 and sleeps on its mother's arm or within reach of her eye and voice4 ,the best trained royal child is disciplined to command of temper and manners2 made to do little services for people about him1 and sedulously taught that a child should be humble and docile4 ,but the young creature is all the while taught stronger lessons by circumstances than can ever come through human lips4 ,he sees that a number of grown persons about him are almost wholly occupied with him1 and that it is their business in life to induce him to command his temper and manners4 ,he feels that when he is bid to fetch and carry1 or to do any other little service1 it is not because such service is wanted1 but for the sake of the training to himself4 ,he is aware that all that concerns him every day is a matter of arrangement1 and not of necessity2 and a want of earnestness and of steady purpose is an inevitable consequence4 ,this want of natural stimulus goes into his studies4 ,i believe no solitary child gets on well with book-learning as a part of the business of every day4 ,the best tutors1 the best books1 the quietest school-room1 will not avail1 if the child's mind be not stirred and interested by something more congenial than the grammar and sums and maps he has to study4 ,and every royal child is solitary1 however many brothers and sisters he may have older and younger than himself4 ,he has his own servants1 his own tutor1 his own separate place and people1 so that he can never be jostled among other children1 or lead the true life of childhood4 ,and so proceeds the education of life for him4 ,he can never live amidst a large class of equals1 with whom he can measure his powers1 and from among whom he may select congenial friends4 ,he passes his life in the presence of servants1 has no occupations and no objects actually appointed to him1 unless his state be that of sovereignty1 in which case his position is more unfavourable still4 ,he dies at last in the midst of that habitual solitude which disables him from conceiving1 even at such a moment1 of the state in which rich and poor lie down together4 ,such a being may1 if the utmost has been done for him1 be decent in his habits1 amiable in temper and manners1 innocent in his pursuits1 and religious in his feelings2 but it is inconceivable that he can ever approach to our idea of a perfect man1 with an intellect fully exercised1 affections thoroughly disciplined1 and every faculty educated by those influences which arise only from equal intercourse with men at large4 ,the home education of the pauper child is no better1 though there are few who would venture to say how much worse it is4 ,a pauper child must 7,i think we may say7 be unfortunate in its parentage1 in one way or another4 ,if it knows its parents1 they must probably be either sickly1 or foolish1 or idle1 or dissolute2 or they would not be in a state of permanent pauperism4 ,the infant is reared 7if not in the workhouse7 in some unwholesome room or cellar1 amidst damp and dirt1 and the noises and sights of vice or folly4 ,he is badly nursed and fed1 and grows up feeble1 or in a state of bodily uneasiness which worries his temper1 and makes his passions excitable4 ,he is not soothed by the constant tenderness of a decent mother1 who feels it a great duty to make him as good and happy as she can1 and contrives to find time and thought for that object4 ,he tumbles in the dust of the road or the mud of the gutter1 snatches food wherever he can get it1 quarrels with anybody who thwarts him if he be a bold boy1 and sneaks and lies if he be naturally a coward4 ,he indulges every appetite1 as a matter of course1 as it arises2 for he has no idea that he should not4 ,he hates everybody who interferes with this license1 and has the best liking for those who use the same license with himself4 ,he knows nothing of any place or people but those he sees1 and never dreams of any world beyond that of his own eyes4 ,he does not know what society is1 or law1 or duty3 and therefore1 when he injures society1 and comes under the inflictions of the law for gross violations of duty1 he understands no more of what is done to him than if he was carried through certain ceremonies conducted in an unknown tongue4 ,he has some dim notion of glory in dying boldly before the eyes of the crowd2 so he goes to the gallows in a mocking mood1 as ignorant of the true import of life and human faculties as the day he was born4 ,or1 if not laid hold of by the law1 he goes on towards his grave brawling and drinking1 or half asleep in mind1 and inert or diseased in body1 till at last he dies as the beast dies4 ,here are the two extremes4 ,the condition about half way between them appears to me to be the most favourable1 on the whole1 for making the most of a human being1 and best fulfilling the purposes of his life4 ,there are stations above and below highly favourable to the attainment of excellence2 but1 taking in all considerations1 ,i think the position of the well-conditioned artisan the most favourable that society affords1 at least1 in our own day4 ,there is much good in enlarged book-learning2 in what is commonly called a liberal education4 ,if united with hard and imperative labour--labour at once of head and hands--it will help to make a nobler man than can be made without it3 but a liberal education1 enlarged book-learning1 ordinarily leads to only head work1 without that labour of the hands which is the way to much wisdom4 ,the benefits too are much confined to the individual1 so that the children of the wisest statesman1 or physician1 or lawyer are only accidentally1 if at all1 the better for his advantages2 while the best circumstances in the lot of the well-conditioned artisan are the inheritance and the privilege of his children4 ,and again1 the labourer may be so placed1 in regard to employment1 marriage1 and abode1 as that he may1 possessing an awakened mind1 be for ever learning great and interesting things from the book of ,nature and of ,scripture1 while he has comfort in his home1 and some leisure for training his children to his own work1 and whatever else may turn up1 so that they may grow up intelligent1 dutiful1 affectionate1 and able continually to improve4 ,the surgeon1 the manufacturer1 and the shop-keeper on the one hand1 and the street porter1 the operative1 and the labourer on the other1 may well work out the true purposes of life2 but the condition which appears to me to be the meeting point of the greatest number of good influences is that of the best order of artisans4 ,that condition affords the meeting point of book-knowledge1 and that which is derived from personal experience4 ,every day's labour of hand and eye is a page opened in the best of books--the universe4 ,when duly done1 this lesson leaves time for the other method of instruction1 by books4 ,during the day hours1 the earnest pupil learns of ,nature by the lessons she gives in the melting fire1 the rushing water1 the unseen wind1 the plastic metal or clay1 the variegated wood or marble1 the delicate cotton1 silk1 or wool2 and at evening he learns of men--of the wise and genial men who have delivered the best parts of their minds in books1 and made of them a sort of ethereal vehicle1 in which they can come at a call to visit any secret mind which desires communion with them4 ,and this privilege of double instruction is one which extends to the whole household of the chief pupil4 ,the children of the artisan are happily appointed1 without room for doubt1 to toil like their father2 and there is every probability that they will share his opportunity and his respect for book-knowledge4 ,at the outset of life1 they are tended by their mother1 owing directly to her their food and clothes1 their lullaby and their incitement to play4 ,during the day1 they are under her eye2 and in the evening1 they sit on their father's knee1 and get knowledge or fun from him4 ,in their busy home1 all the help is needed that every one can give2 so the real business of life begins early1 and with it the most natural and best discipline4 ,the children learn that it is an honour to be useful1 and a comfort and blessing to be neat and industrious4 ,so much more energy is naturally put into what must be done than into what it is merely expedient should be done1 that the children are likely to exert their once-roused faculties to much better purpose than if their business was appointed to them for their own educational benefit4 ,the little girl who tends the baby1 or helps granny1 or makes father's shirt1 or learns to cook the dinner1 is likely to put more mind into her work than if she were set to mark a sampler or make a doll's frock for the sake of learning to sew4 ,and so with the boy who carries the coals for his mother1 or helps his father in the workshop3 he will become manly earlier and more naturally than the highborn child who sees no higher sanction for his occupations than the authority of his parents4 ,and how dearly prized are the opportunities for book-study which can be secured6 ,the children see what a privilege and recreation reading is to their father2 and they grow up with a reverence and love for that great resource4 ,the hope and expectation carry them through the tedious work of the alphabet and pothooks4 ,and as they grow up1 they are admitted to the magnificent privilege of fireside intercourse with the holy ,milton1 and the glorious ,shakspeare1 and many a sage whose best thoughts may become their ideas of every day4 ,they thus obtain that activity and enlargement of mind which render all employments and all events educational4 ,the powers1 once roused and set to work1 find occupation and material in every event of life4 ,everything serves--the daily handicraft1 intercourse with the neighbours1 rumours from the world without1 homely duty1 books1 worship1 the face of the country1 or the action of the town4 ,all these incitements1 all this material1 are offered to the thoughtful artisan more fully and impartially than to such below and above him as are hedged in by ignorance or by aristocratic seclusion3 and therein is his condition better than theirs4 ,after having come to this conclusion1 it is no small satisfaction to remember that the most favoured classes are the most numerous4 ,so great a multitude is included in the middle classes1 compared with the highborn and the degraded1 that if they who have the best chance for wisdom will but use their privilege1 the highest hopes for society are the most reasonable4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,the ,,new ,,comer4 ,we may be perverse in our notions1 and mistaken in our ways2 but there are some great natural blessings which we cannot refuse4 ,i reckon it a great natural blessing that the main events of human life are common to all1 and that it is out of the power of man to spoil the privilege and pleasure of them4 ,birth1 love1 and death1 are beyond the reach of man's perverseness4 ,they come differently to the wise and the foolish1 the wicked and the pure3 but they come alike to the rich and the poor4 ,the infant finds as warm a bosom in which to nestle in the cottage as in the mansion4 ,the bride and bridegroom know the bliss of being all the world to each other as well in their ,sunday walk in the fields as in the park of a royal castle4 ,and when the mourners stand within the enclosure where rich and poor lie down together1 death is the same sad and sweet mystery to all the children of mortality1 whether they be elsewhere the lowly or the proud4 ,it may be said that the coming of the infant is not the same event to all1 because some very poor people are heard to speak of it as a misfortune1 and if the child dies1 to rejoice that the ,lord has taken it to himself4 ,it is true that some parents are heard to speak in this way2 but ,i believe that the difference here is not between rich and poor1 but between the wise and the foolish1--the trusting and the faithless4 ,i have a right to believe this as long as ,i see that the hardest-working mother can be as tender and as cheerful as any other1 and that the poorest man can be as conscientious a father as the richest4 ,if the parents have been guilty of no fault towards their unborn child2 if the child be the offspring of healthful and virtuous parents2 and if they are calmly resolved to do all in their power for its good1--to earn its bread1 to cherish its health1 to open its mind1 to nourish its soul1 they have as good a right to rejoice in the prospect of its birth as anybody in the world4 ,if they steadily purpose to do their full duty by their child1 they may rely upon it that all the powers of nature will help them2--that in a world wrapped round with sweet air1 and blessed by sunshine1 and abounding with knowledge1 the human being can hardly fail of the best ends of life1 if set fairly forth on his way by those who are all to him in his helpless years4 ,a doubt of this may be pardoned in parents too hard driven by adversity1 who have lost heart1 and think that to be poor is to be miserable3 but the doubt is not reasonable or religious2 and it is likely to be fatal to the child4 ,i need not consider it further3 for ,i write for those who have a high purpose and a high hope in rearing children4 ,those who despond are unfit for the charge1 and are not likely to enter into any consultation about it4 ,to all who have this high purpose and hope1 how interesting and how holy is this expectation of the birth of a human being6 ,the mother is happy1 and can wait4 ,the father thinks the time long till he can take his infant in his arms1 and lavish his love upon it4 ,if there are already children1 they are or should be made1 happy by some promise of the new blessing to come4 ,a serious hope it should be made to them1 however joyful3 a hope to be spoken of only in private seasons of confidence1 when parents and children speak to each other of what they feel most deeply1--by the bedsides of the little ones at night1 or in the quietest time of the ,sunday holiday4 ,a serious hope it should be to all parties2 for they should bring into the consideration the duties of labour and self-denial which lie before them1 and the seasons of anxiety which they must undergo4 ,before the parents lie sleepless nights1 after days of hard work1--hours and hours of that weary suffering which arises from the wailing of a sick infant3 and before the entire household the duty of those self-restraints which are ever due from the stronger to the weaker4 ,amidst the anticipated joys of an infant's presence1 these things are not to be forgotten4 ,when the child is born1 what an event is it in the education of the whole household6 ,according to the use made of it is it a pure blessing1 or a cause of pain and sin to some concerned4 ,if it be the first child1 there is danger lest it be too engrossing to the young mother4 ,i believe it happens oftener than anybody knows1 that the first conjugal discontents follow on the birth of the first child4 ,the young mother trusts too much to her husband's interest in her new treasure being equal to her own2--a thing which the constitution of man's nature1 and the arrangements of his business1 render impossible4 ,he will love his infant dearly1 and sacrifice much for it if he remains1 as he ought1 his wife's first object4 ,but if she neglects his comfort to indulge in fondling her infant1 she is doing wrong to both4 ,if her husband no longer finds1 on his return from his business1 a clean and quiet fireside1 and a wife eager to welcome him1 but a litter of baby-things1 and a wife too busy up-stairs to come down1 or too much engaged with her infant to talk with him and make him comfortable1 there is a mischief done which can never be repaired4 ,and if this infant be not the first1 there is another person to be no less carefully considered1--the next youngest4 ,i was early struck by hearing the mother of a large family say1 that her pet was always the youngest but one2 it was so hard to cease to be the baby6 ,little children are as jealous of affection as the most enraptured lover2 and they are too young to have learned to control their passions1 and to be reasonable4 ,a more miserable being can hardly exist than a little creature who1 having been accustomed to the tenderness always lavished on the baby1--having spent almost its whole life in its mother's arms1 and been the first to be greeted on its father's entrance1 finds itself bid to sit on its little stool1 or turned over to the maid1 or to rough brothers and sisters to be taken care of1 while everybody gathers round the baby1 to admire and love it4 ,angry and jealous feelings may grow into dreadful passions in that little breast1 if great care be not taken to smooth over the rough passage from babyhood to childhood4 ,if the mother would have this child love and not hate the baby1 if she would have peace and not tempest reign in the little heart1 she will be very watchful4 ,she will have her eye on the little creature1 and call it to help her to take care of the baby4 ,she will keep it at her knee1 and show it1 with many a tender kiss between1 how to make baby smile1 how to warm baby's feet2 will let it taste whether baby's food be nice1 and then peep into the cradle1 to see whether baby be asleep4 ,and when baby is asleep1 the mother will open her arms to the little helper1 and fondle it as of old1 and let it be all in all to her1 as it used to be4 ,this is a great piece of education to them both1 and a lesson in justice to all who stand by4 ,the addition of a child to the family circle is an event too solemn to be deformed by any falsehood4 ,but few parents have the courage to be truthful with their children as to how the infant comes2 a question which their natural curiosity always prompts4 ,the deceptions usually practised are altogether to be reprobated4 ,it is an abominable practice to tell children that the doctor brought the baby1 and the like4 ,it is abominable as a lie3 and it is worse than useless4 ,any intelligent child will go on to ask1--or if not to ask1 to ponder with excited imagination1--where the doctor found it1 and so on2 and its attention will be piqued1 and its mind injuriously set to work1 where a few serious words of simple but carefully expressed truth1 would have satisfied it entirely4 ,the child must1 sooner or later1 awaken to an understanding of the subject2 and it is no more difficult to impress him with a sense of decency about this1 than about other things1 that a well trained child never speaks of1 but to its mother in private4 ,the natural question once truthfully answered1 the little mind is at rest1 and free for the much stronger interests which are passing before its eyes4 ,the first month of an infant's life is usually a season of great moral enjoyment to the household4 ,everybody is disposed to bear and to do everything cheerfully for the sake of the new blessing4 ,the father does not mind the discomforts of the time of his wife's absence from the table and the fireside1 and makes himself by turns the nurse and the playfellow1 to carry the children well through it4 ,if ,granny be there1 and not able to do much in the house1 she gathers the little ones about her chair1 and tells them longer stories than ever before1 to keep them quiet4 ,the children try with all their might to be quiet2 and even the little two-year-old one struggles not to cry for company when baby cries1 and learns a lesson in self-restraint4 ,they look with respect on the maid or the nurse when they find that she has been up in the night1 tending mother and baby1 and that she looks as cheerful in the morning as if she had had good rest4 ,and when they are permitted to study the baby1 and to see how it jerks its little limbs about1 and does not see anything they want it to see1 and takes no notice of anything they say to it2 and when they hear that their great strong father1 so wise and so clever about his business1 was once just such a helpless little creature as this1 they learn to reverence this feeble infant1 and one another1 and themselves1 and their hearts are very full of feelings which they cannot speak4 ,i well remember that the strongest feelings ,i ever entertained towards any human being were towards a sister born when ,i was nine years old4 ,i doubt whether any event in my life ever exerted so strong an educational influence over me as her birth4 ,the emotions excited in me were overwhelming for above two years2 and ,i recal them as vividly as ever now when ,i see her with a child of her own in her arms4 ,i threw myself on my knees many times in a day1 to thank ,god that he permitted me to see the growth of a human being from the beginning4 ,i leaped from my bed gaily every morning as this thought beamed upon me with the morning light4 ,i learnt all my lessons without missing a word for many months1 that ,i might be worthy to watch her in the nursery during my play-hours4 ,i used to sit on a stool opposite to her as she was asleep1 with a ,bible on my knees1 trying to make out how a creature like this might rise from strength to strength1 till it became like ,christ4 ,my great pain was1 7and it was truly at times a despair17 to think what a work lay before this thoughtless little being4 ,i could not see how she was to learn to walk with such soft and pretty limbs3 but the talking was the despair4 ,i fancied that she would have to learn every word separately1 as ,i learned my ,french vocabulary2 and ,i looked at the big ,johnson's ,dictionary till ,i could not bear to think about it4 ,if ,i1 at nine years old1 found it so hard to learn through a small book like that ,vocabulary1 what would it be to her to begin at two years old such a big one as that6 ,many a time ,i feared that she never could possibly learn to speak4 ,and when ,i thought of all the trees and plants1 and all the stars1 and all the human faces she must learn1 to say nothing of lessons1--,i was dreadfully oppressed1 and almost wished she had never been born4 ,then followed the relief of finding that walking came of itself--step by step2 and then1 that talking came of itself--word by word at first1 and then many new words in a day4 ,never did ,i feel a relief like this1 when the dread of this mighty task was changed into amusement at her funny use of words1 and droll mistakes about them4 ,this taught me the lesson1 never since forgotten1 that a way always lies open before us1 for all that it is necessary for us to do1 however impossible and terrible it may appear beforehand4 ,i felt that if an infant could learn to speak1 nothing is to be despaired of from human powers1 exerted according to ,nature's laws4 ,then followed the anguish of her childish illnesses--the misery of her wailing after vaccination1 when ,i could neither bear to stay in the nursery nor to keep away from her2 and the terror of the back-stairs1 and of her falls1 when she found her feet2 and the joy of her glee when she first knew the sunshine1 and the flowers1 and the opening spring2 and the shame if she did anything rude1 and the glory when she did anything right and sweet4 ,the early life of that child was to me a long course of intense emotions which1 ,i am certain1 have constituted the most important part of my education4 ,i speak openly of them here1 because ,i am bound to tell the best ,i know about ,household ,education2 and on that1 as on most subjects1 the best we have to tell is our own experience4 ,and ,i tell it the more readily because ,i am certain that my parents had scarcely any idea of the passions and emotions that were working within me1 through my own unconsciousness of them at the time1 and the natural modesty which makes children conceal the strongest and deepest of their feelings3 and it may be well to give parents a hint that more is passing in the hearts of their children1 on occasion of the gift of a new soul to the family circle1 than the ingenuous mind can recognise for itself1 or knows how to confide4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,frame4 ,we have seen something of the influence of the infant upon others3 now let us see what others can do for it4 ,here is a little creature containing within itself the germs of all those powers which have before been described2 but with all these powers in so feeble a state that months and years of nourishing and cherishing under the influences of ,nature are necessary to give it the use of its own powers4 ,what its parents can do for it1 and all that they can do for it1 is to take care that it has the full advantage of the influences of ,nature4 ,this is their task4 ,they cannot get beyond it1 and they ought not to fall short of it4 ,nature requires and provides that the tender frame should be nourished with food1 air1 warmth and light1 sleep and exercise4 ,all these being given to it1 the soft bones will grow hard1 the weak muscles will grow firm2 the eye will become strong to see1 and the ear to hear1 and the different portions of the brain to feel1 and apprehend1 and think2 and to form purposes1 and to cause action1 till the helpless infant becomes a self-acting child1 and is on the way to become a rational man4 ,what the parents have to do is to take care that the babe has the best of food1 air1 warmth1 and light1 sleep and exercise4 ,first1 of food4 ,about this there is no possible doubt4 ,the mother's milk is the best of food4 ,what the mother has to look to is that her milk is of the best4 ,she must preserve her own health by wholesome diet1 air1 and exercise1 and by keeping a gentle and cheerful temper4 ,many a babe has had convulsions after being suckled by a nurse who had had a great fright1 or had been in a great passion3 and a mother who has an irritable or anxious temper1 who flushes or trembles with anger1 or has her heart in her throat from fear of this or that1 will not find her child thrive upon her milk1 but will have much to suffer from its illness or its fretfulness4 ,she must try1 however busy she may be1 to give it its food pretty regularly1 that its stomach may not be overloaded nor long empty or craving4 ,an infant does not refuse food when it has had enough1 as grown people can do4 ,it will stop crying and suck1 when its crying is from some other cause than hunger3 and it will afterwards cry all the more if an overloaded stomach is added to the other evil1 whatever it may be4 ,of the contrary mischief--leaving a babe too long hungry--there is no need to say anything4 ,and when the weaning time comes1 it is plain that the food should be at first as like as possible to that which is given up2 thin1 smooth1 moderately warm1 fresh1 and sweet1 and given as leisurely as the mother's milk is drawn4 ,it is well known that milk contains1 more curiously than any other article of food1 whatever is necessary for nourishing all the parts of the human body4 ,it contains that which goes to form and strengthen the bones1 and that which goes to make and enrich the blood--thereby causing the soft bones of the babe to grow stiff and strong1 and its heart to beat healthily1 and its lungs to play vigorously1 and its muscles to thicken and become firm4 ,while all this is going on well1 and the child shows no need of other food1 there is nothing but mischief to be looked for from giving it a variety for which it is not prepared4 ,milk1 flour and water are its natural food while it has no teeth to eat meat with1 and vegetables turn sour on its stomach4 ,as for giving it a bit or sip of what grown persons are eating and drinking--that is a practice too ignorant to need to be mentioned here4 ,next comes air4 ,here1 as usual1 we have to consult ,nature4 ,there is an ingredient in the air which is as necessary to support human breathing as to feed the flame of a candle4 ,where there is too little of it1 the flame of a candle burns dim2 and where it is not freely supplied to a human frame1 it languishes1 and pines and sickens4 ,a constant supply of pure air there must therefore be4 ,if the house is close1 if the room is too long shut up1 with people in it who are using up that ingredient of the air1 they will all1 and especially the babe1 languish and pine and sicken4 ,every morning1 therefore1 and during the day1 there must be plenty of fresh air let in to replace that which has been spoiled by breathing2 and in fine weather1 the babe should be carried into the open air every day4 ,but ,nature also points out that we must avoid extremes in giving the child air1 as well as food4 ,we see sometimes how a babe grows black in the face if carried with its face to the wind1 or whisked down stairs in a draught4 ,its lungs are small and tender1 like the rest of it1 and can bear even fresh air only when moderately given4 ,by a little care in turning its face away from the wind1 or lightly covering its head1 a child may be saved from being half strangled by a breeze out of doors2 while care will1 of course1 be taken within doors to keep it out of the direct draught from door or window4 ,as for light--we do not yet know so much as we ought about the relation between light and the human frame4 ,i believe some curious secrets remain to be discovered about that4 ,but we do know this much--that people who live in dark places1 prisoners in dungeons1 and very poor people in cellars1 and savages in caves who do not go abroad much1 are not only less healthy than others1 but have peculiar diseases which are distinctly traceable to deficiency of light4 ,my own conviction is that we grown people can hardly have too much light in our houses2 and that we are1 somehow or other1 alive almost in proportion to the sunshine we live in4 ,but we must observe1 at the same time1 the difference which ,nature makes between the infant and adults4 ,the infant's eyes are weak1 and its brain tender2 so that1 while there is plenty of light about its body1 we must take care that there is not too much directly before its eyes4 ,if held opposite a strong sunshine1 it will squint if it does not cry1 or by some means show that the light is too much for its tender brain4 ,as to warmth--everybody knows that a babe cannot have that constant warmth which is kept up in older persons by constant activity4 ,its little feet require frequent warm handling2 and its lips often look blue when everybody else in the room is warm enough4 ,by gentle chafing and warming it must be kept comfortable during the day1 without being shut up in a hot room1 or scorched before the fire4 ,as for the night--its warmth should be secured by sufficient clothing1 in a little bed of its own1 as early as possible1 rather than by lying with its mother1 which is far too common a practice4 ,it may be necessary1 in extremely cold weather1 to take the child into bed for warmth2 but even then1 the mother should not sleep till she has put it back1 warm and well covered1 into its own bed4 ,i need say nothing of the horror we feel when1 every now and then1 we hear of a miserable mother whose child has been overlaid4 ,that accident happens oftener than many people know of4 ,but1 besides that danger1 the practice is a bad one4 ,the child breathes air already breathed2 it soaks in the perspiration of its mother4 ,if its state is healthful1 its natural sleep will keep it warm1 supposing its bedding to be sufficient2 while it is likely to be too hot1 and not to breathe healthfully1 if laid close by another person4 ,in all seasons1 its clothing should be loose enough to allow of a free play of its limbs1 and of all the movements within its body--the beating of the heart1 the heaving of the lungs1 and the rolling of the bowels1 to go on quite naturally4 ,by careful management1 an infant may be kept in a state of natural warmth1 night and day1 through winter and summer2 as every sensible mother knows4 ,the little frame must be exercised4 ,every human function depends on exercise for its growth and perfection4 ,a person who lives almost in the dark has little use of his eyes when he comes into the light2 an arm hung in a sling becomes weak1 and at last useless2 a talent for arithmetic or music becomes feebler continually from disuse4 ,to make the most therefore of the frame of a human being1 it must be exercised--some of its powers from the beginning1 and all in their natural order4 ,we must take care1 however1 to observe what this natural order is1 or1 judging by our present selves1 we may attempt too much4 ,we must remember that the infant has to begin from the beginning1 and that its primary organs--the heart1 lungs1 and brain--have to become accustomed to moderate exercise before anything further should be attempted4 ,at first1 it is quite enough for the infant to be taken up and laid down1 washed and dressed1 and carried about a little on the arm4 ,when the proper time comes1 it will kick and crow1 and reach and handle1 and look and listen4 ,its very crying1 if only what is natural to express its wants1 is a good exercise of those parts intended to be used afterwards in speaking and making childish noises4 ,poor ,laura ,bridgman1 the ,american girl1 who early lost both eyes and the inner parts of the ears1 and cannot hear1 see1 smell1 or taste1 and whose mind is yet developed by means of the sense of touch1 said a thing 7said it by finger language7 which appears to me very touching and very instructive4 ,not being able to speak1 she was formerly apt to use the organs of speech in making odd noises1 disagreeable to people about her4 ,when told of this1 and encouraged to try to be silent1 she asked--,why1 then1 has ,god given me so much voice8 ,her guardians took the hint1 and gave her a place to play in for some time every day1 where she can make as much noise as she likes--hearing none of it herself1 but enjoying the exercise to her organs of sound4 ,what ,laura does now1 an infant does by squalling1 and children do by shouting and vociferating at their play4 ,their parents1 it must be remembered1 are talking for many hours while they are asleep4 ,other exercises follow in their natural course--the rolling and tumbling about on a thickly wadded quilt on the floor 7saving the busy mother's time1 while teaching the child the use of its limbs7--feeling its feet on the lap1 and learning to step1 scrambling up and down by the leg of the table1 pulling and throwing things about1 imitating sounds1 till speech is attained--these are the exercises which nature directs1 and under which the powers grow till the mother can see in her plaything the sailor who may one day rock at the mast-head1 or the stout labourer who may trench the soil1 or the gardener who will name a thousand plants at a glance1 or the teacher who will bring out and train a hundred human intellects4 ,what she has to look to is that the powers of her child are all remembered and considered1 and exercised only in due degree and natural order4 ,after exercise comes sleep4 ,if all else go well1 this will too4 ,if the child digest well1 be warm1 sufficiently fatigued and not too much--in short1 if it be comfortable in body1 it will sleep at proper times4 ,one of the earliest pieces of education--of training--is to induce a babe to sleep regularly1 and without the coaxing which consumes so much of the mother's time1 and encourages so much waywardness on the part of the child4 ,if a healthy child be early accustomed to a bed of its own1 and if it is laid down at a sleepy moment1 while the room is quiet1 it will soon get into a habit of sleeping when laid down regularly1 in warmth and stillness1 after being well washed and satisfied with food4 ,the process is natural2 and it would happen easily enough if our ways did not interfere with ,nature4 ,by a little care1 a child may be attended to in the night without fully awakening it4 ,by watching for its stirring1 veiling the light1 being silent and quick1 the little creature may be on its pillow again without having quite waked up--to its own and its mother's great advantage4 ,cleanliness is the removal of all that is unwholesome4 ,nature has made health dependent upon this1 in the case of human beings of every age3 and the more eminently1 the younger they are4 ,one great condition of an infant's welfare is the removal of all discharges whatever1 by careful cleansing of the delicate skin in every crease and corner1 every day2 and of all clothing as soon as soiled4 ,the perpetual washing of an infant's bibs1 c41 is a great trouble to a busy mother2 but less than to have the child ill from the smell of a sour pinafore1 or from wet underclothes1 or from a cap that holds the perspiration of a week's nights and days4 ,it is a thing which must be done--the keeping all pure and sweet about the body of the little creature that cannot help itself2 and its look of welfare amply repays the trouble all the while4 ,such are the offices to be rendered to the new-born infant4 ,they consist in allowing ,nature scope for her higher offices4 ,by their faithful discharge1 the human being is prepared to become in due season all that he is made capable of being--which may prove to be something higher than we are at present aware of4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,powers3--,,will4 ,while the bodily powers of the infant are nourished and preserved by observing ,nature1 as pointed out in the last chapter1 the powers of the mind are growing from day to day4 ,when an infant has once been pleased with the glitter of the sun upon the brass warming-pan1 or with the sound of a rattle1 it will kick and shake its little arms1 and look eager1 the next time it sees the rattle and the warming-pan4 ,and having once remembered1 it will remember more every day4 ,every day it will give signs of ,hope and ,desire4 ,will shows itself very early4 ,fear has to be guarded against1 and ,love to be cherished1 from the first days that mind appears4 ,it is the highest possible privilege to the child if the parents know how to exercise its power of ,conscience soon enough1 so as to make it sweet and natural to the young creature to do right from its earliest days4 ,let us see how these things may be4 ,how strong is the ,will of even a very young infant6 ,how the little creature1 if let alone1 will labour and strive after anything it has set its mind upon6 ,how it cries and struggles to get the moon2 and tumbles about the floor1 as soon as it can sprawl1 to accomplish any wish6 ,and1 if ill-trained1 how pertinaciously it will refuse to do anything it ought6 ,how completely may the wills of a whole party of grown people be set at nought by the self-will of a baby whose powers are allowed to run riot6 ,it is exceedingly easy to mismanage such cases1 as we all see every day3 but it is also very easy to render this early power of ,will a great blessing4 ,the commonest mistake is to indulge the child's self-will1 as the easiest course at the moment4 ,immediate peace and quiet are sought by giving the child whatever it clamours for1 and letting it do whatever it likes in its own way4 ,we need not waste words on this tremendous mistake4 ,everybody knows what a spoiled child is2 and nobody pretends to stand up for the method of its education4 ,i think quite as ill of the opposite mistake--of the method which goes by the name of breaking the child's will2 a method adopted by some really conscientious parents because they think religion requires it4 ,when ,i was in ,america1 ,i knew a gentleman who thought it his first duty to break the wills of his children2 and he set about it zealously and early4 ,he was a clergyman1 and the ,president of an ,university3 the study of his life had been the nature and training of the human mind3 and the following is the way he chose--misled by a false and cruel religion of ,fear--to subdue and destroy the great faculty of ,will4 ,an infant of 7,i think7 about eleven months old was to be weaned4 ,a piece of bread was offered to the babe2 and the babe turned away from it4 ,its father said that it was necessary to break down the rebellious will of every child for once2 that if done early enough1 once would suffice2 and that it would be right and kind to take this early occasion in the instance of this child4 ,the child was therefore to be compelled to eat the bread4 ,a dressmaker in the house saw the process go on through the whole day2 and became so dreadfully interested that she could not go away at night till the matter was finished4 ,of course1 the bit of bread became more and more the subject of disgust1 and then of terror to the infant1 the more it was forced upon its attention4 ,hours of crying1 shrieking and moaning were followed by its being shut up in a closet4 ,it was brought out by candlelight--stretched helpless across the nurse's arms1 its voice lost1 its eyes sunk and staring1 its muscles shrunk1 its appearance that of a dying child4 ,it was now near midnight4 ,the bit of bread was thrust into the powerless hand2 no resistance was offered by the unconscious sufferer2 and the victory over the evil powers of the flesh and the devil was declared to be gained4 ,the dressmaker went home1 bursting with grief and indignation1 and told the story3 and when the ,president went abroad the next morning1 he found the red brick walls of the university covered with chalk portraits of himself holding up a bit of bread before his babe4 ,the affair made so much noise that he was1 after some time1 compelled to publish a justification of himself4 ,this justification amounted to what was well understood throughout2 that he conscientiously believed it his duty to take an early opportunity to break the child's will1 for its own sake4 ,there remained for his readers the old wonder where he could find in the book of ,glad ,tidings so cruel a contradiction of that law of love which stands written on every parent's heart4 ,how much easier is the true and natural method for controlling the young ,will6 ,nature points out that the true method is to control the ,will1 not by another person's ,will1 but by the other faculties of the child itself4 ,when the child wills what is right and innocent1 let the faculty work freely4 ,when it wills what is wrong and hurtful1 appeal to other faculties1 and let this one sleep2 excite the child's attention2 engage its memory1 or its hope1 or its affection4 ,if the infant is bent on having something that it ought not1 put the forbidden object out of sight1 and amuse the child with something else4 ,avoid both indulgence and opposition1 and a habit of docility will be formed by the time the child becomes capable of deliberate self-control4 ,this natural method being followed1 it is curious to see how early the power of self-control may be attained4 ,i watched one case of a child endowed with a strong ,will who1 well trained1 had great power of self-government before she could speak plain4 ,she was tenderly reared1 and indulged in her wishes whenever they were reasonable1 and cheerfully amused and helped whenever her desires were disappointed4 ,one day ,i had just begun to show her a bright new red pocket-book full of pictures when she was called to her dinner4 ,she did not want her dinner1 and begged to see the pocket-book2 begged it once--twice--and was about to beg it a third time1 when ,i ventured to put to the proof her power of self-denial4 ,i put the case before her as it appeared to me1 fairly saying that ,i could not show her the pocket-book till five in the afternoon4 ,showing her what ,i thought the right of the matter1 ,i asked her whether she would now go to her dinner4 ,she stood1 with the pocket-book in her hand1 for some seconds in deep thought2 then looked up at me with a bright face1 said graciously ,i will2 put the gay plaything into my lap1 and ran off to her dinner4 ,the looking forward till five o'clock and the pleasure of that hour fixed the effort in her mind1 and made the next easier4 ,it is clear that a child early subject to oppression and opposition in matters of the ,will could not arrive thus betimes and naturally at self-government like this1 but must have many perverse and painful feelings to struggle with1 in addition to the necessary conflict with himself4 ,a parent who duly appreciates the great work that every human being has to do in attaining self-government1 will assist the process from the very first1 by the two great means in his power--by the aid of ,habit1 and of a government of love instead of fear4 ,it is really due to the feebleness of a child to give it the aid and support of habit in what it has to do and avoid4 ,by regularity in the acts of its little life1 in its sleeping and feeding1 and walking and times of play1 a world of conflict and wilfulness is avoided1 and the will is quietly trained1 day by day1 to submission to circumstances2 life goes on with the least possible wear and tear2 and a continually strengthening power is obtained over all the faculties4 ,among the children entering upon school life1 and men and women upon any sphere of duty whatever1 a great difference as to efficiency will be found between those who always have to bring their ,will to bear expressly on the business of the time1 unaided by habit1 and those whose lives and powers have been1 as one may say1 economised by their having lived under that discipline of time and circumstance which is the gentle and natural education of the human ,will4 ,it is true1 this mechanical kind of discipline can never be more than auxiliary4 ,it can never stand in the place of the deep internal principle by which alone the mightiest movements of the human will are actuated4 ,it can only husband a man's powers for his ordinary duties1 and not of itself prepare him for the great crises of life4 ,it can only aid him in his everyday course1 and not strengthen him1 when the agonising hour comes1 to surrender love1 and hope1 and peace1 at the call of duty1 or to encounter outrage and death for truth's sake4 ,but we are now considering the education of the infant man2 man at that stage when our chief concern is with whatever is auxiliary to that great aim of perfection which lies far in the future4 ,above all things it is important that the parental administration should be one of love and not of fear4 ,there can be no healthful growth of the ,will under the restraints of fear4 ,the fact is1 the ,will is not trained at all in any frightened person4 ,the actions may be conformed to the ,will of the tyrant2 but the ,will is running riot in secret all the time--unless1 indeed1 it be entirely crushed4 ,but how vigorously it grows under a government of love6 ,look at the difference between a slave-owner1 whose people are driven by the lash1 and an employer whose people are ready to live and die for him3 how languidly and shabbily is the work done in the first case1 and how heartily and efficiently in the last6 ,and it is with the young child as with the grown man4 ,a child who lives in the fear of punishment has half its faculties absorbed by that fear1 and becomes a feeble little creature1 incapable of governing itself2 while a mere babe who is cheered and led on in its good efforts by smiles of love and tones of tenderness becomes strong to govern its passions1 and to brush away its tears2 and patient to bear pain2 and brave to overcome difficulty2 becomes blessed1 in short1 with a healthful and virtuous ,will4 ,i know nothing more touching than the efforts of self-government of which little children are capable1 when the best parts of their nature are growing vigorously under the light and warmth of parental love4 ,mrs4 ,wesley might pride herself on so breaking the wills of her children by fear as that the youngest in arms learned immediately to cry softly2 but there was every danger that the early cowed ,will would sooner or later start up in desperate rebellion1 and claim a freedom which it would be wholly unable to manage4 ,how much safer1 and how infinitely more beautiful is the self-control of the little creature who stifles his sobs of pain because his mother's pitying eye is upon him in tender sorrow6 or that of the babe who abstains from play1 and sits quietly on the floor because somebody is ill2 or that of a little hero who will ask for physic if he feels himself ill1 or for punishment if he knows himself wrong1 out of confidence in the tender justice of the rule under which he lives6 ,i have known a very young child slip over to the cold side of the bed on a winter's night1 that a grown-up sister might find a warm one4 ,i have known a boy in petticoats offer his precious new humming-top to a beggar child4 ,i have known a little girl submit spontaneously to hours of irksome restraint and disagreeable employment merely because it was right4 ,such ,wills as these--so strong and yet so humble1 so patient and so dignified--were never impaired by fear1 but flourished thus under the influence of love1 with its sweet incitements and holy supports4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,powers3--,,hope4 ,we have seen what power of ,will a child has4 ,but the ,will itself is put in action by ,hope and ,fear4 ,what is stronger in an infant than its capacity for ,hope and ,fear8 ,in its earliest and most unconscious stages of emotion1 how its little limbs quiver1 and its countenance lights up at the prospect of its food6 and how it turns away its face1 or wrinkles it up into a cry1 at the sight of a strange countenance1 or unusual appearance of dress or place6 ,and what stronger hint can a parent have than this to look forward to what this hope and fear may grow to8 ,this great power of ,hope must determine the leading features of the character of the man or woman2 determine them for good or evil according to the training of the power from this day forward4 ,shall the man continue a child1 or sink into the brute by his objects of hope continuing to be what they are now--food or drink8 ,shall his frame be always put into commotion by the prospect of pleasant bodily sensations from eating and drinking1 and other animal gratifications8 ,or1 when the child arrives at hoping for his mother's smile and his father's praise1 shall he stop there1 and live for admiration2 admiration of his person and dress1 his activity1 or his cleverness8 ,shall the gratification of his vanity be the chief interest of his life8 ,or shall it be ambition8 ,shall his perpetual hope be of a higher sort of praise--praise from so large a number as shall give him power over other men1 and cause his name to be known beyond his connexions1 and his native place1 and his country and his age8 ,all this is very low and very small2 too little for the requirements of his nature1 too little for the peace of his mind and the happiness of his heart4 ,shall not rather this faculty of hope be nourished up into ,faith8--faith which includes at once the fulness of virtuous power and the peace which the world can neither give nor take away4 ,a being in whom the early faculty of ,hope has been matured into a steady power of ,faith is of the highest and happiest order of men1 because the objects of his hope are unchanging and ever-lasting1 and they keep all his best powers in strenuous action and in full health and strength4 ,when the mother sees her infant in an ecstacy of hope1 first at the food making ready for him1 and next at the gay flower within his reach1 and afterwards at the flattery of visitors1 she should remember that here is the faculty which may hereafter lead and sustain him through days of hunger and nights of watching1 or years of toilsome obscurity1 or scenes of the unthinking world's scorn1 calm and peaceful in the furtherance of the truth of ,god and the welfare of ,man4 ,and if her tender heart shrinks from the anticipation of privation and contempt such as have too often hitherto attended a life of faith1 let her remember that in the midst of the most prosperous life there can be no peace but in proportion to the power of faith2 and that therefore in training up this faculty of ,hope to its highest exercise she is providing most substantially for his happiness1 be his lot otherwise what it may4 ,how is this faculty to be trained8-- ,first1 it must be cherished4 ,some well-meaning parents repress and even extinguish it1 from the notion that this is the way to teach humility and self-denial4 ,the consequence is that they break the mainspring of action in the child's mind1 and everything comes to a stand4 ,it is difficult to weaken the power of hope in a human being1 and harder still to break it down2 but when the thing is done1 what sadder spectacle can be seen8 ,of all moving sights of woe1 the most mournful is that of a hopeless child4 ,a single glance at its listless limbs1 its dull eye1 its languid movements1 shows the mischief that has been done4 ,the child is utterly unreliable2 a mere burden upon the world4 ,he has no truth1 no love1 no industry1 no intellectual power in him2 and if he has any conscience1 it is the mere remains1--enough to trouble him1 without doing him any good4 ,this is an extreme case1 and ,i trust a rare one4 ,but cases of repressed hope are much more common than they should be4 ,there are too many children who are baulked of their mother's sympathy because she is busy or fretful1 or of their father's1 because he is stern4 ,too many little hearts are made to swell in silence because they cannot get justice1 or to burn under the suspicion that their aspirations are despised4 ,after this1 what can they do8 ,at best1 they carry their confidence elsewhere1 and make their chief interests away from home3 and it is too probable that they will give up their plans and aspirations1 and sink down to lower hopes4 ,a boy who aspires to discover the ,north ,pole1 or to write a book which will teach the world something greater than it ever knew before1 will presently sink down to be greedy after lollypops3 and a girl who means to try whether a woman cannot be as good as ,jesus ,christ1 may presently be discouraged down to the point of reckoning on ,sunday because she is to have a new ribbon on her bonnet4 ,in the case of every human being1 ,hope is to be cherished from first to last2 not the hope of the particular thing that the child has set its mind on1 unless the thing itself be good2 but the hopeful mood of mind4 ,the busiest mother can have nothing to do so important as satisfying her child's heart by a word or look of sympathy3 and the most anxious father can have nothing so grave to occupy him as the peril he puts his child into by plunging him into undeserved fear and disappointment4 ,hope is to be cherished without ceasing4 ,but the objects of hope must first be varied and then exalted1 that the faculty may be led on from strength to strength1 till it is able to fix its aims for itself4 ,to the hope of good eating and drinking must succeed that of clutching gay colours1 of hearing mother sing1 of having play with father when he comes home2 then of having a kitten or a doll to take care of2 then of parents' praise for lessons or other work well done2 then of self-satisfaction for bad habits cured3 then there may be a great spring forward to thoughts of glory2--the glory of being a great sailor1 or magistrate1 or author1 or martyr3 and at length1 the hope of doing great things for the good of mankind1 and of becoming a perfect man4 ,as for times and opportunities of cherishing and exalting hope--every hour is the right time1 and every day affords the opportunity4 ,what is needed1 is that the parents should have the aim fixed in their hearts2 and then their minds1 and that of the child1 will work towards it as by an instinct4 ,by natural impulse the mother's hand will bring the gay flower1 and the kitten or the doll before the child's notice1 if it becomes greedy about its food4 ,by natural impulse she will sing its favourite song1 or beg play for it of its father after some little virtuous effort of the child's2 in natural course1 all things in human life1 great and small1 will present themselves in their heroic aspect to the minds of the parents1 and be thus represented to the mind of the child1 if once the idea of the future man be firmly associated with that of moral nobleness4 ,if they have in them faith enough steadily to desire for him this moral nobleness above all things1 there can be no fear but that their aspiration will communicate itself to him2 and his faculty of ,hope will ripen into a power of ,faith4 ,i have said nothing of a hope of reward as among the objects of childhood4 ,this is because ,i think rewards and punishments seldom or never necessary in household education1 while they certainly bring great mischief after them4 ,in some cases of bad habit1 and in a very early stage of education1 they may be desirable1 here and there2 but as a system1 ,i think rewards and punishments bad4 ,in the case of a very young child who has fallen into a habit of crying at bedtime1 or at any particular time of day1 or in that of a thoughtless1 untidy child1 where the object is to impress its memory1 or to establish a strong association with time or place1 it may be useful to connect some expectation of pain or pleasure with particular seasons or acts1 so as to make the infant remember the occasion for self-government1 and rouse its will to do right2 but this should be only where the association of selfish pleasure or pain is likely to die out with the bad habit1 and never where such selfish pleasure or pain can be associated with great permanent ideas and moral feelings4 ,a careless child may be allowed to earn a reward for punctuality at meals1 and for putting playthings and dress in their proper place when done with1 and for personal neatness1 during a specified time2 and perhaps for the diligent learning of irksome tasks3 and there may be some punishment1 declared and agreed upon before hand1 and steadily inflicted1 for any disagreeable personal habit1 or any other external instance of habitual thoughtlessness4 ,but the greater moral aims of the parent are too sacred to be mixed up with the direct personal interests of the child4 ,a child will hardly be nobly truthful who dreads being whipped for a lie2 and benevolence will be spoiled in its young beginnings1 if any pleasure beyond itself is looked for in its early exercise4 ,a child who has broken a plate1 or gone astray for pleasure when sent on an errand1 must want confidence in his parents1 and be more or less cowardly if he denies the offence2 and he will not have more truth or courage on the next occasion for being whipped now4 ,what he needs is to be made wiser about the blessedness of truth and the horrors of falsehood1 and more brave about the pain of rebuke3 and the whipping will not make him either the one or the other4 ,i remember being fond of a book in my childhood which yet revolted me in one part4 ,it told of the children of a great family in ,france1 who heard of the poverty of a woman about to lie in1 and who bought and made clothes for herself and her infant4 ,their mother and grandmother made a sort of festival of the giving of these clothes4 ,the children rode in procession on asses1 carrying their gifts4 ,one tied her bundle with blue ribbon1 and another with pink2 and the whole village came out to see1 when they alighted at the poor woman's door4 ,i used to blush with indignation over this story2 indignation on the poor woman's account1 that her pauperism was so exposed2 and on that of the children1 that they were not allowed the pure pleasure of helping a neighbour1 without being applauded at home and by a whole village for what it gave them nothing but satisfaction to do4 ,i am strongly of opinion that when we duly understand and estimate man1 there will be no reward or punishment at all2 that human beings will be so trained as to find their pleasure and pain in the gratification or the abuse of their own highest faculties2 and that in those days 7however far off they may be7 there will be no treadwheels1 no hulks1 no gibbets2 and no prize-giving1 except for feats of skill or activity4 ,and meantime1 ,i feel perfectly sure that children under home-training may be led to find such gratification in the exercise of their higher intellectual and moral faculties1 as to feel the abuse of them more painful than any punishment1 and their action more pleasurable than any reward4 ,when we read of a ,christian in the early ages who was brought into the amphitheatre1 and given the choice whether he would declare ,jupiter to be the supreme ,god1 and enjoy life and comfort1 or avow himself a ,christian1 and be torn to pieces by wild beasts the next minute1 we feel that he could not say he believed ,jupiter to be ,god4 ,well3 convince any child as fully as this of the truth1 and of his absolute need of fidelity to it1 and he can no more endure lapse from it than the ,christian could endure to declare ,jupiter to be ,god4 ,as the inveterate drunkard must gratify his propensity to drink1 at the cost of any amount of personal and domestic misery2 and as the miser must go on adding to his stores of gold1 even though he starves himself into disease and death1 so the upright man must satisfy his conscience through every extremity2 and no penalty can deter the benevolent man from devoting all he has to give--his money1 his time1 and his life--to the relief of suffering4 ,on such as these--the upright and the devoted--every appeal to their lower faculties is lost2 and as for their hope and fear--they have passed into something higher4 ,with them perfect love has cast out fear2 and hope has grown up into ,faith2 and this faith being to them the substance of things hoped for1 the evidence of things not seen1 it must be more to them than any of the passing pains and pleasures of life4 ,exalted as these beings are1 they are of the same make as the infant on its mother's lap3 and each is destined to derive his highest gratification from the exercise of the noblest faculties of his nature4 ,if parents did but understand and constantly remember this1 they would consider well before they dared to mix up a meaner pleasure and pain with the greater1 while appealing to any of the higher moral faculties of their children--if indeed they ventured upon reward and punishment at all4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,powers ,,continued3--,,fear4 ,there is nothing in which children differ more than in their capacity for ,fear4 ,but every child has it more or less1--or ought to have it3 for nothing can be made of a human being who has never experienced it4 ,a child who has never known any kind of fear can have no power of ,imagination2--can feel no wonder1 no impulse of life1 no awe or veneration4 ,such a case probably does not exist1 except in a condition of idiotcy4 ,a child who is called fearless1 and who is congratulated upon this1--who shows no shyness of strangers1 who does not mind cold water1 or falls1 or being in the dark1 who runs after animals1 and plays with ugly insects1 may yet cower under a starry sky1 or tremble at thunder1 or be impressed for life by a mysterious dream4 ,it is for the parents to watch the degree and direction of an infant's fear1 firmly assured that whatever be this degree and direction1 all may end well under prudent care4 ,the least favourable case is that of the apathetic child4 ,when it appears indifferent to whatever may happen to it1 and shrinks from nothing1 it must be as incapable of hope and enjoyment as of fear1 and there must be something amiss in its health1--in its nervous system2 and its health is what must be looked to first4 ,it must be well nourished and amused2 its perceptive faculties must be exercised1 and every sort of activity must be encouraged4 ,if this succeeds1 and its feelings begin to show themselves1 fear will come with the rest2 and then its education in that respect must begin4 ,but it must ever be carefully remembered that fear often puts on the appearance of apathy1--especially in a proud child4 ,no creature is so intensely reserved as a proud and timid child3 and the cases are few in which the parents know anything of the agonies of its little heart1 the spasms of its nerves1 the soul-sickness of its days1 the horrors of its nights4 ,it hides its miseries under an appearance of indifference or obstinacy1 till its habitual terror impairs its health1 or drives it into a temper of defiance or recklessness4 ,i can speak with some certainty of this1 from my own experience4 ,i was as timid a child as ever was born2 yet nobody knew or could know1 the extent of this timidity2 for though abundantly open about everything else1 ,i was as secret as the grave about this4 ,i had a dream at four years old which terrified me to such an excess that ,i cannot now recal it without a beating of the heart4 ,i could not look up at the sky on a clear night2 for ,i felt as if it was only just above the tree tops1 and must crush me4 ,i could not cross the yard except at a run1 from a sort of feeling1 with no real belief1--that a bear was after me4 ,the horrors of my nights were inexpressible4 ,the main terror however was a magic-lantern which we were treated with once a year1 and sometimes twice4 ,we used to talk of this exhibition as a prodigious pleasure2 and ,i contrived to reckon on it as such3 but ,i never saw the white cloth1 with its circle of yellow light1 without being in a cold perspiration from head to foot4 ,one of the pictures on the slides was always suppressed by my father1 lest it should frighten the little ones2--a dragon's head1 vomiting flames4 ,he little thought that a girl of thirteen could be terrified by this3 but when ,i was thirteen1--old enough to be put in charge of some children who were to see the magic lantern1--this slide was exhibited by one of my brothers among the rest4 ,i had found it hard enough to look and laugh before2 and now ,i turned so faint that ,i could not stand1 but by grasping a chair4 ,but for the intensity of my shame1 ,i should have dropped4 ,much of the benefit of instruction was lost to me during all the years that ,i had masters3 my memory failed me when they knocked at the door1 and ,i could never ask a question1 or get voice to make a remark4 ,i could never play to my music master1 or sing with a clear voice but when ,i was sure nobody could hear me4 ,under all this1 my health was bad2 my behaviour was dogged and provoking1 and my temper became for a time insufferable4 ,its improvement began from the year when ,i first obtained some release from habitual fear4 ,during these critical years ,i misled everybody about me by a habit of concealment on this one subject which ,i am sure ,i should not now have strength for under any inducement whatever4 ,because ,i climbed our apple tree1 and ran along the top of a high wall1 and took great leaps1 and was easily won by benevolent strangers1 and because ,i was never known to hint or own myself afraid1 no one suspected that fear was at the bottom of the immoveable indifference and apparently unfeeling obstinacy by which ,i perplexed and annoyed everybody about me4 ,i make these confessions willingly1 in the hope that some inexperienced or busy parent may be awakened by them to observe whether the seeming apathy of a child be really from indifference1 or the outward working of some hidden passion of fear4 ,bold children are good and promising subjects2 and it is a delightful thing to a parent's heart to see an infant fairly trying its powers against difficulties and obstacles--confronting nature in all seasons of light and darkness1 of sunshine and tempest1 in the face of strangers and friends alike1 free and fearless4 ,it is delightful to think how much misery and embarrassment he is spared1 by his happy constitution of nerves and brain4 ,but1 while the proud parent sees in him the future discoverer or sailor1 or leader among men1 it must be remembered that in order to become great1 in order to become truly a man at all1 he must learn and endure much that can be learned and endured only through fear1 and the conquest of it4 ,that there is some fear in him is certain2 and the parent must silently search it out1 and train it up into that awe and modesty which are necessary to the high courage of a whole life4 ,no man or woman can be a faithful servant of ,duty1 qualified to live1 suffer1 and die for it1 who has not grown up in awe of something higher than himself--in veneration of some powers greater than he can understand2 and this awe and veneration have in them a large element of fear at the beginning4 ,what this element is1 in each case1 the parents must set themselves to understand4 ,too many think it their duty to make a child afraid1 if fear does not seem to come of itself3 and too many do this without thinking it their duty1 from the spirit of opposition being excited in themselves1 from the experience of inconvenient fearlessness in the child4 ,i have known a tutor avow his practice of beating a bold boy till he broke two canes over him1 because the boy ought to learn that he is under a power 7a power of arm7 greater than his own1 and must1 through fear of it1 apply himself to his appointed business4 ,such inflictions make a boy reckless1 or obstinate1 or deceitful4 ,and ,i have seen far too many instances of irritable parents who have tried to manage a high-spirited child by threats2 and1 the threats failing1 by blows1 or shutting up in the dark1 or hobgoblin prophecies1 which have created no real awe or obedience1 but only defiance1 or forced and sullen submission4 ,this will never do4 ,a tender parent will never have the heart to breed fear in a child1 knowing that fear hath torment4 ,a truly loving parent will know that it would be less unkind to bruise his child's limbs1 or burn its flesh1 than to plant torturing feelings in his mind4 ,the most effectual way1 for all purposes1 is to discover the fear that is already there1 in order to relieve him from it1 by changing this weakness into a source of strength and comfort4 ,what is it--this fear that lies hidden in him8 ,a boy who is not afraid of the dark1 or of a bull1 or of a ghost1 may tremble at the sight of a drunken man1 or at the hearing of an oath4 ,a girl who is not afraid of a spider or a toad1 nor of thieves1 nor of climbing ladders1 may tremble at the moaning of the wind in the chimney1 or at a frown from her mother1 or at entering a sick chamber4 ,whatever be the fear1 let the parents watch1 carefully but silently1 till they have found it out3 and1 having found it out1 let them lead on the child to conquest1 both by reason and by bringing such courage as he has to bear on the weak point4 ,in any case1 whether of a bold or a timid child1 the only completely effectual training comes from the parents' example4 ,if the every day life of the parents shows that they dread nothing but doing wrong1 for either themselves or their children1 the fears of the most timid and of the boldest will alike take this direction1 sooner or later3 and the courage of both will1 with more or less delay1 become adequate to bear and do anything for conscience' sake4 ,if it be the clear rule and habit of an entire household to dread and detest only one thing1 the fear and dislike of every mind in the household will become concentred upon that one thing1 and every heart will become stout to avoid and repel it4 ,and if the one dreaded thing be sin1 it is well2 for the courage of each and all will be perpetually reinforced by the whole strength of the best faculties of every mind4 ,as for the case of the timid child1--let not the parent be disheartened1 for the noblest courage of man or woman has often grown out of the excessive fears of the child4 ,it is true1 the little creature is destined to undergo many a moment of agony1 many an hour of misery1 many a day of discouragement2 but all this pain may be more than compensated for by the attainment of such a freedom and strength at last as may make it feel as if it had passed from hell to heaven4 ,think what it must be for a being who once scarcely dared to look round from fear of lights on the ceiling or shadows on the wall1 who started at the patter of the rain1 or the rustle of the birds leaving the spray1 who felt suffocated by the breeze and maddened by the summer lightning1 to pass free1 fearless and glad through all seasons and their change1--all climes and their mysteries and dangers2--to pass exhilarated through raging seas1 over glaring deserts1 and among wild forests6 ,think what it must be for a creature who once trembled before a new voice or a grave countenance1 and writhed under a laugh of ridicule1 and lied1 at the cost of deep mental agony1 to avoid a rebuke1--think what it must be to such a creature to find itself at last free and fearless1--enjoying such calm satisfaction within as to suffer nothing from the ridicule or the blame of those who do not know his mind1 and so thoroughly acquainted with the true values of things as to have no dread of sickness or poverty1 or the world's opinion1 because no evil that can befal him can touch his peace6 ,think what a noble work it will be to raise your trembling little one to such a condition as this1 and you will be eager to begin the task at once1 and patient and watchful to continue it from day to day4 ,first1 how to begin4 ,the most essential thing for a timid infant is to have an absolutely unfailing refuge in its mother4 ,it may seem unnecessary to say this4 ,it may appear impossible that a mother's tenderness should ever fail towards a helpless little creature who has nothing but that tenderness to look to3 but alas6 it is not so4 ,i know a lady who is considered very sweet-tempered1 and who usually is so--kind and hospitable1 and fond of her children4 ,her infant under six months old was lying on her arm one day when the dessert was on the table2 and the child was eager after the bright glasses and spoons1 and more restless than was convenient4 ,after several attempts to make it lie quiet1 the mother slapped it--slapped it hard4 ,this was from an emotion of disappointed vanity1 from vexation that the child was not good before visitors4 ,if such a thing could happen1 may we not fear that other mothers may fail in tenderness1--in the middle of the night1 for instance1 after a toilsome day1 when kept awake by the child's restlessness1 or amidst the hurry of the day1 when business presses1 and the little creature will not take its sleep8 ,little do such mothers know the fatal mischief they do by impairing their child's security with them4 ,if they did1 they would undergo anything before they would let a harsh word or a sharp tone escape them1 or indulge in a severe look or a hasty movement4 ,a child's heart responds to the tones of its mother's voice like a harp to the wind2 and its only hope for peace and courage is in hearing nothing but gentleness from her1 and experiencing nothing but unremitting love1 whatever may be its troubles elsewhere4 ,supposing this to be all right1 the mother will feel herself from the first the depositary of its confidence2--a confidence as sacred as any other1 though tacit1 and about matters which may appear to all but itself and her infinitely small4 ,entering by sympathy into its fears1 she will incessantly charm them away1 till the child becomes open to reason1--and even afterwards2 for the most terrible fears are precisely those which have nothing to do with reason4 ,she will bring it acquainted with every object in the room or house1 letting it handle in merry play everything which could look mysterious to its fearful eyes1 and rendering it familiar with every household sound4 ,some of my worst fears in infancy were from lights and shadows4 ,the lamp-lighter's torch on a winter's afternoon1 as he ran along the street1 used to cast a gleam1 and the shadows of the window frames on the ceiling2 and my blood ran cold at the sight1 every day1 even though ,i was on my father's knee1 or on the rug in the middle of the circle round the fire4 ,nothing but compulsion could make me enter our drawing-room before breakfast on a summer morning2 and if carried there by the maid1 ,i hid my face in a chair that ,i might not see what was dancing on the wall4 ,if the sun shone 7as it did at that time of day17 on the glass lustres on the mantel-piece1 fragments of gay colour were cast on the wall2 and as they danced when the glass drops were shaken1 ,i thought they were alive1--a sort of imps4 ,but1 as ,i never told any body what ,i felt1 these fears could not be met1 or charmed away2 and ,i grew up to an age which ,i will not mention before ,i could look steadily at prismatic colours dancing on the wall4 ,suffice it that it was long after ,i had read enough of ,optics to have taught any child how such colours came there4 ,many an infant is terrified at the shadow of a perforated night-lamp1 with its round spaces of light4 ,many a child lives in perpetual terror of the eyes of portraits on the walls1--or of some grotesque shape in the pattern of the paper-hangings4 ,sometimes the terror is of the clack of the distant loom1 or of the clink from the tinman's1 or of the rumble of carts under a gateway1 or of the creak of a water-wheel1 or the gush of a mill-race4 ,everything is or may be terrifying to a timid infant2 and it is therefore a mother's charge to familiarise it gently and playfully with everything that it can possibly notice1 making sport with all sights1 and inciting it to imitation of all sounds--from the drone of the pretty bee to the awful cry of the old clothes-man2--from the twitter of the sparrows on the roof to the toll of the distant church bell4 ,it is a matter of course that no mother will allow any ignorant person to have access to her child who will frighten it with goblin stories1 or threats of the old black man4 ,she might as well throw up her charge at once1 and leave off thinking of household education altogether1 as permit her child to be exposed to such maddening inhumanity as this4 ,the instances are not few of idiotcy or death from terror so caused4 ,while thus preventing or scattering fears which arise from the imagination1 both parents should be constantly using the little occasions which are always arising1 for exercising their child's courage4 ,the most timid children have always courage in one direction or another4 ,while ,i was trembling and fainting under magic-lanterns and street cries1 ,i could have suffered any pain and died any death without fear1 the circumstances being fairly laid before me4 ,let the timid child be made hardy in its play by example and encouragement4 ,let it be cheered on to meet necessary pain without flinching1--the taking out a thorn1 or pulling out a tooth4 ,let it early hear of real heroic deeds1--hear them spoken of with all the affectionate admiration with which we naturally speak of such acts4 ,if a life is saved from fire or drowning1 let the children hear of it as a joyful fact4 ,let them hear how steadily ,william ,tell's little son stood1 for his father to shoot through the apple4 ,let them hear how the good man who was on his way to be burnt for his religion took off his shoes1 and gave them to a barefooted man who came to stare at him1 saying that the poor man wanted the shoes1 but he could do without them now4 ,let them hear of the other good man who was burnt for his religion1 and who promised some friends1 in danger of the same fate1 that he would clasp his hands above his head in the midst of the fire1 if he found the pain so bearable that he did not repent1 and who did lift up his arms and join them after his hands were consumed1--so giving his friends on the hill-side comfort and strength4 ,if any child of your acquaintance does a brave thing1 or bears pain cheerfully1 let your children hear of it as a good and happy thing4 ,above all1 let them see1 as ,i said before1 all their lives long1 that you fear nothing but wrong-doing1--neither tempests nor comets1 nor reports of famine or fever1 nor the tongues of the quarrelsome1 nor any other of the accidents of life1--no pain1 in short1 but pain of conscience1--and the same spirit will strengthen in them4 ,their fear will follow the direction of yours2 their courage will come in sympathy with yours2 and their minds will fill more and more with thoughts of hope and heroism which must in time drive out such remaining terrors as cannot be met by fact or reason4 ,in this fearlessness of yours is included fearlessness for your children1 as well as for yourselves4 ,while their limbs are soft and feeble1 of course you must be strength and safety to them3 but when they arrive at a free use of their limbs and senses1 let them fully enjoy that free use4 ,we ,english are behind almost every nation in the strength and hardihood of the race of children4 ,in ,america1 ,i have seen little boys and girls perched in trees overhanging fearful precipices1 and crawling about great holes in bridges1 while the torrent was rushing below2 and ,i could not learn that accidents from such practices were ever heard of4 ,in ,switzerland ,i have seen mere infants scrambling among the rocks after the goats1--themselves as safe as kids1 from the early habit of relying on their own powers4 ,in ,egypt and ,nubia ,i have seen five-year old boys poppling about like ducks in the rapids of the ,nile1 while some1 not much older1 were not satisfied with hauling and pushing1 as our boat ascended the cataract1 but swam and dived1 to heave off her keel from sunken rocks4 ,such children are saved from danger1 as much as from fear1 by an early use of all the powers they have3 and it would be a happy thing for many an ,english child if its parents were brave enough to encourage it to try how much it can do with its wonderful little body4 ,of this1 however1 we shall have to say more under another head4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,powers ,,continued3--,,patience4 ,some may be surprised to find ,patience spoken of among the ,powers of ,man4 ,they have been accustomed to consider it a passive quality1 and not as involving action of the mind4 ,they do not find it in any catalogue of the organs of the brain1 and have always supposed it a mere negation of the action of those organs4 ,but patience is no negation4 ,it is the vigorous and sustained action1 amidst outward stillness1 of some of the most powerful faculties with which the human being is endowed2 and primarily of its powers of ,firmness and ,resistance4 ,the man who holds up his head1 quiet and serene1 through a season of unavoidable poverty or undeserved disgrace1 is exercising his power of ,firmness as vigorously as the general who pursues his warfare without change of purpose through a long campaign2 and a lame child1 strong and spirited1 who sits by cheerfully to see his companions leaping ditches1 is or has been engaged in as keen a combat with opposing forces as a couple of pugilists4 ,in the case of the patient1 the resolution and resistance are brought to bear against invisible enemies1 which are the more1 and not the less1 hard to conquer from their assaults being made in silence1 and having to be met in the solitude of the inner being4 ,the man patient under poverty or disgrace has to carry on an active interior conflict with his baffled hope1 his grieved domestic affections1 his natural love of ease and enjoyment1 his mortified ambition1 his shaken self-esteem1 and his yearning after sympathy4 ,and the lame child among the leapers has to contend alone with most of these mortifications1 and with his stimulating animal spirits besides4 ,nothing can be further from passiveness than his state in his hour of trial1 though he may sit without moving a muscle4 ,he is putting down the swellings of his little heart1 and taming his instincts1 and rousing his will1 and searching out noble supports among his highest ideas and best feelings--putting on his invisible armour as eagerly as any hero whom the trumpet calls from his rest4 ,patience is no more like passiveness in its smallest exercises than in these great ones4 ,look at the ill-nursed passive infant1--how it hangs over its mother's shoulder1 or slouches on her arm1--its eye dull1 its face still1 its movements slow3 see how1 when old enough to amuse itself1 it sits on the floor by the hour together1 jangling a bunch of keys1 lulling itself with that noise1 instead of making any of its own6 ,contrast with this the lively infant beginning to be trained to patience4 ,it does not cry for its food or toy1 as it used to do1 but its limbs are all active1 it fidgets1 and it searches its mother's face for hope and encouragement not to cry4 ,and when more advanced1 how busy is its little soul while it makes no noise1 and postpones its play for the sake of the baby4 ,if it sits at watch beside the cradle1 how it glances about to warn away the kitten1 or puts its finger on its lips if the door opens1 or watches so intently for baby's eye-lids to open as to start when it jerks its hand4 ,if waiting for play till baby has had its meal1 how it stands at its mother's knee1 making folds in her gown1--see-sawing its body perhaps1 and fetching deep sighs1 to throw off its impatience1 but speaking no word--making no complaint till baby has had its dues4 ,and when its turn is come1 baby being laid down1 what a spring into the lap1 what a clasp of the neck is there6 while the child with the keys has to be lifted from the floor like a bag of sand4 ,as patience includes strong action of the mind1 the vivacious child has a much better chance of becoming patient than the passive one2--so far are passiveness and patience from being alike4 ,patience is indeed the natural first step in that self-government which is essential to the whole purpose of human life4 ,it is impossible to overrate the importance of this self-government2 and therefore it is impossible to overrate the importance of this first step1--the training to patience4 ,and the vivacious child is happy above the apathetic one in being fitted to enter at once upon the training from the earliest moment that the will is naturally capable of action4 ,and now about this training4 ,it must begin before the little creature is capable of voluntary effort4 ,the mother must take its little troubles upon herself1 and help it all she can1 till the habit of patience is completely formed2--which will be long4 ,she must not only comfort it in its restlessness and inability to wait1 but beguile it of its impatience4 ,she must amuse it1 and turn away its attention from its grievance1 or its object of desire1--never yielding what it ought not to have1 and always indulging it where there is no reason for denial4 ,in time1 the infant will learn that it can wait1 and in what cases it must wait2 and from that time1 its work of self-control begins4 ,i have before my mind's eye a little child of sensitive nerves and strong will who early showed by her loud impatient cry how she might suffer in after life1 if the habit of patience were not timely formed4 ,it was timely formed4 ,she died of scarlet fever before she was four years old2 and the self-command that little creature showed amidst the restlessness of her fever and the grievous pain of her sore-throat1 was a comfort which will remain for ever to those who mourn her4 ,it of course lessened her own suffering1 and it cheered the heart of her wise mother with a joy which lights up her memory4 ,here the great condition was fulfilled which is essential to the work2--the parents are themselves patient and consistent4 ,self-control can never be taught without example4 ,from the beginning an infant can perceive whether the moral atmosphere around it is calm or stormy1 and will naturally become calm or stormy accordingly4 ,if its mother scolds the servant1 if its father gets into a passion with the elder children1 if there is disturbance of mind because a meal is delayed1--if voices grow loud and angry in argument1 or there is gloom in the face or manner of any grown person who has a headache1 how is the infant to learn to wait and be cheerful under its little troubles8--these little troubles being to it misfortunes as great as it is at all able to bear4 ,i would not cite the old quaker discipline of families as a pattern of what is to be wished in all things4 ,there was too often a want of tenderness1 and of freedom and of mirth--such as children1 need1 and as are quite compatible with the formation of a habit of patience3 but in that one respect1--of patience1--how admirable are the examples that many of us have seen6 ,the cultivation of serenity being a primary religious duty with the parents1 how the spirit and the habit spread through the children6 ,before they could understand that the grown people about them were waiting for the guidance of the ,inward ,witness1 they saw and felt that the temper was that of humble waiting2 and they too learned to wait4 ,when set up on a high stool from which they could not get down1 and bid to sit still without toys for a prescribed time1 how many a restless child learned to subdue his inward chafing1 and to sit still till the hand of the clock showed that he might ask to come down6 ,this exercise was a preparation for the silent meeting1 where there would be less to amuse his eyes1 and no one could tell how long he might have to sit2 and how well the majority of quaker children went through this severer test6 ,few of us will approve of this kind of discipline4 ,we think it bad1 because unnatural4 ,we think that the trials of a child's patience which come of themselves every day are quite enough for its powers1 and1 if rightly used1 for its training2 but the instance shows how powerful is the example of the parents and the habit of the household in training little children to self-control4 ,yes1--the little occasions of every day are quite enough3 and if they were not1 little could be gained1 and much would be lost1 by inventing more4 ,there is tyranny in making a lively child sit on a high stool with nothing to do1 even though the thing is ordained for its own good2 and every child has a keen sense of tyranny4 ,the patience taught by such means cannot be thorough4 ,it cannot be an amiable and cheerful patience1 pervading the whole temper4 ,it is much better to use those natural occasions which it is clear that the parent does not create4 ,there is seldom or never a day when something does not happen to irritate a child2--it is hungry1 or thirsty1 or tired2 it gets a tumble1 or dislikes cold water1 or wants to be petted when its mother is busy2 or breaks a toy1 or the rain comes when it wants to go out1 or pussy runs away from play1 or it has an ache or a pain somewhere4 ,all these are great misfortunes for the time to a little child3 and if it can learn by degrees to bear them1 first by being beguiled of them1 and then by being helped through them1 and at last by sustaining them alone1 there is every hope that the severe trials of after life will be sustained with less effort than is required by these trifles now4 ,a four-year-old child that can turn away and find amusement for itself when its mother cannot attend to it1--and swallow its tears when the rain will not let it sow its garden seeds1 and stifle its sobs when it has knocked its elbow1 and forgive any one who has broken its toy1 and lie still without complaining when it is ill1 gives the fairest promise of being able to bear serenely the severest calamities of after life4 ,for my own part1 ,i feel that no spectacle of fortitude in man or woman is more animating and touching than what may be seen in little children1 who have seriously entered upon the great work of self-government1--sustained by wise and tender parental help4 ,some time ago1 ,i was in the house with a little girl of three years old1 whose throat was one day very sore4 ,she tried in vain to get down some dinner1--cried1 was amused1 and went to sleep4 ,on waking1 some of the soft rice-pudding from our table was tried2 but the throat was now worse1 and she cried again4 ,to amuse her1 she was set up at our table in her little chair1 between her mama and me4 ,i saw the desperate efforts she was making to keep down her sobs3 and when she looked over to her father1 and said softly ,i mean to be dood1 it was too much for others besides me4 ,her tender father helped her well through it4 ,he told her a long long story about something he had seen that morning2 and as her large eyes were fixed on his face1 the sobs subsided1 and she became absorbed in what he was telling her4 ,that child was as truly an object of reverence to us as any patient sufferer of mature age4 ,the finest opportunity for the cultivation of patience in a household is where there are many children1--boys and girls1--with no great difference of years between them4 ,here1 in the first place1 the parents have need of all the faith and patience they have1 to bear hopefully with the impatience of some of their children4 ,there are moments1 hours1 and days1 in the best households1 when the conscientious and tender mother feels her heart rent by the spectacle of the quarrels of her children4 ,it is a truth which had better be at once fully admitted1 that where there are many children nearly approaching each other in age1 their wills must clash1 their passions become excited1 and their affections be for the time over-borne4 ,when a mother sees her children scratch and strike1 when her ear catches the bitter words of passion between brothers1 her heart stands still with grief and dread4 ,but she must be comforted4 ,all may be well if she overrules this terrible necessity as she may4 ,she must remember that the strength of will thus shown is a great power for use in the acquisition of patience4 ,she must remember that the odiousness of passion is not yet evident to her children1 as it is to her4 ,she must remember how small is the moral comprehension of a child1 and therefore how intense are its desires1 and how strong is the provocation when those desires are thwarted4 ,she must remember that time and enlargement of views are what children want to make them men3 and that time and enlargement are sure to come to these young creatures1 and make men of them1 if the parents do their part4 ,her part to-day is to separate the children who cannot agree2 to give time and opportunity for their passions to subside1 the desire of the moment to pass away1 and the affections and the reason to be aroused4 ,she must obtain their confidence apart1 and bring them together again when they can forgive and agree4 ,if she finds that such troubles enable her to understand her children better1 and reveal their own minds to themselves1 and if such failures help them to a more careful self-rule1 the event may be well worth the pain4 ,i have said that there are few or no large families of children in which quarrelling does not sometimes occur4 ,but if the quarrelling does not early cease--if the liability does not pass away like the diseases of childhood1 it is sadly plain that the fair opportunity of cultivating a habit of patience has been lost or misused4 ,it must be early and watchfully used4 ,every member of the household must be habituated1 constantly and as a privilege1 to wait and forbear for the sake of others4 ,the father takes the lead--as he ought to do in all good things4 ,his children see in him1 from year to year1 an example of patient toil--patient and cheerful toil--whether he be statesman1 merchant1 farmer1 shop-keeper1 artizan or labourer4 ,the mother comes next1--seen to wait patiently on her sick or helpless infant1 and to be forbearing with servants and children1 enduring in illness and fatigue1 and cheerful through everything4 ,then come the elder children1 who must have been long and steadily trained1 through early self-control1 to wait1 not only in tenderness on the helpless infant1 but in forbearance on the weakness of those younger and frailer than themselves4 ,then come those of the middle age1 who have to wait in such patience as they are capable of under their own personal trials1 and the will and pleasure of their parents and elders4 ,and lastly come the little ones1 who are likely to have plenty of opportunity for self-command amidst the business and chances of a large family1 and the variety of influences ever at work therein4 ,so various a household is a complete little world to children--the discipline of which is no small privilege as being preparatory to that of the larger world upon which they must enter after their habits of mind are formed4 ,to the parents the advantage is inestimable of having this little world1 not only under their eye1 so that they may timely see how their children are likely to fare morally in the great world of adult life1 but under their hand1 so that they can1 according to their discretion1 adapt its influences to the needs of their charge4 ,some households1--and not a few--are made a harsh school1 or a sweet home of ,patience1 by the presence of some infirmity of body or mind in some one member4 ,this is a case so frequent1 and the circumstance is so important1 that ,i must devote my next pages to it4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,powers3 ,,patience--,,infirmity4 ,though the great majority of children born into the world have five senses and four limbs1 a full-formed brain1 and a well-formed frame1 there are many thousands in every civilised country that have not3 and so many more thousands are interested in their lot1 that it is1 or ought to be1 a subject of wide and deep concern how their case should be treated1 for their own sake1 and that of all connected with them4 ,it is a matter of great and increasing surprise1 when elections of objects for ,blind and ,deaf and ,dumb ,institutions1 or a special census for the purpose occurs1 how very numerous are the ,blind and ,deaf and ,dumb3 and much greater still is the proportion of persons who1 through ill health or accident1 lose a limb1 or grow up deformed4 ,and ,i believe the cases of total or partial idiotcy are more numerous even than these4 ,the number of persons thus interested in the subject of bodily infirmity is very large indeed2 and it would be a great omission in treating of ,household ,education1 not to speak of what concerns so many homes4 ,the first impulse of a parental heart1 on becoming aware of the infirmity of a child1 is to lavish on the sufferer all its tenderness1 and thus to strive to compensate to it for what it must forego and suffer from its peculiarity4 ,the impulse1 being natural and unselfish1 is right2 but it is not enough4 ,it is very far indeed from being all that is due to a creature whose helplessness gives it a sacred claim upon its whole race for whatever aid can be afforded it4 ,if it were good that a mother should nurse an infirm child through the day1 and guard it all the night3--that she should devote all her time and all her love1 and sacrifice all her pleasures to it1 and minister to its wishes every hour of its life2--if it were good that she should do all this1 it would not be enough4 ,it is not good1 and it is not enough4 ,the true claim of an infirm child1 as of every other child1 is to be made the most of4 ,and no human being was ever yet made the most of by lavish and unchastened indulgence4 ,every human being1--not excepting even the idiot1--has a world of its own1 wherein to act and enjoy3 and the parent's charge is to enable it to act and enjoy in its own world in the fullest and freest manner possible4 ,let us take the worst case first3--that of the idiot4 ,it is never the case that a human being has no faculties at all4 ,a child whose brain did not act at all1 could not live4 ,it could not move1 nor swallow or digest food1 nor see1 nor hear1 nor breathe4 ,and it seldom or never happens that it has not many faculties1 though the want1 in an idiot1 of what we call ,sense makes us too careless in observing what powers he has1 and in making what we can of them4 ,from the deficiency of some faculties1 and the consequent want of co-operation and balance among his powers1 the idiot lacks sense1 and must therefore be taken care of all his days1 like an infant3 but it does not follow that he can never do and enjoy more than an infant4 ,on the contrary1 we see1 oftener than not1 that an idiot has some strong faculties4 ,one may be shockingly gluttonous and sensual3 another is desperately orderly3 another is always singing3 another is wonderful in arithmetic1 though nobody can conceive how he learned3 another draws every thing he sees3 another imitates everything he hears3 another is always building clay houses1 or cutting wood or paper into shapes3 another can always tell the time--day or night--even where there is no clock in the house or within hearing4 ,one will share everything he has to eat with the dog1 or the cat1 or the bird3 another caresses his mother1 or brothers and sisters1 and follows them about wherever they go2 while another gives no heed to anybody1 but stands out of doors for hours listening to the wind or the birds1 and sits a whole winter evening watching the blazing fire4 ,one will not be ruled1 and fights everybody who tries to control him1 while another is in a transport or an agony1 according as his mother looks pleased or displeased with him4 ,all these tendencies show that some part or other of the brain is alive and active3 and it is the parent's business1 with this child as with the rest1 to make the most that can be made of his brain4 ,as reason cannot be used in his case1 there must be all the more diligence in the use of ,habit3 and as he has no reason of his own1 that of his family must be made available to him to the utmost4 ,he must be made the family charge2 and every member of the household must be admitted into the council held in his behalf4 ,there is hardly a child so young but that it can understand the main points of the special training required1 and the reasons for them4 ,there is hardly a child so young but that it can understand that ,john does not know1 as other people do1 when to leave off eating2 and that this is why the proper quantity is set before him1 and no more is given3 and there are not a few little ones who will refrain from asking for more of a good thing at table because ,john is to be trained not to ask for more4 ,if the object is to make ,john clean and tidy1 the youngest will bear cold water1 and the trouble of dressing cheerfully1 that ,john may see what other people do1 and perhaps learn to imitate them4 ,if ,john ever sings1 some little one will begin to sing when ,john looks dull2 and the family will learn as many tunes as they can to give him a variety4 ,if he is fond of arranging things1 they will lead him to the cupboard or the play-room1 when it wants putting in order4 ,when he mopes1 they will bring him the scissors and paper1 or the slate and pencil1 or they will empty the box of bricks on the floor1 that the pleasant rattle may tempt him to come and build4 ,if1 happily1 the time should arrive when ,john may learn to do something useful1 every one takes pride in it4 ,at worst1 he may perhaps be trained to work the mangle1 or to turn the wheel at the rope-walk4 ,his faculty of order may be turned to account by letting him set the dinner and tea-table1 and clear away4 ,by a faculty of constructiveness1 he may become a fair basket-maker4 ,by his power of imitation1 he may learn to dig in the field1 or to saw wood1 or blow glass1 or do other such mechanical work4 ,if the whole family not only love their poor brother1 but take his interests fairly to heart1 his case may be made something of in one way or another4 ,at worst he will probably be saved from being offensive or annoying to those about him2--a thing almost always practicable in cases of idiotcy from birth3 and it is very likely that he will be enabled to pass through life1 not only harmless1 but busy1 and1 to some extent1 useful1 and as happy as his deficient nature permits4 ,this is not a case in which patience can be spoken of as a solace to the individual4 ,he may be saved from the misery of impatience by wise training1--by the formation of habits of quietness1 under the rule of steady1 gentle authority4 ,this may often be done3 but the noble and sweet solace of patience under his restrictions is not for him3 for he is unconscious1 and does not need it4 ,it remains for those who do need it--for those who suffer for him and by him--for the father who sighs that his son can never enjoy the honour and privilege of toil1 or the blessing of a home2--for the mother whose pillow is wet with the tears she sheds over her child's privations2--for the children whose occupations and play are disturbed by the poor brother who wants their playthings1 and hides or spoils their books or work4 ,they all have need of much patience2 and1 under good training1 they obtain patience according to their need4 ,from what ,i have seen1 ,i know that the training of such a being may become a cheerful and hopeful object to his parents1 and one which strengthens them to repress his whims and deny his animal appetites1 and inflict the pain of their displeasure upon him1 in the patient hope of giving him some degree of the privilege of self-government4 ,from what ,i have seen1 ,i know that the most self-willed and irritable child of such a family may learn never to be angry with ,john1 however passionate at times with others4 ,toys broken by ,john are not to be cried for2--work spoiled by ,john is to be cheerfully done over again3 and everybody is to help to train ,john not to do such mischief again4 ,poor ,john knows nothing of life and its uses4 ,he goes through his share of it1 like one walking in a dream1 and then passes away without leave-taking4 ,he passes away early2 for people in his state rarely live very long4 ,brain is the great condition of life2 and an imperfect brain usually brings early death4 ,it is when he has passed away that the importance of poor ,john's life becomes felt and understood4 ,neighbours may and do reasonably call his departure a blessing2 and the parents and brethren may and do reasonably feel it an unspeakable relief from anxiety and restraint4 ,but they mourn him with a degree of sorrow surprising to themselves4 ,when the parents mark the habits of self-government1 and the temper of cheerful patience1 generated in their remaining children1 they feel as if under deep obligations to their dead son1 as the instrument of this4 ,and the youngest of the tribe looks round wistfully for ,john1 and daily wishes that he was here1 to do what he was fond of doing1 and enjoy the little pleasures which were looked upon as particularly his own4 ,if the worst case of infirmity may issue thus1 we may turn cheerfully to some which are light in comparison1 however sad when looked at by themselves--the cases of blind and deaf children4 ,what is to be made of these8 ,the case of the deaf is unquestionably the worst of the two1 when the deficiency is from birth4 ,the subsequent loss of either sense is quite a different matter4 ,then1 blindness is the severest privation of the two1 from its compulsory idleness1 and total exclusion from the objects of the lost sense1 while the deaf can always be busy in mind and hands1 and retain the most important part of the world of sound in written and printed speech4 ,it is the privation of language which makes the case of those born deaf worse than that of the born blind4 ,those born deaf are dumb2 and they are rendered incapable of any high degree of intellectual and moral cultivation1 by being cut off from all adequate knowledge of the meaning of language1 and from the full reception of most abstract ideas4 ,this is not the place for discussion on this subject4 ,it is enough to say here1 that every one who has tried knows that though it is easy to teach a deaf and dumb child what is meant by the words dog1 sheep1 spoon1 tree1 table1 c41 it is found beyond measure difficult to teach it the meaning of ,monday1 ,tuesday1 ,wednesday1 c41 and of love1 truth1 hatred1 wisdom1 and the names of unseen things in general4 ,there is every reason to believe that the most highly educated deaf and dumb persons1 who use language readily and prettily1 have yet very narrow and superficial minds--from language not being to them natural speech1 incessantly bringing them into communication with other minds1 but a lesson taught as we teach blind children about colours1 which they may speak about without making mistakes1 but can never understand4 ,it is necessary for the parents of the deaf and dumb to be aware of these things1 if they are to look their child's lot steadily in the face1 and learn what is the best that can be made of it4 ,they must apply themselves chiefly to give it what it is least likely to obtain from others--not so much ideas of sight1 touch1 smell1 and taste1 as of unseen things4 ,they must ever bear in mind that the great purpose of the human ear and of speech is not so much to convey ideas of sound--sweet and profitable as is all the natural music of the universe--as of unseen things--of the whole world of the spirit1 from which their child is naturally shut out by its infirmity4 ,after all that they can do1 there will be a sad deficiency2 but they must lessen it as much as they can4 ,there is no fear but that the child will1 much as others1 enjoy the sights which are laid open to it1 and be quick and ready in action1 according to its ideas4 ,they must arouse in it the pleasure of using its mental faculties2 and more carefully still1 the satisfaction of moral energy4 ,they must be even more careful with it than with the rest to lead it on to the exercise of self-denial1 and a habit of thoughtful conscientiousness1 that it may learn from its own moral experience much that it is debarred from learning as others do of the rich kingdom which lies within us all4 ,in this case1 above all others1 is the moral example of the parents important to the child4 ,other children hear everyday the spoken testimony of their parents in favour of what is good in morals and manners4 ,they hear it in church1 and in every house they enter4 ,the deaf child judges by what it sees1 and guides itself accordingly4 ,if it sees bad temper and manners1 how is it to know of anything better8 ,if it sees at home only love and kindness1 just and gentle1 has it not an infinitely better chance of becoming loving and gentle itself8 ,the parents must keep a careful guard on their own pity for their defective child4 ,a deaf child has scarcely any notion1 as a blind one has1 of what it loses2 and nothing is more certain than that deaf children are apt to be proud and vain1 and to take advantage of the pity which everybody feels for them4 ,knowing little of their own loss1 they misunderstand this pity1 and are apt to take to themselves the credit of all the notice it brings them1 and to grasp at all they can get4 ,a watchful parent knows from her heart that there is no blame in this2 but she sees that there is great danger4 ,the child cannot help the liability2 but it may be rescued from it4 ,she must not be lavish of indulgence which may be misunderstood4 ,she should let it be as happy as it can in its own way--and the deaf and dumb are usually very brisk and cheerful4 ,what she has to do for it is not to attempt to console it for a privation which it does not feel1 but to open to it a higher and better happiness in a humble1 occupied1 and serene state of mind4 ,she should set before it its own state of privation1 notwithstanding any mortification that the disclosure may cause3 and when that mortification is painful1 she should soothe it by giving1 gently and cheerfully1 the sweet remedies of humility and patience4 ,in the case of the blind child1 the training must be very different4 ,every day1 and almost every hour1 reminds the blind child of its privation2 and its discipline is so severe1 that almost any degree of indulgence in the parent would be excusable1 if it were not clearly the first duty to consider the ultimate welfare of the child4 ,it is natural to the sighing mother to watch over its safety with a nervous anxiety1 to go before it to clear its way1 to have it always at her knee1 and to make everybody and everything give way to it4 ,but she must remember that her child is not destitute1 and for ever helpless1 because it has one sense less than other people4 ,it has the wide world of the other four senses to live in1 and a vaster mental and moral world than it will ever learn fully to use3 and she must let it try what it can make of its possessions4 ,she will find that it learns like others that fire burns and that bruises are disagreeable1 and that it can save itself from burns and bruises by using its senses of touch and hearing4 ,she will encourage it in the cheerful work of shifting for itself1 and doing1 as far as possible1 what other people do4 ,the wise and benevolent ,dr4 ,howe tells us of the children who come to the ,blind ,school at ,boston1 that for the first two or three days they are timid and forlorn--having been accustomed to too much care from their mothers1 who will not let them cross the floor without being sure that there is nothing in the way4 ,but they presently enter into the free and cheerful spirit of the house1 use their faculties1 feel their way boldly1 and run1 climb1 swing1 and play as merrily as any other children4 ,that school is a little world of people with four senses--not so happy a one as if they had five1 but a very good one1 nevertheless2 sufficiently busy1 safe1 and cheerful for those who use heartily such powers as they have4 ,this is the way in which the lot of the blind should be viewed by their parents4 ,and even then the deprivation is quite sad enough to require great efforts of patience on every hand4 ,the parents have need of a deep and settled patience when they see that their child has powers which1 if he had but eyes1 would make him able and happy in some function from which he is now for ever cut off3 and the whole family have need of patience for their infirm member when they are gaining knowledge1 or drinking in enjoyment through the eye1 while he sits dark1 and unconscious or mortified4 ,as for him1 in his darkness and mortification1 there can be no question of his need of patience4 ,how to aid him and supply this need1 ,i shall consider in my next chapter1 when treating of the other infirmities which some children have to learn to bear4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,powers3 ,,patience--,,infirmity4 ,the smaller misfortunes which we now turn to1 under the head of ,infirmity--the loss of a limb1 the partial loss of a sense1 deformity and sickness--are scarcely less afflictive to the parent than those we have considered1 because they are even more trying to the child4 ,the sufferer is fully conscious of these3 and the parents' heart is sore at the spectacle of its mortifications4 ,what can be done to help it to a magnanimous patience8 ,first1 there must be the fullest confidence between the parents and the child4 ,it can open its swelling heart to no one else2 for the depth of its feeling renders it quite unable to speak of its sufferings to any one1 unless allured to do so2 and no one can or ought to allure it to this confidence1 except its parents1 or in case of failure from them4 ,it may be thought strange that this apparently natural act should be set before the parents as a duty3 but ,i speak from knowledge2 and from the knowledge of so many cases that ,i am compelled to believe that the very last subject on which parents and child speak together is that on which it is most necessary to the sufferer to have spoken sympathy4 ,some parents have not courage to face the case themselves1 and evade the painful thought from day to day4 ,some feel for their child that sort of deference which it is natural to feel for the afflicted1 and wait for the sufferer to speak4 ,some persuade themselves that it is better for the child not to recognise the trial expressly1 and repel by forced cheerfulness the sufferer's advances towards confidence4 ,all this is wrong4 ,i have known a little crippled girl grow up to womanhood in daily pain of heart from the keen sense of her peculiarity1 almost without uttering a syllable to any human being of that grief which cursed her existence2 and suffering in mind and character irreparably from the restraint4 ,she got over it at last1 to a considerable degree1 and became comparatively free and happy2 but nothing could ever compensate to her for her long bondage to false shame1 or repair the mischief done to the action of her mind by its being made to bear unrelieved weight which it had naturally power to throw off4 ,i know another sufferer from the same misfortune whose heart was early opened by genial confidence1 and who throve accordingly4 ,she had to bear all the pain which a lively and sensitive child must feel in being unable to play and dance as others do1 and being so marked an object as to be subject to staring in the street1 and to the insulting remarks of rude children as she passed4 ,but the sympathy of her protectors bore her through till her mind was strong enough to protect itself2 and she has come out of the struggle free and gay1 active and helpful to a marvellous degree--even graceful1 making a sort of plaything of her crutch1 and giving constant joy to her friends1 and relief to strangers1 by her total freedom from false shame4 ,i have known deafness grow upon a sensitive child1 so gradually as never to bring the moment when her parents felt impelled to seek her confidence2 and the moment therefore never arrived4 ,she became gradually borne down in health and spirits by the pressure of her trouble1 her springs of pleasure all poisoned1 her temper irritated and rendered morose1 her intellectual pride puffed up to an insufferable haughtiness1 and her conscience brought by perpetual pain of heart into a state of trembling soreness--all this1 without one word ever being offered to her by any person whatever of sympathy or sorrow about her misfortune4 ,now and then1 some one made light of it2 now and then1 some one told her that she mismanaged it1 and gave advice which1 being inapplicable1 grated upon her morbid feelings2 but no one inquired what she felt1 or appeared to suppose that she did feel4 ,many were anxious to show kindness1 and tried to supply some of her privations2 but it was too late4 ,she was shut up1 and her manner appeared hard and ungracious while her heart was dissolving in emotions4 ,no one knew when she stole out of the room1 exasperated by the earnest talk and merry laugh that she could not share1 that she went to bolt herself into her own room1 and sob on the bed1 or throw herself on her knees1 to pray for help or death4 ,no one knew of her passionate longing to be alone while she was1 for her good1 driven into society2 nor how1 when by chance alone for an hour or two1 she wasted the luxury by watching the lapse of the precious minutes4 ,and when she grew hard1 strict1 and even fanatical in her religion1 no one suspected that this was because religion was her all--her soul's strength under agonies of false shame1 her wealth under her privations1 her refuge in her loneliness3 while her mind was so narrow as to require that what religion was to her--her one pursuit and object--it should be everybody else4 ,in course of years1 she1 in a great measure1 retrieved herself1 though still conscious of irreparable mischief done to her nature4 ,all this while1 many hearts were aching for her1 and the minds of her family were painfully occupied in thinking what could be done for her temper and her happiness4 ,the mistake of reserve was the only thing they are answerable for3 a mistake which1 however mischievous1 was naturally caused by the very pain of their own sympathy first1 and the reserve of the sufferer afterwards4 ,from the moment that a child becomes subject to any infirmity1 a special relation between him and his mother begins to exist3 and their confidence must become special4 ,she must watch for1 or make occasions for speaking to him about his particular trial2 not often1 nor much at a time1 but so as to leave an opening for the pouring out of his little heart4 ,if he is not yet conscious of his peculiarity1 this is the gentlest and easiest way in which he can be made so4 ,if he is conscious1 he must have some pain at his heart which he will be the better for confiding4 ,hump-backed people are generally said to be vain1 haughty1 fond of dress1 forward and talkative1 irritable and passionate4 ,if not so1 they are usually shy and timid4 ,i cannot see anything in their peculiarity to cause the first-mentioned tendencies3 and ,i believe they arise from the mismanagement of their case4 ,the fond mother and pitying friends may naturally forget that the child does not see himself as they see him1 and fancy that they soothe his mortifications by saying whatever they can say in favour of his appearance--letting him know that he has pretty hair1 or good eyes4 ,they may even dress him fine1 to make up to him in one way for his faults of appearance in another4 ,under the idea of encouraging him under his supposed mortifications1 they may lead him on to be forward and talkative4 ,and then again1 his mortifications1 when they come upon him unprepared1 may well make him irascible4 ,how much of this might be obviated1 as well as the shyness and timidity of those who are left to themselves1 by timely confidence between the mother and child6 ,when they are alone together1 calm and quiet1 let her tell him that he does not look like other children1 and that he will look less like other people as he grows older4 ,never let her tell him that this is of no great consequence--never let her utter the cant that is talked to young ladies at schools1 that the charms of the mind are everything1 and those of the form and face nothing4 ,this is not true2 and she ought to know that it is not3 and nothing but truth will be strong enough to support him in what he must undergo4 ,let her not be afraid to tell him the worst4 ,he had better hear it from her2 and it will not be too much for him1 if told in a spirit of cheerful patience4 ,the child1 like the man1 never has a happier hour than that which succeeds the reception of bad news1 if the nobler faculties are allowed their free play4 ,if such a child hears from his mother that he will always be ugly-shaped and odd-looking1--that he will not be able to play as other boys do1 or will be laughed at when he tries2 that he will be mocked at and called ,my lord in the streets1 and so on1 and yet that all these things will not make him unhappy if he can bear them2 and if they go on to consult how he may bear them1 and she opens out to him something of the sweet pleasures of endurance1 he will come out of the consultation exhilarated1 and perhaps proudly longing to meet his mortifications1 and try his strength4 ,such pride must have a fall1--like all the pride of childhood1--and many an hour of depression must he know for every one of exhilaration3 but his case is put into his own hands1 and there is every hope that he will conquer1 through patience1 at last4 ,and what a refuge he has in his mother6 ,how well she will now know his feelings and his needs6 and how easy and natural it will be to him henceforth to confide in her6 ,and her knowledge of his secret mind will enable her to oversee and regulate the conduct of the rest of the household towards him1 so as to guard against his being treated with an indulgence which he can dispense with1 or his receiving in silence wounds to his feelings which might rankle4 ,the object is1 with sufferers under every kind of conscious infirmity1 to make them hardy in mind1--saving them from being hardened4 ,they must know in good time that they have a difficult and humbling lot1 and what its difficulties and humiliations are1--their noblest faculties being at the same time roused to meet them4 ,it is the rousing of these noble faculties which makes the hour of confidence one of exhilaration3 and when the actual occasion of trial arises1 when the cripple is left out of the cricket-match1 and the deaf child misses the joke or entertaining story1 and the hump-back hears the jibe behind him1--there is hope that the nobler faculties will be obedient to the promised call1 and spread the calm of patience over the tumult of the sufferer's soul4 ,but1 while the infirm child is encouraged to take up the endurance of his infirmity as an object and an enterprise1 he must not be allowed to dwell too much on it1 nor on the peculiar features of his condition2 or his heroism will pass over into pride1 and his patience into self-complacency4 ,life and the world are before him1 as before others2 and one circumstance of lot and duty1 however important1 must not occupy the place of more than one1--either in his confidences with his mother1 or in his own mind4 ,the more he is separated from others by his infirmity1 the more carefully must his interests and duties be mixed up with those of others1 in the household and out of it4 ,companionship in every way must be promoted all the more1 and not the less1 because of the eternal echo within him1 ,the heart knoweth its own bitterness1 and the stranger intermeddleth not with its joy4 ,what has been said thus far about patience will serve for cases of sickness1 as well as for other trials among children4 ,i may add that ,i think it a pity to lavish indulgence--privileges--upon a sick child1 for two reasons2--that such indulgence is no real comfort or compensation to the suffering child1 who is too ill to enjoy it3 and that it is witnessed by others1 and remembered by the patient himself when he has forgotten his pain1 so as to cause sickness to be regarded as a state of privilege2 a persuasion likely to lead to fancies about health1 and an exaggeration of ailments4 ,all possible tenderness1 of course1 there should be1 and watchfulness to amuse the mind into forgetfulness of the body3 but the less fuss and unusual indulgence the better for the child's health of body and mind1 and the purer the lesson of patience which he may bring out of his sickness4 ,illness is a great evil1 little to be mitigated by any means of diversion that can be used3 and a child usually trained to patience1 may be trusted to bear the evil well1 if not misled by false promises3 and it is much kinder to him to let him rest on a quiet and steady tenderness1 than to promise and offer him indulgences which will be longed for hereafter1 but which wholly disappoint him now1 and add another trial to the many which put his patience to the proof4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,powers4--,,love4 ,it appears to me1 that much disappointment in the results of education1 as in other departments of life1 arises from the confusion we fall into about human affections1--mixing up things which do not belong to each other1 and then being disappointed at a mixed result4 ,for instance1 we speak of love as if it were one affection2 or at most of two kinds--one a passion and the other an affection3 whereas1 there are many kinds of love1 as distinct from one another as hope and patience4 ,besides what is commonly called the passion of love1 there are other kinds which differ as essentially from one another1 as from this4 ,it is commonly1 but as ,i think1 hastily1 supposed that a child's love of her doll is the same affection which will be fixed hereafter on a schoolfellow1 on her parents1 and on suffering fellow-creatures4 ,it is supposed to be the same affection1 employed on different objects3 and the parent is perplexed and shocked when the little creature who cannot be parted from her doll1 shows indifference towards her family1 and has no sympathy with a beggar1 or a sick neighbour4 ,if the parents will put away their perplexity and dismay1 and set themselves to learn from what is before their eyes1 they may discover what will comfort and direct them4 ,with the passion of love1 as it is called1 we have nothing to do here1 but to give an anecdote by the way4 ,a little girl was telling a story to her father1 when they fell in with the kind of perplexity1 ,i have spoken of4 ,she told of a knight who once loved a lady1 and of all the hard and troublesome things the knight did to gratify the wishes of the lady3 and how1 at last1 when the lady did not choose to marry him1 he carried her off1 and shut her up in a castle1 and gave her everything he could think of to make her happy3 but she could not enjoy all these fine things1 because she pined to get home4 ,oh6 said the father1 she did wish to get out1 then4 ,yes6 she begged and prayed of the knight to let her go home3 but he loved her so much that he would not4 ,well3 but you said he did everything he could to gratify her3 why was that8 ,because he loved her so much4 ,what6 he did everything to please her because he loved her so much3 and then he would not let her go home as she wished1 because he loved her so much6 ,how can that be8 ,the child thought for awhile1 and then said ,i suppose he had two loves for her3 and one made him do almost everything that she liked2 and the other made him want that she should do what he liked4 ,if parents could see thus plainly the difference between the several kinds of love which their children should experience1 it would be well for all parties4 ,a mother who intensely loves her little prattler1 is mortified that the child appears to have but a very moderate love for her in return3 and she comforts herself with the hope that the child's affection will strengthen as it grows1 till it becomes a fair return for her own4 ,she does not perceive that the child already entertains an affection much like her own1--only1 not for her1 but for something else4 ,a little girl who had to lose her leg1 promised to try to lie still if she might have her doll in her arms3 and wonderfully still she lay1 clasping her doll4 ,when it was over1 the surgeon thoughtlessly said1 ,now shall ,i cut off your doll's leg8 ,oh6 no1 no6 cried the child1 in an agony of mind far greater than she had shown before3 not my doll's leg2--don't hurt my doll6 ,and she could hardly be comforted4 ,here was an affection the same as the mother's1--and as strong and true3 but of a different kind from that which children can ever feel for parents2 for it is purely instinctive1 while the love of children for parents is made up of many elements1 and must slowly grow out of not only a natural power of attachment1 but a long experience of hope1 reliance1 veneration and gratitude4 ,this instinctive love is a pretty thing to witness3 as in the case of a very little child who had a passionate love of flowers4 ,she would silently carry out her little chair in the summer morning1 and sit down in the middle of the flower-bed1 and be overheard softly saying1 ,come you little flower--open1 you little flower6 ,when will you open your pretty blue eye8 ,this is charming2 and so it is to see an infant fondling a kitten1 or feeding the brood of chickens1 and a girl singing lullaby to her doll4 ,but it must ever be remembered1 that this is the lowest form of human affection till it is trained into close connection with the higher sentiments4 ,what it is when left to itself--and it will too probably be left to itself by parents who are satisfied with any manifestation of affection in children2--what it is when left to itself may be seen in some disgusting spectacles which occasionally meet our eyes among the mature and the old4 ,we see it in the young mother who spoils her child--who loves her child with so low a love1 that she indulges it to its hurt4 ,we see it in the aged mother1 who loves her manly son as a bear loves its cub2--only with more selfishness1 for she cannot consider his good1 but lavishes ill-humour and fondness on him by turns4 ,we see it in the man who gives his mind to the comfort of his horse2 and never a look or a word to a hungry neighbour4 ,we see it in a woman1 who opens her arms to every dog or cat that comes near her1 whose eye brightens1 and whose cheek mantles while she feeds her canaries1 though she never had a friendship1 nor cares for any human being but such as are under five years old4 ,thus low is this instinctive affection when left to itself4 ,but it is inestimable when linked on to other and higher kinds of love1 and especially to that which is the highest of all1 and worthy to gather into itself all the rest1--benevolence4 ,it is easy to form this link when its formation is desired3 and it is terribly easy to neglect it when its importance is not perceived4 ,the child must be led to desire the good of the cat1 or bird1 or doll1 to the sacrifice of its own inclinations4 ,it must not hurt pussy1 or throw dolly into a corner1 7every child believing that dolly can feel7 nor frighten the bird3 and moreover1 it must be made to discharge punctually1 even to its own inconvenience1 the duty of feeding the live favourite1 and cherishing the doll4 ,this leads on naturally to a cherishing and forbearing love of the baby-brother or sister3 and next1 perhaps1 the parents may be surprised by an offer of affection in sickness which never showed itself while they were in health4 ,a child who receives caresses carelessly1 or runs away from them to caress the kitten1 7which1 perhaps1 runs away in its turn17 will come on tiptoe to his mother's knee when she is ill1 and stroke her face1 or nurse her foot in his lap1 or creep up into her easy chair1 and nestle there quietly for an hour at a time3 and yet perhaps this same child will appear as indifferent as before when his mother is well again1 and does not seem to want his good offices4 ,from home1 the affection may next be led a little further abroad4 ,this must be done very cautiously1 and the expansion of benevolence by no means hurried or made a task of4 ,i knew a little girl who1 at four years old1 was full of domestic benevolence--capable of denying herself noise and amusement on fitting occasions1 and never happier than when waiting on and cherishing a sick person4 ,one day she seemed so much interested about a poor woman who had come to beg1 that her mother took her into consultation about what could be done for the woman and her children4 ,when told how nearly naked the poor children were1 and how they had no more clothes to put on1 though the weather was growing colder and colder1 she was asked whether she would not like to give her blue frock to one of them4 ,in a low earnest voice1 she said ,no4 ,the case was again represented to her2 and when1 with some little shrinking1 she again said ,no1 her mother saw that she had gone rather too far1 and had tried the young faculty of benevolence beyond its strength4 ,she watched and waited1 and is repaid4 ,in her daughter1 warm domestic affections co-exist with a more than ordinary benevolence4 ,this benevolence is the third form in which we have already seen what is called love4 ,can anything be more clearly marked than the difference between these three2--the love that leads to marriage2 fondness for objects which can be idolised2 and benevolence which has no fondness in it1 but desires the diffusion of happiness1 and acts independently of personal regards8 ,none of these yield the sort of affection which the heart of the parent desires1 and which is essential to family happiness4 ,a child may kill its pet bird1 or cat1 with kindness1 and go out into the street in the early morning1 with its halfpenny in its hand 7as ,i have known a child do7 to do good with it to somebody2--a child may have these two kinds of love strong in him1 and yet show but a weak attachment to the people about him4 ,this attachment is another kind of love from those we have been considering4 ,it is all-important to the character of the individual1 and to the happiness of the family circle3 and it is therefore of consequence that its nature should be understood1 and its exercise wisely cared for4 ,it is some time before the infant shows attachment to any one4 ,there are many signs of hope and fear in an infant before it gives any token of affection2 its arms are held out first to its nurse2 and she usually continues the one to whom the child clings1 and from whom it will not be separated4 ,beyond the nurse1 the child's attachments sometimes appear unaccountable4 ,it will be happy with some one person in the house1 and make a difficulty of going to any one else3 and the reason of this may not be plain to anybody4 ,happy is the mother if she be the one2 and a severe trial it is to a loving mother when she is not the one4 ,of course1 if the misfortune be owing to any fault in herself1--if she be irritable1 stern1 or in any way teasing to the child1--she cannot wonder that he does not love her4 ,if she be tender1 gentle1 playful1 and wise1 and still her child loves some one else in the house better1 it is a sore trial1 certainly2 but it must be made the best of4 ,of course1 the mother will strive to discover what it is in another person that attaches the child2 and if she can attain the quality1 she will4 ,but it is probably that which cannot be attained by express efforts1--a power of entering into the little mind1 and meeting its thoughts and feelings4 ,some persons have this power naturally much more than others2 and practice may have given them great facility in using it2 while the sense of inexperience1 and the strong anxiety that a young mother has1 may easily be a restraint on her faculties in dealing with her child4 ,i have heard the mothers of large families declare 7in the most private conversation7 in so many instances1 that their younger children are of a higher quality than the older1 and this from an age so early as to prevent the difference being attributed to experience in teaching1 that ,i have been led to watch and think on the subject3 and ,i think that one powerful cause is that the mother has naturally more freedom and playfulness and tact in her intercourse with her younger children than with the elder1 and thereby fixes their attachment more strongly3 and there are no bounds to the good which arises from strong affections in a child4 ,happy the mother who is the object of her child's strongest love from the beginning6--happy1 that is1 if she makes a good use of her privilege4 ,she must never desire more love than the child has to give4 ,the most that it can give will be less than she would like1 and far less than her own for it3 but she will not obtain more1 but only endanger what she has1 by making the child conscious of his affections1 and by requiring tokens which do not manifest themselves spontaneously4 ,it should be enough for a mother that her child comes to her with his little troubles and pleasures1 and shows by his whole behaviour that she is of more importance to him than any one else in the world4 ,if it be so1 there will be times when he will spring into her lap1 and throw his arms round her neck1 and give her the thrilling kiss that she longs to have every day and every hour4 ,but the sweetness of these caresses will be lost when they cease to be spontaneous2 and the child will leave off springing into the lap1 if it is to be teased for kisses when there4 ,there are few products of the human mind which are to be had good upon compulsion2 and affection least of all4 ,i knew a little boy who was brought home from being at nurse in the country1 and shown to his conscientious1 anxious1 but most formal mother4 ,the child clung to his nurse's neck1 hid his face on her shoulder1 and screamed violently4 ,but his mother's voice was heard above his noise1 saying solemnly1 ,look at me1 my dear4 ,nurse is going away1 and you will not see her any more4 ,you must love me now4 ,whether she thus gained her child's love1 my readers may conjecture4 ,the mother who is first in her child's affection is under the serious responsibility of imparting the treasure to others4 ,she takes her whole household into her own heart2 and she must open her little one's heart to take in all likewise4 ,she must associate all in turn in his pursuits and pleasures1 till his love has spread through the house1 and he can be happy and cherished in every corner of it4 ,the mother who sees some one else more beloved than herself1--the servant1 perhaps1 or an elder child of her own1--must not lose heart1 much less temper1 or all is lost4 ,it is possible that her turn may never come3 but it is far more probable that it will1 if she knows how to wait for it4 ,she must go on doing her part as perseveringly and1 if it may be1 as cheerfully as if her heart was satisfied2 and sooner or later the child will discover1 never to forget1 what a friend she is4 ,moreover1 if her mind and manner are not such as to win a child in his early infancy1 they may suit his needs at a later stage of his mind4 ,i have observed that the mothers who are most admirable at some seasons of their children's lives fall off at others4 ,i have seen a mother who had extraordinary skill in bringing out and training her children's faculties before they reached their teens1 and who was all-sufficient for them then1 fail them sadly as a friend and companion in the important years which follow seventeen4 ,and ,i have seen a mother who could make no way with her children in their early years1 and who keenly felt how nearly indifferent they were to her1 while her whole soul and mind were devoted to them1--,i have seen such a mother idolised by her daughters when they became wise and worthy enough to have her for a friend4 ,i mention these things for comfort and encouragement3 and who is more in need of comfort and encouragement than the mother who1 loving her child as mothers should1 meets with not only a less than adequate1 but a less than natural return8 ,there is one case more sad and more solemn than this2 the case of the unloving and unloved child4 ,there are some few human beings in whom the power of attachment is so weak that they stand isolated in the world1 and seem doomed to a hermit existence amidst the very throng of human life4 ,if such are neglected1 they are lost4 ,they must sink into a slough of selfishness1 and perish4 ,and none are so likely to be neglected as those who neither love nor win love4 ,if such an one is not neglected1 he may become an able and useful being1 after all2 and it is for the parents to try this1 in a spirit of reverence for his mysterious nature1 and of pity for the privations of his heart4 ,they will search out and cherish1 by patient love1 such little power of attachment as he has3 and they will perhaps find him capable of general kindliness1 and the wide interests of benevolence1 though the happiness of warm friendships and family endearment is denied him4 ,such an one can never take his place among the highest rank of human beings1 nor can know the sweetest happiness that life can yield4 ,but by the generous love of his parents1 and of all whom they can influence to do his nature justice1 his life may be made of great value to himself and others1 and he may become respected for his qualities1 as well as for his misfortune4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,powers4--,,veneration4 ,among the great blessings which are shared by the whole human race1 one of the chief is its universal power of veneration4 ,i call this a universal power1 because there is no human being1 7except the idiot7 in whom it is not inherent from his birth3 and ,i think ,i may say1 that there is none in whom it does not exist1 more or less1 till his death4 ,unhappy influences may check or pervert it3 but there is no reason to believe that it can be utterly destroyed4 ,the grinning scoffer1 who laughs at everything serious1 who despises every man but himself1 and who is insensible to the wonders and charms of nature1 yet stands in awe of something1--if it be nothing better than rank and show1 or brute force1 or the very power of contempt in others which he values so much in himself4 ,send for such an one into the presence of the ,queen1 or bring him to the bar of the ,house of ,commons1 or ask him to dinner in a sumptuous palace1 and1 however far gone he may be in contempt1 he will be awe-struck4 ,set him down face to face with a man who makes game of everything he does not understand1 7and that will be almost everything that exists7 and he will have a respect for that man4 ,if you can bring his mind into contact with any objects low enough to excite his degraded faculty of veneration1 you will find that the faculty is still there4 ,it appears to be indeed inextinguishable4 ,we have1 as usual1 two things to take heed to in regard to this great and indispensable power of the mind4 ,first1 to take care that the power neither runs riot1 nor is neglected4 ,and next1 to direct it to its proper objects4 ,i4 ,the faculty1 like all others1 is of unequal strength in different people2--in children1 as well as in grown persons4 ,we see one man who seems to have no self-reliance or freedom of action in anything2 whose life is one long ague fit of superstition1 from that cowardly dread of ,god which he means for religion3 who takes anybody's word for everything1 from a fear of using his own faculties1 and who is overwhelmed in the presence of rank1 wealth1 or ability superior to his own4 ,we see another man careless1 and contemptuous1 and self-willed1 from a want of feeling of what there is in the universe1 and in his fellow-men superior to his faculties1 and mysterious to his understanding4 ,and in the merest infants1 we may discern1 by careful watching1 a difference no less marked4 ,one little creature will reach boldly after everything it sees1 and buffet its playthings and the people about it1 and make itself heard and attended to whenever it so pleases1 and has to be taught and trained to lie quiet and submissive4 ,and another of the same age will watch with a shrinking wonder whatever is new or mysterious1 and be shy before strangers1 and has to be taught and trained to examine things for itself1 and to make free with the people about it4 ,such being the varieties in the strength of the natural faculty1 the training of it must vary accordingly4 ,as ,i have said before1 no human faculty needs to be repressed2 because no human faculty is in itself bad4 ,where any one power appears to be excessive1 we are not to set to work to vex and mortify it3 but rather1 to bring up to it those antagonist faculties which ought to balance it1 and which1 in such a case1 clearly want strengthening4 ,if1 for instance1 a child appears to have too much of this faculty of ,veneration--if it fancies a mystery in everything that happens1 and yields too easily to its companions1 and loves ghost stories which yet make it ill1 and is always awe-struck and dreaming about something or other--that child is not to be laughed at1 nor to be led to despise or make light of what it cannot understand4 ,that child has not too much ,veneration3 for no one can ever have too much of the faculty4 ,the mischief lies in his having too little of something else2--too little self-respect2 too little hope2 too little courage4 ,let him continue to exercise and enjoy freely his faculty of ,wonder4 ,his mother should tell him of things that are really wonderful and past finding out3 and as he grows old enough1 let her point out to him that all things in nature are wonderful1 and past our finding out1 from the punctuality of the great sun and blessed moon1 to the springing of the blade of grass4 ,let her sympathise in his feeling that there is something awful in the thunderstorm1 and in the incessant roll of the sea4 ,let her express for him1 as far as may be1 his unutterable sense of the weakness and ignorance of child or man in the presence of the mighty1 ever-moving universe1 and of the awful unknown ,power which is above and around us1 wherever we turn4 ,let her show respect to every sort of superiority1 according to its kind--to old age1 to scholarship1 to skill of every sort1 to social rank and office2 and above all1 to the superiority that goodness gives4 ,let her thus cherish and indulge her child's natural faculty1 and permit no one else to thwart it4 ,but she must give her utmost pains to exercise at the same time his inquiring and knowing faculties1 and his courage and self-respect4 ,among the many wonders which she cannot explain1 there are many which she can4 ,he should be encouraged to understand as much as anybody understands1 and especially of those things which he is most likely to be afraid of4 ,he should be made to feel what power is given to him by such knowledge3 and led to respect this power in himself as he would in any one else4 ,i knew a little child whose reverence for ,nature was so strong as almost to overpower some other faculties4 ,she was town-bred3 and whenever it chanced that she was out in the country for more than a common walk1 she was injuriously excited1 all day long4 ,she was not only in a state of devout adoration to the ,maker of all she saw3 but she felt towards the trees1 and brooks1 and corn-fields as if they were alive1 and she did not dare to interfere with them4 ,one day1 some companions carried home some wild strawberry roots for their gardens1 and persuaded her to do the same4 ,she did so1 in a great tremor4 ,before she had planted her roots1 she had grown fond of them1 as being dependent on her2 and she put them into the ground very tenderly and affectionately4 ,as it was now near noon1 of course she found her strawberries withered enough when she next went to look at them1 as they lay drooping in the hot sun4 ,she bethought herself1 in her consternation1 of a plan for them3 ran in for a little chair3 put it over the roots1 stuffing up with grass every space which could let the sunshine in2 watered the roots1 and left them1 with the sense of having done a very daring thing4 ,it was sunset before she could go to her garden again4 ,when she removed the chair1 there were the strawberries1 fresh and strong1 with leaves of the brightest green6 ,it was a rapturous moment to this superstitious child--this1 in which she felt that she had meddled with the natural growth of something1 and with success4 ,and it was a profitable lesson4 ,she took to gardening1 and to trying her power over ,nature in other ways1 losing some superstition at every step into the world of knowledge1 and gaining self-respect 7a highly necessary direction of the spirit of reverence7 with every proof of the power which knowledge confers4 ,what the parent has to do for the child in whom the sentiment of ,reverence appears disproportionate1 is to give him ,power in himself1 in every possible way1 that he may cease to be overwhelmed with the sense of power out of himself on every hand4 ,if he can become possessed of power of ,conscience1 his religious fear will become moderated to wholesome awe4 ,if he can become possessed of power of understanding1 the mysteries of ,nature will stimulate instead of depressing his mind4 ,if he can attain to power of sympathy1 he will see men as they are1 and have a fellow-feeling with them1 through all the circumstances of rank and wealth which once wore a false glory in his eyes4 ,if he can attain a due power of self-reliance1 he will learn that his own wonderful faculties and unbounded moral capacities should come in for some share of his reverence1 and be brought bravely into action in the universe1 instead of being left idle by the wayside1 making obeisance incessantly to everything that passes by1 while they ought to be up and doing4 ,what should be done with the pushing1 fearless child1 who seems to stand in awe of nobody1 is plain enough4 ,as ,i have said1 he reverences something3 for no human being is without the faculty4 ,his parents must find out what it is that does excite his awe3 and1 however strange may be the object1 they must sympathise in the feeling4 ,i have known a fearless child of three reverence his brother of four and a half4 ,we may laugh2 but it was no laughing matter1 but a very interesting one1 to see the little fellow watch every movement of his brother1 give him credit for profound reasons in everything he did1 and humbly imitate as much as he could4 ,supposing such a child to be deficient generally in reverence1 it would be a tremendous mistake in the parents to check this one exercise of it4 ,they should1 in such a case1 carefully observe the rights of seniority among the children2 avoid laughing at the follies of the elder1 or needlessly pointing out his faults1 in the presence of the younger1 while they daily strive to raise the standard of both4 ,they must also lead the imagination of the little one to contemplate things which he must feel to be at once real and beyond his comprehension4 ,they must1 at serious moments1 lead his mind higher than he was aware it would go1 even till it sinks under his sense of ignorance4 ,they must carry his thoughts down into depths which he never dreamed of1 and where the spirit of awe will surely lay hold upon him4 ,i do not believe there is any child who cannot be impressed with a serious1 plain account of some of the wonders of nature2 with a report1 ever so meagre1 of the immensity of the heavens1 whose countless stars1 the least of which we cannot understand1 are for ever moving1 in silent mystery1 before our eyes4 ,i do not believe there are many children that may not be deeply impressed by the great mystery of brute life1 if their attention be duly fixed upon it4 ,let the careless and confident child be familiarised1 not only with the ant and the bee for their wonderful instinct1 but with all living creatures as inhabitants of the same world as himself1 and at the same time1 of a world of their own1 as we have2 a world of ideas1 and emotions1 and pleasures1 which we know nothing whatever about1--any more than they know the world of our minds4 ,i do not believe there is any child who would not look up with awe to a man or woman who had done a noble act1--saved another from fire or drowning1 or told the truth to his own loss or peril1 or visited the sick in plague-time1 or the guilty in jail4 ,i do not believe there is any child who would not look up with awe to a man who was known to be wise beyond others2 to have seen far countries2 to have read books in many languages2 or to have made discoveries among the stars1 or about how earth1 air1 and water are made4 ,if it be so1 who is there that may not be impressed at last by the evident truth that all that men have yet known and done is as nothing compared with what remains to be known and done3 that the world-wide traveller is but the half-fledged bird flitting round the nest3 that the philosopher is but as the ant which spends its little life in bringing home half a dozen grains of wheat3 and that the most benevolent man is grieved that he can do so little for the solace of human misery1 feeling himself like the child who tries to wipe away his brother's tears1 but cannot heal his grief6 ,who is there that cannot be impressed by the grave pointing out of the mystery of life1 and the vastness of knowledge which lie around and before him2 and by the example of him who did none but noble and generous deeds1 and bore the fiercest sufferings1 and felt contempt for nothing under heaven6 ,how can it but excite reverence to show that he1 even he1 was himself full of reverence1 and incapable of contempt6 ,,ii4 ,having said thus much about nourishing and balancing the faculty of reverence1 ,i need only point out the directions in which it should be trained4 ,the point on which a child's veneration will first naturally fix will be ,power4 ,it must be the parents' first business to fix that veneration on ,authority1 instead of mere power4 ,instead of the power to shut up in a closet1 or to whip1 the child must reverence the authority which reveals itself in calm control and gentle command4 ,the parents must be the first objects of the child's disciplined reverence4 ,even here1 in this first clear case1 the faculty cannot work well without sympathy3 and the child must have sympathy from the parents themselves4 ,he must see that his parents respect each other2 that they consider one another's authority unquestionable in the household2 and that they reverence their parent--if ,granny be still among them4 ,beyond this1 there is no reason why the sympathy between parents and children should not be simple1 constant1 and true1 as to their objects of reverence4 ,the child may revere as very wise1 some person whom the parents know not to be so3 but they may join their child in revering the wisdom which they know to be his ideal4 ,the child may go into an enthusiasm about some questionable hero1--the exemplar of some virtue which the parents feel to be of a rather low order3 but they will sympathise in the homage to virtue--which is the main point4 ,they may be secretly amused at their child's reverence for the constable3 but they feel the same in regard to that of which the constable is the representative to the child--the ,law4 ,they will lead him on with them in their advancing reverence for knowledge2 for that moral and intellectual knowledge united which constitute wisdom2 and will thus turn away his regards from dwelling too much on outward distinctions1 which might otherwise inspire undue awe4 ,yet nearer will their hearts draw to his in veneration for goodness2 for intrepid truthfulness1 for humble fidelity1 for cheerful humility1 for gentle charity4 ,and at the ultimate point1 their hearts must become one with his2 in the presence of the ,unknown2 for there we are all1--the oldest and the youngest--the wisest and the weakest1--but little children1 waiting to learn1 and desiring to obey4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,powers4--,,truthfulness4 ,we come now to consider a moral quality whose importance cannot be overrated1 yet about which there is more unsettledness of view and perplexity of heart among parents than about1 perhaps1 any other4 ,every parent is anxious about the truthfulness of his child3 but whether this virtue is to come by nature1 or by gift1 or by training1 many an one is sorely perplexed to know4 ,so few children are truthful in all respects and without variation1 that we may well doubt whether the quality can be inborn4 ,and the cases are so many of children otherwise good--even conscientious in other respects--who talk at random1 and say things utterly untrue1 that ,i do not wonder that those who hold low views of human nature consider this a constitutional vice1 and a hereditary curse4 ,i am very far from believing this3 and ,i will plainly say what ,i do believe4 ,i believe that the requisites of a habit of truthfulness lie in the brain of every child that is born2 but that the truthfulness itself has to be taught1 as the speech which is to convey it has to be taught2 by helping the child to the use of his natural powers4 ,the child has by nature the ear1 the lungs1 the tongue1 the palate1 and the various and busy mind1--the requisites for speech3 but he does not speak unless incited by hearing it from others1 and by being himself led on to attain the power4 ,in a somewhat resembling manner1 every child has more or less natural sense of what is just in feeling and action1 and what is real in nature1 and how to present his ideas to another mind4 ,here are the requisites to truthfulness of speech3 but there is much to be learned1 and much to overcome1 before the practice of truthfulness can be completely formed1 and firmly established4 ,if the case is once understood1 we shall know how to set about our work1 and may await the event without dismay in the worst cases1 though in all with the most careful vigilance4 ,is it not true that different nations1 even ,christian nations1 vary more in regard to truthfulness than perhaps any other moral quality8 ,is it not true that one or two continental nations fall below us in regard to this quality1 while they far excel us in kindliness and cheerfulness of temper1 and pleasantness of manners8 ,and does not this difference arise from their thinking kindliness and cheerfulness more important than sincerity and accuracy of speech8 ,and is not our national superiority in regard to the practice of truth chiefly owing to its being our national point of honour1 and our fixed supposition as a social habit8 ,do not these facts tend to show that the practice of truthfulness is the result of training8 and that we may look for it with confidence as the result of good training8 ,now1 what are the requisites1 and what the difficulties that we have to deal with8 ,has not every child a keen sense of right and justice1 which he shows from the earliest time that he can manifest any moral judgment at all8 ,he may be injurious and unjust to another1 from selfishness and passion3 but can he not feel injustice done to himself with the infallibility of an instinct1 and claim his rights with the acuteness of a lawyer8 ,is there anything more surprising to us in the work of education than every child's sense of his rights1 and need of unerring justice1 till he is far enough advanced generously to dispense with it8 ,here we have the perception of moral truth for one requisite4 ,another requisite is such good perceptive power as informs a child truly of outward facts4 ,there is no natural power which varies more in different subjects than this4 ,one child sees everything as it is1 within its range4 ,another child sees but little1 being taken up with what it thinks or imagines4 ,a third sees wrongly1 being easily deceived about colours and forms1 and the order in which things happen1 from its senses being dull1 or its faculties of observation being indolent4 ,i have known a child declare an object to be green when it was grey2 or a man in a field to be a giant2 or a thing to have happened in the morning which took place in the afternoon3 and one need but observe how witnesses in a court of justice vary in their testimony about small matters regarding which they are quite disinterested1 to see that the same imperfection in the perceptive faculties goes on into mature age4 ,it is plain that these faculties must be exercised and trained very carefully1 if the child is to be made accurate in its statements4 ,another and most important requisite is that the child should1 from the beginning1 believe that truthfulness is a duty4 ,this belief must be given on authority3 for the obligation to truth is not1 as ,i have said1 instinctive1 but a matter of reasoning1 such as a child is not capable of entering into4 ,he will receive it1 easily and permanently1 from the assurance and example of his parents2 but he does not1 in his earliest years1 see it for himself4 ,an affectionate child1 thinking of a beloved person1 will tell his parent that he has just seen and talked with that person1 who is known to be a hundred miles off4 ,the parent is shocked3 and truly there is cause for distress2 for it is plain that the child has as yet no notion of the duty of truthfulness2 but the parent must not1 in his fear1 aggravate the case1 and run into the conclusion that the child loves lying4 ,the case probably is that he says what is pleasant to his affections1 without being aware that there is a more serious matter to be attended to first3 a thing which he may hereafter be shocked not to have known4 ,i happen to remember at this moment1 three persons1 now conscientiously truthful1 who in early childhood were in the habit of telling1 not only wonderful dreams1 but most wonderful things that they had seen in their walks1 on the high-road or the heath2 giants1 castles1 beautiful ladies riding in forests1 and so on4 ,in all these cases1 the parents were deeply distressed1 and applied themselves accordingly1 first to check the practice of narration1 and next to exercise the perceptive and reflective powers of the children1 so as to enable them to distinguish clearly the facts they saw from the visions they called up before their mind's eye4 ,the appeal to conscience they left for cases where their child had clearer notions of right and wrong4 ,any one of these children would1 ,i believe1 at that very time1 have suffered much rather than say what he knew to be false1 from any motive of personal fear or hope4 ,as ,i said1 all these three are now eminently honourable and trustworthy persons4 ,the chief final requisite is1 of course1 conscientiousness4 ,when the child becomes capable of self-knowledge and self-government1 this alone can be relied on for such a confirmation of the habit of truth telling1 or such a correction of any tendency to inaccuracy1 as may carry the young probationer through all temptations from within and from without1 steady in the practice of strict truth4 ,when all these requisites are combined1--when the child feels truly1 sees truly1 and is aware of the duty of speaking truly1 the practice of truthfulness becomes as natural and unfailing as if it originated in an instinct4 ,i remember an instance of the strange1 unbalanced1 unprincipled state of mind of a child1 who was capable of telling a lie1 and persisting in it1 at the very time that she was conscientious to excess about some of her duties1 and her sense of justice 7in regard to her own rights7 ran riot in her4 ,it is an odd and a sad story2 but instructive from its very strangeness4 ,she was asked by her mother one day whether she had not played battledore and shuttlecock before breakfast4 ,from some levity or inattention at the moment1 she said ,no1 and was immediately about to correct herself when her mother's severe countenance roused her pride and obstinacy1 and she wickedly repeated her denial4 ,here it was temper that was the snare4 ,there was nothing to be afraid of in saying the truth1 no reason why she should not4 ,but she had a temper of such pride and obstinacy that she was aware of even enjoying being punished1 as giving her an opportunity of standing out2 while the least word of appeal to her affections or her conscience1 if uttered before her temper was roused1 would melt her in a moment4 ,the question was repeated in many forms2 and still she1 with a terrified and miserable conscience1 persisted that she had not played battledore that morning2 whereas her mother had heard it1 and knew from her companion who it was that had played4 ,the lying child was sent to her own room1 where she was in consternation enough till a mistake of management was made which spoiled everything1 and destroyed the lesson to her4 ,she was sent for to read aloud1 before the family1 the story of ,ananias and ,sapphira4 ,she was sobbing so that the reading was scarcely possible1 till her thoughts took a turn which speedily dried her tears1 and filled her with an insolent indignation which excluded all chance of repentance4 ,she well knew the story of ,ananias and ,sapphira2 and she happened to have a great admiration of the plan of the early ,christians1 of throwing all their goods into a common stock4 ,she knew that the sin of ,ananias and his wife lay chiefly in the selfish fraud which was the occasion of their lie1 and that their case was therefore no parallel for hers3 and in the indignation of having it supposed that she had sinned in their way1--she who longed above everything to have been an early ,christian 7a pretty subject truly67--that she could be thought silly enough to suppose that they were struck dead for their fib1 and not for their fraud1--in this insolent indignation she put her one sin out of sight1 and felt herself an injured person4 ,this adventure certainly did not strengthen her regard to truth4 ,she dared not state her objection to the story in her own case3 and perhaps she also disdained to do it3 she remained sullen2 and her mother had at last to let the matter drop4 ,this was a case to make any parent's heart sink3 but the worse the case1 the more instructive to us now4 ,here was sufficient moral sense and insight1 in one direction1 to hear an appeal1 if any had been made4 ,disgrace was the worst possible resort1 and especially when untenable ground was taken for it4 ,the best resort would have been a tender and solemn private conversation1 in which the entanglement of passionate feelings might have been unravelled1 and the seat of moral disease have been explored4 ,when a moral disease so fearful as this appears1 parents should never rest till they have found the seat of it1 and convinced the perilled child of the deadly nature of its malady4 ,in this case1 the child was certainly not half-convinced1 and morally worse after the treatment1 while the material for conviction1 repentance and reformation1 was in her4 ,the method of training must depend much on the organisation of the child in one respect2 whether he is ingenuous and frank1 or reserved and 7,i must say it7--sly4 ,some children are certainly prone to slyness by nature2 but there is no reason why1 under a wise training1 they should not be as honourable as the most ingenuous soul that ever was born4 ,and they may even1 when thoroughly principled1 be more reliable than some open-minded persons1 from being more circumspect4 ,there is something very discouraging in seeing little creatures who ought to be all fearlessness and confidence hiding things under their pinafores1 or slipping out at the back-door for a walk which they might have honestly by asking for it2 or putting round-about questions when plain ones would do2 or keeping all their little concerns to themselves while spending their whole lives among brothers and sisters4 ,if one looks forward to their maturity1 one recoils from the image of what they will be4 ,but they must not grow up with these tendencies4 ,their fault may turn to virtue1 under wise and gentle treatment4 ,their confidence must be tenderly won1 and their innocent desires gratified1 while every slyness is quietly shown to be as unavailing as it is disagreeable1 and every movement towards ingenuousness cheerfully and lovingly encouraged4 ,the child's imagination must be engaged on behalf of everything that is noble1 heroic1 and openly glorious before the eyes of men4 ,his conscience and affections must be appealed to1 not in words1 but by a long course of love and trust1 to return the trust he receives4 ,of course1 the parental example must be that of perfect openness and simplicity2 for the sight of mystery and concealment in the house is enough to make even the ingenuous child sly1 through its faculty of imitation1 and its ambition to be old and wise2 and much more will it hinder the expansion of a reserved and cunning child4 ,if these things be all attended to--if he sees only what is open1 free1 and simple1 and receives treatment which is open1 free1 and encouraging1 while it convinces him of a sagacity greater than his own1 there is every hope that he will yield himself to the kindly influences dispensed to him1 and find for himself the comfort and security of ingenuousness1 and turn his secretive ingenuity to purposes of intellectual exercise1 where it may do much good and no harm4 ,that ingenuity and sagacity may be well employed among the secrets of history1 the complexities of the law1 or the mysteries of mechanical construction or chemical analysis1 which may make a man vicious and untrustworthy1 if allowed to work in his moral nature1 and to shroud his daily conduct4 ,as for the training of the candid and ingenuous child1 it is of course far easier and pleasanter2 but it must not be supposed that no care is required to make him truthful4 ,he must be trained to accuracy1 or all his ingenuousness will not save him from saying many a thing which is not true4 ,dr4 ,johnson advised that if a child said he saw a thing out of one window1 when in fact he saw it out of another1 he should be set right4 ,i think the ,dr4 was right2 and that a child should consider no kind of misstatement a trifle1 seeing always that the parents do not4 ,an open-hearted and ingenuous child is likely to be a great talker2 and is in that way more liable to inaccuracy of statement than a reserved child4 ,oh6 let his parents guard him well1 by making him early the guardian of the unruly little member which may1 by neglect1 deprive him of the security and peace which should naturally spread from his innocent heart through his open and honest life6 ,let them help him to add perfect truth of speech to his native truth of heart1 and their promising child cannot but be a happy man4 ,it may seem wearisome to say so often over that the example of the parents is the chief influence in the training of the child2 but how can ,i help saying it when the fact is so8 ,is it not true that when the father of a family comes home and talks before his children1 every word sinks into their minds8 ,if he talks banter--banter so broad that his elder children laugh and understand1 how should the little one on its mother's lap fail to be perplexed and misled8 ,it knows nothing about banter1 and it looks up seriously in its father's face1 and believes all he says1 and carries away all manner of absurd ideas4 ,or1 if told not to believe what he hears1 how is he to know henceforth what to believe2 and how can he put trust in his father's words8 ,the turn for exaggeration which many people have is morally bad for the whole family4 ,it is only the youngest perhaps who will believe that it rains cats and dogs because somebody says so2 but a whole family may be misled by habitual exaggeration of statement4 ,the consequence is clear4 ,either they will take up the habit1 from imitation of father or mother1 or they will learn to distrust their fluent parent4 ,but how safe is everything made by that established habit of truth in a household which acts like an instinct6 ,if the parents are1 as by a natural necessity1 always accurate in what they say1 or1 if mistaken1 thankful to be set right1 and eager to rectify their mistake1 the children thrive in an atmosphere of such sincerity and truth3 and any one of them to whom truthfulness may be constitutionally difficult1 has the best chance for the strengthening of his weakness4 ,such an one must have sunk under the least aggravation of his infirmity by the sin of his parents3 and the probability is1 that the whole household would have gone down into moral ruin together2 for it cannot be expected that any natural aptitude for truth in children should improve1 or even continue1 if discouraged by the example of the parents who ought to hail it as a blessing upon their house4 ,of all happy households1 that is the happiest1 where falsehood is never thought of4 ,all peace is broken up when once it appears that there is a liar in the house4 ,all comfort is gone1 when suspicion has once entered2 when there must be reserve in talk1 and reservation in belief4 ,anxious parents1 who are aware of the pains of suspicion1 will place generous confidence in their children1 and receive what they say freely1 unless there is strong reason to distrust the truth of any one4 ,if such an occasion should unhappily arise1 they must keep the suspicion from spreading as long as possible2 and avoid disgracing their poor child1 while there is any chance of his cure by their confidential assistance4 ,he should have their pity and assiduous help1 as if he were suffering under some disgusting bodily disorder4 ,if he can be cured1 he will become duly grateful for the treatment4 ,if the endeavour fails1 means must of course be taken to prevent his example doing harm3 and then1 as ,i said1 the family peace is broken up1 because the family confidence is gone4 ,i fear that1 from some cause or another1 there are but few large families where every member is altogether truthful4 ,some who are not morally guilty1 are intellectually incapable of accuracy4 ,but where all are so organised and so trained as to be wholly reliable1 in act and word1 they are a light to all eyes1 and a joy to all hearts4 ,they are a public benefit2 for they are a point of general reliance3 and they are privately blessed1 within and without4 ,without1 their life is made easy by universal trust3 and within their home and their hearts1 they have the security of rectitude1 and the gladness of innocence4 ,if we do but invoke wisdom1 she will come1 and multiply such homes in our land4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,conscientiousness4 ,we come now to the greatest and noblest of the ,moral ,powers of ,man2 to that power which makes him quite a different order of being from any other that we know of1 and which is the glory and crown of his existence3--his ,conscientiousness4 ,the universal endowment of men with this power is the true bond of brotherhood of the human race4 ,any race of beings who possess in common the highest quality of which any of them are capable1 are brothers1 however much they may differ in all other respects1 and however little some of them may care about this brotherhood4 ,for those who do care about it1 how clear it is1 and how very interesting to trace6 ,how plain it is that while men in different parts and ages of the world differ widely as to what is right1 they all have something in them which prompts them to do what they believe to be right6 ,here is a little boy1 permitted to try what he can get by selling five shillings' worth of oranges3--he points out to the lady who is buying his last half dozen1 that two of them are spotted4--,there was ,regulus1 the ,roman general1 who was taken prisoner by the enemy1 the ,carthaginians4 ,he was trusted to go to ,rome1 to treat for an exchange of prisoners1 on his promise that he would return to ,carthage1--which he knew was returning to death1--if the ,roman senate would not grant an exchange of prisoners4 ,he persuaded the ,roman senate not to agree to the exchange1 which he believed would not be for the advantage of ,rome3 and then he went back to ,carthage and to death4 ,there is1 at this day1 the ,south ,sea ,islander1--the young wife who has been told that it is pious and right to give her first child to the gods4 ,she has in her all a mother's feelings1 all the love which women long to lavish on their first babe3 but she desires that the infant should be strangled as soon as born1 because she thinks it her duty4 ,now1 this poor creature is truly the sister of the other two1 though her superstition is horrible1 and the infanticide it leads to is a great crime4 ,she is shockingly ignorant1 and her mind is not of that high order which would perceive that there must be something wrong in going against nature in this way3 but1 for all that1 she is conscientious2 and by her conscientiousness she is truly a sister in heart to the honourable ,roman general1 and the honest orange-seller4 ,what she needs is knowledge3 and what the whole human race wants is knowledge1 to bring the workings of this great power into harmony all over the world4 ,at present1 we see men in one place feeding1 and in another place burning one another1--because they think they ought4 ,in one place1 we see a man with seventy wives1--in another1 a man with one wife1--and in another1 a man remaining a bachelor all his life2 and each one equally supposing that he is doing what is right4 ,the evil everywhere is in the want of clear views of what is right4 ,this is an evil which may and will be remedied1 we may hope1 in course of ages4 ,there is nothing that we may not hope while the power to desire and do what is right is common to all mankind1--is given to them as an essential part of the human frame4 ,it does not follow1 of course1 that this power is equal in all4 ,all but idiots have it1 more or less2 but it varies1 in different individuals1 quite as much as any other power4 ,no power is more dependant on care and cultivation for its vigour3 but none varies more from the very beginning4 ,some of the worst cases of want of rectitude that ,i have known have been in persons so placed as that everybody naturally supposed they must be good1 and trusted them accordingly4 ,i have known a girl1 brought up by highly principled relatives1 in a house where nothing but good was seen or heard of1 turn out so faulty as to compel one to see that her power of conscientiousness was the weakest she had4 ,she had some of it4 ,she was uneasy1--truly and not hypocritically1--if she did not read a portion of the bible every day at a certain hour4 ,she was plain1 even to prudery1 in her dress3 she truly honoured old age1 and could humble herself before it3 and she studiously1 and from a sense of duty1 administered to the wishes of the elder members of the family1 in all matters of arrangement and manners4 ,but that was all4 ,she was tricky to a degree ,i could never estimate or comprehend4 ,her little plots and deceptions were without number and without end4 ,her temper was bad1 and she took no pains whatever to mend it1 but spent all her exertions in making people as miserable as possible by her vindictiveness4 ,in love matters1 she reached a point of malice beyond belief1 torturing people's feelings1 and getting them into scrapes1 with a gratification to her own bad mind which could not be concealed under her demure solemnity of manner4 ,enough of her6 ,i will only observe that1 though she was brought up by good people1 it does not follow that she was judiciously managed4 ,the result shows that she was not4 ,a perfectly wise guardian would have seen that her faculty of conscientiousness wanted strengthening1 and would have found safe and innocent employment for those powers of secretiveness and defiance1 and that inordinate love of approbation1 which1 as it was1 issued in mischief-making4--,the opposite case to hers is that which touches one with a deeper pity than almost any spectacle which can be seen on this earth3 that of the child whose strong power of conscientiousness is directed to wickedness1 before it has ability to help itself4 ,think of the little child born in a cellar1 among thieves6 ,it is born full of human powers2 and among these1 it has a conscience1 and perhaps a particularly strong one4 ,suppose it is brought up to believe that its duty is to provide money for its parents by stealing4 ,suppose that1 by five years old1 it entirely believes that the most wrong thing it can do is to come home at dark without having stolen at least three pocket-handkerchiefs6 ,such cases have been known2 and not a few of them4--,and it is only an exaggerated instance of what we very commonly see in history and the world4 ,the ,chief ,inquisitor in ,spain or ,italy really believed that he was doing his duty in burning the bodies of heretics for the good of their souls4 ,our ancestors thought they were acting benevolently in putting badge dresses on charity children4 ,the ,pharisees of old were sincere in their belief that it was wrong to heal a sick man on the ,sabbath4 ,and ,i have no doubt that in a future age it will appear that we ourselves are ignorant and mistaken about some points of our conduct in which we now sincerely believe that we are doing what we ought4 ,in every household1 then1 the first consideration is to cherish the faculty of conscientiousness2 and the next is1 to direct it wisely4 ,when ,i speak of cherishing the faculty1 ,i do not mean that it is always to be stimulated1 whether it be naturally strong or weak4 ,there are cases1 and they are not few1 where the power is stronger than perhaps any other4 ,in such cases1 no stimulating is required1 but only guidance and enlightenment4 ,there are few sadder spectacles than that of a suffering being whose conscience has become so tender as to be superstitious2 who lives a life of fear--of incessant fear of doing wrong4 ,it is a healthy conscience that we want to produce2 a conscience which shall act naturally1 vigorously1 and incessantly1 like an instinct2 so as to leave all the other faculties to act freely1 without continual conflict and question whether their action be right or wrong4 ,a child who is perpetually driven to examine all he thinks and does will become full of himself1 prone to discontent with himself1 and to servile dependence on the opinion of those whom he thinks wiser than himself4 ,what is such a child to do when he comes out into the world1 and must guide himself8 ,at best1 he will go trembling through life1 without courage or self-respect3 and something worse is to be apprehended4 ,it is to be apprehended that if he makes any slip--and such an one will be sure to think that he does make slips--he will be unable to bear the pain and uncertainty1 and will grow reckless4 ,a clergyman1 of wide and deep experience1 who was the depository of much confidence1 told me once 7and ,i have never forgotten it71 that some of the worst cases of desperate vice he had ever known were those of young men tenderly and piously reared1 who came out from home anxious about the moral dangers of the world and the fears of their parents1 and who1 having fallen into the slightest fault1 and being utterly wretched in consequence1 lost all courage and hope1 and drowned their misery in indulgence of the worst part of themselves4 ,he felt this so strongly that he solemnly conjured me to use any influence ,i might ever have over parents in encouraging them to trust their children with their innocence1 and to have faith in the best faculties of human nature4 ,this entreaty still rings in my ears1 and leads me so to use any influence ,i may now have over parents4 ,is it not true that the strongest delight the human being ever has is in well-doing8 ,is it not true that this pleasure1 like the pleasures of the eye and ear1 the pleasures of benevolence1 the pleasures of the understanding and the imagination1 will seek its own continuance and gratification1 if it have fair play8 ,is it not true that pain of conscience is the worst of human sufferings8 and that this pain will be naturally avoided1 like every other pain1 if only the faculty have fair play8 ,the worst of it is1 the faculty seldom has fair play4 ,the fatal notion that human beings are more prone to evil than inclined to good1 and the fatal practice of creating factitious sins1 are dreadfully in the way of natural health of conscience4 ,teach a child that his nature is evil1 and you will make it evil4 ,teach him to fear and despise himself1 and you will make him timid and suspicious4 ,impose upon him a number of factitious considerations of duty1 and you will perplex his moral sense1 and make him tired of a self-government which has no certainty and no satisfaction in it4 ,it is a far safer and higher way to trust to his natural moral sense1 and cultivate his moral taste3 to let him grow morally strong by leaving him morally free1 and to make him1 by sympathy and example1 in love with whatever things are pure1 honest1 and lovely4 ,what the parent has to do with is the moral habits of the child1 and not to meddle with his faculties4 ,give them fair scope to grow1 and they will flourish3 and1 let it be remembered1 man has no faculties which are1 in themselves and altogether1 evil4 ,his faculties are all good1 if they are well harmonised4 ,instead of talking to him1 or leading him to talk in his infancy of his own feelings as something that he has to take charge of1 fix his mind on the things from which his feelings will of themselves arise4 ,by all means1 lead him to be considerate3 but not about his own state1 but rather about the objects which cause that state4 ,if he sees at home integrity entering into every act and thought1 and trust and love naturally ensuing1 he will enjoy integrity and live in it1 as the native of a southern climate enjoys sunshine and lives in it4 ,if1 as must happen1 failure of integrity comes under his notice in one direction or another1 he will see the genuine disgust and pain which those about him feel at the spectacle1 and dishonesty will be disgusting and painful to him4 ,and so on1 through all good and bad qualities of men4 ,and this will keep him upright and pure far more certainly than any warnings from you that he will be dishonest and impure1 unless he is constantly watching his feelings1 and striving against the danger4 ,in the beginning of his course1 he must be aided1--in the early days when the action of all his faculties is weak and uncertain3 and this aid cannot be given too early2 for we are not aware of any age at which a child has not some sense of moral right and wrong4 ,mrs4 ,wesley taught her infants in arms to cry softly4 ,without admiring the discipline1 we may profit by the hint as to the moral capability of the child4 ,when no older than this1 he may have satisfaction1 without knowing why1 from submitting quietly to be washed1 and to go to bed4 ,when he becomes capable of employing himself purposely1 he may have satisfaction in doing his business before he goes to his play1 and a sense of uneasiness in omitting the duty4 ,i knew a little boy in petticoats who had no particular taste for the alphabet1 but began to learn it as a matter of course1 without any pretence of relish4 ,one day his lesson was1 for some reason1 rather short4 ,his conscience was not satisfied4 ,when his elder brother was dismissed1 ,willie brought his letters again1 but found he was not wanted1 and might play4 ,the little fellow sighed2 and then a bright thought struck him4 7,i think ,i see him now1 in his white frock1 with his large thoughtful eyes lighting up67 ,he said joyfully--,willie say his lesson to hisself4 ,he carried his little stool into a corner1 put his book on his knees1 and finished by honestly covering up the large letters with both hands1 and saying aloud two or three new ones4 ,then he went to his play1 all the merrier for the discharge of his conscience4 ,there is no reason why it should not be thus with all the duties of a child4 ,the great point is that he should see that the peace and joy of the household depend on ease of conscience4 ,his father takes no pleasure till his work is done1 and tells the truth to his hurt4 ,his mother seeks to be just to a slandered neighbour1 or leaves her rest by the fireside to aid a sick one4 ,granny's eyes sparkle1 or a flush comes over her withered cheek1 when she tells the children what good men have endured rather than pretend what they did not believe1 or betray a trust4 ,the maid has taken twopence too much in change1 and is uneasy till she has returned it1 or she refuses to promise something1 lest she should be unable to keep her word4 ,his elder sister refuses something good at a neighbour's1 because her mother would think it unwholesome while she is not quite well4 ,his elder brother asks him to throw just a little cold water upon him in the mornings1 because he is so terribly sleepy that he cannot get up without4 ,and he sees what a welcome is given to a very poor acquaintance1 and he feels his own heart beat with reverence for this very poor neighbour1 because his father happens to know that the man refused five pounds for his vote at the last election4 ,if the child is surrounded by a moral atmosphere like this1 he will derive a strong moral life from it1 and a satisfaction to his highest moral faculties which it is scarcely possible that he should forego for the pleasures of sin4 ,the indolent child will1 in such a home1 lose all idea of pleasure in being idle1 and soon find no pleasure till his work is done4 ,the slovenly child will become uneasy under a dirty skin1 and the thoughtless one in being behind his time4 ,common integrity we may suppose to be a matter of course in a household like this2 and1 as every virtuous faculty naturally advances from strength to strength1 we may hope that the abode will be blessed1 as the children grow up1 with a very uncommon integrity4 ,though the parent will avoid making the child unnecessarily conscious of its own conscience1 she 7for this is chiefly the mother's business7 will remember that her child has his difficulties and perplexities about the working of this1 as of all his other imperfectly trained powers2 and she will lay herself open to his confidence4 ,sometimes he is not clear what he ought to do3 sometimes he feels himself too weak to do it3 sometimes he is miserable because he has done wrong3 and then again1 he and some one else may differ as to whether he has done wrong or right4 ,and again1 he may have seen something in other people's conduct which shocks1 or puzzles1 or delights him4 ,oh6 let the mother throw open her heart to confidences like these6 ,let her be sure that the moments of such confidence are golden moments1 for which a mother may be more thankful than for anything else she can ever receive from her child4 ,let it be her care that every child has opportunity to speak freely and privately to her of such things4 ,some mothers make it a practice to go themselves to fetch the candle when the children are in bed2 and then1 if wanted1 they stay a few minutes1 and hear any confessions1 or difficulties1 and receive any disclosures1 of which the little mind may wish to disburden itself before the hour of sleep4 ,whether then or at another time1 it is well worth pondering what a few minutes of serious consultation may do in enlightening and rousing or calming the conscience1--in rectifying and cherishing the moral life4 ,it may be owing to such moments as these that humiliation is raised into humility1 apathy into moral enterprise1 pride into awe1 and scornful blame into ,christian pity4 ,happy is the mother who can use such moments as she ought6 ,there remains1 after all1 the dread and wonder what such children are to think and do when they must come to know what is the average conscientiousness of the world4 ,this is a subject of fear and pain to most good parents4 ,but they must consider that their children will not see the world as they do all at once3--not till they have learned1 like their parents1 to allow for1 and account for1 what happens in the world4 ,the innocent and the upright put a good construction on as much as possible of what they see2 and are often more right in this than their clearer-sighted elders who know more of the tendencies of things4 ,the shock will not come all at once4 ,they hear now of broken contracts1 dishonest bargains1 venal elections1 mercenary marriages1 and1 perhaps1 profligate seductions4 ,they know that there are drunkards1 and cheats1 and hypocrites1 and cruel brutes1 in society3 and these things hardly affect them1 are hardly received by them1 because they are surrounded by honest people1 and cannot feel what is beyond4 ,and when they must become more truly aware of these things1 they will still trust in and admire some whom they look up to1 with more or less reason4 ,the knowledge of iniquity will come to them gradually1 and all the more safely the less sympathy they have with it4 ,if it be the pain1 and not the danger1 of this knowledge that the parents dread1 they must make up their minds to it for their children4 ,surely they do not expect them to go through life without pain3 and a bitter suffering it will be to them to see what wretchedness is in the world through the vices and ignorance of men2 through their want of conscientiousness1 or their errors of conscience4 ,such pain must be met and endured2 and who is likely to meet it so bravely1 and endure it so hopefully1 as those who are fully aware that every man's heaven or hell is within him--giving a hope that heaven will expand as wisdom grows--and who carry within themselves that peace which the world can neither give nor take away8 ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,intellectual ,,training4--,,its ,,requisites4 ,we are all accustomed to speak of the ,intellect and moral powers of man as if they were so distinct from one another that we can deal with each set of powers without touching the other4 ,it is true that there is a division between the intellectual and moral powers of man1 as there is between one moral power and another4 ,it is true that we can think of them separately1 and treat them separately3 but it does not follow that they will work separately4 ,no part of the brain will act alone1 no part begins its own action4 ,it is always put in action by another part previously at work1 and it excites in its turn some other portion4 ,while we sleep1 that part of the brain is at work on which depend those animal functions which are always going on3 and1 as we know by our dreams1 other portions work with this1 giving us ideas and feelings during sleep--perhaps as many as by day1 if we could only recollect them4 ,the animal portions of the brain set the intellectual and moral organs to work1 and these act upon each other1 so that there is no separating their action1--no possibility of employing one faculty at a time without help from any other4 ,as memory cannot act till attention has been awakened1--in other words1 as people cannot remember what they have never observed and received1 so the timid cannot understand1 unless it is in a docile and calm state2 nor meditate well without the exercise of candour and truthfulness2 nor imagine nobly without the help of veneration and hope4 ,if we take any great intellectual work and examine it1 we shall see what a variety of faculties1 moral as well as intellectual1 have gone to the making of it4 ,take ,paradise ,lost1 a work so glorious for the loftiness of its imagination1 and the extent of its learning1 and the beauty of its illustrations1 and the harmony of its versification6 ,these are its intellectual beauties3 but look what moral beauties are inseparable from these4 ,look at the veneration1--not only towards ,god1 but towards all holiness1 and power1 and beauty6 ,look at the purity1 the love1 the hopefulness1 the strain of high honour throughout6 ,and this intellectual and moral beauty are so blended1 that we see how impossible it would be for the one to exist without the other4 ,it is just so in the human character--the intellect of a human being cannot be of a high order1 7though some particular faculties may be very strong7 if the moral nature is low and feeble3 and the moral state cannot be a lofty one where the intellect is torpid4 ,it does not follow from this that to be very good a child must be exceedingly clever and highly educated1 as we call it4 ,there are plenty of highly-educated people who are not morally good2 and there are many honest and amiable and industrious people who cannot read and write4 ,the thing is1 we misuse the word ,education4 ,book-learning is compatible with great poverty of intellect2 and there may be a very fine understanding1 great power of attention and observation1 and possibly1 though rarely1 of reflection1 in a person who has never learned to read1--if the moral goodness of that person has put his mind into a calm and teachable and happy state1 and his powers of thought have been stimulated by active affections2 if1 as we say1 his heart has quickened his head4 ,these are truths very important to know2 and they ought to be consolatory to parents who are grieved and alarmed because they cannot send their children to school1--supposing that their intellectual part must suffer and go to waste for want of school training and instruction from books4 ,i will say simply and openly what ,i think about this4 ,i think that no children1 in any rank of life1 can acquire so much book-knowledge at home as at a good school1 or have their intellectual faculties so well roused and trained4 ,i have never seen an instance of such high attainment in languages1 mathematics1 history1 or philosophy in young people taught at home1--even by the best masters1--as in those who have been in a good school4 ,without going into the reasons of this1 which would lend us out of our way here1 ,i would fully admit the fact4 ,there are two ways of taking it4 ,first1 it cannot be helped4 ,a much larger number of people are unable to send their children to school than can do so4 ,the queen cannot send her children to school3 and the children of the peerage are under great disadvantage4 ,the girls cannot1 or do not1 go from home2 and the boys go only to one or another of a very small choice of public schools1 where they must run tremendous risks to both morals and intellect4 ,then there are multitudes of families1 in town and country1 among rich and poor1 where the children must be taught at home4 ,the number is much larger of the children who do not go to school than of those who do4 ,if we consider1 again1 how large a proportion of schools1 taking them from the highest to the lowest1 are so bad that children learn little in them1 it is clear that the home-trained intellects are out of all proportion more numerous than the school-trained4 ,the other way of looking at the matter is in order to inquire what school advantages may be brought home--what there is in the school that children may have the benefit of at home4 ,the fundamental difference between school and home is clear enough4 ,at school1 everything is done by rule2 by a law which was made without a view to any particular child1 and which governs all alike3 whereas1 at home1 the government is not one of law1 working on from year to year without change1 but of love1 or1 at least1 of the mind of the parents1 varying with circumstances1 and with the ages and dispositions of the children4 ,there is no occasion to point out here how great are the moral advantages of a good home in comparison with the best of schools4 ,our business now is with the intellectual training4 ,can the advantages of school law be brought into the home8 ,i think they may1 to a certain extent3 and ,i think it of great importance that they should4 ,law will not do all at home that it does at school4 ,it is known to be new made1 for the sake of the parties under it2 and it cannot possibly work so undeviatingly in a family as in a school2 and the children of a family1 no two of whom are of the same age1 cannot have their faculties so stimulated to achieve irksome labour as in a large class of comrades of the same age and standing4 ,but still1 rule and regularity will do much3 and when we consider the amount of drudgery that children have to get through in acquiring the elements of knowledge1 we shall feel it to be only humane and fair to give them any aid that can be afforded through the plans of the household4 ,those kinds and parts of knowledge which interest the reasoning faculties and the imagination are not in question just now4 ,they come by and by1 and can better take care of themselves1 or are more sure to be taken care of by others1 than the drudgery which is the first stage in all learning4 ,the drudgery comes first2 and it is wise and kind to let it come soon enough4 ,the quickness of eye1 and tenacity and readiness of memory1 which belong to infancy should be made use of while at their brightest1 for gaining such knowledge as is to be had by the mere eye1 ear1 and memory4 ,how easily can the most ordinary child learn a hymn or other piece of poetry by heart2--sometimes before it can speak plain1 and very often indeed before it can understand the meaning6 ,what a pity that this readiness should not be used1--that the child1 for instance1 should not learn to count1 and to read1 and to say the multiplication table1 while it can learn these things with the least trouble6 ,we must remember that while we see the child to be about a great and heavy work1 the child himself does not know this1 and cannot be oppressed by the thought4 ,all he knows about is the little bit he learns every day4 ,and that little bit is easy to him1 if the support of law be given him4 ,it is here that law must come in to help him4 ,he should1 if possible1 be saved all uncertainty1 all conflict in his little mind1 as to his daily business4 ,if there is a want of certainty and punctuality about his lessons1 there will be room for the thought of something which1 for the moment1 he would like better2 and again1 his young faculties will become confused and irregular in their working from uncertainty of seasons and of plans4 ,if there can be a particular place1 and a particular time for him1 every day but ,sundays1 and he is never put off1 his faculties will come to their work with a freshness and steadiness which nothing but habit will secure4 ,a law of work which leaves him no choice1 but sets all his faculties free for his business1 saves him half the labour of it2 as it does in after life to those who are so blessed as to be destined to necessary1 and not voluntary labour4 ,in houses where there cannot be a room set apart for the lessons1 perhaps there may be a corner4 ,if there cannot be any place1 perhaps there may be a time3 and the time should be that which can best be secured from interruption4 ,where the father is so fond of his children1 and so capable of self-denial for their sakes as to devote an hour or two of his evenings to the instruction of his children1 he may rely upon it that he is heaping up blessings for himself with every minute of those hours4 ,his presence1 the presence of the worker of the household1 is equal to school and home influence together4 ,the scantiness of his leisure makes the law2 and his devotedness in using it thus makes the inestimable home influence4 ,under his teaching1 if it be regular and intelligent1 head and heart will come on together1 to his encouragement now1 and his great future satisfaction4 ,when ,i come to speak of habits1 by and by1 it will be seen that this introduction of law at home is to relate only to affairs of habit1 and intellectual attainment4 ,the misfortune of school is that the affections and feelings must come under the control of law1 instead of the guidance of domestic love4 ,it would be a wanton mischief indeed to spoil the freedom of home by stretching rule and law there beyond their proper province4 ,there are houses1 many houses1 and not always very poor ones1 where the parents think they cannot provide for the intellectual improvement of their children1 and mourn daily over the thought4 ,i wish such parents could be induced to consider well what intellectual improvement is1 and then they would see how much they may do for their children's minds without book1 pen1 or paper4 ,it goes against me to suppose children brought up without knowledge of reading and writing2 and ,i trust this is not likely to be the fate of any children of the parents who read this4 ,but it is as well to suppose the extreme case1 in order to see whether even people who cannot read and write must remain ignorant and debarred from the privileges of mind4 ,in ,america ,i saw many families of settlers1 where the children were strangely circumstanced4 ,there was always plenty to eat and drink2 the barns were full of produce1 and there were horses in the meadow2 and every child would have hereafter a goodly portion of land3 but there were no servants1 and there could be no education1 because the mother and children had to do all the work of the house4 ,in one of these homes the day was spent thus4--,the father 7a man of great property7 went out upon his land1 before daylight1 taking with him his little sons of six and seven years old1 who earned their breakfasts by leading the horses down to water1 and turning out the cows1 and sweeping the stable3 and1 when the milking was done 7by a man on the farm1 ,i think71 they brought up the milk4 ,meantime1 their mother1 an educated ,english lady1 took up the younger children1 and swept the kitchen1 lighted the fire1 and cooked the beef-steak for her husband's breakfast1 and boiled the eggs which the little ones brought in from the paddock4 ,soon after seven1 the farmer and boys were gone again3 and then the mother set down in the middle of the kitchen floor a large bowl of hot water and the breakfast things3 and the little girl of four1 and her sister of two1 set to work4 ,the elder washed the cups and dishes1 and the younger wiped them1 as carefully and delicately as if she had been ten years older4 ,she never broke anything1 or failed to make all bright and dry4 ,then they went to make their own little beds3 they could just manage that1 but not the larger ones4 ,meantime1 their mother was baking1 or washing1 or brewing1 or making soap1--boiling it in a cauldron over a fire in the wood4 ,there were no grocers' shops within scores of miles4 ,in the season1 the family had to make sugar in the forest from their maple trees2 and wine from the fruit they grew3 and there were the apples1 in immense quantities1 to be split and cored1 and hung up in strings for winter use4 ,every morning in the week was occupied with one or another of these employments2 and in the midst of them1 dinner had to be cooked1 and ready by noon3 another beef-steak1 with apple-sauce or onions1 and hot corn bread 7made of ,indian meal71 and a squash pie1 or something of the sort4 ,there was enough to do1 all the afternoon1 in finishing off the morning's work3 and there must be another steak for tea or supper4--,the children had been helping all day3 and now their parents wished to devote this time1--after six p4m4--to their benefit4 ,it is true1 the mother had now to sew2 this being her only time for making and mending3 but she got out the slates and lesson-books1 and put one little girl and boy before her1 while their father took the other two1 and set them a sum and a copy on the slate4 ,but alas6 by this time1 no one of the party could keep awake4 ,they did try4 ,the parents were so extremely anxious for their children that they did strive3 but nature was overpowered4 ,after a few struggles1 the children were sent to bed2 and in the very midst of a sentence1 the mother's head would sink over her work1 and the father's down upon the table1 in irresistible sleep4 ,both had been very fond of chess1 in former days3 and the husband bade his wife put away her work1 and try a game of chess4 ,but down went the board1 and off slid the men1 in the middle of a game6 ,now1--what could be done for the children's education here8 ,in time1 there was hope that roads and markets would be opened where the produce of the farm might be sold1 and money obtained to send the children to schools1 some hundreds of miles off3 or1 at least1 that neighbours enough might settle round about to enable the township to invite a school-master4 ,but what could be done meantime8 ,so much might be1 and was1 done as would astonish people who think that intellectual education means school learning4 ,i do not at all wish to extenuate the misfortune of these children in being doomed to write a bad hand1 if any2 to be slow at accounts2 to have probably no taste for reading2 and no knowledge1 except by hearsay1 of the treasures of literature4 ,but ,i do say that they were not likely to grow up ignorant and stupid4 ,they knew every tree in the forest1 and every bird1 and every weed4 ,they knew the habits of all domestic animals4 ,they could tell at a glance how many scores of pigeons there were in a flock1 when clouds of these birds came sailing towards the wood4 ,they did not want to measure distances1 for they knew them by the eye4 ,they could give their minds earnestly to what they were about2 and ponder1 and plan1 and imagine1 and contrive4 ,their faculties were all awake4 ,and they obtained snatches of stories from father and mother1 about the heroes of old times1 and the history of ,england and ,america4 ,they worshipped ,god1 and loved ,christ1 and were familiar with the ,bible4 ,now1 there are some things here that very highly educated people among us might be glad to be equal to3 and the very busiest father1 the hardest-driven mother in ,england may be able1 in the course of daily business1 to rouse and employ the faculties of their children1--their attention1 understanding1 reflection1 memory and imagination1--so as to make their intellects worth more than those of many children who are successful at school4 ,their chance is doubled if books are opened to them3 but if not1 there is nothing to despair about4 ,i was much struck by a day's intellectual education of a little boy of seven who was thrown out of his usual course of study and play4 ,the family were in the country1--in a house which they had to themselves for a month1 in beautiful scenery1 where they expected to be so continually out of doors that the children's toys were left at home4 ,some days of unintermitting1 drenching rain came2 and on one of these days1 the little fellow looked round him1 after breakfast1 and said1 ,papa1 ,i don't exactly see what ,i can do4 ,he would have been thankful to say his lessons3 but papa was absolutely obliged to write the whole day2 and mama was up-stairs nursing his little sister1 who had met with an accident4 ,his papa knew well how to make him happy4 ,he set him to find out the area of the house1 and of every room in it4 ,he lent him a three-foot rule1 showed him how he might find the thickness of the walls1 and gave him a slate and pencil4 ,this was enough4 ,all day1 he troubled nobody1 but went quietly about1 measuring and calculating1 and writing down2--from morning till dinner1--from dinner till supper3 and by that time he had done4 ,when they could go out to measure the outside1 they found him right to an inch3 and the same with every room in the house4--,this boy was no genius4 ,he was an earnest1 well-trained boy3 and who does not see that if he and his parents had lived in an ,american forest1 or in the severest poverty at home1 he would have been1 in the best sense1 an educated boy6 ,he would not have understood several languages1 as he does now3 but his faculties would have been busy and cultivated1 if he had never in his life seen any book but the ,bible4--,anxious parents may take comfort from the thought that nothing ever exists or occurs which may not be made matter of instruction to the mind of man4 ,the mind and the material being furnished to the parents' hands1 it is their business to bring them together1 whether books be among the material or not4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,intellectual ,,training4 ,,order ,,of ,,development4 ,,the ,,perceptive ,,faculties4 ,in beginning a child's intellectual education1 the parent must constantly remember to carry on his care of the frame1 spoken of in a former chapter4 ,the most irritable and tender part of a child's frame is its brain2 and on the welfare of its brain every thing else depends4 ,it should not be forgotten that the little creature was born with a soft head2 and that it takes years for the contents of that skull to become completely guarded by the external bones1 and sufficiently grown and strengthened to bear much stress4 ,nature points out what the infant's brain requires1 and what it can bear2 and if the parents are able to discern and follow the leadings of nature1 all will be well4 ,the most certain thing is that there is no safety in any other course4 ,in their anxiety to bring up any lagging faculty1--to cherish any weak power1--parents are apt to suppose those faculties weak1 for whose development they are looking too soon4 ,it grieves me to see conscientious parents1 who govern their own lives by reasoning1 stimulating a young child to reason long before the proper time4 ,the reflective and reasoning faculties are among the last that should naturally come into use2 and the only safe way is to watch for their first activity1 and then let it have scope4 ,one of the finest children ,i ever saw1--a stout handsome boy1 with a full set of vigorous faculties1 was1 at five years old1 in danger of being spoiled in a strange sort of way4 ,the process was stopped in time to save his intellect and his morals2 but not before it had strewn his youthful life with difficulties from which he need never have suffered4 ,this boy heard a great deal of reasoning always going on2 and he seldom or never saw any children1 except in parties1 or in the street4 ,his natural imitation of the talk of grown up people was encouraged2 and from the time he could speak1 he saw in the whole world1--in all the objects that met his senses1--only things to reason about4 ,he gathered flowers1 not so much because he liked them as because they might be discoursed about4 ,he could not shut the door1 or put on his pinafore when bid1 till the matter was argued1 and the desired act proved to be reasonable4 ,the check was1 as ,i have said1 given in time3 but he had much to do to bring up his perceptive faculties and his mechanical habits to the point required in even a decent education4 ,he had infinite trouble in learning to spell1 and in mastering all the elements of knowledge which are acquired by the memory3 and his writing a good hand1 and being ready at figures1 or apt at learning a modern language by the ear1 was hopeless4 ,he would doubtless have done all these well1 if his faculties had been exercised in their proper order2--that is1 in the order which nature indicates1--and vindicates4 ,and now1--what is that order8 ,the ,perceptive faculties come first1 into activity4 ,do we not all remember that colours gave us more intense pleasure in our early childhood than they have ever done since8 ,most of us can remember back to the time when we were four years old1--or three2 and some even two4 ,what is it that we remember8 ,with one1 it is a piece of gay silk1 or printed cotton or china2 or a bed of crocuses2--or we remember the feel of a piece of velvet or fur1 or something rough2--or the particular shape of some leaf2--or the amazing weight of a globule of quicksilver2--or the immense distance from one end of the room to the other4 ,i1 for one1 remember several things that happened when ,i was between two and three years old3 and most of these were sensations1 exciting passions4 ,i doubt whether ,i ever felt keener delight than in passing my fingers round a flat button1 covered with black velvet1 on the top of a sister's bonnet4 ,i remember lighting upon the sensation1 if one may say so2 and the intense desire afterwards to be feeling the button4 ,and just at that time ,i was sent into the country for my health2 and ,i can now tell things about the first day in the cottage which no one can ever have told to me4 ,i tried to walk round a tree 7an elm1 ,i believe71 clasping the tree with both arms3 and nothing that has happened to-day is more vivid to me than the feel of the rough bark to the palms of my hands1 and the entanglement of the grass to my feet4 ,and then at night there was the fearful wonder at the feel of the coarse calico sheets1 and at the creaking of the turn-up bedstead when ,i moved4--,after ,i came home1 when ,i was two years and nine months old1 ,i saw1 one day1 the door of the spare bed-room ajar1 and ,i pushed it open and went in4 ,i was walking about the house because ,i had a pair of new shoes on1 and ,i liked to hear their pit-pat1 and to make sure that ,i could walk in them1 though they were slippery4 ,the floor of the spareroom was smooth and somewhat polished2 and it was--7at least to my eyes--7 a large room4 ,i was half-frightened when ,i saw that the blinds were down4 ,but there was a fire2 and standing by the fire1 at the further end1 was an old woman--7or to me she looked old7--with a muslin handkerchief crossed over her gown3 and in her arms she held a bundle of flannel4 ,the curtains of the bed were drawn2--the fawn-coloured moreen curtains with a black velvet edge1 which ,i sometimes stroked for a treat4 ,the old woman beckoned to me2 and ,i wished to go2 but ,i thought ,i could never walk all that way on the polished floor without a tumble4 ,i remember how wide ,i stretched out my arms1 and how far apart ,i set my feet1 and how ,i got to the old woman at last4 ,with her foot she pushed forwards a tiny chair1 used as a footstool1 embroidered over with sprawling green leaves2 and there ,i sat down3 and the old woman laid the bundle of flannel across my lap4 ,with one hand she held it there safe1 and with the other she uncovered the little red face of a baby4 ,though the sight set every pulse in my body beating1 ,i do not remember feeling any fear1--though ,i was always afraid of everything4 ,it was a passionate feeling of wonder1 and a sort of tender delight2--delight at being noticed and having it on my lap1 perhaps1 as much as at the thing itself4 ,how it ended1 ,i do not know4 ,i only remember further seeing with amazement1 that somebody was in the bed1--that there was a nightcap on the pillow1--though it was day-time4 ,these details may seem trifling3 but1 if we want to know what faculties are vigorous in infancy1 it is as well to learn1 in any way we can1 what children feel and think at the earliest age we can arrive at4 ,one other instance of vivid perception stands out among many in my childhood so remarkably as to be perhaps instructive3 and the more so because ,i was not endowed with quick senses1 or strong perceptive powers1 but1 on the contrary1 discouraged my teachers by dullness and inattention1 and a constant tendency to reverie4 ,i was always considered a remarkably unobservant child4 ,i slept with the nursemaid in a room at the top of the house which looked eastwards3 and the baby brother mentioned above1 now just able to walk1 slept in a crib by the bedside4 ,one summer morning ,i happened to wake before sunrise1 and thought it very strange to see the maid asleep2 the next thing ,i remember was walking over the boards with bare feet1 and seeing some little pink toes peeping out through the rails of the crib4 ,i gently pinched them1 and somehow managed to keep the child quiet when he reared himself up from his pillow2 he must have caught some of the spirit of the prank1 for he made no noise4 ,i helped him to scramble down from the crib1 and led him to the window1 and helped him to scramble upon a chair3 and then ,i got up beside him2 and1 by using all my strength1 ,i opened the window4 ,how chill the air was6 and how hard and sharp the window-sill felt to my arms6 ,we were so high above the street that ,i dared not look down2 but oh6 what a sight we saw by looking abroad over the tops of the houses to the rising ground beyond6 ,the sun must have been coming up1 for the night-clouds were of the richest purple1 turning to crimson2 and in one part there seemed to be a solid edge of gold4 ,i have seen the morning and evening skies of all the four quarters of the world1 but this is1 in my memory1 the most gorgeous of all1 though it could not in fact have been so4 ,i whispered all ,i knew about ,god making the sun come up every morning2 and ,i certainly supposed the child to sympathise with me in the thrilling awe of the moment3 but it could not have been so4 ,i have some remembrance of the horrible difficulty of getting the window down again1 and of hoisting up my companion into his crib3 and ,i can distinctly recal the feelings of mingled contempt and fear with which ,i looked upon the maid1 who had slept through all this2 and how cold my feet were when ,i crept into bed again4 ,now1 if this is what children are1 it seems plain that the faculties by which they perceive objects so vividly should be simply trained to a good use4 ,the parent has little more to do than to see that ,nature is not hindered in her working3 to see that the faculties are awake1 and that a sufficient variety is offered for them to employ themselves upon4 ,nothing like what is commonly called teaching is required here1 or can do anything but harm at present4 ,if the mother is at work1 and the children are running in and out of the garden1 it is only saying to the little toddler1 ,now bring me a blue flower2--now bring me a yellow flower2--now bring me a green leaf4 ,at another time1 she will ask for a round stone2 or a thick stick2 or a thin stick4 ,and sometimes she will blow a feather1 and let it fall again3 or she will blow a dandelion-head all to pieces1 and quite away4 ,if she is wise1 she will let the child alone1 to try its own little experiments1 and learn for itself what is hard and what is soft2 what is heavy and light2 hot and cold2 and what it can do with its little limbs and quick senses4 ,taking care1 of course1 that it does not injure itself1 and that it has objects within reach in sufficient variety1 she cannot do better1 at this season of its life1 than let it be busy in its own way4 ,i saw a little fellow1 one day1 intently occupied for a whole breakfast-time1 and some time afterwards1 in trying to put the key of the house-door into the key-hole of the tea-caddy4 ,when he gave the matter up1 and not before1 his mother helped him to see why he could not do it4 ,if she had taken the door-key from him at first1 he would have missed a valuable lesson4 ,at this period of existence1 the children of rich and poor have1 or may have1 about equal advantages1 under the care of sensible parents4 ,they can be busy about anything4 ,there is nothing that cannot be made a plaything of1 and a certain means of knowledge1 if the faculties be awake4 ,if the child be dull1 it must1 of course1 be tempted to play4 ,if the faculties be in their natural state of liveliness1 the mother has only to be aware that the little creature must be busy while it is awake1 and to see that it has variety enough of things 7the simpler the better7 to handle1 and look at1 and listen to1 and experiment upon4 ,the perceptive faculties have a relation to other objects than those which are presented to the five senses4 ,it is very well for children to be picking up from day to day knowledge about colours and forms1 and the hardness and weight of substances1 and the habits of animals1 and the growth of plants2--the great story1 in short1 of what passes before their eyes1 and appeals to their ears1 and impresses them through the touch3 but there is another range of knowledge appropriate to the perceptive faculties4 ,there are many facts that can be perceived through another medium than the eye1 the ear1 or the hand4 ,facts of number and quantity1 for instance1 are perceived 7after a time1 if not at first7 without illustration by objects of sight or sound3 and it is right1 and kind to the child1 to help him to a perception of these facts early1 while the perceiving faculties are in their first vigour4 ,there is no hardship in this1 if the thing is done in moderation3 and in many cases1 this exertion of the perceptive faculties is attended with a keen satisfaction4 ,i have known an idiot child1 perfectly infantine in his general ways1 amuse himself half the day long with employing his perceptions of number and quantity4 ,he1 poor child1 was incapable of being taught anything as a lesson3 he did not understand speech1--beyond a very few words3 but the exercise of such faculties as he had--7and the strongest he had were those of ,order1 and ,perception of number1 quantity and symmetry7 was the happiness of his short and imperfect life3 and the exercise of the same faculties1--moderate and natural exercise1--may make part of the happiness of every child's life4 ,it is very well to use the faculty of eye and ear as an introduction to the use of the inner perceptions1--so to speak4 ,for instance1 it is well to teach a child the multiplication-table1 by the ear as well as the understanding3--to teach it by rote1 7as one teaches a tune without words71 as an avenue to the mystery of numbers3 but the pleasure to the pupil is in perceiving the relations of numbers4 ,in the same manner1 the eye may be used for the same purpose2 as when the mother teaches by pins on the table1 or by peas1 or peppercorns1 that two and two make four2 and that three fours1 or two sixes1 or four threes1 all make twelve3 but the pleasure to the pupil is in perceiving the relations of these numbers without pins or peppercorns1--in the head2 and in going on till he has mastered all the numbers in the multiplication-table1--perceiving them in the depths of his mind1 without light or sound1--without images or words4 ,children who are capable of mental arithmetic delight in it1 before their minds are tired3--and the moment the mind is tired1 the exercise should stop4 ,about quantity1 the same methods may be used4 ,at first1 there must be measurement1 to prove to the child the relation of quantities3 but to what a point of precision the mind may arrive1 after having once perceived the truth of quantities and spaces1 is seen in the fact that astronomers can infallibly predict eclipses centuries before they happen4 ,another department of what is called exact knowledge comprehends the relations of time4 ,this is another case in which idiots have proved to us that there is an inner perception of time1--a faculty which works pleasurably when once set to work4 ,one idiot who had lived near a striking clock1 and was afterwards removed from all clocks1 and did not know a watch by sight1 went on to the end of his life imitating the striking of the hour regularly1 with as much precision as the sun marks it upon the dial4 ,another who never had sense enough to know of the existence of clock or watch1 could never be deceived about the precise time of day4 ,under all changes of place and households with their habits1 he did and looked for the same things at exactly the same moment of every day4 ,and by this faculty it is that even little children learn the clock2--a process which1 from its very nature1 could never be learned by rote4 ,in these matters1 again1 the children of the poor can be as well trained as those of the rich4 ,every where1 and under all circumstances1 people can measure and compute4 ,the boy must do it if he is to practise any art or trade whatever2 and in every household1 there is1 or ought to be1 enough of economy1--of measuring1 and cutting out1 and counting and calculating1 for the girl to exercise her faculty of perception of number and quantity4 ,the understanding of money is no mean exercise1 in itself4 ,in one rank1 we see the able builder1 carpenter1 and mechanician1 practised in these departments of perception3 and in another we see the astronomer detecting and marking out the courses of the stars1 and understanding the mighty mechanism of the heavens1 as if he had himself trodden all the pathways of the sky4 ,it is wise and kind to use the early vigour of these faculties--the powers which perceive facts1--up to the limit of satisfaction1 stopping short always of fatigue4 ,this is the season too1 and these are the faculties1 to be employed in learning by rote4 ,learning by rote is nothing of a drudgery now compared with what it is afterwards2--for the ear is quick1 the eye is free and at liberty2 the memory is retentive1 and the understanding is not yet pressing for its gratification4 ,at this season too1 as has been before observed1 the child does not look forward1 nor comprehend what it is attempting4 ,the present hour1 with its little portion of occupation1 is all that it sees3 and it accomplishes vast things1 bit by bit1 which it would never attempt if it knew the sum of the matter4 ,no one would learn to speak if he knew all that speech comprehends3 yet every child learns to speak1 easily and naturally4 ,thus it is with every art1 every science1 every department of action and knowledge4 ,the beginning1--the drudgery--should be got over at the time when it costs least fatigue4 ,and this is why we teach children early to read2--so early that1 but for this consideration1 it is of no consequence whether they can read or not4 ,we do it while the eye is quick to notice the form of the letters1 and while the ear is apt to catch their sound1 and before the higher faculties come in with any disturbing considerations4 ,my own opinion is that1 on account of the feebleness and uncertainty of the hand1 writing had better be taught later than it usually is2--that is1 when the child shows an inclination to draw or scribble1--to describe any forms on slate or paper1 or on walls or sand4 ,but whatever depends mainly on eye1 ear1 and memory1 should be taught early1 when the learning causes the most gratification and the least pain4 ,the help that this arrangement gives to1 and receives from1 the formation of habits of regularity and industry will come under notice when ,i speak hereafter of the ,care of the ,habits4 ,according to what has been said1 a child's first intellectual education lies in varied amusement1 without express teaching4 ,this is while its brain is infantine and tender1 and its nature restless and altogether sensitive4 ,when it shows itself quieter and more thoughtful1 it may be expressly taught1 a little at a time1 with cheerful steadiness and tender encouragement4 ,what it should learn1 a healthy well-trained child will1 for the most part1 indicate for itself1 by its inquiries1 and its pleasure in learning4 ,what the parent has to impose upon it is that which1 being artificial1 it cannot indicate for itself1--the art of reading1 and the names and forms of numbers1 and such arrangements of language as are found in simple poetry1 or other useful forms which may be committed to memory4 ,it is impossible to lay down any rule as to the age to be comprehended in this period2 and it might be dangerous to do so2--so various are the capacities and temperaments of children2 but1 speaking quite indeterminately1 ,i may say that ,i have had in view the period1 for ordinary children1 from the opening of the faculties to about seven years old4 ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,,intellectual ,,training4--,,the ,,conceptive ,,faculties4 ,up to this point1 and for some way beyond it1 children are better off at home than at school2 and no parent should be induced to think otherwise by what is seen to be achieved at ,infant ,schools4 ,at some ,infant ,schools1 little children who can scarcely speak1 are found able to say and do many wonderful things which might make inexperienced mothers fear that their little ones at home had not been done justice to1 and must be sadly backward in their education3 but if the anxious mother will consider a little1 and keep on the watch1 she will perceive that her children are better at home4 ,these ,infant ,schools were set on foot with the most benevolent of intentions2 and they are really a vast benefit to a large class in society3 but it does not follow that they afford the best training for infants4 ,in their very nature they cannot do so4 ,when we stand in the midst of such an assemblage1 we feel what a blessing it is that little creatures who would be locked up in garrets all day while the parents were at work1 liable to falls or fire1 or who would be tumbling about in the streets or roads1 dirty1 quarrelsome1 and exposed to bad company1 should be collected here under safe guardianship1 and taught1 and kept clean1 and amused with harmless play3 but we cannot help seeing1 at the same time1 that there is something unnatural in the method2 and whatever is unnatural is always radically bad4 ,nature makes households1 family groups where no two children are of the same age1 and where1 with the utmost activity1 there is a certain degree of quietness1 retirement1 and repose2 whereas1 in the ,infant ,school there is a crowd of little creatures1 dozens of whom are of the same age2 and quietness can be obtained only by drilling1 while play occasions an uproar which no nerves can easily bear4 ,the brain and nerves of infants are tender and irritable2 and in the quietest home1 a sensible mother takes care that the little creature is protected from hurry1 and loud noises1 and fear1 and fatigue of its faculties4 ,she sees when it begins to look pale1 or turns cross or sick1 and instantly removes it from excitement4 ,but it is impossible thus to protect each child in a school3 and the consequence is that the amount of mortality in ,infant ,schools1 as in every large assemblage of infants1 is very great4 ,there is no saying whether as many might not perish from accident and some kind of misery1 if they were left in their garrets and street haunts2 but the facts show that home is the proper place for little children whose parents make a real home for them2 and no apparent forwardness of school infants can alter the case4 ,in truth1 school is no place of education for any children whatever till their minds are well put in action4 ,this is the work which has to be done at home1 and which may be done in all homes where the mother is a sensible woman4 ,this done1 a good school is a resource of inestimable advantage for cultivating the intellect1 and aiding the acquisition of knowledge3 but it is of little or no use without preparation at home4 ,so at the age of which we speak1 parents may be satisfied that they have the matter in their own hands4 ,we have seen that the ,perceptive faculties are the first of the intellectual powers which act3 and that there is plenty of material for their exercise everywhere1 and all day long4 ,the next set of faculties comes pretty early into operation1 and so much of the future wealth of the mind depends on their cultivation that they ought to have the serious attention of parents4 ,i refer to the ,conceptive faculties4 ,the time has come when the child is perhaps less intensely impressed by actual objects1 while it becomes capable of conceiving of something that it does not see4 ,at this period1 the little boy drags about the horse that has lost head and tail and a leg or two3 and the little girl hugs a rag bundle which she calls her doll4 ,the boy does not want a better horse1 nor the girl a real doll4 ,the idea is everything to them1 by virtue of their conceptive faculty4 ,staring1 meagre pictures please them now1--better than the finest2 and stories1 with few incidents and no filling up4 ,the faculty is so vigorous1 while1 of course1 very narrow in its range1 from the scantiness of the child's knowledge1 that the merest sketch is enough to stimulate it to action2 the rudest toys1 the most meagre drawing1 the baldest story4 ,the mother's business is now clear and easy4 ,her business is to supply more and more material for these faculties to work upon3--to give1 as occasion arises1 more and more knowledge of actual things1 and furnish representations or suggestions in the course of her intercourse with the child4 ,nothing is easier2 for in fact she has only to make herself the child's cheerful companion3 and in a manner which can go on while she is employed in her household occupations1 or walking in the fields or the streets4 ,the child asks a myriad of questions2 and she must make some kind of cheerful answer to them all1 if she lets him talk at all4 ,she will often have to tell him that she does not know this or that2 for a child's questions reach far beyond the bounds of our knowledge3 but she must not leave him without some sort of answer to appease his restless faculties4 ,and his questions will suggest to her a multitude of things to tell him which he will be eager to hear1 as long as they hang upon any thing real which he knows already4 ,stories and pictures 7including toys1 which to him are pictures7 are what he likes best2 and she will make either stories or pictures1--short and vivid1--of what she tells him4 ,the stories and pictures of her conversation must be simple and literal2 and so must any sketches she may make for him with pencil and paper1 or a bit of chalk upon the pavement4 ,she may make four straight strokes1 with two horizontal lines above1 and a circle for a head1 and call it a horse2 and a horse it will be to him1 because it calls up the image of a horse in his mind4 ,but if she draws it ever so well1 and puts wings to it1 he will not like it half so much1 even if she tells him that its name is ,pegasus1 and there are some pretty stories about such a horse4 ,perhaps he will be afraid of it4 ,there can scarcely be a stronger instance of the power of such a child's conceptive faculty than in his own attempts to draw4 ,he draws the cat1 or a soldier1 and is in raptures with it4 ,mark his surprise when his mother points out to him that the cat's head is bigger than her body1 and that the soldier is all legs and arms and gun1 and has no body at all4 ,he sees this1 and admits it1 and draws a better one3 but he would not have found out for himself that there was anything amiss the first time4 ,the idea was complete in his mind2 and he thought he saw its representation on the paper1 till his mother roused his perceptive powers by making him observe the real cat and soldier1 and their proportions4 ,i remember once being amused at seeing how very short a time was necessary to bring the perceptive faculties into their due relation to the conceptive4 ,a little boy who had taken a journey1 was exceedingly delighted with the river-side inn at ,ferry-bridge in ,yorkshire2 and he must draw it4 ,when he was a hundred miles further north1 he must draw it again3 and diligently enough he persevered1 kneeling on a chair1--drawing the river and the bridge1 and a house1 and a heap of coals1--each coal being round1 and almost as big as the house4 ,when his paper was nearly all scrawled over1 he went unwillingly away to his dinner1 from which he hastened back to his drawing4 ,but ,o6 what consternation there was in his face1 and what large tears rolled down his cheeks1 till he hid his face with his pinafore4 ,he wailed and sobbed3--somebody had spoiled his drawing4 ,when asked what made him think so1 and assured that nobody had touched it1 he sobbed out ,i'm sure ,i never made it such a muddle4 ,before dinner1 he saw his work with the conceptive1--after dinner with the perceptive faculties2 and it is no wonder that he thought two persons had been at it4 ,without going over again any of the ground traversed in the chapter on ,fear1 ,i may just observe that at this period children are particularly liable to fear4 ,almost any appearance suffices to suggest images2 and the repetition of any image invariably1 at any time or place1 is in itself terrifying to those of older nerves than the children we are thinking of4 ,now is the time when portraits seem to stare at the gazer1 and to turn their eyes wherever he moves4 ,now is the time when a crack in the plaster of a wall1 or an outline in a chintz pattern or a paper-hanging1 suggests the image of some monster1 and perhaps makes the child afraid of his room or his bed1 while his mother has no perception of the fact4 ,the mother should be on the watch1 without any appearance of being so4 ,i have spoken of only the early stage of the activity of the conceptive faculties4 ,we see how it goes on in the appetite for fiction which is common to all children1--in the eagerness of boys for books of voyages and travels1 and for playing soldiers1 and school-master1 and making processions1 while the girls are playing school-mistress1 and dressing up1 and pretending to be the queen4 ,the whole period is1 or ought to be1 very precious to the parents2 for it is the time for storing their children's minds with images and ideas1 which are the materials for the exercise of the higher faculties at a later time4 ,the simple method of management is to practise the old maxim ,live and let live4 ,the mother's mind must be awake1 to meet the vivacious mind of the child3 and she must see that the child's is lively and natural1 and be careful neither to over-excite it by her anxiety to be always teaching1 nor to baulk and depress it by discouraging too much its sometimes inconvenient loquacity and curiosity4 ,it is well that there should be times when children of six and upwards should amuse themselves and one another without troubling their elders2 but a vivacious child must talk and inquire a great deal every day1 or1 if repressed1 suffer from some undue exercise of its mental activity4 ,it should never be forgotten that the happier a child is1 the cleverer he will be4 ,this is not only because1 in a state of happiness1 the mind is free1 and at liberty for the exercise of its faculties1 instead of spending its thoughts and energy in brooding over troubles2 but also because the action of the brain is stronger when the frame is in a state of hilarity3 the ideas are more clear2 impressions of outward objects are more vivid2 and the memory will not let them slip4 ,this is reason enough for the mother to take some care that she is the cheerful guide and comforter that her child needs4 ,if she is anxious or fatigued she will exercise some control over herself1 and speak cheerfully1 and try to enter freely into the subject of the moment2--to meet the child's mind1 in short1 instead of making his sink for want of companionship4 ,a rather low instance of the effect of the stimulus of joy in quickening the powers occurred within my knowledge2--a rather low one1 but illustrative enough4 ,a little girl1 the youngest of her class at school1 did her ,french lessons fairly2 but1 as a matter of course1 was always at or near the bottom1 while a tall girl1 five years older1 clever and industrious1 was always1 as a matter of course1 at the top4 ,one day1 there happened to be a long word in question in the vocabulary1 which nobody knew but the little girl2 so she went to the top4 ,there was not much excitement of ambition in the case3 she felt it to be an accident merely1 and the tall girl was very kind to her2--there could hardly be less of the spirit of rivalry in such a case than there was here4 ,but the joy of the child was great2 and her surprise1--both at the fact of her position1 and at the power she found in herself to keep it2--and keep it she did for many weeks1 though the tall girl never missed a word in all that time4 ,the dull ,french vocabulary suddenly became to the child a book of living imagery4 ,the very letters of the words impressed themselves like pictures upon her memory2 and each word1 becoming suddenly interesting of itself1 called up some imagery1 which prevented its being forgotten4 ,all this was pleasant2 and then there was the comfort and security about the lesson being perfect4 ,the child not only hoped every day that she should get well through1 but felt it impossible that she should ever forget a word of it4 ,when at last she failed1 it was through depression of spirits4 ,while she was learning her lesson at home1 her baby-sister was ill1 and crying sadly4 ,it was impossible to get any impression out of the book3--the page turned into common ,french vocabulary again2 and the next morning1 not only the tall girl stepped into her proper place1 but the little one rapidly passed down to her old stand at the bottom4 ,children who read from the love of reading are usually supremely happy over their book4 ,a wise parent will indulge the love of reading1 not only from kindness in permitting the child to do what it likes best1 but because what is read with enjoyment has intense effect upon the intellect4 ,the practice of reading for amusement must not begin too soon3 and it must be permitted by very slow degrees1 till the child is so practised in the art of reading as to have its whole mind at liberty for the subject1 without having to think about the lines or the words4 ,till he is sufficiently practised for this1 he should be read to3 and it will then soon appear whether he is likely to be moderate when he gets a book into his own hands4--,my own opinion is that it is better to leave him to his natural tastes1--to his instincts1--when that important period of his life arrives which makes him an independent reader4 ,of course1 his proper duty must be done2--his lessons1 or work of other kinds1 and his daily exercise4 ,but it seems to me better to abstain from interfering with that kind of strong inclination than to risk the evils of thwarting it4 ,perhaps scarcely any person of mature years can conceive what the appetite for reading is to a child4 ,it goes off1 or becomes changed in mature years1 to such a degree as to make the facts of a reading childhood scarcely credible in remembrance1 or even when before the eyes4 ,but it is all right2 and the process had better not be disturbed4 ,the apprehension of a child is so quick1 his conceptive faculty is so ravenous for facts and pictures1 or the merest suggestions1 and he is so entirely free from those philosophical checks which retard in adults the process of reception from books1 that he can1 at ten years old1 read the same book twice as fast as he can1--if he duly improves meanwhile1--twenty years later4 ,i have seen a young girl read ,moore's ,lalla ,rookh through1 except a very few pages1 before breakfast1--and not a late breakfast2 and not a passage of the poem was ever forgotten4 ,when she had done1 the ,arabian scenes appeared to be the reality1 and the breakfast table and brothers and sisters the dream3 but that was sure to come right2 and all the ideas of the thick volume were added to her store4 ,i have seen a school-boy of ten lay himself down1 back uppermost1 with the quarto edition of ,thalaba before him1 on the first day of the ,easter holidays1 and turn over the leaves1 notwithstanding his inconvenient position1 as fast as if he was looking for something1 till1 in a very few hours it was done1 and he was off with it to the public library1 bringing back the ,curse of ,kehama4 ,thus he went on with all ,southey's poems1 and some others1 through his short holidays1--scarcely moving voluntarily all those days except to run to the library4 ,he came out of the process so changed1 that none of his family could help being struck by it4 ,the expression of his eye1 the cast of his countenance1 his use of words1 and his very gait were changed4 ,in ten days1 he had advanced years in intelligence3 and ,i have always thought that this was the turning-point of his life4 ,his parents wisely and kindly let him alone1--aware that school would presently put an end to all excess in the new indulgence4 ,i can speak from experience of what children feel towards parents who mercifully leave them to their own propensities1--forbearing all reproach about the ill manners and the selfishness of which the sinners are keenly conscious all the while4 ,some children's greediness for books is like a drunkard's for wine4 ,they can no more keep their hands off a beloved book than the tippler from the bottle before him4 ,the great difference as to the safety of the case is that the child's greediness is sure to subside into moderation in time1 from the development of new faculties1 while the drunkard's is sure to go on increasing till all is over with him4 ,if parents would regard the matter in this way1 they would neither be annoyed at the excess of the inconvenient propensity1 nor proud of any child who has it4 ,it is no sign yet of a superiority of intellect2 much less of that wisdom which in adults is commonly supposed to arise from large book-knowledge4 ,it is simply a natural appetite for that provision of ideas and images which should1 at this season1 be laid in for the exercise of the higher faculties which have yet to come into use4--,as ,i have said1 ,i know from experience the state of things which exists when a child cannot help reading to an amount which the parents think excessive1 and yet are unwilling1 for good reasons1 to prohibit4 ,one ,sunday afternoon1 when ,i was seven years old1 ,i was prevented by illness from going to chapel2--a circumstance so rare that ,i felt very strange and listless4 ,i did not go to the maid who was left in the house1 but lounged about the drawing-room1 where1 among other books which the family had been reading1 was one turned down upon its face4 ,it was a dull-looking octavo volume1 thick1 and bound in calf1 as untempting a book to the eyes of a child as could well be seen3 but1 because it happened to be open1 ,i took it up4 ,the paper was like skim milk1--thin and blue1 and the printing very ordinary4 ,moreover1 ,i saw the word ,argument1--a very repulsive word to a child4 ,but my eye caught the word ,satan2 and ,i instantly wanted to know how anybody could argue about ,satan4 ,i saw that he fell through chaos1 found the place in the poetry2--and lived heart1 mind1 and soul in ,milton from that day till ,i was fourteen4 ,i remember nothing more of that ,sunday1 vivid as is my recollection of the moment of plunging into chaos3 but ,i remember that from that time till a young friend gave me a pocket edition of ,milton1 the calf-bound volume was never to be found because ,i had got it somewhere2 and that1 for all those years1 to me the universe moved to ,milton's music4 ,i wonder how much of it ,i knew by heart--enough to be always repeating some of it to myself1 with every change of light and darkness1 and sound and silence1--the moods of the day1 and the seasons of the year4 ,it was not my love of ,milton which required the forbearance of my parents1--except for my hiding the book1 and being often in an absent fit4 ,it was because this luxury had made me ravenous for more4 ,i had a book in my pocket1--a book under my pillow2 and in my lap as ,i sat at meals3 or rather1 on this last occasion it was a newspaper4 ,i used to purloin the daily ,london paper before dinner1 and keep possession of it1--with a painful sense of the selfishness of the act2 and with a daily pang of shame and self-reproach1 ,i slipped away from the table when the dessert was set on1 to read in another room4 ,i devoured all ,shakspere1 sitting on a footstool1 and reading by firelight1 while the rest of the family were still at table4 ,i was incessantly wondering that this was permitted2 and intensely1 though silently grateful ,i was for the impunity and the indulgence4 ,it never extended to the omission of any of my proper business4 ,i learned my lessons2 but it was with the prospect of reading while ,i was brushing my hair at bedtime2 and many a time have ,i stood reading1 with the brush suspended1 till ,i was far too cold to sleep4 ,i made shirts with due diligence1--being fond of sewing2 but it was with ,goldsmith1 or ,thomson1 or ,milton open on my lap1 under my work1 or hidden by the table1 that ,i might learn pages and cantos by heart4 ,the event justified my parents in their indulgence4 ,i read more and more slowly1 fewer and fewer authors1 and with ever-increasing seriousness and reflexion1 till ,i became one of the slowest of readers1 and a comparatively sparing one4--,of course1 one example is not a rule for all2 but the number of ravenous readers among children is so large1 and among adults so small in comparison1 that ,i am disposed to consider it a general fact that when the faculties1 naturally developed1 reach a certain point of forwardness1 it is the time for laying in a store of facts and impressions from books which are needed for ulterior purposes4 ,the parents' main business during this process is to look to the quality of the books read3--,i mean merely to see that the child has the freest access to those of the best quality4 ,nor do ,i mean only to such as the parent may think good for a child of such and such an age4 ,the child's own mind is a truer judge in this case than the parents' suppositions4 ,let but noble books be on the shelf1--the classics of our language1--and the child will get nothing but good4 ,the last thing that parents need fear is that the young reader will be hurt by passages in really good authors which might raise a blush a few years later4 ,whatever children do not understand slips through the mind1 and leaves no trace2 and what they do understand of matters of passion is to them divested of its mischief4 ,purified editions of noble books are monuments of wasted labour3 for it ought to be with adults as it is with children2--their purity should be an all-sufficient purifier4 ,the second stage in the ,intellectual ,education of the ,household children1 then seems to be that in which the young creatures1 having learned to use their own limbs and senses1 and acquired the command of speech1 begin to use their powers for the acquisition of materials for future thought4 ,they listen1 they look about them1 they inquire1 they read2 and1 above all1 they dream4 ,life is for them all pictures4 ,everything comes to them in pictures4 ,in preparation for the more serious work to come1 the parent has chiefly to watch and follow ,nature2--to meet the requirements of the child's mind1 put the material of knowledge in its way1 and furnish it with the arts necessary for the due use of its knowledge and its nobler powers3--the arts of reading1 ready writing1 and the recording and working of numbers2 and the knowledge of the grammar of some one language1 at least4 ,besides this1 these best days of his memory should be used for storing up word-knowledge1 and technical rules1 and1 as a luxury after these dry efforts1 as much poetry as the pupil is disposed to learn2 which will be a good deal1 if the selection is1 in any degree1 left to his own choice3 and some portion of it may well be so4 ,thus far1 here is nothing that may not be supplied in the most homely ,household in the land1 where there is any value for the human intellect1 and any intention to educate the children4 ,it is difficult to say what more could be done in the school-room of a palace4 ,the intellect of the high and low is of the same nature1 and developes itself in the same modes4 ,while its training depends on the love and good sense of parents1 as in this stage1 it depends simply on the quality of the parents whether the children of the palace or of the cottage are the better educated4 ,no mystery is here2 no special boon ,for high and not for low2 for proudly graced1 ,and not for meek of heart4 ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,,intellectual ,,training4--,,the ,,reasoning ,,faculties4--,,female ,,education4 ,the time comes at last1--sooner with one child1 later with another1--when the superior faculties begin to show their activity2 when the young pupil attempts to reason1 and should be helped to reason well4 ,the preparation for this time ought to have gone on during all the preceding years1 in the establishment of a perfect understanding between his parents' minds and his own4 ,he ought to have received nothing but truth from them1 in their intellectual1 as in all their other intercourse4 ,what ,i mean is this4 ,from the time he could speak1 the child has no doubt asked the ,why of everything that interested him4 ,now1 no one knows the ultimate ,why of anything whatever2 and it is right to say this to the inquirer1--telling him as much as he can understand of the ,how2 and it is but little that the wisest of us know of the ,how4 ,for instance1 the little thing cries out ,o6 there is a robin6 ,a robin6 and what is it doing8 ,it is hopping about4 ,it has picked up something4 ,o6 it is a worm4 ,what does it get the worm for8 ,to eat it4 ,robins eat a great many worms4 ,why do they eat worms8 ,why does this robin eat that worm8 ,because it is hungry4 ,no intelligent child will stop here4 ,he will want to know why the robin does not eat anything rather than worms2 why the robin is hungry2 and certainly he will sooner or later wonder why there are robins at all4 ,about these latter mysteries1 the parent knows no more than the questioner3 and he should say so4 ,he may tell something of the how2--how the robin and all other living creatures are impelled to eat2 how food gives nourishment2 and so on4 ,he may or may not1 according to his judgment1 give information1 as far as he has it himself3 but it ought not to be a matter of choice with him whether to put off a child with an unsatisfactory answer1 or to declare truthfully his own ignorance4 ,he must never weary of replying ,i don't know1 if fairly brought to this point1 after telling what he does know4 ,if he tells all that is understood of a tree and its growth1 so that he thinks his child cannot possibly have more to ask1 he will find there are other questions still to come4 ,why are trees green8 ,if they are not all green1 ,why is the red beech red1 and the pine black8 ,why does a tree grow1 instead of being always tall8 ,why is ,john ,smith handsome while ,tom ,brown is ugly8 ,why do people exist when they could not tell beforehand whether they should like it or not8 ,now1 it will not do1 if the child's mind is to be fairly dealt with1 to give a dogmatical answer2 to put off the inquirer with a form of words1 or any assurance of anything that is not absolutely known to be true4 ,i do not know1 is the answer which parental fidelity requires4 ,does anybody know8 is the next question4 ,nobody4 ,shall ,i ever know8 ,i don't think you will3 but you can try when you grow up1 if you like4 ,of course1 the child determines to try when he is a man3 and meantime1 he is satisfied for the present4 ,there is an understanding between his parent and himself1 which will be of infinite use to him when his time comes for finding out truth for himself by a comparison of abstractions2--that is1 by reasoning4 ,with some abstractions every child becomes early familiar2 as the days of the week4 ,perhaps the first which he is able to use for purposes of reasoning are numbers4 ,they are at least eminently useful as a link between tangible objects and those which are ideal4 ,a child sees on the table that two pins added to two make four pins3 and then that a button and a thimble put down beside a marble and a halfpenny make four things1 as well as if they were all of the same sort4 ,he thus receives into his mind the abstract notion of numbers4 ,whenever by his own thought1 or by inquiry of others1 he clearly sees that1 because two sixes make twelve1 four threes must make twelve1 he has begun to reason4 ,he has found out a truth by comparing an abstraction with an abstraction3 that is1 he has begun to reason4 ,having begun1--having once satisfaction in grasping an invisible truth in this way1--he will be disposed to go on3 and ,i1 for one1 would allow him to do so1 at his own pace4 ,nothing can be more foolish than to stimulate the reasoning faculties too early3 but ,i do not see why their natural action should be repressed because of a theory that the reasoning faculties should not come into activity till such or such an age4 ,i know how painful such repression is to a thoughtful child1 and how useless is the attempt to stop the process1 which will only be carried on with less advantage1 instead of being put an end to4 ,i knew a girl of eleven1 thoughtful and timid1 seldom venturing to ask questions1 or to open her mind about what occupied it most1--who1 on some unusual incitement to confidence during a summer evening walk1 opened a theme of perplexity1 to get a solution from a grown-up brother1 whom she regarded as able to solve anything4 ,she told him that she could not see how1 if ,god foreknew everything1 and could ordain everything1 men could ever be said to sin against him1 or be justly punished for anything they did3 and then she went on to the other particular of that problem2--how1 if ,god was all powerful to create happiness1 and all good to desire it1 there came to be any suffering in the world4 ,her brother answered her with kindness in his tone1 but injudiciously4 ,he told her that that was a very serious question which she was too young to consider yet2 and that some years hence would be time enough4 ,she was dissatisfied and hurt2--not from pride2 but because she felt it hard to be left in a perplexity from which she fully supposed her brother could relieve her4 ,she felt that if she could ask the question1--thus put in a definite form1--she must be capable of understanding the answer4 ,and so she undoubtedly was4 ,if the brother held the doctrine of free will1 he should have replied that he did not know2--that he could not understand the perplexity any more than herself4 ,if he held the necessarian doctrine1 he should have imparted it to her2 for her question showed that she was capable of receiving it4 ,the end of the matter was that she suffered for years under that reply1 never again venturing to propose her difficulty to any one4 ,she worked her way through the soluble half of the question alone at last1--thinking first1 and then reading1 and then meditating again1 till all was clear and settled2 and in her mature years she found herself fast anchored on the necessarian doctrine1--rather wondering how she could have been so long in satisfying herself about a matter so clear1 but aware that she had found an inestimable gain2--which she might have reposed upon some years earlier1 if the natural working of her faculties had been trusted as it might have been4 ,our enjoyment of our faculties appears to me to be more proportioned to their quality than their strength3--that1 whether any one of us has the reasoning power1 or the imagination stronger or weaker than the perceptive and conceptive faculties1 he enjoys most the exercise of the higher4 ,certainly1 children whose faculties are developed freely and fairly have an intense relish for reasoning1 while the mind remains unwearied4 ,the commonest topics voluntarily chosen are conduct and character2 because the most familiar and interesting abstractions are those which are connected with morals4 ,how boys and girls will debate by the hour together about the stoicism of ,junius ,brutus1 and the patriotism of ,brutus and ,cassius2 and about all the suicides of all ,romans1 and all the questionable acts of all heroes6 ,the mother is the great resource here1 because she is always at hand2 and these matters are of such pressing importance to the little people1 that they cannot wait till their father comes in1 or can give them some of his evening leisure4 ,these topics are good as an exercise of both the moral and intellectual powers3 but they do not yield full satisfaction to the reasoning faculty1 because they can never be brought to any certain and evident issue4 ,the conclusions of morals are clear enough for practical guidance2 but they are not proveable4 ,for the full satisfaction of the reasoning faculties1 therefore1 children must set to work elsewhere4--,they may get something of it out of their lessons in grammar1 if they are trusted with the sense of the grammar they are taught3 lighting upon an accusative case and a verb in a ,latin sentence1 they know there must be a nominative3 and there it is presently1 accordingly4 ,finding an ablative absolute1 they are confident of finding some sort of proposition3 and there it is1 to their hand4 ,the words on the page before them are as real to the sense as the written numerals on their slates3 but behind both there is a working of unseen laws1--independent of the signification of either words or numerals1--whose operation and issue it is a deep-felt pleasure to follow and apprehend4 ,the rules of grammar1 and the laws of numbers1--7the rules of arithmetic1 in short17--are abstractions proceeding from abstractions2 and their workings bring out a conclusion clear to the pupil's apprehension1 and unquestionable4 ,this is all exercise of the reasoning powers2 and it is this exercise of those powers1 or the use of ear and memory only which makes the difference between a pupil who learns grammar and arithmetic with the understanding or by rote4 ,i once witnessed a curious instance of the difference between the reasoning pupils of a class at school and the learners by rote4 ,the test was1 ,i think1 designed by the master to be a test2 and it answered his purpose even better than our strenuous exercises in grammar and arithmetic4 ,our master proposed to give some of us an idea of ,english composition1 and said he would next week explain to us how to set about it4 ,some of us1 however1 were all on fire with the idea of writing essays1 and were by no means disposed to wait4 ,the next time our master entered the school-room1 eight or ten pairs of beseeching eyes were fixed upon him2 and he1 being a good-natured man1 asked what we wished4 ,what we wanted was to be allowed immediately to write an essay on ,music4 ,he had no objection2 but he asked for some precision in the object of the essay2--proposed that it should be the ,uses of ,psalmody1 or some such topic1 which could be treated in the limits of a school theme2--but no2 he saw by the faces and manner of the class that it must be an essay on ,music4 ,i was the youngest of the class1 who ranged from eleven to sixteen3 and ,i wondered whether the elder ones felt as ,i did when ,i saw the little smile at the corners of the mouth1 amidst the careful respect of our kind master4 ,i felt that we were somehow doing something very silly1 though ,i could not clearly see what4 ,it was plain enough when we brought up our themes4 ,our master's respect and kindness never failed3 and he now was careful to say that there was much that was true in each essay2 but----4 ,we saw the but for ourselves1 and were ready to sink with shame2 for nobody had courage to begin to laugh at our folly4 ,such a mass of rhapsody and rhodomontade as we presented to our master6 ,such highflying1 incoherent nonsense6 ,each was pretty well satisfied with her own rhapsody till she heard the seven or nine others read4 ,now1 perhaps you perceive1 our master began3 and indeed we saw it all2--the lack of order and object2--the flimsiness1--and our own presumption4 ,we were now more ready to be taught4 ,some1 however1 could not yet learn2 and others liked this lesson better than any they had ever attempted4 ,this is the difference which induces me to tell the story here4 ,we were taught the parts of a theme1 as our master and many others approved and practised them1 in sermons and essays3 and the nature and connexion of these parts were so clearly pointed out1 that on the instant it appeared to me that a sudden light was cast at once on the processes of thought and of composition1--for both of which ,i had before an indistinct and somewhat oppressive reverence4 ,i saw how the ,proposition1 the ,reason1 the ,example1 the ,confirmation1 and the ,conclusion led out the subject into order and clearness1 and1 in fact1 regularly emptied our minds of what we had to say upon it4 ,from that day till our school was broken up 7and my heart nearly broken with it7 a year and a half afterwards1 the joy of my life was writing themes2--or rather composing them2 for the act of writing was terribly irksome4 ,but that which some of us eminently enjoyed was altogether burdensome to others1 from the procedure of the task being utterly unintelligible4 ,i suppose their reasoning faculties were yet unawakened1--though they were not so very young4 ,the ,proposition they usually wrote down in the words in which our subject was given to us2--the mere title of the theme4 ,the ,reason was any sort of reason about any affair whatever1--the authors protesting that a reason was a reason any day4 ,the ,examples were begged1 or copied out of any history book4 ,the ,confirmation was omitted1 or declared to consist in the universal experience of mankind1--whatever the subject might be3 and as for the ,conclusion1 that was easy enough3--it was only to say that for all the reasons given1 the author concluded so and so1--in the words of the title4 ,this was a case in which it would have been better to wait awhile1 till the meaning of the task and its method should dawn upon the minds yet unready4 ,but1 for those who were capable1 it was a task of great pleasure and privilege2 and we loved our master for testing and trusting our faculties in a direction so new to us4 ,those studies which require reasoning as a means to a proveable issue are of a high order1 as regards both profit and pleasure3 and boys and girls will be the better through life for whatever mathematical training their parents can procure for them4 ,be it little or be it much1 they will have reason to be grateful as long as they live for what they can obtain4 ,i mention girls1 as well as boys1 confident that every person able to see the right1 and courageous enough to utter it1 will sanction what ,i say4 ,i must declare that on no subject is more nonsense talked1 7as it seems to me7 than on that of female education1 when restriction is advocated4 ,in works otherwise really good1 we find it taken for granted that girls are not to learn the dead languages and mathematics1 because they are not to exercise professions where these attainments are wanted2 and a little further on we find it said that the chief reason for boys and young men studying these things is to improve the quality of their minds4 ,i suppose none of us will doubt that everything possible should be done to improve the quality of the mind of every human being4--,if it is said that the female brain is incapable of studies of an abstract nature1--that is not true3 for there are many instances of women who have been good mathematicians1 and good classical scholars4 ,the plea is indeed nonsense on the face of it2 for the brain which will learn ,french will learn ,greek2 the brain which enjoys arithmetic is capable of mathematics4--,if it is said that women are light-minded and superficial1 the obvious answer is that their minds should be the more carefully sobered by grave studies1 and the acquisition of exact knowledge4--,if it is said that their vocation in life does not require these kinds of knowledge1--that is giving up the main plea for the pursuit of them by boys2--that it improves the quality of their minds4--,if it is said that such studies unfit women for their proper occupations1--that again is untrue4 ,men do not attend the less to their professional business1 their counting-house or their shop1 for having their minds enlarged and enriched1 and their faculties strengthened by sound and various knowledge2 nor do women on that account neglect the work-basket1 the market1 the dairy and the kitchen4 ,if it be true that women are made for these domestic occupations1 then of course they will be fond of them4 ,they will be so fond of what comes most naturally to them that no book-study 7if really not congenial to their minds7 will draw them off from their homely duties4 ,for my part1 ,i have no hesitation whatever in saying that the most ignorant women ,i have known have been the worst housekeepers2 and that the most learned women ,i have known have been among the best1--wherever they have been early taught and trained to household business1 as every woman ought to be4 ,a woman of superior mind knows better than an ignorant one what to require of her servants1 how to deal with trades-people1 and how to economise time3 she is more clear-sighted about the best ways of doing things2 has a richer mind with which to animate all about her1 and to solace her own spirit in the midst of her labours4 ,if nobody doubts the difference in pleasantness of having to do with a silly and narrow-minded woman and with one who is intelligent and enlightened1 it must be clear that the more intelligence and enlightenment there is1 the better4 ,one of the best housekeepers ,i know1--a simple-minded1 affectionate-hearted woman1 whose table is always fit for a prince to sit down to1 whose house is always neat and elegant1 and whose small income yields the greatest amount of comfort1 is one of the most learned women ever heard of4 ,when she was a little girl1 she was sitting sewing in the window-seat while her brother was receiving his first lesson in mathematics from his tutor4 ,she listened1 and was delighted with what she heard2 and when both left the room1 she seized upon the ,euclid that lay on the table1 ran up to her room1 went over the lesson1 and laid the volume where it was before4 ,every day after this1 she sat stitching away and listening1 in like manner1 and going over the lesson afterwards1 till one day she let out the secret4 ,her brother could not answer a question which was put to him two or three times2 and1 without thinking of anything else1 she popped out the answer4 ,the tutor was surprised1 and after she had told the simple truth1 she was permitted to make what she could of ,euclid4 ,some time after1 she spoke confidentially to a friend of the family1--a scientific professor1--asking him1 with much hesitation and many blushes1 whether he thought it was wrong for a woman to learn ,latin4 ,certainly not1 he said2 provided she does not neglect any duty for it4--,but why do you want to learn ,latin8 ,she wanted to study ,newton's ,principia3 and the professor thought this a very good reason4 ,before she was grown into a woman1 she had mastered the ,principia of ,newton4 ,and now1 the great globe on which we live is to her a book in which she reads the choice secrets of nature2 and to her the last known wonders of the sky are disclosed3 and if there is a home more graced with accomplishments1 and more filled with comforts1 ,i do not know such an one4 ,will anybody say that this woman would have been in any way better without her learning8--while we may confidently say that she would have been much less happy4 ,as for women not wanting learning1 or superior intellectual training1 that is more than any one should undertake to say in our day4 ,in former times1 it was understood that every woman1 7except domestic servants7 was maintained by her father1 brother or husband2 but it is not so now4 ,the footing of women is changed1 and it will change more4 ,formerly1 every woman was destined to be married2 and it was almost a matter of course that she would be3 so that the only occupation thought of for a woman was keeping her husband's house1 and being a wife and mother4 ,it is not so now4 ,from a variety of causes1 there is less and less marriage among the middle classes of our country2 and much of the marriage that there is does not take place till middle life4 ,a multitude of women have to maintain themselves who would never have dreamed of such a thing a hundred years ago4 ,this is not the place for a discussion whether this is a good thing for women or a bad one2 or for a lamentation that the occupations by which women might maintain themselves are so few2 and of those few1 so many engrossed by men4 ,this is not the place for a speculation as to whether women are to grow into a condition of self-maintenance1 and their dependence for support upon father1 brother and husband to become only occasional4 ,with these considerations1 interesting as they are1 we have no business at this moment4 ,what we have to think of is the necessity1--in all justice1 in all honour1 in all humanity1 in all prudence1--that every girl's faculties should be made the most of1 as carefully as boys'4 ,while so many women are no longer sheltered1 and protected1 and supported1 in safety from the world 7as people used to say7 every woman ought to be fitted to take care of herself4 ,every woman ought to have that justice done to her faculties that she may possess herself in all the strength and clearness of an exercised and enlightened mind1 and may have at command1 for her subsistence1 as much intellectual power and as many resources as education can furnish her with4 ,let us hear nothing of her being shut out1 because she is a woman1 from any study that she is capable of pursuing3 and if one kind of cultivation is more carefully attended to than another1 let it be the discipline and exercise of the reasoning faculties4 ,from the simplest rules of arithmetic let her go on1 as her brother does1 as far into the depths of science1 and up to the heights of philosophy as her powers and opportunities permit2 and it will certainly be found that the more she becomes a reasoning creature1 the more reasonable1 disciplined and docile she will be3 the more she knows of the value of knowledge and of all other things1 the more diligent she will be2--the more sensible of duty1--the more interested in occupations1--the more womanly4 ,this is only coming round to the points we started from2 that every human being is to be made as perfect as possible3 and that this must be done through the most complete development of all the faculties4 ,,chapter ,,xxii4 ,,intellectual ,,training4--,,the ,,imaginative ,,faculties4 ,the young mind is very well entertained for a time by the exercise of its reasoning powers1--if1 instead of being baffled1 they are encouraged and trained4 ,but1 there is a higher set of faculties still which begin to work ere long2 and usually in such proportion to the reasoning powers as would seem to indicate some connexion between them4 ,or it may be that the moral fervour which gives great advantage to the reasoning powers is exactly that which is essential to the development of the highest of human faculties1--the ,imagination4 ,certain it is that the children who most patiently and earnestly search out the reasons of things1--either looking deep into causes1 or following them high up to consequences1 are those who most strongly manifest the first stirrings of the heavenly power which raises them highest in the ranks of being known to exist4 ,they may1 or they may not1 have shown a power of ,fancy before this time4 ,they may1 or they may not1 have manifested a strong conceptive faculty2 a power of forming images of objects already well known or clearly described2 but1 if they can so think of unseen things1 so compare them and connect them1 as to bring truth out at last1--if1 in short1 they reflect and reason well1 the probability is that they will prove to have a good portion of the higher faculty of ,imagination4 ,at least1 we may be sure that a child of high imaginative faculty has good reasoning powers4 ,during the first exercise of the reasoning powers a child may1 and probably will1 become thoughtful4 ,he will look grave at times1 and be buried in reflection for awhile3 but this gravity does not make him less cheerful2 and when he has done thinking about the particular thing his head was full of1 he is as merry as ever4 ,but a little later1 and his thoughtfulness becomes something quite different from this4 ,if there is some mingling of melancholy with it1 the parents must not be uneasy4 ,it is all natural1 and therefore right4 ,he is beginning to see and to feel his position in the universe2 to see and to feel that by the powers within him he is connected with all that exists1 and can conceive of all that may exist3 and his new consciousness gives a light to his eye and a meaning to his countenance that were never seen there before4 ,while he was an infant1 he was much like any other young animal for his thoughtless and unconscious enjoyment of all the good things that were strewed in his daily path4 ,then1 he began to see deeper1--into the reasons of things1 and their connexions2 and now he had become higher than other young animals1--for they cannot perceive the truths of numbers1 or discover by thought anything not before known in any science4 ,but now1 he has become conscious of himself2 he can contemplate himself as he can contemplate any other object of thought2 and he is occupied in connecting his own thoughts1--his own mind--with every object of thought4 ,it is upon his consciousness and his thoughts united that his imaginative power has to act4 ,by it1 he sees everything in a new light1 and feels everything with a new depth3 and though he often finds this a glorious pleasure1 he is sometimes much oppressed by it3 and then comes the kind of gentle melancholy before referred to4 ,see the difference1 to the child of dull imagination1 or of an age too young for it1 and the child superior in years or in faculty1--when they contemplate ,nature1 or ,human ,life1 or anything whatever2--when they read the ,history of ,england1 or ,conversations on ,chemistry1 or ,shakspere's ,plays1 or anything you please4 ,show them the sky as you are coming home at night4 ,the one will learn to know the constellations as easily perhaps as the other1 and will show somebody else the next night which is the ,great ,bear1 and which is ,orion3 but the duller or younger child sees nothing more than what is before its eyes2 or1 if told that all those stars are worlds1 believes it without seeing or feeling anything beyond the mere fact as conveyed in the words4 ,but at the same moment the faculty of ,imagination in the other child is kindling up within him1--and kindling all his other powers4 ,he sees1 by his mind1 far far beyond the bounds of human measurement and the human sight2--sees the universe full of rolling suns2 worlds for ever moving in their circles1 and never clashing2 worlds of which there are myriads vaster than our own globe4 ,all this he sees1 not by gazing at the sky2 for he sees it better when his head is on his pillow1--or when his hands are busy with some mechanical employment1 the next day4 ,if he feels how1 with all his busy mind and swelling heart1 and whole world of ideas1 he is yet but an atom in this great universe1 almost too small for notice1 is not this enough to make him thoughtful8 and if there is a tinge of melancholy in his seriousness1 may it not be allowed for8 ,again1 in reading the ,history of ,england1--the duller or younger child may remember the kings1 and the great men1 and the great battles1 and the great famine and plague2 and perhaps almost all the events told3 and1 if he has some considerable conceptive faculty1 he may have pictures in his mind of the ancient ,britons1 and then of ,king ,alfred and his people2 and then of the ,normans coming over and landing1 and establishing themselves in our island4 ,but the superior child sees all this1 and very much more4 ,the minds of all the people he reads of are as manifest to him as the events of their lives4 ,he feels the wild valour of the old ,britons while he reads of them2 and his soul melts in reverence1 and grief1 and pity for ,king ,alfred2 and then it glows with courage2 and then it grows calm with faith as he sees the courage and faith that were in ,king ,alfred4 ,and so on1 through the whole history4 ,and even more than this4 ,he sees more than the individuals of whom he reads could see of themselves4 ,the kingdom and the nation are ideas in his mind1 as vivid as his idea of the personages he reads of4 ,he feels when the nation is rising or falling2 rejoices when a great and good man1--a sage1 or a patriot1 or a martyr--arises to bless his race1 and burns with indignation and grief when the wicked have their own way4 ,is there not something here to make him thoughtful8 and if there is a tinge of melancholy in his seriousness1 may it not be allowed for8 ,suppose these two to read ,conversations on ,chemistry1 or ,scientific ,dialogues1--they will see and feel as differently as in the former cases4 ,the inferior child will find some entertainment1 and particularly if allowed to try chemical experiments3 but these experiments will be to him a sort of cookery2--a putting things together1 in order to succeed in producing some result1--amusing or pretty4 ,his smattering of ,chemistry is to him now a plaything1 whatever it may become when he is wiser4 ,but how different is it with the elder one1 whose awakened imagination now silently enters with him into every chamber of his own mind and every scene of nature--opening his vision with a divine touch1 and showing him everything in its vastness and its inner truth6 ,he does not want to try chemical experiments4 ,he would rather think quietly of the great agents of ,nature1 and see them1 with the eye of his mind1 for ever at their work2--,heat1 spreading through all things1 and even hiding in the polar ice2--,electricity1 darting and streaming through all substances1 and being the life of all that lives2 and the flowing together and mixing of three airs to make air that we can breathe1--this flowing together and mixing having gone on ever since there were breathing creatures on the globe2--these great images1 and those of the forces of the waters1 the pressure of the atmosphere1 the velocities of motion1--the mechanical action1 in short1 of the great forces of ,nature1 occupy and move him more than any outward methods of proof of what has been laid open to him4 ,or1 if he tries experiments1 the thing that impresses him is something far higher than amusement3--it is wonder and awe1 and perhaps delight that he can put his hand in among the forces of ,nature1 and take his share1 and set ,nature to work for him4 ,is it any wonder that his heart throbs1 and his eyes swim or kindle1 and that he had rather think than speak8 ,and may he not be left undisturbed at such a moment1 till his mind takes a lower tone8 ,it is this faculty which has produced the highest benefits to the human race that it has ever enjoyed4 ,the highest order of men who have lived are those in whom the power of ,imagination has been the strongest1 the most disciplined1 and the most elevated4 ,the noblest gifts that have been given to men are the ideas which have proceeded from such minds4 ,it is this order of mind alone that creates4 ,others may discover1 and adapt1 and improve1 and establish3 but it is the imaginative order of mankind that creates1--whether it be the majestic steam-engine1 or the immortal picture1 or the divine poem4 ,it should be a joyful thing to parents1--though it must be a very serious one1--to see clear tokens in any child of the development of this faculty1--the faculty of seeing things invisible1--of seeing things that are not as though they were4 ,if it is only of average strength1 it is a true blessing1 inasmuch as it ennobles the views and the life of the individual1 if its benefit extends no further in a direct manner4 ,if it appears in any marked degree1 the parents' hearts cannot but be elated1 though they may be anxious4 ,it is a sign of natural nobility1--of a privilege higher than hereditary or acquired honour3 and greater than a monarch can bestow4 ,through it1 if it be rightly trained1 its possessor must enjoy the blessings of largeness of heart and wealth of mind1 and probably of being a benefactor1 more or less1 to his race4 ,now1--what are the tokens of this endowment8 and how should it be treated8 ,when a young person's views extend beyond the objects immediately presented to him1 it is naturally seen in his countenance1 manner1 speech and habits4 ,the questions he asks1 the books he reads1 his remarks on what he reads or hears1 all show whether his mind is deeply employed4 ,he is probably a great reader2 and if he has been religiously brought up1 he probably becomes intensely religious about the time of the development of his higher faculties4--,he must be treated with great consideration and tenderness4 ,if he is of an open disposition1 apt to tell of his day dreams and aspirations1 there must be no ridicule1--no disrespect from any part of the household4 ,there ought to be none2 for it is pretty certain that any day dreams and aspirations of his are more worthy of respect than any ridicule with which they can be visited4 ,the way to strengthen and discipline his mind is not1 as we have often said already1 to repress any of its faculties1 but to employ them well4 ,in no case is this management more important than in the present4 ,now1 in this important period of youthful life1 it is the greatest possible blessing if the son or daughter be on terms of perfect confidence with the mother4 ,it is a kind of new life to a mother who has kept her mind and heart active and warm amidst her trials and cares1 to enter into sympathy with the aspirations and imaginations of her ripening children4 ,she has a keen enjoyment in the revival of her own young feelings and ideas2--some of the noblest she has known3 and things which might appear extravagant at another time or from other persons1 will be noble and animating as coming from those whose minds1--minds which she has watched from their first movements1--are now rapidly opening into comparative maturity4 ,to her1 then1 the son or daughter need not fear to speak freely and openly4 ,to her they may pour out their admiration of ,nature1 their wonder at the sublimities of science2 their speculations upon character2 their soundings in the abysses of life and death2 their glorious dreams of what they will be and do4 ,the more she sympathises with them in their intellectual pleasures and tendencies1 the more will her example tell upon them as a conscientious doer of the small duties of life3 and thus she may silently and unconsciously obviate one of the chief dangers of this period of her children's lives4 ,if they see that the mother who glows with the warmth of their emotions1 and goes abroad through the universe hand in hand1 as we may say1 with them1 to note and enjoy all that is mighty and beautiful1 all that is heroic and sweet1--is yet as punctual in her everyday duty as the merest plodder and worldling1 they will take shame to themselves for any reluctance that they feel to commonplace ideas and what seems to them drudgery4 ,full confidence and sympathy are the first requisites of the treatment of this period4 ,but the wise parent will have laid up material for the employment of the imaginative faculty1 long before it can appear in any strength4 ,the child will have been familiarised with a high and noble order of ideas2 and especially of moral ideas3 for the picturesque or scientific will be pretty sure to make themselves duly appreciated by the awakened ideal faculties4 ,whatever the parent can tell of heroic conduct1 of lofty character1 of the grave crises and affecting changes of human life1 will be so much material laid in for the virtuous and salutary use of those awakening faculties which might otherwise be occupied in selfishness and other mischief4 ,let the mind be abundantly ministered to4 ,this may be done in the most homely households where there is any nobility of mind4 ,every parent has known some person who is noble and worthy of contemplation for character and conduct4 ,every parent can tell some moving or striking tale of a human lot4 ,to all1 the heavens and the earth1 the sea1 and all that in them is1 are open for contemplation4 ,in every household1 there is the ,bible3 and in the houses of all who read this1 there is1 no doubt1 ,milton1 on the shelf beside the ,bible4 ,with these parents have means enough for the education of their children's highest faculties4 ,in these they hold a greater treasure than any other that can be found in royal abodes3 and the kingdom of ,nature is a field which their children have free license to rove with the highest4 ,let them have and enjoy these treasures abundantly4 ,let them read all tales of noble adventure that can be obtained for them2--of the heroes that have struggled through ,polar ice and burning ,african sands2 that have sailed on past the horizon of hope in the discovery of new continents1 and have succeeded through faith1 courage and patience4 ,let the reading of good fiction be permitted1 where the desire is strong4 ,some of the highest interests of ,english history have been opened to the present generation by the novels of ,scott1 as to many a preceding one by the ,plays of ,shakspere4 ,my own opinion is that no harm is done1 but much good1 by an early reading of fiction of a high order3 and no one can question its being better than leaving the craving mind to feed upon itself1--its own dreams of vanity or other selfishness1--or to seek an insufficient nourishment from books of a lower order4 ,the imagination1 once awakened1 must and will work1 and ought to work4 ,let its working be ennobled1 and not debased1 by the material afforded to it4 ,in the parents' sympathy must be included forbearance2 forbearance with the uncertainty of temper and spirits1 the extravagance of ideas1 the absurd ambition1 or fanaticism or1 7as it is generally called7 romance which show themselves more or less1 on the opening of a strong imaginative faculty4 ,it should be remembered that the young creature is half-living in a new world2 and that the difficulty of reconciling this beloved new world with the familiar old one is naturally very trying to one who is just entering upon the struggles of the mind and of life4 ,he cannot reconcile the world and its ways and its people with the ideals which are presenting themselves to him2 and he becomes1 for a time1 irritable1 or scornful1 or depressed4 ,one will be fanatical1 for a time1 and sleep on the boards1 and make and keep a vow never to smile4 ,another will be discontented1 and apparently ungrateful1 for a time1 in the idea that he might be a hero if he had certain advantages which are not given him4 ,another looks down already on all his neighbours on account of the great deeds he is to do by and by3 and all are convinced1--every youth and maiden of them all1--that nobody can enter into their feelings1--nobody understand their minds1--nobody conceive of emotions and aspirations like theirs4 ,at the moment1 this is likely to be true2 for their ideas and emotions are vast and stirring1 beyond their own power to express2 and it can scarcely happen that any one is at hand1 just at the right season1 to receive their out-pourings1 and give them credit for more than they can tell4--,with all the consequences of these new movements of the mind1 the parents must have forbearance1--even to the point 7if it must be7 of witnessing an intimacy with some young companion1 not very wise1 who is the depository of more confidence than is offered to those who should be nearest and dearest4 ,these waywardnesses and follies may have their day1 and prove after all to have been1 in their way1 wholesome discipline4 ,every waywardness brings its smart2 and every folly leaves its sting of shame in the mind that is high enough to manifest any considerable power of imagination4 ,they will punish and cure themselves2 and probably in a short time4 ,nature may be trusted here1 as everywhere4 ,if we have patience to let her work1 without hindrance and without degradation1 she will justify our confidence at last4 ,give her free scope1--remove out of her way everything that is low and sordid1 and needlessly irritating1 and minister to her everything that is pure and gentle1 and noble and true1 and she will produce a glorious work4 ,in the wildest flights of haughty and undisciplined imagination1 the young aspirant will take heed enough to the beauty and dignity of a lowly1 and dutiful and benignant walk in life1 to come down and worship it when cruder visions have passed away4 ,it is only to wait1 in gentleness and cheerfulness1 and the wild rhapsodist1 or insolent fanatic will work his way through his snares into a new world of filial1 as well as other duty1 and1 without being less of a poet1 but because he is more of one1 will be a better son and brother and neighbour1--making his life his highest poem4 ,it will be said that we have here1 in treating of the training of the ,intellectual faculties1 recurred to the department of morals4 ,and this is true4 ,no part of human nature can work in isolation2 and when we treat of any function by itself1 it is for the convenience of our understandings1 and not as a following of nature4 ,no intellectual faculty can act independently of the moral2 and the higher the faculties1 the closer we find their interaction2 till we arrive at the fact that ,veneration1 ,benevolence1 ,hope1 ,conscientiousness and ,firmness cannot act to perfection except in company with a vigorous faculty of ,imagination1 and strong ,reflective powers3 and again1 that the ,reasoning and ,imaginative powers can never work to their fullest capacity unless the highest of the moral powers are as active as themselves4 ,in all true poetry1 there is a tacit appeal to the sanction of ,conscience1 and ,veneration and ,benevolence are the heavenly lights which rise upon the scene3 while1 on the other hand1 no ,reverence is so deep1 ,benevolence so pure1 as those which are enriched by the profoundest ,thought1 and refined and exalted by the noblest ,idealism4 ,these truths bring us to a practical consideration as serious as any which our minds can receive and dwell upon4 ,my own sense of it is so strong1 and so confirmed by the experience of a life1 that ,i feel that if ,i had the utmost power of thought and language that were ever possessed by the human being1 ,i could do no justice to it3--that the only means of improving the morale to the utmost is by elevating the ideal of the individual4 ,it is well to improve the conduct1 and satisfy the conscience of the child by calling upon its resolution to amend its faults in detail1--to control its evil tempers1 and overcome its indolence and laxity3 but this is a temporary method1 insufficient for its ultimate needs4 ,the strength of resolution fails when the season of youth is past1 or is employed on other objects2 and it is rare1 as we all know1 to see faults amended1 and bad habits overcome in mature years3 and then1 if improvement proceeds1 radically and continuously1 it is by the mind being placed under good influences1 operating both powerfully and continuously4 ,of good influences1 the most powerful and continuous is the presence in the mind of a lofty ideal4 ,this is the great central fire which is always fed by the material it draws to itself1 and which can hardly be extinguished4 ,when the whole mind is possessed with the image of the godlike1 ever growing with the expansion of the intelligence1 and ever kindling with the glow of the affections1 every passion is consumed1 every weakness grows into the opposite strength2 and the entire force of the moral life1 set free from the exclusive care of the details of conduct1 and from the incessant anxiety of self-regards1 is at liberty to actuate the whole harmonious being in its now necessary pursuit of the highest moral beauty it can conceive of4 ,to this godlike inspiration1 strong and lofty powers of ,thought and ,imagination are essential3 and if parents desire that their children should be what they are made to be1--but a little lower than the angels1--they must cherish these powers as the highest sources of moral inspiration4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,habits4--,,importance ,,of ,,habit4 ,the importance of ,,habit is an old subject2 as old as any in morals4 ,for thousands of years1 moralists and philosophers have written and preached about it2 and everybody is convinced by what they say4 ,but ,i much doubt whether1 even yet1 many penetrate into the depth of the matter4 ,everybody sees1 and everybody has felt the difficulty of breaking bad habits1 and that there is no security to virtue so strong as long-formed good habits3 but my observation compels me to think that scarcely anybody is aware of the whole truth2--that every human being 7except such as are born defective7 might be made perfectly good if his parents were wise enough to do all that might be done by the power of ,habit4 ,this seems a bold thing to say1 but ,i am convinced that it is true4 ,i am aware that we cannot expect to see any parents wise enough to know how to make the fullest use of this power3 and perhaps there are none1 even of the tenderest parents1 who can keep themselves up to an incessant vigilance over their infants1 without any carelessness or flagging4 ,sometimes they are busy2 sometimes they are tired2 sometimes they are disheartened4 ,they are not perfectly wise and good themselves2 and therefore they must sink below the mark1 more or less4 ,but ,i am sure it would be a great help to their strength1 and vigilance1 and heartiness1 if they could clearly see how easily their children may be made anything they please4 ,the great points1 for conscientious parents1 are to be fully convinced of the supreme importance of the formation of ,habits1 and to begin early enough4 ,if they will begin early enough1 they will be sure to be convinced4 ,but a pretty strong conviction may be had beforehand1 by observation of the history and character of mankind4 ,habits of ,belief are the most important of all3 and everybody thinks so3 and of all ,beliefs those which relate to ,duty1--those which are called religious--are the highest4 ,now look round the world1 and see how many individuals you can find who have inquired out for themselves what they think they believe4 ,as for nations1--a nation of independent thinkers is a thing never dreamed of4 ,such a spectacle as that has never been seen in the wildest visions of the most sanguine of poets and moralists4 ,i have travelled among heathens1 ,mohammedans1 ,jews1 and many kinds of ,christians2 and ,i have found them all believing what they were taught1 before they could reason1 to hold as sacred truth2 and this was exactly what their teachers were themselves taught to suppose 7for one cannot call this ,belief7 in the same manner4 ,the ,red ,indian1 on the shores of the ,american lakes1 and on the wide prairie1 is brought up1 from the time he can understand language at all1 to believe that there is a ,great ,spirit who lives far away over the waters or beyond the forests1 who is jealous and angry if the people do not offer to him whatever they like best2--who forbids them to touch whatever he wants for himself2--who has favourites among their warriors1 and is most pleased with those who most torture their bodies1 to show their bravery4 ,the ,indian believes in a good many inferior spirits1 who do him good or harm1 and mingle more in his affairs than the ,great ,spirit does4 ,this is the ,indian way of thinking2 and every ,indian child grows up to think in the same way1 upon the whole1 though one may be more sure than another of one or another part of the doctrine4 ,no one of the whole tribe asks for any proof that things are so4 ,the early habit of taking these doctrines for granted1 as something solemn and sacred1 which somebody must have known for true a long time ago1 prevents any one but a thoughtful person here and there ever inquiring whether there is really any knowledge existing about the matter at all1 or only superstition4 ,then1 there are the ,jews4 ,not one ,jew in ten thousand ceases to be a ,jew in religion2 and nobody out of the ,jewish body ever gets to think as they do2--to hold their doctrines1 and their traditions1 and their superstitions4 ,next1 in order of time1 come the ,christians4 ,there are many bodies of ,christians1 differing as much from one another as if they held faiths called by different names4 ,there are the ,christians of the ,greek ,church1 worshipping many gods under the name of saints2--some thinking it blasphemy not to adore the ,emperor of ,russia next to ,god1 and some paying their first homage to the ,virgin with ,three ,hands4 ,there are the ,christians of the ,romish ,church1 who are shocked at the ,emperor of ,russia for not being one of them2 and shocked at the ,protestants for not worshipping the bones and toe-nails of their saints4 ,and there are the ,protestant ,christians1 who are shocked at the superstitions of the ,romish ,church on the one hand1 and at the doctrines of every ,protestant sect but their own1 on the other4 ,then come the ,mohammedans1 who think it exactly as impious in all ,christians not to receive ,mohammed1 their prophet1 whom they think a greater than ,christ1 as the ,christians think it impious in the ,jews not to receive ,christ1 whom they hold to be greater than ,moses4 ,the children of all these multitudes1 7except in an extremely rare case1 here and there7 receive what they are early told1 as their parents received it before them2 and no one supposes that any one of those vast multitudes would think and feel as he does on matters of religion if he were not early habituated to think and feel as he does4 ,can we imagine any one of ourselves1 concluding for ourselves1 for instance1 that the most solemn and sacred of human duties was to go through a set of prostrations and gestures1 like those of the ,mohammedans1 five times a day as long as we live1 unless we were taught1 from early infancy1 to consider such acts to be in the highest degree virtuous8 ,can we imagine ourselves thinking1 as the ,mohammedans do1 that every man who does not go through this set of gestures five times every day1 is careless about goodness altogether1--is an ,infidel 7which is the ,mohammedan name for a ,christian7--is wicked1 and must be cast into hell8 ,more persons in the world believe this than believe in the gods of the ,red ,indian1 and the faith of the ,jews1 and the doctrines of all bodies of ,christians put together4 ,yet it is incredible that any man would so believe1--so undoubtingly1 so solemnly1 if he had not been habituated to such a belief from the very beginning4 ,if the beliefs of the majority of mankind are thus dependant upon habit1--if their faith and their views of duty and happiness1--7the most important of all views7 have this origin1 how is it possible to overrate the importance of ,habit8 ,if1 turning away from the ,greek ,christians and the ,mohammedans1 we contemplate in our imagination a large sect or nation who should have been habituated1 from the first dawning of intelligence1 to regard perfect goodness as the most sacred and solemn and beautiful thing that the human mind can conceive of1--as a thing the most interesting and important to every human being1--and a thing within the reach of every one of us1 is it conceivable that such a people would not be the most virtuous ever seen on earth8 ,let it not be said that children are so taught1--that such is the habit of their minds in our ,christian country3 for alas6 it is very much otherwise4 ,they are occasionally told1 indeed1 that ,christ desired his followers to be perfect as their ,father in heaven is perfect2 but this is not the aim steadily and cheerfully set before any child1 as a hopeful enterprise1--as the best thing in the world1 and as a thing which must be done4 ,no child sees that this object is what his parents are living for1 in comparative disregard of everything else2 and that this is what he ought to live for1 and is expected certainly to accomplish1 according to his means4 ,while he is told1 and pretty often1 that the best thing in the world is to be good1 he is habituated1 by what he sees and hears almost all day long1 to believe that it is a hopeless thing to become perfectly good1 and that everybody tries1 in fact1 for something else1 with more zeal and expectation2--to get knowledge1 to get reputation1 to get employment and comfort1--to get all manner of pleasant things by their own desires and exertions1 while they trust that some power will make them good1 without that unremitting desire and exertion on their parts which alone can make them so4 ,i have before me the ,remarks of a conscientious and affectionate father on the essential and unlimited power of ,habit in the rearing of ,children2--a truth which he had heard of all his life1 but never fairly estimated till he had employed his energies on the education of his own family4 ,i do not know who he is2 but ,i see by the pamphlet before me,a that he is earnest and intelligent1 and qualified to speak from experience4 ,earnest he must be1 for it appears that it was his constant habit1 during the infancy of his children1 to rise in the night1 to see that they were well1 and sleeping peacefully3 and he invariably went with them to school1 and met them at the school door1 to bring them home again1--more than a mile1--though he was a busy man1--obliged to work for their bread and his own4 ,this earnest observer says ,i now repeat the opinion that every child born1 not insane or idiotic1 might1 to a moral certainty1 be trained to be a gentle1 a benevolent1 and a pious adult4 ,of the correctness of this opinion ,i have long ceased to have any doubt4 ,holding this opinion to be positively correct1 ,i next held that the universal belief of its correctness would soon lead to an amount of improvement in the several conditions of human existence that would exceed even my own sanguine expectations4 ,the encouragement which this belief would give to parents would bring into active and affectionate exertion an amount of attention and devotion to the training of the infant feelings and propensities of their offspring1 such as heretofore has never been exercised1 or perhaps ever imagined4 ,i would1 therefore1 spread this belief among all mankind1 by every means in my power to employ1 and with it my opinions of the kind of teaching1 or rather training1 by which such blessed results might be produced4 ,to describe this kind of teaching1 or training1 is not at present in my power to do1 to a due extent4 ,i will but give one brief rule1 namely1 ',what you wish a child to be1 be that to the child4' ,and ,i would impress upon the mind of the mother1 the nurse1 or other teacher1 the importance of so training each desire or propensity as to bring it as early as possible into habitual obedience to the dictates of the religious and moral sentiments1--those sentiments being guided by the enlightened intellect of such mother1 nurse1 or teacher4 ,these teachers should be aware of the fact that the mind of a child is continually acquiring habits of thought1 as its limbs are habits of action1 whether by the spontaneous and unguided efforts of its own mind and body1 or by following the training of those having the care of it4 ,they should be continually improving themselves in the art of so guiding the infant dispositions1 and the exercises and actions of their charge as to form the disposition as early as possible2 and this course of training would effectually preserve the child from every approach to the formation of any other habits than those inculcated by the teacher4--7,remarks1 c41 pp4 #aa1 #ab74 ,a ,remarks on the ,advantages of early ,training and ,management of ,children4 ,by a ,colonist4 ,ollivier1 #ei1 ,pall-,mall4 ,next to the ,beliefs established by early habit1 come the propensities4 ,under this head1 nothing more can be necessary than to relate an anecdote which teaches much more eloquently than any thing ,i can say out of my own convictions4 ,in ,north ,america1 a tribe of ,indians attacked a white settlement1 and murdered the few inhabitants4 ,a woman of the tribe1 however1 carried away a very young infant1 and reared it as her own4 ,the child grew up with the ,indian children1 different in complexion1 but like them in every thing else4 ,to scalp the greatest possible number of enemies was1 in his view1 the most glorious and happy thing in the world4 ,while he was still a youth1 he was seen by some white traders1 and by them conducted back to civilised life4 ,he showed great relish of his new way of life1 and1 especially1 a strong desire of knowledge1 and a sense of reverence which took the direction of religion2 so that he desired to become a clergyman4 ,he went through his college course with credit1 and was ordained4 ,he fulfilled his function well1 and appeared happy and satisfied4 ,after a few years1 he went to serve a settlement somewhere near the seat of war1 which was then going on between ,great ,britain and the ,united ,states2 and before long1 there was fighting not far off4 ,i am not sure whether he was aware that there were ,indians in the field1 7the ,british having some tribes of ,indians for allies17 but he went forth to see how matters were going2--went forth in his usual dress1--black coat1 and neat white shirt and neckcloth4 ,when he returned1 he was met by a gentleman of his acquaintance1 who was immediately struck by an extraordinary change in the expression of his face2--by the fire in his eye1 and the flush on his cheek2--and also by his unusually shy and hurried manner4 ,after asking news of the battle1 the gentleman observed1 but you are wounded4--,not wounded6--why1 there is blood upon the bosom of your shirt4 ,the young man crossed his hands firmly1 though hurriedly upon his breast2 and his friend1 supposing that he wished to conceal a wound which ought to be looked to1 pulled open his shirt and saw--what made the young man let his hands fall in despair4 ,from between his shirt and his breast1 the gentleman took out--a bloody scalp4 ,i could not help it1 said this poor victim of early habit1 in an agonised voice4 ,he turned1 and ran too swiftly to be overtaken2 betook himself to the ,indians1 and never more appeared among the whites4 ,no one supposes that there was any hypocrisy in this man while he was a clergyman4 ,no one doubts that he would have lived a contented life of piety1 benevolence and study1 if he had never come within sight or sound of war4 ,when he did so1 up rose his early habitual combative and destructive propensities1 overthrowing in an instant all later formed convictions and regenerated feelings4 ,by the extent of victory here1 we may form some idea of the force of early ,habit1 or be duly warned by the question whether we can form any idea of it4 ,the first habit to be formed is1--as is self-evident1--that of obedience2 for this is a necessary preliminary to the formation of all other habits4 ,if mothers would but believe it1 there is nothing in the world easier than to form a habit of implicit obedience in any child4 ,every child1--dependant and imitative1--is obedient as a matter of course if nature is not early interfered with1 and put out of her way4 ,every one must see that good sense on the part of the mother is absolutely necessary1--to observe what the course of nature is1 and to adapt her management to it4 ,for instance1--there is no way in which infants are more frequently1 or so early1 taught disobedience as by being teased for kisses4 ,the mother does so love her infant's kiss1--to see the little face put up when the loving desire is spoken1--that she can never have enough of it4 ,but her sense1 and her sympathy with her little one show her that it is not the same thing with the child4 ,well as it loves caresses in due measure1 it can easily be fretted by too many of them2 and if the mother persists in requiring too many while the infant is eager after something else1 she will first have to put up with a hasty and reluctant kiss1 and will next have to witness the struggles of the child to avoid it altogether4 ,if too young to slip from her arms1 he will hide his face3--if he can walk1 he will run away1 and not come back when she calls4 ,she has made him disobedient by asking of him more than he is yet able to give4 ,if the training begins by pleasantly bidding him do what it is easy and pleasant to him to do1 he will do it1 as a matter of course4 ,when it is to him a matter of course to do as he is bid1 he will prove capable of doing some things that he does not like1--if desired in the usual cheerful and affectionate tone4 ,he will go to his tub in the cold morning1 and take physic1 and be quiet when he wants to romp2--all great efforts to him4 ,and he will get on1 and become capable of greater and greater efforts1 if his faculties of opposition and pride be not roused by any imprudence1 and if his understanding be treated with due respect by the appeals to his obedience being such only as are moderate and reasonable4 ,he must be left as free as reason and convenience allow1 that his will may not be too often crossed1 and his temper needlessly fretted4 ,what he is not to have1 but would certainly wish for1 must be put out of his sight1 if possible4 ,if there are any places where he must not go1 he should see it to be impossible to get into them3--for instance1 it is better that the fire should be well guarded than the child forbidden to go upon the rug2--and in either case1 his gay playthings should not stand on the mantel-piece1 tempting him to climb for them4--,and so on1--through the round of his day4 ,let his little duties and obligations be made easy to him by sense and sympathy on the part of his parents2 and then let them see that the duty is done1--the obligation fulfilled4 ,all this is easy enough2 and certainly1 from all that ,i have ever been able to observe1 ,i am convinced that success1--perfect success in forming a habit of obedience is always possible4 ,where a whole household acts in the same good spirit towards the little creature who has to be trained1--where no one spoils him and no one teases him1--he will obey the bidding of the voice of gentle authority in all he does1 as simply as he obeys the bidding of ,nature when he eats and sleeps4 ,so much for this preliminary habit1 which is essential to the formation of all others that the parents wish to guide and establish4 ,i will now speak briefly of the ,personal and ,family ,habits which are the manifestation of those conditions of mind of which ,i have treated in my preceding chapters4 ,,chapter ,,xxiv4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,habits4--,,personal ,,habits4 ,it requires some little consideration to feel sufficiently that it is as necessary to be explicit and earnest about the personal habits of children as about their principles1 temper1 and intellectual state4 ,our personal habits have become so completely a second nature to us1 that it requires some effort to be aware how far otherwise it is with the young1--how they have every thing to learn2 and what a serious thing it is to everybody at some time of his life to learn to wash his own face and button his own jacket4 ,the conviction comes across one very powerfully in great houses1 where little lords and ladies are seen to need teaching in the commonest particulars of manners and habits1 as much as any young creatures about a cottage door4 ,every one knows this as a matter of fact2 but still1 there is something odd in seeing children in velvet tunics and lace frocks1 and silk stockings and satin shoes1 holding up their little noses1--or not holding them up--to the maternal pocket-handkerchief2 or dropping fruit-stones and raisin-stalks into papa's coat-collar1 by climbing up behind his chair4 ,to see this natural rudeness in those to whom consummate elegance is hereafter to appear no less natural1 makes one thoughtful for the sake of such as are to remain comparatively rude through life2 and also because it reminds one that there is nothing in regard to all personal habits1 that children have not to learn4 ,it is so very serious a matter to them1--the attainment of good personal habits1--that they ought to be aided to the utmost by parental consideration4 ,this consideration is shown first in the actual help given to the child by its mother's hands2 and afterwards by making all the arrangements of the household as favourable as possible to good habits in each individual4 ,the tender mother makes the times of washing and dressing gay and pleasant to her little infant by the play and caresses which she loves to lavish even more than the child delights to receive4 ,she can hardly overvalue the influence of these seasons on the child's future personal habits4 ,hurry1 rough handling1 silence1 or fretfulness may make the child hate the idea of washing and dressing1 for long years afterwards2 while the associations of a season of play and lovingness may help on the little creature a long way in the great work of taking care of its own person4 ,when the time comes1--the proud time1--when it may stand by itself to wash1 the pride and novelty help it on2 and it is rather offended if help interferes1 to prevent its being exposed too long to the cold4 ,all this is very well2 but there comes a time afterwards when the irksomeness of washing and dressing1 and cleaning teeth1 and brushing hair1 becomes a positive affliction to some children1 such as no parents that ,i have known seem to have any idea of4 ,we grown people can scarcely remember the time when these operations were not to us so purely mechanical as that our minds are entertained by ideas all the time1 as much as if we were about any other business4 ,but children are not so dexterous1 in the first place2 in the next1 all labour of which they know the extent is very oppressive to them3 and again1 any incessant repetition of what they in any degree dislike is really afflictive to them4 ,we must remember these things1 or we shall not understand the feebleness of will which makes a boy neglect some part of his morning washing1 and a girl the due hair-brushing in the evening1 though both are aware that they suffer more in conscience as it is1 than they could from the trouble1 if they could rouse themselves to do the business properly4 ,i have known one child sick of life because she must1 in any circumstances1 clean her teeth every day2--every day for perhaps seventy years4 ,i have known of a little boy in white frocks who sat mournfully alone1 one autumn day1 laying the gay fallen vine-leaves in a circle1 and thinking how tired he was of life1--how dreadfully long it was1 and full of care4 ,its machinery overpowered him4 ,i knew a girl1 old enough to be reproached for the badness of her handwriting1--7and she was injudiciously reproached1 without being helped to mend it7--who suffered intensely from this1 and even more from another grief2--she had hair which required a good deal of care1 and she was too indolent to keep it properly4 ,these were the two miseries of her life2 and they did make her life miserable4 ,she did not think she could mend her handwriting2 but she knew that she might have beautiful hair by brushing it for ten minutes longer every night3 yet she could not do it4 ,at last1 she prayed fervently for the removal of these two griefs1--though she knew the fable of the ,waggoner and ,hercules4 ,now1--in cases like these1 help is wanted4 ,remonstrance1 disgrace1 will not do1 in many cases where a little sympathy and management will4 ,cannot these times be made cheerful1 and the habit of painful irresolution broken1 by putting the sinner into the company of some older member of the family1 or by employing the thoughts in some pleasant way while the mechanical process is going on8--,i mean only while the difficulty lasts4 ,when habits of personal cleanliness have become fixed and mechanical1 it is most desirable 7where it can by any means be managed7 for each child to be alone1--not only for the sake of decency1 but for the benefit of the solitude and silence1 morning and night1 which are morally advantageous for everybody old enough to meditate4 ,i fear it is still necessary to teach and preach that nobody has a right to health who does not wash all over every day4 ,this is done with infants2 and the practice should never be discontinued4 ,every child of a family should look upon this daily complete washing in cold water as a thing as completely of course as getting its breakfast4 ,there was a time1 within my remembrance1 when even respectable people thought it enough to wash their feet once a week2 and their whole bodies when they went to the coast for sea-bathing in ,august4 ,in regard to popular knowledge of the ,laws of ,health1 our world has got on3 and1 after the expositions1 widely published1 of those who enable us to understand the ,laws of ,health1 we may hope that washing from head to foot is so regular an affair with all decent people as to leave no doubt or irresolution in children's minds about how much they shall wash1 any day of the year4--,as for the care of the teeth1--parents ought to know that1 in the opinion of dentists1 all decay of the teeth proceeds from the bone of which the teeth are composed not being kept purely clean and bright4 ,this happens oftenest when teeth overlap1 or grow so that every part cannot be reached4 ,much of this may be remedied1 if not all of it1 by early application to a dentist4 ,but parents to whom this precaution is impossible can do much to save their children from future misery from toothache1 and indigestion through loss of teeth1 by seeing that the tooth-scrubbing is properly performed4 ,this is more important than the polishing of knives and brass knockers4--,as for the brushing of a girl's long hair1 it really is a very irksome business till it becomes mechanical2 and a mother may consider a little effort at amusement well bestowed till the habit of doing it properly is securely formed1 and the mind is rich enough to entertain itself the while4 ,readers begin to yawn or skip when they meet1 in any book1 with praises of early rising4 ,yet how can ,i pass over this particular of personal habits1 when ,i think it of eminent importance8--,i believe it is rare to see such early rising as ,i happen to think desirable4 ,i believe it is rare to see families fairly at their daily work by eight o'clock1--after having had out-door exercise and breakfast2 and this1 every morning in the year4 ,the variety of objects presented for the observation and enjoyment of children 7and of everybody else7 in the early morning hours1 far surpasses that which can be seen at any other time of day4 ,even town-bred children can see more pure sky1 and quieter streets1 and the country seems to have come nearer4 ,and in the country1 there are more animals abroad1--more squirrels1 more field mice1 more birds1 than at noon or in the evening4 ,the rooks fly higher in the dawn than at any other time2 the magpies are bolder and droller2 the singing birds in the thickets beyond measure more gleeful2 and one need not tell that this is the hour for the lark4 ,all except very young children can keep themselves warm in the mid-winter mornings1 and will enjoy the delight of being out under the stars1 and watching the last fragment of the moon1 hanging over the eastern horizon1 clear and bright in the breaking dawn4 ,when these children come in1 warm1 rosy1 and hungry1 at seven o'clock1 or half-past1 and sit down to their breakfast1 they seem hardly of the same order of creatures with such as come sauntering down from their chambers1 when their parents have half done their meal2--sauntering because they are tired with dressing1 or have had bad dreams1 and have not recovered their spirits4 ,and what a difference it makes in the houses of rich and poor whether the breakfast things are standing about till nearly ten o'clock1 or whether the family have by that time been at work for nearly two of the brightest1 and freshest1 and quietest1 hours of the day6 ,in every industrious household there should be a bell4 ,this is an admonition which tries no tempers1 and gives no personal offence4 ,if the father himself rings the family up in the mornings1 it is a fine thing for everybody4 ,if he cannot1--if he is too weary with his day's work for early rising1 or if the mother is disturbed with her baby in the night1--if neither parent can be early in the morning1 then let it not be insisted on that the children shall be so4 ,it is a less evil that they should forego all the advantages of early rising than that any contest on the subject should take place between them and their parents4 ,i have seen cases where the parents could not1 or did not1 appear till nine o'clock or later1 but yet made it a point of conscience with the children to be early2--with the most disastrous effect4 ,the children were conscientious1 and they did try4 ,when they now and then succeeded1 they were satisfied and triumphant1 and thought they should never fail again4 ,but the indolence of the growing season of life was upon them3 and there was the languor of waiting for breakfast4 ,in the summer mornings1 they were chilly and languid over their books2 and in the winter1 the fire made them sleepy4 ,they grew later and later2 they were rebuked1 remonstrated with1--even warned against following the example of their parents3 but they sank deeper into indolence4 ,at last1 the suffering of conscience became so great that it was thrown off by a most audacious effort4 ,i happened to be a witness to the incident2 and ,i have never lost the impression of it4 ,the two girls were only half-dressed at half-past eight4 ,they heard their mother's door open1 and looked at each other4 ,she came 7herself only half-dressed7 to say that she had been defied long enough1 and she would be obeyed4 ,she slapped them heartily4 ,as she shut the door1 the younger sister1 all horror and dismay1 stole a look at the elder4 ,the elder laughed2 and the younger was evidently delighted to join4 ,i saw1 on the instant1 that it was all over with the mother's authority4 ,the spirit of defiance had risen1 and burst the bonds of conscience4 ,late rising1--the very latest1--curse as it is1--is better than this4 ,what a struggle is saved in such cases--what a cost of energy1 and health1 and conscience1 by a complete establishment of good habits1 through the example of the parents6 ,if the father be but happy enough to be able to take out his little troop into the fields1 or merely for a stretch along the high road1 in the freshness of the morning1 what a gain there is on every hand6 ,he has the best of their affections1 if he can make himself their companion at this most cheery hour of the day2 and they will owe to him a habit which not only enhances the enjoyment of life1 but positively lengthens its duration4 ,then1 after their walk of a mile or two1 they find mother and breakfast awaiting them at home1--the house in order and already aired2 and everything ready for business when the morning meal is done4 ,they are in the heart of their work1 whatever it be1 when their neighbours are opening their chamber doors4 ,in ,london1 ,i am aware1 one meets with the plea1 in every case1 that early rising is impossible1 on account of the lateness of the hours of everybody else4 ,i only know that when ,i lived in lodgings in ,london1 ,i used to boil my coffee on the table at seven o'clock1--giving no trouble to servants1--and that ,i used to think it pleasant to have my pen in hand at half-past seven1--the windows open to the fresh watered streets1 and shaded with summer blinds1 and the flower-girls stationing themselves below1--their gay baskets of roses still wet with dew4 ,i think ,london streets pleasanter in the dawn than at any other time4 ,in country towns1 ,i know that families can and do keep early hours1 without any real difficulty3 and in the country1 everybody can do as he pleases4 ,i need not say that growing children must have their breakfast before they feel any exhaustion for want of it4 ,i do not understand the old-fashioned method of early rising2--working hard for three or four hours before eating anything at all4 ,if adults can bear this1 it is certain that children cannot4 ,i may mention here that a prime means of health for persons of all ages is to drink abundance of cold water on rising1 and during the vigorous exercise of the early morning4 ,this morning regimen1 if universally adopted1 would save the doctors of our island half their work4 ,there is no part of the personal habits of children more important than that which relates to their eating4 ,we must remember how vivid the pleasures of the senses are to children1--how strong their desire of every kind of gratification1--and how small their store1 as yet1 of those intellectual and moral resources which make grown people careless of the pleasures of sense4 ,if we look back to our own childhood1 and remember our intense pleasure in looking at brilliant colours1 and at hearing sweet sounds1 unconnected with words and ideas1--such as the chords of an ,eolian harp1--and the thrill of pleasure we had at the sight of a favourite dish upon the table1 we shall be aware that1 however ridiculous such emotions appear to us now1 they are realities which must be taken into account in dealing with children4--,the object is so to feed children as to give them the greatest amount of relish which consists with their health of body and mind4 ,if their appetites are not considered enough1 they will suffer in body2 if too much1 they will suffer infinitely more in mind4 ,i have seen both extremes2 and ,i must say1 ,i think the consequences so important as to deserve more consideration than the subject usually meets with4 ,in one large family which ,i had for some time the opportunity of observing1 there was a pretty strict discipline kept up throughout1 with excellent effect on the whole2 but in some respects it was carried too far4 ,some of the children were delicate1 particularly in stomach2 and the intention of the parents was that this should be got over1 as better for the children than yielding to it4 ,three or four of the children throve well on the basin of bread and milk1 which was the breakfast of them all3 but there was one little girl who never could digest milk well2 and the suffering of that child was evident enough4 ,she did not particularly dislike milk2 and she never asked for any thing else4 ,that would have been1 in her eyes1 a piece of shocking audacity4 ,she had a great reverence for rules2 and she seemed never to dream of any rule being set aside for her sake1 however hardly it might bear upon her4 ,so she went on for years having the feeling of a heavy lump in her throat for the whole of every morning1--sometimes choking with it1 and sometimes stealing out into the yard to vomit2 and1 worse than the lump in the throat1 she had depression of spirits for the first half of every day1 which much injured the action of her mind at her lessons1 and was too much for her temper4 ,she and her friends were astonished at the difference in her when she went1 at1 ,i think1 twelve years old1 to stay for a month in a house where she had tea-breakfasts4 ,she did1 to be sure1 cast very greedy looks at her cup of tea when it was coming2 and she did make rather a voracious breakfast2 but this was wearing off before the end of the month4 ,she went home to her milk-breakfasts1 her lump in the throat1 and her morning depression of spirits and irritability4 ,but at last the time came when she was tall enough to have tea with the older ones2 and in a little while1 she showed no signs of greediness1 and thought no more about her breakfast than any body else4 ,i remember another case1 where a similar mistake appeared more broadly still in its bad effects4 ,in a family where it was the custom to have a great rice-pudding every ,saturday1 and sometimes also on the other baking day1--,wednesday1--there was a little fellow who hated rice4 ,this was inconvenient4 ,his mother neither liked to see him go without half his dinner1 nor to provide a dish for him2 for the child was disposed to be rather greedy1 and troublesome with fancies about his eating4 ,but in the case of the rice1 the disgust was real1 and so strong that it would have been better to let it alone4 ,his mother1 however1 saw that it would be a benefit to him if he could get over it3 and she took advantage of a strong desire he had for a book1 to help him over his difficulty4 ,the little fellow saw at a shop-window a copy of the ,seven ,champions of ,christendom1 with a gay picture of the dragon and ,st4 ,george3 and his longing for this little book was of that raging sort which ,i suppose only children ever feel4 ,he was to have this book if he would eat rice-pudding4 ,he eagerly promised2 feeling at the moment1 ,i dare say1 when there was no rice within sight1 as if he could live upon it all his days1 to get what he wanted4 ,when ,saturday came1 ,i watched him4 ,i saw how his gorge rose at the sight of the pudding3 but he fixed his eyes upon the opposite wall1 gulped down large spoonfuls1 wiped his mouth with disgust1 and sighed when he had done1 demanded his fee1 ran for the book1 and alas6 had finished it1 and got almost tired of it1 before bedtime4 ,the worst of it was1--he never again tasted rice4 ,here was the moral injury4 ,he was perfectly aware that his bargain was to eat rice-pudding whenever it was upon table2 and he meant to do it4 ,but it required more fortitude than he could command when the desire for the book was gratified and gone3 and his honour and conscience were hurt4 ,another bad consequence of this mistake about two or three of his dislikes was that he thought too much about eating and drinking2 was dainty in picking his meat1 and selfish about asking for the last bit1 or the last but one1 of any thing good4 ,of course1 ,i do not speak in censure1 when ,i give such anecdotes4 ,i blame nobody where nobody meant any harm4 ,on the one side there was a mistake2 and it was followed by its inevitable consequences on the other4 ,in such a case1 where there is a large family1 with a plain common table1 ,i should think the best way is for a child in ordinary health to take his chance4 ,if there is enough of meat1 potatoes1 and bread to make a meal of1 he may very well go without pudding1 and should1 on no account1 have one provided expressly for himself3 but he should be allowed to refuse it without remark4 ,where the mother can1 without expense and too much inconvenience1 consider the likings and dislikes of her children in a silent way1 her kindness will induce her to do it3 but it must be in a quiet way1 or she will lead them to think too much about the thing2 and to suppose that she thinks it an important matter4 ,this affair of the table is one worth a good deal of attention1 as it regards the temper and manners of the household1 and the personal habits of each4 ,there is no reason why the father's likings as to food should not be seen to be cared for4 ,if he is a selfish eater1 he will ensure that the matter is duly attended to4 ,if he is above such care for himself1--if it is clear that his pleasure at his meals is in having his family about him1--that is a case in which the mother need not conceal her desire to provide what is liked best4 ,the father1 who never asks or thinks about what is for dinner1 is most likely to be the one to find before him what he particularly relishes2 a dish cooked1 perhaps1 by his wife's or his little daughter's hands4 ,and1 again1 if the little daughters see that their mother never thinks about her own likings1 perhaps they will put in a word on market-day1 or at such times1 to remind her that somebody cares for her tastes4 ,then1 again1 in middle-class families1 where the servants dine after the family1 they should always be openly considered4 ,after the pudding has been helped round once1 and some quick eaters are ready for a second plateful1 it must be an understood thing that enough is to be left for the servants4--,on the ground of the danger of causing too much thought about eating and drinking1 it is desirable that1 where the family take their meals together1 all should fare alike4 ,if there is anything at table which the younger children ought not to have1 it is better that they should1 if possible1 dine by themselves4 ,this is the plan in great houses1 where the little ones dine at one o'clock1 eating freely and without controversy of what is on the table1 because there is nothing there that can hurt them4 ,if the family dine together1 and there are two or more dishes of meat on the table at the same time1 all must learn the good manners of dividing their choice1 so that the father may not have to send a helping of goose to everybody1 while none is left for himself1 but that the mother's boiled mutton may have left half the goose for the choice of the parents4 ,all this is clear enough3 but1 if a present arrives of anything nice1--oysters1 or salmon1 or oranges1 or such good things as relations and friends often send to each other1 it seems best for all the household to enjoy the treat together1 who are old enough to relish it4 ,it can scarcely be necessary to mention that the earliest time is the best for training children to proper behaviour at table1 as every where else4 ,every one of them has to be trained2 for how are the little things to know1 unless they are taught1 that they are not to put their fingers in their plates1 or to drain their mugs1 or to make shapes with their potato1 or to crumble their bread1 or to kick their chairs1 or to run away to the window before dinner is done8 ,they will require but little teaching1 if they see everybody about them sitting and eating properly2 but it is hard upon children when they have been allowed to take liberties and be rude at the nursery dinner1 and then have everything to learn1 under painful constraint1 as they are growing up4 ,i have been sometimes struck with the conviction that the bad manners ,i have seen at the school-room table arise from a misconception as to what dinner is4 ,in one house1 you see the busy father hurry from his work to table1 hardly stopping to wash his hands1 turning over to his wife the task of helping the children1 or even pushing round the dish for them to help themselves1--throwing his dinner down his throat1 and after it his solitary pint of porter2 snatching his hat1 and off again to business1 almost without saying good bye to any one4 ,when he is gone1 the others think they have liberty to do as they please2 and a pretty scene of confusion there is1--one child scraping a dish1 another kneeling on a chair to reach over for something1 a third at the window3 and the mother with baby on her arm1 coming at last to carry off the dishes1 saying that she is sure dinner has been about quite long enough1 while some of the children are perhaps really wanting more4--,again3 one sees in a rich gentleman's family1 ill-managed1 a great mistake as to dinner4 ,the bell is rung at the nominal dinner-hour1--or probably a good deal after it3 for servants can hardly be punctual under such management4 ,the soup is on the table1 and one or two of the family are in their seats1 waiting for the rest4 ,one young lady has her fancy-work in her hand3 another has the newspaper4 ,papa comes in for luncheon4 ,he will have a plate of soup4 ,the reader jumps up to help him2 but the soup is cold4 ,as nobody seems to wish for any cold soup1 it is sent away2 but turned back at the door by a hungry boy1 who has only just learned that dinner is ready1 and is ravenous for the first thing he can get to eat4 ,while the joint is helped1 one drops in from the stable1--another from the music-lesson2 a third from botanising in the wood2 and the first comers run away to look for something in the library1 or to have a turn on the gravel walk1 saying that they do not care for pudding1 and will come back for cheese4 ,altogether1 it is an hour and a half before the cloth is removed1 and the weary governess can get her charge in order for the ,italian master1--if indeed he be not come and gone in the interval4 ,this is an extreme1 but not an impossible case3 and in such a case1 the plea we shall hear is that it is a waste of time for a whole family to sit doing nothing but eating their dinners in the middle of the day3 and that formality makes eating of too much importance4 ,such is the plea2 and here lies the mistake4 ,the object of dinner is not only eating but sociable rest4 ,the dinner hour is a seasonable pause amidst the hurry of the busy day2 and the harder people have to work1 the completer should be the pause of the dinner hour4 ,the arrangement is very important to health2 for the largest meal of the day is best digested when it is eaten with regularity1 at leisure1 and in a cheerful mood of mind2 and when a space of cheerful leisure is left after it4 ,and more important still is the arrangement to the manners and tempers and dispositions of the family4 ,it is a great thing that every member of a household should be habituated to meet the rest in the middle of the day1 neatly dressed and refreshed2--the boys' coats brushed1 and the girls' frocks changed or set straight2 the hair smoothed1 and face and hands just washed4 ,it is a great thing that they should take their chief nourishment of the day in the midst of the most cheerful conversation1 and at a time so set apart as that nobody is hankering after doing anything else4 ,when we consider too that after dinner is the only time between ,sunday and ,sunday that the working father has for play with his infants1--who are in their beds1 or too sleepy for fun1 when he comes home in the evening1--we shall own that there is no waste of time in the dinner hour1 even if nothing whatever is done but eating and talking4 ,in fact1 it is this time which1 from its importance1 ought to be saved from all encroachment4 ,the washed faces1 and the cloth on the table1 and the hot dinner should all be in readiness when the father appears4 ,not a minute of his precious hour should be lost or spoiled by any one's unpunctuality1 or any body's ill-manners4 ,all should go smoothly at his table by every one's gentleness and cheerfulness and good-breeding4 ,when the meal is finished1 all the clearing away should be quickly and quietly done1 that he may have yet a clear half-hour for rest1 or for play with the little ones4 ,where this hour is managed as it ought to be1--7and nothing is easier under the care of a sensible mother7 the busy father goes forth to his work again with his mind even more refreshed by his hour of cheerful rest than his body is strengthened by food4 ,on the remaining topic of ,personal ,habits1--,modesty1--,decency--it cannot be necessary to say much4 ,the points of mistake which strike me the most are two3--,i think that in almost every part of the world1 people herd too much and too continually together3--and ,i think that few people are aware how early it is right to respect the modesty of an infant4 ,as to the first point2--it is one of the heaviest misfortunes of our country1--,i speak advisedly1--that among whole classes of our people1 poverty or want of space from other causes1 compels them to herd together in crowds1 night and day4 ,no words are needed to show how little hope of health there can be when people live in this way2 and even less hope of good morals4 ,among classes more favoured than these1 it appears that there is little thought of making the provision that might easily be made for more privacy than people are yet accustomed to4 ,i fear it is the wish that is wanting3 for where there's a will there's a way2 and ,i have been in many houses1 both at home and abroad1 where the requisite privacy might have been had1 if any wish for it had existed4 ,in the factory villages in the ,united ,states1 ,i was painfully struck by this4 ,i saw good and pretty houses built from the savings of the factory girls1--with their shady green blinds1 and their charming piazzas without2 and places within for book-shelves1 piano and pictures and work-tables2 but not a corner of any house was there where any young woman of the household could sit by herself for ten minutes in a day1 or say her prayers1 or wash4 ,the beds were ranged in dormitories2 or four or six in a room3 and there were not even washing-closets4 ,here1 there was no excuse of inability2 and at home ,i too often see the same thing1 where there is no sufficient excuse of inability4 ,where each child cannot possibly have a room1 or the use of a dressing-closet to itself1 arrangements may easily be made1 by having folding screens1 to secure absolute privacy to every member of a household1 for purposes of the mind1 as well as the body4 ,when ,i see how indispensable it is to the anxious and hard-worked governess to have a room to herself1 and how earnestly she 7very properly7 insists upon it1 ,i am always sorry when ,i remember how many have to go without this comfort1--which should be considered a necessity of life4 ,when ,i think of the school-boy1 with his burden of school cares upon him1 and the young girl1 thoughtful1 anxious and irritable1 as most people are1 at times1 in entering upon the realities of life2 and of the wearied servant maid1 and of the child in the first fervours of his self-kindling piety1 ,i pity them if they have no place which they can call their own1 for ever so short a time in the day1 where they can be free from the consciousness of eyes being upon them4 ,the thing may be done4 ,mrs4 ,taylor of ,ongar1 the wife of a dissenting minister1 and mother of a large family1 who from an early age worked for their bread1--did contrive1 by giving her mind to it1 to manage separate sleeping places for a wonderful number of her children2 and1 where this could not possibly be accomplished for all1 she so arranged closets and hours as that every one could have his or her season of retirement1 secure from disturbance4 ,as for the case of the infant1 to which ,i alluded above1--,i believe it to be this4 ,the natural modesty of every human being may be left to take care of itself2 if only we are careful that it is really left entirely free4 ,it is the simplest matter in the world for the mother to give this modesty its earliest direction during the first weeks1 months1 and year or two of life4 ,after that1 it will not fail1 if only it be duly respected4 ,that this respect should begin very early is desirable1 not because the innocent little creature has then any consciousness which can be injured by anything it sees or is allowed to do2 but because as it grows up1 it should be unable ever to remember the time when every thing was not arranged with the same modesty and decorum as at a later period4 ,again1 in order to the preservation of true modesty1 the smallest possible amount of thought should be bestowed upon it4 ,all transactions1 personal and domestic1 should go on with the smoothness of perfect regularity1 propriety1 and consequent freedom of mind and ease of manners4 ,and it conduces much to this that there should never have been a time when the child was conscious of any particular change in its management4 ,it should never have seen much of any body's personal cares2 and the more gradually it slides into the care of its own person1 with its accompanying privacy1 the better is the chance that it will not dwell on such matters at all1 but have its mind free for other subjects1 wearing its modesty as unconsciously as it carries the expression of the eye1 or utters the tones of its voice4 ,,chapter ,,xxv4 ,,care ,,of ,,the ,,habits4--,,family ,,habits4 ,it is difficult to keep a distinction between personal and family habits4 ,in our last chapter1 on ,personal ,habits1 we got to the family dinner table2 and here1 in speaking of ,family ,habits1 we shall doubtless fall in with the characteristics of individuals4 ,first2 as to occupations4 ,unless ,i knew for what class of readers ,i was writing this1 it is difficult to assume what their occupations may be4 ,in one class1 the father may be busy in his office2 and the mother in ordering a large household1 taking care of the poor in her neighbourhood1 and in study or keeping up her accomplishments2 while the boys are with their tutor1 and the girls with their governess1 and the infants in the nursery4--,in another1 the mother may be instructing her girls1 while busy at her needle2 and the boys may be at a day-school1 and the father in his warehouse or shop4--,and again1 this may be read by parents who cannot spare their children from home1 because they keep no servants1 and who charge themselves with teaching their young people1 in such hours as can be spared from the actual business of living4 ,one thing1 however1 is common to all these2 and it is enough to proceed upon4 ,all these are occupied4 ,they have all business to do which ought to engage their faculties1 regularly and diligently3 so that the great principles and rules of family morals cannot fail to apply4 ,the first great point concerns them all equally3--,economy of ,time4 ,nobody yet ever had too much time2 and the rich need all they can save of it as much as the poorest4 ,and the methods by which time is to be made the most of are universally the same4 ,this seems to be everywhere felt1 except among the ignorant4 ,the most remarkable care1 as to punctuality1 is actually found1 in our country1 among the highest classes4 ,it has bean said that punctuality is the politeness of the great3 and so it is4 ,it shows their consideration for other people's time and convenience3 but there is more in it than that4 ,the ,queen1 who is extraordinarily punctual1 and statesmen1 and landed-proprietors1 and all who bear a burden of very important duty1 are more sensible than those who have less responsibility of the mischief of wasting minutes which are all wanted for business2 and yet more1 of the waste of energy and freedom of thought1 and of composure and serenity which are caused by failures in punctuality4 ,for my own part1 ,i acknowledge that not only is any compulsory loss of time the trial1 of all little trials1 that ,i most dislike1 but that nothing whatever so chafes my temper as failure in punctuality in those with whom ,i have transactions4 ,and to me1 one of the charms of intercourse with enlightened and high-bred people is their reliableness in regard to all engagements1 and their exact economy of time4 ,to go from a disorderly household where no one seems to have any time1 and where one has to try hard all day long to keep one's temper1 to a great man's house1 where half a hundred people move about their business as if they were one2 where all is quiet and freedom and leisure1 as if the business of life went on of itself1 leaving minds at liberty for other work1 is one of the most striking contrasts ,i have met with in society4 ,and ,i have seen the same order and punctuality prevail1 with much the same effect1 in very humble households1 where1 instead of a score or two of servants1 there were a few well-trained children to do the work4 ,it is a thing which does not depend on wealth1 but on intelligence4 ,there is1 7here and there1 but not often7 a great house to be seen where you cannot get anything you want till you have rung half-a-dozen times1 and waited half an hour2 where you are pretty sure to leave some of your luggage behind you1 or be too late for the train1 without any fault of your own2 and where the meals1 notwithstanding all the good cookery1 are comfortless1 from the restlessness and uncertainty of family and guests1 and the natural discouragement of the servants4 ,and there are houses of four rooms1 where all goes smoothly from the politeness which arises from intelligence and affectionate consideration4 ,when a new ,administration came into office1 some years ago1 the ,ministers agreed that not one of them should ever be waited for1 on any occasion of meeting4 ,at the first ,cabinet dinner1 the party went to table as the clock finished striking1 though the ,prime ,minister had not arrived4 ,the ,prime ,minister was only half a minute late2 but he apologised1 as for an offence against good manners4 ,what would be thought of this in homes where the young people come dropping down to breakfast when their parents have half done1 or where father or mother keeps the children fretting and worrying because they are waiting for breakfast when they ought to be about their morning business6 ,it may be said that the fretting and worrying are the greater offence of the two3 and this is very true4 ,so much the worse for the unpunctuality which causes a greater sin than itself4 ,why be subject to either8 ,if a young person1 no longer manageable as a child1 continues1 after all reasonable methods have been tried1 to annoy his family by a habit of wasting his own time and theirs1 there is no use in losing temper about it4 ,scolding and fretfulness will not bring him round1 if other methods have failed4 ,he must be borne with 7though by no means indulged7 and pitied as the slave of a bad habit4 ,but how much better to avoid any such necessity6 ,and it might always be avoided4 ,the way in which people usually fall into unpunctual habits is1 ,i think1 from interest in what they are about1 whether it be dreaming in bed1 or enjoying a walk1 or translating a difficult passage1 or finishing a button-hole in a shirt1 or writing a postscript to a letter4 ,in households where punctuality is really a principle1 it should be a truth ever before all eyes that whatever each individual is about is of less importance than respect to the whole family4 ,in a school1 when the bell rings1 one girl leaves off in the middle of a bar of music1 another at the middle line of a repetition1 and a third when she is within two figures of the end of her sum4 ,the time and temper of mistress and companions must be respected first1 and these things finished afterwards4 ,and so it is in a well ordered household4 ,the parents sacrifice their immediate interest in what they are about2 and so must the children4 ,and so they will1 and with ease1 when the thing is made an invariable habit1 from the earliest time they can remember4 ,it is this punctuality1 this undeviating regularity which is the greatest advantage that school has over home education1 in regard to study4 ,in a large family1 where there is much business of living and few servants1 it really is very difficult to secure quiet and regularity for the children's lessons4 ,it seems at any one moment1 of less importance that the sum should be done1 and the verb conjugated1 just for that once1 than that the boy should run an errand1 or the girl hold the baby4 ,now this will never do3 and the small progress in learning usually made by the home-taught shows that it does not answer4 ,the consideration is not of the particular sum1 or practice in saying the verb1 but of the habit of the children's minds4 ,it is of consequence in itself that sums should be done and verbs learned in their proper season1 because they cannot be so easily mastered afterwards2 and there is plenty to be done afterwards2 but much more important is it that the children should acquire that punctuality of faculties which grows out of punctuality of habits3 and this can never be when there is any uncertainty or insecurity about the inviolability of their lesson-time4 ,i know how difficult it is to manage this point1 and how very hard it is for the mother to resist each day's temptation1 if she has not fortified herself by system and arrangement1 and by keeping constantly before her mind that nothing that her children can do by being called off from their books can be so important as what they sacrifice at every interruption4 ,if it is possible for her to find any corner of the house where they may be undisturbed1 and any hour of the day when she will allow no person whatever to call off her attention from them1 she may do them something like justice3 but she never can1 though the books and slates may be about all the morning1 if she admits any neighbour1 or allows any interruption whatever4 ,if possible1 she will fix upon an hour when she may settle down with her plain-sewing1 which requires no attention2 and when her neighbours all know that they will not be admitted4 ,one single hour1 diligently employed1 may effect a great deal4 ,and it need not be all that the children give to study1 though it be all that she can spare4 ,they may learn at some other time in the day the lessons which she is to hear during the hour3 and in that case1 she must see that they are protected in their time of learning1 as well as of repeating their lessons4 ,whether they are in their own rooms1 or in the common sitting room1 or she can spare any place for a school room1 she must see that they have their minds to themselves1 to do their business properly4 ,if the father relieves her of the teaching1 and hears the lessons at night1 she will see more reason than ever for doing all she can to facilitate their being well learned4 ,if the time for lessons be necessarily but one hour in the day1 let not the parents be uneasy1 however much they might wish that their children should have their six hours of study1 like those of richer people4 ,perhaps they can give both boys and girls educational advantages which those of the rich have not2--advantages which offer themselves in the natural course of humble life4 ,i have witnessed a process of education for boys in a middle-class home which could not well be instituted in a great house1 and among a multitude of servants1 but which was of extraordinary benefit to the lads who were made happy by it4 ,their father gave into their charge some of the departments of the comforts of the house4 ,one had charge of the gas-pipes and lamps4 ,he was responsible for their good condition2 and he was paid the same sum per annum that supervision by a workman would have cost4 ,another had charge of the locks and keys1 the door-handles1 sash-lines and window-bolts1 bells and bell-wires3 and he was paid in the same manner4 ,each had his workbench and tools in a convenient place2 and1 if every part of his province was always in order1 so that there were no expensive repairs1 he had some money left over1--which was usually spent in buying materials for mechanical handiworks4 ,these lads were happier than poor ,louis ,,xvi4 of ,france1 who was so fond of making locks that he had a complete locksmith's workshop fitted up in a retired part of his palace3 and delighted to spend there every hour that he could command4 ,he was obliged to conceal his pursuit1 both from the absurdity and the uselessness of it in his position2 while these lads had at once the gratification of their faculties1 and the dignity of usefulness4 ,there are many offices about every house which may well be confided to boys1 if they are intelligent and trustworthy2--that is1 well educated up to the point required2 and the filling of such offices faithfully is in itself as good a process of education as need be wished4 ,there is no need to declare the same thing about girls2 for ,i suppose nobody questions it4 ,i go further than most persons1 ,i believe1 however1 in desiring thorough practice in domestic occupations1 from an early age1 for girls4 ,i do not see why the natural desire and the natural faculty for housewifery which ,i think ,i see in every girl ,i meet1 should be baffled because her parents are rich enough to have servants to do and to superintend everything about the house4 ,if there was a king who could not help being a locksmith1 ,i know of a countess who could not help being a sempstress4 ,she made piles of plain linen1 just for the pleasure of the work1 and gave them away to her friends4 ,now1 it is a very serious thing to baffle natural desires and abilities so strong as these1 on account of mere external fortunes4 ,if a girl of any rank has the economic faculties strong1 it is hard upon her that they may not find their natural exercise in a direction1--that of household care1--which is appropriate to every woman1 be she who she may2 and if these faculties are less strong than they are usually found to be in girls1 there is the more reason that they should be well exercised1 as far as they will go4 ,i am sure that some1--perhaps most1--girls have a keener relish of household drudgery than of almost any pleasure that could be offered them4 ,they positively like making beds1 making fires1 laying the cloth and washing up crockery1 baking bread1 preserving fruit1 clear-starching and ironing4 ,and why in the world should they not do it8 ,why should not the little lady have her little ironing box1 and undertake the ironing of the pocket-handkerchiefs8 ,i used to do this2 and ,i am sure it gave me a great deal of pleasure1 and did me nothing but good4--,on washing and ironing days1 in houses of the middle class1 where all the servants are wanted in the wash-house or laundry1 why should not the children do the service of the day8 ,it will be a treat to them to lay the breakfast cloth1 and bring up the butter from the cellar1 and toast the bread2 and1 when breakfast is over1 to put everything in its place again1 and wash the china1 and rub and polish the trays4 ,they may do the same again at dinner2 and while the servants are at meals1 they may carry on the ironing in the laundry4 ,and afterwards1 there comes that capital exercise of sense and patience and skill1--the stocking-darning1 which1 done properly1 is a much higher exercise than many people suppose4 ,and when visitors come1 why should not the girls have the chief pleasure which company gives to them1--the making the custard and the tarts1 dishing up the fruit1 and bringing out the best table linen8 ,and what little girl is there in a market town who does not like going to market with her father or her mother1 till she can be trusted to go by herself8 ,does she not like seeing the butcher's cleverness in cutting off what is wanted2 and trying to guess the weight of joints by the look2 and admiring the fresh butter1 and the array of fowls1 and the heaps of eggs1 and the piles of vegetables and fruit8 ,i believe it is no small treat to a girl to jump up early on the market-day morning1 and reckon on the sight she is going to see4 ,the anxiety may be great when she begins to be the family purchaser3 but it is a proud office too2 and when the first shyness is over1 there is much variety and pleasantness in it4 ,by all means1 as ,i have said1 let the girls' economic faculties take the household direction1 if they point that way1 whatever be their fortunes and expectations4 ,it can never do any woman harm to know1 in the only perfect way1 by experience1 how domestic affairs should be managed4 ,but1 when the thing is done at all1 let it be well done4 ,let the girl be really taught1 and not suffered to blunder her way through1 in a manner which could not be allowed in regard to anything taught as a lesson4 ,one reason why girls know so much less than they should do1 and so much less than they wish to do about household affairs1 is that justice is not done them by proper teaching4 ,the daughters of the opulent are at school1 and have no opportunity of learning till they are too old to begin properly3 but the case of middle and lower class girls is hardly better4 ,when the mother is hurried1 it is easier to do a thing herself than to teach1 or wait for1 an inexperienced hand3 but a girl will never learn1 if her enterprise is taken out of her hand at the critical moment4 ,nothing is more easily learned1 or more sure to be remembered than the household processes that come under the hands of women3 but then1 they must be first clearly understood and carried through4 ,here then1 the mother must have a little patience4 ,she must bear to see a batch of bread or pastry spoiled1 or muslins ironed wrong side out1 or a custard broke1 or a loin of mutton mistaken for the neck1 a few times over1 and much awkwardness and slowness shown1 before her little daughters become trusty handmaids4 ,but1 if she be a true mother1 she will smile at this2 and the father will not be put out if the pie is burned on one side1 or the bread baked too quick1 if he is told that this is a first trial by a new hand4 ,he will say what he can that is encouraging1 and hope for a perfect pie or loaf next time4 ,i believe it is now generally agreed1 among those who know best1 that the practice of sewing has been carried much too far for health1 even in houses where there is no poverty or pressure of any kind4 ,no one can well be more fond of sewing than ,i am2 and few1 except professional sempstresses1 have done more of it3 and my testimony is that it is a most hurtful occupation1 except where great moderation is observed4 ,i think it is not so much the sitting and stooping posture as the incessant monotonous action and position of the arms1 that causes such wear and tear4 ,whatever it may be1 there is something in prolonged sewing which is remarkably exhausting to the strength1 and irritating beyond endurance to the nerves4 ,this is only where sewing is almost the only employment1 or is carried on for several hours together4 ,when girls are not so fond of sewing as ,i was in my youth1 and use the needle only as girls usually do1 there is no cause for particular anxiety3 but the mother should carefully vary the occupations of a girl disposed to be sedentary4 ,if pleasant reading or conversation can go on the while1 it is well4 ,the family meals too1 and other interruptions1 will break off the employment1 probably1 before it has gone too far4 ,but1 if there is the slightest sign of that nervous distress called the fidgets 7which truly deserves the name of distress7 or any paleness of countenance1 lowness of spirits1 or irritability of temper1 there is reason to suppose that the needle has been plied too far2 and1 however unwilling the girl may be to leave work which she is bent upon finishing1 it is clearly time that she was in the open air1 or playing with the baby1 or about some stirring business in the house4 ,i have always had a strong persuasion that the greater part of the sewing done in the world will ere long be done by machinery4 ,it appears much more easy than many things that are done by machinery now2 and when it is considered how many minute stitches go to the making of a garment1 it seems strange that some less laborious and slow method of making joins and edges has not been invented before this4 ,surely it will be done in the course of a few generations2 and a great blessing the change will be to women1 who must1 by that time1 have gained admission to many occupations now kept from them by men1 through which they may earn a maintenance more usefully and with less sacrifice of health than by the present toils of the sempstress4 ,the progress made in spinning1 weaving1 and especially knitting by machinery1 and in making water-proof cloaks and other covering without the help of the needle1 seems to point with certainty to an approaching time when the needle will be almost superseded4 ,with this1 and the consequent saving of time1 must come a greater abundance of clothing1 and an accompanying cheapness1 which will be a great blessing to a large class by whom good and sufficient clothing cannot now be obtained4 ,meantime1 our ways are improved1 by the turning over of some of the work to machinery4 ,the sewing-schools to which young ladies were sent in the last century1 to sit six hours a-day on hard benches1 too high for their feet to touch the ground1 compelled to hold themselves upright1 and yet to pore over fine cambric and linen1 to do microscopic marking and stitching1 are heard of no more4 ,in their day1 they bent many spines1 spoiled many eyes1 and plagued many a young creature with back-ache for life2 so we may rejoice that they are gone1 and must take care that none of their mischief is done at home1 while all really useful good sewing can very easily be taught there4 ,one change which has taken place in our society since the peace has struck me much4 ,since the continent was opened to us1 almost all who can afford to travel1 more or less1 have been abroad4 ,struck with the advantages to themselves of having their minds opened and enlarged by intercourse with foreign nations1 and by access to foreign literature1 art1 and methods of education in some respects superior to our own1 they have naturally desired to give such advantages to their children1 while they were yet young enough to benefit fully by them4 ,great numbers of children1 and young people yet growing1 have been carried abroad by their parents1 and1 of course1 have obtained more or less of the advantages for which they went4 ,but at what cost8 ,in my opinion1 at a fatal one4 ,much might be said of the danger to health and life of a complete change of diet and habits at so early an age4 ,a friend of mine was telling me1 and ,i was agreeing with her1 that she and ,i hardly know of a family of children who have travelled abroad for any length of time that has not been fatally visited with the dreadful bilious fever which1 when it spares life1 too often does some irreparable injury to the frame1--to brain1 or sense1 or limbs4 ,bad as this is1 it is not the worst4 ,the practice is against ,nature2 and those who adopt it must bear the retribution for offences against ,nature's laws4 ,nature ordains a kind of vegetative existence for children till the frame is complete1 and strengthened in its completeness4 ,the utmost regularity of habits 7which by no means implies dulness of life7 produces1 beyond all question1 the most healthy frames1 and there cannot be a sadder mistake than to suppose that any greater variety than the most ordinary life affords is necessary to the quickening or entertainment of a child's faculties4 ,life1 with all its objects1 is new to him4 ,its commonest incidents are deeply interesting to him4 ,birth and death are exciting to him1 and solemn beyond expression4 ,the opening and close of the seasons1 and their varying pleasures and pursuits1 the changes in the lives of the people about him2 the evolution of his own little history1--the expanding of his faculties1 his achievements in study1 his entrance upon more and more advanced duties and intercourses2--these are enough to keep his mind in full life and vigour3 and he cannot receive his experience of life into the depths of his being unless he is at rest4 ,if he is to commune with his own heart1 he must be still4 ,if he is to gather into his mind ripe observations of nature and man1 and to store them up reflectively1 he must be still4 ,if his sentiments and emotions are to be the natural result of the workings of life upon him1 he must be still1 that life may work upon him undisturbed4 ,i have devoted a close attention to this subject2 and ,i certainly conclude1 from my own observation1 that the intellectual and moral value of families who have lived quietly at home 7with due educational assistance7 very far transcends that of young people whose anxious parents have dragged them about the world1--catching at advantages here and advantages there1 unconscious of the sacrifice of the greatest advantage of all1--a natural method of life1 with the quietude which belongs to it4 ,i think that the untravelled have a deeper reflectiveness than the travelled1--a deeper sensibility1--a better working power1 on the whole1--a better preparation for the life before them4 ,they have more prejudice1 and1 of course1 less accomplishment than the travelled2 but life and years are pretty sure to abate the prejudice2 and a better timed travel may give the accomplishment4 ,if not1 however1--if there must be a choice of good and evil at the outset of life1 who would not rather see the fault of narrowness than of shallowness8 ,a mind which has depth must1 in ordinary course1 widen2 while a shallow mind1 however wide1 can never be worth much4 ,in the sensibility1 the difference is as marked as in the understanding3 and no wonder2 for to the quiet dweller at home life is an awful scroll1 slowly and steadily unrolling to disclose its characters of fire1 which burn themselves in upon the brain2 while1 to the young rover1 life is but too much like a show-box1 whose scenes shift too fast1 and with too little interval1 to make much impression4 ,i mention this here1 chiefly for the sake of parents who may feel occasional regrets that they cannot give to their children what they suppose to be the advantages of travel4 ,my conviction is that their children are happier than they suppose4 ,a moment's thought will show them how few the rovers can be1--how overwhelming must be the majority of those who must stay at home3 and we may always be confident that the lot of the great majority1 duly improved1 must be sufficient for all the purposes of human life4 ,nothing that ,i have said is meant at all in disapprobation of those occasional changes of scene and society which all young people require more or less4 ,on the contrary1 ,i would indicate1 as one of the advantages of a regular home life1 that it prepares the novice to profit the more by such occasional changes4 ,it is a magnificent event in the life of a quiet1 industrious family when a house-painting1 or other domestic necessity1 authorises a visit to the sea-side1 or a plunge into the country for a couple of months4 ,it serves as a prodigious stimulus to the intellect2 and the recollection never loses its brilliancy1 to the latest period of life4 ,it is worth more to novices than a whole year of continental travelling to practised rovers4 ,the sunsets have sunk deep4 ,the light-house1 the dip in the waves1 the shingle1 the distant fleet--or the gorse on the common1 the wood paths1 with their wild flowers1 the breezy down1 the cottage in the lane1--call up a thrill in the heart of the town-bred child whenever the images are called up4 ,such changes are good2 but they are not roving in search of advantages4 ,again1 when one child among several appears to pine in any degree1 becomes irritable or depressed1 looks pale1 or ceases to grow1 it is a sign that some change is needed4 ,if such a boy or girl should be invited by some relation or friend on a visit of any length1 it is probable that all will come right4 ,the mind wants an airing1 perhaps2 and in a fresh abode1 among new objects1 and kind friends1 and different companionship1 and change of habits1 without any further excitement1 brooding thoughts are dispersed1 domestic affections revive and strengthen1 the mind overflows with new ideas1 and after a time1 home becomes intensely longed for2 and the young absentee returns home--to father's greeting1 and mother's side1 and brothers and sisters' companionship1 with more rapture than the prospect of the journey ever caused4 ,such a change as this is good2 but it is not roving for educational advantages4 ,it is an agreeable tonic medicine2 not a regimen of high diet4 ,the case of the only child seems to ask a word of kindness here4 ,at the best1 the case of the only child is a somewhat mournful one1--somewhat forlorn1--because it is unnatural4 ,if it is unnatural for a multitude of children of the same age to herd together in an ,infant school1 it is at least as much so for a little creature to live alone among people with full-grown brains1 and all occupied with the pursuits and interests of mature life4 ,it is very well for the father to romp with his child at spare times1 and for the mother to love it with her whole heart1 and sympathise with it1 with all the sympathy that such love can inspire4 ,this is all well3 but it does not make them children1--nor1 therefore1 natural companions for a child4 ,in this case1 above all others1 it is desirable that the child should be sent to school1 when old enough3 and especially if the only one be a boy4 ,a good day school1 where play is included1 may do much to obviate the disadvantages of the position4 ,if this cannot be done1 it is really hardly to be hoped that mischief will not be done on the one side or the other1--of too much or too little attention and sympathy4 ,some may wonder at the idea of the only child being in danger of having too little sympathy from its parents3 but such cases are very conceivable and are occasionally witnessed4 ,if everybody sees how an only child1--the light and charm of the house1 the idol of the mother1 and the pet of everybody1 must unavoidably become of too much importance in its own eyes1 and suffer accordingly1--who should feel this so anxiously and constantly as the conscientious parents of an only child8 and what is more probable than that1 in their anxiety not to spoil the mind they have under their charge1 they should carry the bracing system somewhat too far1 and depress the child by giving it less fostering and sympathy than it needs8 ,they would not1 for its own sake1 have it troublesome to their friends1 or self-important1 or selfish2 and they keep it back4 ,but alas6 if put back1 the little thing is driven into loneliness2 and children are not made for loneliness1 in any but a desert life4 ,give a child the desert to rove in1 with brown sheep to tend1 and a young camel to play with1 and rocks and weeds1 and springs and stars and shrubby palms to live amongst1 and he may make a very pleasant life of it1 all alone2 but not if he lives in a street1 and must not go out alone1 and passes his life among square rooms and stair-cases1 and the measured movements of grown-up people4 ,an only child must be troublesome1 as long as he is a child4 ,he craves play1 and sympathy1 and constant companionship3 and he cannot do without them--he must not be required to do without them4 ,if he is not sent to school1 grown people must be his companions and playfellows1--the victims to his restlessness2 and he must be troublesome4--,the case is nearly the same1--only somewhat less desperate1--with a girl4 ,her parents cannot1 if they have eyes1 hearts1 or consciences1 see her pine4 ,they must either provide her with natural companionship1 or they must let themselves and their friends be appropriated by her as companions1 till she grows up into fitness to be a companion to them4--,it is not included in this necessity that there should be selfishness of temper and manners4 ,the more fully and naturally the needs of the social nature are met and supplied1 the less is the danger of this kind arising from peculiarity of position4 ,,chapter ,,xxvi4 ,,conclusion4 ,is there any other department of ,household ,education than those on which ,i have touched8 ,no one can be more aware than ,i am of the scantiness of what ,i have said1 when compared with the vastness of the range and of the importance of the subject4 ,i could only1 as ,i declared at the beginning1 tell a little of what ,i have seen and thought of the training of families in private life3 but1 admitting the meagre character of the whole1 is there any one department left untouched8 ,i am not aware of any that could be treated of in a volume for general reading4 ,some may1 perhaps1 ask for a chapter on ,social ,habits3 and an important subject it truly is4 ,but it appears to me to be included in that of ,family ,habits and ,manners4 ,the same simplicity and ingenuousness1 the same respect and kindliness1 the same earnestness and cheerfulness1 which should pervade the conduct and manners in the interior of the household are the best elements of conduct and manners in the world4 ,i see no discretion and no grace which is needed in wider social intercourses that is not required by those of home4 ,to the parents there may be some anxiety and uneasiness when their sons and daughters make intimacies out of the house4 ,the warm friendships of youth may not perhaps be such as the parents would have chosen4 ,they may be such as surprise and disappoint the parents4 ,but the very fact of the surprise and disappointment should show them that there is something more in the matter than they understand or should seek to control4 ,they cannot control the sympathies of any one2 and no one being can fully understand the affinities which exist between others4 ,the points to be regarded are clear enough3 and when the best is done that can be done1 the rest may be left without anxiety4 ,the main point is to preserve the full confidence of the young people4 ,if perfect openness and the utmost practicable sympathy be maintained1 all must be safe4 ,young people must win their own experience4 ,they must find out character for themselves3 they must try their own ground in social life2 they must be self-convicted of the prejudices and partialities which belong to their immaturity2 and1 while their own moral rectitude and their ingenuous confidence in their parents subsist1 they can take no permanent harm from casual associations which may be far from wise4 ,the parents should remember too how very important a part of the training of each individual is of a kind which the parents have nothing to do with but to witness1 and to have patience with1 as a piece of discipline to themselves4 ,as has been observed before1 there seems to be a fine provision in human nature for rectifying home tendencies which would otherwise be too strong1 and for supplying the imperfections of home experience by the process which takes place1--the revolution of moral tastes which ensues1--upon the introduction of young people into a wider circle than that of home4 ,the parents have naturally1--unavoidably1--laid the most stress in the training of their children on those qualities which are strongest in themselves1 and slight1 more or less1 such as they disregard1 or are conscious of not excelling in themselves4 ,when the young people go out into the world1 they are struck by the novel beauty of virtues in full exercise which they have seen and heard but little of1 and fall in love with them1 and with those who possess them1 and1 with a fresh enthusiasm1 cherish them in themselves4 ,thus it is that we so often see whole families of young people becoming characterised by the virtues in which their parents are most deficient2 and also1 as a consequence1 by the faults which are the natural attendants of those virtues4 ,i have seen a case of parents1 indulgent and faithful to their children1 virulently censorious to the rest of the world2--the children1 while wearing pinafores1 disgusting from their gleeful gossip1 picked up from the elders1 scorning and quizzing everybody's thoughts and ways2--and those same children1 when abroad in the world as men and women1 growing first grave1--then just and fair1--then philosophical1 and at last indulgent1 as the truly philosophical must ever be4 ,they preserved the keen insight into character and the movements of mind in which they had been trained at home1 after first recognising1 and then opening their hearts to the beauty of charity4 ,i have seen the children of imprudent1 lavish1 and embarrassed parents turn out eminently correct in their management of money matters3--the children of an untidy mother turn out perfectly methodical2--the children of a too social father1 remarkably retired and domestic2 and so on4 ,very often the new and late virtue becomes too prominent1 excluding the hereditary opposite qualities2 and in that case1 when these young people become parents1 the same process takes place1 and their children strongly resemble their grandparents4 ,it is a curious spectacle1--that of such a moral oscillation2--and it is so common that every one may observe it4 ,one of the pieces of instruction that it yields is to parents2--that they must now let ,nature work1 and take off their hands from meddling4 ,they may themselves learn something if they will1 in silence and sympathy1 from the spectacle of the expansion of their children2 and they may take the lesson into a light and easy heart if they have hitherto done their duty as well as they know how4 ,there is nothing in what they see to hurt any but an improper pride3 and they may make sure of an increased reverence and love from their children if they have the magnanimity to go hand in hand with them into new fields of moral exercise and enterprise1 and to admit the beauty and desirableness of what they see4 ,here we have arrived at the ultimate stage of ,household ,education1--that where the entire household advances together1 in equal companionship1 towards the great object of human existence1 the perfecting of each individual in it4 ,we set out with the view that the education of a household comprehended the training and discipline of all its members2 and here we find ourselves at the same point again1 amidst a great difference in the circumstances4 ,they are no longer all under the same roof4 ,one may be in the distant town2 another in a far country2 a third in the next street1 but seen only on ,sundays3 but still they are one ,household company1 living in full confidence and sympathy1 though their eyes may seldom meet1 and a clasp of the hand may be a rare luxury4 ,the mother who once received discipline from her child when he was a wailing infant1 keeping her from her rest at midnight1 receives another discipline from him now when she sees him in earnest pursuit of some high and holy aim whose nobleness had become somewhat clouded to her through the cares of the world1 and her very solicitude for him4 ,the father who had suffered perhaps too keenly from some gross faults of his thoughtless boys in their season of turbulence1 receives from them now a new discipline--a rebuke full of sweetness1--in the proof they offer that he had distrusted ,nature1--had failed in faith that she would do her work well1 if only the way was duly kept open for her4 ,there is a new discipline for them in the gradual contraction of the family circle1 in the deepening quietness of the house1 and in the loss of the little hourly services which the elderly people now think they hardly valued enough while they had them every hour4 ,we can never say that any part of the discipline of life is over for any one of us2 and that of domestic life is certainly not over for affectionate parents whose children are called away from their side1 however unquestionable the call may be4 ,as for the younger generation of the household1--their education by their parents never ceases while the parents live3 and the less assertion the parents make of this1 the deeper are the lessons they impress4 ,the deepest impressions received in life are supposed to be those imparted to the sensitive and tenacious mind of childhood3 but the mature reverence and affection of a manly mind are excited more efficaciously than the emotions of childhood can ever be when the active men and women who were once the children of a household see their grey-haired parents in the midst of them looking up to ,nature1 and reaching after ,truth and ,right with the humble trust and earnest docility which spread the sweetest charm of youth over the countenance of age4 ,however many and however rich are the lessons they have learned from their parents1 assuredly1 in such a case1 the richest is the last4 ,,the ,,end ,,london3 ,,bradbury ,,and ,,evans ,,printers1 ,,whitefriars 99 99 99 99 99 ,,september #a1 #ahdh4 ,a ,,list ,,of ,,books ,,recently ,,published ,,by ,,edward ,,moxon1 #dd1 ,,dover ,,street4 ,,miscellaneous4 ,i4 ,,haydn',s ,,dictionary ,,of ,,dates1 and ,,universal ,,reference1 relating to all ,ages and ,nations2 comprehending every ,remarkable ,occurrence1 ,ancient and ,modern--the ,foundation1 ,laws1 and ,governments of ,countries--their ,progress in ,civilisation1 ,industry1 and ,science--their ,achievements in ,arms2 the ,political and ,social ,transactions of the ,british ,empire--its ,civil1 ,military1 and ,religious ,institutions--the ,origin and ,advance of ,human ,arts and ,inventions1 with copious details of ,england1 ,scotland1 and ,ireland4 ,the whole comprehending a body of information1 ,classical1 ,political1 and ,domestic1 from the earliest accounts to the present time4 ,,fourth ,,edition4 ,in one volume #hvo1 price #ahs4 cloth4 ,,ii4 ,,sharpe',s ,,history ,,of ,,egypt1 from the ,earliest ,times till the ,conquest by the ,arabs in ,a4,d4 #fdj4 ,,second ,,edition4 ,in one volume #hvo1 price #afs4 cloth4 ,,iii4 ,,napier',s 7,capt4 ,henry7 ,,florentine ,,history1 from the ,earliest ,authentic ,records to the ,accession of ,ferdinand the ,third1 ,grand ,duke of ,tuscany4 ,in #f volumes1 small #hvo1 price #bl4 #ads4 cloth4 ,,iv4 ,,the ,,works ,,of ,,walter ,,savage ,,landor4 ,in two volumes1 medium #hvo1 price #cbs4 cloth4 ,v4 ,by the ,,author ,,of ,,two ,,years ,,before ,,the ,,mast4 ,,dana',s ,,seaman',s ,,manual2 containing a ,treatise on ,practical ,seamanship1 with ,plates2 a ,dictionary of ,sea ,terms2 ,customs and ,usages of the ,merchant ,service2 ,laws relating to the ,practical ,duties of ,master and ,mariners4 ,,third ,,edition4 ,price #es4 cloth4 ,,vi4 ,,hints ,,on ,,horsemanship1 to a ,,nephew and ,,niece2 or1 ,common ,sense and ,common ,errors in ,common ,riding4 ,by ,colonel ,,george ,,greenwood1 late of the ,second ,life ,guards4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,vii4 ,,captain ,,basil ,,hall',s ,,fragments of ,,voyages and ,,travels4 ,a ,,new ,,edition4 ,in one volume #hvo1 price #abs4 cloth4 ,,viii4 ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,lord ,,chancellor ,,hardwicke2 with ,selections from his ,correspondence and ,diaries1 now first published from the ,original ,papers at ,wimpole4 ,by ,,george ,,harris1 ,esq41 of the ,middle ,temple1 ,barrister-at-,law4 ,in three volumes1 #hvo1 price #des4 cloth4 ,,ix4 ,,life ,,in ,,the ,,sick-,,room3 ,,essays4 ,by ,,an ,,invalid4 ,,second ,,edition4 ,price #es4 boards4 ,x4 ,,goethe',s ,,faust4 ,translated into ,english ,prose1 with ,notes4 ,by ,a4 ,,hayward1 ,esq4 ,,fourth ,,edition4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,xi4 ,,past ,,and ,,present ,,policy ,,of ,,england ,,towards ,,ireland4 ,,second ,,edition4 ,post #hvo1 price #is4 cloth4 ,,xii4 ,,hood',s ,,own4 ,a ,new ,edition4 ,in one volume1 #hvo1 illustrated by #cej ,woodcuts1 price #ajs4 #f;d4 cloth4 ,,xiii4 ,,memoir ,,of ,,the ,rev4 ,h4 ,f4 ,,cary1 translator of ,dante4 ,with his ,literary ,journal and ,letters4 ,edited by his ,son1 the ,rev4 ,,henry ,,cary4 ,in two volumes1 post #hvo1 price #bas4 cloth4 ,,xiv4 ,,journal ,,of ,a ,,few ,,months' ,,residence ,,in ,,portugal1 ,,and ,,glimpses ,,of ,,the ,,south ,,of ,,spain4 ,by ,,mrs4 ,,quillinan4 ,in two volumes1 post #hvo1 price #ahs4 cloth4 ,,xv4 ,a ,,year ,,of ,,consolation4 ,by ,,mrs4 ,,butler 7late ,,fanny ,,kemble74 ,in two volumes1 post #hvo1 price #bas4 cloth4 ,,xvi4 ,,eastern ,,life1 ,,present ,,and ,,past4 ,by ,,harriet ,,martineau4 ,in three volumes1 post #hvo1 price #cas4 #f;d4 cloth4 ,,xvii4 ,,life1 ,,letters1 and ,,literary ,,remains of ,,john ,,keats4 ,edited by ,,richard ,,monckton ,,milnes4 ,in two volumes1 fcap4 #hvo1 price #ads4 cloth4 ,,xviii4 ,,an ,,essay1 ,,critical ,,and ,,historical1 ,,on ,,the ,,ecclesiastical ,,history ,,of ,,scotland ,,since ,,the ,,reformation4 ,by the ,,duke ,,of ,,argyll4 ,post #hvo1 price #is4 cloth4 ,d',,israeli',s ,,works4 ,i4 ,,curiosities of ,,literature4 ,,thirteenth ,,edition4 ,in one volume #hvo1 with ,portrait1 ,vignette1 and ,index1 price #afs4 cloth4 ,,ii4 ,,miscellanies ,,of ,,literature4 ,in one volume1 #hvo1 with ,vignette1 price #ads4 cloth4 ,,contents3-- #a4 ,,literary ,,miscellanies4 #b4 ,,quarrels ,,of ,,authors4 #c4 ,,calamities ,,of ,,authors4 #d4 ,,the ,,literary ,,character4 #e4 ,,character ,,of ,,james ,,the ,,first4 ,,shelley',s ,,works4 ,i4 ,,shelley',s ,,poems1 ,,essays1 ,,and ,,letters ,,from ,,abroad4 ,edited by ,,mrs4 ,,shelley4 ,in one volume #hvo1 with ,portrait and ,vignette1 price #aes4 cloth4 ,,ii4 ,,shelley',s ,,poetical ,,works4 ,edited by ,,mrs4 ,,shelley4 ,in #c volumes1 foolscap #hvo1 price #aes4 cloth4 ,,iii4 ,,shelley',s ,,essays and ,,letters ,,from ,,abroad4 ,edited by ,,mrs4 ,,shelley4 ,price #es4 ,,dramatic ,,library4 ,i4 ,,beaumont ,,and ,,fletcher4 ,with an ,,introduction4 ,by ,,george ,,darley4 ,in two volumes1 #hvo1 with ,portraits and ,vignettes1 price #cbs4 cloth4 ,,ii4 ,,shakspeare4 ,with ,,remarks on his ,,life and ,,writings4 ,by ,,thomas ,,campbell4 ,in one volume1 #hvo1 with ,portrait1 ,vignette1 and ,index1 price #afs4 cloth4 ,,iii4 ,,ben ,,jonson4 ,with a ,,memoir4 ,by ,,william ,,gifford4 ,in one volume1 #hvo1 with ,portrait and ,vignette1 price #afs4 cloth4 ,,iv4 ,,massinger and ,,ford4 ,with an ,,introduction4 ,by ,,hartley ,,coleridge4 ,in one volume1 #hvo1 with ,portrait and ,vignette1 price #afs4 cloth4 ,v4 ,,wycherley1 ,,congreve1 ,,vanbrugh1 ,,and ,,farquhar4 ,with ,,biographical and ,,critical ,,notices4 ,by ,,leigh ,,hunt4 ,in one volume1 #hvo1 with ,portrait and ,vignette1 price #afs4 cloth4 ,,dyce',s ,,beaumont ,,and ,,fletcher4 ,,the ,,works ,,of ,,beaumont ,,and ,,fletcher2 the ,text formed from a new collation of the early ,editions4 ,with ,notes and a ,biographical ,memoir4 ,by the ,rev4 ,a4 ,,dyce4 ,in eleven volumes1 #hvo4 ,price #fl4 #abs4 cloth4 ,,rogers',s ,,poems4 ,i4 ,,rogers',s ,,poems4 ,in one volume1 illustrated by #gb ,vignettes1 from designs by ,turner and ,stothard1 price #afs4 boards1 or #cjs4 elegantly bound in morocco4 ,,ii4 ,,rogers',s ,,italy4 ,in one volume1 illustrated by #ef ,vignettes1 from designs by ,turner and ,stothard1 price #afs4 boards1 or #cjs4 elegantly bound in morocco4 ,,iii4 ,,rogers',s ,,poems2 ,,and ,,italy4 ,in two pocket volumes1 illustrated by numerous ,woodcuts1 price #ajs4 cloth1 or #bhs4 elegantly bound in morocco4 ,,wordsworth',s ,,poems4 ,i4 ,,wordsworth',s ,,poetical ,,works4 ,in seven volumes1 foolscap #hvo1 price #ces4 cloth4 ,,ii4 ,,wordsworth',s ,,poetical ,,works4 ,in one volume1 medium #hvo1 price #bjs4 cloth1 or #cfs4 elegantly bound in morocco4 ,,iii4 ,,wordsworth',s ,,excursion4 ,a ,,poem4 ,in one volume1 price #fs4 cloth4 ,,iv4 ,,select ,,pieces ,,from ,,the ,,poems ,,of ,,william ,,wordsworth4 ,in one volume1 illustrated by ,woodcuts1 price #fs4 #f;d4 cloth1 gilt edges4 ,,campbell',s ,,poems4 ,i4 ,,campbell',s ,,poetical ,,works4 ,a ,,new ,,edition4 ,in one volume1 illustrated by #bj ,vignettes from designs by ,turner1 and #cg ,woodcuts from designs by ,,harvey4 ,price #bjs4 boards1 or #cds4 elegantly bound in morocco4 ,,ii4 ,,campbell',s ,,poetical ,,works4 ,in one pocket volume1 illustrated by numerous ,woodcuts1 price #hs4 cloth1 or #afs4 #f;d4 elegantly bound in morocco4 ,,chaucer ,,and ,,spenser4 ,i4 ,,chaucer',s ,,poetical ,,works4 ,with an ,,essay on his ,,language ,,and ,,versification1 and an ,,introductory ,,discourse2 together with ,,notes and a ,,glossary4 ,by ,,thomas ,,tyrwhitt4 ,in one volume1 #hvo1 with ,portrait and ,vignette1 price #afs4 cloth4 ,,ii4 ,,spenser',s ,,works4 ,with a ,selection of ,,notes from various ,commentators2 and a ,,glossarial ,,index3 to which is prefixed some account of the ,,life of ,spenser4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,henry ,,john ,,todd4 ,in one volume1 #hvo1 with ,portrait and ,vignette1 price #afs4 cloth4 ,,charles ,,lamb',s ,,works4 ,i4 ,,lamb',s ,,works4 ,a ,,new ,,edition4 ,in one volume1 #hvo1 with ,portrait and ,vignette1 price #ads4 cloth4 ,,ii4 ,,final ,,memorials ,,of ,,charles ,,lamb2 consisting chiefly of his ,,letters ,,not ,,before ,,published1 with ,,sketches ,,of ,,some ,,of ,,his ,,companions4 ,by ,t4 ,n4 ,,talfourd1 one of his ,executors4 ,in two volumes1 post #hvo1 price #ahs4 cloth4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,essays ,,of ,,elia4 ,a ,,new ,,edition4 ,price #es4 ,,poetry4 ,,tennyson',s ,,poems4 ,price #is4 cloth4 ----,,princess4 ,price #es4 cloth4 ,,milnes',s ,,poems4 #d vols4 ,price #bjs4 cloth4 ,,trench',s ,,justin ,,martyr1 and other ,poems4 #fs4 bds4 ----,,poems ,,from ,,eastern ,,sources4 ,price #fs4 bds4 ,,browning',s ,,sordello4 ,price #fs4 #f;d4 boards4 ,,barrett',s 7,,miss7 ,,poems4 #b vols4 ,price #abs4 bds4 ,,hood',s ,,poems4 #b vols4 ,price #abs4 cloth4 ----,,poems ,,of ,,wit ,,and ,,humour4 #fs4 cloth4 ,,taylor',s ,,eve ,,of ,,the ,,conquest4 ,price #cs4 #f;d4 ,,landor',s ,,hellenics4 ,price #fs4 cloth4 7,in #bdmo47 ,,rogers',s ,,poetical ,,works4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,talfourd',s ,,tragedies4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,taylor',s ,,philip ,,van ,,artevelde4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ----,,edwin ,,the ,,fair1 c4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,barry ,,cornwall',s ,,songs4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,leigh ,,hunt',s ,,poetical ,,works4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,keats',s ,,poetical ,,works4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,shelley',s ,,minor ,,poems4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,percy',s ,,reliques4 #c vols4 ,price #gs4 #f;d4 ,,lamb',s ,,dramatic ,,specimens4 #b vols4 ,price #es4 ,,dodd',s ,,beauties ,,of ,,shakspeare4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,cheap ,,editions ,,of ,,popular ,,works4 ,,shelley',s ,,essays ,,and ,,letters4 ,price #es4 ,,sedgwick',s ,,letters ,,from ,,abroad4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,dana',s ,,two ,,years ,,before ,,the ,,mast4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,,cleveland',s ,,voyages ,,and ,,commercial ,,enterprises4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,ellis',s ,,embassy ,,to ,,china4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ,,pringle',s ,,residence ,,in ,,south ,,africa4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,essays ,,of ,,elia4 ,price #es4 ,,hunt',s ,,indicator1 ,,and ,,companion4 ,price #cs4 #f;d4 ----,,the ,,seer2 ,,or1 ,,common-,,places ,,refreshed4 ,price #cs4 #f;d4 ,,sheridan',s ,,dramatic ,,works4 ,with an ,,introduction4 ,by ,,leigh ,,hunt4 ,price #cs4 #f;d4 ,,lamb',s ,,life ,,and ,,letters4 ,price #es4 ----,,rosamund ,,gray1 c4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ----,,tales ,,from ,,shakspeare4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ----,,adventures ,,of ,,ulysses4 ,to ,,which ,,is ,,added1 ,,mrs4 ,,leicester',s ,,school4 ,price #bs4 ,,hall',s ,,voyage ,,to ,,loo-,,choo4 ,price #bs4 #f;d4 ----,,travels ,,in ,,south ,,america4 ,price #cs4 #f;d4 ,,lamb',s ,,poetical ,,works4 ,price #as4 #f;d4 ,,baillie',s 7,,joanna7 ,,fugitive ,,verses4 ,price #as4 ,,shakspeare',s ,,poems4 ,price #as4 ,bradbury ,evans1 ,printers1 ,whitefriars4 ,,just ,,published4 ,i4 ,in ,three ,volumes4 ,price #cas4 #f;d4 cloth4 ,,eastern ,,life1 ,,present ,,and ,,past4 ,,by ,,harriet ,,martineau4 ,excellent as a book of ,travels1 it is equally excellent as an adjunct to history4 ,miss ,martineau unites the observant with the learned traveller--sees for herself1 even after ,eothen2 and has put spirit into the dry bones of ,champollion1 ,wilkinson1 and ,lane4--,edinburgh ,review4 ,,ii4 ,price #es4 cloth4 ,,life ,,in ,,the ,,sick-,,room3 ,,essays4 ,,by ,,an ,,invalid4 ,the character of the book is of the loftiest kind4 ,the reader will not often find more variety of topic in the same space1 more purity of sentiment1 more elevation of thought1 than in this little volume4 ,the book should be purchased by all who are sick for its congeniality with their state1 and by all who are well1 that when they become otherwise the remembrance of it may cheer them in their altered condition4--,athenaeum4 ,,edward ,,moxon1 ,,dover ,,street4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,transcriber ,,notes ,punctuation has been normalized4 ,archaic spellings have been retained4 ,inconsistent spellings have been changed without note4 ,page #bhj3 that changed to than 7than at noon or in the evening74