years had been the object of her most fondly-cherished hopes; the tranquil close of her existence, and dying blessing, - all these, and much more, may be said to form an inextinguishable inheritance of pleasurable recollection, a fountain of feeling perpetually welling out, and irrigating those dreary wastes of hard, every-day toil and thought, which lie irksomely in the path of life.

Nor are the benefits of family intercourse, in their immediate or remote consequences, confined to the children. We are very apt to imagine that the family arrangement is entirely for the sake of the young - that the children are exclusively benefited; and that, if it is disturbed or set aside, the young, the children, are the only persons who suffer. On the contrary, the old are as much interested in this divine institution as the young; it is as beneficial to parents as to children; and any departure from it must bring a penalty upon the parents, equal to any which the children can suffer. We are accustomed to hear much, and very justly, of the obligations which children owe to their parents. But while they very wisely impress this on their children, people are very ready to forget, or not remark, that, as the child owes much to the parent, so the parent owes much to the child; that, while he has been the object and receiver of good, he has also been the minister of good; and every loving thought, every toil, every sacrifice, on the part of the parent, has received, from day to day, a return a real and most precious reward. Surely those persons judge very erroneously, who imagine that all the care, trouble, and expense they lay out upon their children, is so much capital sunk, and from which no return is to be expected till the child has grown to maturity, or at least till he has reached the years of discretion.

We are very apt to reckon nothing a blessing which does not come to us in a material form; and so we sometimes undervalue or overlook our highest privileges, because they do not address themselves to our eyes, and cannot be felt or han

dled by us. To any one who observes and reflects, it will be evident that the parent is as much the better for the child, as the child is for the parent; that infancy, childhood, and youth, bestow as much on manhood, womanhood, and old age, as they derive from them; that this is an instance of that general law, that we cannot do good to others without getting good from them in this field, it is impossible to sow without reaping; for the same soil which receives the seed from the bountiful hand, returns it with increase. What blessings, then, are children the means of conveying to their parents! In other words, how is it needful, for the sake of the father and mother, as well as of their offspring, that the family life should be jealously guarded!

The celebrated Lord Erskine has told us that he never robed himself to plead at the bar, but he thought he felt his children pulling at his gown; and if the history of human thoughts were legible to us as it is to the eye of God, we should doubtless find that multitudes of the greatest men men who were great in the good which they were enabled to achieve, which is the truest greatness drew their strongest stimulants from the families God had given them; and that, on the other hand, myriads, who have lived usefully and well, had been saved from vices to which they were prone, by the consideration that these would involve in ruin those who were dearer to them than their own life. Parents who do their duty, and keep their eyes open, will acknowledge that they have been amply repaid, day by day, for all their anxiety, labor, and pains; that the pleasures and instruction, the incitements to good, and the salutary restraints, which their children have supplied, the thoughts they have suggested, and the feelings they have inspired,—were cheaply purchased, even with the cost and care of a family; and that children are not, as men buried in selfishness esteem, a mere tax and burden, but truly a promise and a blessing, as they have pronounced them who lived in the ages of faith.

LESSON CXI.

The Same, continued. IDEM.

A CHILD has every thing to learn, and he learns best by having good examples for imitation. If you, therefore, desire to see your children well behaved, do not leave them in the charge of servants, who are, for the most part, ignorant, and otherwise not well adapted to train the minds of young persons. Rear and superintend your children yourself, at least in all matters of general intercourse. Let them spend daily a considerable part of their time with you. Being thus the companions of your children, and conscious that every word you utter, and every thing you do, will be imitated, you will, of course, take care to say and do nothing which can lead to improper habits.

In all families there are differences of character. One child will be lively, another dull; some will have good, others bad tempers. It is of great importance to cultivate a cheerful temper in children; and, therefore, the greater care will be required in this respect, when there appears to be any deficiency in the natural disposition. Much will depend on how you treat the child. If it be peevish, do not, scold or threaten it; and in no circumstances get out of temper with it.

Some parents are constantly telling their children not to do this, and not to do that. This is not treating them enough as equals, and too prominently establishes the principle of inferiority. Children should not be talked to as if they were dogs. They should be requested, not ordered; at least in all ordinary matters, and when they commit no act of insubordination. "I should think you had better not meddle with that knife; it is rather sharp." "I would let alone that piece of broken glass; it is dangerous." "Don't you think this would

be a pleasant day for a walk?" "I thought you would not have done so foolish a thing." "I am sorry we cannot bear that noise; and I think you had better go to the nursery." By accustoming children to such mild language, they learn to be mild themselves. A soft word will do more with such children than a torrent of reproof.

Firmness, however, is as requisite as mildness, in family management. Some children are easily managed, but there are few who will not sometimes try to have their own way. At one time they will attempt to evade, at another they will brave, authority. In this species of strife, they are often sharp-witted and dexterous, and sometimes intrepid, pertinacious, and headstrong. If they succeed once, they gather courage; if twice, they feel assured; if thrice, they triumph. The only safe method is for the parent to meet the first resistance of the child with firmness, and by no means to permit himself to be baffled either by evasion or defiance. But great caution is to be used.

The object should be, not merely to make the child obey externally, but internally; to make the obedience sincere and hearty, and to make it flow alike from affection, a sense of duty, and a conviction that he consults his true interest in so doing. All these motives should be brought to concur in the act; if any one of them is wanting, the obedience is imperfect. To accomplish this thorough subjection of the child to parental authority, it is obvious that great prudence is necessary. There must be no violence, no display of temper, no angry looks, no hasty words. Before he can expect to govern a child, a parent must first learn to govern himself. His own passions being under control, his heart chastened, and the traces of vexation swept from his countenance, he may meet the rebellious child, assured of triumph. The child might resist threats, and be hardened by force; but it will not long resist patient kindness, tender remonstrance, affectionate counsel.

Accustom your children, from the earliest infancy, to speak the truth; and this they will do, if not prevented by servants, or by their parents. How lamentable is it to find persons so lost to all sense of obligation as to encourage deceit in their children! A mother will sometimes be heard admonishing them to conceal something from the knowledge of their father, or, in other words, to deceive him. Such deceits are ruinous to the moral character of children, and we need not say that they are grossly wicked.

Children should never hear a falsehood uttered. The very idea of there being such a thing as untruth ought not to come across their mind, unless, indeed, when the criminality and fruits of falsehood require explanation and reproof. Every encouragement, even to the pardoning of offences, should be given to truth. Cultivate in the child's mind a love of candor, straightforwardness, honor, and integrity, along with a corresponding hatred of falsehood, equivocation, dishonesty, and meanness. Lessons in these things, however, will be of little use. The cultivation must be by the training of motives and principles into confirmed habits, and that can be realized only within the family circle.

Religious impressions, in the same manner, require to be made in the first place by parents, as much as possible, by means of practical habits and personal explanations. As the mind expands, the leading characteristics of creation and providence, the nature of God, and the reasons for his being an object of veneration and worship, may be explained. And from these, as starting-points, all proper explanations as to religious doctrine and duties will naturally diverge.