4H 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



qualities, physical and moral, which 

 their proper nurture and culture de- 

 mand of the mother. The woman who 

 is not called to he a mother may be 

 called to he an aunt, and as such may 

 have a large share in the education of 

 children. We are not all called upon to 

 rescue or resuscitate drowned persons ; 

 but most of us would willingly possess 

 the knowledge necessary for such a pur- 

 pose. It may be said, Why teach the 

 duties of motherhood more than those 

 of fatherhood? If so, the answer is, We 

 should teach them more because they are 

 more comprehensive than those of fa- 

 therhood, and because the relation be- 

 tween mother and child is so much 

 closer than between father and child. 

 But we fully recognize the necessity for 

 teaching the duties of fatherhood also ; 

 and, when moral culture receives due 

 attention in our schools, the duties 

 which a father owes to his children will 

 not be overlooked. 



Meanwhile, however, let us consider 

 the other and more important question. 

 Surely it would be a most suitable thing 

 to impress upon every girl of proper age 

 the sacredness of the maternal function. 

 How impressively might we apply to the 

 expectation either of fatherhood or of 

 motherhood the words, " He that hath 

 this hope purifieth himself." What 

 stronger argument for purity of life 

 could be urged than that derivable from 

 the duty of giving sound and cleanly 

 parentage to one's offspring? Why are 

 so many marriages unhappy? Mainly 

 because they are entered upon without 

 any thought of duty or responsibility, or 

 any sense of the restraints upon indi- 

 vidual caprice and impulse which are 

 essential to subsequent happiness. It 

 would not be difficult to show in a for- 

 cible manner the actual misery which 

 ignorance or disregard of physiological 

 laws entails not alone on the offenders 

 but on their progeny as well. Passing 

 to the important question of the hygiene 

 of the nursery, there is much that could 

 be taught on sure grounds of science ; 



and the subject, in the hands of a com- 

 petent teacher, could hardly fail to prove 

 most interesting. What more satisfying 

 object can there be to a normally con- 

 stituted woman than a healthy, well- 

 conditioned, intelligent child ? The re- 

 sult of due instruction in matters per- 

 taining to a mother's duties would be to 

 make the mothers of the future happier 

 in their children and the children hap- 

 pier in their mothers. It is science, as 

 we more and more see, that is chiefly 

 required in the household. It is the les- 

 sons of experience that need to be gath- 

 ered, collated, sifted, systematized, and 

 brought home to the minds of both fa- 

 thers and mothers. We constantly hear 

 of young couples who start off with theo- 

 ries of their own on the subject of the 

 treatment of children, just as if there 

 were no established principles available 

 for their guidance. Surely this is folly : 

 the very last matter to which wild ex- 

 perimentation should be applied is the 

 bringing up of children ; and we pity 

 most sincerely the children whose par- 

 ents think that it has been left for 

 them to originate the true principles of 

 child- education. 



That thousands of children suffer 

 from the over-indulgence of their par- 

 ents and thousands more from their 

 over-severity, does not admit of dispute. 

 In any course of instruction such as we 

 have hinted at a considerable place 

 should be given to the psychology of the 

 child, and a considerable place also to 

 the commoner defects of parents. It is 

 a wise mother that does not unduly 

 stimulate the self-consciousness of her 

 child, and thus lay the foundation for 

 life-long habits of affectation. If clever 

 children do not always make clever men 

 and women, a partial reason may be 

 found in the way they are commonly 

 treated. They find grown-up people 

 constantly on the watch to hear, and 

 most industrious in repeating, their ori- 

 ginal speeches; and soon they exchange 

 the gift of originality which consists in 

 seeing and expressing things in an uncon- 



