Our Children. 61 



gin life with like a sunshiny childhood." There will be a great 

 difference in the disposition of members of the same family as re- 

 gards their earning?. Should there be such a rarity as a miserly 

 child, we should strive to overcome it. On the other hand, a 

 grandfather's advice to a little boy would be best: "Here Johnny, 

 my child, is a penny ; keep it, and whenever you get other pen- 

 nies put them with this one and when you grow to be a man you 

 may buy something useful." 



So many mothers are unwilling (I ought not to use that word, 

 they feel they haven't the time) to take the trouble necessary to 

 teach their daughters the little womanly acts of sewing, knitting, 

 etc. Often the child looks on with longing eyes to the nimble 

 fingers of a young companion, who can fashion such beautiful 

 things with a crochet needle and a ball of bright wool. » The com- 

 mon task of washing dishes, picking up chips, dusting rooms, 

 seems such mere drudgery in comparison. They would do the 

 distasteful more quickly and better too, if they felt the other were 

 to come after. We have too little patience in teaching ; if they 

 could learn all at one lesson, we would be satisfied, but they tire 

 after a short practice and wish to turn to something else. We 

 must not expect too much ; they will take stitches wrong after 

 we have told them a dozen times, even. If we lose our patience, 

 the child will follow the example. Some one recommends, 

 when we are vexed with children for their dullness, that we "write 

 a page with the left hand ;" remember that a child is all left hand 

 when he begios to train his muscles. We make too little allow- 

 ance for this training, and fancy that we always knew how to do 

 such simple things, but it has taken thirty or more years to make 

 you what you are, with all the lessons of experience, and I will 

 dare say you are a faulty being at best. Above all, do not expect 

 judgment in a child or patience under trials; sympathize with 

 their mistakes and troubles; do not ridicule them. Educate them 

 thoroughly ; give them full benefit of school and college, give 

 them the piactical application, as much as possible, of what they 

 do learn ; it will be a great resource, a capital which the world 

 • cannot take away and of which the future will not deprive them. 

 ' There are but few that reach the age of eighteen years but have 



