OUR HOMES. 



all weut to. Where is the trouble? Trouble 

 there is, for both parents look troubled and 

 unhappy, the children look troubled, and per- 

 haps the only f^limpse of sunshine that is at 

 this minute to be found in the household, 

 cQines Iroin the baby. "Precious little dar- 

 liuix ! " she has confidence, perfect confidence in 

 both papa and mauima, confidence in brothers 

 and sisters, confidence in every body and every 

 thing. Is not this confidence, this love and 

 innocence, just what is wanted':' To be sure 

 these two parents love each other, but is thei'e 

 not danijer of this love bcins; covered up and 

 forj^otten in the mutual distrust that now 

 seems to reitjn V He has no confidence in her 

 ability to handle money judiciously, and she, 

 feels indi<i:nant that he should seem to think it 

 all h'H money. Have they not both Avorked for 

 itV Has she not even worked more hours than 

 he? Then why should it not be a partnership, 

 why should he not tell her about his business 

 as he would a friend of his own sex? Why 

 should he not see that her hard and laborious 

 life is all ijiven toward one common object 

 like his own, viz., a nice and pleasant home, 

 and rearing tlieir little family in such a way as 

 to be good a)ul useful citizens, if possible such 

 as will be the pride of their country when they 

 grow up ? 



It is an easy matter to tell how things are, 

 to tell how they should be, and to tell what 

 ought to '>e done; but is it not possible to 

 make this wcnnan careful, to cure this man of 

 being stingy — I don't mean you dear reader ; 

 no, no, it is souk? one of your neighbors that 

 you can think of — to make them mutually con- 

 fide in and trust each other? I feel sure it 

 can be done, with God's help I know it can be 

 done; as greater things have been done in our 

 dear little home, I feel sure they may be done 

 in others. By briuiring the proper forces to 

 bear 1 feel as sure this woman can be induced 

 to try to equal — nay, to excel lier husband in 

 economy, as that we can teach the blue eyed 

 baby better, who is r.his minute pouring the 

 blue vvhortle))erry juice out of her sauce plate, 

 all over her clean Sunday clothing that the 

 ambitious raotiier has donned so as to have her 

 all I'cady in time for church, and to win that 

 jiroud smile from her pai)a vvlien lie sees lier 

 looking so like a very "pink of perfection." 

 Do you wonder that the poor mother feels likt; 

 giving up in despair, and just hiving a '-big 

 cry?" Can't babies be taught ? Just you iry 

 thorn on some piece of mischief and see. "And 

 am I to be taught like a baby?" says the in- 

 dignant mother through her tears. "Except 

 ye become as little children, etc." Oh I th.at, 

 we might consent to be as litth' children so far 

 as touching our pride, is concerned, and that 

 Ave might become humble enough to admit we 

 are in the wrong, and thus get into a position 

 capable of becoming lugher, stronger, and no- 

 bler. Will you help? very well ; we will com- 

 mence with the baby. Tell her just what she 

 has done, and how sorry mamma is that she has 

 spoiled all her clean clothes, that jioor mamma 

 gets awful tired, etc., but make your sermons 

 short and brief, for liabies, and sometimes oili- 

 er people, cannot stand Jon;/ sermons. Now 

 tell the children you will show them a trick ; 

 place two clean tea-cups on a clean sheet of 

 pai)er, fill one to the brim with water, and ask 



if any one of the children can get the water all 

 into the otlier cup Avithout even so much as; 

 Avetting the clean paper. When they get to 

 Avork with their spoons, the baby Avill want to 

 try it too. Give her two sauce plates and 

 some Avater and tell her to i>e very careful not to 

 spoil mamma's table cloth : Avhen they can ma- 

 nipulate Avatei" carefully give them sauce or 

 honey, bye and bye spill some honey on the 

 bare table, and offer a premium to the oueAvho 

 Avill clean it all up (juickest and neatest, al- 

 ways siviug the baby a task e((ual to her iibil- 

 ity. Now in yOur capacity of teacher you' 

 should be as careful about using an unkini? 

 Avord, or using the least bit of censure for awk- 

 Avardness, as you would be in carrying a shov- 

 el of coals through a room where gunpowder 

 was knee deep. You can Avind up by telling 

 them that mamma has ever so much hard woi'k 

 to do, and that all are going to help make it 

 easier. l>aby can be taught to pick up, and" 

 hang up things in their places — one of our lit- 

 tle ones learned this so \rell that he Avonid 

 hang up every thing, even down to the shoes 

 and stockings if they were left in his sight, and 

 I verily believe he would have hung up the 

 cups and saucers if he could have tied strings 

 to them — the older ones can put in fuel, clear 

 up every splinter and bit of litter, and the fath- 

 er can set an example for the rest of the house- 

 hold by cleaning his boots with the most 

 scrupulous exactness before coming into the 

 house, etc., etc., and really making it a busi- 

 ness to help in every Avay, both by precept and 

 example. Dare you urge that this takes too 

 much time and is too much bother? Canyon 

 fail to see that this jjlan followed out, would 

 give you a force of Avorkers, cheerful and faith- 

 ful ones, on the farm, in the garden, the fields, 

 the barns, nay, in the .^:tore, the counting house, 

 in our schools and even churches, of a kind 

 that money cannot purchase ; a kind of help 

 that is more to be valued than pure gjld'r' 

 More than all, you are at the same time giving 

 your children a part of their education that 

 none but a ])arent can Avell give, and one that 

 lies at the vei-y ft>'inda'^lon of a great and noble 

 character. Arelliere ever children that can- 

 not be interested in such duties? I think not 

 if the}' are taken at an early age, anrl the i)a- 

 rent is sufliciently interested in the work to 

 devote to it all the energy that he does at 

 times to other matters in life. Children cait 

 be taught to be neat and skilful, almost as 

 easily as they can Ix; taught mischief; aud 

 they can be taught to take pride in keeping 

 their faces and clothing clean, being careful 

 that they do not waste their food, being skil 

 fnl in the use of their spoon, knife and fork, 

 seeing that everything they have disarranged 

 in their plays, be carefully put away, and so 

 on almost Avithout end. This too can be dou'- 

 in such a way as not to seem irksome to thr 

 dear little ones, by any clear, strong, faithful 

 parent; one who perfectly "ruleth himself" 

 To he continued. 



Now my dear friend if you are one of those 

 people who like a bee-paper to ba all bees and 

 nothing else, all yon have to do is to givethes,; 

 two leaves a twitch and they Avill come riglit 

 out leaving nothing but Gi.kanings. 



