1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



201 



They wei"e both actuated by the same morbid 

 sentiment which, had Irit-h Mary been spared long 

 enough, would have shown itself in splitting the 

 wood and bringing the water to cook her son a nice 

 dinner and to "do up" his linen, while he loafed 

 at street corners, or spent in bar-rooms, or gam- 

 bled away, all that he could coax or steal from 

 the little hoard which her self-denial counted over 

 and slowly increased against "his setting up for 

 himself." 



And in her Yankee neighbor it will take form in 

 dressing her boy in all the foolish frippery of a 

 precocious dandy, and in indulging him in sweet- 

 meats and amusements, which will gradually 

 merge into the flash and bluster of "a gentleman 

 of the ring ;" oyster suppers and champagne, bil- 

 liards and fast horses ; till by-and-by there is a 

 defalcation, and the motley garb of the prison, its 

 hard fare, and its irksome toil become the young 

 man's portion ; while in the shame and silence of 

 her desolated home, the mother weeps bitter tears 

 over those pretty garments of his long-lost inno- 

 cence, the first out-growth of her mistaken fond- 

 ness. 



When will mothers learn how much the habits 

 of their children's maturer years depend upon 

 early impressions ? A single folly thoughtlessly 

 indulged may turn the current of a whole life. 

 One false notion exemplified in her conduct may 

 counteract all her teachings to the contrary. As 

 soon as her child's eyes can catch the love-light in 

 her own, his plastic mind is ready to receive the 

 stamp of her tastes, of her aspirations, of her 

 hopes, which she manifests involuntarily in mien 

 and manner ; in the tones of her voice ; in the 

 choice of her recreations, of her associates, of the 

 colors and arrangement of her dress ; no less than 

 in display of affection for him, or her studied ne- 

 glect ; in the playthings and sports by which she 

 intends to develop and educate his capacities, or 

 in the dress and the trinkets which she selects to 

 adorn his person. 



Do not make your children images of vanity 

 and frivolity by loading them with gewgaws and 

 finery; nor foster their pride by making their 

 clothing or their appearance of the first import- 

 ance. Awaken in their heiarts as early as possible 

 a love for simple and ordinary things. Teach 

 them to distinguish the real and the good, and to 

 be content with these ; so that they shall not be 

 blinded, nor dazzled by the glitter and the glare, 

 which, hiding hollowness and insincerity, lure so 

 many to destruction. Let them see that beauty 

 depends not on form nor color, but on propriety ; 

 on its fitness and agreement with everything that 

 is good and gentle ; or that can arouse high and 

 pure thoughts, that can lead to generous and no- 

 ble action ; that nothing is worthy of admiration 

 that makes them haughty, or envious, or covetous, 

 or jealous — in one word, selfish. Help them to 

 realize that self-forgetfulness, self-renunciation, is 

 the highest virtue; and, therefore, the greatest 



beauty. For beauty is of the mind and the heart 

 more than of the person, and increased with every 

 act of self-denial, with every thought for the wel- 

 fare of others ; and delights in simplicity, and 

 meekness, and gentleness. 



And this is all materially hindered or helped by 

 the way in which they are led to regard dress. 

 Clothing, especially with children, has great sig- 

 nificance in the relation which it bears to these 

 matters of daily life. See, then, that they are 

 comfortably and neatly clad ; that no great nicety 

 of material or excess of ornament, neither any 

 ill-fitting or shabby garment, be a trouble or a 

 danger to them, either physically or morally. 



In making the clothing of children, aim especial- 

 ly to give them freedom of motion and graceful- 

 ness of position ; while closely adapted to the form 

 there should be no tightness nor constraint upon 

 any joint or muscle. At the same time, no part of 

 the body should be unduly exposed. Many a 

 mother, if she be not answerable for the early 

 death of her child, has laid the foundation for 

 years of suflfering, by dressing it in such a 

 manner that neck, arms, and other parts of the 

 body have no protection against cold and damp- 

 ness even in the most inclement weather. Fond 

 of displaying what she considers its beauty, she 

 excuses her foolish pride by pretending that this 

 is the way to harden and strengthen the child, — 

 about as sensible a process to accomplish this as 

 would be the giving of a daily dose of poison in 

 order to prepare the system for its accidental use 

 at some future time. 



Keep your children always clad warmly enough ; 

 don't be afraid of making them delicate by this 

 means ; it is easier to ward off a cold or a fever 

 than to cure one, and health is more likely to be 

 made delicate by frequent attacks of disease than 

 by precaution against its approach. 



In the winter season, be sure that their feet are 

 always warm and dry. Make for infants the soft- 

 est of socks, knit or crocheted loosely of the warm- 

 est worsteds. Any mother who can handle knit- 

 ting or chrochet needles can quickly provide these, 

 needing no guide but the tiny foot they are to fit. 

 Or, with bits of thibet and flannel she will like to 

 exercise her ingenuity in forming a miniature 

 shoe, that shall be wannly wadded, and prettily 

 bound and buttoned about the chubby ankle. 



For larger children make good stout stockings ; 

 by the time they are seven years old they ought 

 to be taught to knit these themselves. Make 

 them of the best yarn you can get ; for children 

 keep their feet in such constant motion that the 

 thickest stockings soon wear out. Line the heels 

 and toes, and also cover them, if you find they are 

 getting thin before the rest of the stocking-foot 

 gives out ; when these are worn through renew 

 them. When the instep breaks through, and there 

 is a general thinness and falling away, cut oS" the 

 foot above all weak places and knit it again of 

 new yarn. If the stocking be shrunken or out- 



