30 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1. 



"Oh! the mothers always have the care of 

 the children. That is their mission — the chief 

 duty of their lives." 



"But how judicious, how comprehensive, 

 must be the course of education which will fit 

 a person for such an office!" 



"Do you think so? Hem! Well, it is not gen- 

 erally considered that a woman who is going to 

 marry and settle down to family life needs 

 much education." 



Our philosopher next questions a young- 

 mother: 



" Where were you prepared for the duties of 

 your mission?" 



"I had no preparation." 



"But are you acquainted with the different 

 temperaments a child may have, and the dif- 

 ferent combinations of them? Are you com- 

 petent to the direction and culture of the intel- 

 lectual and moral nature? Have you thus, un- 

 instructed. the power, the knowledge, the wis- 

 dom, requisite for guiding that mighty force, a 

 child's soul ?" 



"Alas! there is hardly a day that I do not 

 feel my ignorance on all these points." 



"Are there no sources from which knowledge 

 can be obtained ? There must be books written 

 on these subjects." 



"Oh. yes! out I have no time to read them." 



"Do not husbands provide their wives with 

 books ana other means of information on this 

 subject? " 



" Generally speaking they do nothing of the 

 kind." 



" But," adds the writer, " if our philosopher 

 continued his inquiries into ihi manners. and 

 customs of our country he must have felt great- 

 ly encouraged; for he would have found that it 

 is only in this one direction that we show such 

 blindness and stupidity. He would have found 

 that, in every other occupation, we demand 

 preparation. The individual who builds our 

 ships, cuts our coats, manufactures our watches, 

 superintends our machinery, takes charge of 

 our cattle, our trees, our flowers, must know 

 how, must have been esppdally pr. oiiifd for 

 his calling. It is only character-moluing, only 

 shaping the destinies of immortal beings, for 

 which we demand neither preparation nor a 

 knowledge of tiie business. It is only of our 

 children that we are resigned to lose nearly 

 one-fourth by death, owing to ignorance and 

 injudicious nursery management." 



But the loss by death is the smallest part of 

 it. Think of the multitudes mentally crippled 

 and morally warped because of the lack of 

 ' knowledge of those to whom they have been 

 entrusted! The farmer, stockman, dentist, 

 physician, each has his proff-ssional paper. The 

 teacher expects to read and study the subjects 

 pertaining to her work constantly; but how 

 few parents take a paper or buy a book on the 

 subject of child-training! 



But all lack in child-training is not due to 

 ignorance and lack of preparation. We do not 

 do as well as we know. I once overheard a 

 man on the train say, " I know how to bring up 

 children." I hastily thought. "Oh! no doubt 

 you are the man, and wisdom shall die with 

 you!" But I listened attentively for his next 

 remark. It was this: "Let parents he them- 

 selves what they desire their children to be." 

 And I thought, "Amen!" It is not precepts 

 children need so much as example. Every 

 child is born with a God given passion for im- 

 itation, and copies not only your actions and 

 words, but your very spirit, long before he is 

 six years old. It is possible for you in some un- 

 guarded moment to undo the verbal teaching 

 of years. A little child was once heard to pray. 

 "O Lord, make us very stylish." Do you not 

 see the spirit of that home in spite of the re- 



ligious teaching? Listen to another mother as 

 she is getting the children ready for Sunday- 

 school, ".lave you got your Bible, Mary? I 

 wish your father hadn't got your new shoes a 

 mile too big. Can you say your golden text, 

 Susan? Here's your hat. Be careful of it. It 

 is the prettiest hat in the whole Sunday-school. 

 I wonder if Mrs. Jones will let Ella wear that 

 same hat another season. Now, John, behave 

 yourself in church, and mind what the minister 

 says. I suppose I ought to go with you to keep 

 you straight, but I am too tired to go to church 

 to-day. I worked too hard yesterday." 



Do you want to know what she did yesterday? 

 She made onion pickles, chili sauce, and ginger- 

 snaps in the morning (she calls this feeding the 

 hungry); in the afternoon she put five rows of 

 inserting in Mary's new dress, tucked Susan's 

 skirt, and ruttied an apron (this she calls cloth- 

 ing the naked). In the evening she attended a 

 card party (this might possibly be called visit- 

 ing the sick, as most of them were too sick to 

 attend church the next day). How much moral 

 weight will her Sunday words carry? Not so 

 much as the down on one little thistle seed. 



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