#36 
consigns her darling, to the care of a per- 
son almost unknown to her; and satisfied 
with pérceiving no immediate signs of ill 
health, or dissatisfaction, when she comes 
home in the holidays, neglects to enquire 
how the intermediate time has been 
spent; how many tears have been shed ; 
how much of happiness, or at least the. 
capacity for happiness, has been thrown 
away, by the mistaken moral views of 
their teachers, I beg leave most «e- 
cisively to protest against any general 
reflections; I have no doubt but many 
heads of the. institutions I allude to, are 
tender, benevolent, and excellent per- 
sens; to such, my observations do not 
apply, and happy are the children that 
fall under their care: but when I recol- 
lect the sivlt of an innocent creature, 
moistening a scanty piece of dry bread, 
{given her for a meal) with her tears, ex- 
posed to all the shame it was in the 
power of authority to inflict, for such 
€rimes as making too much noise, or not 
being willing, or perhaps able, to learn a 
tedious task ; surely I have thought these 
people imagine the world too happy, that 
they must be in such a hurry to make 
their fellow-creatures taste the cup of 
misery. I do not object to wholesome 
discipline, but I contend, that starvation 
4s not a proper punishment. This evil is 
not so prevalent in boys’ schools, as i 
those of girls; indeed, I am inclined to 
think it very rarely exists among the for- 
mer; but among the latter, the notions 
of delicacy, fine shapes, and perhaps a 
little economy lurking at the bottom, 
are often destructive of the comforts of a 
hearty meal. The evils that are the con- 
sequences. of this system are innume;- 
able. Ask any physician,whether most of 
the sickness he meets with among the 
poor, does not arise from their being ill 
ted. Growing children, if in health, have 
always very good appetites; and if they 
are stinted, the consequetce must be a 
loss of strength that will render them 
more easily the prey of any accidental 
disorder ;-and it is notorious, that one of 
the causes of scrofula and consumption 
is Jow feeding. The appetite easily ac- 
commodates itself to an allowance, and 
the present suffering, after a while, is not 
go much as the future danger; it 1s not 
therefore surprizing, that it should not 
‘dwell sufficiently on a child’s mind, to 
induce any complaints at home; to 
which may be added, the odium that at- 
tends ae informer, the dishonour that is 
affixed tu any tales told out of school, and 
the fear of being confronted with her 
On unnecessary Severity to Children at School. [April F, 
governess. In the case of the slave- 
trade, Mr. Clarkson found it impossible 
to induce many of his evidence to tell the 
same story to the house vf commons, 
they had done to him, from fear of the 
resentment of the otber party.. The mo- 
tive of this letter is to excite tenderness 
in the bosoms of those who have the 
care of youth; and in their parents, vi-. 
gilance to discover the want of it, at 
those times when cross examination and 
enquiry is in their power, Whoever has 
had an opportunity of comparing the 
feelings of one time of life, with those of 
another, will find that, when very young, 
they are infinitely more acute, than at a 
more advanced age, when they are mo- 
derated by other considerations. An 
unkind look, or word, at that time goes 
straight to the heart; when older, they 
begin to feel that an undeserved reproof 
loses much of its bitterness. If Prince 
Ahmed’s* glass were presented to the 
absent mother, she would often feel her’ 
heart wring with the sight of the manner 
in which her child was passing her time. 
I have no doubt, but the present rage for 
accomplishmerts has contributed to the 
destruction of the happiness, and even” 
the life of many a delicate girl. I would 
have them take in as much of those em-~ 
bellishments, as they have a decided taste 
for; but I would not make them the first 
object of their lives. Let them have no- 
melancholy associations with the days of 
their youth, and they wil probably lay in’ 
a stock of cbearfulness, that may en-> 
hance their future happiness, or soften 
their future misery. I cannot end this 
better, than by giving the reader the elo- 
quent passage [ al‘uded to at the begin- 
hung of my letter. 
“ Que taut il donc penser de cette eda-. 
cation barbare qui sacrifie le present & um 
avenir incertain, qui charge un enfant de 
'chaines de tout espece, et commence par 
le rendre miserable pour lui preparer au 
loin, je ne-sais quel pretendu bonheur, 
done il est & croire qu’i} ne jouira jamais? 
Quand je suppeserois cette éducation 
raisonnable dans son objet, comment 
voir sans indignation de. pauvres intor- 
tunés soumis & un joug insupportable, et 
condamnés a des travaux continuels 
comme des galériens, sans @tre assuré 
que tant de soins leur seront jamais 
utiles? L’age de la gaieté se passe au 
milieu des pleurs, des chatimiens, des - 
menaces, de l’esclavage, On tourmente 
le malheureux pour son bien, et l’on ne 
. A To ~ 
* Arabian Nights. wes 
& voit 
