relish and to enter into it. I would venture to remind those engaged in the work of education, of the necessity of practising themselves that fortitude and patience, which they are desirous of cultivating in their young charge. A mother especially, and in her feelings an affectionate nurse will closely participate, is vulnerable at so many points; the objects of her tenderest affection are exposed to so many diseases, so many hazards, that she may become the prey to endless fears, equally painful to herself, and injurious to her children, without the habitual exercise of selfgovernment and principle-a principle founded on the conviction that it is not in ourselves to preserve life and health; that with all our care and vigilance, it is comparatively little we can do, and that after taking every reasonable precaution, our only lasting resource is to commit ourselves, and those nearest to us, to him "in whom we live and move, and have our being," who hath numbered the very hairs of our head, and who suffereth not even a sparrow to fall to the ground without him. It is not sufficient barely to acknowledge these divine truths; they must be "inwardly digested," and formed into practical principles to enable a tender parent to prepare her children for "the warfare of life," and to meet with composure and submission, the vicissitudes and anxieties necessarily attendant on bringing up a family. Nor is the utter fruitlessness of excessive care to be forgotten: such care, by enervating the mind, and weakening the body, altogether defeats its own end, making way for the very evils it would guard against, and what is more pitiable than the state of that child, who, having imbibed his mother's sensations, lives a prey to the continual dread of the common casualties of life?2t It may be well here to add a particular caution to nurses, who are too often incliclined in times of sickness and solicitude, to give way to their own feelings, and thus. to unfit themselves for rendering the help and support so much needed by the mother, as well as by their little patients. A tearful or melancholy countenance has in itself a depressing effect, and a steady cheerful temper of mind is almost as important a requisite in a nurse as tenderness and affection. Some minds are naturally endowed with such a portion of fortitude, as enables them to meet with comparative ease the roughness and trials of life; but with most of us so invaluable an attainment is to be acquired only by diligent cultivation; by little and little, by many efforts and daily practice, by previous preparation and habit of mind, rather than by a sudden effort at the moment of trial. It is a remark of no small moment, that "health should be the preparation for sickness, and prosperity for adversity." We should labor, therefore, to acquire an habitual composure, self-possession, and presence of mind, and as far as possible, to impart the same to our children; to be always quiet, quick in applying the necessary remedies, not yielding to sudden alarms and agitations; never indulging in the injurious habit of screaming or uttering H exclamations on the various accidents of a nursery; nor urging as a plea for such failures, a weakness of nerves. This, in the present day, is often brought forward as a cover for infirmities which are rather to be condemned, and resolutely overcome, than palliated or indulged. It is desirable for parents, and those entrusted with the care of children, to instruct themselves in the best method of proceeding, under the sudden diseases, and dangers to which children are the most liable, as convulsions, choking, wounds, profuse bleeding, accidents from fire, water,* &c. * See Dr. Aikin's chapter on Presence of Mind, in his Evenings at Home. INDEPENDENCE. Connected with that strength of character, the cultivation of which has been recommended, is independence. It will be of great advantage to children, if they are early induced to put forth their powers; to resort first to the resources within themselves; and as far as possible, to obtain their objects by their own exertion. Such an exercise strengthens the faculties, and gradually prepares a child for acting alone; whilst the habit of having every thing done for him, of depending upon others for all his enjoyments, enervates the mind, and has a tendency to weaken the active powers. The "I can't," with which children are apt to reply to the commands given to them is rarely to be admitted. "I can't," is too often brought forward merely as an excuse for indolence, or an apology for disobedience. Our pupils must learn that success depends upon resolute exertion; and that, under certain limitations, it is a truth that man |