The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1839-08-14
From fAs Mofhus Naga<ins'
noMFsTIc EDUCATION AT TEE TABLE.
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DOMESTIC EDUCATION AT TEE TABLE.
BY n n. cALLAupErT,
Tn no psrt Of the household affairs are the
GOOD order, nealness, and taste OF the female
Read Of The family more needed than IN the
a. ranoement OF the table al meals. They who
FEEL sboye these small matters, or regard an
a,,sn,;or 10 them as savoring TOO much OF las
.;d;c,s refinement, or devotedness to the care
&c ne hody. overlook, in the opinion Of The
utter their decidedly moral tendencies--hs
might add, their religious.
God is God OF order. His works display
II on every side. He delights, too, IN the
fairest forms Of beauty, His own hand FUR
nishes us with the only perfect exhibitions
Of il, and which no efforts OF art can ever
equal. Nature teens with beautiful objects.
So does the Intellectual and moral world -
The order Of well-balanced mind; Inc
beauty of beneyolence the symmetry ana
grace of character like that Of Jesus--co
not these show that the Father OF our spir''s
has formed us with capacities not only 70 re-
lish the objects Of taste, as q mater OF ere
waited and exquisite enjoyment, but as source
ofimprovemen in all that is true, honesf,Jusf
pure, iouely, and Of good rePorH
Il is radical error to suppose that tnefe
ia no connection between the soul and body
in these respects, aAd th.t order, neatness.
and taste can be neglected in what pertains to
the latter, without injury 10 the former IN It's
most refined sentiments and hottest aspira-
tons. The 'slovenly, the disorderly, aud the
filthy in the care OF the person, or the con-
Germs Of the family, will have very serious, if
not insuperabIe difficulties TO encounter in so
..,.sk Ghx.,t..., M
and virtue, as TO render it "a fl temple for the
in-dwelling Of the Holy Spirit.
And here, examples Of the parents. and es-
pecially Of the mother, in their influence over
the children are paramount to all other in
fuences. Grace itself, even il it succeed at
length in any good degree, has a long and
arduous struggle in converting the youth who
has been suffered TO 60 up without habits Of
order, cleanliness, and taste, to new feelings
and conduct in such matters. The only way
to secure these essential features of COM
plete and consistent character, Is 10 begin
right, and uniformly; and the dome site table
at meals comes in for a full share of the ex-
ertions necessary to be made.
What an entirely different aspect il given to
this scene, according as the mother Of the
family has order, neatness, and taste, or is,de.
fcient in them! What entirely different les
sons does it impart to the children! What en-
tirely different habits does it tend to form Its
influence is indeed silent and gradual, but con-
tinued. accommodating, and powerful. Great
wealth with its Injuries and elegancies does
not always place the influence on the right
side. Plainness Of living on the contrary, in
the abodes Of the humble and even ofthe poor,
is by no means incompatible with its being
wisely and efhcaciously directed. How often,
under such circumstances, with very scasty
and ostentatious materials to be employed,
does the frugal, though nice housewife. show
by the appearance Of her table and the con-
Quoting Of The meals, that she well knows how
to cast over the whole an attractive air Of neat.
ness and grace! The tact for doing this is,
to great extent, hereditary. Let the mother
not forget this as her daughters are growing
up around her.
But something more is necessary. Chill
dren, from their first Introduction to the table,
should be trained while there, to personal ha-
bits of order, neatness and taste. The manner
Of putting on the apron; Of taking scat; Of
sitting; OF managing tho arms and hands; Of
using the knife, fork, &C.; Of conducting and
finishing the meal, should oil receive their due
share Of attention according to the age Of nov
itiates and the progress they arc capable of
making, being careful not to overwhelm
them with too many instructions at once, and
moulding their manners by gradual though
sure advance from one step Of Improvement
to another. Where the arrangements of the
table, and the department Of the older persons
are what they should be, the task Of leading
children to the formation Of such habits as
have sheen described, will be- comparatively
easy. Ii is true, indeed that all this will not
be accomplished without patient and pcrse-
vering effort, and that hurried and hasfy meals
will present one ofihe most serious obstacles
in the way Of cultivating order, neatness, and
taste. Such eating, to see as it were in how
short a time possible the process Of swallow
ing food can take place, deserves not to be
called meal. Il is as pernicious to health,
as il is repugnant to good manners and to the
cherishing Of the social, domestic virtues. 1t
is especially incompatible with the training up
Of children in the habits Of order, neatness and
taste.