Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1833-1861, 1855-06-29

IaNO1.
In the first place, second child of
ordinary parents, tolerably we'll off,
benefits in infancy and childhood by
the experience they gained with the
irst. They try experiments with the
first; ask advice ofdoctors and old la
dies; and they are SO anxious to help
nature that they often hinder her ope-
rations. The child is never let alone;
it is always being taken notice Of by
some admiring nurse or relative
Now the proyerb of the kitchen that
"watched pot never boils," applies
mutatis mataadis, to. the nursery, and
il may be said that ga watched baby
never thrives." The parents, having
discovered that "let well alone" is a
safer maxim than "trust nothing to
chance" in the case OF an infant, are
content to let Baby Number Two be on
the floor sometimes, instead of being
always in the arms; are not anxious to
coax it TO walk before it can get upon
its little feet and stand; will allow it to
ask for food, instead of forcing food
down its throat; are not frightened in
20 foolishness because il looks up to
the open sky without n hat on, So
when it can run about, they do not
mount guard over every motion, remove
from the child path every obstacle, and
help il to overcome every small Difficult
ty; they hrye learned that all these
acts of love are not so good for the
child as its acquiring habits of selfhelp
and self reliance. If they have any
faculty of provision, they will see that
child who requires to be watched and
helped all the day long, will probably
want watching and helping when he
grows to be a men.
Baby Number Two escapes most of
the medicines administered to Num-
Der One, aud great deal of the
dressing-in this respect Baby Num-
ber Two has decidedly the advantage.
Baby Number Two escapes the evil
effects of flattering tongues, which tell
Number One twenty times day that
it is 1.-THE sweetest little thing we ever
saw"
Baby Number two escapes the evil
effects ofjcaIous suggestions, such as,
"Ahl your nose is out Of joint. You
are not the only one now! The new ba-
lby is our darling, now"
Then again. il Baby Number Two be
followed by more of his own kind. he
is sure TO take them kindly: and MS he's
never been the only one. he sees no
harm in the coming of another and
another.
Ii is also an advantage to him to
play the protector and the teacher in
his turn; ne cares for the little ones,
and is patient with them, that | don'l
deny, His advantage he shares with
his socially favored eldest brother.--
| AS he advances in life. have nc
hesitation in saying that the second
,son is frequently the best. In cases
where the eldest son succeeds to for
tune and an estate--that is to say in ,
family-your second son is almost frs
in everything but birth. lie goes tc
school and college as a relative to hi
antecedent. il | may be allowed thi'
aggramatical pun. He has there al
the advantages of equality, as also thos,
which appertain to n higher grade
The eldest son is not obliged to worl
hard at either seminary; and he new
er works harder than il suits his incli
nation or duty. The second son, be
ing duly warned by his father that HI
must study for profession. and tha
on his success in that profession h
must depend for maintainance; goe'
to school or college determined t
work; or il not. he is speedily made e
know the difference between the eldes
son and the second son. His tutor
force him to work; and ifhe is proiitet
by his. home education rs child, il
the way | have described, he very sool
learns that work Of all kinds wei
done. is worth more than its wages L
the doer; and he blesses the acciden
of birth, which made him Baby Mum
Der Two instead of Baby Numbe
One. C.