The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1856-03-21

/ The following is part of an article on
voice music by r. Storrs Willis;
! Listen to the mother, talking comfort to
/ her Young babe. The comfort is surely not
| in the words--for the child understands not
| one of them. Ii lies, Of course, then, in the
1 music of the words 1t is the mothers tone
Of voce--her music-which the child under
stands and receives into its little troubled
! heart.
| | was lately one of circle of friends where
! the conversation turned upon the prevailing
manner of talking with very young children.
One friend insisted strongly that mothers
should talk common sense to their offspring
that it was just as Ineligible, and in far bet
ter taste than nonsense--in short that all this
so called baby talk was as unnecessary as 1t
was foolish.
Now, common sense is very excellent
| thing but--let us not overlook the occasion
al uses of nonsense. The truth is, as | have
already stated, very young children under
stand neither sense nor nonsense. They only
feel. But the words they cannot feel-not
comprchcnding them; it is, of course, then,
| the music of the words, the tones Of the
voice-lf they feel at all. Music, and par
ticularv mothers music, is the very Ian
guage of feeling and it is u "mother-
| tongue" perfectly we'll understood by the
youngest child.
If mother, for instance, is reproving a
child, be the child ever SO young, the reproof
seems perfectly well understood and we see
its little watchful eye fixed steadily on the
face Of its mother. If cheering or enliyen-
ing, or frolickng, the child seems equally to
understand what is meant. And here again,
it is the tone of reproof, and the tone Of
cheerfulness, and the tone Of playfulness
which is understood-not the word.
Does it not naturally follow, then, that the
talking of plain common sense to such young
children would be wholly impracticable just
for this reason-that we should inevitable
fall into the common sense tone OF voice /:
which is the even and less musical voice Of
the intellect, not the voice Of the heart We
should compose no peasan; music TO what
VIC were saying. Children, therefore, would
not understand US. And though it might
seem to US sound common sense enough, it
might hapiy appear TO the children great
nonsonse-for they would not understand,
nor would they long listen to US.
Let any mother try the experiment and
make a very sensible remark 70 her child,
with the sensible tone of voice appertaining
thereto and see wha. degree of success that
remark will have with her child.
We commended, therefore, with our disput-
ing friend, that a mothers t. TX with her
young child should be left, in all It's natural
ness and loving significance, even as 1t is
without the modern improvements The
motherly instinct is a. beautiful as it is iney
liable; and in no case is il more beautiful
and truthful than as shown IN her using
language with her child which it will under
stand--the language of music. The words
are nothing-and they 90 for nothing. They
serve merely as ameans of articulation and
this is all the mother means By them. The
music is not set to the words bat the words
are simply used as syllables for the music.
And if listening grown-up persons-ior
whom, albeit, the conversation Is not intend
ed-quarrel with the language Of q mother
in sweet communing with her child, let them
close their intellect and open their heart TO
the frequently irresistible charm OF such
motherly melody and they will be content.