The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1857-06-20
The Reading Of the Young.

We once sent a Sunday school book by
lady patient of ours as present to her little
daughter. On inquiripg afterwards how she
liked it" LnIced, doctor, I did not GRE it
to her. as I hare not yet had time 10 read it
myself" That mother soon passed away,
and doubtless to the better land, and long
years have passed away also, but we have
never failed to admire that M ,thcr's heart as
often as the remembrance of her ccasc!css
vigilance has occurred to us, accompanied
with the earnest wish, that all parents
should emulate that mothers care. Up to
the age Of fifteen at least, and as long after
IS affection for the parent will prevent the
child from doing anything contrary to the
known wishes Of father or mother, no book
should be read by child without the pa
rents permission. Impressions are made
for eternity, on the mind, and heart, and
memory of hildhood-imprcssions which
mould the character for aye, or open up
channels of thought which fix the destiny.
Untold mischief has been done to the
minds and morals Of the young by reading
books on Physiology" so-termed, causing
-apprehensions which have acted as a cease
less torture to multitudcs, until by consulta-
ton with honorable physicians, the ground
less apprehensions have been removed,
which had been excited by plausible falsities
and brazen-faced untruths.
Equal care should be exercised as to the
religious, moral, and miscellaneous reading
of the young. Very few of our daily penny
papers are tit to be read at the family fire.
side. Certainly not one in dozen OF all
city weekly papers, not connected with a
daily issue, but is chargcable justly of being
made up with the veriest trash, to say no.
thing of their frequent obscenity, their
II Al TT l.. IL, ,ko
nisters, its professors. and the Bible itself
A drop Of water will ultimately wear
through the solid rock, and drop by drop
will empty the ocean, and SO is the influence
of the repeated exhibition Of bits Of sar-
-casm, and infidelity, and proclamation, which
portions Of the press are steadily throwing
out. Not only are the minds of the young
injuriously affected by these things, but per
sons of maturity, of intellect, Of mental cUl-
ture, will suffer by them.
1t is not long since that the death Of Per
.cival, the poet, recalled to many memories
his early promise, his later failure. How,
with q heart, mind, . culture capable o
achieving great things for humanity, hi:
light went down in the night Of misanthroPy
and almost atheism! What was it that froZs
the heart and made desolate the whole cha
racter of that gifted man? Reading in the
spring time of life, the obscenities Of Don
Juan, the malignant diatribes, the ranting
atheism of Lord Byron Had other books
been placed in the hands of this unfortunate
man at that critica! period of his life-books
which would have cherished the better feel.
ings of his nature, which would have invited
out his sympathies towards his brother man,
he might have died Howard, or a Harlan
Page, about whom sweet memories will arise
for ages to come, instead Of dying as he is
said to have done, an uncomcly oddty, a
misanthrope, and an intidcl.
Parents Have a ceaselcss eye to what
your younger children read.-HalEs Neu
York Journal Of Health.