, 1877-09-01

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evcryhodics pct-krcp books out Of sucI
a child's reach. Keep it ut home. civ,
it wholesome food, exercise and pure air
Amuse it without taxing its BRAN. No
matter whether it learns its alphabet or
not. Phl steal education is what it needs.
Smart children, apt, quick, great scholars
with restless brains, do not often reach
mans estate They have brain power
enough to become ccntcnarmns, The
intellect is what attracts us. They are
wanting in muscular development, So we
educate the brain already too large he.
cause we fancy them to feeble to live by
manual labor. The worst course we
could pcrSue. Let the brain alone. 1t
,wiIl take care of itself, But educate bis
bone and muscle, Develop his physical
frame. He has been carrying too much
steam already. The consequences are
leaks, breaks, stralning of JOINTS, grad
uaI giving way, or Il fatal explosion,
How often do We hear the remark,
my children are not like other peoples.
They seem so dull and stupid. Other
children are all ahead OF them. Mine
will have to work for living, | guess "
Yes we hope 50. But do not be mis-
taken. Every dull boy has brains, The
dull ones are often mama's stay and stall
in old age Your smart boy, the scholar,
likely ae not will leave hcme before he is
Il man. This boy OF brains-you have
been ii ing him up, heating instead Of
cooling him off; and oit he goes, with.
out IL safety valve, steam gauge or gov.
crnor He will lily the tra1k and be into
the repair shop a half do2cn times be.
fore he is fairly out OF sight.
Let us drop this iigumtive stile. A
few PLAIN statements may dO do no harm.
Dull children, and majority are mode
HtCly so, may enter school young say
at four sr five years OF age. While the
slender, nervous child. precocious, not
before seven or eight; and from that to
ten to twelve; and, in great many in
stances, not till after puberty, Parents
should be psychologists enough to de-
eide for themselves; but as they are not,
and are, all Of them, purentally blind
aud biased, the family physician is the
proper person to decide that point
And what shall they study. !This sub.
jcct affords material enough for several
articles, and merely outlining it will be
all that will be attempted now, Veal
have a great deal to learn in order to
escape the general imputation of igno.
rance. There is great deal of learning
in the world, Though what is unwrttcn
is fur in excess Of what is known. Eter-
nifty is not enduring enough to exhaust
all sources Of information. We COM
mence life in absolute ignorance. General
intelligence is progressive. The sum
total is being added too at every step in
life. What we have already learned and
proven true is all we should attempt to
impress upon children, until they reach
that state Of progression that fits them
to investigate for themselves. The
amount OF information that satisfied our
toreiathers, and even the amount we
have added thereunto, will not satisfy
our children. We are in duty bound to
prepare them to push research farther
than we have carried it. If we fail in
this we fail in our chief duty to
them, and they are not bound to honor
us or our memories for so fragrant q
breach Of trust. We must be mentally
blind il we c9nnot see much that is
wanting Much Of the nonsense with
which children were formally clammed
has been discarded. The committing of
catechiSms, verses and hymns to memory,
long before child could comprehend
either, is now obsolete. Many being
aware how long early impressions cling
to us, and how hard it is, erronious or
otherwise, to shake them of, are anxious
to make every nook and corner Of the
tender mind, receptacle for isms, form
alities, beliefs, faiths, Creeds, theories and
speculatons; bellving if they con mount
young hopeful on his little cob, sired by
the yiritable old hobby horse his father
and grandfather rode before him in their
school days; rode with stiff hand on
the rem; never out of dog trot never
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