perhaps even scolded, and obliged to give up his playthings to his little rival should it wish for them: - and what is the consequence? His love for it diminishes every day: its appearance excites only painful feelings; he revenges himself, when he can, for the vexation it has caused him; envy springs up in his breast, and a habit of wrangling is established between the brothers, which displays itself in all their amusements, and but too often continues to manifest itself in after life. This evil might easily have been prevented, by contriving, as soon as possible, to employ the elder child about the younger. If he fancies he has assisted in getting it to sleep, or in dressing it; or if, when he is seated safely on the ground, we place the little one on his knees for him to nurse it, his cheeks will glow with pleasure; a lively sympathy will be excited; he will imagine himself its father, and will conceive for it the tenderest affection. There is an interesting anecdote related by Mrs. Hamilton, in her excellent work on education, which may serve as a farther illustration of this subject. She saw, in a remote part of Scotland, two poor children; the eldest of whom, a boy of three years old, was daily left in charge of his younger brother. He took care of him, fed him, dressed him, and never left him for an instant; fulfilling all the duties of the most watchful mother. At dinner time he took his little charge into the cottage, lighted a small fire, which he managed very dexterously, and prepared the simple meal which was to serve for them both. "Take care, Daniel," said a person who was watching him one day, "take care you do not burn his mouth." "No fear of that," answered the boy, " for I always take the first mouthful myself." What an important lesson might be learnt from this anecdote! There was not much danger of this child becoming selfish. But though we may endeavour to hasten the developement of the affections, we must be careful not to exact sacrifices from our children. These must not be expected, till the affection from which they spring has taken firm root. We are too apt to fall into this error. If a little beggar come to the door, we, perhaps, make a pathetic harangue to our child, exhorting him to charity and benevolence; and, in the end, almost obliging him to give the bread or fruit in his hand to the poor child. This, however, is not acting judiciously. But send him to fetch a cake, an article of clothing, or any thing else which is likely to excite an emotion of lively joy in the little beggar, at the same time that it requires no sacrifice on the part of the child, and he will soon find so much pleasure in the act of giving, that he will even deprive himself of some of his own treasures in order to enjoy it. A feeling, which is not yet firmly established, cannot be expected always to gain the victory over self-love or personal interest; and it would be imprudent to expose it to the trial of struggling with inclinations, which are, as yet, superior to it in power. But the feeling may itself be strengthened by exercise. Let the recollection of some happy effort, or successful undertaking, be associated with it, and the pleasure, which was in reality caused by activity, will be placed to the account of feeling; it will gain confidence and strength from the remembrance of the difficulties it has overcome, and will thus become really capable of surmounting still greater obstacles. We might, perhaps, were we to analyze this feeling very minutely, discover in it some mixture of self-love. But it is to be feared, that even our purest motives are not free from some degree of this weakness. When, indeed, animated pleasures, vanity, and selfish interests, stand in front, they are strengthened by exercise; and the pleasure arising from activity is turned to their advantage. But whenever these appear only in the back-ground, and truly noble and generous motives are brought forward, it will be on the latter that the imagination will rest; and to them that the child will attribute the satisfaction he feels. Hence it is, that the too common use of rewards of a very doubtful tendency - stimulants which act upon the leastamiable feelings of the human heart does not really produce so much evil as we might have apprehended. Their influence is counteracted in the minds of children; and the salutary results of activity overcome even the hurtful tendency of the means employed to excite it. But is this any valid apology for the parents? The idea of making use of the. pleasure which children take in active employment, by bringing real life, with all its various interests, sooner within their reach, seems likely to become, at some future time, the primum mobile of education. Some trials of this plan have already been attempted; and, if it were made the great object in such experiments to bring into action pure and disinterested motives for exertion, we might hope for real improvement in the education of future generations. But, as long as instructors attach a higher value to temporary success, than to the motives which prompted the efforts by which that success was obtained, - as long as they attend more to external acquisitions than to internal feelings, they will never succeed in bringing the faculties of the mind to their greatest perfection. If the moral qualities do not attain their full growth, the intellectual powers will be dwarfed with them. CHAPTER IV. CONTINUATION OF THE THIRD YEAR. -ON TRUTH, NOTHING, perhaps, in children, is more interesting to us than their progress in speaking: here, every thing is new and characteristic; every thing is closely connected with their moral character. Even from his cradle the child has felt what it was to love, to hope, to desire: he has exercised his organs and his strength; yet his progress has been so gradual, that we have hardly been able to trace its different steps, and we imagine it much the same in all children. But as soon as they can speak, every thing becomes clearer: their impressions, their thoughts, have each a distinguishing symbol; and we remember and repeat their words. It seems as if a light were at once thrown upon the mind and character, which enables us to see and understand what we have to act upon. This knowledge is most essential; but it is not to be acquired without much pains and study. Children, though so ingenuous and simple, do not always adhere to the truth. They use dissimulation, if we may so express it, innocently, |