A Plea for the Little Folks.
DON’T expect too much of them; it has taken forty years, it may be, to make you what you are, with all their lessons of experience; and, I dare say, you are a faulty being at best. Above all, don’t expect judgment in a child or patience under trials. Sympathize in their mistakes and troubles; don’t ridicule them. Remember, not to measure a child’s trials by your standard. “As one whom his mother comforteth,” says the inspired writer, and beautifully does he convey to us the deep, faithful love that ought to be found in every woman’s heart, the unfailing sympathy with all her children’s griefs. When I see children going to their father for comfort, I am sure there is something wrong with the mother. Let the memories of their childhood be as bright as you can make them. Grant them every innocent pleasure in your power. We have often felt our temper rise to see how carelessly their little plans are thwarted by older persons, when a little trouble on their part would have given the child pleasure, the memory of which would last a lifetime. Lastly, don’t think a child a hopeless case because it betrays some very bad habits. We have known children that seemed to have been born thieves and liars, so early did they display these undeniable traits, yet we have lived to see these same children become noble men and women, and ornaments to society. We must confess they had wise, affectionate parents. And whatever else you may be compelled to deny your child by your circumstances in life, give it what it most values, plenty of love.—Episcopal Methodist.