THE PRAYING OF A CHILD.
Pray, little child for me tonight,
That from thy lips like petals white,
Thy words may fall and at His feet
Bloom for His path with fragrance sweet!
Pray, little child, that I may be
Childlike in innocence like thee,
And simple in my faith and trust
Through all the battle's heat and dust!
Pray, little child, in thy white gown,
Beside thy wee bed kneeling down;
Pray, pray for me, for I do know
Thy white words on soft wings will go
Unto His heart, and on His breast
Light as blown doves that seek for rest
Up the pale twilight path that gleams
Under the spell of starry dreams!
Pray, little child, for me, and say:
"Please, Father, keep him firm today
Against the shadow and the care,
For Christ's sake!" Ask it in thy prayer,
For well I know that thy pure word
'Gainst louder tongues will have been heard,
When the great moment comes that He
Shall listen through His love for me!
Oh, little child, if I could feel
One atom of thy faith so real,
Then might I bow and be as one
In whose heart many currents run
Of joyful confidence and cheer,
Making each earthly moment dear
With sunshine and the sound of bells
On the green hills and in the dells!
Pray, little child, for me tonight,
That from thy lips in sunward flight,
One word may fall with all its sweet
Upon the velvet at His feet,
That He may lift it to His ear
Its tender plea of love to hear,
And lay it, granted, on the pile
Signed with the signet of His smile!
[NURSERY HINTS AND FIRESIDE GEMS 801]
Motherhood.—Motherhood is a profession that is overworked. The hours are long and holidays and vacations are few and far between. Mother gets a great deal of maudlin sympathy and not enough tangible aid, says a writer in the Housekeeper. Our poetic conception of the true mother is that her whole life is bound up in the welfare of her children and her family. At what age are her children not, for her, a matter of serious concern? She has ever had plenty of material which she can manufacture into worry and heartaches. Many mothers consume too much of their own nervous energy and jeopardize their health in what they think their bounden maternal duties. There is a judicious limit of all things even though they are virtues.
Mother.—The babe at first feeds upon the mother's bosom, but is always on her heart.—H. W. Beecher.
Baby's Layette.—The principal thing to be borne in mind regarding the baby's layette is that all the clothing should be light, soft, in both surface and texture, and porous also in order that the evaporation of perspiration and a certain ventilation of the skin may take place. Perfect simplicity, not only in material and trimming, but in the whole plan of the little garments will testify to good taste and common sense, and at the same time tend to eliminate much fretfulness and wailing.
Baby.—A sweet new blossom of humanity, fresh fallen from God's own home, to flower on earth.—Massey.
[802 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]
Boy's Garments.—Don't burden the boy with a whole array of separate garments, but give him a few good, heavy things. The lessened number will allow him freedom, and his comfort, too, is to be considered. Boy's trousers are now fully lined, and these with the right sort of underwear will give him the requisite warmth with very little unnecessary weight.
Boys.—A torn jacket is soon mended, but hard words bruise the heart of a child.—Longfellow.
Pretty Things for Baby.—Among pretty articles for baby there are tiny ribbon garters to hold up the little sleeves, in colors to match the blue of the eyes or the pink of the cheeks, and there are huge soft rosettes of ribbon and hand embroidered strings for the cap, and gold baby pins and fleecy robes and bow-decked quilts.
Baby.—A rose with all its sweetest leaves yet folded.—Byron.
Baby's Outing.—It is always better for a baby, no matter how young, to go out in a carriage than to be carried. Young babies are much more comfortable lying full length on a pillow placed in the carriage and properly covered than when carried in the arms.
Baby.—A lovely bud, so soft, so fair, called hence by early doom; just sent to show how sweet a flower in paradise would bloom.—Leigh Richmond.
Wild Flowers.—Children who gather wild flowers should be taught that they must not put them in their mouths. The buttercup, which is harmless enough to handle, contains an acid poison that will produce sore mouth, and taken into the stomach worse effects might result. It also contains a narcotic principle, anemonin, which has the property of diminishing the respiration and heart action.
Flowers.—It is with flowers as with moral qualities, the bright are sometimes poisonous, but I believe never the sweet.—Hare.
Reasoning versus Punishment.—There is one great point that all mothers should observe and that is not to punish children when reasoning would bring the same results. For needless correction blunts a child's sensitiveness. To state that it brutalizes him is putting it too positively, but it tends to develop indifference and hardness that one does not want a child to possess,
Discipline.—Be ever gentle with the children God has given you.—Watch over them constantly; reprove them earnestly, but not in anger.—In the forcible language of Scripture, "Be not bitter against them." "Yes, they are good boys," said a kind father. "I talk to them much, but I do not beat my children: the world will beat them." It was a beautiful thought, though not elegantly expressed.—Burritt.
Baby's Kimono.—The little flannel kimonos or wrappers, so convenient to slip on the baby before the morning bath, or if the room is at all chilly, may be made up in pretty styles, in delicate colors, bound with silk, and tied with tiny bows to match.
[NURSERY HINTS AND FIRESIDE GEMS 803]
Early Schooling.—Of ten infants destined for different vocations, I should prefer that the one who is to study through life should be the least learned at the age of twelve. —Tissot.
Baby's Fine Dresses.—If the baby's dress is not made of the finest of handkerchief linen, French nainsook or a very fine batiste is usually chosen. These are the soft materials, soft as well as sheer. They are the materials on which embroidery is done most successfully and the baby dress de luxe is always hand embroidered. It may have on it the merest touch of hand work—scarcely more than a few eyelets and a tiny blossom and stem and yet follow the prescribed lines. The little round yokes are attached to the fulled on skirt portion with the tiniest of beading or else the yoke scallops are lapped down over the fullness. The neck is edged with the little hand-made scallops.
Nicknames.—A good name will wear out; a bad one may be turned; a nickname lasts forever.—Zimmermann.
Undergarments.—In buying the little wool shirts (wool being considered the most satisfactory for infants' undergarments) never get the heaviest weights; there are four usually offered, even for winter wear. The next to the heaviest is quite warm enough for winter, and for summer the lightest weight obtainable, preferably of a mixture of silk and wool; cotton and wool should not be used. In hot weather shirts of cotton gauze or a soft porous cotton stockinet are satisfactory.
Training.—The education of our children is never out of my mind. Train them to virtue, habituate them to industry, activity, and spirit. Make them consider every vice as shameful and unmanly. Fire them with ambition to be useful. Make them disdain to be destitute of any useful knowledge.—John Adams to his wife.
Baby's Nerves.—Never try to entertain a baby too vigorously. Little babies especially, but also children somewhat older, should never be subjected to unnecessary excitement. Older people seldom realize how exceedingly undeveloped the nervous system of a little child is, and any undue shock to it is apt to cause the direst consequence. Do not take very small children to the theatre or the circus. They don't understand it, and they can't enjoy it.
Intemperance.—Violent excitement exhausts the mind, and leaves it withered and sterile.—Fenelon.
Second Teeth.—When the baby's second teeth are cut there are often injurious influences to be combated. There is more or less chance for the formation of caries or tartar; care must be taken and counsel sought, and every effort made to prevent the aggravation of the evil.
Tears.—Tears are the safety-valves of the heart when too much pressure is laid on it.—Albert Smith.
Going Barefoot.—The careful mother does not let her child run barefoot, no matter how they clamor to do it. If they wish to go shoeless, let them wear bathing sandals without stockings, is the advice of the writer, who adds, the germ of tetanus, better known as lockjaw, is frequently found in the soil and a child with even a small scratch or cut takes big risks. For girls, especially, running barefoot should be a forbidden pleasure as it makes the feet broad and flat.