The attention of an amiable woman, will next be directed to the care of her offspring,—to raise them up in the ways of virtue and usefulness,—
“——To rear the tender thought,
To teach the young idea how to shoot,—
To pour the fresh instruction o’er the mind,—
To breathe the enlivening spirit,—and to fix
The gen’rous purpose in the glowing breast;”
“these, these are woman’s duties, and delightful ones they are! Happy the man who can call her his wife; blessed are the children who call her mother!” For the foregoing sentiments we are indebted to an amiable and celebrated authoress of the present day, and to the no less celebrated and amiable Thomson; and we feel impelled to quote the concluding sentence of the above-mentioned lady, on this interesting subject.
“When we thus observe the mistress of a family exercising her activity and best abilities in appropriate cares and increasing excellence, are we not ready to say she is the agent for good, of that benevolent being who placed her on earth to fulfil such sacred obligations, and not to waste the talents committed to her charge.”
“Next to the care and attention due to your husband and children,” says another female writer, “your servants claim, as your nearest dependents; and to promote their good, both spiritual and temporal, is your indispensable duty.—Let them join your family devotions, and endeavour to make them spend their Sabbath properly.” She further adds, “It was the remark of an old domestic, that the worst mistresses a servant can live with are young married women—They are unreasonable,” said she, “in their commands; they expect too much; nor do they rightly know when to commend, or when to blame.”
In your manner to your servants, be firm, without being severe, and kind, without being familiar. Never converse familiarly with them, unless on business, or on some point connected with their improvement; but with this reserve, and distance of manner, be particularly careful to maintain kindness, gentleness, and respect for their feelings. Their patience is often unnecessarily exercised, and their tempers wantonly irritated. “I have been sometimes shocked,” says the same amiable writer, “with the want of politeness, by which masters and mistresses provoke impertinence from their servants.”—A lady, who filled every station of life with honour, both to her head and heart, attending the death-bed of an old domestic, who had been thirty years in her service—“How do you find yourself, to-day, Mary?” said the mistress, taking hold of her withered hand. “Is that you, my darling mistress!” and a beam of joy overspread the old woman’s face; “O, yes,” she added, looking up, “it is you, my kind, my mannerly mistress!” The poor old creature said no more; but she had, by that last simple sentence, expressed volumes of panegyric on her amiable mistress. Human nature is the same in all stations; and if you strive to convince your servants that you have a generous and compassionate regard for their comfort, they will, in return, evince their gratitude. If to protect and encourage virtue be the best preventive from vice, then will your deserving female servants be liberally encouraged.