"Daddy, Bill won't saw that wood!"
WE do not hear much of the mothers of great men. What their fathers were—what their reputation, qualities, and history—is related to us with great particularity; but their mothers are usually passed over in comparative silence. Yet it is abundantly proved, from experience, that the mother's influence upon the development of the child's nature and character is vastly greater than that of a father can be. "The mother only," says Richter, "educates humanly. Man may direct the intellect, but woman cultivates the heart."
A PARENT would rush, in the greatest alarm, after a child that was indiscriminately eating wild fruit and berries, for fear it should lay hold of a poison. How much greater care ought to be exerted in preventing an indiscriminate use of books, lest the morals should imbibe a poison that will stamp the future character with irretrievable dishonor.
HOUSE PLANTS.
From Mrs. Hale's New Household Receipt-Book.
PLANTS require much light and fresh air; a light garret is an excellent place for them; even those which will not bear the outer air must have the air of the room frequently freshened by ventilation, to preserve them in health. They should not stand in a draught of air. In frosty weather, the windows should be kept close, and at night the shutters. In sharp frost, instead of stirring out the fire, leave a little on retiring to rest, with a guard before it for security.