They should have a very limited library; but the collection should be as choice as the most anxious and sensible mother can make it. One dozen of little books, simple in language, unaffected in style, natural in the thoughts, incidents, and dialogues, and pure in the moral, one dozen of such books, though they be valued by the bookseller but at one penny each, are worth one thousand of those gaudy volumes, professed to be written for infant instruction, but which are better adapted, from the strength and goodness of the paper, to lining trunks or heating of baths.

On beginning to read for pleasure, children invariably incline to pronouncing the words aloud. I have observed little girls take their books to one part of the sitting room, generally to the window, and there seating themselves in their own little chairs, with their backs to the grown persons present, begin to read aloud.* This most useful and improving inclination is quickly baffled by some one, perhaps the mother calling out, "Read it to yourself, my dear, I cannot bear so much noise; I do not know what I am talking about." The child obeys, but with what injury to his mind, I leave any sensible person to judge.

After reading to himself, or to another, when a child shuts his book, he should be occasionally ques

*It may be thought they do so to drown the noise of conversation at the other part of the room; but I have observed them read aloud when only one person has been present, and consequently they have had no interruptions. The fact is, the sound is a great help to the senɛe.

tioned as to what he has been reading. With an account of this, he will be sure to give his opinions and remarks, and the mother will find them a great assistance to her in the study of his mind and temper, &c.; besides which, she will thereby judge what he can understand and what he cannot, along with what suits his taste, and what does not.

But all this will not be considered sufficient exercise for the mind of a child of six years. If the parent, then, must have lessons committed to memory, she will, of course, begin with English spelling.

,

Now so far from marking down a lesson from the formidable rows of one, two, three, four syllables which are ranged in the spelling book like an army of soldiers for battle, I should prefer a line of one of the old stories so often mentioned, one composed of monosyllables of no more than three letters. One single line would do, and I should thus propose it: "I wonder if my little girl or boy could spell these words to me without the book." A child of the age mentioned would be able to read for his own amusement, and he would directly say, "Oh yes, mamma, I am sure, I think I can spell a great piece of that, pray let me try, mamma;" and indeed he would learn off such a lesson, and say it perfectly, and, besides, receive his kiss as a good willing child, within ten minutes from the time the task, which in this way is no task, was proposed. Spelling the articles in use, as bread, water, beer, cheese, &c., is very entertaining when children have some notion of the way in which they are to travel through the words; and they are often found to try at whole sentences, when

spelling has not been made a disagreeable labour to them.*

Next to spelling the words, are those lessons which consist of repetition of sentences; of this kind of exercise are prayers, grammar, poetry, geography, &c.

The study of grammar from a book seems wholly unnecessary for children of the age under our consideration † A mother, in conversation, may teach her child what a noun, and adjective, and some other parts of speech are, but nature's works, and morality in general, with the little devotional exercises mentioned, afford all that can be desired for learning, as it is termed, off-books during first childhood.

There are, I believe, several catechisms of things most in use; from the best of these works a child may learn a small piece, spelling it first and repeating the whole afterwards. But let it be remembered, that whatever he is required to learn should be for his advantage and profit; "let him learn nothing

* One of the children alluded to in a foregoing page used to begin to spell for her own amusement, before she was up, whilst she was waiting for her maid to come and dress her. Her aunt, with whom she sometimes slept, overheard her, one morning, going very rapidly forward in this manner : " I wis b wish, s h e she, wood would, c u m come, and and, dres dress, me me, and and, get get, me me, my my, froc frock, and and, gluvs gloves, &c. The brother of this child, though younger, was equally fond of spelling for his own amusement all the little words he could think of, as fast as possible, thus: pig pig, fig fig, gig gig, rig rig, big big, dig dig, &c.

+ This work is only intended as a preliminary to the Private Education, which takes up the instruction of children from the age of seven or eight.

whilst a child," says Dr. Watts, "which he ought to forget when a man.' Mrs. Trimmer's introduction to the knowledge of nature is a very pretty book for reading, but rather too difficult for a child of six or seven to commit to memory. Many of Mrs. Barbauld's little pieces, I mean those that describe natural objects, in very easy language, are admirably suited to our purpose.

Easy poetry, too, may be made subservient to the same end. Many a precept of morality is preserved in poetry which would be forgotten in any other shape. Some little pieces, too, there are, scattered in the works of writers for children, which professedly treat of nature in her vegetable or animal kingdom, and they are too well adapted to the improvement of tender minds, not to encourage us to a search for them. Such pieces should be read several times to the child; he should then read them himself, and finish by learning a verse or a couple of lines. Any thing worth learning is worth remembering.

A child will have a great deal of pleasure in repeating his little stock of pieces one by one, beginning with Dr. Watts, and ending, if he please, with Mrs. Leycester, as he sits by or walks out with his mother. But if we go further, and require him to display his knowledge for the public adulation, and private ridicule of acquaintances, adieu to the gratification of walking and repeating to his mother. From an engaging, natural, unaffected child, he will become a pedantic, conceited, insufferable little prig, and will cease to learn, because he will think he already knows enough to be thought a wonder.

Numbering, or reckoning in a very simple manner, by marbles, plums, nuts, or counters, is an useful exercise for the mind, and a good preparation for arithmetic. This exercise is adapted to children, and described at length in the sequel to this work, and therefore needs not to be repeated here.

Writing, for children young as those in question, is an art with which we can have nothing to do here: but a simple exercise is connected with it of no little importance to children; it is that of writing down. messages from the child to an absent father, sister, or friend, which exertion, after a few trials, will form a kind of epistle, and will put him upon reflecting and arranging his thoughts. Such epistles written by us, verbatim, from the dictation of the little one, are sometimes very curious. I have seen several, and with some have been highly gratified.

The last exercise which I shall here recommend is one connected with another language than his own. In our country, French is considered almost indispensable; and as this is the case, and that the organs of a little child may yield to any effort at imitation, I see no inconveniences that can arise from children attempting, now and then, a little dialogue in that language. For example: articles on the breakfast, or dinner table, might be asked for in French; the child will immediately catch the sounds, and pro nounce exactly as the speaker. Short sentences, as,

open the door, sit down, speak to me," &c., might be learned with scarcely any trouble. Here, however, such lessons should stop. A child busy with religion morality, and the book of nature, has no time for the