Imatges de pàgina
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DUTIES OF THE FAMILY.

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of exploring the nature of man, his actual, as well as his true condition, the causes by which he fell into the former, and the means by which he may be restored to the latter! With what confidence and willingness of mind would children generally submit to a treatment, over which they felt, that justice and love presided! And how much, on the other hand, would parents and teachers themselves be benefited by that scrupulous attention to their own conduct, that constant scrutiny of their own principles and feelings, and that diligent study of moral causes and effects, which such a course of education required! Let any one try the experiment, and persevere in it long enough to see the fruits of it, and I am sure that he will bear testimony to the truth of my assertion, that education, howsoever it may be felt by the great mass of those who engage in it, either from necessity, or by the way of trade, was never intended by God otherwise than as a blessing; and that there are few relationships in human society, which, when approached in a right spirit, will have a more sanctifying influence, and be productive of more pure and unmingled delight.

If, then, with this view of our subject, we ask again, "What are the rights and duties of the family, and of society at large, respecting the education of children belonging to them?”—it is evident, from the very nature of that duty, and its first appointment by the divine decree, that it devolves more immediately upon the family. It is to the mother's love, to the father's exertions, that the child is to look for the satisfaction of all the wants, which its complicated nature involves, in so helpless a condition. But although the duty of the family be more direct, that of society is not less urgent; it is more remote, but far more comprehensive, and, as regards the responsibility of the trust, perfectly equal to the other.

It is upon father and mother that the child prefers his first claim to assistance for the attainment of the aim of his life; but if, from some reason or other, that claim be not

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WHO ARE THE FATHERLESS.

satisfied by the parents, the child prefers his ultimate claim upon society, and woe unto the nation that turns a deaf ear upon it, in whom the fatherless findeth no mercy! Fatherless I call not only that child, whom death has deprived of his parents, but that child, also, whose father and mother are, by the oppression of penury, and by the covetous spirit of society, which extorts and exacts from the industrious poor even the uttermost farthing, rendered virtually dead to every other duty, but that of toiling for a scanty subsistence; and still more that child, whose parents are, by the demonlike pride of high life, or the brutal degradation of low life, spiritually dead, exhaling a pestiferous atmosphere, pregnant with the most deadly poison to the souls of men. Here it is, where the duty of society comes in, to take the place of the parent, who is incapacitated for the discharge of his trust by his circumstances, or by his own moral condition. It is discharging but a small part of that obligation, to establish orphan homes for those children, who are fatherless by the natural death of their parents; such asylums are much more urgently and extensively wanted for those, who are in a state of artificial, or of moral orphanage. Is it to be credited, that a nation who is so fully apprized, how much more precious the life of the soul is than that of the body, should have made provision, in some instances abundant and splendid provision, for those children who are in danger of bodily death, and remain utterly indifferent to the condition of thousands of children, who are daily exposed to, or actually suffering, the death of the soul? Is it to be credited? or, rather, I should say, is such a national neglect of education to be wondered at, when we see that, even in those families, which profess to acknowledge their duty in this respect, and boast of eminent wisdom and care in its fulfilment, a degree of indifference is practically evinced, which sufficiently proves that, to their feelings, education is still a burden? I appeal to your own observation: what is the lot of children generally

SELFISHNESS OF PARENTS.

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in those families, which combine with the ease and comforts of affluent circumstances, a tone of order and morality which has gained them the appellation of "well-regulated,' and, in most instances, also, a religious character. From their earliest infancy they are subjected to an unnatural separation from those, to whose eyes and lips they were intended to cleave, there to imbibe the first moral impressions; they are, in deference to the claims of vanity, habitually excluded from the apartment in which their parents dwell, and, in fact, from the whole house, with the exception of that one room, generally not the best, nor the most healthy, which is set apart for them. In five cases, out of ten, they are kept in this exile during the greater part of the day, and admitted to the presence of their parents only on some emergencies; and these are invariably just those moments in which their absence would be most desirable. The father, whom, during dinner, the sight of his children would disgust, or their noise annoy, wishes, after the cloth is removed, to relieve the dulness of a solitary bottle by a little fun with them; they are accordingly sent for, and treated with some of the dessertsweetmeats, that the moral ground of affection may be effectually destroyed, and the child linked to his parent by the more powerful charm of sensual appetite; or, there is some visitor, who asks for the " sweet darlings," not from any interest in the children, whom she would rather not be troubled with, but from an anxiety to gratify the senseless vanity of the mother; then the nursery bell is rung, and the poor victims of fashion are introduced for a moment, to make their parade by a stiff courtesy, an answer put into their mouths, or a thoughtless repetition of some silly nursery rhymes, learned by rote, amidst floods of tears. After this performance, and some flat compliments paid to their petty accomplishments and their pretty faces, they are dismissed from a scene which could be acted, without omitting any of the material incidents, and with far greater propriety, if the lady of the house were to

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CHILDREN LEFT TO SERVANTS.

exhibit, instead of Master Henry and Miss Harriet, her Puggy or her Polly.

This unnatural separation between parent and child, from which the selfish feelings of the parents only procure occasional relief, is, however, by no means the most disgraceful proof of the indifference, in which the class of society alluded to, remain to the claims of one of their most important duties. The character of those, to whom they abandon their children during the greater part of the day, testifies still more strongly of that inhuman and ungodly spirit, by which, in the midst of professions of philanthropy and christian charity, the affairs of daily life are regulated. I am at a loss to know, which of the two deserves the severer censure, the tone in which servants are treated, and the state of degradation to which they are reduced; or the fact, that to the influence of such despised and such degraded servants, the tender souls of children are exposed. These two profanations of the sanctuary of domestic life, seem to be of one piece. I have observed, at least, that wherever servants are treated with that kindness and attention to their well-being, which is due to them as our fellow-creatures, there the children of the family are, although not excluded from their presence, yet never wholly given up to them; and, on the other hand, that the extent of separation which takes place between parents and children, bears an exact proportion to the degree of haughtiness in the tone of the master and mistress, and of submissive brutality in the servants. Under all circumstances, I should object to children's being left to servants, not because they are of an inferior rank, or because they are hirelings,-distinctions of this kind cannot too late be introduced in education,— but simply, because the parents are more naturally their nurses and their keepers; because they have a more immediate calling to take care of them; because an innate feeling of duty dwells in their bosoms; because a far greater weight of responsibility lies upon them; and because they have stronger inducements, as well as ampler

DOMESTIC SLAVERY.

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means, to enlighten their minds on the subject. If, then, even with servants of a morally unexceptionable character, the transfer of the parent's duty upon them is liable to objection, how much more must it be so, with a debased and corrupted race of servants? And in no country, I apprehend, is there a more debased and more corrupted race to be found, than in this,-owing to the hauteur with which they are treated, and from which other fruits cannot be expected. It is not natural that a human being should consent to be treated as if he belonged to a different species, to be used as a machine for a variety of purposes, without being ever regarded otherwise, than as that machine; seen, and yet not perceived; spoken to, and yet not noticed; to be condemned to stand, earless, eyeless, motionless, and speechless, until the look or word of command restore to him the use of his senses and limbs for a specific purpose; to be considered and dealt with, in the parlour, as a piece of furniture, or in the kitchen, as a utensil, and to be attended to in his wants and wishes, or cultivated in his affections, no more, if not less, than the dog or the horse, upon whom it is his duty to wait, in the master's name:—I say it is not natural that a human being should consent to endure all this degradation, at the hand of his fellow-creature, without a compensation which, in his estimate, makes up for the loss of what no man should ever be tempted to part with, his human capacity. And what can that compensation be? It cannot, in the very nature of things, be a moral one: for the last remnant of taste for any mental or moral gratification, would render the condition, by the endurance of which it is supposed to be purchased, perfectly insufferable. The compensation for the conditional setting aside of the fact, that the servant has an immortal soul as well as his master, and is his fellow creature in every respect, can only be one which is calculated to make the victim of human pride and vanity, really forget that, which he is under the obligation of affecting not to know; it can only be the high wages of Mammon, and the sensual enjoyments which can be bought

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