Motherly Counsel

should play every day, after, or out of, school, till the blood is ready to burst from your cheeks. There is a place or two, according to my recollections of your time of life, in the lane, where real, good, solid satisfaction, in the way of play, may be had. But I do earnestly hope to hear a good account of your books and progress when I get home. Love cousin M, and all your school and playmates, and love the studies which will make you wise, useful, and happy, when there shall be no blood at all to be seen in your cheeks or lips.

Your explanation of the greater warmth of weather here than at Essex, is all right. Give me the sun of Essex, however, I say, for all this. One half hour, tell grandmother, under those cherished buttonwoods, is worth a month under these insufferable fervors. . . I hope I shall get home in a month. Be busy, affectionate, obedient, my dear, only boy. Your father,

RUFUS CHOATE

Mrs. Gibbons sends love, advice, and money to her

son

NEW YORK, 5th mo. 12, 1855

WILL,

MY EVER DEAR Wto say, this busy Anniversary

week, — look after thy heart and do not lose it down East; do not let any ruffian throw thee over the Long Bridge; do not grow conservative; take care of thy eyes; go to bed early; wash thy lungs out in the morning with fresh, balmy air; inhale the fragrance of May's sweet flowers, and love us all always.

With the pure gold of warmest affection, and a soiled banknote, ever,

Thy devoted, adoring MOTHER

No lovelorn lassie will love thee with all her love, as I do, my pride and blessing, my own and only son. May we both live always!

MY

The unprejudiced opinions of a grandmother o (Mrs. Benjamin Franklin to her husband, Oct. 29, 1773) Y DEAR CHILD, I have bin verey much distrest aboute you as I did not aney letter nor one word from you nor did I hear one word from aney bodey that you wrote to so I must submit and inde to submit to what I am to bair I did write by Capt. Folkner to you but he is gon down and when I read it over I did not like t and so if this donte send it I shante like it as I dont send you aney news now I donte go abrode.

I shall tell you what Consernes my selef our youngest Grand son is the foreed child as a live he has had the Small Pox and had it very fine and got abrod a gen. Capt. All will tell you aboute him and Benj. Franklin Beache, but as it is so dificall to writ I have deserd him to tell you. I am to tell a verey pritey thing about Ben the Players is cume to town and they am to ackte on Munday he wanted to see a play he unkill Beache had given him a doler his mama asked him wather he wold give it for a ticket, or buy his Brother a neckles he sed his Brother a neckles he is a charmm child as ever was Borne my Grand cheldren are the Best in the world Salley will write I cante write aney mor I am your a feckshone wife.

D. FRANKLIN

The Bouquet of Life

The advantages of being a grandfather

(James Russell Lowell to Edwin Lawrence Godkin)

AS

ELMWOOD, 16th July, 1874

S for my grandson, he is a noble fellow and does me great credit. Such is human nature that I find myself skipping the intermediate generation (which certainly in some obscure way contributed to his begetting, as I am ready to admit when modestly argued) and looking upon him as the authentic result of my own loins. I am going to Southborough to-day on a visit to him, for I miss him woundily. If you wish to taste the real bouquet of life, I advise you to procure a grandson, whether by adoption or theft. The cases of child-stealing one reads of in the newspapers now and then may all, I am satisfied, be traced to this natural and healthy instinct. A grandson is one of the necessities of middle life and may be innocently purloined (or taken by right of eminent domain) on the tabula in naufragio principle. Get one, and the Nation will no longer offend any body. . . .

Dr. Channing has doubts about child study

(To Miss Elizabeth Peabody)

INTENDED to write you a long letter, but my house is full of friends, who leave me no leisure. I thank you for your "Record," which I read with great pleasure. I have still doubts; but the end sought is the true one, and I earnestly desire that the experiment should be made.

I want proof that the minds of children really act on the subject of conversation, that their deep consciousness is stirred. Next, I want light as to the degree to which the mind of the child should be turned inward. The free development of the spiritual nature may be impeded

by too much analysis of it. The soul is somewhat jealous of being watched; and it is no small part of wisdom to know when to leave it to its impulses and when to restrain it. The strong passion of the young for the outward is an indication of nature to be respected. Spirituality may be too exclusive for its own good.

Such as sit in darkness

I

(Laura Bridgman to Samuel Gridley Howe)

Twenty-eight of January [1844]

MY VERY DEAR DR. HOWE :

What can I first say to God when I am wrong?

Would he send me good thoughts & forgive me when I

Why does he not love
Would he be very happy

am very sad for doing wrong? wrong people, if they love Him? to have me think of Him & Heaven very often? Do you remember that you said I must think of God & Heaven? I want you to please to answer me to please me. I have learned about great many things to please you very much. Mrs. Harrington has got new little baby eight days last Saturday. God was very generous & kind to give babies to many people. Miss Rogers' mother has got baby two months ago. I want to see you very much. I send much love to you. Is God ever ashamed? I think of God very often to love Him. Why did you say that I must think of God? You must answer me all about it, if you do not I shall be sad. Shall we know what to ask God to do? When will He let us go to see him in Heaven? How did God tell people that he lived in Heaven? How could he take care of folks in Heaven? Why is He our Father? Why cannot He let wrong people to go to live with Him & be happy? Why should He

The Spirit of Love

not like to have us ask Him to send us good thoughts if we are not very sad for doing wrong? . . .

MY

II

(Dr. Howe to Laura Bridgman)

[Y DEAR LITTLE LAURA;· Mrs. Howe has a sweet little baby; it is a little girl. We shall call her Julia. She is very smooth, and soft, and nice; she does not cry much, and we love her very, very much. You love her too, I think, do you not? But you never felt of her, and she never kissed you, and how can you love her? It is not your hands, nor your body, nor your head, which loves her and loves me, but your soul. If your hand were to be cut off, you would love me the same; so it is not the body which loves. Nobody knows what the soul is, but we know that it is not the body, and cannot be hurt like the body; and when the body dies the soul cannot die. You ask me in your letter a great many things about the soul, and about God; but, my dear little girl, it would take very much time and very many sheets of paper to tell you all I think about it, and I am very busy with taking care of my dear wife; but I shall try to tell you a little, and you must wait until I come home, in June, and we will talk very much about all these things. You have been angry a few times, and you have known others to be angry, and you know what I mean by anger; you love me and many friends, and you know what I mean by love. When I say there is a spirit of love in the world, I mean that good people love each other; but you cannot feel the spirit of love with your fingers, it has no shape nor body; it is not in one place more than another, yet wherever there are good people there is a spirit of love. God is a spirit; the spirit of love. If you go into a house, and the children tell you that their father whips them, and will