base. We
believe it would be found to work the best results, if all the
actions of a child were made thus to depend upon their harmony with
the will of God; for it would give a sacredness to every action,
make every motive a high and holy one, and harmonise the thoughts of
the heart with the actions of the life.

But in this mode of teaching, it is essentially necessary that a
mother should herself be an example of the truth she teaches. It
will be worse than useless to teach a child that God is always at
hand, 'and spieth out all our ways,' if she act as though she did
not believe in the existence of a Deity.

In the same way will it hold good of every requirement. It will be
vain to teach a child that lying is a great crime in God's sight,
when a mother in her own words shows no regard to truth; and equally
so of all other passions and feelings. It is idle to teach a child
that pride--hatred--revenge--anger, are unholy passions, if a
mother's own conduct displays either of them. How useless is it to
teach that vanity should never be indulged in, when a mother
delights in display! Such instruction as this is like the web of
Penelope--unpicked as fast as done. The greatest reverence is due to
a child; and previously to becoming a teacher, a mother should learn
this hardest of all lessons--'Know thyself.' Without this, the
instruction she gives her children will at best prove very
imperfect. It is quite useless to teach children to reverence any
thing, when a mother's conduct shows that, practically at least, she
has no belief in the truths she inculcates. And a very hard
requirement this is: but it is a requirement absolutely necessary,
if education is meant to be any thing more than nominal. The finest
lesson on the beauty of truth is enforced by a mother never herself
saying what is false; for children pay great regard to consistency,
and very soon detect any discrepancies between that which is taught
and that which is practised.

The best method of inculcating truth on the minds of children is by
analogy and illustration. They cannot follow an argument, though
they readily understand a comparison: and, by a judicious
arrangement, every thing, either animate or inanimate, might be made
to become a teacher. What lesson on industry would be so likely to
be instructive as that gathered from a bee-hive? The longest
dissertation on the evils of idleness and the advantages of industry
would not prove half so beneficia