ng delicate little romp, chasing a bird in mirthful glee, as if
she verily thought she could catch it?

How could this young wife and mother, so differently trained, be
expected all at once to judge and act wisely and impartially about the
grave matter of infant training--a subject she absolutely knew nothing
about, having never contemplated it? What do parents think, or expect
when their young daughters marry and become parents? Do they suppose
that some magic spell will come over a girl of eighteen in going through
the matrimonial ceremony, which shall induct her into all the mysteries
of housewifery, and initiate her into the more intricate and important
duty of training the infant, so as to give it a sound mind in a sound
body, so that it shall possess a symmetrical character?

The father of Louise saw too late his mistake in allowing this daughter
the great privilege, as he thought at the time, of having her own way in
every thing.

If this were a proper place to give advice to young men on the grave
subject of selecting a wife, we should say, "Never marry a young lady
merely for her showy, outward accomplishments, which, ten chances to
one, have been attained at the expense of more valuable and useful
acquirements--perhaps at the sacrifice of the ornament of a meek and
quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. Never select
for a wife a young lady who dishonors her name and sex by the avowal
that she dislikes children; that she even hates the care of them, and
that she never could find pleasure in household duties. She could never
love flowers, or find satisfaction in cultivating them."

A lovely infant is the most beautiful object of all God's handy works.
"Flowers _are_ more than beautiful;" they give us lessons of practical
wisdom. So the Savior teaches us. If I did not love little children--if
I did not love flowers--I would studiously hide the fact, even from
myself, for then I could not respect myself.

But to return to the remark which Louise made to her husband, when he
presented her with that good and useful book--a book which has elicited
praise from many able writers, and called forth the gratitude of many
wise and good parents.[D]

This remark was anything rather than a grateful acknowledgment to her
husband for his thinking of her when absent; and it not only evinced a
spirit of thoughtlessness and ingratitude to him, but manifested a
remarkable share of self-sufficiency and self