was of such a nature that it required the full maturity of the understanding to appreciate its advantages and to enter upon the discharge of its duties. Hence, (as you may suppose his group principally to have consisted of mothers,) when mothers, obeying that maternal instinct, which often is more wise than the sound deductions of philosophy, (sound in the eyes of those who make them,)—that maternal instinct which felt for the little ones, felt their helplessness and their want, and had learned the power and goodness of the great Redeemer,-when they drew nigh and presented their infants to him, to come within the blessed sphere of his benignity and mercy, the disciples interposed, rejected the infants and rebuked the mothers. But Jesus said, Suffer these little ones to come to me; let no man forbid them; the kingdom that I am establishing reaches even to the infantile state of human existence; little children, too, are to be the objects of my grace and of my redeeming power: "Suffer little children to come unto me."

The first duty that devolves upon those who have the care of human beings is of course physical; it pertains to the animal, the material part of human nature, because that is first developed. The next development is unquestionably moral; the child begins to feel before he manifests much understanding. It is unquestionable that the conscience is developed much earlier than they whose observation has not been specifically directed to this point are prepared to believe. It is certain that the heart is very early developed; and God seems, in the very manner of the development of the faculties of human nature at successive periods, to indicate the kind of care, the kind of instruction, and the kind of influence which should be brought to bear upon human nature Last of all seems to come the higher range of the intellectual powers.

The first duty, touching the character and interest of man as a moral being, is to bring him under the moral government of Jesus Christ. The first duty with the mind of man is to make him understand and feel his want and his guilt as a sinner. The first and most important lesson that a mother can convey to the heart and the understanding of her child, is, that he is the

degenerate shoot of a degenerate vine, and that in Christ alone is his help. His little mind should begin to understand first the story of redeeming and incarnate love-the history of Him who became an infant, and then the "Man of sorrows," and then the bleeding Victim, and then the living Intercessor and the omnipotent King, to raise us from our ruin; and the first attractions of the little heart, beyond the father and the mother that begat and that nurture, should be to the great Benefactor that has come to redeem. "Suffer your little ones to come to me," said Jesus: from them that are indifferent, and from them that have objections to them, he seems to turn to mothers, and say, "Bring your little ones to me."

The first duty to man, as an immortal being and the subject of God's moral government, is to induce him, just as rapidly as his affections and will are developed, to break the bands that bind him to the kingdom of darkness, and to bring him, an intelligent and a voluntary subject, into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus, to teach him to love, to teach him to obey, to teach him to serve his "God manifest in the flesh." And it is an interesting object of investigation, to see what full provision God has made for the reclaiming of man from his apostacy, the introduction and the conservation of man in "the kingdom of his dear Son;" and that from the earliest period of his existence.

There is something very wonderful in the family-constitution; there is something in it which even the church herself has not fully understood, but which many indications in Providence show that she is going to understand more fully. There is more power in the family constitution, there is more moral power in a mother than the world has begun to conceive, than even christian mothers have yet begun fully to apprehend. And, as they advance in faith on God's promises,-as they rise in strength of a holy confidence that seizes the promise of an unchanging God,as they become intelligent in those great purposes of his moral government which pertain to us, and which are essential to direct us in the right discharge of duty,—we have no question that the moral power of the mother will rise; and just as far as we get away from Paganism, and all its degradation of the female sex, just as far as we get away from the foolish and romantic

ideas of woman that prevailed in the days of chivalry,—just so far shall we come into the clear and glorious light of christianity, and woman will be, what God meant she should be in his hand, the regenerator of the human race.

There is a peculiarity in the maternal feeling, that no man, who feels himself identified with the interests of the human race, can observe without himself feeling the deepest interest. There is something in a mother's love that cannot have been unintended; there is a reason for that peculiar delicacy and tenderness— for even that tenderness of tone which we cannot imitate; there is a meaning in the fact that the musical scale of a mother's voice is pitched differently from ours. It is one of God's great instruments for fitting her to reach man in those periods of his existence when every thing is tender in his body and in his soul.

There is an affinity between the feelings of a mother and a child, that does not exist in kind or degree between the father and the child, indicating a peculiarity in the duty and a peculiarity in the responsibility. I may say, in passing, (because I deem it of importance,) that perhaps there will become, for a time, extravagant, and exaggerated, and unharmonious, and unauthorized views of the duty of mothers, and that fathers will forget their peculiar station, for it is one of great peculiarity, and it is one of equal responsibility, different in kind. I wish not to encourage any exaggerated view; I wish not to roll more burdens upon the tender sex than God has placed; but my specific duty will lead me peculiarly to speak, and alone to speak, of maternal duty. There is something in the entire helplessness of human nature, in the entire dependence of human nature, there is something in the imitative propensities of children, there is something in that perfect confidence that characterizes children,-which fits them to come so fully, so entirely, under the kind and powerful influence of the enlightened and sanctified maternal heart; and the noblest object on the footstool of God is a christian mother, moulding human nature in the first stages of its earthly and of its immortal existence. Oh! that I might have light from God, to help even mothers this day to estimate their high calling and their holy commission.

(To be continued.)

For the Mother's Magazine.

PARENTAL GOVERNMENT.

No. II.

The science of family government embraces all those means of influence which may be rightfully employed by parents in guiding and controlling the conduct of their children. It may be true that these means, philosophically considered, are reducible to the single element of a legitimate administration of law. Yet in a practical discussion of this subject, it will be sufficient to follow out the general divisions as found in common use, without attempting any very accurate classification of their similitude. Of the right of the parent to govern his offspring, and of the importance of the duty incident to it, enough was said in our former article; and we now turn our attention to the question, how that right is to be exercised? It will be remembered, however, that the great object of all government, is to secure, on the part of the governed, the habit of universal and cheerful obedience to the will of the governor. Keeping this object distinctly before us, it is not difficult to perceive that one of the most essential elements of parental authority is that of legislation. The element of law-making is necessarily involved in the right to govern. But laws that are merely preceptive are nothing more than simple advice; and even good advice is very far from constituting a chief element in the science of government. Every law that is designed to be enforced must have an adequate penalty; and, in case of disobedience, the penalty must be executed. The authority of parents, then, is legislative, judicial, and executive.

I. The legislative rights and duties of a parent are far more extensive than is generally supposed. They are limited only by his capacity, and by the declared will of God. As the authority of the parent is altogether derivative, and rests exclusively upon the command of God, we are to look to his word as its legitimate source, and as prescribing its true limits. God has commanded

parents to "train up" their children in the way in which they should go, and children to "honor" and "obey" their parents. The only specific limitation of these commands is embraced in the expression-"Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath;" in other respects they are general and universal, extending from the most important to the minutest of human actions. Yet there are limitations to parental authority which must not be overlooked.

1. No parent has a right to require his child to do that which is in itself wrong. As the parent and child are both amenable to the Divine law, they are each bound to regard it as the superior rule of action. Great circumspection is always requisite in this respect, in order to avoid the enforcement of actions of questionable propriety. Many who would be shocked at the idea of commanding their children to lie or steal, are in the daily habit of requiring them to commit lesser crimes. One, from want of a proper veneration for the Christian Sabbath, will exact services on that day contrary to the spirit of the command, "Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy." Another, from want of reflection or care, will send a message to the door, or a compliment to a neighbor, which the child cannot help seeing to be a departure from the law of sincerity and truth. When a parent thus acts, he not only teaches his children to sin, but, in doing so, he is guilty of arrogating to himself the right to abrogate the law of his God. A similar limitation exists in reference to prohibitory laws. A parent has no right to prohibit what God commands. Few would have the hardihood to impose upon a child an explicit command to neglect a known and positive duty; yet there are very many who violate the spirit of this rule by directions. calculated to produce the same result. The parent who encourages habits or propensities that tend to a neglect of known duty, is, morally, as guilty as he would have been if he had commanded it.

2. A further limitation of parental authority is effected by the rights of conscience. The parent is bound to educate the consciences of his children; but he may not violate them. In order to avoid misconstruction on this point, it is necessary to be a lit