It is surprising to see how much hearty enjoyment chil-
dren get from having read aloud to them stories which
seem to be above their comprehension, and in which many
words occur of whose meaning they are certainly ignorant.
There are many books now which will not only delight
the child, but will continue to please him in later years.
Hans Andersen's "Fairy Stories," Grimm's "Tales," Haw-
thorne's "Wonder Book," are representatives of a large
class of books whose healthy tone and choice language can
not fail to produce good effects.
Fathers and mothers can hardly rejoice enough at the
change which renders it possible to provide books so de-r
lightful and so stimulating to the imagination as Jules
Verne's stories ; and children may congratulate themselves
that they are no longer expected to be grateful for the
presentation of the. memoir of some good little boy who
died in June, or with "Who are the Happy?" That
book was given to a little girl about twenty-five years ago,
who to this day remains in profound ignorance as to the
correct answer to the conundrum.
children's rights.
Philanthropy shines out in the age we live in. There
are numberless societies for the encouragement of that fel-
low-feeling which makes the whole world kin and kind.
114 HOUSEHOLD HINTS.
and which ought to do so, but there are still some little
wrongs to be righted, grievances which are overlooked be-
cause they are small. There is, I believe, no society which
has for its aim the just treatment of children who have
both fathers and mothers and who live in pleasant homes.
Yet there is great need that attention should occasionally
be directed to the fact that many children so situated suf-
fer from injustice. Children are tried and condemned by
the family tribunal for offenses of which they are guiltless ;
they are corrected for a breach of good manners when they
were simply following examples constantly set for them by
older members of the family. They are reproved before
company in a way which must lessen their self-respect.
They are often unnecessarily disregarded and overlooked.
I have seen a little boy or girl with eyes beaming with
pleasure at the advent of some visitor who, when he ar-
rived, did not take the slightest notice of the child ; not
so much as of the dog who runs up and gives a friendly
sniff at his heels.
*^It is almost impossible," said a lady the other day,
" to teach my children to be polite to people ; there are
so many who come to the house who do not acknowledge
the presence of the children by a nod even." One likes to
think, in view of this, of the picture given by Hayden of
the Duke of Wellington as he saw him one day at the
house of a friend, surrounded by six healthy, noisy chil-
dren, who were begging for some of his tea ; he promised
it to them on condition that they would not slop it on him
as they did the day before.
No sensible father or mother can wish children to mo-
nopolize the attention of a guest^ but must desire that they
shall be treated politely. Nothing can be more disagree-
able than a forward child who rudely interrupts and an-
noys those about him, but even he is not utterly unworthy
of the milk of human kindness.
TALKS UPON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, 115
Household hints
1881Page 57
Presented as published in 1881. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
It is surprising to see how much hearty enjoyment children get from having read aloud to them stories which seem to be above their comprehension, and in which many words occur of whose meaning they are certainly ignorant.
There are many books now which will not only delight the child, but will continue to please him in later years. Hans Andersen's "Fairy Stories," Grimm's "Tales," Hawthorne's "Wonder Book," are representatives of a large class of books whose healthy tone and choice language can not fail to produce good effects.
Fathers and mothers can hardly rejoice enough at the change which renders it possible to provide books so delightful and so stimulating to the imagination as Jules Verne's stories ; and children may congratulate themselves that they are no longer expected to be grateful for the presentation of the. memoir of some good little boy who died in June, or with "Who are the Happy?" That book was given to a little girl about twenty-five years ago, who to this day remains in profound ignorance as to the correct answer to the conundrum.
children's rights.
Philanthropy shines out in the age we live in. There are numberless societies for the encouragement of that fellow-feeling which makes the whole world kin and kind.
which ought to do so, but there are still some little wrongs to be righted, grievances which are overlooked because they are small. There is, I believe, no society which has for its aim the just treatment of children who have both fathers and mothers and who live in pleasant homes. Yet there is great need that attention should occasionally be directed to the fact that many children so situated suffer from injustice. Children are tried and condemned by the family tribunal for offenses of which they are guiltless ; they are corrected for a breach of good manners when they were simply following examples constantly set for them by older members of the family. They are reproved before company in a way which must lessen their self-respect. They are often unnecessarily disregarded and overlooked. I have seen a little boy or girl with eyes beaming with pleasure at the advent of some visitor who, when he arrived, did not take the slightest notice of the child ; not so much as of the dog who runs up and gives a friendly sniff at his heels.
*^It is almost impossible," said a lady the other day, " to teach my children to be polite to people ; there are so many who come to the house who do not acknowledge the presence of the children by a nod even." One likes to think, in view of this, of the picture given by Hayden of the Duke of Wellington as he saw him one day at the house of a friend, surrounded by six healthy, noisy children, who were begging for some of his tea ; he promised it to them on condition that they would not slop it on him as they did the day before.
No sensible father or mother can wish children to monopolize the attention of a guest^ but must desire that they shall be treated politely. Nothing can be more disagreeable than a forward child who rudely interrupts and annoys those about him, but even he is not utterly unworthy of the milk of human kindness.