I once saw a baby boy creep up to a beautiful plant in a low window and clutch a tiny handful of leaves and blos- soms. His mother said "No, no" in a very decided tone, and gave a soft blow on the hand, not to hurt him, but to emphasize . her words. The boy never forgot it. Almost every day he would creep up to the plant, put out his hand, and look around mischievously at his mamma, but he never touched the plant again. He was a persistent little fellow too. It is generally a question as to which has the stronger will, and the more decision of character — mother or baby ; there ought to be no question, although, in fact, there often is, as to who shall be conqueror. Children are certainly things of beauty, and might be joys for ever, if wisely loved and trained ; and they would be welcomed instead of being just tolerated, as they often are. CHEERFUL KEALS. It is impossible to estimate properly the immense in- fluence which is exerted upon a household by the atmos- phere of the family table. If it is true, as Goethe some- where says, that one does not come out of a room the same person who went in, the mind ever after retaining the impress of what affected it, what great results must be achieved by the meeting three times a day in the dining- room, by the conversation indulged in, and the senti- ments habitually expressed there ! A neat, well-ordered table is in itself a lesson to the children. A sensitive child almost invariably has better manners when dressed in his best, and I have seen with surprise the effect produced upon a certain small boy of my acquaintance by hand- somely-dressed ladies who are polite to him. TALKS UPON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. 137 To the inviting table, where there should always be something attractive, however simple the meal may be, most children will come prepared to behave properly. At this table the mother should not take her seat with disor- dered hair, and soiled collar, saying with the air of a mar- tyr that it is the first time she has sat down to-day. The head of the house, if the dinner is not exactly to his mind, will not resent it as a personal affront, and if he does not, like Grandfather Smallweed, audibly ask to be *^ obleeged with the teapot or chair-cushion " to throw, will make his displeasure felt about as forcibly. It really is worth while, and when philosophically looked upon is a matter of great importance, to lay aside, as far as possible, all thoughts of the hard work done before and to be done after a meal, and to allow no vexatious ques- tions to be discussed at this time. The habit of brooding over our work and exhausting ourselves by going it all over in our minds is one to be studiously avoided. There is nothing which takes from, one's energy more than this, and, when carried to excess, is a frequent cause of insanity. Everybody knows that food digests better when eaten in agreeable company. It was something more than a pleas- antry which made a friend remark that he could not have his wife and child pass the summer vacation away from him, as it gave him dyspepsia. The poor child who comes to grief at the table, and is sent away from it with his dinner half eaten, and who suffers the whole afternoon with an undigested lump of food in his stomach, is to be pitied ; and it is a wise plan to explain to children that for bad conduct at the table nature itself will punish them. The effect of body upon mind and of mind upon body is shown in nothing more clearly than in the relation which exists between the brain and the stomach. It follows, then, that pleasant surprises in the way of preparing fa- 138 HOUSEHOLD HINTS, Yoritc dishes^ that good taste and much painstaking in arranging all the appointments of the table and dining- room, rise above a mere ministering to the animal existence, and affect the fine issues of life.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

I once saw a baby boy creep up to a beautiful plant in a low window and clutch a tiny handful of leaves and blossoms. His mother said "No, no" in a very decided tone, and gave a soft blow on the hand, not to hurt him, but to emphasize . her words. The boy never forgot it. Almost every day he would creep up to the plant, put out his hand, and look around mischievously at his mamma, but he never touched the plant again. He was a persistent little fellow too. It is generally a question as to which has the stronger will, and the more decision of character — mother or baby ; there ought to be no question, although, in fact, there often is, as to who shall be conqueror. Children are certainly things of beauty, and might be joys for ever, if wisely loved and trained ; and they would be welcomed instead of being just tolerated, as they often are. CHEERFUL MEALS. It is impossible to estimate properly the immense influence which is exerted upon a household by the atmosphere of the family table. If it is true, as Goethe somewhere says, that one does not come out of a room the same person who went in, the mind ever after retaining the impress of what affected it, what great results must be achieved by the meeting three times a day in the diningroom, by the conversation indulged in, and the sentiments habitually expressed there ! A neat, well-ordered table is in itself a lesson to the children. A sensitive child almost invariably has better manners when dressed in his best, and I have seen with surprise the effect produced upon a certain small boy of my acquaintance by handsomely-dressed ladies who are polite to him. To the inviting table, where there should always be something attractive, however simple the meal may be, most children will come prepared to behave properly. At this table the mother should not take her seat with disordered hair, and soiled collar, saying with the air of a martyr that it is the first time she has sat down to-day. The head of the house, if the dinner is not exactly to his mind, will not resent it as a personal affront, and if he does not, like Grandfather Smallweed, audibly ask to be "obliged with the teapot or chair-cushion" to throw, will make his displeasure felt about as forcibly. It really is worth while, and when philosophically looked upon is a matter of great importance, to lay aside, as far as possible, all thoughts of the hard work done before and to be done after a meal, and to allow no vexatious questions to be discussed at this time. The habit of brooding over our work and exhausting ourselves by going it all over in our minds is one to be studiously avoided. There is nothing which takes from, one's energy more than this, and, when carried to excess, is a frequent cause of insanity. Everybody knows that food digests better when eaten in agreeable company. It was something more than a pleasantry which made a friend remark that he could not have his wife and child pass the summer vacation away from him, as it gave him dyspepsia. The poor child who comes to grief at the table, and is sent away from it with his dinner half eaten, and who suffers the whole afternoon with an undigested lump of food in his stomach, is to be pitied ; and it is a wise plan to explain to children that for bad conduct at the table nature itself will punish them. The effect of body upon mind and of mind upon body is shown in nothing more clearly than in the relation which exists between the brain and the stomach. It follows, then, that pleasant surprises in the way of preparing favorite dishes, that good taste and much painstaking in arranging all the appointments of the table and diningroom, rise above a mere ministering to the animal existence, and affect the fine issues of life.

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