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tETTEHS

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~cgnnl ~irls.
JlY

!tc~. ~. ~;}[t·~. ~J1rtrrc1us,
PnT~CIT'AT, OF 'l'IJF. OAKLAND FEJ\IAT.F. ~K~HNARV.

<!Iindnnati:
I'UBT.TS lllW LW SWORMS'J.'E D'l ' & POE,
rr 11l l' ITF;

Mr.r 11n1JJ ~T

F.l'T SC01 ':\T. c rnrnr.; 11, A'r Tllf.

<: ON(' t-:nN, l 'O'RN1·: 1t o•· 1.ti\tN . ANIJ f.lf:ll'r11

18!\3.

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yc biration.
- -- - -- - -Entrrri , :lccnn ! in ..,1~ lo J\cl of Cnn t: re,:~ , in t h e yrn r IR!'i'. I.
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!IY S 'W OllM S T .F: D'.I'

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o f the 1Jnil t>•\ f!t nt c'>
l Cl 1· ·~ ()fllc o nf the ffI ~ t n• c t Conrt
,
In I io
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for th e Distri ct of O hio.

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'f'llORI': "" IH EA W ll O II A VE ,\ T ,\ N y Tl ~ I E 1nmN
'J' H I': l' U l' J J, 8 U 1° 'l' II B A U '1' II U H ,

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IS i\l'FEt:'l'JONATEJ.Y J N~CJl JOl'P ,
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T il l~ AUT ll O Jl.

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PHEFACE.
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TuEsE "Letters" '\Tere originally prepared in the form of "Lectures," and
read to the pupils of the Oakland Female
Seminary, in 1848 and '49. Such things
as were peculiar to that institution, Lave
been omitted, and the.Y arc addressed to
school girls generally, in the hope that
the.Y ma.Y do some good. The author has
ever folt a <Leep interest in fornale education. He labored under nrnuy disadvantages in his boyhood, but he was always
cheered on in tho pursuit of knowledge
hy his nwtlwr . He has found the acquisition of knowledge such a continual
source of pleasure to him, that out of
gratitude to that mother, he resolved to
devote himself to the advancement of fomale education. Next to the pulpit, he
esteems it the most useful field in which
he could labor. Feeble health has pre5

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l'J tE J•' A CE .

PJtEl•'ACE.

Yc11tcd lr i1 11 l'rn111 111ucli pulpi t bbor for
111a11 y yea rn, and for nearl y fo nrtccn years
he has l1 ad e hargc of a fomalc school.
Th ere is 11n tlaugcr of spoilin g our
da11 ~ h tcrs hy too much education. Some
edu cated ladi es arc eccentric, and ncg'ligc11t nr h onscholil affairs, lmt tlicy would
lJO equally so without educati on. l+od,
wh o gave wn1na11 intellect, al so gave her
aileetinn s. The cul ti vat ion of her intellect, will n ot canse h er to Joye he r children or he r h ousehold less, for a mother's
hea rt will he true to the instinct of nat.11rc, 1111l ess con11pted by Yicc. A wo111:111 that is fon<l of fashi 1J11:ilJlc amuse111 011ls, of'teH sadl y neglects her family;
hut one llm1l of books, wil 1 be tlesirous of
slrnring her cnj oy111cnts with hm children,
aw L will love them more.
'l'lte hest educat ioH that we can g ive
he r, will he 11011e too m11eh to r[lmli(y h er
for he r rc!:'ponsibl c tlntics . Boys arc apt
tu lJl"cak away fro1n a 111othcr·s infl11e111.: e ;
hut. if th ey feel that their m ot.her is p osHeRsc<l t•I' Huperi ur knowled ge, they will

s ubmit to L.er authority perhaps to mature
age. Jt will not be necessary for the
moth er to make any pedantic display of
h er learning , lmt its influence will be imp erceptibly diffused in the ordinary, everyday iuterconrse of the family.
If~ in addition to being well educated,
sL.e is also religious, what a blessed and
p owerful infinence may she exert.! If all
the m oth ers in the land were such, what
a diJl:"erent g eneration would tho n~xt be
from the prcscu t or Lhc past !
fo tho hope that thi s little vol1u11e may
contribute so111cthi11g to a result so dcsiralJlc, it is sent forth with tlie prayer that
God 's l1lcss i11g may attend it.
Oakland Seinina,ry, Dec. 21, 1852.

7

CONTENTS.

LE'l"l'EU I.
STUDY · ••• •. •• •••••• • •• • ••••••••• • •• • •• •••• .• • • • ••

13

LE 'l' 1'ER II.
READING • •. • .• • • . ••••• •• • • ••••••••••• • ••.•. • •••.•

J~ E'l' 'l'EH

:w

III.

L.rns • • • . . • · • · · . · · • • • • • •• • • • • • . · • • .• · • • . • · •. . • • · •• 36

LE'l'TEit IV.
Co!IVERSA'C10!1 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

4.8

LE'l"l'ER V.
MA!l!IEU S· · . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . .

58

LE'l"l'ER YI.
RE.LIOIO!I • • • . . • • • . • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • . . • • . • . • • • 71.

LE'l"l'Elt VII.
PRA.YRlt• · • •• •••• ••• •••••••••••••••••••••• • ••• • •• ••

83

LE'l"l'ER VIII.
TnE

8ABBATH • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • . • • • • . • . • • • • . • •

n

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CONTENTS.

<.:ONTF.NTS.

f.l ·; T TIW l :\..
E r<HITJI l'O.Ml1.\Sll :OIEN'l' · · • · · · · · •• • • • • • · • · • · · • · · • • • ·

-106

.I

11

LE'l"l'Jrn XX .
'l'EAC llUI O · · • • • • · • • · • · · • • • • • • • • • • • · .. • . .... • • ... • , 212

• 1

J, E'l'TEU XXI.

LWl''l'Elt X.
flA Nl'l1' 0 •••• • ·· · •••• . .. . •• •• ... . •••• . ... • ••· . . . . . . 117

); i:; 'l"l'l':lt

1ltaLTll

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x 1.

.. • • • · • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ' • • '• "

l f EMALE EDUCA1'!0N ... . ...... .. . .. . . .. . ..... . .... ' • 230

• • • • • • 127

· · · • • · • • · • • · • · · • · • • • •' • • •' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

'- 135

L!'.: 'l ''l'Elt Xlll.
b l.J sSIONS · · • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ' • .. • • ' · • • • • • • • • • • • ' '' 146

L E'l"l'E lt XIV.
\' ULUAH IS:tl M · • • • · • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • · ' ' · ·' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' . ' - l :);j

L~: 'l"l' J.at

2~ 6

APPE ND I X.
• ' .. "

J, B'l''l'E lt Xll.

'l'E~lrEltANCf!. • ·

VALEDI CTORY • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ••••••••

XV.

Jl!Anm .\OE • • • • • · .. • • .... • • .. • · • • • • • • .... • · .... ....

Hil

l1ET TJHl XVI.
.UUTIF.H TO l'ARENTS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • · ' • • • • • · " • • • • • ...

lH

Ll':'l"l' Ell XV 11.
'l'1rnrr;11 · · ·. • · · · • · · · · · · · • · · • • · • · • • • · · · • · • · • · · • • • • -181

J. Wl"l'E It XV ll I.

:>ruu,~u U1111.s · · · · .. · · · · · · · · · · .. · · · · • · .. .... · · .. · · 103
J,E'l'TIHt XIX.
TEACllLN O ' .. ...... . ... . . . . . . . . . . . .. ... . . . . . . . . . . . . 2<J\)

)

LETTERS
TO

SCHOOL GIRJ,S.
!,ETTER I.
STUDY .

How thankfu l sl1 ould we be t.o God for the
many advantages, ~ocial and civil, li terary
n.ntl religions, with which we are SlllTOurHled !
·wh en .£ address myself to school g irls, I mn
addressing every young female in the land ,
for all have the opportunity of acqniring
more or less education at school. Many,
perhaps, do not appreciate t.hc privilcg-c, and
some may even refuse t.o attend school, wl1 en
they have the opportuni ty; but far th e greater
number, I trust, arc ardently athirst for knowlc<lgc, and clclight.crl to drink nt its crystal
fountains.
When girls go to school, they arc, no
doub t, infln encctl by various motives. Some

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t. F: TTF.H S TO S C HOOi. n1r.1.s .

•· 011J1i h u without, it.. tlod tli<l no t inte nd man
L•, I.1v 1! :u; n. sn.vngc.. , ,v 1"thout educati on. He
hn!; hrslo we tl r eason nml 8pecch. rt is bw is
Lo r end
and
\\' 1"1. t I <' 11 , :1Jl( l ·, t r<' •tnires
. lr arnino·
<:'.'
•
nre womle rlul and
m11 l t•rs t a nt 't t • 11 'i"·' worl-s
'
•
. . . .' 1 ._. 111 .,,h·
it. is :wrcr:nhl
e lo Ilim
, .. l) r1011 ~' .lllf
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~ '1nl tl11 ·y s h<i nltl hf' st.ntli c tl a nti nndcrs toot l.
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STUDY .

!-!:" mrrrl y hrr.:i11 s1• t111 ·ir p:m·nt s f;p ~1d l.l_ll'm ,
witho11t :111v tlc sire tn impron! th eir mmtl s.
Th• ·r t:t!w . n o i11Lt~rcst in Uwir s tudies, nncl
''•Jnliill't1ll!nt 1o th e scho ol-ro om is di sag ree·
:1hl· ~ tu t.hem. :-Som e g o b eeaus1! they hav11
r•n11w nc11'1:iintan ees altentlin g , whose soci e l_Y
is m~ch m o r e a ttrnctini to th em 1.han l11 e1r
!'~--;.,,.
. des ire l<J at.t en1l a h on.nlin g ··
'-' 111.,
1."
IJOO\:-.
~c. h o ol nr se minnry ' h ec a11 s1: lh t• y think it. will
:11ltl to their n·s pcclabilit.y , :111tl elv1·ate th e t.n
: 1hfll' (~ ll11: childre n or their Jl(•ig hho rs . .Lt IS
·1 1 • ·rnrn siiw to see ' "iris wh o han; a tt.cnd r tl
qu c,
.. "'
"'
a h o nrding- sch oo l, to•> short a t.i1~ c l.11 le arn
a ny t.hin rr u seful, assumin g airs of importan ce
incnnsi st.~nt with th eir circ um s tan ces in life.
Th ese arc n o t th e proper m otiv es . Y o u
s hnul 1l d es ire lo c nltiv atc y our min1l, b~c:m se
tn you
, and will cn. ti 11·' 1' 11 '·u e i1seful
t ~ t Il1 C:1 t Jn
·~
..
~ 111 rirP
to oth er s than yon
" 1) I,. \' (I ll 1. ,, Ji ..,
. -' u seful
.

\V hl' ll•'l'Lff , t h e n ·1un', .\'" 11

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opport.u-

_________
15

nit,y o f a ttendin g sr.h oo l, yon s honlcl fe el it to
be your du ty to apply to your books with dilig ence a nd ch eerfulness, a nd make all the improvem e nt y ou can. F e w and brie f a.re our
years in this world, and very brief is that p eriod of youth in whi ch edu cation may be acr1uired. H o w wick ed to was te the precious
mom ents in f1fr olo11s amusements, or idle
i>11orts, wh en we mig ht r eap the gold en har vest of knowled ge ! Jt is on so many accounts
d es ir::1blc to he well inform ed on a ll 1.h c subj ects
mmally 1' mbrncc1l in a goo d educa tion, that
you s h ould no t r es t sati sf.i cd till you lnw1: acquired all.
Ent edu ca t ion can n o t be a cquired wi thout
h a rd stud y. Som e would be g lad to have the
lrn owledgc, hu t th ey di slike to p er fo rm th e
labo r. Th ey sli g ht th eir lesso ns, end ea vor to
cl1 cat tl11! te ach er s at recitation, anti pass
through th e ~cssi on with out unclcr s ta nding
:m y t.l1ing well . Y un sh oulcl study e very les:::011 th oro ug hl y, a nd unders tand it w ell , before
you go to r ec itn . If you find difficulties, y ou
should go to yo n r teach er for explana ti on, before r ccit.:i.ti on . De no t lik e t h ose idl e girls,
who c:u·p no t wh e th er th ey unders tand their
lessons o r not, pro vided diflicult thin gs come

,

IG

J, F.TTF. RS TO SCHOOL GIRLS.

1o n1lwr members of the clas~, anti they can
g('t nlong without missing at recitat.ion.
lfarrl study will, of course, be difficult anti
di snrri·penblc at first, hut every thing valuable
is a~p1irc<l with tlilTiculty. What difficultil's
anti dangers do men surmount to ob~ain the
'"Oltl of California!
nnt knowletlge JS more
"'precious than gold or rubies '. Ile not t l'1sco ~rnged, anti the tliniculties will gradnally. give
way. and yon will become pleased a ml mt.e rPste(l in your studies.
'Vhcn I urge you to nndcrstantl your lessons before yon go to recite, I do not mean
1hat yo n should commi t them to memory, nor
that yo n should mark answers to tlic qu e~ ­
lions , and commi t th ese to memory . All tlus
ynn mig ht rl o, nntl yet kn ow very li ttle about
yonr lesson . End C'avor to und erstand the
meaning of your lesson, so that you ran ex··
pre5s the ideas of the au thor, not in the word s
of th e hook, but in your own lang uage.
The rnlei:; of grammar, aml definition s in
all the sciences, should be accurately commi'.t.Pd to memory ; but you will und erstand all
subjects better, if you will endeavor to cxpre: ~
t.he ideiv; in yonr own way. You are not, 111
fa d . sure thnt you have the iden correctly,

STU D l.'.

17

Lill you can so express it. If you take such
pains at every step, your knowledge will be
l.horo11g hl y digested, and your mental faculties will be strengthened and improved.
Some g irls desire to study too many things
at a time. Th ey wish to have a good educati on, but they arc in haste to finish. 'l'his is
u ot wise. Overexertion in labor may be injurious. Ov ereatiug will oppress the stomach. A n al.tempt to pursue too man y studies
at once, will overtax the mind, a nd only g ive
a smattering o f kn owledge. Acquire li rnt
principl es well, and Lhcn prncccd only so fast
as yo n can do it thoroughly. Spelling , r eading, writing , a nd arithmetic, are the four cor11er-stones of a good educatio n. If the .foundation is nut well laid, the superstrucLurc will
be defective. H ow ludicrous to sec a g irl
stt1d yi11g rhetoric or astronomy, when she can
not write a readable hand nor spell ordinary
wunls co rrcc Ll y ! Do not be ashamed to continue at these t hings, though you may be
nearly grown up, till you know them well. It
is bette r to learn nothing else at school, than
to be defective in these . '.L'o understand these
well , will give yonr mind a training thaL will
enable yo11 to become an intelligent woman
2

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.....ilillllil911i................................................. ~~~~

1.J·:TT F: Jt:; T O S ('HUUJ. C:ll t .L S .
S T U D\".

by yo11r (J\\'11 <'X('l' li ons aflcnrnnl. Bn l if yo u
l a1.' k llH·111, yo n ll'ill go limpin.:; all y our days,
11· h:1l.0· 1·1· r ('I ~\ · yo n may kn ow . }lavin g nrnclc
a f:1 ir ~la rl, p roceed step by step till you ac ([lli l'C :i ll yo n can. I am in favor of cxtcnsi\'c
ft; ma lc rrln cation. 'l'hc m os t cxlcnsi1·c course
nf the Lt.!s t fema le cnll l'gc is not too much.
Uo1l h a s g i1·c 11 y(Jn cap;1 cil.y fo r m ental improl'1'111cnl, ancl a desire for kn ow ledgr. Gratify llrn L de sire lo lhe foll ex tent, but do it
g r: ul na ll y, as your mind may Le able lo
b ear it .
About t hree subj ects, or fo ur, at the most,
arc as nrn ny as yo11 sh ould h ave on h arn.Is at
Ollt;C.
Y1111 t;:l ll then luwe time lo co nsult
0Lhc1";1nth cm; on th e subj ed, and not r ely cntircl r 011 th e text- hook \ Vhe rc thl're is nny
difl'c.re ncc nf op ini on, it is well 1·11 u11g·h to sec
ll'ha t ca n h e sa id (JJ1 bot h sides, a111l not Lelic 1·e cYc r y thin g yo u r ead, m e rely bec ause
th e hnul; says so. \ Vh at is obsc11 rc in one
aullwr, yo n .may find more clc:nly exp resse d
in :rn ofllf'r. 1lc·rely the rn1111c of n cli sco 1·er cr
i11 sr ic11 ce i ~ sn111 c lim1• s girl' n, and you sho uld

n•11 s1rl t a biog raphi1·al dictionar.Y, or so me
nllr e r Lc•n k, to know rnorc about him . \Vh cn
you la ke s ud1 p ai ns ns thi s in acc1uiring

ID

knowledge, yo n w ill not forge t it. It will become fix ed in your mind ind elibl y, and will
r em a in as a part of your bein g.
Hut you desi re to know 11·h y so many thin gs
arc to be studied, aud what adnmtage y o u arc
to derive from them. As you can make no
u se of algebra or geom etry in company, yon
can n ot perceive the n ecessity of s tudyio o·
th?m . If yot1 were to del ay study ing ever;
Ll1111g· till you cou ld understand the advantage
yon we re to d cri1·c from i t, the time for ac <{ uiri11g education wou ld be past, and cducat io1.1 would be impossible . Yo n do n ut delay
eati ng you r brea kfast or dinner till you can
'wtdl'J'st.and tlt c chemical co n1p osit.ion of all
tl ic :wticles of food, a nd l1ow th ey arc digested
:111tl appropriated to the nourishm en t of the
body. By such a cou.rnc of co ndu c t, you
wo uld. s how yo urs elf to be crazy, and would
Roo n starv e to death . L ittle childre n rat m11l
take exercise lo ng be fore they undcrst:md Urnt

these things arc important to their health aud
strength.
The mind, in orde r to be strong, and capahl e of unders taudi11g dinic uH s11bjects, must
a lso luwe food and exe rcise . 'l'hc girl t h at.
l.1ends he r mind to the difiicult and kno t ty

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L J<;'fTJ> Jl S 'J'O SC llU O f, G I R L S.

STUDY.

<ptC' ~ ti nn s in ari thm etic nntl al ge bra, is gaining
int.cl11·d 11 :i l streng th . You desi re to kn ow
s<J nJ!'t hing abou t astronomy, nn<l the wonders
of th e heavens; lmt you can umlersta nd ve ry
li tl h~ of th ese things, 11nlcss yon first study
m nthemalics-especiall y geometry aml t.rigon•J1n et.ry. But the g reat benefit clcrivC'd from
such studies. is th e power nn<l habit of attention acqnirr·d in pursuin g them. How difli.cult
do yo u find it., wh C' n you first go to school, to
con.fin e yo ur attention to your Looks ! Your
thoughts wander to other subj ects, even while
your eyes are on the Look; but in the course
of a year or two, if yo n study properly, and
in earn est, you will he ab le to ch eck these
wan dering thoughts, and confine your attent ion t.o the subj ect befor e you. Nothing will
H ll)rn e ffcctnnll y assist you in nc<p1iring this
power, than arithmeti c and algebra. Yo t1 can
not solve any question without giviug it yo ur
whole attrntion. A mistake in a fi gure or l\
letter sprJ ils all. 'Vh:1t you do every day, soon
g row~ into a h:1bil, aJHl becomes easy . By
hard ~tn d y you will soon acquire the power of
attendin g to 11·ha t yo u please.
And ho w rnluable is such a habit ! How
much time docs every young person waste by

wandering though ts, waking dreams, idle rev<:rics ! 'rh e power of controlling yom thoug hts
will always be valirnbl c to you . lf yo n go to
church, you can g ive better attentio n to the
sermon, and not allow your thoughts to be
called off by every new rihhon or strange face
th at comes in. If yo n are in company, you
can g irn more fixed attention to those who
converse with you . If engaged in <lomcstic
affairs, you can better attend to what is before
you, so th at the bread shall not burn nor the
dinner be spoil ed. Thus, even in baking a
loaf of bread, algebra antl geometry may be
useful to yon.
And the value of these things does not depencl entirely on their being remembered. It
is trn e, you should remember as much as possible o f all your studies . But if you should
forget all your algebra the d ay yon leave
school, t he power of attending to a dry and
diflicult subj ect, which you acquired while
st.ud ying it, would be exceeding ly valuable to
yo u as long as you liv ed. Afte r studying
mathema tics, you wo uld not think history
dry, an d yo n could read and be in terested in
other books than uovels. Let me warn e1·ery
sehool g irl against novels. The sty le is so

I

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L F. T 'I' EH f;

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8 (! II 0 () L

r; lit! , S.

fa scinatin g, a nd th e lol'e -s t<Jri i>s t hey co ntain
so <'Xr it in g , tli:1.l g irl s who reatl. lllf'm at :ill
:nc :1p l tu b t• r· umc cx.,;cssi\'cly fu nd uf them .
T hey injure both the in tc ll ccl1wl :111cl m orn \
nnlurc. Tu r cacl th e m, is lik e fe edin g chil dren o n s weetmeats a nd. cnntlies; th ey sno 11
Ins(! I. heir reli s h fo r 'rh olcsome foo d , and th e ir
health is i11jurc<l ur !k s troyc d. .Lt is a lm ost.
imposs ihl c to m ake a gou <l st ncl cnt of a nuvd n!ad er. 'l'hr !y h aYe an utter :tl'Crsion lo h:inl
s tudy :ind difli cull. snbj eets. .l.f they can sJil.'
:t n o Yel to r ead , t.hcy will neg lect eve ry t hin g
else, and p ass l hrong h th eir school -<lays wit h o u t a<'lllliring any thing nsc fnl.
Jln(. n\I the snuj ects in th e HS u a ] COlll'Ses of
s tudy, a rc n ot ns <lry and. diflicnl t as m athemati cs . Man y of t hem will exceedin gly interes t; yo n , and. at th e sa me lim e assis t in
s tn ~ n g thenin g y unr mind.
ln man y of th em
,)'l> ll w ill be fil ttcly in g t he g reat a nd sublim e
my sl r·ri cs o f th e wo rk s of God.
Botan y,
ch emi stry, ph ysiology, natural hi story, as well
n .~ nst ro no my, :111<l other hran c hes, w ill di spl ay [ O )' OU lh e e \·idences O f wi sdom a nd CO il( r i\':rn ce e 1t•ry -1Yh cre npparent in hi s works.
Ureat and 11 ian·elo11 s ar c a ll th e works o f th e
g n·at :J ch o rnh . I. l1 a ,·e n c,·er seen a child.

S TUDY.

23

who was n ot d eli g hted w h en sh ow n , t hroug h
a mi erosr.opc, t.h e compound eyes of a fl y.
'W h o could h ave believed, they exclaim, th at
a li ttle fl y h ad fo ur thou sand eyes !
If yo u o n ~c become inter ested in your
s tudi es, you wi ll derive m ore true h appines"
from th em , th::m oth ers can p ossibly Jin<l in
fri vu lons a mu se ments or m oro fri volons r eadin g . Such studies will h av e a n elev ating and
e nn obling e ffect on your mind . The e nl tivaLitJIJ of th e intel ll'ctual and m oral f'n culti nF<,
J'end.crs u s m or e antl moro like a nge ls and
li ke Go<l . D u n ot b e alarm ed at the numb er
of s tudies, or th e leng th of t ime it will take
t,o acquire t.hem. Patient in<lustry will remove nil diffi culties, a nd. make lhe t ime pas ~
agreen bly. It is th e idl e sch ool g irl wh o is
unhappy; time h angs h eavily on her h a ntl s.
S h e Lhinks th e slow, tediou s h ou rs wi ll n ever
h e go ne . But to th e intlustrious, studio us
g irl, th e d ays, a nd weeks, antl sessions, glide
tlelig htfully away, and sh e will afte rw artl
look back u pon h er sch ool-<lays as the h appi est part of h er existence .
T h e n10Lives that sh ould influence yo u in
ncqnir in g a n educati on , sh ould n ot be sordid
or selfish . While yuu sh ould s tri ve to h e the

24

J,F.TTF.n s

TO SCHOOL nlnL S.

hest scholar in your claRseR , y our moti,·e
~h o nk! not be m erely to excel the ot.hcrR.
Ynn sho11lcl love learning fo r its own salce, and
b eca11~c it. will make you acquaintc1l wi th the
works of God, and di splay to yon hi s wisdom.
Y011 should love it, because it will make you
more u sd11l-hett.er able to promote th e cau se
of relig ion nncl th e interests of mankind.
Th e g irl who applies with diligence to the
study or alge bra or geomci.ry, for th e sake of
ohl.a ining a gold medal, or for th e r ep uta ti on
of being the bes t scholar in the class, will be
in d ange r of being influenced by wrong motives all h er life . ·when sh e ceases to be a
sch ool g irl, sh e will stri vc to surpass oth er
yonng ln clies in the costliness and display of
her cl ress. Vvh en married, she will wn nt a
Jiiwr honse, fin er furniture, and a m ore splendid carriage than her neighbors. Low and
sordid motives will infinence all th e actions of
her li fe, and h er heart will be a strange r to
trn r, cl1arity and benevolence. She will be a
stranger to the happiness of doing good ; and
she will find, when it is too late, that mere
di ~play, an ti ou tshining others, can produce
no happiness.
Jn conclu sion, YOH shonld strictly keep all

S TUD Y .

25

t.h e rul es of good ord er in t.he school. If you
allow yourself to whisp er and play, you not
only interrupt the sch ool, but you waste your
own precious time, and that of others. Time
is too precious to be was ted. Keep yo nr
books clean. Do not tear them, nor doubl e
th em back, nor scribble in them. It is a
sh ame to ab use books as some lazy, careless
g irls do. Remember that your teachers arc
laborin g fo r your good, and yo u should respect and obey them. Look to God e1·ery
clay in pniyer , th at h e would prcserrn your
life and h ealth, and enabl e yo n to improve
y our time, and succeed in your studi es.

~-------~-- --~-·---

26

1, F.TTF.H S TO SC HOOL C:Ill.J.S ·

LETTER II .

.,

HF. A DJ NCT ·

A s lh e n11ml H, r of l'c mnl c schools is co nti1111ally incn' :ising in 011r co1111try, th e advan ·
t:wcs
of a ~(!·ootl 1!d11 eation arc exlcrnlcd
to a
0
•
muc h lnrger 1111mhcr of girl s l.han Jurmcrly.
J\fany that enj oy such :ulv:mtages, will pro ua.-·
bly reatl th e present series of leLlcrs. Allow
m e, therefore, hoping to do you some goocl,
lo address yo u in a familiar, though plain ,,·ay,
:iliuuL maLt.ers which, I trust, may not be uninlerv~ting lo yo11.
JL is ' sai d t11 at "three or lhe most tlillienlt
fhino·,; in the world ~ir e, lo ke ep a secret, to
for•,.~t nn inJ'11ry, and to improve our leisure
timb r ." The last is cer tainl y not th e least d1'ffi ('11lt . Mos t persons would b e astonished to
find how large a portion of their tim e passes
1·; ii ho11 t improrcmcnt.
You, perhaps, spend
six J1 u11rs each day in school, and m:iy be rnqnirl'd lo s luJ y two hours ou t of school ; mu!,
if' yo u allow l' i ~:·ht h unrs for sleep, yon will

HEAUTNG.

27

still have eig ht h ours each day for meab, a nd
exercise, and recre::ition. How do yon spend
these h ours? Did you s uppose Urnt so much
of your time passed without employment?
Could you not devote one or two h ours each
<lay to some u~e ful r eading , a nd s till leave
:o;n/Jicient time for exe rcise a nd other employ ments? Yott ha ve n o idea how much can be
done in a sing le h our each day , till yo u try
it. You could, in three month s, rc::id throug h
"Ferdinand a ud I sabella," and " Hobcrtson 's
Charl es V," or you co ulJ , in the sam e tim e,
r ead nearly a ll "Hollin 's Ancient Hi s tory ."
H ow much better would this be th an to waste
your leisure moments in absolute idl eness, or
in t.alkiIJ g on frivolous and us eless subj ects !
Do you inquire what you shall read? You
may be improved by reading his tory, biograph y, travels, or poetry. If yon once ricqnire
a tn s te for such reading , yo u will find it quite
as in te res tin g as no\·cl reading, and vastly
m ore }Jrofit able. You will be conscious t h at
yon a rc makin g addi tions to your stock of
knowledge, and streng th ening your mental
fa11u1Li es. Yo n may read bush els of n ovels,
~.ntl find I.h em all ch aff, with sca rcely a g rriin
of wh eat in nil. Your mental powers, more-

28

HEADING .

29

LETTER S T O 8CJIOOL Olll L S.

onr, will be 'reakcncd, nm! your taste pr. rY!'rl c1l, so that all nscfnl reading will appear
dry and tin:sf)]l! C.
H yo n will make a proper trial of hi story,
ynn will be snrpri scd how soon you ,rill find
it intcrcsl,in g. 1 would not have yon to begin
with snch a work ns "Jlumc·s History of
En g-1:11111 ," nnd nttcmpt to rend it rcguhrl y
through. Thi s. of course, 'ronhl tire yon.
P yc roft.. in his "Course of }leading," recomm<'n ds that you should first stnrly some shorl.
outline of history, such as "Miss Jlobins's
English History," "Goodrich's United States,"
and the histories commonly used as school
books.
Th ese should be well studied, to impress on
th (l memory a general view of the subj ect.
[n studying these, unless you have a very dull
mind, yon will foci some curiosity to know
more about particular persons and periods.
Y 011 sh ould then get a larger work, and turn
lo the particular subject that interests you,
and gratify your curiosity. Do you wish to
know more auout Columbus than you find in
your school book ? Read "Irving's Life of
Culmnb11s." Or of Isabella, who pledged her
j<'wr ls to enable Columbus to make his great

discovery? Get "Prescott's Ferdinand and
I sabella," and you will find it more interesting t han any novel. W ould you like to know
something more of t,b c Greeks, or Alexander
the Great, or Hannibal, than you iin<l in your
small history ? 'I' urn to these subjects in
"Rollin," or read "Plutarch's Lives" of
these men, and you may soon be gratified.
In this way you will always be reading· what
is interesting to you.
In reading history you may begin wi th any
country or period tha t interests you most.
Your curiosity will soon be excited to rcau of
other countries and other times; and, a fter
awhile, you will be a good historian a;1d an
intelligent young lady. Suppose you begin
with "Ferdinand and Isabella," you will find
that the Emperor Charles V was their grandson, and at once you feel a curiosity to read
his life. H erc kings, and queens, and important events will be mentioned in such a
way as to excite your curiosity to reatl still
other books. Or if you were to begin with
"Abbo tt's Life of Mary, Queen of Scots,"
which I know every school girl would be delighted to read, yon would immediately want
to read the "Life of Queen ElizabeLl1," and

-----..----11111111·--------,---"~'-'-··----~

-- -

I·
:10

J,E'f'fEJt ,.; Tt• f>l'llOOL Gl!tL S.

Lh c 11 th~ "Ilist .. ry of th e lt1•formnt.ion," and
so on from o ne ihing- lo :mot.her. The more
yc111 t'('nrl tl11, mrJr<: yf• ll will wa.11t to read, till
yna 1l'ill finrl hi story and biography so intcrcsLine( lhaL y o 11 wi ll have no t im e fur norck
llin;:;-raphy, while it g ives you many inter· · ~ ! in g parlicnlars about incli1·idua1s, oftcu
g irc:s }" '1 , al,n, mn\'h i111porl.anL hi sto ry.
Th11 s, in Ili c" Lifu of '\Va s hin~lon," you l1av e
iJH, hi s tory of fhc Hl'l'oluti o nary war; in th e
"Life nf Napoleon," th e hi sto ry of ]<; 11ro11e
for twenty-Jfrc years; and in "P lu tarc h '~
Li l'cs," th e most interesting parts of Grecian
and R o nrnn hi s tory.
)-ou wi ll , als o, tind hooks of tra Ycl i11le11·sLin g- and profitable. J<'isk,]) nrbin, Stcphe11 s,
nml ot hern, 1rill tell you much that will plea ~c
yuu nhonl Lh c e u st.om s an d manners of the
differcnL nations throng h which th ey i1 asscd.
W lien yon r c rul hisLory or trav els, yon sh ould
rd ways !in.Ye, before yon , a map of the country
,.Ji,,nl whi ch yon r er1d., so that y nu can look al
11111·<· fnr ni l th e plac1•s 111enl.ionl'tl a s yon go
fl lo11g.
YOil C flll Jin!. J'Cllil 'lll1Jer lnll!"h ol' Wh:tt
y<m nmd, unl ess yon look for t he phces. lf
yon arc P1'C n to le rnhly well HCCJUflintccl wiL11
geog raphy, it will keep it always fre sh in

READING.

31

yom mind to u se an alias always in reading
history.
Yon sh ould, also, endeavor to r emember
the date s, and learn the chronology. You can
not, it is true, rem emb er the date of every
event, but you can easi ly lea rn th e mo st i1nportant; and th at will help you to rem ember
the rest. You can remember, for instance,
that Solomon liv ed about a thousand yea rs
b efo re Christ, and that Columbus disco vered
America in A. D. 1492, and, when y ou r ead
of things that occurred near these periods, by
rcfcrri11g them to th ese. lllrs. Sigourney says,
"His tory should be read wiLh constant refere nce to geography and chronology. A line
writer has called these the 'eyes of hi s tory.'
'J'hcy arc the grapplin g irons by which it adh e res to the m emory ."
Yo11 will, abo, be int.crested in reading some
poc l.ry; but you shollld be careful lo sele c t the
b est. Milton, Cowper, Young, Pollok, Montgomery, Goldsmith, and Campbell, are all
good; and many others might be added to
Lhe list. There are selections from the bes t
British a nd American poe ts, with biogrnphical
sketches of th e auth ors, which will be the bcsi
works to read. 'l'hcsc volumes contain the

·------- --·----

32

.
)

L E TT~; H s

TO St: ll OUL t; [J( J,J3,

\'C ry c rC' am of' J•:ng lis h poc t.ry , th e rich est
a nd hcs t pa r t 111' 1·:1" h :rnthm':; W l> rl; s , whi ch
\rill lw :i s 1111H"h as it is des irabl e to read. B n t
I \\'(lttld. no t alh· i ~c yon to read these large
vol11rn cs reg ttl a rl y through.
Let curiosity
lea d Yon here, as in reading history. Did
yo tt latf' lr h ea r so me one praising "Golds mith 's lJ!'se rted Village" as a beau tiful poem,
or spl'n king hig hl y of "Campbell's Pleasures
of ll opP ?"
Get ihe "Dritish P oets," and
read th ose poem1<, a nt.I th e sketches uf tlw
a nt.h ors ' li,·es. In the same way, you m ay
consu lt " Ch amb ers's Cyclopedia of Eug·lish
Lite rature," for specimens of the prose a nd
p oet ry of th e best write rs in the lang uage.
1->o nrn ch , ynttn g l:uli es, fur read ing. B u t
if yn n w11nl•l n ·np the fnll bene fi t uf you r
n·:11 li11g, you 111 tt .-; f. co nv erse about what you
rPad. Yun mtt s t read tu be well inform ed,
and talk to learn h ow to m ake u se of your info rm ation . l'lfrs . Sigourn ey r ccomm c nlls, that
fhn sc eng age d in re adi ng history sh ould fo rm
little socidics, to meet once a week, mu[ talk
o r l' r "·h at th ey r ea<l . Three or four youn g
ladies s he thinks an ag reeabl e and l1rofitable
1111rnbcr. Or. ·watt.s advises that you should
nlways ta lk over what you r ead, if yoti can

READING .

33

find any one that will listen to you; and
wliether th ey will listen or no t, h e insis ts you
should still ta lk ii; Ol' l'l'. If it do cs them no
good, it will serve to impress what you read
on your own mind.
'l'his course will improve your convcrs atimrnl powers, as well ns aitl you in remembering- llw his tory. It is one thing to acquire
lmowledge ; it is quite anoth er to be able to
communi cate our ideas. Many persons, tho ug h
well infrmned on various s ubjec ts, have, ne1' crtheless, grea t difficulty in making uso of
what they know in conYersation. When you
talk about wh at y on r ead, you are clothing
your thoughts in la ng uage ; and the oftener
yon do so, th e more easy it will become. Ai:;
I.h ere is scarcely a ny accompli shm ent m ore r.l es irahlc for a yo n11 g lady than good convcrsaf,ional powers, l trnst yo u will form little societ.ies, a nd frequen tly talk ove r with each
other the substanc e of your readin g.
Yo u wi ll , also, find it very useful to write
a bout what yon read. In your letters to your
young friends, tell them wha t books yon arc
rear.ling, anrl g ive them th e substance of their
contents. Young people sometimes complain
that they do not kn ow what to write. If you
.1

-

·~
34

J. F.T TF. R S T O SC l! OO J, G I RLS.

j
READ I NG.

)

I

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1•. ,

r~
I

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. '!,.
~

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1

wi ll J ,. ~ d i l i ~·,.nt in rr;1 tlin g-, y()u ' '" ill be fur11i , lt Pd '1i1 h ideas . \r hi ch yott c;111 clo the in
y n11 r ow n l a n~ tt :igt '. Th is J'f' ln nrk wi ll ;1pply
( <> }" " 111' r·r •111J'"·' il iu11 s, as well ns yo11r corres p" 11d c11rl'. T it !' m o re y ou r ea tl , the m ore
easy )'" ll will Jint.l it l.o wri te. A s th e J e ws
fu nnd il !1:1n l to m a ke brick with out strnw,
so d ue s a sd1o"l g irl lint! it <lifli cult to wri te
co111posiii nns wilh L•U t ideas. ImproYC, lh cn,
all y o 11r h- is ur c mo 111c 11ls in use ful r ca <lin g, a nd
)'O U 1ri /l SOllll be a u ic to COll YC!rse Wi thou t C! lllba rr:\SS lll f~Jl t, am! lo wri te witho u t difHcul ty.
A nul he r a1 ln111tnge lo uc d eri ve d from rnading a nt.I inte lli ge nt conversation , is th e l1ap pin css i t will difftt se in I.h e famil y circle. If
Lrnih crs, an ti s is lcrn, anti parents, will m ee t
a ro und I hu chee rful lire, and talk <Jl"C I' th e
J>o c lry " r I.h e traY c ls t hey h:t\"C r ca<l, Ili c lives
<•f indiY it ln als, o r th e h is tory of mt LiL•W>, it
1Yill 011r· n up a n e w so urce of enj oy men t. If
y o un g lad ies co ul<l inter es t their b roth ers in
so nw plan of thi s kintl, urn.I induce th em Lo
sp<: nd t li l' ir c 1·eni11 g s a t h o me, ins lcatl of run n ing :tlJ<1ut t li e strccl ~ , ir e sh o ul <l h a1·c fewe r
" IJ:i d IJ"ys " in o ur cit ies anti villa ges .
Hcfi..>r c l close thi s lette r, l mu s t n ut om it lo
m enti on , th a t th er e is one Look, containing

..............,

'i

.- ,- ?

35

t h e m os t a n cie n t :111<l impor tan t h is tory, t h e
m ost inte restin g Li ogr:i ph y , th e m ost to uching
and beautiful poe try, w hi ch yo u must n ot neglect to r ead nnd st ud y: thi s is t.b e Bibl e-th e
Look of Go d . It tells of o ur min a nd our red cm p t ion , of o ur deprn Yi ty and of th e " fo unta in ope11 c<l fo r s in and un cleann ess." Y ou
sh ould r ead one or two ch ap ters eve ry d ay in
th e Biul e, and carefull y stu<ly som e p orti on of
it eve ry week for th e S un<l ay sch ool. A n<l as
y ou r ead a n<l study, you sh o ul<l pray to God
Lo ena ble yo u Lo un de rs ta nd its m ea nin g a nd
p ractice i ts prccqits. Mi ss Eli r.:i beth Ua r ter,
a pi o us and ]ca rn et.I E ng lish lad y , r ead two
ch ap ters in th e Bible, a nd, also, a se rm on by
f:om e good auth or, e very m orning b efore
breakfast.

36

1.F.T'.J:ERS TO SC H OO i, OIJlJ, S .
LIES.

LETTER III.
LIES.

~

:

)

.

Fr.w lhings arc m ore imporlnnf. to he dee ply
imprrs~etl 0 11 I.he minds of sc hool g irl~, f.han
that th ey shoultl always fell tho trnth. J\ rnl
yet few things arc more tliflicnlt. So man y
temptations present them seh-os to depart from
the trnth, that I fear few school g irls escape
with a clear conscience. The Bible says,
"Speak the trnth, and lie not." It also says
that children nrc npt to go astrny from th eir
youth, " speakin g lies." 'l'o s1icak !ho f.ruth,
is fo s1wa k :i s we think, or f:o convey lo others
tho impression on our own minds. 'l'o tell a
f:ibehood, is to uf.tcr what we know to be fal se,
wilh nn intention to <leceivc. 'l'o con vey a
fal se impression, by tones of voice, m anner of
~p cn king-, or in any other way, is also to tell a
fa lsehood. \Vh en we speak to others, we
should be care ful to convey to them t he exac t
im p ression of 0 11r own min<ls. Any d eparture
from thi s rnl c i ~ a fn.Jsehoo<l.

37

Dr. Boyd, in his excellen t work on Mornl
Philosophy, h as enm~ crn t ed nineteen different
kinds of lies. I shall m:'ikc u se of his n.rrnngement so far as I think it applicable to
my young friend s.
He does not mention wliite lies, or fibs ; but
as some authors do, I shall first say a few
words about th em. 'l'hey arc fa lsehoods that
appear to be h armless, such as j ests an d exaggcrn.tions. "I thought I sl1 onld h ave died
laughing;" "I never in my life saw any th ing
so beau tiful; " "0, I am so fatig ued, I mn
nearly dead !" are specimens. IV c are so apt
wh en we sp eak to be influenced by our present
feelings, that some degree of exaggeration is
perhaps un avoidable. But we sh ould r efl ect
b efore we speak, an d not use the superlative
degree in speaking of every trivial thing.
Sendin g word to visitors that we arc not at
home when we arc, is sometimes called a
white lie, as it is supposed only to mean that
we arc not prepared to sec company. llnt if
this be the meaning, why not say so? If the
visitor is deceived, we arc gui lty of false h ood . In fact, as Dr. vVayland observes,
there arc no white lies. All arn black, and
nil are wrong.

- - - -------..-- -

38

LE TTE nfl TO SCHOOL GIRLS.

~

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-

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.

· ,...,- --

-.... . . -----*"'""--u-. . ._. . ,.,

J,IE S.

.Tocosr l ies nrc such ns arc told for amusem ,.nt. If you were to relate a fable or a par nhl t>, or tell a story a bout witches or fairies,
when it wn s nndcrstuod that you <lid not prof1·ss to tell the truth, it would not be a falsehood. T3ut some girls arc in th e h abit of tellin ,'. \" thin gs whi ch a rc fal se with a serious
cn11 ntP1rn11 cc , and frequent declara tions of
~ i11 cni I y, wh en they nftcrwanl l:ingh t.h at any
one shonl<l be so silly as to b elieve them.
Pedrnps you think that, because such things
arc dune in j es t, and no one is injured , they
nre n ot wron g. But yo n should remember
that trnth is too sacred to be trifl ed with. If
yon tell li es in j es t, people will not know
wh en to IJe li e1·e yon, nnd ro n form a bad
hRfiit , 1d1ii:l1 wil l !"0011 lrca;l fr> ot hr·r lies.
F=-r.1 mn y•~""" )ir:< ::ir~ w0 r.• e tlw n tll'J ." ': ju.• t
JT1' r~ · ;,_.~ ,:- d· !)~tr]~ ~., r -:-· ~r ··· Y-.r= :::.:: ,, p-:: ~' -:-- ::-· ~
,. . . . . .. -,· : - . . .. : .
~

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-

: ~:<·.:

39

soon <lie. H e fears it would increase his disease to let him kn ow how ill he is. But eve n
if it "·ould, th e Bible says we must n ot "do
eYil that good may come ." It is t.lie worst
1mkindness to the sick, to conceal their dan ge r
from them. 'J.'b cir uneasiness of mind is more
i11juriou s than a kn owledge of their dan ge r
· would be. 'l'hcy wish to make some preparation for death; but if their fri ends flatter
them to the In st that they are about to l"ecover, th ey may be u shered into eternity unprepared .
Perhaps w e mi g ht class wi th bcneYolent
lies those which arc told to induce people to
e ntertain a good opinion of themselves. "I
am growi ng too flesh y," says a young lady ;
"w h at a honibl c shape I sh all h ave !" "0
no," yon repl y , th oug h you do not believe
wh nt ; ('ll 11re sri;in~. ";ou r form is renrnrk"='! ~: ; ··-: : . · '
':-··=:· ~:-:: _r =- ~ 7 ~ & :- -= s ~ ~ :: ; ~.'- ·:-- ~
!: :: :" :~== ~ : :: -7 _ __, .r ~ ~ .:-- --= ~!.: --: Z:.:: ::~3 :
' ~::r ~r'? i:i~ ~ ?.E tb r:-_7 ~h(\u i tl b'?. I~ ~U('h
... -: :~' E -:- ~ ..~ r~ 't"" i: ~ 0f:~~ t·:'!:i ·::!1 b·=': h 3! ::!:: :: .
T!: -: , ,:-on ::~ Is·:\ rri: •"l ri:.~ '! 4 e s h i:: rs€·~ :· Jc·:\~ !! · ."' ~
!:>-' lie, ;-,,_ wbq : "~"" s3;;:, bu t i• m er-:! .> B;:l:ir: ;
{0r g <;')mr ! :~7~ ~ - a~d .~ b'.? wh') prB.!~': S l:'5' r i :::
equally in sin~e re . Instead of telling a Iii:-,

1

IU

1. l!: TTEH ;; TO St: l! O OJ,

liI H L >; .

LI ES .

1:.
:..l.t.1•r\

:~~ !

aIHl bring ing g uilt up on your consc ience, you
sh oul cl tell your <li ssa(isli cd fri end that a wise
God has mad e us just as we arc, nnd thnt to
complain of being too lean or too fat, t-00
tall or too low, is to murmur agains t his provi1lcncc. Y on should also be careful not to
ridi cul e peopl e fo r such imng inary defects ; for
in so doi11g yo u rt'p ro ael1, not th em, Lut their
Jib kc r.
L ir:s '?f Cl] llivvmt ion are !hose in whieh
term s th a t l1a vc dill'crcnt meanings arc made
use of, 'ri th an i11tc111.iu11 to deccirc. lt is
sa id th at a tcacli er once asked a Loy wl1 cthcr
li e kn ew l1i s lesson. "I hope so," said the
bny ; " fo r [ h ave been on·r it three tim es."
Ifo l1:id laid hi s book s on th e fl oor, and jumped
th rrc times 01·er them. J\ n ofli cc r wh o was
hes i \',~ in g a f\11rn, promi sed I.hat if t he i11habila 11 ts " " 11ld surrend er nu hloo1l sl1011ld lie
sl1 c<l. Th ey di d surrender, and h e lrnri cd
tl1 e111 all ali~·e. Jn one sense no blood W fl.S
s h1~ d , Lul not in tl1 c sense in which they undc rstnnd him . \V e sho11l1l always use such
term s as 11·ill cunn·y tu others th c"cxac t truth
as 11·e 011rsl'h cs 111Hlc rsland it. To use term s,
wl1 ic li in one sense arc trnc, Ln t which conrcy
a fa be im prcssion tu the mind of another, will

41

not exemp t us from the ch arge of fal sehood.
Indeed, equi ~·ocation is one of the worst kinds
of ly ing .

L i,es of vanity arc told to g ain the good
opini on of others. A g irl pretends that sl1 c
is very rich when she is not, or speaks ofte n
of lwr distin g uished acquaintances and friends,
as if on intimate terms with th em, wh en pcrlrnps she has only seen them a t clrnrch or
b een introduced to them at a party. A ffectati on mig ht be call ed a pr:ictical lie of vani ty .
W o asB umc the tones of voice or manners of
some one else, th a t people may think more
11ig hly of ns. But, like all otl1cr lies, such
tricks will soon be detec ted, and we sliall sink
uncl not rise in the estimation of all sensible
people.
L ies of f ear arc told to conceal some fault,
Umt W C may cscrtpe punishment. nu t l10w
much more nob le to confess the trnth th an to
deny it ! Wh en W a.shington's fa th er inquired
abou t an injury done to a favorite tree in his
absence, Geo rge, with out attempting to conceal the fact, or t o lay the blame on any one
else, confessed, at once, that he h ad committed the injury . His fa ther was a th ousaml
times more delighted to find that his son would

~

42

LETTY.RS TO SC HO OL GIRLS.

!
/I

not tell a li e th an he was distressed at the injury of tl1 c ln•c.
~o m c childre11 " ·ill make a parti al confcs~i o11 " .hen they liaY c done wrong, but will concea l th e worst circumsLances; or they will
palliate th e offense, and try to make the impression that they were no t so much to blame
as th ey really were. All such evasions and
concealments arc fal sehoods. 'l'h e whole trnth,
jus t as it uccnrrc<l, ~h ould be confessed.
All atte mpts of chilc.lrcn to deceive t heir
parents or teachers, mig ht come under I.his
11 cad. A youn g lady wishes to talk or cat in
school, and puts a book before her face; or,
liaving been idle or improperly eng aged, and
pcrcei1·i11g the teach er's eye turn ed toward
li er, she smooths 11p her face, and tries to
mak e lh c impression that she has been studying. All s nch actions arc li es; for tl1 cy arc
intended to dccci1·e. How mu ch better to be
frank and sincere, and to co11fess and forsake
our ~ in s, than to add to ou r gnilt by telling
f:dse hoods ! Lic·s of fcnr arc sometimes told
for the want of rcsolu tio11 lo say "no."
"Don't yo n think my dress h::md somc '? Does
not my bonnet become me?" \Ve fea r to offend, and gi1·e a false answer.

I

LIE S .

43

Practical lies arc acted, not uttered. All
false pretenses to respec tability, wealth, or
learning, might be classed here. lifany ludicrous anecdotes arc told abou t such ch eats at
the different watering-places in the United
States. A steamboat cle rk wi ll pass himself
for a lieu te nant of t he navy, or a white mulatto
for an Indian chief, and excite the admiration
of all the ladies. There is an astonishing propensity among mankind to make the impression that their me rits and. standing- nrc
mu ch bdlcr tl1n11 the rea li ty. All such frnuds
are prn cti cal lies, whi ch are sometim es followed by the most melancholy rcsulls. The
fraud is concealed till a marri age takes place,
which ca n only be productive of misery to
bo th parti es .
Young la.dies, when at school, are generally
required to write compositions. But if tl1 cy
select hcau tifnl passages from books or periodicals, or get so me one else to write their
co mpositions, th ey make a fal se impression.
'!'hough th ey may not say their compositions
are th eir own, still they are g uilty oJ" a practical lie. A lady retired from a company
where Robert H all was present, to put h er
little daughter, four years old, to sleep.

\
)

J, F. T TE It S T 0

.... ?
f

i'

•

S G II 0 0 J, t: l It L S .

\ Yhrm l'hc rct nrn rrl , l\l r. Ilall OH'rhc arcl her
te ll in g :111ol l1<·r hdy tl1 at she liacl pnt on li er
11ig·h t -ca p, nnrl laid down l1y th e liitl c g irl t.ill
slw f(•ll a ~ k·r·p. "Do ytn11rish, " said li e, "to
l1 :t\"l! Y"llr d:w g h t0 r grow up a li ar?" "0
no, " s:i id fh c mother; "n ot fo r ::my thing i 11
Ili c world. "
"'J' hc11 ," s:iid Mr. H all, "never
net. a lie IJC' fore her." A li e may be aclc<l as
well as s p11k c11 .
Li <'s t•f malig 11i ty am in tc nd cd to injure
oth ers. S J:mc.l cr rnny consist in starling s uclt
f:il sc report s, or in countenancing those that
hal'e bee n started by others. \ Vc shonltl be
c:t rcfnl lw1y we rep eat reports inju ri ous to tli c
r<'p11l:i tinn of others, lcl' t tl H'Y shoul cl be fa lse.
Many tal c!' lliat arc c irc ul ~tkd on apparcnt.Jy
gc HJcl auth nrily nrc, nc1·crth clcss, fal se. Both
sid es of a story m11st be l1<'! ard before we ca11
dd crmin c whn.t lo believe or say abo11 t it .
.IJid you cl'cr noti ce the irreconcilable discrepanci es bctwcc11 the statements of different
p:irl ics ? L et tw o school g irls have a quarrel ;
and 1rhcn yo u lun·c hen re l from one of them a
s~,ate m r n t: c•f nll th e circum stances, you think
th e othrr 0nti rcly to blame. D11t g o to t.hc
other ; am], acr.on ling t.o h er statement, the
blame will be as clearly on the other side.

--- --·- - -

LIES.

45

vVh y such a difference in the s tatement of
facts ? Evidently because each young lady
om its to m ention, or mentions with much palliation, what was blameworthy on h er part,
wh ile sh e places in the worst ligh t the actions
of the other. So clif.llcult is it to blame oursrlves, or to acknowledge even indirectly that.
we can do any tl1ing wrong . Bu t if, in gi Ying
an account of any transaction, we suppress, or
alter, or exaggerate any of the fa cts, we arc
g uilty of folschoocl-malign::mt fa lseh ood; for
wldlc we arc f.ry ing lo Rcrccn ourse lves from
blame we arc injuring others . .As 1herc is so
much falsehood afloat in the world, would it.
not be a gourl rnle to speak only gootl rmd no
cv i I of nll abscn t persons?
:~fan y p ersons who circul n.te evil reports,
t hin k to shield themselves from the odi.um of
sla nder hy making npologics . "I am very
sorry th a t it is so, or I h op e it is false;" but,
at the same t ime, they g ive currency to the
repor t.
Finall y, arc there any falsehoods which are
not criminal? May we be placed in such circum stances that it will be ri ght to tell a false hood? Yo u have, fur instn.nce, some secret
which you wish to keep to yomself-what

46

I.ETTERS TO SCHOOL G IRL S .

should you d o wh en in le rrognlcd about it?
Yon m a.1· g i1·e a n e1·:u,irn a nswe r with o nt tcllin~ a f,,J.,<'hood , or you ma y refn ,c to answer .
Bnt. re fn , ing to answer, yon think, nm ounts
lo :i confcs~ i o n of wh nt you wish to conceal:
may yon not th en d eny th e fact? The case is
ind• ·•:cl a dinieult one; bnt still it is no doubt
IJ\'tle r cill11•r 1wt. lo answer, or adh ere to the
truth . ~o rn c p r rso ns a rc ~o full of curiosity,
and h a Yc so little d eli cacy a nd lady-like rclincm c nt 0f feeling, th a t th ey will ask impertinent
c111f' , ti ons about matte rs whi ch they h aYc no
ri g h t to know. 'l'o such persons it is perfectly
ri ght to reply that it is none of their business,
mul thnt yon do not choose to be interrogated
on lhat. i: nhj cet.
J.n n word , youn g l:i f li c~, it is sa fest to speak
th e trnlh on all ~ ubj ec ts aml on all occasions.
Th e Bible d eclares that "all liars sha ll h ave
1he ir pnrtion in the lake that bnrneth with fire
nnfl brims ton e ." L et all attempts to deceive,
hy ' ig ns, or word s, or nctions, be forever aba n<l0 ned. U we couhl even de cciY e m an, 1re
ea11 ll(>L d cce irn Goll. H e looks upon th e
h c:irt, ~rnd understands all t.he imagi nations of
th e thoug hts. H e ass ures u s th at eYe1-y secret
thin g s hall be brought into judg ment. Human

LIE S .

n ature is so weak, and th ere a re so many
te mpt ations to t.ell fa lse hoods, th a t it is d ifficult to lwcp the co nscie nce clea r. This difficul ty will be greatly increased if yon have
already formed the h nbit of u tterin g what is
fal se .
Ent you should go to God in prayer, and
implore his p ardon ing mercy an<l assisting
grace . It will r eq uire constant watchfuln ess
and prayer; for no bad habit can he overcome
without the assisting grace of God.

10

T. E TTEH S TO SC II OO J. G IRL S .

LETTER IV.
CONYERSATION.

CoNYF.HR ATTON is CHl C o f the most rational
t1f rafi<J1J:tl hcings . lt Lrings rcfn ·~ liin ;; rcl:ixaf.ion afl,•!I' ~c Y c rc labor, bodily
or nwnfal. J f. culf.iY ntes f.li c social fee lings,
:11111 fr111s lhe fires of fri end ship ancl a lfoclion .
H ow we love to trtlk with a fri end of I.he
plen sm cs of olh cr da ys ! How pleasantly th e
t.imc g lides away, when sch ool g irls meet to
lnlk O\'Cr th e litf.l c matters that in terest their
h<':irf s ! Th ere is no crnlrnrra ssrn e 11t- no reslr:iinf. : l111t stories aml anecdotes now on withn 11I. i11 ll'l' l'll ption.
' 1.' hi ~ is one Yi ew of conY crRn fi on, wh ere
fri end meets fri end, anti the wa rmth of the
heart g ives freedom to tl1c tong ue; but conYcr snti on in company is f[Hite a differen t thing:
s tran gers arc present,, nnd embarrass ment is
ro:J t; the current of th e th oughts np cpars to
be dri ed up ; dca<l pau ses or.cur; how tcrribl~ the silence ! What shall be done? Shall
,.,.c speak of the road s or the wen.I.her? '!'his
:n1111 ~ •·m r nfs

CONVE R SA'l'ION.

1!)

will g ive bu t momentary relief; and what
n ext? ·who will start something? All our
thou ghts seem to h ave deserted us. Can
we n ot rem ember one anecdote-one item of
history- any thing to ke ep up the conversation, and entertain the company?
Happy arc they who h ave experienced no
such terrible embarrassment in company? All
young per sons, at their first attempt to converse before strangers, have felt morc or less
of it; Some experience it in a much greater
degree than others. It appears to d epe nd
very much on the nerv ous system and peculiarities of constitution. Th e nerves of some
p eople are so firm that nothing seems to move
them. 'l'hey go, unahash cd, into any company, and converse, without restrrtint, with
any bocly. If th ey ever expose th em selves by
mi stakes and blun<lcrs, it seems to g ive them
no u1u.ms iness.
Oth cn: are all ag itation rmcl nlarm wh eneYcr
t.hcy mee t strangers. E ven persons of intelligence tmd fin e conversationa l powers arc
sometimes dumb under such circumstances.
It is said th at Addison, whose conversation
ch armed his friends in private circles, could
never converse before strungers. Some pcr4

50

LF.TTERS TO SCllOOJ, C: lllL S.

sons arc so ar.ul<'ly alirn to the opinion of at.hen<, nml so 11111 ch in dre:ul of censure, th;it,
after haYin~ been in compan y, th ey will spend
slet• ple~s 11°ig h ls and wrrtchctl day:~' if tl:cy
suppose they ha1·c sa id the least thmg ~miss.
:Such a state of th e nervous system 1s certainl y to be drpl ored . 'It is far bette r, l~ ow­
c nr tu har e some sensibi lity on such sub.1 ects
than' to be tota lly inclifferr.nt tu the opinions
of (>t h(· rs. Dut, as cxcc,,sivc tliffid encc arises
from di sca!'c of the uervcs, it can scarcely be
co unt ernc tctl by arguments. A cold bath
every mornin g would, no doubt, be a b e t~er
rem edy than any thing we coul<l say about its
unn' asonahlenrss.
] t m:n·, ]10w c l'er, assist you t.o be more easy
in the p;.c~<· n cc of stranger", to remember t.Jrnt.
some with whom yon arc now mos t familiar
11·· ~ re once s tran gers to you, and yo n 1\·erc embnrra,,sed in their company. If yon can only
Jrn.1·e resolt1 ti on to get acq 11ain tcd with other
stran ge rs, th ey may soon become to yon Ycry
d enr fri en ds. Refl ect, again, th at th ese stnrngc r ~, 1\·hose presence yon so much dread.' are'.
perh:ips, cqn:i ll y afraid of yo n. " ,\fra1d. o{
m e! '" you exclaim ; " surely, I kn ow so little
no OJl(' should he afraid uf me. " V cry trnc ;

CONVERSATION.

51

but perh aps the strange rs of wh om you are in
awe, have the ve ry same thon g l1ts wi th regard
to themselves . If yon can become acquainted,
each one may, no doub t, learn somctJ1ing valuable from the other.
Wh en you, therefore, go into company, cn<leavor to look on every one present as yonr
fri end, an<l be easy an<l self-possessed. If
you lose self-possession, there is an end of
conversation, and of all propriety and gracefuln ess of man ners. A person un<lcr embarrnssment, seems to labor under a temporary
delirium-h e scarcely kn ows what he is <loing.
If you could on ly feel as easy in company as
among yonr schoolmates, yon could readily
Jind subj ects of conversation; bnt dnring cmlmrrassmcnt the min<l becomes a total blanknot a single idea on any subj ec t docs it appear
to h ave.
A s embarrassment subsides, and yon begin
to feel easy, ideas gradually return . 'l'he
menti on of some thin gs brings up others by
association, and you soon become interested in
the conversation. 'l'he hours will then pass
pleasantly enou gh, and, perhaps, the evening
be gone before yo n nrc aware of it.
'l'her() seems to be some difference of opin-

52

w ;
~.

J,ETTE ltS TO flCllOOL Cll ltL S.

CONVEnSA TI ON.

ion, whrthcr we sl1 oul t! make any previous
pn:pnrati on for co111·ersatio11, or should go into
e<JJnpa ny, and trust to the im pulse of the moment for thoughts and expressions. ' Ve
might speak more accurately, on some parti cular subj ect, if we were to make preparali'>n: lint our conversation woulll certain ly be
n11in' for mal nml less animated . There wouhl
he m rrn ~ ~ 11 c h lliffcrcncc as between a sermon
wril.tcn 011t for the pulpi t, ant! one d elivered
extcmpnrancously; that which appears to
come warm from the h eart in te rests u s m ost.
Some, who arc anxious to sl1inc in conversnti un, "·ill hunt up witty and brilliant cxprcssi1m", and, ha1·ing committccl tl1cm to memory,
rn:111:1g<' , snmrhow or other, to bring them in
during th e e\'cning. S uch conversation must
s11rcly be heartless . Those who practice it
scr m more desirous of reputation th an of doing
good .
T rnst rather to t.hc impulse of the moment,
arnl yo u will not lack th ough ts or words. All
t.hc th ings we hal'c c1·er heart! or reatl may be
rcv il'ctl in the mint! when it is properly cxcilcl l. ' Vriicrs on m ental science tell us, that
11 0 thoug ht which once p asses through the
mind is eve r entirely lost. The language of

chil dhoorl, w hich had been forgotten for sixty
yearn, is spoken again, in olt! age , by German
and French immigran ts to thi s coun try. Th e
excitement of a feve r sometimes revives ideas
t h at h ad long bee n forgotten. Po we ~ hall
find it, wh en we become in terested in corwersation. At first we seem t.o kn ow nothing;
but one thought suggests another, till su ch a
crowd comes up, th at we arc un able to g ive
u tterance to all. Things long forgotten will
suddenly present them selves ns th e excitement
in creases, and we sh all , pcrhnps, astonish ourselves and our friends by the amount of our
in fo rm ation.
vVhcn the memory is bad, ant! we desi re to
introduce some subj ects which we suppose will
be inter esting or u seful to the company, we
may m ake a memorandum of su ch subj ccls.
Wh en conYcrsation fl ags, we shal l, perhaps,
be ab le to recall them, withou t referri ng to the
mcmornndnrn . The mere act of writ,ing t.hcm
clown will sufficiently impress them on the
memory.
If we desire to converse well, we must read
and st.ttdy, to store our mind s with ideas . If
we h ave no kn ow ledge, no excitement can produce it. fiut what WC have read and thought

53

51

.'·

LETTEl tS

TO SC H OO L G IIU S.

will conw lo us in 1he hour of ncccl, thoug h
we see m ed befo re lo remember nothin g about
it. ·we mu st a lso pract.i cc connrsation . As
we lea rn to \H ile by wr iting, so rnn st we lea rn
to t:ilk by ta lkin g. No mnn becomes a g reat
tirator at once . H e mnst practice in <lcb ~tinrr
c lnbs in his yonlh, alll l make mnn y an cffo1~~
1J<'fi1n• li e is ahle ln c:on11n :rnd ·himself and hi s
andi t· nre. J\lr. J<'nx, o ne of lhc abl est d ebate rs
'rho r 1·c r sp<Jkc in the British P arliam en t, atta in ctl t.hi s e min ence hy constan t practice . He
d ctcnnin ctl to ~p ea k er cry nig h t during the
~cs~ i o n, even at the ha zard of som etimes spcak111g .11onse nse .
'.l.'o lt.:arn to cnnv crsc, you must converse
frc1p1cnlly , not merely in the chi tclrnt con vcrs at io11 of sc houl g irls, lm t in co mpany, wh ere
)'til l will feel th e ncccssil.y of speak ing a11pro11ri a lt·ly, ancl spcak i11g lo lite point;. Th e lit.tlc
societies we rcco111111 c11clcd to you, for talking
lll' <'l' e1·cr r wea k wh at yo n had read you would
linrl r ery bene fi cial. T he daily r~~itat.i on of
)"(lllr lesso ns at sc hoo l "·ill also be scrvi ccahlc.
If yt1 11 will nnl, commit answers to m emory ,
lin t exp ress the th oug hts of the nut hor in your
0 1\'ll Word s, Cl'Cl'Y Hll SWer you g i\. C will be
f.t'achin g yon how to converse.

CONY ERSATION.

55

Small p arties arc m ore favornblc to rat.ional
ln 1i la rge
conversation llrnn large ones.
cro wd you ca n n ot speak m ore than a few
words to each indi vi<laa l, a nd you arc in d anger o f lhinl;ing that an y nonscn'c will do. In
such :i company the whole e venin g is wasted ,
mttl you rclurn h ome without h aYing h cartl
a ny th ing to m nk c yo n wiser, or h av ing communicaLctl any information to o,:icrs. 'fhis is
especially true o f dan cing p arti es. D ancing
seems, iml ccd, to liavc b ee n invented by those
wh o were too du ll or too ig nornnt to enj oy
convcrsalion . They must have some way to
pnss o ff the time, and they see m to lind some
enjoyment in .dancin g ; but h ow inferior must
it be to that rcfin cu enj oy m ent arising from the
u se of our in tellec tual and m oral fa culLicsthc noblest p art of our nature !
Conversation mav be a means, n ot merely
o f am usement nncl. soc inl enj oyme n t, bat o r
positi YC impron>m cn t. vVhen WC m eet the intellig en t a nd learned, t.h cy can g iYc us lhe result of their readin g and stmly in n m ore interesting fo rm than we will find such thin gs in
b ooks. It is said lhat Dr. Johnson made m ore
sensible and strikin g remark s in his comersations, ns reported b y Boswell, than arc lo be

56

LE'J'TE!tR '1'0 SC ll O OL <l!HJ, i; .

fonn<l in hi s wri Ltcn 'rork ~. Th e collision of
differen t intell ec ts wi ll freq uen tly elicit sparks,
w h o~e brilliancy \l'ill <lflzzlc th e beholders.
End eavor, in conversation, to introd uce
prof!Lnbl c ~ubj ccts. Lea ve su ch things as
f:t ~hi ons and beaux , ribb ons nn<l lacc, to su ch
n~ arc not capable of conversing on more imp ortnnt subj ects.
Above nil, never allow neighborh ood news
nml private scnn<lal to form a pa.rt of your
con ve rsation. Some ladies- ladies, too, p ossessed of education and intelligence, and from
whom we might expect better thin gs-ham
such a fondness for news that th ey ca.n scarcely
b ear to tnlk of any thin g else. It is a depraved nppetit.c, which only becomes more
crav ing by indulge nce . They will sometimcr.
inte rrogate children, a11d b e fomili ar wif;]1 persons ve ry mnch inferic•r to themselves in intel lige nce, that they m ay learn from them all th e
new~ .

S nch ladies resemble those birds that feed
on ca rri on. They never seem so mnch delig hted n~ when they ca n enjoy a feast over
the fault s and foibl es of th eir neighbors. From
s nch p ersons turn away; for be nssure<l, that,
after they have entertained you with nn uc-

C O NVE ltSA TION .

conn t of a ll the faults of your acquaintances,
they "ill, wiLh th e n ext p er son, enj oy a similar feast over your faults.
In all your interco urse with company, be
cour teo ns and kind. If you indulge in wit,
let it n ot be such as will wound th e feelings
of any present or absent. vVhen you go into
company, or engage in conversation, let your
objec t be to do goo<l, and to re ceive good.
'l'h en you can go h ome with an approving conscience, which is more va.Juable than gold and
silver.

58

L E TTEH R TO RC JI UO I, C: IRL S.

J,ETTER V.
M.\ NNE l't S .

W11 ET11r-:1 Lmy snuj cds ha\'e ri.ny connecti on
ll'ith Pac h ot her or not, yon will admit that
they Jm ,·c , at. lr:ast, varictv. lf I sh all be
11ble to present them in s u~h a manner as to
interes t and profit you, I shall Le highl y
g rntificd. l des ig n in this letter to say a few
things to yo n on the subject of manners .
How impor ta nt a snbj ect to ladies ! How can
yon be a lady at nll without ·good manners ?
.L admit that kincln css and benevolence of heart
arc much more im11ortant t han any mere outm1nl expression of these feelings. But h ow
shall '' c know th at th e kimlncss exists if there
is no expression of it? Yon conhl scarcely
f.,cl that your parents loved y on, if t.h cir
\ro rds nllll acti ons ne r cr expressed that loYe .
lt is irn e t here may he rn :iny pcoph· in t.h e
worl1l 1rl111 l'Xprcss mu ch ki111lncss and affection , wl1 en they fee l none. But; this is no
rcnson ll'h y ll'C should not ct1lti1,atc good man-

MAN N ER S .

59

ners, and use kind expressions in our social intercourse. Coun te rfe it money may be circulated, but we shou ld not, th erefore, refuse all
money. '!'here must be some good and genu ine, or there would not be that which is spurious.
Wh en you go into company, you pass the
tim e much more agreeably when you meet
wit.It polite person$, who strive to make you
h appy, thrtn when you rtrc with such as arc
in<lif.forent to your comfort, or onl y intent. on
their ow n enjoyment. As th e golden rulo req uircs us to treat others as we desire to be
treated, we should st1fre, when in company,
and especiall y when we h ave company at our
own hou se , to make every one as happy as
pu.:> siblc.
His, therefore, important to avo id all pc rfiOnal hahits (.hat arc offcnsi\'c or di sagreeable
to oth ers. You would be disg nstcd to sec n
gentl eman picking lii s teeth rtt the tabl e, and ,
at the same time, yon may h aYc some h abi t
thrt t is equ ally disgustin g to others. 'vVc very
ofte n desire to take the "mote" ou t of our
J1.c ig l1hor 's eye, wlwn, pc rl iaps, a" beam" .i ~; in
011r oll'n eye. A very good way to ascertain
'rhat wonld h e an improper ac(,ion in company,

r.o

L I:: T 1' E

I t~

'I' I) S

<: 111\ 0

!,

G I It L S .

is Io notir' c wha t y (> ll cn nsitlcr improper in
olh l' r~ .
Y o u will find most of lhosc thing s
poi11 !ctl out hy th ose wl1 0 ha m writ.ten on th e
s uhj l'Ct of 111 r11111 r r ~ . J\Ji ss Dc<'1 ;hc r in her
"D omestic E conomy," .Mr. N ewcomb in
"Ho w to be a Lndy, " ancl Mrs. J<'arrar in
UH) "Young J,aclies' Friend," h av e wri tten
some uf lh c best thin gs ] lia rn seen. Lord
Uh cs lr rfi elcl and Count D ' Orsay "h ar e, also,
g ive n many g ood rul es ; but most of what they
sn.y is not applicable t.o Ameri can society.
Th eir works apply lo an nris tocrati cal community, from which all arc excluded who h ave
n ot the r equi site polish of m :mncrs, or the
r c<[lli site wealth, or blood, or standing in socie ty . 'Ve sl1oulcl not <l cspi se those who have
hacl fe wer opp nrtnnili cs of r efinem ent and im prnvement lhnn uurselYcs ; for ninny n noble
a nd worthy h ea r t is concealed uncle r a ro ug h
r xlc ri or. vVc may some day be among th ose
wh ose advantages h ave been far s up erior to
our own, and th en we shall wish some indulgc nrc lo hr cxleml c<l to 011r cl cfccls.
Unm an b eings an' \'l'ry ap t lo be pnlfcd up
a nti sp oil r tl hy e very little circums tance th a t
seems to make th em superior to others. 'l'lw
litlle g irl, who has been u few months n.t

MANNEru:J .

Gl

school, is apt t.o look down upon h er playm a tes who arc not so leamed as herself. If
sh e can play a fe w tunes on th e piano, she
thinks h erself much bc tler than one who can
n ot. If her fat.h er ha s a fin e, cos Lly carrif1 gc,
she is al toge th er superior, in h er own estim a tion, io those who ride in a. plain, cheap
one.
V cry a.musing anecdotes are told a.bout the
girls at boarding-schools, who nrc cager to
ascer tain wh c tl1cr ever y n ew boarder th a t
comes is suffi cie ntly genteel io be entitled to
th eir fri endship. The marks by whi ch they
judge :ire not th e moral worth, or intcllig cncc,
or gootl sense of the s tran ger, but h er equip age and clress- :i very incorrect s tandard, indeed, by which to choose associa tes ; for the
moBt worthless g irl in tl1c world might b e ricl1,
:md rid e in a fin e carria ge, a nd wear a costly
dress, but th e most upri g ht, and amiable, and
es timable, mig ht b e des ti tute of such thin gs.
' Vhilc, th erefo re, you s triv e to be in all reBpec ts a lady, a nd to possess the utmost refin ement of ma nners, do n ot despise those
whose m anners are defec tive.
This would
!<h ow that you lacked a kind and generous
heart, a much g reater defect than unpolish ed

62

I. ET TE It S T 0

SC It 0 0 J, (; I It L S .

manners. ~Ian looks nt the outward nppeara nce-Gotl looks at th e heart..
T he wri ter~ on manners tell you rather what
is in approp ri ate, t.lrnn what is appropriate;
lh ey point out rather what is to be arnidell,
titan what is to be done. 'Ve migh t illustrate
b y large quotati ons, but thi s would occupy too
n111 eh space. 'Ve shall , therefore, onl y g ive a
frw <'xnmpl es , nnd refe r yo n to th e books before named. nnd. similar works. Th ey tell you
l!t nt you should not ' r hispcr, or stare abo ut,
or yawn, in company; that yon should sny
nothing to wound the fee lings of any one present, by unk ind remarks abou t their fri ends, or
th e sect or pnrty to which they belong; that
yon should ne1·er contradi ct any one flatly,
nor he in allcntiYe wh en any one speaks to
you; tha t at tabl e yo n shoultl not help yourBl' if Lill olh ern nre served, nor select tl1 e best
arti cles of fo ol!, nor cat g reeclily, nor leave
your plate full of fr agments, nor do many
other rurle Lhin gs "I nn tedi ous mention. " In
t• onn cctiun wit.Ji t:1 hl e manners, I would acid,
t.ha t talking at tabl e abont what yo u lik e or
di slike, is imp ulil(' . Neit her should yo u express :111y di ssati sfaction with th e foo d before
you, or t.h<: mann(' r in which it is prepared.

MANN E !tS.

63

This would wound the feeling s of the lady of
tl1e house, and be a transgression of the go lden
rul e. I have h eard an anecdote of a ge ntleman who, when he had good coffee, usuall y
to ok one cnp fo r breakfast; but if he was from
home, and go t indifferent coffee, h e always
took tw o cups, lest the lady of the house mig ht
think h e did not like it. Surely he was a
wcll-b;·ell gentleman.
If yon notice that any article on the table
is scarce, as peas, for instance, may be wh en
they first come, be helped very sparin g ly to
th at article ; and never be helped more than
twice to any thin g, however abundant. If you
have gormandizing propensities, it is certainly
in discreet to exhibi t them.
.ft is impolite to laugh in company when a
mi st.ake is made, or wh en an action is awkwanlly perform eLl. If an y one, attempLing
lo sit dow n, sh ould miss the chair, anil fall to
lhc !l our, pcrh:ips half the persons in the room
would laugh, instead of offering tu h elp them
up , an<l expressing sympathy with their misfort une. Some girls will laugh when a mistake is made in recitatio n, or any action is
awkwardly pcrfonnccl . To laug h when any
thing obscene or immodest is said or occw·s in

•j

·-1

64

•t

·'

...

L ET T E fl S T 0 SC JI 0 0 L ll IR J, S .

MANNERS .

company, iR not on ly impoli te, but immodest.
A you ng Indy must h ave n very impure imag in ation, wh en every li t tle occurrence or improper ex pression suggesl.s impure thoughts.
/\ml she mus t hal'e very little sense of propriety, when she betrnys th e vulgarity a nd
impuri ty of her thoughts by laughing . I h ave
ofl<!n hcen m nde to blu sh, by immod es t g irls
1111tlin " a "Ton" consl rn ction on the most
hnrnil "'l'ss things, "'or which , if improper, slwuld ,
at nu y rnl.e, hav e passed unn ot iced . Not a
musc le of th e face, or motion of the eye,
should betray that you have taken the slightest notice of any such thing.
'J'n mnke remarks in a low tone about pers•m s pn ·~ 1 · 11t, is exceedin gly improper. lt is
nlrnost irnpussiul e lo do snc.: h n. thing without
be trayi ng it. The g lancing of the eye, and
the expression of the coun tenance, will show
"·hat you nrc at., It must be very emuarrnssing to he made the subj ect of such remarks.
H ow wo ul<l you like to be so treated by others? Yo un g ladies tlo not always seem to be
aware how much may be expressed by the
eye and countennuce. Let n.ny one in company mi spronounce a -word, or make some
other blunder-you cast your eye round, and

sec young ladies exchang ing g lances and
smiles, and you at once understand the ridicule.

GS

'iV e 11 ave been speaking thus far of what is
ill-bred or impoli ie; but you wish to hear
something of good mann ers, and what yon arc
lo practice.
H is difficult to g ive anv 1rnch
di rectio ns. Avoid what is wrong, m1~l ynn
will hal"e ma<le c.:011 si<lcrable pronTcss
in doin"
b
b
wlmt is proper. If yon will obey th e Dible
rnle, and love your neig hbor as yo urself ; if
yo u have real kindness of heart toward a ll ,
nnd express that kindness in yo ur actions, yo u
will be polite. You will not wound the fee lings of any, you will not laugh at or ridicule
f.l1t!rn, yon will not do wha t is di sgns l.ing or
(lffc.:n sive. H is impossible for yo n to become
/ p o li t 1 ~ and refi11e1l in yo ur manners, merely by
reading directions in books. You mus t go
into company, and act your par t in society, to
learn how Lo act appropriately. E nd eavor
a lways to be calm a nd unembarrassed; for if
you arc confused, you will act a wkwardly .
Qualify yo urself by reading and study to take
yom: p~.rt in conversation, but make no effort
to disp lay -w ha t yon know. Be rather modest
nnd reserv ed, than bold and forward. Be

66

LETTER S T O SC IIOOJ, !i lRJ,S .

yourself, nntl ncYC' r t ry lo :le t an other, or put
~n :111 y nirs nf affeC'.l :.tti on . A ll affectation is
rn111:il11ral, nnd is sur e to b e d eteste d. The
n•icc and manner of a n affected girl Letray
pffurl. :incl constrninf.. ·w h at sh e says d ocs n ot
app ea r f.o co me from the h ear t. Le t me entn·at yon ng :iin lo uc simpl y, h ones tl y yo m·sP if. nml avo id a ll a ffe ctation. It will onl y
c:i n sc you lo h e pi I ird or cl cspisecl. No nn o
c:i n im·r. :in nffec fed g irl.
To be a ble to conv er se appropriat ely in
co mpany, yon must practice con versation in
your ordinary inter course with each oth er. If
yon talk n othing to each other but idle non se n se, wlH·n yo n go in to company a nd encle nvor t o eng ngc in grave co nv ers ati o n, yon
will feel a wkwanl , :i nd p erhaps h e disposed !.o
lan g h :it your ow n e ffort. This, I SllJlpose, is
t.h c r eason \\·hy so mm1 y children lau g h in your
fa ce wh en yo n a ttempt to converse with them .
Th ey ar c di,·ertcd at the t.hou g l1t that t.h ey
slwuld b e expec ted to say any thing sen sible .
·wh en yon attend church , o r r eli g ious cxcrcisrs of nn y l<intl , sh o w your good-breeding
by th e m ost rcsp ectfnl atten tion to wh at is
go in g on. It is impolite to be inatten tiv.e ~o
any one addressing you nny wher e, bnt i t is

MANNER f!.

67

1'infnl to whi sp er anil laug h while I.li e m essenger of Chri st is deli vering to you the Gospel,
or whil e yo ur parents or teach ers ar c olferin g
up pniycrs, o r a ddressin g you on r elig ious
s nLj ccts.
Wh enev er th e g r c:i,t .Jeh ovah is
worshiped , th e re sh oul d b e profound nml rcv <'rc n t nttcn tion. .An y in n.ltcnti on or lig hln ess
nn s11ch an occasio n, i8 worse th a n ill -breed ing -i t is di sr espec t and contempt for the Goel
wh o is worshi pPcl.
Respect fnr the ng0 cl is nn important. part
of gooc l-brcecling . The age mn s t su rely b c
1lrgc n erating, when the youn g treat th e nge d
with di sresp ect o r rnd encss . B e p olite to them
wl1 cn in their compan y, a nrl speak of th em r cnp cctfnll y wh en absP n t. How d estitute of
prop er r e fin em ent mu s t lh e li ttle g irl b e, who
says "Hopkin s, " o r "Old H opkins, " when
sl1 c sh o uld say "Mr. llopkin s," or "01'1 l\fr.
IJopkin s." Give all pe rsons some till c of r esprc f; " ·h en yon ~pP t1k o f th em; and \Yh c n yon
s pcnk of a minis ter of th e Gosp el, say th e
"Ilev. Mr. H- - ," or whate ver hi s n ame
m ay be.
T her e is one p oin t of good m ann ers whi ch
few sch ool g irl s see m properl y to umlcr stand .
·wh en th ey cn n sing, or pla y o n th e piano, th ey

68

J, F: T T F.RS 'J' O SC H OO L O I R J" S .

M AN N ~; rts.

almost. inY:ni abl y refn se, if reqncsted to do
so. Thi s is rnd e. H owever indiffo rcn t your
mn sic, you shonl<l compl y at least once, t o
show yo nr dis position to gratify the company ;
fl11' n if yon arc hoarse, or otherw ise nnprep:n ed to perfo rm, yo n can beg to be excused.
'l'o rcfn sc when yo n mi ght sing or play, is
mern :iffC'ct:i ti on. On the oth er 11 an<l, it is
i111pnlil n to insist strong ly on any one's singi ng
"r pl:1y i11 g. J.f th (·ir ~e n sc of good-Lrc c(lin g
1r ill not; i111lncc th em lo do sn, wh en politely
re quested, the matte r should not be p rcs~c (l.
School girl s shoul d be polite and lady-like
in all their in ter conrse wil h each other. Some
g irl s :i re noisy and rnd e in their laughing and.
t.nlkin g, in th cirpl:i ys and nnrnsements. Some,
i1ulec<l, a rn so ro ugh that it is exceedin g ly disag reeabl e to eng age in any amusement with
t.h cm . Th ey pu sh , an<l slnp, mHl tear clothes
wit.h such unlady -like r udeness, Urnt one would
suppose they h ad been broug ht np with the
roughest boys.
Youn g ladies must cer tainly be cheerful, and
Jnug h at prnpcr times; bn t they m ny do all
these like Jn.dies, and not like hoi<lcns. If you
nrc rude and boisterous in yo ur daily liabits,
yon can not act the party of a well-bred lad

in compa ny . Such as you arc in you r everyday in te rcourse wi th each other, such will you
be in company. If yo n say yes, or no, to
each other at scbool, yon will fee l aw kward
when yon att.emp t to sny "Ycs, l\fiss," or
"No, llifadam. " If you can fin d no amuse men t but ro mping, an<l rude plays, yon will
he cmbarrn.ssc<l when yo n have to sit still and
n.ct like a rational being. L et me en treat yon,
t herefore, al ways to remember, th at yo n arc ft
la<ly, nn d try to ac t liko one. A ll yo n may
read in bool;s will not 111 :1ke you a lady, 1111l css
yon prncticc what yon read. Trea t every
13c hool-matc with rc~p cct and poli teness, an<l
1.hcy will t reat you so. Never snatch a letter
or composition ou t of another 's h and, and
n m off to read it. D o not look over another's
shoulder when wri ting, nor in to h er portfo lio
wl1 cn absen t, if she h as accide ntall y k ft it
open. Such th ings arc indelicate, as ''"ell as
impolite.·
But it would Le impossible to tell yon all
abou t manners in one letter ; it wonM require
a volume instead of a letter. Read I.he works
to ,;·hi ch I h ave referred , nnd si milar ones.
To be truly relined an<l poli te, is a matter of
g reat impor tance . It will add lo your own

6£)

70

LETTER S TU SV l! OO L GIR L S.

h appiness, nnd tu the happiness of all with
whom you associate. Dnt rem ember th at
pmi ty of hear t is a ma tter of much g reater
i111porta nce . To have the approbation of our
fe llow-being!'<, is Llesirable; to han~ the approbation of God, is indispensable. Pray to him,
lh en·l'orc, tu prll'llon your sin s, and g ive you
the m ' 1ldi11g ga rment., th at you may be p re p a red to enll'r inlo !he marri age su11pcr of lhc

Lamb.

REL I GION.

71

LETTER VI.
ltE LI GION .

You think it desirable to be able to converse
well, and to luwc approp riate and lady-like
manners ; but how mu ch more important is it
to lrnve the soul prepared to meet God, and to
appear well iu hi s presence !
Dnt what is the soul'? Tha t immaterial
part of our nature which thinks and reasons.
lt is said to be immaterial, because it docs not
possess the properties of matter. Matter may
be known by some of the senses . This paper
is matter ; we can sec and foci it. The air is
matter; it occupi es space, and we can feel iL,
though we can not sec it. Matter can not
think or reason, but the soul can; and we,
therefore, call it an immaterial or spiritual existence .
It m ay be dif11 cult to form a clear idea of a
spirit. 'Ve, however, :ulmi t many things to
be trnc which arc mysterious. What is more
mysterious than electricity, as il darls across

72

LET'rEitS 1'0 SC HOOL G IHL S .

the heavens in the lightning , or conveys in telligence aero:;s the continent by the telegraph?
IL i:; not the body or lhc brain which thinks.
If the bud y were dead, it could not think;
though it might have the same hear t, and
bmin, and other organs, as when ali l'e. 'l'hc
ey e of a llca<l person can not sec , though the
image of external thi ng:; may still be made OH
its optic Herve. nut the optic ner ve can nut
sec without a soul. 'l'lw eye is merely the inslmmcut which lhc soul uses in seeing.
'l'lw telescope an<l microscope arc instruments usc<l to assist the vision, but no one
su11poscs that these instrnments can see.
A very simple experiment will convince you
that th e soul is something distinct from the
eye or th e body. Fix yu nr eye on auy object
in front of you, an<l keep it in that position;
al the same ti me <lirect your attention tu some
object to the righ ~ or left : in this way yo u
will . find tl1a t you can sec many different objects wi thout chang ing the position of the
eye. No w, the images of all !!tings in fr on t
of you, arc made on !lie op tic ner ve, whenel'cr yo u!' eyes arc open, and there is lig ht.
Bn!. yon see only the obj ect to which 1.Jw attc ution i:; tlircc lcd. What is it which direc tH

RELI G ION.

73

the attention to this object or that, while the
ey e sLands still ? What can it lie I.mt the
:;o ul- thc imm aterial, immortal soul '! It is
the soul which secs; lhc eye is the wiu<low
at which it looks ou t. So the ear and the
lwncl arc instrum ents nse<l by the soul to oblai u ideas of external things.
P erhaps a difllculty may arise in some of
your minds. If it is th e soul, you say, which
secs and fee ls, how <lo the low cl' animals sec
all<l fe el, which have JIO souls ? n ut how do
yo u knowLheyh a ve no souls? '.L'hey ce r tainly
have not rational auu accounta ble soul :;, ns we
have, but still they may h•wc souls of an infe rior kind, which will answer their purposes,
nnd yet not be immortal. And why mny no!.
God make variety in souls, as well as in any
thiiJO'
else ? What variety do we beh old in . all
b
his works ! So h e may make soul:; posse:;s111g
yarious degrees of rationality-some of them
accountable, and some not so. 'J.'hc lliblc
itself intimates th is, when it says : 'l'hc
spirit of a beast gocth downward, but the
spiriL of man goeth upward to Go<l, who g;w~
it. 'l'h is seems to intimate tlmL Lite souls ol
the luwcr an imals will perish wi th their bodies,
bnt the soul of man is imnwr!.al.

74

J,E'l'TElt S TO SC HO O L l11ltL S .

But th oug h our so uls 'rill 11c1·cr di e, t li ey
are dep rav ed nnd stain ed. by sin , a nd need th e
c l •·an s i11 ~· blond of Christ to prepare them tu
nH·ct. God in peace.
"Li l'e and imnwrtality arc brnught to lig ht
in th e <.:ospel. " By tl1 c dcat.11 of om L ord
J esns Uhrist:, prov ision is made for the salvat.io n of g uilt y sinners, wh o will repent of their
si ns nrnl beli cl'C in hi s n nmc.
H will be impossibl e, in a single letter, to
explain the general principles of religion. I
suppose yon adm it its t.rut.h and importance.
l desire, at present, to urg e you to g ive the
subj ect your serious mul earnest attentio n
now while you arc young . \Vh y should you
desire to postpone the subject of r eligion Lill
yon get old? Can yon b e happy while yo n
live in sin, and rebel against Uod? Alas !
· you arc very much mistaken if you suppose
~o.
Sinful plcnsnrcs and pursuits, 1 know,
ha,·c th eir allurements, and promise much
happiness; but th ey sadly di sapp oin t. The
sinful g ratifi cation will soon be over, but t.h e
s ting of g uilt will be left bchirnl. Hor long
years afterward the remembrance of this g uilt
will ma.kc yott unhappy; yea, it will plant
thorns in yo ur dying pillow, unless the sin is

RELIG I ON.

75

pardon ed, and Lhe foul sLain washed a way by
the b lood of Uhrist. Our very natures are
impure, and we must be born again to be
happy and to be safe. "Dlessed arc the pure
in h eart, for they sh all sec God."
'J'hc Spirit of God h as, no doubt, a lready
impressed your heart with a sense of your sinfuln ess and ingratitude in sl igh ting a Savior's
love . God calls on you Lo choose whether
you will give your h eart to him, or b e dev oted
Lo the vanities and pleasures of this life . \ '\Till
you sny to Christ, wh en h e knocks at the door
of your heart, "Go thy way for this time," or
will you say, "lforc, Lord, I gi vc my h eart
to thee?" If yon arc disposed to seek th e
l~o rd, lhc Bible gives you every encouragement : "Ask, and yo n sh all rece ive; seek, and
yo u sh all find;" "lJlcsscd are !.h ey Lhat
momn, fur t hey shall be comforted;" "Uome
unto me, and I will g ive you rest." \Vh cn cvcr you turn your th oughts lo the subj ect of
religion, diffi cul ties will present Ll1 cmselvcs, and
Sat.an will lay snares for your fee t; b u t God.
hns promised ass istin g grace in every trial and
Le mpLa tion. Trust, t hen , his p ro mises, a nd
believe that h e desires to bless you. As the
father rej oiced lo receive !.he returnin g procli-

77

LETT.En s TO SC HOOL U!ItL S .

RELIGION.

gal,
thcrn is joy in heaven urer erery sinue r t.ha t rcpentcth .
Y 01111g persons often Jrnvc an impression
th at re lig ion would diminish their happiness.
U ow far is this from the t rnth ! "There is no
pence , saith my God, to the wi cked;" but
g reat pC' acc h ave t hey 'rho Jore and obey
God 's Jaw. Did you ever sec a person lalely
C'omertcd-onc wh o h ad just tas ted th a t the
Loni wns gracious? S nch a one will tell yon
th at r eligion affords more real h appiness in
one h our than ca n be found in a whole lifeti me of sinful pleasures. He who is justified
h y faith in Chri st, has peace with God-a
p<' acc which the world can not giY c-a lmp1)i11css superior to nil ea rthl y joy.
'Vh y, then, will you not hccomc a Christ.ian? IT01r long will you h alt between two
opinions? You pursue the empty bubbles of
worldly plensurc, which bnrst when yon attempt to grasp them; but if death should
overt.nice you in your career , how could you
pa ss throug h the 1lnrk ya lJey without a Savior
lo support and comfort yon?
Even if yon sl1 ould li ve to old age, would
it nut be much better to be a Chri stian, nnd
lirn for high and noble purposes, than to de-

grade the noble faculties which God has bestowed on you, by living in frivolity and sin?
Make the comparison in your own mind between some gay and fashionable lady, and
some C'mincnt Christi an. Suppose the one to
h ave wealth, educati on, and beauty ; suppose
her to be admired for her personal charms, ·
· and her fascinating powers of conversation;
]r.t, her Yisit the theater, shine in the ballroom, and excite th e envy of h alf her sex
by h er magnifi cence nml splendor. But remember, on th e other h and, that such a hdy
mu st neglect her fami ly; she is so devoted
to fashionable pl easures, that the care of her
children must devolve on some one clscsome one, perhaps, poorly qualified for I.h e
important trust.
How excited nnd interested is she when preparing for a ball or for
th e theater! How much time ~pent in lit e
pwp:ua tion ! H ow high nrc her hopes of
h appin ess ! Bnt sec her rctum late at nigl1t.,
fatigued and sad-pcrh nps vcxell and mortifi ed lest some fortunate rival may have eclipsed
her! She throws h erself on her bed to endure
n few h ours of feve rish restle ssnc s~, for
"hal my sleep" seldom refreshes h er.
After a while, death looks t.hi s lady in the

76

so

7!l

LE'f'r E n s TO SC H O OL G IHL S,

fnce. The vnin pomps and Yanil.ies of the
worlcl must now he resig ned; hu t, nhts ! 11 0
prqrnrntion has been m ade to meet God. Iler
conscience is now ::ironse<l, and she is troubl ed
at the r ecollection of mercies nbnse<l, grncio ns
opportunities neglected, an<l a Sav ior's lov e
s lig h f.c cl. Sins long forgotten ri se up in h e r
m emory, nml sh e li es 11.own to di e in sorrow
:incl des pair.
Let ns now s11 ppMc a lad y of :t different
kind-one " ·ho lms no t.asto for fashi onabl e
display. Snpposc h er to be a keep er at hometo be economical an<l industri ous, but anxious
to get ri ch.
S he finds nnrnscmcnt in reading, and enjoys
many a hen rty laugh at th e foibles of her
fri cncls, or the f:iilin gs of mankind. H er l1 earl;,
howe1·er, is not rig ht with God . Sh e prays
not for her children, and makes no effor t to
bring them up for Christ. 'l'o do goocl while
8h e lives is no p art of h er plan . ·w orldly gain
is her god; h er heart adores a golden icl ol, hut
th e g reat Je hovah has no place in it.
.At Inst the snmm ons comes : "Give an nc connt of lhy stewardship." She shrinks back
in horror, and fin<ls a dying bed, without
Chrisf;, to be n he1l of thorns.

It E LIGION.

79

L et me now present you a different character-a r eal Christian lady. She occupi ed nn
elevated p osit,ion in soc iety, and possessed a11
un common sh are of personal b eau ty. Her
in tellec t was of a high order, nnd it was well
stored with vari ous information. H er g rnce fnln ess of m anners and fasc inatin g powers of
conversation, m ade her th e delight of all com panies where sh e visited. In h er youth sh e
h ad been fond of danc ing, ancl other worldly
amusements, in which no one could lnwe been
better calcnlatecl to attnwt admiration than
h erself.
While leading a gay and thoughtless life,
foncl of dress an<l display , sh e went one clay
to church, bu t with li ttle thoug ht of worshiping God. Bnt the Spirit of Goel sh one upon
hf'I' hear t, and she felt that, in hi s presence,
~h (• was a vile and wretch ed sinn er ; she felt
h ear til y ash amed of th e gay clothing that
adorn ed h er 11e rso11, so li ttle in accordan ce
with the deformi ty which sh e n ow discovcrecl
in her h eart. She was alarmctl at her condition, and began to call on God fo r mercy.
She r enoun ced th e world nnd its g li ttering
toys, nnd resolved lo devote the r cmaincle r of
h er Jiff' l.o lh e srr vi ce of Uod . Sh e f1111rul the

80

81

LE TT ERS TO SCHOOL 0 IRLS.

RELIGION.

par<lon of her sins throu g h the blood of Obrist.
became a member of the Presbyterian Church,
and was one of the most holy and useful la<lies
l e ye r kn ew.
l::lhe was remarkably plain in h er dress . Sh e
scarcely eYer h ad more than two or three
dresses at a lime ; and my impression is, that
Rhe never wore jewelry of any description.
1-ih c neYcr danced, or attended h alls or lhea··
f.r.,rs :1 ftcr she made a profession of religion.
She wns nut willing to yentnre on doubtful
ground. Her heart was filled with lovo and
gratitude to God, and she had no desire to indulge in any practice of 'luestionable propri :
ety. She labored to do goo<l, and to persuade
her children and friends Lo be the fri ends of
Go,J. Nu 011e r.oul<l conrnrse wit.It li er wiLh011 t IJeing impressed with the beauty and love lin ess of religion. She was ready to visit th e
poor aml f.he alllicted, and to pray with the
penitent. aiHl the flying.
l esteem iL one of the happiest events of
my lif1] lo hare been acquain te d with h er, and
tu l1a.Ye been enconragcd and assi sted by h er
in the beginnin g of my Christian course .
She claimed kindred wiLh some of the highei; t

families in the nation, but she esteemed it a
greater h onor to be a child of Goel, and an
h eir of immortality .
Such, y oung ladies, is n feeble sketch of
Mrs. AGATH A 1LrnsnAI.L, of Vvoodfonl county,
Ky.; one of t,he brightest and bes t of God's
children on earth, but now a saint in h eaven .
Sh e was not terrifi ed at the approach of death,
bu t in that dark h our the everlasting armi;
were around h er. Iler daughter told me th at
wh en sh e wa s about lo breathe her las(;, they
inriuircd whet.her Christ still supportc<l li er.
She repli ed, and they were, perhaps, h er Inst
words:
"How crtn I sink with suclt "prop
As my ct.crnal Gotl ?"

How mnch better, my young fri ends, Lo
live n. Christian, and die in this way, than to
prefor the follies of the world, and at last lie
down in sorrow ! Can I not pcrsnade you f.o
make th e happy choice, and seek, from this
day forward, a crown of immortality that
fad e th n ot away?
Yo n may lrnve trials and difficulties, affli ctions and sorrows, in this world, bnt Christ
will, at last, wipe away nil tears from all
G

82

LETTERS TO SC HOOi, GIRLS.

PRAYER .

83

faces, and "I.h e rn.nsomed of th e Lord. sh all
return, nn<l come to iion with songs and everhst ing joy upon th eir heads ; they sh all obtn in joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing
shall flee away. "
LETXER VII.
PRA Y ER.

"Goo is a Spirit,, and th ose th at worship
him mnst worship him in spirit and in tru tli. "
Jt is $Omctim es difficult for young pcrsorrn to
form an id r:;1, of God , who is with out begin ning and with out enrl , and infini te in all hi s
per fections. Yon think yon oan lm1lcrs tnncl
what matter is, but how arc yon to know wl1at,
a spirit is ? Your own soul is a spirit-that
part of yonr nature which reasons and thinks.
God is a Spirit-a being of infinite wisdom and
intrlligencc . This God must have exi sted from
all eterni ty; for if his ex istence had a begin ning, he mus t have been crerttcd by some oth er
being, and that being would be God. So we
must suppose some being to h ave existed without. a beginning, who was not created, bu t is
th e Creator of all other things.
This God is infinite in all his attribu tes.
His power mu st be infinite to create, :-tntl l1iR
wi sdom to contri ve and arrange every thing

84

!,ETTERS TO sc 11 00 1. GlflJ,S.

PHAY .E R.

with rnch skill. ] [e is, nlso, infinite in holiness, justice, trnth , nnd knowledge . His Joye
antl mercy, too, arc infini te, as displn.yctl in the
g ift of his Son to <lie for sinners . How great
antl glori ous is Gotl ! .He is every-where
present, nml knows what occurs in every part
of th e universe . \Ve cnn not sec him or feel
him with om botlil y senses, antl yet h e is Yery
near us, nntl understands the very secrets of
our hearts. \Ve sh ould not, therefore, think
of God ns a large man, seatctl in heaven, bul.
n,s a spi ritual, living , intelligent, h oly being ,
cvcry-w here present.
Thi s God we should worship in spirit and
in truth; which means, I suppose, that we
should worship him sincerely in our hearts,
nnd not mrrcly wit.11 external forms and ceremonies. It is not enough to drn.w near to
him with our lips, when our hearts are far
from him.
An1l is it unreasonable th at we sh ould worsl1i p God, onr l\fakcr? His tender mercies
ha,·c been O\'er us from infancy to the present
hour. Thoug h we ]iayc sinned against l1im
for "mnny long, rebellious years," yet he l1n s
delivercJ us from dangers, preserved us when
we were sick, and snrronudcd us with a thou-

sand blessings. Surely, we shoukl praise God
for his goodness, and worship him with sincere
and humble hcnrts.
But how sh all w e worsl1ip God? Prayer is
saicl to be the chief part of worship. "Prayer
is th e offerin g up of the desires of tl1c hea rt
to God for things agreeable to his will , in the
name of Christ." \Vhcn we approach God
in prayer, it sh ould be with profound reverence nnd solemnity . ·w e should feel that he
is it great nnd glorious being , and we arc per ishing and sinful worms.
We ~ h oultl th ank him, with grateful h earts,
fo r all his mercies, and wi th deep humili ty and
sorrow sh ould make confess ion of our sins.
\'\Then the prodigal retumcd, he said, "Father,
I have sinned against Heaven, and in tl1y
:;ight, and am no more worthy to be called
thy sou." David said, "A gainst t hee, tl1 cc
only, Jiayc I sinned, nnd done this C\·il in thy
sig ht." T he Bible assures us that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and jnst to for g ive us our sin s, and to cle:rnsc us from nil
unrigh teo usness. W c shall not be able to remember all our sins, but we should recall as
m any ns possible, and con fess them to Uod
with all their aggrnrnting circmnstanccs.

85

86

87

LETTERS TO SCHOO/, (lJRLS.

!'RAYER .

·while we thus confess our sins with rep entan ce and shame, we should pray for pardon. There arc many promises of forgiveness
and m ercy to those who trust in t.hc Lord
Jesus Christ: "Look unto m e, and be ye
sav ed, all the ends of the earth; for I am
God, nm! th ere is none else;" "Come unto mi:,
nil ye that labor and arc h eavy laden, and ]
will g i1·c you rest." Pau l and Silas said to
t he jailer, "Beliel"C on t he Lord J esus Christ,
mul lhou shalt be saved."
vVhen we pray, therefore, for God's mercy,
we sh ould expect to receive it. W c should
beli eve that, notwithstand ing our g reat unworthiness, he desires Lo bless u s. Vv e shoukl
a ~k in the name of Christ., and ask in fa ith,
and he will fo rgive our sins and renew Ollr

the sunshine and the rain to produce a crop.
Vve can not ch ange our own hearts, or forgive
our own sins ; bu t God has promised to giY c
the Holy Spirit to them that ask him. "Ask ,
and you shall receive; seek, and you shall
find ," says the blessed Savior. Difficulties, and
doubt, and darkness, will oft.en oppress the
mind, in coming to a throne of grace; but we
should persevere through all difficulties, and
Goll will bestow the blessing. Ile h as promised to look in m ercy to that man who is of a
humbl e and contrite sp irit, :111d who trembles
at his word.
W c should pray for others, as well as for
oursclver,. ·we can hardly think t.hat our
poor, imperfe ct prayers, can d o good to any
one else. But if God h as promise d to anHwer prayer, hi s wonl should be sulli cicnt.
When Christ was on earth, he put clay on a
man's eyes, and restored him to sight. It was
not the clay th at restored him , but th e power
of God . So it is not our prayer that does
any one good, but God's blessing sent in 11n::; wcr to that prayer. Children should be in
the constant habit of prnyi11g for thei r parents,
and brothers , and sisters, and all their fri ends.
They should pray for the poor, and for the

h ea rt.~.

Some supp ose that because Uod is an un ch angeable being, there is no use in praying that our prayers will not change his mind.
Th<J spiritn:d, as well as the temporal, blessings
of God, mn.y he comlilional. The fa rmer
cn n nut make the corn and wh eat grow, and
if li e s hould , thi:rc!"ure, say there is 110 u se in
plowing ;ind planting, he would act with great
fo lly. Let him do his part, and God will send

!](l

L ET T E R S 'l' 0 SC !I OO L l<I ltL S .

89

PltAYER .
\

rich , a1Hl fnr nil the wo rld . St. P aul 8ays,
th at " suppli cati ons, an d praye rs, and g iving
of thanks, should be made for nll m en."
C hrist teaches us th at we sh ould 11ray eve n
fo r our enemies. I trust sch ool g irls will not
forge t th at it is their special duty to pray for
th eir tcacl1ers aml sch ool-mates, th at God m ay
bless tl1 cir in structions, a nd send the i nOu c nces of his Spirit o n nll the schoo l.
llow ofte n should we pray? D av id says,
"Mornin g, noo n, and ni g ht will I pray nnd
cry un to thee." D aniel prayed three times a
day, bowing on his knees, with his wind ows
open to,vnrd J crn salcm . Every person should,
at least, pray in the morning and at nig ht.
U il1 cy can also pray at noo n, a1Hl in th e e ven ing twilig h t, it wi ll not bn loo frcc 1u c ntl y.
'l'h e morn we can li ve in th e Sp iri t of pmy<'r
th e bette r .
If we only pray when we arc sick, or during a thunder-storm, or when so me danger
thr eatens, rnch prayer s will avai l very li ttle.
But if we pray cr ery day in spirit and in truth ,
God will hea r om 1m1ye rs and g i1·c us su pp ortin g g ra ce. W e shonlil hav e ou r reg ul ar
times fo r privaln prayer, nntl 8houltl not, 0 11
a ny acco un t, neglect them. If \Y C feel indis-

posetl to pray, and neg lect it one time, we will
Le more apt to n rglcct it ngain , till prnyer will
l.Je g iven up. Our Lhoughts will some tim es
wand er, and we will find it difficult to prny.
Vv c may even be tcmp tctl to desist altoge th er .
under th e impression that God will not h r·a r
s uch h eartless prayer s. But we sh oukl r, till
persevere, a ml God will, afte r awhile, touch
our h earts an cl g ive u s the spirit of prayer.
God looks at the desires of the 11 cart, ancl if
we r eall y desire hi s p ardonin g m ercy, a nd hi s
saving grace, h e will b esto w them, if we persevere in asking . "Blessed arc they that
hun ger and thirst a flcr righteou sness, for th ey
sh all he fill ed."
It will b e a gootl pln.n to read a fe w verses
in yo ur Bihle, or Hymn-Hook, b efore yo n
kneel d own to prny . lt will assist to coll ect
your thoughts a ncl g ive th em a pn1pc1.' clircc~
tion. 'J.'h cn you can plcacl t.h c prn n11ses of
Goel, nml ask him to fulfill them in yonr cnse.
You sh ould pray fo r God's direction in every
thin g you under take, and hi s blcssi1~ g on ~11
you do. You sh ould ask him to ass1:t yo u 111
you r studies, to s trength en your m1ml, and
gi ,.e yo u a clear understanding of di!Hcult
thin gs. When you arc sick, you should pray

!JO

J,E TT EHS TU St.: llUUJ, lilHLS.

to lie restored to l1 ca lL11 , and when well , tlial
the blessing of hca!Lh may be continued to
yo u ; and, LlrnL yo n may be able Lo imp ro \'C it
(~ .
.., m st. lcael1 es us to pray, "Give us this day'
<rnr daily bread." Bread for the body and the
son! arc both the g ift of God, and we sh ould
pray for them , and be thankful when we receiY c them.
·wh en we pray for any blessing which God
lias cxpl iciLly promised, as the pardon of sin
through Uhrist, th en we may confiden tly expect .an a nswer. Dut if there is no express
promise of t he Lhing for which we ask, we
should say, "'l'hy will be doue. " vVe mav
pray fur a sick fri end, but God may sec it bc;t
to remove that fri cud by death . Herc we
mus l submit to God, and acq ui esce in hi s will.
H e is our h eaven ly Father, whose tender mer cies a rc over all his works, aml he will do Lhat
which is bes t for us. St. Paul prayed three
Limes that Urn Lhorn in the flesh mi•rhf,
be rco
moved . God <lid not remove it, but he said ,
"l\l y grace shall be sufficient, fo r thee."
What a ble~se d Lhing it is to feel lhat God
i ~ our Fath er and Friend, a nd lo have access
to him in prayer. " In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direc l thy palh s. "

PltAYER.

!JI

I woultl earnestl y recommend lo schuul
g irls to h ave a weekly prayer meeting among
themselves. If there Rrc only four or li ve
professors of religion , they will have enungh
to begin; for Ch ri st says, " ·wh ere lwo or three
are assembled in my name, there am I in lhe
midst." Perh aps one of the teachers wonlLl
join yo n, and lead the exercises . It will
g reatly strengthen your h eartR in the service
of God, to uni te your voices in prayer. Do
not re fu se to take a part, becau se you fear you
can not make as fino a prayer as some of.hers.
Your words may be few ant!. simpl e, b ut if
lhcy come from a sincere h eart, God may
ma.kc them the instrument of good. Such a
prayer meeting in a school can not fail to do
good. Your school-mates m ay Urns be led io
Christ, anti be, at last, stars in your crown of
rejoicing .
Arc there any among those whom I am addressing, that uevcr pray ?-who live every
day on God's bounty, without thanking l1im
for his kindness ?-who sin every day against
his goodness, without asking for pardon?exposed continually to his wrath, and ycl
Ii vino- carelessly in sin? You lie down at
nigh~, and rise in the morning, without think-

-----------

92

--- - - -- -.,.---- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- -- -- - - - -

LET TE It S T 0

S L' H 0 0 J, G IJt L S.

ing of th e g re a t G•Jll in whom yon live, and
m o,·c , and ki,· e y om being ! ' Vlrnt a melancholy sight must this be for angels to look
up on!
'Viii not yon, young lady, who m ay be reading these wonls, now begin to pray, if you
neYer prayed before? Begin, if you can only
say, "U otl be merciful lo me, a sinner. " ll
i,,; noi, Uic leng th of om 1m1ycrs that God rcganls, but th e sincerity of th e hear t, mHl th e
faith with which we ask.
"Prayer is th e soul's sincere t.lcsire,
Unuttered or expressed ;
Th e motion of n. hidden fire,
'l'ha t trembles in the Lreast."

I s i t p ossibl e th a t an y of you arc aslrnrn ed
t.o pray ?-not ash arnetl to sin against your
h ea1·cnly F ath er, but ash amed to be seen upon
your knees, or to ha \'C it known th at yon
pray? .Ah ! how g reatly must wc be fn llen to
be ash amed of that in which we should r e j oice as our high es t privilege ! W e me rebel
w o rm ~ , but G0tl has created a th rone of g rn.rc,
sprinkled wi th th e blood of Chri st, to which
wc m ay come and pray fu r pardon and salvation. llow eagerly should we come ! Witl1
wha t earn estne ss should we pray! '! 'hough

PRAYER.

93

all the world sh ould repi"oach u s, we should
never be ash amed. Christ says if we are
ash amed of him in this world, h e will be
aslrnmcd of us in the grea t tlay of judg ment.
May the Lonl en abl e yon to pray wi th earn estn ess and perseverance, till he shall lake y ou
to himself above !

94

LF.TTF.RR TO SC H OO L OIRJ.fl.

LETTER VIII.
TJIE SA IlJJA'r 11.

AR I hrive ~pnkc n of I.h e imporbmcc> uf n ··
ligion, nml t.lie ncrcssity uf _prap· r, ]c f. m 1•
atl1 l a few words about the duties of th!) Sn J, .
hath . lf you slight the Sabbath, yo 11 will
soon slight all religious oblig:itions, anti nr.g lect all prayer. If vou "remember th e Sabbath day, lo keep .it holy," it may be t.h.e
means of leading yo n to Ood, and to the
lmowlc<lge of his salvation.
The Sabbath was instituted at man's creation. When God hatl fitted up our world for
man's residence, had furnished it with an
nlmost endless v::uicty of plants and animals,
a nd had created man himself, he rested from
l1i s labors, and set apart and sanctified t.he
Sabbath . He did so because he knew tl1at
such a day would be required for man's bodily
necessiti es, as well as for his religious im provement. w· c need rest at nigh t, after the

·rHE SADDA'rH.

95

toils of the <lay; and we need rest one day in
seven, to recrui t all our bodily powers.
Dr. Ed wards, in the "Sabbath Manual,"
has collected a large number of facts, to show
t.hat both man and the inferior animals require
a day of rest. Take any number of men nt
hard labor; Jet part of t.hem work every day
with out rest, and part rest on the Sabbath :
I.hose who rest on the Sabbath will perform
more work in six months, and be in better
he::tlth at the end of th at time, than th ose who
labor every day alike. Let droves of cat tle,
or sh eep, be started to a distant market; the
drove that stops on Sabbath will anive at the
market earlier, and in better condition, than
the one t,hat travels every day without rest.
.Physicians testify that all men require rest
one day in seven , to recruit the exhausted
powers of nature, and that the obserntnce of
I.he Sn.hbn.th promotes health and long life.
E nt if the body rer1uires a day of rest , how
much more is it necessary for ou r spiri tual improvement ! If man needed the Sabbath when
first created, h ow much more docs he now re quire it, when guil t and dcpravit.y have ::ilienated him from his God! "Remember the
Sabhath day, tu keep il huly," was one of

96

LETT EltS TO SC II OO J, GIR T, $ .

1he command s g iven amid th e 1hnmlers of
J\l t:. Sin ai. lt was not inte nded for lh c Jews
m e re ly, but,, like the other commtuHls, was
m eant lo be oblig atory on all men. Six days
were allowccl fur labor , a nd th e transaction of
1rn rldl y business, but the seventh was r eserved
fur relig ions duties. Th e licad of the fami ly,
:i 11 1I hi s children. and scr nmts, and guests, and.
eve n his cattl(', must abstain from labor un the
consec rated day. foaiah Leaches u s, Lhat if
we would keep the Sabbat.h properly, we must
not think our ow n thoughts, nor speak onr
own words, nor fi nd our own plcn s nrc, bnt
account the day holy to the Lord, and honorable.
Onr Savior ob served I.he Jewish Sabbatl1,
but, afte r his r esurrection, lhe day wafl
ch:rngcd Lo the first day of th e week, in honor
of that great event. He uniforml y me t his
di sciples on the first day of the wee k. The
apostles h ad. their religions meetings on tl.1at
day. ·when St. Paul was at Troas, he tarncd
se1·ernl days; an d when the disciples came to gethe r on the first day of the week, to break
bread-that is, to take the sacrament of th e
Lord's supper-Paul preached to them. He
alsu directed thal collections sh ould be made

T H E SAllllATH.

97

in th e chu rches fo r religious purposes, on lh e
tirnt clay of th e week.
'l_'he practice of the apostles, an(l of all Lh c
primitive Christians, is prcsmncd to be snf1i t: ient a uthority fo r the change. Tho ug h
there is no exp licit command lo change tl11 ~
rlay, yet the apostles acted by Divine a uth ority, am! und er the influence of inspiration, a nd.
their example h as th e force of a command.
· Chris t had told them that he liad many thin gs
to say to Lhcm, which t.hey were not then ab le
to bear; but wh e n the Spiri t of truth should
corne, he would g nid e Lhcm un to all tru th .
'!'he ch ange of the Sabbath was, no doubt, one
of these things.
A nd wh y sl1 011 ld not Lhe day be changed,
af'Lcr Chris t's res urrection? The seven th day
h ad b een appointed lo commemorate the crca(.ion; but wh en Christ h ad m ade nu ato nement
fur sin, broug ht in everlasting r ig hteousness,
accomplished the ancient prophecies, and risen
lrium plrnutly from th e dcacl, it was proper that
the work of redemption sh ould be commemornlc d. by ch angiug the Sabbath to the first <lay
of lhe week.
" 'Twns grent to speak n world from naught;
'Twas greater to redeem ."
7

98

LE1'1'ER8 1'0 SCH O OL GIRL S .

If "the mornin g stars sang together, and
all U1 c sous of Cloe! shouted for j_0y, " when
thi s beau tifnl wo rld r ose into being, m1g cl
ba nds nlso came down to mrnonnee the birth
of the :Messiah, proclaiming " g lad t idings of
g reat j oy to all people, p eace on eartl1 , and
goocl will lo man ;" they no doubt hovered unseen about th e crnss, in th at dnrk l1 our wheu
he drm1k th e bitter c1tp of huma n woe . E arly
nn th e thin! morn, these brig ht mcsse11gers
came to roll away the s tone from the sepulcher, ant! ann ounce to the weeping discipl es
that Christ was risen. H ence forth, it was
prnpcr th a t the tlay of rc1igious solemnities
i:l1 nul\l he the thy of his rcsnnect.ion .
Shall m ', then, loo k upon th e tlay on whid1
th e " g ale s of Gospel grace" were opened Lo
a ruined world, as a tli sag recahl c clay ? L et
ns rather rejoice that th e light o r immor tali ty
h as d awn et! on th e worlt!. On thi s gl ad. tl :i.y
the hcralels of th e Gospel cry, "Dchold the
L amb of God, wh o taketh aw ay the sin of the
world." 8 hall we treat th e clay wi th neglect,
or pn ss its prccio1ts ho1trs in anrnscmcnt or iu
sin, when H eaven proclaims such messages of
mercy to man?
W c shall not, it 1s true, feel disposed to

'l' II E S A U JJ A 'l' 11

.

99

n.ttcnd to th e du t.ics of the S:tbbath, if we
liav e neglec ted relig ion on n.ll th e oth er <lays
of the week. Bn t if we h ave read the Bible
dail y, and h a ve vi sited a th rone of g ra ce in
Jm iycr, we shall esteem it a privilege to devote
th e Sabbath to the worship of Go(l and t.hc
interests of the sonl. What would the dyin g
sinn er g iv e for one holy Sabbath tl ay Lo prc1mre to meet hi s God! H ow will it pnin us,
in th e dyin g ho;\r, Lo remember th a t we liave
neglect.eel a nil wasted these precious dnys !
Th e co 1111n:md snys, "Remember the Sabbath. " 'l'his seems lo impl y that we sh nuld
think of it beforeh:mt!, and make preparation.
·Mu ch may be clone on Satnrtb y toward preparin g th e meals for Snnday. A cold dinner
is best, as it alluws tt large r number of th e
fa mily t.o atte nd preaching . No work sh ould
be done, unless work of Hecessit.y or mercy,
;u; we arc taug ht hy th e exampl e of Chri st.
'l.'h c farm er shunlil not plow his fi eld s, nor the
m crcl1 ant sell hi s goods, n r the sch,_o..ol girl
stml y h er lessons or write her letters. Our
rea(ling , anil conv ersation, anel tl1011 g h!s,
should, as far as possible, be on rel ig ious SLLU jccls . 1f the merchant, while in church,
should uc thinking of the sale of his goods,

too

LE l " J' E It S T 0 S V II 0 0 J, ( ; !lt L S .

or coun ling 11p his 111·ofits, he wo11hl not be
keeping t he i:lablrnth pro1Jcdy. The lawyer
mig ht Lake liis scat very decently in church,
and be studying a case which he was to have
in court on Monday. So the school girl, ins lea<l of li stening to the sermon, might employ
her thoug hts about her l'lfon<lay 's les8ons; or,
s he mig ht be noticing how every 011e was
dressed, anti be able to tell the color ur e1·cry
ribbon at church, but not remember a word of
the se rm on; or sho might allow her imagin ation to rnn on scenes of vice and crime, which
would corrupt her h ear t, and make her worse,
instead of better. "Man looketh on th e outward appearance, but God looketh on the
heart. " lt "·ill he <lillicult to confine the
Lhoug hls lo the sulJj ect of relig ion on the Sabhal h, wh en they hal'e been wholly absorbed
with other things during the week. vVe mtrnt
not., h owcl'er, allow them lo be wholl y cu·
grossed with olhcr things, but give some attention to religion every day. We must, also,
pray earn estl y for God's assisting g race Lo 1mt
our h earts in proper frame.
' 'Ve should conlri1'e tu diversify Lim objects of attention on th e Sahbatli, but still
to have such as arc appropriate to the clay.

THE SADBATII.

101

When you n sc m the morning, you might
spend a littl e longer time than usual in reading the Bibl e, and private devotion. You
should attend Sabbath school, either as a
scholar or a teacher; and the preparation of
the lesson " ·ill be a su itable employment for
Sunday morning . The exercises of the Sunday school will, I trust, interest you . In th c
in te rval bdore sermon, read a few verses in
your Bible or Hymn-Book, to prepare your
mind for li stening to the di scourse.
Join wi th tho cong regati on in singing, nrnl
he attentiv e to the prnycr. W11 cther you kneel
or stand in prayer, let your eyes be closed,
lest your attention may be diverted by what
yon see . Pay close attention to the sermon,
and remember the text and divisions of the
subj ect. The preach er is the cmbassador of
Chri st, nm! he has a message from Goel to
you, on which the salvation of yo ur soul m ay
dcpen<l. 'l'herefore, lose not a word, but pray
Llrnt th e Spiri t of Goel may send it home lo
your conscience, and make it a blessing to
your soul.
Some ladies sl eep till a late hour on Sabhath mornin g, and then ~p e nd a long time at
tl1c toil et. While in church, they arc either

102

103

LET'l'Elt S TO SC !IO O J, C: IJtJ, S.

THE S ADDAl'IT.

thinking of their own personal nppcarn.ncc, or
noticing the dress of oth ers, bu t the serm on is
not heard. Some attention to dress is, of
course, indispensable. E1'ery person who goes
to church should be neat n.nu clean.
But
when th e toilet is once arranged, the subject
should be dismissed from Lhc thoughts. lf
your parent s have boug ht yo n costl y dresses
or je welry, t.hc house uf God is not t.he place
to di spl:i y th em. A pl:i in, neat dres~, is mu ~ h
moro appropriate, when engaged in Di1·ine
wors hip. While your fellow-b eings may be
admiring your dress, an all-seeing Eye may
discover much impmi ty in your heart. It becomes us to go to church, not wi th feelin gs
of vanity or pride, but of humility and prayer.
LL is the house of God, and the gate of
heaven, and we should IJe solemn and devo ut.
After church, we should medi tate on what,
we have heard, or talk it over with our fri end s;
not to criti cise and find fault, but to impress
th e snhj ect, more deeply on our hearts. How
Jiltl c <l o (.hose :ipprcciate tl!e Gospel, who can
firnl subjec ts for ridicule and amusement in t,he
sennons they hear! Preachers, like all other
mc11 , have their infirmities and defects. They

luwe the treasure of the Gospel m "earthen
vessels." But since they come to us as tl1e
messengers of God, we should respect them
for the sake of their oHice, overlook tl1 cir im per fections, anu endeavor to be profi tcd by th e
Gospel which they proclaim.
It is very common to pay visits on the after noon of the Sabbath , or to walk or ride out
for recreation. Such things arc lrnrdly consistent with the sancti ty of the tlay. Improper subjects of conversation :we apt to he
introdur:ed, and devotional feelings :ue injured. I advise all the young ladies to whom
these letters are addressed to take no walks or
rides on Sunday, except to go to church. If
more exercise than this is needed for h ealth,
walk abont your own h ouse or lot, hnt not in
I.he stree ts, or public ways. Avoid lhe appearn.nce of evil.
\Tou may h ave a sufTicicnt variety of reading to fill up the day agreeably and pro fi tably:
t.h e Bible, lh e Sunday sch ool lesson, the history of the Church, or of the Reformation, the
works of Baxter or Doddridge, "Abbot.L's
Y oung Chri stian," the biography of eminent
Christi ans, the sermons of vV csley or ' Vatson,
Chalmers or H all. If this i.s not enough, your

104

[,ETTERS 1'0 S CIIOOJ, GIHJ..S .

~r: h oo l lihrnry will afforcl :ilmost an
Ynri ety. J >iffercnt co •. ··scs of nrnd ing
may be ca rri ed on a t th e same time, and conti nu ed frnm :Sabbath to Sabba. lh. You mi g ht:
r ea d Chmch history one part of the day , and
relig ious b iog raph y nncl periodicals another.
This wonk\ prevent fatig ue. '1'hc great matl(' r i ~ , nlwn.ys to l1n.vc somctl1ing on h and
wh ich ynu ca n ta], c np wh en you have a spar('
nwm en t. 'VIH' n yon once get accustomed t0
r<!:1din g , and in tcrcs tccl in relig ions subj ec ts,
yon will find the d ay too short to read llll th at
yon desire.
And while you rend, and pray, and s ing,
the h ours of the Saubath will glide deligl1tfull y away, ancl you r h ear ts will be streng thenccl for th e se ni cc of Goel.

f31 111cl ny
•· ntll c~s

'

1

Ho w ~wc(~t n H:-ihbath t.lnrn t,o ~pctul,
Jn hope (lf Oll C f.Jrnt ll C't'l' sJmll end!"'

Wh at a delig htful world shon ld we h:we, if
the Sabbath were universall y keJl t h oly ! If
th ere is joy in heaven over one si nner that r cp cnteth, how would ange ls rejoice to ~c c t.111 •
whol e population of cities, villages, anti cou ntry, engaged in the w0rship of God a JHl si ng ing anthems of praise !
How lamentable would be the results, if th e

THE S AUilATJT.

105

Sahbat.h were universall y dcsecrntecl ! If it
were a day of viciou s pnrsuits and indulgen ces, m en wou ld soon b ecom e like fi ends in
deg rada tion and crime. 'l'he blessed Gospel
woulll be disregarded, and men would live and
die without Goel and without l10pe. Most of
t.h e crimin als who go to th e penitenti a ry, or die
on th e gallows, acknowl edge tlrnt th ey commen ced t.h eir downward course by the violation
of tlw Sabbath . It is a sin which opens t.lw
f1 oo<ll"ates fo r rill others.
"'
lfappy
shall I b e, youn g ladi es . if I can
persuade you to "remembe r t.h e f:inbbath day,
t.o keep it h oly." Begin now, in your youth ,
and let it become the h rtb it of yonr lives; aml
it will be to yo u a nrn.t.ter of r ejoicing in e ternity.

JOG

LETTER S TO SC JIO OT, f:lltl, fl.

E IGHTH COMMAND !llENT .

LETTER IX .
E Jll ll T H COMM A N DMEN'f.

Tim cigh th comm:.mdmcnt says:

"~; h ou

not steal." JL is a rnrc occurrence , l
trnst, Ui:il. young la.dies violate this comm anclrn cnt ; I.mt Rincc it is possible, and since th e
crime is more shocking on accoun t of th e usu a l
upri g h tness of the sex, it may not be out of
place to give yon a short letter on the s ubj ec t.
To steal, is lo t:akc for our own use t.!iat
whi ch uelongs to anoth er, without tho consent
of I.ho ow ner. .M:r. Boy<l, to whom I mn
l:irg-cly ind.ch tc cl. for th e remarks 1 am about
to make, menti ons seventeen kinds of theft .
W c will only mention such as ar c applicable
lo ~c h oo l girls.
I. Dom es tic th eft is commitlccl when chiltlren secretl y take what belongs to their parents, without their consent. Children, perhaps, sometimes do this without thinking it
f'hall;

107

wrong . But if it is not wrong, why do they
wish to conceal it? To take cakes, or fruit,
or money, even at home, without the consent
of the paren ts, is certainly stealing. Those
who do such things at home, will be very apt,
a fterward, to take what belongs to other people, and become common thieves.
2. 'fheft of concealment, is where one find R
th e property of another, and makes use of it.
without endeavoring to finrl the owner. A
traveler, in passing the road, might drop his
pocket-book, containing a thousand dol lars .
If I should find it, and make use of the
money, without endeavoring t.o ascer tain who
l1 ad lost it, J. would be a thief. If you find a
knife, or a pencil, or any thing else belonging
to another, try to find out the owner, or you
mig ht 11s well s teal it. If yon first conceal
what you find, you will afterward take what
is not los t.
3. Theft of trade is committed when one
person takes the advantage of another in buying or selling any kind of property. If a
merchant should sell damaged goods for more
than they were worth , by concealing the defect, he would be dishonest. On th e other
haml, if we abuse, or underrate any thing

108

J,F.TTERS T O SC JJOOJ, OlftLfl.

we wish to !my, sons to get it for less tl1:m it.
is worth, we are <lishonest.
Ro me htdies nre in the h nbit of J cwing the
merchants, an<l endeavoring to get every
thing for less thnn th ey nsk. This is certainly
wrong. W c should be willing to g ive the fair
mark et pri ce fo r every thing we buy . If we
think a merclwnt asks more for his goods 1.hnn
t.h<·y arc worth , we should not clcal with l1im .
.If we beli eve him to be honest,· let 11 s pay thP
regular price, without murmuring. '1'o boas !
of getting a g reat bargain, is to ackn owledge
th at we h ave stolen somethin g from om· neigh ··
hor. '.rhis will no t apply, however, to thing,;
sol<l nt au ction; for if we arc the highest bid der, we give the mnrket price, though it may
be ehen p.
•I. Theft mny also be comm it.I.ell by borrowing t.hings and not retmning them. or by in juring them hcforn they arc rclnrncd. Ro nw
school girls will horrow articles of dress, an<l
wear them out, or greatly injure them, with out considering th at they might as well stenl
them . It is also wrong to keep borrowc<l :u· ·
ti cles an umeasonablc length of time. '.l'hc
owner may need them, an<l you will <lefr:iucl
l1im . How many valuable books h ave been lost

F. I GIITH COMMANDMENT.

I Ofl

to t.he owne r, by beiug loaned to careless persons, who never return them ! Do you tu ink
th is is honest?
5. 'J.'hefts of mischief must not be forg oLtcu. How often arc colleges, semin ar ies,
chnrch cs , and oth er public build in gs, inj 11red
by thou ghtless children! 'J.'h ey do not <lre am
that they arc acting dishonestly, but they
sh ould remember that it costs money to repair
s uch injuries, and they might as well steal tlrnt
amount, ns to injure the proper ty . I wish
th at ha<l boys who destroy signs mul awnings
fo r sport, could be made to 1mucrstaml that
th ey violate the eighth comman<lmtmt, which
says: "Thou shalt no t steal."
Children
sometimes rob orchards anu melon patches,
seeming to think it an innocent amusement.
'l'hc lahor bes towed on the plantiu g anu cul tivation of an orcharu, costs money. Every
apple an u peach has cos l something, :md,
moreover, will sell for someth ing . if, therefore, you <lestroy them, ·or use them without
the consent of the owner, you arc guilty of
tl.tcft. lt is neither more nor less th an stealing, and i t is b est to call things by th ~ir ri ~h t
names. It does not rec1uire the takm g ot ~L
large amount to constitute theft. He who

110

11 l

LE'l'TElt i:l TO R()llQOL GIH L S .

EIGHTH COMMANDMENT.

secretly puf.s his ha nd into my pocket, and
lakes out five dollars, is a thief; but if he
takes only fi1·e cents, he is also a thief. And
where is the difference between stealing money
and that which has cost money, or will sell for
money ?
l wonlrl rath er have several dollars stolen
from me, 1han to have a bu shel, or even a
peck, of choice frui t destroyed. When uue
has taken g reat pains !o culti vate pa rticular
varieties of fruit, he attaches lo such fruit ti
much higher value than the mere market
price ; and li e has, surely, a ri ght lo enj oy lh c
result of hi s labor. He that robs an orcha rd,
deprives the own er of snch enj oy ment; and
h e can be uothing else than a thief, however
he 111:1y laugh about it as sport. 'l'he 011 ly
lJroper rule is, never lo take melons, or fruit
of nuy description, wi thout the consent of lhe
owner. If you pass an orchard, when traveling, antl fruit appears ever so abundant, ask
permission before you touch it, and then yo n
may enjoy it with a good conscience. If yon
enter v.-ithout permission, you will be in constant drea<l lest the ow ner shoul<l come, which
shows that, in your own opini on, you are doiug
wrong. These remarks arc intended quite as

much for the boys as the girl s, for I presume
they a rc more ::ipt to transgress, in these particulars, than their sisters.
'Co be perfectly honest, even in the smallest
matter, is surely to be expected of every
young lady . If you slily take a sheet of paper, or a pen, which belongs to another, you
feel in yo ur own conscience that you have
done wrong. '!'hough no one else may find it
out, it will make you uneasy ancl unh appy.
When you sec other gi rls talking together,
you will fear that they know it, and are talking about you . 'l'h c constant dread of detection will be a constant source of misery.
But if it seems not to have been found out,
and every thing passes on smoothly, you soon
forget it. A11olhcr temptation, at some time,
presents itself. You h ave an oppor tunity to
take a knife or a pencil, or, perhaps, a piece
of money, wh en you suppose it will not be
discove red. If you had not commenced with
the small er theft, you wot1ld not think of
yielding to this. But having made a commencement in crime, yo ur conscience is somewh a t h ardeuecl, an<l you take another step in
the downward course. . 'l'he drca<l of cxpoimre gradually passes off, and you soon form

J 12

L E 'l''l' E itS T U ;;V JI UOL U IRLS.

lh c habi t of takin g wh a tever comes in your
way. At last, you arc detected and disg ra ced . 0, h ow must a fa ther 's a n<l a m other's h en.rt mourn when th ey have a <laug btc r
g uil ty of such things ! They wonl<l rather
follow th em to th e grave than to h:wc them
thus deg raded and polluted.
Girl s whose
fri ends arn of the 11ighcst respec tability, h ave
some tim es been g uilty of s uch thin gs.
Le t it not, then, be (lecmed out of place,
yo uu g ladies, tha t I warn you to bowaru of
the slightest app roxim atio n to this si n. Never
take th e smallest thing belong ing to a nother
without the consent of th e owner. Ne ver
take sugar or sweetm eats at h ome, withou t
the consent of your par ents. ·when in trusl.ed
wi th money, use it exactly as directed by yo ur
parents . Form habits of strict honesty w hilc
youn g , and you will afterward be in 110 danger of falling into this sin.
If yo u h ave ever been g uilty or li ttle acts
of pilfering , pau~c now, an cl r etrace yo ur
s!.i:ps. You arc on the rnrge of an awful
111·ccipi cc, but you may yet r etreat. Firmly
resist every temptation, and be h onest th e r est
of your life. If you know any one who h as
been gu ilty of such acts, but who is now en-

EIUll'l'll COM MANDMENT .

113

dcavoring to reform , throw 110 impediment in
th eir way, by letting th em know th <tt yon arc
aware of th e fact. Many children , 110 doub t,
aro g nilt.y of thefts befo re t hey arc old enough
to und erstand th e enormi ty of th e crim e.
'J'h cy al'tcrw nnl reformed, and arc perfectl y
honcR I;.
There is onl y one other species of the ft
whi ch we sh all mention at this time-theft of
ga mbling-. Th ere arc only two ways in which
we can h onestl y obta in the money or propcrLy
of oLh crs : they may g ive it lo us, or we may
pay Lhcm a fair c(p1irn lcnt for it. 'J'o get it
in any other ''"ay , would be to steal iL. But
wh en one p erson wins money from :u10ther by
ga mbling, th e lnscr does not make a present
'-'f it, nor docs t.h c winn er g iv e an equi valent
f()r iL. He must, therefore, steal it. He
.;ccms, it is tru e, to lwxe th e consent of th e
o wner ; bLtt, at the beginning of th e game, it
was not the intention of the owner lo lose hi s
money. H e th ougl1 t h e h ad more skill th an
th e ul11 er, a llll wo nltl ccrt<1inly win. H e fu11 11 rl
himself mi stak cu; hi s upponcut was more
skillful iu playi ug , or more adroit in cheating.
He lost hi s money, and is distressed on account
of it. Snrcly , h e who won it is a robber. 'J'o
fl

114

L ETTERS TO SC H OOL G IJ t L S .

win money by a bet of any kiml, can be
nothinrt
more or less than stealing. And,
0
morconr, w e have no right to hazard our
money in gambling. 'fhc money is not ours;
Gotl h as lent it to us for useful purposes, and
we arc accountable to him for the use we
make of it.
H ow many youn g men arc ruin ed by gam blin<l' ! 'l'h ey first play for amusemen t, :mtl
th c1~ for small sums of money. P artial success encourages them to greater risks, (,ill
they fall into the hands of experienced gmnblcrs, and all is lost ! Even men wh o have
wives arnl children depending on them for
i; upport, sometimes i·ctlucc !,heir families .to
pon~ rt.y lly gambling . It is as un fortu nate for
a yo1111g lady tu maHy a ga mbler, as a tlrunka nl. Pnrcrty, aml tears, and a broken heart ,
will, perh aps, be the result in either ease.
All such games as cards, billiards, di ce,
etc., arc gambling; all betting on uncertain
t.hings is grunbling. Tu bet on a horse-race,
or an elec lion, is as much gamblin!:;· as io bel
on a game or canl ~. If 1y e win, we get wh at
1.Jclon~s to another 1rilhou t paying for ii;, which
is not honest.
I introduce this subject in a lctlcr lo yo ung

F.IGllTII COMMANDMJ, NT.

11 5

laclies, because I want to warn t hem ngainst
p lny ing cards for amusemen t. It is, to say
the least, a dangerous am usement. You will
become fond of it, and was te much preciotis
tim e, and, perh aps, at la st indulge in bettin g.
A young ge ntleman plays with yon because
he is fo nd of yom society. He afterward
plays wi th l1is companions for money. Th e
habit. is g radu all y form ed, and he at Inst becomes a confirmed. gambler, and is ruin ed.
He is ruined, whethor ho wins or loses . If
li e loses, he throws away th e money which
his ]\faker gave h im fur better purposes ; if
h e win s, he robs hi s neighbor, which is still
more to be deplored. It will be no very pleasant reflection to you, to know that you as$isl.etl
lo ruin him. I mn pained to sec yo un g ladies,
or yo un g men, citl1 er, a musing themselves at
such games as chess, backgam mon, or an y
thing of the kind.. ·where such games arc
the common amusements of the family, the
yo nug men of that family arc very apt to become gamblers .
En courage yunr l.Jrothers and young assoc iate;; tu reading and com·crsation, w; better
amusements than any such games . L ead thl' rn
up the path of vi rl.ue, not down the road !.•.>

116

f, E T 'I' E Jt S T 0

SC ll 0 0 L ! i 1 Jt LS.

perdition. I am always sh oclm l. when I sec
ladi es cngagc<l in any practice which may have
a bad tendency. 'l'hey little know what lt
powerful inlluence they exert over th e oth er
sex, and wha t wide-spread desolation and ruin
may foll ow from wha t they consider an rnn ocent amusement.

DA N CING .

11 7

LETTER X .
DA NC I N G.

You think th o8e Chri Rt.ian8 unreasonably
rigirl , who object to dancing, and ~ im i l a 1 ·
mnn sc m e n t~.
"What h arm can th ere be,"
you sn.y, " in slrnffiin g abou t a fl oor, or keeping Lime with music?" So the <lrnnlrnnl says,
" Wh at h arm can th ere be in tasting a little
brandy ?" In the simple act itself, th ere m ay
he no h arm ; and yet, wh en often repeated, it
may lead to th e worst of consequences. U nless you :i.rc a Chri. t.ian, pcrh apR you arc not.
fnll y qualifi ed to judge of t hi s ma tter. Many
persons disbeli eve th e prese nt sys tem of astronomy, because it contradicts their senses .
They insist that the earth stand s still , and the
sun and stars revolve around it. 'l'hcsc persons, you admit, lack the information necessary fo r a proper de termin ation of the subject;
and may it not be so wi th dancing ? may it
not exert some influence unfriendl y to relig ions
enjoyments, which none but a Chri stian can

,.

I 113

LETTERS TO

sc noo1.

GIRLS .

r sl.imnte? :ind may it not be wise in ns to
recei1·e thei r tes;:jmony, and avoid what may
i11jure ns?
~
Hut yon say, " D ancing is a healthful exercise, an inn ocent "amusement; how can it be
wrong?" Do you not believe many th ings
whi ch yon d o 11 ot full y understaml? Yon
hclievc 1 hat Ll1e earth is about ninety-five millions of mi les from the sun; but do yo n uncl(! rsl:rnd Lhe reasoning by which this is cs 1nblished? h ave yo n made the calculations
of I.h e clisl.nnces, and mag nitudes of the
h eavenl y bodies? Yon believe the facts of
astronomy, you say, because persons assert
those facts who arc qualified to make the calcul:i l ion s, n1HI who ha l'e no motive fur deceiving· you. A mi wi II not the same reasoning
conYin cP- yo n that there may be something
wrong in dancing? Persons who arc qualified
Lo judge, and who have no motirn for deceiving yo n, condem n the prnctice. Dancin g is
comkm nctl by nearly nil I.he Ch ristians of the
differc11t cl enorninations in this coun try. The
l'rcshytcri nns, lfaptists, ancl Methodi sts, ::igrce
in th eir testim ony. 'l'he Episcopalians, too,
arc of the same opinion ; at least, the Episcopal clergymen with whom I nm acquainted

DANCING.

119

decidedly condemn it.. The Rev. Mr. Drook,
of -Cincinnati, not long since delivered some
able discourses on the subject. I believe,
also, that many· members of that Church do
not d rmcc, nor npprnvc of dancing.
Yon insist, however , that yon know some
members of these different Churches who s:iy
I.hey can sec no har m in dancing. I admit
t.l1 erc arc such, but they for m a very small
portion of t he Christian Church. T dislike to
s:i.y ::iny thing about any professor of relig ion
which seems unchari table, but I fc_ar that those
Christians who d::ince, or who approve of
dancing, arc not eminent for their piety. Yon
will iinll thi s, and similar amusements, condemned by the most zcalons and wnrm-heartcd
Chri stians of all denornin n.tions. '.!.'here must
be something wrong in that which is generally
cond emned by those best qualifi ed to judge.
Not satisfi ed yet? "No, l l1 :trn personal
fri ends who !lance, nnrl whose pi ct.y I can not
•tttesLi on. " Let u s exam ine the mat te r a little
more closely. Do yon thi nk those who dance,
ail relig ious as those who abstn in from it on
account of conscientious scruples? Would
you have ns much confidence, for instance, iu
the pi ety of a mini ster of the Gospel, who

120

LETTJ,RS TO SC HOOL GIR I. S .

loved to <lancr, as ,<'one who ncn•r danced?
"0, I admit pre<l;lihers
sl1oul<l not <lance; it
I •
would not look \r el! in them. " Vlhy not, if
th ere Le no h an.1 in it? A preflch cr m ay <lo
;in y thing in which ther e is no h arm , as well
as any other person.
In admi tting tlrnt a
preach er sh ould n ot dance, you admit th at, in
your om1 opinion, there is something wron g in
d ancing.
Some youn g ladies were once convers ing in
my presence abou t their dan cing -master . J
inquirc1l to wha t Church he belonged . 'l'hey
were g rcat.ly surprised th at I sh ould supp ose
a dancing -master belonged to any Chmch.
But why not? H ll anc ing be ri ght, why may
not a tcachC'r of dancing be :i. Christi:rn, a ~
well :i s a, lcnch cr of lnng nngcs or mathema tics? Dut when yon admit tlrnt a prenche1·
~ h ould not dance, ~ n<l a dan cing-maste r sh onf ,[
not belong to the Church, are yo u not yie lding·
the point, Unit there is something wrong in
dancing?
Let us suppose thnt you were abo ut to di e :
yo u $ay, "0, that I h at! some Chri stian friend
ivho would converse with me, and tell me wh at
l m u$t <lo to be prepared to meet my God."
' Ve '" ill su ppose you ::ire :icqun.inted with two

D ANCING .

12 1

young htdi cs, one r emarkabl e for h er deep and
arden t piety, and for li er aversion to dancing,
an d Rimilar amusements; the oth er a member
of the Church , but fond of snch amuscmcnt R.
If you were standin g on the brink of eternity,
for. which of these young ladi es would yon
send to pray for you, and assist you to make
Lh c preparation? Ah! I need n ot wait for an
answer; your own heart decides the question,
an (! that decision is unfavorable to dancing.
But you arc still unwilling to g ive it up, for
the Bible says, "There is a time to dance. "
Solomon docs say, "'l'herc is a time to
d ance," but h e says, nl ~ o , "'l'herc is a time to
hate , and a time to hill." He means, I presmn e, th at th ere arc times when men will hat.c
mul kill each oth er, 8l1ll when they will tl:rn cc,
hut he ll ocs not say ii; is ri g ht to do eith er.
Chris t says, "It. must; needs be that offcnRcR
will come, bnt woe tn tl iat m tm by wh om I.li e
offen se cometh. "
B ut you ~ay th at David dancnd , and .Miri am, an tl the women of I srael, came out wi th
dances and timb rels. 'fhc dan cing of Davill
was a part of religious worship. H e danced
bd'ore the Lore! with all hi s mig ht, arnl thO$C
who came out wi th dancrs and timLn·lo. praised

1

122

LETTER S TO S CHOOL G IRL S .

the Lord. 'J'hi s is, surely, not like modern
clrrn cing-. 'l'o introdncc the praises of th e
Lor<l at a'"-Oall or party would break it 11p;
c,·cr y one wot.'d fee l the incong rni ty. D av i<l's
d ancing an<l praising the Lor<l was som eth ing
fo r which hi s irreligious wife <lcspiscd l1im.
An irrelig iou s lacly wonkl not be npt to <lcR}1isc h er husband fo r j oining the modern
d ance. I kn ow nothing in modern times ~o
mu ch like wh at I suppose th e d nncing of
D av id to have been, ns the prai sing God and
th e sh outing in a warm Methodist meeting-a
kind of dancing which would by no means suit
your arg um ent.
lt is trn c, d ancing is m entioned in the Bible
whi ch was not a pnrt of r elig ious worship. ] t
iR :"aid, in the book of .J ob, that th e chilclren
of t. hc wi cked dan ce. The dau g liLcr of U crodias <lnnced before H erod, an d plcasecl him so
well !.h at he promi sed to g ive h e r whate ver she
1rnnl<l nsk. Yon r emember the res ul t. Site
broug ht in the h ca<l o f that innocent an d holy
man , .J ohn th e Baptist, and p re~cntc d it., all
dripping with blood, nm! g hastly in death, to
her crncl mother. I presum e you will n ot
wish to use this case to sh ow th a t dancing is
rjgh t.

DANCING.

123

It is. not th e mere act of skipping abon t in
measured ti me w11 ich is objected to. 'J'hc res ults of balls and <lancing parties arc deplorably b a<l.
'l'h c g reat excite ment, late
h ouTS, unwh olesome air, th e exhaustion, an<l
snbseqnen t exposure to the cold air in un. uitahlc clrcss; the colds, consump tion s, alHl
d.eaths th at follow; th ese are th e results th at
cause th e Christian world to ri se up against
dancing.
It is found that t hose who dance at all, soon
hocomc excessively fond of it. As moderate
drinking leads to intemperance, so occasionnl
private dancing leads to the dissipation of tl1 c
ball-room . 'J'be onl y safe rul e in eith er case
is total ab stin ence . Give it all up, if yon
· would. avoid th e dan ger. S ince dancing lias
sent so many brig h t and. promis ing you ng
ln.cli cs to a prem ature g rave, can yon not abstn i11 fr om dan cing ?
'l'h c injury of t he h ca]f,h is not the onl y obj ection . How d o the spiri tual in tcrcs t.s of the
so ul s uffe r! Sucl1 amusements arc unfri cnd.ly
to d.cvotional feel ing. A man m ay be too
much devoted to his business, and neglect reli rrion s dn ties. But this is not necessarily the
c~~<'- J 10 nrn.y attc ncl to busin ess :irnl relig ion

.124

----·-~-~·-----------

J, ETTE!l.S TO SC TI OO L G ill.L S.

too.
D11t dan cing , an<l other fashi onn hl1 •
nmnsemr nts, nrc incompatible with relig ion.
Those wl;'b arc de1rotecl to them arc tl1e fri r nd ~
o f th e W•\ rl<l, and can not b e the fri ends of
Christ. lllic that loves to <l an ce, will n ot love
to pray. Tf sh e is a professor of relig ion, sl1 e
will soon find that her r elig ion is only a n ame,
withon t comfor t or enjoyment.
Will yon bow down to t he gay itlol of fn shional; lc am nscmcnt;, wh en Chri st., c.rncifi cd fo r
you, says, "JJ ang htcr, g il' c m e th y hnart, ;"
"If any man will be my disciple, Jc t him deny
hi nu:;c Jf, and Lake up his cross, an d foll ow m e? "
Will you turn away fr om Chris t, thus kindly
kn ocking at the door of your h eart, and
prc f, ·r t.he va in pomps anll vanities of the
world?
Thero is a constant warfa re hc f,wccn t.hn
powers of clarkn ess and the powers of light..
Sl''\ll we m ake a trn cc with Lhe enemy, nm!
1·enture on forbi <lclcn gronnd , when we sh ould
g ird on th e armor for battle? Wh en your
parents propose f.o send yo n to dancingsch ool, cnn yon not say, "I fear it will rnin
my soul ; pl ease excuse m e?" \ .Vhen in vited to a ball or party, wh er e there is to be

DANCING.

125

dancing, can yon not deny yonrse l!', fo r Lli e
snke o f Chri st, and rem ain at h ome? lf
presen t where da ncing is nn ex pect.eclly in troduced , can you n ot silentl y retire, th ough
you sh ould be r iflicnl ed for doing so ? Is n ot
the rep roach of Christ g reate r ri cl1 es than U1 c
approbat.ion of the worl cl ? \ V c re all in
Church hi.tory of young and timid fe m ales,
wh o wen t willingly to the staJ(e, and sn ffcr ccl
their b odi es to be burned, rather than deny
Chr ist. J\ nd will yo u csleem it a n unreasonab le h anJship to absLai n from circuses,
theaters, cards, and danci ng , Lha t you m ay
uetLer advance the g lory of the R edee mer?
l'aul sail!, "I coun t all things bu t loss for
t. he exce llency of th e k11ow ledge of Christ
.l es us , my Lord." And wh en he was ab out
to di e, h e wro te to 'l'i 111oll1y : "I ha\'C l'u ug hL
t.lw good Ji g h t, l h a1·e kept tlw f'aiU1 , l h ave
finish ed. my co urse, and hence fort h t.here i" a
cro wn la id up for me."
\Vh cn yo n come to th e <l ying h our, young
Lu.li es, yo u will uo t regrd that you ga1·e HJ•
1lanci 11g . 'J.'o the gay votary of pl ca8ure,
I.h e dyi ng bed will I.Jc su1Tom1tlc1l with l1orr ible gloom ; hu t lo t.he se lf-dunying follower

126

.LETT E R S T O SC H O(J L G IJtL S .

IIEAL T JI .

127

of Chri st, th ere will be lig ht an d comfo r t in
t.h at tcrd le hour. J\1ny the L ord enable you
to sec th;[. path of du ty, and r esolutely to follow the qicta tcs of conscience !
p

'
LETTER XI.
IIEALTII.

I w OULD like to say a fe w things about the
preser vation of your health , if it is not utterly
useless to talk to school g irls on such a subject. You h ave acted imprndcntl y :i lnmd red tim es, and arc not dead; ye t therefore,
you think th ere is no use in taking any carcnothing will hurt you. Bu t, since youn g girl s
!lo sometimes die, will it not be well enough
to inquire whether imprudent actions may not.
somct.i mes cause death ?
If the lungs were made for breathing, may
we not suppose that they should be well filled
with fresh, pure air? ·would no t any mode
of clress, or posture of sitting , which prevent.eel
free breathin g, be injurious to h ealth? 'l'he
clays of tight lacing, I trust, arc past; but
still , g irls arc occasionall y met with f'illy
enough to compress th eir waists, till th ey can
h ardl y breathe. Such g irl s as unquestionably

128

129

LET TEHS 1'0 St! ll OOL GI ltL S.

HEALTH.

shorten their li1·es, as th e dnmkard d oes .
'l.'b ey will have a fea rful account to r ernler when
th ey come to stand before the g reat J"ndge . .
:~f yo ll doubl e yourself up by stooping over
yu1\ · books, you can n ot fill yo ur lungs with
air. ''. Sit creel;, and wa lk erect; then you ca n
bren t.he properl y. '.L'l1c e ffor t lo hohl up th e
shoulders may fa tig ue yon at first, bu t yoll
will soon become acc ustomed to it. Yo un g
children arc generally straight, a nd so arc th e
wild Indians ; but scho ol gi rls nrc apt to
stoop. It not only $poils your beauty, but
injures your health, and you will be apt to
stoop down into the grave .
Curvature of the spine should nlso be
guarded against while you arc at school. If
you lean forward with one elbow s upp orted,
011 e shoultler will he more clcvatctl than th e
ot.hcr, and the spin e curved. lf this is oft.en
r epeated, the curvature m ay become p ernrnncnt, an d deformi ty and death may b e the
consequence. You should take plenty of exercise , lo s trengthen the nrnsclcs of yotir wlw lo
fra me, and (,hen you will not wish Lu Lli row
yourself in to s uch improper postures. You
are fatigued supp orting your own we ight, be
cause you have not taken exe rcise en ong l1 .

Girls that arc good students, arc apt to t ake
Luo li ttle exercise at school, though they need
more than any others. You should take exercise in th e open air long enoug h and briskly
e nough to circulate your blood well, and, if
possible, to produce perspiration.
Moping
a long with a hook in your hand, will do no
n·ood . It should not be called exer cise. If
you will laugh and play for an hour or two
every day, so as to enjoy it, when y ou re turn
to your books you can sturly to some purpose.
Yo u will lie strong enough to sit erect., wit,hout fatigue, and your wh ole health will be improved.
I pres ume it is not necessary to explain how
fresh air and exer cise will b enefit yoii. I
trui:; t you s tudy physiology, where you will find
full explanations. I might., indeed, omit the
suhj ect of h ealth entirely, but I have so often
seen gi rls injure their h ealth at. school, I
thought a few cautious could <lo no harm.
It is, of eomse, expected that a lady "·ill he
cleanly.
You sh ould not only keep your
hands and face clean, but you should pnw(,ice
frequent ba thing of the whole person. The
insensible perspiration is continually producing
an impure coating on th e surface, which
9

130

LE'r T:r. n s TO SC HO OL G IRL S .

sh ould he fr('1p1cntly w n.~ h c tl off.
No one
should bath e k ss than once a week. If you
can bath e th rec or four times, or e\'Cn every
day, it will be better. If yo n can use cold
water ,ri thout / njnry, you will find it exccedii w ly rcfrcshil, g aml invigoratin g. 'L'he very
sc~ satiun o[ )cnnlincss is tleli ght.ful. A cold
hath in th <.' ' mornin g irnproYcs the nppetitl' ,
exhilarates th e spirits , clears the head, a nd
doubles the enjoyment of life. Continu e it
throtwh
U1 e winter, and you will be much l c~s
0
liable to take cold , and will suffer less from th e
severe weath er; the blood will cin;ul ate more
freely to the surface, and keep yo u warm .
·wh enever you arc warm enongh to produce
p erspira tion, yo n must be careful not lo ch ec~c
th e perspirati on too sndtlcnl y. D u not sit
d own , at such a time, in a cunent of air, nor
drink too freely of cold wa ter. :Many lives
arc lost every year by the violation or neglec t
of th ese cautions. Y ou may, in a very fe w
moments, con tract a cold 'rhi ch will take yon
to yo ur gra rn. D o not throw off any pn r t of
yo ur clothing, but be content to bear the heat
a little, th at you may cool g radu all y and
safely.
Keep your feet warm and dry .

If you sil

H EALT H.

in church, or th e school-room, with wet. or
<lamp feet,, th ey " ·ill soon become cold ; th e
bloo<l will ce:Lse lo circul ate in them as free ly
a s it should; an undue cprnnlity of blood will
be tl1rown on th e in tern al o rg: rn ~ , nml produ cc
disease . Some girls, when tlwy h ave a hook
that inf.cres ts th em, wil l sit up latent nigh t,
with li ttle or no fire, and go to bed wi th co ld
fe et. Thi s wil l soon inj urn yo ur health. Go
to th e fi re, or rnb your feet., anll ge t th em
warm before you retire. Neve r go to bed 1r ilh
cold fee t.
Is it worth whil e t.o say any thing lo children abou t eating? ·will they n ut cat whatcn· r they wish , aml n.s much as they pka sc,
wh et.her it makes th em sick or 11 ot ? After
th ey h:we bee n mnlle sick a number of times
by improper indulgences, perh aps th ey will
learn Ly experi ence to be carc·fn I. Th ey can
11 ot be persuaded that a11 y thi11g will hur t
them, t.ill it d ocs actually hur t them. And
e ven when children get sick aml di e, the cause
of the sickn ess is not always kn own. P erh aps th e li ttle g irl th at was buri ed the other
day, was made sick by eating , srcretly, t he
g reen npp les or g reen chcrri e:'> which her
mother tol<l her not to cal. Siclrness is very

132

133

L E'f 'fEltS TO SC H OOL G IRL S .

H BA LTH. .

often brought on by overloadin g the stomach
with g in gc rca k~s or nu ts. B,ich nnd g reasy
articles of foor', should be eaten moderately,
if at all. Ni~.its
,. and sweetmeats should not be
eaten late a1. night; for when the stomach is
fati g ued with the labors of the day , it can not
diges t such things. Supper sh ould alway s be
li gh t, and earl y, and nothing should ever be
eate n after supper.

lemonade, arc as much as should he in lulgcd
in at an evening party. 'l'hen those who go
to parti es merely to go nn an<lizc , would stay
at home, and yon would have such as desired
to enj oy "the feast of reason and t.hc fl ow of
soul. "
May I add a word or two about early
rising? It will make about us mu ch impression on you as t,he remarks on eating .

"Let your supper 1,c light,,
1f you'd sleep 1rcll at ni ght ."

You should, at all times, abstain from such
ar ticles of food as you fiml to disagree. And
if they arc generally esteemed unwholesome,
yo u should indulge very moderately, e ven if
they agree with you, for the powers of the
slomach ma y be g rmlually impai red, and Jong
years of dyspepsia will be a severe retribu tion
for present indulgence. The drunkard took
many glasses of brandy before he felt any injury fr om it; but at last it broke down his
constitution.
·wh en you come to be a housekeeper, and
invite yo ur fri end s to visit you, do uot gi1·c
them unwholesome food-especially d o not
offer them raisins, nuts, and cake, late at
night. A few mellow apples, and a glass of

"g~ul y

to l ietl, ruHl cn.rJy to ri se ,

J\Ta.kes a rnan hcalt,hy, wcaHhy, allfl wfac,"

f.aid Dr. Frnnklin. B ut do yon believe ii.'?
Ask your grnndmolhcr, or nny other very olcl
lady, and she will tell yon that she h as been
:m earl y riser. It is indeed sn.id, that no one
li ves to be old wl10 docs not ri Rc early. How
deli g htful to breathe tho fr esh air of the
morning , and hea r the birds sing ! No wonder that those who ri se curly, should li ve
.l onger than those wh o lie late in bed.
Seriously, the care of your health is nn important matter. IIcalLh is the greatest blessin g which God bestows in this world. Without it no other blessing can be enjoyed.
Head some work on physiology, and study
the laws of h cnlth, nnd olwy t.hem. F resh
air antl exercise, cleanliness and temper-

134

L ETTF. 1is TO SC H OO !, nrn. r.s.

'l'F:~!PER A NCE.

13.'J

:rn cc~ ,

:ue very 1<ig nili cai11. word s. W hen
tempted f o indi sc retions, think yo u he:ir the
Yoicc ,Jf' Goel say ing to yon, as St. P aul said
t';/.tc j ailer, "Do thyself no h arm ."
LETTER XII.
TEMPERANCE.

Tim g reat temperance reform is one in
which, I trnst, you all feel a deep in tere1<t.
'J.'wr nty years ago tlie c:iuse encoun te red m1rnh
opposition and persecution. Peoplo supposed
they woulcl be ruined if they co ulcl not h av<'
the privilege of drinking ardent spirits. In
cold and warm weather, in health an<l sickness, at h ome and abroad, at all social parties
;rn<l gatherin gs, some kind of in toxicating
drink was supposed to be necessary. 'fhey
were considere<l as indispensable as bread an<l
meat, and visitors were not th oug ht to be
treate<l politely, unless something to drink was
offered to them. So eonvince<l were th onRamls of persons th at some evil was intende<l
by the te mperance reform, th at they considere<l th emselves insulted when invited to join
a temperance socie ty.
I am thankful that this state of things has

136

1:37

LETTERS TO SC HOOL GIRLS.

1'E MP E It AN CE.

passed away. Hundreds, and thousands, and
millions, have been convinced that the g reat
ca11sc is a good one. The reform h as spread
over the Un ited States, and other parts of
North A merica; it lrns extended to different
European nations, and none, perh aps, h as been
more blessed by its influence than opprcssi!cl
Lrcland. It has been a blessing t; all classes,
in almost, a ll countries. The so''tlicr and th e
sail or ha1·c felt its influence. Drunkan\s have
been reformed, and the tears of widows nnd
orphans have been dried.
Surely all benevolent licarts will wish success to snch a cause. But strange as it may
seem, many individuals are still indi fferent to
its advancement, and others are decidedly hostile to its moHmcnts. As youn g ladies should
be c1di stcd in every good cause, I dnsirc nt
tl1is lime to offer a fe w reasons why they
should actively co-operate with the temperance
reformation.
It is fo und that human beings can exer t a
g reater influence on any subject, by combin ing
tl1 cir influence, tlian by acting separ:ttcly. If
a railroad is to be made, men uni te th eir cap ital, and accomplish that which no one alone
could do. If war is proclaimed, individual s

do not think of going out scpar:itcly to figl1t,
hut; they arc forme d into companies and
:irmics, to nrnrch agai nst the enemy. 'l'hc
uni ted force of many can accomplish wonders,
when t he individu als separately could h :l\"c
accomplished nothing. Thus, to carry on the
cause of mi ssions and Sunday schools, and
translate aml circulate the Bible, societies :crc
formed, and the united influence of members
gives effi ciency to the work.
This is what h:is been done in the g rc:ct
temperance cause; and all who wish it s ucr. c~s
sl1 ould give it their names and their infincncr .
_ff you properly understand th e ev ils of intcmpcrn.ncc, and the importan ce of reform,
you cftn not possibly fee l indifferent n.hout th e
mn.ttcr. If none of your own relatives arc.
drunkards, still there arc t.housamls of drunkards in the land, many of them of the most
respec table con nections. They mn.y have
mothers, and wives, n.nd siste rs, ::mtl daughters, who arc afflicted by th eir intemperance.
'l'hinlc of th e anguish that nrnst rend the
11 carts of parents, when, having bestowed the
greatest cnrc and expense on th e education of
a son, and looked to him ns the support of
their old age, they find that he h as become a

138

13fl

I.ET TE Jt fl 'f 0 SC JI 0 0 I. G I ltL fl.

'f E M PERANC E.

<lrnnka rd . T hink of the hopeless despair and
wretcl1 cdn css of a wife, wh o discovers that th e
man 'rh om she luvcs nbovc :di others, and
whu had promised at the m arri age altar to
love and p rotect her through li fe , is becoming
t oo fo nd of in toxicating drinks ! His breath
betrays him ; hi. bloated a ppearance g ives
e ri tlcncc ; his crossness and petulance sink like
lead in to h er hear t. A t last he comes staggc ri11 g, reeling home, a nd fall s down in her
p rese nce in beastly drunkenness .
Ah! here is a sight to make the heart ac he.
'L'lw fai r prospects and bright visions of hap piness th at dawned on th e mornin g of h er li fe,
arc beclouded. The chilling winds of adv cr~ i ty and sorrow arc beginning to blow.
S he seeks a soli ta ry pl ace to g ive ve nt to her
fee lings in a fl ood of tears . Ah! yes ; and
th ose tears arc not soon to be d ried! T hey
will fl ow on fo r months and years, while sh e
secs her proper ty was ted, and her child ren
im poverished , and fee ls h er h ear t broken.
Can yo u look up on her tears , and fee l no sympathy fu r her? Bn t it is vain to attempt to
describ e the ev il s of in te mperan ce. 'W hen a.11
the powe rs of lang uage h ayc been exh austed,
the half has not been told. The poor man

himself is to be pi tied. Ilis wife demands
our sympal.hy . If he has a mother, or sister,
or cla 11g h tcr , wh o can tlcscribc th e shame, and
m or tifjcation, and sorrow they must all foci ?
But who arc the men th at become drunkards? Arc they onl y the wor thless and vile?
Far fro m it. Men of the fairest s tandin g, and
of ki nd a ml generous hear ts, are as often the
victims of intemperance as an y others. Th ey
meet wi th wine and b randy at par ties and
weddin gs; they drink wi th thei r fr iends, without suspecting the proba bili ty of danger; but
this occasional tasting a!'ter a while produces
a fo ndness for such drinks. Their spirits arc
exhilarated, conversation fl ows on cheerfull y,
and they dr ink on t ill the n.p plltitll is forme d,
nnd tlieir thirst becomes insatiable. N u doubt
they for m many resolu tions of amcn<lm e11t, and
arc often ovcrw helm ed with shame a.nd remo rse that they a.re not abl e to keep their resolutions. T he appetite for d rink cri es, " Give,
g irn, " and is never satisfied. Like the poor
marin er drawn into the current of th e whirlpool on the coa st of Norw ay, t he drunk ard
percc il'cs h is da nger wh en it is too l ate . U c
secs the g ul f of destruction yaw nin g before
11i111 , and yet rushes into it. If he h ad heeded

140

J.TnTElt S T O SC HOOL GlltJ, s.

TEMPERAN CE.

th e vo ice of the temper ance societ)r, h e mig ht
h a ,·c escaped ; but h e believed there was no
clange r, and continued to tamper with intoxicating <lrinks, believin g tl1 a t h e coul<l cscn pc
at any m oment; but whe n the whirlvool bcgn n to roar in hi s ears, his p ower of resistance
was go ne .
'J'h e only saft't.y, on th e snbjcct of tcrnpur ·
;m ee, i.'i total abstin ence from all th at can in ·
lux icate . .Nu one is safe \r ho <lrin.ks on ly
ucr:as iona ll y. l.le may pass nluug f" t' yc:l.l·,,
without beco min g a <lrunkarcl; but in an evi l
h our his strength will fail him, and h e will b" /
rninc<l fo rever. A nd wh y shoukl any one obj ect to abstaining from these <l rinks? I s he
font! of I.hem ? Ah! th ere is th e m ore need
of abs taining, for I.hat YCry fontJn css s ]J O\VS
hi s <lange r. Th e w hirlpool is beginning to
dra w him in, and if he <lucs n ot hois t Ra il ,
pl y the oar, and m ake his escape, h e will be
ruinccl. If he has no fondnes s for such drinks,
he should at once cease lo use them, and set a
good nml safe example for others.
But wh y <lo we insist on yo~ng ladies joining a temperance society ? l s t here any d anger that they will become dnmkar<ls? I trnst.
n ot. 'l'he whole world woul<l frown with such

indignation on a drunke n fe male, that few, in<lceJ, will venture to incur tha t frown. vVhat
a g lori ous triumph would the temperance cause
immediately achie ve, if drunkenness was as
di sgraceful in m an as in wom a n! Dut shameful as it is for a la<l y to drink, it <loes so metimes h appen . Li ttle g irls sometimes slip into
their m0Ll1er 's si<lc-boar<ls, and dri11k lh e cordi als and wines . Dy tasting alcoholic drinks,
they acq uire th e same <lcprnvcd appetite as
men. Marri e<l la<lies h ave been known lo
h ave kJ go lo bed lo hide the shame of drunkenness. 'l'hc g irl who loves wine or brandy,
should, therefore, refrain a t once au<l foreve r.
B ut even if there is no d anger lo yourself,
your drinkin g may <lo harm to oth ers. 'l'he
example y oM se t will be imitated. You take
your g lass at a wedding or a party, and others suppose that wh a t a young lady docs,
must s urely be h armless. Dut whil e they imitate your exampl e, they may go on lo ruin.
Young ladies, m oreover, frequently offer these
drinks to th eir m ale acquaintances. 'l'hcy arc
carefull y prepared in m any tempting forms,
and then offered in the social circle by a
lady ' s hand . Who coul<l resist the temptation ,

142

"1 3

LETTEns TO SCHOOL GlrtLS.

TEMPERANCE.

or supp ose for a momen t that any clanger was
hul;ing there?
Yon esteem it a light affair to toss off a
g lass of wine, or offer it to your fricncls. J3ut
perhaps your own brother may be contracting
a fondness for such drinks, and the very glass
h e drink s wilh yo u m:iy fi x l1is fate ns a
dn111k arcl. l.Iow m<~ l :mch ol y to refl ect, in a fter
yea rs, th at yo u hnd boo n th e means of rninin g
your broth er! l'crhnps some youn g m an,
tilllling tl1 at he l1ad gone too fnr in such inclnlg cnces, is endeavorin g lo r efo rm ; but at
your h ouse he meets again with in toxicat ing
drink s, and goes back to drunkenn ess an d

wedding, an<l St. Pan! a<l vised Timothy to u se
wine. It is true St. Paul did g i\·e th at ad vice, but it was on accoun t of th e ill-health of
Timothy: " U se a little wine for t.hy stomach 's
sake, and thine often intirmities." If yon
were sick, an d a physician prescribed wine or
brandy, it might be ri ght to use th em;
though eYen then they sh ould be u sed c:rn tiously. 'l'he wine that Christ made is supposed, by able th eologians, to h ave been swce l:,
unfermentcd wine, and , therefore, n ot i11 tox icating. It is known t hat both wine and cid er
may be preserved without fc rm enta t.ion; nrnl
then, as th ey contain no alcoh ol, th ey will
mnkc no one drunk. But near'l y all the wines
of our clay contain n ot onl y the alcohol of
ferm entation, but a qunntity sup crndd ed, to
prevent sourin g . They are~ Lheruforc, ve ry
Cider , also, wh en fr rm cntcu,
in toxicating.
contains a sufficient qnanLily of alcohol to p ro tltwc in toxication. It is best, there fore, to abstain ftom them, and Jct our beverage lie
pure cold water. This is the most natural,
most wholesome, most safe beverage fo r all
persons, under all circumstances. St. Paul
himself says, if the u se uf wine docs harm,

nun .

\Vh erc th ere is so mu ch dan ger, it is bes t
tu beware. \Vl1u 1rn11ld carry li re into a
mag azine uf pow<lt' r? \ Vho 1rnttld drink
wine, allll other intoxica tin g beYernges, n11d
offer them to others, when tears, and ruin , and
endless sorrow may be the consequence? [
trust th :1t no youn g bd y will. II :w in g h ea r ts
to sy lll pathi ze wi th the un fo rtunate sufferers,
yon shun Id t.akc a noble starnl, and deny yo urr-clv es, tha t yn u mny do goo<l. to others.
Bnt yo u say tha t Christ m ade wine at a

,

'

J 4tJ

J,E'l''l'Elt8 TO SCHOOi, t:IJt L S.

TEMl'EltA NCE .

we shoultl abstain: "lt is good neither to
cat Hcsh nor to drink 1•;inc, n or any thing
wh ereby thy brother is offended, or is stmnbl ed, or is made weak." Solomon says,
"Wine is a. mocker, strong drink is raging;
whoso is deceived thereby, is not wise ." Isaiah says, "Look not up on th e wine when it is
red, when it movcth itself aright in th e cup;
for at the la.s t it bitcth like a serpent, aml
stiu goth like an adder."
Yon see, then, that the voice of Scripture
is decidedly against the use of intoxicating
wine. That the Scriptures should sometimes approve, and sometimes condemn the
u se of wine, can only be accounted for by admitting that different kinds of wines were in
use; some intoxicating, and some whulcsonw
and use ful, bnt not intoxicati11g . Th e use of
in toxicating wine is always condemned; and
the voice of r eason and humanity condemn
them too.
As we alw ays expect to sec yo m1 g ladies
engaged in ernry good and noble cau se, l
1i ..,pc that all wh u read these lines will have
their names enrolled on the records of some
temperance society ; or, if no such society is

convenient, in yonr own conscicnet· a nd h eart
Lake the fol lowing pledge, an<l noLly adl1crc
to it till your dying <lay:
"I solem nl y pledge myself Lo au ~ ta in from
the use of all intoxieating drink,;, as a b ev erage, aud that I will not offer such drinks to
others."
10

I

1115

l46

J,ETTE!ll3 TO S CHOOJ, GIJ\LS.

MIS S IONS.

LETTER XIII.
MISSIO NS.

\V t ml'ltErt yon go io a public school or f\
sc minary-wi1cthcr the number of pupi ls be
]arrxc or small-I hope yon will organi ze
am~ng yourscl vcs a "Missionary Soeiet): .''
It is well to learn while you are youn g , to give
something to do good to mankincl. 'l'hosc
wh o ..frc nothi1w while young, arc apt to be
"'
.
sting oy and illiberal
as long as they hv
e. . L 'b
' C'ralil.y is pleasant, ancl promotes happmess.
I. should think a stingy, nigganll y soul , wrnpt
11 p in its own sclli sl111 css, co uld never u•!
happy. God has so form ed u ~, that to fe~tl
the hung ry ancl relieve the distressed, will
produce pleasurable emotions in our o.wn
·h eart s. "lt is more bl cssc<l," says Chnsl,
"to ..-j ve than to receive."
"' missionary cause has lug
. I' cl auns
.
Thu
on
yo ur b enevolence.
'l'hc whole . scheme of
Christianity is a missionary cn terpn sc. Christ
was a missionary, sent lo redeem the world .

/

.

147

'1'hc apostles were m1 ss10naries, sent to proclaim the Gospel. Wh en Christ gave their
great commi ssion, he said, " Go ye into all
the world, and preach the Gospel to every
creature." H ow wond erful was the success
of their mission! Thousands were converted
on the day of Pentecost, and thousands afterward, till the glacl ticlings were publish ed
among J ews and Gentiles, in almost all lands.
H eathen superstition s gave way, and heathen
te mples were deser ted. Persecution, indeed,
raged, and the p owers of darkness were
arrnycd against the Church. Christians were
beheaded, crucifi ed, burned. at the stake, with
th e most excrucia ting tortures; but the ashes
of the mart.y rs became the seed of the Churcl1.
So far from being exterminated by persecu-·
tion , the religion of Christ spreacl with g reater
power, till the Homan empire, th en embrac in g
most of the world, was leavened by its inlluc ncc. In three hundrecl years after the death
0f Christ, Constaniin e was converted, and.
Uhristianity became the e_s tablishccl relig ion.
But., alas ! this heavenly lig ht was obscured,
and the darkness of ages envel oped the world.
A brigh t star, it is trnc, sti ll shone out occasionally, to mitigate the darkness, fur Christ

I.

J•: TT E It f; T () SU Jl ll () L,

.(i

1 Jt J. S.

h ad ~I.ill a pl'oplc un earth, and the gates of
h el l neYc r 1ire\•a ilcd ag;iinst hi s Churc h.
At last th e Lutheran Heformation dawned
upon the worlcl. T he missionary spirit has
reyived, a nd sheds its blessed influences on
th e nalions. The hernlds of the cross h ave
gone into almost all lands, crying, "Ho, eve ry
one that thirstelh, come ye to th e waters. "
'L'housancls have a lread y par take n of "the
l'ivcr whose streams make glad the city of

Gou."
But millions of the human fomily h ave not
yet tasted the waters of life. Wh a t can we
do to assist th em? vVhcn we look over so
large a fi eld, and , cc li ow few the labore rs, we
can at lrast 1irny th e L ord of t he harvest lu
send fort h mure laborers into hi s h al'\'rst. lf
we h ave the true spiri t of Christian bcnc rnlcnce, we can do something to h elp the laborers on their way. What clitl a few Galil ean
fi sh erm en do in the first spread of the Gospel ?
How ditl t.hc members of the Church sell
h ouses and larnls, and la y the money at the
· apus tles' foet ! A ll hands labored a nd praye d,.
a nd gave what Lhcy could, and the glorious
work went on. How many u seless expenses
migh t 1rn curtail , antl throw the money into

MI SR IO NS.

the t.rcasury of t.h e Lon!! \V c furgc t thnt our
money is not om own, but is lent to u s by the
Lord, Lo b e u sed to his glory . If we nrc accoun tab le for id le words, arc we n ot much
more accountable for money we spend amiss?
It is very proper to spend money fo r food and
clothing, for t he comforts and conveniences of
Jil'e; but to 8pend it for objects e ntirely u seless, or even hurtful to ourselves or ot~~,c rs, is
surely wrong. A ll the money spent ~ r tohacco and intoxicatin g drinks, is worse!, than
wasted. A nd what the sch ool girl spcn~s for
u seless ornaments , or articles of dress , purch ased for mere display, " ·ill also be found lo
liavc been wast.ct!. vVh cn called to give an
nccount of such money boforc tl1c great; Jud ge,
we ;;hall be speechless as t.l w m an wh o h acl
not on a weddin g g arment.
Th e mi ser who h oards his money, is mnking
n o better u se of it than th e prod igal who
wastes his. Money sh oulll neithe r he hoardctl
n or wasted, but actively e mployed in doin g
good . Open thy hand wide, and g ive liberally to the poor, the destitu te, the sick, the
pri soner in his cell. A nd if the mrnts of the
body mu st be supplied, h ow much more the
necessiti es of th e imm ortal soul! If h e that

150

LETTF.JtS TO SCHOOL f1IJlLS .

g ives on ly a c11p of cold water shall not lose
hi s rcwrml, h ow blessed shall he be that presenls the cnp of s alvation lo the parched lips
of the heath en !
'l'he missionary is more in need of liberal
contributions now than ever before . Many
doors of access to the heathen are now opened,
which had been closed for ages. China is now
ripe for the harvest, but the laborers arc few.
It conlnins nearly ono-lmlf of th o p opulation
of tl1c g lobe, with only a handful of r eapers.
Africa is s tretching out her han<l~ unto God,
an<l is anxious to receive mis&ionarics. The
gol<l of Califomia is attracting immigrants
from all th e nations of the earth. If th ese
cnn be converted, they will go b ack to their
friend s an<l <lcclnre, in nil the lang1rngcs of the
carl.h, the wonderful works of God. From
almost every Janel the l\faccdoninn cry is h ear<l,
"Come over an<l h elp us."
l\fany obstacles arc in the way, but the word
of prophecy gives assurance o f sncccss : "'J'h e
heath en, nnd the uttermost parts of th e earth
shall be given to Christ for a possession." He
who hrts preserved his Chnrch for eighteen
centuries, and not allowed the gales of hell
to prcrnil again st it, will carry on his

MIS S IONS.

151

work till tl1c millennial g lory shall encompass
the world.
Shall we stand all the day idle, and t ake
no part in this glorious work? Shall we b e
absorbed by trifles, when the world is to be
converted?. Shall we be seeking the empty
breath of human admiration, when immortal
souls may be plucked from ruin, and placed
as stars in the crown of lhe Redeemer?
0, if our h earts were properly alive to this
rmbj cct, we would be rca<ly not only to g ive
onr money, but to go ourselves, if Providence
should open t.h c way, and assist in bearing the
g lad tidings of salvation to the h eath en. llarri ct Newell, Mrs. Judson, J\frs. "\IVhitc, anfl
others who might b e honornhl y named , have
o-one ont as missionaries. Bidding adi1m to
a
l
home and friend s, and severin g all the tcm er
ties that bound th em to their native land, they
went forth amid the habitations of crncHy, to
tell th e h eathen of a Savior's love. Some
have found grave ~ in th e dee p, blnc sea, anti
others arc buriccl far away from fri ends and
home. But they found the presence and bl essing of Goll in their dying h our, and their
spirits have gone up to mingle witl~ the general assembly, and Church of the First-Born,

I

I !;2

LETTERS TO S CJIQOJ, G JRJ, S .

in h eav en. They were once school g irl s m
different parts of th e Uniteil States . Will not
some th a t arc no w sch ool g irls take th eir
places , and g·o out as missionari es ? Should
y on g o forth weeping , bearing precious seed,
you would re turn again rejoicing , a n<l bring ing
y our sh car cs with you.
Bnt wh ether yon think of becoming a
mi ssiona ry or not, y on can a t least do some1hing lo supp ort th ose wh o arc willing to go.
Snrronndc<l, as we are, wi th pl enty and com fort-with educational and relig ious adrn.ntages11

Ahn.It we to men benighted
The lmnp of life clcn y '!"

Co nl<l yon not retrench so m() c1 f yo ur rx pcnses, an<l 1.hrow !he rno11 1·y into I.h e; J ,nnl ' "
lr~as my?
\ Vhat happin ess do yon d r ri vc:
from wearin g je welry ? Th e m oney cxpcrnl Pd
by y oung ladies fo r gold rin gs. a nd oth er
jewelry , would support qui te an army of
missiona ri es. Y ou would be just as much
r es pected and beloved with out th e j e welry as
with it, and immortal soul s mig h t be r escued
from th e degradation of sin, and r es tored to
th e fa\·or of God.
Manv school girls are fooli shl y extrava-

MI S SI ONS .

153

gant in dress. It is the rcsn l t of bad taste,
or misguided judgmen t. 'fhcy su pp ose it
adds to th eir r c$pcc tability; whereas, in the
es tima tion of nll sensible p eo ple, it de tracts
from it. H ow would it look to sec a blacks mith at hi s work dressed in fin e broadcloth? Y ct, when th e blacksmi th goes t.o
a public m eeting, or to Church, h e m ay
wear broadcloth as appropriately :is a merch ant.
Scl10ol g irl s should be dressed plainly a nd
n eatl y . If th ey wcnr very cosil y ilrc$ses,
it sl1oulJ not be at sch ool, nor while (.hey
arc school g irls.
Can you n nl, th en, pc rs naJc your fath e r lo sa ve a fe w <loll n. rs in
I.h e pri ce of a tln:ss, and Jct yo u thro w ii.
in to the mi ssion:1ry socie ty? WIH·n we d r ny
nnrse!l-cs lo get muncy for the Lord , I
think it will du mo re good t.ha n wlw n we;
nsc no such self-deni al.
:M ay onr h ear ts be wa rm c1l wilh mi ssiona ry fire, and may Lh c Lord of th e li :i.rv Ps t.
scn<l forth laborers, till th e world sha ll be
COll\"Cl' te cl !
11

Sn.h·n.tion, 0 sal rativ11.
The ,inyf1 d su 1111tl pnwl:1in1 1
Till e art,h' ~ rr 111 0 te~t 11 n.tio11
l l:l.s Jcarn ctl l\l C' ~:-; i a h '~ 11 :u11 <' .

154

LF.TTERS TO SCHOOL GIRLS.

VULGARISMS.

155

'Vn.ft, wn.H., ye wirnl ~ , Jii s story,
Ancl _you, ye wa.tcrs, roll,
'l'ill, like a sea of glory,
It spread from pole to pole. "

LETTER XIV.
VUJ,GARISMS.

)

LT has been often remarked, that you may
kn ow the manner in which a person has been
brought up, and the class of socie ty to wl1ioh
he belongs, by hi s language. 'J'hcre arc not
only provincialisms, or word s and expressions
peculiar to <lifforent sections of the country,
but in the same place you will hear words and
phrases peculiar to tho different classes of so ciety. The use of such phrases is rather the
misfortune than the fault of individuals, in
many cases. Reared without opportunities of
education, they, ·"ti~ourse, adopt the dial ect
of their associates. They- are often excellent
pernons, possessed of nrnny good qualities,
anti, therefore, th ey shoultl. never be ridicul ccl
by th ose who have had better opportunities.
They often feel acutely the mortifi cations to
which they arc exposed . If I.hey necnmulate
wealth, they arc thrown into the society of
those who have been better educated, and are

l13G

l. lcTTEH.R TO R GHOOJ,

(1

lJt .l. s.

often ridi cul ed on accoun t of th eir ;mkwanl
hlun<l ers. Such ridi cul e is wron g. Golcl smi l.h
says that "Lh ey arc ge nerally m os t ritli cul o n ~
themselves who are a pt to sec m os t to ridi cule
in others." I am alway s p a ined w hen I h ear
or wiLness it. l be lie ve I would as soon m ake
the bhmtlers, ns Lo be w unfee ling as to laugh
nt one I.hat <lid make th em . SLill , as th e
wor l<l wi ll l n11g l1 , a11d iL is P.Xcee<ling ly un p lcasn nt to be th e s ubjec t of 1·idi cul c, it becomes young ladi es, while at sc hool , lo stud y
I.he most appropriate wonls for co nvcy in ,,. their
•
0
Hlcas, and carefull y to avo id all ungrannn a ticnl and vul gar expressions.
l cl•J not mean th at yo n sh ould be nl wayR
s trainin g after bnmbasli cal wonls. 'J.'his is
'111i t:r: :i s l11 dirro11 s ns low cx pn•ssions. Your
l:wgnngc mny be pln in nnd yet co rrect. l
ndmirc a plain sl.ylc as mu ch as l do a plnin.
nent dress. 'J.'h c simples t wo rd s in whi ch a
i.hm1 ght cn n be <'Xprcssed, arc al ways th e best.
Bu t yo n would be just ns well UJH.lcrstuorl if
yo n \Y Crc to say Je;1rning, or ng11 c, or necessity, as if yo n ~: h o 11ltl say Jam in, or nge r, or
needc essity .
Such im propri eti es or pronun ciation ari se
from defectivP e1lucntion. JJu t I.h ere arc oth er

\ ' 1! L 1; A It l S M S .

11)7

word s antl phrases, so mcli m e:; t: ircnl at ing
a mong sch ool g irls, w hich arc crptal ly im proper ; s uch as, ".l' JI snnm ," "Dun't be so
fresh ," "Lots of thin gs, " nnd many o the rs
which it is impossible to specify . Yo nr ow n
good tas te should lead yon to nv oid s nc h expressions. Yon m ay u se th e m for m ere anrn ~ c ­
m cnl, till after aw hile you will use th em with 0 11t being co nscious of if;.
A ll obscene a nd immodes t exp ressions,
s hould b e particularly avo ided . 'L'hey arc totally inconsistent with the m oral pmi ty whid1
s l1onltl eve r ch a racterize a yo11n g lady . Do
not associa te wi th a g irl th nt is vu lgar and obsceuc in h er conv er sation ; yon can n ot do
.;o with ou t contamina lion.
'.l'he impure imnges will r ecur to your imag ination , and yo ur
puri ty of h ear t will be d csLroycd.
But s till worse than th is, &"');100! g irls sometimes employ profane expressi"'>11 s, anti m ake
irre verent use of th e name of " Gud. .ln n
word, th ey violate the thinl comm:rndmC"nt,
wh ich says, "1'hou sh alt not take th e nam e
of the Lord thy God in vain ." '1'hcre a rc oc;casio11s wh en it is proper to use th e ~aere d
name, lint th e eommaml forbids profane s wearing , an d all lig h t and irre l' crent use of Got.l's

153

15!)

LETTER S TU SC HO OL GlHJ,S .

VUJ,GAH.ISMS.

name. Expressions implying the name of
God, may also be a violation of the comman d,
even wh en the name is not directly used.
Snch exp ressions as, "Upon my soul!" "I
wish I may <lie!" "Great goodness !" "La's a
mercy !" and others which we would slrnclrlcr
to name, arc all irreverent and wrong . They
arc often u sed, I know, as thoughtless exclamations, but we should not be thoughtless
about such important matters.
There is no necessity for expressions either
vulgar or profane. Yon can be just as well
understood without them. People will believe
your aflirmation quite as readily as if you a<ld
an oath to it. It is shocking to think that a
young girl wonl<l use a profane oath. But it
docs occasionall y occur, that school girls arc
as profane in their language as rude and
wi cked boys. I have heard of schools in
which almost every girl would swear . Some
set the example, anti others thoughtlessly imitate it., without thinking of the shocki1Jg imµicl y. Let such girls remember that God will
wt hold those g uil tlcss who take hi s name in
·ain. Gentlemen nev er swear in the presence
of ladies, nor ladies in the presence of gentlemen. H all would remember that they arc

ever in the presence of the great God, would
it not effectually check them?
You should not allow yourself to jest about
serious things. Some persons will quote
verses of hymns, anti texts of Scripture, to
produce a laugh , by the ludicrous application
they make of them. This is wrong. Religions
subjects, and religious persons and things,
should always be treated with seriousness anti
respect. If he that swears by the temple
swears by Him that dwells in the temple,
snrely those who trifle with relig ious subjects
arc trifling· with that God who has taught us
to be religious.
'Vh cn yon go to church , let your wh ole deportment be serious an d respectful.
All
laughing, anti talking, and merry jests, in the
h ouse of God, arc out of place. How profane to trifle in the presence of God ! to go
to hi s house, under the pretense of worshiping
him , and in sult him there! G0tl is eyer present; but when we attempt to worship him, he
is peculiarly present for purposes of mercy and
salv ation .
vVhcncvcr we are present at (lcvotion al ex·
crcises-whclhcr in the family, or the sclwol roorn, or the church-we should remember

·:·.:

160

LET1'EltS TO SC HO OL U lRL S.

that we worsliip the g reat., eternal God, and
dismiss nil lig h tnrss . I.Jc t n s reflect on the
majesty an<l g lory of Gou, and we shall be
serious.
Goel rides upon !he wh irlwind and directs
the s torm. H e \Ycigh s the rnonntains in sca l e~,
nnd th e hill s in balnnccs. He h olds Ll1 c ocean
in his h and , as a drop of the bucket. Neith er
t he <lark11Pss of !he ni g ht, nor th e deep caverns of the earth, can conceal ns from his
scrutini zing eye. Should we take the win g~
of the morning , and fly to the remotest sta r
that the telescope h as di sco,·crcd, we sb onld
still be in Iii ~ presen ce, and within the grasp
of hi s power. Such arc his glory and majesty,
that angels and a rchangels vail their faces be fore him , and cry, "Holy, h oly, h oly, is th e
Lord Uo<l Almighty!" A nd f' hall we, p oor,
peri shing worms of the <lust, insult ou r
Maker hy taking h is name in vain, or by
t.rc;i.ti11g his worship with irreverence and di srespect? H.athcr let us reverence and adore
him, and love him forcYer !

MAHIUAGE.

161

LETTER XV.
MARHIAGE.

'V

HILE yo u are school girl s, Jove, courtsh ip,
and marriage, ar e matters still in the future,
and they should not occupy too much of your
attention. Bnt as sch ool g irl s will sometimes
think of th ese things, it may not be en tirely
out of place to m ake a few remarks about
them.
Ever y sligh t attachment formed by young
persons, sh ould not be called love. There arc
various degrees of affection felt toward ih c
persons with whom w e associate; but th at attachment whi ch sh ould lead to marriage is of
a peculiar kind. It is an esteem whi ch arises
from rrn intim ate acquaintance, and from congeniality of tastes and inclinations. It can
not properl y exist between stranger s, or those
who see each oth er for ih e first time, fo r they
can not know each other 's trmpers and di spositions. Persons who fall in love at first sight,
aml marry after a very short acquaintance, arc
11

162

J.BT'L' JCltS TO SC Jl.001.

u

11as .

seld om happ y afterward. 'fh cy sec only th e
pleasing part of each o th er's character; and
wh en tlcfeds and failin gs sh ow th emselves
after marri age , as th ey necessarily mu st., disapp ointment ou both sides will be fe lt, a nd
av e rsion w ill lake th e place of h;e. H th ey
h ad b ecome ac quainted, and kn ow n each othe r' s defec ts, their expectations would not ha vc
h ce n so hi g h , a nd clisa ppointm cnt w0uld n ot
ha,·e had such a chilling effect 0 11 th eir
h earts.
All hum an b eings h ave failings and imperfe ctions, a nd it is be tter to be apprised of them
b efore m a rriage, th:rn after. '!'hose who hypocriti cally conceal their defects till they can
impose th emse!Ycs on so me one in m arri age,
arc plung ing a dn gger into t heir own h ear ts.
I wou ld, t.h ercforc, alhi sc you nc1·cr lo marry
any one wilh wh om you ha Ye n ot bee n acquainted at least a year or two . '!'his will be
tim e enough to beco me acquain ted, a nd p crhnps thi s will be as long as su ch attachmen ts
sh ould exist before marriage. Ea rl y a ttacl1111 cnl s a nd Jong engage ments seldom do well.
'l'h c Jo,-e \Yhi ch boys and g irls have for each
oth er, is a temp orary feeling, liable to frequent
chan ge . If they form an engagement to be

MA R ltr A G F..

,1

161

m arri ed und er such circumstances, before th ey
arc old enou g h lo m arry, pe rhaps each one
will h a ve fall en in lore with so me one el se .
'l'h ey m ay still marry, becau se th ey co nsider
it dish onorabl e to break an eng agement., but
t.h cy will probably be nnh appy throu g h li fe .
'l'he true attachment tha t sh ould lead to m arri age, can not b e felt mu ch b efore you a re
e ig hteen yea r s old, and fr om th a t age lo
tw en ty- fi ve is th e proper t im e to marry .
Sch ool g irls, therefore, sh ould n ot talk ab out
love, and beau x , 11or rcau novels and love
tales. S uch th ings will leacl th em to inrngi nc
th emselves in love, when, in fact, th ey kn ow
nothin g about it.
'l' he in terest th at school
g irl s sometim es feel in su ch subj ec ts, and th eir
incessant t alking a bou t them, fo rm a strong
object.ion to boarding -sch ools.
I late ly m et with a ve ry intclligcat a nd
estimable lady, who told me she h ad ne ve r
b ee n at sch ool a d ay in h er life. Iler m other,
sh e said, h acl such dread of th e dan ger s at
b oarding -sch ools, that sh e would h ave prcfo n ccl to h a ve h er d aughter dcsliLn tc of cd1tcat io11, except to b e abl e lo r ear! tli c Bib le,
rnth er than hav e li er exposed to t heir i111lu c11 cc.
1 know a gentleman who entertains th e same

164

lGG

.L E TT ERS TO SC J!OOJ, GIR LS .

MARRIAGE.

opinion, am! who educates his daughters at
h ome, in preference to sending them to any
school.
Wh en youn g gi rls are at home with th eir
parents, th ey seldom talk of lrnving beaux, or
bein g in love. 'I'o their parents they would.
n ot think of talkin g on such subj ec ts, and their
natural modesty wo nltl prc\'(~ n t it with their
brot hers and s i ~ tc r s . Dut at schoo l t hey too
ofte n lose th eir naturnl modos f.y. 'l'h cy mee t
with rude, bold girls, whose conYcrsation is
wholl y on such 8ubjects, and they are in sensibly Jed into the same spirit.
\Vhen your school-days arc over, and you
arc at h ome un<l er the eye of your parents, it
will be time enough to form attachm ents that
may resul t in marri age . If you form them
when qui te yo1111g, your feel ings may change
before yon arc old enough to many; and if
you g ive your hand without your heart, you
m ay calcul ate on a mi serable life .
Attachm ents of this kind are too npt to be
found ed on beauty of person, and mere external appearances. Th ere is certainly something
in personal beau ty cnlcul ated to inspire affection ; but if the qualilies of the mind <lo not
correspond wi th those of the body, disappoint-

mcnt and misery m:ty be the result of m:Hri age. On the other hand, wh ere there a rc
noble qualities of the mind, a cnlli vnted intell ect and an affection ate h ear t, a durable attachment may be formed, and a h appy marriage take place, where beauty of person is
wanting . 'l'hc qualities of the h eart are much
more important than those of the body; buL
as these can only he known by acquaintance,
you should not be in h as te to marry.
If yon desire to be h appy in m arri age, you
must fo rm th ose habi ts, and cultivate those
tempers, which will render you agreeable. If
yon lrnYc a fur ious te mper-if you are dictatori al and ove rbearing-if you have a suspicious or envious h eart-if yon arc excessively fond of dress, or excessively indol ent,
you can not make a good wife. If yon finrl
yourself possessed of any of these traits, yon
should either correct them or not marry, for
yon would cer tainly render a husbnnd unh appy, and , therefore, be unhappy yourself.
W hen a girl is unpopular among her sch oolm a tes, it is usually because she has some disagreeable 'luali ties, which, if not corrected,
will render h er equall y unhclovcll when
married. Just such tempers and habits as

J

166

'

LETTl>RS TO SCIIOOJ, GIRLS.

yo n indulge now, yo u will probably carry wi th
yon through lifl'. If you are now p eevish,
di ssaLisJi cd, and fault-findin g, you will Le sure
1o pull your husbnnd's n ose, if any one sho uld
Le so unfortun ate as to marry yo u. If you
arc now cheerful and kind , willing to deny
y~nr~elf a grnLifi ca!.ion Lo oblige others, yo it
Wiii be surc Lo diffuse lrnppincss wherever
yon go, and make a wife more prccions than
rubies.
Maniag0.s, I fear, arc too frequentl y contracted for the sake of riches. 'l'he inquiry,
"ls h e ri ch?" is so often made, that we ~ni ght
supp ose this to be the prevailing m otive. I
:Io not Lh ink that young lri.Ji es arc so apt to be
1ntlncncc<l by such eonsiclcraLi ons, as young
m en. lL is ind eed lrtmcntrtblc that young
m en nrc so oft en "forlun c- huntcrs." Th ey,
perhaps, indulge in ga mbling, in temper ance,
or some Yice that makes money necessri.ry.
Th ey spend their patrim ony, im·olvc thein~c l n~s in debt, and th en they must marry a
(ortun e. 'J'he lady who marries such a man
is certain of misery. His heart is not on h er
but her money. 'l'his will probably soon b;
spent, and ~he be r educed to poverty . The
sadness of disrtppointment, and the bittern ess

~-

MAltRIAGE.

167

of tears, will be her only solri.ce. Even if her
property should not be sqtrnn<lcrcd , wlwt, will
it a mil wh en there is no affection- no loYc?
J wonlLl warn yo nn g Indies to be on their
g ua rd against "fortune-hunters," bnt I wonlcl
by no mcrtns in sinuate that rtll young men arc
such . Jllany, I trnst, arc actuated by nobl~
sentiments, and mri.rry fr om sincere attachment
and r egard.
If low and unworthy motives arc detestable
in a yonug man, how much m ore <lelesta bl c
are such motives in a young lady ! A gi rl
becomes foml of dress and show-she mnsl
rid e in a fin e carri age-s he must h ave a fine
house and superb fnrnilnr c ; and, in order to
lmYc lhcsc, she rnn ' t "man y a fortune."
8he g ives h er hand to some ri ch man, whom
sh<, can not love, :md is wedded to mi sery the
rcs l; of lu»r d:iy:;.
The proYcrb, "\.Vh cn p0Yc1ty com rs in at
th e door, Joye flees nut at the window." is n ot
tru e. Th ere may, imlce<l , be cases whrre it
is ,.·c· rifi ed. \.Vh cn :t woman, by h er cxtraYagance, r educes h er husbancl to poverty, h e will
be apt to lose affection for h er; or if the man,
by gambling or dissipation, shoulcl impoveri sh
his family, "love woulcl flee ont at the win-

1G8

LE TTER S TO SC HOOL G IRL S .

dow ." But it would not Le the pover ty in
either case which would d estroy affection,
but th e means by whi ch poverty was produced.
It is still true Lhat "love may <l well in a cottage, " and that the poor may be happy.
Those who arc in moderate circums tances,
are, in fact, more apt to be happy in marriage
than the very rich. The bustl e and di splay
of th e rich, and th eir endless struggles to ou tshine each other, must go far to dest.roy nil
hnppiness-all rea l enj oyment of life. Th ose
who arc content to live in a happy mediocrity,
wh en th ey love and are beloved for t,heir own
good qualities, enjoy a much larger a mount
of happiness than the very rich or very
J lOO r.

Th ough riches should not be the motive,
th ey should not be an objec t.ion to m:nriagc.
So me of th e rich lial'C excellent r1uali Lies, and
m ay be loved for th eir own sake, and not for
t,h eir wealth. Those wl10 possess 'realth may
he better educated and more intelligent than
th e poor. Thi s, however, is not always the
case. The children of the rich sometimes
have an impression t,hat their wealLl1 will carry
th e m through the world, and make them respectable, without the trouble of st,u<lying.

MARRIA GE.

lG!)

They learn not,hing at school, and have not,hing but their weallh to recomme nd th em.
If a young man be intelligent and vir tuous,
industrious and economical, likely to preserve
and not to sq nandcr his means, a young l:id y,
who forms an attachment for him, may safely
marry l1im, though h e be rich; and, if he possess tllese qualities, she may as safely marry
]1im though he be poor. With such traits and
habi ts, he will cer tai nl y acquire property, anrl
render h er comfortable and happy . H is
much be tter to start in li fe in mo<lcrnlc circumstances, and acquire a competency by
honest industry, t han to begin "·iLh wealth anti
di splay, and encl in pon rty. \Vh en a lady
rn:irries a man less wealthy t,Jinn herself, ~he
sli ould 11 e1·c r make any allnsion to the difference of their circum stances . If she was
willinrr
to link her destin y with liis, reproac hes
0
:1 bout inferiority in any respect, should never
a.1rain
he hen rd.
0
·whet.her a youn g man be rich or poor, Cllucated or illiterate, if his habi ts be bad, it will
be un safe to marry him. If h e be intemperate, or a gambler, or . addicted Lo low vices,
he will not be capab l <~ of any proper affoc tion
for a wife, and to many him would be to

170

171

LETTER S TO SCHOOL GIRLS.

MARRIAGE.

plunge in to inevitable misery. In a word,
yonn g ladi es, it is mu ch be tter to remain
s ing le tha n t.o make a bad ma tch. And wh y
d o you dread a sing le li fe? 'J'l1 ere is nothin g
dishonorabl e in bein g an old m aid .
Many ladi es wh o have neve r married, h ave
been e min cnlly 11 sP. ful to the world. Look a t
Miss H annah :More in England, and Mi ss
Catharine Beech er i11 America, and sec what
sing le lad ies m ay do ! J3 c not., 1.IJCI'eforc, in
l1 aste lo marry. Should yo u Jiayc a suitable
offe r, yo nr happin ess m ay be increased by
mal'riage; but it is better to !'emain sing le
than to marry uns uitabl y. Remember it is
fo r Ji re, 'lllll a fal se step in s o impor tant a matte r, mny imbitl.e r a ll your days .
Yon shoul cl nol a ll ow yourself lo become
attached ti ll you know that th e obj ec t; is worth y
of your affec ti ons. If you give way to yo ur
feelings, and form attachments blindly, they
will soon h ave th e co ntl'ol ove!' you ; bu t yo u
m ay an d must co ntro l your foclings. vVhat
wou ld yo u tl1ink of a m a rried lady who sh onlcl
fall in love with eYC I'y l1 andsome young m a n
she saw? And wh y will she not, unless she
r esolutely control h er feelings? So mus t you
cunt.rol yourn . Persons can not properly love

each other, unl ess th e ir tastes and in clin ations
arc simil a r, an d th is can not be known before
acquaintance. A young man m ay b e h and some an d intellige nt, but if h e be a drunkard
vou m ay withhold your affec t,ions fr om him,
~.nd yo r; sh ould r esolutely do so. It wou ld
be infinitely b e tter to r emain sin gle th an to
m:u-ry him, for y our love could nc 1'er win him
fr om su ch a h ab it.
Perhap~, b ofore I close, I sh ould say a few
wo rds on the question, "Should a yo un g larly
nrnrry co ntrary to th e wish es of her paren ts?"
'l'hc re m ay be circumstances in wl1ich it wonld
h e proper, bnt it is generall y safer to b e a dv ised by th e paren ts . Yott h ave no earthly
fri ends who love yon so much as yom· p aro nts;
n one so much desire your h appiness. 'fh ey
m ay see defects in a youn g man which you d0
not pe rceive. Th ey fea r if yon m a n y him
yon will be unh appy. Yon sh ould surely
li sten to th eir ad vi ce. Do n ot allow yonrself
to beco me commi tted before you know th eir
np inion. If th ey disapprove it, let the matter
stop at once .
Yon should never a ll ow yourself to form
any s uch attachment whil e at sch ool, or away
fr om your parents.
Y oun g p ersons a t t.lie

172

LETTERS TO SC HOOL O IIU S .

sprin gs, som etimes fa)[ in love on a week's
a cquaintance, and elope to be married. Th e
n ext ire hear of them is a di1·orce, or snch
quarreling and strife as are incompa tibl e with
h appiness. Runaway ma tch es are seldom
happy . A young lady who has so li ttle rcgnrd
for the feelings of her paren ts as to inflict
such a wound, would not be likely to make a
g ood wife. She would soon care as little about
the fcc lingR of her husband . Dut if parents
are unreasonable in their demands, and require a daug hter to marry some one wh om
she can not love, she should prefer to remain
single.
'l'herc is no more melancholy sig h t than to
sec a youn g lady stand 11 p at th e nltar of mnrri agc, and 1·ow to love through life flS a wife
shou ld love, when there is no love in her
lica rt; or to know that th e man she is marrying will not love ::ind cherish as n husband
should, but that his habi ts of intemperance
find vice will wring her h eart with wretchedness and sorrow. An unhappy marriage is
no common misery , a nd th ere can be no happiness in marriage without mu tual a ttac hment
found ed on proper principl es. When this attachment exists at the beginning, it will g o on

MARRIA G E.

173

incre;;sing to old age . H appy a re they who
a re thus marri ed; theirs is no com mon happiness. They may disco r er imperfections and
failin gs in each other-th ey urny even have
moments of anger and heart-burnin g; bnt affe ction will g iv e them forbearan ce, and concessions and r econciliation s will !mt mcrease
their attachment.
In a transaction so momentous, and on
which the h appiness or misery of your whole
li fe may depend, you sh ould take no :itcp
withottt praying to God to g uide yo u to a
p roper decision and proper actio n.

174

LE 'l"fEJtS TO SCHOOL UiltLS .

LETTER XVI.
DUTIES TO PARENTS.

'l'1m fiflh commandment says, "Honor tl1y
father and thy mother, that thy clays may be
long upon the land whi ch th e Lord thy God
giveth thee." St. Paul calls this the first
commandment with promi se . Solomon says,
"'l'b e eye th at mockctJ1 its father, and tlespiseth to obey its mother, the ravens of the
valley shall plnck it out, and the young eagles
shn II cat it."
A8 chil dren arc entirely dependent on th eir
parcnl s, <lming the helpl essness of infancy and
ch ildhood, nnd as th ey arc not qualill ccl tu
judge for th emselves what is best, it is a wi se
arrangement of Providence that th ey shoulcl
obey their parents. lf they were left l.o follow their own inclinati ons, as self-w ill ed chil dren often desire to do, they might comm it lhc
m ost improper actions, which wonltl r esult in
clisgrace an d misery.
God h as, therefore,
made it the duty of parents to W "' '•'h over

DUTIES TO l'AltENTS.

175

th ei r children, ancl restrain them from evil
actions a nd from bad company, ancl even to
use the rod to enforce obedience .
If chifdrcn unders tood their own interests,
they would willingly and cheerfull y obey their
parents, unless tbey required something wrong.
'l'h en, of course, they should obey God rath er
than man. Still the manner should be kind,
and they sl1ould sh ow that they were grieved
to be under the necessity of di sobeying their
parents.
Obed ience should be prompt, withont contradicting or objecting. Some chi ldren have
such a murmurin g, complaining way-they
make so many objections, and find so many
exc uses-that if they even do wlrnt is comnrnnd cd, it can hnnlly be called obedi ence.
'.L'b c word of the parent shonlcl be law to the
ch ild. As soon as you understand what yo nr
parents wish, you should perform it without
h esi tation or delay.
"Honor tl1y father and thy mo th er ;" that
is, love and r everence th em. If you have a
proper Jove for yonr parents, it will n ot; be
difficult to obey them. It g iv es u s p leasure
to gratify any one we )01·e. W c arc delig hted
to be with them and enj oy their conversation;

176

LETTERS 1'0 SCHOOL GIRLS.

D UT IES TO PARENTS.

and will not love and gratitude fill your hearts,
wh en you remember that your parents have
watched over you fr om infancy, and g nardcd
you from a thousand dan gers ? Little do you
know the anxiety of a mother's heart, or the
solicitude of a father, or you would not distress them by disobedience.
Children should entertain such high sentiments of regard and honor for th eir parents,
that th ey would obey them in th eir absence
us well as in their presence . Those can h ave
no trnc love for their parents who do things
which they know to be contrary to their
wislJCs, wh enever they are out of their sight.
I ouce heard a lady say, that when at school,
she h ad frequent opportunities uf reading
no,·els. Sometimes she would take 11p one
and commence it; but, rememberin g that her
1mrcnts had forbidden such reading, she would
immedia tely put it away. I have he ard of a
young man who refused to dance, when urged
to do so at a party, assig ning as a reason, that
thon gh he was no profe ssor of relig ion, his
mother was, and it wonld di stress h er to know
he dan ced. How truly dicl such children
honor th eir parents ! And how much more
would all men honor such children, than if they

had pursued the contrary course, and acted contrary to th e wi shes o( their paren ts ! Children
sometimes take up a fal se im pression, th a t they
shall be more honored by th e world, if they di sregard what they call the contracted views of
their parents. On the contrary, t.h cy di sgrace
themselves, and bring a reproach on th eir
parents by such action. '!'hose children can
Jiave very little r egard for their parents, who
speak of them disparagingly, contradict th em,
dispute th eir authority, and do things wl1ich
they know will distress and g rieve them. Jf
the ravens of the valley do not literally plnck
out the eyes of such children, they may, ne1·erthcless, expect that the curses of God will,
in some form, overtake them.
Parents are sometimes inferior to their
childrcu in education; but it would show a
very bad heart if a g irl, who had learned a
littl e g rammar at school, should laugh at her
mother for making g rammatical blunder~.
Parents very often feel their want of edncat ion, and labor hard, and use self-denial, to
give their children better opportunities than
they th emselves have enj oyed. Children can
never repay the debt of gratitude which they
owe their parents for such kindness. How
l 'i!

177

178

179

LETTERS TO SCH OOJ, GIRLS.

DUTIE S TO l' AltENTS .

wicked would they be if, insLead of feeling
gratitude, they should only feel pride and selfconcei t ! It sometimes happe1rn tl1at children
are ashamed of their parents, wl1en their
worldly circumstances are a little better than
those of their parents. The daughter bn s h er
fin e house, and her fashionable company, and
is aslrnm ed to invite her plain old mother, lest
by some uncouth expression she sl10uld disgrace her! Such a daughter has no t rue love
or honor for her p arents, and sh e may not ex p ect the blessing of God. "Pride gocth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a
foll."
Children should honor their parents, not
only when they arc poor or ignorant, but
even when they arc wicked. 'l'h cy may be
clistressed to see their parents do wrong- Lhcy
may pray for them, and kindly entreat. them
to reform-but they should throw a Yn il oYcr
their faults, and not speak of th em to others, nor allow others to speak of them in their
presence .
Stubborn all(l disobedien t cl1ildrcn, wl10 Ycx
nnd gricYe th e hearts of Ll1cir parents, little
kn ow what sorrow th ey are treasuring up for
themselves, if, in the providence of God, their

parents sl1 ould be taken fr om t hem. 'l'h en the
remembrance of every unkind word and action, will pierce yo n to the heart; and the tears
you sh ed at their graves will be the more bitter, because it will be too late to recall what
you liaYe done. You will say, "0, that.th ey
were alive again, that I might ask their forYou
giveness for all my unkindness!"
should, th erefore, be kind to them now, a nd
try to comfort their hear ts, by your obedience
and love. "Honor thy fath er and thy mother,
that thy days m ay he long upon the fond
which the Lord thy God givet.h thee."
Dr. Dwight and oth er eminent divines
h a,·e thought that kind, obedient children, will
actually live longer th an the disobedient.
Every day you sh ould pray to Gorl to bl ess
yo nr parents, and Jong prescnc their lives.
But perhaps some wh om I am now arldrcssing h aYC already Jost. tltcir parents . VVhcn
you were too young to appreciate th e great
loss you susta ined, your dear mother was
comm itted to th e grave. In my heart, I pity
g irls who are left you ng withont a rn othPr.
No hunrnn being on earth can supply her
place. Your dcnrcst friend can not love yo n
as much as your own mother. But God, who

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DUTIE S TO PAltENTS .
L ETTF.RS TO SC HOOL G JJtJ. S .

180
11 as promised to be a fo,ther t.o t11 e fath erl ess,
will take care of" th e orpl1nn chil dren wl1 0 tru st
in him .
·wh oever stands to you in th e l1lace of a
motli er, shonld receive · your obedience :rncl
love . H a$ yonr father marri ed again ? Look
u pon your step-motlier as in tl1e place of yonr
own mother, and l et l1 P.r h :ne the warm. affecti ons of your l1 eart. Children a.re apt to
cntcrt.:iin an nnrc:isonable :Jxcrsion to1Yanl
step-p:irents. T his is ccrt:iinly wrong. Though
y ou may not be able to love them as much as
yonr own parents, s till you should 1ove ancl
h onor tl1em. You should 1ove your stepmothe1· on your father's acc01mt. Any disrespect or disobedience to her, will distress him.
You ~hould try to smooth his passage down
the hill of time, and not brin g down his gray
h airs with soi-row to the g rav e.
Aga in: yon shou1d love h er on your own
account. Yon n eed a mother . How many
b ad ancl idle h abits will you form-how rude
will you be in your mann ers-how apt to associate wi th improper companions-how apt
t o go to ruin, if you h ave no moth er to watch
ove r you, and. guide you, and pray for you,
and love you\ She stands to you in the place

18 1

of your own motlier, and will discharge th ose
duti es, if sh e can have ·your affection s. It is
:1. fal se opinion th ;tt step-mot.hers arc always
nnkind.. Thr.y can not pos~ibl y love as warm1y
as th e real mother; still they arc often kincl
and affectionalc., and labor faithfully to discl1:irgc their impor tant du ties.
H ave you a step-fath er '? If you treat him
unkindl y, it wiU distress your mother, and destroy that sweet h armony whi ch sho\t1d. ever
reign in a fam ily. You need th e protection
an<l g ttard i<mship of a fath er, ancl yon should
thank God th at you arc not l eft to tally an
orphnn. In a word, as yott value your own
happiness, and the happiness of your fam ily ,
I entreat you to love and obey your stepparents.
\ 1\7hen you are at sch ool, and especially if
von arc fr om home, your teachers, :Jnd th e
~iersons with whom you bounl, sh ould stand
to yon in th e place of your varents. Your
parents arc engaged in otl1 er affairs, and intrust your education and. guardi anshi p to olhers, wh o, for the time being, represent them.
Yon should h onor ancl love yonr teachers, and
be obedient to their wi shes. Th ey arc laborin g fo r your good . 'l'hey are gratified wh en

182

LETT ER S TO SCH OOL GI RLS.

you succeccl in your stnclies, an cl pain eel when
yo u waste your precious time in idleness .
You shonlcl thank them when they point ont
your errors, ancl remonstrate with you for yo ur
misconcluct. Some g irls are so unreasonab le
as to dislike ancl abuse th eir teachers, wh eneYcr they -will not allow them to h ave th eir
own way. R emembe r, your teachers arc f.hc
reprCR!' 11 tati1·cs of your parents, who have put
yo u under their charge . lf yo u honor yo ur
p arents, yon shou ld also honor you r teach ers.
Never speak ill of them. They can not clo
you the goocl th ey clesirc, unless yo n respect
th em, and always spenk of t hem kindl y . You
blam e the teacher, when, perhaps, tlw fau lt is
your ow n ; forgetLing th at if yo n were k ft to
yourself with out restraint, yo u woulcl soon go
to ruin .
It may not be am iss to add a few worcls
about sisterly duties. lf you arc an older
sister, yo u should treat yo ur yo unger sisters
with kindness. E speciall y if yo n harn los t
yo ur mother, should you feel the necessity of
watching over the younger m embers of the
famil y, and, as far as possible, fulfillin g toward them the du ties of a mother. 'l' he eldest sister has g reat responsibilities resting on

DUTI ES TO PARENTS.

183

her, and sh e should be careful always to set a
good example.
If you are a younger sister, you sh ould look
up to your older sister for advice and in struction. If you have no mother, it will be the
more necessary to submit to h er authority, and
a l ways treat h er with kintlncss and love. How
unpleasant is it to see sisters quarreling ! Sist.ers can 110.t be h appy thn.t live in a fr etful,
ang ry mootl, and it m akes all unh appy who
witness thei r quarrels.
How deligh tfttl to sec n. family in which love
and h ar mony re ign! 'l'hc chil dren love and
obey their parents, and brothers antl sisters
are kind to each other. No angry wortls are
heard, bu t the law of kindness is in i.heir
h earts and on thei r ton gues . "Behold," says
the Psalmist, "how good and how pleasant it
is for brethren to dwell together in uni ty . It
is li ke tbe dew that descended on the mountains of Zion, wh ere the Lord commanded the
blessing, even life forever more."

184

LE'l"f~~ RS TO SC HOOL

TEMPEIL

185

UIRLS.

LETTER XVII.
TEMPER.

'.l'1rn government of tl1e temper is by no
means an unimportant lesson, an<l sometimes
it is a very difticult one. In your daily intercourse with your school-mates, and with the
world, many things will occur to irritate you.
To be calm and placid, under such circumstances, is very desirable.
Some persons seem to haYc much worse
tempPrs than others. The slig htest. thing will
]J UL them in ill-hum or.
Their blood seems to
boil in their Yeins-lhcir connt cnanccs become
alm ost distortcll with rn gc, an<l they pou r out
a torrent of abuse on any one near them.
Whether they are constitulion ally ill- tempered,
or haYc become so by early and conti nued indulgence, it is, perl1aps, difficul t to decide ,
Th e tempers of children are ofte n sp9iled at an
early age, by their being allowed to fr et about
e1·e ry thing that displ eases 1.hern . A habit of
fretfuln ess and ill-humor is soon forme<l by

such indulgence. The moth ers, therefore,
who allow their cl1ildren to indulge in illhnmor without restraint, are preparing them
to be unhappy through life.
Ill-temper, no doubt, very often arises from
ill-health. It is more difficult to bear prov ocation when th e nerv es are weak, and th e body
generally debilitated, than when we enjoy th e
cheerful flow of goo<l h ealth. H ence it is tt
common r emark, that persons are pce1·ish
wh en recovering from sickn ess, but when
h ealth is re- established, their chcerfnlness returns .
Ill-temper may, perh aps, sometimes be constitutional. Some children, fr om lh eir infancy,
Ree m more sour :rn<l morose than others. Our
natures arc clepnwcd, and we arc prone lo sin
of different kinds, but not all equally in clin ed
to the sa111c sins. St. Paul speaks of n besetting sin, which, no doubt, differs in different
persons. So me children arc more inclin e<l to
tell falseho ods than others. Some arc in clined
to acts of dishonesty, some to pride , some to
ill-temper, and some lo other things .
The early and strong inclination lo th ose
sins, docs not form an excuse fur th em, because God has provide<l a remedy. Christ

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187

!,ETTERS TO SCHOOL G I!tL S.

TEMPER.

has taught us that we must be bom again. If
we believe in his name, the Spirit of God will
renew our hearts, and enable us to resist the
temptation to those sins. W"hcn a bad habit
has once been formed, it will require constant
prayer and watchfulness to avoid falling into
it agai n. The drunkard must be reformed
many years before he is out of danger of returning tu intemperance. So the person who
has indulged in ill-temper, will h ave many
long and bani struggles before it can be overcome.
But the grnce of God will 0o·ive the
.
VICtory to those that ask that grace.
It is, therefore, no excuse to ill-tempered
persons to say, that they are naturall y so, and
can not help it. Vv e arc naturally in clinell to
many sins; but we arc still rerpiired to resist
them, anti to pray for new and clean hearts.
lf you attempt to conquer any bad habit in
your own strength, you will fail; but if you
earnostly pray for Divine assistance, you may
succeed.
You should endeavor to correct a bad temper, not only because it is sinful, but because
it renders yourself and all about yo u unhappy.
To feel ill-humor toward an)fi one is a most
unpleasant feeling. If the anger becomes

more violent, and rage boils up in the h eart, it
is distressingly painful. What a witle differ·
ence between such feelings and those of goodlrnmor and kindness ! Frowns and smiles differ very widely, but the inward feelings are
infinitely di ssimilar.
Again: wh en you give way to yom' temper,
you say spiteful things, which you would not
utter for any consideration when in a good
humor. \\Then your paroxysm of passion has
subsided, you feel ashametl and sorry th at
you shouM have spoken so foolishly . How
many such mortifications might; you avoid, if
you could always keep in a gootl humor!
'l'hink h ow disagreeable your ill-temper
must be to others. ·wor<ls which, if spoken
in good-humor, would <lo no hnrm, when
spoken in ill-humor, will cut to the quick, and
wound the feelings of your friends. It is because you feel what you say. \V ords intended
to wound, always wound, because your very
tone of voice conveys your meaning. An
angry word, or look, in a circle of cheerful
girls, soon casts a gloom over the spirit of all.
Not merely the person to whom th e ill-natured
word is spoken is wounded, but all who hear
it feel unpleasantly.

186

188

J,E'fTE ltS TO SC HO O J, U IRLS.

·what a <lrcadfnl t.hing, t.h cn, is an illtcmper ! How important to correct it! If a
single ill-nat m cd word be so unpleasant in its
consequences, how unhappy must that g irl be
who is all the time peevish and out of temper !
She frets because she h as to rise earl y, or because she must study. 'l'he breakfast docs
not please her, and th e din11 er is un suitable;
the teachers arc unreasonab le, and li er classmates arc unkind. She frets and mut ters :i ll
d ay, and, no doub t, dreams fretful, ill -natured
dreams at night. If she speaks of a ny one,
it is to say sometl1ing ill. She seems to take
pl easure in speaking of the faults an d miscondu ct of others .
I.Yoe lo the nrnn who gets sucl1 a g irl l'o r his
wife ! '.L'h c honey- moon wi ll scarce ly be over
befo re she wi ll betray her ill-temper, and the
poor man will ne rer be ab le to <l o any thing
to pl ease her. 'l'he diffi culty will li e not in
any im propriety in his co nduct, but in her illfemper, which perverts and distorts every
thin g . Jl.li ss Coxe, in the Young Lady ' s Compani on, tell s an anecdote of a you ng man who
called at an unexpected hour, to see a yo un g
lady to whom he was engaged to be married.
As he was about lo enter the h ouse, he heard

T EMPER.

189

strange soun ds withi11, and paused on the
th resh old to listen . It was tl1 e voice of the
yonng lady, eng aged in a violent quarrel with
h er mothe r abo ut some article of dress. He
silen tly wi th drew, and sent li er a note, stati11g
what he had heard, and saying h e was sure
that a lady who would quarrel with h er
mother, could neve r make l1im happy. H e
m ade a fortunate escape .
·when we find our temper ge tting the better
of us, it ls a good plan to speak in n calm, de- ·
liberate manner, or to re frain entirely from
speaking . "A soft answer turncth aw:iy
wrath, but g rievous words stir up anger." If
we can not speak withont betrnyin g ill-lrnmor,
it is bes t to be sil ent. What we say will pro voke a l<ecn repl y, whi ch will onl y in crease
our irri tation. Th ere is dange r that comman d
of the temper will be C!llirely los t, and an ger
become furious. R efr ain fr om ~ p ea kin g, or
speak in calm and soothin g tones, and yo n
will a voicl much unh appiness. A Quak er is
repor ted to h ave said that h e could command
his tempe r by commanding his voice.
\Vh en any one end eavo rs to wound your
feel in gs, it is more especially necessary to be
on yo ur g uilrd. When you feel the wound,

191

LETTER S TO SCHOOL CllRL S .

TEM P ER.

th e first impulse is to m ake a resen tful answer.
I know it is difficult at such a time to keep
th e tongue still. Yon feel so much like refor ting, you Jiave something on your ton gue
that would cut so keenly, yon think it won .Id
clo you good to let it fly ; yon must--ah, no !
wai t till it is all over, and your pass ion cools,
::me! good-hum or return R, then you will rejoice
th at you did no t utter the ill-natmecl words.
A rJuarrolsome g irl will have th e last word ,
and it is as well to let her ha1·e it fir~t as las t.
She will be more mortified by you r silener,
th an by the mos t severe things you could
say.
If you lrn.vegiven way t o your temper, and
said improper things to oth ers, or about them,
y ou shonlcl prny to God to pard on your sin,
and implore his grn ce th at yon may be able
to avoid such things in fiitme. Yon should
also go to the wounded person, and apologize
for your misconduct. Some persons t hink it
degrading t o make apolog ies, but th e real
degradation consists in committing the offense.
'Vhen you were angry, and u sed lrnrsh nnrl
in sulting words, was th e l.ime you degraded
yourself in the sight of angels and of God.
But to apol ogize for such misconduct is mag-

nammons and h er oic. God, and an gels, and
all g ood men, will approve such conduct.
Can yo u not say, "Miss E - -, I kn ow I
wounded you the other d ay, when I was in an
ill humor. I am sorry-will you forg i1'e ?"
"My teacher, I spoke very harshly of yon after you reprimanded me. I was wrong-I will
endeavor to do better in future? " Blessed are
t.110se who act in this manner! God will g ive
them grace to overcome their ill-temper.
Yon mu st also cultivate a forg iving spirit
toward others. Christ teac hes us th at God
will not fo rg ive our offenses, unl ess we are
willing to forg ive oth ers : " Forgirn u s our
trespasses rrs we forg ive those who trespass
again st us." Can yo u say thi s 1rnrt of th e
Lord's prayer? N ot unless you are willing to
forg ive; otherwise, you 'vill pray th at you may
not be forgiven.
H ow terrible is it wh en ill-tem})(! r is so far
indul ged as to produ ce strife ancl 11 uarrels,
mali<:c and h atred! ·when our feelin gs become unforg iving and revengeful, th ey m ake
us like fiends, a nd p repare us to dw ell with
th em.
What a h appy thin g is it to have a g ood
temper! 'robe always ch eerful, always ready

190

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192

LETTE RS TO SCHOOL G IRL S·

SPOILED GIRLS.

to sm ile, must not onl y make the possessor of
snch fee lings happy, but must diffu se h nppiness wherever sl1 e goes. When your brow is
clondecl , and your heart is sad, if yon can
meet with such a person, a few cheerful , gooclhumored words, will drive away your sadness,
and restore the sunshine of hetter feelings.
Solomon says, "He that is of a merry countenance , hath a continual feast; but anger
restet.h in the bosom of fools."

LETTER XVIII.
SPOILED GiltLS.
'l'nERE is an unfortunate class of young persons called spoiled children, whom all persons
agree in censuring. But what is meant by
being spoilecl?
V cry young children arc
spoiled when they arc mde and bolcl, or sclfwilled and obstinate. 'l'hcy fret ancl pout nt
every obstacle to the gratification of their
wishes. If a lady comes to visit you, and
brings one of these spoilecl children along, you
must have an eye to your choice flowers ancl
fruit, for it will not keep its hands off of any
t.hing it can reach . Every thing in the room
will, perhaps, be turned upside down, and
you will wish, before night, that ladies would
leave spoiled children at home. I suppose
they behave no better at home, for it is the
i mpropcr indulgence of the parents which
spoils them.
When girls have been spoiled at home, they
are apt to carry many clisagreeable ways with

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194

LETTE!tS 'l' O SC H OOL GIHLS.

them to school. 'Th ey give trouble to the
teachers, and arc unpopuhir with their schoolmates. Having been accustomed to have their
own way, they submit unwillingly to the rnsLrnints of the school. They are selfish and
self-willed; in a word, they are spoiled children, and, therefore, unbcloved.
There are many ways in which girls at
school become spoiled. Affectation is one.
'l'his arises from vanity, or an inordinate desire to have the good opinion of others. Persons may unconsciously imitate the tones or
manner of some one whom they admire.
Young preachers, in this way, sometimes copy
tl1 e defects of their seniors. It is said that
when Dr. Bangs was presiding elder, all the
young preachers in his tlisLrict got into the
habit of carrying the head to one side, in imit:ition of the Doctor. They were, no doubt,
wholly unconscious of it. In like manner a
young lady hears J enny Lind, or some distinguished performer, sing, and endeavors,
perhaps without being aware of it, to imitate
her tones or manner. ·what was natural. to
the performer, is not natural to the young
lady, and her performance is ludicrous and
disagreeable. It is mere affectation, which

SPOILED OIHLS.

195

may show itself in the tones of voice in singing or conversation, in the manner of walking,
dressing, or moving the head or hand, or any
part of the body. You should certainly study
case and gracefulness of manner, but you
should. be perfectly natural, and not npc or
imitate any one else. Whatever is awkward
or di sagreeable in your manners, you should
correct. But there is a way of talking and of
moving which is natural to yourself. Any departure from this is affectation. Cowper only
expresses the common feeling of mankind,
when he says, "In my soul I loathe all affoctation."
Girls are spoiled when they indulge in sclfconccit, on account of their real or supposed
advantages. How often do you hear it said,
"Some one has tolcl :Miss - - she is handsome, and it has spoiled her. Did you notice
at th e party what pains she took to display her
set of fine teeth, or her lily- white hand, or
her beautiful eyes ? I acknowledge she has
some beauty, but to make such an effort to
display it, is quite disgusting !" Whatever
charms you may possess, you must be quilc
unconscious of their existence; or, at least,
you must have sufficient gravity of mind not

106

197

LETTER S TO SCHOOL GIRLS.

SPOILED GIRLS.

to show by your actions that you are conscious o( them. In other words, you must
not allow yourself to be spoiled by any such
thing.
Some girls become spoiled b ecause their
parents are rich. They feel so self-important
on account of it, that they act in a supercilious and scornful manner toward g irls, who are,
perhaps, their superiors in every ot.her r espect
than t.IJO possession of wealth. 1 do not mean
to say that the children of all th e ri ch are
spoiled. Many of them are delightfully unconscious of any advantage. 'l'hcy associate
as freely with a poor girl who is worthy of
their r egards, and love her as sincerely and
rmlcntly, as if she were rich.
School girls should associate on terms of
republican cr1uality. Aristocratic distinctions
will come, alas! too soon; but th ey sh ould
never be known during· school-days. 'J'hc
children of the rich should be kind and affectionate to the poor, for these are n oble traits;
and they will be so, unless rich es have spoiled
them.
Strange to say, g irls are sometimes spoi led
by education. That is, they get a smattering
of learning, and are puffed up in their own

estimation. D eep and thorough education is
not apt to b e ostentatious or pedant.ic. Those
who think themselves vastly wise and smart,
arc generally superficial.
"A little learning is n. <h.11 rrcrons thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Jlj crian sprin g.
Here shallow llranghts inLoxi ctttc t,he bmin;
llut drinking l:.trge1y sobers us ngnin.n

Wh en a g irl r eturns from school, imd rcfo scs to embritce cordially h er ohl associates,
bceau se she kuows a little more than they do,
it indicates a barl heart. It shows, at least,
that she is spoiled; ancl she will soon become
unpopular by assuming airs of superiority to
h er eq uals. It is well if she does not get
above h er business at home, too, and reftrne
to ass ist her mother in domestic affairs, because, forsooth, she has been at school, and
obtained a little smattering of grammar and
algebra.
In a word, to become va111 on account of
any advantages, real or imag inary, is to be
spoiled . A ll the world will condemn selfpraisc: "Let another prai se tl1 ec, a nd nnt
thine own lips." If you see a ri ch man p lai n
and nnaff<'ctcd in hi s m ann ers, you ndrnire
him Lhc more b ecause his ri ches have not

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199

I.ETTERS TO SCHOO!, CTiltT,S.

SPOILED GIRLS.

spoiled him. How clid all men admire aml
praise General Washington for his great military talents, and the benefits he conferred on
his country!
But if he had been weak
enough to be spoiled by this admiration, it
would have tarnished the glory of his achic,·cments. So far from any effect of this kind
being produced, General W asl1ingtou was
so modest that he never spoke of his own
actions.
Dr. Chnlmcrn was a great pulpit orator.
Admiring crowds attended his preaching, and
sat entranced under l1is eloquence. Bnt if
he had been puffed up by these flattering
nttentions, he would l1ave been spoiled, and
his usefulness would have been at an end.
To be capable of being spoiled, inclicatcs
If t.hc
some defect, mental or moral.
preacher were seeking only humnn admirntion, and his act.ions betrayed ·this feeling,
how would it lessen him in the estimation of
all his hcnrers ! If his soul be imbued with
the love of souls, and he preaches to glorify
Christ, then human praises will not spoil
him.
Young preachers are sometimes sadly
spoiled by the injudicious flatteries of their

friends. But it impairs their usefuln ess, till
t.hcy rise above it. If they have cloriucncc
or talent~, these arc gifts which God has bestowed for purposes of usefulness, not mere
ornaments, of which to be vain.
So if young ladies possess advantages of
wealth, beauty, or education, these arc divinely bestowed to enable them to be more
use ful. If they strut about, as the peacock,
in mlmiration of its fine feathers, they will
~how themselves unworthy of such gift.s.
lf
they remember how little they have used them
to God's glory, they will have more occasion
for humility than vanity. Whoever takes
proper views of things, will be modest and
diCTident-not self-conceited and vain. Solomon said, long since, "Sccst thou a man wise
in his own conceit? there is more hope of a
fool than of him."

200

TE ACH I NG.

LETTEHS T O SC HOOL CHHL S ,

LETTER XIX .
'l'EACHING.

A s many of you , I trnst, are receivin ct edu-•
•
>::>
eat1011, with I.he laudable design of beeomin •Y
teachers, I will subjoin two letters on the rnb~
j ec t of teaching . If you eng age in teaching ,
l hope you will be fond of the employment..
If we eng age in any pursuit wi th onl y lrnlf a
heart, we are discouraged by every little impedi ment ; but if we engage wi th earnestness
and enthusiasm, mountains will dwirnll e in to
molehill s, nncl success will crown onr effor t>i .
·w hen Napoleon wished to cross the Alps.
alth ough the dimcnlties Wt'rc nlmost i11s111"·
mountable, yet his heart was b enf; on th e
m atter, and h e would not hear that thorn was
a ny such word as impossible.
And is it not a delightfol occupation, to
wa tch the expanding intellect, assist its demi opmcnt, and strengthen its g rowth? Is the
chemist interested in making experiments
on simple and compound substances, arnl in

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studying their various a ffinities and endless
r.ombinations? Experiments on mind sh ould
surely be more interesting than those on matter. I s th e mineralogist interested whil e he
excava tes the earth, in search of the precious
ores, and separates the valuable metal from
the rubbish with which it is combined? The
teacher operates on a more precious material
th an gold or silver , which, when rightly polished, will outshine th e diamond tha t sparkles
in t.h e crown of royalty . '!'caching an uninteresting, degrading employment ! Surely ,
next to preaching the Gospel , which fits men
for their immor tal destinies , teaching is the
most noble, most interesting employment on
ear th.
With regard to the details of teacllin,q, rmd
the m odes of communicating knowl edge, th e
prac tice of teachers is various. Some make
the whole routine of education a mere exercise of memory. Rules ancl defini tions nrc
committed to memory, answers to printed
questions are also committed, and if th e pupil
can answer the question in the words of th e
book, the teacher t roubles himself no furth e r
about it. This is all wrong . The teacher
who understands his business, will ask many a

202

LETTERS TO SCHOOL GIRLS.

question not in the book. The pupil must be
taught to think-yea, compcllc<l to think-by
being thrown on his own resources. President Young, of Danville, Ky., says, "Man
is a lazy animal, an<l will not think un!css he .
is compelled." It is amusing to notice the
expedients to which children will sometim~s
resort to !woicl it. They will rely on their
class-mates, commit answers to memory, and
do almost any thing rather than think.
But they must be driven from all these subterfuges, and be taught to bend their own
minds to the subject. I will illustrate by an
example: Suppose a class in grammar t~ be
rarsing the following sentence: "The nver
their image receives," moaning the image of
the trees on its bank. "In what case," says
the teacher, "is the noun image?" Pupil.
"In the nominative case." "·Wrong," some
teachers would, perhaps, say, and pass the
wonl to the next, and the pupil who first
missed it would leave the class without understanding any thing about it. A teacher who
understood his business better, would not pass
it on, nor directly explain how to parse it,
but, by some such questions as the following,
would lead the pupil to think for himself:

TEACI!INC:.

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203

T. You say that the noun image is in
the nominative case ; to what is it nominative?
P. 'fo the verb receives.
T. 'l'he meaning, then, is, the image re ceives the river. Is that the way in which
you understand the sentence?
P. No, sir. 'fhe river receives the image.
T. In what case, then, is image?
P. In the objective case.
T. Why?
P. Because it is the object of the verb
receives.
In this way the pupil is taught to think;
an1l whole books committed to memory without, thought and reflection, arc but useless
lumber. Grammar is an excellent subject for
accomplishing this object, but it may be done
in any subject whatever. 'l'akc a specimen
from chemistry. W c will suppose heat to be
the subject of the lesson:
T. How is heat diffused through water?
P. 'l'hc fire must be applied to the bottom
of the vessel, and as the particles of water
!Jccomc heated they rise, and the cold particl es descend, till they come in contact with
the heated surface, and are heated.

204

TEACHING .

205

LET 'fE ltS 'l'O SC H OO L OIIU. S .

T. Why do the warm particles rise?
P. Because they arc expanded by the he:-it,
and made lighter.
T. l s water lighter when warm than
cold?
P. No, sir.
T . You say, as the particles arc heated
lhey become lighter aml rise ; th en, when th cv
all get h ot, will th ey not be lighter?
"
JJ crc is a difficulty whi ch they m;i.y not a!.
first be able to solve ; but, after ha Yi ng paid
some attention to the subject, they will an ~ w e r
that the particles arc not absolu tely lig hter,
bu t speci fi cally so ; th at is, lig hter in propor tion to their bulk. The g reat matter is, to
make them feel the difilculty . L ead them in to
an absurdity, if possible, or dri ve them into
some corner, from which they can not extricate themscl\' cs wi thou t some men tal exertion.
Thus you will rouse np the dormant energies
of the mind, and compel them to think. Then
yo n will h ave gained the fi rs t g reat step in cducalion. Children will themselves prefer thi s
plan, wh en they become accustomed to it.
Their curiosity will be excited, and t hey will
he all attention. 'l'hey must, indeed, be convinced th at the teacher's object is not to cm-

barrass or mortify th em, and they will soon
be cager to drink in the knowledge thus communicated.
Some difficult points in a subject mnst be
explained with great care, lest the class should
pass over without understanding them. It
will be easy to tell, by th eir countenance and
manner, wheth er they do really understand.
If not, the teach er must simplify and present
the subject in some different aspect, turning
it round in every variety of manner, till
they comprehend what is intended. "Every
teacher,'' says Mann, "should be i1osscsscd
of a faculty of .explanation, a tact in discerning
and solviug difficulties, not to be used too
often, fo r then it would supersede the effort it
should encourage; but when it is used, to be
quick and sure as a !.clcscope, bring ing distaut
obj ects near, and making obscure ones disti nct. ·whatever words a child docs not understand in his lesson, arc to him words in a
foreign lang uage, and they must be translated
into his own lang irnge, before h e can take any interest in them. But if they nrc left unnoticed or explained in words and phrnscs of
which he is ignorant, then, instead of delightful and instructive ideas, h e gets only empty

206

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LETTEltS '1'0 SC HOOL GIJtLS.

TEACIIINO.

wor<ls, mere sounds, atmospheric vibrations."
Dr. J"ohnson's celcbrate<l definition of "network, " might well m ake a child stare, but could
communicate no information.
He define s
"net-work, any thin g reticulated or <lecussated, with interstices between the intersections."
L et the subjec t be so simplified Ll1at th e words
and ideas can be easily compreh ended. Then
the plcasnrc it gives makes the eye $parkle,
and diffuses a glow of in telligence over the
coun tenance. "Mark a child when a clear,
well-defined, vivid conception seizes it. '.L'he
whole nervous tissue vibrates ; every muscle
leaps; every joint plays; the, face becomes
auroral; the spirit flash es through the body
like lightning through the cloud. 'fell a child
the simplest story which is adapted to his
presen t state of advancement, and, therefore,
intelligible, and he will forget sleep, leave foo d.
untasted, nor will he be enticed from h earing
it, though you should g ive him for play-things
shining fr agments broken off from the sun.
Inuccd, our Maker created u s in blank ignorance, for the very purpose of g iving us the
bournllcss, endless plcastuc of learning new
things."*

Who, th at has ever witnessed the h appiness
wl1ich children experience when they grasp
new and difficult ideas, will say that teaching
is an unpleasant business?
It was my good fortune, when a young man,
to have one of the best teach ers in the world,
Dr. Louis Marshall, of Woodford, Ky. His
plan was very much that already described. I
knew him on one occasion to sp end two or
three hours with a young man at a single
Greek won.l. 'fhc young man was, p erh aps,
r ather dull, bttt the Doctor would no l soh·e
the difficulty for him. He asked him questions pointing to the soluti on, which, after
hours of labor, the young man was at l ast able
to sec. The plearnre it gave 11im was a suffi cient compensation to th e Doctor for all his
toil.
If you h ave no sympathy wi th the diflldcnt
and the dull, you should n ever become a
teach er. Children, even when they und erstand their lessons, will sometimes fail at recitation through embarrassment. By kindn ess
and sy mpathy, the teacher may dissipate their
fears, and inspire them with confidence. Others are dull to comprehend, slow to pcrcei\·c.
The subject appears to them involved in utter

~]\faun's

Lectures.

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TEA C HING .

d :ukncss-th cy kn ow nothiug about it. er,
then, the teacher becomes impatient, and indulges in scolding, it will only increase their
embarrassment, and cause them to shed many
a bitter tear. They m ay, perhaps, become entirely discouraged, and give up education as.a
hopeless task. A little more patience and
kindnc ~~ in leading them on, and removing
their dilliculLics, might be atLcnded with very
different results. Finding- themselves c:i.pa ulc
of ornrcoming some difllcnltics, th ey would
be cncourngcd to attempt others, till th e dull
and hesilatii1g would become the intelligent
and well-educated. Ever y new exer tion of
th eir minds would stren gthen and develop
th eir fac ulties, till they might surpass Ll1 use
wh o were supposed lo be geniuses .
'l'hc teacher must, howe ver, find th e proper
medium between too much and too little as sistance. 'fhe child that is always carried in
the arms of the nurse, will never learn to
walk; bu t it would be cruel to withdraw as!:istnncc and prntection too ~oon . Let the
limbs be u sed while the nurse holds the 11 and,
and it will soon learn to go alon e.
When a teacher thus labors to improve h is
pupils, he will soon find Lhcm attachcu to him.

They will look upon him as a fri end, and, in
after years, will remember him with gratitude
and affection. How much better is such a
plan of teaching, than the old one of compelling children lo learn long ancl di01eult tasks,
of whi ch th ey understand nothing ! Good order and s trict discipline arc, indeed, imlispcnsablc in a school, but how much better Lo
secure them by kindness ami love, than by
scolclin g , :mcl s L1Jnui11g, :t1Hl bluws ! Th e olcl
faul o al.Jout Lhe eon tcs t between the sun and
the north-wiml, Lo make the man lay aside his
cloak, will well illnsLrnlc th ese different methods of government. 'l.'hc more the wind raged
the more eloscly Lho man drew his cluak abo ut
him; but th o gentle beams of the sun soon
111ad.e him tl1row it open, aud clrop it fr om hi s
:3h oulcl ers. Gain the heart of the pupi l, nn<l
make him fee l that yotL arc his fri end, and he
will. go with you with deligh t lo drink the
fountains of knowledge . The school-days of
children sh ould be joyous ancl h appy-not
foll of sig hin g and tears. All th e studi es
they pursue must afford them ple;1suro if tln:y
call once understand them . As they aJvm1ce
fr om one science to ano ther, a nd the field
of kn owledge expands and brightens before

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TEACIIINU.

them, their happiness will increase almost to

niluable religious instrnction . Eutlcavor to
have your own heart imbued ·with the Spirit
of Christ, and Ii ve in the exercise of prayer,
and love, aml kindly affections. 'fhen will
your pupils take knowledge of you that you
have been with Christ, and will go with you
to the fountain of mercy. Miss Lyon's heavenly-mindedness was the great secret of her
success in doing good. If she was instrumental in the conversion of more young
ladios than other teachers, it was because she
lived more with Christ. I trust you will reatl
her life, and imitate her example.

210

ecstasy.
Some few will, of course, be found, who arc
so idle, so perverse, so full of mischief, that
they can never be inspired with a taste f~r
books. 'fhc parents, in the first place, sp01l
them at home, by improper management antl
indulgence; and when they can no long~r
control them, they send them to :;c;hool to av01d
perplexing labor. After exhausting l1is patience, the teacher has to send thom home
again, because he can tlo nothing with the~.
If you become a teacher, I trust you will
feel it to be your duty to give moral and religious instruction, as well as to train the intellect. You should care for the souls of yom
pupils, and pray with aml for them. Entlcavor to lead them to Christ, that they may
become the lambs of his flock . Where there
arc so many sectarian opinions, to give religious instruction, and yet give offense to no
one, is a matter of some diffic1ilty. But the
Protestant denominations arc generally agreed
in the fundamental principles of the Bible,
and Christian charity and forbearance arc
happily increasing among them. You may
avoid sectarian i1cculiaritics, and still gi vc much

I

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212

LETTJ, lt S TO SC H OOL G IJ\L S.

TE ACH I NG.

LETTER XX.
'rEACJIING.

I DESIRE in thi s letter to present you some
inducements to engage in teaching. It m:1y
not be the duty of every educated young lady
to teach, but it would cer tainl y be a great advantage to every one to teach two or three
years afLer completiug her education.
H
~vould enable you t.o review yo ur studies, antl
to become thorough in your knowledge . BLtt
you may tlo good by teaching, and this should
be the g reat inducement. Teachers arc much
needed in all t.hi s western country, and a large
prupo rLi on of Lh usc a ctually cmployetl are ig ··
nornnt and unqualified. Miss Beecher s ay ~,
several thousand teachers arc needed fo r Ohio
and Kentucky alone . ·\¥hat a field is here before yon! Our fr ee institutions crin only be
preserv ed. by th e diffusion of intelligence :md
vir tue. No one, except the minister of U1 1~
Gospel, can do so much to bless and save the
country as the teacher of youth .

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213

Those employments which lead to profit or
How
honor, :ire crowded to overHowing.
man y physicians do our medical schools turn
ou t every year! How do lawyers swarm like
locusts in every county seat ! Surely, h alf of
them must starve! But it is the road to 11onor.
Thoy hope to be some day appointed jud ge,
or to go to Congress, or, perhaps, to be President of the United States. Th en they will be
rewarded for struggling with present difficul ties . These are often dreams of fancy, castles
in thP. air, never to be realized. In the estimation of men of sense, half the professional
men in the country would be more respectable
as induRtrions mech ::i.nics, or tc::i.chers in our
public schools.
I believe the business of teaching is quite
as ngrccablc as any other. Sec the pl1ysician,
drnggcd from his bed ::i.t midnight, to go ont
rimidst the cold blasts of winter to visit hi s
patients! H e must hear the g roans and witness the suffer ings of the sick ::i.nd dying.
'what anxiety of mind must h e suffer, wh en
li fe or death may depend on his prescrip tion!
What clanger of misunderstanding the disease
and g i\'ing improper remedies !
Bnt is the law nny better? T he lawyer

214

215

LF.TTERS TO SCTIOOJ, GiliLS.

TEACHING.

must have constant intercourse with the worst,
th e most unprincipled part of mankind. Litigations, quanels, endless strifes, and horrid
crimes, must occupy his attention. AJI that
is fiend-like and degrading in human nature
must come under his review . He secs so
many villains, and hears so much false testimony and pe1jury, that his soul sickens, :md.
he is ready to conclude that there is not an
honest man on earth. Who would covet such
an employment! But what will not man en·
durc to make money and be accounted respectable?
Behold, then, the merchant! Hear him
complain of hard times, small profits, bad
debts, scanty :ales, and penuri ous customers,
wl10 would Jew him down in lLe price of an
article worth six cents, and you will agree tlrn.t
cnlting ta11e is not the most pleasant business
in the world .
ShaJI I be thought absurd if I say that
teaching is a more agreeable business than any
of these? It has its vexations and troubles,
it is true, but there are many agreeable circumstances to overbalance them. 'l'he teacher
associates with young and agreeable persons,
full of life and cheerfulness. Who, that pre-

tends to h:we a heart, does not love children?
But I must quote the eloquent langu age of
Horace Mann: "'fhat bright-haired boy, how
came he as full of music and poetry as a singing-book? What an A!;olian harp the wind
finds in him! Nor music alone docs it awaken
in his bosom, for let but its fcatl1Cry touch
play upon his locks, or fan his cheek, arnl
gravitation Jets him go. He floats and sails
away as though his body were a feather, and
his soul the zephyr that played with it! These
delights are born of the exquisi te workmanship of the Creator, and they flow out spontaneously, like a bird's song, or a flower's
beauty. vVho ever saw a wretch so heathenish, so dead, that the merry song or shout of a
group of gleeful children did not galvanize
the misanthrnpc into an exclamation of joy?
vVhat orator OJ' poet has eloquence th:it en tcrs
t.lic soul with such quick, subtilc electricity, as
a child' s tear of pity for suffering, or his frown
of imlignation at wrong? You perceive, .my
fri cncls, that in speaking of the loveliness of
chil<lrcn, I have used none but masculine JJronouns-for by what glow and melocly of
i:;p cech can I sketch the vision of a young and
beautiful daughter, with rill her bewildering

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l.ET'l'ERS TO SC HOOL C1 IRL S.

enchantments'! ·what, less than Divine power, could have strnug the Ii ving cords of her
,-oicc, to pour out unbidden and exulting liarmonics? What fount of sacred flame kindles
and feeds the light that gleams from the pure
depth s of her eye, and flush es her ch eek with
the hues of perpetual morning , and shoots
n.urorns from her beaming forehead? 0, profane not the las t miracle of heavenly workmanship wii,h sig ht or sound. of earU1l y impu rity! Keep vm;tal vig ils rou1Hl her inborn
modesty , and let the <1uickest lig htnings blast
her tempter."
These arc, indeed, glowing descriptions, and
I fear not applicable to many children, unless
while very young. When they enl.c r their
teens, th ey often contract ru<le and di sagreeable habi ts, which des troy much of their loveliness, and. eclipse the aurora of !.heir countcnauccs . But when th e intellect begins to
develop, it presents an interest and a charm
of a higher kind. .
The teacher has an opportunity of impro1,ing
his own mind. Six hours a day arc enough
to spend in the school-room, and these should.
be pleasant hours. The remainder of his time
he nrny dispose of at pleasure. He can surely

TEACHING.

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217

find several hours each day for reading. He
may extend his knowledge of science, or rencl
the history of ancient or modem tim es . Ile
may stud y algebra, chemistry, or botany;
may gratify his cmiosity wi th th e magnifi cent
study of astronomy, or with geology, scarce ly
less mag nificent. H appy will be the hours
Rpent in such pursuits.
'.l.'o whatever department of science he turn R
l1is atte1;l.ion--whel.hcr he studies the vasl.
worlds broug ht to lig ht by the telescope, ur
th e diminutive existences revealed by the
microscope, he will have constant occn.Rion to
exclaim, in the words of Scripture, " Great and
m n.rrelous ni·e thy works, Lord Goel J\.lllligl1ty." The acqui RiLion of knowledge iR a
conLinnal source of c11joyment. Th e thirsty
son! drinks it in, and finds it refreshing as t he
cooling water-brook in a weary land.
This is an advantage which tc::iching possesses over alm ost every other pursui t. ·when
a man engaged in any thing else sits down to
read, he can not enjoy it, for he fct~l s that lie
is neg lecting hi s busin ess. Butreading is the
teacher's bnsiness. Ifo t.hus acrptircs infornrnti on which will lit e better qualify him to
Lench . Uc is preparin g fo od for Lhc yonng

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LETTER S TO SCHOOL GIRLS.

TEACHING.

minds committed to his charge. He h as the
double pleasure of first acquiring and then
communicating; not like the p arent-bird,
which stints itself to have the pleasure of
carrying the precious morsel to its yo ung-his
h aving eaten only prepares him the better to
feed.
Agnin: th e teach er h as vacations, neeclful
both fo r him self and pupils, in which he can
visit his fri ends, relax his mind, improve hi s
he:d th, trave l to distant countries, and increase
hi s stock of knowledge. What other occupation has so many advantages, so many sources
of pleasure? Shall I not induce some of my
readers to engage in this delightful employment?
I lmow it is objected that teachers arc badly
paid; ancl there is some foundation for the ob ·
j1:cl:ion. '.rllflt persons who amuse the world
~ h o nhl be better paid than those who labor to
do it good, is a sad proof of man's dqwavity.
A European dancer-Celeste-it is said, received ten thousand dollars in a year in this
country, ancl Fanny Ellsler sixty thousancl in
three months, and J"enny Lind ten thousand in
a ~i n g l c night, while a minister of the Gospel
cn n scarcely get five hundred dollars a year,

thongh he toils incessantly fo1: thr. good of
souls; and a lady who teaches thinks she does
well if she gets two or three hundred. But
as education is more appreciated, teachers will
be better paid; and even if the pecuniary
compensation is small, the consciousness of
doing good is a g reat reward.
But others think the employment not suffi ciently respectable. I know t he sch oolm aster
has too often been made the butt of ridicule.
"Shenstone mctkes him sol f marry with the
toils, privations, aml homely manners of 11.
school-dame. Goldsmith describes a schoolmaster as an arbitrary, tyrannical, and stormfaced brute. Cowper, in his earnest appeal in
behalf of a private tutor, says,
'Doom him not t o solitary meals,
nut recollect that he hltS sense, and feels, ' etc.

Sir 'Valter Scott gathers all ungainliness
of person, awkwardness of manners, and
slovenliness of dress, in to one person; makes
him horrid with superstition and pedantry,
rmd names the pedagogue Domine Sampson. He says of Dr. A dam, the learned
author of 'Roman Antiquities,' that h e wns
deeply imbued with that forfonale 1ranily
whicl1 alone could induce a man l.o submit.

221)

TEACHING.

J,ET'l'IHtS TO SC HOOL G IRLfL

to the toilsome task of cultivating you th .
vVashington Irving, th ough deser vi ng prni se
for his valuable contribu tions to polite literntnre, h as more than canceled the debt by the
injmy done to the cau se of education, in the
person of Ichabod Crane."¥:
Surely, th ese m en must have fa ll en in to b ad
h ands in th e <l ays of their boyh ood, or th ey
would h ave had more r espect for a teach er
I.km to make him a subj ect of ridi cule, or to
supp ose tlrnt vanity was one of his best qnr.di fi ca tions. I am glad to be able to place in
contrast with th ese qu otations, the opin ion of
Lord B rough am, wi th regard to Dr. Black ,
one of hi s teachers. Wh en a yo un g man, h e
:1IJcmlcd, at Eclinhmg, the lectures of Dr.
nlack on ch emi stry; an<l he says, th at thoug h
he afterward hca nl Pitt, and Fox, and Plu nkd i., nntl nll the g reat Bri tish orators, yet he
never h eard nny thing that, for pure intellectu al qualification, e'lu:tled the adm irable lectu res of this teach er of his youth. B11 t ta ke
hi R ow n words: "The ren.dcr, who h as known
the pl eas ure of sc ien ce, wi ll forg ive me if, a t
th e distance of h alf a cen tury, I !01·e to linge r
"Mn.nu's

I,c ctur~s.

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221

over these recollections, and to dwell on the
delig ht which, I well remember, thrilled me,
as we h eard th is illustri ous sage detail, afte r
th e m anner I h ave feeb ly endeavore d to portray, the steps by which he made l1is discov eries, illustrating th em with anecdotes, sometimes recalled to his mind by the passages of
the moment, and g iving th eir d emonstration
by performing before u s the many experiments which had r evealed to him first the
most important, secrets of nature. I 11 ave
11 eard th e greatest understandings of the age,
g iving forth their efforts in its most eloq uent
to ng ues-luwc h eard th e command ing periods
of P itt's majestic oratory- th e veh cmc: ncc of
Fox's burning declamation-have fo llowed the
close, compacted ch ain of Grant's pure reasoning-been carried away by th e mingled Can ey,
epigram, aml argumentation of Pl1111kett ; but
I should, witho u t h esitation, prefer, for mere
intellectual gratification- though aware h ow
much of it is derived from associati on-to be
once more allowed th e privil ege which I in
those days enjoyed, of being present wl1ile
the Jirst philosopher of hi s age was the l1i sl.orian of his own discoveries, and be an eye witness of those experiments by which h e h ad

"
222

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LETTERS TO SCHOOL GIRLS.

TEACIIINO.

formerly made them, once more performed
with his own hands. The qualities which
dis tinguished him as an inquirer and a
teach er, followed him into all the ordinary
affairs of life. The soundness of his judgment in all matters, whether of literature or
of a more ordinary description, was described
by Adam Smith, who said he had less nonsense in his h ead than any man living ." ·1<
'l'eaching not respectable ! ·what think you
of Dr. Dwight, Professor Silliman, Dr. Wayland, and such men, whose names would be
an honor to any country?
What would
Walter Scott, the novel-writer, weigh if put
into the scales against such men? And yet
li e thinks vanity a fortunate qualification for a
teach er! What is th ere in icachiBg tli r1.t can
degrade any man, or detract from his foir
stantliug? I gnomut and nn(pi::tlificd teachers
l1ave, no doubt, brought some reproach on the
profession. l3ut if one Franklin could dignify
the business of printing, we trnst that hosts
of well-qualified teachers will arise to elevate
their profession. Such teachers arc now, in
fact, respected. Who thinks the less of Miss

Beecher for having spent fifteen years of her
life in teaching? Ladies who have engaged
in teaching, have not, so far as I am apprised,
been the less respected on that account. I
trnst that many young ladies who are now receiving a thorough education, will engage in
teaching. The daughter of a lord could not
find better employment. Good teachers are
greatly needed. Children are growing up in
ignorance and vice, to be, perhaps, a scourge
to their country. You may infuse into them
a love of knowledge, and prepare them for a
better destiny. Your country demands your
services. Instead of folding your arms in inglorious ease, go out into the fields now
whitening for the harvest. Go where Provid~ncc may point the way. 'rhough in nn ob ··
DC Ure neighborhood, and with a small salary,
you will gain experience and win a reputation that will prepare you for a more inviting
situation.
'rhe opinion of the world as to whrit constitutes true respectability and honor is rapidly
changing. Deeds of arms, and strife, and
bloodshed, were formerly the best title to
honor. He who could kill the greatest number of mankind, was considered as best en-

':' llrougham's Lires of Jlicn of Science, etc., pngo 203.

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224

J, E TTEltS TO SC HOOL GIRLS.

titled to fame. But agricultural and mecl1 anical pursuits arc now rising into respectability.
The peaceful and the useful arc beginning to
ta ke precedence over the warlike and destrncti\·e. This will incrc ftse, for God's word
declares, "Th ey shall beat their swords into
plowslrnres, and their spears into pruning hooks." 'rhe time may even come when the
sdwolinastc1· may be h eld in as lJigh estinrntion as the military chieftain.
·w ho can road such a work as Napoleon and
his Marshals, without h aving his heart sick
of war? After thousands and millions had
been slain, how much better was the world
rendered? If the same genius and wealth
h ad been employed in establishing schools and
diffusing knowledge, wl1at might not h ave been
done to ameliorate the condiUon of man kind?
·Many of Napoleon's marshals appear to h ave
had no qu alifications for other pursuits. \Vheu
"11 ild war had blown its deadly blast," and
they were called to the helm of government,
or appointed to civil office s, they proved to be
totall y incompetent to the task. They ocemed
to be tit only to be the butchers of the hnm::m
race. If this be honor I covet it not. On
the oth er hand, who can read Brougham's

TEACHING.

225

lives of such men as Robertson, Watt, Black,
and Dany, without feeling that literary and
scientific pursuits are prefernble to all the
strife of war and the renown of arms? H e
who makes discoveries in science, and benefits
mankind, really deserves more honor than he
who slaughters millions.
15

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l · E T T E RS 1' 0 S C JI 0 UL U llt I, S •

~·A

LETTER XXI.
VALED ICTOR Y.

l rnAit too many yo ung ladies go throug h a
course of education without th oroughl y under~tandin g wliat they study.
'!'heir object seems
to be merely to get through. If they can
escape nny great Llnmlers at recitations and
examin ations, they have accomplished all they
desire. As to rev iewing a book after Lhc examination, or making any efforts to fix its
contents permanently in the mind, very few, I
fear, think of such a Lhing. An<l have nny of
you so little taste for intellectual p ursuits, thnt
your whole obj ect is merely tu geL a diploma,
and tu be able to say you h rwc fini shed yo ur
ed ucation'! Are yo u tu forget every Lhiu~
about chem istry, natural history, botnny, me ntal and moral science, and other subj ec ts, a:,;
soon as yott leave sehuol '! .lf this be so, I
fear we har e J,1Lored almost in vain Lo impart
to yo n some knowl edge of these subj ec ts .
·what you can learn of any of these lhi11gs

\

J,J•; lJ IC 1' 0 It Y.

22 7

at sehool is very Ii tlle; and if that little is to
be thrown away as soon as school-days arc
over, it would have been about as well never
to have commenced. If there be in your soul
any spark of that intelligence which is one of
the noblest g ifts of God to man, you should
be delighted with your studies as you go
throug h a course of education . If you haYe
a n aversion to books, miserable will be your
drudgery. 'l'he slave who toils for a master,
but who goes cheerfully to his work, h as a
happy li fe compared to yours. 'l'o be compelled by parents and teachers to study subj ects fo r which you have no taste, must be
dreadful slavery. I sincerely pity you, if you
arc all the time saying to yourself, "0, that
my school-days were over, that I might h ave
nothing to do but read novels!"
But I ask pardon, young ladies-surely, I
do you wrong in supposing that th ere may be
even one such amuug you. Your eonntc11 ances indicate too much intelligence, and
your success in study has been too great, t.o
all ow me to suppose that you lu:we no love o r
books .
'.Yhat I d esire, h o11-ever, is, that you should
he actuated, uot merely by a moderate and

228

LETTEILS T U SC H OO L GIHLS.

VAL};DICTORY .

common interest in your studies, but by an
ardent an d devoted love. If you thirst for
knowledge, and desire to drink at its fountains,
refreshing will be its draughts to your soul.
Yon will feel that the time allotted for each
study is too short-you can not know as much
about it as you desire. You will resolve tha t
when school-days arc over, you will gratify
your excited curiosity in reading other books,
and diving more deeply into all the mysteries
of science.
Trusting th at you may be actuated by such
feelings as t.hcsc, I desire, at the close of this
work, to give you a few words of advice,
lest, in the course of events, we might not
meet again.
I would, therefore, urge npon those who
are about to grmluatc, as well as others that
may not grnduatc, occasionally to review their
studies, and not forget what they have learned.
You will foci a peculiar interest in reading
over your school-books, a year or two aft.er
you leave school. your mind will be then
more mat ured, and you will perceive that,
while at school, you understood the subj ects
very imperfectly. This would be true even
of the most finished scholars. For with al l

the studying you can do, and all the explanations afforded, you can not now perfectly
understand the subjects . In two or three
years you would see them in quite a different
li (l"ht and stnd3r them with increased interest.
"' '
Whatever
is worth learning, is worth remembering . It is said that Miss Elizabeth Cart.er,
who understood L atin, Greek, Hebrew, and
several other languages, continued through
li fe to read a liltle every day in each lang uage,
that she migh t not forget them. If yo u ha ve
studied French , read a few verses every day
in a F rench Bible, and you will not forget it.
Analyze a few pl ants every summer, and you
will not fo rrret your botany. Read occasion"'
.
.
ally some work on chem istry, natural plnlosophy, astronomy, and other St'.bj ects, and. in
ten years, if you live, you will be well mfo rm ed on all these subj ects. Instead of fo rgetting what you learned at school, you will
lrnve atlded much to your stock. How much
better to employ your leisure moments in such
a way, than in reading novels, from which you
could crain no valuable information on any
subject"' whatever !
As a means of retaining your knowledge I
advise you, in the next place, to form the

)

229

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230

I. ETTERS T O SC HO OL GIRL S .

h abit of noticing such things as illus trnte th e
s nbj ects yo u l1 a vc studi ed. If at any t ime
you travel through the co un try, yon can
nof.i ce th e r ocks an d th e fos sils which th ey
contain, as illustrations of your geology.
·when you see

231

of a :fl y, you will not onl y 11 avc an illustration of your n atural h istory, but al. o of your
n atural th eology ; for in every part of cr eati on
yo u will see evidences of contrivance and de sign.

" The village windol\'s blnze,
Ilurni shed by tho setting snn,"

yon will not.ice the direction of the sun , ancl
yo nr own position, :mtl perceive that the
a ng les of in cidence a nd reflection arc cr1ua l.
This will be an illustrati on of yo ur na tural
philosoph y . Whenever you look at th e brass
kn obs of your andirons, or open your watch
f.o wind it, a nd on a diminished r efl ection o f
yo nr own fn ce, oth er laws of op ti cs will rec ur
f.o yo nr mind. \Vhcn your shoes arc cla mp,
nnd yo ur fo e t become cold, you will r cmemhPr
t.h at, as th e dampness evaporates, it acqui res
g reater capacity fo r calori c, absorbs and carries off th e h eat, and, therefore, leaves yonr
feet cold. This bcaut.iful law, which yon
learn in your ch emistry, is also illu straterl,
wh en yon mois ten the feverish brow of yo ur
sick fri end, and the evaporation produ ces th e
sensation of refreshing coolness.
ln examining th e eyes of a gnat., or th e foot

VALEDICTOltY ·

I

If in this way you are interested in your
studies, and keep your eyes open as yon go
throu gh the world, you will m eet with innumern.ble illustrations of the principles of
science. Yo u will thus seem to be in troduced
in to n n ew world. Every obj ect will a fford
an in terest, a nd be a source of p leasure entirely unknow n to an un cuuc at.cd per son. H
is thus that education becomes :i m ean s of increasing , yea, of d oublin g onr enj oyments.
Le t me allvisc you, in the next place, n ot
lo b e novel-reader s. Th orn m ay be some
good 11ovel~-somc of moral tendency- some
t.h a t it mi g h t be interest.ing , a11d even profi tab le to read; but th ey arc so few, compared.
wit.It the great mass of wor thless, licentious,
and wicked ones, th at it is h aziirdous to a
yo un g person to b ecome a novel-rcaucr. . I
lat.ely read some very jus t r eflect.ions on tins
subj ec t in Madame de Saussure's "Life of
Woman ."
She thinks that the love-talcs
which n.rc always intenvovrn wit.Ji novcb,

232

LETTERS TO SCJIOOJ, GIRLS.

constituting tlieir chief attraction to young
persons, arc, in reality, the chief objection to
them.
To read, and think, and talk much
about love, she thinks dangerous to young
girls. 'fheir feelings are so easily excited,
and they are so apt to be carried away into
improper feelings, that a devoted novel-reader
can hardly be a pure-minded young lady.
And, moreover, how ludicrous a part do such
girls often act, when they imagine themselves
in love, and desire to act the part of the heroine of some novel !
But, after all, the views of love and connubial happiness given in novels, are false and
exaggerated. 'fhe poor girl who reads them
and dreams of happiness, is only preparing to
plunge herself into misery. Instead of the
bowers of bliss and earthly paradise described
in novels, she finds, after marriage, that the
every-day occurrences of life are plain, sober
realities. She is terribly distressed, and weeps
till her heart is ready to break, because she
can not live on love, and enjoy a perpe tual
honeymoon.
Let history, biography, and travels, take
the pince of novels, and you will soon find
them <]Hite as interesting, and a thousand tim es

VALEDICTOR Y.

l

23~

more profitable. Yea, aim still higher; review
your school-books, and read other works on
the same subjects. Become fond of scientific
studies, and you will not again feel like descending to the puerilities of novels.
I should be sorry to deliver a diploma to
any young lady, if I supposed that as soon as
she received it all the subjects she had studied
at school would be thrown aside, and she would
become a mere novel-reader! I should consider a seminary disgraced by h aving the
n ame of such a lady on its catalogue. No,
ladies ; when you receive a diploma, you
should look upon yourselves as introduced
into the republic of letters. 'fo be "Mistress
of Arts and Sciences;" is a title, when descl'\'ed, more honorable than that of countess,
or marchioness, or queen, without education.
I would not have you to study these things
for the sake of display-merely to show off
your learning in company. No; I wish you
to study science as a source of happiness and
usefuln ess . Nor would I have you satisfied
with merely knowing what books say about
them. I desire you to become cn:unored of
the subjects, and to study them for their own
sake. In all the sciences we read th e great

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235

LETTERS 'l'O SCHOOL GIRLS.

V ALEDI CTO itY .

volume of God's works, every part of which
is foll of wisdom, and beauty, and glorious
lig ht. "Grea t and marvelous are his works."
In th e next place, let me urge you to make
yo urselves u seful to the world, during the
bri ef existence which Goel has allotted yon
h ere below. Do not aim at gaining t he ap ··
pl ausc of the world. 'J.'he breath of l1111nan
renown soon dies away, and is not worth seeking . But there arc many ways in which yo n
may do good to your neighbors, in a silent,
unobtrnsive manner , as the gentl y-fl owing
brook fe rtilizes the vale, while it excites bnt
littl e notice. You may teach a Sunday sch ool
class, and train up some young minds for im mortal ity; yo u may visit the sick, reli ovo th n
poo r, and com furt the afflicted; you may teach
an ordi1rnry school, if located wh ere such a
f:c hoo l is uccded . Some would be willing to
teach in a seminary, who would not teach
cl sew11 erc-so strangely do most persons beli eve that their respectability depends on their
empl oyment!
H ence th e crowds of ofl1cc hnn tc rs, who think that if they coukl get an
oflice, they would no t only make a living , bnt.
be very respectable gentlemen . ·what a te rrible~ stri fe have we every fonr years for the

Presidency of the United States, which is considered the most respec table civil officr, on
earth! And. yet who respec ts J ohn Tyler,
although h e was President? A nd who does
not respect Dr. Franklin, though h e was never
President, but only a printer? The r espectability of man or woman depends, or should.
depend, not on their office, or accidental circumstances, bnt on their own intrinsic merits
and good. qualities , and, above all, on th eir
HSe fuln css. ·was H annah More less respected
or beloved for teaching hun<lreds of poor
children in the country? Would a vain, selfconccited, sh allow-brained woman, be any
more respected, though she were wife of the
President? And yet I know there arc wouldhc aristocrats in the world, who turn up th eir
110scs and scoff at teachers as a degraded class
of society .
I trus t that snch feelings will never find a
pince in the breasts of any young ladi es cd.ucatccl in this free country, and that you will
not be deterred from endeavoring to be useful, by the pitiful sneers of any snch pitiful
persons.
I think it would be a great ad.vantage to
cycry young lady to teach a year or two after

a;s W

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Wt

JG

VALEDICTORY.

23G

LETTERS TO SCHOOL niltLS.

leaving school, if it were only to review her
studies, and become more thoroughly acqu ainted with them.
And if Providence should ever open your
way to go into heathen lands, and teach idolaters to worship the living God, I trust yon
would not shrink fr om th e path of duty, h owever difficult or dangerous. But remember
you may be useful at home-n se fnl in the
country-useful in a very lmmble, private
sphere.
You need not, therefore, sig h for distant
and difficult fields, bttt thrust in your sickle
and reap the harvest that is at your door.
The reapers who are actuated by the love of
God, and a dosiro to promolo his glory, sh all
all mee t at last, bringing their sheaves with
them, and shout the harvest home.
Finally, young ladies, if, after we now separate, we should never meet again in this
world, let us endeavor to be ready to meet in
heaYen. Let us not devote our lives to sin
and sinlul pleasures, but let us trust in anrl
serve that Redeemer who died for sinners, and
who is willing to save every sinner that trusteth in him. Self must be denied, and sin resisted; crosses must be borne, and troubles

237

and sorrows experienced; but he will at last
wipe away all tears, and bestow a crown of
life that fadeth not away.

APPENDIX.
FEMALE

EDUCATION.

The foll owing address wns rc:.\ tl before th e Con ve ntion of l"c·

male T eachers, assemble U in Columbus, 0. 1 Dec. 28, 1852.

TnAT the course of studies for boys nnd g irls
shou ld be substantially t he same, is a propositi on
whi ch is gainin g g round in public esti mation e,·cry
year. Take up t he catnloguo of nny fomnlo se111i 11ary, nn1l you will fi11d a much morn C'Xt.,11• iv c li st
of studi es than wns pmsnetl a few years ngo, in the
best inst it ut ions of thi s kintl. Not only is the 1n1m ber of stu dies increased, but the tcx t·boo ks arc of a
more sc ientifi c chnrncter thnn those formerly nsed .
Female intell ect is more nnd more apprecintctl, as
female c1luc ation is more gencrnlly diffu sed . SC\'·

cral semin aries hav e as'3 nm c<l tl1c 1n1rnc of "Female

College•,'' nn<l diplomas are generally g ive n, nftnr n
p resc ribed course of stndy has been pursued. Still
it is not gencrnlly agrcccl what shall be f.he extent of
I he co urse, or what shall he the t itles conferred with
the diplomns. To procme so me nniformit.y in these
respects, is t.11e chi ef objec t of thi s couYe11 tion.
Th ere is 11111c h g renter uniformity in th e college
comse fur boys, than for girls, tho11 g h e\•e11 tlwrc we
find some diversity. The proprict.y of an exte ns ive
co m sc of Latin and Greek , and t he hi g her nmtlte·
matics, h ns long been n suhjcct of diRcu ss iou.
23f.l

240

APl'ENIJIX.

Thom a<.; S. Orimke, in his a ddrcssc ~ , Ho me ycn ri;
at, Oxford m11l Ci11 r. in 11af i , c1 uil r~ 11rlr 1 d U1at f.1 1r.

a ~r, ,

d r::1 d la11 g- 11 : 1 gr ·~i i:: 111J11ld Jir ~ lilol.t<!d ouf; of a co ll r·g-n
Br: 1~ c !J 1~ r,

an d ql.J1,.: r'1 , vindi caf.l!d Ut<!
tlii '{ 1h._y UH: p11l 1li f! 111i11rl iHdi vid"d
'"' tlic H•il d1:r;I,. \J,,·; I. of I li e c11 ll cg<:~ re•juirn :111 cxl.c11sivc cn•JrsC of la11g ttagcs, but n few leave it op·
t io11 al w ith th e stu<k 11t whether lo stud y them or
n ot. l'crhaps a middle co urse would be better \ha11
either extreme. Som e knowled ge of these l a n g ua ge~
is ccrtai11ly cl csirable; bu t too mu ch t im e is tt su::illy
d evoted lo t hem, and th e whole coll ege conrsc co11s11mes too g reat n proportio n of a man's life.
\Ve arc so mu ch U1e creatures of habit, t hat w l1 c11
a stutlent has been cloi stered seven or e igh t years,
t he habi ts necessary for stt cccss in active li fe, will be
acquired with difficulty. The course sh ould be s nflicicntly cxt.ensivc to train and invigorate I.he mind ,
but not so l ong as lo sh ackl e t h e student wi t h liahi ts
which must always impede hi s progress. Th e fr ee ·
dom nnd \'i gor w it.h whi ch self-made men move and
ac t,, h ave led some persons to dou bt, whether a col ·
)cge course be not a real di sadvantage l o a young
man. Several of the I ,nt i11 an cl Greek books, anti
p erh aps so me parts of the high er mat hematics, mi gh t
he spared wi t.It advnntagc. A yo un g man will d c\'o\c five or six yenrR to J, atin ancl OH'ck , am! go
h ome ignorant of phyRiol ogy, bo tany, and nat ural
histo ry , which sh ould certainly he ta ught to every
<;q 11rs1J.

fJ r.

l :u 1 ~ •1:i w~ "·: ; J,11 1, f1,

young perso n.
T o read Cresar, Virgil, Sallu st, Cicero's Orations,
t he Greek T es tam ent, and one or tw o Greek authors,

, FEMALE EDUCATION.

'.Ml

wou hl g ir l' n :.-u tlit-il'l\\, k11PWlt'd ~~t~ of tht'"-l' lu11
gun~t'~. 'l'lH'.Y ronlt1 tlwn th'\'OtP llWl'1' tinw tn th 1•
nat.11r:tl i::.dP 11 cu~ wit.h 1nn111ft· ~ t . nd\'nut. 11,~1· .
'l'h••
ht1\l\\'\1•t1 g11 of 1 1 uq~ 11:l ~ (i' 'l l1 Pl'P iluli1'1ll1'1l, Pr rn11 •d. nt'

ii., 111i µ; hl, 111• ae•(ltin•1l in 1.hal. p1•ri111l <1f lif<1 whidt i"
now wasted, 1111<1 so metim es worso lhan wn sl!'d .
Children arc oft.en rcq11irctl 1,o sht\ly ditli c11lt s 11!. jcc ts before their mi111l s arc sufliciently d eveloped
lo understand them. Miss Mary Lyon, in h er celebrated school at Mt. Holyoke , Mnss., r equired the
pupils to be sixteen years old when they entered .
l'crlrnps fo urteen or fifteen would be early enough to
comm ence tliffi cult studies. Children mi ght learn
to rend , spell , and write, nntl st11cly some geograph y ,
and ca' y hi story, till thr.y were I.en years old. From
ten to four teen they migh t s t udy Latin and Greek,
a nd read most of the books we h ave na111 etl. At.
fomtcen they might commence tho scientific course,
which w ould be rendered much easier by the prev ious study of langunges . The technical terms in
ph ys iology , natural hi story, botany, etc., woul cl be
much more easily unders tood, nnd the whole cour se
of education rendered more interesting and agree ·
able.
I shall not attempt to go into the deta ils of what
may be consider ed a proper course of st.llllies for
girls. If the college course for boys w ere mor e con ·
forruable lo common sense and practical utility, I
would contend that girls should take the same cours"
as boys . If cduc:ttion strengthens the inlellecl,
woman need s it a~ much as man . If it is a source
.,f pleas ure, why sh ould she be denied such a grat,i

16

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242

APl1 li;NHIX.

Heat.ion 'I There is nothing helter calc11latt"<I lo develop a11tl irai11 the mental faculti es, than th e st11 <1 y
of the Latin lan g11agc. Jn English, the stu dent may
acq11irn some superficial knowledge witho11t very
close attention; but in Latin , eve ry wor<l mu st. he
examined, not only fo r its meaning, but for its ag ree ·
111ent and government, that the whole may Jit prop erly together, and make good se nse. 'T'ltis "·ill re<Jllirc tho closest attention. Anti yet it is not so
difficult as the sciences, hnt may be acquired at an
early age.
Languages c nlti\·ate nltcnt.ion , 11ice di sc ri1ninati on
of s hatl cs of meaning, and 1ns1c. Mnllt cmatics re ·
<j11irc close attention, too, hut cu ltivate chi etly the
rensouin g faculties. Algclirn and geom etry arc
chiefly valuable becau se they arc the keys whi c h
unlock to the student the rnlilimc sc ience of astron omy, anti. other exact sciences. Lat.in and Greek are
rnluable for the kn owletl.ge they g ive of our o wn
ln11 guage, anti. for t.hc kn ow led ge of t cch11ical term•
used in all sciences .
Why may 11ot our daughters n11lock the tren.~ ur cs
of sc ieuce as well us our sons 'I Why not give t.l1 em
an education which will enable them to d o •o in the
s ame thorough and satisfactory manner? Oirls 11•11 ally ncquire languages wil.h g reater cn.~e lh'1n hoy H
acqu ire them. I insist, therefore, that a 11H11krnt n
amount of .Latin and Greek sh o uld lie rc•p1ired in
all female seminaries.
The course of 111athematics should be s unicie11t.ly
.. xlensive to enable t.11c pupils to und orstan<I th o
princi ples of natural philosophy anti nstronomy .

FEMALE EDUCATION·

The books usually put into th eir h and • , arc mere
pnpular outli11 cs of these suhjects, containing non e
of the reasonin gs on which tit " co11cl11Rio11s arc
fon 11 tlctl. Suc h a course d ocs inju stice tu the femnln
intellect.
Girls can calculate the di stances and
magnitudes of the heavenly bodies, as well as boys.
Whoever has taken a clnss of gi rls through snclt it
work as llobinson's Astronomy, mu st have bce11
deli ghted with the glow of happiness which . has
beamed from their couutenances wh en they have
been able to comprehend the principles.
I a 111 only mentioning parts of 1-he conr•e al.Joni,
which there may he some diversiLy of opinion . 1
suppose all arc agroetl. t.hat girls, as "·ell ns l u•y ",
should. stud y mental anti. m oral sc ienc e, log ic ,
rh etoric, geology, evid.e nces of Christianity, his·
tory, etc.
If girls pursue a college course of studies, w hy
may we n ot confer, with their tl.iploma, a title similar to that given at college? 'fwo degrees arc con ferred at college, "13achclor of Arts," a11tl. "J\iastm:
of Arts;" but the latter follows so mu ch as a mattc1·
of course, that it mi g ht as well be given at firnt. l
uelieve that Mistress of Arts is no t too ostentati on,,
an<l is quite :Lq well deserved hy yo ung latli cs who
go through a regu lar course of in stru ctio n, aq by t.hc>
Jllajori ty of boys who grnt!uate at colkge. 'l' h ~rc
wi ll , o f conrse, be different grndes of sc holarsl11p ,
because talent nntl. industry will be different; but.,
taking the average, the girls would lose nothing by
comparison wil.h young men .
Such n course of studies as we hnYe rccommcnclcd

244

245

APPENDIX.

FEMALE EDUCATION.

may, by some person•, be consitlered too mascu 1i ne
for girfa. They fear that such an edncaLion would
d estroy those characteristics which are th e charms
of the sex, and send woman out of the orbit of domestic duties into the rude strifes of men. 'Ne believe such fears to be unfounded. Those females
who deliver public J1aran g nes, and desire to be
heard in leg islative halls and political contests, arc
like the meteors that blaze across the sky, and disappear; they are uns ubstantial vapor, which can
make no impression ou the beauty and harmony of
the •ystem.
God made woman for domestic duties, ancl h er
1iaturo must be very much perverted before she can
cease to love such duties. Modesty and l;indn ess are
n part of her being, and it is hard to obliterate them.
They rnay, indeed, be perverted, and then woman
becomes a monster; but ~be ie often er trne to the i11 st.incte of nature and the dictates of humanit.y, Urnn
man. Look at 'France, when the tide of inli<lclit..Y
swept over it in the first rcvolul.io11 I \.Yhat licnd 8
<lid men become! Some women, too, were dcgrnded
into mon stel's of cruolty; bnt there were lloble in stances of mothers, wives, and daughters, ri ll in g
above t he degradation of the times, and cli s p1"ying
brautifully and gloriou sly the pecu liar virt.urs of
these relations. As an instance, the wife of .Marni.,
who wns only less cru el than llobespierre, often, hy
her intercessions, saved his victims from dcstrndiun.
And if the floo,ls of infidelity could not oblit.ernt.e
th oef' feminine graces which arc the peculiar chnrm
of the sex, is there any danger that education will

destroy them? Education destroy modesty, nm! diffidence, and love of home, and make woman bohl
and masculine'/ \.Vas any thing so preposterous eve!'
conceived I I thought that true and thorough sc holal'ship made man or woman more modest and diflident, because it gave a better view of the vastness
of the fields of knowledge . Addison was a fin e
scholar, nnd one of the most beautiful writers of hi s
age, and yet he was so modest-so bashful, if yon
please-that he could not con verse in the presence
of strangers. The diffidence was natural. Educat.ion, inst.end of destroy ing, perhaps increased it.
Dr. Johnson, too, was a scholnl', but was rndc a111l
overbearing in convereation; but had he been destitute of education, he wouhl have been a bully among
n different class of persons. The effect of all kinds
of lrnowl edgo is to humanize and polish-not to degrade ancl brn tnlize. Addison's benu l iful illusl.rn·
tion drawn from n rough block of marble, polish e<l
by the statuary, aptly exhibits t.he influence of cclur.at.i<m 011 man or woman. lf you occasionally meet
wit,1 1 edncnted women who arc bold nm\ masculin e,
th ese defects must not be attribute•! to their edncation. 'l'h ey have them in spito of it. How caneducation destroy the domestic virtues nncl affection• 'I
Vice may, indeed, destroy them. Th e mot.her that i ~
fond of balls and theaters, will neglect her c\11hlr~11,
nnd Jose natnral affection for them. llut nn inlelligent, virtuous mother, will love her child rnore 1.han
au ignoranl; one. If this be not so, then let, mot.hem
be kept in total ig norance, as among the.l\1oh:rn1me·
dnns . Educate all the mothers, and yon 1m1wo1·e the

246

APPENDIX.

condition of t he whole commu nity. Th ey would be
e'lrntll y trne a nd kind in all the d omest ic relations.
ffnnseholcl duties woul1l 11ot be 11 cglectcd , nor t he
poo r d eserted. The aflli cted and d istressed won ltl
sti ll Jim\ woman a ministering angel, in the day of
ad versity. 'l'he kind sympathi es of h er natme wc r<'
bestowed by her Maker, who gave li er both intellect
and affections. '!'h ere is no da nger that cn ltivati1 l0'
one w ill d estroy the other.
.,
Others think t.hat a coll Bge education is useless f.o
g irls, as the du ties which arc to d evolve on them do
not r c'luirc it. 'Vhy, t hen, we wuul1l ask, h ns Goel
g i v~n t hem in tellectual capacity? Docs he bestow
twn tal ents, w hen he intends that only one sh all
he i1t1provcd 'I Hnl; what duties arc mnrc import.ant
than t ho•e of a m ot h er~ She watc hes t he first openin gs of in tell ect, and impresses her own im age on the
infant, mind . Was t li oro cvor n11 eminent man w l1 0.~ t?
rn ol li er w:rn 11 ot rc1111trknUl c'l A n c du cntcd nwth e r
rnay '1SR ist mHl e ncourage her child ren throngh the
w hole course of their ed ucation. Children w l1 0 receive •ympnthy nnd assistance at h ome, make much
hdte r p rogress nt school t han t h ose who receive no
""ch aitl. They live in an in tell cct11 al atmosp here,
an<l i111 bibe k now ledge in n thousand ways i n th e
c\·ery- dny co nvNsnl;ion of the family. T he intelli ge nce of the mother will strengthen her influenP,n
over her so1i. Boys arn too apt to break away from
the anthority of a mother. Superior intelli gence
wou ld enable her to retain her influence th rough
life. No ostentations di splay of learnin g wi ll be
necessary. The shallow and weak -minded nre peel-

FEMALE E ll UCATION.

2'17

ants . Good sp11se an<l so.lid learnin g arc a lway s
modest a nd r etiring. He who has an i ntelli ge nt
mother, "·ill forever h ave cause of grntit 11de to Uo1!
for her innucn co.
I d o not mean, however, t.hat learning alone will
give woman all that i nfluence whic h she oug h t to
exert. Iler heart sl1 ould be imbued with th e purn
am! heavenly principles of the religion of Christ;
and she should consecr ate to God all her talents and
acq uirements. Then she may exert a bl essed i11flu euce for time ail d eternity.
'.l.'eac l1in g Is an avocation to which many lad ies arc
very appropriately devoting themsel ves; and for this
cal lin g t.hey lllay need spec ial preparation. 'l'liere
1nay he other p ursu its mo 1·c or less appropri ate for
l:u li es, which may also requ ire spec ial tra inin g; l>11 t
I.he great b usi ness-the hig h profession nllll cnll ing
of " ·o ma11, is to be a wife and mother- to pres ide i11
I.ho tlnmcstic c irc le, a11d s hed her benign inf111 e11 cu
011 home. Hern she can enjoy the greatest h appi ness ,
and do the most good . No lawyer 01· st:itcs 111 an
Cl"Cl' had more respon sible or important duti es to
perform t han those whi ch devol ve 011 hc1· in her
h ome, however humble. No amo un t of cducnlio11
whi ch can be acquired during the ordinary per iod
of yo ut.h , ·will be too mu ch to qualify h er for li er
post. May Heaven prosper t.h e cause of fem ale ed uc:ition I

