Alexandria Advertiser And Commercial Intelligencer

FROM THE BALANCE.

ON EDUCATION.

"Delightful task! to rear the tender thought,
To teach the young idea how to shoot,
To pour the fresh instruction o'er the mind,
To breathe th' enlivening spirit, and to fix
The generous purpose in the glowing breast."

THOMSON.

DURING the periods of infancy and early childhood, the education of boys is chiefly, while that of girls is almost exclusively devolved on the mother. She is their first friend, and possesses their earliest love. She dispenses their food, dandles them in her arms, and assiduously guards their waking hours and their slumbers; & to her they pour forth their complaints, their wants and their wishes--they hang upon her lips for instruction, and repay her maternal attentions and caresses with all the fondness of which their little hearts are capable. No words are ever lisped by the young child with such effusions of tenderness as My Mamma.

The father is less domestic. Worldly cares engross his mind : necessary business calls him from home ; and the kindnesses he bestows on his infant offspring are more indirect, and therefore less obvious and impressive. The mother's constant presence and endearing attentions among her small children rivet their hearts to her, more than to any other object : and these circumstances give her peculiar advantages for daily pouring into their minds the precepts of wisdom-precepts, which, coming from her, will sink so deeply, that they will never be forgotten. Those first impressions, which a child. receives from the mother, are a sort of indelible characters. They are deeply engraven on the heart, as " with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond."

A virtuous and discreet mother is therefore a fountain of life to her children. Their hearts are attracted to her as the needle to the magnet. She draws them " with the cords of love." She guides them with the " law of kindness." Her precious instructions are daily instilled into their tender minds. like the morning and evening dews : and, in a qualified sense, she moulds and fashions them to a decent, virtuous, lovely conduct, as the potter moulds his clay. Happy are the children. who have such a mother !her worth is invaluable: her loss would be irreparable,

Emelia possesses both beauty & fortune. Youth still blooms in her countenance. Her manners are easy and graceful. She is capable of shining at balls and attracting around her a fluttering crowd of admirers. But " well ordered home" is her delight. She soothes the cares and multiplies the comforts of the man to whom she has pledged her vows. The daily care of her little nursery is her delightful task. She is amused with their innocent prattle. With secret raptures, she marks in them the dawn and progress of reason, and the still brighter dawn and progress of virtue. She guards them with vigilance and guides them with discretion ; prudently checks their wayward propensities, " confirms the generous purpose," watches the most happy moments for making useful impressions, gratifies their curiosity, patiently answers their questions, " teaches the young idea how to shoot," and " pours the fresh instruction o'er their minds.'

Monimia, who had seen bright and prosperous days, is left a young widow with 3 small children. By the premature death of her husband, her worldly prospects are blasted and laid in the dust.- Monimia has a heart replete with sensibility. The recollection of her irreparable loss and reversed circumstances frequently suffuses her. face with tears. But she does not consume her time in unavailing woe. The precious interests of her babes are entwined with every fibre of her heart : & while she is stretching out her widowed arms for their sustenance and support, she is still more solicitous to sow in their tender minds the seeds of knowledge and goodness, and to enstamp them with virtuous impressions. " He that sitteth in the heavens" beholds and approves-he will succeed the pious endeavors of such a mother.

Is there under. heaven a sight more charming, than that of an intelligent, virtuous mother, assiduously instructing her infant offspring, and using her daily endeavours both to inform their minds and to fashion their hearts aright?--Neither Proserpine, while gathering flowers in the fields of Enna, nor Eve herself, while dressing the blooming beds and flowery arbors of Eden, exhibits a portrait so interesting, as that of a discreet and good mother, ingrafting in the minds of her children the germ of useful knowledge, and leading them in the path of virtue. She is rearing flowers, which will never fade !

SENEX.