Herald Of The United States

From the Boston Weekly Magazine.

NUMA.-No. XII.

"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 gen'rous purpose in the glowing breast."
THOMPSON.

See with what care and pleasure the boy attends his little garden; notice the satisfaction he takes in curiously arranging each bed of flowers; in marking out each alley and in assigning to every one of the flowery tribe, a special place within this odoriferous precinct. He sees that no pestiferous weed shall hurt any of his roseate collection, no nauseous root shall supplant the dazzling beauties of the pink, the tulip, or the lily; unwilling that any should wither and decay for lack of nourishment or attention; applies to the roots the humid moisture, directs their various branches, to preserve and augment their beauty; screens them from the burning heat of the meridian sun: guards them from the ravages of insects, and from the first opening of the bud, remits no vigilance, caution or care, until he discovers the protuberant blow, in its full perfection. And shall these frail flowers, which to-day flourish, and to-morrow are cut down, be weighed in comparison with an immortal mind? If it be delightful to propagate these products of the field, which are of so short existence, how much more pleasing must it be to see the powers and faculties of the human mind expanding under the culture of instruction. Let the lovely mind of your child, then be your flower garden; here you can engender seeds which will richly flourish, and unlike the gaieties of the ground will flourish forever. The garden may present you with a rich and charming bloom, but is incapable of vying with the exuberant growth of intellect; it can never exhibit to you such resplendent pictures or such undying treasures; the scenes of nature may appear to you engaging, but they can never be so replete with beauties as the dress of the mind: for the mind is to be an unfading scenery and unceasing power. Though all flesh must see corruption and moulder in the dust, yet the inner-man is to be dislodged from this enclosure of clay, and in another world to magnify its powers. With such ideas in view, you can never be too solicitous in training up your children in the ways of wisdom. The converse of their improved minds, shall be, to you a source of sweet consolation, and the satisfaction of having discharged your duty to your offspring, in warping their minds to a love of knowledge, shall be the soft solace and support of your declining years. As it then immediately concerns your own happiness and wholly advances theirs, early inspire them with good principles and with a love of contemplation and study. During the vigorous season of youth, principles are to be imbibed, manners and habits are to be acquired, which are to influence all the conduct of life, even to the downhill of years. They actuate in infancy and youth, stamp the character in age, regulate its conduct, fix the tenor of its life, and destine it to its deserts beyond the tomb.

First then, be it your attentive concern, to instruct your child in morality: lead reasonably point out to him the vanities of time and that its trifles soon pass away; early acquaint him that the arbitrary way of its fashions gives legality to vices and excess, and establish in his mind such firm and unwavering principles, as shall enable him at all times to discriminate between the evil and the good, and to pass on through an undeviating course of virtue and duty. Make it your endeavour to disengage his attention from every thing that is unsuitable to the dignity of the man and the christian, to that when he shall arrive to maturity he may "put away childish things;" be cautious to form his demeanor and manners with graceful urbanity, by which principles and accomplishments he will endear himself to his fellow creatures, "serve his generation faithfully," and honor his Maker. Thus situated, death can never be to him premature nor life short. "For honourable age is not that which standeth in length of time, nor that which is measured by number of years; but wisdom is the grey hair to man; and an unspotted life is old age."

"Rear the tender thoughts" of your child, by impressing it with morality and religion. "Pour the fresh instruction o'er the mind;" instil within it all the amiable, noble and manly attributes; establish it in a love for integrity and a uniform reverence for all that is solemn and sacred. The mind of your child thus stored with lively and comprehensive views of morality, religion and duty, you may expect, that "instead of the thorn, shall come up the fir tree; and instead of brier, the myrtle tree."

In the cultivation of your earthly tenement, you may be disappointed, your little olitory's of flowers, herbage roots and plants may be cut off by various accidents; but in the cultivation of the human garden, the minds of your offspring, your efforts and endeavours will not prove abortive. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

Weathersfield, (Con.) May, 1805.