Channing, quietly, and with some hesitation--for
it was not pleasant to say anything which might tacitly reflect on the
Lady Augusta--"that the difference in most children lies in the
bringing up. Children turn out well or ill, as they are trained; and in
accordance with this rule they will become our blessing or our grief."
"Ah, yes, that must be it," acquiesced Lady Augusta. "And yet--I don't
know," she rejoined, doubtingly. "Do you believe that so very much lies
in the training?"
"It does, indeed, Lady Augusta. God's laws everywhere proclaim it. Take
a rough diamond from a mine--what is it, unless you polish it, and cut
it, and set it? Do you see its value, its beauty, in its original
state? Look at the trees of our fields, the flowers and fruits of the
earth--what are they, unless they are pruned and cared for? It is by
cultivation alone that they can be brought, to perfection. And, if God
so made the productions of the earth, that it is only by our constant
attention and labour that they can be brought to perfection, would He,
think you, have us give less care to that far more important product,
our children's minds? _They_ may be trained to perfectness, or they may
be allowed to run to waste from neglect."
"Oh dear!" sighed Lady Augusta. "But it is a dreadful trouble, always
to be worrying over children."
"It is a trouble that, in a very short time after entering upon it,
grows into a pleasure," said Mrs.
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