Page:The Mothers of England.djvu/90

Rh had more than due share in the motives of some, if not of all.

The parents, however, are too tender, too grateful, and too full of joy, to note this down at such a moment; and they forget, or persuade themselves that such a blot upon their pleasant picture has never found a place; until the evil grows, and then they find, to their surprise, that the brothers and the sisters of their family are not united in their interests, nor so zealous for each other's, as for their own individual good.

The fact is, that while affection arises imperceptibly, and as a natural consequence of their care and kindness, in the hearts of children toward their parents, it does not, unless cultivated by the parents, arise in the same manner, or with equal certainty, in the heart of one child toward another. It is true they are talked into a kind of nursery affection for what is called "the baby," while it is such; and they may also be taught to say "dear," and speak sweetly to each other—sometimes; but the greedy grasp, the scowling brow, the sly pretence to obtain advantage, and the pleasure secretly enjoyed, too plainly indicate, in some families, that the fruits of true affection need not be looked for there.

Now, in proportion as mothers sincerely desire the future welfare of their children, as they believe that in union there is strength, and in family concord real happiness, surely they will endeavor to turn the springs of early affection into such a channel, as that the fair garden over which they watch with such untiring solicitude, may still be watered, even if the mother's care should be withdrawn. Beyond a certain period, it is scarcely to be expected that the bond between a parent and a child should be kept unbroken. In the common course of human affairs families are separated, and parents removed by death; but so long as brothers and sisters live, they might, if bound by true affection, remain to be a blessing and a help to each other; and should their parents be spared to them beyond the usual period of family union, what richer harvest could