HUMBLE MINOR.—We never heard of an infant who would not go to his mother voluntarily, unless to go to a wet-nurse, whom he might naturally suppose, if he could not think, was his real mother. If he have a fearful temper, and be not a screamer from teething, or any other pain, he should be gently corrected for his violence. Some children scream themselves into fits. Children should have the best and richest _unwatered_ milk.
ONE IN TROUBLE.—It is well that you only broke one looking-glass, and that your father only tries to comfort you. Be more careful in the future, and do not listen to silly “prophets of evil.” Those who trust in God’s care and commit themselves to Him in well-doing, need not “take thought for the morrow” in an anxious way. It would be a want of faith.
OAK TREE.—Do as your mother wishes. You are not yet nineteen, and are under her authority. But perhaps she might spare you to go out for a few hours daily, to take children out for a walk, and teach them to write, read, sew, and some few other lessons. If not, she might let you assist in some shop where the hours were not long. Perhaps you might hold a little class of children at home.
CHARITY.—1. We do not know to what your mother refers by that name, but you will find allusions to the “Book of Life” in the Epistle to the Philippians iv. 3, and in the Book of Revelations iii. 5, and in five more places. 2. If you wish some day to be a doctor, begin by studying a shilling manual called “Sick Nursing at Home” (Gill, 170, Strand, W.C.), and then join an ambulance class.
ELLA MARY.—What are known as “Mystery plays” are referred for their origin to the pilgrims who journeyed to the East in the eleventh century. The earliest known in England took place at Dunstable early in the following century. The oldest extant dates to the reign of Edward III. The “Chester Mysteries” date back to 1327. Those of the French only commenced in the fourteenth century.
THE OWNER OF “MUFF.”—1. We do not undertake to teach quadrupeds, though we endeavour to teach bipeds, but these latter only provided they be not “muffs,” as that would be beyond our patience, and perhaps our ability, for there are more “muffs” than those that walk on four legs! 2. The 1st of September, 1873, was a Monday.