th, the actions will generally have a tendency to
good. Thus, with a child whose disposition is to deceive, a mother
has no hold upon such an one; for the child will soon perceive that
his mother cannot follow him every where, and that he can commit
with impunity many actions of deceit. But, impress the child with
the truth that a Being is watching these actions, and that though
done with the greatest cunning, they cannot be committed with
impunity, and it is more than probable that they will never be
committed at all. A temptation may be thrown in the way of such a
child, but it will not be powerful enough to overcome the feeling
that the action is watched. That child may eagerly pant to perform
the forbidden action, or to partake of the forbidden pleasure; but
he will not be able to rid himself of the feeling that it cannot be
done without being observed. He will stand in a state of anxiety,
and steal a glance around, in order to see the Being he feels is
looking upon him, and every breeze that murmurs will be a voice to
chide him, and every leaf that whistles will seem a footstep, and
never will he be able to break the restraint; for wherever he goes
and whatever he does, he will feel that his actions are watched by
one who will punish the bad and reward the good.

And in the same way might this be applied to all dispositions and
feelings. How cheering is it to a timid child to be told that at no
time is he left alone: but that the Being who made every thing
preserves and keeps every thing, and that nothing can happen but by
his permission! This is to disarm fear of its terrors, and to
implant a confidence in the mind, for the child will feel that while
his actions are good he is under the protection of an Almighty
Parent. In the same way, in stimulating a child to the performance
of a duty, the end proposed should be the favour of God. This would
insure the duty being entered upon with a right spirit--not merely
for the sake of show and effect, but springing from the heart and
the mind--and, at the same time, it would prevent any thing of
hypocrisy. If it were only the estimation of the world which was to
be regarded, a child could soon understand that the applause would
be gained by the mere exterior performance, be the motive what it
might: but when the motive is centered in God, it is readily
understood that the feeling must be genuine; otherwise, whatever the
world may say, God will look upon it as unworthy and