er. It is there that every human being receives his best moral
training, or his worst, for it is there that he imbibes those principles of
conduct which endure through manhood, and cease only with life.

2. HOME MAKES THE MAN.--It is a common saying, "Manners make the man;" and
there is a second, that "Mind makes the man;" but truer than either is a
third, that "Home makes the man." For the home-training includes not only
manners and mind, but character. It is mainly in the home that the heart is
opened, the habits are formed, the intellect is awakened, and character
moulded for good or for evil.

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3. GOVERN SOCIETY.--From that source, be it pure or impure, issue the
principles and maxims that govern society. Law itself is but the reflex of
homes. The tiniest bits of opinion sown in the minds of children in private
life afterwards issue forth to the world, and become its public opinion;
for nations are gathered out of nurseries, and they who hold the
leading-strings of children may even exercise a greater power than those
who wield the reins of government.

4. THE CHILD IS FATHER OF THE MAN.--The child's character is the nucleus of
the man's; all after-education is but superposition; the form of the
crystal remains the same. Thus the saying of the poet holds true in a large
degree, "The child is father of the man;" or as Milton puts it, "The
childhood shows the man, as morning shows the day." Those impulses to
conduct which last the longest and are rooted the deepest, always have
their origin near our birth. It is then that the germs of virtues or vices,
of feelings or sentiments, are first implanted which determine the
character of life.

5. NURSERIES.--Thus homes, which are nurseries of children who grow up into
men and women, will be good or bad according to the power that governs
them. Where the spirit of love and duty pervades the home, where head and
heart bear rule wisely there, where the daily life is honest and virtuous,
where the government is sensible, kind, and loving, then may we expect from
such a home an issue of healthy, useful, and happy beings, capable as they
gain the requisite strength, of following the footsteps of their parents,
of walking uprightly, governing themselves wisely, and contributing to the
welfare of those about them.

6. IGNORANCE, COARSENESS, AND SELFISHNESS.--On the other hand, if
surrounded by ignorance, coarseness, and selfishness, they will
unconsciously assume the sam