nces. There are, comparatively, very few women not replete with
maternal love; and, by-the-by, take you care, if you meet with a girl
who '_is not fond of children_,' not to marry her _by any means_. Some
few there are who even make a boast that they 'cannot bear children,'
that is, cannot _endure_ them. I never knew a man that was good for
_much_ who had a dislike to little children; and I never knew a woman of
that taste who was good for any thing at all. I have seen a few such in
the course of my life, and I have never wished to see one of them a
second time.

180. Being fond of little children argues no _effeminacy_ in a man, but,
as far as my observation has gone, the contrary. A regiment of soldiers
presents no bad school wherein to study character. Soldiers have
leisure, too, to play with children, as well as with 'women and dogs,'
for which the proverb has made them famed. And I have never observed
that effeminacy was at all the marked companion of fondness for little
children. This fondness manifestly arises from a compassionate feeling
towards creatures that are helpless, and that must be innocent. For my
own part, how many days, how many months, all put together, have I spent
with babies in my arms! My time, when at home, and when babies were
going on, was chiefly divided between the pen and the baby. I have fed
them and put them to sleep hundreds of times, though there were servants
to whom the task might have been transferred. Yet, I have not been
effeminate; I have not been idle; I have not been a waster of time; but
I should have been all these if I had disliked babies, and had liked the
porter pot and the grog glass.

181. It is an old saying, 'Praise the child, and you make love to the
mother;' and it is surprising how far this will go. To a fond mother you
can do nothing so pleasing as to praise the baby, and, the younger it
is, the more she values the compliment. Say fine things to her, and take
no notice of her baby, and she will despise you. I have often beheld
this, in many women, with great admiration; and it is a thing that no
husband ought to overlook; for if the wife wish her child to be admired
by others, what must be the ardour of her wishes with regard to _his_
admiration. There was a drunken dog of a Norfolk man in our regiment,
who came from Thetford, I recollect, who used to say, that his wife
would forgive him for spending all the pay, and the washing money into
the bargain, 'if he woul