and weak, that I cannot even dress or feed myself without help, and that if I were left to myself, I should be very unhappy; but every one helps me, every one loves me. Thou, oh my God, hast made my friends so kind to me; oh do Thou reward them for it, and make me very thankful and very good. It is in the name of Jesus Christ that I pray unto Thee.”

"Oh my God, I wish much to obey Thee, but I am continually doing something wrong. I feel that without thy help I shall never be quite good. Oh help me to keep thy commandments, and to love Thee with all my heart, and to have Thee in all my thoughts, and also to love my neighbour as myself. I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ thy son."

I will add here two prayers, which may serve to give children an idea of the addresses which they may present to God at the beginning and at the end of the day, if by any chance they should be left alone.

MORNING PRAYER.

"Oh God! I thank Thee that Thou hast taken care of me during the night; preserve me also during the day, I beseech Thee. May I try to remember that Thou art always near me, and then I shall be afraid of nothing but of

offending Thee. Bless, O God! my parents, and all whom I love. It is in the name of Jesus Christ," &c.

EVENING PRAYER.

66 Oh my God! I will not lie down without first asking Thy blessing. Thou hast been very good to me during the past day; and yet I feel that I have done many things that were wrong. Pardon me, Oh Lord, I will try to be a better child to-morrow. I am now going to sleep, believing that Thou wilt take care of me whilst I am asleep. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray," &c.

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These prayers may perhaps appear rather too vague; but children should be encouraged to form more definite ones for themselves. Should they express what they really wish for in their hearts, their wishes may very likely sound extremely childish; but what does this signify? Is it not very probable that many of our own wishes, in regard to this world, may be so too? Let us rejoice that they speak to God from the depth of their souls, without troubling ourselves about their little secrets. At the same time we must warn them that all human wishes are but too often rash and inconsiderate, and must always be referred entirely to the will of that Heavenly Father who cares for our happiness. By

advising them to beg that their prayers may not be heard if the fulfilment of them would be hurtful to them, we shall accustom them to bear privations with gentleness and patience, and shall prepare them to submit to disappointments and troubles with that resignation supported by hope, which is called trust in God.

Whatever latitude we may allow children in their more private devotions, there is one prayer, our Lord's, which they should learn by heart, as soon as they have formed a habit of praying at all. This will be their faithful companion from their cradle to their death-bed: the full meaning of every thing which it includes is constantly growing upon us, and the older we become the more do we find in it to admire and to dwell upon.

CHAPTER X.

RECAPITULATION OF FACTS CONNECTED WITH THE STUDY OF THE MIND IN INFANCY.

HAVING now arrived at that period when the constantly increasing progress of the child has determined his existence as a moral being, and when a new era is offered to our observation, it seems desirable to throw back a rapid glance over the road we have already passed. Henceforward we shall find it more difficult to analyse the feelings and impressions of our pupil; every thing connected with him will be more complicated, more obscure; education and example will have acted upon him; his natural inclinations will often be repressed by the effect of reflection, though the secret impulse which gave rise to these inclinations may remain unchanged. It is therefore of great importance to examine and understand in time dispositions which, though destined to become weaker, will not cease to exist in the mind.

Without stopping to retrace those moral consequences which clearly result from the facts already observed, I shall here recapitulate the history of the child from its birth; and though

the state of the mind at this period can be but little known: it seems to me that there are some ideas resulting either from observation, or from our preconceived notions, which we can hardly avoid adopting, and which I shall here mention.

The soul, a pure intelligence, cast upon a world entirely unknown to it, finds itself united to a portion of matter, equally unknown to it, called a body. Susceptible of infinite developement, endowed with the dispositions necessary to enable it to connect itself with the moral and physical world, its activity seems condemned to remain dormant till its faculties are brought into action, and furnished with materials for their exercise, by means of the impressions which it receives through the medium of the body. But the impressions excited by the senses are not of a nature fitted to establish every relation which the soul is capable of maintaining; other resources are necessary. Assistance

has, therefore, at the commencement of its existence, been provided for it, which may be called. supernatural, if we may so term effects of which we cannot discover the cause. This aid, which we have named instinct, has been supplied, but not lavished. Constantly granted on all necessary occasions, it is withheld when, by making a proper use of the lessons of experience, the mind is able to dispense with its assistance.