Few parents seem to comprehend how soon even a very young child may be made to understand such language as this: God, who lives in heaven, made us all; he gave mother her little son that I might take care of him, be kind to him, and teach him to be good. He says little children must obey father and mother, and he would be angry with me and punish me if I allowed my boy to be naughty and disobedient. Such language firmly and kindly spoken by a parent, even to a very young child, and steadily and consistently acted upon, will very soon subdue the self-will of the most wayward, and thus render future training easy to both parent and child. Such was, in principle, the training to which we were subjected in our early years. Obedience--immediate, cheerful obedience, and the strictest regard to truth, lay at the foundation of all our other training. A thousand little follies, mistakes, and even graver faults might be passed over, but disobedience and falsehood were unpardonable. Yet there was nothing of sternness or severity in the conduct of our parents towards us. Perhaps no mother ever lavished more fond caresses upon her children, or exerted herself more to make their time pass happily, and no father was ever more anxious to secure the comfort and happiness of his family. Pleasantly did the days and hours pass over us, during our residence in this secluded spot: there was no school within reach, and if there had, our father’s small income would not have allowed our education to be paid for, without greatly diminishing the comforts of the family; therefore, it had to be attended to at home. One by one, we used to take our place beside our mother, read a short lesson, have the larger words explained to us, when our mother would take the book and read it over again slowly and distinctly, that we might the better understand what we had been reading; and then we were at liberty to indulge in active and healthful amusement, or we were engaged in some useful and necessary employment. Four times a day, usually, each of us had our short lesson; and if it be considered that the whole of the labour of the house devolved upon our mother, it will be believed that this could be no light task; nothing, however, was allowed to interrupt our lessons: and it was no uncommon thing to see her busy at the washing-tub while we by turns took our place beside her; one child would be found attending to the baby, another gathering sticks and keeping the fire alive, a third engaged in reading, and a fourth bringing water from a pure, soft spring, at some distance from the house; while our eldest brother assisted father in the garden.