CHILDHOOD. BY THE EDITOR. "The Child is Father to the Man." EVERY thing is beautiful in its place. All things are unlovely when they are out of place and out of season. God shows his ad herence to this principle in all His works, in the world around. The same order He has introduced into human society; indeed He has constructed society according to this order; and we find it in the family, in the state, and in the church. He has assigned a place to husbands and wives, to parents and children, to rulers and subjects, to ministers and members. When this order is observed, and each one stands and acts in his sphere, there is harmony, energy, efficiency, and success. Where this order is violated there is confusion, weakness, and failure. Society at present seems to suffer from a spirit which would reverse the divine order in these things. There is a restlessness in the different members of society to be active out of their own proper sphere, and to overlook the duties which belong to it. This spirit has taken hold, especially in towns, even of little boys and girls. Boys would be men, and little girls would be young ladies. There is a certain humble deference and modest reserve, which belongs properly to childhood, and which gives it great beauty and attractiveness. It is not easy to describe it; but every one knows what it is, and how well it becomes children. Children who possess it are easily governed, docile, and kind. They are amiable towards their parents, and courteous toward all with whom they are brought in contact; and when they grow up in that spirit they become, among the young, ornaments and favorites. Every one must, however, have observed that a spirit, where all this is absent, reigns to a great extent at present in the ranks of childhood. There is, in many instances, boldness, assurance, and forwardness; and this, if it progresses in the same direction, soon grows into rudeness, impertinence, and impudence. How many sad examples of this degeneracy meet us almost every day! We need hardly say that where this spirit prevails, all that is lovely in childhood is lost; and a course is entered upon which must, if not arrested, end in ruin. If we should say that this evil is, to a great extent, the result of a lack of discipline on the part of parents, we should speak the truth, and yet not all the truth. It is owing to this, in part; but chiefly it betrays a lack of a true christian spirit in the family. Where the lovely spirit of piety does not reign in the family it cannot reign in the hearts of children. Instead of being molded by the mild and gentle influences of home, they will be molded by the coarseness and rudeness of the street. The rough spirit of outdoor freedom will soon make them impatient to parental restraint and discipline, even when it is attempted to exercise it. They will imbibe a spirit of independence, which pleases nature, and this will soon gain supremacy over every gentler influence. The rude words and conduct which pass between them and their companions will soon be used to repel every attempt at the exercise of parental authority; and parents find too late that their own influence over their children is lost, hopelessly lost. The case of such children becomes almost hopeless. This spirit of boldness, when it is found in childhood, is scarcely ever lost in youth. The rude boy, soon becomes the swaggering youth; and dead to all the finer feelings, he soon learns to take pride in his own shame. Is not this dreadful picture realized in the case of hundreds. When their habits are once fixed, reformation becomes almost hopeless. Can an Ethiopian change his skin, and a leopard his spots, then shall they learn to do well who have been accustomed to do evil. Let parents be awake in time, to the true interests of their children. Prompt action in training the boy may save the man. Ease and carelessness on the part of parents have been the ruin of many children. It is heavenly wisdom which says: Train up a child in the way it should go, and when it is old it will not depart from it. Let God have the little boys and girls, and He will have the young men and women. MOTHER, HOME AND HEAVEN. In the holy hush of night, Mother, A vision came to me; In floating robes and trembling light, I felt a soft kiss on my brow, Like that which you had given And heard the dear words in mine ear Of Mother, Home and Heaven. It whispered me of by-gone hours, Of your sad eyes and mild, When last you parted, bathed in tears, And how we talked 'neath the moon's clear light On that fair, cloudless even And how I vowed I'd ne'er forget, My Mother, Home and Heaven. And I will strive, my Mother dear, That I may soar, when death shall come, CLOSE OF THE YEAR. · This number of The Guardian closes the sixth volume, and is the last in which the "Monthly Retrospect" will appear. In parting with the frends of The Guardian, in this connection, we feel it to be our duty to improve the occasion by speaking a word in behalf of a Periodical whose mission is the noble one of seeking the literary, moral and religious interests of the young men and women of our country. For six years The Guardian has pursued its quiet and unpretending way in the work of disseminating a pure and elevating literature-in furnishing food for mind and heart without pandering to a vitiated taste or corrupt passions. Discarding all idle fiction and exciting romance, the aim of the Editor has been to make its pages true, pure, fresh, healthy, and animated, "as the morning of life in which the young have their being." It seeks to encourage self-culture and to lead to the useful improvement of leisure time. It urges the claims of early piety and seeks to aid in making it intelligent, consistent, and lovely. Having no denominational bias, The Guardian advocates no religious peculiarities, but moves in the free element of its motto-"Life, Light, LOVE." Moving in this path, at once humble and noble, the history of The Guardian for the past six years has become a fact among the literary experiments of the day. It has been established on a permanent basis and rejoices in a list of patrons composed of the good and true, among the young men and women of this and adjoining States, of which the Editor and Publisher have just reason to feel proud. The experience of the past has inspired the Publisher with encouragement for the future. He has completed arrangements for presenting the new volume, commencing in January, in a much improved form. The type with which it will be printed has been cast expressly for this purpose, and while it will allow an increased space for reading matter, it will be much more pleasing to the eye than that now used. The paper used for the next volume will be of a very superior quality, much heavier and whiter, thus adding materially to the general neatness of the monthly numbers and considerably increasing the size of the bound volume. Other improvements will be made as may suggest themselves in making up the forms. In a word, we can assure the reader that it is the determination of the Publisher to make The Guardian one of the handsomest, as the Editor will make it one of the very best, magazines which can be had in the country for the extremely low rate at which it is furnished to subscribers. And, kind patrons, we ask you to remember that all these improvements, made for your gratification and instruction, involve a heavy expenditure of money, and can only be justified by an increase of its subscription list and a punctual renewal of old subscribers. If every one who is familiar with the character of The Guardian, and who feels interested in the dissemination of a pure literature, will constitute himself or herself an agent to solicit an additional subscriber, the Publisher will not only be remunerated for his outlay, but the influence of the maga zine for good will be doubled. Will you not do this? Can you not spare at least one day, or an hour, to be spent in so good a work? We know you can and believe you will. In this number you will find a copy of the Prospectus for 1856. May we not ask you to take it out among your friends and solicit their names? By procuring five new subscribers, with $5 cash, you will be entitled to a sixth copy for yourself, your Pastor, or a friend, without any charge, for one year. As already intimated, the Retrospect closes with this number. The space it has heretofore occupied will be filled with matter similar to that in the body of the work, and which we feel assured will be more acceptable to the reader than what we have been able, under the circumstances of the past year, to offer them. We therefore conclude by again urging every one who reads this THE LADIES.-Among the most efficent workers for The Guardian heretofore, we take pleasure in naming our female friends as the most prominent. We thank them cordially for what they have done in the past, feeling assured that they will not relax their efforts in behalf of the Guardian for the future. "A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR."-Such is our earnest wish to each and every one of our readers: but while we wish merriness to every heart and happiness to every family circle, there are suggestions which we would make and thoughts that we would awake in the minds and hearts of all who feel a Humanity living within them. The approaching holidays will be a season of mirth and gladness to many-we trust to all-whose eye may chance upon these pages; but how many, alas! are these who will enjoy no merry Christmas and whose eyes will not open upon the light of a happy New Year! The POOR have no Christmas-for through He in honor of whom the day was named was poor himself-born in a stable and cradled in a manger, having not whereon to lay his head-though he suffered and died for the poor as well as the affluenthow often are the poor overlooked and neglected by those who are blessed with an abundance of this world's goods. Our Saviour has said that if we give a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in his name we shall have our reward-that whatever good acts we do to his children he will regard it as having been done unto himself-and who is there among the the many readers of The Guardian that would not rejoice in that blessed welcome-"Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into thy reward!” When you sit in your warm and comfortable home, around the Christmas table groaning beneath the necessaries and luxuries of life, oh, remember how many on that natal day of the Poor Man's Christ may be suffering with cold and hunger, and living without hope in the world! When your children gather around their gay Christmas tree, and your heart is cheered with their joyous, innocent prattle, pause in the fullness of your heart and cast a thought over the many poor children who instead of shouting over a merry Christmas are crying over the miseries of poverty and orphanage. Nor stop you here. Not only cast a thought but open your heart and give liberally in their behalf. "He that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord," and that man or woman who refuses or neglects to contribute of their means— of which God has graciously made them his steward-can not lay claim to the title of Christian. If you wish to have a truly happy Christmas make some other heart happy beside yours. Then you will have cause in after years to remember at least one holiday with gratitude. SPECIAL NOTICE.-It is desirable that all persons desiring to make any change in our subscription list, either by renewal, procuring new subscribers, or discontinuance, should do so before the printing of the January number. The publisher hopes that all old subscribers will not only renew their subscriptions but interest themselves in procuring new ones. No WAR YET.-The "sound and fury" indulged in by the London Times, about a war between England and America, has turned out as we expected-to " signify nothing." The great “thunderer" has a tremendous influence over Europe-more, perhaps, than all other newspapers on the continent combined -but it is a significant fact that this influence falls far short of the power to provoke the English people to a war with their Anglo-Saxon brethren of this country. The principles of christianity, it is to be hoped, have taken too deep a hold in the hearts of the English and American people ever to allow their respective governments to embroil themselves in a cruel and destructive war, about some "vague, uncertain and undefined pretext." THE ORGANIZATION OF CONGRESS is becoming the most interesting and exciting topic of discussion in political circles. The first great question will be the admission or rejection of Gov. Reeder, as Delegate. On the decision of Congress in this question will no doubt turn the future fate of Kansas. The Constitutional Convention of Kansas, which has just concluded its labors, has agreed upon a constitution excluding Slavery from the new State. |