Suggestions to mothers on the management of their children / by a mother. Rev. throughout by a physician.

Date:
1889
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Suggestions to mothers on the management of their children / by a mother. Rev. throughout by a physician. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    index of the mind and gives the cine to the nature. It has been rightly said that 1 the soul shines through the eyes,5 and, with the exception of the mouth, the eyes are the most expres- sive part of the face. Whether in joy, in sorrow, in anger, or in fear, the eyes express the chief emotions of the mind. When very young children look at a face they are most im- pressed by the eyes, and if the eyes are indicative of kindness, however plain or even ugly the face, they will not dislike. A little girl, being once questioned as to an aversion she had taken, replied, ‘ Her eyes frighten me,5 and the poor little thing was quite truthful in replying so. The person indicated had a most unpleasant, hard, cruel look in her eyes. A clear, honest, frank, kind-looking eye will redeem the plainest face from ugliness. Where the eyes seem to betoken a cruel dis- position or a bad temper, children should never be allowed to become closely acquainted with what these useful members betoken so unpleasantly, yet often so truly. A single look more marks the internal woe, Than all the windings of the lengthened oh 1 Up to the face the quick sensation flies, And darts its meaning from the speaking eyes. Love, transport, madness, anger, scorn, despair, And all the passions, all the soul is there. Persons with a cast in the eye or with any disease of the eyes should not be placed with children.1 People are often quite unaware of what really goes on in their nurseries, the unrestrained vulgarity of speech and manner, the tendency to deception, the want of proper guard and control over both speech and temper, of the people placed with the little ones. Children are very keen-sighted, and soon observe, when old enough, what is going on around them. They should never see untruthfulness, deceit, bad temper, or irreverence in those constantly in personal contact with them.3 Sense of right is formed in children by their outward impres- sions, and is never learnt by rote. Much mischief is often caused by idle, foolish tales being repeated, and by idle conver- sation in young children’s hearing. 1 See ‘ Remarks on the Eyes,’ p. 525. 2 See ‘ Education,’ pp. 662-665.