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Show THE LAW, OF PRAISE. There is a'law for regulating and securing se-curing family harmony that is at the same time one of the simplest and also one of the least understood of all family fam-ily laws. It is simply this to let the language of praise, rather than the language of blame, ba the rule between the different members of the family circle. A child brought up by the language lan-guage of blame will become confirmed in its naughtiness, and, finding very early that only naughtiness" is expected of it, will form a character in accordance accord-ance with this expectation. While a child brought up by the language of judicious praise, who finds out that goodnesa is expected of it, is almost sure, sooner or later, to turn out good. Many a child's moral nature is deter- I A LENTEN COSY CORNER. mined for life by its treatment in this respect. The same rule also appliea to the servants and to the grown-up members of the family circle. If we show each other that we expect kind-nesa kind-nesa and consideration and gentleness from one another, it is almost sure to be given; and the reverse is equally true. We should accustom ourselves, therefore, to correct faults in one another, an-other, not by blaming the fault, but by praising the opposite virtue whenever it may chance to display itself. When a selfish memb.-r of the family, for instance, in-stance, displays ever so little generosity, generos-ity, we should at once notice it and express ex-press out pleasure in it, if possible, over tha instances of selfishness, ' In the same way with carelessness or pet-tishnem pet-tishnem or any other fault. The praiseworthy will gradually kill out the opposite fault. Especially in the case of children is praise the secret of home influence that but few parents understood. Whenever a child isj good, the mother should exprers her pleasure. How often a child, in utter discouragement discourage-ment at continual blame, has said in its heart, "Well, it's of no use; they always tell me I'm naughty, anyhow, and I guess I can't be good; so I won't try." |