a mother of a young family, may devote herself to the instruction of
some of its younger members, or to the examination of the state of their
wardrobe, leaving the later portion of the morning for reading, or for
some amusing recreation. "Recreation," says Bishop Hall, "is intended to
the mind as whetting is to the scythe, to sharpen the edge of it, which
would otherwise grow dull and blunt. He, therefore, that spends his
whole time in recreation is ever whetting, never mowing; his grass may
grow and his steed starve; as, contrarily, he that always toils and
never recreates, is ever mowing, never whetting, labouring much to
little purpose. As good no scythe as no edge. Then only doth the work go
forward, when the scythe is so seasonably and moderately whetted that it
may cut, and so cut, that it may have the help of sharpening."
Unless the means of the mistress be very circumscribed, and she
be obliged to devote a great deal of her time to the making of
her children's clothes, and other economical pursuits, it is
right that she should give some time to the pleasures of
literature, the innocent delights of the garden, and to the
improvement of any special abilities for music, painting, and
other elegant arts, which she may, happily, possess.