Why is it, that earth is thus piled with the graves of the young? Why is it, that death riots and revels in the haunts of childhood, and changes the joyous prattle and merry laugh of innocence to the wild wail of deep and bitter agony?

See the mother, with bleeding heart, clasping in deep and untold anguish the cold and pulseless form of her child to her heaving bosom, and hear her murmur with pallid lips, "my child, my bright, my beautiful, my loved one, how can I give you up, how take you from my warm bosom and lay you in the cold, dark, damp grave." And the father, the strong man, the iron will, he, who has struggled manfully and bared himself to the stern conflicts of life. O! how he bends now, like a broken reed, how the cold drops start from the forehead, as he gazes with glazed eye, and in speechless misery, for he cannot weep, on the little being, cold and pulseless before him.

Hear that prayer, which daily goes up from thousands of bleeding hearts, "oh God! let this bitter cup pass from me."

Glance for one moment at this misery, at this deep anguish, at those mourning weeds, at these sweet buds nipped by the frosts of death, and then lift your eyes in reverence to heaven, and say if you can, if you dare, "Thou, oh Father, in mercy, kindness and love, hast done it all. Thou, in mercy or in wrath, hast sent thy fearful messenger, death, through the earth to wither with his icy breath, the brightest, fairest flowers in their first bloom."

The doctrine of "Divine Providence" as sometimes understood at the present day, is very convenient for physicians to hide behind, as a shield for their ignorance, or for patients or friends to preach, as an excuse for dereliction from duty.

But reflect whether you are not blaspheming, a pure and holy God by charging all this wo and misery on him, the result by far too often, of your own ignorance, folly or wickedness.

In a reverence for the Supreme Being, and in a firm belief in his Providence, I yield to no one, but my soul shudders and sickens at the proneness of the human race, while madly or blindly rushing on in their own way, heedlessly trampling on laws, which form the basis of their existence, to make a "Divine Providence" accountable for the result of their own disobedience. If the parents had been properly trained, had given way to no dissipation during youth, and had entered the marriage-state as rational, intelligent beings, might not a large portion of this disease have been prevented? Cases of sickness however are frequently seen, where there has been no known disobedience of nature's law, but are the result of circumstances, apparently beyond our control.

We can lay down then with perfect safety this broad principle.

If the human race were properly educated, mentally, morally, and physically, and would follow closely the teachings of nature, appealing so strongly to the God implanted reason and common-sense within them, cultivating harmony in themselves and with the world, not only a large portion of disease which now devastates the earth would vanish, but we should have a race in beauty and intellect such as the world has never seen since the fall of man.

The influence exerted by the mother on the child during the period of gestation, the general rules which should regulate her habits, as well as the treatment of the babe during the first few months of infancy will more appropriately come under the head of "Affections of women and children" which will be found in this work.

Commencing with the child as it emerges from the nursery, leaving its peculiar diseases and training during infancy, for another chapter, let us glance at some of the prominent points deserving attention not only during childhood, but amid the bustle, the stern duties and active scenes of life.

The food of the child is of vast importance. It should be plain, simple, nourishing and in sufficient variety and quantity. The more simple its preparation the better. Spices, tea, and coffee, rich gravies and fatty food should be avoided. Pastry, rich cake, and confectionary of all kinds should form no part of its diet. Fruits and vegetables, perfectly ripe and fresh, can generally be eaten with safety.

Pure air and cleanliness are at no time more important than in childhood. The rooms and bed should be well aired daily. Feather beds are as injurious to children as to adults and should therefore be avoided. The clothing should be loose, to give ample play to the limbs and muscles, and of sufficient warmth to ensure comfort.

Bathing the entire body every day should also be practiced, the temperature being guided by the strength and temperament of the child. (See Bathing.) Outdoor exercise in the open air is absolutely essential. There are a hundred harmless and innocent sports in childhood, which can be safely indulged, such as, playing at ball, jumping the rope, skating, swimming, etc. Contrast the buoyant and elastic step, the ruddy cheek, the sparkling eye, the well developed form of the boys and girls who are accustomed to vigorous exercise in the open air, with those weak and puny children on whom the breath of heaven is scarcely permitted to blow.

At the age of six or seven, and not before, by which time the physical system should have received a fair start, the child may be sent to school. Previous to this period, the physical should be developed, and its teachers be, the mother and nature. Learn it to think, inculcate habits of observation, and when studying in nature's temple, check not with a careless word its eager questionings. Let the great book of nature be the volume studied, and through it the holy principle of love and beauty so strongly stamped on every page, be infused into the mind with every breath, and every gaze on the bright world around.

Sometimes immense harm is done in chaining the young mind, at too early an age, to books and abstract rules. The physical should first be permitted to become strong and healthy, or at least, developed to such an extent, that the mind may be brought into activity with safety. You will find in almost every family, at least one child, that gives bright promise of a brilliant future. The parents, in the pride of their heart, determine it shall win a glorious name, and therefore, instead of at first holding back the mental, and fostering the physical, preserving a healthy equilibrium between them, the mind is pushed and goaded on, its pride constantly flattered by praise, until the brain by too violent exercise looses its elasticity, and sinks into a state of dullness, or like the mettled courser, goaded on by the spur, ' it rouses itself for a new effort, and then falls dead on the field. Thus, not unfrequently, is the pride of the parent doomed to a bitter disappointment. To no one is out-door exercise more absolutely essential to health, than the student, and hence swimming, riding, fencing, dancing, and those gymnastic exercises, which contribute so much to health and to a proper development of the form, should hold a conspicuous rank in the education of all. Look into our colleges, and among those who study hard, and take but little care of their bodily health, and you will see pale and sickly countenances, bent forms, sallow or hectic cheeks, with disease and death stamped upon them in perfectly legible characters. What can we call these men, who thus trample on the laws of their being, dig their own graves, and write their own death warrants, but madmen and suicides? What can they expect but disease and death? Unless the machinery of the body be kept unclogged, in vigorous health, and each part perform its proper functions, its infirmities will tinge with a sickly and unhealthy hue the strongest mind and the brightest genius. To have a healthy mind, there must be a healthy body, and with both, almost any purpose, however difficult, may be accomplished.