Rochester, N. Y., July, 1861
My Dear Children, Henry and Edson,
I will now write some things which are the opposite of slovenly
and careless habits, copied from the same book from which the extract
in my former letter was taken:
“The neat, orderly and careful boy has an invariable rule; ‘A place
for every thing, and every thing in its place.’ Go into his room at any
hour, you will find everything in order. He can go in the dark and
lay his hands upon anything that he wants, so that he never runs the
risk of setting the house on fire by carrying a light into his bed-room.
He never leaves a thing at random where he happens to be using it,
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but always puts it where it belongs. When he undresses, every article
of his clothing is folded and laid together in the order that it will be
wanted in the morning, so that he loses no time in hunting for it. He is
equally careful of his person. He never considers himself dressed, till
he has washed his hands and face, cleaned his teeth, and combed his
hair; and he never thinks of setting down to the table with dirty hands.
He learns to keep his clothes neat and clean. He never forgets to use
the scraper at the door, to remove the mud from his feet, and he makes
it an invariable rule never to pass a mat without wiping his shoes. He
never says, like the sloven, ‘I didn’t think,’ to excuse himself. He
would consider it unpardonable in him not to think; for what is the
ability of thinking worth, if it never comes when it is wanted. The
neat, orderly boy makes himself agreeable to his mother, or guardian,
and friends, who are always glad to see him coming home. And home
is a delightful place to him, because he meets with smiles and pleasant
words. But the sloven exposes himself to sour looks and chiding, by
his dirty habits; and he finds home a disagreeable place, because he
makes it so.”
We want you, dear boys, to be patterns of neatness and order.
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Willie looks to you for example. He has great confidence that you
do everything about right. Any wrong, careless habits in you, would
be learning your youngest brother lessons which would make him
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