Had she been a
weak and indulgent and unfaithful parent, the unchecked energies of
Washington might have elevated him to the throne of a tyrant, or
youthful disobedience might have prepared the way for a life of crime
and a dishonored grave.
* * * * *
Original.
INSTRUCTION OF THE YOUNG IN THE DOCTRINES AND PRECEPTS OF THE GOSPEL.
MRS. A. G. WHITTELSEY:
DEAR MADAM--It is among the recollections of my early youth,
that your departed husband was pastor of one of the churches in the
southern section of Litchfield County, Conn. Among the distinguishing
religious characteristics of that portion of country, at that period,
was the soundness of the Congregational churches in the faith of the
gospel: the means for which, in diligent use, were, the faithful
preaching of the gospel in its great and fundamental doctrines and
precepts; and catechetical instruction, in the family and in the school.
I am not informed as to the present habits there, on the latter means.
But knowing what was the practice, extensively, in regard to the
instruction of children and youth, and what its effects on the interests
of sound piety and morals in those days, I feel myself standing on firm
ground for urging upon the readers of your Magazine, the importance of
the instruction of the young in the doctrines and duties of the gospel.
The position taken in your Magazine, on that great and important
subject, Infant Baptism, is one which you will find approved and
sustained by all who fully appreciate the means for bringing the sons
and daughters of the Church to Christ.
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