VOLUME 11.
OXFORD, N. 0., WEDXESUAY, FEBRUARY 2, 187G.
NUMBER 5.
CKSSfSJKS IIV I5EEj«UJit5.
Ulu'iiig tlie last tliirty years
quite a number of creches (man
gers, in remembrance of the man
ger of Betlilehem) have been
founded in most countries of Eu
rope, but especially in France
and Belgium. They are all man
aged and supported either by
private individuals or corpora
tions. A complete series of re
ports of the famous creche Marie-
llenriette, (named after the Queen
of Belgium, at Antwerp, from
18G7-’72, has come to hand, from
which we extract the following :
During the year 1866 the chol
era had made great ravages in
Belgium, but especially in the
city" of Antwerp. The misery
produced by this epidemic was
■very great among the poorer
classes of tlie population. Many
infants were deprived either of a
father or mother, and, wliile the
parent was obliged to bo absent
tlie whole day to eani a scanty
livelihood, these poor little in
fants were left in the charge of
careless neighbors, who wanted
iiigh pay for their services, but
who, in most cases, lot the infants
suffer from cold and liunger. The
same was the case in the family
of. many a y)oor worldn.g-inan,
whose i’.ouse had e.scat)ed the
dreadful scourge, but whoso great
made it necessary for lii.s
^vii'e to" go out likewise during the
day, ill order to contribute to-
■wards the maintonaiico of the
family. Yvhen these facts be-
famo known, a number of benev
olent ladies and gentlemen met'to
ju'op'oso a remedy, and tills rem-
edv was the creche. This first
meeting took pla.ce on the 4tli
November, 1866, and on Jamiar)'
23, 1867, the trec/ie was solemnly
opened. Since that year it has
contiuHcd to llourish, and has ac
commodated, in all, up to tlie
year 1872, 642 infants of tlie ten-
derest age, viz, 477 girls and 465
bovs. lluriug the year 1872, the
number of inmates was 149, viz,
‘to girls ami 59 boys, '.riie re
ceipts during the same j'ear were
44,306.81 francs and the expen
ses 26,773.20 francs. To show
more exactly tlie working of a
creche, the regulations are sub
joined in full;
(1) Every child aged at least
fifteen days, or, at most, threo
years, whose parents are resi
dents of tlie city, can be admitted
to the creche, if it is not afflicted
wdtli any contagious disease and
if it has been vaccinated.
(2) Persons who desire to place
an infant in the creche must fur
nisli a paper showing the resi
donee of the parents and their oc
cupation and a certificate of vac
cination.
(3) After these papers have
been shown, the name of the child
is registered and the time indica
tod when it can be received.
(4) The children are admitted
to the creche whenever a vacancy
occurs, in the order in which the}’
are registered.
(5) A'pplication for admission
can be made every day from 9 to
12 a. m., but the admission itself
only takes place on Monday.
(0) All children admitted to
the creche are treated on a footing
of perfect equality.
(7) The charge for each child
is five centimes ]Kir day, or twen
ty-five eentiines per week, in case
of prepayment.
(8) Vfhen tlie time for admit
ting a child has come, the persons
who bring it must answer the fol
lowing questions : Are the father
and mijthcr alive ? What is the
amount of their daily or ivoekl}'
earnings? Ilow many days a
month do they work I Ilavo
they any protectors wlio help
them? Do they receive any aid
from the poor-fund ?
(9) The creche does not receive
sick children, and no child is ad
mitted before having been
thorouglil}- examined by the phy
sician of tlie institution.
(10) The food of the children
at tiie creche consists—
(«) For babies that liave not
yet been w’eaned : (9f bread-soup
(panades de biscuit) made with
white broad and arrowroot boiled
in milk and water, every day at
10 a. m. and between the liours
of 2 and 5 p. m.; and, for a drink,
barley-water or gruel, with a lit
tle moist sugar. These drinks
must bo prepared fresh ever}' day.
(h) For children of seven
months and more who liavo not
}'6t been weaned; The bread-
soup will bo given only in the
morning, and at 2 p. m., by a
pap of gruel; and tlireo times a
week by beef or veal-soup,
(bouillon,) from wliicli the fat has
been skimmed. This soup is to
be prepared with semolino.
fc) For children who have
been weaned : At 10 a. m., bread-
soup, only a little thicker; at
12.30 p. 111., beef or veal-souj),
with rice and semolino, followed
by vegetables, of which potatoes
are not to torin more than ono-
sixthpart; at 5 p. m., slices of
bread spread with butter; for
drink, ptisan made of licorice.
(11) 'I’lie following regulations
■will be observed carefully :
VENTilj.mOX.
There is to be a coiitinuons
vcntillatioii in the creche ; the air
will be purified by streams of
fresh air as soon as impregnated
with anv oders, but the children
must never bo exposed to any
draught; there are never to be
any flowers in the creche ; as soon
as tlie number of children in the
creche increases all the windows
will bo opened and the cradles,
&c., be aired ; tlie children ivill
bo taken into the open air when
ever the weather jiormits-.
TE.\IPHKATl,'liE.
The teiniicraturo of the creche
will ahvays bo about 15 Edau
mur [about 60 Falirenheit;] to
wards evening the temperature
will be lowered a little. The
parents are urged to cover up the
children well when they are
brought to tlie creche in the morn
ing and when taken away in the
evening.
C'LEAXEIXES.3.
The greatest possible cleanli
ness is to be maintained in the
creche ; every child will be washed
and combed in the morning and
before the first meal; after every
men.1 its hands and face will be
tvashed. Wliile wa.sliing the
cliildroii they -will be kept far
from the windows ; they will bo
completely undressed, and after
]ia\iiig been waslied they will
bo rubbed with clean towels till
tliey are completely dry. Every
child will be provided with a
sponge, a basin, a handkerchief,
a cup, and a spoon. From the
beginning of May till the end of
September, the children will take
a tejiid bath twice a week, remain
ing in the bath about 10 minutes ;
they will never be bathed till two
hours after a meal.
VARIOUS KEUUEATIONS.
The children will be taken out
as often as possible and be made
to walk tvlien they are able to do
so ; scolding is to bo used but
rarely, corporal jninisliment
never, and altogether the greatest
tenderness in the treatment is re
commended ; the children are to
bo laid sometimes on one side and
sometimes on the other, always
with the head a little raised ; they
are to be covered sufficiently but
not too much ; no child is to be
left in its chair for any great
length of time; the child is not to
be lifted up witli one arm only ;
the feet of the children are to be
kept warm, the stomach easy,
and the head cool; no painted
eonfectionery, or anything which
might hurt the children, is al
lowed iir.the creche ; the children
may be caressed but not em
braced ; tlioir sleep is never to bo
interrupted; they are not to be
excited in any manner; tliey are
to enjoy their games, and are, if
possible, placed near those for
whom they show any predilec
tion ; whenever a child has con
vulsions it is to be at once re
moved from tlie sight of. the
others, and the physician is to bo
iuforinod immediately.
(12) When a child is admitted
to the creche, the yiarents are in
formed with regard the following
regulations, with which they
must comply:
(13) Mothers must nurse their
children whenever their work
permits.
(14) Children must bo brought
to the creche before 8 a. m. in sum
mer and before 9 a. in. in witer,
and must bo taken back in even
ing after day’s work lias been fin
ished.
(15) Parents owe due respect
to the directress and all the em
ployes of the establishment.
(16) Parents who neglectd
their infants, and ivho after hav
ing been duly warned, do not
comply with the regulations, lose
all their privileges, and their in
fants iu’e sent homo.—Bureau of
Education.
he jiosscssed a remarkable art or
faculty of memory, though in-
credufous hi regard to roport.s,
took occasion to request fi'om him
a specimen of his power. He at
oiico agreed; and, having ad
journed witli a considerable party
of distinguished auditors into a
saloon, Muretus began to dictate
words, Ijatin, Greek, barb:rrous,
significant and non-significant,
disjointed and connected; until he
wearied himself, tlio young man
who wrote tliom down, and the
audience who were present;—
‘we %yere all,’ he says, ‘uiarveT
onsly tired.’ The Corsican alone
was the one of the whole com
pany alert and fresh, and contin
ually desired Jlluretus for more
words, who declared lie would bo
more than satisfied if ho could
reipoat the half of what he had
taken down, and at length lie
ceased. The young man, witli
his gaze fixed upon the ground,
stood silent for a brief season;
and then, says Slurotus, ‘Vidi
facinus miiificissimum. Having
begun to speak, he absolutely re
peated the whole words in the
same order in which they had
been delivered, without the
slightest hesitation ; then, com
mencing from tlie last, lie re
peated them backu-ard till lie
came to the first. Then, again,
so that ho spoke tlie first, the
third, the fifth, and so on ; did
this in any order that was asked,
and all without the smallest error.
Having subsequently become fa
miliarly acquainted with him, 1
have liad other and frequent ex
perience of his power. He as
sured mo (and ho had nothing of
the boaster in him) that he could
recite in the manner 1 have men
tioned to tho amount of thirty-six
thousand words. And what is
more wonderful, they all so ad
hered to the mind, that after a
year’s interval he could repeat
them without trouble. I know,
from having tried him, he could
do so after considerable time.”—
E. S. Drone ; Scribner for Nov.
fflUMOISIES.
Pliny says that Cyrus had a
memory so prodigious that he
could name every officer and sol
dier in his armies ; and that Lu
cius Scipio knew evj^ry Roman
citizen by name when tliat city
contained more than two hundred
thousand capable of bearing arms.
Seneca speaks of a friend, Pontius
Latro, who could repeat verbatim
all the speeches he had heard de
claimed by the Roman orators.
It is said that Joseph Scaliger
committed to memory both the
Iliad and tho Odyssey in twenty-
one days. Sir William Hamilton
tells us of a roung Corsican of
good family who had gone to
Padua to- study civil law, in
which ho soon distinguished him
self. “Ho was a frequent v'isitor
at tho house and gardens of
M'uretus, who, having hoard that
owe S1»ABE BIOMESITS’.
It is not long since tliat John
Sharp, an awkward-looking and
shabbily-dressed boy, came to
tho front door of the house where
lived Mr. Wiseman, the principal
of a celebrated academy, and
asked to see him. The servant,
siqiposing liim to be a beggar,
told him to go around to the back
door, where, liaving arrived, she
allowed him to come into tho
kitchen.
“ I am very anxious to see Mr.
Wiseman,” said Jolin.
“ It is more likely that you
want your breakfast,” replied the
servant, “ and I can give you that
without troubling him.”
“ Thank you !” said the boy ;■
“ I have no objection to a piece
of bread, but 1 should like to see
Mr. Wiseman, if lie can possibly
see me.”
“ Some old . clothes }’ou want,
perhaps. I guess he hasn’t got
any to spare. He gives away a
good many,”—-and the servant
went about her work.
“ I did not come either for my
breakfast or for clothes,” replied
but he does like to be filond
sometimes,” s.'iid the girl. She
seemed to think it very foolish to
admit such an ill-looking fellow
into her master’s jiresonce ; how
ever, she wiped her hands and
bade him follow her. Opening
the door of the study^ she saidj
“ Here’s somebody, sir, who is
dreadful anxious to' see vOUj and
so I let him in.”
After conversing with John a
few minutes, Mr. Wiseman put
aside the volume which ho had
been stud}-ingj and took up some
Greek books, and began to ex
amine liim. Every question which
Mr. AViseman put to liim, Joint
answered quite readily. “Indeed,’*
exclaimed the principal^ “you
certainly do well! AVhy, my
boy, where did yoii learn so
much ?”
“ In my spai'e moiiients,” an
swered John.-
“Now, hero was a poor, hard
working boy, with but few op
portunities for study,- and yet al
most fitted for college, by simply
improving his spare inoment^j
How precious these short spaces
of time should bo! There are
many boys in the jail, in the
house of correction, or in tlie tip-
pliiig-sliop, who, if you would
ask them when they began their
sinful courses, might answer,—
In my spare moments I gambled
for marbles;—in my spare mo
ments I began to smoke sogars
and drink rum ;—it was in my
spare moments that I associateJ
with wicked companions.
Now, I hope all tvlio road this
will commence by asking tlie
Lord to give tliem a now heart,
without having which their minds
will apt to be led astrdy. Im
prove your leisure time, and ask
God’s blessings upon all you un
dertake. The book tliat you
should study in preference to all
others is the Bible; for it will
give you information which cait
not be obtained elsewhere,—in
formation which is of ifloro im
portance to us than any thing
wliich can be found iri all the
boohs ever published.
Finally, if you vvisli to' pros
per, if you desire to drive away
wicked thoughts, and if it is your
intention to have your mind well
stored with itseful knowledge, im
prove your spare moments.—
Episcopal Mccorder.
John ; “ I only wish to seo Mr.
Wiseman, and I must see him
“ Well, he is in the study ; if
ho must bo interrupted he must
A little five-year old boy ovor-
licad a w'orkinan who was repair
ing the sitting-room, drop tho
exclamation ‘by gosli,’ over some
slight mishap. ‘That’s the first
swear word I ever heard in mv
father’s house,’ was the' grave re
buke of tho little fellow. It so
touched the rough man that lio'
went to the mother of the boy
and confessed his fault. While
engaged on the job he never
again lapsed into vulgarity or
profanity.
Tlie boy, now a tall lad, wields
tlie same influence over his mates.
They understand that his part in
the game is ended soon as bad
words are introduced. The
knowledge that his father’s ton-'
gue was never polluted by pro
fanity, together with his mother’s'
precepts, and a child’s natural de
sire to be like his father, ha\'0
given this salutary bias to li-i,s‘
oarlv life.