nied that, under the favorable circumstances of a free pastry-cook's shop and an unlimited supply of pocket-money, they would seem to be of unbounded stomach. At a properly set meal, however, there is little fear of a child eating to excess, provided he has been taught to take the food in the order provided. He will, no doubt, if the prospect of some delicacy, revealed to him through the fondness of mamma or the indiscretion of cook, is looked forward to, be apt to scorn the immediate beef and reserve himself for the promised pudding. There is no reason why young people should be deprived of their prerogative of pie, or any privilege of dainty, if the food be wholesomely prepared; but they should be made to understand that such things are to be regarded as subordinate to the more nutritious meat and vegetables, which ought to form the main part of the dinner.

Questions.-How far are the likes and dislikes of the young to be regarded? What are idiosyncrasies? Give some examples. What is the effect of thrusting upon the young special articles of diet? How and when should young folk dine?

CHAPTER XXIII.

Regularity in Eating.-Proper Hours for Meals.-Before, at, and after Meals. - Dangers of Careless Children.

WE Americans are apt to do everything in haste, and in nothing do we show our characteristic hurry more remarkably than in the expeditious manner in which we dispose of our superabundant meals. What time is gained in this way is dearly paid for by the discomfort and ill-health which are sure to follow. Nature is not to be hurried with impunity by the impatience of man; and if pushed or interrupted, will either do her work imperfectly or stop it altogether. There is no natural function which so much requires both time and occasion for its due performance, and is so easily and so often deprived of them, as that of digestion.

A fixed time should be set for each meal, and kept with the utmost punctuality. Three repasts a day would seem, from experience, a sufficient number for most human beings in good health; and the best hours, generally, for these are eight o'clock in the

morning, one o'clock in the afternoon, and six o'clock in the evening. These, of course, might be changed somewhat to suit the different requirements of the business or duties of each person, but being once established, as they should be by daily habit, they ought not to be varied. He should breakfast, dine, and sup to-day, to-morrow, and always, if possible, at the hours once fixed. An interval of about five hours between each meal seems requisite for the completion of one full repast and the repose necessary to the stomach before beginning another.

Children are supposed to be in a perpetual state of hunger. They are certainly always ready to eat, but this is rather owing to the constant desire they have of pleasing their taste than of satisfying the cravings of their stomachs. If their palates were kept unconscious of the delights of cake, candy, luscious fruits, and other sweets, and confined to the satisfaction of plain food, they would probably show a less eager voracity. It is possible that some children, especially when very young, may require to be fed oftener than the three established meals would allow. In such cases, if there is a genuine appetite, and not merely a capricious taste, the plainest food will be the

best means of not only satisfying, but testing it. No really hungry child will refuse a roll or slice of bread. Whatever is offered during such intervals to a child, and it should be always of a simple, nutritious kind, must be given each day at the same time, and never too soon after one or before another regular full meal. The middle of the period between the two would seem to be the most proper time. The practice of munching tidbits of any kind, fruit, pastry, and sweets, at any and each moment of the day, is an exceedingly dangerous one, and not only takes away the appetite for the nutritious food of the regular meal, but weakens and irritates the stomach by keeping it in a constant state of useless activity. Children, certainly, often survive this ceaseless worrying of their digestion; but though for a long time they may seem to suffer no ill consequences, there can be no doubt that their future lives will be the shorter and more miserable for it.

People should neither hurry through their meals, nor sit down to them without a certain deliberateness and preparation. Young folk go to their dinner very much as they do to everything else, except perhaps their studies—with a rush, and will begin it with

all the flush and heat and dirt of play upon them. They are advised, not only for the sake of decorum but of health, not to intermit the preliminary washing and brushing which most decent people regard as proper on the occasion of a meal. These cleanly operations, duly performed, will afford just the time and means required for refreshing and cooling the fatigued and heated body, and, allaying the excited nerves of a youth turbulent with play, will give him that sense of ease and calmness which are essen

tial to the full enjoyment and thorough digestion of food.

Every one should not only sit down to dinner and eat it in as composed a state of mind and body as a hearty appetite will allow, but, after satisfying this in the deliberate manner necessary for the due performance of the processes of mastication and swallowing, remain for some time afterward in comparative quietude. He need not sink to sleep or refuse to move. In fact, a nap immediately after a full meal is harmful; and though excessive exercise of mind and body is injurious, a gentle activity of both will be beneficial. The habitual rush of youngsters from, as to, the table, and an immediate plunge into the turmoil of play af