The Victorian Apprentice (2)

From 'The Dictionary of Daily Wants', 1858-1859: As apprenticing has the most important influence upon success in life, it ought to be exercised by parents and guardians with the most ..... care and discretion.

In apprenticing a youth, it is not alone sufficient that he should learn a trade from which good earnings may afterwards be derived, but that the trade selected should be in accordance with his taste, and also ..... to his mental and physical capacity.

It may be said that a boy does not ..... his own mind, and that it is consequently idle to consult him upon a subject when his seniors are better qualified to judge.

But in the majority of cases, a boy will be found to give unmistakeable indications of the branch of mechanical employment upon which his mind is most ..... and for which his hands will be consequently most fit.

If the boy is apprenticed to a trade of a totally opposite nature to that for which he has a ....., the incessant struggle between natural desire and constrained duty will frequently entail failure and disappointment.

Equally necessary is it that the mental and bodily ..... should be considered before apprenticeship.

And it is also a species of cruelty to select for a youth of a weak and delicate constitution such a trade as is only adapted for the ..... and hardy.

The premiums for apprenticeship are governed by no stated tariff, but as a general rule they are proportioned to the wages which the trade ......

The amount of the premium, therefore, is a secondary consideration to the advantages which its outlay ......

The usual term of apprenticeship is seven years, namely, from fourteen to twenty-one years of age, but that period of ..... is not always necessary, and, generally speaking, it is optional to determine upon a shorter term.