The cause of the trouble was, simply, that the child was not old enough to understand the laws of momentum and of oscillation that affect the condition of a fluid when subjected to movements more or less irregular.

She has had no theoretical instruction on the subject, and is too young to have acquired the necessary knowledge practically, by experience or observation.
It is so with a very large portion of the accidents which befall children.
They arise not from any evil design, nor even any thing that can properly be called carelessness, on their part, but simply from the immaturity of their knowledge in respect to the properties and qualities of the material objects with which they have to deal.
It is true that children may be, and often, doubtless, are, in fault for these accidents.

The boy may have been warned by his father not to attempt to bore with his knife-blade, or the girl forbidden to attempt to carry the milk-pitcher.

The fault, however, would be, even in these cases, in the disobedience, and not in the damage that accidentally resulted from it.

And it would be far more reasonable and proper to reprove and punish the fault when no evil followed than when a damage was the result; for in the latter case the damage itself acts, ordinarily, as a more than sufficient punishment.
_Misfortunes befalling Men_.
These cases are exactly analogous to a large class of accidents and calamities that happen among men.