that is enjoined by the child himself in a situation that he has created. We entered a home and a little girl of five met us on tip-toe and with fingers upon her lips motioned us to silence, pointing to her dolly lying in its carriage. Her baby was asleep and must not be wakened. For more than half an hour she imposed this restraint of silence upon her noisy little self while she played mother to the dolly. This sort of self-control is to that imposed from without, what the living blossom is to the artificial one. In appearance they may be the same, but one is a manufactured thing. If you have another like it you must make it yourself, while of the living blossom we may predict many more from the same rhizome.

Always remember that it is the child's own will, not yours, that must function in him to the strengthening of character. Even in those instances when you are obliged to insist upon a stated act that must be carried out definitely at once, if it is against the child's desire, try to save to him a self-respecting choice by suggesting an alternative in the way it is done. For instance:

"Will you wash your hands here in the kitchen, or up in the bathroom?"

Instead of breaking his will (we might better break his leg for the greatest tragedy of life is the broken will) we should make the occasions

for interfering with it as few as possible. In those circumstances in which you scent possible friction, leave him independent choice as much as possible. It is only through the will that wealth of personality and genius, ability little or much, can be given to the world.

The unconditional freedom of the child merging into the freedom conditioned upon his own self-control constitutes the normal development of the child into a law abiding citizen. To let him achieve this freedom in conformity, is to watch the triumphant course of a child's natural development.

If we do not weaken his moral strength by overloading it, if we do not brutalize him by crushing his eager will, if we do not cause him to stumble and stay at rudimentary stages, we shall see him constantly growing in all spiritual grace and responsiveness. And the Perfect One Who commanded us not to cause the child to stumble waits for him at the end of his journey.

INFORMING THE SUBCONSCIOUSNESS, OR, HELPING THE CHILD TO PACK FOR

HIS LIFE JOURNEY

"There was a child went forth every day,

And the first object he looked upon, that object he be

came;

And that object became part of him for the day, or a certain part of the day, or for many years, or stretching cycles of years.

The early lilacs became part of this child,

The grass, and white and red morning-glories, and white and red clover, and the song of the phoebe-bird ... And the school-mistress that passed on her way to the school,

And the friendly boys that pass'd-and the quarrelsome boys,

And the tidy and fresh-cheek'd girls—and the barefoot negro boy and girl,

And all the changes of city and country, wherever he

went.

His own parents!

The mother at home quietly placing the dishes on the supper table;

The mother with mild words-clean her cap and gown, a wholesome odor falling off her person and clothes as she walks by;

The father strong, self-sufficient, manly mean, anger'd, unjust;

The blow, the quick loud word, the tight bargain, the crafty lure,

The family usages, the language, the company, the furniture-the yearning and the swelling heart,

Affection that will not be gainsay'd-the sense of what is real-the thought if after all it should prove unreal,

The doubts of daytime and the doubts of night-time-the curious whether and how,

Whether that which appears so is so, or is it all flashes and specks?

These became part of that child who went forth every day, and who now goes, and will always go forth every day." WALT WHITMAN.

"Why are those tears always in your eyes, my child? How horrid of them to be always scolding you for noth

ing!

You have stained your fingers and face with ink while writing, is that why they call you dirty?

O, fie! Would they dare to call the full moon dirty because it had smudged its face with ink?

For every little trifle they blame you, my child. They are ready to find fault for nothing.

You tore your clothes while playing,—is that why they call you untidy?

O, fie! What would they call an autumn morning that smiled through its ragged clouds?

Take no heed what they say to you, my child. They make a long list of your misdeeds.

Everybody knows how you love sweet things, is that why they call you greedy?

O, fie! What then would they call us who love you?

TAGORE.

WHEN the children are to go on a vacation trip or for a visit, when they are to go to boarding school or to college, how we work to get them ready! There must be changes of underwear and suitable clothing for all occasions. No effort is spared to provide the useful, the durable, and all proper articles for the journey and the stay away from us.

How far the children must wander from us on their life journey! To store their minds with impressions that will be useful to them, that will not be found wanting when compared with the best standards of their day and generation, is like packing their trunks for the other and lesser journeys.

Conduct has been thought of as the result of reasoning about the right and wrong of things. There is little conduct that can lay claim to such distinction.

"Why does he do so-and-so?" We say: "He knows better," or "I am surprised at Mr. B's action on such and such occasion; I did not think it was in him."

We are constantly surprising ourselves as well as being surprised in this respect, because as a matter of fact we do not act reasonably, that is, in a manner that can be predicted from a knowledge of our accepted standards. The