/') 
 
 Class _i.6-^Jil 
 
 Book _^jVLl 
 
 m' 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: 
 
Complete Works of W. H. H. Murray 
 
 NATIONAL EDITION 
 VOL. VIII 
 
 HOW I AM EDUCATING 
 MY DAUGHTERS 
 
 OR A PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION OF WHAT CAN 
 
 EASILY BE DONE IN DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR LOVED ONES 
 
 BY PARENTS AT HOME 
 
 JBritiate SInjStructor!* to t|>e "Cbittiren of tf)t fting 
 
 " Our children are God's children, not ours only, and given us to 
 train for Him. As their Teachers, we teach ourselves more than 
 we teach them." — Beecher 
 
 [;NEW EDITION REVISED AND ENLARGED] 
 
 Copyright, 1902 
 By William Henry Harrison Murray 
 
 GUILFORD, CONN. ' / 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
THE LilRAftY ®F 
 GOiMGSESS, 
 
 Two Copiee f-iEceive* 
 
 Mm fi'~1902 
 
 OUAS8«-XXo. No. 
 COPY Q. 
 
 Press o/ The Case, Lockwood dr' Brainard Co., Hart/ord, Conn, 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I Object of Education, ... 7 
 
 II The System of Education now in 
 Vogue Briefly Examined and 
 Condemned, ..... 23 
 
 III The Family Hour, .... 29 
 
 IV The Spiritual Education of Chil- 
 
 dren, ...... 36 
 
 V Chess as a Substitute for Higher 
 
 Mathematics, .... 98 
 
 VI The Americanization of the Com- 
 mon School System, . . . 128 
 
 VII Proverbs and Wise Sayings of 
 
 Many Peoples, .... 136 
 
 VIII Need and Value of a Good Vocab- 
 ulary, ...... 149 
 
 IX The Civic Education of Children, 181 
 
 X The Political Education of Chil- 
 dren, ...... 190 
 
 XI Mathematics, ..... 206 
 
 XII English Language and Literature, 223 
 
 XIII Practical Knowledge of Civic Pro- 
 
 cedure, . . . . . .252 
 
 XIV Out-Door Education, . ■ . . 261 
 
 V. 
 
 
FORE WORD. 
 
 TO ALL PARENTS; TO ALL TEACHERS AND EDUCATORS; 
 TO THE OWNERS AND EDITORS OF GREAT JOURNALS ; TO 
 ALL WHO BY THEIR THINKING AND WRITING MAKE THE 
 AMERICAN PRESS THE MOST NOBLE AND NOTABLE INFLU- 
 ENCE AMONG THE MANIFOLD FORCES OF CIVILIZATION; 
 TO ALL MEN AND WOMEN OF LIGHT AND LEADING; TO 
 ALL CHILDREN AND YOUTH WHO SEEK, AS BETTER THAN 
 THE BASER FORMS OF WEALTH, THE POWERS AND PLEAS- 
 URES OF INTELLIGENCE ; AND TO MY OWN DEAR CHILDREN, 
 WITHOUT WHOSE LOVE OF LEARNING AND DESIRE TO 
 KNOW THINGS SEEN AND UNSEEN, THIS BOOK OF SUGGES- 
 TIONS AND RECORD OF STUDIES WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN 
 WRITTEN, I INSCRIBE THIS VOLUME. 
 
A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR. 
 
 I trust that no reader of this volume will 
 suppose that the Author of it imagines that 
 many can ever do for their children what he 
 has done for his. In most cases imperative 
 conditions would forbid it. And in such 
 a matter as education of children a close im- 
 itation of any method, however good in cer- 
 tain cases and with certain environments, 
 would in other cases be wholly impracticable. 
 
 The value of this book is found primarily 
 in the fact that it is a truthful record of what 
 is actually being done with a group of chil- 
 dren located in the country by a father who 
 has the education and the environment that 
 enables him to be their teacher. Any good 
 thing that is honestly done at the cost of 
 time and effort in the world has a certain 
 value to it in the way of suggestion at least, 
 
6 A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR. 
 
 for it can be inspected, criticized, and 
 weighed in the balances of sound judgment 
 and accepted as helpful or rejected as hurtful. 
 Nor will the volume be without value if it 
 simply stimulates thought in the reader's 
 mind, calls attention to what might be done, 
 but is now neglected in the matter of educat- 
 ing the children of the Country, brings 
 mother and father in close sympathy with 
 the sweet child life around them, adds to 
 the home feeling, and delivers the youth of 
 the Country from the depressing conven- 
 tionalism which now benumbs the faculties 
 of the public and limits the usefulness of the 
 
 real teacher. 
 
 The Author. 
 
Chapter I. 
 THE OBJECT OF EDUCATION. 
 
 IN WHICH THE OBJECT OF EDUCATION IS SET 
 FORTH AND ENFORCED AND CERTAIN INTRO- 
 DUCTORY STATEMENTS MADE AND EXPLANA- 
 TIONS GIVEN CALCULATED TO PUT THE 
 READER IN INTELLIGENT AND SYMPATHETIC 
 CONNECTION WITH TEACHER AND PUPILS 
 AND UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEM ADOPTED 
 AND APPLIED IN THEIR BEHALF. 
 
 THERE is no education worth the hav- 
 ing that does not make the child 
 love father and mother more. There 
 is no mental development worth the time 
 and effort needed to get it that does not 
 cause the pupil to understand more fully 
 and appreciate more warmly the blessings 
 of home. There is no religious instruction 
 worthy of mention unless by it the child is 
 
 brought into more trustful and loving con- 
 
 (7) 
 
8 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 nection with the divine Fatherhood. There 
 is no system of intellectual training fit for 
 the children of the Republic that does not 
 implant and cultivate within their hearts 
 the love of country. There are four heart 
 connections for a child to make — the Pa- 
 rental heart, the heart of Home, the heart 
 of God, and the heart of the Nation. And 
 that boy or girl who, while living within 
 the safe and sweet enclosure of child-life, 
 has, by the education given him or her, 
 been helped to make a true and happy 
 connection with these four sources of 
 needed and vital supply of the growing 
 forces within, has been best fitted for 
 earthly life in its broadest sense. And that 
 education, both as to its substance and 
 method, which gives in the fullest measure 
 this development and preparation for life, is 
 the best possible education that can be 
 given a child. 
 
 It is in recognition of this principle, which 
 seems to me the true basis on which the 
 entire superstructure of education for child- 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 9 
 
 ren should be builded, that I was moved 
 to undertake and give, at any cost of time 
 and effort, a personal supervision over the 
 training of the dear ones given me of God. 
 To me the object aimed at seemed large 
 and noble enough to include all possible 
 education, from the alphabet to the highest 
 point of human scholarship. The method 
 and manner of my instruction may be mod- 
 ified to adapt it to varying circumstances, 
 dissimilar conditions and different environ- 
 ments. But the objective result remains in 
 each case the same. Love of parents ; 
 love of home ; love of country ; and love 
 of God — these four stand as fixed stars, 
 resplendent and changeless in the sky of 
 parental aspiration, and of those who are 
 appointed to take the place of parents. 
 Above every home, above every school- 
 house, above every college and university, 
 they should be seen and recognized as sup- 
 plying to all educational effort the natural 
 and attractive splendor. 
 
 From children thus educated there would 
 
lO HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 come to us as a people, in a single genera- 
 tion, a vast increase in the respect, the rev- 
 erence, and the affection due to parents. 
 To the children themselves a larger and 
 more practical knowledge of the forces and 
 conditions that make for success on the 
 higher planes of thought, feeling, and life. 
 To the church, so far as it represents true 
 Spiritual development and growth in amia- 
 bilities toward men and reverential appre- 
 hension of the Divine Being, a measureless 
 reinforcement in vital piety. The love of 
 home and home life, which has in the last 
 half century come perilously nigh to the 
 edge of total extinction, would, in all its 
 loveliness and power for good, be restored 
 to us. To education would be given a 
 wider scope, a higher significance, and a 
 closer connection with the actual and daily 
 life of the people, while to the nation, 
 which at present so sorely suffers from the 
 absence of it, there would be born that only 
 Shiloh of Empire, a genuine and divine 
 patriotism, having God for its father, and 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. n 
 
 for its mother a noble, intelligent, and heart- 
 deep love of country. 
 
 If some cynical person should obtrude 
 the hackneyed objection that " The millen- 
 nium has not come yet," I reply that so far 
 as a man loves parents, home, country, and 
 God, the millennium has come already. 
 Such a person has full citizenship in both 
 worlds. In him the millennial conditions 
 already exist full flowered. And when a 
 generation of children in this country have 
 been so educated as to embody and practi- 
 cally express these four cardinal virtues, 
 America has in their passage from low to 
 high, from the imperfect to the complete, 
 passed over the line which to-day separates 
 it from the millennium period. Whether 
 human conditions in this country are lifted 
 to the level of human necessities and human 
 happiness in the next generation or in the 
 one-thousandth generation from this one is 
 not a matter of fate but of popular wish 
 and adequate effort. The election is pri- 
 marily with us who are parents, and who 
 
12 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 for one-third of all their days control the 
 mental, social, moral, and physical shaping 
 and characterizing of the dear ones divinely 
 placed in our charge. One generation of 
 children rightly educated secures us a mil- 
 lennial citizenship. I simply propose, 
 with the divine help, to prepare four girls 
 to enjoy the privileges, perform the duties, 
 and win the honors of such a high estate — 
 in short, that my daughters shall be so edu- 
 cated as to represent millennial womanhood. 
 The children of whose education this 
 volume tells were born of healthy parents. 
 Their home is in the State of Connecticut, 
 in the town of Guilford. It stands on land 
 with ancestral associations reaching back- 
 ward more than two centuries and a half. 
 The house overlooks Long Island Sound, 
 and is one of a class that has no value save to 
 love and for family uprearing. From such 
 a view-point it out-ranks a palace, for its 
 placement is sanitarily perfect, the view 
 from it pleasing to the eye that is so like 
 God's as to love beauty; living springs with 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 13 
 
 full flowage nigh; trees overarch and stretch 
 away from it in groups and groves to wood- 
 land reaches, while numberless birds by 
 their close and fearless vicinage bear testi- 
 mony that the family within the old gray 
 residence is civilized. 
 
 Within, the old house fits the family as a 
 well made, rightly proportioned shoe, long 
 worn, fits the foot of one who loves to walk 
 and ramble. Its floors are worn like a 
 violin string frayed from much use and 
 suggests the musical patter of ten thousand 
 little footfalls. The furniture is a pot- 
 pourri of ancient and modern contrivances 
 for human use and comfort, a collection of 
 jetsam and flotsam thrown into the old 
 house by the tides and storms of ancient 
 days, mingled with a deliciously inartistic 
 incongruity, with modern pieces of high pol- 
 ish and elegant pretensions. The rooms 
 have low ceilings warmly toned by the 
 vagrant whiffs of smoke of fragrant woods 
 that have escaped beyond the jambs of the 
 old-time fireplaces and spread themselves 
 
14 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 in soft enfoldments along the mortared sur- 
 face. The walls are cracked with the jar 
 and thump of dancing feet whose jigs were 
 danced a hundred years ago and roars of 
 laughter from those who lived a hearty life 
 and died as heartily; — God rest their souls. 
 For from the beginning the Murrays have 
 known how to laugh and had great joy in 
 living, whether tide flowed in or out or how- 
 ever went the luck ; as I pray may ever be 
 the case while one is left to see the brooks 
 run to the Sound or hear the winds of 
 winter storm o'er the chimney. There is 
 nothing handsome inside or outside the old 
 house, and children can use and abuse it as 
 their mood is, and not disturb its broad- 
 faced and placid equanimity. It is a house 
 that children instinctively know and love. 
 They don't have to be introduced to it. It 
 introduces itself to them. There is not a 
 room in it that inspires them with the least 
 bit of awe, or that they cannot run into 
 screaming with laughter, with fun in hot 
 pursuit. Dear old house, homely old 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 15 
 
 home, thou hast, I know, had men and 
 women die In thee, but it must have been 
 in triumphant fashion, for the silence that 
 never yet was vocal seems not to have en- 
 tered thy rooms nor the fatal knot of gloom 
 been fastened to thy doors. Surely thou 
 wast built for happy births, and healthy 
 cradles, and youthful growth and joys, and 
 as a peaceful harbor for old ships which 
 after many risks and long voyaging, with 
 weakened spars and shortened sail, come 
 sailing into thy safe enclosure, to go not 
 forth again nor meet with storm until they 
 move gently out and gradually lose them- 
 selves in distance, borne outward on the 
 last ebbing. 
 
 To children thus born and with such 
 environment, typical of the best New Eng- 
 land has to give her sons and daughters, — 
 pure air, pure water, a simple old-fashioned 
 diet and yet more varied as to flesh and fish 
 and vegetables, of fruits and berries, than is 
 grown for childhood in any other section of 
 the globe, — health is both a heredity and a 
 
l6 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 natural sequence, and in support of this 
 stands a record for the two older pupils of 
 three times three hundred and sixty-five 
 days of recitations without a failure or a 
 miss. No sickness interfered and no vaca- 
 tions were called for, for they were never 
 overtaxed. Frolic and happiness filled each 
 day, and study was only entertainment which 
 yielded fresh delight with the coming of 
 each morning and grew in pleasurableness 
 ♦•with the healthy growth of body and 
 enlargement of mental capacity. Their 
 studentship was never a task, for there was 
 nothing tasksome in it. No bell summoned 
 them to a dry dead routine of undesired 
 application. No rivalry stirred them to un- 
 due effort, and the conventional method of 
 "stimulating" them to acquire knowledge 
 of any sort beyond their natural capacity 
 and wish to learn was never suggested or 
 applied. For to me it is a maxim and a 
 faith that all children are by nature growth- 
 ful : that the desire to learn and know is 
 structural in them, and that the world into 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 17 
 
 which they have been born is so filled with 
 provocations to think, to question, and to get 
 at the cause, the structure and the meaning 
 of things they meet and see, on all sides, 
 that to seek to know and understand is as 
 natural as to eat and drink and sleep. In 
 the case of children compelled to live in 
 cities this does not hold good, but to those 
 who are favored with country residence, 
 studentship, and the discipline that comes 
 with it, are the sure sequence of their en- 
 vironment. 
 
 One thing seems worthy of mention, for 
 it has drawn forth questioning from some 
 and expressions of surprise ; I refer to the 
 matter of companionship, for these children 
 of whose education I am telling have never 
 been to school or church, nor have they 
 ever had a playmate or the most casual ac- 
 quaintanceship with any children beyond 
 their own home circle. And this as I con- 
 ceive has been no loss but a vast gain to 
 them. For in the first place it has pro- 
 tected them from many interruptions and 
 
l8 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 associations that would not have been in all 
 instances helpful. They have never heard 
 an oath, or vulgar word, or an ungrammati- 
 cal expression. Their vocabulary has been 
 that of those who are educated and intelli- 
 gent. Born of refinement, and living in its 
 atmosphere, they have no knowledge of 
 silly talk, or of rude behavior or bad man- 
 ners. To the table when guests are present 
 they come with no awkwardness or embar- 
 rassment, for they have knowledge of and 
 practice in the usages and habits of polite 
 people and none other ; and the conversa- 
 tion of the guests, whether humorous or 
 grave, playful or learned, is one with that 
 which they have always heard and in which 
 according to their ability they have always 
 naturally and happily joined. There is no 
 dish on well furnished tables that they do 
 not know the name and use of and no ordi- 
 narily served food that they have not seen 
 prepared or served, or assisted in preparing 
 and serving. Ignorance, which is the 
 mother of awkwardness and the cause of 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 19 
 
 all painful embarrassment in company, is 
 not operant to bring discomfort to them. 
 Restraint is not felt, for knowledge of things 
 and of the usages of gentlefolk gives them 
 the freedom of experience. 
 
 As to companionship in the sense of 
 joyful comraderie in play and sport and 
 games in field and house, theirs has been of 
 the best and heartiest. Right-minded, and 
 affectionate by nature, kindly and courteous 
 from habit, having no knowledge of any 
 other conduct or mannerism, liking like 
 things, they have found in each other's 
 society a companionship as intimate and 
 amiable as children ever enjoyed. High- 
 spirited as they are, zestful and eager at 
 play, ardent and impetuous as children 
 should be, unrestrained by fear of any puni- 
 tive authority, I have never heard a hot or 
 rude expression from one to another or 
 seen the least evidence that selfishness or 
 spitefulness existed in their bosoms. Their 
 games and sports have been as varied and 
 numerous as their age and capacity to 
 
20 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 learn and enjoy made possible : marbles, 
 battledore and shuttlecock, hand ball, bat- 
 ting straight and sky balls, pitching and 
 catching, archery, and the making of their 
 own bows and arrows, pistol and rifle prac- 
 tice, coasting and skating, rowing and swim- 
 ming, driving and riding, — they harnessing 
 and saddling the horses, — cultivation of 
 flowers both from seed and root, grafting 
 of fruit trees and the transplanting of forest 
 trees and shrubs, forestry both from the 
 ornamental and economic point of view, 
 running and jumping, practice in balancing, 
 posing and weight-carrying on their heads 
 for grace and dignity of carriage and suavity 
 of movement ; study of birds and bird life 
 in nest building, food supply, plumage and 
 song-sounds, the calls of night birds ; the 
 study of trees as to name, habitat, shape 
 and color of leaf, texture of bark and char- 
 acteristic odor by which the nose names 
 trees even more surely than the eyes. For 
 indoor games and amusements, candy pull- 
 ing, maple sugar making, corn popping, ap- 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 21 
 
 pie roasting on the hearth, fox and geese, 
 nine men morris, checkers, whist and chess, 
 story telhng and reading of humorous tales 
 and all the miscellaneous fun and frolic that 
 healthy children with high spirits and a 
 sympathetic audience could have in an old 
 house whose floors and walls in every seam 
 and crack laughed with them : in such 
 games, sports, exercises, studies, and forms 
 of entertainment these children have found 
 companionship more companionable than 
 might ever come to them in the conven- 
 tional manner, and a happiness so full and 
 sweet that never while they live will they 
 forget the gladsome days of childhood or 
 the dear old Home in which, in their young 
 days, so much of light and sweetness came 
 to them. When their teacher and white- 
 headed playmate has gone the journey that 
 simply hides for a brief time his face from 
 view, the old Home will not be sold to 
 some ignorant immigrant, or it and the 
 grave that will be nigh it be allowed to go 
 neglected, uncared for and unloved. It is 
 
22 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 not the fault of the children that has caused 
 the dear old homesteads of New England to 
 pass to alien ownership, but because those 
 children were taught by precept and example 
 the love of Greed, the pride of station, and 
 that the right thing for a boy to do was to 
 go forth into the world as far from the old 
 home as possible and anywhere, anyhow, 
 become beastly rich and as quickly as pos- 
 sible. An honest, honorable, rightly defined 
 thrift is one thing — but an all absorbing 
 greed for money is another. You can met- 
 alize a man so that every one of the millions 
 of pores in his skin stand for a dollar mark. 
 But I know of no one who gives such a 
 metallic metamorphosis of a man any 
 thought unless it be some degenerate uni- 
 versity who wants an endowment. Between 
 two such the fellowship of exchange is 
 natural. The one gives his check and the 
 other responds with an LL.D.! 
 
Chapter II. 
 
 THE SYSTEM OF EDUCATION 
 
 NOW IN VOGUE BRIEFLY 
 
 EXAMINED AND 
 
 CONDEMNED. 
 
 IN THIS CHAPTER CERTAIN JUDGMENTS AND 
 OPINIONS ARE EXPRESSED WITH FRANKNESS 
 AND CERTAIN VIEWS OF THE PRESENT CON- 
 VENTIONAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION NOW IN 
 VOGUE AMONG US ARE DECLARED AND SUS- 
 TAINED BY SUCH A STATEMENT OF EVIL DONE 
 THAT THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS CHAP- 
 TER SHOULD BE GRAVELY CONSIDERED BY 
 ALL PARENTS. 
 
 THE great objection to the system of 
 educating children now in vogue 
 among us is that it does not educate. 
 And the reason that it does not educate is 
 because it is not based on a right under- 
 standing of child nature or what education 
 
 (23) 
 
24 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 really is. The child as a child is not consid- 
 ered. The pupils are treated rather as little 
 men and little women and forced to adjust 
 themselves to rules, methods of study, and 
 an environment not natural or pleasant to 
 them. Unconventional to a degree, they 
 are suddenly brought face to face and com- 
 pelled to harmonize with the conventional. 
 The Socratic method of questioning and 
 seeking knowledge of nature and things in 
 their own natural way is denied them. If 
 they will or can learn in one set, arbitrary 
 way and in accordance with a certain con- 
 ventional method they can do so. But if 
 they cannot do this then they can remain 
 ignorant. The child nature being ignored 
 the child growth is lost. A system based 
 on a wrong conception or a non-conception 
 of child nature and hence not adjustable to 
 it is necessarily a failure. 
 
 Not only is the child nature not under- 
 stood, but the nature of education is equally 
 misapprehended. For education is not the 
 acquisition of knowledge but the develop- 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 25 
 
 ment of natural faculty. To enlarge and 
 quicken the affections, to strengthen mem- 
 ory, to develop the reason, enable the pupil 
 to think clearly and express himself or her- 
 self accurately and forcibly ; to qualify him 
 to fully concentrate his mind at any moment 
 of time, under all conditions of place and 
 circumstance, on one particular subject and 
 by so doing decide and act rightly and 
 efficiently : this is the object of education. 
 And beyond this there is none other. The 
 system that does this is a success. If it 
 does not do it, it is a failure. 
 
 The children of America to-day are being 
 trained under a different system and with a 
 widely different object in view. The sys- 
 tem in vogue has been accurately if inele- 
 gantly defined as the "System of Cram"! 
 Facts, figures, names, dates, rules, and 
 a hodge-podge of book knowledge are liter- 
 ally cra77inied into them. If memory is 
 phenomenal a child lives through the awful 
 process and is graduated a mental squab. 
 He is unable to fly, but he is jellied with 
 
26 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 "knowledge." He stands at the head of 
 his class. He is graduated with " Honors." 
 He is called a "Remarkable Scholar" — 
 heaven save the mark ! The system of 
 cram finds in his inefficient, untrained but 
 plethoric mentality its highest success ! 
 
 But what of the mass of pupils whose 
 memories are proportionate with their other 
 endowments ? What of those whose mental 
 stomachs cannot stand being stuffed with 
 such a mass of food every day ? What of 
 those who are not precocious, who mature 
 slowly, who are highly organized and can- 
 not stand the strain of intense application 
 week in and week out ? What of those the 
 glory of whose natures is seen in the wealth 
 of their affections rather than in mental 
 equipment ? Are there no geniuses of the 
 heart in God's world to-day? The affec- 
 tionate wives, the loving mothers, the home- 
 loving fathers of the future. Are these not 
 worth educating, and is a system that makes 
 no distinction between children of widely 
 different endowments and takes no thought 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 27 
 
 of child-nature a system fit to be continued 
 forever ? Verily '* One star differeth from 
 another star in glory"; and does not one 
 child differ from another child in talents, in 
 endowments, in gifts, and in qualities of 
 nature? and are these children of God, 
 widely dissimilar but equally lovely, to be 
 treated and trained precisely alike and under 
 a system that never trained any child rightly 
 yet and never will, because it is not formed 
 on a knowledge of child nature ? 
 
 There is a tendency in all doing among 
 us to over do. Athletics are causing more 
 early deaths and making more cripples in 
 our country than all other causes combined. 
 And this not because athletic exercise is not 
 healthy, but because athleticism in America 
 means over training and over effort. It is 
 the pace that kills. And in the realm of 
 education the same is true : over study, over 
 application, over stimulation of the recep- 
 tive capacity thwarts the very purpose of 
 education. 
 
 But this little volume is written as a sug- 
 
28 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 gestlon and not as a criticism or a revolt 
 against the existing system of popular 
 instruction. The teachers of the country 
 are honest and intelligent, and I may add 
 wretchedly paid. Many are actually gifted 
 to teach children, to truly educate them, to 
 develop the child nature aright. All that 
 can be done under such a system as they 
 are compelled to work under, they are 
 doing. But no one knows better than the 
 thoughtful educators in our common schools 
 that our system of education does not 
 educate ! 
 
Chapter III. 
 THE FAMILY HOUR. 
 
 IN WHICH IT IS MADE TO APPEAR THAT ONE 
 HOUR EACH DAY IS WELL SPENT IF SET 
 APART FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT OF CHIL- 
 DREN AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FAM- 
 ILY FEELING. 
 
 THERE is great alarm in the land be- 
 cause the Family as an institution is 
 dying out. I do not see why it 
 should not die out. In a large minority of 
 cases it does not rest on the basis of a true 
 marriage. Honesty and honor are not the 
 basis of the contract. The man has been 
 enticed and trapped, or the woman has been 
 deceived and finds herself held by other 
 bands than those of love when it is too late 
 to escape. In other cases it rests on greed 
 of money, love of luxury, pride of station, 
 social ambition, or to escape the daily strain 
 
 (29) 
 
30 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 and torment of living in a house that is not 
 a home. Children are born of ill mating, 
 both in body and mind, or are not desired, 
 or into parental connection where business 
 ambitions and social gayeties are too exact- 
 ing to allow the time and care required for 
 their happy development to be given them. 
 How can love of home and the holy sweet- 
 ness of a true home life be grown in them 
 thus born and in such an environment ? 
 How can the Family Institution be strength- 
 ened, confirmed, and maintain its hold in 
 the affections and reverence of the people 
 under such conditions? If it is dying out 
 among us is it not because of affectional 
 starvation ? Is it being starved to death ? 
 
 What is the remedy? How shall we 
 better the present deplorable state of things ? 
 Law is powerless, and the church can only 
 assist. The remedy must be found else- 
 where. The Family must be reformed and 
 renewed within itself. Love must do it. 
 Children must be regarded as the most pre- 
 cious of gifts given of heaven. Compared 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 31 
 
 with them wealth is of no value, and social 
 pleasures of no account. One healthy, 
 happy, well educated, parent-loving, and 
 home-loving child outvalues all wealth and 
 all social station. Place the millions of a 
 modern Midas in one scale and such a 
 
 glorious child in the other and the millions 
 tip the beam ! 
 
 Without such children in a house a house 
 can never become a home. Without such 
 children so loved, prized, and cared for the 
 Family can never be a divine institution. 
 Make the houses of America into true 
 homes ; fill them with children thus loved, 
 prized, and cared for ; let mother and father 
 give time, thought, effort, to secure to them 
 happy development, and we shall hear no 
 more about the decadence of the Family 
 Institution. It will become strong as a 
 tree, even as that Tree described in the 
 Apocalypse " "which is on either side of the 
 River of Life " — the earth side and the 
 heaven side — " which bears twelve manner 
 of fruits and yieldeth its fruit every month. 
 
32 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 and whose leaves are for the healingf of the 
 nations." Yes, that is it : the healing of 
 the nations. God, He knows that we need 
 the heahng. Why not, then, cultivate the 
 Tree ? 
 
 We were all seated around the family 
 table — that is a good name for a table. 
 The old fireplace glowed as a woman when 
 happy, and painted the posts and beams, 
 the walls and the old-time settle with amber 
 light and ocher tones. A row of big red 
 apples was on the hearthstone, and the rich, 
 pungent odors of oozing juice and burning 
 skins filled the room, A top that became 
 concentric rings of color as it spun, was 
 spinning on the table and by its double 
 movement served the Teacher to illustrate 
 to the class the double motion of the earth, 
 one round its own axis and the other along 
 the vast range and circuit of its orbit. I 
 had been telling them of the Heavens — 
 which they know better than many women, 
 — for it has been the habit of the house to 
 take them out of doors each night before 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 33 
 
 they go to bed, that they might hear the 
 voices of it and see the splendor of the 
 skies ; and the "Tales of the Sky" had a 
 fine witchery in them to their young minds 
 of which they never tired, and so I had, 
 compelled by their sweet importunity, been 
 retelling some of the Tales of the Sky : of 
 Venus, the Star of Morning and of Even- 
 ing, to whose shrine the lovers of either sex 
 once brought offerings of flowers and wine, 
 praying her to prosper them in their loving 
 and their wooing ; of Mars, the Star of 
 warriors, whose beams were even as the 
 blood of battle ; of Neptune with his Tri- 
 dent and what he symbolized to some old 
 race who lived when the world was young ; 
 of Saturn, whose rings of splendor were the 
 glory and the wonder of the Skies; and of 
 the Pleiades, who mourned so faithfully for 
 a loved one lost, as all true ones on earth 
 among men should mourn when one they 
 loved is taken out of life by death and hid- 
 den from them. And so with all manner of 
 sweet intercourse and heavenly happiness 
 
34 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 the evening grew to its close. And this, as 
 the dear ones, robed for sleep, sat in a row, 
 warming their pink feet on the broad 
 hearthstone, was the last question asked the 
 teacher : 
 
 " Father dear, what is a family ? " 
 And I, after pondering awhile, answered : 
 " A family is a group of persons made up 
 of Mother, Father, and children and such 
 other loved ones as may be living with 
 them, who love each other dearly and do 
 all they can to make each other good and 
 wise and happy." 
 
 And then from the oldest one there came 
 these words : 
 
 " Father dear, I think we ought to call 
 the hour we always spend together each 
 evening The Family Hour. And so it got 
 its naming. 
 
 It would be in vain for me to attempt to tell 
 those who read these lines, whether known 
 or unknown to me, what this Family Hour 
 has been and is to mine and me. It has 
 given to the heart its occasion and to the 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 35 
 
 mind its opportunity. It has become the 
 center and central source of joy and help- 
 ing to the family life. Mentally and affec- 
 tionally it is the greatest factor for good in 
 the household. It is the school of litera- 
 ture, of manners, and of unconventional 
 piety to us all. It is devoted to entertain- 
 ment, wit, humor, anecdote, story telling, 
 recitations, scripture reading, games, fun 
 and frolic. All that can entertain healthy, 
 clever children are incorporate in it. But 
 sweet and potent as it is for good to us 
 and would become to all who would adopt 
 it, no mention would have been made of 
 it in this little book had it not been for 
 the importunity of the children who in- 
 sisted that it would not be fair to conceal 
 it. And perhaps the children were right. 
 
Chapter IV. 
 
 THE SPIRITUAL EDUCATION OF 
 
 CHILDREN. 
 
 IN WHICH ARE SET FORTH CERTAIN VIEWS THAT 
 MAY BE MORE OR LESS STRANGE TO SOME 
 BUT WHICH, BEING TRUE, ARE LIKELY TO 
 PROFIT THOSE WHO READ. 
 
 4 4 J2"ATHER, who made this Sweetbriar?" 
 I " The same as made the earth in 
 
 which it grows, my dear." 
 " But father, who made the earth ? " 
 ** Even He who made the Sun that 
 warms it so that the sweetbriar grows." 
 
 " And did this same one make the sky, 
 too, father?" 
 
 "Yes, even the same, my daughter." 
 "And the stars?" 
 "Surely, the stars also." 
 " But, father dear, who made this sweet- 
 briar so sweet ? " 
 
 (36) 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 37 
 
 " Even he who caused it to be, made it 
 to be sweet." 
 
 " Then he loves sweet things even as I 
 do?" 
 
 " Beyond doubt, He loves them even as 
 you and I do, only more." 
 
 " I don't think he could love its sweet 
 smell more than I do, father." 
 
 " Perhaps not, for you are his child and 
 only just from Him and very like him in 
 many ways." 
 
 A brief pause in which the little student 
 of divine things inspects the delicate bloom 
 of the odorous bush and inhales its per- 
 fume, and then : — 
 
 *' O father, tell me, did you ever see 
 him?" 
 
 " No, I have never seen him." * 
 
 " Why, you have been everywhere, 
 father, and I should think you must have 
 met him." 
 
 " I have met him, dear one, and in many 
 
 * "No man might look upon his face and live." 
 " No one hatli seen the Father, save the Son." 
 
38 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 places, both by day and night, but never 
 nigher or more face to face than you do 
 standing there seeing the beauty and smell- 
 ing the fragrance of that bush." 
 
 "You mean, that you have only seen 
 him in what he has done. Is that what 
 you mean, father?" 
 
 " Yes, that is what I mean, pet. Come, 
 dear, break off a bough for the table, for 
 Ruby is waving her handkerchief, and that 
 means that breakfast is ready, and we will 
 stroll homeward." 
 
 And so, one little hand in mine, the other 
 holding the spray of sweetbriar, through 
 the dewy grass, the air filled with bird 
 notes, and inhaling a hundred sweet smells, 
 we slowly sauntered homeward. 
 
 When nigh the house, she suddenly 
 exclaimed : 
 
 " O father, I forgot to ask you the name 
 of him who made the sweetbriar and the 
 earth, and the sun and sky ! What is it, 
 please ? " 
 
 ** I do not know his name, dear one." 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 39 
 
 " O father, you must be funning, for you 
 know the name of every tree, and shrub, 
 and flower and bird, and even the bugs and 
 little things in the grass and under stones 
 and leaves you know the names of ; you 
 mttst know the name of him who made 
 them." 
 
 "Dear child, to me he is a Spirit, so 
 infinitely great and wise and good as to be 
 beyond naming — but many people give 
 him a name. And the people round about 
 here call him God." 
 
 " And what does that mean ?" 
 
 " I do not know." 
 
 "What do the Red Men call him?" 
 
 " Manitou — which means the Great 
 Spirit r 
 
 " Do you think that is a good name for 
 him ?" 
 
 " My child, after my way of thinking the 
 Red Men have the best name for him who 
 made us and all things we see, beyond all 
 other races, whether ancient or modern. 
 And some time when Ruby is with us I 
 
40 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 will tell you all I know about the Great 
 Spirit of the Red Man ; for the most profit- 
 able and delightful knowledge you will ever 
 get from me or any other one will be of 
 him, his love for you, and what he wishes 
 you to do and be." 
 
 Thus the spiritual education of my chil- 
 dren so far as I have contributed to it 
 began. 
 
 Children are natural pietists. They are 
 affectional beings, and to such a degree 
 that they love all amiability as soon as they 
 apprehend it. Goodness, gentleness, sin- 
 cerity, love, these they sense instinctively 
 and without blundering. You may be able 
 to fool an adult in the matter of loving, but 
 you cannot fool children. They shrink 
 from all deceit as a sensitive plant from 
 human touch. Their intuitions are abso- 
 lutely correct. Their innocence is of the 
 skies, and naturally detective of evil. This 
 early innocence of childhood the Master 
 recognized and declared that " Of such is 
 the Kingdom of Heaven." 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 41 
 
 Now all creations of God grow accord- 
 ing to a law incorporate in their nature. 
 Not only is the germ of development in 
 them, but the mode and stages of its progress 
 harmonize with it. There is no lawlessness 
 in creation. All true growth is in obedience 
 to some law within that has dominant rela- 
 tion to it. It is in harmony with a divine 
 plan and force as to its quality, quantity, 
 and order of time. It is first a germ, then 
 a blade, then an ear, and then the full corn 
 in the ear. There is no reason that a child 
 should ever be taught theology. 
 
 The child-nature expands according to a 
 law that prompts and controls and perfects 
 child development. To force it beyond its 
 own order as to kind or direction or order 
 is to mar, perhaps thwart, the divine plan ; 
 is to substitute for God's wisdom man's 
 knowledge. This is unwise, and were it 
 intelligent it would be irreverent. 
 
 At first, to a child, parents stand for God, 
 home for heaven, and nature for the Bible. 
 They cannot in the beginning of life get 
 
42 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 knowledge out of books. They are Impres- 
 sional and not reasoning beings. They get 
 at the heart of God through the hearts of 
 their parents, their own hearts, and the 
 heart of things. Perhaps we older ones 
 would get nigher the divine Fatherhood if 
 we were more as children are. 
 
 In accordance with these views and feel- 
 ings I have permitted my children to de- 
 velop naturally in piety. So far as it was 
 possible to me I have become a child with 
 them. On the religious plane they seem 
 to me to be God's children rather than 
 mine. I have never doubted but that 
 within them his guiding, controlling and in- 
 spiring Spirit dwelt continually. I have 
 told them whence they were, and whence 
 all things were ; that all that was lovely, all 
 that was good, all that was pure, all that 
 was pleasant and helpful to them, were from 
 Him and for them, — His gifts to them that 
 they may become wise and good and happy. 
 Beyond this I said little. They did not 
 need that I should tell them more. I was 
 not sure that I had more to tell. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 43 
 
 When the older ones came to the knowl- 
 edee of words, and could learn wisdom 
 from words, I told them of a book in which 
 were printed the Teachings of the wisest 
 man that ever lived ; that his name was 
 Jesus ; when he was born and of what race, 
 and in a simple way the story of his birth. 
 I told them that he was called the Christ 
 and why, and that the religion he estab- 
 lished was called Christianity and was the 
 religion of their parents and their country, 
 and that by his words and manner of life he 
 gave the best illustration of his religion 
 ever given to men ; that many had tried to 
 explain it better but had never succeeded, 
 and that I had no greater wish in their 
 behalf than that they should know what 
 Jesus said and did and shape their own 
 conduct in harmony with his teachings and 
 follow the example of his life. 
 
 This then, briefly stated, that I may not 
 weary any, is what I have done touching 
 the religious education of my children. 
 Through parental love, through a sweet 
 
44 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 home life, through a nourishing food sup- 
 ply, the loveliness and the glories of nature, 
 they have come, by natural process of 
 thought and growth, into the knowledge of 
 and companionship with their Creator. 
 And now they have already advanced so 
 far in the knowledge of the Teachings of 
 Jesus of Nazareth that the wisdom of his 
 teachings and the nobility of his life are 
 known to them. Of dogmas, of formulated 
 creeds, of ritualistic observance, of human 
 interpretation of the Master's self-interpret- 
 ing words, they know nothing. Nor would 
 they miss much, in my opinion, if they 
 never should. But within a year of the 
 date of their first recitation of the words of 
 Jesus they will know by heart every word 
 he ever spoke so far as reported, and every 
 act he ever did. This legacy at least I can 
 leave them. Of any other better one I 
 know not. One thing seemed strange to 
 me and unaccountable : That in this land 
 of liberty and churches, of schools and 
 colleges, I could, in my need, find no book 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 45 
 
 containing the Declaration of Independence 
 and the Constitution of the United States 
 for popular reading, and no volume con- 
 taining the words of Jesus, — the wisest 
 man who ever lived, who spake as no other 
 man spake, — printed, a glorious solecism in 
 letters, for the study and memorizing of 
 those who are or would be his disciples. 
 
 In this and the following volume these 
 sayings of the Master will be printed as my 
 children recited them to me day by day 
 and as given to them myself. I will not 
 guarantee that here and there some slip of 
 memory may not be discovered, for, as I 
 have said elsewhere, memory is apt to 
 loosen somewhat its grip on dates and 
 words after a certain age, and thought goes 
 forward rather than backward ; but I doubt 
 not that the text of their recitations will be 
 found essentially true to that of the record 
 and honoring it by its fidelity. These reci- 
 tations include the words of Jesus as re- 
 corded in the Gospel of Luke. 
 
46 how i educate my daughters. 
 
 The Words of the Master According 
 
 TO St. Luke. 
 
 RECITATION 
 
 I. 
 
 And when they saw him, they were 
 
 amazed : and his mother said unto him, 
 
 Son, why hast thou thus deah with us? 
 
 behold, thy father and I have sought thee 
 
 sorrowing. 
 
 And he said unto them, How is it that ye 
 sought me f wist ye not that I must be about 
 '}ny Father s business ? 
 
 And the devil said unto him. If thou be 
 the son of God, command this stone that it 
 be made bread. 
 
 And Jesus answered him, saying. It is 
 written, That thou shalt not live by bread 
 alone, but by every word of God. 
 
 And Jesus answered and said unto him : 
 Get thee belmzdme, Satan: for it is written, 
 Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, aiid 
 him only shalt thou serve. 
 
 And Jesus answering, said unto him, 
 // is said, Thou shalt ?tot tempt the Lord 
 thy God. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 47 
 
 RECITATION 
 II. 
 
 And he began to say unto them, This day 
 is this scripture fzilfilled in your ears. 
 
 And he said unto them, Ye will surely 
 say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal 
 thyself : whatsoever we have heard done in 
 Caperfiauin, do also here in thy country. 
 
 And he said, Verily, I say unto you. No 
 prophet is accepted hi his own country. 
 
 But I tell you of a truth, many widows 
 were in Israel in the days of Elias, when 
 the heaven was shut up three years and six 
 m^onths, when great famine was throughout 
 all the land : 
 
 But unto none of them zvas Elias sent, 
 save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, ttnto a 
 woman, a widow. 
 
 And many lepers were in Israel iri the 
 time of Eliseus the prophet ; and none of 
 them was cleansed, saviitg Naaman the 
 Syrian. 
 
 And Jesus rebuked him, saying. Hold 
 thy peace, and come out of him. And when 
 
48 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 the devil had thrown him in the midst, 
 he came out of him, and hurt him not. 
 
 RECITATION 
 III. 
 
 And he said unto them, / 'inust preach 
 the kingdom of God to other cities also, for 
 therefore a}n I sent. 
 
 Now, when he had left speaking, he said 
 unto Simon, Latmch out into the deep, and 
 let down yottr nets for a draught. 
 
 And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not : 
 from henceforth thou shall catch men. 
 
 And when he saw their faith, he said 
 unto him, Man, thy sins are forgive^i thee. 
 
 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, 
 he answering said unto them. What reason 
 ye in your hearts f 
 
 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be 
 forgiven thee ; or to say. Rise tip and walk ? 
 
 But that ye inay know that the Son of 
 man hath power tip on earth to forgive sins, 
 (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) / say 
 unto thee, Arise, and take 2ip thy couch, and 
 go into thy house. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 49 
 
 And after these things he went forth, and 
 saw a pubUcan named Levi, sitting at the 
 receipt of custom : and he said unto him, 
 Follow me. 
 
 And Jesus answering, said unto them, 
 They that are whole need not a physician ; 
 but they that are sick. 
 
 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners 
 to repentance. 
 
 RECITATION 
 IV 
 
 And they said unto him. Why do the dis- 
 ciples of John fast often, and make prayers, 
 and Hkewise the disciples of the Pharisees ; 
 but thine eat and drink ? 
 
 And he said unto him. Can ye make the 
 children of the bride-chamber fast while the 
 bridegroom is with thon f 
 
 But the days will C077ie, when the bride- 
 groom shall be takeii away from them, and 
 then shall they fast in those days. 
 
 And he spake also a parable unto them : 
 No man putteth a piece of a new garment 
 tipon an old ; if otherwise, then both the new 
 
so 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken 
 out of the new, agreeth not with the old. 
 
 And no man putt eth new wine into old 
 bottles ; else the new wine will bzirst the 
 bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall 
 perish. 
 
 But new wine imist be put into new bot- 
 tles, and both are preserved. 
 
 No man also having drttnk old wine, 
 straightway desireth new : for he saith. The 
 old is better. 
 
 RECITATION 
 ■ V 
 
 And certain of the Pharisees said unto 
 them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to 
 do on the sabbath-days ? 
 
 And Jesus answering them, said, Have ye 
 not read so m,uch as this, what David did, 
 when himself was an hungered, and they 
 which zvere with him ; How he went into 
 the house of God, and did take and eat the 
 shew-bread, and gave also to the^n that were 
 with him, which it is not lawful to eat, but 
 for the priests alone f 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 51 
 
 And he said unto them, That the Son of 
 man is Lo7^d also of the sabbath. But he 
 knew their thoughts, and said to the man 
 which had the withered hand. Rise up, and 
 stand forth in the midst. And he arose, 
 and stood forth. 
 
 RECITATION 
 VI 
 
 Then said Jesus unto them, / will ask you 
 07ie thing: Is it law foci on the sabbath-days to 
 do good, 07^ to do evil? to save life, or to de- 
 stroy it f 
 
 And looking around upon them all, he 
 said unto the man. Stretch forth thy hand. 
 And he did so : and his hand was restored 
 whole as the other. 
 
 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, 
 and said, Blessed be ye poor ; for yours is 
 the ki7tgdom of God. 
 
 Blessed are ye that hunger 7tow ; for ye 
 shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep 
 now ; for ye shall latigh. 
 
 Blessed are ye zvhen 7Jie7t shall hate you, 
 and whe7i they shall separate you fro77t their 
 
52 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 company, and shall reproach you, and cast 
 out your name as evil, for the Son of Mans 
 sake. 
 
 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy : 
 for behold, your reward is great in heaven : 
 for in the like manner did their fathers unto 
 the prophets. 
 
 But wo unto you that are rich I for ye 
 have received your consolation. 
 
 Wo unto you that are full I for ye shall 
 hunger. Wo unto you that laugh now f for 
 ye shall mourn and weep. 
 
 Wo unto you when all men shall speak 
 well of you I for so did their fathers unto 
 the false prophets. 
 
 RECITATION 
 VII 
 But I say unto you which hear. Love your 
 enemies, do good to them which hate you. 
 
 Bless them that curse you, and pray for 
 them which despitefully use you. And unto 
 him that smiteth thee on the one cheek, offer 
 also the other ; and him that taketh away 
 thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also. 
 
«fe!« 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 53 
 
 Give to every man that asketh of thee ; 
 and of him that taketh away thy goods, ask 
 them not again. 
 
 And as ye would that men shotild do to 
 you, do ye also to thejn likewise. For if ye 
 love them which love you, what thank have 
 ye ? for sinners also love those that love 
 them. 
 
 And if ye do good to them which do good to 
 you, zvhat thank have ye ? for sinners also 
 do even the same. 
 
 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to 
 receive, what thank have ye ? for sinners 
 also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 
 
 But love ye yotir enemies, and do good, a?id 
 lend, hoping for 7iothing again ; and yottr 
 reward shall be great, and ye shall be the 
 children of the Highest : for he is kind unto 
 the unthankful and to the evil. 
 
 Be ye therefore mercifd, as your Father 
 also is merciful. 
 
 Jtidge not, and ye shall not be judged : con- 
 demn not, and ye shall not be condemned : 
 forgive and ye shall be forgiven : 
 
54 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 Give, and it shall be given ttnto you ; good 
 measure, pressed down, and shaken together, 
 and running over, shall 7iten give into yoitr 
 bosom. For with the same measure that ye 
 mete withal, it shall be measured to yotc 
 again. 
 
 RECITATION 
 VIII 
 
 And he spake a parable unto them : Can 
 the blind lead the blind? Shall they not 
 both fall into the ditch ? 
 
 The disciple is not above his master : but 
 every one that is perfect, shall be as his master. 
 
 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in 
 thy brother s eye, but perceivest not the beam 
 that is in thine own eye ? 
 
 Either how canst thou say to thy brother. 
 Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in 
 thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the 
 beam that is in thine own eye? Thoti hypo- 
 crite, cast out first the beam out of thine 
 own eye, and then shall thou, see clearly to 
 pull out the mote that is in thy brother s eye. 
 
 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt 
 
4 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 55 
 
 fruit ; neither doth a corrupt tree bring 
 forth good fruit. 
 
 For every tree is known by his own fruit : 
 for of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of 
 a bramble-bush gather they grapes. 
 
 A good man otit of the good treasure of 
 his heart, bringeth forth that which is good ; 
 and an evil man out of the evil treasure of 
 his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil : 
 for out of the abundance of the heart the 
 mouth speaketh. 
 
 RECITATION 
 IX 
 
 And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do 
 not the things which I say ? Whosoever 
 C07neth to me, and heareth -my sayings, and 
 doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is 
 like. 
 
 He is like a man which built a house, and 
 digged deep, and laid the foundation on a 
 rock : and when the flood arose, the stream 
 beat vehemently upon that house, and could 
 not shake it : for it was founded tpon a rock. 
 
 Bttt he that heareth and doeth not, is like 
 
56 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 a man that without a foundation built a 
 house upon the earthy against which the 
 stream did beat vehem^ently, and im^mediately 
 it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. 
 
 RECITATION 
 X 
 
 And when the Lord saw her, he had com- 
 passion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 
 
 And he came and touched the bier : and 
 they that bare him stood still. And he said, 
 Young ma7i, I say unto thee, Arise. 
 
 Then Jesus answering, said unto them, 
 Go your way, and tell John what things ye 
 have seen and heard ; hozv that the blind see, 
 the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the 
 deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor 
 the gospel is preached. 
 
 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be 
 offended in me. 
 
 And when the messengers of John were 
 departed, he began to speak unto the people 
 concerning John, What went ye otU into the 
 wilderness for to see ? A reed shaken with 
 the wind? 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 57 
 
 But what went ye out for to see f A man 
 clothed in soft raiment ? Behold, they which 
 are gorgeotcsly appareled, and live delicately, 
 are in kings courts. 
 
 Btit what went ye out for to see? A 
 prophet ? Yea, I say unto you, and much 
 more than a prophet. 
 
 This is he, of whom it is written. Behold, 
 I send my messenger before thy face, which 
 shall prepare thy way before thee. 
 
 For I say ttnto you, Among those that are 
 born of women, there is not a greater prophet 
 than John the Baptist : but he that is least 
 in the kingdom of God, is greater than he. 
 
 And the Lord said, Whereu7ito then shall 
 I liken the men of this generation f and to 
 what are they like? 
 
 They are like unto children sitting in the 
 7narket-place, and calling one to another, and 
 saying. We have piped ttnto you, and ye have 
 not danced ; we have mourned to you, and ye 
 have not wept. 
 
 For John the Baptist came neither eating 
 
58 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 bread, nor drinking wine ; and ye say, He 
 hath a devil. 
 
 The Son of man is come eating a7id drink- 
 ing ; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, 
 and a wine bibber, a friend of publicans and 
 
 sinners ! 
 
 RECITATION 
 
 XI 
 
 And Jesus answering, said unto him, 
 Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. 
 And he saith. Master, say on. 
 
 There was a certain creditor, which had 
 two debtors : the one owed five hundred pence, 
 and the other fifty. 
 
 And when they had nothing to pay, he 
 frankly forgave them both. Tell me there- 
 fore, which of them will love hijn most f 
 
 Simon answered and said, I suppose that 
 he, to whom he forgave most. 
 
 And he said unto him, Thoti hast rightly 
 jtLdged. 
 
 And he turned to the woman, and said 
 unto Simon, Seest thou this woman ? I e7t- 
 tered into thy house, thou gavest 7ne no water 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 59 
 
 for my feet : bttt she hath washed my feet 
 with tears, and wiped them, with the hairs 
 of her head. 
 
 Thou gavest me no kiss ; hit this woman, 
 since the time I came in, hath not ceased to 
 kiss my feet. 
 
 My head with oil thou didst not anoint : 
 
 but this woman hath anointed my feet with 
 
 ointment. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XII 
 
 Wherefore, I say unto thee. Her sins, 
 which are many, are forgiven ; for she loved 
 m,uch : but to whom little is forgiven, the 
 same loveth little. 
 
 And he said unto her, Thy sijts are for- 
 given. 
 
 And he said to the woman, thy faith 
 hath saved thee ; go in peace. 
 
 A sower went out to sow his seed ; aitd as 
 he sowed, so7ne fell by the wayside ; and it 
 was trodden down, and the fowls of the air 
 devoured it. And some fell tipon a rock ; 
 and as soon as it was sprung tip, it withered 
 away, because it lacked moisture. 
 
6o HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 And some fell among thorns : and the 
 thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 
 
 And other fell on good ground, and sprang 
 up, and bare frtiit a hundred-fold. And 
 when he had said these things, he cried, He 
 that hath ears to hear, let him. hear. 
 
 And his disciples asked him, saying. 
 What might this parable be ? 
 
 And he said, Unto you it is given to know 
 the mysteries of the kingdoin of God : btit to 
 others in parables ; that seeing they might 
 7iot see, and hearing they might not under- 
 stand. 
 
 Now the parable is this : The seed is the 
 word of God. 
 
 Those by the wayside, are they that hear ; 
 then Cometh the devil, and taketh away the 
 word otit of their hearts, lest they should 
 believe and be saved. 
 
 They on the rock are they, which, when 
 they hear, receive the word with joy ; and 
 these have no root, which for a zuhile believe, 
 and i7i time of temptation fall away. 
 
 And that which fell among thorns, are 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 6l 
 
 they, which, whejz they have heard, go forth, 
 and are choked, with cares, and riches, and 
 pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to 
 peifection. 
 
 But that 071 the good gro7ind are they, 
 which in an honest and good heart, having 
 heard the word, keep it, aitd bring forth 
 fruit with patience. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XIII 
 
 No Tnan, when he hath lighted a candle, 
 covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under 
 a bed ; but setteth it on a candlestick, that 
 they which enter in fnay see the light. 
 
 For nothing is secret, that shall not be 
 f}iade manifest ; neither anythiitg hid, that 
 shall 110 1 be known, and come abroad. 
 
 Take heed therefore how ye hear : for 
 whosoever hath not, from hiTn shall be taken 
 even that which he seemeth to have. 
 
 And he answered and said unto them, 
 My mother and my brethren are these which 
 hear the word of God, and do it. 
 
62 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 And he said unto them, Where is your 
 faith ? 
 
 Return to thine own hotise, and shew how 
 great things God hath do7ie unto thee. 
 RECITATION 
 XIV 
 
 And Jesus said, Who touched me f When 
 all denied, Peter, and they that were with 
 him, said, Master, the multitude throng 
 thee, and press thee, and sayest thou, Who 
 touched me ? 
 
 And Jesus said. Somebody hath touched 
 me ; for I perceive that virtue is gone out 
 of me. 
 
 And he said unto her. Daughter, be of 
 good comfort ; thy faith hath made thee 
 whole ; go in peace. 
 
 But when Jesus heard it, he answered 
 him, saying, Fear not : believe only, and she 
 shall be made whole. 
 
 And when he came into the house, he 
 suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and 
 James, and John, and the father and the 
 mother of the maiden. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 6;^ 
 
 And all wept and bewailed her ; but he 
 said, JVeeJ> not ; she is not dead, but slcepeth. 
 
 And they laughed him to scorn, know- 
 ing that she was dead. 
 
 And he put them all out, and took her by 
 the hand, and called, saying, Maid, ai^ise. 
 
 And he sent them to preach the kingdom 
 of God, and to heal the sick. 
 
 And he said unto them, Take nothing for 
 yotir jou7'7iey, neither staves, nor scrip, 
 neither money ; neither have two coats apiece. 
 
 And whatsoever house ye enter into, there 
 abide, and thence depart. 
 
 And whosoever will not receive yon, when 
 ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust 
 frojn your feet for a testimony against them. 
 
 But he said unto them. Give ye them to 
 eat. And they said. We have no more than 
 five loaves and two fishes ; except we should 
 go and buy meat for all this people. 
 
 (For they were about five thousand men.) 
 And he said to his disciples, Make them sit 
 down by f flies in a co7npany. 
 
64 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XV 
 
 Who say the people that I am f 
 
 They answering, said, John the Baptist; 
 but some say, EHas ; and others say, that 
 one of the old prophets is risen again. 
 
 He said unto them, But who say ye that 
 I am ? Peter answering, said, The Christ 
 of God. 
 
 And he straitly charged them, and com- 
 manded them, to tell no man that thing. 
 
 Saying, The son of man mtist suffer many 
 things, and be rejected of the elders, and chief 
 priests, and scribes, and be slain, and be 
 raised the third day. 
 
 And he said to them all. If any man will 
 come after me, let him deny himself, and 
 take up his cross daily, and follow me. 
 
 For whosoever will save his life, shall lose 
 it ; bzit whosoever will lose his life for my 
 sake, the same shall save it. 
 
 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain 
 the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast 
 away ? 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 65 
 
 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and 
 of my words, of him shall the Son of man be 
 ashamed, when he shall come in his own 
 glory, and in his Father s, and of the holy 
 a7tgels. 
 
 But I tell you of a trtith, there be some 
 standing here which shall not taste of death 
 till they see the kingdom, of God. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XVI 
 
 And Jesus answering, said, O faithless 
 and perverse generation, how long shall I be 
 with you, and suffer you ? Bring thy son 
 hither. 
 
 Let these sayings sink down into your ears ; 
 for the Son of man shall be delivered into 
 the hands of men. 
 
 And Jesus said unto them, Whosoever 
 shall receive this child in my name, receiveth 
 me ; and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth 
 him that sent me : for he that is least among 
 you all, the same shall be great. 
 
 And John answered and said. Master, we 
 
 5 
 
66 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 saw one casting out devils in thy name ; and 
 we forbade him, because he followeth not 
 with us. 
 
 And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him 
 not ; for he that is not against us, is for us. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XVII 
 But he turned, and rebuked them, and 
 said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye 
 are of. 
 
 For the Son of ma7i is not come to destroy 
 mens lives, but to save them. 
 
 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, 
 and birds of the air have nests ; but the Son 
 of man hath not where to lay his head. 
 
 And he said unto another, Follow me. 
 But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and 
 bury my father. 
 
 Jesus said unto him. Let the dead btiry 
 their dead ; but go thou and preach the king- 
 dom of God. 
 
 And another also said, Lord, I will follow 
 thee ; but let me first go and bid them fare- 
 well which are at home at my house. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. ^J 
 
 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having 
 ptit his hand to the plough, and looking back, 
 is fit for the kingdom of God. 
 
 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest 
 t7^ttly is great, but the labourers are few ; 
 pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, 
 that he would send forth labourers into his 
 harvest. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XVIII 
 
 Go your ways ; behold, I send ye forth as 
 lambs among wolves. 
 
 Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor 
 shoes ; and salute no -fnan by the way. 
 
 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first 
 say, peace be to this house. 
 
 And if the son of peace be there, your 
 peace shall rest tipon it ; if not, it shall turn 
 to you again. 
 
 And in the same house remain, eating and 
 drinking such things as they give ; for the 
 labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from 
 house to house. 
 
 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and 
 
68 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 ^/ley receive you, eat such things as are set 
 before you. 
 
 And heal tJie sick that are therein, and 
 say tijito them, The kingdom of God is come 
 nigh unto you. 
 
 But into whatsoever city ye eiiter, and 
 they receive yott not, go yoztr ways out hito 
 the streets of the same, and say. 
 
 Even the very dust of your city which 
 cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against yott : 
 notwithstanding, be ye sure of this, that the 
 kingdoin of God is come nigh tmto you. 
 
 But I say tmto you, that it shall be more 
 tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that 
 city. 
 
 Wo unto thee, Chorazin I Wo tmto thee, 
 Bethsaida ! for if tJie mighty works had 
 been done in Tyre and Sidofi, zvhich have 
 been done in you, they had a great while ago 
 repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But 
 it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and 
 Sidon at the jitdgment, than for you. 
 
 And thou, Capernau^n, which art exalted 
 to heaven, shall be thrust down to hell. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 69 
 
 RECITATION 
 XIX 
 
 He that heareth you, heareth me ; and he 
 
 that despiseth you, despiseth me ; and he that 
 despiseth me, despiseth hi7n that sent me. 
 
 And he said unto them, / beheld Satan as 
 lightning fall from heaven. 
 
 _ Behold, I give unto you power to tread on 
 serpents and scorpions, and over all the power 
 of the enemy ; and nothing shall by any means 
 hurt you. 
 
 Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that 
 the spirits are subject itnto you ; but rather 
 rejoice, because yottr names are written in 
 heo.ven. 
 
 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and 
 said, / thank thee, O Father, Lord of heav- 
 en and earth, that thou hast hid these things 
 from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed 
 them tmto babes : Even so, Father, for so it 
 seemed good in thy sight. 
 
 All things are delivered to me of my Fath- 
 er : and no man knoweth who the Son is, but 
 the Father ; and who the Father is, but the 
 Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. 
 
70 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XX 
 
 And he turned him unto his disciples, 
 and said privately, Blessed are the eyes 
 which see the things that ye see. 
 
 For I tell yo2i, That many prophets and 
 kings have desired to see those things which 
 ye see, and have not seen them ; and to hea'r 
 those things which ye hear, and have not 
 heard them. 
 
 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up, 
 and tempted him, saying. Master, what shall 
 I do to inherit eternal life ? 
 
 He said unto him. What is written in the 
 law f how readest thou ? 
 
 And he answering said. Thou shalt love 
 the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 
 with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, 
 and with all thy mind ; and thy neighbour 
 as thyself. 
 
 And he said unto him. Thou hast answer- 
 ed right : this do, and thou shalt live. 
 
 But he, willing to justify himself, said 
 unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 71 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXI 
 
 And Jesus answering, said, A certain 
 man went down froin Jej^usalem to Jericho, 
 and fell among thieves, which stripped him 
 of his raiment, a?id wounded him, and de- 
 parted, leaving him half dead. 
 
 And by chance there came down a certain 
 priest that way : and when he saw hhn, he 
 passed by on the other side. 
 
 And likewise a Levlte, when he was at the 
 place, came and looked on him, and passed by 
 on the other side. 
 
 But a certain Samaritan, as he jo^irneyed, 
 came where he was : and when he saw him, 
 he had compassion on him. 
 
 And went to him, and bound up his 
 wounds, pouring In oil and wine, a?id set 
 him on his own beast, and brought to an Inn, 
 and took care of him. 
 
 And on the morrow, when he departed, he 
 took out tivo pence, and gave them to the host, 
 and said unto him. Take care of hhn : and 
 
72 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come 
 again, I will repay thee. 
 
 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, 
 was neighbour unto him that fell ainong the 
 ' thieves ? 
 
 And he said, He that shewed mercy on 
 him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and 
 do thou likewise. 
 
 And Jesus answered, and said unto her, 
 Martha, Martha, thou art careful, and 
 troubled about many things. 
 
 But one thing is needful ; and Mary hath 
 chosen that good part, which shall not be 
 taken away from her. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXII 
 And he said unto them. When ye pray, 
 say. Our Father, which art i^i heaven, Hal- 
 lowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy 
 will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 
 Give us day by day o^Lr daily bread. 
 And forgive tis our sins ; foi'- we also for- 
 give every one that is indebted to us. And 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 73 
 
 lead tts not into temptation; but deliver us 
 from evil. 
 
 And he said unto them, Which of you 
 shall have a friend, and shall go ttnto him at 
 midnight, and say tmto him, Friend, lend 
 me three loaves : 
 
 For a friend of mine in his journey has 
 come to me, and I have nothing to set before 
 him. ? 
 
 And he from within shall answer and say. 
 Trouble me not : the door is 7iozv shut, and 
 my childre7i are with me in bed ; I cannot 
 rise and give thee. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXIII 
 
 / say ttnto you, though he will not rise and 
 give him, because he is his friend, yet because 
 of his importtmity he will rise and give him 
 as many as he needeth. 
 
 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be 
 given you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, 
 a?id it shall be opened unto you. 
 
 For every one that asketJi^ receiveth ; and 
 
74 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 he that seeketh, findeth ; and to him that 
 knocketh, it shall be opened. 
 
 If a son shall ask bread of any of yotc that 
 is a father, will ye give him a stone ? or if 
 he ask a fish, zvill he for a fish give hint a 
 serpent, or if he shall ask an egg, will he 
 offer him a scorpion ? 
 
 If ye then, being evil, know how to give 
 good gifts unto your children, how much 
 m,ore shall your heavenly father give the 
 Holy Spirit to them that ask him f 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXIV 
 
 Every kingdom divided against itself, is 
 brought to desolation ; and a house divided 
 against a house, falleth. 
 
 If Satan also be divided against himself, 
 how shall his kingdom stand ? because ye say 
 that I cast out devils throtigh Beelzebub. 
 
 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by 
 whom do yotir sons cast theyn out ? therefore 
 shall they be your judges. 
 
 But if I with the finger of God cast out 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 75 
 
 devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come 
 upon you. 
 
 When a strong man armed keepeth his 
 palace, his goods are in peace : 
 
 But when a stronger than he shall come 
 upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from 
 him all his armour wherein he trusted, and 
 divideth his spoils. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXV 
 
 He that is not with me is against me ; and 
 he that gather eth not with me scattereth. 
 
 When the unclean spirit is gone ottt of a 
 man, he walketh through dry places, seeking 
 rest : and finding none, he saith, I will re- 
 turn tuito my house whence I came out. 
 
 And when he comet h, he findeth it swept 
 and garnished. 
 
 The7i goeth he, and taketh to him seven 
 other spirits more wicked than himself ; and 
 they enter in, and dwell there : and the last 
 state of that man is worse than the first. 
 
 But he said, Yea, rather blessed are they 
 that hear the zvord of God, and keep it. 
 
76 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXVI 
 
 And when the people were gathered thick 
 together, he began to say, This is an evil 
 generation : they seek a sign ; and thei^e 
 shall no sign be give^i it, biit the sign of 
 Jonas the prophet. 
 
 For as Jonas was a sign ii^ito the Nine- 
 vites, so shall also the So7i of 7nan be to this 
 generation. 
 
 The queen of the south shall rise up in the 
 judgment with the 'inen of this generation, 
 and condemn them : for she came from the 
 utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom 
 of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than 
 Solomo7i is here. 
 
 The onen of Nineveh shall rise ttp in the 
 judgment with this generation, and shall 
 condeinn it ; for they repented at the preach- 
 ing of Jonas ; and, behold, a greater than 
 Jonas is here. 
 
 No man, zvhen he hath lighted a candle, 
 putteth it in a secret place, neither tinder a 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 17 
 
 bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which 
 come in may see the light. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXVII 
 
 The light of the body is the eye : therefore 
 when thine eye is single, thy whole body also 
 is full of light ; but when thine eye is evil, 
 thy body also is full of darkness. 
 
 Take heed therefore, that the light which 
 is in thee be not darkness. 
 
 If thy zvhole body therefore be full of light, 
 having no part dark, the whole shall be fill 
 of light ; as when the bright shining of a 
 candle doth give thee light. 
 
 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye 
 Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup 
 and the platter ; bztt your inward part is 
 full of ravening and wickedness. 
 
 Ye fools, did not he that made that which 
 is withotit, make that which is within also f 
 
 But rather give alms of stuh things as ye 
 have ; and behold, all things are clean tmto 
 you. 
 
 Btit wo tmto you, Pharisees ! for ye tithe 
 
yd> HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 mint, and rtte, and all ma7iner of herbs, and 
 pass over judgment and the love of God : 
 these ought ye to have done, and not to leave 
 the other ii7idone. 
 
 Wo unto you, Pharisees ! for ye love the 
 uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greet- 
 ings in the markets. 
 
 Wo tmto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypo- 
 crites / for ye are as graves which appear 
 not, and the men that walk over them are not 
 aware of them. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXVIII 
 
 And he said, Wo 2into you also, ye lazv- 
 yers ! for ye lade men with burdens griev- 
 ous to be borne, and ye yotcr selves touch not 
 the burdens with one of your fingers. 
 
 Wo unto you ! for ye bttild the sepulchres 
 of the prophets, and your fathers killed 
 them. Truly ye bear witness, that ye allow 
 the deeds of your fathers : for they indeed 
 killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. 
 
 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, 
 I will send them prophets and apostles^ 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 79 
 
 and some of them they shall slay and per. 
 sectite : 
 
 That the blood of all the prophets, which 
 was shed from the foundatzo7i of the world, 
 may be required of this generation : 
 
 From the blood of A bel unto the blood of 
 Zacharias, which perished between the altar 
 and the temple : Verily, I say unto you, It 
 shall be reqtnred of this generation. 
 
 Wo unto you, lawyers / for ye have taken 
 away the key of knowledge : ye entered not 
 in yourselves, and them that were entering 
 in ye hindered. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXIX 
 
 Beware ye of the leaveii of the Pharisees, 
 which is hypocrisy. 
 
 For there is nothing covered, that shall 
 not be revealed ; neither hid, that shall not 
 be known. 
 
 Therefore, whatsoever ye have spoken in 
 darkness shall be heard in the light ; and 
 that which ye have spoken in the ear in 
 
8o HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 closets, shall be proclaimed upon the house- 
 tops. 
 
 And I say ti7ito you, my frze?ids, Be not 
 afraid of them that kill the body, and after 
 that have no more that they can do. 
 
 Bid I will forewarn you zahom ye shall 
 fear : Fear him, which after he hath killed, 
 hath power to cast into hell ; yea, I say unto 
 you, Fear him. 
 
 Are not five sparrows sold for two farth- 
 ings, and not one of thein is forgotten before 
 God. 
 
 But even the very hairs of your head are 
 all mimbered. Fear not therefore : ye are 
 of more vahte than many sparrows. 
 
 Also I say tmto you. Whosoever shall 
 confess me before men, him shall the Son of 
 man also confess before the angels of God. 
 
 But he that denieth me before men, shall 
 be denied before the angels of God. 
 
 And whosoever shall speak a word against 
 the Son of man, it shall be forgiven hi^n ; 
 but u7ito him that blasphemeth against the 
 Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 8 1 
 
 And when they bring you into the syna- 
 gogues, and tcnto magistrates, and powers, 
 take ye no thought how or what thing ye 
 shall answer, or ivhat ye shall say : 
 
 For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the 
 same hour what ye ought to say. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXX 
 
 And one of the company said unto him, 
 Master, speak to my brother, that he divide 
 the inheritance with me. 
 
 And he said unto him, Man, who made 
 me a judge or a divider over you ? 
 
 And he said unto them, Take heed, and 
 beware of covetotisness, for a mans life con- 
 sisteth not in the abtmdance of the things 
 which he possesseth. 
 
 And he spake a parable unto them, say- 
 ing. The ground of a certain rich man 
 broitght forth plentiftdly : 
 
 And he thought within himself, saying. 
 What shall I do, because I have no room 
 where to bestow my fruits f 
 
82 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 And he said, This will I do : I will pull 
 down my barns, and build greater ; and 
 there will I bestow all my fruits and my 
 goods. 
 
 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast 
 m-uch goods laid up for Tnany years ; take 
 thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 
 
 But God said unto hi^n. Thou fool, this 
 night thy soul shall be required of thee : the7i 
 whose shall those things be which thou hast 
 provided? 
 
 So is he that layeth up treasure for him- 
 self, and is not rich toward God. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXXI 
 
 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore 
 I say unto you, take no thought for your life, 
 what ye shall eat ; neither for the body what 
 ye shall p^it on. 
 
 The life is more than meat, and the body 
 is more than raiment. 
 
 Consider the ravens : for they neither sow 
 nor reap ; which 7ieither have storehouse. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 83 
 
 nor barn; and God feedeth them. How 
 much 7nore are ye better than the fowls ? 
 
 And which of yott with taking thought 
 can add to his stature one cubit f 
 
 If ye then be not able to do that thing 
 which is least, why take ye thought for the 
 rest f 
 
 Consider the lilies how they grow. They 
 toil not, they spin not ; and yet I say unto 
 you, that Solomon in all his glory was not 
 arrayed like one of these. 
 
 If then God so clothe the grass, which is 
 to-day in the field, and to-7norrow is cast into 
 the oven ; how much more will he clothe you, 
 O ye of little faith f 
 
 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what 
 ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful 
 mind. 
 
 For all these things do the nations of the 
 world seek after : and your Father knoweth 
 that ye have need of these things. 
 
 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God, 
 and all these thins's shall be added unto 
 you. 
 
84 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXXII 
 
 Fear not, little flock ; for it is your Fath- 
 er s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 
 
 Sell that ye have, and give alms ; provide 
 yourselves bags which wax not old, a treas- 
 ure in the heavens that faileth not, where no 
 thief approacheth, neither moth corrtipteth. 
 
 For where your treasure is, there will 
 your heart be also. 
 
 Let your loins be girded about, and your 
 lights burning ; 
 
 And ye yourselves like unto 7nen that wait 
 for their lord, when he will return from 
 the wedding ; that, when he comet h and 
 knocketh, they may open unto him immedi- 
 ately. 
 
 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord 
 when he cometh shall find watching : verily, 
 I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, 
 and m,ake them to sit down to meat, and will 
 come forth and serve them. 
 
 And if he shall come in the second watch, 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 85 
 
 or come in the third watch, and find them so, 
 blessed are those servants. 
 
 And this know, that if the good man of 
 the house had known what hour the thief 
 would come, he would have watched, and not 
 have suffered his house to be broken through. 
 
 Be ye therefore ready also : for the Son of 
 man cometh at an hour when ye think not. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXXIII 
 
 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest 
 thou this parable unto us, or even to all ? 
 
 And the Lord said, Who then is that 
 faithful and wise steward, whom his lord 
 shall make roller over his household, to give 
 them their portion of meat in dtLe season f 
 
 Blessed is that servaiit, whom his lord 
 when he cometh shall find so doing. 
 
 Of a truth I say tmto you, that he will 
 make him rtder over all that he hath. 
 
 But and if that servant say in his heart. 
 My lord delay eth his coming ; and shall 
 begin to beat the men-servants, and maidens, 
 and to eat a7id drink, and to be drttnken : 
 
86 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 The lord of that servant will come in a 
 day when he looketh not for him, and at an 
 hour when he is not aware, and zvill cut him 
 in sunder, and will appoint him his portion 
 with the unbelievers. 
 
 And that servant which knew his lord's 
 will, and prepared not himself, neither did 
 according to his will, shall be beaten with 
 many stripes. 
 
 But he that knew not, and did commit 
 things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with 
 few stripes. For imto whomsoever much is 
 given, of him shall be 7n2ich required ; and 
 to whom, men have committed much^ of him 
 they will ask the more. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXXIV 
 / am come to send fire on the earth, and 
 what will I, if it be already kindled? 
 
 But I have a baptisfn to be baptized with ; 
 and how am I straitened till it be accom- 
 plished ! 
 
 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 8/ 
 
 on earth ? I tell you^ Nay : but rather 
 division : 
 
 For from henceforth there shall be five in 
 one house divided, three against two, and two 
 against three. 
 
 The father shall be divided against the 
 son, and the son against the father ; the 
 mother against the daughter, and the daugh- 
 ter against the m^other ; the mother-in-law 
 against her daughter-in-law, and the daugh- 
 ter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXXV 
 
 And he said also to the people, When ye 
 see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway 
 ye say. There comet h a shower ; and so it is. 
 
 And when ye see the south wind blow, ye 
 say. There will be heat ; and it coineth to 
 pass. 
 
 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of 
 the sky, and of the earth ; but how is it, that 
 ye do not discern this time ? 
 
 Yea, and why even of yourselves pcdge ye 
 not what is right f 
 
88 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 When thou goest with thine adversary to 
 the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give 
 diligence that thou may est be delivered from 
 him ; lest he hale thee to the J2idge, and the 
 Judge deliver thee to the officer, and the 
 officer cast thee into prison. 
 
 I tell thee, thou shall not depart thence, 
 till thou hast paid the very last mite. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXXVI 
 
 And Jesus answering said unto them, 
 Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners 
 above all the Galileans, because they suffered 
 such things f 
 
 I tell you. Nay ; but, except ye repent, ye 
 shall all likewise perish. 
 
 Or those eighteen, 7Lpon whom the tower 
 in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that 
 they were sinners above all men that dwelt 
 in Jerusalem f 
 
 I tell yo2i. Nay ; bttt, except ye repent, ye 
 shall all likewise perish. 
 
 He spake also this parable : A certain 
 77ian had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard ; 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 89 
 
 and he came and sought fruit thereon, and 
 found none. 
 
 The7i said he unto the dresser of his vine- 
 yardy Behold, these three years I come seek- 
 ing fruit on this fig-tree, and find none : cut 
 it down ; why cumber eth it the ground f 
 
 And he answering, said unto him. Lord, 
 let it alone this year also, till I shall dig 
 abotit it, and dtmg it : 
 
 And if it bear fr-uit, well : and if not, 
 then after that tho7t shall cut it down. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXXVII 
 
 Woman, thou art loosed from thine in- 
 firmity. 
 
 The Lord then answered him, and said, 
 Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on 
 the sabbath loose his ox or his ass fro7n the 
 stall, and lead him away to watering f 
 
 And ought not this woman, being a dattgh- 
 ter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, 
 lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this 
 bond on the Sabbath day f 
 
 Then said he. Unto what is the kingdom 
 
90 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 of God like f and whereunto shall I resemble 
 it? 
 
 It is like a grain of mustard-seed, which 
 a man took, and cast into his garden, and it 
 grew, and waxed a great tree ; and the 
 fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it. 
 
 And again he said, Wheretmto shall I 
 liken the kingdom of God? 
 
 It is like leaven, which a woman took and 
 hid in three measures of meal, till the whole 
 was leavened. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XXXVIII 
 
 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there 
 few that be saved ? 
 
 And he said unto them, Strive to enter in 
 at the strait gate : for many, I say unto yoti, 
 will seek to enter in, and shall 7tot be able. 
 
 When once the master of the house is 
 risen tip, and hath shut to the door, a7id ye 
 begin to stand without, and to knock at the 
 door, saying. Lord, Lord, open tinto us ; and 
 he shall ansiver and say unto you, I know 
 yott not whence ye are : 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 91 
 
 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten 
 and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast 
 taught in our streets. 
 
 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you 
 not whence ye are : depart from me, all ye 
 workers of iniquity. 
 
 There shall be weeping and gnashing of 
 teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, 
 and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the king- 
 dom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 
 
 And they shall come from the east, and 
 from the west, and from the north, a?id 
 from the sotdh, and shall sit down in the 
 kingdom of God. 
 
 And behold, there are last which shall be 
 first ; and there are first which shall be 
 
 last. 
 
 RECITATION 
 
 XXXIX 
 
 And he said unto them, Go ye and tell 
 that fox, Behold, I cast otct devils, and I do 
 cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third 
 day I shall be perfected. 
 
 Nevertheless, I must walk to-day and to- 
 
92 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 morrow, and the day following : for it can- 
 not be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. 
 
 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the 
 prophets, and stonest them that are sent 
 unto thee ; how often woidd I have gathered 
 thy children together, as a hen doth gather 
 her brood under her wings, and ye would 
 not ! 
 
 Behold, your house is left unto yotc deso- 
 late. And verily, I say unto you. Ye shall 
 not see me, until the time come when ye shall 
 say. Blessed is he that cometh in the na7ne of 
 the Lord. 
 
 And Jesus answering, spake unto the 
 lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful 
 to heal on the sabbath day ? 
 
 And answered them, saying, Which of 
 you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a 
 pit, and will not straightzvay pull him otit 
 on the sabbath day f 
 
 When thoti art bidden of any man to a 
 wedding, sit not down in the highest room, 
 lest a more honorable man than thou be 
 bidden of him ; 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 93 
 
 And he that bade thee and him come 
 and say to thee, Give this man place ; and 
 thou begin with shame to take the lowest 
 room. 
 
 But when thou art bidden, go and sit 
 down in the lowest room ; that when he that 
 bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, 
 Friend, go up higher : then shall thou have 
 worship in the presence of them that sit at 
 meat with thee. 
 
 For whosoever exalt eth Jmnself shall be 
 abased, and he that humbleth himself shall 
 be exalted. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XL 
 Then said he also to him that bade him, 
 When thou makest a dinner or a supper, 
 call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, 
 neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neigh- 
 bours ; lest they also bid thee again, and a 
 recompense be made thee. 
 
 But when thou makest a feast, call the 
 poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 
 
 Andthoti shall be blessed: for they cannot 
 
94 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 recompense thee : for thou shalt be recom- 
 pensed at the resurrection of the just. 
 
 Then said he unto him, A certain m,an 
 made a great supper, and bade many : 
 
 A7td sent his servant at supper-time, to 
 say to them, that were bidden, Come, for all 
 things are now ready. 
 
 And they all with one consent began to 
 make excuse. The first said tinto him, I 
 have bought a piece of grou7id, and I must 
 needs go and see it : I pray thee have me 
 exctised. 
 
 And another said, I have bought five yoke 
 of oxen, and I go to prove the7n : I pray thee 
 have me excused. 
 
 And another said, I have married a wife : 
 and therefore I can^iot come. 
 
 So that servant ca7ne, and showed his 
 lord these things. Then the master of the 
 house being angry, said to his servant, 
 Go out quickly into the streets and ladies 
 of the city, and bring in hither the poor, 
 and the mahited, and the halt, and the 
 blind. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 95 
 
 And the servant said, Lord, it is done 
 as thou hast commanded, and yet there is 
 room-. 
 
 And the lord said tmto the servant, Go 
 ottt i7ito the highways and hedges, and com- 
 pel them to come in, that my house may be 
 filled. 
 
 For I say unto you, that none of those men 
 which were bidden shall taste of my supper. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XLI 
 
 And there went great multitudes with 
 him : and he turned and said unto them, 
 
 If any man come to 77ie and hate not his 
 father, and mother, and wife and children, 
 and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own 
 life also, he cannot be my disciple. 
 
 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, 
 and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 
 
 For which of yoti, intending to build a 
 tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth 
 the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish 
 it? 
 
 Lest haply after he hath laid the founda- 
 
96 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 Hon, and is not able to finish, all that behold 
 it begin to mock him, 
 
 Saying, this man began to build, and was 
 not able to finish. 
 
 Or what kiitg, going to make war agaiitst 
 another king, sitteth not down first, and 
 consulteth whether he be able with teji thozt- 
 sand to meet him that cometh against him 
 with twenty thousand? 
 
 Or else, while the other is yet a great way 
 off, he sendeth an ambassage, aizd desireth 
 conditions of peace. 
 
 So likewise, whosoever he be ofi you that 
 forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be 
 my disciple. 
 
 RECITATION 
 XLII 
 
 Salt is good : but if the salt hath lost its 
 savotLr, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 
 
 It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for 
 the dunghill ; but men cast it otit. He that 
 hath ears to hea.r, let hi?7i hear. 
 
 And he spake this parable unto them, 
 saying, 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 97 
 
 What man of you having a hundred 
 sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave 
 the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and 
 go after that which is lost, until he find 
 it? 
 
 And when he hath found it, he layeth it 
 on his shoulders, rejoicing. 
 
 And when he comet h home, he calleth 
 together his friends and neighbours, saying 
 unto them. Rejoice with me ; for I have 
 found my sheep which was lost. 
 
 I say unto yoti, that likewise joy shall be 
 in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, 
 m^ore than over ninety and nine just persons 
 which need no repentance. 
 
 Either what woman having ten pieces of 
 silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a 
 candle, and sweep the house, and seek dili- 
 gently till she find it f 
 
 And when she hath found it, she calleth 
 her friends and her neighbours together, say- 
 ing. Rejoice with me ; for I have found the 
 piece which I had lost. 
 7 
 
Chapter V. 
 
 In which is set forth the merits of the 
 ancient and honorable game of chess 
 as an educational agent and why i 
 have substituted it for higher math- 
 ematics in my system of education ; 
 and whoever readeth this brief 
 chapter will perhaps learn some 
 things that will be helpful to him 
 and his in many ways and may be 
 inclined to look upon my position 
 with more respect than he would 
 otherwise do. 
 
 NO one knows who invented the game 
 of Chess or when it was first played 
 among men. It is not only older than 
 knowledge but older than tradition. The 
 Chinese, who have played it immemorially, 
 tell us it was before their ancestors. The 
 oldest tombs in Assyria bear witness that 
 
 (98) 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 99 
 
 the great and wise of the earth were adepts 
 ten millennials ago. 
 
 It is purely intellectual. It is not a sport 
 or a pastime or amusement, but a strenuous 
 exercise of the mental faculties. A match 
 to the death, between the mental forces of 
 two individuals who enter the lists to fight 
 a-Voutrance. 
 
 Not only does no one know when or 
 where or by whom the game of Chess was 
 invented, but of all the thousands upon 
 thousands of the ablest men of all races and 
 nations who have played it, no one has ever 
 claimed that he has mastered it. The great 
 ones of the earth, whose minds were fash- 
 ioned for vast conceptions and the largest 
 strategy ; statesmen who have ruled cabinets 
 and used thrones simply as mediums through 
 which to work out their far-reaching plans; 
 jurists, sagacious, gifted with discrimination 
 beyond the order of men and whose vast 
 learning and judicial sense made the ermine 
 that bordered their judgment robes synony- 
 mous with justice ; generals whose cam- 
 
lOO HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 paigns have become the text-books on the 
 art of war and whose minds could grasp the 
 changing conditions of battle on the instant, 
 and, with a prescience that seems more than 
 human, divine the objective point of an 
 undelivered attack and out of impending 
 defeat snatch victory ; and that class of men 
 known as experts, professional students of 
 the game, whose heads slowly whitened over 
 the board which their eyes had studied 
 ceaselessly from youth to age — all these 
 have confessed openly and without reserve 
 that they have never mastered the game. It 
 is a depth, pure, serenely placid, the golden 
 bottom of which no human plummet has 
 ever sounded. 
 
 Believing as I do that the really great, 
 primal facts of earth and heaven which con- 
 cern mankind were never discovered by 
 humans but were brought from some higher 
 sphere, inhabited by superior beings, I have 
 long felt that the game of Chess had been 
 first played on the earth by beings that were 
 visitant from some higher realm. For surely 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. lOI 
 
 if human capacity were equal to its invention 
 and mastery, some one, during all the thou- 
 sands of years it has been played by the most 
 studious, most gifted and capable of men, 
 would have been found who could solve the 
 mastery of its possibilities and mark out the 
 line of its limitation. But no such one has 
 ever lived. And before the game of Chess 
 the ablest, the proudest and vainest of men 
 forever keep the pose and countenance of 
 modesty and awe. 
 
 The game of Chess is a game of so high 
 an order that it is never played save by 
 refined and cultivated people. Its manner- 
 isms are courteous and courtly. At its 
 board a man must be a gentleman and a 
 woman a lady. There can be no resting the 
 elbows on the table ; no tilting back of 
 chairs, no talking and giggling, no exclama- 
 tions of joy at winning or sorrow at losing. 
 Any expression of vanity or rage, any 
 manifestation of elation or temper, would 
 cost a player too dearly to indulge in a 
 repetition. A girl who learns to play Chess 
 
I02 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 and plays it a few years in the style of its 
 best traditions has, necessarily, acquired a 
 mannerism of bearing and behavior that is 
 simply ideal. She has learned how to seat 
 herself and rise from a chair with ease and 
 dignity ; her pose has become perfect, her 
 attitude graceful, her expression calmly 
 animated. She has learned how to fight a 
 losing fight and be irretrievably beaten with- 
 out being frightened at impending disaster 
 or manifesting disappointment or vexation 
 at defeat. 
 
 " Father, who is the best-educated 
 person ?" 
 
 That was the question asked one even- 
 ing as the class were carousing on hickory 
 nuts and sweet cider in front of the old 
 fireplace. 
 
 "He who is able to concentrate, at any 
 instant of time, under any conditions of dis- 
 traction, all the faculties of his mind and 
 make the right decision, say the right word 
 or do the right deed, is the best-educated 
 person." 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 103 
 
 That was my answer. 
 
 Concentration of every power and faculty 
 at the demand of an emergency. That is 
 what enables the Lawyer to gain his case ; 
 the Physician to save his patient ; the Gen- 
 eral to win the battle ; the Financier to 
 escape disaster. And it is because the 
 playing of Chess calls for the concentration 
 of all the mental faculties, and develops 
 them more rapidly and to a greater degree 
 than any other method of mental exertion 
 known to me, that I gave it the place of 
 higher mathematics in the education of my 
 children. 
 
 The playing of a game of Chess occupies 
 one or more hours. From two to four 
 hours is probablythe average with players 
 fairly advanced in knowledge and experience. 
 From the time the first move is made until 
 the Checkmate is given, there is on the 
 part of the contestants no cessation of 
 thought, no let up in attention. The mind, 
 with all the force and energy of which it is 
 capable, is concentrated to the task before 
 
I04 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 it. The battle is on and every nerve in the 
 fighters feels the tension of it. The highest 
 strategy and the most perfect technical skill 
 are alike demanded. The thrust and parry 
 of fencers supply us with no illustration of 
 what is taking place on the terrible board 
 between the two players. Not a battle, but 
 a campaign, in which are many battles, is 
 being fought out. The plan of the campaign 
 adopted by either player gives the measure 
 of his capacity. The combinations are vast 
 and intricate. The assaults direct and fierce. 
 The defense spirited and courageous. The 
 retreats masterly. The reformations of 
 either line rapid and skillful. The highest 
 order of two mortal forces are in contention. 
 Mind is pitted against mind. Intellect 
 against intellect. Love, hate, pity, are not 
 felt. In the midst of his great battles Grant 
 sat on a log calmly smoking his cigar. 
 Wellington sat upright in his saddle, coolly 
 observant, motionless as a statue. Bona- 
 parte gave his orders in a monotone. Con- 
 centration of mind, perfect^ continuous^ is 
 Chess playing. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 105 
 
 A boy can study a problem of Euclid 
 with a cigarette in his mouth and his body 
 in three chairs. He couldn't play Chess in 
 that style. A girl can work out a sum in al- 
 gebra and incidentally discuss the merits and 
 demerits of a new hat with her chum. Her 
 recitation the next day will be perfect. But 
 if she played Chess in that mental style she 
 would be beaten by a novice. And if the 
 ability to concentrate one's mind, to summon 
 up all one's intellectual forces to the accom- 
 plishment of a desired result, at any instant 
 of time, under any condition of environment, 
 is that form of education that is to be 
 desired to fit a girl or boy for the realities 
 and emergencies of life, then I do not hesi- 
 tate to say, that the playing of Chess is far 
 and away the best method of obtaining it. 
 
 Chess must not be thought of as a 
 "silent game." When played in competition 
 publicly, for a prize or for fame, the rules 
 of behavior are necessarily strict and con- 
 versation and even remark are barred. But 
 when played for family or social entertain- 
 
Io6 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 ment or for improvement of knowledge of 
 the game, Chess is the most delightful and 
 fascinating game known. Played for this 
 purpose all arbitrary rules are barred and 
 each move is open to discussion. And how 
 animated the discussion often becomes. For 
 the multiplicity of combinations is so vast 
 and the intricacies of Chess so profound, that 
 a strong case can be made for and against 
 almost any move after the opening moves, 
 and even the opening ones are so varied and 
 so different in design and result in the game 
 that even the masters of chess cannot come 
 to agreement as to which form of opening 
 is the best. 
 
 May I ask my reader to bear in mind 
 that all conversations and discussions around 
 a chessboard are purely intellectual ? The 
 game has no religious, social, reformative, 
 political, or financial significance whatever. 
 Playing it in high form provokes no more 
 feeling than demonstrating a problem in 
 geometry. With us the conversational game 
 is a great favorite. The entire family gather 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 107 
 
 around the board. There are no "sides" 
 taken. It is Black vs. White, and neither is 
 favored. Each has the best that our united 
 knowledge can give it, the object of the 
 game being to advance ourselves 171 the 
 knowledge of chess playing. 
 
 These games often last several evenings. 
 Sometimes we limit ourselves to twenty- 
 moves for each evening. This as a rule 
 prevents the play of an evening extending 
 over two hours. Very often instead of play- 
 ing original games we play some famous 
 game as it was played by Lowenthall and 
 Morphy, or other celebrated champions, and 
 play it as they played it. This method not 
 only makes a game a delightful entertain- 
 ment, but confirms one in style of playing 
 that is in harmony with the best traditions 
 of chess. Indeed a beginner in this noble 
 game would do well never to play an origi- 
 nal game for the first six months of his 
 practice, but play the games of the masters, 
 playing them slowly and — if possible — con- 
 versationally with some player who is well 
 
I08 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 advanced in chess knowledge. By this 
 method he will find himself at the end 
 of his novitiate not only master of a vast 
 amount of chess knowledge, but also famil- 
 iar with the biography of chess and playing 
 with such chess manners and in so high 
 a style that he will win the regard of 
 all who, whether from courtesy or pleas- 
 ure, play with him. 
 
 One evening, playing with one of my 
 girls (of fourteen years), at the thirtieth 
 move the game came to its crisis. In chess 
 the apprehension of this is often a matter 
 of intuition rather than knowledge. We 
 were by mutual agreement playing under 
 time limit that neither could take longer 
 than thirty minutes in making a move. For 
 twenty-seven minutes the little woman had 
 sat with her eyes fastened on the board, 
 perfectly posed, her face tranquil as a 
 mountain pool when no wind is, without a 
 motion. Then she lifted her eyes to mine 
 and calmly said, " Father, if I have made no 
 mistake as to how the game stands, the 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 109 
 
 Blacks (which were hers) will give the 
 Whites (which were mine) checkmate in 
 five moves." And they did. 
 
 And yet, fifteen minutes later she was 
 sleeping the sleep of healthy childhood with- 
 out a thought or even a filament of a dream 
 of chess or study or earthly care lying 
 athwart the calm surface of her sweet repose. 
 
 How I taught my dear ones to play this 
 difficult game at such an early age in such 
 a way as not to overtax their mental powers 
 shall now be explained, for to some who 
 have knowledge of chess it may seem a risk- 
 ful thing to do. And by the method 
 generally followed it would be. I first 
 obtained a set of wooden chess men, for 
 which I paid one dollar ; a sizable chess 
 board at seventy-five cents, and a work in 
 two volumes known as " Staunton's Chess 
 Praxis," edited by H. Staunton, an English 
 expert of standing, and published in London 
 in i860. These volumes I purchased of 
 Scribner's Sons, in New York, and hold 
 them in the highest esteem for their general 
 
no HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 excellence considered from the chess point 
 of view, but especially because of the copious 
 selection of illustrative games which distin- 
 guish them. I commend these volumes, 
 beyond any other known to me, to all who 
 would learn how to play this noble game, 
 by the method followed by me and which 
 has been vindicated by the ease and rapidity 
 with which my children have learned it. In 
 a single year of practice the two older 
 (eleven and thirteen) were able to put up a 
 good stiff game, of sufficient high quality to 
 hold an average adult player in our clubs to 
 at least a two hours' sitting. 
 
 The first evening was devoted to a 
 nomenclature and proper placement of the 
 chess men. This, of course, was very 
 entertaining to the children, for it was 
 altogether novel and called forth from their 
 teacher scraps of chess knowledge : that our 
 nomenclature of the men is comparatively 
 a modern matter and that long before the 
 pieces we call the Bishops were so called, 
 or the office or rank existed, or the Chris- 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. m 
 
 tian Church was born, these pieces stood 
 beside the King and Queen representing 
 the close connection of religion and gov- 
 ernment and the reliance which human 
 sovereignty could ever place on the divine ; 
 that the pieces we call " Knights " came 
 out of the Crusades, as did the *' Castles," 
 new names for the symbolization of the 
 military power which gave pomp and splen- 
 dor to royalty in peace and safety in war ; 
 that the *' Pawns " stood for the yeomen 
 or common soldiery, vast in numbers, first 
 to open the attack, strictly disciplined, 
 fearless, boldly blocking the charging 
 Knight, unflinchingly facing the frowning 
 Bishops whose power reached from side to 
 side of their world, and who, directed by 
 a commander who knew how to direct 
 them aright, had successfully breasted up 
 against the rage of Royalty itself, checked 
 the onset of the dreadful Queen and won 
 the victory on many a hard-fought field 
 by the solidity of their formation and the 
 sheer stubbornness of their courage. No 
 
112 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 subject in the world can be made more 
 entertaining to clever children than the game 
 of chess, its history, its great players, and 
 the memorable contests that have made the 
 names of its great champions famous. A 
 chess player must have been a poor student 
 of the game and a poor player if he cannot 
 talk entertainingly to children about the 
 greatest of all games known to men. What 
 a volume could be written on Tales of Chess 
 and Chess Playing. 
 
 The second evening was given to the 
 movements and powers of the several pieces 
 and nothing farther. Please bear in mind 
 that the chief maxim of my method is that 
 the mental capacity of a child, however 
 limited, shall not be taxed, and that no such 
 thing as "brain weariness " or ''headache" 
 shall ever be known by one of my little 
 pupils. Hence the word "study" is ignored, 
 and application, however intense, is in the 
 form of entertainment the pleasure of which 
 is to the toil what lubrication is to the axle 
 of a wagon wheel. It is unpleasant work 
 that kills. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 113 
 
 It chanced that the teacher of this class, 
 composed of three pupils, seven, nine, and 
 eleven years old respectively, was in his 
 younger days a chess player and at twenty- 
 five played a pretty stiff game among 
 amateurs of good standing. Indeed, chess 
 playing was a favorite recreation with him, 
 and the best form of this recreation was 
 Chess Solitaire, or playing both sides him- 
 self. These "Chess Studies" or "Stud- 
 ies in Chess," as they should be called, were 
 full of high entertainment and mental dis- 
 cipline and gave him an insight into the 
 resources of the game beyond what playing 
 contestant games could have done. This he 
 came to know years afterwards. But he 
 had not looked at a chess board for thirty 
 years and hence was glad to begin at the 
 beginning again. 
 
 The game with which we began was 
 played by Lowenthall vs. Morphy, in Lon- 
 don, when the latter was at the zenith of 
 his meteoric and splendid career. As it 
 may be of interest to many to play it, and 
 
114 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 help them to follow our method and reap 
 the benefit of a practice which has been so 
 helpful to us, we transcribe it to our page. 
 
 FIRST GAME— PHILIDOR'S DEFENCE. 
 
 White. (Mr. Morphy.) 
 
 1. P. to K's 4th. 
 
 2. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 
 
 3. P. to Q's 4th. 
 
 4. Q. takes P. 
 
 5. Q. B. to K's 3d. 
 
 6. Kt. to Q. B's 3d. 
 
 7. K. B. to Q. B's 4th. 
 
 8. Q. to Q's 2d. 
 
 9. Kt takes Kt. 
 
 10. Castles. (Kings side.) 
 
 11. P. to K's B's 4th. 
 
 12. P. to K. B's 5th. 
 
 13. Q. to K's 2d. 
 
 14. Q. R. to Q's square. 
 
 15. B. to Q's 5th. 
 
 16. Kt. takes B. 
 
 17. R. takes Kt. 
 
 18. Q. to K. Kt's 4th. 
 
 19. Q. R. to Q's 3d. 
 
 20. Q. to K. Kt's 3d. 
 
 21. K. R. to Q's sq. 
 
 Black. (Mr. Lowenthall.) 
 
 1. P. to K's 4th. 
 
 2. P. to Q's 3d. 
 
 3. P. takes P. 
 
 4. Q. B. to Q's 2d. 
 
 5. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 
 
 6. K. B. to K's 2d. 
 
 7. Kt. to Q. B's 3d. 
 
 8. Q. Kt. to K's 4th. 
 
 9. P. takes Kt. 
 
 10. Castles. 
 
 11. B. to Q's 3d. 
 
 12. B. to Q. B's 3d. 
 
 13. P. to K. R's 3d. 
 
 14. Q. to K's 2d. 
 
 15. B. takes B. 
 
 16. Kt takes Kt. 
 
 17. P. to K. B's 3d. 
 
 18. P. to Q. B's 3d. 
 
 19. B. to Q. B's 4th. 
 
 20. Q. R. to Q's sq. 
 
 21. R. takes R. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 115 
 
 22, 
 
 R. takes R. 
 
 22. 
 
 R. to Q's sq. 
 
 23- 
 
 B, takes B. 
 
 23- 
 
 Q. takes B. (ch.) 
 
 24. 
 
 Q. to K. B's 2cl. 
 
 24. 
 
 Q. takes Q. (ch.) 
 
 25- 
 
 K. takes Q. 
 
 25- 
 
 R. takes R. 
 
 26. 
 
 P. takes R. 
 
 26. 
 
 P. to Q. B's 4th. 
 
 27. 
 
 P. to K. Kt's 4th. 
 
 27. 
 
 K. to B's sq. 
 
 28. 
 
 P. to Q. R's 4th. 
 
 28. 
 
 P. to Q. Kt's 3d. 
 
 29. 
 
 K. to K. Kt's 3d. 
 
 29. 
 
 K. to B's 2d. 
 
 30- 
 
 K. to K. R's 4th. 
 
 3°- 
 
 K. to B's sq. 
 
 31- 
 
 K. to K. R's 5th. 
 
 31- 
 
 K. to B's 2d. 
 
 32- 
 
 P. to Q. Kt's 3d. 
 
 32- 
 
 K. to B's sq. 
 
 33- 
 
 K. to Kt's 6th. 
 
 53- 
 
 K. to Kt's sq. 
 
 34- 
 
 P. to K. R's 3d. 
 
 34- 
 
 K. to B's sq. 
 
 35- 
 
 P. to K. R's 4th. 
 
 35- 
 
 K. to Kt's sq. 
 
 36. 
 
 P. to K. Kt's 5th. 
 
 3^- 
 
 K. R. P. takes P. 
 
 37- 
 
 P. takes P. 
 
 37. 
 
 P. takes P. 
 
 38. 
 
 K. takes P. 
 
 38. 
 
 K. to B's 2d. 
 
 39- 
 
 K. to R's 4th. 
 
 39- 
 
 K. to K's 2d. 
 
 40. 
 
 K. to Kt's 4th. 
 
 40. 
 
 K. to B's 3d. 
 
 41. 
 
 K. to R's 5th. 
 
 41. 
 
 P. to Q. R's 3d. 
 
 42. 
 
 K. to R's 4th. 
 
 42. 
 
 P. to K. Kt's 3d. 
 
 43- 
 
 P. to Q. R's 5th. 
 
 43- 
 
 P. takes Q. R's P. 
 
 44. 
 
 P. takes K. Kt's P. 
 
 44. 
 
 K. takes P. 
 
 45- 
 
 K. to Kt's 4th. 
 
 45- 
 
 P. to Q. R's 5th. 
 
 46. 
 
 P. takes P. 
 
 46. 
 
 P. to Q. R's 4th. 
 
 47- 
 
 K. to B's 3d. 
 
 47- 
 
 K. to B's 3d. 
 
 48. 
 
 K. to B's 2d. 
 
 48. 
 
 K. to B's 2d. 
 
 49. 
 
 K. to B's 3d. 
 
 49. 
 
 K. to Kt's 2d. 
 
Il6 HOV/ I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 50- 
 
 K. to B's 2d. 
 
 50- 
 
 K. to B's 3d. 
 
 51- 
 
 K. to K. Kt's sq. 
 
 51- 
 
 K. to K. Kt's 4th, 
 
 52- 
 
 K. to Kt's 2d. 
 
 52- 
 
 K, to B's 5th. 
 
 S3- 
 
 K. to B's 2d. 
 
 53- 
 
 P. to Q. B's 5th 
 
 54- 
 
 P. takes P. 
 
 54- 
 
 K. takes K's P. 
 
 55- 
 
 K. to K's 2d. 
 
 55- 
 
 K. to Q's 5th. 
 
 56. 
 
 K. to B's 3d. 
 
 56. 
 
 K. takes P. 
 
 57- 
 
 K. to K's 4th. 
 
 57- 
 
 K. to Q. Kt's 5th, 
 
 58. 
 
 K. takes K's P. 
 
 58. 
 
 K. takes P. 
 
 59- 
 
 K. to Q's 4th. 
 
 59- 
 
 K. to Q. Kt's 5th, 
 
 SECOND GAME — PETROFF'S DEFENCE. 
 
 White. (Mr. Lowenthall.) 
 
 1. P. to K's 4th. 
 
 2. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 
 
 3. Kt. takes P. 
 
 4. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 
 
 5. P. to Q's 4th. 
 
 6. B. to Q's 3d. 
 
 7. Castles. 
 
 8. P. to Q. B's 4th. 
 
 9. P. takes P. 
 
 10. Kt. to Q. B's 3d. 
 
 11. P. takes Kt. 
 
 12. Q. B. to K. B's 4th. 
 
 13. B. takes B. 
 
 14. Kt. to K. Kt's 5th. 
 
 Black. (Mr. Morphy.) 
 
 1. P. to K's 4th. 
 
 2. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 
 
 3. P. to Q's 3d. 
 
 4. Kt. takes P. 
 
 5. P. to Q's 4th. 
 
 6. B. to K's 2d. 
 
 7. Kt. to Q. B's 3d. 
 
 8. Q. B. to K's 3d. 
 
 9. Q. B. takes P. 
 
 10. Kt. takes Kt. 
 
 11. Castles. 
 
 12. K. B. to Q's 3d. 
 
 13. Q. takes B. 
 
 14. P. to K. B's 4th. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 117 
 
 15. P. to Q. B's 4th. 15. B. takes K. Kt's P. 
 
 16. K. takes B. 16. Q. to K. Kt's 3d. 
 
 17. P. to K. B's 4th. 17. P. to K. R's 3d. 
 
 18. P. to Q's 5th. 18. Kt. to Q's sq. 
 
 19. P. to K. R's 4th. 19. P. takes Kt. 
 
 20 K. R. P. takes P. 20. Kt. to K. B's 2d. 
 
 21. Q. to K. B's 3d. 21. Kt. to K. R's 3d. 
 
 22. Q. to K. Kt's 3d. 22. Kt. to K. B's 2d. 
 
 23. P. to Q. B's 5th. 23. Q. R. to Q's sq. 
 
 24. B. to Q. B's 4th. 24. P. to Q. Kt's 4th. 
 
 25. B. to Q. Kt's 3d. 25. P. to Q. R's 4th. 
 
 26. Q. R. to K's sq. 26. K. R. to K's sq. 
 
 27. Q. R. to K's 6th. 27. R. takes R. 
 
 28. P. takes R. 28. K. to B's sq. 
 
 29. P. takes Kt. 29. P. to Q. R's 5th, 
 
 30. R. to Q's sq. 30. R. takes R. 
 
 31. B. takes R. 31. Q. to Q. B's 3d. (ch.) 
 
 32. B. to K. B's 3d. 32. Q. takes P. 
 
 33. P. to K. Kt's 6th. 33. Q. to Q's 3d. 
 
 34. Q. to K. Kt's 5th. 34. Q. to Q's 7th. (ch.) 
 
 35. K. to K. R's 3d. 35. Q. to Q's 6th. 
 
 36. Q. to K. R's 5th. 36. K. to K's 2d. 
 
 37. Q. to K. R's 4th. (ch.) 37. K. to Q's 2d. 
 
 38. K. to Kt's 3d. 58. Q. to her 3d. 
 
 39. Q. to K. R's 8th. 39. Q. takes P. (ch.) 
 
 40. K. to B's 2d. 40. Q. takes P. 
 
 41. P. to Q. R's 3d. 41. Q. to K's 2d. 
 
 42. K. to Kt's 3d. 42. Q. to K's 8th. (ch.) 
 
Il8 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 43. K. to Kt's 2d. 43. Q. to Q's 7th. (ch.) 
 
 44. K. to Kt's 3d. 44. Q. to K's 8th. (ch.) 
 
 And the game was drawn. 
 
 THIRD GAME.— RUY LOPEZ' KNIGHT'S 
 OPENING. 
 
 White. (Mr. Lowenthall.) 
 
 1. P. to K's 4th. 
 
 2. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 
 
 3. B. to Q. Kt's 5th. 
 
 4. P. to Q. B's 3d. 
 
 5. Castles. 
 
 6. P. to Q's 4th. 
 
 7. Q. Kt. to Q. R's 3d. 
 
 8. Q. Kt. to Q. B's 4th. 
 
 9. Q. Kt. to K's 3d. 
 
 0. Q. Kt. to K. B's 5th. 
 
 1. K. B. to Q's 3d. 
 
 2. Q. Kt. to K. Kt's 3d. 
 
 3. P. to Q. R's 4th. 
 
 4. P. to Q. R's 5 th. 
 
 5. P. to K. R's 3d. 
 
 6. Q. to Q. Kt's 3d. 
 
 7. K. R. to K's sq. 
 
 8. Q. to Q. B's 2d. 
 
 9. P. to Q. Kt's 4th. 
 20. P. to Q. B's 4th. 
 
 Black. (Mr. Morphy.) 
 
 1. P. to K's 4th. 
 
 2. Kt. to Q. B's 3d. 
 
 3. B. to Q. B's 4th. 
 
 4. Q. to K's 2d, 
 
 5. P. to K. B's 3d. 
 
 6. K. B. to Q. Kt's 3d. 
 
 7. Q. Kt. to Q's sq. 
 
 8. Q. Kt. to K. B's 2d. 
 
 9. P. to Q. B's 3d. 
 
 0. Q. to K. B's sq. 
 
 1. P. to K. Kt's 3d. 
 
 2. P. to Q's 3d. 
 
 3. Q. B. to K. Kt's 5th. 
 
 4. B. to Q. B's 2d. 
 
 5. B. to Q's 2d. 
 
 6. Q. Kt. to Q's sq. 
 
 7. B. to K's 3d. 
 
 8. K. Kt. to K's 2d. 
 
 9. Q. to K. Kt's 2d. 
 20. Castles. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 119 
 
 21. Q. B. to K's 3d. 21. Q. Kt. to K. B's 2d. 
 
 22. P. to Q's 5th. 22. Q. B. to Q's 2d. 
 
 23. Q. R. to Q's sq. 23. K. to R's sq. 
 
 24. K. to R's sq. 24. P. takes P. 
 
 25. K. P. takes P. 25, P. to K. B's 4th. 
 
 26. Q. B. to Q. B's sq. 26. Q. R. to K's sq. 
 
 27. B. to Q. Kt's 2d. 27. K. Kt. to K. Kt's sq. 
 
 28. Q. to Q. B's 3d. 28. Kt. to K. B's 3d. 
 
 29. B. to Q. Kt's sq. 29. K. R. to K. Kt's sq. 
 
 30. R. to Q's 2d. 30. Q. to K. R's 3d. 
 
 31. K. Kt. to K. R's 2d. 31. P. to K. B's 5th. 
 
 32. Kt. to K's 4th. 32. Kt. takes Kt. 
 
 33. B. takes Kt. 33. P. to K. Kt's 4th. 
 
 34. P. to K. B's 3d. 34. Q. to K. R's 5th. 
 
 35. K. R. to K. B's sq. 35. Kt. to K. R's 3d. 
 
 36. Q. R. to K's 2d. 36, Kt. to K. B's 4th. 
 
 37. B. takes Kt. 37. B. takes B. 
 
 38. P. to Q. B's 5th. 38. Q. to K. R's 3d. 
 
 39. K, R. to K's sq. 39. K. R. to K. B's sq. 
 
 40. P. to Q. Kt's 5th. 40. Q. R. to Q. B's sq. 
 
 41. Q. to Q. R's 3d. 41. K. to K. Kt's sq. 
 
 42. P. to Q. Kt's 6th. 42. P. takes P. 
 
 43. Q. B. P. takes P. 43. K. B. to Q's sq. 
 
 44. K. R. to Q. B's sq. 44. R. takes R. (ch.) 
 
 45. B. takes R. 5. Q. to K. Kt's 3d. 
 
 46. Q. to Q. Kt's 4th. 46. Q. B. to Q's 6th. 
 
 47. R. to K's sq. 47. K. B. to K's 2d. 
 
 48. Kt. to K. Kt's 4th. 48. R. to K's sq. 
 
I20 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 49. B. to Q. Kt's 2d. 49, P. to K. R's 4th. 
 
 50. Kt. to K. B's 2d. 50. P. to K. Kt's 5th. 
 
 51. Q. to Q. B's 3d. 51. B. to K. B's 4th, 
 
 52. K. B. P. takes P. 52. P. takes P. 
 
 53. P. takes P. 53. B. takes P. 
 
 54. Kt. takes B. 54. Q. takes Kt. 
 
 55. R. to Q. B's sq. 55. K. to B's 2d. 
 
 56. Q. to K. R's 3d. 56. Q. takes Q. (ch.) 
 
 57. P. takes Q. 57. P. to K. B's 6th. 
 
 58. R. to K. B's sq. 58. P. to K's sth. 
 
 59. B. to Q's 4th. 59. B. to K. B's 3d. 
 
 60. B. to K's 3d. 60. R. to Q. R's sq. 
 
 61. B. to Q's 2d. 61. B. to Q's 5th. 
 
 62. P. to K. R's 4th. 62. K. to Kt's 3d. 
 
 63. K. to K. R's 2d. 63. R. to K. B's sq. 
 
 64. K. to Kt's 3d. 64. P. to K. B's 7th. 
 
 65. K. to Kt's 2d. 65. P. to K's 6th. 
 
 66. B. to K's sq. 66. K. to R's 4th. 
 
 67. K. to Kt's 3d. 67. P. takes B. Queens (ch.) 
 
 And White surrendered. 
 
 Gracie (seven years old) read the moves 
 and to my vast surprise never made the 
 least error in so doing. Maude and Ruby 
 moved the "Blacks" (Lowenthall) and I 
 moved the "Whites" (Morphy). The 
 moves were made deliberately and accord- 
 ing to a system that would insure accuracy. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 121 
 
 Thus : 
 
 (Gracie) "White — first move — Pawn to 
 King's fourth space." 
 
 (Mr. Murray) "White — first move — 
 Pawn to King's fourth space." 
 
 (Gracie) " Black — first move — Pawn to 
 King's fourth." 
 
 (Maude and Ruby) " Black — first move 
 
 — Pawn to King's fourth." 
 
 (Gracie) "White — second move — Knight 
 to King's Bishop's third." 
 
 (Mr. Murray) "White — second move — 
 Knight to King's Bishop's third." 
 
 (Gracie) "Black — second move — Pawn 
 to Queen's third." 
 
 (Maude and Ruby) " Black — second move 
 
 — Pawn to Queen's third." 
 
 (Gracie) "White — third move — Pawn 
 to Queen's fourth." 
 
 (Mr. Murray) "White — third move — 
 Pawn to Queen's fourth." 
 
 (Gracie) "Black — third move — Pawn 
 takes Pawn." 
 
 (Maude and Ruby) "Black — third move 
 
 — Pawn takes Pawn," 
 
122 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 (Gracie) " White — fourth move — Queen 
 takes Pawn." 
 
 (Mr. Murray) "White — fourth move — 
 Queen takes Pawn." 
 
 (Gracie) "Black — fourth move — Queen's 
 Bishop to Queen's second." 
 
 (Maude and Ruby) " Black — fourth move 
 — Queen's Bishop to Queen's second." 
 
 And thus to the end of the game. 
 
 By this method we played hundreds of 
 evenings, both short and long games, with- 
 out a single slip or error. And from the 
 first, the power to thmk, speak, and do a 
 thing accurately was developed. Mental dis- 
 cipline had begun ! 
 
 For three months each evening we played 
 chess in this manner. Among the splendid 
 results were these : — 
 
 I St. The members of the class became 
 acquainted with the best players of the 
 world. 
 
 2d. They were made familiar with the 
 best games the best players had ever played. 
 
 3d. They had acquired knowledge of 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 123 
 
 the regular and best accredited gambets or 
 openings of the game. 
 
 4th. Their minds had become associated 
 with high chess as expounded by the high- 
 est exponents of the game. 
 
 5th. Best of all, their minds had not 
 been called upon to originate a single move 
 nor their feelings been in the least elicited. 
 
 It was education without high tension or 
 the mental exhaustion of "hard study." 
 
 Long before the first three months had 
 passed my little chess players had got a 
 pretty good idea of the rationale of the 
 game ; the significance of the various open- 
 ings, both regular and irregular, was appre- 
 hended ; the value of the different pieces 
 and of certain placements of the same per- 
 ceived, and even the individualism of many 
 of the great players appreciated. The 
 game had, as it were, played itself into 
 them, and because of that receptivity which 
 distinguishes clever, healthy, and happy 
 children from constant companionship with 
 experts they were becoming experts them- 
 selves. 
 
124 ^^^ ^ EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 And this was manifested by the fact that 
 the games became more and more conver- 
 sational and interrogative. Irregular open- 
 ings (gambets) were criticised with intelli- 
 gence ; errors in plan of attack or defense 
 apprehended ; mistakes in combination of 
 forces perceived and manifestly wrong moves 
 instantly detected. Of course the appre- 
 hension of this growth in knowledge on 
 their part was a delight to me, for it proved 
 that the masters were being mastered, and 
 that before my pupils had ever played a 
 game of chess they were becoming chess 
 players ! 
 
 It is one of the peculiar and distinguish- 
 ing features of chess playing that few if any 
 games have ever been played — perfectly ; 
 and that the errors made in playing have 
 been made by champions and experts of the 
 game as well as by amateurs. Such con- 
 centration of mind as public and champion- 
 ship games call for is exhaustive, and to all 
 human capacity there is a limit. To the 
 overtaxed force there comes sooner or later 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 125 
 
 a lapse or failure to respond to the call 
 made upon it. Then, too, the game is often 
 prolonged beyond human endurance. One 
 record exists of two players playing for 
 twenty-four consecutive hours. Neither could 
 win, neither would quit. Grimly they fought 
 it out, each equal in persistence, until at the 
 twenty-fourth hour, when the judges and 
 friends drew near to persuade them to allow 
 the game to be entered on the record as a 
 " drawn game," they discovered that both 
 players were fast asleep I 
 
 One evening we were playing the game 
 played by two of the most noted profess- 
 ionals, fifty years ago, in the world. Up to 
 a certain point the game had been strongly 
 played and with equal strength by either 
 contestant. It was a fine example of high 
 chess, and we were following it slowly and 
 tracing each move from cause to result. It 
 was a long game and had already lasted to 
 the seventieth move, six hotirs, and we were 
 following it in highest mood, when "Black" 
 made a move that impejnled his Queen ! 
 
126 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 We each attributed the error to a blunder 
 by Httle Gracie in reading it to us, but the 
 little chessite resented the implication and 
 held up the book for our inspection. We 
 were aghast. There it was, sure enough, 
 as called off to us. We simply sat and 
 glared at the ill-fated Queen whom by his 
 next move White would sweep from the 
 board. But when Gracie called off the 
 next move Black's Queen remained un- 
 touched ! Then we knew that neither of 
 these great masters of chess had perceived 
 the monstrous error ! 
 
 At the end of three months the class 
 began to play original games, playing each 
 evening, but limiting the games to one 
 hour, sometimes to two hours, or again to 
 twenty moves, with ten minutes to a move, 
 the two older pupils playing against the 
 teacher. Often our games were and are 
 still conversational or class studies, the idea 
 being that each move on both sides should 
 be made with the collective knowledge of 
 the entire class ; and we find it a most ex- 
 cellent practice. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 127 
 
 In this manner I have taught my children 
 chess and the method pursued stands ap- 
 proved ; for we have been playing only two 
 years, but already the two older pupils, 
 whether playing singly or in consultation, 
 put up a very strong game against me, a 
 game strong enough, I fancy, to make most 
 amateurs play with discretion. 
 
 The ability to think rightly, speak the 
 right word and do the right thing under 
 any condition of environment, in any emer- 
 gency of life, that is the ability I seek to 
 give them. And I regard chess playing 
 able to give them this ability more quickly, 
 easily, and surely than any other branch of 
 human study. As an educational agent 
 chess playing can scarcely be estimated too 
 highly, and as a help to family entertain- 
 ment it is simply incomparable. And if the 
 education of our children does not result in 
 making the family happier and lifting the 
 style of conversation and manners of its 
 several members in their intercourse with 
 each other, it seems to me a very poor sort 
 of education. 
 
Chapter VI. 
 
 AND I EARNESTLY COMMEND TO THE TWO 
 HOUSES OF CONGRESS THAT, ACTING IN 
 CO-OPERATION WITH THE SEVERAL STATES, 
 IT SHALL SPEEDILY COME TO PASS THAT 
 THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND 
 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 
 SHALL BE COMMITTED TO MEMORY BY 
 EVERY PUPIL ABOVE EIGHT YEARS OF AGE 
 IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF THE COUNTRY 
 TO THE END THAT THE PRINCIPLES OF 
 LIBERTY AS EXPRESSED IN THE IMMOR- 
 TAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS 
 AND THE FRAMING OF THE SAME INTO 
 THE ORGANIC LAW OF THE NATION MAY 
 BE KNOWN AND UNDERSTOOD BY EVERY 
 CHILD BEFORE HE HAS COME TO HIS 
 MAJORITY, THAT HE MAY HAVE BEEN 
 PREPARED TO DISCHARGE RIGHTLY THE 
 DUTIES OF PATRIOTIC CITIZENSHIP. WE 
 HAVE PUT THE FLAG ABOVE THE SCHOOL- 
 
 (128) 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 129 
 
 HOUSE, NOW LET US PUT THE LOVE OF 
 LIBERTY AND THE CONSTITUTION INTO 
 THE HEARTS OF THE PUPILS." 
 
 [ From a forthcoming message of President . ] 
 
 IN view of the eulogies touching the 
 nobiHty of these two marvelous pro- 
 ductions it would seem only natural 
 that they would have been as familiar to 
 the people " as household words," but in 
 point of fact it is probable that few of 
 the millions of children in our public 
 schools can recite a single paragraph of 
 either. And such has been our apathy 
 that it may be open to doubt whether 
 teachers of whatever rank in our great Uni- 
 versities or members of either House of 
 Congress are in any happier condition 
 touching this matter, than the ignorant 
 children in our schools. 
 
 Germany educates her children to love 
 the Fatherland. France graduates them 
 filled with affection and pride for the Tri- 
 color. England gathers her Colonies around 
 her knee and fills their ears with the Glory 
 
I30 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 of the British Empire. But we, heirs of 
 and sponsors for an heritage of Liberty 
 more precious than ever was or is now on 
 the earth beyond these shores, multiply 
 schoolhouses by the thousands and tax our- 
 selves to maintain an army of teachers — 
 for what ? To teach our boys to delve, 
 trade, construct and amass fortunes, deeming 
 it success if our boys know how to make 
 money and our girls how to spend it faster 
 than the boys and girls of any other country. 
 
 I protest against this horrible state of 
 things and suggest that it be remedied — 
 and at once. It can be. The process is not 
 long. 
 
 The Declaration of Independence can 
 be committed by every child in our common 
 schools within one month. It takes a daily 
 recitation of a few lines. That is all. 
 
 The Constitution of the Country with 
 its amendments can be easily committed in 
 two Tnonths. In brief, the recitations of a 
 few lines each day during one term will ac- 
 complish the desired result. Is there any 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 131 
 
 reason why it should not be done ? I have 
 heard none. I can conceive of none. 
 
 The Americanization of the Common 
 School System is not, therefore, a matter 
 that calls for any increase of the School 
 Fund, nor does it put any extra labor upon 
 pupils or teachers. The machinery to ac- 
 complish the notable result is all constructed 
 and ample. Let the States and Nation 
 speak. Let the People say the word and it 
 is done. 
 
 Should it be a matter of surprise that the 
 crudest ideas prevail among vast multitudes 
 in our Country as to what Liberty means ? 
 Who has taught them either the beneficence 
 of it working through law and order or its 
 limitations when expressed in individual 
 action ? Do the children of the Russian 
 serfs, of the Syrian immigrants, of the 
 oppressed Polanders, of the Welch miners, 
 and of the thousands who come pouring in 
 upon us from countries where the word is 
 never heard, know what the elorious term 
 signifies ? What provision have we made 
 
132 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 that they shall be taught what it stands for 
 here in the land where its vital and vitalizing 
 significance constitutes the very foundation 
 of law, order, and Government, and supplies 
 us with the inspiration and the ideal of 
 noble civic conduct. How shall this multi- 
 tude — soon to be voters — become intelli- 
 gent, patriotic citizens if they remain igno- 
 rant of the principles on which, as a house 
 on its foundations, the vast structure of 
 our National Government rests ? Is there 
 but one answer ? 
 
 The Common Schools must do it. Where 
 the language of Liberty is taught them the 
 knowledge of Liberty and the principles of 
 free institutions must be inculcated. What 
 other machinery can we construct able to 
 do this needful work ? We know of none. 
 
 And why should not our Common Schools 
 do this ? What other work is so noble for 
 them to undertake? What other depart- 
 ment of education is so essential to the life, 
 the dignity, and the safety of the Republic? 
 Let the children of the Nation be taught 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 133 
 
 the meaning of Liberty, the priceless value 
 of it to them, at what cost our fathers se- 
 cured it for us, how they by right use of the 
 suffrage can safeguard it from foes within 
 and without and continue it in all its purity 
 and grandeur to future times; and whatever 
 thing of value they shall be ignorant of, 
 they will be prepared in mind and heart to 
 serve their own best interests and the well 
 being of the Nation at large. 
 
 Could Bossism long flourish if the child- 
 ren were rightly educated ? Where does 
 political baseness root itself if not in the 
 mud of civic ignorance ? Have we come to 
 a time when water will rise higher than its 
 source ? Will ignorant and uninspired 
 suffrage vote intelligent, patriotic, incorrupt- 
 ible men into office ? And how shall the 
 administration of our Government be honest, 
 wise, and in the line of the wish and hope 
 of those who in the beginning founded it, 
 when they who lift into office those who 
 administer it are ignorant of the principles 
 of free government, without the least civic 
 
134 HO^ I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 education, totally devoid of patriotic inspi- 
 ration, and have no high civic ideals? The 
 National Flag waves over the School 
 Houses of the Land. That is well Now 
 put the Declaration of Independence and 
 the Constitution of the United States into 
 the minds and hearts of the pupils, that the 
 banner above their heads may be interpreted 
 to them in all the fullness of its glorious 
 significance. 
 
 Americanize your Common School Sys- 
 tem, friend. Let the millions being educated 
 under it be graduated Americans — not in 
 a general but in a specific sense. Let every 
 boy and girl in our schools be able to recite 
 the Declaration. Let them know the Con- 
 stitution, "that most glorious construction 
 of human virtue and wisdom," as a great 
 Englishman said, by heart. So shall we fit 
 them for Citizenship, safeguard the Repub- 
 lic from coming perils, show our reverence 
 for and gratitude to the founders of it, and 
 prove that our love of Liberty and our 
 Country, yea, and of the children in it too, 
 is both thoughtful and sincere. 
 
Chapter VII. 
 PROVERBS. 
 
 IN WHICH SUNDRY REMARKS ARE MADE BY THE 
 TEACHER ON THE PROVERBS OF DIFFERENT 
 AGES AND PEOPLES AND THE VALUE OF KNOW- 
 ING AND BEING ABLE TO USE THEM, BOTH IN 
 PRIVATE CONVERSATION AND PUBLIC ADDRESS, 
 TOGETHER WITH RECITATIONS OF NOTED 
 PROVERBS BY THE CLASS. 
 
 ^^ CHiATHER dear, what is a proverb?" 
 I How wise a child is ! Left to 
 
 themselves by how short a cut 
 children come to knowledge ! As a bee 
 instinctively takes a straight line because 
 that is the shortest possible course to his 
 hive, SO the child instinctively takes the 
 shortest course to knowledge. Greece had 
 but one man great enough to keep the 
 child-habit of man in seeking knowledge 
 by interrogation. And all wise men to-day 
 
 (136) 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 137 
 
 cannot say too much in praise of the *' So- 
 cratic method " of learning and teaching. 
 Men say, "What a wise and shrewd old 
 interrogator he was ! " But do they reflect 
 that the Great Grecian Reasoner and Phi- 
 losopher was wise only because he held 
 through life the child-habit of questioning ? 
 And is it not true of the heaven of knowl- 
 edge as of that other heaven that if one 
 would enter it he must become as a little 
 child ? More knowledge can be got at and 
 more fool bubbles pricked by a direct, 
 clean-cut, pointed question than by any 
 other method known to studentship. From 
 the beginning I have commended the So- 
 cratic method to my pupils. If you wish 
 knowledge of a perfume, children, I have 
 told them, question it with your nose ; if of 
 fruit, question it with your taste ; if of a 
 sound, question it with your ears ; if of a 
 thorn question it with a touch ; if of a 
 bird's plumage, or habits, or habitat, pursue 
 it with the interrogation of your eyes. If 
 you seek knowledge of your teacher, ques- 
 
138 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 tion him. This has been the one habit of 
 studentship commended to them. This has 
 been the one thing insisted on. And how 
 much that others have and have not they 
 have come to by following this one simple 
 rule ! 
 
 " Father dear, what is a Proverb ? " 
 And I answered : "A Proverb is the 
 wisdom of a man, of a people, of a race, 
 condensed into a single sentence." 
 
 And this led to the following arrange- 
 ment : That each evening, in the midst of 
 nut-cracking, or apple-roasting, or candy- 
 pulling, or the playing of games, or what- 
 ever form of entertainment the evening time 
 brought them, I would give them one 
 proverb which they should so thoroughly 
 commit to memory that it should never in 
 all their lives slip from them. And here is 
 the result which the evenings of a single 
 winter gave them of the wise, the shrewd, 
 the homely, and the pithy sayings of many 
 peoples and races : 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 139 
 
 PROVERBS OF THE BIBLE. 
 1st 
 A soft answer turneth away wrath ; but 
 grievous words stir up anger. 
 
 2d 
 
 A good name is more to be desired than 
 
 great riches. 
 
 3d 
 
 A house divided against itself cannot 
 
 stand. 
 
 4th 
 
 Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, 
 
 than a stalled ox with hatred therewith. 
 
 5th 
 Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou 
 knowest not what a day may bring forth. 
 
 6th 
 Cast thy bread upon the waters, for it 
 will return to thee after many days. 
 
 yth 
 He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth 
 unto the Lord, 
 
140 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 8th 
 
 He that tilleth his land, shall have plenty 
 of bread. 
 
 gth 
 He who regardeth the clouds, shall not 
 reap. 
 
 loth 
 If the blind lead the blind, both will fall 
 into the ditch. 
 
 nth 
 If the salt hath lost its savor, wherewith 
 shall it be salted ? 
 
 12th 
 Judge not, lest ye be judged. 
 
 13th 
 Let another man praise thee, and not by 
 thine own mouth. 
 
 14th 
 Love not sleep, lest thou fall into poverty. 
 
 15th ^ 
 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent 
 thee not. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 141 
 
 l6th 
 Order is God's first law. 
 
 I'/th 
 Pride goeth before destruction, and a 
 haughty spirit before a fall. 
 
 i8th 
 Remove not the old land-marks, nor enter 
 into the fields of the fatherless. 
 
 igth 
 
 The fool hath said in his heart, There is 
 
 no God. 
 
 20th 
 
 The wicked flee when no man pursueth. 
 
 2 1st 
 The hearing ear, the seeing eye, the Lord 
 hath made even both of them. 
 
 22d 
 
 The leopard cannot change his spots, 
 nor the Ethiopian his skin. 
 
 23d 
 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy 
 strength is but small. 
 
142 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that tread- 
 
 eth out the corn. 
 
 2^th 
 
 Look not upon the wine when it is red 
 
 within the cup, for at last it biteth like a 
 
 serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PROVERBS. 
 
 First 
 Fire is a good servant, but a bad master. 
 
 Seco7id 
 Many hands make light work. 
 
 Third 
 
 You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's 
 
 ear. 
 
 Fourth 
 
 Necessity is the mother of invention. 
 
 Fifth 
 Still waters run deep. 
 
 Sixth 
 Little people should be seen, and not 
 heard. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 143 
 
 Seventh 
 A stitch in time saves nine. 
 
 Eighth 
 
 Why lock the door after the horse is 
 
 stolen ? 
 
 Ninth 
 
 Why cry over spilt milk ? 
 
 Teyith 
 The deer that goes to the licks too often 
 meets the hunter at last. 
 
 Eleventh 
 Haste makes waste. 
 
 Twelfth 
 
 He that stumbleth at the same stone twice 
 
 is a fool. 
 
 Thirteenth 
 
 The rolling stone gathers no moss. 
 
 Fourteenth 
 A pint is a pound the world round. 
 
 Fifteenth 
 Birds of a feather flock together. 
 
144 HOW ^ EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 Sixteenth 
 
 An ounce of prevention is better than a 
 
 pound of cure. 
 
 Seventeenth 
 
 You can't teach an old dog new tricks. 
 
 Eighteenth 
 An old dog loves his kennel. 
 
 Nineteenth 
 Chickens come home to roost. 
 
 Twentieth 
 
 If you want your business done, go ; if 
 
 not, send. 
 
 Twenty-first 
 
 Speak well of the bridge that carries you 
 
 safely over. 
 
 Twenty-second 
 
 Riches take wings and fly away. 
 
 Twenty-third 
 Obey orders if you ruin your masters. 
 
 Twen ty-fourth 
 Write no man's epitaph until he is dead. 
 
 Twenty-fifth 
 A singed cat fears the fire. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 145 
 
 Twenty-sixth 
 Penny wise and pound foolish. 
 
 Twenty-seventh 
 A penny saved is two earned. 
 
 Twen ty-eigh th 
 
 You can't put an old head on young 
 
 shoulders. 
 
 Twenty-ninth 
 
 Never look a gift horse in the mouth. 
 
 Thirtieth 
 Nearer the bone the sweeter the meat. 
 
 Thirty -first 
 Don't count your chickens till they are 
 hatched. 
 
 Th irty-second 
 
 Wisdom sits at the root of a gray hair. 
 
 Thirty-third 
 
 There's as good fish in the sea as ever 
 
 were caught. 
 
 Thirty-fourth 
 
 Honesty is the best policy. 
 
146 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 Thirty-fifth 
 In union there is strength. 
 
 Thirty-sixth 
 Look before you leap. 
 
 Thirty-seventh 
 The race is not to the swift, nor the bat- 
 tle to the strong. 
 
 Thirty -eigh th 
 It's always darkest just before dawn. 
 
 Thirty-ninth 
 The darkest clouds have a silver lining. 
 
 Fortieth 
 One swallow doesn't make a summer. 
 
 Forty-first 
 If at first you don't succeed, try, try, 
 again. 
 
 Forty-second 
 There are two sides to every question. 
 
 Forty-third 
 There is many a slip between the cup 
 and the lip. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 147 
 
 Fo7^ty-fourth 
 He whom the gods would destroy they 
 first make mad. 
 
 Forty-fifth 
 The mills of the gods grind slow, but 
 they grind exceeding fine. 
 
 Forty-sixth 
 Never shout till you are out of the woods. 
 
 Forty-seventh 
 Every tub should stand on its own bottom. 
 
 Forty -eighth 
 
 Blessings brighten as they take their 
 
 fliorht. 
 
 Forty-ninth 
 
 Make hay when the sun shines. 
 
 Fiftieth 
 Riorht makes mic^ht. 
 
 Fifty-first 
 One with God is a majority. 
 
 Fifty-second 
 Seize him is a good dog, but hold fast is 
 a better. 
 
148 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 Fifty-third 
 All is not gold that glitters. 
 
 Fifty-fourth 
 Fine feathers don't make a lady. 
 
 Fifty-fifth 
 A new broom sweeps clean. 
 
 Fifty-sixth 
 Don't cross a bridge until you come to it. 
 
 Fifty-seventh 
 Early to bed and early to rise makes men 
 healthy, wealthy, and wise. 
 
 Fifty-eighth 
 He who thinks purely feels like God. 
 
Chapter VIII. 
 
 THE VALUE OF A GOOD 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 IN WHICH IS SET FORTH THE VALUE OF WORDS 
 AS THE SYMBOL OF THOUGHT, AND WHY THE 
 POSSESSION OF AN ADEQUATE VOCABULARY 
 SHOULD BE THE FIRST OBJECT OF INSTRUC- 
 TION. 
 
 IT has always seemed to me that words, 
 which are the symbols of human 
 thought, and without a usable knowl- 
 edge of which no person can, save with the 
 utmost difficulty, either express his own 
 ideas or receive instruction rapidly, should 
 be given the foremost rank in any system 
 devised for the instruction of children. 
 The study of the English language is pri- 
 marily the study of the words that com- 
 pose it. To know how to spell, pronounce, 
 define, and use words properly is, as I 
 
 (149) 
 
150 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 conceive, the first thing that a child should 
 be taught. Mastery of word knowledge is 
 the key that opens the door of all knowl- 
 edge and qualifies them to make rapid and 
 easy progress in all their studies. With 
 children thus equipped for mental acqui- 
 sition teaching is a delight, and study an 
 entertainment and not a task. At eight a 
 healthy and clever girl has come to a period 
 of development when receptiveness of 
 memory is always remarkable and in many 
 cases phenomenal. She is then a natural 
 linguist. Words, phrases, idiomatic expres- 
 sions, and entire sentences are received as a 
 white page receives the tracing of the pen. 
 Later she comes to the emotional period, 
 later yet to the perceptive and reasoning 
 stage, and last of all to the reflective. But 
 in the beginning of her progressive move- 
 ment as a mental force she gives the high- 
 est expression of Mnemonics. At no future 
 period of her development as an intelligent 
 being will memory be so receptive or 
 tenacious. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 151 
 
 I have for nearly forty years devoted 
 myself to the study of the words and word 
 formation of the English language as 
 spoken and written to and for the American 
 people. Save as the knowledge of them 
 would enable me to better understand and 
 use with greater simplicity and precision 
 my native tongue I have devoted no time 
 to other languages. I regard the English 
 language, reinforced as it has been so 
 abundantly by the freer life and thought of 
 our own country, as the most facile and 
 noblest medium of expressing human 
 thought and feeling ever used on earth. 
 Not yet fully formed, by no means satis- 
 factory to the Author, Orator, and Poet ; 
 inadequate as it is to give perfect expres- 
 sion to the highest thinking ; too strongly 
 affected by our own rapid and gross mate- 
 rialistic development to serve our noblest 
 spiritual thinkers, it nevertheless commands 
 the admiration and pride of those who best 
 know its resources and how to use it most 
 efficiently. For its virile forcefulness, for 
 
152 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 pith and substance, for monosyllabic full- 
 ness, for the gloss and finish of its sentences 
 when rightly formed, for its wealth of 
 emotional expression and the ease with 
 which it rises, as in Milton's poetry and 
 Webster's prose, to the loftiest heights of 
 poetic and prose expression, no tribute in 
 its praise can well be extravagant. He 
 who knows how to write and speak the 
 English language in purity, with correctness 
 and finished forcefulness is, and must be 
 admitted to be, a scholar of highest rank. 
 And he who cannot do this, no matter to 
 what other knowledge he has come, lacks 
 the cultivation of finished scholarship. 
 
 That my children may master this most 
 noble medium of human expression and 
 influence is the chiefest object of my teach- 
 ing. Whatever else they may learn I wish 
 them above all else to learn how to read, 
 write, and speak the language of their 
 native land not only correctly but with 
 freedom and elegance. For I hold that, 
 scholarly in this, they will be scholarly in 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 153 
 
 all. The study of noble thought expressed 
 in noble speech gives to the mind discipline 
 and to the soul an elevation that can come 
 to one from no other source. 
 
 These views I taught my daughters — 
 the two that were old enough to receive 
 them intelligently — and they entered 
 eagerly upon the course of study which 
 when completed would make them the pos- 
 sessors of a vocabulary far fuller than is 
 common, even in the case of scholarly adults. 
 And now, after three years and a half 
 of daily recitation, their copy lists show over 
 1 7,000 words, each and every one of which 
 they can spell and pronounce rightly, define 
 with fullness and precision, and use correctly 
 in a sentence. And this result has been 
 reached without the least pressure on my 
 part or burden to them. There have been 
 no '* prizes " or " show performances " 
 before the public ; no rivalry as to which 
 should have the better " record," or any- 
 thing whatever calculated to stimulate them 
 to special effort. The system adopted was 
 
154 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 one of simple accumulation steadily per- 
 sisted in — that and nothing more. 
 
 And the system is this, and was of their 
 own suggestion, to wit : that each day of 
 the week they would take ten words of my 
 selection, memorize them carefully, write 
 them down, — which would give them practice 
 in penmanship, — commit the definition 
 thoroughly to heart, and put each word 
 into a sentence when able, looking to me 
 for help when they could not do it. That 
 was the plan. 
 
 Ten words a day! It was nothing — it 
 was play to them ! At the end of the first 
 year they begged that I let them double 
 the number. " Why, father, it does not 
 take half an hour for us to get our lesson ! " 
 But I said, " No, we will keep it just as it 
 is, ten words per day. Your progress is 
 fast enough." So it remained for two 
 years. But then I yielded and twenty 
 words became the lesson. 
 
 But what a feast these pupils of mine 
 have had ! 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 155 
 
 I wish it to be distinctly understood that 
 I am not teaching a child-vocabulary to my 
 children, but the vocabulary of the English 
 language, far more abundant and complete 
 than I had when I was graduated from 
 Yale or had ten years after I was grad- 
 uated : a vocabulary that will at the con- 
 clusion of their studies number at least 
 20,000 words ; words that are usable, words 
 that are needed to express the thought, ideas, 
 and feeling of educated people. And I am 
 teaching this noble vocabulary to them in 
 such a way that they will know how to 
 spell, pronounce, define, and use each word 
 accurately and without mental effort, and 
 under a method of study which does not 
 put the least strain upon them. The basal 
 idea of my method is small but contimwus 
 accuinulatio7i of knowledge ; ten words a 
 day, bzct no day omitted. That's the secret 
 of the success they have made of it, and 
 which every fairly clever and healthy child 
 can make. 
 
 The following section of the vocabulary 
 
156 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 is transcribed from their " Copy Lists," 
 which they have made first in pencil, then 
 with the pen, and last with a typewriter, 
 which they mastered with great ease, and 
 the use of which has been a great help to 
 them. 
 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 September 3, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLI 
 
 Dab 
 
 Da-guerre-o 
 
 Dab-ble 
 
 Dah-lia 
 
 Dab-ler 
 
 Dai-ry 
 
 Daf-fo-dil 
 
 Da-is 
 
 Dag-ger 
 
 Dai-ly 
 
 September 4, 1897 
 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 
 CCLII 
 
 Dais-y 
 
 Dam-ask 
 
 Dale 
 
 Da-mas-cus 
 
 Dal-li-ance 
 
 Dame 
 
 Dal-ly 
 
 Damn 
 
 Dam-age 
 
 Dam-na-ble 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 157 
 
 September 5, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLIII 
 
 Dam-na-tion Dam-son 
 
 Dam-sel Dance 
 
 Damp Dan-de-lion 
 
 Damp-er Dan-der 
 
 Damp-en Dand-ruff 
 
 
 September 6, 1897 
 
 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 
 
 CCLIV 
 
 Dan-die 
 
 
 Dan-gle 
 
 Dan-dy 
 
 
 Dan-ish 
 
 Dane 
 
 
 Dank 
 
 Dan-ger 
 
 
 Dank-ish 
 
 Dan-ger- 
 
 ous 
 
 Dap-per 
 
158 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 September 7, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLV 
 
 Dap-ple Dark-ness 
 
 Dare-dev-il Dark-some 
 
 Dar-ing Dark-y 
 
 Dark Dash-board 
 
 Dark-en Das-tard 
 
 S] 
 
 EPTEMBER 
 
 8, 1897 
 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 
 CCLVI 
 
 Date 
 
 
 Daw-dler 
 
 Date-less 
 
 
 Dawn 
 
 Daunt 
 
 
 Day-light 
 
 Dav-it 
 
 
 Dead 
 
 Daw-die 
 
 
 Daze 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 159 
 
 
 September 
 
 9, 1897 
 
 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 
 
 CCLVII 
 
 Daz-zle 
 
 
 
 Deal 
 
 Dea-con 
 
 
 
 Deal-er 
 
 Dead-ly 
 
 
 
 Dear-ly 
 
 Deaf 
 
 
 
 Dear-bought 
 
 Deaf-mute 
 
 
 Dearth 
 
 Death-ly 
 
 Death-less 
 
 Death-watch 
 
 De-base 
 
 De-bate 
 
 September 10, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLVIII 
 
 De-bat-er 
 
 De-bauch 
 
 Deb-au-chee 
 
 Deb-o-nair 
 
 De-bil-i-ty 
 
l6o HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 September ii, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLIX 
 
 Debt-or Dec-ade 
 
 Debt De-hi-tante 
 
 De-bris De-camp 
 
 De-but De-cay 
 
 De-bu-tant De-ceit 
 
 September 12, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLX 
 
 De-ceive De-cep-tive 
 
 De-ceiv-er De-cern 
 
 De-cen-cy De-cide 
 
 De-cent De-cid-u-ous 
 
 De-cep-tion Dec-i-mal 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. i6l 
 
 September 13, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXI 
 
 Dec-i-mate De-claim 
 
 De-ci-pher Dec-la-ma-tion 
 
 De-cis-ion De-clare 
 
 De-ci-sive De-clen-sion 
 
 Deck Dec-li-na-tion 
 
 September 14, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXII 
 
 De-cline De-com-po-si-tion 
 
 De-cliv-i-ty Dec-o-rate 
 
 De-coct Dec-o-ra-tive 
 
 De-col-or Dec o-ra-tor 
 
 De-com-pose Dec o ra-tion 
 
l62 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 September 15, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXIII 
 
 Dec-o-rous 
 
 De-co-rum 
 
 De-coy 
 
 De-crease 
 
 De-cree 
 
 De-crep-it 
 
 De-cry 
 
 Ded-i-cate 
 
 Ded-i-ca-tion 
 
 De-duce 
 
 September 16, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXIV 
 
 De-du-ci-ble 
 
 De-duc-tion 
 
 Deed 
 
 Deem 
 
 Deep 
 
 Deep-en 
 Deer 
 
 Deer-stalk-er 
 
 De-face 
 
 De-fal-ca-tion 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 163 
 
 September 17, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXV 
 
 Def-a-ma-tion De-fect-ive 
 
 De-fame De-fence 
 
 De-fault . De-fend 
 
 De-fault-er De-fend-er 
 
 De-feat De-fence-less 
 
 September 18, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXVI 
 
 De-fen-sive De-form 
 
 De-fer De-form-i-ty 
 
 Def-er-en-tial De-fraud 
 
 De-fi-cient Deft 
 
 De-file De-funct 
 
l64 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 September 19, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXVII 
 
 De-fy De-gree 
 
 De-gen-er-ate De-i-fy 
 
 De-gen-er-a-tion De-ist 
 
 De-gen-er-a-cy De-ism 
 
 De-grade Deign 
 
 September 20, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXVIII 
 
 De-i-ty De-lib-er-ate 
 
 De-ject De-lib-er-ate-ly 
 
 De-jec-tion De-lib-er-a-tion 
 
 De-lay Del-i-ca-cy 
 
 Del-e-gate De-lin-e-ate 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 165 
 
 September 21, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXIX 
 
 De-lin-quent De-liv-er-ance 
 
 De-lln-quen-cy Dell 
 
 De-llr-i-ous Del-ta 
 
 De-lir-i-um De-lude 
 
 De-liv-er Del-uge 
 
 September 22, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXX 
 
 De-lu-sion De-mean 
 
 De-lu-sive De-mean-or 
 
 Delve De-mer-it 
 
 Dem-a-gogue Dem-i-john 
 
 De-mand De-mar-ka-tion 
 
l66 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 September 23, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXI 
 
 De-moc-ra-cy De-mo-ni-ac 
 
 Dem-o-crat Dem-on-strate 
 
 Dem-oi-selle De-mor-al-ize 
 
 De-mon Dem-on-stra-tion 
 
 De-mol-ish De-mon-stra-tive 
 
 September 24, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXII 
 
 De-mur De-nom-i-na-tion 
 
 De-mure De-nom-i-na-tor 
 
 De-ny De-note 
 
 De-ni-al De-nounce-ment 
 
 Den-i-zen De-nounce 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 167 
 
 September 25, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXIII 
 
 Dense Den-tist-ry 
 
 Den-si-ty De-nude 
 
 Dent De-o-dor-ize 
 
 Den-tal De-o-dor-iz-er 
 
 Den-tist De-part 
 
 September 26, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXIV 
 
 De-part-ment De-pict 
 
 De-part-ure De-plete 
 
 De-pend De-ple-tion 
 
 De-pend-ence De-plore 
 
 De-pend-ency De-plor-able 
 
l68 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 September 27, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXV 
 
 De-ploy De-pose 
 
 De-pop-u-late De-pos-it 
 
 De-pop-u-la-tion De-pot 
 
 De-port De-prave 
 
 De-port-ment De-prav-i-ty 
 
 September 28, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXVI 
 
 Dep-re-cate De-press-ive 
 
 De-pre-ci-ate De-prive 
 
 De-pre-ci-a-tion Dep-ri-va-tion 
 
 De-press Depth 
 
 De-press-ing De-range 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 169 
 
 September 29, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXVII 
 
 De-rail De-rid-ing-ly 
 
 De-rang-e-ment De-ris-ion 
 
 Der-e-lict De-rive 
 
 De-ride Der-i-va-tion 
 
 De-rid-ing De-riv-a-tive 
 
 September 30, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXVIII 
 
 Der-ni-er- Res-sort De-scen-sion 
 
 Der-rick De-scent 
 
 De-scend De-scribe 
 
 De-scend-ant De-scriptive 
 
 De-scend-ing De-scrip-tion 
 
170 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 October i, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXIX 
 
 Des-cry De-sert-er 
 
 Des-e-crate De-ser-tion 
 
 Des-e-cra-tion De-serve 
 
 De-sert Des-ha-bille 
 
 Des-ert Des-ic-cate 
 
 October 2, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXX 
 
 De-sign De-sir-ous 
 
 Des-ig-nate De-sist 
 
 De-sign-er Des-o-late 
 
 De-sire Des-o-la-tion 
 
 De-sir-a-ble De-spair 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 171 
 
 October 3, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXXI 
 
 Des-patch De-spise 
 
 Des-per-a-do De-spite 
 
 Des-per-ate De-spoil 
 
 Des-per-a-tion De-spond 
 
 Des-pi-ca-ble De-spond-en-cy 
 
 / October 4, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXXII 
 
 Des-pot Des-ti-tute 
 
 Des-pot-ism Des-ti-tu-tion 
 
 Des-sert De-stroy 
 
 Des-tem-per De-struc-ti-ble 
 
 Des-tine De-struc-tion 
 
172 how i educate my daughters. 
 
 October 5, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXXIII 
 
 De-struc-tive De-tail 
 
 Des-ue-tude De-tain 
 
 De-sul-to-ry De-tect 
 
 De-tach De-tect-ive 
 
 De-tach-ment De-tec-tion 
 
 October 6, 1897 
 EXERCISE 
 CCLXXXIV 
 
 De-ten-tion De-ter-mi-na-tlon 
 
 De-ter De-test 
 
 De-te-ri-o-rate De-test-a-ble 
 
 De-te-ri-o-ra-tion De-tes-ta-tion 
 
 De-ter-mine De-throne 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 173 
 
 October 7, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXXV 
 
 De-throne-ment Det-ri-ment-al 
 
 Det-o-nate De-tract-ing-ly 
 
 De-tract De-tri-tion 
 
 De-trac-tion Deuce 
 
 Det-ri-ment Dew 
 
 October 8, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXXVI 
 
 Deu-ter-on-o-my De-vest 
 
 Dev-as-tate De-vi-ate 
 
 Dev-as-ta-tion De-vi-a-tion 
 
 De-vel-op De-vice 
 
 De-vel-op-ment Dev-il 
 
174 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 October 9, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXXVII 
 
 De-vi-ous De-vo-tion-al 
 
 De-vise Dev-o-tee 
 
 De-void De-vo-tion 
 
 De-volve De-vour 
 
 De-vote De-vout 
 
 October id, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXXVIII 
 
 De-voir Dex-ter-i-ty 
 
 Dew-drop Dex-ter-ous 
 
 Dew-i-ness Di-a-bol-ic-al 
 
 Dew-lap Di-ab-o-lism 
 
 Dew-y Di-a-dem 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 October ii, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXXXIX 
 
 Di-ag-nose Dic-tate 
 
 Di-a-tribe Dic-ta-tor 
 
 Dib-ble Dic-ta-tion 
 
 Dick-er Dic-ta-to-ri-al 
 
 Dick-ens Dic-tion 
 
 175 
 
 October 12, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXL 
 
 Dic-tion-a-ry Di-et 
 
 Dic-tum Di-et-ic 
 
 Di-do Dif-fer 
 
 Di-duc-tion Dif-fer-ence 
 
 Die Dif-fer-ent 
 
176 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 October 13, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXLI 
 
 Dif-fi-cult Dif-fu-sion 
 
 Dif-fi-cul-ty DIf-fu-sive 
 
 Dif-fi-dence Dig 
 
 Dif-fi-dent Di-gest 
 
 Dif-fuse Di-ges-tion 
 
 October 14, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXLII 
 
 DIg-ging Di-gres-sion 
 
 Dig-it Dike 
 
 Dig-ni-fy Di-lap-i-date 
 
 Dig-ni-ta-ry Di-lap-i-da-tion 
 
 Dig-ni-ty Di-gress 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 177 
 
 October 15, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXLIII 
 
 Di-late Di-lu-tion 
 
 Dil-a-to-ry Dime 
 
 Di-lem-ma Di-men-sion 
 
 Dil-i-gent Di-min-ish 
 
 Di-lute Di-min-u-tive 
 
 
 0( 
 
 ::tober 
 
 16, 1897 
 
 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 
 
 CCLXLIV 
 
 Dim-i-ty 
 
 
 
 Dine 
 
 Dim-ly 
 
 
 
 Ding 
 
 Dim-ness 
 
 
 
 Ding-dong 
 
 Dim-pie 
 
 
 
 Din-gy 
 
 Din 
 
 
 
 Din-ner 
 
1/8 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 October 17, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXLV 
 
 Dint Di-plo-ma-cy 
 
 Di-o-cese Di-plo-ma-tism 
 
 Diph-the-ri-a Dip-per 
 
 Diph-thong Dire 
 
 Di-plo-ma Di-plo-ma-tist 
 
 October 
 
 18, 1897 
 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 
 CCLXLVI 
 
 Di-rect 
 
 
 Di-rect-o-ry 
 
 Di-rec-tion 
 
 
 Dire-ful 
 
 Di-rect-ly 
 
 
 Dirge 
 
 Di-rec-tor 
 
 
 Dirk 
 
 Di-rec-to-rate 
 
 
 Dirt 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 179 
 
 October 19, 1897 
 EXERCISE 
 CCLXLVII 
 
 Dir-ty Dis-ad-van-tage 
 
 Dir-ti-ness Dis-ad-van-ta-geous 
 
 Dis-a-ble Dis-ad-van-ta-geous-ly 
 
 Dis-a-bil-i-ty Dis-af-fect 
 
 Dis-a-buse Dis-af-fec-tion 
 
 October 20, 1897 
 EXERCISE 
 CCLXLVIII 
 
 Dis-a-gree Dis-ap-pear 
 
 Dis-a-gree-a-ble-ness DIs-ap-pear-ance 
 
 Dis-a-gree-a-ble Dis-ap-point 
 
 Dis-a-gree-ment Dis-ap-point-ment 
 
 Dis-al-low Dis-ap-pro-ba-tion 
 
l8o HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 October 21, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCLXLIX 
 
 Dis-ap-prove 
 
 Dis-arm 
 
 Dis-ar-range 
 
 Dis-as-ter 
 
 Dis-as-trous 
 
 Dis-ar-ray 
 
 Dis-a-vow 
 
 Dis-band 
 
 Dis-a-vow-al 
 
 Dis-bar 
 
 October 22, 1897 
 
 EXERCISE 
 
 CCC 
 
 Dis-bark 
 
 Dis-be-lief 
 
 Dis-be-lieve 
 
 Dis-burse 
 
 Dis-burse-ment 
 
 Disc 
 
 Dis-cern 
 
 Dis-card 
 
 Dis-cern-i-ble 
 
 Dis-cern~ment 
 
Chapter IX. 
 
 THE CIVIC EDUCATION OF 
 CHILDREN. 
 
 IN WHICH IS SET FORTH THE SUPERIORITY OF 
 THE FEMALE IN THE NATURAL AND SPIR- 
 ITUAL WORLD AND THE PROMINENCE GIVEN 
 HER IN AMERICAN LIFE AND CIVILIZATION, 
 WHEREBY IT IS MADE TO APPEAR THAT 
 DAUGHTERS OF THE REPUBLIC, EQUALLY 
 WITH SONS, SHOULD HAVE KNOWLEDGE 
 OF THE FORM OF OUR GOVERNMENT AND 
 THE PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN LIBERTY FOR 
 WHICH IT STANDS. 
 
 WHENEVER a nation passes from 
 the barbarous to the civilized state 
 it passes under woman's control. 
 Wherever knowledge, sentiment, literature, 
 chivalry and piety are the characteristic 
 forces, there woman shapes the national 
 course and the career of men. The fem- 
 inine spirit is finer, purer, more finesseful, 
 
 (i8i) 
 
l82 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 puissant, and truer to itself than the mascu- 
 line. Indeed, through the whole animal 
 kingdom the superiority of the female is, by 
 thoughtful students and close observers, 
 generally conceded. In ability to go with- 
 out food and drink, in patience and endur- 
 ance of pain, in courage and hopefulness 
 under perilous and depressing conditions, in 
 persistence and quickness of resource, the 
 female excels the male. And as a nation 
 becomes more and more civilized, as it be- 
 comes more and more receptive of the influ- 
 ences that refine, ennoble, and spiritualize, 
 by the same degree does woman's power to 
 shape, direct, to make or mar, become more 
 potent and decisive. 
 
 Because of this law woman in our civiliza- 
 tion holds, as a directing and inspiring 
 force, the foremost rank. In nothing is 
 American development more unique and 
 impressive than the high placement it gives 
 to woman and the opportunity it affords 
 feminine influence. In such a nation the 
 emancipation of woman from old time con- 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 183 
 
 ditions of masculine ignorance and domina- 
 tion was inevitable. Her hour of growth 
 and bloom had come, and she became floral, 
 not because of any wish or plan of hers, but 
 because the conditions were favorable to her 
 full development and the finest expression 
 of her finest self. Humanity had not come 
 to that point at which it was ready to reject 
 the Material and elect the Spiritual, but it 
 had reached a stage in its development in 
 which it could not prevent the spiritual 
 from challenging the supremacy of the 
 material. The "woman's movement" so 
 called, was, therefore, a normal and natural 
 one ; the inevitable sequence from causes 
 and conditions of thought and thought 
 growth existent and operant in our personal 
 and natural life. 
 
 And what a movement it has been, and 
 what has it not already accomplished ! It 
 has introduced such an order of things as 
 no human prescience could have foreseen. 
 Nothing like to it has ever before existed 
 in the world, at least within the circle of 
 
l84 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 historic knowledge. The changes in our 
 social, political, economic, and religious life 
 it has caused are simply astounding. The 
 American woman, the American girl, is 
 everywhere. She pushed the male peda- 
 gogue from his chair and holds it as her 
 own. That was the beginning — the enter- 
 ing wedge. First an humble teacher, then 
 the principal of an Academy, then Presi- 
 dent of a college. To-day a student, 
 to-morrow a lawyer, a physician, a preacher. 
 This year a juror, next year a judge. A 
 voter on Monday, on Tuesday the mayor 
 of a city, or member of a legislature ; by 
 Wednesday elected to the United States 
 Senate, and on Thursday to the Chief 
 Magistracy of the nation. " What, a woman 
 President ? " Why not ? Who rules over 
 the English, of whose blood we are, and 
 who is the sovereign head of the vast Brit- 
 ish Empire, to equal the census of which 
 the Republic must wait at least two hundred 
 years ? Who ruled Napoleon when he ruled 
 Europe ? Whose genius and learning were 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 185 
 
 SO great that Pericles, by whose eloquence 
 and wisdom Greece got her highest place- 
 ment in history, said, speaking in her defense 
 to the Grecian Senate, " that the wisdom 
 and patriotism with which he had defended 
 and ennobled Greece, and even the elo- 
 quence of his speeches, were due to her." 
 Was it not Aspasia ? Why should not the 
 American people elect an American woman 
 to be their President, if they choose ? It 
 would take an infinity of chances to find a 
 woman that would make a worse President 
 than some of the men who have been 
 elected were ! 
 
 But however much you who read may 
 disagree with me touching any point of 
 detail, we certainly can stand together in 
 this — that female influence in America, 
 both in state and national connection, is 
 already and beyond question destined to be 
 so great in the future that any system of 
 education that will make them intelligent 
 touching the great and noble principles on 
 which the nation is based, and make them 
 
l86 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 patriotic in their impulses and intelligent 
 lovers of Liberty, is one worthy of all 
 approval. And yet, so far as I can ascer- 
 tain, there is not a common schoolhouse in 
 the United States where the Declaration of 
 Independence is ever read or the Constitu- 
 tion even casually studied or expounded. 
 The flag flies above the roof, and that is 
 well. But until the principles of liberty 
 and the manner in which they are realized 
 in blessing to the people are taught to the 
 pupils, that flagstaff and flag mean no more 
 than a steeple surmounted by a golden cross, 
 standing above a church in which no prayer 
 is ever made, no sermon preached and no 
 Bible read. 
 
 Holding such views it follows that the 
 system under which I am educating my 
 daughters includes their education in civic 
 affairs. And this education is to be thor- 
 ough ; much more so than is that given 
 even to boys in our schools and colleges. 
 And to this end I have set myself to teach 
 them the significance of Liberty to them in 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 187 
 
 all their future life, and its preciousness to 
 them and those who, should they ever 
 become mothers, shall be born to them in 
 coming years. And this theme has been 
 the subject of many conversations, not only 
 in the house but when wandering a-field ; 
 for we are vagabonds, — the Greeks would 
 have called us Peripatetics, — and our class- 
 room is on legs, and goes very much like 
 the wind, whither it listeth, and the mosses 
 make a better seat for those who love and 
 seek knowledge than benches and chairs, 
 especially if they know who made the 
 mosses, the names of them, how they grow 
 and what they were made for. Nor, young 
 as they are, have they had the least difficulty 
 to follow me intelligently in any historic 
 review, for before they are twelve they 
 have mastered a vocabulary of seventeen 
 thousand words, both as to the spelling and 
 definition of each word and the use of it in 
 a well-constructed sentence ; which is a 
 larger vocabulary than I had at twenty-five, 
 or many teachers in our schools and pro- 
 
l88 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 fessors in our colleges have to-day ; and 
 there is no word or term, outside of profes- 
 sional and technical ones, that I need to use 
 in teaching them that they have not in 
 memory and at their tongue's end. And 
 this command of their country's language 
 has been acquired by no laborious process 
 or by dint of severe application, but by the 
 easy method of steady accumulation day by 
 day, as I have explained elsewhere, and is 
 of the greatest advantage to them, for it 
 enables them to learn more easily and many 
 things beyond the ordinary curriculum of 
 their age. By reason of this I have been 
 able to teach them the origin and signifi- 
 cance of Liberty ; its meaning to the indi- 
 vidual and the divine right of its possession 
 by every living soul, and how it is necessa- 
 rily modified in its scope when the individ- 
 ual becomes associated with others; — in 
 harmony with what forms of law and usage 
 in society and government it is preserved 
 and assisted to become the greatest of bless- 
 ings to the one and the all, and why and in 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 189 
 
 what manner it makes a government dear 
 and precious to its citizens, to such a degree 
 that in support of it they should, as need is, 
 give freely of their property, and in its de- 
 fense, when unjustly assaulted and imperiled, 
 even lay down their lives. 
 
Chapter X. 
 
 THE CIVIC AND POLITICAL ED- 
 UCATION OF CHILDREN. 
 
 IN THIS CHAPTER IS PRINTED THE IMMORTAL 
 DOCUMENT KNOWN OVER ALL THE WORLD AS 
 THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPEN- 
 DENCE, AND WHICH IS OF SUCH VALUE TO 
 MANKIND AS TO RANK WITH THE SERMON 
 ON THE MOUNT, AND YET I AM TOLD THAT 
 IT IS NOT READ IN OUR SCHOOLS AND THAT 
 AMERICAN CHILDREN ARE GRADUATED WITH- 
 OUT THE LEAST KNOWLEDGE OF IT, OR ITS 
 RELATION TO THEM AND THEIR COUNTRY. 
 
 THE line of instruction, as suggested in 
 the preceding chapter, which they 
 followed with the keenest zest, natur- 
 ally led to the birth of our nationality, and 
 how America came to be a nation by itself, 
 and out of what conception of Liberty and 
 its practical relations to man our govern- 
 ment Sprang into being. And this was to 
 
 (190) 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 191 
 
 them as a fairy tale, and they could not tire 
 of the telling of it. And that they might 
 have under their feet a sure foundation of 
 whatever superstructure of civic knowledge 
 the years might upbuild for them, they com- 
 mitted beyond the possibility of forgetting 
 that immortal statement of human rights 
 known to us as the 
 
 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 
 And that all parents and teachers may see 
 how little of a task it was for them to do, 
 what so few of our American citizenship, I 
 fancy, have done, I herewith give their reci- 
 tations in order. 
 
 The Declaration of Independence as 
 memorized and recited in sections so as to 
 be in no sense burdensome to them. 
 
 RECITATION I. 
 When, in the course of human events, it 
 becomes necessary for one people to dis- 
 solve the political bands which have con- 
 nected them with another, and to assume, 
 among the powers of the earth, the separate 
 
192 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 and equal station, to which the laws of 
 nature and nature's God entitle them, a 
 decent respect to the opinions of mankind 
 requires that they should declare the causes 
 which impel them to the separation. 
 
 RECITATION II. 
 We hold these truths to be self-evident, 
 that all men are created equal ; that they 
 are endowed by their Creator with certain 
 unalienable rights ; that among these are 
 life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; 
 that, to secure these rights, governments 
 are instituted among men, deriving their 
 just powers from the consent of the gov- 
 erned ; that, whenever any form of govern- 
 ment becomes destructive of these ends, it 
 is the right of the people to alter or to abol- 
 ish it, and to institute a new government, 
 laying its foundation on such principles, and 
 organizing its powers in such form, as to 
 them shall seem most likely to effect their 
 safety and happiness. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 193 
 
 RECITATION III. 
 Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that gov- 
 ernments long established should not be 
 changed for light and transient causes ; and 
 accordingly, all experience hath shown that 
 mankind are more disposed to suffer, while 
 evils are sufferable, than to right themselves, 
 by abolishing the forms to which they are 
 
 accustomed. 
 
 RECITATION IV. 
 
 But when a long train of abuses and 
 usurpations, pursuing invariably the same 
 object, evinces a design to reduce them 
 under absolute despotism, it is their right, 
 it is their duty, to throw off such govern- 
 ment, and to provide new guards for their 
 future security. 
 
 RECITATION V. 
 Such has been the patient sufferance of 
 these colonies ; and such is now the neces- 
 sity which constrains them to alter their 
 former systems of government. The his- 
 tory of the present king of Great Britain is 
 13 
 
194 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 a history of repeated injuries and usurpa- 
 tions, all having in direct object the estab- 
 lishment of an absolute tyranny over these 
 States. To prove this, let facts be sub- 
 mitted to a candid world. 
 
 RECITATION VI. 
 
 He has refused his assent to laws the 
 most wholesome and necessary for the pub- 
 lic good. 
 
 He has forbidden his governors to pass 
 laws of immediate and pressing importance, 
 unless suspended in their operation till his 
 assent should be obtained ; and, when so 
 suspended, he has utterly neglected to 
 attend to them. 
 
 RECITATION VII. 
 
 He has refused to pass other laws for the 
 accommodation of large districts of people, 
 unless these people would relinquish the 
 right of representation in the legislature — 
 a right inestimable to them, and formidable 
 to tyrants only. 
 
 He has called together legislative bodies 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 195 
 
 at places unusual, uncomfortable, and dis- 
 tant from the depository of their public 
 records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing 
 them into compliance with his measures. 
 
 RECITATION VIII. 
 
 He has dissolved representative houses 
 repeatedly, for opposing, with manly firm- 
 ness, his invasions on the rights of the peo- 
 ple. 
 
 He has refused, for a long time after such 
 dissolutions, to cause others to be elected ; 
 whereby the legislative powers, incapable of 
 annihilation, have returned to the people at 
 large, for their exercise ; the state remain- 
 ing, in the mean time, exposed to all the 
 dangers of invasion from without, and con- 
 vulsions within. 
 
 RECITATION IX. 
 He has endeavored to prevent the popu- 
 lation of these States ; for that purpose, 
 obstructing the laws for naturalization of 
 foreigners ; refusing to pass others to en- 
 
196 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 courage their migration hither, and raising 
 the conditions of new appropriations of 
 lands. 
 
 He has obstructed the administration of 
 justice, by refusing his assent to laws for 
 establishing judiciary powers. 
 
 RECITATION X. 
 
 He has made judges dependent on his 
 will alone, for the tenure of their ofifices, 
 and the amount and payment of their 
 salaries. 
 
 He has erected a multitude of new offices, 
 and sent hither swarms of officers to harass 
 our people, and eat out their substance. 
 
 He has kept among us in times of peace, 
 standing armies, without the consent of our 
 legislatures. 
 
 RECITATION XL 
 
 He has affected to render the military 
 independent of, and superior to, the civil 
 power. 
 
 He has combined with others to subject 
 us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitu- 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 197 
 
 tion, and unacknowledged by our laws ; 
 giving his assent to their acts of pretended 
 legislation. 
 
 RECITATION XII. 
 
 For quartering large bodies of armed 
 troops among us. 
 
 For protecting them, by a mock trial, 
 from punishment for any murders which they 
 should commit on the inhabitants of these 
 States. 
 
 For cutting off our trade with all parts of 
 the world. 
 
 For imposing taxes on us without our 
 consent. 
 
 For depriving us, in many cases, of the 
 benefits of trial by jury. 
 
 For transporting us beyond seas to be 
 tried for pretended offences. 
 
 RECITATION XIII. 
 For abolishing the free system of English 
 laws in a neighboring province, establishing 
 therein an arbitrary government, and en- 
 larging its boundaries, so as to render it, at 
 
198 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 once, an example and fit instrument for 
 introducing the same absolute rule into 
 these colonies : 
 
 For taking away our charters, abolishing 
 our most valuable laws, and altering, funda- 
 mentally, the powers of our governments : 
 
 RECITATION XIV. 
 
 For suspending our own legislatures, and 
 declaring themselves invested with power 
 to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 
 
 He has abdicated government here, by 
 declaring us out of his protection, and 
 waging war against us. 
 
 He has plundered our seas, ravaged our 
 coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the 
 lives of our people. 
 
 RECITATION XV. 
 He is, at this time, transporting large 
 armies of foreign mercenaries to complete 
 the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, 
 already begun, with circumstances of 
 cruelty and perfidy, scarcely paralleled in 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 199 
 
 the most barbarous ages, and totally un- 
 worthy the head of a civilized nation. 
 
 He has constrained our fellow-citizens, 
 taken captive on the high seas, to bear 
 arms against their country, to become the 
 executioners of their friends and brethren, 
 or to fall themselves by their hands. 
 
 RECITATION XVI. 
 
 He has excited domestic insurrections 
 amongst us, and has endeavored to bring 
 on the inhabitants of our frontiers the 
 merciless Indian savages, whose known 
 rule of warfare is an undistinguished de- 
 struction of all ages, sexes, and condi- 
 tions. 
 
 In every stage of these oppressions we 
 have petitioned for redress, in the most 
 humble terms : our repeated petitions have 
 been answered only by repeated injury. A 
 prince, whose character is thus marked by 
 every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit 
 to be the ruler of a free people. 
 
200 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 RECITATION XVII. 
 Nor have we been wanting in attention 
 to our British brethren. We have warned 
 them, from time to time, of attempts, by 
 their legislature, to extend an unwarrantable 
 jurisdiction over us. We have reminded 
 them of the circumstances of our emigra- 
 tion and settlement here. We have ap- 
 pealed to their native justice and magna- 
 nimity, and we have conjured them, by the 
 ties of our common kindred, to disavow 
 these usurpations, which would inevitably 
 interrupt our connections and correspond- 
 ence. They, too, have been deaf to the 
 voice of justice, and of consanguinity. We 
 must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, 
 which denounces our separation, and hold 
 them, as we hold the rest of mankind, 
 enemies in war, in peace friends. 
 
 RECITATION XVIII. 
 We, therefore, the representatives of the 
 United States of America, in General Con- 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 201 
 
 gress assembled, appealing to the Supreme 
 Judge of the world for the rectitude of our 
 intentions, do, in the name and by the 
 authority of the good people of these 
 colonies, solemnly publish and declare that 
 these United Colonies are, and of riorht 
 ought to be. Free and Indepe^ident States ; 
 
 RECITATION XIX. 
 That they are absolved from all allegi- 
 ance to the British crown, and that all 
 political connection between them and the 
 state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, 
 totally dissolved ; and that, as free a7id 
 independent States, they have full power to 
 levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, 
 establish commerce, and to do all other acts 
 and things which independent States may 
 of right do. And for the support of this 
 declaration, with a firm reliance on the pro- 
 tection of Divine Provide?ice, we mutually 
 pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, 
 and our sacred honor. 
 
202 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 The foregoing declaration was, by order 
 of Congress, engrossed and signed by the 
 following members : 
 
 John Hancock. 
 
 NEW HAMPSHIRE. ^ 
 
 Josiah Bartlett, Matthew Thornton. 
 
 William Whipple, 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 
 
 Samuel Adams, Robert Treat Paine, 
 
 John Adams, Elbridge Gerry. 
 
 RHODE ISLAND, ETC. 
 
 Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery. 
 
 CONNECTICUT. 
 
 Roger Sherman, William Williams, 
 
 Samuel Huntington, Oliver Wolcott. 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 William Floyd, Francis Lewis, 
 
 Philip Livingston, Lewis Morris. 
 
 NEW JERSEY. 
 
 Richard Stockton, John Hart, 
 John Witherspoon, Abraham Clark. 
 Francis Hopkinson, 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 203 
 PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 Robert Morris, James Smith, 
 
 Benjamin Rush, George Taylor, 
 
 Benjamin FrankHn, James Wilson, 
 
 John Morton, George Ross. 
 George Clymer, 
 
 DELAWARE. 
 
 Caesar Rodney, Thomas M'Kean. 
 
 George Read, 
 
 MARYLAND. 
 
 Samuel Chase, Thomas Stone, 
 
 William Paca, Charles Carroll 
 
 of Carrollton. 
 
 VIRGINIA. 
 
 George Wythe, Thomas Nelson, Jr., 
 
 Richard Henry Lee, Francis Lightfoot Lee, 
 Thomas Jefferson, Carter Braxton. 
 Benjamin Harrison, 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 William Hooper, John Penn. 
 
 Joseph Hewes, 
 
204 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 
 Edward Rutledge, Thomas Lynch, Jr., 
 Thos. Heyward, Jr., Arthur Middleton. 
 
 GEORGIA. 
 
 Button Gwinnett, George Walton. 
 Lyman Hall, 
 
 These recitations were accompanied by 
 conversational Lectures, — if you please to 
 call them so — or familiar talks on English 
 History cotemporaneous with the Declara- 
 tion ; on the political state and condition of 
 popular feeling in France ; on our Colonial 
 development and the influence which had 
 prepared the Fathers of the Republic for 
 such a noble conception and declaration of 
 human rights, and whatever else that might 
 make them more intelligent as to the mean- 
 ing and scope of the text : and as I have 
 said, much of this instruction in political 
 history was given when rambling out of 
 doors, under trees and fragrant bushes, or 
 seated under the lea of a big mossy rock or 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 205 
 
 old Stone wall when the wind blew stormily 
 from the north, and in such a way and at 
 such times that the idea of " studying " was 
 never suggested. It was all done in the 
 line of entertainment, a pleasant episode of 
 the ramble — the floral expression of that 
 conviction in me, that children have minds 
 as well as legs, and naturally love to learn 
 as they do to run. And to whom is liberty 
 so sweet as to children, or in what environ- 
 ment can it be so well inculcated and ex- 
 plained as in the fields and woods, where all 
 is free to act its nature out, or by the shore 
 of seas whose tides know no bondage and 
 whose waves no man can bind ? 
 
Chapter XI. 
 THE STUDY OF MATHEMATICS. 
 
 IN THIS CHAPTER IT WILL BE DEMONSTRATED 
 THAT IN THE CASE OF CHILDREN, AND TO 
 FIT THEM FOR ALL THE PRACTICAL PURPOSES 
 OF LIFE, MATHEMATICAL BOOKS ARE NOT 
 NECESSARY, AND ARE AN ACTUAL HINDRANCE 
 TO THE TEACHER AND PUPILS, IN TEACHING 
 THE PRINCIPLES OF MATHEMATICS AND THE 
 PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THEM TO THE 
 NECESSITIES OF COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL 
 INTERCOURSE AND EXCHANGE. 
 
 TOO many books, too many rules, too 
 many and severe lessons, too many 
 recitations, too many "problems" to 
 be worked out " after school hours," these 
 are the things that make the study of math- 
 ematics so dry, so irksome, and often so 
 destructive to the health of the averaee 
 child in our schools. 
 
 (206) 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 207 
 
 I wish it to be understood by all who may 
 read this little book in which my method of 
 teaching my children is set forth, that they 
 are in no sense geniuses and show no pre- 
 cocity along any line of mental endowment. 
 They are simply healthy, sensible, active- 
 minded children, having, as almost all child- 
 ren born of capable parents have, a strong 
 desire to learn. If we had a "child gen- 
 ius " in the family we should not know what 
 to do with him. In an all-round sort of 
 way they are well endowed. They speak 
 grammatically, because they have never 
 heard language spoken any other way. 
 They read with clearness of tone and with- 
 out any vicious vocalism, because they 
 have never heard bad reading or been 
 taught by any professor of " Voice Culture." 
 They listen with greater interest to intelli- 
 gent conversation than most children of 
 their age, because their vocabulary is larger, 
 perfectly in hand, and they understand what 
 is said. They appear to know more than 
 they do, because what they know they 
 
2o8 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 know thoroughly. But so far as I can dis- 
 cern they are not specially gifted in any- 
 thing unless it be in the artistic direction. 
 For their own and my entertainment they 
 draw, with a common lead pencil on a pad 
 of ordinary paper, pictures of dogs and cats, 
 of birds and horses, and even of men and 
 women, with such faithfulness to nature, 
 especially in humorous expression, as to be 
 very entertaining. And many a happy hour 
 have we had together as, seated around me, 
 their little stubby pencils covered the coarse 
 page with the expressions of feline rage, or 
 canine frolics, or human foolishness that 
 they had seen or humorously conceived of. 
 For the good God has blessed them with a 
 fine sense of humor, and made their mouths 
 know laughter as their natural tongue, and 
 armed them against the ills and losses of 
 life with His best antidote. 
 
 The impression that the study of mathe- 
 matics is a dry and hard one and puts a 
 severe strain upon a child, which is the pop- 
 ular one both with children and parents 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 209 
 
 alike, is not a true one. It is not justified 
 by the facts of the case. It is based upon 
 the supposition that the study of figures, in 
 their simple and combined form, is not nat- 
 ural to the child mind, and, being alien to it, 
 the child undertakes the study only under 
 pressure, and hence finds it irksome. For 
 what a child does not do naturally and find 
 pleasure in doing he does not like to do 
 and does not do thoroughly unless under 
 strong and hateful compulsion. But there 
 is nothing more natural to a child born in a 
 civilized community than the study of num- 
 bers, and in the average the mathematical 
 faculty, if I may so call it, is as normal and 
 as fully developed in a healthy child as any 
 other faculty. And there is no form of 
 knowledge to which they come more natur- 
 ally than to that of figures and the combi- 
 nation of them for practical use, and no 
 child can even get through the sports of the 
 day and enjoy games with playmates with- 
 out using, at least, the nine digits in some 
 14 
 
2IO HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 form of combination. i, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 
 9, is as easy for them to learn as the first 
 nine letters of the alphabet, and the use of 
 them is as imperatively called for as the use 
 of words. The trouble they meet with in 
 mastering and becoming familiar with math- 
 ematical combinations within the range of 
 childhood study is owing, not to any nat- 
 ural difficulty in the study, but to the arbi- 
 trary, conventional, and unfortunate manner 
 in which they are taught. The system em- 
 ployed is the cause of all the trouble and 
 not the nature of the study or the natural 
 incapacity of the little pupil to understand 
 and enjoy the instruction called for or the 
 mental exercise demanded for even rapid 
 progress. My children have never seen an 
 arithmetic or any mathematical book what- 
 soever ; have never learned any "rules" or 
 been called upon to solve any " problems," 
 and yet they compute interest at any per 
 cent, on any sum up to a million without 
 the use of pencil or pen as quickly as an 
 adult can, and are well advanced in the 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 211 
 
 addition, subtraction, multiplication, and 
 division of fractions. It would be no more 
 silly for one to assert that one cannot be- 
 come a Christian without a knowledge of 
 theological dogmas than to say that a child 
 cannot master practical mathematics as far 
 as called for in actual life without the help 
 of mathematical books. The words of 
 Jesus, the simple and plain teachings of the 
 Master, are sufficient to make one wise unto 
 salvation ; and the study and use of the nine 
 digits in simple and easily understood com- 
 bination is all that a child needs to make 
 him a mathematical scholar, and one of no 
 mean attainments at that. 
 
 The alphabet of all mathematical knowl- 
 edge is of course the nine digits, and math- 
 ematical knowledge is the knowledge of 
 their combination. How to combine these, 
 and what their combination can be made 
 to express in size, weight, amount, and 
 value, is the object and scope of mathe- 
 matical study. And all this can be done 
 without the help of books, and in a way to 
 
212 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 yield both mental development and unal- 
 loyed delight to a child. At least, these are 
 my views and the ones presented to my 
 children at the beginning of their mathemat- 
 ical studies. Hence they came to them as to 
 an entertainment and not a task, and as they 
 have progressed in knowledge of figures to 
 the manifold combinations and application 
 of them in the affairs of life, they have, at 
 every step of their advance, experienced a 
 keen delight. Pleasure and not pain, self- 
 possession and not confusion of mind, pride 
 of ability and not the mortification of fail- 
 ure, have been their daily experience. 
 
 I wish the reader to understand that I 
 have no pet plan or hobby as to method 
 in teaching. But the spirit must always 
 be amiable, the manner friendly, and the 
 method in harmony with the child nature. 
 
 The first lesson was the memorizing of 
 the digits. In point of fact it grew out of 
 playful necessity. 
 
 One winter evening we were eating pop- 
 corn, parched on the old hearth-stone. It 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 213 
 
 was a stormy night, and every window sash 
 on the north side of the old house had an 
 seoHan harp in it and every cornice and 
 angle was a bagpipe. The hail struck the 
 shingles as if a hundred spiteful hands were 
 pelting it with coarse salt. Outside all was 
 wild and fierce. Nature was in her ugliest 
 mood, and all her untamed forces were 
 snarling at the chimney top. But the old 
 fire-place roared and flashed a fiery stream 
 of defiance up at them. The lamp was ex- 
 tinguished, and in the warm russet glow 
 and warmth, the children sat with the pile 
 of parched corn on the old settle before 
 them. Then came the momentous question 
 how to divide the pile ? as momentous to 
 them as the division of another pile would 
 be to a Carnegie or a Frick. Then came the 
 Teacher's opportunity, and he suggested 
 that there should be nine successive divis- 
 ions — if the corn held out long enough 
 for it. First, Maudie should count out 
 and give one to each of us. Then two. 
 Then three. Then /ozi?'. Thenyfz/^. Then 
 
214 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 six. Then seven. Then eight. Then nine. 
 Which would be the number and names of 
 the digits, of which I had told them some- 
 what, a few days before. This pleased them 
 mightily. And it is safe to say that no 
 ** Count" was ever watched more narrowly 
 than this one was. The pile of parched 
 corn held out, as did the appetites of the 
 feasters, and when the feast was over the 
 dear ones knew the nine digits and their 
 " application " to human affairs ! 
 
 In the same happy conditions the princi- 
 ples of Addition, Multiplication, Subtrac- 
 tion, and Division were taught them. They 
 were all connected with and the outgrowth 
 of their entertainments. They represented 
 abundance, justice, generosity, the giving 
 and taking of love, and the mutual and 
 equal sharing even to the last bite of an 
 apple or the small, slyly treasured heap of 
 nut kernels. And of this I am sure, that 
 many and long will be the years, and white 
 and deep that snow which sifts cold forget- 
 fulness on memory of happy days, a happy 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 21 5 
 
 home life and happy studentship, before 
 they will forget their learning of the digits 
 and the four great methods of applying 
 them to human affairs. 
 
 And these little mathematical students, 
 working away without any books to blind 
 or fetter their faculties, have discovered 
 many curious things connected with the 
 digits that many of us adults, trained in 
 school and college, do not know. And in 
 this direction they have found vast enter- 
 tainment and such quickness in calculation 
 as few attain, together with such an inde- 
 pendent outgoing of mind touching the 
 nature and scope of figures when applied in 
 combination as to confirm my hope that, in 
 their case, they are not merely acquiring a 
 certain mass of mathematical knowledge but 
 being in fact educated in their faculties. 
 
 I had been telling them one evening of 
 the " Mystery of Figures " ; that of the an- 
 cient Folk there were some who were great 
 students of mathematics and were very wise 
 in the science of numbers, and that they 
 
2i6 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 held that when figures were applied to 
 earthly things, such as the weight, size, 
 and value of material substances, they were 
 only fulfilling their lowest function, and not 
 until they were applied to the ascertainment 
 of Spiritual things, universal relations, com- 
 binations, and values, and especially to the 
 nature and energies of the Supreme Being, 
 did figures get their true employment or 
 their rank and dignity in application. And 
 that I suspected that in the digits them- 
 selves, even in the short space which meas- 
 ured the distance between i and 9, they 
 would, should they see fit to seek, find a 
 good many curious things ; my idea being 
 to prompt them to original investigation 
 and to make them quick in dividing and 
 combining figures. The seed certainly fell 
 on good ground, for the very next day 
 Maudie came to me and said : 
 
 ** Father, if you set down the digits in 
 regular and reversed order and add them 
 up, what do you think the result will be?" 
 
 ''Show me," I said. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 217 
 
 And this is what she had : 
 
 123456789 
 987654321 
 
 I I I I I I I I I o 
 
 " Excellent ! " I said after glancing at it. 
 " And now, Ruby, what have you on your 
 pad?" 
 
 And I saw she had the digits in regular 
 
 and reversed order twice as follows : 
 
 123456789 
 987654321 
 123456789 
 987654321 
 
 2222222220 
 
 And the next evening they brought me 
 
 the following : 
 
 123456789 
 987654321 
 123456789 
 987654321 
 123456789 
 987654321 
 
 3333333330 
 
 And the next evening in the midst of a 
 game of checkers they suddenly thought of 
 
2l8 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 their mathematical investigations and ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 " O father, we had a great time with our 
 digit exercise to-day, for we got so that we 
 could add a column at a glance almost ; and 
 the results were too funny to believe, until 
 we had gone over the columns again and 
 again." And this was what they had been 
 testing so thoroughly and the result that 
 had seemed to them so "funny" : 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 v3 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 4444444440 
 
 "Well," I said, "you are on the right 
 trail to some curious bits of knowledge 
 about the ' science of numbers,' and I advise 
 you to keep at your investigations. For it 
 will make you ' mighty quick at figures,' as 
 the saying is, and you are certainly finding 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 219 
 
 out that mathematics are not a very dry or 
 severe study." 
 
 The next day, coming in from some farm 
 work, both came at me with a rush to show 
 me their digit exercise. 
 
 Ruby had been practicing on the digits 
 ten times reversed and Maudie with the 
 same twelve times reversed, as follows : 
 
 Ruby's Exercise. Maudie's Exercise. 
 
 123456789 123456789 
 
 987654321 987654321 
 
 123456789 123456789 
 
 987654321 987654321 
 
 123456789 123456789 
 
 987654321 987654321 
 
 123456789 123456789 
 
 987654321 987654321 
 
 123456789 123456789 
 
 987654321 987654321 
 
 I 23456789 
 555555555 987654321 
 
 6666666660 
 
 The next two days I was absent from 
 home, but the first thing on my return they 
 must show me was the result of their digit 
 work while I was away : 
 
220 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 Ruby's Exercise. Maudie's Exercise. 
 
 123456789 123456789 
 
 987654321 987654321 
 
 123456789 123456789 
 
 987654321 987654321 
 
 123456789 123456789 
 
 987654321 987654321 
 
 123456789 123456789 
 
 987654321 987654321 
 
 123456789 123456789 
 
 987654321 987654321 
 
 123456789 123456789 
 
 987654321 987654321 
 
 123456789 123456789 
 
 987654321 987654321 
 
 111111111^ 98765432? 
 
 8888888880 
 
 I must confess that their work interested 
 me vastly, and that I became a child again 
 and did some "mighty figuring" for several 
 days with them. But I soon found that in 
 some respects I was not " at the head of the 
 class," especially in multiplication, for they 
 had carried the Table up to 24 times 24, 
 whereas I had stopped at 12 times 12 ; and 
 I discovered that a child that could say : 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 221 
 
 24 times 2 is 48 
 24 times 7 is 168 
 24 times 13 is 312 
 24 times 1 7 is 408 
 24 times 24 is 576 
 
 as quickly and easily as I could say 12 
 times 12 is 144, had such an advantage over 
 me in " figuring " that an university educa- 
 tion and forty years of steady studentship 
 didn't count ! So I told them that I thought 
 it to be more in harmony with the dignity 
 of my position as "Teacher" to oversee and 
 keep the record of their studies than to en- 
 gage in such trifling mental exercises as 
 multiplying a few simple numbers ; and 
 with this one farther record of their work I 
 will close this Chapter. And I do this be- 
 cause it gives to any person an excellent 
 exercise in addition at which I found that 
 my pupils could beat me "all out of sight." 
 " The fact is," I said, in order to back out 
 of any future competition gracefully, "the 
 fact is, you are beyond doubt ' Daughters 
 of the Magi ' ; and what can an ordinary 
 
222 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 modern do against such witches of mathe- 
 matical heredity as you are ! " 
 
 Ruby's Exercise. 
 
 Maudie's Exercise. 
 
 12345678 
 
 9 
 
 I 
 
 23456789 
 
 98765432 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 87654321 
 
 12345678 
 
 9 
 
 I 
 
 23456789 
 
 98765432 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 87654321 
 
 12345678 
 
 9 
 
 I 
 
 23456789 
 
 98765432 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 87654321 
 
 12345678 
 
 9 
 
 I 
 
 23456789 
 
 98765432 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 87654321 
 
 12345678 
 
 9 
 
 I 
 
 23456789 
 
 98765432 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 87654321 
 
 12345678 
 
 9 
 
 I 
 
 23456789 
 
 98765432 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 87654321 
 
 12345678 
 
 9 
 
 I 
 
 23456789 
 
 98765432 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 87654321 
 
 12345678 
 
 9 
 
 I 
 
 23456789 
 
 98765432 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 87654321 
 
 12345678 
 
 9 
 
 I 
 
 23456789 
 
 98765432 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 87654321 
 
 '' 
 
 ~~' 
 
 I 
 
 23456789 
 
 999999999 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 87654321 
 
 I I I I I I I I I o o 
 
 Suppose, reader, you multiply the digits 
 by the last digit ? 
 
Chapter XII. 
 
 STUDY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE 
 AND LITERATURE. 
 
 IN THIS CHAPTER THE STUDY OF ENGLISH LIT- 
 ERATURE AND BELLES LETTRES IS VINDI- 
 CATED FROM THE DEBASEMENT PUT UPON IT 
 IN CERTAIN OF OUR COLLEGES AND UNIVER- 
 SITIES, AND THE METHOD EXPLAINED BY 
 WHICH MY CHILDREN WILL BECOME FAMIL- 
 IAR WITH THE NOBLEST EXPRESSIONS, BOTH 
 IN PROSE AND POETRY, OF THEIR NATIVE 
 TONGUE ; THEREBY GIVING TO THEM AS 
 THEY GROW IN KNOWLEDGE, ELEVATION 
 OF MIND AND THE ABILITY TO EXPRESS 
 THEIR THOUGHTS WITH PURITY OF DIC- 
 TION AND SIMPLICITY OF SPEECH WHICH 
 DISTINGUISH THE EDUCATED FROM THE UN- 
 SCHOLARLY. 
 
 IT is a great shame that young men are 
 being graduated from our colleges and 
 universities to-day unable to write and 
 speak the English language with precis- 
 ion and eloquence. It is a greater shame 
 
 (223) 
 
224 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 that men are filling high positions in these 
 institutions of learning who are not able to 
 write and speak it in a forcible and scholar- 
 ly manner themselves. What right have 
 they to fill such positions, disqualified as 
 they are to fill them acceptably, is not per- 
 ceivable to those who have sound judgment 
 in such matters. In such a country as ours, 
 populated as it largely is by the ignorant of 
 many foreign nations, and at a time when 
 the tendency is toward slovenliness and vul- 
 garity of speech, it would seem that those 
 who belong to the scholarly class should do 
 the utmost in their power not only to pro- 
 tect the language of Christianity and Lib- 
 erty both from deterioration but to lift it 
 yet higher in purity and efficiency. In 
 doing this they would, by the judgment 
 of all thoughtful and right-minded men and 
 women, not only reflect honor upon them- 
 selves but perform a public duty. What- 
 ever institution of learning does this is 
 worthy of all honor. And whatever one 
 fails to do this should be condemned by the 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 225 
 
 people. These truths we hold to be self- 
 evident to all who are intelligent and love 
 learning. The question is not debatable. 
 The movement of the world's progress is 
 in one direction. The Zones of all the 
 earth are vocal with English speech. Greece 
 was once the schoolhouse of the world. 
 Then came the Roman Empire, and modern 
 Jurisprudence draws its sap to-day from her 
 Codes. It was not the bravery of Sparta 
 or the vivacity of the Athenian, but the 
 purity, the vigor and the elegance of her 
 language, that made Greece great in life 
 and greater in death. It was the correct 
 and noble manner in which her philoso- 
 phers, her poets, her orators, wrote and 
 spoke that made her a world power. The 
 Roman Standards went down in defeat, 
 but the Roman language ruled the world 
 of thought, of law, of diplomacy, a thou- 
 sand years after her eagles had ceased to 
 fly. And now in the order of events, 
 the English-speaking race comes to the 
 15 
 
226 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 front of world-wide effort and the English 
 language may yet become the medium of 
 universal communication and expression of 
 human thought, feeling, and life. 
 
 It is incredible to suppose that any ill- 
 formed and slovenly written and spoken 
 language shall ever capture the reason, the 
 imagination, and the affections of the world. 
 No language that is merely the language of 
 trade, of commerce, and which merely meets 
 the necessity of exchange, of barter and 
 dicker between men drawn into connection 
 by selfish or base ambitions, can ever be- 
 come a world language or long maintain its 
 supremacy. It must be so written and spo- 
 ken as to capture the applause of scholars, 
 supply a facile medium of expression to 
 profound thinkers, charm the poet, accom- 
 modate the need of courts, and win the 
 orator to its use. It must meet the wants 
 of the heart and soul as truly as of the 
 mind, and be so far superior to all other 
 tongues as to win the universal acceptance 
 of mankind. Whoever improves the Eng- 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 22/ 
 
 lish language improves its chance of uni- 
 versal adoption. First a common language, 
 then the perception of common interests, 
 then community of feeling, and finally the 
 sense of Brotherhood. World-wide frater- 
 nity will be born of a world-wide Mother 
 Tongue. 
 
 I have seen letters written by University 
 men, who were graduated from an Institu- 
 tion whose fame fills the country, whose 
 sentences were so slovenly constructed and 
 whose words were so ill chosen that it seem- 
 ed impossible that they could be the alumni 
 of any school or college whatever, or that 
 they could socially and intellectually belong 
 to any other than the laboring class. You 
 cannot mingle in good society in this coun- 
 try and not meet with clever and mentally 
 very capable people whose ideas are many 
 and admirable but who are unable to express 
 them. They have thought but no word- 
 symbol for the thought. Their wit is mar- 
 red, their humor silent, their knowledge hid- 
 den, their real ability unrealized, because 
 
228 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 they are lacking in their vocabulary and do 
 not know the expressional i^esources of their 
 own tongue. There is no deprivation to a 
 clever person greater than this. It consti- 
 stutes a form, and a severe form, too, of 
 dumbness. To the mass of the American 
 People, even of the better sort, the knowl- 
 edge of speaking and writing the English 
 language correctly and elegantly is fast be- 
 coming a lost art. A few of our poets and 
 a larger number of our orators and a less 
 number of our authors have done work in 
 their generation in harmony with the best 
 traditions of our literature, from Chaucer 
 down, but of the other sort their names are 
 legion. Strange as it seems to me when I 
 consider the rush and hurry and hustle 
 which are inevitably connected with Daily 
 Journalism, I believe that the Editors of 
 our Papers and their assistants, even down 
 to the reporter whose appliances for good 
 work consist of a pad, a pencil, and his knee 
 for his desk, are writing better English than 
 the average author. In the percentage of 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 229 
 
 short words ; in the selection of adjectives ; 
 in the structural simplicity and compactness 
 of their sentences, and in that best proof of 
 genius for writing — the fine sense which 
 has in it a higher quality than talent, which 
 tells the writer when he has said enough, — 
 the literature of Journalism in this country 
 to-day is better than that of the printed and 
 much exploited volumes which are produced 
 for " commercial " purposes and sold by 
 "commercial methods." As a rule these 
 volumes fetch, in the stalls where vulgar 
 appetites are fed, about 1 1 cents per pound ! 
 This gives to them a quotation nigh to 
 prime pork or poor bacon, but in point of 
 fact they have no such value. The quota- 
 tion is too high ! 
 
 And yet at such a time, some of our 
 great universities are cramming a hodge- 
 podge of Greek and Latin and modern lan- 
 guages into their pupils ad nauseam, and 
 teaching mathematics in such quantity, and 
 arranging the curriculum in such a manner, 
 that were the great Newton himself a stu- 
 
230 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 dent in them he would, by the end of his 
 second term, be so confused that he would 
 swear that there was no such thing as gravi- 
 tation in the world, and that an apple, when 
 it parted from its parent stem, invariably 
 shot upward ! 
 
 Of what use is Spanish ? Is it not already 
 the dead tongue of a dead people ? And 
 why waste time in learning French ? Let 
 France nationalize Paris first and make her 
 language something more and better than 
 the tongue of a single city ; a city noted for 
 its frivolousness rather than its gravity, its 
 bon-mots rather than its wisdom, its revolu- 
 tionary frenzies rather than those high and 
 steadfast qualities that give permanence and 
 lasting glory to Empires. 
 
 The German ? yea, learn it by all means. 
 That is a live language, the language of 
 great scholars ; of poets whose measures 
 are deathless ; of musicians who, in eternity, 
 divide wreaths with the song makers ; of 
 generals, whose campaigns were the art of 
 war, materialized ; of rulers who were so 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 231 
 
 truly great that they admired Letters and 
 loved their father-land. Yes, learn German 
 by all means and learn it thoroughly, too ; 
 for only so can you know what the human 
 mind has done and is capable of doing. 
 Woo it and wed it to your mother tongue, 
 and in so loving and noble a fashion that 
 the marriage shall be as between Powers 
 and Principalities of equal rank. 
 
 But outside the German and the English 
 the really great Tongues are in the East, 
 where the human race has been from the 
 beginning ; where it has multiplied beyond 
 all census ; where it has worked out civili- 
 zations to the limit of the possible ; evolved 
 philosophies toward the spiritual beyond 
 our understanding ; received the seed germs 
 of religious faith and developed them 
 through measureless distances in time into 
 systems of thought and life, so absolutely 
 accepted as wise and best as to become 
 verities of duration ; where fixedness of con- 
 dition does not mean barrenness of thought 
 but the confession of highest thought that 
 
232 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 its limitation had been reached and nothing 
 of and for man could be perfect under the 
 sun, as it dropped, even as a bird drops 
 spent unto death by its flight, never more 
 to move wing or attempt the sky, into the 
 grasses. 
 
 The languages of the East, where man 
 and, therefore, God, has been from the 
 beginning, both those that are living and 
 those that were alive, and expressed the 
 loves and hates, the good and evil, in man 
 ten thousand years ago ; the Chinese and the 
 Indian spoken to-day by nearly, if not quite, 
 one-half the human race : Verily, were I 
 but twenty I would set myself to learn these 
 old tongues, that I might acquire whatever 
 of hope, of faith, of courage, of wisdom, of 
 love and loving, they have ever told to 
 men. 
 
 Next to having great thoughts yourself is 
 knowing what great thoughts others have 
 had, and the young, while at a period 
 of life when they are naturally linguists, 
 can easily familiarize themselves with the 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 233 
 
 noblest, sweetest, and purest thoughts of 
 their race. The knowledge of words first, 
 a vocabulary of the language ample enough 
 to enable them to apprehend aright the 
 scope and meaning of what has been written 
 by the best authors both in prose and verse : 
 this is the one essential equipment for suc- 
 cessful study of their mother tongue. 
 Teach your children words, and you will 
 put them in touch with the best thought 
 and feeling in the world. 
 
 The first lines of poetry my little pupils 
 ever committed were from Byron's Childe 
 Harold. I had been telling them stories, 
 one evening, of the dogs of the world, the 
 different breeds, uses and peculiarities, of 
 the relation a good dog quickly establishes 
 with his master and his family, and in how 
 many ways he made himself useful and 
 pleasant to man, and that literature both in 
 prose and poetry had paid loving tribute 
 to " man's best friend," and I quoted the 
 lines : 
 
234 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 " 'Tis sweet to hear the watchdog's 
 
 honest bark 
 Bay deep-mouthed welcome as we draw 
 
 near home. 
 'Tis sweet to know there is an eye to 
 
 mark 
 Our coming and grow brighter when we 
 
 come." 
 
 And the next morning when Rover signaled 
 from his kennel they repeated Byron's lines 
 with accuracy and ease. 
 
 One evening I had been reciting poetry 
 to them, as was my custom, and telling 
 them of the noble uses of poetry in shap- 
 ing the mind and soul and its relation to 
 the language, and that no one could be 
 called a scholar who did not know by heart 
 the best poetry of his country and tongue. 
 And in answer to the question they put to 
 me, "If it was a hard task to learn the 
 poetry of the English language?" 
 
 I replied, "If you two girls will learn one 
 verse or passage of poetry every day for 
 the next four years, with the name of the 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 235 
 
 poem and poet, together with his nation- 
 ahty, rank, and most noted verses, you will 
 know more about the poets and poetry of 
 the English-speaking race than your father 
 does or any man he ever met." 
 
 The plan pleased them immensely, and is 
 now being carried forth with such a result 
 already as is simply astounding. After a 
 month of practice their memories were so 
 developed that entire poems were commit- 
 ted instead of verses, and I was compelled 
 to put a limit to their acquisition, or the 
 supply of poetry and poets would not hold 
 out for a year ! 
 
 The following recitations will serve to 
 suggest the nature of their studies in Belles 
 Lettres and the varieties of thought and 
 feelinof with which their minds and hearts 
 are being made familiar. And it will serve 
 also to suggest the scope and extent of 
 their knowledge of English poetry which 
 even one year of studentship in this direc- 
 tion will give them. I will not guarantee 
 that the wording is in all cases correct, for 
 
236 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 in most instances they learned them from 
 my own recitation to them, and memory 
 is apt to let some things slip in the pas- 
 sage of time which stretches from the 
 present to the day when I memorized 
 them myself. And some were taken from 
 books that may not have been carefully 
 edited ; that most vicious habit of modern 
 book making. 
 
 RECITATION I. 
 
 Evening Bells. 
 by thomas moore. 
 
 (The Irish Poet.) 
 
 Those Evening Bells, Those Evening Bells, 
 How many a Tale their music tells 
 Of youth and home and that sweet time 
 When first I heard their soothing chimes. 
 
 And so 'twill be when I am gone, — 
 Those tuneful bells will still ring on. 
 While other bards will walk these dells, 
 And sing your praise, Sweet Evening Bells. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 237 
 
 RECITATION II. 
 Farewell. 
 
 (By the Same.) 
 
 Farewell, and whenever you welcome the 
 hour 
 
 That awakens the night song of mirth in 
 your bower, 
 
 Then think of the friend who once wel- 
 comed it too, 
 
 And forgot his own grief to be happy with 
 you. 
 
 Those Griefs may return ; not a joy may 
 remain. 
 
 Of the few that have brightened his path- 
 way of pain : 
 
 But he ne'er will forget the bright vision 
 that threw 
 
 Its enchantment around him while lingering 
 with you. 
 
 Let fate do her worst, there are relics of joy, 
 Bright dreams of the past, which she can- 
 not destroy. 
 
238 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 Which come in the night time of trouble 
 
 and care 
 To bring back the features that joy used to 
 
 wear. 
 
 Long, long be my heart with such memories 
 
 filled, 
 Like the Vase in which roses have once 
 
 been distilled : 
 You may break, you may shatter the vase 
 
 if you will, 
 But the scent of the roses will cling round 
 
 it still. 
 
 RECITATION III. 
 The Minstrel Boy. 
 
 (By the Same.) 
 
 The Minstrel Boy to the war has gone ; 
 
 In the ranks of death you will find him. 
 His father's sword he has girded on 
 
 And his wild harp strung behind him. 
 Land of song, said the warrior bard. 
 
 Though all the world betrays thee, 
 One sword at least thy rights shall guard ; 
 
 One faithful heart shall praise thee. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 239 
 
 The minstrel fell, but the foeman's chain 
 
 Could not bring his proud soul under. 
 The harp he loved ne'er spake again, 
 
 For he tore its chords asunder. 
 And said, No chains shall sully thee, 
 
 Thou soul of song and bravery ! 
 Thy notes were made for the proud and free ; 
 
 They shall never sound in slavery. 
 
 RECITATION IV. 
 
 Thanatopsis. 
 
 by william cullen bryant. 
 
 (Closing Passage.) 
 
 So live that when thy summons comes 
 
 To join the innumerable caravan 
 
 That moves to that mysterious realm, where 
 
 each must 
 Take his chamber in the silent halls of 
 
 death, 
 Thou go not like a quarry slave at night 
 Scourged to his dungeon ; but sustained 
 
 and soothed 
 By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 
 As one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
 About him and lies down to pleasant dreams. 
 
240 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 RECITATION V. 
 The XIXth Psalm. 
 The heavens declare the glory of God ; 
 and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. 
 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night 
 unto night sheweth knowledge. There is 
 no speech nor language, where their voice 
 is not heard. Their line is gone out 
 through all the earth, and their words to 
 the end of the world. In them hath he set 
 a tabernacle for the sun. Which is as a bride- 
 groom coming out of his chamber, and re- 
 joiceth as a strong man to run a race. His 
 going forth is from the end of the heaven, 
 and his circuit unto the ends of it. And 
 there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. 
 
 RECITATION VI. 
 The XXIIId Psalm. 
 The Lord is my shepherd ; I shall not 
 want. He maketh me to lie down in green 
 pastures : he leadeth me beside the still 
 waters. He restoreth my soul : he leadeth 
 me in the paths of righteousness for his 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 241 
 
 name's sake. Yea, though I walk through 
 the valley of the shadow of death, I will 
 fear no evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod 
 and thy staff they comfort me. Thou pre- 
 parest a table before me in the presence of 
 my enemies : thou anointest my head with 
 oil ; my cup runneth over. Surely good- 
 ness and mercy shall follow me all the days 
 of my life : and I will dwell in the house of 
 the Lord forever. 
 
 RECITATION VII. 
 
 Marco Bozzaris. 
 
 by fitz-green halleck. 
 
 (Of Guilford, Conn.) 
 
 At midnight in his guarded tent 
 
 The Turk was dreaming of the hour 
 
 When Greece, her knee in suppliance bent, 
 Would tremble at his power. 
 
 In dreams, through camp and court, he bore 
 
 The trophies of a conqueror ; 
 
 Then wore his monarch's signet ring, 
 16 
 
242 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 Then pressed that monarch's throne — a 
 
 king ! 
 As wild his thoughts, as gay of wing, 
 As Eden's garden bird. 
 
 At midnight in the forest shades 
 
 Bozzaris ranged his SuHote band, 
 True as the steel of their tried blades, 
 
 Heroes in heart and hand. 
 There had the Persian thousands stood, 
 There had the glad earth drunk their blood, 
 
 In old Platsea's day; 
 And now there breathed that haunted air 
 The sons of sires that conquered there, 
 With hands to strike and hearts to dare 
 
 As quick, as far, as they. 
 
 An hour passed on ; the Turk awoke. 
 
 That bright dream was his last. 
 He woke to hear the sentry's shriek. 
 To arms! they come! — the Greek, the 
 
 Greek ! 
 He woke to die midst flame and smoke 
 And shout and groans and sabre's stroke 
 
 And death shots falling thick and fast 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 243 
 
 As lightning from the midnight cloud, 
 And hear with voice as trumpet loud 
 Bozzaris cheer his band. 
 
 RECITATION VIII. 
 On the Death of Rodman Drake. 
 Green be the turf above thee, 
 Friend of my better days ; 
 None knew thee but to love thee. 
 None named thee but to praise. 
 
 Tears fell when thou wert dying, 
 From eyes unused to weep ; 
 
 And long where thou art lying 
 Will tears the cold turf steep. 
 
 RECITATION IX. 
 
 LOCHINVAR. 
 BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. 
 
 Oh, young Lochinvar is come out of the 
 
 west ; 
 Through all the wide Border his steed was 
 
 the best ; 
 And save his good broadsword, he weapon 
 
 had none. 
 
244 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 He rode all unarmed, and he rode all alone. 
 So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war, 
 There never was knight like the young 
 Lochinvar. 
 
 He stayed not for brake, and he stopped not 
 
 for stone ; 
 He swam the Esk river, where ford there 
 
 was none ; 
 But ere he alighted at Netherby gate. 
 The bride had consented — the gallant 
 
 came late : 
 For a laggard in love, and a dastard in war. 
 Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Loch- 
 invar. 
 
 So boldly he entered the Netherby hall. 
 
 Among bridesmen, and kinsmen, and broth- 
 ers, and all : 
 
 Then spoke the bride's father, his hand on 
 his sword 
 
 (For the poor craven bridegroom said never 
 a word). 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 245 
 
 "Oh, come ye in peace here, or come ye in 
 
 war, 
 Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord 
 
 Lochinvar ? " 
 
 " I long wooed your daughter, my suit you 
 
 denied ; — 
 Love swells like the Solway, but ebbs like 
 
 its tide — 
 And now am I come, with this lost love of 
 
 mine. 
 To tread but one measure, drink one cup of 
 
 wine. 
 There are maidens in Scotland, more lovely 
 
 by far. 
 That would gladly be bride to the young 
 
 Lochinvar." 
 
 The bride kissed the goblet : the knight 
 
 took it up. 
 He quaffed off the wine, and he threw down 
 
 the cup. 
 She looked down to blush, and she looked 
 
 up to sigh, 
 
246 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 With a smile on her lips, and a tear in her 
 
 eye. 
 He took her soft hand, ere her mother 
 
 could bar, — 
 "Now tread we a measure!" said young 
 
 Lochinvar. 
 
 So stately his form, and so lovely her face. 
 That never a hall such a galHard did grace ; 
 While her mother did fret, and her father 
 
 did fume, 
 And the bridegroom stood dangling his 
 
 bonnet and plume. 
 And the bridemaidens whispered, " 'T were 
 
 better by far, 
 To have matched our fair cousin with 
 
 young Lochinvar." 
 
 One touch to her hand, and one word in 
 
 her ear. 
 When they reached the hall door, and the 
 
 charger stood near ; 
 So light to the croupe the fair lady he 
 
 swung, 
 So light to the saddle before her he sprung ! 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 247 
 
 " She is won ! we are gone, over bank, bush, 
 
 and scaur ; 
 They'll have fleet steeds that follow," quoth 
 
 young Lochinvar. 
 
 There was mounting 'mong Graemes of the 
 
 Netherby clan ; 
 Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they 
 
 rode and they ran : 
 There was racing and chasing on Cannobie 
 
 Lee, 
 But the lost Bride of Netherby ne'er did 
 
 they see. 
 So daring in love, and so dauntless in war. 
 Have ye e'er heard of gallant like young 
 
 Lochinvar ? 
 
 RECITATION X. 
 
 Rock me to Sleep, Mother. 
 
 Backward, turn backward, O Time in your 
 
 flight. 
 Make me a child again, just for to-night ! 
 Mother, come back from the echoless shore, 
 Take me again to your heart, as of yore ; 
 
248 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 Kiss from my forehead the furrows of care, 
 Smooth the few silver threads out of my 
 
 hair. 
 Over my slumbers your loving watch keep. 
 Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep ; 
 Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep. 
 
 RECITATION XI. 
 
 Crossing the Bar, 
 by alfred tennyson. 
 
 (Of England.) 
 
 Sunset and Evening Star, 
 
 And one clear call for me ! 
 And may there be no moaning of the bar. 
 
 When I put out to sea. 
 
 But such a tide as moving seems asleep. 
 
 Too full for sound and foam, 
 When that which drew from out the bound- 
 less deep 
 
 Turns again home. 
 
 Twilight and evening bell, 
 
 And after that the dark ! 
 And may there be no sadness of farewell, 
 
 When I embark ; 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 249 
 
 For tho' from out our bourne of Time and 
 Place 
 
 The flood may bear me far, 
 I hope to see my Pilot face to face 
 
 When I have crossed the bar. 
 
 RECITATION XII. 
 
 Home, Sweet Home. 
 
 by john howard payne. 
 
 'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may 
 
 roam. 
 Be it ever so humble, there's no place like 
 
 home ; 
 A charm from the skies seems to hallow us 
 
 there, 
 Which, seek thro' the world, is ne'er met 
 with elsewhere. 
 Home, home, sweet, sweet home ! 
 Be it ever so humble, there's no place like 
 home. 
 
 An exile from home, splendor dazzles in 
 
 vain ; 
 Oh ! give me my lowly thatched cottage 
 
 again. 
 
250 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 The birds singing gaily, that come at my 
 
 call — 
 Give me their sweet peace of mind, dearer 
 
 than all. 
 
 If I return home, overburdened with care. 
 The heart's dearest solace I'm sure to meet 
 
 there ; 
 The bliss I experience whenever I come, 
 Makes no other place seem like that of 
 
 sweet home. 
 
 Home, home, etc. 
 
 RECITATION XIII. 
 The Play, 
 by thackeray. 
 The play is done — the curtain drops 
 Slow falling to the prompter's bell ; 
 A moment yet the actor stops, 
 
 And looks around to say farewell. 
 It is an irksome word and task, 
 
 And, when he's laughed and said his say, 
 He shows, as he removes the mask, 
 A face that's anything but gay. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 251 
 
 So each shall mourn, in life's advance, 
 
 Dear hopes, dear friends, untimely killed — • 
 Shall grieve for many a forfeit chance, 
 
 And longing passion unfulfilled. 
 Amen ! — Whatever fate be sent. 
 
 Pray God the heart may kindly glow, 
 Although the head with cares be bent, 
 
 And whitened with the winter's snow. 
 
Chapter XIII. 
 
 PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE OF 
 CIVIC PROCEDURE. 
 
 IN THIS CHAPTER IT IS EXPLAINED THAT CHIL- 
 DREN IN A FREE COUNTRY SHOULD BE 
 TAUGHT HOW TO ORGANIZE AND CONDUCT 
 WITH DIGNITY AND DECORUM PRIVATE AND 
 PUBLIC GATHERINGS FOR DISCUSSION OF 
 MATTERS OF INTEREST TO INDIVIDUALS AND 
 THE COMMUNITY, AND THAT THIS EDUCATION 
 SHOULD AT THIS PARTICULAR TIME BE GIVEN 
 TO GIRLS, THAT THEY, WHEN THEY COME TO 
 WOMANHOOD, MAY BE QUALIFIED TO DO 
 THEIR DUTY WITHOUT EMBARRASSMENT AND 
 WITH EFFICIENCY, AND FILL WITH ACCEPT- 
 ANCE ANY POSITION TO WHICH THEY MAY 
 BE CALLED. 
 
 IT is a maxim with me that out of the 
 homes of the Nation should issue those 
 influences and forces that are needed 
 to shape and ennoble the development of 
 
 National life, and that any education of 
 
 (252) 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 253 
 
 children which does not make them intelli- 
 gent touching the principles and value of 
 Liberty, and how that liberty is reduced 
 and applied to practice in conducting of 
 public affairs, falls short of the object 
 aimed at. Girls, because of the influence 
 of women and the prominence they have 
 won by their intelligence and energy in our 
 country, especially need this form of educa- 
 tion, that they may be delivered from that 
 ignorance which disqualifies and that result- 
 ant embarrassment which is painful. That 
 women are destined to co-operate with men 
 in the development of our civilization and 
 the farther upbuilding of our institutions 
 will not, by any intelligent person, be 
 denied. For the first time in civic affairs 
 men and women are united for a com- 
 mon endeavor. Knowledge and patriotism 
 are no longer masculine. The feminine 
 element, the feminine personality, are to 
 be reckoned with. The finer spirit is to 
 co-operate with the stronger vigor ; the 
 affectional capacity reinforce the mental. 
 
254 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 Intuition will assist the reason. The world 
 has never hitherto seen such a union. Our 
 faith is, that the world has never seen such 
 a glorious accomplishment as will result 
 from it. This is a "Holy Alliance" of 
 which man may have no fear, and on which 
 God, who made both male and female, can 
 smile in approval. The union of man and 
 woman in intelligent and amiable accord 
 has, in the domestic sphere, made the home 
 what it is. The union of the two in the 
 political realm will make the Nation what 
 it should be. 
 
 In capacity to think and think rightly; in 
 purity of purpose and nobility of feeling ; 
 in sagacity to discern the false and detect a 
 fraud in person or policy ; in devotion to 
 principle and courage to dare and do, 
 woman is divinely equipped for the ad- 
 ministration of public affairs. But in the 
 practical application of these high qualities 
 to the actual conditions of public service 
 she is lacking. By the custom and usage 
 of ages she has been shut out from the 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 255 
 
 knowledgfe needed. Give her this knowl- 
 edge and then whatever God intends will 
 happen. 
 
 I have, as many know, served in public 
 life and presided as chairman over many- 
 committees, and been President of gather- 
 ings composed in part of gentlemen, in part 
 of rowdies, and in part of those who were 
 a cross between the two — having the man- 
 ners of the one and the spirit of the other. 
 I suppose I conducted myself fairly well, 
 for in each instance I escaped with my life. 
 But I remember with the creeping of terror 
 to this day the first time I ever filled the 
 President's chair of a debating society. 
 The rulings I made that night should have 
 secured for me immortal remembrance ; and 
 would have, had they been reported ! The 
 President of the society did not know one 
 single thing about parliamentary rules and 
 usages ; the members didn't know any more 
 than the President. The debate was a 
 hot one ; every one who had any capacity 
 got mad, and so we had a most enjoyable 
 
256 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 time. Along toward midnight things had 
 come to such a pass that something had 
 got to be done to save my reputation as a 
 presiding officer and the house from tak- 
 ing fire, and in my emergency, from some 
 providential source there came the knowl- 
 edge that a motion to adjourn couldn't be 
 debated, and so I made the motion myself, 
 declared it passed, and retired out of a back 
 window to allow the meeting a chance to 
 cool off and settle down. 
 
 To educate children in the practical 
 workings of parliamentary law ; to teach 
 them its fundamental principles, uses and 
 value in the conducting of public affairs, is 
 a very simple undertaking. To extemporize 
 a gavel out of a pocket knife, tap on a table 
 or chair and "call the house to order" is as 
 easy to do as for Thomas Brackett Reed 
 to smother the report of an obnoxious 
 committee. To explain to them the use 
 of the gavel, the dignified place it occu- 
 pies in the practical working of free Gov- 
 ernment, and tell them the story of certain 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 257 
 
 gavels that have become historic because 
 of the noted conventions and pubHc bodies 
 they called to order on memorable occa- 
 sions, is surely no great task for any 
 teacher or parent. But to children who 
 love beyond all else stories and story-tell- 
 ing, and especially those that deal with 
 notable persons, memorable events, and 
 strange experiences, this manner of teach- 
 ing at the beginning gives a charm to 
 the subject and causes them to anticipate 
 all coming instruction with delight. In 
 short, the child-nature is to be ever in the 
 mind of one who would educate a child. 
 
 The first " public meeting " that my pupils 
 ever organized was to consider a very mo- 
 mentous question. I had told them that if 
 they would select six names for as many 
 little puppies I would tell them a story 
 about them ; but that they must proceed in 
 a dignified parliamentary manner, and that 
 every name must be selected with as much 
 discrimination and honesty as are used in 
 17 
 
258 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 nominating the average caucus-chosen con- 
 gressman to office. 
 
 So Maudie tapped on the old settle with 
 her pencil, called the meeting to order, 
 stated the object of the meeting, and asked 
 the audience, to wit. Ruby and Gracie, " If 
 there is any business to bring before the 
 meeting ? " This she did with the face of a 
 Sphinx and a voice as clear and sharp as the 
 fall of a trip-hammer. Whereupon Gracie 
 — seven years old — arose, and, steadying 
 herself by the back of her chair, with a 
 voice pitched as high as a walking delegate's 
 in a labor convention, exclaimed, " Miss 
 Chairman, I move that Miss Ruby Murray 
 be chosen to be the secretary of this meet- 
 ing." This motion was received and put 
 and declared carried by the temporary 
 chairman. Then the Secretary, having 
 taken a chair and stolen a pad and pencil 
 from my writing table — a method of pro- 
 ceeding not known to Parliamentary Law 
 nor to be commended on moral grounds — 
 rose and said, 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 259 
 
 " Ladies, that there may be a permanent 
 Chairman of this meeting, I move that 
 Miss Murray be elected to fill that position." 
 This was unanimously carried and the re- 
 cipient of the honor declared to be duly 
 elected. These elections reduced the unof- 
 ficial membership of the meeting to the 
 number of one, and seriously threatened 
 the existence of a working Quorum. But 
 the Chairman had Mr. Reed's visual ca- 
 pacity of seeing and not seeing as many 
 present as were required to do business in 
 a way that seemed to her needed by the 
 public good, and so the " business " was 
 pushed on to its conclusion. 
 
 It is possible that to some this will seem 
 a very light and trivial way in which to 
 teach grave matters, but I assure them that 
 the result justifies the method, for in a 
 single month the method of organizing 
 public meetings and the proper manner of 
 presiding over them were so well under- 
 stood and put in practice that it gave me 
 the greatest pleasure to see these children 
 
26o HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 go through the exercises connected with 
 this branch of parliamentary proceedings : 
 and better than this even was this other 
 result, to wit : that the study of parliamen- 
 tary rules and usages, and the history of 
 the origin and development of the same in 
 the English speaking race, was anticipated 
 with the keenest delight. And to cause 
 them to anticipate pleasure in farther 
 studies is the best proof that the method 
 of study by which children are being edu- 
 cated is a good one. 
 
Chapter XIV. 
 
 IN-DOOR AND OUT-DOOR EDU- 
 CATION OF GIRLS. 
 
 IN WHICH THE VALUE OF CERTAIN OUT-DOOR 
 EXERCISES OF THE NOBLER SORT, SUCH AS 
 ARCHERY, EQUESTRIANISM, YACHTING, AND 
 SKATING, ARE COMMENTED ON, AND THE 
 POSITION TAKEN THAT ANY SYSTEM OF EDU- 
 CATION THAT DOES NOT DIRECTLY TEND TO 
 MAKE A GIRL MORE AMIABLE IN DISPOSITION, 
 MORE REFINED IN MANNERS, AND MORE 
 LOVELY TO LOOK UPON, IS ONE FIT ONLY TO 
 BE CAST OUT AND TRODDEN UNDER THE 
 FEET OF MEN. 
 
 ROADLY stated the system of educa- 
 tion for children now in vogue among 
 us is faulty in conception and practice 
 because it is given within doors. To study 
 books that tell us of things is a long and 
 tedious way to knowledge. No wonder that 
 
 children tire of it, hate it, and many faint by 
 
 (261) 
 
262 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 the way. Children love to study the things 
 themselves — and so learn of them directly. 
 There is not a vegetable or cereal on the 
 farm that these little pupils of mine have 
 not planted or sown, cultivated and watched 
 at every stage of its growth, and in almost 
 every case prepared it or seen it prepared 
 for the table. There is no animal, whether 
 valuable for its flesh or fur, or a mere ver- 
 min, whose track does not tell them its 
 name, nor is there any sound in the fields 
 and woods by day or night, that they cannot 
 give the proper name to ; and this knowl- 
 edge — a vast amount taken in the aggre- 
 gate — has been attained not from books 
 but from trapping and watching the birds 
 and animals in their wild estate. To learn, 
 to add fact to fact and knowledge to knowl- 
 edge, was entertaining, too. How could 
 they ever have got what they have out of 
 books while shut inside the walls of a 
 schoolhouse ? And what a tedious process 
 it would have been ! These pupils of mine 
 have a largeness and accuracy of knowledge 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 263 
 
 that no amount of indoor studying could 
 have given them, and the getting of it 
 has, for the most part, been wholly of 
 their own effort. And hence I know that 
 the getting was accompanied by a develop- 
 ment of faculty : that these outdoor studies 
 taught them how to observe, to listen, to 
 think and plan and reason, and there- 
 fore, brought a genuine education to them. 
 Things, facts, forces, the actualities of earth 
 and life : these are what children should 
 study if their studentship is to bring them 
 much or be of much use to them in after 
 life. And these are found outside and not 
 inside of a schoolhouse. 
 
 If the teachers and scholars of the coun- 
 try could all be turned out of the school- 
 houses, and their doors for six months 
 locked against them, and they were obliged 
 to study in the fields and on the sea-shore 
 and by brooks and amid mountains, and 
 wherever nature had a secret or a curious 
 or sweet thing to tell them there would 
 be a vast uplift of the entire educational 
 
264 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 area. Teachers would be compelled to act- 
 ually teach, and children would in fact be- 
 come students and learn something. Books, 
 Books, Books. Nothing but Books ! No 
 wonder that so many children are sick at 
 the thought of being compelled to return 
 to schoolhouses and lessons. 
 
 One of the most delightful forms of 
 knowledge, as it surely is one of the most 
 useful, comes from the study of Trees and 
 Tree culture, and trees cannot be studied 
 inside a schoolhouse. The high placement 
 which the Creator of the world has given 
 to Trees both as connected with the health 
 and comfort of human beings cannot es- 
 cape the attention of any intelligent person. 
 The influence which trees exert upon cli- 
 mate is too direct, potent, and beneficent to 
 be ignored. They moderate the scorching 
 heat of summer and equalize the tempera- 
 ture of day and night. From twig and leaf 
 they are constantly yielding forth to the air 
 men breathe the elements which vitalize and 
 make it the source of health, vigor, and re- 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 265 
 
 freshment to those who breathe it. Ani- 
 mals share with men this fine and needed 
 ministration of trees. Economically they 
 easily hold a front rank in man's regard. 
 From trees the majority of all our homes 
 are builded, and the needed shelter for cat- 
 tle in winter made. From them the furni- 
 ture of our houses is constructed ; and they 
 perfectly meet the necessities of practical 
 use and highest ornamentation. They beau- 
 tify the world beyond expression and cause 
 it to be, beyond any other single form of 
 growth, fit for man's habitation. Their fo- 
 liage gives to the earth that mold which 
 both retains the rain that falls, for gradual 
 distribution, and makes the soil from which 
 all growths proceed. What sort of a sys- 
 tem of education is that for American chil- 
 dren that fails to make the knowledge of 
 Trees and their uses one of its prime objects, 
 or give to the study of Tree Life and Tree 
 Culture a foremost place in its curriculum ? 
 The " Groves were God's first Temples," 
 sang the Poet; and where can He who gave 
 
266 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 the seeing eye and hearing ear to his earth- 
 children be found more fully or worshiped 
 more reverently than among the trees that 
 He has made for our bodily comfort, the 
 education of our artistic sense and the up- 
 lifting of our thoughts and feelings unto 
 Him? 
 
 One night in early March, when the winds 
 were blowing stormily over the chimney, we 
 were all sitting — having just finished a 
 game of chess — in front of the old Fire- 
 Place, which was filled with flame and heat, 
 when, — the theme suggested by the sight 
 before me, — I began to discourse to them 
 of fire, and things in human life and history 
 connected with it. I told them of the old 
 race that once used it as a symbol of God 
 and his benevolence to men as we now do 
 a bit of wood ; that these old folk were 
 called in history Fire-worshipers, but with 
 as little justice as we Christians might 
 be named Cross-worshipers to-day ; of that 
 wise and good being, whom we know as 
 Zoroaster but whose actual name is hidden, 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 267 
 
 of whose real self and teachings we have, 
 looking backward through the clouds and 
 gloom of ages, only glimpses, such as pris- 
 oners get of sky and stars gazing through 
 dungeon bars, I told them of Light and 
 Heat, the twin Angels unto men, born of 
 Fire ; of that light which gives us knowl- 
 edge of what is and reveals the exceed- 
 ing beauty of the world, and of that heat 
 which calls nature from her grave each 
 spring, and brings to each root and germ 
 and seed that has lain dead, a glorious 
 resurrection ; and passing on and coming 
 down to the hour that was and our own 
 joys, I told them of wood and coal, of old- 
 time fire-places and ovens, and of many 
 homely things, such as were around them, 
 unknown to-day to many and perhaps un- 
 noted by those who know, but which once 
 had high uses and close relation to happy 
 human life ; and finally of wood as fuel and 
 its ministrations to man's need and comfort. 
 So I talked to them, half musingly, and 
 when the end was, we all sat gazing silently 
 
268 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 into the fire and listening to the gusts that 
 screeched and roared around the sharp 
 edges of the old chimney top. 
 
 Then, after a pause, the eldest of the 
 class said, 
 
 " Father, dear, how many kinds of woods 
 do you think we have burned in the old 
 Fire-Place this winter that were cut on 
 the old farm here ? " 
 
 And I, after brief pause, answered, 
 
 ** Perhaps twenty-five." 
 
 And to this came the reply, positively 
 spoken as by one who speaks with knowl- 
 edge, 
 
 "We have burned at least Forty-Two 
 kinds of wood in this fire-place this winter." 
 
 " Did I not know," I answered, " that 
 your memory is good and that you have the 
 fine habit of being accurate in your speech, 
 I should certainly think that you were mis- 
 taken. For though this part of New Eng- 
 land is very rich in specimens of our native 
 trees, especially of the deciduous class, and 
 this old farm of ours is stocked with a great 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 269 
 
 variety, still forty-two is a large number, and 
 as none of you are sleepy as yet, you may, 
 if you please, run over the list and I will 
 keep the count." 
 
 And this is the list which the Teacher 
 wrote out as recited by his little pupil : 
 
 LIST OF TREES CUT ON THE FARM AND 
 BURNED IN OUR FIRE-PLACE. 
 
 White oak 
 Red oak 
 Rock oak 
 Yellow oak 
 Pin oak 
 Black oak 
 Hard maple 
 Soft maple 
 Black birch 
 White birch 
 Yellow birch 
 Black ash 
 White ash 
 Buttonball 
 White wood 
 
 Elm 
 Willow 
 Cherry- 
 Wild Cherry 
 Spruce 
 Hemlock 
 Butternut tree 
 Pepperidge 
 Red cedar 
 White cedar 
 Pine 
 
 Black beech 
 White beech 
 Mottled beech 
 Basswood 
 
270 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 Chestnut Balsam 
 
 Dogwood White hickory 
 
 Hornbeam Red hickory 
 
 Witch-hazel Crab tree 
 
 Iron-wood Quince 
 
 Alder Plum tree 
 
 Sassafras Horse chestnut 
 
 Apple tree Mulberry 
 
 Pear tree Hawthorn 
 
 Peach tree Sumach 
 
 " Fifty in all ! " I exclaimed as I totalized 
 the column ; " and you have not only made 
 good your statement but gone eight beyond 
 it ; and I hope that during all your life you 
 will be able in a like manner to make your 
 statements good in respect to anything you 
 are speaking of, and so establish a reputa- 
 tion for conservative speaking ; for by so 
 doing you will win the confidence of people 
 and be trusted by them. For the tendency 
 of the times runs toward looseness of think- 
 ing and inaccuracy of statement, both of 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 271 
 
 which are unscholarly and destructive of in- 
 fluence. But one may know the names of 
 trees and not really know much about 
 them. For to know a tree thoroughly one 
 must not only know its name but the form 
 of it, and the peculiarities of its bark, and 
 shape of its leaves, and the odor of it, the 
 color of its smoke and flame ; for trees are 
 individual as to these things, and we must 
 have knowledge of them by the eye and 
 nose and touch, to know them well. Many 
 a dark night when trailing I have had to 
 decide the points of the compass by the 
 sense of touch ; for the north side of a tree 
 does not feel to the hand as the south side 
 of it does, and mosses will grow on the 
 south side of it that never grow on the 
 north side, as I have told you often. And 
 now I wish you would tell me what you 
 know about these trees individually, and if 
 it shall appear that you have this full and 
 rare knowledge of trees it will prove that 
 you have in truth made a study of them 
 
2/2 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 and know what many people who regard 
 themselves well informed do not know." 
 
 And then the class went earnestly into 
 the subject of trees and delighted the heart 
 of their Teacher ; for they told me of the 
 peculiarities and individualism of each 
 tree, — of its trunk-form, the color and tex- 
 ture of its bark, the odor and taste of its 
 sap ; the shape of leaf and the color of it 
 when the frost and dampness of autumn 
 paint it ; of its product, whether nut or 
 fruit or seed ; of the color of its flame and 
 ash, and whether it gave forth smoke and 
 noise in burning or burned with pure and 
 noiseless combustion, and whether its foli- 
 age was dense or scant and fell early or 
 late ; and how even when at play outside 
 the house they could tell what wood was 
 burning by the smell and odor of the smoke 
 that the chimney yielded to the wind and 
 was blown across the playground. Of these 
 and other signs and proofs that each tree 
 was true to its own nature, not written in 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 73 
 
 books, they told me, so that when they 
 were done I told them that they did in- 
 deed know much of trees and that the 
 senses which God had given them had 
 been well used. 
 
 One day in autumn, when seated in a 
 mass of yellow and russet-colored leaves, 
 wind-blown to the angle of an old stone 
 fence that looked southward, I said : 
 " Come, children, tell me of the field 
 flowers, medicinal herbs and sweet smelling 
 shrubs that you have found within the cir- 
 cuit of your rambles this summer and which 
 you could name by nose and taste had you 
 no eyes ; for you know that your father 
 holds that people study and learn too ex- 
 clusively with the eye and too little with 
 the other senses." 
 
 And on a stray leaf from my pocket-book 
 and with a little stumpy pencil they wrote out 
 the following list of wild flowers, medicinal 
 herbs, and sweet smelling shrubs which my 
 pupils got knowledge of in their rambles. 
 
274 
 
 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 Wild Flowers, Medicinal Herbs, and 
 Sweet Smelling Shrubs. 
 
 Anemone 
 Trailing arbutus 
 Dandelion 
 Strawberry 
 Barberry 
 Wood violets 
 Wild rose 
 Sweet briar 
 Prince's pine 
 Prince's feather 
 Mullen 
 Field lily 
 Tiger lily 
 Sweet fern 
 Dewberry 
 Bayberry 
 Honeysuckle 
 White water lily 
 Buttercup 
 Yellow water lily 
 Spice bush 
 
 Tansy 
 
 Cranes-bill 
 
 Sassafras 
 
 Blood-root 
 
 Sarsaparilla 
 
 Sweet Cicily 
 
 Elecampane 
 
 Thoroughwort 
 
 Penny-royal 
 
 Catnip 
 
 Spearmint 
 
 Golden rod 
 
 Peppermint 
 
 Indian pipe 
 
 Dogwood 
 
 Tulip tree 
 
 Blue-bell 
 
 Thistle 
 
 Gentian 
 
 Pussy willow 
 
 Daisy 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 275 
 
 '* Father dear, how much is a Greek 
 stadium ? " asked a pupil one day during 
 a wood ramble. 
 
 "How long is this lath?" I answered, 
 pointing to one that, by chance, lay on 
 the ground near by. 
 
 " Four feet," was the reply. 
 
 "Very well," I returned. " Measure in a 
 straight line one hundred and fifty-two times 
 its length, and you will have pretty nearly 
 the stadium of the Greeks." 
 
 By this method they have mastered the 
 measuring methods of the world both on 
 land and sea. The inch, the foot, the ell, 
 the yard, the rod, the mile, the fathom, the 
 acre — each of these distances they have act- 
 ually measured by foot rule, by yard stick, by 
 steel tape, by estimate of actual pacing, and 
 by mental estimate. Knowing the length 
 of a fathom, and the addition of it up to 
 1,000, having measured the distance them- 
 selves and knowing from experience what 
 a long one it is, they can form some idea 
 
2/6 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 of the vast depth of the ocean, to measure 
 which the fathom is used. In this way they 
 have learned distances and the measure- 
 ment of them and found such development 
 of faculty, of eye, of calculating sense, of 
 reason and judgment, as one could not 
 conceive of, unless with the exercises, he 
 saw the corresponding development. And 
 when the eldest of the class was able to go 
 out into a field and pace off an acre of 
 ground which when measured by the steel 
 tape was seen to fall short of only a few 
 feet, — well, had my treasures been laid up 
 on earth I would have given her a thousand 
 dollar check on the spot ! 
 
 I regard Archery as a branch of mathe- 
 matics. It deals with the law of gravita- 
 tion, projectile force, the estimation of dis- 
 tance, the direction and force of wind, the 
 refraction of light and the calculation of 
 curves. It calls for keenness of eye, steadi- 
 ness of nerve, perfect self-possession, the 
 entire concentration of one's powers on a 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 277 
 
 single instant of time, firmness and elasti- 
 city of muscle and lightning-like decision. 
 The tableau which a bevy of healthy, hand- 
 some girls presents to the eye when en- 
 gaged at archery is of so fine a sort that 
 memory ranks it, on the instant, as one 
 of the choice pieces in her gallery. I 
 have no prejudice against Fencing, but a 
 liking for it rather ; nevertheless, for all- 
 round efficiency in making a girl healthy, 
 graceful, and beautiful it is altogether out- 
 classed by bow practice. 
 
 Archery is not a violent exercise and 
 has no risks in it. It is an outdoor sport in 
 the best sense of the word. It is, moreover, 
 a social pastime. Wit, wisdom, merriment 
 and innocent, amiable follies even, are not 
 under ban in it. Its equipment is not 
 costly. Historically it is rich in glorious 
 association and reminiscence. What battles 
 have not been won by the bow ; what gener- 
 ous rivalry shown, what liberties defended, 
 what tyrants overthrown ? In all their 
 
2/8 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 games, amusements, and exercises I have 
 made my little pupils familiar with the 
 origin and history of each, what service it 
 had rendered to men and what of value it 
 would do for them, whenever possible con- 
 necting it and them through it with English 
 history and literature. And if there was 
 any bit of descriptive prose or verse that 
 would answer for a recitation they com- 
 mitted it to memory and recited it. And 
 by this method much of knowledge worth 
 knowing has come to them and a vast 
 amount of entertainment of a hig-her class 
 than generally comes to children from the 
 play-ground. And Conan Doyle, who, in 
 his " White Company " has come nigh writ- 
 ing a perfect story of its class, gave them, 
 in his Bow Song, one of the recitations con- 
 nected with archery which afforded them 
 great delight and added zest to their prac- 
 tice, which I insert, that it may be at the 
 command of all children who may wish to 
 memorize it. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 279 
 
 The Song of the Bow. 
 
 What of the Bow? 
 The bow was made in England. 
 
 Of true wood, 
 
 Of yew wood, 
 The wood of English bows. 
 
 Chor2is. 
 We'll drink all together, 
 To the gray goose feather. 
 And the land where the gray goose flew. 
 
 What of the Cord ? 
 The cord was made in England, 
 
 A tough cord, 
 
 A rough cord, 
 The cord that bowmen love. 
 Then we'll drain our jacks. 
 To the English flax. 
 And the land where the hemp was wove. 
 
28o HOW I EDUCATE AIY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 What of the Shaft ? 
 The shaft was made in England, 
 
 A long shaft, 
 
 A strong shaft, 
 Barbed and trim and true. 
 
 Chorus. 
 We'll drink all together, 
 To the gray goose feather, 
 And the land where the gray goose flew. 
 
 What of the men ? 
 The men were bred in England, 
 
 The Yeomen, 
 
 The Bowmen, 
 The lads of the dale and hill. 
 
 Cho7^tis. 
 We'll drink all together, 
 To the gray goose feather, 
 And the land where the gray goose flew. 
 
 But of all outdoor exercises that they 
 have enjoyed, the one that has given them 
 the most pleasure, and perhaps most of 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 281 
 
 health, strength, suppleness of body, grace 
 of movement, self-confidence, quickness of 
 eye and the power to decide what to do and 
 how to do it on the instant, is Skating. I 
 was a skater once myself and loved it as 
 a bird loves flying ; and even now the old- 
 time fervor lives in my veins, and once 
 the steel is under me I glide from beneath 
 the weight of years and am, in a flash, a 
 boy again. God bless the skates and all 
 skaters ; keep them from heavy falls and 
 bring them, flushed and rosy, safely home 
 from all venturing ! 
 
 The little ones love skating with a pas- 
 sion. In this, at least, that strange law or 
 quality known as heredity, which brings to 
 children in one hand helping and in the 
 other hindrance, has proved a blessing to 
 them. They skate as angels fly, because 
 they are buoyant and can assume wings at 
 will. Oh, it is a joy to see them come, wind 
 blown, three airy forms of life, down the 
 old pond, where Thomas Norton ground 
 his grists two hundred and fifty years ago. 
 
282 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 And when the fairy triad form their sweet 
 conspiracy to corner the big white-headed 
 boy that's with them and skate him to 
 the shore — well, then there is fun! And 
 in answer to their sweet importunities and 
 that their best enjoyed pastime might ever 
 be linked in memory pleasantly with him 
 who was their Teacher, and who perforce, 
 by-and-by, must lay off skates and have 
 done with skating, I wrote for them this 
 little bit of description of their favorite 
 exercise, that it might serve them for ver- 
 bal and vocal practice in recitation. 
 
 Skating. 
 Was there ever such a delicious pastime ? 
 It is the very coronation of sports. Come 
 into this rink and stand a moment. See 
 that skater there ; he in Trapper's costume, 
 I mean. How easily his body swings 
 along. How his lithe form sways to the 
 curve he cuts. How suavely his physique 
 yields to the enticing movement. Happy 
 fellow. No thought, no care. The foot. 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 2S3 
 
 armed with its blade of steel, lifts and 
 places itself with the careless and easy per- 
 fection of habit. His ankle knows no tre- 
 mor ; the back no convulsive start ; there is 
 no "catching of his balance," no nervous- 
 ness of action ; but perfectly poised, he 
 comes sailing along, as easily as a lazily 
 moving Falcon blown across the meadow 
 level by the pressure of a rising breeze. 
 
 But a skater, like any other artist, has his 
 moods. The skating Trapper there illus- 
 trates this, for the motion which we were 
 admiring, because of the graceful indolence 
 of it, has suddenly changed. Look ! See 
 how he flies ! He darts ; he shoots ; he 
 flashes over the ice. How the steel plates 
 ring ! How the white foam spurts as the 
 edged steel cleaves its swift course along the 
 green surface ! How the rink resounds to 
 the shock of the rapid strokes, until the 
 frosty roof echoes to it ! See him vault into 
 the air. Is he winged ? Can he fly ? Look 
 at that ! Did a gust lift him up and whirl 
 him around like a leaf ? Heavens ! See 
 
284 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 him come ! Can a body of flesh and blood 
 fly like that ? Or is this skating Trapper a 
 form from the spirit world blown through 
 the air by the energy of invisible winds ? 
 What is there in a bar of steel, lashed to a 
 foot, that can make a man like a bird ? 
 Stopped ! Had my eyes not seen I would 
 not have believed. 
 
 How did he stop ? Tell me that. Why, 
 a bird cannot stop without a curve or an 
 upward swoop from the line of his flight. 
 But he, that skating Trapper, while in the 
 very middle of his career and at its swiftest 
 point, when he was flying so that an arrow 
 could not catch him, lifted his foot, struck 
 the ice one blow, and stood. 
 
 Another mood. He simply lifts his skate 
 and movement comes to him. Behold him 
 now sweep the circumference from shore to 
 shore ; his body rises and sinks, sways and 
 swings in easy undulations. Ha ! Watch 
 him. See what he is doing. For even as 
 an eagle begins to soar, drawing a circle 
 whose diameter is twice a thousand feet 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 285 
 
 and on this builds his aerial spiral, narrow- 
 ing his circling as he rises, until, above the 
 passing cloud, he makes the apex of his 
 mighty cone and stands hovering ; so, yon 
 skating Trapper, as he swings gracefully 
 around the rink, draws in the line of his 
 movement, until, lifted on the toe of his 
 skate, he stands at the center of his circle 
 
 — spinning ! 
 
 But we must away. The moon is on the 
 mountain and the toboggan waits. Ait 
 revoir, young Trapper, Thou hast taught 
 a thousand people to-night the power of 
 will, the value of practice, the beauty of 
 graceful movement, and the glory of a 
 healthy body. I will join thee some even- 
 ing and I will bring my skates along too 
 
 — the old skates that, like their owner, 
 are twenty years older than when he first 
 strapped them on — and I will try some 
 of the tricks of fancy skating with thee. 
 Augh ! The devil take thee, thou imp 
 of rheumatism or of gout, I know not 
 which, I'll skate the boy, I say, in spite 
 
286 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 of all the kinks and twinges thou canst 
 put into these legs of mine ; aye, and 
 skate him to the shore, see if I don't 
 
 l'envoi. 
 
 There is a personage known to Authors 
 as the publisher. He is base-minded. He 
 looks upon a book with a cold, calculating, 
 fish-like eye. Neither its humor nor its 
 pathos nor the author's object moves him. 
 To him a book is made to sell and yield 
 profit to his purse. Ergo, it must be of a 
 certain size, of a certain style, and be pro- 
 duced at a certain cost. One page beyond 
 the foreordained number is so much net 
 loss. This is why the Publication Houses 
 of the country are " sincerely protective of 
 the author's reputation and ambitious to 
 advance the best interests of American 
 Literature ! " 
 
 My publisher has spoken ! He writes : 
 "My Dear Sir, — The MSS. you have for- 
 warded us will make at least ten pages 
 beyond the original estimate. Farther ad- 
 
HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 287 
 
 ditions will endanger all possibility of profits 
 to you or us from its publication." 
 
 My publisher, as you must realize, dear 
 reader, is a man of humor. I can see the 
 twinkle in his eye as he wrote " profits to 
 you " ! If James T. Field, that prince of 
 litterateurs and saint among publishers, 
 were here with me, what a laugh we two 
 would have over that sentence ! Profits to 
 a poor author from his book ! That's rich. 
 
 But one profit has come to me already, 
 and larger ones will come if, being spared 
 from ill, the work of carrying on and up 
 the education of these dear and clever 
 children proceeds, and in another volume 
 the record of method, manner, and re- 
 sults in larger and nobler fields of study 
 be written down. The companionship of 
 quick and eager minds, wishful of learn- 
 ing ; the spectacle of daily development in 
 knowledge, grace, and growing power to 
 do and charm, and the hope that many, 
 reading what I tell, whether parent or 
 professional teacher, will be cheered and 
 
288 HOW I EDUCATE MY DAUGHTERS. 
 
 quickened to wise and stronger effort to 
 make the dear ones in their charge at- 
 tain the true object of education, which 
 is, as I apprehend it, to make a child 
 love Father, Mother, Home, Country, and 
 God, more : if this is not the object of 
 all education I know not what object it 
 may have. Au revoh\ 
 
 W. H. H. Murray. 
 
 The Murray Homestead, 
 Guilford, Conn. 
 
ifonaacKj iviurray s 
 
 «^ Sati0txaX gtlitoix ^-m 
 
 only authoriied edition of his writings especially and finally 
 enlarged and revised by him for publication. 
 
 ADIRONDACK TALES. 
 
 Vol. I. The Story of the Man who didn't know much. 
 
 Vol. II. The Story of the Man who Missed it. 
 
 The Story that the Keg told me. 
 
 Who were they? and 
 
 The Old Trapper's Thanksgiving Party. 
 Vol. III. Holiday Tales (Illustrated): 
 
 How John Norton, the Trapper, kept his 
 Christmas. 
 
 John Norton's Vagabond, and 
 
 The Old Trapper's Thanksgiving in the City. 
 Vol. IV. Stories of Description and Humor. 
 
 CANADIAN IDYLS. 
 
 Vol. V. Mamelons and Ungava, with a historical intro- 
 duction and supplementary notes. 
 
 Vol. VI. Sermons, Lectures, and Addresses. 
 Vol. VII. The Old Apple Tree's Easter; or, 
 A Tale of Nature's Resurrection. 
 Vol. VIII. How I am Educating my Daughters; or, 
 
 A practical illustration of what can be done in 
 development of their loved ones by Parents 
 at Home. 
 
 For infofmation regarding any of M r. Muway^s works, address 
 the author, personallyp Guilford, Conn. 
 
MAR 26 1902 
 

 "■^R' vJt^^^'^Nrx; 
 
 i-gDnMni \jr vv^Hvancoo 
 
 m 
 
 019 631 057 5 
 
 '^V 
 
 m: 
 
 A 
 
 5^\ 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 \\ ^ 
 
 \ V 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 K