DAUGHTERS 319 



lies, not in the want of kindness, but in a want of 

 intelligence the intelligence to put one's self on the 

 level of a child and to see its life from its point of view. 

 This faculty is so rarely displayed that it is safe to con- 

 clude it rarely exists. It is a gift of no mean order, for, 

 however generous our intentions may be, it is an exceed- 

 ingly difficult task to deal out justice. I do not deny that 

 there is a tendency in most people to exaggerate the 

 troubles of their childhood, which must be taken into 

 account ; but how many a mother thinks that her darlings 

 are all right, and so bright and happy, with every reason 

 to be so, when, in fact, they are eating their little hearts 

 out in misery and sorrow ! The capability for suffering 

 in some children is quite extraordinary, and trivial 

 things assume colossal proportions in their small lives. 



When girls are brought up under teachers and 

 governesses, as is generally the case in the houses of the 

 wealthy, the difficulty is increased. To complain of these 

 authorities to the still higher but more distant authority of 

 a parent is a very doubtful means of redress, and, in case 

 of failure, the risk of punishment or of an aggravation of 

 the evil real or imagined which gave rise to the com- 

 plaint, is too terrible to be faced. Almost all girls, under 

 such circumstances, are afraid to speak the truth. In my 

 own case I was not afraid of my mother, but this made 

 the keeping of governesses very difficult. I had eight of 

 them before I was fifteen, and I disliked all but one. I 

 expect, though doubtless I was a ' horrid child,' that, as 

 regards the governesses, I was pretty clear-judging. Of 

 course, the governesses of to-day have a very different 

 idea of their duties from what was usual fifty years ago. 

 Special training is given to those who undertake to teach 

 the young, and this is now recognised as an art in itself, 

 independently of having knowledge and information to 

 impart. Such a change has greatly helped to raise 





