The Children of the West 75 



It never seems to occur to them to consider 

 whether or not the children are "having a good 

 time." Certainly, compared with the children 

 of other countries — France, Germany, England — 

 they lack mirthfulness. Perhaps they are sensible, 

 poor little dears, of the sacrifices made on their 

 behalf ; perhaps the strife around them, which they 

 passively witness every hour of the day, has entered 

 like iron into their souls ; perhaps they, in common 

 with their elders, attempt too much and learn too 

 soon the weariness of satiety. I have talked with 

 little maids of four, who knew that their dolls were 

 stuffed with sawdust. I have seen the same little 

 maids pull down their tiny skirts, blushing. O, ye 

 Prunes and Prisms ! Ought a little girl of four to 

 know that she has — legs ? I remember one miss 

 of seven (a born coquette, by the way) who hon- 

 oured me with her friendship. She was in my 

 room when I was unpacking a portmanteau, and 

 she took the greatest interest in my coloured shirts. 

 Presently she said softly, ''My father buys my 

 frocks, but Auntie gets my underclothes." Then 

 she added, with a queer little stare, "Perhaps I 

 ought not to mention underclothes to a gentleman." 



When they go to school, and they go too soon, 

 evil besmirches them. From what I have learned 

 from many parents, it is safe to assert that inno- 

 cence is seldom found in the country schools of 

 the West. One hesitates to indict a system of 

 education that in many respects works admirably. 

 One knows that a mother who is both cook and 

 housekeeper cannot play the part of schoolmistress. 

 And one sympathises with a natural ambition which 



