Some Difficult Questions 51 



a trifling matter for the parent to be able to read 

 suitable stories to them and to interpret helpfully 

 such stories. It is not a trifling matter for the par- 

 ents to converse together an hour at evening and there 

 plan as to the future home instruction of their young. 

 When should this be introduced into the boy's life 

 and when that into the girl's life ? What is a fair 

 allowance for the boy for what he does and for his 

 spending money for the Fourth of July, Christmas, 

 and the like ? What is a fair allowance for the girl with 

 which to purchase her clothes and for her pin money ? 

 When should each of them be told this and that 

 about the secrets of life, and where may helpful lit- 

 erature thereon be obtained ? Just when and how 

 much should the boy and girl be allowed to go among 

 the young people of the community ? When we 

 consider the far-reaching results which their solution 

 may mean for the developing young lives, these and 

 many other such questions become exceedingly im- 

 portant. 



8. A common conspiracy. In many a farm home 

 to-day there is a secret compact which goes far to 

 shape the destiny of a great number of lives. Go 

 if you will to the farm home where the life of the 

 mother is being gradually crushed out by the over- 

 work and the lack of sympathetic protection on the 

 part of the husband, and you will almost invariably 

 find a secret understanding between the mother and 

 the growing children in reference to the future careers 



