MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 235 



thoroughly cultivating them they may become 

 very strong in the offspring. 



I have frequently observed that the children 

 born from mothers of superior culture, whose ^Noteworthy 

 minds were for the time inactive, show less apti- 

 tude for study than children born from mothers of 

 less culture, but whose minds were kept thorough- 

 ly active during this period. 



As previously indicated, the class of literature 

 read by the mother during this period tends to 

 modify the natural bent, likes and dislikes of her 

 offspring. If the awakening of the intellectual 

 faculties was the only object of reading, then Wfcu to Read. 

 whatever created the most intense interest, and 

 excited most thoroughly all of the intellectual 

 faculties would certainly be best; but because of 

 the esthetic and ethical influence exerted by dif- 

 ferent classes of reading, it becomes of great im- 

 portance that the mother selects and reads only 

 that which she would have become a part of her 

 child. 



All are agreed that the reading of trashy and 

 vicious literature is most demoralizing. Minds Bad Literature, 

 are made up largely of what is put into them. A 

 man is seldom better than the books he reads. 

 Thousands completely disqualify themselves for 

 any place of responsibility by so thoroughly filling 

 their minds with trash that they are incapable of 

 connected or concentrated thought. The reading 

 of the "yellow backed novel" has been the prin- 

 cipal factor in awakening and developing the 

 criminal propensities in many now behind prison 

 bars. 



A few years ago, an Oregon preacher entered 



