1 8 LIBERTY AND A LIVING. 



gether with inane twaddle. I once knew a 

 family in which there were many children, 

 where the cardinal rule at meals was that noth- 

 ing must be said about the food upon the table, 

 about the petty concerns of the house and gar- 

 den, or of the people in the neighborhood. So 

 far as possible the conversation was to be di- 

 rected to some book in hand at the time, or 

 some matter of public interest of the day. If 

 the children were too young to take part in 

 such talk, they were to say nothing. Of course 

 there is a ridiculous side to any such scheme, 

 and reminiscences of Doctor Blimber, with his 

 maddening " The Romans, Mr. Feeder," will 

 occur to most people. Nevertheless, there are 

 good points about such a practice, even if it 

 now and then leads to absurdity. If we adults 

 are talking of woman suffrage, when Arthur, 

 aged six years, interrupts with the remark that 

 his goat swallowed a tennis-ball that morn- 

 ing, the conversation may not be so consecu- 

 tive as it might be ; nevertheless, it is far better 

 to have woman suffrage up for debate than the 

 quality of the corned-beef or the potatoes, or 



the cut of Mrs. 's new dress. I have found 



by experience that systematic effort is essential 



