14 MORE POT-POURRI 



do not lay such stress as I thought you would on the 

 necessity of getting married and the "complete" point of 

 view.' All the same, I maintain that an unmarried 

 woman is not a complete human being. 



' I think the chapter on " Sons " the better of the two. 

 But I think independence in boys is far easier to manage 

 than in girls. School -life brings boys to their proper 

 level. Home-life with absolute freedom rather leads to a 

 girl becoming too confident that her own opinion must 

 be the right one. She rubs up against so few who can or 

 will take her down. The independent girl generally rules 

 those of her own age. Of course, you can not lay down a 

 hard-and-fast rule for any child. Each one has its differ- 

 ent character, to be formed and improved by those who 

 live with it. This ought to be done by the mother, but it 

 is more often left to an ignorant governess, who does not 

 try to understand the child, who has her own narrow- 

 minded ideas of right and wrong, and never makes allow- 

 ance for high spirit and temper.' 



' You must remember that the people I was brought 

 up amongst take their duties as parents seriously, if 

 narrowly — and many of these, as far as they still exist, 

 will be a little startled at some of your theories, and the 

 «Mmoral (mind, I don't say immoral) tone. Parents and 

 children are a subject of perennial interest. We have all 

 been the one, and many of us the other — and the rest of 

 us stand in loco parentis to some at least of the younger 

 generation. But as long as the world lasts there will be 

 difilculties in that relation. Sijeunesse savait, si vieillesse 

 pouvait, is a saw which has many meanings. I totally 

 disagree with your idea that the young must never be 

 sacrificed to the old, or the healthy to the sick. Why, 

 your own remarks on nursing testify to the good that 

 may come of such a sacrifice.' 



This last sentence proves to me that my remarks were 



