hour earlier, or subjecting him to any other inconvenience or privation having no obvious connection with the fault.  For it is of the greatest importance to avoid, by every means, the exciting of feelings of irritation and resentment in the mind of the child, so far as it is possible to do this without impairing the efficiency of the punishment.  It is not always possible to do this.  The efficiency of the punishment is, of course, the essential thing; but parents and teachers who turn their attention to the point will find that it is much less difficult than one would suppose to secure this end completely without producing the too frequent accompaniments of punishment—­anger, ill-temper, and ill-will.

[Illustration:  “IT IS NOT SAFE”]

In the case, for example, of the child not allowed to go out into the yard, but required to remain in the house in sight of his mother, the mother should not try to make the punishment more heavy by speaking again and again of his fault, and evincing her displeasure by trying to make the confinement as irksome to the child as possible; but, on the other hand, should do all in her power to alleviate it.  “I am very sorry,” she might say, “to have to keep you in the house.  It would be much pleasanter for you to go out and play in the yard, if it was only safe.  I don’t blame you very much for running away.  It is what foolish little children, as little as you, very often do.  I suppose you thought it would be good fun to run out a little way in the street.  And it is good fun; but it is not safe.  By-and-by, when you grow a little larger, you won’t be so foolish, and then I can trust you in the yard at any time without having to watch you at all.  And now what can I get for you to amuse you while you stay in the house with me?”

Punishment coming in this way, and administered in this spirit, will irritate the mind and injure the temper comparatively little; and, instead of being less; will be much more effective in accomplishing the right kind of cure for the fault, than any stern, severe, and vindictive retribution can possibly be.

The Question of Corporal Punishment.

The question of resorting to corporal punishment in the training of the young has been much, very much, argued and discussed on both sides by writers on education; but it seems to me to be mainly a question of competency and skill.  If the parent or teacher has tact or skill enough, and practical knowledge enough of the workings of the youthful mind, he can gain all the necessary ascendency over it without resort to the violent infliction of bodily pain in any form.  If he has not these qualities, then he must turn to the next best means at his disposal; for it is better that a child should be trained and governed by the rod than not trained and governed at all.  I do not suppose that savages could possibly control their children without blows; while, on the other hand, Maria