and sit down upon it in despair.  It is so in respect to the action of the young in all cases.  They are animated and incited by being told in the right way that they have something difficult to do.  A boy is performing some service for you.  He is watering your horse, perhaps, at a well by the road-side as you are traveling.  Say to him, “Hold up the pail high, so that the horse can drink; it is not heavy.”

[Illustration]

He will be discouraged, and will be ready to set the pail down.  Say to him, on the other hand, “I had better dismount myself.  I don’t think you can hold the pail up.  It is very heavy;” and his eye will brighten up at once.  “Oh no, sir,” he will reply, “I can hold it very easily.”  Hence, even if the work you are assigning to a class is easy, do not tell them so unless you wish to destroy all their spirit and interest in doing it; and if you wish to excite their spirit and interest, make your work difficult, and let them see that you know it is so; not so difficult as to tax their powers too heavily, but enough so to require a vigorous and persevering effort.  Let them distinctly understand, too, that you know it is difficult, that you mean to make it so, but that they have your sympathy and encouragement in the efforts which it calls them to make.

You may satisfy yourself that human nature is, in this respect, what I have described by some such experiment as the following.  Select two classes not very familiar with elementary arithmetic, and offer to each of them the following example in addition: 

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1
  3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2
    etc., etc.

The numbers may be continued, according to the obvious law regulating the above, until each one of the nine digits has commenced the line.  Or, if you choose Multiplication, let the example be this: 

Multiply 123456789
by 123456789
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Now, when you bring the example to one of the classes, address the pupils as follows: 

“I have contrived for you a very difficult sum.  It is the most difficult one that can be made with the number of figures contained in it, and I do not think that any of you can do it, but you may try.  I shall not be surprised if every answer should contain mistakes.”

To the other class say as follows: 

“I have prepared an example for you, which I wish you to be very careful to perform correctly.  It is a little longer than those you have had heretofore, but it is to be performed upon the same principles, and you can all do it correctly, if you really try.”