world, and
certainly as if another man, he cared daily for the tender little
companion that had come to share his loneliness; he thought of it
first in the morning and last at night. He gave it of his supply of
water and, as a father, he watched over it.

And it grew so that one day he saw that his plant must either die or
have more room. And it could not have more room unless a cobblestone
were removed. Now this could only be done with the consent of the
Emperor. Well, let us not stop to hear about the way he found, but he
did get his request to the Emperor and, after a while, what happened
do you think? That the plant was given more room? Yes, that is partly
it, and the rest is this: the prisoner himself was given more room--he
was liberated.

Just because the seed of a beautiful thing came to life in his tiny
world he found love for it and a new life, a care, _something outside
of himself_. And it brought him all.

That love which is not given to self reveals the beauty of the world.

CHAPTER XXII.

IN SCHOOL.

"Every successive generation becomes a living memorial of our public
schools, and a living example of their excellence."--_Joseph Story._

In these days we learn many things in our schools--even music. They
surely must have a purpose, all the studies and the music as well. Let
us in this Talk see if we can find what the purpose is.

It costs our Government a great deal to educate the children of the
land. There are now nearly twenty million children in our country.
That is a number you cannot conceive. But every morning of the year,
when it is not a vacation day, you may think of this vast number
leaving home and going to school to be taught. I am sure the picture
will make us all think how wise a Government is that devotes so much
to making us know more, because by learning more we are able to enjoy
more, to do more, to be more. And this makes us better citizens.

Year after year, as men study and learn about what is best to have
children taught in school, the clearer it becomes that what is given
is dictated because of its usefulness. Arithmetic teaches us to
calculate our daily affairs. Grammar teaches us to listen and to speak
understandingly. Penmanship and Spelling teach us properly to make the
signs which represent speech. Geography teaches us of the earth on
which we live, and how we may travel about it. History teaches us how
to understand the doings of our own day and makes us