al in the
methods to bring about a cure, but you can't make him follow them.

I well remember one case in point. A young man of 20 years came to me
apparently with every desire in the world to be cured of stammering.
The first day he followed instructions with great care, seemed to take
a wonderful interest in his work and at the end of the day expressed to
me his pleasure in finding himself improved even with one day's work.
By the third day, the novelty had worn off and his "smart-aleck"
tendencies began to come to the surface. He was impertinent. He was
impudent. He was rude. He failed to come to his work promptly in the
morning, was late at meals, stayed out at night beyond the time limit
set by the dormitory rules and persisted in doing everything in an
irregular and wilfully disobedient manner.

I was not inclined to dismiss him because of his misconduct, because it
was evident that here was a boy of more than ordinary native
intelligence, a fine-looking chap with untold opportunities ahead of
him, if he were cured of stammering. So I put up with his misdeeds for
many days, until one morning I decided that either he must come to time
or return to his home--and he elected to take the latter course.

In looking up this boy's record later on, it was found that he was
incorrigible, that his parents had never been successful in controlling
him at any time and that he had been expelled from school twice.

There is no need for me to say that this boy was afflicted with
something even worse than stammering--something that science was not
able to help--i. e., a lack of sense. His case was incurable, just as
much so as if an inch of his tongue had been sheared off. With such
stammerers as this I have neither patience nor sympathy. They have no
respect or consideration for others and are consequently entitled to
none themselves.

THE CHRONIC DISSIPATOR: The fifth type of incurable might be called the
"chronic dissipator" and his stammering is hopelessly incurable just as
far as his habits are incurable. The person who persists in undermining
his mental and physical being with dissipation and who, when he knows
the results of his doings, will not cease, cannot hope to be cured of
stammering. Cases such as these I do not attempt to treat. They are
neither wanted nor accepted.

I recall the case of a man of 32, a big, stalwart fellow, who came to
me about two years ago with a very severe case of combined stammering
and s