ory, as though seen by
some earnest spectator. I find that they take the deepest interest in
these stories, and that the figure of Christ is very real and august to
them. But I teach them no doctrine except the very simplest--the
Fatherhood of God, the Divinity of Christ, the indwelling voice of the
Spirit; and I am sure that religion is a pure, sweet, vital force in
their lives, not a harsh thing, a question of sin and punishment, but a
matter of Love, Strength, Forgiveness, Holiness. The one thing I try to
show them is that God was not, as I used to think, the property, so to
speak, of the Jews; but that He is behind and above every race and
nation, slowly leading them to the light. The two things I will not
allow them to think of are the Doctrines of the Fall and the Atonement;
the doctrine of the Fall is contrary to all true knowledge, the
doctrine of the Atonement is inconsistent with every idea of justice.
But it is a difficult matter. They will hear sermons, and Alec, at
school, may have dogmatic instruction given him; but I shall prepare
him for Confirmation here, and have him confirmed at home, and thus the
main difficulty will be avoided; neither do I conceal from them that
good people think very differently on these points. It is curious to
remember that, brought up as I was on strict Evangelical lines, I was
early inculcated into the sin of schism, with the result that I hurried
with my Puritan nurse swiftly and violently by a Roman Catholic chapel
and a Wesleyan meeting-house which we used to pass in our walks, with a
sense of horror and wickedness in the air. Indeed, I remember once
asking my mother why God did not rain down fire and brimstone on these
two places of worship, and received a very unsatisfactory answer. To
develop such a spirit was, it seems to me, a monstrous sin against
Christian charity, and my children shall be saved from that.

Meantime my own hours are increasingly filled. It takes me a long time
to prepare for the children's lessons; and I have my reward abundantly
in the delight of seeing their intelligence, their perception, their
interest grow. I am determined that the beginnings of knowledge shall
be for them a primrose path; I suppose there will have to be some
stricter mental discipline later; but they shall begin by thinking and
expecting things to be interesting and delightful, before they realise
that things can also be hard and dull.

June 20, 1889.

When I read books