n; he cannot tame real tigers and lions, but his
eyes dance with pleasure as he places and replaces the animals of his toy
menagerie. He cannot at present run engines or direct railways, but he can
control for a whole half-hour the movements of his miniature train. He is
not yet ready for real fatherhood, but he can pet and play with, and rock
to sleep and tenderly guard the doll baby." Through toys the child
practises in miniature most of the activities of the adult and thus
gradually bridges the chasm between his small capacity and the great
realities and possibilities of life.

The heart should be trained as carefully as the head. Our emotions even
more than our reason govern us. Train the child to feel rightly, to admire
the good, the true and the beautiful, and you need not fear. He will
develop a love of home, of country and of God that will carry him safely
throughout all his life. This does not mean that we shall neglect the
training of his intellect; both heart and head should be trained together,
but the heart must not be neglected; for out of it, says the Good Book,
come the issues of life.

LESSON XV

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What may result from cultivating the intellect in children before
stimulating the emotions?

2. Which governs us most, our feelings or our reason?

3. How can we develop best the right emotions in childhood, such as
kindness and unselfishness?

4. In what ways may toys help to develop the child? Discuss here proper and
improper toys; which are preferable, dolls or Teddy Bears, in developing
motherly instincts? What about soldiers, firearms, etc., in their effect on
boys?

For further reading on this point, Mrs. Harrison's "Study on Child Nature"
will be found helpful. Let some member report from the book, if it be
available, dealing particularly with pages 66 to 70.

THE INFLUENCE OF LOVE

_Love Is the Vital Element Which Transforms Human Nature and Makes Life
Worth Living_

The sweetest word in all the language is _love_. Without it life is a
frozen tundra where the sun never shines. Home is beautiful because there
is love. If a planet exists where love is absent, then it contains no
fire-sides, the laughter of children is never heard, flowers do not grow
there, and the singing of birds is unknown.

If selfishness is ever overcome, if it is ever transformed into service, it
will be when love is triumphant; for love alone is great enough to
sacrifice it