ool the
mother gave her consent, saying that perhaps the church could keep her
from following her brother and sister. It did.

In that home there was no moral instruction, no moral suasion. When the
children had told a lie directly to the mother they were punished
severely. When they told a lie to a teacher or neighbor the mother was
their defender and they escaped punishment. They heard their mother lie
to her husband, to her neighbors, to the rent collector and the grocer.
They learned not to fear a _lie_ but to fear being discovered in it.
They became clever liars and the little girl at ten was an adept. For
disobedience, cheating, taking food and pennies they were alternately
turned over to their father for punishment or shielded from his wrath
according to the mother's temper at the time of the offense. They were
not taught or helped to hate sin or to see it in its hideous aspect.
_Thou shalt not_ was a matter of convenience, not of principle.

The teacher into whose class the little girl came was a woman of
experience who before her marriage had been a teacher in the public
school. She called in the home, she learned the standing of the girl in
the day school, in less than a month she _knew_ her. What she found out
made her determine to help the child hate falsehood and cheating in
every form. By story and incidents she showed Sunday after Sunday, side
by side, the cowardice and unhappiness of the liar, the distrust of his
fellowmen, the misery which he must suffer and the courage, happiness
and freedom of the truth-loving and truth-telling child. Every lesson
said "don't lie" and "speak and act the truth." One day the little girl
was invited to her teacher's home to look at pictures and choose some
books to read, for the teacher had discovered her love for pictures and
books. After a very happy hour, while saying good-by in the hall, the
child suddenly seized her teacher's hand and stammered, "How can you
help telling lies?" The teacher says, "As I looked into her plain little
face with its quivering lips, I loved her. I determined to fight for her
and with her." It was a fight, for habit was strong and environment did
not change. For over five years that teacher faithfully presented the
"_thou shall not_" and "_thou shall_" which shaped the girl's ideals and
helped her reach them. She taught her to pray; she inspired her with a
genuine love for God the Helper, who would "see her through," she opened
doors of se