behaviour, and
writing a book is an element of behaviour. Besides, there is a better
reason why a writer cannot judge his own work," I added.

"Because he never reads it?" queried Macdonald with a grin.

I shook my head.

"An author has no further interest in his book after it is published."

Macdonald looked across at me. It was clear that he doubted my
seriousness.

"Surely you don't mean to say that you have no interest in _A Dominie's
Log_?"

"None whatever!" I said.

"You mean it?" persisted Macdonald.

"My dear Mac," I said, "an author dare not read his own book."

"Dare not! Why?"

"Because it's out of date five minutes after it's written."

For fully a minute we smoked in silence. Macdonald appeared to be
digesting my remark.

"You see," I continued presently, "when I read a book on education, I
want to learn, and I certainly don't expect to learn anything from the
man I was five years ago."

"I think I understand," said Macdonald. "You have come to realise that
what you wrote five years ago was wrong. That it?"

"True for you, Mac. You've just hit it."

"You needn't have waited five years to find that out," he said, with a
good-natured grin. "I could have told you the day the book was
published--I bought one of the first copies."

"Still," he continued, "I don't see why a book should be out-of-date in
five years. That is if it deals with the truth. Truth is eternal."

"What is truth?" I asked wearily. "We all thought we knew the truth
about gravitation. Then Einstein came along with his relativity
theory, and told us we were wrong."

"Did he?" inquired Macdonald, with a faint smile.

"I am quoting from the newspapers," I added hastily. "I haven't the
remotest idea what relativity means. Perhaps it's Epstein I mean--no,
he's a sculptor."

"You're hedging!" said Macdonald.

"Can you blame me?" I asked. "You're trying to get me to say what
truth is. I am not a professor of philosophy, I'm a dominie. All I
can say is that the _Log_ was the truth . . . for me . . . five years
ago; but it isn't the truth for me now."

"Then, what exactly is your honest opinion of the _Log_ as a work on
education?"

"As a work on education," I said deliberately, "the _Log_ isn't worth a
damn."

"Not a bad criticism, either," said Macdonald dryly.

"I say that," I continued, "because when I wrote it I knew nothing
about the most important factor in education--the psychology of
childre