urther
consideration has confirmed your decision of Wednesday night?"

"Well, I must confess, that the more I thought of the thing, the more
difficult it seemed, and yet I am convinced more than ever of the
necessity of our taking it in hand as nobody else seems inclined to do
so. But how are we to begin?"

"That is just what we intend to consider."

"Of course, education does not seem to have wrought any great result
yet, for the children are compelled to go to school, yet they don't seem
to be influenced in any great degree morally by it. I suppose the reason
of that is that they don't know how to take advantage of it."

"I'll tell you what it is," said Minnie energetically, "Education is
just what they require, and the sort they get just now would probably
influence them in time. But we can't wait for that, and so we must do
our best to help it on, and try to get them to see the good of it, and
take advantage of it while they may; and the first step towards all this
is to win their hearts--we must begin with the children, and through
them we may reach the parents. It won't do to try any of the old methods
of reform, they're hardened in them all. Mrs. Merton and the missionary,
not to speak of the Episcopal Church curate, have all assailed them in
turn, with tracts, hymn books and Sunday-schools--not that I would for a
moment seem to despise these methods--only I think that in cases like
this they should be introduced judiciously, and when the people are in a
fit temper to receive them, and treat them with the respect they
deserve; instead of being, as it were, thrown at them just at a time,
when they will most probably not feel inclined to do anything but throw
them back, and if they can't exactly do that they do the thing next best
calculated to relieve their feelings--throw them in the fire. Now, I
don't see that this does any good, and I should not like our efforts to
be useless as theirs have been. We will take lessons from them and try
to avoid what seems to have been their great mistake--injudiciousness;
and perhaps showing a little too plainly that they considered them
heathen, and were determined to convert them at any cost."

Mabel laughed at Minnie's queer statement of the case, but was
constrained to admit that it was at least fair in the main, if a little
severe on the well-meant efforts of the persons referred to.

"Well, its quite clear we must take an entirely different course if we
wish to succe