ve considerable trouble
with certain teachers of the devout type who, from conscientious
scruples, refuse to read to the children anything in the nature of a
fairy tale. While examining a class in a remote Sutherland school, an
inspector requested the schoolmaster to narrate to the children, in
Gaelic, the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and get them thereafter to
put it into English. But the teacher most emphatically refused: "No, no,
I cannot do that: it is all a lie; wolves do not speak; _no animal
speaks_." The inspector, to refute him, unwisely alluded to the
Scripture account of Balaam's ass in the twenty-second chapter of
Numbers; whereupon, the dominie nearly swooned at the impiety of
comparing that inspired animal with a secular beast like Grimm's wolf.
For some time after, the inspector was bombarded with anonymous letters,
accusing him of habitually _sitting in the scorner's chair_. He was
terrified lest some Member of Parliament, eager for a grievance, should
be got to move the adjournment of the House of Commons, with the
righteous object of directing the attention of Government to Little Red
Riding Hood and the naughty inspector of schools.[17]

The question of religious teaching in schools is capable of an easy
solution, and we in the south have come pretty near solving it. The best
solution is to have no dogma at all in the school-room. The Catechism
and Prayer-book are excellent in their way, but the school is no place
for them. We have a very complete and extensive organisation of churches
in the land, and an army of officials ordained to teach doctrines and
tenets: let them take up the inculcation of creeds and rites, but don't
let us perplex the school children with catechisms and metaphysical
definitions. It is easy to make a distinction between morality and
doctrine--a distinction which is alike clear and reasonable. Morality is
an earthly and secular affair, and has to do with matters of elementary
honesty such as every responsible citizen of a free country ought to
practice. Religion is a higher affair, dealing with our relationship to
the unseen: it is outside the province of the teacher, and should not be
thrust into the school programme along with history and geography and
grammar. Morality is of this world: religion of the next. Let everything
be kept in its proper place. As to that division of duty which deals
with right conduct, there is no controversy whatever. _Thou shalt not
steal_; _th