of hours.
And, strangely enough, in spite of the forebodings and disapproval of
many intellectual people, who always feel it their duty to protest
against such a procedure, the results in all the cases I have any
knowledge of, were not disastrous at all, but very much the contrary.

Let us begin with some girls--three sisters. Their parents were
well-born and well-educated, the father being a man of considerable
distinction and originality. From a position of comparative wealth, they
were reduced by business reverses, to relative poverty, and retired to a
farmhouse in an unsettled district. The mother was in delicate health,
the father under the need of trying to repair his fortunes, and there
was no school-house within reach. In addition to that, the father had
very little belief in current school methods, or the efficacy of school
books. The result was that the three girls were allowed to go without
any education of the prescribed kind; but an old man who happened to be
living nearby, with nothing to do, was prevailed upon to come every day
and help along with their enlightenment in any way they desired, or he
saw fit. This old man had once had artistic tendencies, had tried his
hand at various things, and was well-read and well-travelled. He soon
took a great interest in the three bright and charming girls, and came
to regard himself in the light of a kindly, sympathetic companion--which
is the next best thing to a mother, or a father.

He helped the girls with their flower garden, went walking with them in
the fields and answered as many of their questions as he could about
flowers and planting and trees and shrubs and plants, birds, snakes and
bees--anything and everything they showed an interest in.

When it was raining, he played on the piano for them and showed them how
to play little tunes for themselves--which they thought was great fun.
He could paint and draw very well and he brought them a box of water
colors and showed them how to color pictures and draw flowers and birds
and simple things for themselves. He also got some clay and played with
them at modelling figures of various kinds.

In addition to that, he had one idea, which was a sort of hobby, and
about which he talked to them a lot. Every girl, as she grew up, as well
as every boy and man, would be called upon, sooner or later, to write
letters to people she cared about, and wanted those letters to be nice
and interesting. Most people didn't kno