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nsaseducato#jj;hughrich      ,,dickens  
,,as ,,an ,,educator  by  ,,james ,l4   
,,hughes  ,inspector of ,schools1       
,toronto ,author of ,froebel's          
,educational ,laws ,mistakes in         
,teaching1 etc4        ,new ,york and   
,london ,d4 ,appleton and ,company #aiac
  ,copyright1 #aijj1 by ,d4 ,appleton   
and ,company4  ,electrotyped and        
,printed at the ,appleton ,press1       
,u4,s4,a4      ,,editor',s ,,preface4   
,the following pages are sufficient to  
establish the claim of ,mr4 ,hughes for 
,dickens as an educational reformer--the
 greatest that ,england has produced4   
,it will be admitted that he has done   
more than any one else to secure for the
 child a considerate treatment of his   
tender age4 ,it is a crime against a    
child to rob it of its childhood4 ,this 
principle was announced by ,dickens1 and

 it has come to be generally recognised 
and adopted4 ,gradually it is changing  
the methods of primary instruction and  
bringing into vogue a milder form of    
discipline and a more stimulative       
teaching--arousing the child's          
self-activity instead of repressing it4 
,the child is born with animal instincts
 and tendencies1 it is true1 but he has 
all the possibilities of human nature4  
,the latter can be developed best by a  
treatment which takes for granted the   
child's preference to adopt what is good
 rather than what is bad in social      
customs and usages4  ,the child1 it is  
true1 is uneven in his proclivities1    
having some bad ones and some good ones4
 ,the true pedagogy uses the good       
inclinations as a lever by which to     
correct bad ones4 ,the teacher          
recognises what is good in the child's  
disposition and endeavours to build on  
it a self-respect which may at all times
 be invoked against temptations to bad  
conduct4 ,child depravity sometimes     

exists1 but it can generally be traced  
to injudicious methods of education in  
the family1 the school1 or the          
community4 ,dickens has laid so much    
emphasis on defects of method in these  
three directions that he has made the   
generation in which he lived and the    
next succeeding one sensitively         
conscious of them4 ,he has even         
caricatured them with such vehemence of 
style as to make our ideals so vivid    
that we see at once any wrong tendency  
in its very beginning4  ,walter ,scott1 
in his schoolmasters1 has caricatured   
pedantry2 so has ,shakespeare4 ,but     
,dickens has discovered a variety of    
types of pedantry and made them all     
easily recognisable and odious to us4   
,more than this1 he has attacked the    
evil of cramming1 the evil of isolation 
from the family in the boarding school  
for too young children1 and the evil of 
uninteresting instruction4 ,whatever is 
good and reasonable for the child to    
know should be made interesting to the  

child1 and the teacher is to be         
considered incompetent who can not find 
in the life histories of his class      
threads of daily experience and present 
interest to which he can attach every   
point that the regular lesson contains4 
,dickens has done a great work in       
directing the attention of society to   
its public institutions--especially to  
its orphan asylums and poorhouses4 ,the 
chill which the infant gets when it     
comes in direct contact with the        
formality of a state institution1 or    
even a religious institution1 without   
the mediation of the family1 is         
portrayed so well that every reader of  
,dickens feels it by sympathy4 ,so1 too1
 in those families of public men or     
women or in those of the directors of   
industry or commerce who crush out the  
true family life by bringing home their 
unrelaxing business manners and trying  
to regulate the family as they regulate 
the details of a great business         
house--the reading world has imbibed a  

sympathy for the rights of the home4    
,free childhood and the culture of      
individuality has become a watchword4   
,above all1 ,dickens has introduced a   
reform as to the habit of terrorizing   
children4 ,corporal punishment has      
diminished to one fourth of its former  
amount1 and ,charles ,dickens is the    
prophet to whom the reform owes its     
potency4 ,in fact1 the habit of finding 
in the good tendencies of the child the 
levers with which to move him to the    
repression of his bad impulses has      
placed in the hands of the professional 
teacher the means of governing the child
 without appeal to force except in the  
rarest cases4  ,the tendency to         
caricature an evil has its dangers1 of  
course1 and ,dickens1 like all the other
 educational reformers1 has often       
condemned as entirely unworthy of       
toleration what has really in it some   
good reason for its existence4 ,it was  
the abuse that needed correction4       
,reform instead of revolution should    

have been recommended1 but the reformer 
often gets so heated in his contest with
 superficial evil that he attacks what  
is fundamentally good4 ,he cuts down the
 tree when it needed only the removal of
 a twig infested with caterpillars4     
,this defect of the reformer renders    
necessary a new reformer1 and thus      
arises a pendulum swing of educational  
method from one extreme to another4     
,dickens shares with all reformers some 
of their weaknesses1 but he does not    
share his most excellent qualities with 
many of them4 ,he stands apart and alone
 as one of the most potent influences of
 social reform in the nineteenth        
century1 and therefore deserves to be   
read and studied by all who have to do  
with schools and by all parents         
everywhere in our day and generation4   
,w4 ,t4 ,,harris4  ,,washington1 ,d4    
,c41 ,october #ab1 #aijj4               
,,author',s ,,preface4   ,this book has 
two purposes3 to prove that ,dickens was
 the great apostle of the new education 

to the ,english-speaking world1 and to  
bring into connected form1 under        
appropriate headings1 the educational   
principles of one of the world's        
greatest educators1 and one of its two  
most sympathetic friends of childhood4  
,dickens was the most profound exponent 
of the kindergarten and the most        
comprehensive student of childhood that 
,england has yet produced4 ,he was one  
of the first great advocates of a       
national system of schools1 and his     
revelations of the ignorance and the    
intellectual and spiritual destitution  
of the children of the poor led to the  
deep interest which ultimately brought  
about the establishment of free schools 
in ,england4  ,he was essentially a     
child trainer rather than a teacher4 ,in
 the twenty-eight schools described in  
his writings1 and in the training of his
 army of little children in institutions
 and homes1 he reveals nearly every form
 of bad training resulting from         
ignorance1 selfishness1 indifference1   

unwise zeal1 unphilosophic philosophy1  
and un-,christian theology4 ,no other   
writer has attacked so many phases of   
wrong training1 unjust treatment1 and   
ill usage of childhood4  ,he is the most
 distinctive champion of the rights of  
childhood4 ,he struck the bravest blows 
against corporal punishment1 and against
 all forms of coercive tyranny toward   
the child in homes1 institutions1 and   
schools1 even condemning the dogmatic   
will control of such a placid1          
,christian woman as ,mrs4 ,crisparkle4  
,he demanded a free1 real1 joyous       
childhood1 rich in all a child's best   
experiences and interests1 so that      
childhood may ripen in childhood4 ,he   
pleaded for the development of the      
individuality of each child4 ,he taught 
the wisdom of giving a child proper     
food1 and he showed the vital importance
 of real sympathy with the child1 not   
mere consideration for him4 ,he was the 
,english father of true reverence for   
the child4  ,but ,dickens studied the   

methods of cultivating the minds of     
children1 as well as their character    
development4 ,he exposed the evils of   
cramming more vigorously than any other 
writer4 ,he taught the essential        
character of the imagination in         
intellectual and spiritual development4 
,he showed the need of correlation of   
studies1 and of apperceptive centres of 
feeling and thought in order to         
comprehend1 and assimilate1 and         
transform into definite power the       
knowledge and thought that is brought to
 our minds4  ,it is said by some1 who   
see but the surface of the work of      
,dickens1 that his work is done4 ,much  
of the good work for which he lived has 
been done1 but much more remains to be  
done4 ,men are but beginning the work of
 child study and of rational education4 
,the twentieth century will understand  
,dickens better than the nineteenth has 
understood him4 ,his profound philosophy
 is only partially comprehended yet1    
even by the leaders in educational work4

 ,teachers and all students of childhood
 will find in his true feeling and rich 
thought revelation and inspiration4     
,,contents4     ,,chapter               
,,page       ,i4--,,the ,,place ,,of    
,,dickens ,,among ,,educators           
#a      ,,ii4--,,infant ,,gardens       
#ae     ,,iii4--,,the ,,overthrow ,,of  
,,coercion                              
#bi      ,,iv4--,,the ,,doctrine ,,of   
,,child ,,depravity                     
#hg       ,v4--,,cramming               
#if      ,,vi4--,,free ,,childhood      
#aag     ,,vii4--,,individuality        
#abh    ,,viii4--,,the ,,culture ,,of   
,,the ,,imagination                     
#acf      ,,ix4--,,sympathy ,,with      
,,childhood                             
#afb       ,x4--,,child ,,study ,,and   
,,child ,,nature                        
#aha      ,,xi4--,,bad ,,training       
#ahh     ,,xii4--,,good ,,training      
#bah    ,,xiii4--,,community            
#bce     ,,xiv4--,,nutrition ,,as ,a    
,,factor ,,in ,,education               

#bdd      ,,xv4--,,minor ,,schools      
#beh     ,,xvi4--,,miscellaneous        
,,educational ,,principles              
#bhe    ,,xvii4--,,the ,,training ,,of  
,,poor1 ,,neglected1 ,,and ,,defective  
,,children     #cjd     ,,dickens ,,as  
,,an ,,educator4     ,,chapter ,i4      
,,the ,,place ,,of ,,dickens ,,among    
,,educators4   ,dickens was ,england's  
greatest educational reformer4 ,his     
views were not given to the world in the
 form of ordinary didactic treatises1   
but in the form of object lessons in the
 most entertaining of all stories4      
,millions have read his books1 whereas  
but hundreds would have read them if he 
had written his ideals in the form of   
direct1 systematic exposition4 ,he is   
certainly not less an educator because  
his books have been widely read4  ,the  
highest form of teaching is the         
informal1 the indirect1 the incidental4 
,the fact that his educational          
principles are revealed chiefly by the  
evolution of the characters in his      

novels and stories1 instead of by the   
direct philosophic statements of        
scientific pedagogy or psychology1 gives
 ,dickens higher rank as an educator1   
not only because it gives him much wider
 influence1 but because it makes his    
teaching more effective by arousing     
deep1 strong feeling to give permanency 
and propulsive force to his great       
thoughts4  ,was ,dickens consciously and
 intentionally an educator8 ,the        
prefaces to his novels2 the preface to  
his ,household ,words2 the educational  
articles he wrote2 the prominence given 
in his books to child training in homes1
 institutions1 and schools2 the         
statements of the highest educational   
philosophy found in his writings2 and   
especially the clearness of his insight 
and the profoundness of his educational 
thought1 as shown by his condemnation of
 the wrong and his appreciation of the  
right in teaching and training the      
child1 prove beyond question that he was
 not only broad and true in his sympathy

 with childhood1 but that he was a      
careful and progressive student of the  
fundamental principles of education4    
,dickens deals with twenty-eight schools
 in his writings1 evidently with        
definite purposes in each case3 ,minerva
 ,house1 in ,sketches by ,boz2          
,dotheboys ,hall1 in ,nicholas          
,nickleby2 ,mr4 ,marton's two schools1  
,miss ,monflather's school1 and ,mrs4   
,wackles's school1 in ,old ,curiosity   
,shop2 ,dr4 ,blimber's school and ,the  
,grinders' school1 in ,dombey and ,son2 
,mr4 ,creakle's school1 ,dr4 ,strong's  
school1 ,agnes's school1 and the school 
,uriah ,heep attended1 in ,david        
,copperfield2 the school at which       
,esther was a day boarder and ,miss     
,donney's school1 in ,bleak ,house2 ,mr4
 ,mc,choakumchild's school1 in ,hard    
,times2 ,mr4 ,wopsle's great aunt's     
school1 in ,great ,expectations2 the    
evening school attended by ,charley     
,hexam1 ,bradley ,headstone's school1   
and ,miss ,peecher's school1 in ,our    

,mutual ,friend2 ,phoebe's school1 in   
,barbox ,brothers2 ,mrs4 ,lemon's       
school1 in ,holiday ,romance2 ,jemmy    
,lirriper's school1 in ,mrs4 ,lirriper's
 ,lodgings2 ,miss ,pupford's school1 in 
,tom ,tiddler's ,ground2 the school     
described in ,the ,haunted ,house2 ,miss
 ,twinkleton's seminary1 in ,edwin      
,drood2 the schools of the ,stepney     
,union2 ,the ,schoolboy's ,story2 and   
,our ,school4  ,in addition to these    
twenty-eight schools1 he describes a    
real school in ,american ,notes1 and    
makes brief references to ,the ,misses  
,nettingall's establishment1 ,mr4       
,cripples's academy1 ,drowvey and       
,grimmer's school1 the ,foundation      
school attended by ,george ,silverman1  
,scrooge's school1 ,pecksniff's school  
for architects1 ,fagin's school for     
training thieves1 and three dancing     
schools1 conducted by ,mr4 ,baps1       
,signor ,billsmethi1 and ,mr4           
,turveydrop4 ,he introduces ,mr4        
,pocket1 ,george ,silverman1 and ,canon 

,crisparkle as tutors1 and ,mrs4        
,general1 ,miss ,lane1 and ,ruth ,pinch 
as governesses4 ,mrs4 ,sapsea had been  
the proprietor of an academy in         
,cloisterham4 ,one of the first sketches
 by ,boz was ,our ,schoolmaster1 and his
 books are full of illustrations of     
wrong training of children in homes1 in 
institutions1 and by professional child 
trainers such as ,mrs4 ,pipchin4        
,clearly ,dickens intended to reveal the
 best educational ideals1 and to expose 
what he regarded as weak or wrong in    
school methods1 and especially in child 
training4  ,dickens was the first great 
,english student of the kindergarten4   
,his article on ,infant ,gardens1       
published in ,household ,words in #ahee1
 is one of the most comprehensive       
articles ever written on the            
kindergarten philosophy4 ,it shows a    
perfect appreciation of the physical1   
intellectual1 and spiritual aims of     
,froebel1 and a clear recognition of the
 value of right early training and of   

the influence of free self-activity in  
the development of individual power and 
character4  ,dickens is beyond          
comparison the chief ,english apostle of
 childhood1 and its leading champion in 
securing a just1 intelligent1 and       
considerate recognition of its rights by
 adulthood1 which till his time had been
 deliberately coercive and almost       
universally tyrannical in dealing with  
children4 ,he entered more fully than   
any other ,english author into sympathy 
with childhood from the standpoint of   
the child4 ,other educators and         
philanthropists have shown consideration
 for children1 but ,dickens had the     
perfect sympathy with childhood that    
sees and feels with the child1 not      
merely for him4  ,dickens attacked all  
forms of coercion in child training4 ,he
 discussed fourteen types of coercion1  
from the brutal corporal punishment of  
,squeers and ,creakle in schools1 of    
,bumble and the ,christian              
philanthropist with the white waistcoat 

in institutions1 and of the ,murdstones 
and ,mrs4 ,gargery in homes1 to the     
gentle but dwarfing firmness of the     
dominant will of placid ,mrs4           
,crisparkle4 ,he condemned all coercion 
because it prevents the full development
 of selfhood1 and makes men negative    
instead of positive4  ,among the many   
improvements made in child training none
 is more complete than the change in    
discipline4 ,for this change the world  
is indebted chiefly to ,froebel and     
,dickens4 ,froebel revealed the true    
philosophy1 ,dickens gave it wings2     
,froebel gave the thought1 ,dickens made
 the thought clear and strong by        
arousing energetic feeling in harmony   
with it4  ,thought makes slow progress  
without a basis of feeling4 ,dickens    
opened the hearts of humanity in        
sympathy for suffering childhood1 and   
thus gave ,froebel's philosophy         
definiteness and propulsive power4 ,the 
darkest clouds have been cleared away   
from child life during the past fifty   

years4 ,teachers1 managers of           
institutions for the care of children1  
and parents are now severely punished by
 the laws of civilized countries for    
offences against children that were     
approved by the most enlightened        
,christian philosophy at the time of    
,froebel and ,dickens as necessary      
duties essential in the proper training 
of childhood4  ,dickens helped to break 
the bonds of the doctrine of child      
depravity4 ,this doctrine had a most    
depressing influence on educators4 ,it  
was not possible to reverence a child so
 long as he was regarded as a totally   
depraved thing4 ,froebel and ,dickens   
did not teach that a child is totally   
divine1 but they did believe that every 
child possesses certain elements of     
divinity which constitute selfhood or   
individuality1 and that if this selfhood
 is developed in conscious unity with   
the ,divine ,fatherhood the child will  
attain to complete manhood4 ,this       
thought gives the educator a new and a  

higher attitude toward childhood4 ,the  
child is no longer a thing to be        
repressed1 but a being to be developed4 
,men are not persistently dwarfed now by
 deliberate efforts to define a         
blighting consciousness of weakness2    
they are stimulated to broader effort   
and higher purpose by a true            
self-consciousness of individual power4 
,the philosophy that trains men to      
recognise responsibility for the good in
 their nature is infinitely more        
productive educationally than that which
 teaches men responsibility for the evil
 in their nature4  ,dickens taught that 
loving sympathy is the highest          
qualification of a true teacher4 ,he    
showed this to be true by both positive 
and negative illustrations4 ,mr4        
,marton1 the old schoolmaster in ,old   
,curiosity ,shop1 was a perfect type of 
a sympathetic teacher4 ,dr4 ,strong was 
the ideal of the whole school1 for he   
was the kindest of men4 ,phoebe's school
 was such a good place for the little   

ones1 because she loved them4 ,like ,mr4
 ,marton1 she had not studied the new   
systems of teaching1 but loving sympathy
 gave her power and made her school a   
place in which the good in human hearts 
grew and blossomed naturally4  ,you are 
fond of children and learned in the new 
systems of teaching them1 said ,mr4     
,jackson4  ,very fond of them1 replied  
,phoebe1 but ,i know nothing of teaching
 beyond the pleasure ,i have in it1 and 
the pleasure it gives me when they      
learn4 ,perhaps your overhearing my     
little scholars sing some of their      
lessons has led you so far astray as to 
think me a good teacher8 ,ah1 ,i thought
 so6 ,no1 ,i have only read and been    
told about that system4 ,it seems so    
pretty and pleasant1 and to treat them  
so like the merry robins they are1 that 
,i took up with it in my little way4    
,she had heard of the kindergarten and  
had caught some of its spirit of        
sympathy with the child1 but she did not
 understand its methods4 ,jemmy         

,lirriper received perfectly sympathetic
 treatment from ,mrs4 ,lirriper and the 
,major2 ,agnes loved her little         
scholars2 ,esther1 who sympathized with 
everybody1 loved her pupils1 and was    
beloved by them2 and the ,bachelor1 who 
introduced ,mr4 ,marton to his second   
school1 was a genuine boy in his        
comprehensive sympathy with real1 boyish
 boyhood4  ,so throughout all his books 
,dickens pleads for kindly treatment for
 the child1 and for complete sympathy   
with him in his childish feelings and   
interests4 ,he gave the child the place 
of honour in literature for the first   
time1 and he aroused the heart of the   
,christian world to the fact that it was
 treating the child in a very           
un-,christlike way4 ,he pleaded for a   
better education for the child1 for a   
free childhood1 for greater liberty in  
the home and in the school1 for fuller  
sympathy especially at the time when    
childhood merges into youth and when the
 mysteries of life have begun to make   

themselves conscious to the young mind  
and heart4 ,the poorer the child the    
greater the need he revealed4  ,canon   
,crisparkle1 ,esther ,summerson1 ,mr4   
,jarndyce1 ,joe ,gargery1 ,rose ,maylie1
 ,allan ,woodcourt1 ,betty ,higden1 ,mr4
 ,sangsby1 the ,old ,schoolmaster1 the  
,bachelor1 ,mrs4 ,lirriper1 ,major      
,jackmann1 ,doctor ,marigold1 ,agnes    
,wickfield1 ,mr4 ,george1 and ,mr4      
,brownlow are types of the people with  
whom ,dickens would fill the world--men 
and women whose hearts were overflowing 
with true sympathy4 ,esther ,summerson  
is the best type of perfect sympathy to 
be met with in literature4 ,she         
expressed the central principle of      
,dickens's philosophy regarding sympathy
 when she said3 ,when ,i love a person  
very tenderly indeed my understanding   
seems to brighten2 my comprehension is  
quickened when my affection is4  ,the   
need of sympathy with childhood was     
revealed by ,dickens most strongly by   
the cruelty1 the coercion1 and the      

harshness of such characters as         
,squeers1 ,creakle1 ,bumble1 the        
,murdstones1 ,mrs4 ,gargery1 ,john      
,willet1 ,mrs4 ,pipchin1 ,mrs4 ,clennam1
 and the teachers in ,the ,grinders'    
school4  ,dickens's description of ,dr4 
,blimber's school is the most profound  
criticism of the cramming system of     
teaching that was ever written4 ,he     
treats the same subject also in ,hard   
,times1 ,christmas ,stories1 and ,a     
,holiday ,romance4  ,the vital          
importance of a free1 rich childhood1   
the value of the imagination as the     
basis of intellectual and spiritual     
development1 the folly of the           
,herbartian psychology relating to the  
soul1 the error of regarding            
fact-storing as the chief aim of        
education1 and the terrible evils       
resulting from the tyranny of adulthood 
in dealing with childhood are all       
treated very ably in ,hard ,times1 the  
most advanced and most profound of      
,dickens's works from the standpoint of 

the educator4  ,the need of a real      
childhood1 so well expressed in         
,froebel's maxim1 ,let childhood ripen  
in childhood1 is shown also in ,nicholas
 ,nickleby1 ,old ,curiosity ,shop1      
,martin ,chuzzlewit1 ,barnaby ,rudge1   
,dombey and ,son1 ,great ,expectations1 
and ,edwin ,drood4  ,the true reverence 
for individual selfhood is shown in     
,dombey and ,son1 ,david ,copperfield1  
,bleak ,house1 ,hard ,times1 ,little    
,dorrit1 ,our ,mutual ,friend1 and      
,edwin ,drood4  ,the wisdom of studying 
the subject of nutrition as one of the  
most important subjects connected with  
the development of children physically1 
intellectually1 and morally1 and the    
meanness or carelessness too frequently 
shown in feeding children1 were taught  
in ,oliver ,twist1 ,old ,curiosity      
,shop1 ,martin ,chuzzlewit1 ,dombey and 
,son1 ,david ,copperfield1 ,bleak       
,house1 ,great ,expectations1 ,edwin    
,drood1 ,christmas ,stories1 and        
,american ,notes4  ,play as an essential

 factor in education is treated in      
,martin ,chuzzlewit1 ,dombey and ,son1  
,david ,copperfield1 and ,american      
,notes4  ,the folly of the old practice 
of attempting to educate by polishing   
the surface of the character1 of        
training from without instead of from   
within1 is revealed in ,bleak ,house and
 ,little ,dorrit4  ,bleak ,house        
discusses the contents of children's    
minds and the need of early experiences 
to form apperceptive centres of feeling 
and thought in a comprehensive and      
suggestive manner4  ,the need of        
practising the fundamental law of       
co-operation and the sharing of         
responsibilities and duties1 as the     
foundation for the true comprehension of
 the law of community1 is shown in      
,barnaby ,rudge1 ,david ,copperfield1   
,dombey and ,son1 and ,little ,dorrit4  
,the need of child study is suggested in
 ,david ,copperfield and ,bleak ,house4 
,the value of joyousness in the         
development of true1 strong character is

 discussed in ,nicholas ,nickleby1      
,barnaby ,rudge1 ,old ,curiosity ,shop1 
,martin ,chuzzlewit1 ,dombey and ,son1  
,david ,copperfield1 ,hard ,times1      
,little ,dorrit1 ,great ,expectations1  
and ,edwin ,drood4  ,dickens was one of 
the first ,englishmen to see the need of
 normal schools to train teachers1 and  
to advocate the abolition of uninspected
 private schools and the establishment  
of national schools4 ,he taught these   
ideals in the preface to ,nicholas      
,nickleby1 issued in #ahci1 so that he  
very early caught the spirit of ,mann   
and ,barnard in ,america1 and saw the   
wisdom of their efforts to establish    
schools supported1 controlled1 and      
directed by the state4  ,he says1 in his
 preface to ,nicholas ,nickleby3        
,of the monstrous neglect of education  
in ,england1 and the disregard of     it
 by the state as a means of forming good
 or bad citizens1 and     miserable or  
happy men1 this class of schools long   
afforded a notable     example4         

,although any man who had proved his    
unfitness for any other     occupation  
in life1 was free1 without examination  
or qualification1 to     open a school  
anywhere2 although preparation for the  
functions he     undertook was required 
in the surgeon who assisted to bring a  
boy into     the world1 or might one day
 assist1 perhaps1 to send him out of it2
 in     the chemist1 the attorney1 the  
butcher1 the baker1 the                 
candlestick-maker2 the whole round of   
crafts and trades1 the     schoolmaster 
excepted2 and although schoolmasters1 as
 a race1 were the     blockheads and    
impostors who might naturally be        
expected to spring     from such a state
 of things1 and to flourish in it1 these
 ,yorkshire     schoolmasters were the  
lowest and most rotten round in the     
whole     ladder4 ,traders in the       
avarice1 indifference1 or imbecility of 
parents1 and the helplessness of        
children2 ignorant1 sordid1 brutal      
men1 to whom few considerate persons    

would have intrusted the board     and  
lodging of a horse or a dog2 they formed
 the worthy corner-stone     of a       
structure which1 for absurdity and      
magnificent high-handed                 
laissez-aller neglect1 has rarely been  
exceeded in the world4      ,we hear    
sometimes of an action for damages      
against the unqualified     medical     
practitioner1 who has deformed a broken 
limb in pretending to     heal it4 ,but 
what about the hundreds of thousands of 
minds that have     been deformed       
forever by the incapable pettifoggers   
who have pretended     to form them8    
,i make mention of the race1 as of the  
,yorkshire schoolmasters1 in the        
past tense4 ,though it has not yet      
finally disappeared1 it is dwindling    
daily4 ,a long day's work remains to be 
done about us in the way of             
education1 ,heaven knows2 but great     
improvements and facilities toward      
the attainment of a good one have been  
furnished of late years4  ,this leaves  

no doubt in regard to the conscious     
purpose of ,dickens in writing with     
definite educational plans4             
,incidentally he discusses every phase  
of what is called the new education4 ,he
 was the first and the greatest ,english
 student of ,froebel1 and his writings  
gave wings to the profound thought of   
the greatest philosopher of childhood4  
,froebel revealed the truth that feeling
 is the basis of thought4 ,in harmony   
with this great psychological principle1
 it may fairly be claimed that the works
 of ,dickens so fully aroused the heart 
of the civilized world to the wrongs    
inflicted on childhood1 and the grievous
 errors committed in training children1 
as to prepare the minds of all who read 
his books for the conscious revelation  
of the imperfections of educational     
systems and methods1 and the imperative 
need of radical educational reforms4    
,the intense feeling caused by the      
writings of ,dickens prepared the way   
for the thought of ,froebel4 ,dickens   

studied ,froebel with great care4 ,he   
was not merely a student of theoretical 
principles1 but he was a very frequent  
visitor to the first kindergarten opened
 in ,england4 ,madame ,kraus-,boelte1   
who assisted ,madame ,ronge in the first
 kindergarten opened in ,london1 says in
 a recent letter3 ,i remember very      
distinctly the frequent visits made by  
,mr4 ,dickens to ,madame ,ronge's       
kindergarten4 ,he always appeared to be 
deeply interested1 and would sometimes  
stay during the whole session4  ,the    
description of the schools of the       
,stepney ,union in the ,uncommercial    
,traveller shows how keenly appreciative
 ,dickens was of all true new ideals in 
educational work4 ,these were charity   
schools conducted on an excellent       
system4 ,the pupils worked at industrial
 occupations half of their school hours1
 and studied the other half4 ,they were 
taught music1 and the boys had military 
drill and naval training4 ,they had no  
corporal punishment in these schools4   

,dickens approved most heartily of      
everything he saw in his frequent visits
 to the schools of the ,stepney ,union  
except the work of one of the younger   
teachers1 who would1 in his opinion1    
have been better if she had shown more  
geniality4 ,he commended the industrial 
work1 the military training1 the naval  
training1 the music1 the discipline     
without corporal punishment1 and the    
intellectual brightness of the children4
 ,he pointed out at some length the     
difference in interest shown by the     
pupils in these schools and by the      
pupils in the school he himself attended
 when a boy1 and drew the conclusion    
very definitely that shorter hours of   
study1 with a variety of interesting    
operations1 were much better for the    
physical and intellectual development of
 children than long hours spent in      
monotonous work4  ,the folly and wrong  
of trying to make children study beyond 
the fatigue point was never more clearly
 pointed out than by ,dickens in the    

description of the school he attended   
when a boy1 given as a contrast to the  
life and brightness and interest shown  
in the schools of the ,stepney ,union3  
,when ,i was at school1 one of seventy  
boys1 ,i wonder by what secret          
understanding our attention began to    
wander when we had pored over our       
books for some hours4 ,i wonder by what 
ingenuity we brought on that            
confused state of mind when sense became
 nonsense1 when figures     wouldn't    
work1 when dead languages wouldn't      
construe1 when live     languages       
wouldn't be spoken1 when memory wouldn't
 come1 when dulness     and vacancy     
wouldn't go4 ,i can not remember that we
 ever conspired to     be sleepy after  
dinner1 or that we ever particularly    
wanted to be     stupid1 and to have    
flushed faces and hot1 beating heads1 or
 to find     blank hopelessness and     
obscurity this afternoon in what would  
become     perfectly clear and bright in
 the freshness of to-morrow morning4 ,we

     suffered for these things1 and they
 made us miserable enough4 ,neither     
do ,i remember that we ever bound       
ourselves1 by any secret oath or        
other solemn obligation to find the     
seats getting too hard to be sat        
upon after a certain time2 or to have   
intolerable twitches in our     legs1   
rendering us aggressive and malicious   
with those members2 or to     be        
troubled with a similar uneasiness in   
our elbows1 attended with     fistic    
consequences to our neighbours2 or to   
carry two pounds of lead     in the     
chest1 four pounds in the head1 and     
several active bluebottles     in each  
ear4 ,yet1 for certain1 we suffered     
under those distresses1 and     were    
always charged at for labouring under   
them1 as if we had brought     them on  
of our own deliberate act and deed4  ,it
 was therefore out of a full heart and  
an enriched mind that ,dickens wrought  
the wonderful plots into which he wove  
the most advanced educational ideals of 

his time and of our time relating to the
 blighting influence of coercion1 the   
divinity in the child1 the recognition  
of freedom as the truest process and    
highest aim of education1 the value of  
real sympathy1 the importance of        
self-activity1 the true reverence for   
the child leading to faith in it1 the   
need of child study1 the effect of      
joyousness on the child's development1  
the benefits of play1 the influence of  
nutrition1 the ideal of community1 the  
importance of the imagination as a basis
 for the best intellectual growth1 the  
narrowness of utilitarianism1 the       
absolute need of apperceptive centres to
 which shall be related the progressive 
enlargement and enrichment of feeling   
and thought throughout the life of the  
individual1 the arrest of development   
and the sacrifice of power and life due 
to cramming1 and the weakness of all    
educational systems and methods that    
regard fact-storing as the highest work 
of the teacher4  ,it has been said by   

critics of ,dickens that he exaggerated 
the defects and errors in the characters
 of those whom he described4 ,two things
 should be kept in mind1 however4       
,dickens usually described the worst1   
not the best types1 and he was justified
 in revealing a wrong principle or      
practice in the strongest possible      
light1 in order to make it more easily  
recognisable and more completely        
repugnant to the aroused feeling and    
startled thought of humanity4 ,he was   
writing with the definite purpose of    
making the world so thoroughly hate the 
wrong in education and child training as
 to lead to definite practical reforms4 
,dickens himself did not admit the      
justness of the charge of exaggeration4 
,his coarsest1 most ignorant1 and most  
brutal teacher is ,squeers1 yet he says 
,mr4 ,squeers and his school are faint  
and feeble pictures of an existing      
reality1 purposely subdued and kept down
 lest they should be deemed impossible4 
,there are upon record trials at law in 

which damages have been sought as a poor
 recompense for lasting agonies and     
disfigurements inflicted upon children  
by the treatment of the master in these 
places1 involving such offensive and    
foul details of neglect1 cruelty1 and   
disease as no writer of fiction would   
have the boldness to imagine4 ,since the
 author has been engaged upon these     
,adventures he has received1 from       
private quarters far beyond the reach of
 suspicion or distrust1 accounts of     
atrocities1 in the perpetration of which
 upon neglected or repudiated children  
these schools have been the main        
instruments1 very far exceeding any that
 appear in these pages4  ,dickens       
discusses the charge of exaggeration in 
the preface to ,martin ,chuzzlewit4 ,he 
says3      ,what is exaggeration to one 
class of minds and perceptions1 is plain
     truth to another4 ,that which is   
commonly called a long-sight1           
perceives in a prospect innumerable     
features and bearings nonexistent     to

 a shortsighted person4 ,i sometimes ask
 myself whether there may               
occasionally be a difference of this    
kind between some writers and     some  
readers2 whether it is always the writer
 who colours highly1 or     whether it  
is now and then the reader whose eye for
 colour is a little     dull8      ,on  
this head of exaggeration ,i have a     
positive experience more curious        
than the speculation ,i have just set   
down4 ,it is this3 ,i have never        
touched a character precisely from the  
life1 but some counterpart of     that  
character has incredulously asked me3   
,now really1 did ,i ever     really see 
one like it8      ,all the ,pecksniff   
family upon earth are quite agreed1 ,i  
believe1 that     ,mr4 ,pecksniff is an 
exaggeration1 and that no such character
 ever     existed4  ,it is worth        
remembering1 too1 that it is impossible 
to exaggerate the description of the    
effects of the evils ,dickens attacked4 
,coercion in any form blights and dwarfs

 the true selfhood of the child4 ,the   
coercion of ,mrs4 ,crisparkle's placid  
but unbending will1 which she kept rigid
 from a deep conviction of ,christian   
duty1 is as clearly at variance with the
 elemental laws of individual freedom   
and growth by self-activity as the more 
dreadful forms of coercion practised by 
,squeers1 ,creakle1 ,bumble1 or         
,murdstone4  ,doctor ,blimber's cramming
 is not exaggerated4 ,it would be quite 
possible to find in ,england or the     
,united ,states or ,canada not only     
private but public institutions in which
 similar processes of illogical cramming
 are still practised4 ,words are still  
given before the thought1 and as a      
substitute for thought4 ,mathematical   
gooseberries are yet produced from mere 
sprouts of bushes1 the words and grammar
 of literature are still given instead  
of the life and glory of the author's   
revelations1 children yet are made to   
bear to pattern somehow or other4       
,whether ,dickens exaggerated or not in 

regard to other spheres of work or of   
existence without work1 he certainly did
 not exaggerate in regard to school     
conditions4 ,he studied them faithfully1
 and described them truly4 ,he saw      
wrongs more clearly than other men1 and 
he made them stand out in their natural 
hideousness4  ,it is frequently asserted
 that ,dickens portrayed wrong training 
more than right1 that he was destructive
 rather than constructive4 ,in a sense1 
this is correct4 ,his mission was to    
startle men1 so that they would be made 
conscious of the awful crimes that were 
being committed by teachers and parents 
in the name of duty1 as conceived by the
 highest ,christian civilization of his 
time4 ,he knew that a basis of strong   
feeling must be aroused against a wrong 
before it can be overthrown and right   
practices substituted for it4 ,the only 
sure foundation for any reform is an    
energetic feeling of dislike for present
 conditions4 ,the chief work of ,dickens
 was to lay bare the injustice1 the     

meanness1 and the blighting coercion    
practised on helpless children not only 
by ignorant1 sordid1 brutal men called  
schoolmasters1 but in a less degree by  
the best teachers and parents of his    
time4 ,his was a noble work1 and it was 
well done4  ,the grandest movement of   
the nineteenth century was the          
development of a profound reverence for 
the child1 so deep and wide that his    
rights are beginning to be clearly      
recognised by individuals and by        
national laws1 and that intelligent     
adulthood is studying him as the central
 element of power in the representation 
of ,god in the accomplishment of the    
progressive evolution of the race4      
,christ put the child in the midst of   
his disciples2 men are learning to      
follow his example1 and study the child 
as the surest way to secure industrial1 
social1 and moral reforms4 ,froebel and 
,dickens were the men who revealed the  
child4 ,they were the true apostles of  
childhood4 ,it must not be supposed that

 ,dickens was not conscious of the      
positive good while describing the      
evils4 ,the expressions child queller1  
gospel of monotony1 bear to pattern1    
taught as parrots are1 etc41 and the    
name ,mc,choakumchild1 reveal the       
possession of the highest consciousness 
of child freedom1 of individuality1 and 
of child reverence yet given to         
humanity4 ,so in all his wonderful      
pictures it would have been impossible  
for him to have so vividly described the
 wrong if he had not clearly understood 
the right4 ,he had perfect sympathy with
 childhood1 he was a great student of   
the child and of the existing methods of
 training and educating him1 and his    
insights and judgment were so clear and 
true that1 as ,ruskin says1 in the last 
analysis he was always right4  ,if he   
had never written anything but his      
article on the kindergarten1 published  
,july1 #ahee1 he would have proved      
himself to be an educational            
philosopher4     ,,chapter ,,ii4        

,,infant ,,gardens4   ,dickens wrote the
 following article for ,household ,words
 in #ahee4 ,it reveals a surprising     
mastery of the vital principles of the  
new education4 ,he wrote the article to 
direct attention to the work of the     
,baroness ,von ,buelow1 who had come to 
,england to introduce the kindergarten  
system4 ,dickens's works show that he   
had long been a close student of        
,froebel's philosophy4 ,the article must
 always take a front rank as a          
strikingly clear1 comprehensive1 and    
sympathetic exposition of the principles
 and processes of the kindergarten4     
,kindergartens were called infant       
gardens when first introduced into      
,england4      ,seventy or eighty years 
ago there was a son born to the ,pastor 
,froebel1 who exercised his calling in  
the village of ,oberweissbach1 in       
the principality of                     
,schwartzburg-,rudolstadt4 ,the son1 who
 was called     ,frederick1 proved to be
 a child of unusually quick             

sensibilities1     keenly alive to all  
impressions1 hurt by discords of all    
kinds2 by     quarrelling of men1 women1
 and children1 by ill-assorted colours1 
inharmonious sounds4 ,he was1 to a      
morbid extent1 capable of receiving     
delight from the beauties of ,nature1   
and1 as a very little boy1 would        
spend much of his time in studying and  
enjoying1 for their own sake1     the   
lines and angles in the ,gothic         
architecture of his father's     church4
 ,who does not know what must be the    
central point of all the     happiness  
of such a child8 ,the voice of its      
mother is the sweetest of     sweet     
sounds1 the face of its mother is the   
fairest of fair sights1     the loving  
touch of her lip is the symbol to it of 
all pleasures of     the sense and of   
the soul4 ,against the thousand shocks  
and terrors     that are ready to       
afflict a child too exquisitely         
sensitive1 the     mother is the sole   
protectress1 and her help is            

all-sufficient4     ,frederick ,froebel 
lost his mother in the first years of   
his childhood1     and his youth was    
tortured with incessant craving for a   
sympathy that     was not to be found4  
,the ,pastor ,froebel was too busy to   
attend to all the little fancies of     
his son4 ,it was his good practice to be
 the peaceful arbiter of the            
disputes occurring in the village1 and1 
as he took his boy with him     when he 
went out1 he made the child familiar    
with all the quarrels of     the parish4
 ,thus were suggested1 week after week1 
comparisons between     the harmony of  
,nature and the spite and scandal       
current among men4 ,a     dreamy1       
fervent love of ,god1 a fanciful boy's  
wish that he could make     men quiet   
and affectionate1 took strong possession
 of young ,frederick1     and grew with 
his advancing years4 ,he studied a good 
deal4 ,following     out his love of    
,nature1 he sought to become acquainted 
with the     sciences by which her ways 

and aspects are explained2 his          
contemplation of the architecture of the
 village church ripened into a          
thorough taste for mathematics1 and he  
enjoyed agricultural life               
practically1 as a worker on his father's
 land4 ,at last he went to              
,pestalozzi's school in ,switzerland4   
,then followed troublous times1 and     
patriotic war in ,germany1 where        
even poets fought against the enemy with
 lyre and sword4 ,the quick             
instincts1 and high1 generous impulses  
of ,frederick ,froebel were     engaged 
at once1 and he went out to battle on   
behalf of ,fatherland in     the ranks  
of the boldest1 for he was one of       
,luetzow's regiment--a troop     of     
riders that earned by its daring an     
immortal name4 ,their fame has     even 
penetrated to our ,english concert      
rooms1 where many a fair     ,english   
maiden has been made familiar with the  
dare-devil patriots of     which it was 
composed by the refrain of the ,german  

song in honour of     their             
prowess--,das ist ,luetzow's fliegende1 
wilde ,jagd4 ,having     performed his  
duty to his country in the ranks of its 
defenders1     ,froebel fell back upon  
his love of nature and his study of     
triangles1     squares1 and cubes4 ,he  
had made interest that placed him in a  
position     which1 in many respects1   
curiously satisfied his tastes--that of 
,inspector to the ,mineralogical ,museum
 in ,berlin4 ,the post was              
lucrative1 its duties were agreeable to 
him1 but the object of his     life's   
desire was yet to be attained4      ,for
 the unsatisfied cravings of his        
childhood had borne fruit within        
him4 ,he remembered the quick feelings  
and perceptions1 the incessant          
nimbleness of mind proper to his first  
years1 and how he had been     hemmed in
 and cramped for want of right          
encouragement and sympathy4 ,he         
remembered1 too1 the ill-conditioned    
people whose disputes had been     made 

part of his experience1 the dogged      
children1 cruel fathers1     sullen     
husbands1 angry wives1 quarrelsome      
neighbours2 and surely he     did not   
err when he connected the two memories  
together4 ,how many men     and women go
 about pale-skinned and weak of limb1   
because their     physical health during
 infancy and childhood was not          
established by     judicious management4
 ,it is just so1 thought ,froebel1 with 
our minds4     ,there would be fewer    
sullen1 quarrelsome1 dull-witted men or 
women if     there were fewer children  
starved or fed improperly in heart and  
brain4 ,to improve society--to make men 
and women better--it is     requisite to
 begin quite at the beginning1 and to   
secure for them a     wholesome         
education during infancy and childhood4 
,strongly possessed     with this idea1 
and feeling that the usual methods of   
education1 by     restraint and penalty1
 aim at the accomplishment of far too   
little1     and by checking natural     

development even do positive mischief1  
,froebel     determined upon the        
devotion of his entire energy1          
throughout his     life1 to a strong    
effort for the establishment of schools 
that should     do justice and honour to
 the nature of a child4 ,he resigned his
     appointment at ,berlin1 and threw  
himself1 with only the resources of a   
fixed will1 a full mind1 and a right    
purpose1 on the chances of the          
future4      ,at ,keilhau1 a village of 
,thuringia1 he took a peasant's cottage1
 in     which he proposed to establish  
his first school--a village boys'       
school4 ,it was necessary to enlarge the
 cottage2 and1 while that was     being 
done1 ,froebel lived on potatoes1 bread1
 and water4 ,so scanty was     his stock
 of capital on which his enterprise was 
started1 that1 in     order honestly to 
pay his workmen1 he was forced to carry 
his     principle of self-denial to the 
utmost4 ,he bought each week two large  
rye loaves1 and marked on them with     

chalk each day's allowance4     ,perhaps
 he is the only man in the world who    
ever1 in so literal a way1     chalked  
out for himself a scheme of diet4       
,after labouring for many years among   
the boys at ,keilhau1                   
,froebel--married to a wife who shared  
his zeal1 and made it her labour     to 
help to the utmost in carrying out the  
idea of her husband's     life--felt    
that there was more to be accomplished4 
,his boys came to     him with many a   
twist in mind or temper1 caught by      
wriggling up     through the            
bewilderments of a neglected infancy4   
,the first sproutings     of the human  
mind need thoughtful culture2 there is  
no period of life1     indeed1 in which 
culture is so essential4 ,and yet1 in   
nine out of ten     cases1 it is        
precisely while the little blades of    
thought and buds of     love are frail  
and tender that no heed is taken to     
maintain the soil     about them        
wholesome1 and the air about them free  

from blight4 ,there     must be ,infant 
,gardens1 ,froebel said2 and straightway
 formed his     plans1 and set to work  
for their accomplishment4      ,he had  
become familiar in cottages with the    
instincts of mothers1 and     the       
faculties with which young children are 
endowed by ,nature4 ,he     never lost  
his own childhood from memory1 and being
 denied the     blessing of an infant of
 his own1 regarded all the little ones  
with     equal love4 ,the direction of  
his boys' school--now flourishing       
vigorously--he committed to the care of 
a relation1 while he set out     upon a 
tour through parts of ,germany and      
,switzerland to lecture upon     infant 
training and to found ,infant ,gardens  
where he could4 ,he founded     them at 
,hamburg1 ,leipzig1 ,dresden1 and       
elsewhere4 ,while labouring in     this 
way he was always exercising the same   
spirit of self-denial that     had      
marked the outset of his educational    
career4 ,whatever he could     earn was 

for the children1 to promote their      
cause4 ,he would not spend     upon     
himself the money that would help in the
 accomplishment of his     desire1 that 
childhood should be made as happy as    
,god in his wisdom     had designed it  
should be1 and that full play should be 
given to its     energies and powers4   
,many a night's lodging he took1 while  
on his     travels1 in the open fields1 
with an umbrella for his bedroom and a  
knapsack for his pillow4      ,so       
beautiful a self-devotion to a noble    
cause won recognition4 ,one of     the  
best friends of his old age was the     
,duchess ,ida of ,weimar1 sister     to 
,queen ,adelaide of ,england1 and his   
death took place on the #bast of        
,june1 three years ago1 at a country    
seat of the ,duke of ,meiningen4 ,he    
died at the age of seventy1 peaceably1  
upon a summer day1 delighting     in the
 beautiful scenery that lay outside his 
window1 and in the     flowers brought  
by friends to his bedside4 ,nature1 he  

said1 bore     witness to the promises  
of revelation4 ,so ,froebel passed away4
          ,and ,nature's pleasant robe  
of green1         ,humanity's appointed 
shroud1 enwraps         ,his monument   
and his memory4      ,wise and good     
people have been endeavouring of late to
 obtain in this     country a hearing   
for the views of this good teacher1 and 
a trial for     his system4 ,only       
fourteen years have elapsed since the   
first ,infant     ,garden was           
established1 and already ,infant        
,gardens have been     introduced into  
most of the larger towns of ,germany4   
,let us now     welcome them with all   
our hearts to ,england4      ,the whole 
principle of ,froebel's teaching is     
based on a perfect love     for         
children1 and a full and genial         
recognition of their nature1 a          
determination that their hearts shall   
not be starved for want of     sympathy2
 that since they are by ,infinite       
,wisdom so created as to find           

happiness in the active exercise and    
development of all their     faculties1 
we1 who have children round about us1   
shall no longer     repress their       
energies1 tie up their bodies1 shut     
their mouths1 and     declare that they 
worry us by the incessant putting of the
 questions     which the ,father of us  
all has placed in their mouths1 so that 
the     teachable one forever cries to  
those who undertake to be its guide1    
,what shall ,i do8 ,to be ready at all  
times with a wise answer to that        
question1 ought to be the ambition of   
every one upon whom a child's     nature
 depends for the means of healthy       
growth4 ,the frolic of     childhood is 
not pure exuberance and waste4 ,there is
 often a high     meaning in childish   
play1 said ,froebel4 ,let us study it1  
and act upon     hints--or more than    
hints--that ,nature gives4 ,they fall   
into a fatal     error who despise all  
that a child does as frivolous4 ,nothing
 is     trifling that forms part of a   

child's life4          ,that which the  
mother awakens and fosters1             
,when she joyously sings and plays2     
,that which her love so tenderly        
shelters4           ,bears a blessing to
 future days4      ,we quote ,froebel   
again1 in these lines1 and we quote     
others in which     he bids us          
,break not suddenly the dream           
,the blessed dream of infancy2          
,in which the soul unites with all      
,in earth1 or heaven1 or sea1 or sky4   
,but enough has already been said to    
show what he would have done4 ,how      
would he do it8      ,of course it must 
be borne in mind1 throughout the        
following sketch of     ,froebel's      
scheme of infant training1 that certain 
qualities of mind     are necessary to  
the teacher4 ,let nobody suppose that   
any scheme of     education can attain  
its end1 as a mere scheme1 apart from   
the     qualifications of those persons 
by whom it is to be carried out4 ,very  
young children can be trained           

successfully by no person who wants     
hearty liking for them1 and who can take
 part only with a proud sense     of    
restraint in their chatter and their    
play4 ,it is in truth no                
condescension to become in spirit as a  
child with children1 and nobody     is  
fit to teach the young who holds a      
different opinion4 ,unvarying           
cheerfulness and kindness1 the          
refinement that belongs naturally to a  
pure1 well-constituted woman's mind are 
absolutely necessary to the             
management of one of ,froebel's ,infant 
,gardens4      ,then1 again1 let it be  
understood that ,froebel never wished   
his system     of training to be        
converted into mere routine to the      
exclusion of all     that spontaneous   
action in which more than half of every 
child's     education must consist4 ,it 
was his purpose to show the direction in
     which it was most useful to        
proceed1 how best to assist the growth  
of     the mind by following the        

indications ,nature furnishes4 ,nothing 
was     farther from his design1 in     
doing that1 than the imposition of a    
check     on any wholesome energies4    
,blindman's buff1 romps1 puzzles1 fairy 
tales1 everything in fact that exercises
 soundly any set of the     child's     
faculties1 must be admitted as a part of
 ,froebel's system4 ,the     cardinal   
point of his doctrine is--take care that
 you do not exercise     a part only of 
the child's mind or body2 but take      
thorough pains to     see that you      
encourage the development of its whole  
nature4 ,if     pains--and great        
pains--be not taken to see that this is 
done1     probably it is not done4 ,the 
,infant ,gardens are designed to help in
     doing it4      ,the mind of a young
 child must not be trained at the       
expense of its     body4 ,every muscle  
ought1 if possible1 to be brought daily 
into     action2 and1 in the case of a  
child suffered to obey the laws of      
,nature by free tumbling and romping1   

that is done in the best manner         
possible4 ,every mother knows that by   
carrying an infant always on the        
same arm its growth is liable to be     
perverted4 ,every father knows the      
child's delight at being vigorously     
danced up and down1 and much of     this
 delight arises from the play then given
 to its muscles4 ,as the     child      
grows1 the most unaccustomed positions  
into which it can be     safely twisted 
are those from which it will receive the
 greatest     pleasure4 ,that is because
 play is thus given to the muscles in a 
form     they do not often get1 and     
,nature--always watchful on the child's 
behalf--cries1 ,we will have some more  
of that4 ,it does us good4 ,as it     is
 with the body1 so it is with the mind1 
and ,froebel's scheme of     infant     
education is1 for both1 a system of     
gymnastics4      ,he begins with the    
newborn infant1 and demands that1 if    
possible1 it     shall not be taken from
 its mother4 ,he sets his face strongly 

against     the custom of committing the
 child during the tenderest and most    
impressible period of its whole life to 
the care and companionship of     an    
ignorant nursemaid1 or of servants who  
have not the mother's     instinct1 or  
the knowledge that can tell them how to 
behave in its     presence4 ,only the   
mother should1 if possible1 be the      
child's chief     companion and teacher 
during at least the first three years of
 its     life1 and she should have      
thought it worth while to prepare       
herself     for the right fulfilment of 
her duties4 ,instead of tambour work1 or
     ,arabic1 or any other useless thing
 that may be taught at girls'           
schools1 surely it would be a great     
blessing if young ladies were to        
spend some of their time in an ,infant  
,garden1 that might be attached     to  
every academy4 ,let them all learn from 
,froebel what are the     requirements  
of a child1 and be prepared for the wise
 performance of     what is after all to

 be the most momentous business of their
 lives4      ,the carrying out of this  
hint is indeed necessary to the complete
 and     general adoption of the        
infant-garden system4 ,froebel desired  
his     infants to be taught only by    
women1 and required that they should be 
women as well educated and refined as   
possible1 preferring amiable            
unmarried girls4 ,thus he would have our
 maidens spending some part of     their
 time in playing with little ones1      
learning to understand them1            
teaching them to understand2 our wives  
he would have busy at home1     making  
good use of their experience1 developing
 carefully and     thoughtfully the     
minds of their children1 sole teachers  
for the first     three years of their  
life2 afterward1 either helped by       
throwing them     among other children  
in an ,infant ,garden for two or three  
hours every     day1 or1 if there be at 
home no lack of little company1 having  
,infant     ,gardens of their own4      

,believing that it is natural to address
 infants in song1 ,froebel              
encouraged nursery songs1 and added to  
their number4 ,those contributed     by 
him to the common stock were of course  
contributed for the sake of     some use
 that he had for each2 in the same      
spirit--knowing play to be     essential
 to a child--he invented games2 and     
those added by him to the     common    
stock are all meant to be used for      
direct teaching4 ,it does not     in the
 least follow1 and it was not the case1 
that he would have us     make all      
nursery rhymes and garden sports        
abstrusely didactic4 ,he     meant no   
more than to put his own teaching into  
songs and games1 to     show clearly    
that whatever is necessary to be said or
 done to a young     child may be said  
or done merrily or playfully2 and       
although he was     essentially a       
schoolmaster1 he had no faith in the    
terrors commonly     associated with his
 calling4      ,froebel's nursery songs 

are associated almost invariably with   
bodily     activity on the part of the  
child4 ,he is always1 as soon as he     
becomes     old enough1 to do something 
while the song is going on1 and the     
movements assigned to him are cunningly 
contrived so that not even a     joint  
of a little finger shall be left        
unexercised4 ,if he be none the         
better1 he is none the worse for this4  
,the child is indeed unlucky     that   
depends only on care of this description
 for the full play of its     body2 but 
there are some children so unfortunate1 
and there are some     parents who will 
be usefully reminded by those songs1 of 
the necessity     of procuring means for
 the free action of every joint and     
limb4 ,what     is done for the body is 
done in the same spirit for the mind1   
and     ideas are formed1 not by song   
only4 ,the beginning of a most ingenious
     course of mental training by a     
series of playthings is made almost     
from the very first4      ,a box        

containing six soft balls1 differing in 
colour1 is given to the     child4 ,it  
is ,froebel's first gift4 ,long before  
it can speak the     infant can hold one
 of these little balls in its fingers1  
become     familiar with its spherical  
shape and its colour4 ,it stands still1 
it     springs1 it rolls4 ,as the child 
grows1 he can roll it and run after     
it1 watch it with sharp eyes1 and       
compare the colour of one ball with     
the colour of another1 prick up his ears
 at the songs connected with     his    
various games with it1 use it as a bond 
of playfellowship with     other        
children1 practise with it first efforts
 at self-denial1 and so     forth4 ,one 
ball is suspended by a string1 it       
jumps--it                               
rolls--here--there--over--up2 turns     
left--turns                             
right--ding-dong--tip-tap--falls--spins2
 fifty ideas may be connected     with  
it4 ,the six balls1 three of the primary
 colours1 three of the     secondary1   

may be built up in a pyramid2 they may  
be set rolling1 and     used in         
combination in a great many ways giving 
sufficient exercise to     the young    
wits that have all knowledge and        
experience before them4      ,froebel's 
second gift is a small box containing a 
ball1 cube1 and     roller 7the last two
 perforated71 with a stick and string4  
,with these     forms of the cube1      
sphere1 and cylinder1 there is a great  
deal to be     done and learned4 ,they  
can be played with at first according to
 the     child's own humour3 will run1  
jump1 represent carts1 or anything4 ,the
     ancient ,egyptians1 in their young 
days as a nation1 piled three cubes     
on one another and called them the three
 ,graces4 ,a child will1 in the     same
 way1 see fishes in stones1 and be      
content to put a cylinder upon     a    
cube1 and say that is papa on horseback4
 ,of this element of ready     fancy in 
all childish sport ,froebel took full   
advantage4 ,the ball1     cube1 and     

cylinder may be spun1 swung1 rolled1 and
 balanced in so many     ways as to     
display practically all their           
properties4 ,the cube1 spun     upon the
 stick piercing it through opposite     
edges1 will look like a     circle1 and 
so forth4 ,as the child grows older1    
each of the forms may     be examined   
definitely1 and he may learn from       
observation to describe     it4 ,the    
ball may be rolled down an inclined     
plane and the acceleration     of its   
speed observed4 ,most of the elementary 
laws of mechanics may be     made       
practically obvious to the child's      
understanding4      ,the third gift is  
the cube divided once in every          
direction4 ,by the     time a child gets
 this to play with he is three years    
old--of age ripe     for admission to an
 ,infant ,garden4 ,the ,infant ,garden  
is intended for     the help of children
 between three years old and seven4     
,instruction in     it--always by means 
of play--is given for only two or three 

hours in     the day2 such instruction  
sets each child1 if reasonably helped at
     home1 in the right train of        
education for the remainder of its time4
      ,an ,infant ,garden must be held  
in a large room abounding in clear space
     for child's play1 and connected    
with a garden into which the children   
may adjourn whenever weather will       
permit4 ,the garden is meant chiefly    
to assure1 more perfectly1 the          
association of wholesome bodily         
exercise with mental activity4 ,if      
climate but permitted1 ,froebel would   
have all young children taught entirely 
in the pure1 fresh air1 while           
frolicking in sunshine among flowers4   
,by his system he aimed at     securing 
for them bodily as well as mental       
health1 and he held it to     be        
unnatural that they should be cooped up 
in close rooms1 and glued     to forms1 
when all their limbs twitch with desire 
for action1 and     there is a warm     
sunshine out of doors4 ,the garden1 too1

 should be     their own2 every child   
the master or mistress of a plot in it1 
sowing     seeds and watching day by day
 the growth of plants1 instructed       
playfully and simply in the meaning of  
what is observed4 ,when weather         
forbids use of the garden1 there is the 
great1 airy room which should           
contain cupboards1 with a place for     
every child's toys and implements2      
so that a habit of the strictest        
neatness may be properly maintained4    
,up to the age of seven there is to be  
no book work and no ink work2     but   
only at school a free and brisk1 but    
systematic strengthening of     the     
body1 of the senses1 of the intellect1  
and of the affections1     managed in   
such a way as to leave the child prompt 
for subsequent     instruction1 already 
comprehending the elements of a good    
deal of     knowledge4      ,we must    
endeavour to show in part how that is   
done4 ,the third     gift--the cube     
divided once in every direction--enables

 the child to     begin the work of     
construction in accordance with its own 
ideas1 and     insensibly brings the    
ideas into the control of a sense of    
harmony and     fitness4 ,the cube      
divided into eight parts will           
manufacture many     things2 and1 while 
the child is at work helped by quiet    
suggestion now     and then1 the teacher
 talks of what he is about1 asks many   
questions1     answers more1 mixes up   
little songs and stories with the play4 
,pillars1 ruined castles1 triumphal     
arches1 city gates1 bridges1            
crosses1 towers1 all can be completed to
 the perfect satisfaction of a          
child1 with the eight little cubes4     
,they are all so many texts on     which
 useful and pleasant talk can be        
established4 ,then they are     capable 
also of harmonious arrangement into     
patterns1 and this is a     great       
pleasure to the child4 ,he learns the   
charm of symmetry1     exercises taste  
in the preference of this or that among 

the hundred     combinations of which   
his eight cubes are susceptible4        
,then follows the fourth gift1 a cube   
divided into eight planes cut           
lengthways4 ,more things can be done    
with this than with the other4          
,without strain on the mind1 in sheer   
play1 mingled with songs1 nothing     is
 wanted but a liberal supply of little  
cubes1 to make clear to the     children
 the elements of arithmetic4 ,the cubes 
are the things     numbered4 ,addition  
is done with them2 they are subtracted  
from each     other2 they are           
multiplied2 they are divided4 ,besides  
these four     elementary rules they    
cause children to be thoroughly at home 
in the     principle of fractions1 to   
multiply and divide fractions--as real  
things2 all in good time it will become 
easy enough to let written     figures  
represent them--to go through the rule  
of three1 square root1     and cube     
root4 ,as a child has instilled into him
 the principles of     arithmetic1 so he

 acquires insensibly the groundwork of  
geometry1 the     sister science4       
,froebel's fifth gift is an extension of
 the third1 a cube divided     into     
twenty-seven equal cubes1 and three of  
these further divided into     halves1  
three into quarters4 ,this brings with  
it the teaching of a     great deal of  
geometry1 much help to the lessons in   
number1     magnificent accessions to   
the power of the little architect1 who  
is     provided1 now1 with pointed roofs
 and other glories1 and the means of    
producing an almost infinite variety of 
symmetrical patterns1 both     more     
complex and more beautiful than         
heretofore4      ,the sixth gift is a   
cube so divided as to extend still      
farther the     child's power of        
combining and discussing it4 ,when its  
resources are     exhausted and combined
 with those of the seventh gift 7a box  
containing every form supplied in the   
preceding series71 the little           
pupil--seven years old--has had his     

inventive and artistic powers           
exercised1 and his mind stored with     
facts that have been absolutely         
comprehended4 ,he has acquired also a   
sense of pleasure in the     occupation 
of his mind4      ,but he has not been  
trained in this way only4 ,we leave out 
of account     the bodily exercise      
connected with the entire round of      
occupation1 and     speak only of the   
mental discipline4 ,there are some other
 gifts that     are brought into service
 as the child becomes able to use them4 
,one is     a box containing pieces of  
wood1 or pasteboard1 cut into sundry    
forms4     ,with these the letters of   
the alphabet can be constructed2 and1   
after     letters1 words1 in such a way 
as to create out of the game a series of
     pleasant spelling lessons4 ,the    
letters are arranged upon a slate ruled 
into little squares1 by which the eye is
 guided in preserving     regularity4   
,then follows the gift of a bundle of   
small sticks1 which     represent so    

many straight lines2 and1 by laying them
 upon his slate1     the child can make 
letters1 patterns1 pictures2 drawing1 in
 fact1 with     lines that have not to  
be made with pen or pencil1 but are     
provided     ready made and laid down   
with the fingers4 ,this kind of         
,stick-work     having been brought to  
perfection1 there is a capital extension
 of the     idea with what is called    
,pea-work4 ,by the help of peas softened
 in     water1 sticks may be joined     
together1 letters1 skeletons of cubes1  
crosses1 prisms may be built2 houses1   
towers1 churches may be     constructed1
 having due breadth as well as length   
and height1 strong     enough to be     
carried about or kept as specimens of   
ingenuity4 ,then     follows a gift of  
flat sticks1 to be used in plaiting4    
,after that     there is a world of     
ingenuity to be expended on the         
plaiting1 folding1     cutting1 and     
pricking of plain or coloured paper4    
,children five years     old1 trained in

 the ,infant ,garden1 will delight in   
plaiting slips of     paper variously   
coloured into patterns of their own     
invention1 and     will work with a     
sense of symmetry so much refined by    
training as to     produce patterns of  
exceeding beauty4 ,by cutting paper1    
too1 patterns     are produced in the   
,infant ,garden that would often1 though
 the work of     very little hands1 be  
received in schools of design with      
acclamation4     ,then there are games  
by which the first truths of astronomy1 
and other     laws of ,nature1 are made 
as familiar as they are interesting4    
,for our     own parts1 we have been    
perfectly amazed at the work we have    
seen done     by children of six or     
seven--bright1 merry creatures1 who have
 all the     spirit of their childhood  
active in them1 repressed by no parent's
     selfish love of ease and silence1  
cowed by no dull-witted teacher of      
the ,a ,b ,c and the pothooks4          
,froebel discourages the cramping of an 

infant's hand upon a pen1 but     his   
slate ruled into little squares1 or     
paper prepared in the same     way1 is  
used by him for easy training in the    
elements of drawing4     ,modelling in  
wet clay is one of the most important   
occupations of the     children who have
 reached about the sixth year1 and is   
used as much as     possible1 not merely
 to encourage imitation1 but to give    
some play to     the creative power4    
,finally1 there is the best possible use
 made of     the paint-box1 and children
 engaged upon the colouring of pictures 
and     the arrangement of nosegays are 
further taught to enjoy1 not merely     
what is bright1 but also what is        
harmonious and beautiful4      ,we have 
not left ourselves as much space as is  
requisite to show how     truly all such
 labour becomes play to the child4      
,fourteen years'     evidence suffices  
for a demonstration of the admirable    
working of a     system of this kind2   
but as we think there are some parents  

who may be     willing to inquire a     
little further into the subject here    
commended     earnestly to their        
attention1 we will end by a citation of 
the source     from which we have       
ourselves derived what information we   
possess4      ,at the educational       
exhibition in ,st4 ,martin's ,hall last 
year1 there     was a large display of  
the material used and results produced  
in     ,infant ,gardens which attracted 
much attention4 ,the ,baroness von      
,marenholtz1 enthusiastic in her        
advocacy of the children's cause1 came  
then to ,england1 and did very much to  
procure the establishment in     this   
country of some experimental ,infant    
,gardens4 ,by her1 several     months   
ago--and at about the same time by ,m4  
and ,madame ,ronge who had     already  
established the first ,english ,infant  
,garden--our attention was     invited  
to the subject4 ,we were also made      
acquainted with ,m4 ,hoffman1     one of
 ,froebel's pupils1 who explained the   

system theoretically at the             
,polytechnic ,institution4 ,when in this
 country1 the ,baroness von             
,marenholtz published a book called     
,woman's ,educational ,mission1 being   
an explanation of ,frederick ,froebel's 
,system of ,infant ,gardens4 ,we        
have made use of the book in the        
preceding notice1 but it appeared       
without the necessary illustrations1 and
 is therefore a less perfect     guide  
to the subject than a work published    
more recently by ,m4 and     ,madame    
,ronge3 ,a ,practical ,guide to the     
,english ,kindergarten4 ,this last      
book we exhort everybody to consult who 
is desirous of a closer     insight into
 ,froebel's system than we have been    
able here to give4 ,it     not only     
explains what the system is1 but1 by    
help of an unstinted     supply of      
little sketches1 enables any one at once
 to study it at home     and bring it   
into active operation4 ,it suggests     
conversations1 games2     gives many of 

,froebel's songs1 and even furnishes the
 music 7which     usually consists of   
popular tunes--,mary ,blane1 ,rousseau's
 ,dream1 etc47     to which they may be 
sung4 ,furthermore1 it is well to say   
that any one     interested in this     
subject1 whom time and space do not     
forbid1 may see     an ,infant ,garden  
in full work by calling1 on a ,tuesday  
morning between     the hours of ten and
 one1 on ,m4 and ,madame ,ronge1 at     
number #cb     ,tavistock ,place1       
,tavistock ,square4 ,that day these     
earliest and     heartiest of our       
established infant gardeners have set   
apart1 for the     help of a good cause1
 to interruptions and investigations    
from the     world without1 trusting1 of
 course1 we suppose1 that no one will   
disturb them for the satisfaction of    
mere idle curiosity4     ,,chapter      
,,iii4  ,,the ,,overthrow ,,of          
,,coercion4   ,dickens1 in the preface  
to ,nicholas ,nickleby1 states that1 as 
,pickwick ,papers had given him an      

audience1 he determined to carry out a  
long-cherished plan and write for the   
purpose of driving out of existence a   
class of bad private schools1 of which  
certain schools in ,yorkshire were the  
worst types4 ,he drew a picture of low  
cunning1 avarice1 ignorance1 imposture1 
and brutality in ,squeers that astounded
 his audience1 and led to the closing of
 most of the ,yorkshire private schools 
and to the overthrow of tyranny in      
schools throughout the civilized world4 
,tyranny and corporal punishment still  
exist1 but not in the best schools4 ,not
 one child weeps now on account of      
corporal punishment for every hundred   
who wailed bitterly for the same reason 
when ,froebel and ,dickens began their  
loving work4 ,year by year the good work
 goes on4 ,men are learning the better  
ways of guiding and governing childhood4
 ,we can not yet say when men and women 
in the homes and schools everywhere     
shall understand the child and their own
 powers so thoroughly that there shall  

be no more corporal punishment          
inflicted1 but we do know that the      
abatement of the terrible brutality     
began with the revelations of ,froebel  
and ,dickens4 ,froebel taught the new   
philosophy1 ,dickens sent it quivering  
through the hearts and consciences of   
mankind4  ,members of the highest       
classes in ,england have been imprisoned
 near the close of the nineteenth       
century for improper methods of         
punishing children that would have      
excited no comment when ,dickens        
described ,squeers a little more than   
half a century earlier4 ,in the report  
to the ,british ,government1 at the     
close of his remarkable half-century of 
honourable and very able educational    
work1 ,sir ,joshua ,fitch said3 ,in     
watching the gradual development of the 
training colleges for women from year to
 year1 nothing is more striking than the
 increased attention which is being paid
 in those institutions to the true      
principles of infant teaching and       

discipline4 ,the circular which has     
recently been issued by your lordships1 
and which is designed to enforce and    
explain these principles1 would1 if put 
forth a few years ago1 have fallen on   
unprepared soil1 and would indeed have  
seemed to many teachers both in and out 
of training colleges to be scarcely     
intelligible4 ,now its counsels will be 
welcomed with sympathy and full         
appreciation4  ,dickens describes       
,squeers as a man whose appearance was  
not prepossessing4      ,he had but one 
eye1 and the popular prejudice runs in  
favour of two4     ,the eye he had was  
unquestionably useful1 but decidedly not
     ornamental3 being of a greenish    
gray1 and in shape resembling the       
fanlight of a street door4 ,the blank   
side of his face was much     wrinkled  
and puckered up1 which gave him a very  
sinister appearance1     especially when
 he smiled1 at which times his          
expression bordered     closely on the  
villainous4 ,his hair was very flat and 

shiny1 save at     the ends1 where it   
was brushed stiffly up from a low       
protruding     forehead1 which assorted 
well with his harsh voice and coarse    
manner4  ,he then proceeds to reveal the
 character of ,squeers by a series of   
incidents3      ,mr4 ,squeers was       
standing in a box by one of the         
coffee-room     fireplaces4 ,in a corner
 of the seat was a very small deal      
trunk1 tied     round with a scanty     
piece of cord2 and on the trunk was     
perched--his     lace-up half-boots and 
corduroy trousers dangling in the air--a
     diminutive boy1 with his shoulders 
drawn up to his ears1 and his hands     
planted on his knees1 who glanced       
timidly at the schoolmaster1 from       
time to time1 with evident dread and    
apprehension4      ,half-past three1    
muttered ,mr4 ,squeers1 turning from the
 window1 and     looking sulkily at the 
coffee-room clock4 ,there will be nobody
 here     to-day4      ,much vexed by   
this reflection1 ,mr4 ,squeers looked at

 the little boy to     see whether he   
was doing anything he could beat him    
for4 ,as he     happened not to be doing
 anything at all1 he merely boxed his   
ears1     and told him not to do it     
again4      ,at midsummer1 muttered ,mr4
 ,squeers1 resuming his complaint1 ,i   
took     down ten boys2 ten twentys is  
two hundred pound4 ,i go back at eight  
o'clock to-morrow morning1 and have got 
only three--three oughts is an          
ought--three twos is six--sixty pound4  
,what's come of all the boys8     what's
 parents got in their heads8 what does  
it all mean8      ,here the little boy  
on the top of the trunk gave a violent  
sneeze4      ,halloa1 sir6 growled the  
schoolmaster1 turning round4 ,what's    
that1     sir8      ,nothing1 please1   
sir1 said the little boy4      ,nothing1
 sir8 exclaimed ,mr4 ,squeers4          
,please1 sir1 ,i sneezed1 rejoined the  
boy1 trembling till the little     trunk
 shook under him4      ,oh6 sneezed1 did
 you8 retorted ,mr4 ,squeers4 ,then what

 did you say     'nothing' for1 sir8    
,in default of a better answer to this  
question1 the little boy screwed     a  
couple of knuckles into each of his eyes
 and began to cry1 wherefore     ,mr4   
,squeers knocked him off the trunk with 
a blow on one side of his     face1 and 
knocked him on again with a blow on the 
other4      ,wait till ,i get you down  
into ,yorkshire1 my young gentleman1    
said     ,mr4 ,squeers1 and then ,i'll  
give you the rest4 ,will you hold that  
noise1 sir8      ,ye--ye--yes1 sobbed   
the little boy1 rubbing his face very   
hard with     the ,beggar's ,petition in
 printed calico4      ,then do so at    
once1 sir1 said ,squeers4 ,do you hear8 
,the waiter at this juncture announced a
 gentleman who wished to interview ,mr4 
,squeers1 and the schoolmaster1 in an   
undertone1 said to the poor boy3 ,put   
your handkerchief in your pocket1 you   
little scoundrel1 or ,i'll murder you   
when the gentleman goes4  ,affecting not
 to see the gentleman when he entered1  

,mr4 ,squeers feigned to be mending a   
pen and trying to comfort the boy he had
 so grossly abused4  ,my dear child1    
said ,squeers1 all people have their    
trials4 ,this early trial of yours1 that
 is fit to make your little heart burst 
and your very eyes come out of your head
 with crying1 what is it8 ,nothing--less
 than nothing4 ,you are leaving your    
friends1 but you will have a father in  
me1 my dear1 and a mother in ,mrs4      
,squeers4  ,our indignation is still    
further aroused when we hear the        
conversation between ,mr4 ,squeers and  
his visitor1 who is named ,snawley1 and 
who was a sleek1 flat-nosed man1 bearing
 in his countenance an expression of    
much mortification and sanctity4  ,he   
had brought with him two little boys1   
whose stepfather he was4 ,their mother  
had a little money in her own right and 
he was afraid she might squander it on  
her boys1 so he wished to dispose of    
them4 ,our blood runs cold as we hear   
the two scoundrels plotting against the 

unfortunate boys4 ,they are to be kept  
by ,squeers till grown up4 ,no questions
 are to be asked so long as the payments
 are regular4 ,they are to be supplied  
with razors when grown up1 and never    
allowed home for holidays1 and not      
permitted to write home1 except a       
circular at ,christmas to say they never
 were so happy and hope they may never  
be sent for1 and no questions are to be 
asked in case anything happens to them4 
,we learn the unutterable selfishness of
 ,squeers as he sits eating a sumptuous 
breakfast1 while the five wretched and  
hungry little boys1 who are to accompany
 him to ,yorkshire to ,dotheboys ,hall1 
look at him4 ,he had ordered bread and  
butter for three1 which he cut into five
 portions1 and two-penn'orth of milk for
 the five boys4 ,while waiting for the  
bread to come he said1 as he took a     
large mouthful of beef and toast1       
,conquer your passions1 boys1 and don't 
be eager after vittles4 ,subdue your    
appetites1 my dears1 and you've         

conquered human natur4  ,nicholas       
,nickleby had been engaged to teach     
under ,squeers in ,dotheboys ,hall4 ,he 
was shocked at many things he heard and 
saw the night he arrived in ,yorkshire4 
,but the school itself and the          
appearance of the wretched pupils       
completed his discomfiture4      ,the   
pupils--the young noblemen6 ,how the    
last faint traces of hope1 the          
remotest glimmering of any good to be   
derived from his efforts in this        
den1 faded from the mind of ,nicholas as
 he looked in dismay around6     ,pale  
and haggard faces1 lank and bony        
figures1 children with the              
countenances of old men1 deformities    
with irons upon their limbs1 boys     of
 stunted growth1 and others whose long  
meagre legs would hardly bear     their 
stooping bodies1 all crowded on the view
 together2 there were     the bleared   
eye1 the harelip1 the crooked foot1 and 
every ugliness or     distortion that   
told of unnatural aversion conceived by 

parents for     their offspring1 or of  
young lives which1 from the earliest    
dawn of     infancy1 had been one       
horrible endurance of cruelty and       
neglect4 ,there     were little faces   
which should have been handsome1        
darkened with the     scowl of sullen1  
dogged suffering2 there was childhood   
with the light     of its eye quenched1 
its beauty gone1 and its helplessness   
alone     remaining2 there were         
vicious-faced boys1 with leaden eyes1   
like     malefactors in a jail2 and     
there were young creatures on whom the  
sins     of their frail parents had     
descended1 weeping even for the         
mercenary     nurses they had known1 and
 lonesome even in their loneliness4     
,with     every kindly sympathy and     
affection blasted in its birth1 with    
every     young and healthy feeling     
flogged and starved down1 with every    
revengeful passion that can fester in   
swollen hearts1 eating its evil     way 
to their core in silence1 what an       

incipient hell was breeding     here6   
,it was ,mr4 ,squeers's custom on the   
first afternoon after his return from   
,london to call the school together to  
make announcements1 and read letters    
written by himself1 which he pretended  
had been written by the relatives of the
 boys4 ,accordingly1 the first afternoon
 after the arrival of ,nicholas1        
,squeers entered the schoolroom with a  
small bundle of papers in his hand1 and 
,mrs4 ,s4 followed with a pair of canes4
  ,let any boy speak a word without     
leave1 said ,mr4 ,squeers1 and ,i'll    
take the skin off his back4  ,two       
letters will serve as samples of the    
rest3  ,graymarsh4 ,stand up1           
,graymarsh4  ,graymarsh stood up1 while 
,squeers read his letter3               
,graymarsh's maternal aunt is very glad 
to hear he's so well and     happy1 and 
sends her respectful compliments to     
,mrs4 ,squeers1 and     thinks she must 
be an angel4 ,she likewise thinks ,mr4  
,squeers is too     good for this world2

 but hopes he may long be spared to     
carry on the     business4 ,would have  
sent the two pair of stockings as       
desired1 but is     short of money1 so  
forwards a tract instead1 and hopes     
,graymarsh will     put his trust in    
,providence4 ,hopes1 above all1 that he 
will study in     every thing to please 
,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,squeers1 and look upon  
them as his     only friends2 and that  
he will love ,master ,squeers2 and not  
object to     sleeping five in a bed1   
which no ,christian should4 ,ah6 said   
,squeers1     folding it up1 a          
delightful letter4 ,very affecting      
indeed4  ,mobbs was next called1 and his
 letter was read to him3      ,mobbs's  
stepmother1 said ,squeers1 took to her  
bed on hearing that     he wouldn't eat 
fat1 and has been very ill ever since4  
,she wishes to     know1 by an early    
post1 where he expects to go to1 if he  
quarrels with     his vittles2 and with 
what feelings he could turn up his nose 
at the     cow's-liver broth1 after his 

good master had asked a blessing on it4 
,this was told her in the ,london       
newspapers--not by ,mr4 ,squeers1 for he
     is too kind and too good to set    
anybody against anybody--and it has     
vexed her so much1 ,mobbs can't think4  
,she is sorry to find he is             
discontented1 which is sinful and       
horrid1 and hopes ,mr4 ,squeers will    
flog him into a happier state of mind2  
with this view1 she has also     stopped
 his halfpenny a week pocket-money1 and 
given a double-bladed     knife with a  
corkscrew in it to the missionaries1    
which she had bought     on purpose for 
him4      ,a sulky state of feeling1    
said ,squeers1 after a terrible pause1  
during which he had moistened the palm  
of his right hand again1 won't     do4  
,cheerfulness and contentment must be   
kept up4 ,mobbs1 come to me6      ,mobbs
 moved slowly toward the desk1 rubbing  
his eyes in anticipation     of good    
cause for doing so2 and he soon         
afterward retired by the side     door1 

with as good a cause as a boy need have4
  ,there are still school tyrants who   
talk with philosophic air of flogging   
children to make them happier1 and      
others who say with hard tones and      
clenched hands that the one thing they  
will not allow in their schools is a    
sulky boy or girl1 and they mean1 when  
they say so1 that if a boy is sulky they
 take no steps to find out the cause of 
his disease or the natural remedy for   
it1 but they apply the universal remedy 
of the old-fashioned quack trainer and  
whip the poor boy1 who is already       
suffering from some physical or nervous 
derangement4 ,squeers and such teachers 
are brother tyrants4 ,they practise the 
,squeers's doctrine--,a sulky state of  
feeling won't do4 ,cheerfulness and     
contentment must be kept up4 ,mobbs1    
come to me--to make children cheerful   
and contented4  ,one of the most        
heart-stirring cases in ,dotheboys ,hall
 was that of poor ,smike4 ,he had been  
sent to ,squeers when an infant4 ,he was

 a young man now1 but he had been       
starved so that he wore still around his
 long neck the frill of the collar that 
loving hands had placed there when he   
was a little child4 ,ill treatment and  
lack of proper food had made him almost 
an imbecile1 and he was the drudge of   
the institution4 ,nicholas was attracted
 by the anxious1 longing looks of the   
boy1 as his eyes followed ,squeers from 
place to place on their arrival from    
,london4      ,he was lame2 and as he   
feigned to be busy in arranging the     
table1     glanced at the letters with a
 look so keen1 and yet so dispirited and
     hopeless1 that ,nicholas could     
hardly bear to watch him4      ,what are
 you bothering about there1 ,smike8     
cried ,mrs4 ,squeers2 let     the things
 alone1 can't you4      ,eh6 said       
,squeers1 looking up4 ,oh6 it's you1 is 
it8      ,yes1 sir1 replied the youth1  
pressing his hands together1 as though  
to control1 by force1 the nervous       
wandering of his fingers2 is            

there----      ,well6 said ,squeers4    
,have you--did anybody--has nothing been
 heard--about me8      ,devil a bit1    
replied ,squeers testily4      ,the lad 
withdrew his eyes1 and1 putting his hand
 to his face1 moved     toward the door4
      ,not a word1 resumed ,squeers1 and
 never will be4  ,this is one of the    
pathetic pictures that awoke the heart  
of humanity4 ,nicholas was the first    
person who had ever sympathized with    
,smike1 so the poor fellow naturally    
gave to ,nicholas the pent-up love of   
his dwarfed nature1 and kept near him   
whenever it was possible to do so4      
,dickens made ,smike the centre of the  
terrible interest in ,dotheboys ,hall4  
,poor ,smike was so badly treated that  
he ran away1 but1 after a long chase1 he
 was brought home in triumph by ,mrs4   
,squeers1 bound like an animal4         
,squeers1 of course1 determined to flog 
him before all the boys as an example1  
and this led to the first great step    
toward the overthrow of the power of    

,squeers in ,dotheboys ,hall4      ,the 
news that ,smike had been caught and    
brought back in triumph1 ran     like   
wildfire through the hungry community1  
and expectation was on     tiptoe all   
the morning4 ,on tiptoe it was destined 
to remain1 however1     until afternoon2
 when ,squeers1 having refreshed himself
 with his     dinner1 and further       
strengthened himself by an extra        
libation or so1     made his appearance 
7accompanied by his amiable partner7    
with a     countenance of portentous    
import1 and a fearful instrument of     
flagellation1 strong1 supple1 wax-ended1
 and new--in short1 purchased     that  
morning1 expressly for the occasion4    
,is every boy here8 asked ,squeers1 in a
 tremendous voice4      ,every boy was  
there1 but every boy was afraid to      
speak2 so ,squeers     glared along the 
lines to assure himself2 and every eye  
drooped1 and     every head cowered     
down1 as he did so4      ,each boy keep 
his place1 said ,squeers1 administering 

his favourite     blow to the desk1 and 
regarding with gloomy satisfaction the  
universal     start which it never      
failed to occasion4 ,nickleby6 to your  
desk1     sir4      ,it was remarked by 
more than one small observer that there 
was a very     curious and unusual      
expression in the usher's face2 but he  
took his     seat1 without opening his  
lips in reply4 ,squeers1 casting a      
triumphant     glance at his assistant1 
and a look of most comprehensive        
despotism on     the boys1 left the     
room1 and shortly afterward returned1   
dragging     ,smike by the collar--or   
rather by that fragment of his jacket   
which     was nearest the place where   
his collar would have been had he       
boasted     such a decoration4      ,in 
any other place the appearance of the   
wretched1 jaded1 spiritless     object  
would have occasioned a murmur of       
compassion and remonstrance4     ,it had
 some effect1 even there2 for the       
lookers-on moved uneasily in     their  

seats1 and a few of the boldest ventured
 to steal looks at each     other1      
expressive of indignation and pity4     
,they were lost on ,squeers1 however1   
whose gaze was fastened on the          
luckless ,smike1 as he inquired1        
according to custom in such cases1      
whether he had anything to say for      
himself4      ,nothing1 ,i suppose8 said
 ,squeers1 with a diabolical grin4      
,smike glanced round1 and his eye rested
 for an instant on ,nicholas1 as     if 
he had expected him to intercede2 but   
his look was riveted on his     desk4   
,have you anything to say8 demanded     
,squeers again2 giving his right     arm
 two or three flourishes to try its     
power and suppleness4 ,stand a          
little out of the way1 ,mrs4 ,squeers1  
my dear2 ,i've hardly got room          
enough4      ,spare me1 sir6 cried      
,smike4      ,oh6 that's all1 is it8    
said ,squeers4 ,yes1 ,i'll flog you     
within an     inch of your life1 and    
spare you that4      ,ha1 ha1 ha1       

laughed ,mrs4 ,squeers1 that's a good   
'un6      ,i was driven to do it1 said  
,smike faintly1 and casting another     
imploring look on him4      ,driven to  
do it1 were you8 said ,squeers4 ,oh6 it 
wasn't your fault2     it was mine1 ,i  
suppose--eh8      ,a nasty1 ungrateful1 
pig-headed1 brutish1 obstinate1 sneaking
 dog1     exclaimed ,mrs4 ,squeers1     
taking ,smike's head under her arm1 and 
administering a cuff at every epithet2  
what does he mean by that8      ,stand  
aside1 my dear1 replied ,squeers4 ,we'll
 try and find out4      ,mrs4 ,squeers1 
being out of breath with her exertions1 
complied4     ,squeers caught the boy   
firmly in his grip2 one desperate cut   
had     fallen on his body--he was      
wincing from the lash1 and uttering a   
scream of pain--it was raised again1 and
 again about to fall--when     ,nicholas
 ,nickleby suddenly starting up1 cried3 
,stop6 in a voice that     made the     
rafters ring4      ,who cried stop8 said
 ,squeers1 turning savagely round4      

,i1 said ,nicholas1 stepping forward4   
,this must not go on4      ,must not go 
on6 cried ,squeers1 almost in a shriek4 
,no6 thundered ,nicholas4      ,aghast  
and stupefied by the boldness of the    
interference1 ,squeers     released his 
hold of ,smike1 and1 falling back a pace
 or two1 gazed     upon ,nicholas with  
looks that were positively frightful4   
,i say must not1 repeated ,nicholas1    
nothing daunted2 shall not4 ,i     will 
prevent it4      ,squeers continued to  
gaze upon him1 with his eyes starting   
out of his     head2 but astonishment   
had actually1 for the moment1 bereft him
 of     speech4      ,you have          
disregarded all my quiet interference in
 the miserable lad's     behalf1 said   
,nicholas2 you have returned no answer  
to the letter in     which ,i begged    
forgiveness for him1 and offered to be  
responsible that     he would remain    
quietly here4 ,don't blame me for this  
public     interference4 ,you have      
brought it upon yourself1 not ,i4       

,sit down1 beggar6 screamed ,squeers1   
almost beside himself with rage1     and
 seizing ,smike as he spoke4            
,wretch6 rejoined ,nicholas fiercely1   
touch him at your peril6 ,i will     not
 stand by and see it done4 ,my blood is 
up1 and ,i have the strength     of ten 
such men as you4 ,look to yourself1 for1
 by ,heaven1 ,i will not     spare you1 
if you drive me on6      ,stand back6   
cried ,squeers1 brandishing his weapon4 
,i have a long series of insults to     
avenge1 said ,nicholas1 flushed     with
 passion2 and my indignation is         
aggravated by the dastardly             
cruelties practised on helpless infancy 
in this foul den4 ,have a care2     for1
 if you do raise the devil within me1   
the consequences shall fall     heavily 
upon your own head6      ,he had        
scarcely spoken1 when ,squeers1 in a    
violent outbreak of wrath1     and with 
a cry like the howl of a wild beast1    
spit upon him1 and     struck him a blow
 across the face with his instrument of 

torture1     which raised up a bar of   
livid flesh as it was inflicted4        
,smarting     with the agony of the     
blow1 and concentrating into that one   
moment all     his feelings of rage1    
scorn1 and indignation1 ,nicholas sprang
 upon     him1 wrested the weapon from  
his hand1 and pinning him by the throat1
     beat the ruffian till he roared for
 mercy4      ,the boys--with the        
exception of ,master ,squeers1 who1     
coming to his     father's assistance1  
harassed the enemy in the rear--moved   
not hand or     foot2 but ,mrs4         
,squeers1 with many shrieks for aid1    
hung on to the tail     of her partner's
 coat1 and endeavoured to drag him from 
his infuriated     adversary2 while     
,miss ,squeers1 who had been peeping    
through the     keyhole in expectation  
of a very different scene1 darted in at 
the     very beginning of the attack1   
and after launching a shower of         
inkstands at the usher's head1 beat     
,nicholas to her heart's content3       

animating herself at every blow with the
 recollection of his having     refused 
her proffered love1 and thus imparting  
additional strength to     an arm which 
7as she took after her mother in this   
respect7 was1 at no     time1 one of the
 weakest4      ,nicholas1 in the full   
torrent of his violence1 felt the blows 
no more     than if they had been dealt 
with feathers2 but1 becoming tired of   
the     noise and uproar1 and feeling   
that his arm grew weak besides1 he threw
     all his remaining strength into    
half a dozen finishing cuts and flung   
,squeers from him1 with all the force he
 could muster4 ,the violence of     his 
fall precipitated ,mrs4 ,squeers        
completely over an adjacent form2       
and ,squeers1 striking his head against 
it in his descent1 lay at his     full  
length on the ground1 stunned and       
motionless4      ,having brought affairs
 to this happy termination1 and         
ascertained1 to     his thorough        
satisfaction1 that ,squeers was only    

stunned1 and not dead     7upon which   
point he had had some unpleasant doubts 
at first71     ,nicholas left his family
 to restore him and retired to consider 
what     course he had better adopt4 ,he
 looked anxiously round for ,smike1 as  
he     left the room1 but he was nowhere
 to be seen4      ,after a brief        
consideration1 he packed up a few       
clothes in a small     leathern valise1 
and1 finding that nobody offered to     
oppose his     progress1 marched boldly 
out by the front door and started to    
walk to     ,london4      ,near the     
school he met ,john ,browdie1 the honest
 corn factor4  ,john saw that ,nicholas 
had received a severe blow1 and asked   
the reason4      ,the fact is1 said     
,nicholas1 not very well knowing how to 
make the     avowal1 the fact is1 that  
,i have been ill-treated4      ,noa6    
interposed ,john ,browdie1 in a tone of 
compassion2 for he was a     giant in   
strength and stature1 and ,nicholas1    
very likely1 in his     eyes1 seemed a  

mere dwarf2 dean't say thot4      ,yes1 
,i have1 replied ,nicholas1 by that man 
,squeers1 and ,i have     beaten him    
soundly1 and am leaving this place in   
consequence4      ,what6 cried ,john    
,browdie1 with such an ecstatic shout1  
that the     horse quite shied at it4   
,beatten the schoolmeasther6 ,ho6 ho6   
ho6     ,beatten the schoolmeasther6 who
 ever heard o' the loike o' that noo6   
,giv' us thee hond agean1 yongster4     
,beatten the schoolmeasther6 ,dang      
it1 ,i loove thee for't4  ,and the world
 agreed1 and still agrees1 with ,john   
,browdie4  ,squeers and ,smike began the
 real movement against cruelty and      
corporal punishment not only in schools1
 but in homes4 ,dickens described both  
characters so admirably that the world  
hated ,squeers and pitied ,smike to the 
limit of its power to hate and pity1 and
 unconsciously the world associated     
cruelty and corporal punishment with    
,squeers4 ,this was exactly what        
,dickens desired4 ,the hatred of        

,squeers led to a strong disapproval of 
his practices4 ,corporal punishment was 
associated with an unpopular man1 and it
 lost its respectable character and     
never regained it4 ,the dislike for     
,squeers was accentuated by the         
long-continued sympathy and hopefulness 
felt for ,smike as he gradually         
succumbed to the terrible disease1      
consumption1 induced by poor food1      
neglect1 and cruelty4  ,squeers and     
,smike are doing their good work still1 
and doing it well4 ,they could do it    
much better if men and women when they  
have become acquainted with ,squeers    
would candidly ask themselves the       
question1 ,in what respects am ,i like  
,squeers8 instead of yielding to the    
feeling of self-satisfaction that they  
are so very unlike him4  ,just before   
writing about the coercive tyranny of   
,squeers in his school1 ,dickens had    
written ,oliver ,twist1 in which he had 
made a most vigorous attack upon two    
classes of characters for their         

tyrannical treatment of children1 and   
especially on account of their frequent 
use of corporal punishment4 ,bumble     
represented the officials in            
institutions for children1 and the      
gentleman in the white waistcoat was    
given as a type of the advanced         
,christian philanthropy of his time4 ,he
 meant well1 gave his time freely to    
attend the meetings of the board1 and   
supposed he was doing right2 but        
,dickens wished to let philanthropists  
see that they were terribly cruel to the
 helpless children1 and that their good 
intentions could not condone their      
harshness1 even though it resulted from 
ignorance and lack of reverence for     
childhood1 and not from deliberate evil 
intentions4  ,poor1 friendless little   
,oliver6 ,his beautiful face and gentle 
spirit might have touched the hardest   
heart1 but the institutional heart      
becomes hard easily1 even two           
generations after the time of ,bumble   
and the gentleman in the immaculate     

white waistcoat4  ,dickens says3        
,it must not be supposed that ,oliver   
was denied the benefit of     exercise1 
the pleasure of society1 or the         
advantages of religious     consolation 
in the workhouse4 ,as for exercise1 it  
was nice cold     weather1 and he was   
allowed to perform his ablutions every  
morning     under the pump1 in a stone  
yard1 in the presence of ,mr4 ,bumble1  
who     prevented his catching cold1 and
 caused a tingling sensation to         
pervade his frame1 by repeated          
applications of the cane4 ,as for       
society1 he was carried every other day 
into the hall1 where the boys     dined1
 and there sociably flogged as a public 
warning and example4 ,and     so far    
from being denied the advantage of      
religious consolation1 he     was kicked
 into the same apartment every evening  
at prayer time1 and     there permitted 
to listen to1 and console his mind with1
 a general     supplication of the boys1
 containing a special clause1 therein   

inserted by authority of the board1 in  
which they entreated to be made         
good1 virtuous1 contented1 and obedient1
 and to be guarded from the     sins and
 vices of ,oliver ,twist4  ,after       
,oliver had been sent to work for ,mr4  
,sowerberry he was goaded to desperation
 one evening by the disrespectful       
remarks of ,noah ,claypole about his    
mother1 and bravely gave the mean bully 
the personal chastisement he so richly  
deserved4 ,noah was sent to complain to 
the parish board1 and the gentleman in  
the white waistcoat said3      ,bumble1 
just step up to ,sowerberry's with your 
cane1 and see what's     best to be     
done4 ,don't spare him1 ,bumble4        
,no1 ,i will not1 sir1 replied the      
beadle1 adjusting the wax end which     
was twisted round the bottom of his     
cane1 for purposes of parochial         
flagellation4      ,tell ,sowerberry not
 to spare him either4 ,they'll never do 
anything     with him without stripes   
and bruises1 said the gentleman in the  

white     waistcoat4  ,the innocent1    
manly child was beaten unmercifully and 
abused cruelly by ,sowerberry and       
,bumble1 yet he bore all their taunts   
and floggings without a tear until he   
was alone4 ,then1 when there was none to
 see or hear him1 he fell upon his knees
 on the floor1 and1 hiding his face in  
his hands1 wept such tears as1 ,god send
 for the credit of our nature1 few so   
young may ever have cause to pour out   
before him6  ,there are not many        
gentlemen in white waistcoats of the    
type described by ,dickens now on       
charitable boards1 and the enlightened  
sentiment of civilized countries turns  
the legal processes of nations upon     
officials who dare to treat children    
unkindly4 ,dickens made humane people   
everywhere sympathize with ,mr4         
,meagles1 who said3 ,whenever ,i see a  
beadle in full fig coming down a street 
on a ,sunday at the head of a charity   
school1 ,i am obliged to turn and run   
away1 or ,i should hit him4  ,ten years 

after ,squeers began his good work      
,dickens produced ,squeers's associate1 
,mr4 ,creakle1 the master of ,salem     
,house4  ,david ,copperfield was sent to
 ,salem ,house by his stepfather1 ,mr4  
,murdstone1 because he bit his hand when
 he was punishing him unjustly4 ,for    
this offence he was compelled to wear a 
placard on his back on which was        
written3 ,take care of him4 ,he bites4  
,this dastardly practice of labelling   
youthful offenders persisted until very 
recent times4 ,children in schools are  
even yet in some places degraded by     
inconsiderate teachers by being         
compelled to wear some indication of    
their misconduct4 ,dickens vigorously   
condemned this outrage in #ahdi4  ,david
 was sent to school during the holidays1
 and was soon brought before ,mr4       
,creakle by ,tungay1 his servant with   
the wooden leg4      ,so1 said ,mr4     
,creakle1 this is the young gentleman   
whose teeth are     to be filed6 ,turn  
him round4      ,mr4 ,creakle's face was

 fiery1 and his eyes were small and deep
 in his     head2 he had thick veins in 
his forehead1 a little nose1 and a large
     chin4 ,he was bald on the top of   
his head2 and had some thin1            
wet-looking hair that was just turning  
gray brushed across each     temple1 so 
that the two sides interlaced on his    
forehead4      ,now1 said ,mr4 ,creakle4
 ,what's the report of this boy8        
,there's nothing against him yet1       
returned the man with the wooden        
leg4 ,there has been no opportunity4    
,i thought ,mr4 ,creakle was            
disappointed4 ,i thought ,mrs4 and ,miss
     ,creakle 7at whom ,i now glanced   
for the first time1 and who were1 both1 
thin and quiet7 were not disappointed4  
,come here1 sir6 said ,mr4 ,creakle1    
beckoning to me4      ,come here6 said  
the man with the wooden leg1 repeating  
the gesture4      ,i have the happiness 
of knowing your stepfather1 whispered   
,mr4     ,creakle1 taking me by the ear2
 and a worthy man he is1 and a man of   

strong character4 ,he knows me1 and ,i  
know him4 ,do you know me6 ,hey8        
said ,mr4 ,creakle1 pinching my ear with
 ferocious playfulness4      ,not yet1  
sir1 ,i said1 flinching with the pain4  
,not yet6 ,hey8 repeated ,mr4 ,creakle4 
,but you will soon4 ,hey8      ,you will
 soon4 ,hey8 repeated the man with the  
wooden leg4 ,i     afterward found that 
he generally acted1 with his strong     
voice1 as ,mr4     ,creakle's           
interpreter to the boys4      ,i was    
very much frightened1 and said1 ,i hoped
 so1 if he pleased4 ,i     felt all this
 while as if my ear were blazing2 he    
pinched it so hard4      ,i'll tell you 
what ,i am1 whispered ,mr4 ,creakle1    
letting it go at     last1 with a screw 
at parting that brought the water to my 
eyes1 ,i'm     a ,tartar4  ,mr4 ,creakle
 proved to be as good as his word4 ,he  
was a ,tartar4  ,on the first day of    
school he revealed himself4 ,his opening
 address was very brief and to the      
point4      ,now1 boys1 this is a new   

half4 ,take care what you're about in   
this     new half4 ,come fresh up to the
 lessons1 ,i advise you1 for ,i come    
fresh     up to the punishment4 ,i won't
 flinch4 ,it will be of no use your     
rubbing yourselves2 you won't rub the   
marks out that ,i shall give you4       
,now get to work1 every boy6      ,when 
this dreadful exordium was over1 ,mr4   
,creakle came to where ,i sat1     and  
told me that if ,i were famous for      
biting1 he was famous for     biting1   
too4 ,he then showed me the cane1 and   
asked me what ,i thought     of that1   
for a tooth8 ,was it a sharp tooth1 hey8
 ,was it a double     tooth1 hey8 ,had  
it a deep prong1 hey8 ,did it bite1 hey8
 ,did it bite8     ,at every question he
 gave me a fleshy cut with it that made 
me writhe4      ,not that ,i mean to say
 these were special marks of            
distinction1 which     only ,i received4
 ,on the contrary1 a large majority of  
the boys     7especially the smaller    
ones7 were visited with similar         

instances of     notice1 as ,mr4        
,creakle made the round of the          
schoolroom4 ,half the     establishment 
was writhing and crying before the day's
 work began2 and     how much of it had 
writhed and cried before the day's work 
was over ,i     am really afraid to     
recollect1 lest ,i should seem to       
exaggerate4      ,i should think there  
never can have been a man who enjoyed   
his     profession more than ,mr4       
,creakle did4 ,he had a delight in      
cutting at     the boys1 which was like 
the satisfaction of a craving appetite4 
,i am     confident that he couldn't    
resist a chubby boy especially2 that    
there     was a fascination in such a   
subject which made him restless in his  
mind until he had scored and marked him 
for the day4 ,i was chubby     myself1  
and ought to know4 ,i am sure when ,i   
think of the fellow now1     my blood   
rises against him with the disinterested
 indignation ,i should     feel if ,i   
could have known all about him without  

having ever been in     his power2 but  
it rises hotly1 because ,i know him to  
have been an     incapable brute1 who   
had no more right to be possessed of the
 great     trust he held than to be     
,lord ,high ,admiral or                 
,commander-in-chief3 in     either of   
which capacities it is probable that he 
would have done     infinitely less     
mischief4      ,miserable little        
propitiators of a remorseless idol1 how 
abject we     were to him6 what a launch
 in life ,i think it now1 on            
looking-back1 to     be so mean and     
servile to a man of such parts and      
pretensions6  ,twenty years after       
,dickens described ,creakle a new       
teacher stood before a class in a large 
,american city1 and1 holding a long     
rattan cane above his head1 said in a   
fierce1 threatening tone3 ,do you see   
that cane8 ,would you like to feel it8  
,hey8 ,well1 break any one of my        
forty-eight rules and you will feel it  
all right4 ,the tyrant in adulthood dies

 hard4 ,no wonder4 ,tyranny has been    
wrought into our natures by centuries of
 blind faith in corporal punishment as  
the supreme agency in saving the race   
from moral wreck and anarchy in         
childhood and youth4 ,men sought no     
agency for the development of the good  
in young lives4 ,as they conceived it1  
their duty was done if they prevented   
their children from doing wrong1 and the
 quickest1 easiest1 most effective way  
they knew to secure coercion was by     
corporal punishment4 ,the most          
successful tyrant1 he who could most    
thoroughly terrorize children and keep  
them down most completely1 was regarded 
as the best disciplinarian4 ,squeers and
 ,creakle were fair exponents of the    
almost universally recognised theory of 
their day1 and they had many successors 
in the real schools of the generation   
that followed them4 ,no man could remain
 a week in a school now if he began on  
the opening day in the way ,creakle did4
  ,dickens was right in revealing the   

position of the teacher as one of great 
trust1 and he was right1 too1 in        
insisting that ,creakle was no more     
fitted to be a teacher than to be ,lord 
,high ,admiral or ,commander-in-chief1  
in either of which capacities it is     
probable he would have done infinitely  
less mischief4 ,this was another plea   
for good normal schools and for state   
supervision4  ,dickens makes a good     
point in his remark about the           
degradation of abject submission to a   
man of such parts and pretensions as    
,creakle4 ,subordination always dwarfs  
the human soul1 but when the child is   
forced to a position of abject          
subordination to a coarse tyrant the    
degradation is more complete and more   
humiliating4 ,it does not mend matters  
for the child when the tyrant is his    
father4 ,the tyranny of parenthood is   
usually the hardest to escape from4  ,in
 the same book in which ,creakle is     
described--,david ,copperfield--,dickens
 deals with the tyranny of the home4    

,david's widowed mother married ,mr4    
,murdstone1 a hard1 severe1 austere1    
religious man1 with an equally dreadful 
sister--,jane ,murdstone4      ,firmness
 was the grand quality on which both    
,mr4 and ,miss ,murdstone     took their
 stand4 ,however ,i might have expressed
 my comprehension of     it at that     
time1 if ,i had been called upon1 ,i    
nevertheless did clearly     comprehend 
in my own way that it was another name  
for tyranny1 and for     a certain      
gloomy1 arrogant1 devil's humour1 that  
was in them both4 ,the     creed1 as ,i 
should state it now1 was this3 ,mr4     
,murdstone was firm2     nobody in his  
world was to be so firm as ,mr4         
,murdstone2 nobody else in     his world
 was to be firm at all1 for everybody   
was to be bent to his     firmness4     
,there was no more depressing tyranny in
 the time of ,dickens than the tyranny  
exercised in the name of a rigid and    
repressive religion4      ,the gloomy   
taint that was in the ,murdstone blood  

darkened the     ,murdstone religion1   
which was austere and wrathful4 ,i have 
thought1     since1 that its assuming   
that character was a necessary          
consequence of     ,mr4 ,murdstone's    
firmness1 which wouldn't allow him to   
let anybody off     from the utmost     
weight of the severest penalties he     
could find any     excuse for4 ,be this 
as it may1 ,i well remember the         
tremendous visages     with which we    
used to go to church1 and the changed   
air of the place4     ,again1 the       
dreaded ,sunday comes round1 and ,i file
 into the old pew     first1 like a     
guarded captive brought to a condemned  
service4 ,again1     ,miss ,murdstone1  
in a black-velvet gown1 that looks as if
 it had been     made out of a pall1    
follows close upon me2 then my mother2  
then her     husband4 ,again1 ,i listen 
to ,miss ,murdstone mumbling the        
responses1 and     emphasizing all the  
dread words with a cruel relish4 ,again1
 ,i see her     dark eyes roll round the

 church when she says miserable sinners1
 as     if she were calling all the     
congregation names4 ,again1 ,i catch    
rare     glimpses of my mother1 moving  
her lips timidly between the two1 with  
one of them muttering at each ear like  
low thunder4 ,again1 ,i wonder     with 
a sudden fear whether it is likely that 
our good old clergyman     can be wrong1
 and ,mr4 and ,miss ,murdstone right1   
and that all the     angels in heaven   
can be destroying angels4 ,again1 if ,i 
move a finger     or relax a muscle of  
my face1 ,miss ,murdstone pokes me with 
her prayer     book1 and makes my side  
ache4  ,mrs4 ,chillip said3 ,mr4        
,murdstone sets up an image of himself  
and calls it the ,divine ,nature1 and   
what such people as the ,murdstones call
 their religion is a vent for their bad 
humours and arrogance4 ,mild and        
cautious ,mr4 ,chillip observed1 ,i     
don't find authority for ,mr4 and ,miss 
,murdstone in the ,new ,testament1 and  
his good wife added1 ,the darker tyrant 

,mr4 ,murdstone becomes1 the more       
ferocious is his religious doctrine4    
,when ,david first learned that ,mr4    
,murdstone had married his mother he    
relieved the swelling in his little     
heart by crying in his bedroom4 ,his    
mother naturally felt a sympathy for her
 boy4 ,mr4 ,murdstone reproved her for  
her lack of firmness1 ordered her out of
 the room1 and gave ,david his first    
lesson in obedience4      ,david1 he    
said1 making his lips thin1 by pressing 
them together1 if     ,i have an        
obstinate horse or dog to deal with1    
what do you think ,i     do8      ,i    
don't know4      ,i beat him4      ,i   
had answered in a kind of breathless    
whisper1 but ,i felt1 in my     silence1
 that my breath was shorter now4      ,i
 make him wince1 and smart4 ,i say to   
myself1 ',i'll conquer that     fellow2'
 and if it were to cost him all the     
blood he had1 ,i should do     it4      
,there are still a few schoolmaster     
tyrants who boast of their ability to   

subdue children4 ,they are barbarians1  
who understand neither the new education
 nor the new theology1 who have not     
learned to recognise and reverence the  
individual selfhood of each child1 who  
themselves fear ,god's power more than  
they feel his love4  ,when ,david was at
 home for the holidays he remained in   
his own room a considerable part of the 
time reading4 ,this aroused the anger of
 ,mr4 ,murdstone1 and he charged ,david 
with being sullen4      ,i was sorry1   
,david1 said ,mr4 ,murdstone1 turning   
his head and his     eyes stiffly toward
 me1 to observe that you are of a sullen
     disposition4 ,this is not a        
character that ,i can suffer to develop 
itself beneath my eyes without an effort
 at improvement4 ,you must              
endeavour1 sir1 to change it4 ,we must  
endeavour to change it for you4      ,i 
beg your pardon1 sir1 ,i faltered4 ,i   
have never meant to be sullen     since 
,i came back4      ,don't take refuge in
 a lie1 sir6 he returned so fiercely1   

that ,i saw     my mother involuntarily 
put out her trembling hand as if to     
interpose     between us4 ,you have     
withdrawn yourself in your sullenness to
 your     own room4 ,you have kept your 
room when you ought to have been here4  
,you know now1 once for all1 that ,i    
require you to be here1 and not         
there4 ,further1 that ,i require you to 
bring obedience here4 ,you know     me1 
,david4 ,i will have it done4      ,miss
 ,murdstone gave a hoarse chuckle4      
,i will have a respectful1 prompt1 and  
ready bearing toward myself1     he     
continued1 and toward ,jane ,murdstone1 
and toward your mother4 ,i     will not 
have this room shunned as if it were    
infected1 at the     pleasure of a      
child4 ,sit down4      ,he ordered me   
like a dog1 and ,i obeyed like a dog4   
,david's lessons1 which had been along a
 path of roses when his mother was alone
 with him1 became a path of thorns after
 the ,murdstones came4      ,the lessons
 were a grievous daily drudgery and     

misery4 ,they were very     long1 very  
numerous1 very hard--perfectly          
unintelligible4      ,let me remember   
how it used to be4 ,i come into the     
parlour after     breakfast with my     
books1 an exercise book and a slate4 ,my
 mother is     ready for me1 but not    
half so ready as ,mr4 ,murdstone1 or as 
,miss     ,murdstone1 sitting near my   
mother stringing steel beads4 ,the very 
sight of these two has such an influence
 over me1 that ,i begin to feel     the 
words ,i have been at infinite pains to 
get into my head all     sliding away1  
and going ,i don't know where4 ,i wonder
 where they do     go1 by the bye8      
,i hand the first book to my mother4 ,i 
take a last drowning look at     the    
page as ,i give it into her hand1 and   
start off aloud at a racing     pace    
while ,i have got it fresh4 ,i trip over
 a word4 ,mr4 ,murdstone     looks up4  
,i trip over another word4 ,miss        
,murdstone looks up4 ,i redden1         
tumble over half a dozen words1 and     

stop4 ,i think my mother would show     
me the book if she dared1 but she does  
not dare1 and she says softly3      ,oh1
 ,davy1 ,davy6      ,now1 ,clara1 says  
,mr4 ,murdstone1 be firm with the boy4  
,don't say     ',oh1 ,davy1 ,davy6'     
,that's childish4 ,he knows his lesson1 
or he does not     know it4      ,he    
does not know it1 ,miss ,murdstone      
interposed awfully4      ,i am really   
afraid he does not1 says my mother4     
,then you see1 ,clara1 returns ,miss    
,murdstone1 you should just give     him
 the book back1 and make him know it4   
,yes1 certainly1 says my mother2 that's 
what ,i intended to do1 my     dear     
,jane4 ,now1 ,davy1 try once more1 and  
don't be stupid4      ,i obey the first 
clause of the injunction by trying once 
more1 but am     not so successful with 
the second1 for ,i am very stupid4 ,i   
tumble down     before ,i get to the old
 place1 at a point where ,i was all     
right     before1 and stop to think4    
,but ,i can't think about the lesson4 ,i

 think     of the number of yards of net
 in ,miss ,murdstone's cap1 or of the   
price     of ,mr4 ,murdstone's          
dressing-gown1 or any such ridiculous   
problem that     ,i have no business    
with1 and don't want to have anything at
 all to do     with4 ,mr4 ,murdstone    
makes a movement of impatience which ,i 
have been     expecting for a long time4
 ,miss ,murdstone does the same4 ,my    
mother     glances submissively at them1
 shuts the book1 and lays it by as an   
arrear to be worked out when my other   
tasks are done4      ,there is a pile of
 these arrears very soon1 and it swells 
like a     rolling snowball4 ,the bigger
 it gets the more stupid ,i get4 ,the   
case     is so hopeless1 and ,i feel    
that ,i am wallowing in such a bog of   
nonsense1 that ,i give up all idea of   
getting out1 and abandon myself     to  
my fate4 ,the despairing way in which my
 mother and ,i look at each     other1  
as ,i blunder on1 is truly melancholy4  
,but the greatest effect     in these   

miserable lessons is when my mother     
7thinking nobody is     observing her7  
tries to give me the cue by the motion  
of her lips4 ,at     that instant1 ,miss
 ,murdstone1 who has been lying in wait 
for nothing     else all along1 says in 
a deep warning voice3      ,clara6      
,my mother starts1 colours1 and smiles  
faintly4 ,mr4 ,murdstone comes out      
of his chair1 takes the book1 throws it 
at me or boxes my ears with     it1 and 
turns me out of the room by the         
shoulders4      ,it seems to me1 at this
 distance of time1 as if my unfortunate 
studies     generally took this course4 
,i could have done very well if ,i had  
been     without the ,murdstones2 but   
the influence of the ,murdstones upon me
     was like the fascination of two    
snakes on a wretched young bird4 ,even  
when ,i did get through the morning with
 tolerable credit1 there was     not    
much gained but dinner2 for ,miss       
,murdstone never could endure to     see
 me untasked1 and if ,i rashly made any 

show of being unemployed1     called her
 brother's attention to me by saying1   
,clara1 my dear1     there's nothing    
like work--give your boy an exercise4   
,one morning when ,i went into the      
parlour with my books1 ,i found my      
mother looking anxious1 ,miss ,murdstone
 looking firm1 and ,mr4 ,murdstone      
binding something round the bottom of a 
cane--a lithe and limber cane1     which
 he left off binding when ,i came in1   
and poised and switched in     the air4 
,i tell you1 ,clara1 said ,mr4          
,murdstone1 ,i have been often flogged  
myself4      ,to be sure2 of course1    
said ,miss ,murdstone4      ,certainly1 
my dear ,jane1 faltered my mother       
meekly4 ,but--but do you     think it   
did ,edward good8      ,do you think it 
did ,edward harm1 ,clara8 asked ,mr4    
,murdstone1     gravely4      ,that's   
the point6 said his sister4      ,to    
this my mother returned ,certainly1 my  
dear ,jane1 and said no     more4       
,i felt apprehensive that ,i was        

personally interested in this dialogue1 
and sought ,mr4 ,murdstone's eye as it  
lighted on mine4      ,now1 ,david1 he  
said--and ,i saw that cast again1 as he 
said it--you     must be far more       
careful to-day than usual4 ,he gave the 
cane another     poise1 and another     
switch2 and having finished his         
preparation of it1     laid it down     
beside him1 with an expressive look1 and
 took up his     book4      ,this was a 
good freshener to my presence of mind1  
as a beginning4 ,i     felt the words of
 my lesson slipping off1 not one by one1
 or line by     line1 but by the entire 
page4 ,i tried to lay hold of them2 but 
they     seemed1 if ,i may so express   
it1 to have put skates on1 and to skim  
away from me with a smoothness there was
 no checking4      ,we began badly1 and 
went on worse4 ,i had come in1 with an  
idea of     distinguishing myself       
rather1 conceiving that ,i was very well
     prepared2 but it turned out to be  
quite a mistake4 ,book after book was   

added to the heap of failures1 ,miss    
,murdstone being firmly watchful of     
us all the time4 ,and when we came at   
last to the five thousand cheeses       
7canes he made it that day1 ,i          
remember71 my mother burst out crying4  
,clara6 said ,miss ,murdstone1 in her   
warning voice4      ,i am not quite     
well1 my dear ,jane1 ,i think1 said my  
mother4      ,i saw him wink1 solemnly1 
at his sister1 as he rose and said1     
taking     up the cane4      ,why1      
,jane1 we can hardly expect ,clara to   
bear1 with perfect firmness1     the    
worry and torment that ,david has       
occasioned her to-day4 ,that would      
be stoical4 ,clara is greatly           
strengthened and improved1 but we can   
hardly expect so much from her4 ,david1 
you and ,i will go upstairs1     boy4   
,they went upstairs4 ,david was beaten  
unmercifully1 notwithstanding his       
piteous cries1 and in his desperation he
 bit the hand of ,murdstone4 ,for this  
it seemed as if ,murdstone would have   

beaten him to death but for the         
interference of the women4 ,then he was 
gone1 and the door locked outside2 and  
,i was lying1 fevered and hot1 and torn1
 and sore1 and raging in my puny way1   
upon the floor4  ,oh6 ,blind1           
self-satisfied child-quellers1 who so   
ignorantly boast of your ability to     
conquer children6 ,dickens described    
,murdstone for you4 ,think of that awful
 picture of the beautiful boy1 created  
in the image of ,god1 lying on the      
floor1 fevered and hot1 and torn1 and   
sore1 and raging1 with every element of 
sweetness and strength in his life      
turned to darkness and fury1 and next   
time you propose to conquer a child who 
has been rendered partially insane1     
possibly by your treatment1 and with    
whom you have unnecessarily forced a    
crisis1 remember the ,murdstone         
tragedy--a real tragedy1 notwithstanding
 the fact that the boy's life was       
spared4  ,remember1 too1 that your very 
presence and manner may blight the young

 lives that you are supposed to develop4
  ,when ,mr4 ,murdstone was sending     
,david away to work he gave him his     
philosophy of coercion as his parting   
advice3      ,david1 said ,mr4          
,murdstone1 to the young1 this is a     
world for     action2 not for moping and
 droning in4      --,as you do1 added   
his sister4      ,jane ,murdstone1 leave
 it to me1 if you please4 ,i say1       
,david1 to the     young1 this is a     
world for action1 and not for moping and
 droning in4     ,it is especially so   
for a young boy of your disposition1    
which     requires a great deal of      
correcting2 and to which no greater     
service     can be done than to force it
 to conform to the ways of the working  
world1 and to bend it and break it4     
,for stubbornness won't do here1 said   
his sister4 ,what it wants is     to be 
crushed4 ,and crushed it must be4 ,shall
 be1 too6  ,first he fills the boy as   
full as possible of self-depreciation1  
and then trains him to expect that his  

leading experiences in life will consist
 of being forced into submission1       
conforming to the plans of others1      
bending to authority1 the breaking of   
his will1 and the crushing of his       
interests and purposes4 ,what a         
depressing outlook to give a child6     
,john ,willet1 in ,barnaby ,rudge1 is   
used as a means of convincing parents   
that they should respect the feelings   
and opinions of children4 ,no two maxims
 relating to child training are more    
utterly wrong in principle1 more devoid 
of the simplest elements of child       
sympathy and child reverence1 than the  
time-honoured nonsense that children    
should be seen and not heard1 and       
children should speak only when they are
 spoken to4  ,dickens exposes these     
maxims to deserved ridicule in ,john    
,willet's treatment of his son ,joe4    
,john kept the ,maypole ,inn4 ,joe was a
 fine1 sturdy young man1 but his father 
still ruled him with an unbending       
stubbornness that he believed to be a   

necessary exercise of authority4 ,john  
was encouraged in his tyranny over his  
son by some of his old cronies1 who were
 in the habit of sitting in the ,maypole
 in the evenings and praising ,john for 
his firmness in training his son4 ,one  
evening a stranger made a remark about a
 gentleman1 to which ,joe replied4      
,silence1 sir6 cried his father4        
,what a chap you are1 ,joe6 said ,long  
,parkes4      ,such a inconsiderate lad6
 murmured ,tom ,cobb4      ,putting     
himself forward and wringing the very   
nose off his own     father's face6     
exclaimed the parish clerk              
metaphorically4      ,what have ,i done8
 reasoned poor ,joe4      ,silence1 sir6
 returned his father2 what do you mean  
by talking1     when you see people that
 are more than two or three times your  
age     sitting still and silent and not
 dreaming of saying a word8      ,why   
that's the proper time for me to talk1  
isn't it8 said ,joe     rebelliously4   
,the proper time1 sir6 retorted his     

father1 the proper time's no     time4  
,ah1 to be sure6 muttered ,parkes1      
nodding gravely to the other two     who
 nodded likewise1 observing under their 
breaths that that was the     point4    
,the proper time's no time1 sir1        
repeated ,john ,willet2 when ,i was     
your age ,i never talked1 ,i never      
wanted to talk4 ,i listened and         
improved myself1 that's what ,i did4    
,it's all very fine talking1 muttered   
,joe1 who had been fidgeting in     his 
chair with divers uneasy gestures4 ,but 
if you mean to tell me     that ,i'm    
never to open my lips----      ,silence1
 sir6 roared his father4 ,no1 you never 
are4 ,when your     opinion's wanted1   
you give it4 ,when you're spoke to you  
speak4 ,when     your opinion's not     
wanted and you're not spoke to1 don't   
give an     opinion and don't you speak4
 ,the world's undergone a nice          
alteration     since my time1 certainly4
 ,my belief is that there an't any boys 
left--that there isn't such a thing as a

 boy--that there's nothing now          
between a male baby and a man--and that 
all the boys went out with his          
blessed majesty ,king ,george the       
,second4  ,on another occasion ,joe had 
been hit with a whip by a stranger1 and 
he expressed his opinion to ,mr4 ,varden
 about the character of the man who hit 
him4      ,hold your tongue1 sir1 said  
his father4      ,i won't1 father4 ,it's
 all along of you that he ventured to do
 what he     did4 ,seeing me treated    
like a child1 and put down like a fool1 
he     plucks up a heart and has a fling
 at a fellow that he thinks--and may    
well think1 too--hasn't a grain of      
spirit4 ,but he's mistaken1 as ,i'll    
show him1 and as ,i'll show all of you  
before long4      ,does the boy know    
what he's saying of6 cried the          
astonished ,john     ,willet4           
,father1 returned ,joe1 ,i know what ,i 
say and mean1 well--better than     you 
do when you hear me4 ,i can bear with   
you1 but ,i can not bear the            

contempt that your treating me in the   
way you do brings upon me from          
others every day4 ,look at other young  
men of my age4 ,have they no            
liberty1 no will1 no right to speak8    
,are they obliged to sit     mumchance1 
and to be ordered about till they are   
the laughingstock of     young and old8 
,i am a byword all over ,chigwell1 and  
,i say--and it's     fairer my saying so
 now1 than waiting till you are dead1   
and ,i have     got your money--,i say1 
that before long ,i shall be driven to  
break     such bounds1 and that when ,i 
do1 it won't be me that you'll have to  
blame1 but your own self1 and no other4 
,john never trusted his son1 never      
entered into his plans1 and treated even
 the most sacred things of ,joe's life  
with contempt4  ,joe was about to start 
to ,london on business for his father1  
and he was to ride a mare that was so   
slow that a young man could not enjoy   
the prospect of riding her4      ,don't 
you ride hard1 said his father4      ,i 

should be puzzled to do that1 ,i think1 
father1 ,joe replied1     casting a     
disconsolate look at the animal4        
,none of your impudence1 sir1 if you    
please1 retorted old ,john4 ,what       
would you ride1 sir8 ,a wild ass or     
zebra would be too tame for you1        
wouldn't he1 eh1 sir8 ,you'd like to    
ride a roaring lion1 wouldn't you1      
sir1 eh1 sir8 ,hold your tongue1 sir4   
,when ,mr4 ,willet1 in his              
differences with his son1 had exhausted 
all the questions that     occurred to  
him1 and ,joe had said nothing at all in
 answer1 he     generally wound up by   
bidding him hold his tongue4      ,and  
what does the boy mean1 added ,mr4      
,willet1 after he had stared at     him 
for a little time1 in a species of      
stupefaction1 by cocking his     hat1 to
 such an extent6 ,are you going to kill 
the wintner1 sir8      ,no1 said ,joe   
tartly2 ,i'm not4 ,now your mind's at   
ease1 father4      ,with a military air1
 too6 said ,mr4 ,willet1 surveying him  

from top to     toe2 with a swaggering1 
fire-eating1 biling-water drinking sort 
of     way with him6 ,and what do you   
mean by pulling up the crocuses and     
snowdrops1 eh1 sir8      ,it's only a   
little nosegay1 said ,joe1 reddening4   
,there's no harm in     that1 ,i hope8  
,you're a boy of business1 you are1 sir6
 said ,mr4 ,willet     disdainfully1 to 
go supposing that wintners care for     
nosegays4      ,i don't suppose anything
 of the kind1 returned ,joe4 ,let them  
keep     their red noses for bottles and
 tankards4 ,these are going to ,mr4     
,varden's house4      ,and do you       
suppose he minds such things as         
crocuses8 demanded     ,john4      ,i   
don't know1 and to say the truth1 ,i    
don't care1 said ,joe4 ,come1           
father1 give me the money1 and in the   
name of patience let me go4      ,there 
it is1 sir1 replied ,john2 and take care
 of it2 and mind you     don't make too 
much haste back1 but give the mare a    
long rest4 ,do you     mind8      ,ay1  

,i mind1 returned ,joe4 ,she'll need it1
 ,heaven knows4      ,and don't you     
score up too much at the ,black ,lion1  
said ,john4 ,mind     that too4         
,then why don't you let me have some    
money of my own8 retorted ,joe          
sorrowfully2 why don't you1 father8     
,what do you send me into ,london       
for1 giving me only the right to call   
for my dinner at the ,black ,lion1      
which you're to pay for next time you   
go1 as if ,i was not to be     trusted  
with a few shillings8 ,why do you use me
 like this8 ,it's not     right of you4 
,you can't expect me to be quiet under  
it4  ,dickens in this interview condemns
 several mistakes often made by parents 
in restraining instead of sympathizing  
with their children in the natural      
unfolding of their young manhood or     
womanhood4 ,it was wrong for ,john      
,willet to ridicule ,joe's desire to    
ride a smart horse4 ,it was wrong to bid
 him hold his tongue4 ,it was wrong to  
criticise his method of dressing to look

 his very best4 ,it was wrong to sneer  
at him because his consciousness of     
unfolding manhood and his hope of ,dolly
 ,varden's love made him carry himself  
with a military air4 ,what a difference 
it would make in the characters of young
 men if they all carried themselves with
 a military air1 and walked with a      
consciousness of power and hope6  ,it   
was especially wrong to make fun of the 
nosegay ,joe had pulled for ,dolly      
,varden4 ,what a pity it is that so few 
fathers or mothers can truly sympathize 
with their boys and girls during the    
period of courtship6 ,why should the    
most sacred feelings that ever stir the 
soul be made the subject of jest and    
levity by those whose hearts should most
 truly beat in unison with the young    
hearts that are aflame8 ,if there is a  
time in the life of young men or women  
when father or mother may enter the     
hearts of their children as benedictions
 and form a blessed unity that can never
 be broken or undone it is surely when  

young hearts are hallowed by love4 ,yet 
there are few parents to whom their     
children can speak freely about the     
mysteries and the deep experiences of   
love that come into their lives4  ,it   
was wrong to treat ,joe as if he was    
unworthy to be trusted with money4      
,every wrong revealed by ,dickens in    
this interview had its root in ,john's  
feeling that it was his duty to keep    
,joe down1 to prevent the outflow of his
 inner life4      ,old ,john having long
 encroached a good standard inch1 full  
measure1 on     the liberty of ,joe1 and
 having snipped off a ,flemish ell in   
the matter     of the parole1 grew so   
despotic and so great1 that his thirst  
for     conquest knew no bounds4 ,the   
more young ,joe submitted1 the more     
absolute old ,john became4 ,the ell soon
 faded into nothing4 ,yards1            
furlongs1 miles arose2 and on went old  
,john in the pleasantest manner         
possible1 trimming off an exuberance in 
this place1 shearing away some          

liberty of speech or action in that1 and
 conducting himself in this     small   
way with as much high mightiness and    
majesty as the most     glorious tyrant 
that ever had his statue reared in the  
public ways1     of ancient or of modern
 times4      ,as great men are urged on 
to the abuse of power 7when they need   
urging1 which is not often7 by their    
flatterers and dependents1 so old       
,john was impelled to these exercises of
 authority by the applause and          
admiration of his ,maypole cronies1 who1
 in the intervals of their     nightly  
pipes and pots1 would shake their heads 
and say that ,mr4     ,willet was a     
father of the good old ,english sort2   
that there were no     newfangled       
notions or modern ways in him2 that he  
put them in mind of     what their      
fathers were when they were boys2 that  
there was no mistake     about him2 that
 it would be well for the country if    
there were more     like him1 and more  
was the pity that there were not2 with  

many other     original remarks of that 
nature4 ,then they would condescendingly
 give     ,joe to understand that it was
 all for his good1 and he would be      
thankful for it one day2 and in         
particular1 ,mr4 ,cobb would acquaint   
him1 that when he was his age1 his      
father thought no more of giving     him
 a parental kick1 or a box on the ears1 
or a cuff on the head1 or     some      
little admonition of that sort1 than he 
did of any other ordinary     duty of   
life2 and he would further remark1 with 
looks of great     significance1 that   
but for this judicious bringing up1 he  
might have     never been the man he was
 at that present speaking2 which was    
probable     enough1 as he was1 beyond  
all question1 the dullest dog of the    
party4     ,in short1 between old ,john 
and old ,john's friends1 there never was
 an     unfortunate young fellow so     
bullied1 badgered1 worried1 fretted1 and
     browbeaten2 so constantly beset1 or
 made so tired of his life1 as poor     

,joe ,willet4  ,the end came at last4   
,one evening ,mr4 ,cobb was more        
aggravating than usual1 and ,joe's      
patience could hold out no longer4 ,he  
knocked the offending ,cobb into a      
corner among the spittoons1 and ran away
 from the unbearable tyranny of home4   
,what a moral catastrophe occurs when a 
young man leaves home with a feeling of 
relief6 ,dickens develops this thought  
in the case of ,tom ,gradgrind4 ,with   
the best of intentions1 with a single   
desire of training his son in the best  
possible way1 ,mr4 ,gradgrind had       
repressed his natural tendencies and    
robbed him of the joys of childhood and 
youth to such an extent that when he was
 about to go to live with ,mr4          
,bounderby1 and his sister1 ,louisa1    
asked him if he was pleased with his    
prospect8 he replied1 ,well1 it will be 
getting away from home4 ,the boy is     
never to blame for such a catastrophe4  
,dickens attacked another phase of the  
flogging mania in ,barnaby ,rudge1 in a 

brief but suggestive scene4 ,barnaby and
 his mother were travelling1 and were   
resting at the gate of a gentleman's    
grounds1 when the proprietor himself    
came along and demanded to know who they
 were4      ,vagrants1 said the         
gentleman1 vagrants and vagabonds4 ,thee
 wish to     be made acquainted with the
 cage1 dost thee--the cage1 the stocks1 
and     the whipping post8 ,where dost  
come from8  ,learning that ,barnaby was 
weak-minded1 he asked how long he had   
been idiotic4      ,from his birth1 said
 the widow4      ,i don't believe it1   
cried the gentleman1 not a bit of it4   
,it's an     excuse not to work4        
,there's nothing like flogging to cure  
that     disorder4 ,i'd make a          
difference in him in ten minutes1 ,i'll 
be bound4      ,heaven has made none in 
more than twice ten years1 sir1 said the
     widow mildly4      ,then why don't 
you shut him up8 ,we pay enough for     
county     institutions1 damn 'em4 ,but 
thou'd rather drag him about to excite  

charity--of course4 ,ay1 ,i know thee4  
,now1 this gentleman had various        
endearing appellations among his        
intimate friends4 ,by some he was called
 a country gentleman of the     true    
school1 by some a fine old country      
gentleman1 by some a     sporting       
gentleman1 by some a thoroughbred       
,englishman1 by some a     genuine ,john
 ,bull2 but they all agreed in one      
respect1 and that was1     that it was a
 pity that there were not more like him1
 and that because     there were not1   
the country was going to rack and ruin  
every day4  ,dickens always enjoyed     
ridiculing the people who long for the  
good old times and approve of the good  
old customs4 ,there are some who even   
yet deplore the fact that children are  
not repressed and coerced as they used  
to be1 and who prophesy untold evils    
unless the good old customs are         
re-established4 ,they long for the      
recurrence of the days when lickin' and 
larnin' went hand in hand1 when ,wallop 

the boy1 develop the man was the popular
 motto1 expressive of the general faith4
 ,dickens pictured them in ,john ,willet
 and this country gentleman of the true 
school4 ,he also criticised them        
severely in the ,chimes4  ,the          
depressing influence of another form of 
coercion is shown in ,our ,mutual       
,friend by the effect of ,mr4 ,podsnap's
 character on his daughter ,georgiana4  
,mr4 ,podsnap was one of the absolutely 
positive people who know everything     
about everything1 who never allow other 
people to express opinions without      
contradicting them1 and who take every  
possible opportunity of expressing their
 own opinions in a loud1 emphatic1      
dogmatic manner4 ,of course1 no woman   
should hold opinions1 according to ,mr4 
,podsnap's way of thinking1 although    
,mrs4 ,podsnap1 in her own way1 did     
credit to her more ,podsnappery master4 
,it was therefore not to be dreamt of   
for a moment that a young person like   
their daughter ,georgiana could have any

 views of her own regarding life or any 
of its conditions1 past1 present1 or    
future4 ,she was a young person to be   
protected1 and kept in the background1  
and guarded from evil1 and sheltered1 so
 that she should not even hear of       
anything improper1 and shielded from    
temptation to do wrong1 or to do        
anything1 indeed1 right or wrong4 ,her  
father was rich2 why should she wish to 
do anything but listen to him1 and go   
away when he told her to do so1 if he   
wished to speak of subjects that he     
deemed it unwise to let a young person  
hear discussed8      ,there was a ,miss 
,podsnap4 ,and this young rocking-horse 
was being     trained in her mother's   
art of prancing in a stately manner     
without     ever getting on4 ,but the   
high parental action was not yet        
imparted to     her1 and in truth she   
was but an undersized damsel1 with high 
shoulders1 low spirits1 chilled elbows1 
and a rasped surface of nose1     who   
seemed to take occasional frosty peeps  

out of childhood into     womanhood1 and
 to shrink back again1 overcome by her  
mother's     headdress and her father   
from head to foot--crushed by the mere  
dead     weight of ,podsnappery4        
,georgiana explained the reason of her  
shyness to ,mrs4 ,lammle1 for1 strange  
as it may seem1 considering her         
heredity1 ,georgiana was shy4           
,podsnappery as environment is always   
much stronger than ,podsnappery as      
heredity4      ,what ,i mean is1 pursued
 ,georgiana1 that ma being so endowed   
with     awfulness1 and pa being so     
endowed with awfulness1 and there being 
so     much awfulness everywhere--,i    
mean1 at least1 everywhere where ,i     
am--perhaps it makes me who am so       
deficient in awfulness1 and             
frightened at it--,i say it very        
badly--,i don't know whether you can    
understand what ,i mean8  ,thoughtful   
people need no explanation regarding the
 influence of ,podsnappery on children4 
,the time will come when in normal      

schools character analysis will be the  
supreme qualification of those who are  
to decide who may and who may not teach4
 ,when that time comes1 as come it must1
 no ,podsnaps will be allowed to teach4 
,it was no wonder that--      ,whenever 
,georgiana could escape from the        
thraldom of ,podsnappery2     could     
throw off the bedclothes of the         
custard-coloured phaeton1 and     get   
up2 could shrink out of the range of her
 mother's rocking1 and 7so     to speak7
 rescue her poor little frosty toes from
 being rocked over2     she repaired to 
her friend1 ,mrs4 ,alfred ,lammle4      
,dickens fired another thunderbolt1 in  
,our ,mutual ,friend1 to set the world  
thinking about its method of teaching   
children1 by his brief description of   
,pleasant ,riderhood1 the daughter of   
,rogue ,riderhood4      ,show her a     
christening1 and she saw a little       
heathen personage having     a quite    
superfluous name bestowed upon it1      
inasmuch as it would be     commonly    

addressed by some abusive epithet2 which
 little personage was     not in the    
least wanted by anybody1 and would be   
shoved and banged out     of everybody's
 way1 until it should grow big enough to
 shove and bang4     ,show her a live   
father1 and she saw but a duplicate of  
her own father1     who from her infancy
 had been taken with fits and starts of 
discharging his duty to her1 which duty 
was always incorporated in the     form 
of a fist or a leather strap1 and being 
discharged hurt her4  ,in ,little       
,dorrit ,dickens gives one of his most  
striking verbal descriptions of the     
effects of coercion in ,arthur          
,clennam's account of his own early     
training4 ,he said to ,mr4 ,meagles1    
when the kind old gentleman spoke of    
working with a will3      ,i have no    
will4 ,that is to say1 he coloured a    
little1 next to none     that ,i can put
 in action now4 ,trained by main force2 
broken1 not bent2     heavily ironed    
with an object on which ,i was never    

consulted and which     was never mine2 
shipped away to the other end of the    
world before ,i     was of age1 and     
exiled there until my father's death    
there1 a year     ago2 always grinding  
in a mill ,i always hated2 what is to be
 expected     from me in middle life8   
,will1 purpose1 hope8 ,all those lights 
were     extinguished before ,i could   
sound the words4      ,light 'em up     
again6 said ,mr4 ,meagles4      ,ah6    
,easily said4 ,i am the son1 ,mr4       
,meagles1 of a hard father and          
mother4 ,i am the only child of parents 
who weighed1 measured1 and     priced   
everything2 for whom what could not be  
weighed1 measured1 and     priced had no
 existence4 ,strict people1 as the      
phrase is1 professors     of a stern    
religion1 their very religion was a     
gloomy sacrifice of     tastes and      
sympathies that were never their own1   
offered up as a part     of a bargain   
for the security of their possessions4  
,austere faces1     inexorable          

discipline1 penance in this world and   
terror in the     next--nothing graceful
 or gentle anywhere1 and the void in my 
cowed     heart everywhere--this was my 
childhood1 if ,i may so misuse the word 
as to apply it to such a beginning of   
life4  ,when he returned to the presence
 of his mother1 after an absence of many
 years in ,china1 the old influence of  
her presence1 and her stern1 strong     
voice1 so gathered about her son that he
 felt conscious of a renewal of the     
timid chill and reserve of his          
childhood4  ,it was a terrible          
indictment of all coercive1             
child-quelling1 will-breaking training  
that ,arthur made when he said to his   
stern mother3      ,i can not say that  
,i have been able to conform myself1 in 
heart and     spirit1 to your rules2 ,i 
can not say that ,i believe my forty    
years     have been profitable or       
pleasant to myself1 or any one2 but ,i  
have     habitually submitted1 and ,i   
only ask you to remember it4  ,speaking 

of her own training1 ,mrs4 ,clennam     
said3 ,mine were days of wholesome      
repression1 punishment1 and fear1 and   
she frankly avowed her deliberate       
purpose of bringing ,arthur up in fear  
and trembling4  ,those were the dreadful
 ideals that ,dickens aimed to destroy4 
,repression1 punishment1 fear1 and      
trembling are no longer the dominant    
ideals of the ,christian world regarding
 child training4 ,they are rapidly      
giving way to the new and true gospel of
 stimulation1 happiness1 freedom1 and   
creative self-activity4  ,great         
,expectations was a valuable            
contribution to the literature of child 
training4 ,mrs4 ,gargery was a type of  
repressive1 coercive1 unsympathetic     
women1 who regard children as           
necessarily nuisances1 and who are      
continually thankful for the fact that  
by the free use of the tickler they may 
be subdued and kept in a state of       
bearable subjection4  ,mrs4 ,gargery had
 no children of her own1 but she had a  

little brother1 ,pip1 whom she brought  
up by hand4 ,her husband1 ,joe ,gargery1
 was an honest1 affectionate1           
sympathetic man1 who pitied poor ,pip   
and tried to comfort him when his wife  
was not present4 ,the dear old fellow   
said to ,pip one evening1 as they sat by
 the fire and he beat time to his kindly
 thoughts with the poker3      ,your    
sister is given to government4          
,given to government1 ,joe8 ,i was      
startled1 for ,i had some shadowy       
idea 7and ,i am afraid ,i must add hope7
 that ,joe had divorced her in          
favour of the lords of the ,admiralty1  
or ,treasury4      ,given to government1
 said ,joe4 ,which ,i meantersay the    
government of     you and myself4       
,oh6      ,and she ain't over partial to
 having scholars on the premises1 ,joe  
continued1 and in particular would not  
be over partial to my being a           
scholar1 for fear as ,i might rise4     
,like a sort of rebel1 don't you        
see8      ,i was going to retort with an

 inquiry1 and had got as far as ,why----
     when ,joe stopped me4      ,stay a 
bit4 ,i know what you're a-going to say1
 ,pip8 stay a bit6 ,i     don't deny    
that your sister comes the mo-gul over  
us1 now and again4 ,i     don't deny    
that she do throw us back-falls1 and    
that she do drop down     upon us heavy4
 ,at such times as when your sister is  
on the ram-page1     ,pip1 ,joe sunk his
 voice to a whisper and glanced at the  
door1     candour compels fur to admit  
that she is a buster4444      ,i wish it
 was only me that got put out1 ,pip2 ,i 
wish there warn't no     tickler for    
you1 old chap2 ,i wish ,i could take it 
all on myself2 but     this is the      
up-and-down-and-straight on it1 ,pip1   
and ,i hope you'll     overlook         
shortcomings4  ,poor ,joe6 ,his father  
had been a blacksmith1 but he took to   
drink1 and1 as ,joe said1 ,hammered at  
me with a wigour only to be equalled by 
the wigour with which he didn't hammer  
at his anwil4  ,dickens gives an        

illustration of ,mrs4 ,gargery's        
training which reveals not only her     
coercive and unsympathetic tendencies1  
but points to other errors in training  
children that are yet too common4 ,pip  
was warming himself before going to bed 
one night1 when a cannon sounded from   
the ,hulks1 or prison ships1 near the   
,gargery home4      ,ah6 said ,joe2     
there's another conwict off4      ,what 
does that mean8 said ,i4      ,mrs4     
,joe1 who always took explanations upon 
herself1 said snappishly3     ,escaped4 
,escaped4 ,administering the definition 
like medicine4      ,there was a conwict
 off last night1 said ,joe1 aloud1 after
 sunset     gun4 ,and they fired warning
 of him4 ,and now it appears they're    
firing     warning of another4          
,who's firing8 said ,i4      ,drat that 
boy1 interposed my sister1 frowning at  
me over her work2     what a questioner 
he is6 ,ask no questions and you'll be  
told no     lies4      ,it was not very 
polite to herself1 ,i thought1 to imply 

that ,i should     be told lies by her1 
even if ,i did ask questions4 ,but she  
never was     polite1 unless there was  
company4      ,mrs4 ,joe1 said ,i1 as a 
last resort1 ,i should like to know--if 
you     wouldn't much mind--where the   
firing comes from8      ,lord bless the 
boy6 exclaimed my sister1 as if she     
didn't quite mean     that1 but rather  
the contrary4 ,from the hulks6      ,and
 please1 what's hulks8 said ,i4         
,that's the way with this boy6 exclaimed
 my sister1 pointing me out     with her
 needle and thread1 and shaking her head
 at me4 ,answer him     one question1   
and he'll ask you a dozen directly4     
,hulks are prison     ships1 right      
'cross th' country4      ,i wonder who's
 put into prison ships1 and why they're 
put there8     said ,i1 in a general    
way1 and with quiet desperation4        
,it was too much for ,mrs4 ,joe1 who    
immediately rose4 ,i tell you what1     
young fellow1 said she1 ,i didn't bring 
you up by hand to badger     people's   

lives out4 ,it would be blame to me1 and
 not praise1 if ,i had4     ,people are 
put in the hulks because they murder1   
and because they rob1     and forge1 and
 do all sorts of bad2 and they always   
begin by asking     questions4 ,now1 you
 get along to bed6      ,i was never    
allowed a candle to light me to bed1    
and1 as ,i went     upstairs in the     
dark1 with my head tingling--from ,mrs4 
,joe's thimble     having played the    
tambourine upon it1 to accompany her    
last words--,i     felt fearfully       
sensible of the great convenience that  
the hulks were     handy for me4 ,i was 
clearly on my way there4      ,pip said 
later3 ,i suppose myself to be better   
acquainted than any     living authority
 with the ridgy effect of a wedding ring
 passing     unsympathetically over the 
human countenance4      ,my sister's    
bringing up had made me sensitive4 ,in  
the little world in     which children  
have their existence1 whosoever brings  
them up1 there     is nothing so finely 

perceived and so finely felt as         
injustice4 ,it may     be only small    
injustice that the child can be exposed 
to2 but the     child is small1 and its 
world is small1 and its rocking-horse   
stands     as many hands high1 according
 to scale1 as a big-boned ,irish hunter4
     ,within myself1 ,i had sustained1  
from my babyhood1 a perpetual conflict  
with injustice4 ,i had known1 from the  
time when ,i could speak1 that my       
sister1 in her capricious and violent   
coercion1 was unjust to me4 ,i     had  
cherished a profound conviction that her
 bringing me up by the     hand gave her
 no right to bring me up by jerks4      
,through all my     punishments1        
disgraces1 fasts and vigils1 and other  
penitential     performances1 ,i had    
nursed this assurance2 and to my        
communing so much     with it1 in a     
solitary and unprotected way1 ,i in     
great part refer the     fact that ,i   
was morally timid and very sensitive4   
,mrs4 ,gargery's training was bad       

because she refused to answer the boy's 
questions1 or abused him for asking     
them2 and when she did condescend to    
answer she answered in a snappy1        
unsympathetic way4 ,the cruelty of first
 scolding a child1 then trying to       
terrify him from asking questions by    
telling him that robbers1 murderers1 and
 all kinds of criminals began their     
downward career by asking questions1    
then rapping him on the head1 and       
finally sending him to bed without a    
light1 is admirably described4 ,all     
these practices are terribly unjust to  
children4 ,parents and teachers1 in the 
picture of ,mrs4 ,gargery1 are warned   
against scolding1 against threatening1  
against falsehood and misrepresentation 
in order to reduce children to          
submission1 against corporal punishment 
with the tickler1 against the more      
dastardly and more exasperating corporal
 punishment by snapping and rapping the 
head1 and against sending children to   
bed in the dark4 ,he was especially     

careful to make the retiring hour in his
 own home a period of joyousness and    
freedom from all fear4 ,he made the     
crime of sending children to bed without
 light and without sympathy one of the  
practices of that model of bad          
training--,mrs4 ,pipchin2 and one of the
 most dreaded of little ,oliver ,twist's
 experiences was to be sent to sleep    
among the coffins in the dark at        
,sowerberry's4  ,the hour of retiring is
 the special time when children most    
need the affectionate spirit of         
motherhood1 and wise mothers try to use 
this sacred hour to form their closest  
unity with the hearts of the little     
ones1 and to sow in their young lives   
the apperceptive seeds of sweetness1 and
 joy1 and faith4  ,the wrong of making  
children sensitive1 and then blaming    
them for being sensitive1 is admirably  
shown in ,pip's training4  ,the         
revelation of the child's consciousness 
of the sense of injustice in the        
treatment of those who train it is      

worthy of most careful study and thought
 by parents and teachers4 ,there can be 
no doubt that infants have a clear sense
 of wrongs inflicted on them1 even      
before they can speak4  ,the comparison 
of the child's rocking-horse with the   
big-boned ,irish hunter reveals one of  
the most essential lessons for          
adulthood3 that what may appear trifling
 to an adult may mean much to a child4  
,kind but thoughtless adulthood is often
 most grievously unjust to childhood1   
because it fails to consider how things 
appear to the child4 ,however kind and  
good such adults are1 they are utterly  
unsympathetic with the child4 ,many     
people are very considerate for         
childhood who are very unsympathetic    
with children4 ,consideration can never 
take the place of sympathy4 ,an ounce of
 true sympathy is worth a ton of        
consideration to a child4 ,adulthood has
 measured a child's corn in the bushel  
of adulthood4 ,mr4 ,gradgrind1 for      
instance1 was a good man1 and he meant  

to be kind and helpful to his children4 
,he was most considerate for them1 and  
spared no money to promote their welfare
 and happiness4 ,but he did it in       
accordance with the tastes and opinions 
of adulthood1 and totally ignored the   
fact that children have opinions and    
tastes1 and he ruined the children whom 
he most loved4 ,the rocking-horse and   
the big-boned ,irish hunter suggest rich
 mines of child psychology4  ,the       
pernicious habit of so many adults who  
fill the imaginations of children with  
bogies and terrors of an abnormal kind  
in order to keep them in the path of    
rectitude by falsehood1 is exposed in   
,mrs4 ,gargery's method of stopping     
,pip's questions by telling him that    
asking questions was the first step in a
 career of crime4 ,this habit leads     
parents insensibly into a most dishonest
 attitude toward their children4 ,it    
leads1 too1 in due time1 to a lack of   
reverence for adulthood4 ,falseness is  
certain to lead to the disrespect it    

deserves4 ,parents who make             
untruthfulness a basis for terror should
 not be surprised at the irreverence or 
the scepticism of their children4  ,in  
,the ,schoolboy's ,story1 old ,cheeseman
 was brought to school by a woman who   
was always taking snuff and shaking him4
  ,there is a great deal of pedagogical 
thought in ,dombey and ,son4 ,at the    
period of its issue 7#ahdf-dh7 ,dickens 
appears to have devoted more attention  
to the study of wrong methods of        
teaching than at any other time1 so in  
,dr4 ,blimber1 ,cornelia ,blimber1 and  
,mr4 ,feeder he gave his best           
illustrations of what in his opinion    
should be condemned in the popular      
methods of teaching4 ,but while this was
 evidently his chief educational purpose
 in writing the book1 he gave a good    
deal of attention to wrong methods of   
training1 especially to the most awful  
doctrine of the ages--that children must
 be coerced1 and repressed1 and checked1
 and subdued4 ,he evidently accepted as 

his supreme duty the responsibility for 
securing a free childhood for children4 
,mrs4 ,pipchin is an admirable          
delineation of the worst features of    
what was regarded as respectable child  
training4 ,her training is treated at   
length in ,chapter ,,xi4 ,it is         
sufficient here to deal with her        
coerciveness1 and recall the epithet    
child-queller which ,dickens applied to 
her4 ,no more expressive term was ever  
used to describe the wickedness of the  
coercionists4 ,it means more than most  
volumes4 ,it has new meaning every day  
as our reverence for the divinity in the
 child grows stronger1 and the absolute 
need of the development of his selfhood 
by his own self-activity becomes        
clearer4 ,it reveals a perfect charnel  
house full of dwarfed souls and blighted
 selfhood1 and weak characters that     
should have been strong1 and false      
characters that should have been true1  
and wailings that should have been      
music1 and tears that should have been  

laughter1 and darkness that should have 
been light1 and wickedness that should  
have been a blessing4 ,the one awful    
word child-queller means all of evil    
that can result from daring to stand    
between the child and ,god in our       
self-satisfied ignorance to check the   
free1 natural output of its selfhood    
which ,god meant to be wrought out with 
increasing power throughout its life4   
,our work is to change the direction of 
the outflowing selfhood when it is      
wrong1 to direct it to new and better   
interest centres1 but never to stop it  
or turn it back upon itself4  ,there are
 thousands of child-quellers teaching   
still4 ,would that they could see truly 
the dwarfed souls they have blighted1   
and the ghosts of the selfhood they have
 sacrificed on the altar of what they   
call discipline6  ,the term             
child-queller was the creation of       
genius4  ,mrs4 ,pipchin disdained the   
idea of reasoning with children4        
,hoity-toity6 exclaimed ,mrs4 ,pipchin1 

shaking out her black bombazine skirts1 
and plucking up all the ogress within   
her4 ,if she don't like it1 ,mr4        
,dombey1 she must be taught to lump it4 
,she would shake her head and frown down
 a legion of children1 and the wild ones
 went home tame enough after sojourning 
for a few months beneath her hospitable 
roof4 ,she tamed them by robbing them of
 their power1 as ,froebel's boy tamed   
flies by tearing off their wings and    
legs1 and then saying1 ,see how tame    
they are4  ,teachers used to boast about
 their ability to tame children1 when   
their ability really meant the power to 
destroy the tendency to put forth       
effort1 to substitute negativeness for  
positiveness4  ,susan ,nipper1 in her   
usual graphic style1 expressed her views
 regarding the coercive practices of    
,mrs4 ,pipchin and the ,blimbers4       
,goodness knows1 exclaimed ,miss        
,nipper1 there's a-many we could        
spare instead1 if numbers is a object2  
,mrs4 ,pipchin as a overseer     would  

come cheap at her weight in gold1 and if
 a knowledge of black     slavery should
 be required1 them ,blimbers is the very
 people for the     sitiwation4  ,one of
 ,mrs4 ,pipchin's favourite methods of  
coercing1 or taming1 or child-quelling  
was to send children to bed4      ,the  
best thing you can do is to take off    
your things and go to bed     this      
minute4 ,this was the sagacious woman's 
remedy for all     complaints1          
particularly lowness of spirits and     
inability to sleep2     for which       
offence many young victims in the days  
of the ,brighton     ,castle had been   
committed to bed at ten o'clock in the  
morning4  ,another assault on coercion  
was made in ,dombey and ,son in the     
brief description of the ,grinders'     
school4      ,biler's life had been     
rendered weary by the costume of the    
,charitable     ,grinders4 ,the youth of
 the streets could not endure it4 ,no   
young     vagabond could be brought to  
bear its contemplation for a moment     

without throwing himself upon the       
unoffending wearer and doing him a      
mischief4 ,his social existence had been
 more like that of an early             
,christian than an innocent child of the
 nineteenth century4 ,he had     been   
stoned in the streets4 ,he had been     
overthrown into gutters2     bespattered
 with mud2 violently flattened against  
posts4 ,entire     strangers to his     
person had lifted his yellow cap off his
 head and     cast it to the winds4 ,his
 legs had not only undergone verbal     
criticism     and revilings1 but had    
been handled and pinched4 ,that very    
morning he     had received a perfectly 
unsolicited black eye on his way to the 
,grinders' establishment1 and had been  
punished for it by the master3 a        
superannuated old ,grinder of savage    
disposition1 who had been     appointed 
schoolmaster because he didn't know     
anything and wasn't fit     for         
anything1 and for whose cruel cane all  
chubby little boys had a     perfect    

fascination4  ,poor ,biler went wrong1  
and when he was taken to task for it by 
,mr4 ,carker he gave his theory to      
account for the fact that he had not    
done better at school4      ,you're a   
nice young gentleman6 said ,mr4 ,carker1
 shaking his head at     him4 ,there's  
hemp-seed sown for you1 my fine fellow6 
,i'm sure1 sir1 returned the wretched   
,biler1 blubbering again1 and     again 
having recourse to his coat cuff3 ,i    
shouldn't care1 sometimes1     if it was
 growed too4 ,my misfortunes all began  
in wagging1 sir1 but     what could ,i  
do1 exceptin' wag8      ,excepting what8
 said ,mr4 ,carker4      ,wag1 sir4     
,wagging from school4      ,do you mean 
pretending to go there1 and not going8  
said ,mr4 ,carker4      ,yes1 sir1      
that's wagging1 sir1 returned the       
quondam ,grinder1 much     affected4 ,i 
was chivied through the streets1 sir1   
when ,i went there1     and pounded when
 ,i got there4 ,so ,i wagged and hid    
myself1 and that     began it4  ,when   

,mr4 ,dombey1 by whose act of superior  
grace ,biler had been sent to the       
,charitable ,grinders' school1 upbraided
 the boy's father for his failure to    
turn out well1      the simple father   
said that he hoped his son1 the quondam 
,grinder1     huffed and cuffed1 and    
flogged and badged1 and taught1 as      
parrots are1     by a brute jobbed into 
his place of schoolmaster with as much  
fitness     for it as a hound1 might not
 have been educated on quite a right    
plan4  ,sagacious teachers and parents  
often blame and punish children for     
being what they made them4  ,still      
another illustration of the cruel       
coercion practised on children is found 
in ,dombey and ,son1 in the training of 
,alice ,marwood4      ,there was a child
 called ,alice ,marwood1 said the       
daughter1 with a     laugh1 and looking 
down at herself in terrible derision of 
herself1     born among poverty and     
neglect1 and nursed in it4 ,nobody      
taught her1     nobody stepped forward  

to help her1 nobody cared for her4      
,nobody6 echoed the mother1 pointing to 
herself1 and striking her     breast4   
,the only care she knew1 returned the   
daughter1 was to be beaten1     and     
stinted1 and abused sometimes2 and she  
might have done better     without that4
  ,the picture of ,george ,silverman's  
early life is one of the most touching  
of all the appeals of ,dickens on behalf
 of childhood4 ,he lived in a cellar1   
and when he was removed at length he    
knew only the sensations of cold1       
hunger1 thirst1 and the pain of being   
beaten4 ,the poor child used to         
speculate on his mother's feet having a 
good or ill temper as she descended the 
stairs to their cellar home1 and he     
watched her knees1 her waist1 her face1 
as they came into view1 to learn whether
 he was likely to be abused or not4     
,many mothers realized their own cruelty
 by reading such descriptions of cruelty
 toward little children4  ,the whole    
system of training of ,mr4 ,gradgrind   

and his teacher1 ,mr4 ,m',choakumchild  
7the latter name contains volumes of    
coercion7 was a scientific system of    
coerciveness and restraint1 planned and 
carried out by a good man misguided by  
false ideas about child training and    
character building4 ,coercion was only  
one of several bad elements in his      
system1 but he was terribly coercive4   
,his children were lavishly supplied    
with almost everything they did not care
 for1 and robbed of everything they     
should naturally be interested in4  ,the
 results were1 as might be expected1    
disastrous4 ,his son ,tom became a      
monster of selfishness1 sensuality1 and 
criminality4 ,dickens uses the name     
whelp to describe him1 and1 in a        
satirical manner1 accounts for his      
meanness and weaknesses in the following
 summary3      ,it was very remarkable  
that a young gentleman who had been     
brought up     under one continuous     
system of unnatural restraint should be 
a     hypocrite2 but it was certainly   

the case with ,tom4 ,it was very strange
     that a young gentleman who had     
never been left to his own guidance for 
five consecutive minutes should be      
incapable at last of governing          
himself2 but so it was with ,tom4 ,it   
was altogether unaccountable that     a 
young gentleman whose imagination had   
been strangled in his cradle     should 
be still inconvenienced by its ghost in 
the form of grovelling     sensualities2
 but such a monster1 beyond all doubt1  
was ,tom4  ,when ,mr4 ,gradgrind became 
convinced that he had been altogether   
wrong in his educational ideals and was 
endeavouring to explain the matter to   
,mr4 ,bounderby1 that gentleman gave    
expression to the views of many people  
of his time4 ,fortunately there are few 
,bounderbys now1 but there are some even
 yet4      ,well1 well6 returned ,mr4   
,gradgrind1 with a patient1 even a      
submissive air4 ,and he sat for a little
 while pondering4 ,bounderby1 ,i     see
 reason to doubt whether we have ever   

quite understood ,louisa4      ,what do 
you mean by we8      ,let me say1 ,i1   
then1 he returned1 in answer to the     
coarsely blurted     question2 ,i doubt 
whether ,i have understood ,louisa4 ,i  
doubt whether ,i     have been quite    
right in the manner of her education4   
,there you hit it1 returned ,bounderby4 
,there ,i agree with you4 ,you     have 
found it out at last1 have you8         
,education6 ,i'll tell you what         
education is--to be tumbled out of      
doors1 neck and crop1 and put upon      
the shortest allowance of everything    
except blows4 ,that's what ,i     call  
education4  ,in his last book--,edwin   
,drood--,dickens pictured ,mr4          
,honeythunder as a type of coercive     
philanthropists1 whom he regarded as    
intolerable as well as intolerant       
nuisances--people who would use force to
 compel everybody to think and act as   
they are told to think and act by the   
,honeythunders4  ,in speaking of ,mr4   
,honeythunder and his class of          

philanthropists1 ,rev4 ,canon           
,crisparkle said3      ,it is a most    
extraordinary thing that these          
philanthropists are so     given to     
seizing their fellow-creatures by the   
scruff of the neck1 and     7as one may 
say7 bumping them into the paths of     
peace4  ,neville ,landless described his
 training to ,canon ,crisparkle in      
telling words3      ,and to finish with1
 sir3 ,i have been brought up among     
abject and     servile dependents of an 
inferior race1 and ,i may easily have   
contracted some affinity with them4     
,sometimes ,i don't know but that it    
may be a drop of what is tigerish in    
their blood4  ,there is a profound      
philosophy of one phase of the evils of 
coercion in this statement4 ,coercion   
does not always destroy power by        
blighting it4 ,often the power that was 
intended to bless turns to poison when  
it is repressed1 and makes men          
hypocritical and tigerish4 ,it is true1 
too1 that a child who is brought up with

 the idea of dominating a servile class1
 or even servile individuals1 can never 
have a true conception of his own       
freedom4  ,dickens was not satisfied    
with his numerous and sustained attacks 
on the more violent forms of coercion   
and repression4 ,he began in ,edwin     
,drood to draw a picture of ,mrs4       
,crisparkle1 the mother of the ,canon1  
to show that the placid firmness of her 
strong will had a baleful influence on  
character4 ,her character was not       
completed1 but the outlines given are   
most suggestive4 ,what could surpass the
 absolute indifference she showed to the
 slightest consideration for the        
individuality or opinions of other      
people when she spoke of her wards1 who 
were grown up1 it should be remembered1 
to young manhood and womanhood4      ,i 
have spoken with my two wards1 ,neville 
and ,helena ,landless1 on the           
subject of their defective education1   
and they give in to the plan            
proposed2 as ,i should have taken good  

care they did1 whether they     liked it
 or not4  ,how exquisitely he reveals   
the character of the eminently dogmatic1
 though quiet1 ,christian lady by her   
remarking so definitely to her son1 the 
,canon3      ,i have no objection to    
discuss it1 ,sept4 ,i trust1 my dear1 ,i
 am     always open to discussion4      
,there was a vibration in the old lady's
     cap1 as though she internally      
added1 ,and ,i should like to see the   
discussion that would change my mind6   
,dickens meant to show that whether the 
coercion partook of the nature of that  
exercised by ,squeers or ,mrs4          
,crisparkle1 it resulted in forcing     
those compelled to submit to it to give 
in1 and that all children who are       
regularly made to give in acquire the   
habit of giving in1 and eventually      
become give-iners and hypocrites until  
circumstances make them rebels and      
anarchists4 ,so he condemned every form 
of coercion1 and taught the doctrine of 
true freedom for the child as a         

necessary element in his best           
development4 ,when this doctrine is     
fully understood men will soon become   
truly free4 ,all true education has been
 a movement toward freedom4 ,all true   
national advancement has been toward    
more perfect freedom4 ,the ideal of     
national1 constitutional liberty has    
changed in harmony with the educational 
revelations of the broadening conception
 of freedom2 and more progressive       
conceptions of national liberty have    
rendered it necessary for the educators 
to reveal truer1 freer methods of       
training children in harmony with the   
higher national organization4  ,when the
 ideal of national organization was the 
divine right of kings to rule their     
subjects by absolute authority1 the     
system of national organization required
 passive obedience on the part of the   
subject4 ,to secure this coercive       
discipline the prompt submission of the 
child to the immediate authority over   
him was the ideal process4 ,passive     

submission was required as the full duty
 of the citizen1 and passive obedience  
was the desired product of the school4  
,but the new ideal of government is rule
 by the people through their            
representatives1 and national           
citizenship means the intelligent       
co-operation of independent individuals2
 so the true educational ideal is a free
 selfhood1 and a free selfhood in       
maturity demands a free selfhood in     
childhood4 ,to secure this it is        
essential that schools shall become free
 republics of childhood4  ,but a free   
selfhood in childhood must lead to      
anarchy1 say those who cling to the     
coercive ideal4 ,anarchy never springs  
from freedom4 ,anarchy is the foul son  
of coercion4 ,true freedom does not     
include liberty to do wrong4 ,the       
perfect law of liberty is the only basis
 for perfect happiness1 because it is   
not freedom beyond law1 but freedom     
within law1 freedom because of law4 ,law
 should never be coercive to the child4 

,when it becomes so the law is wrong and
 it makes the child wrong1 and produces 
the apperceptive centres of anarchy in  
feeling and thought out of the very     
elements that should have produced      
joyous co-operation4 ,law should give   
the child consciousness of power1 and   
not of restraint4 ,undirected selfhood1 
uncontrolled selfhood1 is not true      
freedom4 ,the exercise of power without 
limitations leads to confusion1         
indecision1 and anarchy in everything   
except its spirit of rebellion4 ,the    
guidance and control of adulthood and   
the limitations of law are necessary to 
the accomplishment of the best results  
in the immediate product of effort put  
forth by the child1 in the effect on his
 character1 and in the development of a 
true consciousness of freedom in his    
life4  ,the terrible blunder of the past
 in child training has been to make law 
coercive instead of directive4 ,law has 
been prohibitive1 not stimulative4 ,law 
has defined barriers to prevent effort1 

instead of outlining the direction      
effort should take4 ,the limitations of 
law have been used to define the course 
the child should not take2 they should  
have defined the course he ought to     
take1 and within the range of which     
course he should use his selfhood in the
 freest possible way4 ,law has said thou
 shalt not when it should have said thou
 shalt2 it has said don't when it should
 have said do2 it has said quit when it 
should have said go on2 it has said be  
still when it should have said work2 it 
has stood in the way to check when it   
should have moved on to lead to victory 
and progress along the most direct      
lines2 it has given a consciousness of  
weakness instead of a consciousness of  
power2 it has developed moroseness      
instead of joyousness1 self-depreciation
 instead of self-reverence2 and children
 for these reasons have been led to     
dislike law1 and the apperceptive       
centres of anarchy have been laid by a  
coercive instead of a stimulative use of

 law4  ,by false ideals of coercive law 
adulthood has been made repressive      
instead of suggestive1 depressive       
instead of helpful1 dogmatic instead of 
reasonable1 tyrannical instead of free1 
child-quellers instead of sympathetic   
friends of childhood1 executors of      
penalties instead of wise guides1 agents
 to keep children under instead of      
helping them up2 and so children have   
learned to dislike school1 and work1 and
 teachers1 and often home and parents4  
,and the children have not been to blame
 for their dislike of law and their     
distrust of adulthood4  ,and the        
children themselves by coercion have    
been made don'ters instead of doers1    
quitters instead of workers1 give-iners 
instead of persevering winners1 yielders
 to opposition instead of achievers of  
victory1 negative instead of positive1  
apathetic instead of energetic1 passive 
instead of active1 imitative instead of 
original1 followers instead of leaders1 
dependent instead of independent1       

servile instead of free1 conscious of   
weakness instead of power1 defect       
shunners instead of triumphant creative 
representatives of the ,god in whose    
image man was created4  ,every agency   
that robs a child of his originality and
 freedom and prevents the spontaneous   
output of his creative self-activity    
destroys the image of ,god in him4 ,man 
is most like ,god when he is freely     
working out the plans of his own        
creative selfhood for good purposes4    
,coercion has been the greatest         
destroyer of the image of ,god in the   
child1 and anarchy is the product of the
 perversion of the very powers that     
should have made man hopefully          
constructive4 ,the seeds of anarchy are 
sown in the child's life1 when his      
selfhood is blighted and checked4 ,the  
fountain that finds free outlet for its 
waters forms a pure stream that remains 
always a blessing1 but the fountain that
 is obstructed forms a noisome marsh1   
wasting the good land it should have    

watered and destroying the plant life it
 should have nourished4  ,the great salt
 seas and lakes and marshes of the world
 have been formed by the checking of    
beautiful fresh-water streams and rivers
 and the prevention of their outflow to 
the ocean they should have reached4 ,so 
when the outflow of the soul of the     
child is checked the powers that should 
have ennobled his own life and enriched 
the lives of others turn to evil instead
 of good1 and make a dangerous instead  
of a helpful character4 ,so far as      
coercion can influence selfhood it      
destroys its power for good and makes it
 a menace to civilization1 instead of a 
beneficent agency in the accomplishment 
of high purposes4 ,the reason that      
coercion does not more effectively      
blight and dwarf the child is that      
childhood is not under the direct       
influence of adulthood all the time4    
,the blessed hours of freedom in play   
and work have saved the race4  ,the     
absurd idea that anarchy will result    

from giving true freedom to the child   
persists in the minds of so many people1
 partly through the strength of the race
 conception of the need of coercion1    
from which we have not yet been able    
fully to free ourselves2 partly from a  
terrible misconception regarding the    
true function of law2 partly through    
gross ignorance of the child and lack of
 reverence for him2 and partly from     
failure to understand our own higher    
powers for guiding the child properly1  
or the vital relationships of adulthood 
to childhood4  ,the child should        
recognise law as a beneficent guide in  
the accomplishment of his own plans4 ,in
 ,froebel's wonderful kindergarten      
system the child is always guided by    
law1 but he is always perfectly free to 
work out his own designs1 and in doing  
so he is aided by law1 not kept back or 
down by law4 ,law is1 to the truly      
trained child1 a revealer of right      
outlets for power1 and the supreme      
duties of adulthood in training         

childhood are to change the centre of   
its interest when from lack of wisdom   
its interest centre is wrong1 and to    
reveal to it in logical sequence the    
laws of nature1 of beauty1 of harmony1  
and of life4 ,with such training life   
and law will always be in harmony1 and  
the seeds of anarchy will find no soil  
in human hearts or minds in which to    
take root4  ,dickens uses the ,french   
,revolution1 in ,a ,tale of ,two        
,cities1 to show that anarchy results   
from coercion1 from the unreasoning     
subordination of a lower to a higher or 
ruling class4 ,against the reasoning of 
wisdom the ,marquis said3 ,repression is
 the only lasting philosophy4 ,the dark 
deference of fear and slavery1 my       
friend1 will keep the dogs obedient to  
the whip as long as this roof shuts out 
the sky4 ,the roof came off one wild    
night--burned off by an infuriated mob  
of the dogs who had been repressed and  
whipped into anarchy4 ,yet the          
aristocracy of ,france claimed1 as      

coercionist educators claim1 that the   
anarchy was the result of insufficient  
coercion1 instead of the natural harvest
 of the seed they had sown4      ,it was
 too much the way of monseigneur under  
his reverses as a     refugee1 and it   
was much too much the way of native     
,british orthodoxy1     to talk of this 
terrible revolution as if it were the   
one only harvest     ever known under   
the skies that had not been sown--as if 
nothing had     ever been done that had 
led to it--as if the observers of the   
wretched     millions in ,france1 and of
 the misused and perverted resources    
that     should have made them          
prosperous1 had not seen it inevitably  
coming1     years before1 and had not in
 plain words recorded what they saw4    
,when the ,revolution was at its fearful
 height1 and the repressed dogs were    
having their wild carnival of revenge1  
,dickens says3      ,along the ,paris   
streets the death-carts rumble1 hollow  
and harsh4 ,six     tumbrels carry the  

day's wine to la guillotine4 ,all the   
devouring and     insatiate monsters    
imagined since imagination could record 
itself1 are     fused in the one        
realization1 guillotine4 ,and yet there 
is not in     ,france1 with its rich    
variety of soil and climate1 a blade1 a 
leaf1 a     root1 a sprig1 a peppercorn1
 which will grow to maturity under      
conditions more certain than those that 
have produced this horror4     ,crush   
humanity out of shape once more1 under  
similar hammers1 and it     will twist  
itself into the same tortured forms4    
,sow the same seed of     rapacious     
license and oppression over again1 and  
it will surely yield     the same fruit 
according to its kind4      ,six        
tumbrels roll along the streets4 ,change
 these back again to what     they were1
 thou powerful enchanter1 ,time1 and    
they shall be seen to be     the        
carriages of absolute monarchs1 the     
equipages of feudal nobles1     the     
toilets of flaring ,jezebels1 the       

churches that are not ,my ,father's     
house but dens of thieves1 and huts of  
millions of starving peasants6  ,this is
 the most profound and most ably written
 exposition of the philosophy of        
anarchy4  ,but by coercion ,i can make  
the child do right1 and in this way ,i  
can form habits of doing right that will
 control the child when he grows up4    
,the habit that is really formed by     
coercion is the habit of submission1 of 
passive yielding to authority1 of       
subordination1 and1 in the last         
analysis1 this means the degradation and
 enslavement of the soul4 ,two habits   
are thus wrought into the child's nature
 by coercion3 the habit of doing things 
because ordered to do them1 which is    
slavery2 and the habit of doing things  
he does not like or wish to do1 which is
 the basis of hypocrisy4 ,the meanest   
products that can be made from beings   
created in ,god's image are slaves and  
hypocrites4 ,one of the remarkable facts
 regarding coercionists is that they    

blame ,god for creating the             
monstrosities they have themselves      
produced by false methods of training4  
,we should break the child's will1 if it
 is wrong1 to set it right1 just as we  
should break a crooked leg to make it   
straight4  ,this is a statement that    
betrays a lack of modern surgical       
knowledge1 and a carelessness of        
psychological thought4 ,modern treatment
 for the cure of deformity of body      
avoids harsh treatment whenever it is   
possible to do so4 ,it has been found   
that many deformities of body may be    
cured by proper exercise of the         
undeveloped part or parts1 and with     
wider knowledge of ,nature's laws will  
come a wiser use of the law of          
self-transformation1 and a smaller and  
smaller use of the severer methods of   
treatment4 ,but no good child           
psychologist now doubts that a child's  
will possesses the power of             
self-development and self-adjustment    
under proper guidance1 nor should any   

one be ignorant of the fact that all    
true will development comes from within 
outward4  ,it is only necessary that man
 should study the child more thoroughly1
 and learn how to change his interest   
centres from wrong to right1 and how to 
surround him with an environment        
suitable to his progressive stages of   
development1 in order to keep his own   
will in operation along productive lines
 of self-reformation and self-regulation
 by creative self-activity4 ,thus the   
will can be set to work truly with      
undiminished power4 ,when a will is     
broken1 however1 it can never regain its
 full power2 the breaking process       
blights it forever4 ,more rational      
processes retain its tendency to act and
 its energy of action while changing the
 purpose and direction of its action4   
,one of the interesting anomalies of our
 language is the marvellous fact that   
the term self-willed should ever have   
been considered a term of reproach or a 
description of a defect in character4   

,the child with strongest self-will may 
become the greatest champion for        
righteousness if properly trained4 ,he  
needs a wise and sympathetic trainer1   
who will be reverently grateful for his 
strong self-will1 and whose reverence   
will prevent him from doing anything    
that would weaken the strength or       
selfhood of the will4 ,the attempt to   
break his will may make him a destroying
 force instead of a leader for truth and
 progress4 ,if a strangled will ever    
regains vitality it rarely acts truly4  
,there is perhaps no other relic of the 
theories of barbaric ignorance          
concerning child training still left    
that is so baneful and so illogical as  
the theory that justifies will breaking4
  ,but ,god punishes the child4 ,the    
child who touches the fire gets burned1 
and therefore it is right that coercive 
punishment should be used by adulthood  
in dealing with the child4  ,the        
punishments referred to are the         
revelation of natural laws4 ,there is no

 personal element of the punishing      
agency manifest to the child4 ,god does 
not appear to the child as a punisher1  
and it is an astounding error in        
training to reveal such a consciousness 
of ,god to the child4 ,responsibility   
for the consequences of their acts is a 
law of which all children approve4 ,this
 appeals to their sense of justice1 and 
there is no other sense to which we can 
appeal with success so universally in   
children as the sense of justice4       
,squareness is the highest quality named
 in the lexicon of childhood4 ,a boy    
would rather be deemed square than      
receive praise for any other            
characteristic or accomplishment4 ,so he
 recognises the justice of being held   
accountable for the directly resulting  
consequences of his acts quite as       
readily as he accepts the fact1 without 
blaming any one else1 that he will be   
burned if he touches fire4 ,there is no 
element of coercion in the law of       
consequences4 ,it is a just and         

universal law in harmony with his moral 
responsibility2 therefore he will       
respect it4 ,coercion is directly       
contrary to the fundamental laws of his 
happiness and his true growth1 and      
therefore he naturally and properly     
dislikes and disapproves of it1 and of  
the individual who outrages justice by  
using it4  ,the wonderful stories of    
,dickens set the world thinking by first
 arousing the strongest feelings of     
sympathy for the child and then         
developing sentiment and thought against
 every form of coercion1 more especially
 coercion by corporal punishment4 ,the  
awakening has been most satisfactory in 
its results4 ,when ,dickens began his   
writing against corporal punishment the 
rod was the almost universal remedy for 
all defects in animals or human beings4 
,whatever the defect1 the superior in   
the eyes of the law used the one agency 
to overcome it4 ,mothers used the rod to
 subdue their children4 ,husbands used  
the rod to keep their children and wives

 in order4 ,men whipped their horses    
with impunity1 as they did their        
children or wives4 ,they owned them1 and
 their right to punish them as they     
chose was unquestioned4 ,men trained    
animals to perform tricks in menageries 
by beating them1 and they trained       
dancing1 or performing1 or learning     
girls and boys quite as inhumanly4      
,ownership or subordination justified   
unspeakable cruelty4 ,the weakness of   
the child1 the helplessness of the      
animal1 appealed to the hardness of     
human nature1 and not to its chivalry or
 sympathy4 ,even the poor feeble-minded 
and idiotic1 who were confined in       
asylums1 were terribly flogged by the   
most advanced philanthropists of the    
highest ,christian civilization4 ,they  
were weak4 ,it was the duty of the      
authorities to control them1 and stripes
 and bruises were regarded as the only  
true agencies for securing obedience4   
,the rod was the highest controlling and
 directing force in the world4  ,what a 

change has been wrought6 ,horses and    
children and wives are protected from   
brutal treatment now by law4 ,the insane
 are not flogged to make them sane in   
any well-conducted institutions4 ,more  
than half the children in the schools of
 the civilized world are free from the  
terror and degradation of corporal      
punishment by law1 or by the higher     
consciousness of more intelligent       
teachers4 ,parenthood everywhere is     
studying the child and trying to become 
conscious of its own higher powers of   
guiding character so that it may be able
 to train the children in truer and more
 productive and less dangerous ways than
 formerly4 ,and ,charles ,dickens was   
the great apostle of these grand        
reforms4  ,we shudder now as we read of 
the outrages practised on helpless      
children and on the insane half a       
century ago not by the heathen1 but by  
earnest1 conscientious ,christians4 ,the
 men who live half a century hence will 
shudder when they read that in some     

schools at the close of the nineteenth  
century children who were partially or  
temporarily insane from hereditary      
taint1 or imperfect nutrition1 or cruel 
treatment1 or anger1 or from some other 
removable or remediable cause were      
whipped1 and that men1 some of whom     
occupied respectable positions1         
advocated the breaking of children's    
wills6 ,if these will-breaking educators
 were in charge of asylums they would   
resurrect the straitjacket and the      
whipping post for the insane4  ,the few 
who advocate corporal punishment openly 
claim that they have the authority of   
the ,bible for their faith in the rod4  
,they should remember that good men have
 stood with ,bibles in their hands      
misrepresenting ,god and attempting to  
stop the progress of every great        
movement toward freedom and reform4     
,galileo was imprisoned by the ,church  
because he taught that the earth turns  
round4 ,men had no difficulty in showing
 that the ,bible approved of slavery1 or

 that it prohibited woman from the      
exercise of the right or the performance
 of the duties of responsible           
individuality4 ,so men still quote      
,solomon to show that corporal          
punishment is approved by ,god1 though  
such a conclusion would be rejected by  
the highest interpreters4  ,whipping    
makes strong characters4 ,no1 it makes  
hard characters1 and hardness is but one
 element of strength1 and not the best  
element of strength4 ,the strength of   
the ,english character has not been     
developed1 as is claimed by some1 by the
 whipping done in ,english schools and  
homes4 ,it comes partly by race heredity
 from the sturdiness of the ,saxon and  
,norman founders of the race1 partly    
from the general practice of working    
hard from youth up1 and largely from the
 fact that the ,english playgrounds are 
so universally used1 and are the scenes 
of the severest struggles for supremacy 
in skill and power that are witnessed in
 any part of the world4 ,the winning    

half inch or half length1 the valorous  
struggle for leadership on track or     
river--these are the things that have   
preserved and developed ,english force  
and bravery1 in spite of the fact that  
,england in her schools and homes has   
done fully her share of whipping4 ,a boy
 or girl who spends as much time in free
 strong play as the ,english boy1 works 
out the effects of a great many evils   
from his or her life4 ,when men see the 
futility of dependence on flogging for  
developing energetic strength of        
character they will study the influence 
of play to the great advantage of racial
 vigour1 and courage1 and moral energy4 
,corporal punishment1 like all other    
forms of coercion1 robs the child of    
joyousness1 and joyousness is one of the
 most essential elements in the true    
growth of a child4 ,corporal punishment 
affects the nervous systems of children 
injuriously1 and when applied to certain
 parts of the body it stimulates        
prematurely the action of the sexual    

nature1 and leads to one of the worst   
forms of depravity4  ,corporal          
punishment is ineffective as a          
disciplinary agency4 ,in one ,american  
city during the generation after        
,dickens began his great crusade against
 corporal punishment it was the practice
 to whip with a rawhide all children who
 came late1 but the lateness steadily   
increased in defiance of the rawhide4   
,it was reduced to less than one        
one-hundredth part of its former        
proportion when whipping for lateness   
was entirely abolished and more rational
 means adopted4  ,the order and         
co-operation of pupils is best in those 
schools in which no corporal punishment 
is used4 ,if in any school only one     
teacher relies on the rod as a          
stimulator to work and a restrainer of  
evil1 her class is sure to be the most  
disorderly1 the least co-operative1 and 
the most defective in original power in 
the school4 ,as the children throughout 
the school come from the same homes1    

play with the same companions1 attend   
the same churches1 and are subject to   
the same general influences1 it is      
perfectly clear that the whipping is the
 distinctive feature of character       
training that deforms the children4     
,they will become normal1 reasonable    
children when they reach the next room4 
,this illustration assumes that all the 
teachers are possessed of good natural  
ability to direct the child properly4   
,the one who uses corporal punishment   
fails because she has been dwarfed by   
her faith in corporal punishment4 ,she  
has believed in it so fully that she has
 not sought to understand higher and    
better means4 ,she has studied neither  
the child nor her own powers of child   
guidance4  ,dickens taught the          
inefficiency of coercion to accomplish  
what men hoped to accomplish by it in   
his criticism of the revolting use of   
capital punishment in former times4 ,in 
,a ,tale of ,two ,cities he says3       
,accordingly1 the forger was put to     

,death2 the utterer of a bad note       
was put to ,death2 the unlawful opener  
of a letter was put to ,death2     the  
purloiner of forty shillings and        
sixpence was put to ,death2 the         
holder of a horse at ,tellson's door1   
who made off with it1 was put to        
,death2 the coiner of a bad shilling was
 put to ,death2 the sounders of         
three fourths of the notes in the whole 
gamut of crime were put to     ,death4  
,not that it did the least good in the  
way of prevention--it     might always  
have been worth remarking that the fact 
was exactly the     reverse4  ,the great
 prophets of modern                     
education--,pestalozzi1 ,froebel1       
,barnard1 and ,mann--strongly condemned 
corporal punishment4 ,these were men of 
clear insight and correct judgment4 ,the
 opinion of one such man is worth more  
than the views of ten thousand ordinary 
men in regard to the subject of their   
special study4 ,they were prophet souls 
who saw the higher truth toward which   

the race had been slowly growing1 and   
revealed it4  ,their revelations have   
been appreciated and adopted more and   
more fully as they have been understood 
more and more clearly4 ,in the case of  
corporal punishment and all forms of    
coercion ,dickens has been the ,john the
 ,baptist and the ,paul of the          
revelation of the gospel of sympathy for
 the child4  ,not one blow in a thousand
 is given to a child now as compared    
with the time of ,dickens's childhood4  
,corporal punishment is prohibited in   
the schools of ,france1 ,italy1         
,switzerland1 ,finland1 ,brazil1 ,new   
,jersey1 and in the following cities3   
,new ,york1 ,chicago1 ,cleveland1       
,albany1 ,syracuse1 ,toledo1 and        
,savannah4 ,in ,washington and          
,philadelphia teachers voluntarily gave 
up the practice of whipping4 ,this is   
true of the majority of individual      
teachers in the cities of ,america1 and 
the number of those who do without all  
forms of coercive discipline is rapidly 

increasing4  ,the whipping of girls is  
prohibited in ,saxony1 ,hessen1         
,oldenburg1 and in many cities4 ,few    
girls are now whipped in schools        
anywhere4 ,corporal punishment has been 
abolished for the higher grades in      
,norway and in the lower grades in      
,saxony1 ,hessen1 ,bremen1 and ,hamburg4
 ,in the last-named city the cane is    
kept under lock and key4 ,in some places
 the consent of parents must be obtained
 before children may be whipped1 in some
 places the number of strokes is        
limited2 in other places a record is    
kept of every case of corporal          
punishment and reports made monthly to  
the school boards4 ,everywhere action   
has been taken to prohibit or restrict  
the use of the once universally         
respected and universally dominant rod4 
,all wise trainers of children recognise
 the value of obedience1 but truly wise 
trainers no longer aim to make children 
merely submissively obedient1 nor even  
willingly responsive in their obedience4

 ,they try to make them independently1  
co-operatively1 and reverently obedient2
 independent in free development of     
will1 co-operative in unity of effort   
with their fellows and their adult      
guides1 and reverent in their attitude  
to law4 ,the substitution of            
independence for subserviency1 of       
co-operation for formal1 responsive     
obedience1 and of reverence for law for 
fear of law are the most important      
development in child training4  ,in     
,dickens's ideal school1 ,doctor        
,strong's1 there was plenty of liberty4 
,gladstone's criticism1 when over       
seventy1 of his own teachers was that   
they were afraid of freedom4 ,he said3  
,i did not learn to set a due value on  
the imperishable and inestimable        
principles of human liberty4 ,the temper
 which ,i think prevailed among them was
 that liberty was regarded with         
jealousy1 and fear could not be wholly  
dispensed with4 ,the true teacher is not
 afraid of freedom1 but makes it the    

dominant element in his training and in 
his educational theory4  ,may the       
profounder truth in regard to child     
training spread to the ends of the      
earth6 ,may the time soon come when     
there shall be no disciples of ,susan   
,nipper's doctrine1 that childhood1 like
 money1 must be shaken and rattled and  
jostled about a good deal to keep it    
bright6 ,may ,christian civilization    
soon be free from such memories as the  
remembrance of ,mr4 ,obenreizer1 in ,no 
,thoroughfare1 had of his parents3 ,i   
was a famished naked little wretch of   
two or three years when they were men   
and women with hard hands to beat me6   
,may ,christ's teaching soon be so fully
 understood that there will be no child 
anywhere like the shivering little boy  
in ,the ,haunted ,man1 who was used     
already to be worried and hunted like a 
beast1 who crouched down as he was      
looked at1 and looked back again1 and   
interposed his arm to ward off the      
expected blow1 and threatened to bite if

 he was hit6 ,may teachers and all      
trainers of children learn the          
underlying philosophy of the statement  
made by ,dickens1 in connection with the
 schools of the ,stepney ,union1 in ,the
 ,uncommercial ,traveller3 ,in the moral
 health of these schools--where corporal
 punishment is unknown--truthfulness    
stands high6     ,,chapter ,,iv4  ,,the 
,,doctrine ,,of ,,child ,,depravity4    
,dickens heartily accepted ,froebel's   
view of the doctrine of child depravity4
 ,they did not teach that the child is  
totally divine1 but neither did they    
believe that a being created in ,god's  
image is entirely depraved4  ,they      
recognised very clearly that the        
doctrine of child depravity was the     
logical 7or illogical7 basis of the     
theory of corporal punishment and all   
forms of coercion4 ,what more natural or
 more logical than the practice of      
checking the outflow of a child's inner 
life if we believe his inner life to be 
depraved8 ,the firm belief in the       

doctrine of child depravity compelled   
conscientious men to be repressive and  
coercive in their discipline4 ,dickens  
understood this fully1 and therefore he 
gave the doctrine no place in his       
philosophy4  ,mrs4 ,pipchin's training  
was based squarely on the doctrine of   
child depravity1 for the secret of her  
management of children was to give them 
everything that they didn't like1 and   
nothing that they did4 ,if the training 
of children under the good old regime1  
for which some reactionary philosophers 
are still pleading1 is carefully        
analyzed1 it will be found that ,mrs4   
,pipchin's plan was the commonly        
approved plan1 and it was the perfectly 
logical outcome of the doctrine that the
 child1 being wholly depraved1 desired  
everything it should not have and       
objected to everything it should have4  
,that was a touching question addressed 
by a little boy to his father3 ,say1    
papa1 did mamma stop you from doing     
everything you wished to do when you    

were a little boy8  ,how ,dickens       
despised the awful theology of the      
,murdstones1 who would not let ,david   
play with other children1 because they  
believed all children to be a swarm of  
little vipers though there was a child  
once set in the midst of the ,disciples1
 and held that they contaminated one    
another6  ,how he laughed at ,mrs4      
,varden and ,miggs1 her maid6      ,if  
you hadn't the sweetness of an angel in 
you1 mim1 ,i don't think     you could  
abear it1 ,i raly don't4      ,miggs1   
said ,mrs4 ,varden1 you're profane4     
,begging your pardon1 mim1 returned     
,miggs with shrill rapidity1 such       
was not my intentions1 and such ,i hope 
is not my character1 though ,i     am   
but a servant4      ,answering me1      
,miggs1 and providing yourself1 retorted
 her mistress1     looking round with   
dignity1 is one and the same thing4 ,how
 dare you     speak of angels in        
connection with your sinful             
fellow-beings--mere--said ,mrs4 ,varden1

 glancing at herself in a               
neighbouring mirror1 and arranging the  
ribbon of her cap in a more     becoming
 fashion--mere worms and grovellers as  
we are6      ,i do not intend1 mim1 if  
you please1 to give offence1 said       
,miggs1     confident in the strength of
 her compliment1 and developing strongly
     in the throat as usual1 and ,i did 
not expect it would be took as     such4
 ,i hope ,i know my own unworthiness1   
and that ,i hate and despise     myself 
and all my fellow-creatures as every    
practicable ,christian     should4      
,oliver ,twist was described by the     
philanthropists who cared for him as    
under the exclusive patronage and       
protection of the powers of wickedness1 
and an article direct from the          
manufactory of the very devil himself4  
,mr4 ,grimwig had no faith in boys1 and 
he tried hard to shake ,mr4 ,brownlow's 
faith in ,oliver4      ,he is a         
nice-looking boy1 is he not8 inquired   
,mr4 ,brownlow4      ,i don't know1     

replied ,mr4 ,grimwig pettishly4        
,don't know8      ,no4 ,i don't know4 ,i
 never see any difference in boys4 ,i   
only know two     sorts of boys3 mealy  
boys and beef-faced boys4      ,and     
which is ,oliver8      ,mealy4 ,i know a
 friend who has a beef-faced boy--a fine
 boy1 they     call him2 with a round   
head1 and red cheeks1 and glaring eyes2 
a     horrid boy2 with a body and limbs 
that appear to be swelling out of       
the seams of his blue clothes2 with the 
voice of a pilot1 and the     appetite  
of a wolf4 ,i know him6 ,the wretch6    
,come1 said ,mr4 ,brownlow1 these are   
not the characteristics of young        
,oliver ,twist2 so he needn't excite    
your wrath4      ,they are not1 replied 
,mr4 ,grimwig4 ,he may have worse4 ,he  
is     deceiving you1 my good friend4   
,i'll swear he is not1 replied ,mr4     
,brownlow warmly4      ,if he is not1   
said ,mr4 ,grimwig1 ,i'll---- and down  
went the stick4      ,i'll answer for   
that boy's truth with my life6 said ,mr4

 ,brownlow1     knocking the table4     
,and ,i for his falsehood with my head6 
rejoined ,mr4 ,grimwig1 knocking     the
 table also4      ,we shall see1 said   
,mr4 ,brownlow1 checking his rising     
anger4      ,we will1 replied ,mr4      
,grimwig1 with a provoking smile2 we    
will4  ,dickens always pleaded for more 
faith in children4  ,in ,great          
,expectations poor ,pip was continually 
reminded of the fact that he was        
naterally wicious1 and at the great     
,christmas dinner party ,mr4            
,pumblechook took him as the            
illustration of his theological         
discourse on swine and ,mrs4 ,hubble    
commiserated ,mrs4 ,gargery about the   
trouble he had caused her by all his    
waywardness4      ,trouble8 echoed my   
sister1 trouble8 ,and then entered on a 
fearful     catalogue of all the        
illnesses ,i had been guilty of1 and all
 the acts     of sleeplessness ,i had   
committed1 and all the high places ,i   
had     tumbled from1 and all the low   

places ,i had tumbled into1 and all the 
injuries ,i had done myself1 and all the
 times she had wished me in my          
grave1 and ,i had contumaciously refused
 to go there4  ,again1 when ,pip was    
just beginning his life away from home  
his guardian1 ,mr4 ,jaggers1 said to him
 at their first interview3 ,i shall by  
this means be able to check your bills1 
and to pull you up if ,i find you       
outrunning the constable4 ,of course    
you'll go wrong somehow1 but that's no  
fault of mine4  ,of course you'll go    
wrong somehow1 was an inspiring start in
 life for a young gentleman4  ,abel     
,magwitch1 ,pip's friend1 told him near 
the close of his career how he came to  
lead such a dissipated and criminal     
life4 ,he evidently had ability and     
possessed a deep sense of gratitude1 and
 might have developed the other virtues 
if he had been treated properly4        
,dickens used him as an illustration of 
the fact that society fails often to do 
the best for a boy and make the most out

 of him through sheer lack of faith in  
childhood1 and that this lack of faith  
results from the belief that a boy is so
 depraved that he would rather do wrong 
than right1 and that when he starts to  
do wrong there is no hope of his reform4
      ,dear boy and ,pip's comrade4 ,i  
am not a-going fur to tell you my life1 
like a song or a story-book4 ,but to    
give it you short and handy1 ,i'll      
put it at once into a mouthful of       
,english4 ,in jail and out of jail1 in  
jail and out of jail1 in jail and out of
 jail4 ,there1 you've got it4           
,that's my life pretty much1 down to    
such times as ,i got shipped off1       
arter ,pip stood my friend4      ,i've  
been done everything to1 pretty         
well--except hanged4 ,i've been         
locked up1 as much as a silver          
teakittle4 ,i've been carted here and   
carted there1 and put out of this town  
and put out of that town1 and     stuck 
in the stocks1 and whipped and worried  
and drove4 ,i've no more     notion     

where ,i was born1 than you have--if so 
much4 ,i first become     aware of      
myself1 down in ,essex1 a-thieving      
turnips for my living4     ,summun had  
run away from me--a man--a tinker--and  
he'd took the fire     with him1 and    
left me wery cold4      ,i know'd my    
name to be ,magwitch1 chrisen'd ,abel4  
,how did ,i know it8     ,much as ,i    
know'd the birds' names in the hedges to
 be chaffinch1     sparrer1 thrush4 ,i  
might have thought it was all lies      
altogether1 only     as the birds' names
 come out true1 ,i supposed mine did4   
,so fur as ,i could find1 there warn't a
 soul that see young ,abel              
,magwitch1 with as little on him as in  
him1 but wot caught fright at     him1  
and either drove him off or took him up4
 ,i was took up1 took up1     took up1  
to that extent that ,i reg'larly grow'd 
up took up4      ,this is the way it    
was1 that when ,i was a ragged little   
creetur as     much to be pitied as ever
 ,i see 7not that ,i looked in the      

glass1 for     there warn't many insides
 of furnished houses known to me71 ,i   
got the     name being hardened4 ',this 
is a terrible hardened one1' they says  
to     prison wisitors1 picking out me4 
',may be said to live in jails1 this    
boy4' ,then they looked at me1 and ,i   
looked at them1 and they measured     my
 head1 some on 'em--they had better     
a-measured my stomach--and     others on
 'em giv' me tracts what ,i couldn't    
read1 and made me     speeches what ,i  
couldn't understand4 ,they always went  
on agen me about     the devil4  ,poor  
old ,toby ,veck1 in ,the ,chimes1       
reflected the theories that ,dickens    
wished to overthrow4      ,it seems as  
if we can't go right1 or do right1 or be
 righted1 said     ,toby4 ,i hadn't much
 schooling1 myself1 when ,i was young2  
and ,i can't     make out whether we    
have any business on the face of the    
earth1 or     not4 ,sometimes ,i think  
we must have--a little2 and sometimes ,i
 think     we must be intruding4 ,i get 

so puzzled sometimes that ,i am not even
     able to make up my mind whether    
there is any good at all in us1 or      
whether we are born bad4 ,we seem to be 
dreadful things2 we seem to     give a  
deal of trouble2 we are always being    
complained of and guarded     against4  
,the most realistic picture of the      
influence of the child-depravity ideal  
on the training of childhood is given in
 ,mrs4 ,clennam1 in ,little ,dorrit4    
,she was a hard1 malignant1 dishonest1  
unsympathetic woman1 who had            
deliberately driven ,arthur's mother to 
madness and blighted his father's life  
in the name of her false religion1 and  
blasphemously claimed that she was doing
 it in ,god's stead1 as his devoted     
servant4 ,yet she was sure she was truly
 religious1 and had a pious vanity in   
the fact that she was filled with an    
abhorrence of evil doers4 ,she was      
filled with gladness1 too1 at the       
prospect of marrying a man of like      
training with herself4 ,speaking of the 

training of herself and her husband she 
said3      ,you do not know what it is  
to be brought up strictly and straitly4 
,i     was so brought up4 ,mine was no  
light youth of sinful gaiety and        
pleasure4 ,mine were days of wholesome  
repression1 punishment1 and     fear4   
,the corruption of our hearts1 the evil 
of our ways1 the curse     that is upon 
us1 the terrors that surround us--these 
were the themes     of my childhood4    
,they formed my character1 and filled me
 with an     abhorrence of evil doers4  
,when old ,mr4 ,gilbert ,clennam        
proposed his     orphan nephew to my    
father for my husband1 my father        
impressed upon me     that his          
bringing-up had been1 like mine1 one of 
severe restraint4 ,he     told me1 that 
besides the discipline his spirit had   
undergone1 he had     lived in a starved
 house1 where rioting and gaiety were   
unknown1 and     where every day was a  
day of toil and trial like the last4 ,he
 told me     that he had been a man in  

years long before his uncle had         
acknowledged     him as one2 and that   
from his school days to that hour1 his  
uncle's     roof had been a sanctuary to
 him from the contagion of the          
irreligious     and dissolute4          
,speaking of her training of ,arthur1   
she said3      ,i devoted myself to     
reclaim the otherwise predestined and   
lost boy2     to bring him up in fear   
and trembling1 and in a life of         
practical     contrition for the sins   
that were heavy on his head before his  
entrance into this condemned world4     
,dickens describes her religious        
character as such as might naturally be 
expected to develop in a woman whose    
childhood revealed to her only the      
self-abnegation and terrors of religion 
and the utter contempt for humanity     
shrouded in the doctrine of child       
depravity4 ,she had seen ,god as an     
awful character of sleepless            
watchfulness to see her evil doing and  
record it1 of wrathfulness1 and of      

vengeance1 but never of loving sympathy 
and forgiveness4 ,so she fitted her     
religion to the character that such     
training had formed in her4      ,great 
need had the rigid woman of her mystical
 religion1 veiled in     gloom and      
darkness1 with lightnings of cursing1   
vengeance1 and     destruction1 flashing
 through the sable clouds4 ,forgive us  
our debts     as we forgive our debtors1
 was a prayer too poor in spirit for    
her4     ,smite ,thou my debtors1 ,lord1
 wither them1 crush them2 do ,thou as ,i
     would do1 and ,thou shalt have my  
worship3 this was the impious tower     
of stone she built up to scale heaven4  
,the old discipline and the old training
 were based on the belief that children 
like to do wrong better than to do      
right4 ,there could be no greater error1
 or one more certain to lead to false   
principles of training1 and prevent the 
recognition of the true methods of      
developing character in childhood4      
,children do not like to do wrong better

 than to do right4 ,they like to do4    
,they like to do the things they        
themselves plan to do4 ,they like to do 
the things that are interesting to      
themselves4 ,their lack of wisdom leaves
 them at the mercy of their interests1  
and without guidance their              
constructiveness may turn to            
destructiveness4 ,when it does so1 it is
 because of the neglect of their adult  
guides to surround them with plenty of  
suitable material for construction or   
transformation adapted to their stage of
 development4 ,with a sufficient variety
 of material for constructive plays the 
child will rarely exhibit destructive   
tendencies1 and when he does so1 the    
wisdom of his adult guide should find   
little trouble in changing his interest 
centre from the wrong to the right4 ,the
 skilful trainer changes the interest   
centre without making the child         
conscious of adult interference4  ,it   
costs little to supply the child with   
sand and blocks1 and soft clay1 and     

colors1 and colored paper1 and blunt    
scissors and gum1 and other similar     
materials--much less than is usually    
spent for toys2 yet such materials would
 save parents from much worry1 and help 
them to get rid of the wrong ideals1 and
 they would preserve the natural        
tendency of children to                 
constructiveness1 and afford them an    
opportunity for the comfort and the     
development of real self-activity4  ,the
 child's most dominant tendency is      
activity in using the material things of
 his environment to transform them into 
new forms or relationships in harmony   
with his own plans4 ,this tendency is   
intended to accomplish four great       
purposes in the child's development4 ,it
 reveals the child's own powers to      
himself1 it develops his originality1 it
 trains him to use his constructive     
powers1 and it gives him the habit of   
transforming his environment to suit his
 own plans4 ,if he is not supplied with 
suitable material to play with he will  

appropriate the material he finds most  
available4 ,in this way1 through the    
absolute neglect of his adult guides1 he
 has acquired a bad reputation4  ,the   
instinct that leads the child to        
transform his material environment      
should lead to the conscious desire and 
determination to improve the physical1  
intellectual1 and spiritual conditions  
around him at maturity4 ,it is therefore
 a very essential element in his        
training1 and to check or neglect it may
 weaken and warp his character as much  
as it was intended to strengthen and    
direct it4  ,thus the children have been
 coerced because men believed them to be
 depraved1 and the coercion has         
developed the apparent depravity4  ,the 
darkest clouds have been lifted from the
 vision of adults and from the lives of 
the little ones by the breaking of the  
power of the doctrine of child          
depravity4 ,the teacher especially has a
 more hopeful field opened to him4 ,his 
great work of training is no longer     

restricted to putting blinders on the   
eyes of children to prevent their seeing
 evil1 and bits in their mouths to keep 
them from going wrong4 ,he believes that
 every child has an element of divinity1
 however small and enfeebled by heredity
 or encrusted by evil environment1 and  
that his chief duty is to arouse this   
divinity 7his selfhood or individuality7
 to consciousness and start it on its   
conscious growth toward the divine4 ,the
 revelation of this new and grander     
ideal has led to all intelligent child  
study for the purpose of discovering    
what adulthood can do1 and especially   
what childhood itself can do1 in        
accomplishing its most perfect training 
for its highest destiny4  ,dickens      
expressed his general faith in childhood
 in ,mrs4 ,lirriper's remark to the     
,major about ,jemmy3      ,ah1 ,major1  
,i says1 drying my eyes1 we needn't have
 been afraid4 ,we     might have known  
it4 ,treachery don't come natural to    
beaming youth2     but trust and pity1  

love and constancy--they do1 thank ,god6
  ,he taught his philosophy of the      
origin of many of the evils that are    
attributed to child depravity in        
,nobody's ,story4 ,nobody means the     
workingman4 ,he says to the ,master3    
,the evil consequences of imperfect     
instruction1 the evil consequences      
of pernicious neglect1 the evil         
consequences of unnatural restraint     
and the denial of humanizing enjoyments1
 will all come from us1 and     none of 
them will stop with us4 ,they will      
spread far and wide4 ,they     always   
do2 they always have done--just like the
 pestilence4 ,i     understand so much1 
,i think1 at last4  ,there is           
profoundness in these doctrines4        
,,chapter ,v4  ,,cramming4   ,although  
,dickens paid much more attention in his
 writings to the methods of training    
than to the methods of teaching1 he     
studied the methods of teaching         
sufficiently to recognise some of their 
gravest defects4 ,dombey and ,son is    

unquestionably the greatest book ever   
written to expose the evils of cramming4
 ,doctor ,blimber1 ,cornelia1 and ,mr4  
,feeder1 when closely studied1 represent
 in the varied phases of their work all 
the worst forms of cramming4            
,whenever a young gentleman was taken in
 hand by ,doctor ,blimber1 he     might 
consider himself sure of a pretty tight 
squeeze4 ,the doctor only     undertook 
the charge of ten young gentlemen1 but  
he had always ready a     supply of     
learning for a hundred1 on the lowest   
estimate2 it was at     once the        
business and delight of his life to     
gorge the unhappy ten     with it4      
,in fact1 ,doctor ,blimber's            
establishment was a great hothouse1 in  
which     there was a forcing apparatus 
incessantly at work4 ,all the boys blew 
before their time4 ,mental green peas   
were produced at ,christmas1 and        
intellectual asparagus all the year     
round4 ,mathematical gooseberries       
7very sour ones too7 were common at     

untimely seasons1 and from mere         
sprouts of bushes1 under ,doctor        
,blimber's cultivation4 ,every          
description of ,greek and ,latin        
vegetable was got off the dryest twigs  
of boys1 under the frostiest            
circumstances4 ,nature was of no        
consequence at all4 ,no matter what a   
young gentleman was intended to         
bear1 ,doctor ,blimber made him bear to 
pattern1 somehow or other4 ,this     was
 all very pleasant and ingenious1 but   
the system of forcing was     attended  
with its usual disadvantages4 ,there was
 not the right taste     about the      
premature productions1 and they didn't  
keep well4 ,moreover1     one young     
gentleman1 with a swollen nose and an   
excessively large head     7the oldest  
of the ten who had gone through         
everything7 suddenly     left off       
blowing one day1 and remained in the    
establishment a mere     stalk4 ,and    
people did say that the doctor had      
rather overdone it with     young       

,toots1 and that when he began to have  
whiskers he left off     having brains4 
,the doctor was a portly gentleman in a 
suit of black1 with strings at     his  
knees1 and stockings below them4 ,he had
 a bald head1 highly     polished2 a    
deep voice1 and a chin so very double   
that it was a wonder     how he ever    
managed to shave into the creases4 ,he  
had likewise a pair     of little eyes  
that were always half shut up and a     
mouth that was     always half expanded 
into a grin1 as if he had1 that moment1 
posed a     boy1 and were waiting to    
convict him from his own lips4 ,insomuch
 that     when the doctor put his right 
hand into the breast of his coat1 and1  
with his other hand behind him and a    
scarcely perceptible wag of his         
head1 made the commonest observation to 
a nervous stranger1 it was     like a   
sentiment from the sphinx1 and settled  
his business4      ,miss ,blimber1 too1 
although a slim and graceful maid1 did  
no soft     violence to the gravity of  

the house4 ,there was no light nonsense 
about ,miss ,blimber4 ,she kept her hair
 short and crisp1 and wore              
spectacles4 ,she was dry and sandy with 
working in the graves of     deceased   
languages4 ,none of your live languages 
for ,miss ,blimber4 ,they     must be   
dead--stone dead--and then ,miss        
,blimber dug them up like a     ghoul4  
,as to ,mr4 ,feeder1 ,b4 ,a41 ,dr4      
,blimber's assistant1 he was a kind of  
human barrel organ1 with a little list  
of tunes at which he was     continually
 working1 over and over again1 without  
any variation4 ,he     might have been  
fitted up with a change of barrels1     
perhaps1 in early     life1 if his      
destiny had been favourable2 but it had 
not been2 and he     had only one1 with 
which1 in a monotonous round1 it was his
 occupation     to bewilder the young   
ideas of ,dr4 ,blimber's young          
gentlemen4 ,the     young gentlemen were
 prematurely full of carking anxieties4 
,they knew     no rest from the pursuit 

of stony-hearted verbs1 savage          
noun-substantives1 inflexible syntactic 
passages1 and ghosts of     exercises   
that appeared to them in their dreams4  
,under the forcing     system1 a young  
gentleman usually took leave of his     
spirits in three     weeks4 ,he had all 
the care of the world on his head in    
three months4     ,he conceived bitter  
sentiments against his parents or       
guardians in     four2 he was an old    
misanthrope in five2 envied ,curtius    
that blessed     refuge in the earth in 
six2 and at the end of the first        
twelvemonth     had arrived at the      
conclusion1 from which he never         
afterward departed1     that all the    
fancies of the poets1 and lessons of the
 sages1 were a     mere collection of   
words and grammar1 and had no other     
meaning in the     world4      ,but he  
went on blow1 blow1 blowing1 in the     
doctor's hothouse all the     time2 and 
the doctor's glory and reputation were  
great when he took     his wintry growth

 home to his relations and friends4     
,upon the doctor's doorsteps one day1   
,paul stood with a fluttering     heart1
 and with his small right hand in his   
father's4 ,his other hand     was locked
 in that of ,florence4 ,how tight the   
tiny pressure of that     one2 and how  
loose and cool the other6      ,the     
doctor was sitting in his portentous    
study1 with a globe at each     knee1   
books all round him1 ,homer over the    
door1 and ,minerva on the               
mantelshelf4 ,and how do you do1 sir8 he
 said to ,mr4 ,dombey2 and how     is my
 little friend8      ,very well ,i thank
 you1 sir1 returned ,paul1 answering the
 clock quite     as much as the doctor4 
,ha6 said ,dr4 ,blimber4 ,shall we make 
a man of him8      ,do you hear1 ,paul8 
added ,mr4 ,dombey2 ,paul being silent4 
,shall we make a man of him8 repeated   
the doctor4      ,i had rather be a     
child1 replied ,paul4  ,paul's reply is 
one of the most touchingly beautiful of 
even ,dickens's wonderful               

expressions--wonderful in their         
exquisite simplicity and their profound 
philosophy4 ,when this book was written 
,dickens was beginning to get the       
conception of the great truth1 which he 
illustrated at length in ,hard ,times   
and other works1 that it is a crime     
against a child to rob it of its        
childhood4  ,when ,doctor ,blimber in   
his cold1 formal manner asked ,paul why 
he preferred to be a child1 the little  
fellow was unable to answer1 and as they
 stared at him1 he at length put his    
hand on the neck of ,florence and burst 
into tears4      ,mrs4 ,pipchin1 said   
his father in a querulous manner1 ,i am 
really     very sorry to see this4      
,never mind1 said the doctor blandly1   
nodding his head to keep ,mrs4          
,pipchin back4 ,nev-er mind2 we shall   
substitute new cares and new            
impressions1 ,mr4 ,dombey1 very shortly4
 ,you would still wish my little        
friend to acquire----      ,everything1 
if you please1 doctor1 returned ,mr4    

,dombey firmly4      ,yes1 said the     
doctor1 who1 with his half-shut eyes and
 his usual     smile1 seemed to survey  
,paul with the sort of interest that    
might     attach to some choice little  
animal he was going to stuff4 ,yes1     
exactly4 ,ha6 ,we shall impart a great  
variety of information to our     little
 friend1 and bring him quickly forward1 
,i dare say4 ,i dare say4     ,quite a  
virgin soil1 ,i believe you said1 ,mr4  
,dombey8  ,on leaving1 ,mr4 ,dombey said
 to ,paul3      ,you'll try and learn a 
great deal here1 and be a clever man1   
won't     you8      ,i'll try1 returned 
the child wearily4      ,and you'll soon
 be grown up now8 said ,mr4 ,dombey4    
,oh6 very soon6 replied the child4 ,once
 more the old1 old look passed          
rapidly across his features like a      
strange light4  ,after his father and   
,florence had left him the doctor said  
to ,cornelia3      ,cornelia1 ,dombey   
will be your charge at first4 ,bring him
 on1     ,cornelia1 bring him on4 ,take 

him round the house1 ,cornelia1 and     
familiarize him with his new sphere4 ,go
 with that young lady1 ,dombey4         
,cornelia took him first to the         
schoolroom4 ,here there were eight young
     gentlemen in various stages of     
mental prostration1 all very hard at    
work1 and very grave indeed4      ,mr4  
,feeder1 ,b4 ,a41 had his ,virgil stop  
on1 and was slowly grinding     that    
tune to four young gentlemen4 ,of the   
remaining four1 two1 who     grasped    
their foreheads convulsively1 were      
engaged in solving     mathematical     
problems2 one1 with his face like a     
dirty window from     much crying1 was  
endeavouring to flounder through a      
hopeless number of     lines before     
dinner2 and one sat looking at his task 
in stony     stupefaction and           
despair--which1 it seemed1 had been his 
condition     ever since breakfast time4
  ,after being shown through the        
dormitories1 ,cornelia told him dinner  
would be ready in fifteen minutes1 and  

that in the meantime he had better go   
into the schoolroom among his friends4  
,his friends were all dispersed about   
the room except the stony friend1       
who remained immovable4 ,mr4 ,feeder was
 stretching himself in his gray         
gown1 as if1 regardless of expense1 he  
were resolved to pull the     sleeves   
off4      ,heigh-ho-hum6 cried ,mr4     
,feeder1 shaking himself like a cart    
horse     oh dear me1 dear me6          
,ya-a-a-ah6      ,you sleep in my room1 
don't you8 asked a solemn young         
gentleman1     whose shirt collar curled
 up the lobes of his ears4      ,master 
,briggs8 inquired ,paul4      ,tozer1   
said the young gentleman4      ,paul    
answered yes2 and ,tozer1 pointing out  
the stony pupil1 said that     it was   
,briggs4 ,paul had already felt certain 
that it must be either     ,briggs or   
,tozer1 though he didn't know why4      
,is yours a strong constitution8        
inquired ,tozer4      ,paul said he     
thought not4 ,tozer replied that he     

thought not also1     judging from      
,paul's looks1 and that it was a pity1  
for it need be4 ,he     then asked ,paul
 if he were going to begin with         
,cornelia2 and on ,paul     saying ,yes1
 all the young gentlemen 7,briggs       
excepted7 gave a low     groan4  ,at    
dinner no boy was allowed to speak2     
every one was compelled to listen to the
 tedious discourse of ,doctor ,blimber  
on the customs of the ,romans4 ,the     
cramming of youth was continued with    
great dignity even during meals4 ,one   
boy1 ,johnson1 was unfortunate enough to
 choke himself by too suddenly          
swallowing his water in order to catch  
,doctor ,blimber's eye when he began an 
account of the dinners of ,vitellius2   
and to punish him for his breach of     
manners1 ,doctor ,blimber said before   
the boys were dismissed from the table3 
,johnson will repeat to-morrow morning  
before breakfast1 without book1     and 
from the ,greek ,testament1 the first   
chapter of the ,epistle of     ,saint   

,paul to the ,ephesians4 ,we will resume
 our studies1 ,mr4 ,feeder1     in half 
an hour4  ,it used to be a common       
practice to cultivate a loving reverence
 for ,god by using the ,bible as a means
 of punishment4 ,this was in harmony    
with the old educational and the old    
theological ideal of punishment1 as the 
supreme means available for guiding     
children properly4 ,it was considered a 
perfectly appropriate use of the best   
book to use it for this best of         
purposes4      ,the young gentlemen     
bowed and withdrew2 ,mr4 ,feeder did    
likewise4     ,during the half hour the 
young gentlemen1 broken into pairs1     
loitered     arm in arm up and down a   
small piece of ground behind the house4 
,but     nothing happened so vulgar as  
play4 ,punctually at the appointed time 
the gong was sounded1 and the studies1  
under the joint auspices of     ,doctor 
,blimber and ,mr4 ,feeder1 were resumed4
      ,tea was served in a style no less
 polite than dinner2 and after tea      

the young gentlemen1 rising and bowing  
as before1 withdrew to fetch up     the 
unfinished tasks of that day or to get  
up the already looming     tasks of     
to-morrow4 ,after prayers and light     
refreshments at eight     o'clock or so1
 the young gentlemen were sent to bed by
 the doctor     rising and solemnly     
saying1 ,we will resume our studies at  
seven     to-morrow2 the pupils bowed   
again1 and went to bed4      ,in the    
confidence of their own room upstairs1  
,briggs said his head     ached ready to
 split1 and that he should wish himself 
dead if it     wasn't for his mother and
 a blackbird he had at home4 ,tozer     
didn't say     much1 but he sighed a    
good deal1 and told ,paul to look out1  
for his     turn would come to-morrow4  
,after uttering those prophetic words1  
he     undressed himself moodily and got
 into bed4 ,briggs was in his bed too1  
and ,paul in his bed too1 before the    
weak-eyed young man appeared to     take
 away the candle1 when he wished them   

good-night and pleasant     dreams4 ,but
 his benevolent wishes were in vain as  
far as ,briggs and     ,tozer were      
concerned2 for ,paul1 who lay awake for 
a long while1 and     often woke        
afterward1 found that ,briggs was ridden
 by his lesson as a     nightmare2 and  
that ,tozer1 whose mind was affected in 
his sleep by     similar causes1 in a   
minor degree1 talked unknown tongues1 or
 scraps     of ,greek and ,latin--it was
 all one to ,paul--which1 in the silence
 of     night1 had an inexpressibly     
wicked and guilty effect4  ,as ,paul was
 going downstairs in the morning ,miss  
,blimber called him into her room1 and1 
pointing to a pile of new books on her  
table1 said3      ,these are yours1     
,dombey4      ,all of 'em1 ma'am8 said  
,paul4      ,yes1 returned ,miss        
,blimber2 and ,mr4 ,feeder will look you
 out some     more very soon1 if you are
 as studious as ,i expect you will be1  
,dombey4      ,thank you1 ma'am1 said   
,paul4      ,i am going out for a       

constitutional1 resumed ,miss ,blimber2 
and     while ,i am gone--that is to    
say1 in the interval between this and   
breakfast1 ,dombey--,i wish you to read 
over what ,i have marked in these       
books1 and to tell me if you quite      
understand what you have got to         
learn4 ,don't lose time1 ,dombey1 for   
you have none to spare1 but take        
them downstairs1 and begin directly4    
,yes1 ma'am1 answered ,paul4      ,there
 were so many of them1 that although    
,paul put one hand under the     bottom 
book and his other hand and his chin on 
the top book1 and     hugged them all   
closely1 the middle book slipped out    
before he reached     the door1 and then
 they all tumbled down on the floor4    
,having at last     amassed the whole   
library and climbed into his place1 he  
fell to work1     encouraged by a remark
 from ,tozer to the effect that he was  
in for it     now2 which was the only   
interruption he received till breakfast 
time4     ,at that meal1 for which he   

had no appetite1 everything was quite as
     solemn and genteel as at the       
others2 and when it was finished1 he    
followed ,miss ,blimber upstairs4       
,now1 ,dombey1 said ,miss ,blimber1 how 
have you got on with those     books8   
,they comprised a little ,english1 and a
 deal of ,latin--names of things1       
declensions of articles and             
substantives1 exercises thereon1 and    
preliminary rules--a trifle of          
orthography1 a glance at ancient        
history1 a wink or two at modern ditto1 
a few tables1 two or three     weights  
and measures1 and a little general      
information4 ,when poor ,paul     had   
spelled out number two1 he found he had 
no idea of number one2     fragments    
whereof afterward obtruded themselves   
into number three1     which slided into
 number four1 which1 grafted itself on  
to number two4     ,so that whether     
twenty ,romuluses made a ,remus1 or hic 
haec hoc was troy     weight1 or a verb 
always agreed with an ancient ,briton1  

or three     times four was ,taurus a   
bull1 were open questions with him4     
,oh1 ,dombey1 ,dombey6 said ,miss       
,blimber1 this is very shocking4  ,so   
,paul's cramming went on day by day4    
,the delicate little boy1 who should not
 have been sent to school at all1 was   
forced to memorize confused masses of   
words that had no meaning to him1 but he
 learned to repeat the words1 and so got
 the credit of doing well1 and because  
he learned easily was driven harder and 
harder4 ,the more easily he carried his 
burden the higher it was piled on his   
back4      ,it was not that ,miss       
,blimber meant to be too hard upon him1 
or that     ,doctor ,blimber meant to   
bear too heavily on the young gentlemen 
in     general4 ,cornelia merely held   
the faith in which she had been bred2   
and the doctor1 in some partial         
confusion of his ideas1 regarded the    
young gentlemen as if they were all     
doctors1 and were born grown up4        
,comforted by the applause of the young 

gentlemen's nearest relations1     and  
urged on by their blind vanity and      
ill-considered haste1 it would     have 
been strange if ,doctor ,blimber had    
discovered his mistake1 or     trimmed  
his swelling sails to any other tack4   
,thus in the case of ,paul4 ,when       
,doctor ,blimber said he made great     
progress1 and was naturally clever1 ,mr4
 ,dombey was more bent than ever     on 
his being forced and crammed4 ,in the   
case of ,briggs1 when ,doctor           
,blimber reported that he did not make  
great progress yet1 and was not         
naturally clever1 ,briggs senior was    
inexorable in the same purpose4 ,in     
short1 however high and false the       
temperature at which the doctor kept    
his hothouse1 the owners of the plants  
were always ready to lend a     helping 
hand at the bellows and to stir the     
fire4      ,when the midsummer vacation 
approached1 no indecent manifestations  
of     joy were exhibited by the        
leaden-eyed young gentlemen assembled at

     ,doctor ,blimber's4 ,any such      
violent expression as breaking up would 
have been quite inapplicable to that    
polite establishment4 ,the young        
gentlemen oozed away1 semi-annually1 to 
their own homes2 but they     never     
broke up4 ,they would have scorned the  
action4      ,tozer1 who was constantly 
galled and tormented by a starched white
     cambric neckerchief1 which he wore 
at the express desire of ,mrs4          
,tozer1 his parent1 who1 designing him  
for the ,church1 was of opinion     that
 he couldn't be in that forward state of
 preparation too     soon--,tozer said1 
indeed1 that choosing between two evils1
 he thought     he would rather stay    
where he was1 than go home4 ,however    
inconsistent     this declaration might 
appear with that passage in ,tozer's    
essay on     the subject1 wherein he had
 observed that the thoughts of home and 
all its recollections awakened in his   
mind the most pleasing emotions     of  
anticipation and delight1 and had also  

likened himself to a ,roman     general1
 flushed with a recent victory over the 
,iceni1 or laden with     ,carthaginian 
spoil1 advancing within a few hours'    
march of the     ,capitol1 presupposed1 
for the purposes of the simile1 to be   
the     dwelling place of ,mrs4 ,tozer1 
still it was very sincerely made4 ,for  
it     seemed that ,tozer had a dreadful
 uncle1 who not only volunteered        
examinations of him1 in the holidays1 on
 abstruse points1 but twisted           
innocent events and things1 and wrenched
 them to the same fell     purpose4 ,so 
that if this uncle took him to the play1
 or1 on a similar     pretence of       
kindness1 carried him to see a giant1 or
 a dwarf1 or a     conjurer1 or         
anything1 ,tozer knew he had read up    
some classical     allusion to the      
subject beforehand1 and was thrown into 
a state of     mortal apprehension2 not 
foreseeing where he might break out1 or 
what     authority he might not quote   
against him4      ,as to ,briggs1 his   

father made no show of artifice about   
it4 ,he never     would leave him alone4
 ,so numerous and severe were the mental
 trials     of that unfortunate youth in
 vacation time1 that the friends of the 
family 7then resident near ,bayswater1  
,london7 seldom approached the          
ornamental piece of water in ,kensington
 ,gardens without a vague               
expectation of seeing ,master ,briggs's 
hat floating on the surface and     an  
unfinished exercise lying on the bank4  
,briggs1 therefore1 was not     at all  
sanguine on the subject of holidays2 and
 these two sharers of     little ,paul's
 bedroom were so fair a sample of the   
young gentlemen in     general1 that the
 most elastic among them contemplated   
the arrival of     those festive periods
 with genteel resignation4  ,dickens did
 not wish to lay all the blame for the  
stupid process of cramming on the       
teachers4 ,he properly revealed to      
parents that they were even more to     
blame than the teachers1 because they   

got what they demanded4 ,doctor ,blimber
 summed up the whole philosophy of the  
adulthood of his time in regard to a    
child's education when he said to his   
daughter1 ,bring him on1 ,cornelia6     
,bring him on6  ,the standard of        
knowledge cramming fixed by parents and 
school boards is changing very slowly4  
,even yet a teacher's success is        
measured and his chances of             
re-engagement decided in most places by 
the answer to the question1 ,how does he
 bring the children on8  ,when asked by 
,doctor ,blimber what he wished his     
little sickly son to learn1 ,mr4 ,dombey
 answered1 ,oh1 everything4  ,when ,paul
 learned easily1 his father pressed for 
more studies2 and because ,briggs was   
dull1 his father demanded that he be    
driven harder at school1 and made the   
poor boy's life miserable at home by    
tedious lessons during the holidays4    
,the uncle who made ,tozer wretched by  
asking him unexpected questions on all  
occasions is a type of an ogre who      

sometimes blights the lives of children 
still4  ,dickens had a beautiful        
sympathy with childhood in its          
sufferings not merely on account of     
deliberate cruelty and neglect1 but     
because of the burdens placed upon it by
 adults who1 with the best intentions1  
robbed it of its natural rights of      
joyousness and freedom4  ,whenever      
,doctor ,blimber was informed that ,paul
 was old-fashioned or peculiar1 he said1
 as he had said when ,paul first came1  
that study would do much2 and he also   
said1 as he said on that occasion1      
,bring him on1 ,cornelia6 ,bring him on6
  ,just before the close of the term    
,paul fainted and had to be carried to  
his room1 and after an examination the  
physician advised ,doctor ,blimber to   
release the young gentleman from his    
books just now1 the vacation being so   
near at hand4  ,it was so very          
considerate to release him from study1  
when he was utterly unable to study any 
longer4  ,at the close of the school    

party when he was leaving--             
,cornelia1 taking both ,paul's hands in 
hers1 said1 ,dombey1 ,dombey1 you       
have always been my favourite pupil4    
,god bless you6 ,and it showed1         
,paul thought1 how easily one might do  
injustice to a person2 for ,miss        
,blimber meant it--though she was a     
,forcer4  ,paul never returned to       
school4 ,his life was sacrificed to his 
father's desire to have him learn       
everything4  ,in a brief look at the    
results of ,doctor ,blimber's teaching1 
,dickens tersely outlines three common  
results of cramming3      ,mr4 ,tozer1  
now a young man of lofty stature1 in    
,wellington boots1 was     so extremely 
full of antiquity as to be nearly on a  
par with a genuine     ancient ,roman in
 his knowledge of ,english2 a triumph   
that affected his     good parents with 
the tenderest emotions1 and caused the  
father and     mother of ,mr4 ,briggs   
7whose learning1 like an ill-arranged   
luggage1     was so tightly packed that 

he couldn't get at anything he wanted7  
to     hide their diminished heads4 ,the
 fruit laboriously gathered from the    
tree of knowledge by this latter young  
gentleman1 in fact1 had been            
subjected to so much pressure1 that it  
had become a kind of     intellectual   
,norfolk ,biffin1 and had nothing of its
 original form or     flavour remaining4
 ,master ,bitherstone now1 on whom the  
forcing system     had the happier and  
not uncommon effect of leaving no       
impression     whatever1 when the       
forcing apparatus ceased to work was in 
a much more     comfortable plight2 and 
being then on shipboard1 bound for      
,bengal1     found himself forgetting   
with such admirable rapidity1 that it   
was     doubtful whether his declensions
 of noun-substantives would hold out    
to the end of the voyage4  ,dickens1 in 
his very able description of ,doctor    
,blimber's school1 directs attention to 
nearly every phase of the evils of      
cramming4 ,toots is an illustration of  

the destruction of mental power by the  
hard mathematics and other subjects1    
when they are taught improperly4 ,it is 
a serious result of an educational      
system1 when the brightest young men    
cease to have brains when they begin to 
have whiskers4  ,paul's experience is   
used to show the terrible physical evils
 of cramming in any life1 especially in 
the life of a delicate child4 ,paul was 
killed by his father and ,doctor        
,blimber4 ,he should have lived4        
,cornelia's aversion to live languages  
and her delight in digging up the dead  
languages like a ghoul1 and the address 
presented to ,doctor ,blimber which     
contained very little of the mother     
tongue1 but fifteen quotations from the 
,latin and seven from the ,greek1 were  
intended as a protest against paying too
 much attention to the classics to the  
neglect of other studies4 ,he returned  
to this subject again in ,bleak ,house4 
,richard ,carstone could make ,latin    
verses1 but although his powers were    

naturally excellent he was a complete   
failure in life4 ,he was not educated   
properly1 notwithstanding his ability to
 make ,latin verses4  ,mr4 ,feeder is   
the perfect type of a mechanical        
crammer1 a sort of barrel organ with a  
little list of tunes at which he was    
continually working1 over and over      
again1 without any variation4 ,what     
suggestiveness there is in the sentence 
,mr4 ,feeder had his ,virgil stop on1   
and was grinding that tune to four young
 gentlemen6  ,bewilder the young ideas  
of ,doctor ,blimber's young gentlemen1  
used to be considered too strong a      
criticism1 but modern psychology fully  
sustains ,dickens in his view4 ,arrested
 development is well understood now to  
result from too much grinding at any one
 subject or department of a subject1    
from the monotonous drill of the        
crammer1 or from directing the child's  
attention too much to any one study4    
,the influence of uninteresting study on
 the spirits was clear to ,dickens4     

,there is inspiration and physical      
advantage of a decided character in the 
successful study of an interesting      
subject--interesting to the child1 of   
course--if the process of study includes
 the true self-activity of the child4   
,there is blight1 and nervous           
irritation1 and carking anxiety1 if the 
child works under compulsion at the dead
 matter of study4 ,no wonder the young  
gentlemen at ,doctor ,blimber's took    
leave of their spirits in three weeks1  
and passed through the subsequent stages
 of deeper gloom described by ,dickens4 
,they had none of the joy of living     
interest in their study1 none of the    
vital enthusiasm connected with         
independent thought1 none of the health 
that comes from pleasant occupation1    
none of the happiness that is found in  
self-activity alone4  ,one of the best  
criticisms of wrong methods of teaching 
done by ,mr4 ,feeder is the criticism of
 the method of teaching literature4 ,at 
the end of the first twelvemonth the    

boys had arrived at the conclusion1 from
 which they never afterward departed1   
that all the fancies of the poets1 and  
the lessons of the sages1 were a mere   
collection of words and grammar1 and had
 no other meaning in the world4 ,there  
are high schools yet in which more      
attention is paid to the words and      
grammar than to the sacred and inspiring
 thought of the author4  ,a professor in
 one of the leading educational         
institutions of ,america travelled in   
,scotland with his daughters4 ,they were
 graduates of a high school4 ,he        
observed with deep regret that they     
visited the mountains1 and valleys1 and 
rivers1 and islands1 and battlefields1  
and cathedrals of the land1 that to him 
had been filled with sacred interests by
 the writings of ,scott1 and saw them   
all without emotion4 ,one day he said to
 them3 ,why are you not interested here8
 ,to me every foot of ground here is    
full of living memories4 ,scott         
describes it in ,the ,lady of the ,lake4

 ,one of them explained the reason4 ,oh6
 she said1 we're sick of ,scott2 we had 
enough of him in the high school4       
,there are ,feeders yet who profane the 
temple of literature2 who never connect 
the souls of their pupils with the soul 
life of the authors they study4 ,very   
few of the graduates of high schools    
have learned the high art of loving     
literature for its beauty and ennobling 
thought1 fewer still have learned how to
 dig successfully in the rich mines of  
wealth that literature contains1 and    
even a smaller number have learned to   
transmute the revelations of literature 
into character and new revelations in   
life or richer literature for the       
happiness and culture of coming         
generations4 ,we may yet learn from     
,dickens4  ,tozer became an antique     
pedant1 learned but not educated4       
,briggs grew to be dull and             
heavy-witted1 and had his knowledge so  
tightly packed that he couldn't get at  
anything he wanted4  ,bitherstone was   

one of the few fortunate fellows who are
 gifted with natural power to pass      
through the cramming system without     
being affected seriously in any way4    
,they get little1 if any1 good1 and they
 speedily forget the wrongs inflicted   
upon them and the learning with which   
their teachers attempted to cram them4  
,briggs showed the evil effects of      
cramming in the destruction of          
individuality4 ,his fruit had nothing of
 its original flavour remaining4 ,this  
is one of the general charges made      
against ,doctor ,blimber's forcing      
establishment1 or hothouse4 ,nature was 
of no consequence at all4 ,no matter    
what a young gentleman was intended to  
bear1 ,doctor ,blimber made him bear to 
pattern somehow or other4 ,the          
destruction of selfhood was the great   
evil of the old system of teaching4     
,another important criticism made by    
,dickens of the hothouse system is      
worthy of special attention by          
educators4 ,he recognised the evil      

effects of giving any study or work to  
children1 that is naturally adapted to a
 later stage of their development4 ,the 
development of children is always       
arrested when the work of a higher stage
 is forced into a lower stage of their  
growth4 ,the true evolution of the child
 consists in a growth through a series  
of progressive and interdependent       
stages4 ,this was not recognised in the 
educational system ,dickens desired to  
improve4 ,it is not yet recognised to a 
very large extent in practice4 ,all the 
boys blew before their time1 in ,doctor 
,blimber's school4 ,the doctor1 in some 
partial confusion of ideas1 regarded the
 young gentlemen as if they were all    
doctors1 and were born grown up4        
,dickens was so careful to make his     
names and terms express volumes of      
meaning that he probably meant the      
phrase mathematical gooseberries to be  
especially significant4 ,the fact that  
they were grown on mere sprouts of      
bushes1 and as a consequence were very  

sour ones1 too1 reveals the philosophy  
since made so clear by ,doctor ,harris1 
that early drilling in arithmetic has   
been one of the prolific causes of      
arrested development in children4 ,the  
appeal against the common practice of   
growing every description of ,greek and 
,latin vegetable from dry twigs of boys 
was comprehensive and timely4 ,they were
 not merely twigs1 but dry twigs in whom
 the sap had not begun to circulate     
freely4 ,no expressions1 no volumes1    
could state the evil of untimely        
cramming more clearly than this group of
 phrases used by ,dickens in describing 
,doctor ,blimber's school4  ,the        
frostiest circumstances is another of   
the thought-laden phrases1 which was    
evidently intended to warn teachers     
against the mistake of trying to produce
 any intellectual fruit at untimely     
periods of the child's development4     
,wintry growth means unseasonable or    
untimely development4  ,the condemnation
 of the feeling shown by ,paul in       

parting from ,florence1 and the         
,doctor's cold-blooded observation1     
,never mind2 we shall substitute new    
cares and new impressions1 ,mr4 ,dombey1
 very shortly1 were intended to show how
 utterly the knowledge cramming ideal   
had prevented the recognition of the    
fundamental fact that feeling is the    
basis and the battery power of          
intellectual force and energy4 ,the same
 principle is taught by ,cornelia's     
shock at ,paul's affection for old      
,glubb1 and her father's summary        
settlement of the case1 when he realized
 that the little child was intensely    
affectionate and sympathetic4 ,ha6 said 
the ,doctor1 shaking his head1          
this--is--bad1 but study will do much4  
,dickens deals in a most thorough manner
 with the absolute wickedness of        
neglecting1 or attempting to smother    
feeling in the training and education of
 children in ,hard ,times4 ,he          
undoubtedly received his clear          
conceptions relating to the intellectual

 value of feeling from ,froebel's       
writings4  ,the bad effects of cramming 
on the physical constitution of children
 are pointed out in the convulsive      
grasping of their foreheads by the two  
boys engaged in solving mathematical    
problems4 ,nervous exhaustion is here   
plainly indicated4 ,they were very      
feverish1 too1 and poor ,briggs was in  
even a worse condition1 for he was in a 
state of stupefaction and was flabby and
 quite cold4 ,both ,briggs and ,tozer   
frightened ,paul the first night he     
tried to sleep in their room by talking 
,latin and ,greek in their dreams4 ,paul
 thought they were swearing4 ,education 
should never interfere with a child's   
sleep1 either with its soundness or its 
duration4 ,even the boys told ,paul on  
the first day of his school life that he
 would need a good constitution to      
withstand the strain at ,doctor         
,blimber's4  ,the exhaustive and        
exasperating practice of piling up      
arrears of work1 so naturally connected 

with cramming--in fact1 so essential a  
part of the unnatural process--comes in 
for its share of condemnation1 too4 ,one
 of the boys1 whose face was like a     
dirty window1 from much crying1 was     
endeavouring to flounder through a      
hopeless number of lines4 ,the friends  
of ,briggs were constantly in terror    
lest they should find his hat floating  
on a pond and an unfinished exercise on 
the bank4  ,the same practice of        
charging up arrears of work is condemned
 in ,david ,copperfield by associating  
it with the hateful ,murdstones4  ,the  
crammer's absolute indifference and     
contempt for any semblance of           
correlation in studies is revealed by   
,cornelia's action in giving him a      
collection of books on his first morning
 before school with instructions to     
study them at the places she had marked 
for him4 ,no wonder that when poor ,paul
 had spelled out number two he found he 
had no idea of number one2 fragments    
whereof afterward obtruded themselves   

into number three1 which sidled into    
number four1 which grafted itself on to 
number two--so that whether twenty      
,romuluses made a ,remus1 or hic haec   
hoc was troy weight1 or a verb always   
agreed with an ancient ,briton1 or three
 times four was ,taurus1 a bull1 were   
open questions with him4  ,whenever     
words are given before thought1 or as a 
substitute for thought1 and without     
definite relationship to the thought    
already in the mind1 they lie in the    
mind as unrelated1 and therefore        
unavailable knowledge4  ,a boy in       
,london had received considerable       
historical teaching1 and his mind had   
made a certain kind of unity out of the 
confused mass4 ,when asked at his final 
examination ,what he knew about         
,cromwell1 he answered3 ,cromwell       
interfered with the ,irish1 and he was  
put in prison4 ,when he was in prison he
 wrote the ,pilgrim's ,progress1 and he 
afterward married ,mrs4 ,o',shea4  ,this
 was equalled by the other boy who wrote

 at an examination3 ,wolsey was a famous
 general who fought in the ,crimean     
,war1 and who1 after being decapitated  
several times1 said to ,cromwell3 ',if  
,i had served you as you have served me 
,i would not have been deserted in my   
old age4'  ,paul's studies were always  
dark and crooked to him till ,florence  
bought copies of his books and studied  
them1 and by patient sympathy made all  
that had been dark light1 and all that  
had been crooked straight4  ,the habit  
of giving definitions of abstractions to
 children1 and expecting the definitions
 alone to be comprehended by children1  
is held up to deserved ridicule in the  
explanation of the word analysis to     
,paul1 when ,cornelia proposed to read  
the analysis of his character4  ,if my  
recollection serves me1 the word        
analysis1 as opposed to synthesis1 is   
thus defined by ,walker3 ',the          
resolution of an object1 whether of the 
senses or of the intellect1 into its    
first elements4' ,as opposed to         

synthesis1 you observe4 ,now you know   
what analysis is1 ,dombey4  ,how        
perfectly simple and clear and expanding
 this would be to a child's mind6       
,dickens says3 ,dombey didn't seem      
absolutely blinded by the light let in  
upon his intellect1 but he made ,miss   
,blimber a little bow4  ,what loose     
habits of thought1 and how much         
hypocrisy and mental vagueness are      
caused by using words instead of        
realities in the early teaching of      
children1 and then asking them if they  
understand what we have been telling    
them6 ,the little bow has usually a     
demoralizing effect4  ,it is a mere     
farce to call the committing to memory  
of definitions education4  ,whatever the
 subjects1 it is a dwarfing process1    
whether the definitions are memorized at
 home or at school1 silently1 by oral   
repetition1 or by singing them4 ,all    
definition learning as the origin of    
thought is certain to destroy interest  
and arrest development and lead to      

inaccuracy of thought4 ,miss ,le ,row's 
collection of blunders made by children 
could never have been made if the       
children had been taught properly4      
,such mistakes as ,the body is mostly   
composed of water1 and about one half of
 avaricious tissue or ,parasite1 a kind 
of umbrella1 or ,emphasis1 putting more 
distress on one word than on another1   
should suggest to teachers the absurdity
 of committing definitions to memory4   
,it is one of the weakest forms of      
cramming1 and is most ridiculous and    
least useful when the memorizing is done
 by simultaneous oral repetition4  ,hard
 ,times exposes the evils of cramming in
 the teaching practised in the normal   
school in which ,mr4 ,m',choakumchild   
was trained1 and in the definition      
repetition as given by ,bitzer1 and so  
highly praised by ,mr4 ,gradgrind3      
,bitzer1 your definition of a horse3    
,quadruped1 graminivorous4 ,forty teeth1
 namely1 twenty-four grinders1     four 
eyeteeth1 and twelve incisors4 ,sheds   

coat in the spring2 in     marshy       
countries sheds hoofs1 too4 ,hoofs hard1
 but requiring to be     shod with iron4
 ,age known by marks in mouth4  ,how    
clear this would make the conception of 
a horse to a man who had never seen one6
 ,sissy ,jupe1 too1 is used to show the 
failure of cramming to educate a girl of
 quick intellect and strong emotions4   
,she could not be crammed4              
,m',choakumchild reported that she had a
 very dense head for figures2     that1 
once possessed with a general idea of   
the globe1 she took the     smallest    
conceivable interest in its exact       
measurements2 that she was     extremely
 slow in the acquisition of dates1      
unless some pitiful     incident        
happened to be connected therewith2 that
 she would burst into     tears on being
 required 7by the mental process7       
immediately to name     the cost of two 
hundred and forty-seven muslin caps at  
fourteenpence     half-penny2 that she  
was as low down in the school as low as 

could be2     that after eight weeks of 
induction into the elements of political
     economy1 she had only yesterday    
been set right by a prattler three      
feet high1 for returning to the         
question1 ,what is the first principle  
of this science8 the absurd answer1 ,to 
do unto others as ,i would     that they
 should do unto me4      ,mr4 ,gradgrind
 observed1 shaking his head1 that all   
this was very bad2     that it showed   
the necessity of infinite grinding at   
the mill of     knowledge as per system1
 schedule1 blue book1 report1 and       
tabular     statements ,a to ,z2 and    
that ,jupe must be kept to it4 ,so ,jupe
 was     kept to it1 and became         
low-spirited1 but no wiser4  ,dickens   
makes the artist in ,somebody's ,luggage
 say3      ,who are you passing every   
day at your competitive excruciations8  
,the     fortunate candidates whose     
heads and livers you have turned upside 
down for life8 ,not you1 you are really 
passing the crammers and     coaches4   

,and ,jemmy ,lirriper1 in describing his
 teacher1 said3 ,oh1 he was a ,tartar6  
,keeping the boys up to the mark1       
holding examinations once a month1      
lecturing upon all sorts of subjects at 
all sorts of times1 and knowing         
everything in the world out of a book4  
,dickens saw the evils of competitive   
examinations more clearly than many     
educators do two generations after him4 
,when educators in schools1 colleges1   
and universities learn a better way to  
promote pupils1 to classify men and     
women and to rank them at graduation1   
than by holding promotion and graduation
 examinations cramming will be of no    
use1 and there shall be no more         
cramming4  ,dickens was right as usual4 
,the crammers and coaches are those who 
are tested by competitive excruciations2
 and how those who force through most   
students boast and strut and lord it    
over the less successful crammers and   
coaches on commencement days and other  
public occasions6 ,what a misleading    

mockery examinations are as tests of    
power and character6  ,few even of      
,dickens's phrases contain such a       
condensation of fact and philosophy as  
the phrase whose heads and livers you   
have turned upside down for life4 ,few  
phrases deserve more careful            
consideration from educators4  ,dickens 
makes the effect on the head still more 
startling by the description of ,miss   
,wozenham's brother in ,mrs4 ,lirriper's
 ,legacy4 ,miss ,wozenham out of her    
small income had to support a brother   
that had had the misfortune to soften   
his brain against the hard mathematics4 
,in the same story he laughs at the     
practical results of language cramming  
usually done in the schools3      ,and  
the way in which ,jemmy spoke his       
,french was a real charm4 ,it was       
often wanted of him1 for whenever       
anybody spoke a syllable to me ,i       
says ,noncomprenny1 you're very kind but
 it's no use--,now ,jemmy6 and     then 
,jemmy he fires away at 'em lovely1 the 

only thing wanting in     ,jemmy's      
,french being as it appeared to me that 
he hardly ever     understood a word of 
what they said to him1 which made it    
scarcely of     the use it might have   
been4  ,dickens attempted to picture the
 feelings of a boy toward his teachers  
in the days when cramming was almost    
universally practised in the story of   
,lieutenant-,colonel ,robin ,redforth1  
aged nine4 ,when the ,latin master was  
captured1 he was saved by ,captain      
,boldheart from the punishment of death 
to which he was condemned by the crew of
 ,the ,beauty4 ,captain ,boldheart had  
been one of his pupils1 and he said3    
,without taking your life1 ,i must yet  
forever deprive you of the power of     
spiting other boys4 ,i shall turn you   
adrift in this boat4 ,you will find in  
her two oars1 a compass1 a bottle of    
rum1 a small cask of water1 a piece of  
pork1 a bag of biscuit1 and my ,latin   
grammar4 ,go6 and spite the natives if  
you can find any4  ,when he afterward   

released him from the savages who were  
about to eat him1 he granted him his    
life for the second time on condition3  
#a4 ,that he should never under any     
circumstances presume to teach any boy  
anything any more4  #b4 ,that1 if taken 
back to ,england1 he should pass his    
life in travelling to find out boys who 
wanted their exercises done1 and should 
do their exercises for nothing1 and     
never say a word about it4  ,when it    
finally became necessary to hang the    
,latin master1 ,boldheart impressively  
pointed out to him that this is what    
spiters come to4  ,there are many kinds 
of cram that yet pass as fairly         
respectable in schools and universities4
 ,when the teachers or the professors   
give notes to be copied by the pupils   
and memorized1 they are cramming4 ,when 
teachers are storing the memories of    
children with facts1 tables1 dates1     
etc41 to be used at some future time1   
they are cramming4 ,all memorizing by   
repetition of words1 even if they are   

understood1 is cram1 if the pupil can   
work the thought into his life by       
repetition of process or of operation4  
,words can never take the place of      
self-activity1 nor even of activity4    
,so long as knowledge storing is placed 
above character development1            
examinations by examiners will retain   
their power for evil1 and so long as    
such examinations are held cramming will
 continue4  ,all processes that attempt 
to educate from without inward1 instead 
of from within outward1 are in the last 
analysis cram4 ,the selfhood must be    
active in going out for the new         
knowledge4 ,the child must himself be   
originative1 directive1 and executive in
 the learning process if cram is to be  
avoided completely4 ,this is the only   
sure way to secure perfect apperception1
 and without apperception the new       
knowledge lies dormant1 if not dead1 and
 unrelated in the memory until it       
disappears1 as did ,bitherstone's4 ,his 
declensions1 according to ,dickens1 were

 not likely to last out his journey from
 ,england to ,india4     ,,chapter ,,vi4
  ,,free ,,childhood4   ,adulthood can  
never be truly free till childhood is   
free4 ,perfect freedom can not be       
developed in a soul filled with the     
apperceptive experiences of tyranny4 ,no
 man is fully free in the freest country
 in the world who wishes to dominate    
even his child4 ,the practice of tyranny
 develops the tyrant4 ,guiding control  
is entirely different from domination4  
,dickens taught the doctrine of a rich1 
full1 free childhood from the time he   
wrote ,nicholas ,nickleby in #ahci4     
,even the sunburned faces of gipsy      
children1 half naked though they be1    
suggest a drop of comfort4 ,it is a     
pleasant thing to see that the sun      
has been there2 to know that the air and
 light are on them every day2     to    
feel that they are children1 and lead   
children's lives2 that if     their     
pillows be damp1 it is with the dews of 
heaven1 and not with     tears2 that the

 limbs of their girls are free1 and that
 they are not     crippled by           
distortions1 imposing an unnatural and  
horrible penance     upon their sex2    
that their lives are spent1 from day to 
day1 at least     among the waving      
trees1 and not in the midst of dreadful 
engines which     make young children   
old before they know what childhood is1 
and give     them the exhaustion and    
infirmity of age1 without1 like age1 the
     privilege to die4 ,god send that   
old nursery tales were true1 and that   
gipsies stole such children by the      
score6  ,if he had written nothing but  
this exquisite quotation from ,nicholas 
,nickleby he would have deserved        
recognition as an educator4 ,it shows a 
clear insight into the great principles 
of physical freedom1 intellectual       
freedom1 and spiritual freedom4  ,in    
,the ,old ,curiosity ,shop he made the  
world sympathize with a child who lived 
with an old man4 ,he gives the keynote  
to this fundamental thought of the book 

in the opening chapter3      ,it always 
grieves me to contemplate the initiation
 of children into     the ways of life  
when they are scarcely more than        
infants4 ,it checks     their confidence
 and simplicity--two of the best        
qualities that ,heaven     gives        
them--and demands that they share our   
sorrows before they are     capable of  
entering into our enjoyments4  ,little  
,nell had the sadness of a lonely       
childhood1 though her grandfather lived 
with but the one aim of making her      
happy4  ,in ,martin ,chuzzlewit--       
,tom ,pinch's sister was governess in a 
family1 a lofty family2 perhaps     the 
wealthiest brass and copper founder's   
family known to mankind4     ,they lived
 at ,camberwell2 in a house so big and  
fierce that its mere     outside1 like  
the outside of a giant's castle1 struck 
terror into     vulgar minds and made   
bold persons quail4  ,when ,mr4         
,pecksniff and his daughters went to    
visit ,miss ,pinch she      was at that 

moment instructing her eldest pupil2 to 
wit1 a premature     little woman of    
thirteen years old1 who had already     
arrived at such a     pitch of whalebone
 and education that she had nothing     
girlish about     her1 which was a      
source of great rejoicing to all her    
relations and     friends4  ,one of the 
unsolved mysteries is the fact that such
 a large proportion of parents are so   
anxious to have their children grow up4 
,the desire may be understood when      
poverty longs for the time when the     
little hands may help to win bread1 but 
that wealthy parents should hasten the  
premature state of adulthood in their   
children is incomprehensible4  ,a great 
deal of attention is paid to the blunder
 of robbing children of real childhood  
in ,dombey and ,son1 which is so rich in
 several departments of educational     
philosophy4 ,doctor ,blimber regarded   
the young gentlemen as if they were born
 grown up4  ,paul's life and death were 
intended as warnings to ambitious       

parents4 ,florence was robbed of a true 
childhood by her mother's death and her 
father's lack of sympathy4 ,briggs and  
,tozer had no childhood2 they were      
persecuted by the ingenious and         
ignorantly learned adults at home during
 vacations1 as well as by ,doctor       
,blimber during school time2 so that    
,tozer said1 indeed1 that choosing      
between two evils1 he would rather stay 
at school than go home4  ,poor          
,bitherstone had no childhood4 ,he was  
shipped away from his parents in ,india 
to the respectable hell conducted by    
that widely known and highly reputed    
child trainer ,mrs4 ,pipchin4  ,poor    
little ,miss ,pankey spent a great deal 
of her time in ,mrs4 ,pipchin's         
correctional dungeon4 ,what a mercy it  
would be if all such unfortunate        
children could be stolen by the gipsies6
  ,mrs4 ,pipchin's theory taught that it
 was wrong to encourage a child's mind  
to develop and expand itself like a     
young flower1 but to open it by force   

like an oyster4  ,when ,doctor ,blimber 
asked ,paul1 six-year-old ,paul1 if he  
would like them to make a man of him1   
the child replied3  ,i had rather be a  
child4  ,one of ,dickens's most         
successful hits at the common           
philosophy1 that the desired adult      
characteristics must be developed in    
childhood in their adult forms1 was made
 in describing ,mrs4 ,tozer's effort to 
qualify ,tozer for the position of a    
clergyman by making him wear a stiff1   
starched necktie while he was a boy4    
,when ,edith upbraided her mother for   
practically compelling her to marry ,mr4
 ,dombey1 her mother asked angrily3     
,what do you mean8 ,haven't you from a  
child----      ,a child6 said ,edith1   
looking at her2 when was ,i a child8    
,what     childhood did you ever leave  
to me8 ,i was a woman--artful1          
designing1     mercenary1 laying snares 
for men--before ,i knew myself or you1  
or even     understood the base and     
wretched aim of every new display ,i    

learned4     ,you gave birth to a woman4
 ,look upon her4 ,she is in her pride   
to-night4      ,you talk strangely      
to-night1 ,edith1 to your own mother4   
,it seems so to me2 stranger to me than 
to you1 said ,edith4 ,but my            
education was completed long ago4 ,i am 
too old now and have fallen too     low1
 by degrees1 to take a new course1 and  
to stop yours1 and to help     myself4  
,the germ of all that purifies a woman's
 breast1 and makes it     true and good1
 has never stirred in mine1 and ,i have 
nothing else to     sustain me when ,i  
despise myself4  ,later1 on the night   
before she was to marry ,mr4 ,dombey1   
she said3      ,oh1 mother1 mother1 if  
you had but left me to my natural heart 
when ,i     too was a girl--a younger   
girl than ,florence--how different ,i   
might     have been6  ,bleak ,house     
gives ,dickens's most striking picture  
of the deterioration resulting from     
giving no real childhood to children for
 a series of generations4      ,during  

the whole time consumed in the slow     
growth of this family tree1     the     
house of ,smallweed1 always early to go 
to business and late to     marry1 has  
strengthened itself in its practical    
character1 has     discarded all        
amusements1 discountenanced all         
storybooks1 fairy tales1     fictions1  
and fables1 and banished all levities   
whatsoever4 ,hence the     gratifying   
fact that it has had no child born to   
it1 and that the     complete little men
 and women whom it has produced have    
been observed     to bear a likeness to 
old monkeys with something depressing on
 their     minds4      ,there has been  
only one child in the ,smallweed family 
for several     generations4 ,little old
 men and women there have been1 but no  
child1     until ,mr4 ,smallweed's      
grandmother1 now living1 became weak in 
her     intellect1 and fell 7for the    
first time7 into a childish state4 ,with
     such infantine graces as a total   
want of observation1 memory1            

understanding1 and interest1 and an     
eternal disposition to fall asleep      
over the fire and into it1 ,mr4         
,smallweed's grandmother has undoubtedly
     brightened the family4  ,there     
could be no more awful picture than that
 of a family in which for a series of   
generations the children had been1      
through heredity and training1 made     
little old men and women1 who were never
 permitted to indulge in any childish   
plays1 or to enjoy any stories1 or in   
any way have a genuine childhood1 so    
that they not only came to look like    
monkeys1 but like monkeys with something
 depressing on their minds2 and in which
 the only child for several generations 
had been ,mr4 ,smallweed's grandmother1 
when she became weak in intellect and   
fell 7for the first time7 into a        
childish state4  ,in ,the ,haunted      
,house the wretched child who came to   
,mr4 ,redlaw's room is described as a   
baby savage1 a young monster1 a child   
who had never been a child4  ,dickens   

made his greatest plea for a free       
childhood in ,hard ,times4 ,the whole of
 the educational part of the book       
condemns the training of ,mr4           
,gradgrind1 although he was an earnest1 
high-minded gentleman1 whose supreme    
purpose was to train his family in the  
best possible way4 ,indeed ,mr4         
,gradgrind was so sure he was right in  
his views regarding child training that 
he founded a school to teach the        
children of ,coketown in accordance with
 what he believed to be correct         
principles4  ,mr4 ,gradgrind is         
described as      a kind cannon loaded  
to the muzzle with facts1 and prepared  
to blow     children clean out of the   
regions of childhood at one discharge4  
,he     seemed a galvanizing apparatus1 
too1 charged with a grim mechanical     
substitute for the tender young         
imaginations that were to be stormed    
away4      ,there were five young       
,gradgrinds1 and they were models every 
one4 ,they     had been lectured at from

 their tenderest years2 coursed1 like   
little     hares4 ,almost as soon as    
they could run alone they had been made 
to     run to the lecture room4 ,the    
first object with which they had an     
association or of which they had a      
remembrance was a large blackboard      
with a dry ogre chalking ghastly white  
figures on it4      ,not that they knew1
 by name or nature1 anything about an   
ogre4 ,fact     forbid6 ,i only use the 
word to express a monster in a lecturing
     castle1 with heaven knows how many 
heads manipulated into one1 taking      
childhood captive1 and dragging it into 
gloomy statistical dens by the     hair4
      ,no little ,gradgrind had ever    
seen a face in the moon2 it was up in   
the     moon before it could speak      
distinctly4 ,no little ,gradgrind had   
ever     learned the silly jingle1      
,twinkle1 twinkle1 little star2 how ,i  
wonder     what you are2 it had never   
known wonder on the subject1 having at  
five years old dissected the ,great     

,bear like a ,professor ,owen and       
driven ,charles's ,wain like a          
locomotive engine driver4 ,no little    
,gradgrind had ever associated a cow in 
a field with that famous cow     with   
the crumpled horn who tossed the dog who
 worried the cat who     killed the rat 
who ate the malt1 or with that yet more 
famous cow who     swallowed ,tom       
,thumb2 it had never heard of those     
celebrities1 and had     only been      
introduced to a cow as a graminivorous  
ruminating quadruped     with several   
stomachs4  ,the effect of preventing all
 kinds of enjoyment for his children in 
their own home was that they naturally  
sought for enjoyment surreptitiously in 
a way of which their father disapproved4
 ,but when a man disapproves of         
legitimate amusements in his family his 
condemnation of what is improper will   
have little weight with his children4   
,when ,mr4 ,gradgrind was going home    
from the school examination he had to   
pass near the circus1 and he was amazed 

to find his daughter ,louisa and his son
 ,thomas stealing a view of the         
performance4      ,phenomenon almost    
incredible though distinctly seen1 what 
did he then     behold but his own      
metallurgical ,louisa peeping with all  
her might     through a hole in a deal  
board1 and his own mathematical ,thomas 
abasing himself on the ground to catch  
but a hoof of the graceful              
equestrian ,tyrolean flower act6        
,dumb with amazement1 ,mr4 ,gradgrind   
crossed to the spot where his     family
 was thus disgraced1 laid his hand upon 
each erring child1 and     said3        
,louisa6 ,thomas6      ,both rose1 red  
and disconcerted4 ,but ,louisa looked at
 her father with     more boldness than 
,thomas did4 ,indeed1 ,thomas did not   
look at him1 but     gave himself up to 
be taken home like a machine4      ,in  
the name of wonder1 idleness1 and folly6
 said ,mr4 ,gradgrind1     leading each 
away by a hand2 what do you do here8    
,wanted to see what it was like1        

returned ,louisa shortly4      ,what it 
was like8      ,yes1 father4      ,there
 was an air of jaded sullenness in them 
both1 and particularly in     the girl2 
yet1 struggling through the             
dissatisfaction of her face1     there  
was a light with nothing to rest upon1 a
 fire with nothing to     burn1 a       
starved imagination keeping life in     
itself somehow1 which     brightened its
 expression4 ,not with the brightness   
natural to cheerful     youth1 but with 
uncertain1 eager1 doubtful flashes1     
which had     something painful in them1
 analogous to the changes on a blind    
face     groping its way4      ,you6    
,thomas and you1 to whom the circle of  
the sciences is open1     ,thomas and   
you1 who may be said to be replete with 
facts1 ,thomas and     you1 who have    
been trained to mathematical exactness1 
,thomas and you1     here6 cried ,mr4   
,gradgrind4 ,in this degraded position6 
,i am amazed4      ,i was tired1 father4
 ,i have been tired a long time1 said   

,louisa4      ,tired8 ,of what8 asked   
the astonished father4      ,i don't    
know of what--of everything1 ,i think4  
,when they reached home1 ,mr4 ,gradgrind
 in an injured tone said to ,mrs4       
,gradgrind1 after telling her where he  
had found the children3      ,i should  
as soon have expected to find my        
children reading poetry4      ,dear me1 
whimpered ,mrs4 ,gradgrind4 ,how can    
you1 ,louisa and ,thomas6     ,i wonder 
at you4 ,as if1 with my head in its     
present throbbing state1     you        
couldn't go and look at the shells and  
minerals and things     provided for    
you1 instead of circuses6 said ,mrs4    
,gradgrind4 ,you know     as well as ,i 
do1 no young people have circus masters1
 or keep circuses     in cabinets1 or   
attend lectures about circuses4 ,what   
can you possibly     want to know of    
circuses then8 ,i am sure you have      
enough to do1 if     that's what you    
want4 ,with my head in its present      
state1 ,i couldn't     remember the mere

 names of half the facts you have got to
 attend to4      ,that's the reason6    
pouted ,louisa4      ,don't tell me     
that's the reason1 because it can be    
nothing of the     sort1 said ,mrs4     
,gradgrind4 ,go and be                  
something-ological directly4  ,after    
,louisa had married ,mr4 ,bounderby1    
,tom and ,mr4 ,harthouse were discussing
 her one evening1 and ,tom said she     
thought a great deal when she was alone3
      ,ay1 ay8 ,has resources of her    
own1 said ,harthouse4      ,not so much 
of that as you may suppose1 returned    
,tom2 for our     governor had her      
crammed with all sorts of dry bones and 
sawdust4 ,it's     his system4          
,formed his daughter on his own model8  
suggested ,harthouse4      ,his         
daughter8 ,ah6 and everybody else4 ,why1
 he formed me that way1     said ,tom4  
,impossible6      ,he did though1 said  
,tom1 shaking his head4 ,i mean to say1 
,mr4     ,harthouse1 that when ,i first 
left home and went to old ,bounderby's1 

,i     was as flat as a warming-pan1 and
 knew no more about life than any       
oyster does4  ,dickens describes a visit
 ,louisa made to her father's house1 and
 shows how little of the true home      
feeling was stirred in her heart1 as she
 approached the place1 where she should 
have had a happy childhood4             
,neither1 as she approached her old home
 now1 did any of the best     influences
 of old home descend upon her4 ,her     
remembrances of home and     childhood  
were remembrances of the drying up of   
every spring and     fountain in her    
young heart as it gushed out4 ,the      
golden waters were     not there4 ,they 
were flowing for the fertilization of   
the land where     grapes are gathered  
from thorns1 and figs from thistles4    
,when her father proposed to ,louisa    
that she should marry ,mr4 ,bounderby1  
she said3      ,the baby preference that
 even ,i have heard of as common among  
children has never had its innocent     
resting place in my breast4 ,you        

have been so careful of me1 that ,i     
never had a child's heart4 ,you have    
trained me so well1 that ,i never       
dreamed a child's dream4 ,you have      
dealt so wisely with me1 father1 from my
 cradle to this hour1 that ,i     never 
had a child's belief or a child's fear4 
,mr4 ,gradgrind was delighted at his    
apparent success4 ,he could not see1 he 
was so practical and so                 
self-opinionated1 that her heart was    
breaking while she was yielding with    
external calmness4  ,but the reaping    
time came soon4 ,mr4 ,harthouse1 young1 
attractive1 and unscrupulous1 made love 
to ,louisa1 and finally persuaded her to
 run away with him4 ,unable to resist   
the temptation in her own strength1 she 
fled to her father's house through an   
awful storm4      ,the thunder was      
rolling into distance1 and the rain was 
pouring down     like a deluge1 when the
 door of his room opened4 ,he looked    
round the     lamp upon his table1 and  
saw with amazement his eldest daughter4 

,louisa6      ,father1 ,i want to speak 
to you4      ,what is the matter8 ,what 
is it8 ,i conjure you1 ,louisa1 tell me 
what     is the matter4      ,she       
dropped into a chair before him1 and put
 her cold hand on his arm4      ,father1
 you have trained me from my cradle4    
,yes1 ,louisa4      ,i curse the hour in
 which ,i was born to such a destiny4   
,he looked at her in doubt and dread1   
vacantly repeating1 ,curse the     hour6
 ,curse the hour6      ,how could you   
give me life1 and take from me all the  
inappreciable     things that raise it  
from the state of conscious death8      
,where are the     graces of my soul8   
,where are the sentiments of my heart8  
,what have you     done1 ,o father1 what
 have you done1 with the garden that    
should have     bloomed once1 in this   
great wilderness here8      ,she struck 
herself with both her hands upon her    
bosom4      ,if it had ever been here1  
its ashes alone would save me from the  
void     in which my whole life sinks4  

,he tightened his hold in time to       
prevent her sinking on the floor1 but   
she cried out in a terrible voice1 ,i   
shall die if you hold me6 ,let me       
fall upon the ground6 ,and he laid her  
down there1 and saw the pride     of his
 heart and the triumph of his system    
lying1 an insensible heap1     at his   
feet4  ,in the ,schoolboy's ,story1 the 
boy who was to have no holiday at home  
was invited to spend his holidays with  
,old ,cheeseman and ,mrs4 ,cheeseman4   
,so ,i went to their delightful house1  
and was as happy as ,i could            
possibly be4 ,they understand how to    
conduct themselves toward boys1     they
 do4 ,when they take a boy to the play1 
for instance1 they do     take him4     
,they don't go in after it's begun1 or  
come out before it's     over4 ,they    
know how to bring a boy up1 too4 ,look  
at their own6 ,though     he is very    
little as yet1 what a capital boy he is6
 ,why1 my next     favourite to ,mrs4   
,cheeseman and ,old ,cheeseman is young 

,cheeseman4  ,when ,dickens came to his 
last book his heart was still full of   
sympathy with the child4  ,edwin ,drood 
said to ,mr4 ,jasper3 ,life for you is a
 plum with the natural bloom on4 ,it    
hasn't been over-carefully wiped off for
 you4  ,in the same book ,mr4 ,grewgious
 is described3      ,he was an arid1    
sandy man1 who1 if he had been put into 
a grinding     mill1 looked as if he    
would have ground immediately into      
high-dried     snuff4 ,he had a scanty  
flat crop of hair1 in colour and        
consistency     like some very mangy    
yellow fur tippet2 it was so unlike     
hair1 that it     must have been a wig1 
but for the stupendous improbability of 
anybody's voluntarily sporting such a   
head4 ,the little play of feature       
that his face presented was cut deep    
into it1 in a few hard curves     that  
made it more like work2 and he had      
certain notches in his     forehead1    
which looked as though ,nature had been 
about to touch them     into sensibility

 or refinement1 when she had impatiently
 thrown away     the chisel1 and said1  
,i really can not be worried to finish  
off this     man2 let him go as he is4  
,he tried to explain the reason for his 
peculiarities to ,rosa3      ,i mean1 he
 explained1 that young ways were never  
my ways4 ,i was the     only offspring  
of parents far advanced in life1 and ,i 
half believe ,i     was born advanced in
 life myself4 ,no personality is        
intended toward     the name you will so
 soon change1 when ,i remark that while 
the general     growth of people seem to
 have come into existence buds1 ,i seem 
to have     come into existence a chip4 
,i was a chip--and a very dry one--when 
,i     first became aware of myself4    
,dickens takes a front rank among the   
educators who have tried to save the    
child from child-quellers1 and preserve 
for them the right to a free1 rich1 real
 childhood4 ,the saddest sight in the   
world to him was a child such as he     
pictured in ,a ,tale of ,two ,cities3   

,the children of ,st4 ,antoine had      
ancient faces and grave voices4  ,in    
,barbox ,brothers ,mr4 ,jackson said of 
himself3 ,i am1 to myself1 an           
unintelligible book1 with the earlier   
chapters all torn out and thrown away4  
,my childhood had no grace of childhood1
 my youth had no charm of youth1 and    
what can be expected from such a lost   
beginning8  ,dickens tried to save all  
children from such a beginning4         
,,chapter ,,vii4  ,,individuality4      
,dickens began to write definitely about
 individuality in ,martin ,chuzzlewit in
 #ahdd4 ,martin described a company he  
met in ,america who were so strangely   
devoid of individual traits of character
 that any one of them might have changed
 minds with the other and nobody would  
have found it out4  ,in ,david          
,copperfield he makes ,traddles1 who was
 trained by ,mr4 ,creakle1 say3 ,i have 
no invention at all1 not a particle4 ,i 
suppose there never was a young man with
 less originality than ,i have4  ,david 

himself said sagely3 ,i have encountered
 some fine ladies and gentlemen who     
might as well have been born            
caterpillars4  ,david emphasizes the    
phase of individuality that teaches the 
power of each individual to do some     
special good1 when he said to ,martha   
when she spoke of the river as the end  
of her useless life3  ,in the name of   
the great ,judge1 before whom you and   
all of us must stand at his dread time1 
dismiss that terrible idea6 ,we can all 
do some good1 if we will4  ,in ,bleak   
,house ,sir ,leicester ,dedlock is      
represented as of opinion that he should
 at least think for every one in        
connection with his estate4      ,the   
present representative of the ,dedlocks 
is an excellent master4 ,he     supposes
 all his dependents to be utterly bereft
 of individual     characters1          
intentions1 or opinions1 and is         
persuaded that he was born     to       
supersede the necessity of their having 
any4 ,if he were to make a     discovery

 to the contrary1 he would be simply    
stunned--would never     recover        
himself1 most likely1 except to gasp and
 die4  ,the same absolute contempt for  
the individuality of the poor is        
ridiculed in ,the ,chimes4 ,sir ,joseph 
,bowley is a type of the ,english squire
 who used to act on the assumption that 
he had to care for the workmen on his   
estate1 and the poor of his             
neighbourhood1 as he did for his horses 
and other animals4      ,i do my duty as
 the ,poor ,man's ,friend and ,father2  
and ,i endeavour to     educate his mind
 by inculcating on all occasions the one
 great moral     lesson which that class
 requires--that is1 entire ,dependence  
on     myself4 ,they have no business   
whatever with--with themselves4 ,if     
wicked and designing persons tell them  
otherwise1 and they become     impatient
 and discontented1 and are guilty of    
insubordinate conduct     and           
black-hearted ingratitude--which is     
undoubtedly the case--,i am     their   

,friend and ,father still4 ,it is so    
ordained4 ,it is in the nature     of   
things4 ,they needn't trouble themselves
 to think about anything4 ,i     will   
think for them2 ,i know what is good for
 them2 ,i am their     perpetual parent4
 ,such is the dispensation of an        
all-wise ,providence4  ,it is strange   
that men so commonly ascribe to         
,providence the dreadful conditions     
which have resulted from man's ignorance
 and selfishness1 and which ,providence 
intended man to reform4  ,esther1 in    
,bleak ,house1 speaking of the influence
 of the chancery suit on ,richard       
,carstone1 said3      ,the character of 
much older and steadier people may be   
even changed     by the circumstances   
surrounding them4 ,it would be too much 
to expect     that a boy's1 in its      
formation1 should be the subject of such
     influences1 and escape them4       
,i felt this to be true2 though1 if ,i  
may venture to mention what ,i          
thought besides1 ,i thought it much to  

be regretted that ,richard's            
education had not counteracted those    
influences or directed his              
character4 ,he had been eight years at a
 public school1 and had     learned1 ,i 
understood1 to make ,latin verses of    
several sorts1 in the     most admirable
 manner4 ,but ,i never heard that it had
 been anybody's     business to find out
 what his natural bent was1 or where his
 failings     lay1 or to adapt any kind 
of knowledge to him4 ,he had been       
adapted     to the verses1 and had      
learned the art of making them to such  
perfection1 that if he had remained at  
school until he was of age ,i           
suppose he could only have gone on      
making them over and over again1        
unless he had enlarged his education by 
forgetting how to do it4     ,still1    
although ,i had no doubt that they were 
very beautiful1 and very     improving1 
and very sufficient for a great many    
purposes of life1 and     always        
remembered all through life1 ,i did     

doubt whether ,richard would     not    
have profited by some one studying him a
 little1 instead of his     studying    
them quite so much4  ,richard was one of
 those unstable men who have good       
abilities1 but who do not use them      
persistently in the accomplishment of   
any one purpose1 and who never seem to  
find the sphere for which they are best 
fitted4 ,they are man-products1 not     
,god-products4 ,when ,richard1 after    
several attempts to work at other things
 with high enthusiasm for a few weeks1  
decided to be a physician1 ,esther said3
      ,mistrusting that he only came to 
this conclusion because1 having never   
had much chance of finding out for      
himself what he was fitted for1 and     
having never been guided to the         
discovery1 he was taken with the        
newest idea1 and was glad to get rid of 
the trouble of consideration1     ,i    
wondered whether the ,latin verses often
 ended in this1 or whether              
,richard's was a solitary case4         

,richard very often came to see us while
 we remained in ,london 7though     he  
soon failed in his letter writing71 and 
with his quick abilities1     his good  
spirits1 his good temper1 his gaiety and
 freshness1 was     always delightful4  
,but though ,i liked him more and more  
the better ,i     knew him1 ,i still    
felt more and more how much it was to be
 regretted     that he had been educated
 in no habits of application and        
concentration4 ,the system which had    
addressed him in exactly the same       
manner as it had addressed hundreds of  
other boys1 all varying in     character
 and capacity1 had enabled him to dash  
through his tasks1     always with fair 
credit1 and often with distinction2 but 
in a fitful1     dazzling way that had  
confirmed his reliance on those very    
qualities     in himself which it had   
been most desirable to direct and train4
 ,they     were great qualities1 without
 which no high place can be             
meritoriously     won2 but1 like fire   

and water1 though excellent servants1   
they were     very bad masters4 ,if they
 had been under ,richard's direction1   
they     would have been his friends2   
but ,richard being under their          
direction1     they became his enemies4 
,any educational system that addresses  
hundreds of boys exactly in the same    
manner must destroy their individuality4
  ,in ,hard ,times ,tom ,gradgrind      
became a low1 degraded1 sensual1        
dissipated criminal1 and ,dickens       
accounts for his failure by the         
unnatural restraint1 constant oversight1
 and the strangling of his imagination  
in his cradle and afterward4 ,in other  
words1 the boy's selfhood never had a   
chance to develop1 and every power he   
had naturally to make him strong1 true1 
and independent had helped to work his  
ruin4  ,in ,little ,dorrit ,mrs4        
,general is herself a model to be       
avoided1 and her system of training is  
ridiculed because she paid no attention 
whatever to the selfhood of her pupils  

except to conceal it artfully and       
prevent the recognition of any of the   
evils by which it was surrounded and    
which it should help to overcome4       
,mrs4 ,general had no opinions4 ,her way
 of forming a mind was to prevent     it
 from forming opinions4 ,she had a      
little circular set of mental           
grooves or rails1 on which she started  
little trains of other people's         
opinions1 which never overtook one      
another and never got anywhere4         
,even her propriety could not dispute   
that there was impropriety in the       
world2 but ,mrs4 ,general's way of      
getting rid of it was to put it out     
of sight1 and make believe that there   
was no such thing4 ,this was     another
 of her ways of forming a mind--to cram 
all articles of     difficulty into     
cupboards1 lock them up1 and say they   
had no     existence4 ,it was the       
easiest way and1 beyond all comparison1 
the     properest4      ,mrs4 ,general  
was not to be told of anything shocking4

 ,accidents1     miseries1 and offences 
were never to be mentioned before her4  
,passion     was to go to sleep in the  
presence of ,mrs4 ,general1 and blood   
was to     change to milk and water4    
,the little that was left in the world1 
when     all these deductions were made1
 it was ,mrs4 ,general's province to    
varnish4 ,in that formation process of  
hers1 she dipped the smallest of        
brushes into the largest of pots1 and   
varnished the surface of every          
object that came under consideration4   
,the more cracked it was1 the     more  
,mrs4 ,general varnished it4      ,there
 was varnish in ,mrs4 ,general's voice1 
varnish in ,mrs4 ,general's     touch1  
an atmosphere of varnish round ,mrs4    
,general's figure4  ,dickens wished the 
training of the real inner selfhood1 not
 the varnishing of the surface merely4  
,not what ,george ,macdonald describes  
as sandpapering a boy into a saint1 but 
genuine character development by the    
working out of the selfhood in the      

improvement of its environment1         
physically1 intellectually1 and         
spiritually4  ,briggs's education1 in   
,dombey and ,son1 had been of such a    
character that his intellectual fruit   
had nothing of its original flavour     
remaining4 ,the character of his real   
selfhood had been destroyed1 not        
developed1 by his education4  ,in ,our  
,mutual ,friend ,mr4 ,podsnap is used as
 a type of the men who not only see no  
need for any person else forming        
opinions1 but who take pains to prevent 
others forming opinions1 so far as      
possible4      ,as ,mr4 ,podsnap stood  
with his back to the drawing-room fire1 
pulling     up his shirt collar1 like a 
veritable cock of the walk literally    
pluming himself in the midst of his     
possessions1 nothing would have         
astonished him more than an intimation  
that ,miss ,podsnap1 or any young       
person properly born and bred1 could not
 be exactly put away like the     plate1
 brought out like the plate1 polished   

like the plate1 counted1     weighed1   
and valued like the plate4 ,that such a 
young person could     possibly have a  
morbid vacancy in the heart for anything
 younger than     the plate1 or less    
monotonous than the plate1 or that such 
a young     person's thoughts could try 
to scale the region bounded on the      
north1     south1 east1 and west by the 
plate1 was a monstrous imagination which
     he would on the spot have          
flourished into space4  ,eugene         
,wrayburn's criticism of his father's   
habit of choosing professions for his   
sons almost as soon as they were born1  
or even before1 without the slightest   
possible consideration for their natural
 aptitudes for the work to which they   
were assigned1 is a severe attack on a  
condition which exists even yet through 
the failure of the schools or the homes 
to discover and reveal to boys and girls
 their highest powers1 so that they may 
reach their best growth in school or    
college and choose the profession in    

which they can do most good and attain  
their most complete evolution4 ,there is
 no better field for co-ordinate work by
 the home and the school than the joint 
study of the children to find their     
sphere of greatest power4 ,every child  
should be helped to find the sphere in  
which he can most successfully achieve  
the highest destiny for himself and for 
humanity4  ,eugene ,wrayburn's father   
extended his paternal care and          
forethought for his children not only by
 choosing their professions without     
regard for their selfhood1 but by       
considerately selecting partners for his
 sons without regard for their          
individual tastes4  ,eugene1 speaking to
 ,mortimer ,lightwood1 said3      ,my   
respected father has found1 down in the 
parental neighbourhood1 a     wife for  
his not-generally-respected son4        
,with some money1 of course8      ,with 
some money1 of course1 or he would not  
have found her4 ,my     respected       
father--let me shorten the dutiful      

tautology by substituting     in future 
,m4 ,r4 ,f41 which sounds military1 and 
rather like the ,duke of                
,wellington4      ,what an absurd fellow
 you are1 ,eugene6      ,not at all4 ,i 
assure you4 ,m4 ,r4 ,f4 having always in
 the clearest     manner provided 7as he
 calls it7 for his children by          
prearranging from     the hour of the   
birth of each1 and sometimes from an    
earlier period1     what the devoted    
little victim's calling and course in   
life should be1     ,m4 ,r4 ,f4         
prearranged for myself that ,i was to be
 the barrister ,i am     7with the      
slight addition of an enormous practice1
 which has not     accrued71 and also   
the married man ,i am not4      ,the    
first you have often told me4      ,the 
first ,i have often told you4           
,considering myself sufficiently        
incongruous on my legal eminence1 ,i    
have until now suppressed my            
domestic destiny4 ,you know ,m4 ,r4 ,f41
 but not as well as ,i do4 ,if you      

knew him as well as ,i do1 he would     
amuse you4      ,filially spoken1       
,eugene6      ,perfectly so1 believe me2
 and with every sentiment of            
affectionate     deference toward ,m4   
,r4 ,f4 ,but if he amuses me1 ,i can't  
help it4 ,when     my eldest brother was
 born1 of course the rest of us knew 7,i
 mean the     rest of us would have     
known1 if we had been in existence7 that
 he was     heir to the family          
embarrassments--we call it before       
company the     family estate4 ,but when
 my second brother was going to be born 
by and     by1 ',this1' says ,m4 ,r4    
,f41 'is a little pillar of the church4'
 ,was     born1 and became a pillar of  
the church--a very shaky one4 ,my third 
brother appeared considerably in advance
 of his engagement to my     mother2 but
 ,m4 ,r4 ,f41 not at all put out by     
surprise1 instantly     declared him a  
circumnavigator4 ,was pitchforked into  
the navy1 but has     not               
circumnavigated4 ,i announced myself1   

and was disposed of with the     highly 
satisfactory results embodied before    
you4 ,when my younger     brother was   
half an hour old1 it was settled by ,m4 
,r4 ,f4 that he     should have a       
mechanical genius1 and so on4 ,therefore
 ,i say ,m4 ,r4 ,f4     amuses me4  ,in 
the same book ,bradley ,headstone's     
school is described as one of a system  
of schools in which school buildings1   
school-teachers1 and school pupils are  
all according to pattern1 and all       
engendered in the light of the latest   
,gospel according to ,monotony4         
,bradley ,headstone himself was a       
mechanical product of a mechanical      
system of uniformity that destroyed     
independence and individuality of       
character4      ,bradley ,headstone1 in 
his decent black coat and waistcoat1 and
 decent     white shirt1 and decent     
formal black tie1 and decent pantaloons 
of     pepper and salt1 with his decent 
silver watch in his pocket and its      
decent hair guard round his neck1 looked

 a thoroughly decent young man     of   
six-and-twenty4 ,he was never seen in   
any other dress1 and yet there     was a
 certain stiffness in his manner of     
wearing this1 as if there     were a    
want of adaptation between him and it1  
recalling some mechanics     in their   
holiday clothes4 ,he had acquired       
mechanically a great store     of       
teacher's knowledge4 ,he could do mental
 arithmetic mechanically1     sing at   
sight mechanically1 blow various wind   
instruments     mechanically1 even play 
the great church organ mechanically4    
,from his     early childhood up1 his   
mind had been a place of mechanical     
stowage4     ,the arrangement of his    
wholesale warehouse1 so that it might be
 always     ready to meet the demands of
 retail dealers--history here1 geography
     there1 astronomy to the right1     
political economy to the left--natural  
history1 the physical sciences1 figures1
 music1 the lower mathematics1     and  
what not1 all in their several          

places--this care had imparted to       
his countenance a look of care4         
,suppression of so much to make room for
 so much had given him a     constrained
 manner over and above4  ,the most      
remarkable description of a system of   
training that totally ignored           
individuality and chipped and battered  
and moulded and squeezed all students   
into the same pattern or mould is the   
description of the normal school in     
which ,mr4 ,gradgrind's teacher1 ,mr4   
,m',choakumchild1 was trained4 ,mr4     
,m',choakumchild and one hundred and    
forty other schoolmasters had been      
lately turned at the same time1 in the  
same factory1 on the same principles1   
like so many piano legs4  ,volumes could
 not make the sacrifice of individuality
 clearer than this sentence does4  ,at  
the grinders' school boys were taught as
 parrots are4  ,doctor ,blimber was     
condemned because in his system ,nature 
was of no consequence at all2 no matter 
what a boy was intended to bear1 ,doctor

 ,blimber made him bear to pattern      
somehow or other4  ,in ,doctor ,strong's
 school we had plenty of liberty4 ,the  
boys had also noble games out of doors  
in this model school of ,dickens4       
,liberty and noble outdoor sports are   
the best agencies yet revealed to man   
for the development of full selfhood in 
harmony with the fundamental law of     
education1 self-activity4     ,,chapter 
,,viii4  ,,the ,,culture ,,of ,,the     
,,imagination4   ,in the preface to the 
first number of ,household ,words       
,dickens said that one of the objects he
 had in view in publishing the magazine 
was to aid in the development of the    
imagination of children4  ,from the time
 of ,barnaby ,rudge his unconscious     
recognition of the right of the child to
 have his imagination made freer and    
stronger can be felt in his writings4   
,his conscious recognition of the       
absolute necessity of child freedom     
included the ideal of the culture of the
 imagination4  ,he reached his          

educational meridian in ,hard ,times1   
and the pedagogy of this book was       
devoted almost entirely to child freedom
 and the imagination2 to revealing the  
fatal error of ,mr4 ,gradgrind's        
philosophy1 which taught that fact      
storing was the true way to form a      
child's mind and character1 entirely    
ignoring the fact that feeling and      
imagination are the strongest elements  
of intellectual power and clearness4    
,in ,bleak ,house1 which immediately    
preceded ,hard ,times1 he gave a very   
able description of the effects of the  
neglect of the development of the       
imagination for several generations in  
the characteristics of the ,smallweed   
family4      ,the ,smallweeds had       
strengthened themselves in their        
practical     character1 discarded all  
amusements1 discountenanced all         
storybooks1     fairy tales1 fictions1  
and fables1 and banished all levities   
whatsoever4 ,hence the gratifying fact  
that it has had no child born to     it1

 and that the complete little men and   
women it has produced have     been     
observed to bear a likeness to old      
monkeys with something     depressing on
 their minds4      ,mr4 ,smallweed's    
grandfather is in a helpless condition  
as to his     lower1 and nearly so as to
 his upper limbs2 but his mind is       
unimpaired4 ,it holds1 as well as it    
ever held1 the first four rules of      
arithmetic1 and a certain small         
collection of the hardest facts4 ,in    
respect of ideality1 reverence1 wonder1 
and other such phrenological            
attributes1 it is no worse off than it  
used to be4 ,everything that ,mr4       
,smallweed's grandfather ever put away  
in his mind was a grub at first1     and
 is a grub at last4 ,in all his life he 
has never bred a single     butterfly4  
,this alone is a treatise of great      
suggestiveness on the need of the       
development of the imagination and the  
means by which it should be developed4  
,hard ,times was evidently intended to  

show the weakness of the ,herbartian    
psychology4 ,dickens believed in the    
distinctive soul as the real selfhood of
 each child1 and as the only true       
reality in his nature1 the dominating   
influence in his life and character4 ,he
 did not believe that knowledge formed  
the soul1 but that the soul transformed 
knowledge4 ,he did not believe that     
knowledge gave form1 colour1 and tone to
 the soul1 but that the soul gave new   
form1 colour1 and tone to knowledge4 ,he
 ridiculed the idea that the educator by
 using great care in the selection of   
his knowledge could produce a man of    
such a character as he desired2 that ten
 pounds of yellow knowledge and ten     
pounds of blue knowledge judiciously    
mixed in a boy would certainly produce  
twenty pounds of green manhood4  ,he    
believed that in every child there is an
 element defying all the calculations   
ever made by man1 and no more known to  
his arithmetic than his ,creator is4 ,he
 did not agree with the psychology of   

which ,mr4 ,gradgrind was the           
impersonation4 ,mr4 ,gradgrind believed 
that he could reduce human nature in all
 its complexities to statistics1 and    
that with his rule1 and a pair of       
scales1 and the multiplication table1 he
 could weigh and measure any parcel of  
human nature1 and tell you exactly what 
it comes to4  ,mr4 ,gradgrind had       
established a school for the training of
 the children of ,coketown1 and had     
engaged ,mr4 ,m',choakumchild to teach  
it4 ,dickens criticised the normal      
school training of his time in his      
description of ,mr4 ,m',choakumchild's  
preparation for the work of stimulating 
young life to larger1 richer growth4    
,he and some one hundred and forty other
 schoolmasters had been lately          
turned at the same time1 in the same    
factory1 on the same principles1        
like so many pianoforte legs4 ,he had   
been put through an immense     variety 
of paces1 and had answered volumes of   
head-breaking questions4                

,orthography1 etymology1 syntax1 and    
prosody1 biography1 astronomy1          
geography as general cosmography1 the   
sciences of compound proportion1        
algebra1 land surveying and levelling1  
vocal music1 and drawing from           
models1 were all at the ends of his ten 
chilled fingers4 ,he had worked     his 
stony way through her ,majesty's ,most  
,honourable ,privy ,council's           
,schedule ,b1 and had taken the bloom   
off the higher branches of              
mathematics and physical science1       
,french1 ,german1 ,latin1 and ,greek4   
,he     knew all about all the          
watersheds of all the world 7whatever   
they     are71 and all the histories of 
all the peoples1 and all the names of   
all the rivers and mountains1 and all   
the productions1 manners1 and           
customs of all the countries1 and all   
their boundaries and bearings on     the
 two-and-thirty points of the compass4  
,ah6 ,mr4 ,m',choakumchild1 rather      
overdone4 ,if he had only learned a     

little less1 how infinitely better he   
might have taught much more6  ,dickens  
criticised the lack of professional     
training1 and the fact-storing process  
which subordinated feeling and          
imagination4  ,mr4 ,gradgrind's school  
was to be opened4 ,the government       
officer was present to examine it4 ,mr4 
,gradgrind made a short opening address3
      ,now1 what ,i want is facts4      
,teach these boys and girls nothing but 
facts4 ,facts alone are wanted in life4 
,plant nothing else1 and root     out   
everything else4 ,you can only form the 
minds of reasoning animals     upon     
facts2 nothing else will ever be of any 
service to them4 ,this is     the       
principle on which ,i bring up my own   
children1 and this is the     principle 
on which ,i bring up these children4    
,stick to facts1 sir6      ,the scene   
was a plain1 bare1 monotonous vault of a
 schoolroom1 and the     speaker's      
square forefinger emphasized his        
observations by     underscoring every  

sentence with a line on the             
schoolmaster's sleeve4     ,the emphasis
 was helped by the speaker's square wall
 of a forehead1     which had his       
eyebrows for its base1 while his eyes   
found commodious     cellarage in two   
dark caves1 overshadowed by the wall4   
,the emphasis     was helped by the     
speaker's mouth1 which was wide1 thin1  
and hard set4     ,the emphasis was     
helped by the speaker's voice1 which was
 inflexible1     dry1 and dictatorial4  
,in this life we want nothing but facts1
 sir2 nothing but facts4      ,the      
speaker1 and the schoolmaster1 and the  
third grown person present1     all     
backed a little1 and swept with their   
eyes the inclined plane of     little   
vessels then and there arranged in      
order1 ready to have     imperial       
gallons of facts poured into them until 
they were full to the     brim4  ,most  
of the schoolrooms of the world are yet 
plain1 bare1 monotonous vaults1 although
 nearly fifty years after ,dickens      

pointed out the need of artistic form   
and artistic decoration in schools we   
are beginning to awake to the idea that 
the architecture1 the colouring1 and the
 art on the walls and in the cabinets of
 schools may influence the characters of
 children more even than the teaching4  
,mr4 ,gradgrind proceeded to ask a few  
questions of the pupils1 who in this new
 school were to be known by numbers--so 
much more statistical and               
mathematical--and not by their names4   
,as he stood before the pupils1 who were
 seated in rows on a gallery1 he seemed 
a kind of cannon loaded to the muzzle   
with facts1 and prepared to blow them   
clean out of the regions of childhood at
 one discharge4 ,he seemed a galvanizing
 apparatus1 too1 charged with a grim    
mechanical substitute for the tender    
young imaginations that were to be      
stormed away4  ,in the last sentence    
,dickens reveals the true philosophy of 
sustaining and developing natural and   
therefore productive interest1 and      

explains how1 after destroying it1      
teachers try to galvanize it into       
spasmodic activity4      ,girl number   
twenty1 said ,mr4 ,gradgrind1 squarely  
pointing with his     square forefinger4
 ,i don't know that girl4 ,who is that  
girl8      ,sissy ,jupe1 sir1 explained 
number twenty1 blushing1 standing up1   
and     courtesying4      ,sissy is not 
a name1 said ,mr4 ,gradgrind4 ,don't    
call yourself ,sissy4     ,call yourself
 ,cecilia4      ,it's father as calls me
 ,sissy1 sir1 returned the young girl in
 a     trembling voice1 and with another
 courtesy4      ,then he has no business
 to do it1 said ,mr4 ,gradgrind4 ,tell  
him he     mustn't4 ,cecilia ,jupe4 ,let
 me see4 ,what is your father8      ,he 
belongs to the horse riding1 if you     
please1 sir4      ,mr4 ,gradgrind       
frowned and waved off the objectionable 
calling with his     hand4      ,we     
don't want to know anything about that  
here4 ,you mustn't tell us     about    
that here4 ,your father breaks horses1  

don't he8      ,if you please1 sir1 when
 they can get any to break1 they do     
break     horses in the ring1 sir4      
,you mustn't tell us about the ring1    
here4 ,very well1 then1 describe        
your father as a horsebreaker4 ,he      
doctors sick horses1 ,i dare say8       
,oh1 yes1 sir4      ,very well1 then4   
,he is a veterinary surgeon1 a farrier1 
and     horsebreaker4 ,give me your     
definition of a horse4      7,sissy     
,jupe thrown into the greatest alarm by 
this demand47      ,girl number twenty  
unable to define a horse6 said ,mr4     
,gradgrind for     the general behoof of
 all the little pitchers4 ,girl number  
twenty     possessed of no facts in     
reference to one of the commonest of    
animals6     ,some boy's definition of a
 horse4 ,bitzer1 yours4      ,bitzer3   
,quadruped4 ,graminivorous4 ,forty      
teeth1 namely1 twenty-four     grinders1
 four eyeteeth1 and twelve incisors4    
,sheds coat in the     spring2 in marshy
 countries sheds hoofs too4 ,hoofs hard1

 but requiring     to be shod with iron4
 ,age known by marks in mouth---- ,thus 
7and much     more7 ,bitzer4      ,now1 
girl number twenty1 said ,mr4           
,gradgrind1 you know what a horse       
is4  ,the keen edge of ,dickens's       
sarcasm will be felt when it is         
remembered that ,sissy ,jupe was born   
among horses1 had lived with them1      
played with them1 and ridden them all   
her life1 but was ignorant of the       
commonest facts regarding a horse4 ,she 
could not define a horse4  ,the         
government examiner then stepped        
forward3      ,very well1 said this     
gentleman1 briskly smiling1 and folding 
his     arms4 ,that's a horse4 ,now let 
me ask you girls and boys1 would you    
paper a room with representations of    
horses8      ,after a pause1 one half   
the children cried in chorus1 ,yes1 sir6
 ,upon     which the other half1 seeing 
in the gentleman's face that ,yes was   
wrong1 cried out in chorus1 ,no1        
sir6--as the custom is in these         

examinations4      ,of course1 no4 ,why 
wouldn't you8      ,a pause4 ,one       
corpulent slow boy1 with a wheezy manner
 of breathing1     ventured the answer1 
because he wouldn't paper a room at all1
 but     would paint it4      ,you must 
paper it1 said the gentleman rather     
warmly4      ,you must paper it1 said   
,thomas ,gradgrind1 whether you like it 
or     not4 ,don't tell us you wouldn't 
paper it4 ,what do you mean1 boy8       
,i'll explain to you1 then1 said the    
gentleman1 after another and a          
dismal pause1 why you wouldn't paper a  
room with representations of     horses4
 ,do you ever see horses walking up and 
down the sides of rooms     in          
reality--in fact8 ,do you8      ,yes1   
sir6 from one half1 ,no1 sir6 from the  
other4      ,of course1 no1 said the    
gentleman1 with an indignant look at the
     wrong half4 ,why1 then1 you are not
 to see anywhere what you don't see     
in fact2 you are not to have anywhere   
what you don't have in fact4     ,what  

is called taste is only another name for
 fact4      ,thomas ,gradgrind nodded   
his approbation4      ,this is a new    
principle1 a discovery1 a great         
discovery1 said the     gentleman4 ,now1
 ,i'll try you again4 ,suppose you were 
going to carpet     a room4 ,would you  
use a carpet having a representation of 
flowers upon     it8      ,there being a
 general conviction by this time that   
,no1 sir6 was     always the right      
answer to this gentleman1 the chorus of 
,no was very     strong4 ,only a few    
feeble stragglers said ,yes1 among them 
,sissy     ,jupe4      ,girl number     
twenty1 said the gentleman1 smiling in  
the calm strength     of knowledge4     
,sissy blushed1 and stood up4      ,so  
you would carpet your room--or your     
husband's room1 if you were a     grown 
woman and had a husband--with           
representations of flowers1 would       
you8 ,why would you8      ,if you       
please1 sir1 ,i am very fond of flowers1
 said the girl4      ,and is that why   

you would put tables and chairs upon    
them1 and have     people walking over  
them with heavy boots8      ,it wouldn't
 hurt them1 sir4 ,they wouldn't crush   
and wither1 if you     please1 sir4     
,they would be the pictures of what was 
very pretty1 and     pleasant1 and ,i   
would fancy----      ,ay1 ay1 ay6 ,but  
you mustn't fancy1 cried the gentleman1 
quite elated     by coming so happily to
 this point4 ,that's it6 ,you are never 
to     fancy4      ,fact1 fact1 fact1   
said the gentleman4      ,fact1 fact1   
fact1 repeated ,mr4 ,gradgrind4         
,you are to be in all things regulated  
and governed1 said the     gentleman1 by
 fact4 ,we hope to have1 before long1 a 
board of fact1     composed of          
commissioners of fact1 who will force   
the people to be a     people of fact1  
and of nothing but fact4 ,you must      
discard the word     ,fancy altogether4 
,you have nothing to do with it4 ,you   
are not to have1     in any object of   
use or ornament1 what would be a        

contradiction in     fact4 ,you don't   
walk upon flowers in fact2 you can not  
be allowed to     walk upon flowers in  
carpets4 ,you don't find that foreign   
birds and     butterflies come and perch
 upon your crockery2 you can not be     
permitted to paint foreign birds and    
butterflies upon your crockery4     ,you
 must use for all these purposes        
combinations and modifications 7in      
primary colours7 of mathematical        
figures1 which are susceptible of       
proof and demonstration4 ,this is the   
new discovery4 ,this is fact4 ,this     
is taste4  ,then ,mr4 ,m',choakumchild  
was asked to teach his first lesson4    
,he went to work in this preparatory    
lesson not unlike ,morgiana in the      
,forty ,thieves3 looking into all the   
vessels ranged before him1 one     after
 another1 to see what they contained4   
,say1 good ,m',choakumchild1     when   
from thy boiling store thou shalt fill  
each jar brim full by and     by1 dost  
thou think that thou wilt always kill   

outright the robber     ,fancy lurking  
within--or sometimes only maim him and  
distort him8  ,the maiming and          
distorting of the imagination filled    
,dickens with alarm4 ,he recognised with
 great clearness the law that all evil  
springs from misused good1 and he knew  
that if the imagination is not          
cultivated properly the child not only  
loses the many intellectual and         
spiritual advantages that would result  
from its true culture1 but that it is   
exposed to the terrible danger of a     
distorted imagination4 ,tom ,gradgrind  
is used as a type of the degradation    
that results from the strangling of the 
imagination4 ,its ghost lived on to drag
 him down in the form of grovelling     
sensualities4 ,that which1 truly used1  
has most power to ennoble1 has also1    
when warped or dwarfed1 most power to   
degrade4  ,as ,mr4 ,varden told his     
wife1 ,all good things perverted to evil
 purposes are worse than those which are
 naturally bad4  ,the five young        

,gradgrinds had little opportunity to   
develop their imaginations4 ,they were  
watched too closely to have any         
imaginative plays2 they were not allowed
 to read poetry or fiction2 they heard  
no stories2 they had no fairies or genii
 in their lives2 they heard nothing of  
giants or such false things2 no little  
,boy ,blue ever blew his horn for them2 
no ,jack ,horner took a plum out of any 
pie in their experience2 no such        
ridiculous person as ,santa ,claus ever 
put anything in their stockings2 no cow 
ever performed the impossible feat of   
jumping over the moon1 so far as they   
knew2 they had never even heard of the  
cow with the crumpled horn that tossed  
the dog that worried the cat that killed
 the rat that ate the malt that lay in  
the house that ,jack built4 ,they knew1 
or they could say1 that a cow was a     
graminivorous ruminating quadruped1 and 
that was enough1 in the philosophy of   
,mr4 ,gradgrind4  ,sissy ,jupe's father 
got into difficulties in ,coketown1 and 

he became discouraged and ran away4 ,mr4
 ,gradgrind was a good man1 and meant to
 do right1 so he adopted ,sissy4  ,he   
told her his intentions rather bluntly3 
,jupe1 ,i have made up my mind to take  
you into my house1 and1 when you     are
 not in attendance at the school1 to    
employ you about ,mrs4     ,gradgrind1  
who is rather an invalid4 ,i have       
explained to ,miss     ,louisa--this is 
,miss ,louisa--the miserable but natural
 end of your     late career2 and you   
are to expressly understand that the    
whole of     that subject is past1 and  
is not to be referred to any more4 ,from
     this time you begin your history4  
,you are1 at present1 ignorant1 ,i      
know4      ,yes1 sir1 very1 she         
answered1 courtesying4      ,i shall    
have the satisfaction of causing you to 
be strictly educated2     and you will  
be a living proof to all who come into  
communication with     you1 of the      
advantages of the training you will     
receive4 ,you will be     reclaimed and 

formed4 ,you have been in the habit of  
reading to your     father and those    
people ,i found you among1 ,i dare say8 
said ,mr4     ,gradgrind1 beckoning her 
nearer to him before he said so1 and    
dropping     his voice4      ,only to   
father and ,merrylegs1 sir4 ,at least1  
,i mean to father1 when     ,merrylegs  
was always there4      ,never mind      
,merrylegs1 ,jupe1 said ,mr4 ,gradgrind 
with a passing frown4     ,i don't ask  
about him4 ,i understand you to have    
been in the habit of     reading to your
 father8      ,oh1 yes1 sir1 thousands  
of times4 ,they were the happiest--oh1  
of all     the happy times we had       
together1 sir6      ,it was only now1   
when her grief broke out1 that ,louisa  
looked at her4      ,and what1 asked    
,mr4 ,gradgrind in a still lower voice1 
did you read     to your father1 ,jupe8 
,about the ,fairies1 sir1 and the       
,dwarf1 and the ,hunchback1 and the     
,genies1 she sobbed out4      ,there1   
said ,mr4 ,gradgrind1 that is enough4   

,never breathe a word of     such       
destructive nonsense any more4  ,one    
night1 in their study den1      ,louisa 
had been overheard to begin a           
conversation with her brother by        
saying1 ,tom1 ,i wonder-- upon which    
,mr4 ,gradgrind1 who was the person     
overhearing1 stepped forth into the     
light1 and said1 ,louisa1 never         
wonder6      ,herein lay the spring of  
the mechanical art and mystery of       
educating     the reason without        
stooping to the cultivation of the      
sentiments and     affections4 ,never   
wonder4 ,by means of addition1          
subtraction1     multiplication1 and    
division settle everything somehow1 and 
never     wonder4 ,bring to me1 says    
,mr4 ,m',choakumchild1 yonder baby just 
able     to walk1 and ,i will engage    
that it will never wonder4  ,mr4        
,gradgrind and ,mr4 ,m',choakumchild    
deliberately planned1 as a result of a  
false psychology1 to destroy all foolish
 dreamings and imaginings and wonderings

 by the children4 ,this same wonder     
power is the mightiest stimulus to      
mental and spiritual effort1 the source 
of all true interest1 man's leader in   
his work of productive investigation4   
,wonder power should increase throughout
 the life of the child4 ,unfortunately1 
the ,gradgrind philosophy is practised  
by many educators4 ,the child's natural 
wonder power is dwarfed1 and an         
unnatural interest is substituted for   
it4 ,teachers kill the natural interest1
 and then try to galvanize its dead body
 into temporary activity4 ,the child who
 was made a wonderer and a problem      
finder by ,god is made a problem solver 
by teachers4 ,his dreamings and fancies 
have been stopped1 and he has been      
stored with facts and made practical4   
,mr4 ,gradgrind was much exercised by   
the fact that the people of ,coketown   
did not read the scientific and         
mathematical books in the library so    
much as poetry and fiction4 ,it was a   
melancholy fact that after working for  

fifteen hours a day they sat down to    
read mere fables about men and women    
more or less like themselves1 and about 
children more or less like their own4   
,they took ,de ,foe to their bosoms     
instead of ,euclid1 and seemed to be1 on
 the whole1 more comforted by ,goldsmith
 than by ,cocker4 ,this was very        
discouraging to ,mr4 ,gradgrind4  ,one  
night ,louisa and ,tom were sitting     
alone conversing about themselves and   
the way they were being trained by their
 father4 ,in the course of their        
conversation ,tom said3      ,i am sick 
of my life1 ,loo2 ,i hate it altogether1
 and ,i hate everybody     except you4  
,as to me1 ,i am a donkey1 that's what  
,i am4 ,i am as     obstinate as one1 ,i
 am more stupid than one1 ,i get as much
 pleasure as     one1 and ,i should like
 to kick like one4      ,not me1 ,i     
hope1 ,tom4      ,no1 ,loo1 ,i wouldn't 
hurt you4 ,i made an exception of you at
 first4     ,i don't know what          
this--jolly old--jaundiced jail--,tom   

had paused to     find a sufficiently   
complimentary and expressive name for   
the parental     roof1 and seemed to    
relieve his mind for a moment by the    
strong     alliteration of this         
one--would be without you4      ,tom1   
said his sister1 after silently watching
 the sparks a while1     as ,i get      
older1 and nearly growing up1 ,i often  
sit wondering here1     and think how   
unfortunate it is for me that ,i can't  
reconcile you to     home better than ,i
 am able to do4 ,i don't know what other
 girls know4     ,i can't play to you1  
or sing to you4 ,i can't talk to you so 
as to     lighten your mind1 for ,i     
never see any amusing sights or read any
     amusing books that it would be a   
pleasure or a relief to you to talk     
about1 when you are tired4      ,well1  
no more do ,i4 ,i am as bad as you in   
that respect2 and ,i am a     mule too1 
which you're not4 ,if father was        
determined to make me either     a prig 
or a mule1 and ,i am not a prig1 why1 it

 stands to reason1 ,i     must be a     
mule4 ,and so ,i am4      ,i wish ,i    
could collect all the ,facts we hear so 
much about1 said     ,tom1 spitefully   
setting his teeth1 and all the ,figures1
 and all the     people who found them  
out2 and ,i wish ,i could put a thousand
 barrels     of gunpowder under them and
 blow them all up together4      ,louisa
 sat looking at the fire so long that   
,tom asked1 ,have you gone     to sleep1
 ,loo8      ,no1 ,tom1 ,i am looking at 
the fire4      ,what do you see in it8  
,i don't see anything in it1 ,tom1      
particularly1 but since ,i have been    
looking at it ,i have been wondering    
about you and me1 grown up4             
,wondering again8 said ,tom4      ,i    
have such unmanageable thoughts1        
returned his sister1 that they     will 
wonder4      ,then ,i beg of you1       
,louisa1 said ,mrs4 ,gradgrind1 who had 
opened the     door without being heard1
 to do nothing of that description1 for 
goodness' sake1 you inconsiderate girl1 

or ,i shall never hear the last     of  
it from your father4 ,and1 ,thomas1 it  
is really shameful1 with my     poor    
head continually wearing me out1 that a 
boy brought up as you     have been1 and
 whose education has cost what yours    
has1 should be     found encouraging his
 sister to wonder1 when he knows his    
father has     expressly said that she  
was not to do it4      ,louisa denied   
,tom's participation in the offence2 but
 her mother     stopped her with the    
conclusive answer1 ,louisa1 don't tell  
me1 in my     state of health2 for      
unless you had been encouraged1 it is   
morally and     physically impossible   
that you could have done it4      ,i was
 encouraged by nothing1 mother1 but by  
looking at the red     sparks dropping  
out of the fire1 and whitening and      
dying4 ,it made me     think1 after all1
 how short my life would be1 and how    
little ,i could     hope to do in it4   
,nonsense6 said ,mrs4 ,gradgrind1       
rendered almost energetic4 ,nonsense6   

,don't stand there and tell me such     
stuff1 ,louisa1 to my face1 when you    
know very well that if it was ever to   
reach your father's ears ,i     should  
never hear the last of it4 ,after all   
the trouble that has been     taken with
 you6 ,after the lectures you have      
attended1 and the     experiments you   
have seen6 ,after ,i have heard you     
myself1 when the     whole of my right  
side has been benumbed1 going on with   
your master     about combustion1 and   
calcination1 and calorification1 and ,i 
may say     every kind of ation that    
could drive a poor invalid distracted1  
to     hear you talking in this absurd  
way about sparks and ashes6  ,when a boy
 hates home1 and a girl in her teens is 
rejoicing at the prospect of a short    
life1 there has been some serious       
blunder in their training4  ,when her   
father was proposing to her that she    
should marry old ,bounderby1 ,louisa    
said3      ,what do ,i know1 father1 of 
tastes and fancies2 of aspirations and  

affections2 of all that part of my      
nature in which such light things       
might have been nourished8 ,what escape 
have ,i had from problems that     could
 be demonstrated1 and realities that    
could be grasped8 ,as she     said it1  
she unconsciously closed her hand1 as if
 upon a solid object1     and slowly    
opened it as though she were releasing  
dust or ash4  ,after her marriage to    
,bounderby ,louisa rarely came home1 and
 ,dickens gives in detail a sequence of 
thought that passed through her mind on 
her approach to the old home after a    
long absence4 ,none of the true feelings
 were stirred in her heart4      ,the   
dreams of childhood--its airy fables1   
its graceful1 beautiful1     humane1    
impossible adornments of the world      
beyond1 so good to be     believed in   
once1 so good to be remembered when     
outgrown1 for then the     least among  
them rises to the stature of a great    
charity in the heart1     suffering     
little children to come into the midst  

of it1 and to keep     with their pure  
hands a garden in the stony ways of this
 world1     wherein it were better for  
all the children of ,adam that they     
should     oftener sun themselves1      
simple and trustful1 and not            
worldly-wise--what had she to do with   
these8 ,remembrances of how she     had 
journeyed to the little that she knew by
 the enchanted roads of     what she and
 millions of innocent creatures had     
hoped and imagined2 of     how1 first   
coming upon reason through the tender   
light of fancy1 she     had seen it a   
beneficent god1 deferring to gods as    
great as itself2     not a grim idol1   
cruel and cold1 with its victims bound  
hand to foot1     and its big dumb shape
 set up with a sightless stare1 never to
 be     moved by anything but so many   
calculated tons of leverage--what had   
she to do with these8  ,this quotation  
shows how clearly ,dickens saw the      
relationship between the imagination and
 the reason4 ,her imagination had been  

dwarfed and perverted2 and her power to 
feel1 and to think1 and to appreciate   
beauty1 and to love1 and to see ,god and
 understand him1 was dwarfed and        
perverted as a consequence4  ,her poor  
mother1 who had always felt that there  
was something wrong with her husband's  
training1 but dared not oppose him1 and 
fully supported him for the sake of     
peace which never really came1 was worn 
out1 and had almost become a mental     
wreck4 ,her mind was struggling with the
 one great question4 ,she tried and     
tried vainly to find what the great     
defect of her husband's system was1 but 
she was very sure it had a great        
weakness somewhere4 ,she tried to       
explain the matter to ,louisa when she  
came to see her4      ,you learned a    
great deal1 ,louisa1 and so did your    
brother4 ,ologies of     all kinds1 from
 morning to night4 ,if there is any     
ology left1 of any     description1 that
 has not been worn to rags in this      
house1 all ,i can     say is1 ,i hope ,i

 shall never hear its name4      ,i can 
hear you1 mother1 when you have strength
 to go on4 ,this1 to     keep her from  
floating away4      ,but there's        
something--not an ology at all--that    
your father has     missed1 or          
forgotten1 ,louisa4 ,i don't know what  
it is4 ,i have often     sat with ,sissy
 near me1 and thought about it4 ,i shall
 never get its     name now4 ,but your  
father may4 ,it makes me restless4 ,i   
want to write     to him1 to find out1  
for ,god's sake1 what it is4 ,give me a 
pen1 give     me a pen4  ,when ,louisa1 
unable to resist alone the temptation to
 go with ,mr4 ,harthouse1 fled to her   
father and told him in such earnest     
words that she cursed the hour she had  
been born to submit to his training1 she
 said3      ,i don't reproach you1      
father4 ,what you have never nurtured in
 me1 you     have never nurtured in     
yourself2 but oh6 if you had only done  
so long     ago1 or if you had only     
neglected me1 what a much better and    

much     happier creature ,i should have
 been this day6      ,on hearing this1  
after all his care1 he bowed his head   
upon his hand     and groaned aloud4    
,father1 if you had known1 when we were 
last together here1 what even     ,i    
feared while ,i strove against it--as it
 has been my task from     infancy to   
strive against every natural prompting  
that has arisen in     my heart2 if you 
had known that there lingered in my     
breast     sensibilities1 affections1   
weakness capable of being cherished into
     strength1 defying all the          
calculations ever made by man1 and no   
more     known to his arithmetic than   
his ,creator is--would you have given me
     to the husband whom ,i am now sure 
that ,i hate8      ,he said1 ,no1 no1 my
 poor child4      ,would you have doomed
 me1 at any time1 to the frost and      
blight that     have hardened and       
spoiled me8 ,would you have robbed      
me--for no one's     enrichment--only   
for the greater desolation of this      

world--of the     immaterial part of my 
life1 the spring and summer of my       
belief1 my     refuge from what is      
sordid and bad in the real things around
 me1 my     school in which ,i should   
have learned to be more humble1 and more
     trusting with them1 and to hope in 
my little sphere to make them           
better8      ,oh1 no1 no6 ,no1 ,louisa4 
,yet1 father1 if ,i had been stone      
blind2 if ,i had groped my way by my    
sense of touch1 and had been free1 while
 ,i knew the shapes and     surfaces of 
things1 to exercise my fancy somewhat in
 regard to them1 ,i     should have been
 a million times wiser1 happier1 more   
loving1 more     contented1 more        
innocent and human in all good respects1
 than ,i am     with the eyes ,i have4  
,now1 hear what ,i have come to say4    
,with a hunger     and thirst upon me1  
father1 which have never been for a     
moment     appeased2 with an ardent     
impulse toward some region where rules1 
and     figures1 and definitions were   

not quite absolute1 ,i have grown up1   
battling every inch of my way4      ,in 
this strife ,i have almost repulsed and 
crushed my better angel     into a      
demon4 ,what ,i have learned has left me
 doubting1 misbelieving1     despising1 
regretting what ,i have not learned2 and
 my dismal resource     has been to     
think that life would soon go by1 and   
that nothing in it     could be worth   
the pain and trouble of a contest4      
,when she had finished the story of her 
acquaintance with ,mr4 ,harthouse and   
his influence over her1 she said3 ,all  
that ,i know is1 your philosophy and    
your teaching will not save me4 ,now1   
father1 you have brought me to this4    
,save me by some other means4  ,dickens 
pictured ,mr4 ,gradgrind as a good1     
earnest man1 who desired to do only good
 for his family4      ,in gauging       
fathomless deeps with his little mean   
excise rod1 and in     staggering over  
the universe with his rusty stiff-legged
 compasses1 he     had meant to do great

 things4 ,within the limits of his short
 tether he     had tumbled about1       
annihilating the flowers of existence   
with greater     singleness of purpose  
than many of the blatant personages     
whose     company he kept4  ,a careful  
study of what ,louisa said to her father
 will show that ,dickens had made a     
profound study of ,froebel's philosophy 
of the feelings and the imagination     
which is now the dominating theory of   
psychology1 and that he clearly         
understood what ,wordsworth meant when  
he wrote3    ,whose heart the holy forms
 of young imagination had kept pure4    
,sissy ,jupe failed utterly to satisfy  
,mr4 ,m',choakumchild at school4 ,she   
could not remember facts and dates4 ,she
 could not be crammed successfully1 and 
she had a very dense head for figures4  
,she actually burst into tears when     
required 7by the mental process7 to name
 immediately the cost of two hundred and
 forty-seven muslin caps at fourteen    
pence halfpenny1 so ,mr4 ,gradgrind told

 her she would have to leave school4    
,i can not disguise from you1 ,jupe1    
said ,mr4 ,gradgrind1 knitting his      
brow1 that the result of your probation 
there has disappointed     me--has      
greatly disappointed me4 ,you have not  
acquired1 under ,mr4 and     ,mrs4      
,m',choakumchild1 anything like that    
amount of exact knowledge     which ,i  
look for4 ,you are extremely deficient  
in your facts4 ,your     acquaintance   
with figures is very limited4 ,you are  
altogether     backward1 and below the  
mark4      ,i am sorry1 sir1 she        
returned2 but ,i know it is quite true4 
,yet ,i     have tried hard1 sir4       
,yes1 said ,mr4 ,gradgrind1 yes1 ,i     
believe you have tried hard2 ,i have    
observed you1 and ,i can find no fault  
in that respect4      ,thank you1 sir4  
,i have thought sometimes--,sissy very  
timid     here--that perhaps ,i tried to
 learn too much1 and that if ,i had     
asked     to be allowed to try a little 
less1 ,i might have----      ,no1 ,jupe1

 no1 said ,mr4 ,gradgrind1 shaking his  
head in his     profoundest and most    
eminently practical way4 ,no4 ,the      
course you     pursued1 you pursued     
according to the system--the system--and
 there is     no more to be said about  
it4 ,i can only suppose that the        
circumstances     of your early life    
were too unfavourable to the development
 of your     reasoning powers1 and that 
we began too late4 ,still1 as ,i have   
said     already1 ,i am disappointed4   
,i wish ,i could have made a better     
acknowledgment1 sir1 of your            
kindness to a poor forlorn girl who had 
no claim upon you1 and of your          
protection of her4      ,don't shed     
tears1 said ,mr4 ,gradgrind4 ,don't shed
 tears4 ,i don't     complain of you4   
,you are an affectionate1 earnest1 good 
young woman1     and--and we must make  
that do4  ,how blind a man must become  
when his faith in a system or a         
philosophy can make him estimate fact   
storing so much and character forming so

 little6 ,sissy could not learn facts1  
therefore ,mr4 ,gradgrind mourned4 ,the 
fact that she was affectionate1 earnest1
 good1 was only a trifling matter--a    
very poor substitute for brilliant      
acquirements in dates and facts and     
mental arithmetic4  ,sissy became1      
however1 the good angel of the          
,gradgrind household4 ,she helped       
,louisa back to a partial hope and      
sweetness2 she gave the younger         
children1 with ,mr4 ,gradgrind's        
permission1 the real childhood of       
freedom and imagination1 which the older
 children had lost forever2 she         
brightened the lives even of ,mrs4 and  
,mr4 ,gradgrind1 and she helped to save 
,tom from the disgrace of his crime4    
,the closing picture of the book1 one of
 the most beautiful ,dickens ever       
painted1 tells the story of ,sissy's    
future3      ,but happy ,sissy's happy  
children loving her2 all children loving
 her2     she1 grown learned in childish
 lore2 thinking no innocent and pretty  

fancy ever to be despised2 trying hard  
to know her humbler                     
fellow-creatures1 and to beautify their 
lives of machinery and reality     with 
those imaginative graces and delights1  
without which the heart of     infancy  
will wither up1 the sturdiest physical  
manhood will be morally     stark death1
 and the plainest national prosperity   
figures can show     will be the        
,writing on the ,wall--she holding this 
course as part of no     fantastic vow1 
or bond1 or brotherhood1 or sisterhood1 
or pledge1 or     covenant1 or fancy    
dress1 or fancy fair2 but simply as a   
duty to be     done4 ,did ,louisa see   
these things of herself8 ,these things  
were to be6      ,dear reader6 ,it rests
 with you and me whether1 in our two    
fields of     action1 similar things    
shall be or not4 ,let them be6 ,we shall
 sit with     lighter bosoms on the     
hearth1 to see the ashes of our fires   
turn gray     and cold4  ,and the       
educational ,gradgrinds of the present  

time sneer at ,dickens because he puts  
the early training of a circus above the
 early training of a ,christian home    
like ,mr4 ,gradgrind's4 ,the logical    
consequence of such reasoning1 they say1
 would be that all children should be   
trained in circuses4  ,oh1 no6 ,dickens 
did not recommend a circus as a good    
place to train children4 ,but he did    
believe that even a circus is a thousand
 times better than a so-called          
,christian home for the true and        
complete development of a child1 if in  
the circus the child is free and happy1 
and is allowed full play for her        
imagination1 and is not arrested in her 
development by rote storing of facts and
 too early drill in arithmetic1 and has 
the rich productive love of even one    
parent1 and has blessed opportunities   
for loving service for her pets and her 
friends2 and if in the so-called        
,christian home she is robbed of these  
privileges even in the name of religion4
  ,sissy had a blessed1 free childhood4 

,she lived in her own imaginary world   
most of the time2 she had the deep love 
of her kind-hearted father and of       
,merrylegs1 the dog2 she read poetry and
 fairy tales2 she attended to her       
father's needs2 she had many            
opportunities to show her love in loving
 service for ,merrylegs and her father2 
and she was not dwarfed by fact cramming
 and formal drill4 ,her chances of      
reaching a true womanhood were          
excellent1 and when she got the         
opportunity for the revelation of       
character1 she had character to reveal1 
and her character developed in its      
revelation for the benefit and happiness
 of others4 ,hers was the true          
,christian training after all4 ,homes   
and schools with such training are      
centres of great power4  ,one of the    
strongest pleas ever made for the       
cultivation of the imagination1 the     
fancies and affections1 and for the     
teaching of literature1 art1 and music  
in the schools was given in ,hard       

,times1 which is an industrial as well  
as an educational story4 ,indeed1       
,dickens saw that the true solution of  
industrial questions was the proper     
training of the race4 ,no attack on the 
meanness of utilitarianism and no       
exposition of its terrible dangers could
 be more incisive and philosophical than
 the following wonderful sentences3     
,utilitarian economists1 skeletons of   
schoolmasters1 commissioners of         
fact1 genteel and used-up infidels1     
gabblers of many little     dog's-eared 
creeds1 the poor you will have always   
with you4 ,cultivate     in them1 while 
there is yet time1 the utmost graces of 
the fancies and     affections1 to adorn
 their lives so much in need of         
ornament2 or1 in     the moment of your 
triumph1 when romance is utterly driven 
out of     their souls1 and they and a  
bare existence stand face to face1      
,reality     will take a wolfish turn1  
and make an end of you6  ,altogether    
,hard ,times is one of the most         

remarkable educational books ever       
written4  ,dickens made a plea for      
mental refreshment and recreation for   
the working classes in ,nobody's ,story1
 similar to that made in ,hard ,times3  
,the workingman appealed to the ,bigwig 
family1 and said3 ,we are a             
labouring people1 and ,i have a         
glimmering suspicion in me that         
labouring people of whatever condition  
were made--by a higher     intelligence 
than yours1 as ,i poorly understand     
it--to be in need of     mental         
refreshment and recreation4 ,see what we
 fall into1 when we rest     without it4
 ,come6 ,amuse me harmlessly1 show me   
something1 give me an     escape6       
,beautiful ,lizzie ,hexam1 one of the   
latest and highest creations of         
,dickens1 longed to read1 but she did   
not learn to do so because her father   
objected so bitterly1 and she wished to 
avoid everything that would weaken the  
bond of love between them1 lest she     
might lose her influence for good over  

him4  ,her brother ,charley said to her3
      ,you said you couldn't read a     
book1 ,lizzie4 ,your library of books is
     the hollow down by the flare1 ,i   
think4      ,i should be very glad to be
 able to read real books4 ,i feel my    
want     of learning very much1         
,charley4 ,but ,i should feel it much   
more1 if ,i     didn't know it to be a  
tie between me and father4  ,dickens was
 revealing the strange fact that at     
first many poor and ignorant parents    
strenuously objected to their children  
being educated2 and he was at the same  
time showing that great character growth
 could take place even without the power
 to read4 ,lizzie's self-sacrifice for  
her father and ,charley was a true      
revelation of the divinity in her       
nature4 ,though she had not read books1 
she had read a great deal by her        
imagination from the hollow down by the 
flare4  ,as ,dickens grew older he saw  
more clearly the value of the dreaming  
of childhood while awake1 of the deep   

reveries into which young people often  
fall1 and ought to fall1 so that they   
become oblivious to their environment1  
and sweep through the universe in       
strange imaginings1 that after all are  
very real4 ,he was fond of drawing      
pictures of young people giving free    
rein to their imaginations1 unchecked by
 intermeddling adulthood1 while they    
watched the glowing fire1 or the ashes  
falling away from the dying coals4      
,lizzie's library from which she got her
 culture was in the hollow down by the  
flare4  ,crippled little ,jenny ,wren1  
the doll's dressmaker1 said to ,lizzie  
,hexam one day1 when ,eugene ,wrayburn  
was visiting them3      ,i wonder how it
 happens that when ,i am work1 work1    
working here1 all     alone in the      
summer time1 ,i smell flowers4      ,as 
a commonplace individual1 ,i should say1
 ,eugene suggested     languidly--for he
 was growing weary of the person of the 
house--that     you smell flowers       
because you do smell flowers4      ,no1 

,i don't1 said the little creature1     
resting one arm upon the     elbow of   
her chair1 resting her chin upon that   
hand1 and looking     vacantly before   
her2 this is not a flowery              
neighbourhood4 ,it's     anything but   
that4 ,and yet1 as ,i sit at work1 ,i   
smell miles of     flowers4 ,i smell    
roses till ,i think ,i see the rose     
leaves lying in     heaps1 bushels1 on  
the floor4 ,i smell fallen leaves till  
,i put down my     hand--so--and expect 
to make them rustle4 ,i smell the white 
and the     pink ,may in the hedges1 and
 all sorts of flowers that ,i never was 
among4 ,for ,i have seen very few       
flowers indeed in my life4              
,pleasant fancies to have1 ,jennie dear6
 said her friend1 with a     glance     
toward ,eugene as if she would have     
asked him whether they were     given   
the child in compensation for her       
losses4      ,so ,i think1 ,lizzie1 when
 they come to me4 ,and the birds ,i     
hear6 ,oh6     cried the little         

creature1 holding out her hand and      
looking upward1     how they sing6  ,how
 life in any stage might be filled with 
richness and joy1 if imaginations were  
stored with apperceptive elements and   
allowed to reconstruct the universe in  
our fancies6 ,how truly real our fancies
 might become6  ,in ,a ,child's ,dream  
of a ,star ,dickens gives an exquisite  
picture of the influence of imagination 
in spiritual evolution4      ,there was 
once a child1 and he strolled about a   
good deal1 and thought     of a number  
of things4 ,he had a sister1 who was a  
child too1 and his     constant         
companion4 ,these two used to wonder all
 day long4 ,they     wondered at the    
beauty of the flowers2 they wondered at 
the height and     blueness of the sky2 
they wondered at the depth of the bright
 water2     they wondered at the        
goodness and the power of ,god who made 
the lovely     world4      ,they used to
 say to one another1 sometimes1         
,supposing all the children     upon    

earth were to die1 would the flowers1   
and the water1 and the sky     be sorry8
 ,they believed they would be sorry4    
,for1 said they1 the buds     are the   
children of the flowers1 and the little 
playful streams that     gambol down the
 hillsides are the children of the      
water2 and the     smallest bright      
specks playing at hide and seek in the  
sky all night1     must surely be the   
children of the stars2 and they would   
all be     grieved to see their         
playmates1 the children of men1 no more4
      ,there was one clear shining star 
that used to come out in the sky        
before the rest1 near the church spire1 
above the graves4 ,it was     larger and
 more beautiful1 they thought1 than all 
the others1 and     every night they    
watched for it1 standing hand in hand at
 a window4     ,whoever saw it first    
cried out1 ,i see the star6 ,and often  
they cried     out both together1       
knowing so well when it would rise1 and 
where4 ,so     they grew to be such     

friends with it1 that1 before lying down
 in their     beds1 they always looked  
out once again to bid it good night2 and
 when     they were turning round to    
sleep they used to say1 ,god bless the  
star6      ,but while she was still very
 young1 oh very1 very young1 the sister 
drooped1 and came to be so very weak    
that she could no longer stand in       
the window at night2 and then the child 
looked sadly out by himself1     and    
when he saw the star1 turned round and  
said to the patient pale     face on the
 bed1 ,i see the star6 and then a smile 
would come upon     the face1 and a     
little weak voice used to say1 ,god     
bless my brother     and the star6      
,dickens had shown his recognition of   
the inestimable value of the            
imagination1 and the importance of      
giving it free play and of doing        
everything possible to stimulate its    
activity by freedom1 and story1 and     
play1 and literature1 music1 and art1   
but his description of ,jemmy ,jackman  

,lirriper's training shows a keener     
appreciation than any of his other      
writings of the value of the child's    
games in which personation is the       
leading characteristic2 in which spools1
 or spoons1 or blocks1 or sticks are    
people or animals1 with regular names   
and distinct characteristics and        
responsible duties1 and in which chairs 
and tables and boxes are coaches1 or    
steamboats1 or railway trains4 ,no      
friends are ever more real than those of
 the child's creative imagination1 with 
things to represent them2 no rides ever 
give greater delight than those rides in
 trains that move only in the           
imaginations of the children1 who       
construct them by placing the chairs in 
a row1 and who act as engineers1        
conductors1 and brakemen4 ,such games   
form the best elements out of which the 
child's life power can be made1         
especially if the adulthood of his home 
sympathizes with him in his enterprises4
 ,they afford an outlet for his         

imaginative plans4 ,in them he forms new
 worlds of his own1 which are adapted to
 his stage of development1 and in which 
he can be the creator and the centre of 
executive influence4  ,jemmy ,jackman   
,lirriper's training was ideal in most  
of his home life1 though he had no      
father or mother to love and guide him4 
,the miles and miles that me and the    
,major have travelled with ,jemmy in    
the dusk between the lights are not to  
be calculated1 ,jemmy driving on     the
 coach box1 which is the ,major's       
brass-bound writing desk on the         
table1 me inside in the easy-chair1 and 
the ,major ,guard up behind with     a  
brown-paper horn doing it really        
wonderful4 ,i do assure you1 my         
dear1 that sometimes when ,i have taken 
a few winks in my place inside     the  
coach and have come half awake by the   
flashing light of the fire     and have 
heard that precious pet driving and the 
,major blowing up     behind to have the
 change of horses ready when we got to  

the ,inn1 ,i     have believed we were  
on the old ,north ,road that my poor    
,lirriper knew     so well4 ,then to see
 that child and the ,major both wrapped 
up getting     down to warm their feet  
and going stamping about and having     
glasses of     ale out of the paper     
match boxes on the chimney piece1 is to 
see the     ,major enjoying it fully as 
much as the child ,i am very sure1 and  
it's     equal to any play when ,coachee
 opens the coach door to look in at me  
inside and say ,wery 'past that         
'tage4--',prightened old lady8  ,such   
plays as ,dickens here describes make   
one of the greatest differences between 
a real childhood and a barren childhood4
 ,the lack of opportunities for such    
perfect plays and such complete sympathy
 in their plays gives to the faces of   
orphan children brought up in           
institutions the distinctive look which 
marks them everywhere1 so that they can 
be easily recognised by experienced     
students of happy childhood4  ,but      

,jemmy's make believe was not ruthlessly
 cut short with his early childhood4 ,he
 continued his imaginative operations1  
or it might make it clearer to say his  
operative imaginations1 after he went to
 school2 and those beautiful old people1
 ,mrs4 ,lirriper and ,major ,jackman1   
continued their interest1 their real1   
perfectly sympathetic interest in his   
plans4      ,neither should ,i tell you 
any news1 my dear1 in telling you that  
the     ,major is still a fixture in the
 ,parlours quite as much so as the roof 
of the house1 and that ,jemmy is of boys
 the best and brightest1 and     has    
ever had kept from him the cruel story  
of his poor pretty young     mother1    
,mrs4 ,edson1 being deserted in the     
second floor and dying in my     arms1  
fully believing that ,i am his born     
,gran and him an orphan2     though what
 with engineering since he took a taste 
for it1 and him and     the ,major      
making ,locomotives out of parasols1    
broken iron pots1 and     cotton reels1 

and them absolutely a-getting off the   
line and falling     over the table and 
injuring the passengers almost equal to 
the     originals1 it really is quite   
wonderful4 ,and when ,i says to the     
,major1     ,major1 can't you by any    
means give us a communication with the  
guard8 the ,major says1 quite huffy1    
,no1 madam1 it's not to be done2     and
 when ,i says1 ,why not8 the ,major     
says1 ,that is between us who     are in
 the ,railway ,interest1 madam1 and our 
friend1 the ,right     ,honourable      
,vice-,president of the ,board of       
,trade2 and if you'll     believe me1 my
 dear1 the ,major wrote to ,jemmy at    
,school to consult him     on the answer
 ,i should have before ,i could get even
 that amount of     unsatisfactoriness  
out of the man1 the reason being that   
when we first     began with the little 
model and the working signals beautiful 
and     perfect 7being in general as    
wrong as the real71 and when ,i says1   
laughing1 ,what appointment am ,i to    

hold in this undertaking1     gentlemen8
 ,jemmy hugs me round the neck and tells
 me1 dancing1 ,you     shall be the     
,public1 ,gran1 and consequently they   
put upon me just as     much as ever    
they like1 and ,i sit a-growling in my  
easy-chair4      ,my dear1 whether it is
 that a grown man as clever as the      
,major can     not give half his heart  
and mind to anything--even a            
plaything--but     must get into right  
down earnest with it1 whether it is so  
or whether     it is not so1 ,i do not  
undertake to say2 but ,jemmy is far     
outdone by     the serious and believing
 ways of the ,major in the management of
 the     ,united ,grand ,junction       
,lirriper and ,jackman ,great ,norfolk  
,parlour ,line1     for1 says my ,jemmy 
with the sparkling eyes when it was     
christened1     we must have a whole    
mouthful of name1 ,gran1 or our dear old
     ,public--and there the young rogue 
kissed me--won't stump up4 ,so the      
,public took the shares--ten at         

ninepence1 and immediately when that    
was spent twelve ,preference at one and 
sixpence--and they were all     signed  
by ,jemmy and countersigned by the      
,major1 and between ourselves     much  
better worth the money than some shares 
,i have paid for in my     time4 ,in the
 same holidays the line was made and    
worked and opened and     ran excursions
 and collisions and had burst its       
boilers and all sorts     of accidents  
and offences all most regular1 correct1 
and pretty4 ,the     sense of           
responsibility entertained by the ,major
 as a military style     of station     
master1 my dear1 starting the down train
 behind time and     ringing one of     
those little bells that you buy with the
 little coal     scuttles off the tray  
round the man's neck in the street1 did 
him     honour2 but noticing the ,major 
of a night when he is writing out his   
monthly report to ,jemmy at school of   
the state of the ,rolling ,stock     and
 the ,permanent ,way1 and all the rest  

of it 7the whole kept upon the          
,major's sideboard and dusted with his  
own hands every morning before          
varnishing his boots71 ,i notice him as 
full of thought and care1 as     full   
can be1 and frowning in a fearful       
manner2 but1 indeed1 the ,major     does
 nothing by halves1 as witness his great
 delight in going out     surveying with
 ,jemmy when he has ,jemmy to go with1  
carrying a chain     and a measuring    
tape1 and driving ,i don't know what    
improvements right     through          
,westminster ,abbey1 and fully believed 
in the streets to be     knocking       
everything upside down by ,act of       
,parliament4 ,as please ,heaven     will
 come to pass when ,jemmy takes to that 
as a profession6  ,the ,major's         
participation in the plans of ,jemmy is 
a good illustration of the sympathy that
 ,froebel and ,dickens felt for         
childhood1 a sympathy with1 not for1 the
 child4 ,it meant more than approval--it
 meant co-operation1 partnership4  ,some

 educators would criticise ,dickens for 
allowing the ,major to make the         
locomotives with parasols1 broken pots1 
and cotton reels4 ,they teach that      
,jemmy should have made these himself4  
,dickens was away beyond such a narrow  
view as this4 ,the child at first has   
much more power to plan than to execute4
 ,to leave him to himself means the     
failure of his plans and the irritation 
of his temper4 ,it is a terrible        
experience for a child to get the habit 
of failure4 ,the wise adult will enter  
into partnership with the child to aid  
in carrying out the child's plans4 ,he  
will not even make suggestions of       
changes in plans when he sees how they  
might be improved4 ,the plans and the   
leadership should be absolutely the     
child's own4 ,the adult should be an    
assistant1 and that only1 when skill is 
required beyond that possessed by the   
child--either when the mechanical work  
is too difficult for the child or when  
more than one person is needed to       

execute his plan4  ,the adult may       
sometimes lead the child indirectly to a
 change of plan1 but he should not do it
 by direct suggestion4 ,the joy is lost 
for the child when he becomes conscious 
of the adult as interfering even        
sympathetically with his own            
personality4 ,there is a great deal of  
well-intentioned dwarfing of childhood4 
,the consciousness of partnership1 of   
unity1 of sympathetic co-operation1 is  
the best result of such blessed work as 
the ,major did with ,jemmy in carrying  
out ,jemmy's plans4 ,he is the child's  
best friend who most wisely and most    
thoroughly develops his imagination as a
 basis for all intellectual strength and
 clearness1 and for the highest         
spiritual growth4 ,he is the wealthiest 
man who sees diamonds in the dewdrops   
and unsullied gold in the sunset tints4 
,david ,copperfield tells the names of  
the wonderful books he found in his     
father's blessed little room1 and       
describes their influence upon his life4

      ,they kept alive my fancy and my  
hope of something beyond that place     
and time--they and the ,arabian ,nights 
and the ,tales of the ,genii4 ,it     is
 curious to me how ,i could ever have   
consoled myself under my small          
troubles 7which were great troubles to  
me7 by impersonating my     favourite   
characters in them1 as ,i did1 and by   
putting ,mr4 and ,miss     ,murdstone   
into all the bad ones1 which ,i did1    
too4 ,i have been ,tom     ,jones--a    
child's ,tom ,jones1 a harmless         
creature--for a week together4     ,i   
have sustained my own idea of ,roderick 
,random for a month at a     stretch1 ,i
 verily believe4      ,let us end with  
the ,boy's story1 said ,mrs4 ,lirriper1 
for the ,boy's     story is the best    
that is ever told4  ,there are no other 
stories so enchanting1 or so            
stimulating1 as the stories that fill   
the imaginations of childhood4          
,,chapter ,,ix4  ,,sympathy ,,with      
,,childhood4   ,the dominant element in 

,dickens's character was sympathy with  
childhood1 not merely for it4 ,he had   
the productive sympathy that feels and  
thinks from the child's standpoint4     
,the illustration just given of ,major  
,jackman's co-operative sympathy with   
,jemmy ,lirriper in the perfect carrying
 out of what to most people would have  
been only the foolish ideas of a child1 
as sincerely as if he had been executing
 commissions from the prime minister1 is
 an excellent exemplification of the    
true ideal of sympathy in practice4 ,the
 ,major was not working for ,jemmy's    
amusement merely2 he was a very active  
and genuinely interested partner with   
,jemmy4 ,jemmy was far outdone by the   
serious and believing ways of the ,major
 in the imaginative plays which were the
 most real life of ,jemmy4 ,such was the
 sympathy of ,dickens with his own      
children2 such sympathy he believed to  
be the most productive power in the     
teacher or child trainer for beneficent 
influence on the character of the child4

  ,there is no other characteristic of  
his writings so marked as his broad     
sympathy with childhood4 ,sympathy was  
the origin of all he wrote against      
coercion in all its dread forms1 of all 
he wrote about robbing children of a    
real childhood1 about the dwarfing of   
individuality1 about the strangling of  
the imagination1 about improper         
nutrition1 about all forms of neglect1  
and cruelty1 and bad training4 ,the more
 fully his nature is known the more     
deeply he is loved1 because of his great
 love for the child4  ,from the         
beginning of his educational work his   
overflowing1 practical sympathy is      
revealed4  ,he tells us in the preface  
to ,nickleby that his study of the      
,yorkshire schools and his delineation  
of the character of ,squeers resulted   
from a resolution formed in childhood1  
which he was led to form by seeing a boy
 with a suppurated abscess caused by its
 being ripped open by his ,yorkshire    
guide1 philosopher1 and friend with an  

inky penknife4  ,the sympathy of        
,nicholas1 and ,john ,browdie1 and the  
,cheeryble brothers with ,smike and all 
suffering childhood are strong features 
of the book4  ,dickens's own sympathy   
has cleared his mind of many fogs that  
still linger in some minds regarding a  
parent's rights in regard to his child1 
even though the parent has never        
recognised any of the child's rights4   
,the movement in favour of the          
recognition of the rights of children   
even against their parents began with   
,dickens4 ,when ,nicholas discovered    
that ,smike was the son of his uncle1   
,ralph ,nickleby1 he went to consult    
brother ,charles ,cheeryble in regard to
 his duty under the circumstances4      
,he modestly1 but firmly1 expressed his 
hope that the good old     gentleman    
would1 under such circumstances as he   
described1 hold him     justified in    
adopting the extreme course of          
interfering between parent     and      
child1 and upholding the latter in his  

disobedience2 even though     his horror
 and dread of his father might seem1 and
 would doubtless be     represented1 as 
a thing so repulsive and unnatural as to
 render those     who countenanced him  
in it fit objects of general detestation
 and     abhorrence4      ,so deeply    
rooted does this horror of the man      
appear to be1 said     ,nicholas1 that  
,i can hardly believe he really is his  
son4 ,nature does     not seem to have  
implanted in his breast one lingering   
feeling of     affection for him1 and   
surely she can never err4      ,my dear 
sir1 replied brother ,charles1 you fall 
into the very common     mistake of     
charging upon ,nature matters with which
 she has not had the     smallest       
connection1 and for which she is in no  
way responsible4 ,men     talk of       
,nature as an abstract thing1 and lose  
sight of what is natural     while they 
do so4 ,here is a poor lad who has never
 felt a parent's     care1 who has      
scarcely known anything all his life but

 suffering and     sorrow1 presented to 
a man who he is told is his father1 and 
whose     first act is to signify his   
intention of putting an end to his short
     term of happiness by consigning him
 to his old fate1 and taking him        
from the only friend he has ever        
had--which is yourself4 ,if ,nature1 in 
such a case1 put into that lad's breast 
but one secret prompting which     urged
 him toward his father and away from    
you1 she would be a liar and     an     
idiot4      ,nicholas was delighted to  
find that the old gentleman spoke so    
warmly1     and in the hope that he     
might say something more to the same    
purpose1     made no reply4      ,the   
same mistake presents itself to me1 in  
one shape or other1 at     every turn1  
said brother ,charles4 ,parents who     
never showed their     love complain of 
want of natural affection in their      
children2 children     who never showed 
their duty complain of want of natural  
feeling in     their parents2 lawmakers 

who find both so miserable that their   
affections have never had enough of     
life's sun to develop them are     loud 
in their moralizings over parents and   
children too1 and cry that     the very 
ties of ,nature are disregarded4        
,natural affections and     instincts1  
my dear sir1 are the most beautiful of  
the ,almighty's     works1 but1 like    
other beautiful works of his1 they must 
be reared and     fostered1 or it is as 
natural that they should be wholly      
obscured1 and     that new feelings     
should usurp their place1 as it is that 
the sweetest     productions of the     
earth1 left untended1 should be choked  
with weeds     and briers4 ,i wish we   
could be brought to consider this1 and1 
remembering natural obligations a little
 more at the right time1 talk     about 
them a little less at the wrong one4    
,it was chiefly to break the power of   
ignorant and cruel parenthood over      
suffering childhood that ,ralph         
,nickleby was painted with such dark and

 repellent characteristics1 and that    
poor ,smike's sufferings were detailed  
with such minuteness4 ,the sympathy of  
the world was aroused against the one   
and in favour of the other1 as a basis  
for the climax of thought which brother 
,charles expressed so truly and so      
forcefully4  ,the same thought was      
driven home by the complaint of ,squeers
 about one of the boys in ,dotheboys    
,hall4      ,the juniorest ,palmer said 
he wished he was in heaven4 ,i really   
don't     know1 ,i do not know what's to
 be done with that young fellow2 he's   
always a-wishing something horrid4 ,he  
said once he wished he was a     donkey1
 because then he wouldn't have a father 
as didn't love him6     ,pretty wicious 
that for a child of six6  ,it required  
the genius of ,dickens to make such a   
clear picture of an unloving father4    
,even before ,nicholas ,nickleby was    
written ,dickens had revealed his       
sympathetic nature4 ,oliver ,twist's    
story was written to stir the hearts of 

his readers in favour of unfortunate    
children4 ,what a contrast is made      
between the hardening effects of his    
treatment by ,bumble and the gentleman  
in the white waistcoat1 and the         
humanizing influence of ,rose ,maylie's 
tear dropped on his cheek4  ,surely no  
sensitive little boy ever submitted to  
more unsympathetic treatment than poor  
,oliver4      ,when little ,oliver was  
taken before the gentlemen that evening1
 and     informed that he was to go that
 night as general house lad to a coffin 
maker's1 and that if he complained of   
his situation1 or ever came back     to 
the parish again1 he would be sent to   
sea1 there to be drowned or     knocked 
on the head1 as the case might be1 he   
evinced so little     emotion that they 
by common consent pronounced him a      
hardened young     rascal1 and ordered  
,mr4 ,bumble to remove him forthwith4   
,for some time ,mr4 ,bumble drew ,oliver
 along1 without notice or remark2       
for the beadle carried his head very    

erect1 as a beadle always should2       
and1 it being a windy day1 little       
,oliver was completely enshrouded by    
the skirts of ,mr4 ,bumble's coat as    
they blew open and disclosed to         
great advantage his flapped waistcoat   
and drab plush knee breeches4 ,as       
they drew near to their destination1    
however1 ,mr4 ,bumble thought it        
expedient to look down and see that the 
boy was in good order for     inspection
 by his new master3 which he accordingly
 did1 with a fit and     becoming air of
 gracious patronage4      ,oliver6 said 
,mr4 ,bumble4      ,yes1 sir1 replied   
,oliver in a low1 tremulous voice4      
,pull that cap off your eyes1 and hold  
up your head1 sir4      ,although       
,oliver did as he was desired at once1  
and passed the back of     his          
unoccupied hand briskly across his eyes1
 he left a tear in them     when he     
looked up at his conductor4 ,as ,mr4    
,bumble gazed sternly upon     him1 it  
rolled down his cheek4 ,it was followed 

by another1 and     another4 ,the child 
made a strong effort1 but it was an     
unsuccessful     one4 ,withdrawing his  
other hand from ,mr4 ,bumble's1 he      
covered his face     with both1 and wept
 until the tears sprung out from between
 his chin     and bony fingers4         
,well6 exclaimed ,mr4 ,bumble1 stopping 
short1 and darting at his     little    
charge a look of intense malignity4     
,well6 ,of all the     ungratefullest   
and worst-disposed boys as ever ,i see1 
,oliver1 you are     the----      ,no1  
no1 sir1 sobbed ,oliver1 clinging to the
 hand which held the     well-known     
cane2 no1 no1 sir2 ,i will be good      
indeed2 indeed1 indeed ,i     will1 sir6
 ,i am a very little boy1 sir2 and it is
 so--so----      ,so what8 inquired ,mr4
 ,bumble in amazement4      ,so lonely1 
sir6 ,so very lonely6 cried the child4  
,everybody hates     me4 ,oh1 sir1      
don't1 don't1 pray1 be cross to me6 ,the
 child beat his     hand upon his heart1
 and looked in his companion's face with

 tears of     real agony4  ,the poor boy
 was put to bed by ,sowerberry the first
 night4 ,his master said1 as they       
climbed the stairs3      ,your bed's    
under the counter4 ,you don't mind      
sleeping among the     coffins1 ,i      
suppose8 ,but it doesn't much matter    
whether you do or     don't1 for you    
can't sleep anywhere else4 ,come1 don't 
keep me here all     night6  ,dickens   
pitied children for the terrors with    
which they were threatened1 as ,oliver  
was threatened by the board1 and he     
pitied them also for the terrors that   
their imaginations brought to them at   
night4 ,sowerberry's lack of sympathy   
was as great as ,bumble's4 ,when one of 
his own children showed evidence of     
dread of retiring alone1 ,dickens sat   
upstairs with his family in the evenings
 afterward4 ,he did not tell the child  
the reason1 but she was saved from      
terror4  ,oliver ran away from          
,sowerberry's1 and when passing the     
workhouse he peeped between the bars of 

the gate into the garden4 ,a very little
 boy was there who came to the gate to  
say ,good-bye to him4 ,he had been one  
of ,oliver's little friends4      ,kiss 
me1 said the child1 climbing up the low 
gate and flinging his     little arms   
round ,oliver's neck3 ,good-bye1 dear6  
,god bless you6      ,the blessing was  
from a young child's lips1 but it was   
the first that     ,oliver had ever     
heard invoked upon his head2 and through
 the struggles     and sufferings and   
troubles and changes of his after-life  
he never     once forgot it4  ,when     
,oliver was taken to commit burglary by 
,bill ,sykes1 and was wounded and       
brought into the home he was assisting  
to rob1 the good lady of the house sent 
for a doctor4 ,the doctor dressed the   
arm1 and when the boy fell asleep he    
brought ,mrs4 ,maylie and ,rose to see  
the criminal4  ,rose sat down by        
,oliver's bedside and gathered his hair 
from his face4      ,as she stooped over
 him her tears fell upon his forehead4  

,the boy stirred and smiled in his      
sleep1 as though these marks of pity    
and compassion had awakened some        
pleasant dream of a love and            
affection he had never known4 ,thus a   
strain of gentle music1 or the          
rippling of water in a silent place1 or 
the odour of a flower1 or the           
mention of a familiar word1 will        
sometimes call up sudden dim            
remembrances of scenes that never were  
in this life2 which vanish like     a   
breath2 which some brief memory of a    
happier existence1 long gone     by1    
would seem to have awakened2 which no   
voluntary exertion of the     mind can  
ever recall4      ,what can this mean8  
exclaimed the elder lady4 ,this poor    
child can     never have been the pupil 
of robbers6      ,vice1 sighed the      
surgeon1 replacing the curtain1 takes up
 her abode     in many temples2 and who 
can say that a fair outside shall not   
enshrine her8      ,but at so early an  
age6 urged ,rose4      ,my dear young   

lady1 rejoined the surgeon1 mournfully  
shaking his     head1 crime1 like death1
 is not confined to the old and withered
     alone4 ,the youngest and fairest   
are too often its chosen victims4       
,but can you1 oh1 can you really believe
 that this delicate boy has     been the
 voluntary associate of the worst       
outcasts of society8 said     ,rose4    
,the surgeon shook his head in a manner 
which intimated that he feared     it   
was very possible1 and1 observing that  
they might disturb the     patient1 led 
the way into an adjoining apartment4    
,but even if he has been wicked1 pursued
 ,rose1 think how young he     is2 think
 that he may never have known a mother's
 love1 or the comfort     of a home2    
that ill usage and blows1 or the want of
 bread1 may have     driven him to herd 
with men who have forced him to guilt4  
,aunt1 dear     aunt1 for mercy's sake  
think of this1 before you let them drag 
this     sick child to a prison1 which  
in any case must be the grave of all his

     chance of amendment4 ,oh6 as you   
love me1 and know that ,i have never    
felt the want of parents in your        
goodness and affection1 but that ,i     
might have done so1 and might have been 
equally helpless and     unprotected    
with this poor child1 have pity upon him
 before it is too     late6      ,my    
dear love1 said the elder lady1 as she  
folded the weeping girl to     her      
bosom1 do you think ,i would harm a hair
 of his head8      ,oh1 no1 replied     
,rose eagerly4      ,no1 surely1 said   
the old lady2 my days are drawing to    
their close1     and may mercy be shown 
to me as ,i show it to others4 ,what can
 ,i do to     save him1 sir8  ,dickens  
used the doctor to rebuke the large     
class of people who are ever ready to   
believe the worst about a boy1 and who  
are always looking for his depravity    
instead of searching for the divinity in
 him4  ,rose's plea for kind treatment  
for the boy1 even if he has been wicked1
 was a new doctrine propounded by       

,dickens4 ,the worst boys at home or in 
school need most sympathy4 ,mrs4        
,maylie's attitude was in harmony with  
,christ's teaching1 but quite out of    
harmony with much that was called       
,christian practice at the time ,dickens
 wrote ,oliver ,twist4 ,he taught the   
doctrine that children were turned into 
evil ways and confirmed in them through 
lack of sympathy4 ,poor ,nancy said to  
,rose ,maylie3      ,lady1 cried the    
girl1 sinking on her knees1 dear1 sweet1
 angel     lady1 you are the first that 
ever blessed me with such words as      
these2 and if ,i had heard them years   
ago1 they might have turned me     from 
a life of sin and sorrow2 but it is too 
late1 it is too late6  ,in ,the ,old    
,curiosity ,shop ,dickens gave a        
beautiful picture of a sympathetic      
teacher in ,mr4 ,marton4 ,his school was
 not well lighted or properly           
ventilated1 the furniture was poor1     
there was no apparatus except a dunce's 
cap1 a cane1 and a ruler1 his methods   

were old-fashioned1 but he possessed the
 greatest qualification of a good       
teacher1 deep sympathy with childhood4  
,this was shown by the erasure of the   
blot from the sick boy's writing2 by his
 asking ,nell to pray for the boy2 by   
his appreciation of the boy's love2 by  
his hoping for his recovery against the 
unfavourable reports2 by his favourable 
interpretation of the worst signs2 by   
his absent-mindedness in school2 by his 
giving the boys a half holiday because  
he could not teach2 by his asking them  
to go away quietly so as not to disturb 
the sick scholar2 by his saying ,i'm    
glad they didn't mind me when the jolly 
boys went shouting away2 by his telling 
the sick boy that the flowers missed him
 and were less gay on account of his    
absence2 by his hanging the boy's       
handkerchief out of the window at his   
request1 as a token of his remembrance  
of the boys playing on the green2 by the
 loving way in which he embraced the    
dying boy1 and held his cold hand in his

 after he was dead1 chafing it1 as if he
 could bring back the life into it4     
,dombey and ,son is full of appeals for 
the tender sympathy of adulthood for    
childhood4 ,the story of ,florence      
,dombey longing for the one look of     
tenderness1 the one word of kindly      
interest1 the one sympathetic caress    
from her father1 which never came to her
 during her childhood1 is one of the    
most touching stories ever written4 ,it 
was written to show that children in the
 most wealthy homes need sympathy as    
much as any other children1 and that    
they are often most cruelly neglected by
 their parents4  ,floy pleaded to be    
allowed to lay her face beside her baby 
brother's because she thought he loved  
her4  ,the love that is given back in   
exchange for loving interest is shown by
 ,paul's loving gratitude to ,floy for  
her interest in him1 which led her to   
spend her pocket money in books1 so that
 she might help him with his studies    
that confused him so4      ,and high was

 her reward1 when one ,saturday evening1
 as little ,paul was     sitting down as
 usual to resume his studies1 she sat   
down by his     side and showed him all 
that was rough made smooth1 and all that
 was     so dark made clear and plain1  
before him4 ,it was nothing but a       
startled look in ,paul's wan face--a    
flush--a smile--and then a close        
embrace2 but ,god knows how her heart   
leaped up at this rich payment     for  
her trouble4      ,oh1 ,floy1 cried her 
brother1 how ,i love you6 ,how ,i love  
you1 ,floy6      ,and ,i you1 dear6     
,oh1 ,i am sure1 sure of that1 ,floy6   
,he said no more about it1 but all that 
evening sat close by her1 very          
quiet2 and in the night he called out   
from his little room within     hers1   
three or four times1 that he loved her4 
,there is no higher reward than that of 
the sympathetic teacher who for the     
first time lets light into a dark mind  
or heart4  ,the lady whom ,florence     
overheard talking to her little orphaned

 niece about her father's cruel coldness
 toward her truly said3 ,not an orphan  
in the wide world can be so deserted as 
the child who is an outcast from a      
living parent's care4  ,as ,dickens was 
one of the first to urge that children  
had rights1 so he was one of the first  
to show that there had been altogether  
too much thought about the duty of      
children to parents1 and too little     
about the duty of parents to children4  
,alice ,marwood1 one of the characters  
in ,dombey and ,son1 said to ,harriet   
,carker3      ,you brought me here by   
force of gentleness and kindness1 and   
made me     human by woman's looks and  
words and angel's deeds2 ,i have felt1  
lying     here1 that ,i should like you 
to know this4 ,it might explain1 ,i have
     thought1 something that used to    
help to harden me4 ,i had heard so      
much1 in my wrongdoing1 of my neglected 
duty1 that ,i took up with the          
belief that duty had not been done to   
me1 and that as the seed was     sown   

the harvest grew4  ,one other point in  
regard to sympathy was made in ,dombey  
and ,son1 that a rough exterior may     
cover a sympathetic heart4      ,long   
may it remain in this mixed world a     
point not easy of decision1     which is
 the more beautiful evidence of the     
,almighty's goodness3 the     delicate  
fingers that are formed for             
sensitiveness and sympathy of     touch1
 and made to minister to pain and grief1
 or the rough1 hard     ,captain ,cuttle
 hand1 that the heart teaches1 guides1  
and softens in a     moment6  ,in the   
model school of ,dickens ,doctor ,strong
 is said to have been the idol of the   
whole school2 and ,david adds1 it must  
have been a badly composed school if he 
had been anything else1 for he was the  
kindest of men4 ,doctor ,strong's wife1 
who had been his pupil in early life1   
said3      ,when ,i was very young1     
quite a little child1 my first          
associations     with knowledge of any  
kind were inseparable from a patient    

friend and     teacher--the friend of my
 dead father--who was always dear to me4
 ,i     can remember nothing that ,i    
know without remembering him4 ,he stored
 my     mind with its first treasures1  
and stamped his character upon them     
all4 ,they never could have been1 ,i    
think1 as good as they have been to     
me1 if ,i had taken them from any other 
hands4  ,david said1 when telling the   
story of his first introduction to ,mr4 
,murdstone3      ,god help me1 ,i might 
have been improved for my whole life1 ,i
 might     have been made another       
creature1 perhaps1 for life1 by a kind  
word at     that season4 ,a word of     
encouragement and explanation1 of pity  
for my     childish ignorance1 of       
welcome home1 of reassurance to me that 
it was     home1 might have made me     
dutiful to him in my heart henceforth1  
instead of in my hypocritical outside1  
and might have made me respect          
instead of hate him4  ,in ,bleak ,house 
,dickens gave in ,esther the most       

perfect type of human sympathy1 and by  
his pathetic pictures of poor ,jo1      
,phil1 the ,jellyby children1 the       
,pardiggle children1 and others1 stirred
 a great wave of feeling1 which led to a
 recognition of the duty of adulthood to
 childhood1 and taught the value of     
sympathy in the training of children4   
,esther laid down a new law1 revealed by
 ,froebel1 but given to the ,english    
world by ,dickens in the weighty        
sentence1 ,my comprehension is quickened
 when my affection is4  ,the lack of    
sympathy in adulthood is revealed for   
the condemnation of his readers in ,mrs4
 ,rachael's parting from ,esther4       
,mrs4 ,rachael was too good to feel any 
emotion at parting1 but ,i was     not  
so good1 and wept bitterly4 ,i thought  
that ,i ought to have known     her     
better after so many years1 and ought to
 have made myself enough     of a       
favourite with her to make her sorry    
then4 ,when she gave me one     cold    
parting kiss upon my forehead1 like a   

thaw drop from the stone     porch--it  
was a very frosty day--,i felt so       
miserable and     self-reproachful that 
,i clung to her and told her it was my  
fault1 ,i     knew1 that she could say  
good-bye so easily4      ,no1 ,esther6  
she returned4 ,it is your misfortune6   
,poor child1 she cried afterward because
 ,mrs4 ,rachael was not sorry to part   
with her4  ,what a different parting she
 had when leaving the ,miss ,donnys'    
school1 where for six years she had been
 a pupil1 and for part of the time a    
teacher6  ,she received a letter        
informing her that she was to leave     
,greenleaf4      ,oh1 never1 never1     
never shall ,i forget the emotion this  
letter caused     in the house6 ,it was 
so tender in them to care so much for   
me2 it was     so gracious in that      
,father who had not forgotten me1 to    
have made my     orphan way so smooth   
and easy1 and to have inclined so many  
youthful     natures toward me1 that ,i 
could hardly bear it4 ,not that ,i would

 have     had them less sorry--,i am    
afraid not2 but the pleasure of it1 and 
the     pain of it1 and the pride and   
joy of it1 and the humble regret of it1 
were so blended1 that my heart seemed   
almost breaking while it was     full of
 rapture4      ,the letter gave me only 
five days' notice of my removal4 ,when  
every     minute added to the proofs of 
love and kindness that were given me in 
those five days2 and when at last the   
morning came1 and when they took     me 
through all the rooms that ,i might see 
them for the last time2 and     when    
some one cried1 ,esther1 dear1 say      
good-bye to me here1 at my     bedside1 
where you first spoke so kindly to me6  
and when others asked     me only to    
write their names1 ,with ,esther's love2
 and when they all     surrounded me    
with their parting presents1 and clung  
to me weeping1     and cried1 ,what     
shall we do when dear1 dear ,esther's   
gone6 and when     ,i tried to tell them
 how forbearing and how good they had   

all been to     me1 and how ,i blessed  
and thanked them every one--what a heart
 ,i had6      ,and when the two ,miss   
,donnys grieved as much to part with me 
as the     least among them2 and when   
the maids said1 ,bless you1 miss1       
wherever     you go6 and when the ugly  
lame old gardener1 who ,i thought had   
hardly     noticed me in all those      
years1 came panting after the coach to  
give me     a little nosegay of         
geraniums1 and told me ,i had been the  
light of his     eyes--indeed the old   
man said so6--what a heart ,i had then6 
,this was intended to show the results  
of her sympathy toward the pupils and   
everybody connected with the school4    
,mrs4 ,jellyby is an immortal picture of
 the woman who neglects her family on   
account of her interest in ,borrioboola 
,gha1 or some other place for which her 
sympathy is aroused4 ,dickens held that 
a woman's first duty is to her children4
 ,the wretched ,mr4 ,jellyby1 almost    
distracted by the poor meals1 the       

disorder of his home1 and the wild      
condition of his unfortunate family1    
said to his daughter1 ,never have a     
mission1 my dear4  ,caddy emphasized the
 thought ,dickens had given in ,dombey  
and ,son through ,alice ,marwood when   
she said to ,esther3      ,oh1 don't    
talk of duty as a child1 ,miss          
,summerson2 where's ma's duty     as a  
parent8 ,all made over to the public and
 ,africa1 ,i suppose6 ,then     let the 
public and ,africa show duty as a child2
 it's much more their     affair than   
mine4 ,you are shocked1 ,i dare say6    
,very well1 so am ,i     shocked1 too2  
so we are both shocked1 and there's an  
end of it6  ,on another occasion1       
overcome by emotion at the thought of   
her mother's neglect1 she said to       
,esther3      ,i wish ,i was dead4 ,i   
wish we were all dead4 ,it would be a   
great deal     better for us4      ,in a
 moment afterward she kneeled on the    
ground at my side1 hid her     face in  
my dress1 passionately begged my pardon1

 and wept4 ,i comforted     her1 and    
would have raised her1 but she cried1   
,no1 no2 she wanted to     stay there6  
,you used to teach girls1 she said4 ,if 
you could only have taught     me1 ,i   
could have learned from you6 ,i am so   
very miserable1 and like     you so     
much6  ,how the ,jellyby children loved 
and trusted ,esther6 ,how all children  
loved and trusted her for her true      
sympathy6  ,poor ,jo swept the steps at 
the graveyard where the friend who spoke
 kindly to him lay buried1 and he always
 said of him1 ,he wos wery good to me1  
he wos4  ,and ,jo's other friends1 ,mr4 
,snagsby1 whose sympathy drew half      
crowns from his pocket1 and ,mr4        
,george1 and ,doctor ,woodcourt1 and    
,mr4 ,jarndyce1 and ,esther1 showed     
their kindly sympathy for the wretched  
boy so fully that the reading world     
loved them as real friends1 and this    
loving admiration led the ,christian    
world to think more clearly in regard to
 ,christ's teachings about the little   

ones4  ,no heart can resist the plea for
 sympathy for such as ,jo in the        
description of his last illness and     
death4 ,when the end was very near1 as  
,allan ,woodcourt was watching the heavy
 breathing of the sufferer1      ,after 
a short relapse into sleep or stupor he 
makes of a sudden a     strong effort to
 get out of bed4      ,stay1 ,jo6 ,what 
now8      ,it's time for me to go to    
that there berryin'-ground1 sir1 he     
returns with a wild look4      ,lie     
down1 and tell me4 ,what burying-ground1
 ,jo8      ,where they laid him as wos  
wery good to me1 wery good to me indeed1
     he wos4 ,it's time fur me to go    
down to that there berryin'-ground1     
sir1 and ask to be put along with him4  
,i wants to go there and be     berried4
 ,he used fur to say to me1 ',i am as   
poor as you to-day1 ,jo1'     he ses4 ,i
 wants to tell him that ,i am as poor as
 him now1 and have     come there to be 
laid along with him4      ,by and bye1  
,jo4 ,by and bye4      ,ah6 ,p'raps they

 wouldn't do it if ,i was to go myself4 
,but will you     promise to have me    
took there1 sir1 and laid along with    
him8      ,i will1 indeed4              
,thank'ee1 sir4 ,thank'ee1 sir4 ,they'll
 have to get the key of the gate        
afore they can take me in1 for it's     
allus locked4 ,and there's a step       
there1 as ,i used for to clean with my  
broom4--,it's turned wery dark1     sir4
 ,is there any light a-comin'8      ,it 
is coming fast1 ,jo4      ,fast4 ,the   
cart is shaken all to pieces1 and the   
rugged road is very     near its end4   
,jo1 my poor fellow6      ,i hear you1  
sir1 in the dark1 but ,i'm              
a-gropin'--a-gropin'--let me     catch  
hold of your hand4      ,jo1 can you say
 what ,i say8      ,i'll say anythink as
 you say1 sir1 for ,i knows it's good4  
,,our ,,father4      ,our ,father6--yes1
 that's wery good1 sir4      ,,which    
,,art ,,in ,,heaven4      ,art in       
,heaven--is the light a-comin'1 sir8    
,it is close at hand4 ,,hallowed ,,be   

,,thy ,,name6      ,hallowed be--thy----
      ,the light is come upon the dark  
benighted way4 ,dead6      ,dead1 your  
majesty4 ,dead1 my lords and gentlemen4 
,dead1 right     reverends and wrong    
reverends of every order4 ,dead1 men and
 women1     born with heavenly          
compassion in your hearts4 ,and dying   
thus around us     every day4  ,one of  
the best of ,dickens's illustrations of 
gratitude for sympathy is the case of   
,phil ,squod1 ,mr4 ,george's assistant  
in the shooting gallery4 ,he was a mere 
child in everything but years of hard   
experiences1 but he was devoted heart   
and soul to ,mr4 ,george for a kindly   
word of hearty sympathy4 ,so devoted was
 he that he attached himself to ,mr4    
,george and became his faithful servant1
 and found his truest happiness in his  
service of love4  ,phil recalled the    
story to ,mr4 ,george4      ,it was     
after the case-filling blow-up when ,i  
first see you1     commander4 ,you      
remember8      ,i remember1 ,phil4 ,you 

were walking along in the sun4          
,crawling1 guv'ner1 again a wall----    
,true1 ,phil--shouldering your way      
on----      ,in a nightcap6 exclaims    
,phil1 excited4      ,in a nightcap---- 
,and hobbling with a couple of sticks6  
cries ,phil1 still more     excited4    
,with a couple of sticks4 ,when----     
,when you stops1 you know1 cries ,phil1 
putting down his cup and     saucer1 and
 hastily removing his plate from his    
knees1 and says to     me1 ',what1      
comrade6 ,you have been in the wars6' ,i
 didn't say much to     you1 commander1 
then1 for ,i was took by surprise that a
 person so     strong and healthy and   
bold as you was should stop to speak to 
such a     limping bag of bones as ,i   
was4 ,but you says to me1 says you1     
delivering it out of your chest as      
hearty as possible1 so that it was      
like a glass of something hot3 ',what   
accident have you met with8 ,you        
have been badly hurt4 ,what's amiss1 old
 boy8 ,cheer up1 and tell us     about  

it6' ,cheer up6 ,i was cheered already6 
,i says as much to you1 you     says    
more to me1 ,i says more to you1 you    
says more to me1 and here ,i     am1    
commander6 ,here ,i am1 commander6 cries
 ,phil1 who has started from     his    
chair and unaccountably begun to sidle  
away4 ,if a mark's wanted1     or if it 
will improve the business1 let the      
customers take aim at me4     ,they     
can't spoil my beauty4 ,i'm all right4  
,come on6 ,if they want a     man to box
 at1 let 'em box at me4 ,let 'em knock  
me well about the     head4 ,i don't    
mind6 if they want a light weight1 to be
 throwed for     practice1 ,cornwall1   
,devonshire1 or ,lancashire1 let 'em    
throw me4 ,they     won't hurt me4 ,i   
have been throwed all sorts of styles   
all my life6  ,pip said in ,great       
,expectations3      ,it is not possible 
to know how far the influence of any    
amiable1     honest-hearted1 duty-doing 
man flies out into the world2 but it is 
very possible to know how it has touched

 one's self in going by1 and ,i     know
 right well that any good that          
intermixed itself with my               
apprenticeship came of plain contented  
,joe1 and not of restless     aspiring  
discontented me4  ,dear1 simple-hearted 
,joe ,gargery6 ,when every one else was 
abusing ,pip at the great dinner party1 
he showed his sympathy for him by       
putting some more gravy on his plate4   
,in ,our ,mutual ,friend ,lizzie ,hexam1
 sympathizing with her father so much   
that she would not learn to read because
 he was bitterly prejudiced against     
education1 but sympathizing so much with
 her brother ,charley that she had him  
educated secretly so that he might      
become a teacher1 is an illustration of 
nearly perfect sympathy4  ,the happiness
 of the little minders at old ,betty    
,higden's is in sharp contrast to the   
misery of the boarders of the           
respectable 787 establishment of ,mrs4  
,pipchin4 ,in the one case was abject   
poverty and loving sympathy1 in the     

other plenty and cruel selfishness4     
,when ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,boffin were       
adopting ,johnnie from ,betty ,higden's 
care1 the brave old woman said3      ,if
 ,i could have kept the dear child      
without the dread that's always     upon
 me of his coming to that fate ,i have  
spoken of1 ,i could never     have      
parted with him1 even to you4 ,for ,i   
love him1 ,i love him1 ,i love     him6 
,i love my husband long dead and gone1  
in him2 ,i love my children     dead and
 gone1 in him2 ,i love my young and     
hopeful days dead and gone1     in him4 
,i couldn't sell that love1 and look you
 in your bright kind     face4 ,it's a  
free gift4      ,betty was not a        
logically reasoning woman1 but ,god is  
good1 and hearts     may count in heaven
 as high as heads4  ,dickens spoke with 
great enthusiasm in his ,american ,notes
 of the practical sympathy of ,doctor   
,howe with all afflicted children1      
especially with blind children1 closing 
his sketch of the wonderful work he had 

done with the sentence3 ,there are not  
many persons1 ,i hope and believe1 who  
after reading these passages can ever   
hear that name with indifference4 ,he   
noted that ,laura ,bridgman had a       
special desire for sympathy4      ,she  
is fond of having other children noticed
 and caressed by the     teachers1 and  
those whom she respects2 but this must  
not be carried     too far1 or she      
becomes jealous4 ,she wants to have her 
share1 which1     if not the lion's1 is 
the greater part2 and if she does not   
get it1     she says1 ,my mother will   
love me4  ,dickens's types of sympathy  
with children grew more perfect as he   
grew older4 ,in his later years his head
 began to catch up with his heart4      
,major ,jackman1 ,mrs4 ,lirriper1 and   
,doctor ,marigold are among his most    
wonderfully sympathetic characters4     
,what an ideal sending away to school   
,jemmy ,lirriper had6      ,so the      
,major being gone out and ,jemmy being  
at home1 ,i got the child     into my   

little room here and ,i stood him by my 
chair and ,i took his     mother's own  
curls in my hand and ,i spoke to him    
loving and serious4     ,and when ,i had
 reminded the darling how that he was   
now in his tenth     year1 and when ,i  
had said to him about his getting on in 
life pretty     much what ,i had said to
 the ,major1 ,i broke to him how that we
 must     have this same parting1 and   
there ,i was forced to stop1 for there  
,i     saw of a sudden the              
well-remembered lip with its tremble1   
and it so     brought back that time6   
,but with the spirit that was in him he 
controlled it soon1 and he says gravely1
 nodding through his tears3 ,i          
understand1 ,gran--,i knew it must be1  
,gran--go on1 ,gran1 don't be     afraid
 of me4 ,and when ,i had said all that  
ever ,i could think of1     he turned   
his bright steady face to mine1 and he  
says just a little     broken here and  
there3 ,you shall see1 ,gran1 that ,i   
can be a man1 and     that ,i can do    

anything that is grateful and loving to 
you2 and if ,i     don't grow up to be  
what you would like to have me--,i hope 
it will     be--because ,i shall die4   
,and with that he sat down by me1 and ,i
 went     on to tell him of the school1 
of which ,i had excellent               
recommendations1 and where it was and   
how many scholars1 and what     games   
they played as ,i had heard1 and what   
length of holidays1 to all     of which 
he listened bright and clear4 ,and so it
 came that at last he     says3 ,and    
now1 dear ,gran1 let me kneel down here 
where ,i have been     used to say my   
prayers1 and let me fold my face for    
just a minute in     your gown and let  
me cry1 for you have been more than     
father--more     than mother--more than 
brothers1 sisters1 friends--to me6 ,and 
so he     did cry1 and ,i too1 and we   
were both much the better for it4  ,dear
 old ,doctor ,marigold1 the travelling  
auctioneer1 in his tender sympathy for  
his little girl when her mother was so  

cruel to her1 whispering comforting     
words in her ear as he was calling for  
bids on his wares while she was dying1  
and afterward loving the deaf-mute child
 whom he adopted in memory of his own   
child whom he had lost1 has made        
thousands more kindly sympathetic with  
children4  ,in the novel that he was    
writing when he died ,dickens makes     
,canon ,crisparkle say to ,helena       
,landless3 ,you have the wisdom of      
,love1 and it was the highest wisdom    
ever known upon this earth1 remember4   
,david ,copperfield said1 ,i hope that  
real love and truth are stronger in the 
end than any evil or misfortune in the  
world4  ,the effect of lack of true     
sympathy on the heart that should have  
felt and shown it is revealed in what   
,sydney ,carton said to ,mr4 ,lorry3 ,if
 you could say with truth to your own   
solitary heart to-night1 ',i have       
secured to myself the love and          
attachment1 the gratitude and respect1  
of no human creature2 ,i have won myself

 a tender place in no regard2 ,i have   
done nothing good or serviceable to be  
remembered by1' your seventy-eight years
 would be seventy-eight curses2 would   
they not8  ,the contrast between the    
coldness and heartlessness of his       
parents or guardians and the encouraging
 sympathy of his teacher is one of the  
strongest features in the story of      
,barbox ,brothers 7,mugby ,junction74   
,you remember me1 ,young ,jackson8      
,what do ,i remember if not you8 ,you   
are my first remembrance4 ,it was       
you who told me that was my name4 ,it   
was you who told me that on every       
#bjth of ,december my life had a        
penitential anniversary in it called a  
birthday4 ,i suppose the last           
communication was truer than the first6 
,what am ,i like1 ,young ,jackson8      
,you are like a blight all through the  
year to me4 ,you hard-lined1            
thin-lipped1 repressive1 changeless     
woman with a wax mask on6 ,you are      
like the ,devil to me--most of all when 

you teach me religious things1     for  
you make me abhor them4      ,you       
remember me1 ,mr4 ,young ,jackson8 ,in  
another voice from another     quarter3 
,most gratefully1 sir4 ,you are the ray 
of hope and prospering ambition     in  
my life4 ,when ,i attended your course  
,i believed that ,i should come     to  
be a great healer1 and ,i felt almost   
happy--even though ,i was     still the 
one boarder in the house with that      
horrible mask1 and ate     and drank in 
silence and constraint with the mask    
before me every day4     ,as ,i had done
 every1 every1 every day through my     
school time and from     my earliest    
recollection4      ,what am ,i like1    
,mr4 ,young ,jackson8      ,you are like
 a ,superior ,being to me4 ,you are like
 ,nature beginning to     reveal herself
 to me4 ,i hear you again as one of the 
hushed crowd of     young men kindling  
under the power of your presence and    
knowledge1 and     you bring into my    
eyes the only exultant tears that ever  

stood in     them4      ,you remember   
,me1 ,mr4 ,young ,jackson8 ,in a grating
 voice from quite     another quarter3  
,too well4 ,you made your ghostly       
appearance in my life one day1 and      
announced that its course was to be     
suddenly and wholly changed4 ,you       
showed me which was my wearisome seat in
 the ,galley of ,barbox     ,brothers4  
,you told me what ,i was to do1 and what
 to be paid2 you told     me afterward1 
at intervals of years1 when ,i was to   
sign for the ,firm1     when ,i became a
 partner1 when ,i became the ,firm4 ,i  
know no more of it1     or of myself4   
,what am ,i like1 ,mr4 ,young ,jackson8 
,you are like my father1 ,i sometimes   
think4 ,you are hard enough and     cold
 enough so to have brought up an        
acknowledged son4 ,i see your     scanty
 figure1 your close brown suit1 and your
 tight brown wig2 but     you1 too1 wear
 a wax mask to your death4 ,you never by
 a chance remove     it2 it never by a  
chance falls off2 and ,i know no more of

 you4     ,,chapter ,x4  ,,child ,,study
 ,,and ,,child ,,nature4   ,dickens was 
a profound student of children1 and he  
revealed his consciousness of the need  
of a general study of childhood in all  
he wrote about the importance of a free 
childhood1 individuality1 the           
imagination1 coercion1 cramming1 and    
wrong methods of training children4  ,he
 criticised the blindness of those who  
saw boys as a class or in a limited     
number of classes1 distinguished by     
external and comparatively unimportant  
characteristics1 in ,mr4 ,grimwig1 who  
never saw any difference in boys1 and   
only knew two sorts of boys1 mealy boys 
and beef-faced boys4  ,he exposed the   
ignorance--the wilful ignorance--of vast
 numbers of parents and teachers who    
indignantly resent the suggestion that  
they need to study children1 in ,jane   
,murdstone4 ,when ,jane was interfering 
in the management of ,david1 and with   
her brother totally misunderstanding him
 and misrepresenting him1 his timid     

mother ventured to say3      ,i beg your
 pardon1 my dear ,jane1 but are you     
quite sure--,i am certain     you'll    
excuse me1 my dear ,jane--that you quite
 understand ,davy8      ,i should be    
somewhat ashamed of myself1 ,clara1     
returned ,miss     ,murdstone1 if ,i    
could not understand the boy1 or any    
boy4 ,i don't     profess to be         
profound1 but ,i do lay claim to common 
sense4  ,many ,jane ,murdstones still   
claim that it is not necessary to study 
so common a thing as a boy4 ,yet a child
 is the most wonderful thing in the     
world1 and1 whether the ,jane           
,murdstones in the schools and homes    
like it or not1 the wise people are     
studying the child with a view to       
finding out what he should be guided to 
do in the accomplishment of his own     
training4  ,richard ,carstone had been  
eight years at school1 and he was a     
miserable failure in life1 although a   
man of good ability4  ,it had never been
 anybody's business to find out what his

 natural bent was1 or where his failings
 lay1 or to adapt any kind of knowledge 
to him4 ,esther wisely said3 ,i did     
doubt whether ,richard would not have   
profited by some one studying him a     
little1 instead of his studying ,latin  
verses so much4  ,dickens studied every 
subject about which he wrote with great 
care and discrimination4 ,as an instance
 of this careful study it may be stated 
that medical authorities say that the   
description of ,smike's sickness and    
death is the best description of        
consumption ever written4 ,dickens had a
 wonderful imagination1 but he never    
relied on his imagination for his facts 
or his philosophy4 ,it is therefore     
reasonable to believe that as he wrote  
more about children than any other man  
or woman1 he was the greatest and most  
reverent student of childhood that      
,england has produced4  ,in addition to 
the revelations of his conclusions given
 in the evolution of his child          
characters1 and in the many             

illustrations of good and of bad        
training1 he continually makes direct   
statements in regard to child nature and
 how to deal with it in its varied      
manifestations4  ,his central motive was
 expressed by the old gentleman who     
found ,little ,nell astray in ,london3  
,i love these little people2 and it is  
not a slight thing when they1 who are so
 fresh from ,god1 love us4  ,his ideal  
of unperverted child nature was entirely
 different from that which had been     
taught by theology and psychology4 ,he  
believed the child to be pure and good1 
and that even when heredity was bad1 its
 baneful influences need not blight the 
divinity in his life1 if he was wisely  
trained and had a free life of          
self-activity1 a suitable environment1  
and truly sympathetic friends4      ,it 
would be a curious speculation1 said ,i1
 after some restless turns     across   
and across the room1 to imagine her in  
her future life1     holding her        
solitary way among a crowd of wild1     

grotesque companions1     the only pure1
 fresh1 youthful object in the throng4  
,to keep children pure and fresh was the
 chief aim of his life work4 ,he had no 
respect for those who treated children  
as if they were grown-up1 reasonable    
beings2 who judged children as they     
would judge adults1 and therefore       
misjudged them4 ,he always remembered   
that a child was a little stranger in a 
new world1 and that his complex nature  
had to adjust itself to its environment4
 ,he had a perfect1 reverent1           
considerate sympathy for the timid young
 soul venturing to look out upon its new
 conditions4 ,one of the most pathetic  
things in the world to him was the fact 
that children are nearly universally    
misunderstood and misinterpreted4 ,how  
he longed to tear down the barriers of  
formalism1 and conventionality1 and     
indifference1 and misconception from the
 lives of parents and teachers1 so that 
timid children might be true to their   
better natures in their presence4       

,when little ,florence timidly presented
 herself1 ,mr4 ,dombey stopped in       
his pacing up and down and looked toward
 her4 ,had he looked with     greater   
interest and with a father's eye1 he    
might have read in her     keen glance  
the impulses and fears that made her    
waver2 the passionate     desire to run 
clinging to him1 crying1 as she hid her 
face in his     embrace1 ,oh1 father1   
try to love me6 there's no one else6 the
 dread     of a repulse2 the fear of    
being too bold1 and of offending him2   
the     pitiable need in which she stood
 of some assurance and encouragement2   
and how her overcharged young heart was 
wandering to find some natural          
resting place for its sorrow and        
affection4      ,but he saw nothing of  
this4 ,he saw her pause irresolutely at 
the door     and look toward him2 and he
 saw no more4      ,come in1 he said1   
come in2 what is the child afraid of8   
,she came in1 and after glancing round  
her for a moment with an     uncertain  

air1 stood pressing her small hands hard
 together1 close     within the door4   
,come here1 ,florence1 said her father  
coldly4 ,do you know who ,i am8         
,yes1 papa4      ,have you nothing to   
say to me8      ,the tears that stood in
 her eyes as she raised them quickly to 
his     face were frozen by the         
expression it wore4 ,she looked down    
again and     put out her trembling     
hand4      ,mr4 ,dombey took it loosely 
in his own1 and stood looking down upon 
her     for a moment1 as if he knew as  
little as the child what to say or do4  
,there6 ,be a good girl1 he said1       
patting her on the head1 and            
regarding her1 as it were1 by stealth   
with a disturbed and doubtful     look4 
,go to ,richards4 ,go6      ,his little 
daughter hesitated for another instant  
as though she would     have clung about
 him still1 or had some lingering hope  
that he might     raise her in his arms 
and kiss her4 ,she looked up in his face
 once     more4 ,he thought how like her

 expression was then to what it had been
     when she looked round at the       
doctor--that night--and instinctively   
dropped her hand and turned away4       
,it was not difficult to perceive that  
,florence was at a great                
disadvantage in her father's presence4  
,it was not only a constraint     upon  
the child's mind1 but even upon the     
natural grace and freedom of     her    
actions4      ,the child1 in her grief  
and neglect1 was so gentle1 so quiet and
     uncomplaining1 was possessed of so 
much affection that no one seemed     to
 care to have1 and so much sorrowful    
intelligence that no one seemed     to  
mind or think about the wounding of1    
that ,polly's heart was sore     when   
she was left alone again4  ,the same    
lesson was given to parents and teachers
 in ,murdstone's treatment of ,davy4    
,the sensitive1 shy boy was regarded as 
sullen1 and treated like a dog in       
consequence4 ,oh1 what bitterness it    
puts into a child's life to be          

misunderstood by its dearest friends6   
,if there were no other reason for the  
co-operative study of children by       
parents and teachers1 it would be a     
sufficient reason that they might be    
understood and appreciated4 ,many lives 
are made barren and wicked by the       
failure of parents and teachers to      
understand them4  ,it is so easy for    
children to get the impression that they
 are not liked by adults4 ,when ,walter 
started life in ,mr4 ,dombey's great    
warehouse1 his uncle1 old ,solomon      
,gills1 with whom he lived1 asked him on
 his return from work the first day3    
,has ,mr4 ,dombey been there to-day8    
,oh1 yes6 ,in and out all day4      ,he 
didn't take any notice of you1 ,i       
suppose8      ,yes1 he did4 ,he walked  
up to my seat--,i wish he wasn't so     
solemn and     stiff1 uncle--and said1  
',oh6 you are the son of ,mr4 ,gills1   
the ships'     instrument maker4'       
',nephew1 sir1' ,i said4 ',i said       
nephew1 boy1' said     he4 ,but ,i could

 take my oath he said son1 uncle4       
,you're mistaken1 ,i dare say4 ,it's no 
matter4      ,no1 it's no matter1 but he
 needn't have been so sharp1 ,i thought4
     ,there was no harm in it1 though he
 did say son4 ,then he told me that     
you had spoken to him about me1 and that
 he had found me employment in     the  
house accordingly1 and that ,i was      
expected to be attentive and            
punctual1 and then he went away4 ,i     
thought he didn't seem to like me       
much4      ,you mean1 ,i suppose1       
observed the instrument maker1 that you 
didn't     seem to like him much4       
,well1 uncle1 returned the boy1         
laughing1 perhaps so2 ,i never          
thought of that4  ,this short selection 
reveals the disrespect for childhood    
which leads adulthood to flatly         
contradict what a child says1 whether he
 is making a statement of fact or of    
opinion4 ,this is most inconsiderate1   
and naturally leads to a corresponding  
disrespect for adulthood on the part of 

the child4 ,the selection clearly       
intimates that childhood would be more  
happy1 and like adulthood better1 if    
adulthood was not so solemn and stiff4  
,parents and teachers should learn from 
,solomon's philosophy that a child's    
feelings toward an adult partly         
determine his impressions regarding the 
attitude of adulthood toward him4  ,the 
first thing necessary in training a     
child to be his real1 best self is to   
win his affectionate regard and         
confidence4 ,one has to be very true1   
very unconventional1 and very joyous1 to
 do this fully4  ,dickens pitied the    
child because1 even when he is          
understood1 his wishes1 plans1 and      
decisions are not treated with respect4 
,this is a gross injustice to the       
child's nature4 ,as ,pip so truly said3 
,it may be only small injustice that the
 child can be exposed to2 but the child 
is small1 and its world is small1 and   
its rocking horse stands as many hands  
high1 according to scale1 as a big-boned

 ,irish hunter4  ,adulthood needs to    
learn no lesson more than that childhood
 lives a life of its own1 that that life
 should not be tested by the scales and 
tape lines of adulthood1 and that within
 its range of action its choice should  
be respected1 and its opinions treated  
with reverent consideration4  ,mrs4     
,lirriper said that when she used to    
read the ,bible to ,mrs4 ,edson1 when   
that lady was dying1 though she took to 
all ,i read to her1 ,i used to fancy    
that next to what was taught upon the   
,mount she took most of all to his      
gentle compassion for us poor women1 and
 to his young life1 and to how his      
mother was proud of him1 and treasured  
his sayings in her heart4  ,the divinity
 in any child will grow more rapidly if 
his mother treasures his sayings in her 
heart4 ,we need more reverence for the  
child4  ,dickens tried to make parents  
regard the child as a sacred thing1     
which should always be the richest joy  
of his parents4  ,speaking of ,mrs4     

,darnay1 in ,the ,tale of ,two ,cities1 
he says3      ,the time passed1 and her 
little ,lucie lay on her bosom4 ,then1  
among     the advancing echoes1 there   
was the tread of her tiny feet and the  
sound of her prattling words4 ,let      
greater echoes resound as they          
would1 the young mother at the cradle   
side could always hear those     coming4
 ,they came1 and the shady house was    
sunny with a child's laugh1     and the 
divine ,friend of children1 to whom in  
her trouble she had     confided hers1  
seemed to take her child in his arms1 as
 he took the     child of old1 and made 
it a sacred joy to her4  ,dickens had   
profound faith in children whose true   
development had not been arrested4      
,doctor ,strong had a simple faith in   
him that might have touched the         
stone hearts of the very urns upon the  
wall4444 ,he appealed in     everything 
to the honour and good faith of the     
boys1 and relied on     their possession
 of those qualities unless they proved  

themselves     unworthy4  ,reliance     
begets reliance4 ,faith increases the   
qualities that merit faith4  ,david said
 the doctor's reliance on the boys      
worked wonders4 ,no wonder it worked    
wonders4 ,we can help a boy to grow no  
higher than our faith in him can reach4 
,,chapter ,,xi4  ,,bad ,,training4   ,in
 addition to the bad training found in  
so many of his best-known schools1 to   
show the evils of coercion in all forms1
 of the child depravity ideal1 of the   
loss of a free1 real1 rich childhood1 of
 the dwarfing of individuality1 of the  
deadening of the imagination1 and other 
similar evils1 ,dickens's books1 from   
,oliver ,twist to ,edwin ,drood1 contain
 many illustrations of utterly wrong    
methods of training children4  ,the mean
 and cruel way in which children used to
 be treated by the managers of          
institutions is described in ,oliver    
,twist4 ,dickens said that when ,oliver 
was born he cried lustily4      ,if he  
could have known that he was an orphan1 

left to the tender     mercies of church
 wardens and overseers1 perhaps he would
 have cried     the louder4      ,bow to
 the board1 said ,bumble1 when he was   
brought before that     august body4    
,oliver brushed away two or three tears 
that were     lingering in his eyes1 and
 seeing no board but the table1         
fortunately     bowed to that4          
,what's your name1 boy8 said the        
gentleman in the high chair4            
,oliver was frightened at the sight of  
so many gentlemen1 which made     him   
tremble2 and the beadle gave him another
 tap behind1 which made     him cry4    
,these two causes made him answer in a  
very low and hesitating     voice2      
whereupon a gentleman in a white        
waistcoat said he was a fool4     ,which
 was a capital way of raising his       
spirits and putting him quite     at his
 ease4      ,boy1 said the gentleman in 
the high chair1 listen to me4 ,you know 
you're an orphan1 ,i suppose8           
,what's that1 sir8 inquired poor        

,oliver4      ,the boy is a fool--,i    
thought he was1 said the gentleman in   
the white     waistcoat4      ,hush6    
said the gentleman who had spoken first4
 ,you know you've got     no father or  
mother1 and that you were brought up by 
the parish1 don't     you8      ,yes1   
sir1 replied ,oliver1 weeping bitterly4 
,what are you crying for8 inquired the  
gentleman in the white     waistcoat4   
,and1 to be sure1 it was very           
extraordinary4 ,what could     the boy  
be crying for8      ,i hope you say your
 prayers every night1 said another      
gentleman in a     gruff voice1 and pray
 for the people who feed and take care  
of     you--like a ,christian4          
,yes1 sir1 stammered the boy4 ,the      
gentleman who spoke last was            
unconsciously right4 ,it would have been
 very like a ,christian1 and a          
marvellously good ,christian1 too1 if   
,oliver had prayed for the people       
who fed and took care of him4  ,the     
dreadful practices of first making      

children self-conscious and apparently  
dull by abuse and formalism1 and then   
calling them fools1 or stupid1 or       
dunces1 are happily not so common now4  
,in ,barnaby ,rudge he makes ,edward    
,chester complain to his father about   
the way he had been educated4      ,from
 my childhood ,i have been accustomed to
 luxury and idleness1 and     have been 
bred as though my fortune were large and
 my expectations     almost without a   
limit4 ,the idea of wealth has been     
familiarized to me     from my cradle4  
,i have been taught to look upon those  
means by which     men raise themselves 
to riches and distinction as being      
beyond my     breeding and beneath my   
care4 ,i have been1 as the phrase is1   
liberally     educated1 and am fit for  
nothing4  ,dickens was in terrible      
earnest to kill all the giants that     
preyed on the lifeblood of the joy1 the 
hope1 the freedom1 the selfhood1 and the
 imagination of childhood4 ,he waged    
unceasing warfare against the system    

which he described as      ,the         
excellent and thoughtful old system1    
hallowed by long     prescription1 which
 has usually picked out from the rest of
 mankind     the most dreary and        
uncomfortable people that could possibly
 be laid     hold of1 to act as         
instructors of youth4  ,the selfish and 
mercenary ideal and its consequences are
 dealt with in the training of ,jonas   
,chuzzlewit3      ,the education of ,mr4
 ,jonas had been conducted from his     
cradle on the     strictest principles  
of the main chance4 ,the very first word
 he     learned to spell was gain1 and  
the second one 7when he got into two    
syllables7 money4 ,but for two results1 
which were not clearly     foreseen     
perhaps by his watchful parent in the   
beginning1 his training     may be said 
to have been unexceptionable4 ,one of   
these flaws was1 that     having been   
long taught by his father to overreach  
everybody1 he had     imperceptibly     
acquired a love of overreaching that    

venerable monitor     himself4 ,the     
other1 that from his early habits of    
considering     everything as a question
 of property1 he had gradually come to  
look     with impatience on his parent  
as a certain amount of personal estate  
which had no right whatever to be going 
at large1 but ought to be     secured in
 that particular description of iron    
safe which is commonly     called a     
coffin1 and banked in the grave4  ,when 
,charity ,pecksniff reproved ,jonas for 
speaking irreverently of her father1 he 
said3      ,ecod1 you may say what you  
like of my father1 then1 and so ,i give 
you leave1 said ,jonas4 ,i think it's   
liquid aggravation that     circulates  
through his veins1 and not regular      
blood4 ,how old should     you think my 
father was1 cousin8      ,old1 no doubt1
 replied ,miss ,charity2 but a fine old 
gentleman4      ,a fine old gentleman6  
repeated ,jonas1 giving the crown of his
 hat an     angry knock4 ,ah6 ,it's time
 he was thinking of being drawn out a   

little finer1 too4 ,why1 he's eighty6   
,is he1 indeed8 said the young lady4    
,and ecod1 cried ,jonas1 now he's gone  
so far without giving in1 ,i     don't  
see much to prevent his being ninety2   
no1 nor even a hundred4     ,why1 a man 
with any feeling ought to be ashamed of 
being eighty1 let     alone more4       
,where's his religion1 ,i should like to
 know1 when he goes     flying in the   
face of the ,bible like that8           
,threescore and ten's the     mark2 and 
no man with a conscience1 and a proper  
sense of what's     expected of him1 has
 any business to live longer4  ,when    
,jonas was particularly brutal in the   
treatment of ,chuffey1 the old clerk1   
his father seemed to enjoy his son's    
sharpness4      ,it was strange enough  
that ,anthony ,chuzzlewit1 himself so   
old a man1     should take a pleasure in
 these gibings of his estimable son at  
the     expense of the poor shadow at   
their table2 but he did1 unquestionably1
     though not so much--to do him      

justice--with reference to their ancient
     clerk1 as in exultation at the     
sharpness of ,jonas4 ,for the same      
reason1 that young man's coarse         
allusions1 even to himself1 filled him  
with a stealthy glee1 causing him to rub
 his hands and chuckle     covertly1 as 
if he said in his sleeve1 ,i taught him4
 ,i trained     him4 ,this is the heir  
of my bringing up4 ,sly1 cunning1 and   
covetous1     he'll not squander my     
money4 ,i worked for this2 ,i hoped for 
this2 it     has been the great end and 
aim of my life4      ,what a noble end  
and aim it was to contemplate in the    
attainment1     truly6 ,but there be    
some who manufacture idols after the    
fashion of     themselves1 and fail to  
worship them when they are made2        
charging     their deformity on outraged
 ,nature4 ,anthony was better than these
 at     any rate4  ,exaggerated6        
,slightly exaggerated1 but terribly true
 to ,nature4 ,centring the life of a    
child on one base materialistic aim is  

certain to make a degraded if not a     
dangerous character4 ,every noble energy
 that should have given spiritual       
strength and beauty is devoured by the  
material monster as he grows in the     
heart4 ,respect for age1 even for       
parents1 is lost with all other virtues1
 and humanity becomes not a brotherhood 
to be co-operated with for noble        
purposes1 but a horde to be entrapped   
and cheated4 ,jonas delighted his father
 with his rule in business3 ,here's the 
rule for bargains--',do other men1 for  
they would do you4' ,that's the true    
business precept4 ,all others are       
counterfeits4  ,speaking of the         
conversation heard by ,martin           
,chuzzlewit at the boarding house in    
,new ,york1 he said3      ,it was rather
 barren of interest1 to say the truth2  
and the greater     part of it may be   
summed up in one word3 ,dollars4 ,all   
their cares1     hopes1 joys1           
affections1 virtues1 and associations   
seemed to be melted     down into       

dollars4 ,whatever the chance           
contributions that fell into     the    
slow cauldron of their talk1 they made  
the gruel thick and slab     with       
dollars4 ,men were weighed by their     
dollars1 measures gauged by     their   
dollars2 life was auctioneered1         
appraised1 put up1 and knocked     down 
for its dollars4 ,the next respectable  
thing to dollars was any     venture    
having their attainment for its end4    
,the more of that     worthless ballast1
 honour and fair dealing1 which any man 
cast     overboard from the ship of his 
good name and good intent1 the more     
ample stowage room he had for dollars4  
,make commerce one huge lie and         
mighty theft4 ,deface the banner of the 
nation for an idle rag2 pollute     it  
star by star2 and cut out stripe by     
stripe as from the arm of a     degraded
 soldier4 ,do anything for dollars6     
,what is a flag to them6  ,this was a   
solemn warning against the training of a
 race with such low ideals4  ,in the    

preface to ,martin ,chuzzlewit ,dickens 
shows that he deliberately planned      
,jonas ,chuzzlewit as a psychological   
study4 ,he says3      ,i conceive that  
the sordid coarseness and brutality of  
,jonas would be     unnatural1 if there 
had been nothing in his early education1
 and in     the precept and example     
always before him1 to engender and      
develop the     vices that make him     
odious4 ,but1 so born and so            
bred--admired for that     which made   
him hateful1 and justified from his     
cradle in cunning1     treachery1 and   
avarice--,i claim him as the legitimate 
issue of the     father upon whom those 
vices are seen to recoil4 ,and ,i submit
 that     their recoil upon that old    
man1 in his unhonoured age1 is not a    
mere     piece of poetical justice1 but 
is the extreme exposition of a direct   
truth4  ,mrs4 ,pipchin was described as 
a child trainer of great respectability4
 ,she adopted the business of child     
training because her husband lost his   

money4 ,dickens did great service to the
 world by ridiculing the outrageous     
practice of sending children to be      
trained by women or taught by men whose 
only qualification for the most sacred  
of all duties was the fact that they had
 lost their money1 and were therefore   
likely to be bad tempered and severe4   
,he had already introduced ,squeers to  
the world1 but he knew that many people 
who shuddered at ,squeers would send    
their own children to such as ,mrs4     
,pipchin1 because she was respectable   
and poor4 ,he wished to alarm such      
people2 hence ,mrs4 ,pipchin4  ,mrs4    
,chick1 ,mr4 ,dombey's sister1 and ,miss
 ,tox called ,mr4 ,dombey's attention to
 ,mrs4 ,pipchin's establishment4        
,mrs4 ,pipchin1 my dear ,paul1 returned 
his sister1 is an elderly               
lady--,miss ,tox knows her whole        
history--who has for some time devoted  
all the energies of her mind1 with the  
greatest success1 to the study     and  
treatment of infancy1 and who has been  

extremely well connected4      ,this    
celebrated ,mrs4 ,pipchin was a         
marvellous1 ill-favoured1               
ill-conditioned old lady1 of a stooping 
figure1 with a mottled face     like bad
 marble1 a hook nose1 and a hard gray   
eye that looked as if it     might have 
been hammered at on an anvil without    
sustaining any injury4     ,forty years 
at least had elapsed since the ,peruvian
 mines had been the     death of ,mr4   
,pipchin2 but his relict still wore     
black bombazine1 of     such a          
lustreless1 deep1 dead1 sombre shade    
that gas itself couldn't     light her  
up after dark1 and her presence was a   
quencher to any number     of candles4  
,she was generally spoken of as a great 
manager of     children2 and the secret 
of her management was1 to give them     
everything that they didn't like and    
nothing that they did--which was        
found to sweeten their dispositions very
 much4  ,when ,paul and ,florence were  
taken to ,mrs4 ,pipchin's establishment1

 ,mrs4 ,pipchin gave them an opportunity
 to study her disciplinary system as    
soon as ,mrs4 ,chick and ,miss ,tox went
 away4 ,master ,bitherstone was divested
 of his collar at once1 which he had    
worn on parade1 and ,miss ,pankey1 the  
only other little boarder at present1   
was walked off to the castle dungeon 7an
 empty apartment at the back1 devoted to
 correctional purposes71 for having     
sniffed thrice in the presence of       
visitors4      ,at one o'clock there was
 a dinner1 chiefly of the farinaceous   
and     vegetable kind1 when ,miss      
,pankey 7a mild little blue-eyed morsel 
of a     child1 who was shampooed every 
morning1 and seemed in danger of being  
rubbed away altogether7 was led in from 
captivity by the ogress     herself1 and
 instructed that nobody who sniffed     
before visitors ever     went to heaven4
 ,when this great truth had been        
thoroughly impressed     upon her1 she  
was regaled with rice2 and subsequently 
repeated the     form of grace          

established in the castle1 in which     
there was a special     clause thanking 
,mrs4 ,pipchin for a good dinner4 ,mrs4 
,pipchin's niece1     ,berinthia1 took  
cold pork4 ,mrs4 ,pipchin1 whose        
constitution required     warm          
nourishment1 made a special repast of   
mutton chops1 which were     brought in 
hot and hot1 between two plates1 and    
smelled very nice4      ,as it rained   
after dinner and they couldn't go out   
walking on the     beach1 and ,mrs4     
,pipchin's constitution required rest   
after chops1 they     went away with    
,berry 7otherwise ,berinthia7 to the    
dungeon--an empty     room looking out  
upon a chalk wall and a water butt1 and 
made ghastly     by a ragged fireplace  
without any stove in it4 ,enlivened by  
company1     however1 this was the best 
place after all2 for ,berry played with 
them     there1 and seemed to enjoy a   
game at romps as much as they did2 until
     ,mrs4 ,pipchin knocking angrily at 
the wall1 like the ,cock ,lane ,ghost   

revived1 they left off1 and ,berry told 
them stories in a whisper until         
twilight4      ,for tea there was plenty
 of milk and water1 and bread and       
butter1 with     a little black teapot  
for ,mrs4 ,pipchin and ,berry1 and      
buttered toast     unlimited for ,mrs4  
,pipchin1 which was brought in1 hot and 
hot1 like     the chops4 ,though ,mrs4  
,pipchin got very greasy outside over   
this dish1     it didn't seem to        
lubricate her internally at all2 for she
 was as     fierce as ever1 and the hard
 gray eye knew no softening4      ,after
 tea1 ,berry brought out a little       
workbox1 with the ,royal ,pavilion      
on the lid1 and fell to working busily2 
while ,mrs4 ,pipchin1 having put     on 
her spectacles and opened a great volume
 bound in green baize1     began to nod4
 ,and whenever ,mrs4 ,pipchin caught    
herself falling forward     into the    
fire1 and woke up1 she filliped ,master 
,bitherstone on the     nose for nodding
 too4      ,at last it was the          

children's bedtime1 and after prayers   
they went to     bed4 ,as little ,miss  
,pankey was afraid of sleeping alone in 
the dark1     ,mrs4 ,pipchin always made
 a point of driving her upstairs        
herself1 like     a sheep2 and it was   
cheerful to hear ,miss ,pankey moaning  
long     afterward1 in the least        
eligible chamber1 and ,mrs4 ,pipchin now
 and     then going in to shake her4 ,at
 about half-past nine o'clock the odour 
of a warm sweetbread 7,mrs4 ,pipchin's  
constitution wouldn't go to sleep       
without sweetbread7 diversified the     
prevailing fragrance of the house1      
which ,mrs4 ,wickam said was a smell of 
building1 and slumber fell     upon the 
castle shortly after4      ,the         
breakfast next morning was like the tea 
overnight1 except that     ,mrs4        
,pipchin took her roll instead of toast1
 and seemed a little more     irate when
 it was over4 ,master ,bitherstone read 
aloud to the rest a     pedigree from   
,genesis 7judiciously selected by ,mrs4 

,pipchin71 getting     over the names   
with the ease and clearness of a person 
tumbling up the     treadmill4 ,that    
done1 ,miss ,pankey was borne away to be
 shampooed1 and     ,master ,bitherstone
 to have something else done to him with
 salt water1     from which he always   
returned very blue and dejected4 ,paul  
and     ,florence went out in the       
meantime on the beach with ,wickam--who 
was     constantly in tears--and at     
about noon ,mrs4 ,pipchin presided over 
some     ,early ,readings4 ,it being a  
part of ,mrs4 ,pipchin's system not to  
encourage a child's mind to develop and 
expand itself like a young     flower1  
but to open it by force like an oyster1 
the moral of these     lessons was      
usually of a violent and stunning       
character2 the hero--a     naughty      
boy--seldom1 in the mildest catastrophe1
 being finished off by     anything less
 than a lion or a bear4      ,sunday    
evening was the most melancholy evening 
in the week2 for ,mrs4     ,pipchin     

always made a point of being            
particularly cross on ,sunday           
nights4 ,miss ,pankey was generally     
brought back from an aunt's at          
,rottingdean1 in deep distress2 and     
,master ,bitherstone1 whose relatives   
were all in ,india1 and who was required
 to sit1 between the services1     in an
 erect position with his head against   
the parlour wall1 neither     moving    
hand nor foot1 suffered so acutely in   
his young spirits that he     once asked
 ,florence1 on a ,sunday night1 if she  
could give him any idea     of the way  
back to ,bengal4      ,but it was       
generally said that ,mrs4 ,pipchin was a
 woman of system with     children2 and 
no doubt she was4 ,certainly the wild   
ones went home tame     enough1 after   
sojourning for a few months beneath her 
hospitable roof4      ,at this exemplary
 old lady ,paul would sit staring in his
 little     armchair by the fire for any
 length of time4 ,he never seemed to    
know     what weariness was when he was 

looking fixedly at ,mrs4 ,pipchin4 ,he  
was not fond of her2 he was not afraid  
of her2 but in those old1 old     moods 
of his1 she seemed to have a grotesque  
attraction for him4 ,there     he would 
sit1 looking at her1 and warming his    
hands1 and looking at     her1 until he 
sometimes quite confounded ,mrs4        
,pipchin1 ogress as she     was4 ,once  
she asked him1 when they were alone1    
what he was thinking     about4         
,you1 said ,paul1 without the least     
reserve4      ,and what are you thinking
 about me8 asked ,mrs4 ,pipchin4        
,i'm thinking how old you must be1 said 
,paul4      ,you mustn't say such things
 as that1 young gentleman1 returned the 
dame4 ,that'll never do4      ,why not8 
asked ,paul4      ,because it's not     
polite1 said ,mrs4 ,pipchin snappishly4 
,not polite8 said ,paul4      ,no4      
,it's not polite1 said ,paul innocently1
 to eat all the mutton chops     and    
toast1 ,wickam says4      ,wickam1      
retorted ,mrs4 ,pipchin1 colouring1 is a

 wicked1 impudent1     bold-faced hussy4
      ,what's that8 inquired ,paul4     
,never you mind1 sir1 retorted ,mrs4    
,pipchin4 ,remember the story of     the
 little boy that was gored to death by a
 mad bull for asking     questions4     
,if the bull was mad1 said ,paul1 how   
did he know that the boy had     asked  
questions8 ,nobody can go and whisper   
secrets to a mad bull4 ,i     don't     
believe that story4      ,you don't     
believe it1 sir8 repeated ,mrs4         
,pipchin1 amazed4      ,no1 said ,paul4 
,not if it should happen to have been a 
tame bull1 you little     infidel8 said 
,mrs4 ,pipchin4             99       99 
99       99       99      ,berry's very 
fond of you1 ain't she8 ,paul once asked
 ,mrs4 ,pipchin     when they were      
sitting by the fire with the cat4       
,yes1 said ,mrs4 ,pipchin4      ,why8   
asked ,paul4      ,why8 returned the    
disconcerted old lady4 ,how can you ask 
such     things1 sir8 ,why are you fond 
of your sister ,florence8      ,because 

she's very good1 said ,paul4 ,there's   
nobody like ,florence4        ,well6    
retorted ,mrs4 ,pipchin shortly1 and    
there's nobody like me1 ,i     suppose4 
,ain't there really1 though8 asked      
,paul1 leaning forward in his     chair1
 and looking at her very hard4      ,no1
 said the old lady4      ,i am glad of  
that1 observed ,paul1 rubbing his hands 
thoughtfully4     ,that's a very good   
thing4  ,to which every one would say   
,amen1 if they could believe ,mrs4      
,pipchin's statement to be actually     
true4  ,mrs4 ,pipchin combined in her   
system many of the evils of child       
training4  ,she was not good-looking1   
and those who train children should be  
decidedly good-looking4 ,they need not  
be handsome2 they ought to be winsome4  
,her mottled face like bad marble1 and  
hard grey eye meant danger to childhood4
  ,she was gloomy in appearance1 in     
manner1 and in dress1 all               
disqualifications for any position      
connected with child development4  ,she 

was a bitter old lady1 and children     
should be surrounded with an atmosphere 
of sweetness and joyousness4  ,her one  
diabolical rule was to give children    
everything they didn't like and nothing 
they did like4 ,this rule is the logical
 limit of the doctrine of child         
depravity4  ,she was generally spoken of
 as a great manager1 simply because she 
compelled children to do her bidding by 
fear of punishment in the dungeon1 or of
 being sent to bed1 or robbed of their  
meals1 or by some other mean form of    
contemptible coercion4 ,these processes 
were praised as excellent till ,dickens 
destroyed their respectability4 ,his    
title child-queller is admirable1 and   
full of philosophy4 ,many a man has been
 able to form a truer conception        
regarding child freedom through the     
influence of the word child-queller4    
,every teacher should ask himself every 
day1 ,am ,i a child-queller8 ,it will be
 a blessed thing for the children when  
there shall be no more ,pipchinny       

teachers4  ,the environment of the      
ogress was not attractive4 ,the gardens 
grew only marigolds1 snails were on the 
doors1 and bad odours in the house4 ,in 
the winter time the air couldn't be got 
out of the castle1 and in the summer    
time it couldn't be got in4 ,dickens    
knew that the environment of children   
has a direct influence on their         
characters1 and that ventilation is     
essential to good health4 ,these lessons
 were needed fifty years ago4  ,mrs4    
,pipchin made children dishonest by     
putting on collars for parade4  ,the    
farinaceous and vegetable diet1 the     
regaled with rice criticisms show that  
,dickens anticipated by half a century  
the present interest in the study of    
nutrition as one of the most important  
educational subjects4  ,the combination 
of coercion and religion is ridiculed in
 the theological constraint of ,mrs4    
,pipchin1 when she told little ,miss    
,pankey that nobody who sniffed before  
visitors ever went to heaven4  ,the     

outrageous selfishness of adulthood was 
exposed by the description of ,mrs4     
,pipchin's anger at the play of the     
children in the back room when it was   
raining and they could not go out4  ,the
 injustice of the child-queller was     
shown because she filliped ,master      
,bitherstone on the nose for nodding in 
the evening1 whenever she woke up from  
her own nodding4  ,the sacrilege of     
having prayers between two processes of 
cruelty is worthy of note4 ,religion    
should never be associated in the mind  
of a child with injustice1 cruelty1 or  
any meanness4  ,the dreadful practice of
 driving timid children to sleep in the 
dark was another of ,mrs4 ,pipchin's    
accomplishments4 ,the retiring hour of  
childhood should be made the happiest   
and most nerve soothing of the day4     
,wise and sympathetic adulthood1        
especially motherhood1 can then reach   
the central nature of the child most    
successfully4  ,the formal reading of a 
meaningless selection from the ,bible by

 ,bitherstone tended to prevent the     
development of a true interest in that  
most interesting of all books4  ,the    
,early ,readings1 with the bad boy in   
the story being finished off generally  
by a lion or a bear1 were a fit         
accompaniment to a system in which no   
child's mind was encouraged to expand   
like a flower naturally1 but to be      
opened by force like an oyster4         
,dickens began with ,mrs4 ,pipchin his  
revelation of the great blunder of      
checking the questions of children4     
,remember the story of the little boy   
that was gored to death by a mad bull   
for asking questions1 she said to ,paul4
 ,the same evil is pointed out in the   
training of ,pip in ,great              
,expectations4  ,another common error is
 revealed by ,mrs4 ,pipchin1 when she   
called ,paul a little infidel1 because  
he did not accept her statement about   
the mad bull1 although she knew it to be
 false herself4 ,even when children     
doubt the truth they should not be      

called infidels1 unless1 indeed1 it is  
desired to make them definitely and     
consciously sceptical4  ,the ,puritan   
,sabbath was a part of ,mrs4 ,pipchin's 
quelling system too4  ,it was little    
wonder1 therefore1 that the wild        
children went home tame enough after a  
few months in her awful institution4    
,few men who have ever lived have       
studied the child and his training so   
thoroughly as to be able to condense    
into such brief space so many of the    
evils of bad training4  ,mrs4 ,pipchin  
and ,mr4 ,squeers have been made to do  
good work for childhood4  ,biler was so 
badly treated at the grinders' school   
that he played hookey1 but that was not 
the worst feature of his education4     
,they did not feel any responsibility   
for character development in the school 
of the ,charitable ,grinders4      ,but 
they never taught honour at the         
grinders' school1 where the system      
that prevailed was particularly strong  
in the engendering of     hypocrisy2    

insomuch that many of the friends and   
masters of past     grinders said1 if   
this were what came of education for the
 common     people1 let us have none4   
,some more rational said1 ,let us have a
     better one2 but the governing      
powers of the grinders' company were    
always ready for them1 by picking out a 
few boys who had turned out     well in 
spite of the system1 and roundly        
asserting that they could     have only 
turned out well because of it4 ,which   
settled the business of     those       
objectors out of hand1 and established  
the glory of the     grinders'          
institution4  ,in ,david ,copperfield1  
,uriah ,heep1 utterly detestable in     
character1 is the natural product of the
 system of training under which both he 
and his father were brought up4 ,uriah  
said3      ,father and me was both      
brought up at a foundation school for   
boys2     and mother1 she was likewise  
brought up at a public1 sort of         
charitable1 establishment4 ,they taught 

us all a deal of umbleness--not     much
 else that ,i know of--from morning to  
night4 ,we was to be umble to     this  
person1 and umble to that2 and to pull  
off our caps here1 and to     make bows 
there2 and always to know our place1 and
 abase ourselves     before our betters4
 ,and we had such a lot of betters6     
,father got the     monitor medal by    
being umble4 ,so did ,i4 ,father got    
made a sexton by     being umble4 ,he   
had the character1 among the            
gentlefolks1 of being     such a        
well-behaved man that they were         
determined to bring him on4 ',be        
umble1 ,uriah1' says father1 'and you'll
 get on4 ,it was what was always        
being dinned into you and me at school2 
it's what goes down best4 ,be           
umble1' says father1 'and you'll do6'   
,and really it ain't done bad6      ,it 
was the first time it had ever occurred 
to me that this detestable     cant of  
false humility might have originated out
 of the ,heep family4 ,i     had seen   

the harvest1 but had never thought of   
the seed4 ,i had never     doubted his  
meanness1 his craft and malice2 but ,i  
fully comprehended     now1 for the     
first time1 what a base1 unrelenting1   
and revengeful     spirit must have been
 engendered by this early1 and this     
long1     suppression4  ,david himself  
tells how he suffered after the death of
 his mother from the cold neglect of    
,mr4 ,murdstone and ,jane ,murdstone4   
,no child can be so destitute as the    
child who is neglected through dislike4 
,and now ,i fell into a state of        
neglect1 which ,i can not look back upon
     without compassion4 ,i fell at once
 into a solitary condition--apart       
from all friendly notice1 apart from the
 society of all other boys of     my own
 age1 apart from all companionship but  
my own spiritless     thoughts--which   
seems to cast its gloom upon this paper 
as ,i write4      ,what would ,i have   
given to have been sent to the hardest  
school that     ever was kept6 to have  

been taught something1 anyhow1 anywhere6
 ,no     such hope dawned upon me4 ,they
 disliked me1 and they sullenly1        
sternly1 steadily overlooked me4 ,i     
think ,mr4 ,murdstone's means were      
straitened at about this time2 but it is
 little to the purpose4 ,he     could   
not bear me2 and in putting me from him 
he tried1 as ,i believe1     to put away
 the notion that ,i had any claim upon  
him--and succeeded4      ,i was not     
actively ill used4 ,i was not beaten or 
starved2 but the     wrong that was done
 to me had no intervals of relenting1   
and was done     in a systematic1       
passionless manner4 ,day after day1 week
 after week1     month after month1 ,i  
was coldly neglected4 ,i wonder         
sometimes1 when ,i     think of it1 what
 they would have done if ,i had been    
taken with an     illness--whether ,i   
should have lain down in my lonely room 
and     languished through it in my     
usual solitary way1 or whether anybody  
would have helped me out4  ,but the     

greatest lesson in wrong training given 
in ,david ,copperfield is the character 
development of ,steerforth4 ,he was     
ruined by the misdirected love of his   
mother1 and his life is a fine          
psychological study4  ,he was a boy of  
unusually good ability and great        
attractiveness4 ,he possessed by nature 
every element of power and grace        
required to make him a strong1 true1 and
 very successful man2 but the love of   
his mother degenerated to pride and     
admiration1 indulgence was substituted  
for guidance1 and the strong woman      
became weak at the vital point of       
training her boy4 ,she allowed him to   
become selfish and vain by yielding to  
his caprices4 ,she thought she was      
making his character strong by allowing 
no restraint to be put upon it4 ,she    
failed to distinguish between license   
and liberty4 ,she had conceived the     
ideal of the need of freedom1 but she   
knew naught of the true harmony between 
control and spontaneity4 ,she allowed   

the spontaneity1 and gloried in his     
resistance to control4 ,she was blind to
 the balancing element in the perfect   
law of liberty4 ,she made her boy a     
powerful engine without a governor      
valve4 ,so his selfhood became          
selfishness1 and his character was      
wrecked4 ,among other immoral opinions  
that he gained from his mother's        
training was the idea that he belonged  
to a select class superior to common    
humanity4 ,how ,dickens hated this      
thought6 ,rosa ,dartle asked ,steerforth
 about      ,that sort of people--are   
they really animals and clods1 and      
beings of     another order8 ,i want to 
know so much4      ,why1 there's a      
pretty wide separation between them and 
us1 said     ,steerforth1 with          
indifference4 ,they are not to be       
expected to be as     sensitive as we   
are4 ,their delicacy is not to be       
shocked or hurt very     easily4 ,they  
are wonderfully virtuous1 ,i dare       
say--some people contend     for that1  

at least1 and ,i am sure ,i don't want  
to contradict them2 but     they have   
not very fine natures1 and they may be  
thankful that1 like     their coarse1   
rough skins1 they are not easily        
wounded4  ,he was trained to despise    
work1 which is a good start toward the  
utter loss of character4 ,a boy who     
despises his fellow-beings whom he      
assumes to rank below him1 and who also 
despises work1 instead of recognising   
the duty of every man to be a producer  
or a distributor of power1 may easily   
fall into moral degeneracy4      ,help  
yourself1 ,copperfield6 said            
,steerforth4 ,we'll drink the           
daisies of the field1 in compliment to  
you2 and the lilies of the     valley   
that toil not1 neither do they spin1 in 
compliment to me--the     more shame for
 me6  ,his character lacked seriousness4
 ,he had the fatal levity that led him  
to discuss the most sacred subjects in a
 flippant manner4  ,his mother knew that
 ,creakle's school was not a proper     

place for him1 but she wished to make   
him conscious of his superiority even   
over his teacher1 and she knew that     
,creakle1 tyrannical bully though he    
was1 would yield to ,steerforth1 because
 his mother was wealthy4      ,it was   
not a fit school generally for my son1  
said she2 far from     it2 but there    
were particular circumstances to be     
considered at the     time1 of more     
importance even than that selection4 ,my
 son's high     spirit made it desirable
 that he should be placed with some man 
who     felt its superiority1 and would 
be content to bow himself before it2    
and we found such a man there4  ,what a 
perversion of the ideal of freedom in   
the development of character1 to suppose
 that it could only reach perfection by 
a consciousness of superiority2 by      
having some one who should control him  
bow down before him6 ,no man in the     
world is truly free who has a desire to 
dominate some one else--another man1 a  
woman1 or a child4 ,yet ,mrs4           

,steerforth sacrificed her son's        
education in order that his manly spirit
 might be cultivated by the             
subordination of the man who should have
 governed him4 ,she showed better       
judgment in deciding that a coercive    
tyrant like ,creakle would make a       
subservient sycophant4      ,my son's   
great capacity was tempted on there by a
 feeling of     voluntary emulation and 
conscious pride1 the fond lady went on  
to     say4 ,he would have risen against
 all constraint2 but he found himself   
the monarch of the place1 and he        
haughtily determined to be worthy of    
his station4 ,it was like himself4  ,as 
,steerforth began consciously to feel   
his better nature surrendering to his   
sensuality1 he experienced the pangs    
that all strong natures feel at the loss
 of moral power1 and one time when he   
and ,david were visiting ,mr4 ,peggotty 
at ,yarmouth he seemed to be moody and  
disposed to sadness4 ,he said suddenly  
to ,david when they were alone one day3 

,david1 ,i wish to ,god ,i had had a    
judicious father these last twenty      
years6      ,my dear ,steerforth1 what  
is the matter8      ,i wish with all my 
soul ,i had been better guided6 he      
exclaimed4 ,i     wish with all my soul 
,i could guide myself better6           
,there was a passionate dejection in his
 manner that quite amazed me4     ,he   
was more unlike himself than ,i could   
have supposed possible4      ,it would  
be better to be this poor ,peggotty1 or 
his lout of a     nephew1 he said1      
getting up and leaning moodily against  
the chimney     piece1 with his face    
toward the fire1 than to be myself1     
twenty     times richer and twenty times
 wiser and be the torment to myself that
     ,i have been1 in this ,devil's bark
 of a boat1 within the last half        
hour6  ,he had already begun to poison  
the fountains of little ,emily's purity4
  ,when ,steerforth1 after running away 
with ,emily and deserting her1 was      
drowned and brought home1 ,rosa ,dartle1

 who had loved him1 charged his mother  
with his ruin4 ,she had a scar on her   
lip1 made by a hammer thrown by         
,steerforth when he was a boy4      ,do 
you remember when he did this8 she      
proceeded4 ,do you remember     when in 
his inheritance of your nature1 and in  
your pampering of his     pride and     
passion1 he did this1 and disfigured me 
for life8 ,look at     me1 marked until 
,i die with his high displeasure1 and   
moan and groan     for what you made    
him6      ,miss ,dartle1 ,i entreated   
her1 for ,heaven's sake----      ,i will
 speak1 she said1 turning on me with her
 lightning eyes4 ,be     silent you6    
,look at me1 ,i say1 proud mother of a  
proud false son6 ,moan     for your     
nurture of him1 moan for your corruption
 of him1 moan for     your loss of him1 
moan for mine6      ,she clinched her   
hand1 and trembled through her spare1   
worn figure1 as     if her passion were 
killing her by inches4      ,,you resent
 his self-will6 she exclaimed4 ,,you    

injured by his haughty     temper6      
,,you1 who opposed to both1 when your   
hair was gray1 the     qualities which  
made both when you gave him birth6      
,,you1 who from his     cradle reared   
him to be what he was1 and stunted what 
he should have     been6 ,are you       
rewarded1 now1 for your years of        
trouble8      ,miss ,dartle1 said ,i1 if
 you can be so obdurate as not to feel  
for     this afflicted mother----       
,who feels for me8 she sharply retorted4
 ,she has sown this4 ,let her     moan  
for the harvest that she reaps to-day6  
,to show that the seed for the harvest  
had been sown by his mother was         
,dickens's aim in the delineation of his
 character4 ,yet she loved him as a part
 of her own life4 ,she said to ,mr4     
,peggotty1 when he came to plead with   
her for ,emily3      ,my son1 who has   
been the object of my life1 to whom its 
every thought     has been devoted1 whom
 ,i have gratified from a child in every
 wish1     from whom ,i have had no     

separate existence since his birth4     
,there was a double sadness in ,david's 
soliloquy about ,steerforth1 who had    
been his friend3      ,in the keen      
distress of the discovery of his        
unworthiness1 ,i thought     more of all
 that was brilliant in him1 ,i softened 
more toward all that     was good in    
him1 ,i did more justice to the         
qualities that might have     made him a
 man of a noble nature and a great name1
 than ever ,i had     done in the height
 of my devotion to him4  ,in ,bleak     
,house a great deal of attention is paid
 to child training4  ,esther's sadness  
because of her neglected birthday       
touches a tender chord4      ,it was my 
birthday4 ,there were holidays at school
 on other birthdays2     none on mine4  
,there were rejoicings at home on other 
birthdays1 as ,i     knew from what ,i  
heard the girls relate to one another2  
there were     none on mine4 ,my        
birthday was the most melancholy day at 
home in the     whole year4  ,there is  

more than mere sentiment in birthday    
celebrations both at home and in school4
 ,it develops a pleasant consciousness  
of individuality and community--two of  
the greatest educational ideals4  ,the  
cruelty of telling children of any      
supposed blight of heredity or of any   
other shadow that arrogant              
conventionality dares to throw over     
them1 is criticised in the hard1 gloomy 
way in which ,esther's godmother        
referred to her mother4  ,even worse    
than this in the refinement of its      
cruelty was her parting injunction4 ,it 
is a shameful thing to make a child     
believe that she is different from other
 children in any sense of either badness
 or goodness4      ,submission1         
self-denial1 diligent work1 are the     
preparations for a     life begun with  
such a shadow on it4 ,you are different 
from other     children1 ,esther1       
because you were not born1 like them1 in
 common     sinfulness and wrath4 ,you  
are set apart4      ,i went up to my    

room and crept to bed1 and laid my      
doll's cheek     against mine wet with  
tears1 and holding that solitary friend 
upon my     bosom cried myself to sleep4
 ,imperfect as my understanding of my   
sorrow was1 ,i knew that ,i had brought 
no joy1 at any time1 to     anybody's   
heart1 and that ,i was to no one upon   
earth what ,dolly was to     me4        
,dickens evidently meant to reveal more 
than her godmother's cruelty in her     
closing moralizings4 ,she made the      
mistake of using self-denial and        
diligent work as curses instead of      
blessings4 ,they were for the time none 
the less curses to the child1 however4  
,the gross negligence of parents in     
regard to the sacredness of the         
children's retiring hour is exposed in  
the management of the ,jellyby children4
 ,indeed1 ,mrs4 ,jellyby may be regarded
 as several volumes of treatises on how 
not to train children4 ,caddy expressed 
her views of the training they received 
by saying3 ,i wish ,i was dead4 ,i wish 

we were all dead4 ,it would be a great  
deal better for us4 ,she wisely added3  
,oh1 don't talk of duty as a child6     
where's ma's duty as a parent8 ,esther  
said wisely3      ,it struck me that if 
,mrs4 ,jellyby had discharged her own   
natural     duties and obligations      
before she swept the horizon with a     
telescope     in search of others1 she  
would have taken the best precautions   
against     becoming absurd2 but ,i need
 scarcely observe that ,i kept this to  
myself4  ,esther describes the process  
of putting the children to bed one      
evening she was visiting at the ,jellyby
 home3      ,mrs4 ,jellyby stopped for a
 moment her conversation with ,mr4      
,quale1 on     the ,brotherhood of      
,humanity1 long enough to order the     
children to bed4      ,as ,peepy cried  
for me to take him to bed1 ,i carried   
him upstairs1     where the young woman 
with the flannel bandage charged into   
the midst     of the little family like 
a dragon1 and overturned them into      

cribs4      ,peepy was the unfortunate  
child who had fallen downstairs1 who now
     interrupted the correspondence by  
presenting himself with a slip of       
plaster on his forehead1 to exhibit his 
wounded knees1 in which ,ada     and ,i 
did not know which to pity most1 the    
bruises or the dirt4 ,mrs4     ,jellyby 
merely added1 with the serene composure 
with which she said     everything1 ,go 
along1 you naughty ,peepy6 and fixed her
 fine eyes on     ,africa again4  ,here 
,mrs4 ,jellyby was guilty of two wrongs1
 one of commission1 the other of        
omission4 ,she did a positive wrong in  
unjustly calling the child naughty when 
he was merely unfortunate4 ,even if     
children are so badly guided that they  
do wrong1 it is a serious mistake to    
make them feel consciously bad by       
calling them unpleasant names4 ,it is   
always wrong to define in the child's   
consciousness a passing wave of evil4   
,mrs4 ,jellyby's sin of omission was her
 neglect of the opportunity of          

sympathizing with the suffering boy1 and
 of training him to bear suffering      
bravely by the suggestion that he was a 
brave little soldier home from the war4 
,mr4 ,jarndyce1 in speaking of ,harold  
,skimpole's children1 said1 when        
,richard ,carstone asked if he had any  
children3      ,yes1 ,rick6 ,half a     
dozen4 ,more6 ,nearer a dozen1 ,i should
 think4 ,but he     has never looked    
after them4 ,how could he8 ,he wanted   
somebody to look     after him4 ,he is a
 child1 you know6 said ,mr4 ,jarndyce4  
,and have the children looked after     
themselves at all1 sir8 inquired        
,richard4      ,why1 just as you may    
suppose1 said ,mr4 ,jarndyce1 his       
countenance     suddenly falling4 ,it is
 said that the children of the very poor
 are     not brought up1 but dragged up4
 ,harold ,skimpole's children have      
tumbled up somehow or other----  ,again 
,dickens was impressing the             
responsibility of parents for the care  
and proper training of their children4  

,mr4 ,jarndyce accounted for the utterly
 unpractical nature of ,mr4 ,skimpole by
 saying3      ,why1 he is all sentiment1
 and--and susceptibility1 and--and      
sensibility--and--and imagination4 ,and 
these qualities are not     regulated in
 him1 somehow4 ,i suppose the people who
 admired him for     them in his youth  
attached too much importance to them1   
and too little     to any training that 
would have balanced and adjusted them2  
and so he     became what he is4  ,mrs4 
,pardiggle was given as a type of the   
philanthropic woman who does not neglect
 her children1 but whose training is    
worse--much worse than ,mrs4 ,jellyby's 
neglect4 ,the ,jellyby children had as  
much motherly sympathy as the           
,pardiggles1 and they had freedom4      
,there is always this advantage in      
neglect4 ,louisa ,gradgrind gave        
utterance to a philosophical principle  
when she said to her father3 ,oh6 if you
 had only neglected me1 what a much     
better and much happier creature ,i     

should have been4 ,dickens did not teach
 that neglect is good training1 but he  
did teach that it is a lighter curse    
than the ,gradgrind or ,pardiggle       
training4  ,the ,jellyby children had a 
slight chance to turn out moderately    
well1 but the ,pardiggle children were  
certain to be morose1 hypocritical1 and 
vicious4 ,they were certain to hate all 
forms of ,christian philanthropy4 ,mrs4 
,pardiggle's intentions were undoubtedly
 good1 but she destroyed the character  
of her children1 nevertheless4          
,these1 young ladies1 said ,mrs4        
,pardiggle with great volubility1       
after the first salutations1 are my five
 boys4 ,you may have seen     their     
names in a printed subscription list    
7perhaps more than one7 in     the      
possession of our esteemed friend ,mr4  
,jarndyce4 ,egbert1 my eldest           
7twelve71 is the boy who sent out his   
pocket money1 to the amount of     five 
and threepence to the ,tockahoopo       
,indians4 ,oswald1 my second 7ten       

and a half71 is the child who           
contributed two and ninepence to the    
,great ,national ,smithers ,testimonial4
 ,francis1 my third 7nine71 one and     
sixpence halfpenny2 ,felix1 my fourth   
7seven71 eightpence to the              
,superannuated ,widows2 ,alfred1 my     
youngest 7five71 has voluntarily        
enrolled himself in the ,infant ,bonds  
of ,joy1 and is pledged never           
through life to use tobacco in any form4
      ,we had never seen such           
dissatisfied children4 ,it was not      
merely that     they were weazened and  
shrivelled--though they were certainly  
that     too--but they looked absolutely
 ferocious with discontent4 ,at the     
mention of the ,tockahoopo ,indians ,i  
could really have supposed ,egbert      
to be one of the most baleful members of
 that tribe1 he gave me such a          
savage frown4 ,the face of each child as
 the amount of his contribution     was 
mentioned darkened in a peculiarly      
vindictive manner1 but his was     by   

far the worst4 ,i must except1 however1 
the little recruit into the     ,infant 
,bonds of ,joy1 who was stolidly and    
evenly miserable4      ,you have been   
visiting1 ,i understand1 said ,mrs4     
,pardiggle1 at ,mrs4     ,jellyby's8    
,we said yes1 we had passed one night   
there4      ,mrs4 ,jellyby is a         
benefactor to society1 and deserves a   
helping hand4     ,my boys have         
contributed to the ,african             
project--,egbert1 one and six1     being
 the entire allowance of nine weeks2    
,oswald1 one and a penny     halfpenny1 
being the same2 the rest1 according to  
their little means4     ,nevertheless1  
,i do not go with ,mrs4 ,jellyby in all 
things4 ,i do not go     with ,mrs4     
,jellyby in her treatment of her young  
family4 ,it has been     noticed4 ,it   
has been observed that her young family 
are excluded from     participation in  
the objects to which she is devoted4    
,she may be     right1 she may be wrong2
 but1 right or wrong1 this is not my    

course     with my young family4 ,i take
 them everywhere4      ,i was afterward 
convinced 7and so was ,ada7 that from   
the     ill-conditioned eldest child    
these words extorted a sharp yell4 ,he  
turned it off into a yawn1 but it began 
as a yell4      ,they attend matins with
 me 7very prettily done7 at half past   
six     o'clock in the morning all the  
year round1 including1 of course1 the   
depth of winter1 said ,mrs4 ,pardiggle  
rapidly1 and they are with me     during
 the revolving duties of the day4 ,i am 
a school lady1 ,i am a     visiting     
lady1 ,i am a reading lady1 ,i am a     
distributing lady2 ,i am on     the     
local linen box committee1 and many     
general committees2 and my              
canvassing alone is very                
extensive--perhaps no one's more so4    
,but they     are my companions         
everywhere2 and by these means they     
acquire that     knowledge of the poor1 
and that capacity of doing charitable   
business     in general--in short1 that 

taste for the sort of thing--which will 
render them in after life a service to  
their neighbours1 and a     satisfaction
 to themselves4 ,my young family are not
 frivolous2 they     expend the entire  
amount of their allowance in            
subscriptions1 under my     direction2  
and they have attended as many public   
meetings1 and     listened to as many   
lectures1 orations1 and discussions as  
generally     fall to the lot of few    
grown people4 ,alfred 7five71 who1 as ,i
     mentioned1 has of his own election 
joined the ,infant ,bonds of ,joy1 was  
one of the very few children who        
manifested consciousness on one         
occasion1 after a fervid address of two 
hours from the chairman of     the      
evening4      ,alfred glowered at us as 
if he never could1 or would1 forgive the
     injury of that night4      ,you may
 have observed1 ,miss ,summerson1 said  
,mrs4 ,pardiggle1 in some     of the    
lists to which ,i have referred1 in the 
possession of our     esteemed friend   

,mr4 ,jarndyce1 that the names of my    
young family are     concluded with the 
name of ,o4 ,a4 ,pardiggle1 ,f4 ,r4 ,s41
 one pound4 ,that     is their father4  
,we usually observe the same routine4 ,i
 put down my     mite first2 then my    
young family enrol their contributions1 
according     to their ages and their   
little means2 and then ,mr4 ,pardiggle  
brings up     the rear4 ,mr4 ,pardiggle 
is happy to throw in his limited        
donation1     under my direction2 and   
thus things are made1 not only pleasant 
to     ourselves1 but1 we trust1        
improving to others4  ,mrs4 ,pardiggle  
invited ,esther and ,ada to go out with 
her to visit a wicked brickmaker in the 
neighbourhood4 ,ada walked ahead with   
,mrs4 ,pardiggle and ,esther followed   
with the five children4 ,she had an     
interesting experience4      ,i am very 
fond of being confided in by children1  
and am happy in being     usually       
favoured in that respect1 but on this   
occasion it gave me     great           

uneasiness4 ,as soon as we were out of  
doors1 ,egbert1 with the     manner of a
 little footpad1 demanded a shilling of 
me1 on the ground     that his pocket   
money was boned from him4 ,on my        
pointing out the     great impropriety  
of the word1 especially in connection   
with his     parent 7for he added       
sulkily ,by her671 he pinched me and    
said1 ,oh1     then6 ,now6 ,who are you8
 ,you wouldn't like it1 ,i think6 ,what 
does she     make a sham for1 and       
pretend to give me money1 and take it   
away again8     ,why do you call it my  
allowance1 and never let me spend it8   
,these     exasperating questions so    
inflamed his mind1 and the minds of     
,oswald     and ,francis1 that they all 
pinched me at once1 and in a dreadfully 
expert way2 screwing up such little     
pieces of my arms that ,i could         
hardly forbear crying out4 ,felix at the
 same time stamped upon my     toes4    
,and the ,bond of ,joy1 who1 on account 
of always having the whole     of his   

little income anticipated1 stood1 in    
fact1 pledged to abstain     from cakes 
as well as tobacco1 so swelled with     
grief and rage when we     passed a     
pastry-cook shop1 that he terrified me  
by becoming purple4 ,i     never        
underwent so much1 both in body and     
mind1 in the course of a     walk with  
young people1 as from these unnaturally 
constrained     children1 when they paid
 me the compliment of being natural4    
,in the brickmaker's hovel they heard   
something of how the very poor brought  
up children1 or failed to bring them up1
 in ,dickens's time4 ,the brickmaker was
 lying at full length on the floor1     
smoking his pipe4 ,he gave them no      
welcome4      ,i wants a end of these   
liberties took with my place4 ,i wants a
 end of     being drawed like a badger4 
,now you are a-going to poll-pry and    
question according to custom--,i know   
what you're a-going to be up to4        
,well6 ,you haven't got no occasion to  
be up to it4 ,i'll save you the         

trouble4 ,is my daughter a-washin'8     
,yes1 she is a-washin'4 ,look at the    
water4 ,smell it6 ,that's wot we drinks4
 ,how do you like it1 and what do       
you think of gin1 instead8 ,an't my     
place dirty8 ,yes1 it is dirty--it's    
nat'rally dirty1 and it's nat'rally     
onwholesome2 and we've had five         
dirty and onwholesome children1 as is   
all dead infants1 and so much     the   
better for them1 and for us besides4    
,the utter carelessness of some society 
gentlemen in regard to the education of 
their children is referred to in the    
description ,caddy ,jellyby gave of her 
lover1 the son of the great ,turveydrop4
      ,caddy told me that her lover's   
education had been so neglected that it 
was not always easy to read his notes4  
,she said if he were not so     anxious 
about his spelling1 and took less pains 
to make it clear1 he     would do       
better2 but he put so many unnecessary  
letters into short     words that they  
sometimes quite lost their ,english     

appearance4 ,he     does it with the    
best intention1 observed ,caddy1 but it 
hasn't the     effect he means1 poor    
fellow6 ,caddy then went on to reason   
how could     he be expected to be a    
scholar when he had passed his whole    
life in     the dancing school1 and had 
done nothing but teach and fag1 fag and 
teach1 morning1 noon1 and night6 ,and   
what did it matter8 ,she could     write
 letters enough for both1 as she knew to
 her cost1 and it was far     better for
 him to be amiable than learned4        
,besides1 it's not as if ,i     was an  
accomplished girl1 who had any right to 
give herself airs1     said ,caddy4 ,i  
know little enough1 ,i am sure1 thanks  
to ma6  ,the products of the fashionable
 education of ,dickens's time 7there is 
not so much of it now1 thanks largely to
 ,dickens7 were shown in the cousins of 
,sir ,leicester ,dedlock4      ,the rest
 of the cousins are ladies and gentlemen
 of various ages and     capacities2 the
 major part1 amiable and sensible1 and  

likely to have     done well enough in  
life if they could have overcome their  
cousinship2     as it is1 they are      
almost all a little worsted by it1 and  
lounge in     purposeless and listless  
paths1 and seem to be quite as much at a
 loss     how to dispose of themselves  
as anybody else can be how to dispose of
     them4  ,in ,little ,dorrit ,mrs4   
,general is used as a type of two       
varieties of false training4 ,her pupils
 were never to be allowed to know that  
there was anything vulgar or wrong in   
the world4 ,she believed the good old   
theory1 that adulthood had two duties in
 developing purity of character1 one to 
prevent children knowing that there was 
any evil1 the other to chain them back  
or beat them back from evil1 if they    
accidentally found it and wished to     
investigate it4 ,she never thought of   
training a child to do its part in      
reducing the evil around him4 ,seclusion
 and exclusion took the place of        
community in her perverted philosophy4  

,she believed1 too1 in educating the    
surface4 ,she did not work from within  
intellectually or spiritually4 ,she     
varnished the surface that it might     
receive the proper society polish1      
therefore neither heart nor head        
required much attention4 ,according to  
her theory1 young ladies should never be
 so unladylike as to have great purposes
 or great ideas4 ,unfortunately some of 
her descendants are still living4       
,fanny1 observed ,mrs4 ,general1 at     
present forms too many opinions4        
,perfect breeding forms none1 and is    
never demonstrative4      ,i have       
conversed with ,amy several times since 
we have been residing     here on the   
general subject of the formation of a   
demeanour4 ,she has     expressed       
herself to me as wondering exceedingly  
at ,venice4 ,i have     mentioned to her
 that it is better not to wonder4  ,her 
father sent for ,amy to reprove her for 
her lack of what ,mrs4 ,general regarded
 as true culture1 and ,amy said3      ,i

 think1 father1 ,i require a little     
time4      ,papa is a preferable mode of
 address1 observed ,mrs4 ,general4      
,father     is rather vulgar1 my dear4  
,the word papa1 besides1 gives a pretty 
form     to the lips4 ,papa1 potatoes1  
poultry1 prunes1 and prism are all very 
good words for the lips2 especially     
prunes and prism4 ,you will find it     
serviceable1 in the formation of a      
demeanour1 if you sometimes say to      
yourself in company--on entering a room1
 for instance--papa1 potatoes1          
poultry1 prunes and prism1 prunes and   
prism4      ,if ,miss ,amy ,dorrit will 
direct her own attention to1 and will   
accept     of my poor assistance in1 the
 formation of a surface1 ,mr4 ,dorrit   
will     have no further cause of       
anxiety4 ,may ,i take this opportunity  
of     remarking1 as an instance in     
point1 that it is scarcely delicate to  
look at vagrants with the attention     
which ,i have seen bestowed upon        
them by a very dear young friend of     

mine8 ,they should not be looked     at4
 ,nothing disagreeable should ever be   
looked at4 ,apart from such a     habit 
standing in the way of that graceful    
equanimity of surface which     is so   
expressive of good breeding1 it hardly  
seems compatible with     refinement of 
mind4 ,a truly refined mind will seem to
 be ignorant of     the existence of    
anything that is not perfectly proper1  
placid1 and     pleasant4  ,great       
,expectations has numerous illustrations
 of bad training4 ,mrs4 ,gargery had    
many of the worst characteristics of    
disrespectful and coercive adulthood4   
,she abused ,pip for asking questions1  
scolded him1 thimbled him1 and sent him 
to bed in the dark4 ,she told him he was
 on the way to commit murder and a great
 variety of crimes1 because criminals   
always begin by asking questions4 ,she  
kept him in a state of constant terror4 
,she tried in every possible way to     
lower his opinion of himself1 which is a
 crime against childhood4 ,one of the   

worst features of the old education was 
its teaching of a spurious humility1 a  
depreciation of selfhood4 ,one of the   
greatest weaknesses of humanity is the  
general lack of true faith of men and   
women in their own powers4 ,he was told 
that he was naterally wicious1 and made 
the butt of all the observations        
relating to boys who possessed any vices
 whatever4  ,dickens revealed all these 
characteristics to condemn them4  ,pip  
discussed a very grave question for     
students of children when he was        
accounting for the fact that he         
deliberately misstated facts so         
systematically in answering the         
questions of his sister and ,mr4        
,pumblechook1 in regard to ,miss        
,havisham and the peculiarities of her  
mysterious home4      ,when ,i reached  
home my sister was very curious to know 
all about ,miss     ,havisham's1 and    
asked a number of questions4 ,and ,i    
soon found myself     getting heavily   
bumped from behind in the nape of the   

neck and the     small of the back1 and 
having my face ignominiously shoved     
against the     kitchen wall1 because ,i
 did not answer those questions at      
sufficient     length4      ,if a dread 
of not being understood be hidden in the
 breasts of other     young people to   
anything like the extent to which it    
used to be hidden     in mine--which ,i 
consider probable1 as ,i have no        
particular reason to     suspect myself 
of having been a monstrosity--it is the 
key to many     reservations4 ,i felt   
convinced that if ,i described ,miss    
,havisham's as     my eyes had seen it  
,i should not be understood4            
,whitewash on the forehead hardens the  
brain into a state of obstinacy         
perhaps4 ,anyhow1 with whitewash from   
the wall on my forehead1 my             
obstinacy was adamantine4  ,two thoughts
 are worthy of note in this part of     
,pip's training3 abuse1 especially of   
the thumping1 bumping1 shaking variety1 
makes a child obstinate2 and many of    

childhood's difficulties arise from not 
being understood1 or the fear of being  
misunderstood4  ,pip resented1 as all   
children do1 more than they can show1   
the unpleasant habit of taking          
patronizing liberties with them4        
,and here ,i may remark that when ,mr4  
,wopsle referred to me1 he              
considered it a necessary part of such  
reference to rumple my hair and     poke
 it into my eyes4 ,i can not conceive   
why everybody of his standing     who   
visited at our house should always have 
put me through the same     inflammatory
 process under similar circumstances4   
,yet ,i do not call to     mind that ,i 
was ever in my earlier youth the subject
 of remark in our     social family     
circle1 but some large-handed person    
took some such     ophthalmic steps to  
patronize me4  ,and ,mr4 ,pumblechook6  
,what could a boy do but hate him8      
,meanwhile1 councils went on in the     
kitchen at home1 fraught with     almost
 insupportable aggravation to my        

exasperated spirit4 ,that ass1          
,pumblechook1 used often to come over of
 a night for the purpose of             
discussing my prospects with my sister2 
and ,i really do believe 7to     this   
hour with less penitence than ,i ought  
to feel7 that if these     hands could  
have taken a linchpin out of his chaise 
cart1 they would     have done it4 ,the 
miserable man was a man of that confined
 stolidity     of mind that he could not
 discuss my prospects without having me 
before him--as it were1 to operate      
upon--and he would drag me up from      
my stool 7usually by the collar7 where  
,i was quiet in a corner1 and1          
putting me before the fire as if ,i were
 going to be cooked1 would     begin by 
saying1 ,now1 mum1 here is this boy6    
,here is this boy which     you brought 
up by hand4 ,hold up your head1 boy1 and
 be forever     grateful unto them which
 so did so4 ,now1 mum1 with respections 
to this     boy6 ,and then he would     
rumple my hair the wrong way--which from

 my     earliest remembrance1 as already
 hinted1 ,i have in my soul denied the  
right of any fellow-creature to do--and 
would hold me before him by     the     
sleeve3 a spectacle of imbecility only  
to be equalled by himself4  ,mrs4       
,pocket's training was given as an      
illustration of the folly of giving     
girls no practical education4      ,her 
father had directed ,mrs4 ,pocket to be 
brought up from her cradle     as one   
who1 in the nature of things1 must marry
 a title1 and who was     to be guarded 
from the acquisition of plebeian        
domestic knowledge4      ,so successful 
a watch and ward had been established   
over the young     lady by this         
judicious parent1 that she had grown up 
highly     ornamental1 but perfectly    
helpless and useless4  ,her home proved 
that she had grown up a credit to her   
training4 ,there never was a family more
 utterly without order1 management1 or  
system than ,mrs4 ,pocket's4 ,servants  
and children indulged in unending       

turmoil and conflict4 ,dickens added a  
grim humour to the picture by saying3   
,mr4 ,pocket was out lecturing2 for he  
was a most delightful lecturer on       
domestic economy1 and his treatises on  
the management of children and          
servants were considered the very best  
text-books on those themes4 ,but        
,mrs4 ,pocket was at home and was in a  
little difficulty1 on account of     the
 baby's having been accommodated with a 
needle-case to keep him     quiet during
 the unaccountable absence 7with a      
relative in the ,foot     ,guards7 of   
,millers4 ,and more needles were missing
 than it could be     regarded as quite 
wholesome for a patient of such tender  
years either     to apply externally or 
to take as a tonic4  ,mrs4 ,pocket      
continued to read her one book about the
 dignities of the titled aristocracy1   
and prescribed ,bed as a sovereign      
remedy for baby4  ,dickens believed a   
mother should find her highest joy and  
most sacred duty in training her own    

children4 ,mrs4 ,pocket was a type to be
 avoided4  ,the description of the      
dinner at ,mr4 ,pocket's1 after which   
the six children were brought in1 and   
,mrs4 ,pocket attempted to mind the     
baby1 is one of the raciest bits of     
,dickens's humour4 ,one observation in  
connection with the dinner is worth     
studying4      ,after dinner the        
children were introduced1 and ,mrs4     
,coiler made     admiring comments on   
their eyes1 noses1 and legs--a sagacious
 way of     improving their minds4  ,how
 few yet clearly understand this        
profound criticism of bad training6 ,how
 many children are still made vain and  
frivolous by having their attention     
directed especially to their physical   
attributes and their dress1 rather than 
to the things that would yield them much
 greater immediate happiness and a much 
truer basis for future development6  ,in
 his last book1 ,edwin ,drood1 ,dickens 
showed that he still hated the tyranny  
that dwarfs and distorts the souls of   

children4  ,neville ,landless described 
his own training to his tutor1 who had  
won his confidence as it had never been 
won before4      ,we lived with a       
stepfather there4 ,our mother died      
there1 when we were     little children4
 ,we have had a wretched existence4 ,she
 made him our     guardian1 and he was a
 miserly wretch who grudged us food to  
eat and     clothes to wear4      ,this 
stepfather of ours was a cruel brute as 
well as a grinding one4     ,it was well
 he died when he did1 or ,i might have  
killed him4      ,mr4 ,crisparkle       
stopped short in the moonlight and      
looked at his     hopeful pupil in      
consternation4      ,i surprise you1    
sir8 he said1 with a quick change to a  
submissive     manner4      ,you shock  
me2 unspeakably shock me4      ,the     
pupil hung his head for a little while1 
as they walked on1 and     then said3   
,you never saw him beat your sister4 ,i 
have seen him beat     mine1 more than  
once or twice1 and ,i never forgot it4  

,i have had1 sir1 from my earliest      
remembrance1 to suppress a deadly       
and bitter hatred4 ,this has made me    
secret and revengeful4 ,i have been     
always tyrannically held down by the    
strong hand4 ,this has driven me1     in
 my weakness1 to the resource of being  
false and mean4 ,i have been     stinted
 of education1 liberty1 money1 dress1   
the very necessaries of     life1 the   
commonest pleasures of childhood1 the   
commonest possessions     of youth4     
,this has caused me to be utterly       
wanting in ,i do not know     what      
emotions1 or remembrances1 or good      
instincts--,i have not even a     name  
for the thing1 you see--that you have   
had to work upon in other     young men 
to whom you have been accustomed4       
,hatred instead of love2 product1 a     
secret and revengeful character4        
,tyrannically held down by a strong     
hand2 product1 falseness and meanness4  
,stinted of education1 liberty1 money1  
dress1 the very necessaries of life1 the

 commonest pleasures of childhood1 the  
commonest possessions of youth2 product1
 a manhood utterly barren in true       
emotions1 or pleasant memories1 or good 
instincts4  ,no other writer has        
described so many phases of bad training
 as ,dickens4     ,,chapter ,,xii4      
,,good ,,training4   ,dickens wrote much
 less about good training than about bad
 training4 ,it was the part of a true   
philosopher and a profound student of   
human nature to do so4 ,pictures of     
wrong treatment of children accomplished
 a double purpose4 ,they made men hate  
the wrong1 and made them more clearly   
conscious of the right than pictures of 
the right alone could have done4        
,descriptions of ideal conditions can   
not make as deep impressions as         
descriptions of utterly bad conditions  
in the present stage of human evolution4
  ,his revelation of cruel tyranny1 of  
will breaking1 of cramming1 of dwarfing 
of individuality1 of distorting of      
imagination1 of harshness1 of lack of   

sympathy1 of evil in a hundred hideous  
forms1 made men more conscious of their 
corresponding opposites than attempts to
 reveal these opposites by direct effort
 could have done2 and in addition it    
stirred in human hearts everywhere the  
determination to remove or remedy the   
wrong4  ,little ,nell's grandfather gave
 her a good training4 ,omitting poverty 
and loneliness1 and some strange        
companionships1 she had a training      
calculated to make her the supremely    
pure and attractive child she was4 ,her 
grandfather loved her passionately2 he  
had never been unkind to her1 he had    
taught her carefully in the virtues that
 are learned by the unselfish           
performance of duty2 she had the        
opportunity for simple1 loving service1 
and she was trained to have profound    
reverence for and true faith in ,god4   
,her grandfather left her alone every   
night1 yet she was never afraid4        
,dickens describes their usual parting  
in the evening4      ,then she ran to   

the old man1 who folded her in his arms 
and bade ,god     bless her4      ,sleep
 soundly1 ,nell1 he said in a low voice1
 and angels guard thy     bed6 ,do not  
forget thy prayers1 my sweet4      ,no1 
indeed1 answered the child fervently1   
they make me feel so     happy6         
,that's well2 ,i know they do2 they     
should1 said the old man4 ,bless        
thee a hundred times6 ,early in the     
morning ,i shall be home4      ,you'll  
not ring twice1 returned the child4 ,the
 bell wakes me1 even     in the middle  
of a dream4  ,the ,toodle family is     
painted in direct contrast to the       
,dombey family in the relationship of   
parents to children4 ,mrs4 ,toodle came 
to nurse ,paul ,dombey when his mother  
died4 ,mr4 ,toodle himself came too1 and
 ,mr4 ,dombey called him in to speak to 
him4      ,he was a strong1 loose1      
round-shouldered1 shuffling1 shaggy     
fellow1 on     whom his clothes sat     
negligently2 with a good deal of hair   
and     whisker1 deepened in its natural

 tint1 perhaps1 by smoke and            
coal-dust2 hard knotty hands2 and a     
square forehead1 as coarse in     grain 
as the bark of an oak4 ,a thorough      
contrast in all respects to     ,mr4    
,dombey1 who was one of those           
close-shaved1 close-cut moneyed         
gentlemen who are glossy and crisp like 
new bank notes1 and who seem     to be  
artificially braced and tightened as by 
the stimulating action     of golden    
shower baths4      ,you have a son1 ,i  
believe8 said ,mr4 ,dombey4      ,four  
on 'em1 sir4 ,four hims and a her4 ,all 
alive6      ,why1 it's as much as you   
can afford to keep them6 said ,mr4      
,dombey4      ,i couldn't hardly afford 
but one thing in the world less1 sir4   
,what is that8      ,to lose 'em1 sir4  
,can you read8 asked ,mr4 ,dombey4      
,why1 not partick'ler1 sir4      ,write8
      ,with chalk1 sir8      ,with      
anything8      ,i could make shift to   
chalk a little bit1 ,i think1 if ,i was 
put to     it1 said ,toodle1 after some 

reflection4      ,and yet1 said ,mr4    
,dombey1 you are two or three and       
thirty1 ,i     suppose8                 
,thereabout1 ,i suppose1 sir1 answered  
,toodle1 after more reflection4         
,then why don't you learn8 asked ,mr4   
,dombey4      ,so ,i'm agoing to1 sir4  
,one of my little boys is agoing to     
learn me1     when he's old enough1 and 
been to school himself4  ,what a        
beautiful picture of the true           
relationship that should exist between a
 mother and her children is given in the
 reception to ,mrs4 ,toodle when she    
went home to visit her family6          
,why1 ,polly6 cried her sister4 ,you6   
what a turn you have given me6     who'd
 have thought it6 come along in1 ,polly6
 ,how well you do look1 to     be sure6 
,the children will go half wild to see  
you1 ,polly1 that they     will4        
,that they did1 if one might judge from 
the noise they made1 and the     way in 
which they dashed at ,polly and dragged 
her to a low chair in     the chimney   

corner1 where her own honest apple face 
became immediately     the centre of a  
bunch of smaller pippins1 all laying    
their rosy cheeks     close to it1 and  
all evidently the growth of the same    
tree4 ,as to     ,polly1 she was full as
 noisy and vehement as the children2 and
 it was     not until she was quite out 
of breath1 and her hair was hanging all 
about her flushed face1 and her new     
christening attire was very much        
dishevelled1 that any pause took place  
in the confusion4 ,even then1     the   
smallest ,toodle but one remained in her
 lap1 holding on tight with     both    
arms round her neck2 while the smallest 
,toodle but two mounted on     the back 
of the chair1 and made desperate        
efforts1 with one leg in the     air1 to
 kiss her round the corner4             
,unfortunately the eldest ,toodle1      
nicknamed ,biler1 was sent to the       
grinders' school by ,mr4 ,dombey1 and he
 was so badly treated that he played    
truant and got into bad company2 but his

 mother clung to him and treated him    
kindly1 and hoped for him still4 ,mr4   
,carker went home with ,biler to satisfy
 himself in regard to his family4       
,this fellow1 said ,mr4 ,carker to      
,polly1 giving him a gentle shake1      
is your son1 eh1 ma'am8      ,yes1 sir1 
sobbed ,polly1 with a courtesy2 yes1    
sir4      ,a bad son1 ,i am afraid8 said
 ,mr4 ,carker4      ,never a bad son to 
me1 sir1 returned ,polly4      ,to whom1
 then8 demanded ,mr4 ,carker4      ,he  
has been a little wild1 sir1 replied    
,polly1 checking the baby1     who was  
making convulsive efforts with his arms 
and legs to launch     himself on       
,biler1 through the ambient air1 and has
 gone with wrong     companions2 but ,i 
hope he has seen the misery of that1    
sir1 and will     do well again4        
,when ,mr4 ,carker had concluded his    
visit1 as he made his way among the     
crowding children to the door1 ,rob     
retreated on his mother1 and took       
her and the baby in the same repentant  

hug4      ,i'll try hard1 dear mother1  
now4 ,upon my soul ,i will6 said ,rob4  
,oh1 do1 my dear boy6 ,i am sure you    
will1 for our sakes and your own6       
cried ,polly1 kissing him4 ,but you're  
coming back to speak to me1 when     you
 have seen the gentleman away8      ,i  
don't know1 mother4 ,rob hesitated1 and 
looked down4     ,father--when's he     
coming home8      ,not till two o'clock 
to-morrow morning4      ,i'll come back1
 mother1 dear6 cried ,rob4 ,and passing 
through the     shrill cry of his       
brothers and sisters in reception of    
this promise1     he followed ,mr4      
,carker out4      ,what6 said ,mr4      
,carker1 who had heard this4 ,you have a
 bad father1     have you8      ,no1    
sir6 returned ,rob1 amazed4 ,there ain't
 a better nor a kinder     father going 
than mine is4      ,why don't you want  
to see him1 then8 asked his patron4     
,there's such a difference between a    
father and a mother1 sir1 said     ,rob1
 after faltering for a moment4 ,he      

couldn't hardly believe yet     that ,i 
was going to do better--though ,i know  
he'd try to2 but a     mother--she      
always believes what's good1 sir2 at    
least ,i know my     mother does1 ,god  
bless her6  ,it was not the fault of his
 home that ,biler went astray4  ,nor did
 ,dickens fail to give a picture for the
 fathers too4 ,mr4 ,toodle was a workman
 on a train1 and great was the joy in   
the family when father came home4       
,polly1 my gal1 said ,mr4 ,toodle1 with 
a young ,toodle on each knee and     two
 more making tea for him1 and plenty    
more scattered about--,mr4     ,toodle  
was never out of children1 but always   
kept a good supply on     hand--you     
ain't seen our ,biler lately1 have you8 
,no1 replied ,polly1 but he's almost    
certain to look in to-night4     ,it's  
his right evening1 and he's very        
regular4      ,i suppose1 said ,mr4     
,toodle1 relishing his meal infinitely1 
as our     ,biler is a-doin' now about  
as well as a boy can do1 eh1 ,polly8    

,oh6 he's a-doing beautiful6 responded  
,polly4      ,he ain't got to be at all 
secretlike--has he1 ,polly8 inquired    
,mr4     ,toodle4      ,no6 said ,mrs4  
,toodle plumply4      ,i'm glad he ain't
 got to be at all secretlike1 ,polly1   
observed ,mr4     ,toodle in his slow   
and measured way1 and shovelling in his 
bread and     butter with a clasp knife1
 as if he were stoking himself1 because 
that don't look well2 do it1 ,polly8    
,why1 of course1 it don't1 father4 ,how 
can you ask8      ,you see1 my boys and 
gals1 said ,mr4 ,toodle1 looking round  
upon his     family1 wotever you're up  
to in a honest way1 it's my opinion as  
you     can't do better than be open4   
,if you find yourselves in cuttings or  
in     tunnels1 don't you play no secret
 games4 ,keep your whistles going1 and  
let's know where you are4      ,the     
rising ,toodles set up a shrill murmur1 
expressive of their     resolution to   
profit by the paternal advice4      ,but
 what makes you say this along of ,rob1 

father8 asked his wife     anxiously4   
,polly1 old 'ooman1 said ,mr4 ,toodle1  
,i don't know as ,i said it             
partickler along o' ,rob1 ,i'm sure4 ,i 
starts light with ,rob only2 ,i         
comes to a branch2 ,i takes on what ,i  
finds there2 and a whole train of       
ideas gets coupled on to him afore ,i   
knows where ,i am1 or where they        
comes from4 ,what a ,junction a man's   
thoughts is1 said ,mr4 ,toodle1 to      
be sure6      ,this profound reflection 
,mr4 ,toodle washed down with a pint mug
 of     tea1 and proceeded to solidify  
with a great weight of bread and        
butter2 charging his young daughters    
meanwhile to keep plenty of hot         
water in the pot1 as he was uncommon    
dry1 and should take the     indefinite 
quantity of a sight of mugs before his  
thirst was     appeased4  ,and as the   
jolly old fellow ate his supper he was  
surrounded by all his smaller children1 
some on his knees1 and others under his 
arms1 and all getting bites of bread and

 butter and sups of tea in turn1        
although they had had their own supper  
before he came home4  ,dickens did not  
wish to teach that such relationships   
should exist between parents and        
children in the homes of the labouring  
classes only4 ,he used ,toodle and his  
family as representing one extreme of   
society1 as at present constituted1 in  
sharp contrast with ,mr4 ,dombey's      
family at the other extreme4 ,how happy 
the one home with barely enough to      
secure the necessaries of life6 how     
miserable the other with unlimited      
wealth6 ,and the best things in the     
,toodle home were the children1 and the 
love and unconventional freedom between 
them and their parents4 ,with such a    
feeling of community and love in all    
homes1 and with schools of a proper     
character1 the children will be trained 
for higher1 and progressively advancing 
manhood and womanhood4  ,david          
,copperfield's training was not all     
coercive and degrading4 ,before the     

,murdstones came to blight his young    
life he had joy and sympathy to         
stimulate all that was good in him4 ,his
 mother and ,peggotty were kind and     
true4 ,the three had perfect faith in   
each other4 ,they formed a blessed      
unity4 ,the memory of his lessons in    
those happy days recalled no feeling of 
disgust or reluctance4 ,on the contrary1
 he seemed to have walked along a path  
of flowers1 and to have been cheered by 
the gentleness of his mother's voice and
 manner all the way4  ,again1 after the 
,murdstone interval of terror and       
cruelty1 ,david was kindly treated and  
well trained by his aunt4 ,her          
relationship toward him throughout his  
whole youth is well presented in her    
parting words1 as she left him at ,mr4  
,wickfield's house1 where he was to live
 while at ,doctor ,strong's school4     
,she told me that everything would be   
arranged for me by ,mr4 ,wickfield1     
and that ,i should want for nothing1 and
 gave me the kindest words and     the  

best advice4      ,trot1 said my aunt in
 conclusion1 be a credit to yourself1 to
 me1     and ,mr4 ,dick1 and ,heaven be 
with you6      ,i was greatly overcome1 
and could only thank her again and      
again1 and     send my love to ,mr4     
,dick4      ,never1 said my aunt1 be    
mean in anything2 never be false2 never 
be     cruel4 ,avoid these three vices1 
,trot1 and ,i can always be hopeful of  
you4  ,in ,mr4 ,wickfield's home and in 
,doctor ,strong's school he had ideal   
conditions of development4 ,he received 
respectful consideration1 fatherly      
interest1 wise counsel1 and generous    
hospitality from ,mr4 ,wickfield4 ,with 
,agnes he had the most delightful       
relationship of sympathetic and         
stimulating friendship4 ,there is no    
better influence in the life of a boy   
opening into young manhood than the true
 friendship of a girl of the character  
of ,agnes4  ,in ,doctor ,strong's school
 ,david met with the best conditions of 
good training yet revealed by the new   

education4  ,the boys were taught       
politeness1 courtesy1 and consideration 
for the feelings of others in ,doctor   
,strong's school4      ,about           
five-and-twenty boys were studiously    
engaged at their books when     we went 
in1 but they rose to give the ,doctor   
good morning1 and     remained standing 
when they saw ,mr4 ,wickfield and me4   
,a new boy1 young gentlemen1 said the   
,doctor2 ,trotwood ,copperfield4        
,one ,adams1 who was the head boy1 then 
stepped out of his place and            
welcomed me4 ,he looked like a young    
clergyman1 in his white cravat1     but 
he was very affable and good-humoured2  
and he showed me my place1     and      
presented me to the masters in a        
gentlemanly way that would have     put 
me at my ease if anything could4        
,physical education received due        
attention at ,doctor ,strong's school4  
,we had noble games out of doors4 ,these
 outdoor sports have done more than     
anything else to develop the strength   

and energy of the ,british character4   
,thoughtful educators everywhere        
recognise the value of play in the      
development of the physical1 the        
intellectual1 and the spiritual nature  
as taught by ,froebel4 ,the love of play
 has been one of the distinctive        
elements of the ,british people4        
,doctor ,strong's personal influence was
 good4 ,he was the idol of the whole    
school4 ,he was not coercive nor        
restrictive2 he was an inspiration to   
effort and to manliness of conduct4 ,he 
was the kindest of men1 full of sympathy
 with boyhood and with individual boys4 
,he had a simple faith in him that might
 have touched the stone hearts of the   
very urns upon the wall4 ,mr4 ,wickfield
 told ,david that he feared some of the 
boys might take advantage of his        
kindness and faith1 but boys do not     
abuse the confidence of such teachers4  
,he appealed in everything to the honour
 and good faith of the boys1 and avowed 
his intention to rely on the possession 

of these qualities unless they proved   
themselves unworthy4 ,david says this   
worked wonders4 ,he had no spies in     
schoolroom or grounds4 ,he trusted his  
boys in a frank1 unconventional way1 and
 they proved themselves worthy of trust4
 ,in such an atmosphere a boy grows to  
be reliable4 ,he does not need to be    
hypocritical or false4 ,the boys all    
became warmly attached to the school--,i
 am sure ,i did for one1 and ,i never   
knew1 in all my time1 of any other boy  
being otherwise--and learned with a good
 will1 desiring to do it credit4  ,they 
had independent self-activity4 ,we had  
plenty of liberty4 ,without this no     
child can reach his best growth4 ,the   
boys did not abuse their privilege4     
,they respected themselves more because 
they had liberty4 ,as ,i remember1 we   
were well spoken of in the town1 and    
rarely did any disgrace1 by our         
appearance or manner1 to the reputation 
of ,doctor ,strong and ,doctor ,strong's
 boys4  ,the community ideal was wrought

 into the lives of the boys by their    
experience in this model school4 ,we all
 felt that we had a part in the         
management of the place1 and in         
sustaining its character and dignity4   
,the highest work of schools1 colleges1 
and universities is to fill the lives of
 men and women with the apperceptive    
centres of the community ideal4         
,christian community can not be made    
clear by books or teaching or sermons   
unless its foundations are laid by      
experience1 by sharing in the management
 of the conditions of the life of the   
boy1 or girl1 or student4 ,froebel      
pleaded for a college and university    
education in which students should share
 in the management4 ,dickens applied    
this high ideal4  ,there is another most
 important element in ,doctor ,strong's 
influence4 ,he was not a human barrel   
organ1 like ,mr4 ,feeder1 playing a     
little list of ,greek and ,latin tunes  
over and over again without any         
variation4 ,he was an original          

investigator4 ,he was preparing a       
dictionary of ,greek roots4 ,he was not 
merely an accumulator of knowledge as it
 had been prepared by some one else4 ,he
 was not a mere canal through which     
knowledge slowly flowed through         
artificial channels1 nor a marsh in     
which knowledge had become confused and 
stagnant1 nor a dead sea into which     
knowledge flowed1 but from which there  
was no outlet4 ,he was a fresh fountain 
from which knowledge came clear and     
pure4 ,so the boys gained knowledge     
readily from him1 but1 far beyond       
knowledge1 they learned incidentally the
 habit of work1 and were filled with the
 desire to add to the store of knowledge
 as a basis for the progressive         
evolution of humanity4  ,what a farce it
 is to say that ,dickens was not        
conscious of the pedagogic value of his 
work4 ,he had great facility in         
learning1 but he was also a hard        
student4 ,no one could have written so  
much and so wisely about education      

unless he had studied carefully the     
thought of the most advanced educators4 
,david's aunt had the wisdom to try to  
develop in him the characteristics of   
excellence that were lacking in his     
parents4 ,this is a thought that is     
slowly making its way in the minds of   
educators4      ,but what ,i want you to
 be1 ,trot1 resumed my aunt--,i don't   
mean     physically1 but morally2 you   
are very well physically--is a firm     
fellow4 ,a fine firm fellow1 with a will
 of your own4 ,with resolution1     said
 my aunt1 shaking her cap at me1 and    
clinching her hand4 ,with               
determination4 ,with character1         
,trot--with strength of character that  
is not to be influenced1 except on good 
reason1 by anybody1 or by     anything4 
,that's what ,i want you to be4 ,that's 
what your father and     mother might   
both have been1 ,heaven knows1 and been 
the better for     it4      ,i intimated
 that ,i hoped ,i should be what she    
described4      ,that you may begin1 in 

a small way1 to have a reliance upon    
yourself1     and to act for yourself1  
said my aunt1 ,i shall send you upon    
your     trip alone4      ,in pursuance 
of my aunt's kind scheme1 ,i was shortly
 afterward fitted     out with a        
handsome purse of money and a           
portmanteau1 and tenderly     dismissed 
upon my expedition4 ,at parting1 my aunt
 gave me some good     advice and a good
 many kisses2 and said that as her      
object was that ,i     should look about
 me1 and should think a little1 she     
would recommend     me to stay a few    
days in ,london1 if ,i liked it1 either 
on my way down     into ,suffolk1 or in 
coming back4 ,in a word1 ,i was at      
liberty to do as     ,i would for three 
weeks or a month2 and no other          
conditions were     imposed upon my     
freedom than the before-mentioned       
thinking and looking     about me1 and a
 pledge to write three times a week and 
faithfully     report myself4  ,betsy   
,trotwood may safely be taken as a model

 in dealing with boys during the        
adolescent period1 and with young men   
just about to start in the real work of 
life4  ,dickens puts into the words of  
,david ,copperfield a statement of the  
elements of character which he regarded 
as most essential to success in life1   
and which he would take pains to develop
 by the training in homes and schools4  
,i will only add to what ,i have already
 written of my perseverance at     this 
time of my life1 and of a patient and   
continuous energy which     then began  
to be matured within me1 and which ,i   
know to be the strong     part of my    
character1 if it have any strength at   
all1 that there1 on     looking back1 ,i
 find the source of my success4 ,i have 
been very     fortunate in worldly      
matters2 many men have worked much      
harder1 and     not succeeded half so   
well2 but ,i never could have done what 
,i have     done without the habits of  
punctuality1 order1 and diligence1      
without     the determination to        

concentrate myself on one object at a   
time1 no     matter how quickly its     
successor should come upon its heels1   
which ,i     then formed4 ,my meaning   
simply is1 that whatever ,i have tried  
to do in     life1 ,i have tried with   
all my heart to do well2 that whatever  
,i have     devoted myself to1 ,i have  
devoted myself to completely2 that1 in  
great     aims and in small1 ,i have    
always been thoroughly in earnest4 ,i   
have     never believed it possible that
 any natural or improved ability can    
claim immunity from the companionship of
 the steady1 plain1     hard-working    
qualities1 and hope to gain its end4    
,there is no such     thing as such     
fulfilment on this earth4 ,some happy   
talent1 and some     fortunate          
opportunity1 may form the two sides of  
the ladder on which     some men mount1 
but the rounds of that ladder must be   
made of stuff to     stand wear and     
tear2 and there is no substitute for    
thoroughgoing1     ardent1 and sincere  

earnestness4 ,never to put one hand to  
anything on     which ,i could throw my 
whole self and never to affect          
depreciation of     my work1 whatever it
 was1 ,i find1 now1 to have been my     
golden rules4  ,bleak ,house1 which is  
so rich in illustrations of bad         
training1 contains little direct        
teaching regarding the proper training  
of children4  ,the value of a doll in   
the training of a girl is shown in      
,esther's early experience4 ,the doll   
had a real personal relationship to her4
 ,she made it her confidant1 and in     
various ways gave it a distinct personal
 standing4 ,she could pour out to it the
 joys and sorrows of her heart more     
fully than to any real person4 ,the doll
 was an outlet for the pent-up emotions 
that were checked in their flow by the  
adults with whom she was associated4 ,a 
doll is more than a mere plaything to a 
child2 or perhaps it would be more exact
 to say play with a doll means much more
 than most people believe4 ,dickens was 

able to sympathize with even a little   
girl4  ,esther says3      ,i can        
remember1 when ,i was a very little girl
 indeed1 ,i used to say to     my doll1 
when we were alone together1 ,now1      
,dolly1 ,i am not clever1     you know  
very well1 and you must be patient with 
me1 like a dear6 ,and     so she used to
 sit propped up in a great armchair1    
with her beautiful     complexion and   
rosy lips1 staring at me--or not so much
 at me1 ,i     think1 as at             
nothing--while ,i busily stitched away1 
and told her every     one of my        
secrets4      ,my dear old doll6 ,i was 
such a shy little thing that ,i seldom  
dared to     open my lips1 and never    
dared to open my heart1 to anybody else4
 ,it     almost makes me cry to think   
what a relief it used to be to me1 when 
,i     came home from school of a day1  
to run upstairs to my room1 and say     
,oh you dear faithful ,dolly1 ,i knew   
you would be expecting me6 and     then 
to sit down on the floor1 leaning on the

 elbow of her great     chair1 and tell 
her all ,i had noticed since we parted4 
,i had always     rather a noticing     
way--not a quick way1 oh1 no6--a silent 
way of     noticing what passed before  
me1 and thinking ,i should like to      
understand it better4 ,i have not by any
 means a quick understanding4     ,when 
,i love a person very tenderly indeed1  
it seems to brighten4  ,when on her     
lonely birthday she had been told by her
 godmother that a shadow hung over her  
life she says3      ,i went up to my    
room1 and crept to bed1 and laid my     
doll's cheek     against mine wet with  
tears2 and holding that solitary friend 
upon my     bosom cried myself to sleep4
      ,dear1 dear1 to think how much    
time we passed alone together afterward1
     and how often ,i repeated to the   
doll the story of my birthday1 and      
confided to her that ,i would try1 as   
hard as ever ,i could1 to repair     the
 fault ,i had been born with 7of which  
,i confessedly felt guilty and     yet  

innocent71 and would strive as ,i grew  
up to be industrious1     contented1 and
 kind-hearted1 and to do some good to   
some one1 and win     some love to      
myself if ,i could4  ,mr4 ,jarndyce     
emphasized the opinion of ,david        
,copperfield when he gave advice to     
,richard ,carstone3      ,trust in      
nothing but in ,providence and your own 
efforts4 ,never     separate the two1   
like the heathen wagoner4 ,constancy in 
love is a     good thing2 but it means  
nothing1 and is nothing1 without        
constancy in     every kind of effort4  
,if you had the abilities of all the    
great men1     past and present1 you    
could do nothing well without sincerely 
meaning     it and setting about it4 ,if
 you entertain the supposition that any 
real success1 in great things or in     
small1 ever was or could be1 ever       
will or can be1 wrested from fortune by 
fits and starts1 leave that     wrong   
idea here4  ,mr4 ,george gave ,woolwich 
,bagnet kindly counsel regarding his    

duty to his mother3      ,the time will 
come1 my boy1 pursues the trooper1 when 
this hair of     your mother's will be  
gray1 and this forehead all crossed and 
recrossed with wrinkles--and a fine old 
lady she'll be then4 ,take     care1    
while you are young1 that you can think 
in those days1 ',i     never whitened a 
hair of her dear head--,i never marked a
 sorrowful     line in her face6' ,for  
of all the many things that you can     
think of     when you are a man1 you had
 better have that by you1 ,woolwich6    
,mr4 ,meagles in ,little ,dorrit1 good1 
kind ,mr4 ,meagles1 explained why       
,little ,dorrit1 amid all her trials and
 all her difficulties1 had grown to be  
so true a woman1 loved by so many       
people4      ,if she had constantly     
thought of herself1 and settled with    
herself     that everybody visited this 
place upon her1 turned it against her1  
and     cast it at her1 she would have  
led an irritable and probably a useless 
existence4 ,yet ,i have heard tell1     

,tattycoram1 that her young life has    
been one of active resignation1         
goodness1 and noble service4 ,shall ,i  
tell you what ,i consider those eyes of 
hers that were here just now1     to    
have always looked at1 to get that      
expression8      ,yes1 if you please1   
sir4      ,duty1 ,tattycoram4 ,begin it 
early1 and do it well2 and there is no  
antecedent to it1 in any origin or      
station1 that will tell against us      
with the ,almighty1 or with ourselves4  
,although ,mr4 ,pocket was not able to  
manage his own household and family1    
chiefly owing to the hopeless           
incompetence of ,mrs4 ,pocket1 he was an
 excellent teacher1 and knew how to     
treat his pupils4 ,pip found him a most 
satisfactory guide4      ,he advised my 
attending certain places in ,london for 
the acquisition     of such mere        
rudiments as ,i wanted1 and my investing
 him with the     functions of explainer
 and director of all my studies4 ,he    
hoped that     with intelligent         

assistance ,i should meet with little to
 discourage     me1 and should soon be  
able to dispense with any aid but his4  
,through     his way of saying this1 and
 much more to similar purpose1 he placed
     himself on confidential terms with 
me in an admirable manner3 and ,i       
may state at once that he was always so 
zealous and honourable in     fulfilling
 his compact with me that he made me    
zealous and honourable     in fulfilling
 mine with him4 ,if he had shown        
indifference as a master1     ,i had no 
doubt ,i should have returned the       
compliment as a pupil2 he     gave me no
 such excuse1 and each of us did the    
other justice4  ,in ,our ,mutual ,friend
 ,betty ,higden and ,mrs4 ,boffin are   
given as true types of the proper spirit
 of adulthood toward childhood4 ,betty1 
poor as she was1 wept at the thought of 
parting from ,johnny1 and ,mrs4 ,boffin 
said to her3      ,if you trust the dear
 child to me he shall have the best of  
homes1     the best of care1 the best of

 education1 the best of friends4 ,please
     ,god1 ,i will be a true good mother
 to him6  ,jemmy ,lirriper had an ideal 
training in many ways4 ,he had freedom  
and love1 and his imagination and       
individuality were developed as fully as
 ,mrs4 ,lirriper and the ,major could   
secure these desirable results4 ,his    
boyish personality received respectful  
consideration4 ,the ,major's method of  
revealing mathematical conceptions and  
processes1 while it did not fully reveal
 ,froebel's processes in reaching the   
same results 7even the great            
mathematicians have been slow in doing  
that71 was much in advance of the       
pedagogy of his time1 and it shows the  
spirit in which ,dickens would have the 
child treated1 and this is much more    
important than mathematics4  ,mrs4      
,lirriper tells the story3      ,my     
dear1 the system upon which the ,major  
commenced1 and1 as ,i may say1          
perfected ,jemmy's learning when he was 
so small that if the dear was     on the

 other side of the table you had to look
 under it instead of     over it to see 
him with his mother's own bright hair in
 beautiful     curls1 is a thing that   
ought to be known to the ,throne and    
,lords and     ,commons1 and then might 
obtain some promotion for the ,major1   
which he     well deserves1 and would be
 none the worse for 7speaking between   
friends1 ,l4 ,s4 ,d-ically74 ,when the  
,major first undertook his learning     
he says to me3      ,i'm going1 ,madam1 
he says1 to make our child a            
,calculating ,boy4      ,major1 ,i says1
 you terrify me1 and may do the pet a   
permanent     injury you would never    
forgive yourself4      ,madam1 says the 
,major1 ,i would regret if this fine    
mind was not     early cultivated4 ,but 
mark me1 ,madam1 says the ,major1       
holding up his     forefinger1          
cultivated on a principle that will make
 it a delight4      ,major1 ,i says1 ,i 
will be candid with you and tell you    
openly that     if ever ,i find the dear

 child fall off in his appetite ,i shall
 know it     is his calculations1 and   
shall put a stop to them at two minutes'
     notice4 ,or if ,i find them        
mounting to his head1 ,i says1 or       
striking     anyways cold to his stomach
 or leading to anything approaching     
flabbiness in his legs1 the result will 
be the same1 but1 ,major1 you     are a 
clever man and have seen much1 and you  
love the child and are     his own      
godfather1 and if you feel a confidence 
in trying1 try4      ,spoken1 ,madam1   
says the ,major1 like ,emma ,lirriper4  
,all ,i have to     ask1 ,madam1 is that
 you will leave my godson and myself to 
make a week     or two's preparations   
for surprising you1 and that you will   
give leave     to have up and down any  
small articles not actually in use that 
,i may     require from the kitchen4    
,from the kitchen1 ,major6 ,i says1 half
 feeling as if he had a mind to     cook
 the child4      ,from the kitchen1 says
 the ,major1 and smiles and swells1 and 

at the     same time looks taller4      
,so ,i passed my word1 and the ,major   
and the dear boy were shut up           
together for half an hour at a time     
through a certain while1 and never      
could ,i hear anything going on betwixt 
them but talking and laughing     and   
,jemmy clapping his hands and screaming 
out numbers1 so ,i says to     myself   
,it has not harmed him yet1 nor could   
,i1 on examining the dear     find any  
signs of it anywhere about him1 which   
was likewise a great     relief4 ,at    
last one day ,jemmy brings me a card in 
joke in the ,major's     neat writing   
,the ,messrs4 ,jemmy ,jackman1 for we   
had given him the     ,major's other    
name too1 request the honour of ,mrs4   
,lirriper's company     at the ,jackman 
,institution in the front parlour this  
evening at five1     military time1 to  
witness a few slight feats of elementary
     arithmetic4 ,and1 if you'll believe
 me1 there in the front parlour at      
five punctually to the moment was the   

,major behind the ,pembroke table       
with both leaves up and a lot of things 
from the kitchen tidily set     out on  
old newspapers spread atop of it1 and   
there was the ,mite stood     up on a   
chair1 with his rosy cheeks flushing and
 his eyes sparkling     clusters of     
diamonds4      ,now1 ,gran1 says he1 oo 
tit down and don't oo touch ler         
poople--for     he saw with every one of
 those diamonds of his that ,i was going
 to     give him a squeeze4      ,very  
well1 sir1 ,i says1 ,i am obedient in   
this good company1 ,i am     sure4 ,and 
,i sits down in the easy-chair that was 
put for me1 shaking     my sides4       
,but picture my admiration when the     
,major1 going on almost as quick as     
if he was conjuring1 sets out all the   
articles he names1 and says1     ,three 
saucepans1 an ,italian iron1 a hand     
bell1 a toasting fork1 a     nutmeg     
grater1 four potlids1 a spice box1 two  
egg cups1 and a chopping     board--how 
many8 and when that ,mite instantly     

cries ,tifteen1 tut     down tive and   
carry ler 'topping board1 and then claps
 his hands1     draws up his legs1 and  
dances on his chair6      ,my dear1 with
 the same astonishing ease and          
correctness1 him and the     ,major     
added up the tables1 chairs1 and sofy1  
the picters1 fender and     fire irons1 
their own selves1 me and the cat1 and   
the eyes in ,miss     ,wozenham's head1 
and whenever the sum was done ,young    
,roses and     ,diamonds claps his hands
 and draws up his legs and dances on his
     chair4      ,the pride of the      
,major6 7,here's a mind1 ,ma'am6 he says
 to me     behind his hand47      ,then 
he says aloud1 ,we now come to the next 
elementary rule--which is     called----
      ,umtraction6 cries ,jemmy4        
,right1 says the ,major4 ,we have here a
 toasting fork1 a potato in     its     
natural state1 two potlids1 one egg-cup1
 a wooden spoon1 and two     skewers1   
from which it is necessary1 for         
commercial purposes1 to     subtract a  

sprat gridiron1 a small pickle jar1 two 
lemons1 one pepper     castor1 a        
black-beetle trap1 and a knob of the    
dresser drawer--what     remains8       
,toatin fork6 cries ,jemmy4      ,in    
numbers1 how many8 says the ,major4     
,one6 cries ,jemmy4      7,here's a boy1
 ,ma'am6 says the ,major to me1 behind  
his hand47      ,we now approach the    
next elementary rule--which is          
entitled----      ,tickleication1 cries 
,jemmy4      ,correct1 says the ,major4 
,but1 my dear1 to relate to you in      
detail the way in which they            
multiplied fourteen sticks of firewood  
by two bits of ginger and a     larding 
needle1 or divided pretty well          
everything else there was on     the    
table by the heater of the ,italian iron
 and a chamber candlestick1     and got 
a lemon over1 would make my head spin   
round and round and     round1 as it did
 at the time4 ,so ,i says1 ,if you'll   
excuse my     addressing the chair1     
,professor ,jackman1 ,i think the period

 of the     lecture has now arrived when
 it becomes necessary that ,i should    
take a     good hug of this young       
scholar4 ,upon which ,jemmy calls out   
from his     station on the chair1      
,gran1 oo open oor arms and me'll make a
 'pring     into 'em4 ,so ,i opened my  
arms to him1 as ,i had opened my        
sorrowful     heart when his poor young 
mother lay a-dying1 and he had his jump 
and     we had a good long hug together1
 and the ,major1 prouder than any       
peacock1 says to me behind his hand1    
,you need not let him know it1          
,madam 7which ,i certainly need not1 for
 the ,major was quite audible71     but 
he is a boy6  ,doctor ,marigold's       
training of the little deaf-mute girl   
and ,old ,cheeseman's treatment of      
children are revelations of the mature  
ideals of ,dickens regarding the proper 
attitude of adulthood toward childhood4 
,,chapter ,,xiii4  ,,community4   ,while
 the opinions of ,dickens on the subject
 of community may not seem very advanced

 to some of the most progressive men and
 women of the present1 they were much   
ahead of his own time1 and they are     
beyond the practice of our time4      ,i
 have had my share of sorrows--more than
 the common lot1 perhaps1 but     ,i    
have borne them ill4 ,i have broken     
where ,i should have bent2 and     have 
mused and brooded1 when my spirit should
 have mixed with all     ,god's great   
creation4 ,the men who learn endurance  
are they who call     the whole world   
brother4 ,i have turned from the world1 
and ,i pay the     penalty4  ,thus spoke
 ,mr4 ,haredale to ,edward ,chester1 in 
,barnaby ,rudge4  ,no one who has lived 
since the time of ,dickens could write a
 more striking statement of the         
responsibility of every man for his     
brother1 and of the terrific            
consequences of neglect of the duties of
 brotherhood both to him who is         
neglected and to him who neglects1 than 
,dickens wrote in ,dombey and ,son4     
,there is no phase of sociology that has

 stepped beyond the position taken by   
,dickens in the following selection3    
,was ,mr4 ,dombey's master vice1 that   
ruled him so inexorably1 an             
unnatural characteristic8 ,it might be  
worth while1 sometimes to     inquire   
what ,nature is1 and how men work to    
change her1 and whether1     in the     
enforced distortions so produced1 it is 
not natural to be     unnatural4 ,coop  
any son or daughter of our mighty mother
 within narrow     range1 and bind the  
prisoner to one idea1 and foster it by  
servile     worship of it on the part of
 the few timid or designing people      
standing round1 and what is ,nature to  
the willing captive who has     never   
risen up upon the wings of a free       
mind--drooping and useless     soon--to 
see her in her comprehensive truth6     
,alas6 are there so few things in the   
world about us most unnatural1     and  
yet most natural in being so6 ,hear the 
magistrate or judge     admonish the    
unnatural outcast of society2 unnatural 

in brutal habits1     unnatural in want 
of decency1 unnatural in losing and     
confounding all     distinctions between
 good and evil2 unnatural in ignorance1 
in vice1     in recklessness1 in        
contumacy1 in mind1 in looks1 in        
everything4 ,but     follow the good    
clergyman or doctor1 who1 with his life 
imperilled at     every breath he draws1
 goes down into their dens1 lying within
 the     echoes of our carriage wheels  
and daily tread upon the pavement       
stones4 ,look round upon the world of   
odious sights--millions of     immortal 
creatures have no other world on        
earth--at the lightest     mention of   
which humanity revolts1 and dainty      
delicacy living in the     next street1 
stops her ears1 and lisps1 ,i don't     
believe it6 ,breathe     the polluted   
air1 foul with every impurity that is   
poisonous to health     and life2 and   
have every sense conferred upon our race
 for its delight     and happiness1     
offended1 sickened1 and disgusted1 and  

made a channel     by which misery and  
death alone can enter4 ,vainly attempt  
to think of     any simple plant1 or    
flower1 or wholesome weed that1 set in  
this fetid     bed1 could have its      
natural growth or put its little leaves 
off to the     sun as ,god designed it4 
,and then1 calling up some ghastly      
child1 with     stunted form and wicked 
face1 hold forth on its unnatural       
sinfulness1     and lament its being so 
early far away from heaven--but think a 
little     of its having been conceived1
 and born and bred1 in hell6      ,those
 who study the physical sciences1 and   
bring them to bear upon the     health  
of man1 tell us that if the noxious     
particles that rise from     vitiated   
air were palpable to the sight1 we      
should see them lowering     in a dense 
black cloud above such haunts1 and      
rolling slowly on to     corrupt the    
better portions of a town4 ,but if the  
moral pestilence     that rises with    
them1 and in the eternal laws of        

outraged nature1 is     inseparable from
 them1 could be made discernible too1   
how terrible the     revelation6 ,then  
should we see depravity1 impiety1       
drunkenness1 theft1     murder1 and a   
long train of nameless sins against the 
natural     affections and repulsions of
 mankind1 overhanging the devoted spots1
     and creeping on1 to blight the     
innocent and spread contagion among     
the pure4 ,then should we see how the   
same poisoned fountains that flow       
into our hospitals and lazar houses1    
inundate the jails1 and make the        
convict ships swim deep1 and roll across
 the seas1 and overrun vast             
continents with crime4 ,then should we  
stand appalled to know that     where we
 generate disease to strike our children
 down and entail     itself on unborn   
generations1 there also we breed1 by the
 same certain     process1 infancy that 
knows no innocence1 youth without       
modesty or     shame1 maturity that is  
mature in nothing but in suffering and  

guilt1     blasted old age that is a    
scandal on the form we bear4 ,unnatural 
humanity6 ,when we shall gather grapes  
from thorns1 and figs from     thistles2
 when fields of grain shall spring up   
from the offal in the     byways of our 
wicked cities1 and roses bloom in the   
fat churchyards     that they cherish2  
then we may look for natural humanity   
and find it     growing from such seed4 
,oh1 for a good spirit who would take   
the housetops off1 with a more          
potent and benignant hand than the lame 
demon in the tale1 and show a           
,christian people what dark shapes issue
 from amidst their homes1 to     swell  
the retinue of the destroying angel as  
he moves forth among     them6 ,for only
 one night's view of the pale phantoms  
rising from the     scenes of our too   
long neglect2 and from the thick and    
sullen air     where vice and fever     
propagate together1 raining the         
tremendous and     social retributions  
which are ever pouring down1 and ever   

coming     thicker6 ,bright and blessed 
the morning that should rise on such a  
night2 for men1 delayed no more by      
stumbling-blocks of their own           
making1 which are but specks of dust    
upon the path between them and          
eternity1 would then apply themselves1  
like creatures of one common     origin1
 owing one duty to the father of one    
family1 and tending to one     common   
end to make the world a better place6   
,not the less bright and blessed would  
that day be for rousing some who        
never have looked out upon the world of 
human life around them to a             
knowledge of their own relation to it1  
and for making them acquainted     with 
a perversion of ,nature in their own    
contracted sympathies and     estimates2
 as great and yet as natural in its     
development when once     begun as the  
lowest degradation known4  ,this        
selection is worth rereading4 ,the most 
advanced thinkers will understand it    
best4  ,dickens showed that he          

understood clearly that a man becomes   
marred and degraded by shutting the     
world out of his heart1 even though the 
reason for the exclusion may in itself  
be good4 ,love is the highest of all    
sentiments1 and ,dickens used it in the 
case of ,mr4 ,wickfield to show that    
even the tender love he had for his dead
 wife became a source of evil to him1   
when it made him cease to think of the  
sorrows of his fellows1 and only of his 
own affliction4 ,either in joy or sorrow
 the benefit to the individual results  
from a deepening of his consciousness of
 unity with the whole of humanity4 ,mr4 
,wickfield said to ,david3      ,weak   
indulgence has ruined me4 ,indulgence in
 remembrance and     indulgence in      
forgetfulness4 ,my natural grief for my 
child's mother     turned to disease2 my
 natural love for my child turned to    
disease4 ,i     have infected everything
 ,i touched4 ,i have brought misery on  
what ,i     dearly love1 ,i know--,you  
know6 ,i thought it possible that ,i    

could     truly love one creature in the
 world1 and not love the rest2 ,i       
thought     it possible that ,i could   
truly mourn for one creature gone out of
 the     world1 and not have some part  
in the grief of all who mourned4 ,thus  
the lessons of my life have been        
perverted6 ,i have preyed on my own     
morbid coward heart1 and it has preyed  
on me4 ,sordid in my grief1     sordid  
in my love1 sordid in my miserable      
escape from the darker side     of both1
 oh1 see the ruin ,i am1 and hate me1   
shun me6  ,in ,tom ,tiddler's ,ground   
,dickens attacks the ideal that there   
may be merit in seclusion4 ,mr4         
,traveller visits the hermit who had    
become famous1 and who was so vain on   
account of his dirt and simplicity of   
living1 and he tells him some plain     
truths regarding himself and the duty of
 man to his fellow-men4      ,now1 said 
he1 that a man--even behind bars1 in a  
blanket and a     skewer--should tell me
 that he can see from day to day any    

orders or     conditions of men1 women1 
or children1 who can by any possibility 
teach him that it is anything but the   
miserablist drivelling for a     human  
creature to quarrel with his social     
nature--not to go so far as     to say1 
to renounce his common human decency1   
for that is an extreme     case1 or who 
can teach him that he can in any wise   
separate himself     from his kind and  
the habits of his kind1 without becoming
 a     deteriorated spectacle calculated
 to give the ,devil 7and perhaps the    
monkeys7 pleasure--is something         
wonderful6      ,you think yourself     
profoundly wise1 said the ,hermit4      
,bah1 returned ,mr4 ,traveller1 there is
 little wisdom in knowing that     every
 man must be up and doing1 and that all 
mankind are made     dependent on one   
another4      ,it is a moral            
impossibility1 continued ,mr4           
,traveller1 that any son     or daughter
 of ,adam can stand on this ground that 
,i put my foot on1 or     on any ground 

that mortal treads1 and gainsay the     
healthy tenure on     which we hold our 
existence4      ,which is1 sneered the  
,hermit1 according to you----           
,which is1 returned the ,traveller1     
according to ,eternal ,providence1      
that we must arise and wash our faces   
and do our gregarious work and     act  
and react on each other1 leaving only   
the idiot and the palsied to     sit    
blinking in the corner4  ,dickens saves 
,little ,emily from her great sorrow1   
and lifts the load of shame from her    
heart by giving her the opportunity of  
helping to care for others4      ,but   
theer was some poor folks aboard as had 
illness among 'em1 and she     took care
 of them2 and theer was the children in 
our company1 and     she took care of   
them2 and so she got to be busy1 and to 
be doing     good1 and that helped her4 
,and in the same great book he ridicules
 the misuse of the sacred word society  
by applying it to the sham and mockery  
of all that should be truly helpful and 

ennobling in the social intercourse of  
mankind4      ,or perhaps this is the   
,desert of ,sahara6 for1 though ,julia  
has a     stately house1 and mighty     
company1 and sumptuous dinners every    
day1 ,i     see no green growth near    
her2 nothing that can ever come to fruit
 or     flower4 ,what ,julia calls      
society1 ,i see among it ,mr4 ,jack     
,maldon1     from his ,patent ,place1   
sneering at the hand that gave it to    
him1 and     speaking to me of the      
,doctor1 as so charmingly antique4      
,but when society is the name of such   
hollow gentlemen and ladies1     ,julia1
 and when its breeding is professed     
indifference to everything     that can 
advance or can retard mankind1 ,i think 
we must have lost     ourselves in the  
same ,desert of ,sahara1 and had better 
find the way     out4  ,when he spoke of
 ,little ,dorrit as inspired he         
proceeded to say3      ,she was inspired
 to be something which was not what the 
rest were1 and     to be that something1

 different and laborious1 for the sake  
of the     rest4 ,inspired8 ,yes4 ,shall
 we speak of the inspiration of a poet  
or a     priest1 and not of the heart   
impelled by love and self-devotion to   
the     lowliest work in the lowliest   
way of life6  ,dickens had reached the  
great conception that the duty of every 
individual is to add something by his   
life to the general good4 ,that we      
should not leave the world as we found  
it2 that our work is not done well if we
 spend our lives in digging among the   
richest treasures of the past and       
revealing them unselfishly to our       
fellow-men1 but that each should make   
some existing thing or condition better1
 or reveal some new thought or          
principle1 or plan1 or process1 so that 
humanity may climb more easily and more 
certainly from the mists and shadows to 
the higher glory of the clearer light4  
,mr4 ,doyce had made an invention1 but  
had met with almost insuperable         
difficulties in getting it before the   

people4      ,it is much to be          
regretted1 said ,clennam1 that you ever 
turned your     thoughts that way1 ,mr4 
,doyce4      ,true1 sir1 true1 to a     
certain extent4 ,but what is a man to   
do8 ,if he     has the misfortune to    
strike out something serviceable to the 
nation1     he must follow where it     
leads him4      ,hadn't he better let it
 go8 asked ,clennam4      ,he can't do  
it1 said ,doyce1 shaking his head1 with 
a thoughtful     smile4 ,it's not put   
into his head to be buried4 ,it's put   
into his     head to be made useful4    
,you hold your life on the condition    
that to     the last you shall struggle 
hard for it4 ,every man holds a         
discovery     on the same terms4        
,that is to say1 said ,arthur1 with a   
growing admiration of his quiet         
companion1 you are not fully discouraged
 even now8      ,i have no right to be1 
if ,i am1 returned the other4 ,the thing
 is as     true as it ever was4         
,throughout his writings ,dickens       

vigorously condemns the class           
distinctions that separate mankind into 
sections1 and thus destroy the bond of  
unity and brotherhood that should exist 
between them4  ,miss ,monflathers1 in   
,old ,curiosity ,shop1 drew the line    
very definitely between genteel children
 and the children of the poor4  ,mr4    
,dombey pompously consented to have the 
children of the poor educated1 because  
it is necessary that the inferior       
classes should continue to be taught to 
know their position4 ,fancy using       
education to prevent the unity of men1  
when its highest function should be the 
revelation of community and the         
qualification of individuals for the    
functions of brotherhood4  ,in ,david   
,copperfield the pathetic side of the   
evil of class distinctions is shown by  
the appeals of ,mr4 ,peggotty to ,mrs4  
,steerforth that she would consent to   
her son's marriage with ,little ,emily1 
and her indignant refusal to allow her  
son to do so4  ,in ,bleak ,house ,sir   

,leicester ,dedlock was amazed at the   
audacity of ,mr4 ,rouncewell's          
democratic ideas1 and his mind was      
filled with gloomy forebodings of the   
evil that such principles as those held 
by ,mr4 ,rouncewell would work in the   
social organization as planned and fixed
 by the ,dedlock class4 ,these were his 
thoughts3      ,from the village school 
of ,chesney ,wold1 intact as it is this 
minute1     to the whole framework of   
society2 from the whole framework of    
society1 to the aforesaid framework     
receiving tremendous cracks in          
consequence of people 7ironmasters1 lead
 mistresses1 and what not7 not          
minding their catechism1 and getting out
 of the station unto which     they are 
called--necessarily and forever1        
according to ,sir ,leicester's     rapid
 logic1 the first station in which they 
happen to find     themselves2 and from 
that1 to their educating other people   
out of     their stations1 and so       
obliterating the landmarks1 and opening 

the     flood gates1 and all the rest of
 it2 this is the swift progress of the  
,dedlock mind4  ,in ,american ,notes1   
after describing at length the admirable
 co-operative arrangements1 and the     
varied means of culture1 amusement1 and 
refinement enjoyed by the young women in
 the factories at ,lowell1 ,mass41 he   
says3      ,the large class of readers1 
startled by these facts1 will exclaim   
with     one voice1 ,how very           
preposterous6 ,on my deferentially      
inquiring why1     they will answer1    
,these things are above their station4  
,in reply to     that objection1 ,i     
would beg to ask what their station is4 
,it is their station to work4 ,and they 
do work4 ,they labour in these          
mills1 upon an average1 twelve hours a  
day1 which is unquestionably     work4  
,and pretty tight work too4 ,perhaps it 
is above their station to     indulge in
 such amusements on any terms4 ,are we  
quite sure that we in     ,england have 
not formed our ideas of the station of  

working people     from accustoming     
ourselves to the contemplation of that  
class as they     are1 and not as they  
might be8 ,i think that if we examine   
our own     feelings1 we shall find that
 the pianos1 and the circulating        
libraries1 and even the ,lowell         
,offering1 startle us with their        
novelty1 and not by their bearing upon  
any abstract question of right     or   
wrong4      ,for myself1 ,i know no     
station in which1 the occupation of     
to-day     cheerfully done and the      
occupation of to-morrow cheerfully      
looked to1     any one of these pursuits
 is not most humanizing and laudable4 ,i
 know     no station which is rendered  
more endurable to the person in it1 or  
more safe to the person out of it1 by   
having ignorance for its     associate4 
,i know no station which has a right to 
monopolize the means     of mutual      
instruction1 improvement1 and rational  
entertainment2 or     which has ever    
continued to be a station very long1    

after seeking to     do so4  ,walter    
,wilding planned an ideal relationship  
between employer and employed in ,no    
,thoroughfare4 ,he advertised for a     
housekeeper so that he might sit daily  
at the head of the table at which the   
people in my employment eat together1   
and may eat of the same roast and       
boiled1 and drink of the same beer1 and 
one and all form a kind of family4  ,he 
planned1 too1 to train his employees to 
sing ,handel1 ,mozart1 ,haydn1 ,kent1   
,purcell1 ,doctor ,arne1 ,greene1       
,mendelssohn1 to make music a part of   
the bond between us4 ,we will form a    
,choir in some quiet church near the    
,corner4  ,he touched the true chord of 
community when ,joey ,ladle used the    
word they4 ,joey asked1 when ,mr4       
,wilding unfolded his plan3      ,is all
 to live in the house1 ,young ,master   
,wilding8 ,the two other     cellarmen1 
the three porters1 the two 'prentices1  
and the odd men8      ,yes4 ,i hope we  
shall all be a united family1 ,joey4    

,ah6 said ,joey4 ,i hope they may be4   
,they8 ,rather say we1 ,joey4  ,not many
 employers have reached the ideals of   
,dickens yet4     ,,chapter ,,xiv4      
,,nutrition ,,as ,a ,,factor ,,in       
,,education4   ,the influence of diet in
 the development not only of physical   
power1 but of intellectual and spiritual
 power also1 has now begun to attract   
general attention4 ,there is no longer  
any doubt that the character of the     
bones1 of the muscles1 of the nerves1   
and of the brain itself1 is decided to a
 considerable extent by the food that is
 eaten4 ,there is no longer any doubt   
that many children have been urged to do
 work which becomes destructive beyond  
the fatigue point of their little       
brains1 when their brains have not been 
properly nourished1 either from lack of 
proper food or of properly cooked food1 
or from eating too much or too little4  
,the deterioration of the physical      
system1 and especially the deterioration
 of the neurological system1 is one of  

the most startling subjects within the  
range of view of educators and          
psychologists4 ,one of the most         
attractive departments of child study is
 that which investigates the means of   
deciding from external manifestations of
 form1 proportion1 action1 voice1 and   
attitude the nature and condition of the
 brain and neurological system of the   
child4 ,when this discovery has been    
made1 however1 it but prepares the way  
for further investigation to discover in
 what way abnormal or weak systems may  
be helped to become normal and strong4  
,one of the fundamental things to be    
done by scientists and educators is to  
discover the kinds of food adapted to   
different stages of the child's growth1 
and to the varied functions of study and
 work required of him4 ,by proper       
nutrition and by proper exercise much   
may be done to increase the power and   
efficiency of the body and the brain and
 the rest of the neurological system4   
,dickens saw the need of attention to   

the problems of nutrition very clearly4 
,he began to write about it in ,oliver  
,twist4  ,he first exposed the horrors  
of baby farming1 with its terrible      
percentage of deaths1 resulting almost  
entirely from the villainous            
indifference to the diet of the         
children4 ,children yet die in homes    
from similar causes1 or1 if they do not 
die1 they go through life weakened and  
dwarfed4      ,for the next eight or ten
 months ,oliver was the victim of a     
systematic     course of treachery and  
deception4 ,he was brought up by hand4  
,the     hungry and destitute situation 
of the infant orphan was duly reported  
by the workhouse authorities to the     
parish authorities4 ,the parish         
authorities inquired with dignity of the
 workhouse authorities whether     there
 was no female then domiciled in the    
house who was in a     situation to     
impart to ,oliver ,twist the consolation
 and nourishment of     which he stood  
in need4 ,the workhouse authorities     

replied with     humility that there was
 not4 ,upon this the parish authorities 
magnanimously and humanely resolved that
 ,oliver should be farmed1     or1 in   
other words1 that he should be          
despatched to a branch workhouse        
some three miles off1 where twenty or   
thirty other juvenile offenders         
against the poor laws rolled about the  
floor all day1 without the              
inconvenience of too much food or too   
much clothing1 under the     parental   
superintendence of an elderly female1   
who received the     culprits at and for
 the consideration of sevenpence        
halfpenny per     small head per week4  
,sevenpence halfpenny's worth per week  
is a good     round diet for a child2 a 
great deal may be got for sevenpence    
halfpenny1 quite enough to overload its 
stomach1 and make it     uncomfortable4 
,the elderly female was a woman of      
wisdom and     experience2 she knew what
 was good for children2 and she had a   
very     accurate perception of what was

 good for herself4 ,so she appropriated 
the greater part of the weekly stipend  
to her own use1 and consigned     the   
rising parochial generation to even a   
shorter allowance than was              
originally provided for them4 ,thereby  
finding in the lowest depth a     deeper
 still2 and proving herself a very great
 experimental     philosopher4  ,the    
system did not work well for the        
children4      ,for at the very moment  
when a child had contrived to exist upon
 the     smallest possible portion of   
the weakest possible food1 it did       
perversely happen in eight and a half   
cases out of ten1 either that it        
sickened from want or cold1 or fell into
 the fire from neglect1 or got          
half-smothered by accident2 in any one  
of which cases1 the miserable     little
 being was usually summoned into another
 world1 and there     gathered to the   
fathers it had never known in this4     
,it can not be expected that this system
 of farming would produce any     very  

extraordinary or luxuriant crop4 ,oliver
 ,twist's ninth birthday     found him a
 pale1 thin child1 somewhat diminutive  
in stature1 and     decidedly small in  
circumference4 ,it was his ninth        
birthday2 and he     was keeping it in  
the coal cellar with a select party of  
two other     young gentlemen1 who1     
after participating with him in a sound 
thrashing1 had been locked up for       
atrociously presuming to be hungry4     
,the famous meal in the workhouse when  
,oliver asked for more was intended to  
direct attention to the way children    
were fed and treated in institutions4   
,the boys were fed on gruel4      ,of   
this festive composition each boy had   
one porringer1 and no     more--except  
on occasions of great public rejoicing1 
when he had two     ounces and a quarter
 of bread besides4 ,the bowls never     
wanted washing4     ,the boys polished  
them with their spoons till they shone  
again2 and     when they had performed  
this operation 7which never took very   

long1     the spoons being nearly as    
large as the bowls71 they would sit     
staring     at the copper1 with such    
eager eyes1 as if they could have       
devoured     the very bricks of which it
 was composed2 employing themselves1    
meanwhile1 in sucking their fingers most
 assiduously1 with the view of          
catching up any stray splashes of gruel 
that might have been cast     thereon4  
,boys have generally excellent          
appetites4 ,oliver ,twist and his       
companions suffered the tortures of slow
 starvation for three months2     at    
last they got so voracious and wild with
 hunger that one boy who     was tall   
for his age1 and hadn't been used to    
that sort of thing 7for     his father  
had kept a small cookshop71 hinted      
darkly to his companions     that unless
 he had another basin of gruel per diem1
 he was afraid he     might some night  
happen to eat the boy who slept next to 
him1 who     happened to be a weakly    
youth of tender age4 ,he had a wild1    

hungry     eye2 and they implicitly     
believed him4 ,a council was held2 lots 
were     cast who should walk up to the 
master after supper that evening1 and   
ask for more2 and it fell to ,oliver    
,twist4      ,the evening arrived2 the  
boys took their places4 ,the master1 in 
his     cook's uniform1 stationed       
himself at the copper2 his pauper       
assistants     ranged themselves behind 
him2 the gruel was served out2 and a    
long     grace was said over a short    
commons4 ,the gruel disappeared2 the    
boys     whispered each other and winked
 at ,oliver2 while his next neighbours  
nudged him4 ,child as he was1 he was    
desperate with hunger and reckless      
with misery4 ,he rose from the table2   
and advancing to the master1     basin  
and spoon in hand1 said1 somewhat       
alarmed at his own temerity3            
,please1 sir1 ,i want some more4        
,the master was a fat1 healthy man2 but 
he turned very pale4 ,he gazed     in   
stupefied astonishment on the small     

rebel for some seconds1 and     then    
clung for support to the copper4 ,the   
assistants were paralyzed     with      
wonder2 the boys with fear4      ,what6 
said the master at length1 in a faint   
voice4      ,please1 sir1 replied       
,oliver1 ,i want some more4      ,the   
master aimed a blow at ,oliver's head   
with the ladle2 pinioned his     arms2  
and shrieked aloud for the beadle4      
,the board were sitting in solemn       
conclave1 when ,mr4 ,bumble rushed into 
the room in great excitement1 and       
addressing the gentleman in the high    
chair1 said3      ,mr4 ,limbkins1 ,i beg
 your pardon1 sir6 ,oliver ,twist has   
asked for     more4      ,there was a   
general start4 ,horror was depicted in  
every countenance4      ,for more6 said 
,mr4 ,limbkins4 ,compose yourself1      
,bumble1 and answer     me distinctly4  
,do ,i understand that he asked for     
more1 after he had     eaten the supper 
allotted by the dietary8      ,he did1  
sir1 replied ,bumble4      ,that boy    

will be hung1 said the gentleman in the 
white waistcoat4 ,i     know that boy   
will be hung4  ,having shown how infants
 were starved in farming1 and how boys  
were starved in the workhouses1 he next 
directed attention to the way           
apprentices were treated4  ,mr4         
,sowerberry was an undertaker1 who      
decided to take ,oliver from the        
workhouse4 ,he took ,oliver upon liking1
 which meant that if he could get enough
 work out of him without putting too    
much food into him1 he should keep him  
for a term of years to do what he liked 
with him4  ,when ,oliver had been driven
 to desperation by ,noah ,claypole1 and 
had punished him as he deserved1 ,mrs4  
,sowerberry sent for ,mr4 ,bumble4 ,when
 ,mr4 ,bumble asked ,oliver if he was   
not afraid of him1 ,oliver bravely      
answered ,no6 ,the ,beadle was petrified
 with amazement1 and he accounted for   
,oliver's wickedness by saying3         
,it's meat4      ,what8 exclaimed ,mrs4 
,sowerberry4      ,meat1 ma'am1 meat1   

replied ,bumble1 with stern emphasis4   
,you've     overfed him1 ma'am4 ,you've 
raised a artificial soul and spirit in  
him1     ma'am1 unbecoming a person of  
his condition2 as the board1 ,mrs4      
,sowerberry1 who are practical          
philosophers1 will tell you4 ,what have 
paupers to do with soul or spirit8 ,it's
 quite enough that we let 'em     have  
live bodies4 ,if you had kept the boy on
 gruel1 ma'am1 this would     never have
 happened4      ,dear1 dear6 ejaculated 
,mrs4 ,sowerberry1 piously raising her  
eyes to     the kitchen ceiling2 this   
comes of being liberal6      ,the       
liberality of ,mrs4 ,sowerberry to      
,oliver had consisted in a profuse      
bestowal upon him of all the dirty odds 
and ends which nobody else     would    
eat4  ,by this conversation ,dickens    
meant to teach that a well-fed child is 
a different type from one who is not    
properly nourished2 that food has an    
influence on the spirit1 as well as on  
the body4 ,he did not disapprove of     

,oliver's spirit1 but he heartily       
commended him for resenting the way he  
was treated4 ,this lesson was needed    
too1 as children were expected to submit
 uncomplainingly to those who were their
 legal guardians1 whether strangers or  
parents4 ,now1 largely through ,dickens1
 children are not only encouraged to    
defend themselves against cruel and     
tyrannical guardians or parents1 and to 
run away from them1 but the state itself
 will take them away1 if cruelty is     
proved against those who should be their
 protectors4  ,dickens also revealed by 
this incident the meanness of adults not
 only in institutions but in homes1 in  
giving to the children the odds and     
ends1 the scraps1 the parts of the fowl 
or the meat that older people do not    
care for4 ,he brought the matter up     
again in ,great ,expectations4 ,at the  
,christmas dinner ,pip was regaled with 
the scaly tips of the drumsticks of the 
fowls1 and with those obscure corners of
 pork of which the pig1 when living1 had

 least reason to be vain4  ,one of the  
reasons given by ,snawley to ,squeers to
 induce him to take his stepsons at a   
lower rate was that they were not great 
eaters4  ,the selfishness of adulthood  
toward childhood1 and the stupidity of  
the general idea1 that children do not  
require good food because they are young
 and do not have to work hard1 were held
 up to deserved ridicule1 in ,squeers's 
manner of breakfasting in ,london1 and  
the food he provided for the five hungry
 little boys to strengthen them for     
their long ride to ,yorkshire in cold   
weather4      ,he found that learned    
gentleman sitting at breakfast1 with the
 three     little boys before noticed1  
and two others who had turned up by some
     lucky chance since the interview of
 the previous day1 ranged in a row      
on the opposite seat4 ,mr4 ,squeers had 
before him a small measure of           
coffee1 a plate of hot toast1 and a cold
 round of beef2 but he was at     that  
moment intent on preparing breakfast for

 the little boys4      ,this is two     
penn'orth of milk1 is it1 waiter8 said  
,mr4 ,squeers1     looking down into a  
large blue mug1 and slanting it gently1 
so as to     get an accurate view of the
 quantity of liquid contained in it4    
,that's two penn'orth1 sir1 replied the 
waiter4      ,what a rare article milk  
is1 to be sure1 in ,london6 said ,mr4   
,squeers     with a sigh4 ,just fill    
that mug up with lukewarm water1        
,william1 will     you8      ,to the    
wery top1 sir8 inquired the waiter4     
,why1 the milk will be     drownded4    
,never you mind that1 replied ,mr4      
,squeers4 ,serve it right for being     
so dear4 ,you ordered that thick bread  
and butter for three1 did you8          
,coming directly1 sir4      ,you needn't
 hurry yourself1 said ,squeers2 there's 
plenty of time4     ,conquer your       
passions1 boys1 and don't be eager after
 vittles4 ,as he     uttered this moral 
precept1 ,mr4 ,squeers took a large bite
 out of the     cold beef1 and          

recognised ,nicholas4      ,sit down1   
,mr4 ,nickleby1 said ,squeers4 ,here we 
are1 a-breakfasting     you see6        
,nicholas did not see that anybody was  
breakfasting1 except ,mr4     ,squeers2 
but he bowed with all becoming          
reverence1 and looked as     cheerful as
 he could4      ,oh6 that's the milk and
 water1 is it1 ,william8 said ,squeers4 
,very     good2 don't forget the bread  
and butter presently4      ,at this     
fresh mention of the bread and butter   
the five little boys     looked very    
eager1 and followed the waiter out1 with
 their eyes2     meanwhile ,mr4 ,squeers
 tasted the milk and water4      ,ah6   
said that gentleman1 smacking his lips1 
here's richness6 ,think     of the many 
beggars and orphans in the streets that 
would be glad of     this1 little boys4 
,a shocking thing hunger is1 isn't it1  
,mr4     ,nickleby8      ,very shocking1
 sir1 said ,nicholas4      ,when ,i say 
number one1 pursued ,mr4 ,squeers1      
putting the mug before     the children1

 the boy on the left hand nearest the   
window may take a     drink2 and when ,i
 say number two1 the boy next him will  
go in1 and so     till we come to number
 five1 which is the last boy4 ,are you  
ready8      ,yes1 sir1 cried the little 
boys with great eagerness4      ,that's 
right1 said ,squeers1 calmly getting on 
with his breakfast2     keep ready till 
,i tell you to begin4 ,subdue your      
appetites1 my dears1     and you've     
conquered human natur4 ,this is the way 
we inculcate     strength of mind1 ,mr4 
,nickleby1 said the schoolmaster1       
turning to     ,nicholas1 and speaking  
with his mouth very full of beef and    
toast4      ,nicholas murmured          
something--he knew not what--in reply2  
and the     little boys1 dividing their 
gaze between the mug1 the bread and     
butter     7which had by this time      
arrived71 and every morsel which ,mr4   
,squeers     took into his mouth1       
remained with strained eyes in torments 
of     expectation4      ,thank ,god for

 a good breakfast1 said ,squeers1 when  
he had finished4     ,number one may    
take a drink4      ,number one received 
the mug ravenously1 and had just drunk  
enough to     make him wish for more1   
when ,mr4 ,squeers gave the signal for  
number     two1 who gave up at the same 
interesting moment to number three2 and 
the process was repeated until the milk 
and water terminated with     number    
five4      ,and now1 said the           
schoolmaster1 dividing the bread and    
butter for     three into as many       
portions as there were children1 you had
 better     look sharp with your        
breakfast1 the horn will blow in a      
minute or two1     and then every boy   
leaves off4      ,permission being thus 
given to fall to1 the boys began to eat 
voraciously1 and in desperate haste1    
while the schoolmaster 7who was     in  
high good humour after his meal7 picked 
his teeth with a fork1 and     looked   
smilingly on4 ,in a very short time the 
horn was heard4      ,i thought it      

wouldn't be long1 said ,squeers1 jumping
 up and     producing a little basket   
from under the seat2 put what you       
haven't     had time to eat in here1    
boys6 ,you'll want it on the road6      
,young ,wackford ,squeers was fed on the
 fattest meats1 so that he might be kept
 plump and energetic1 in order that he  
might be taken to ,london to show       
intending patrons how well the boys were
 fed in ,dotheboys ,hall4  ,again1 in   
,the ,old ,curiosity ,shop1 the starving
 of child servants is condemned by the  
way ,sally ,brass fed the ,marchioness4 
,dick ,swiveller's curiosity led him to 
peep through a crack in the kitchen door
 one day while ,sally was giving the    
little servant her dinner4              
,everything was locked up2 the coal     
cellar1 the candle box1 the salt        
box1 the meat safe were all padlocked4  
,there was nothing that a beetle        
could have lunched upon4 ,the pinched   
and meagre aspect of the place     would
 have killed a chameleon2 he would have 

known1 at the first     mouthful1 that  
the air was not eatable1 and must have  
given up the     ghost in despair4      
,the small servant stood with humility  
in presence of ,miss ,sally1 and        
hung her head4      ,are you there8 said
 ,miss ,sally4      ,yes1 ma'am1 was the
 answer1 in a weak voice4      ,go      
farther away from the leg of mutton1 or 
you'll be picking it1 ,i     know1 said 
,miss ,sally4      ,the girl withdrew   
into a corner1 while ,miss ,brass took a
 key from her     pocket1 and opening   
the safe1 brought from it a dreary waste
 of cold     potatoes1 looking as       
eatable as ,stonehenge4 ,this she placed
 before the     small servant1 ordering 
her to sit down before it1 and then1    
taking up     a great carving knife1    
made a mighty show of sharpening it upon
 the     carving fork4      ,do you see 
this8 said ,miss ,brass1 slicing off    
about two square     inches of cold     
mutton1 after all this preparation1 and 
holding it out     on the point of the  

fork4      ,the small servant looked    
hard enough at it with her hungry eyes  
to see     every shred in it1 small as  
it was1 and answered1 ,yes4      ,then  
don't you ever go and say1 retorted     
,miss ,sally1 that you     hadn't meat  
here4 ,there1 eat it up4      ,this was 
soon done4 ,now1 do you want any more8  
said ,miss ,sally4      ,the hungry     
creature answered with a faint ,no4     
,they were evidently     going through  
an established form4      ,you've been  
helped once to meat1 said ,miss ,brass1 
summing up the     facts2 you have had  
as much as you can eat1 you're asked if 
you want     any more1 and you answer   
',no6' ,then don't you ever go and say  
you were     allowanced1 mind that4     
,dickens showed the evil effects of     
eating too rapidly in his description of
 the dinner in ,mrs4 ,pawkins's boarding
 house in ,new ,york1 where ,martin     
,chuzzlewit boarded for a short time    
after reaching ,america4      ,it was a 
numerous company1 eighteen or twenty    

perhaps4 ,of these1 some     five or six
 were ladies1 who sat wedged together in
 a little phalanx     by themselves4    
,all the knives and forks were working  
away at a rate     that was quite       
alarming2 very few words were spoken2   
and everybody     seemed to eat his     
utmost in self-defence1 as if a famine  
were expected     to set in before      
breakfast time to-morrow morning1 and it
 had become     high time to assert the 
first law of ,nature4 ,the poultry1     
which may     perhaps be considered to  
have formed the staple of the           
entertainment--for there was a turkey at
 the top1 a pair of ducks at     the    
bottom1 and two fowls in the            
middle--disappeared as rapidly as if    
every bird had had the use of its wings1
 and had flown in desperation     down a
 human throat4 ,the oysters1 stewed and 
pickled1 leaped from     their capacious
 reservoirs1 and slid by scores into the
 mouths of the     assembly4 ,the       
sharpest pickles vanished1 whole        

cucumbers at once1 like     sugarplums1 
and no man winked his eye4 ,great heaps 
of indigestible     matter melted away  
as ice before the sun4 ,it was a solemn 
and an awful     thing to see4          
,dyspeptic individuals bolted their food
 in wedges2     feeding not themselves1 
but broods of nightmares1 who were      
continually     standing at livery      
within them4 ,spare men1 with lank and  
rigid cheeks1     came out unsatisfied  
from the destruction of heavy dishes1   
and glared     with watchful eyes upon  
the pastry4 ,what ,mrs4 ,pawkins felt   
each day at     dinner time is hidden   
from all human knowledge4 ,but she had  
one     comfort4 ,it was very soon over4
  ,dickens repeats this criticism of    
rapid eating in his ,american ,notes1   
when specifying the causes of disease   
among ,american people4 ,he says3 ,the  
custom of hastily swallowing large      
quantities of animal food three times a 
day and rushing back to sedentary       
pursuits after each meal must be        

changed4  ,poor ,paul ,dombey was       
sacrificed to his father's pride4 ,mrs4 
,toodle was dismissed by ,mr4 ,dombey   
because she dared to take his infant son
 with her when she went to see her own  
children4 ,paul was thus robbed of the  
natural food1 which his sensitive nature
 needed so much4 ,this was largely      
responsible for the fact that ,paul was 
delicate4 ,by first depriving him of    
proper food1 and then sending him to    
,doctor ,blimber's school to learn      
everything1 ,mr4 ,dombey led directly to
 ,paul's death4 ,his pride and vanity   
overreached themselves4  ,in ,mrs4      
,pipchin's meals ,dickens tried to show 
two things3 ,first1 the selfishness of  
adulthood in regard to children's diet  
as compared with its own2 second1 the   
absolute insufficiency of the kind of   
food commonly supplied to children for  
building up strong1 energetic1 and      
well-developed men and women4  ,she     
regaled the children with a repast of   
farinaceous and vegetable foods--chiefly

 rice1 but she herself had a good hot   
dinner with mutton chops4  ,the children
 were required to repeat a form of grace
 thanking ,mrs4 ,pipchin for a good     
dinner4 ,oliver was told he must be     
thankful to the kind gentlemen who      
provided food for him in the workhouse4 
,the same mockery of religion by mixing 
it up with the starvation of childhood  
is made ridiculous in the letter which  
,squeers read to the unfortunate        
children in ,dotheboys ,hall1 pretending
 that it had been written by the        
stepmother of ,mobbs4  ,mobbs's         
stepmother1 said ,squeers1 took to her  
bed on hearing that he wouldn't eat fat1
 and has been very ill ever since4 ,she 
wishes to know1 by an early post1 where 
he expects to go to if he quarrels with 
his vittles2 and with what feelings he  
could turn up his nose at the cow's     
liver's broth1 after his good master had
 asked a blessing on it4 ,cow's liver's 
broth would not be a very strengthening 
diet for children even with the blessing

 of so good a man as ,squeers upon it4  
,dickens makes a characteristic hit at  
the fashionable idea which was popular  
at one time1 that it was rather         
indelicate1 especially in a lady1 to    
have a good robust constitution and a   
vigorous digestion in describing ,mr4   
,vholes in ,bleak ,house4 ,his digestion
 was impaired1 which is always highly   
respectable4  ,mrs4 ,cruncher1 in ,a    
,tale of ,two ,cities1 objected to the  
questionable ways in which ,mr4         
,cruncher earned his money sometimes4   
,her husband charged her with flying in 
the face of ,providence by refusing the 
wittles and drink he provided for her1  
and especially for neglecting to give it
 to their son4 ,with you flying into the
 face of your own wittles and drink6 ,i 
don't know how scarce you mayn't make   
the wittles and drink here by your      
flopping tricks and your unfeeling      
conduct4 ,look at your boy3 he is yourn1
 ain't he8 ,he's as thin as a lath4 ,do 
you call yourself a mother1 and not know

 a mother's first duty is to blow her   
son out4  ,abel ,magwitch1 when         
describing the terrible training he     
received at the hands of a ,christian   
community in the most advanced          
,christian civilization of the world1   
said that when he was in jail some      
philanthropists measured his head to    
find out the cause of his wickedness1   
and added with great wisdom1 they had   
better a-measured my stomach4  ,the     
folly of hoping that healthy infants can
 be nourished by mothers who are        
compelled to labour continuously through
 long hours without rest is shown in the
 description of the child whose mother  
was a waitress1 in ,somebody's ,luggage4
 ,incidentally1 too1 ,dickens reveals in
 this case the facts that the power of  
assimilation of little children is      
usually impaired1 and that1 as a        
consequence1 they become more peevish1  
and therefore get shaken and otherwise  
abused for the ignorance of the adults  
responsible for their care4 ,speaking of

 the treatment of the baby1 he says3    
,you were conveyed--ere yet your dawning
 powers were otherwise     developed    
than to harbour vacancy in your         
inside--you were conveyed by            
surreptitious means into a pantry       
adjoining the ,admiral ,nelson1 ,civic  
and ,general ,dining-,rooms1 there to   
receive by stealth that healthful       
sustenance which is the pride and boast 
of the ,british female     constitution4
 ,under the combined influence of the   
smells of roast and     boiled1 and     
soup1 and gas1 and malt liquors1 you    
partook of your     earliest            
nourishment2 your unwilling grandmother 
sitting prepared to     catch you when  
your mother was called and dropped you2 
your     grandmother's shawl ever ready 
to stifle your natural complainings2    
your innocent mind surrounded by        
uncongenial cruets1 dirty plates1       
dish covers1 and cold gravy2 your mother
 calling down the pipe for     veals and
 porks1 instead of soothing you with    

nursery rhymes4 ,under     these        
untoward circumstances you were early   
weaned4 ,your unwilling     grandmother1
 ever growing more unwilling as your    
food assimilated     less1 then         
contracted habits of shaking you till   
your system curdled1     and your food  
would not assimilate at all4  ,the      
schoolmaster in ,jemmy ,lirriper's      
original story was captured and put into
 confinement for his treatment of the   
boys1 and he was to have nothing to eat 
but the boys' dinners1 and was to drink 
half a cask of their beer every day4    
,the schoolboy in ,the ,schoolboy's     
,story describes the food given to the  
boys as one of the grievances they had  
against the institution4      ,as to the
 beef1 it's shameful4 ,it's not beef4   
,regular beef isn't     veins4 ,you can 
chew regular beef4 ,besides which1      
there's gravy to     regular beef1 and  
you never see a drop to ours4 ,another  
of our fellows     went home ill1 and   
heard the family doctor tell his father 

that he     couldn't account for his    
complaint unless it was the beer4 ,of   
course     it was the beer1 and well it 
might be6      ,however1 beef and ,old  
,cheeseman are two different things4 ,so
 is beer4     ,it was ,old ,cheeseman ,i
 meant to tell about2 not the manner in 
which     our fellows get their         
constitutions destroyed for the sake of 
profit4      ,why1 look at the pie crust
 alone4 ,there's no flakiness in it4    
,it's     solid--like damp lead4 ,then  
our fellows get nightmares1 and are     
bolstered for calling out and waking    
other fellows4 ,who can wonder6         
,old ,cheeseman one night walked in his 
sleep1 put his hat on over his          
nightcap1 got hold of a fishing rod and 
a cricket bat1 and went down     into   
the parlour1 where they naturally       
thought from his appearance he     was a
 ,ghost4 ,why1 he never would have done 
that if his meals had been              
wholesome4 ,when we all begin to walk in
 our sleeps1 ,i suppose they'll     be  

sorry for it4  ,at ,doctor ,blimber's   
school they used to crib the boys'      
dinners4 ,there is no more outrageous   
practice than that of depriving a child 
of food as a means of punishment4       
,dickens ended his sketch entitled ,a   
,walk in a ,workhouse with a plea on    
behalf of the inmates for a little more 
liberty--and a little more bread1 and   
even in his last book1 ,edwin ,drood1 he
 was still directing attention to the   
poor food supplied in boarding schools4 
,mrs4 ,billickin was very plain in her  
hints about the poor board supplied to  
,rosa at ,miss ,twinkleton's when she   
received the schoolmistress in her own  
home4 ,referring to ,rosa1 who was now  
residing with ,mrs4 ,billickin1 she     
said3      ,i did think it well to      
mention to my cook1 which ,i 'ope you   
will     agree with1 ,miss ,twinkleton1 
was a right precaution1 that the young  
lady being used to what we should       
consider here but poor diet1 had        
better be brought forward by degrees4   

,for a rush from scanty feeding     to  
generous feeding1 and from what you may 
call messing to what you     may call   
method1 do require a power of           
constitution1 which is not     often    
found in youth1 particularly when       
undermined by boarding school6     ,i   
was put in youth to a very genteel      
boarding school1 the mistress     being 
no less a lady than yourself1 of about  
your own age1 or1 it may     be some    
years younger1 and a poorness of blood  
flowed from the table     which has run 
through my life4     ,,chapter ,,xv4    
,,minor ,,schools4   ,the schools of    
,squeers1 ,doctor ,blimber1 ,mr4        
,creakle1 ,doctor ,strong1 and ,mr4     
,gradgrind and ,mr4 ,m',choakumchild are
 the most celebrated schools of         
,dickens1 and they contain the greater  
part of his pedagogical teaching4 ,his  
other schools are1 however1 worthy of   
very careful study4  ,one of the first  
of the ,sketches by ,boz described a man
 who had passed through many            

vicissitudes1 and at length was reduced 
to such poverty that he applied to the  
parish board for charity4 ,this led to  
his appointment as a schoolmaster4      
,dickens clearly intended to teach the  
lesson1 afterward emphasized in         
,nicholas ,nickleby and other books1    
that poverty should not establish a     
claim to the position of a              
school-teacher4  ,minerva ,hall1 also in
 ,sketches by ,boz1 reveals one of those
 public nuisances1 a spoiled child1     
spoiled because his papa was too busy   
with public duties and his mamma with   
society duties to train him properly4   
,it also shows the reason ,mrs4         
,cornelius ,brook ,dingwall had for     
sending her daughter to school4 ,she    
said3 ,one of my principal reasons for  
parting with my daughter is that she has
 lately acquired some sentimental ideas1
 which it is most desirable to eradicate
 from her young mind4 ,here the public  
nuisance fell out of a chair1 and mamma 
and papa showed their usual mode of     

training him4 ,mamma called him a       
naughty boy1 and threatened to send for 
,james to take him away--both name and  
threat being wrong4 ,papa merely excused
 the cherub on the ground of his great  
flow of spirits4 ,the school also shows 
the silly training of so-called         
finishing schools1 as chiefly intended  
to teach young ladies the small         
conventionalities of society4  ,in ,the 
,old ,curiosity ,shop there are four    
schools3 ,mr4 ,marton's two schools1    
,mrs4 ,wackles's school1 and ,miss      
,monflathers's school4 ,mr4 ,marton's   
first school was introduced to reveal   
all the good qualities that ,mr4        
,squeers lacked1 especially sympathy4   
,mr4 ,marton was the immediate successor
 of ,mr4 ,squeers1 and they possessed   
directly opposite traits of character in
 their relationship to childhood4 ,mr4  
,squeers was coarse1 unsympathetic1 and 
coercive4 ,mr4 ,marton was kind1        
considerate1 and a perfect type of true 
sympathy with the child4 ,it is         

reasonable to believe that ,mr4 ,marton 
and ,mr4 ,squeers were drawn as         
companion pictures to illustrate and    
enforce the same truth--that sympathy   
with the child is the fundamental       
element in the character of a true      
teacher4  ,the old bachelor emphasized  
this when he said to ,mr4 ,marton1 ,you 
are none the worse teacher for having   
learned humanity4  ,there is a great    
deal of food for psychological and      
pedagogical study in the introduction of
 the boys he was to teach in his second 
school1 given by the bachelor to ,mr4   
,marton4 ,the bachelor was as full of   
genuine boyish spirit as it is possible 
for any adult to be1 and was in some    
respects a more perfect type for an     
ideal teacher than ,mr4 ,marton4 ,mr4   
,marton had the tender1 spiritual       
sympathy of a true woman1 the motherhood
 spirit that constitutes the atmosphere 
in which all right elements of childhood
 find their richest development2 the    
bachelor had the perfect manly sympathy 

that enabled him to enter heartily into 
boy life4 ,he had especially the power  
of recognising in the things for which  
boys are often rebuked the best         
evidences of their strength1 and he     
could remember his own boyhood so well  
as to fully sympathize with the boys4   
,mr4 ,marton and the bachelor reveal the
 whole range of sympathetic             
possibilities4      ,when nothing more  
was left to be done he charged the boy  
to run off     and bring his schoolmates
 to be marshalled before their new      
master and     solemnly reviewed4       
,as good a set of fellows1 ,marton1 as  
you'd wish to see1 he said1     turning 
to the schoolmaster when the boy was    
gone2 but ,i don't let     'em know ,i  
think so4 ,that wouldn't do at all4     
,the messenger soon returned at the head
 of a long row of urchins1     great and
 small1 who1 being confronted by the    
bachelor at the house     door1 fell    
into various convulsions of politeness2 
clutching their     hats and caps1      

squeezing them into the smallest        
possible dimensions1     and making all 
manner of bows and scrapes1 which the   
little old     gentleman contemplated   
with excessive satisfaction1 and        
expressed his     approval of by a great
 many nods and smiles4 ,indeed1 his     
approbation     of the boys was by no   
means so scrupulously disguised as he   
had led     the schoolmaster to suppose1
 inasmuch as it broke out in sundry loud
     whispers and confidential remarks  
which were perfectly audible to them    
every one4      ,this first boy1        
schoolmaster1 said the bachelor1 is     
,john ,owen2 a     lad of good parts1   
sir1 and frank1 honest temper2 but too  
thoughtless1     too playful1 too       
light-headed by far4 ,that boy1 my good 
sir1 would     break his neck with      
pleasure1 and deprive his parents of    
their chief     comfort--and between    
ourselves1 when you come to see him at  
hare and     hounds1 taking the fence   
and ditch by the finger post1 and       

sliding     down the face of the little 
quarry1 you'll never forget it4 ,it's   
beautiful6      ,john ,owen having been 
thus rebuked1 and being in perfect      
possession of     the speech aside1 the 
bachelor singled out another boy4       
,now look at that lad1 sir1 said the    
bachelor4 ,you see that fellow8         
,richard ,evans his name is1 sir4 ,an   
amazing boy to learn1 blessed with     a
 good memory and a ready understanding1 
and moreover with a good     voice and  
ear for psalm singing1 in which he is   
the best among us4     ,yet1 sir1 that  
boy will come to a bad end2 he'll never 
die in his bed2     he's always falling 
asleep in sermon time--and to tell you  
the truth1     ,mr4 ,marton1 ,i always  
did the same at his age1 and feel quite 
certain     that it was natural to my   
constitution1 and ,i couldn't help it4  
,this hopeful pupil edified by the above
 terrible reproval1 the     bachelor    
turned to another4      ,but if we talk 
of examples to be shunned1 said he1 if  

we come to     boys that should be a    
warning and a beacon to all their       
fellows1     here's the one1 and ,i hope
 you won't spare him4 ,this is the lad1 
sir2     this one with the blue eyes and
 light hair4 ,this is a swimmer1 sir1   
this fellow--a diver1 ,lord save us6    
,this is a boy1 sir1 who had a     fancy
 for plunging into eighteen feet of     
water1 with his clothes on1     and     
bringing up a blind man's dog1 who was  
being drowned by the weight     of his  
chain and collar1 while his master stood
 wringing his hands     upon the bank1  
bewailing the loss of his guide and     
friend4 ,i sent the     boy two guineas 
anonymously1 sir1 added the bachelor1 in
 his peculiar     whisper1 directly ,i  
heard of it2 but never mention it on any
 account1     for he hasn't the least   
idea that it came from me4      ,having 
disposed of this culprit1 the bachelor  
turned to another1 and     from him to  
another1 and so on through the whole    
array1 laying1 for     their wholesome  

restriction within due bounds1 the same 
cutting     emphasis on such of their   
propensities as were dearest to his     
heart1     and were unquestionably      
referable to his own precept and        
example4     ,thoroughly persuaded1 in  
the end1 that he had made them miserable
 by     his severity1 he dismissed them 
with a small present1 and an            
admonition to walk quietly home1 without
 any leapings1 scufflings1 or           
turnings out of the way2 which          
injunction1 he informed the             
schoolmaster in the same audible        
confidence1 he did not think he could   
have obeyed when he was a boy had his   
life depended on it4  ,what a model he  
was for teachers1 this glorious         
bachelor1 in his sympathy with the boys1
 and in his unconventionality6 ,when    
teachers begin to feel the grip of      
formalism on their better natures and   
begin to lose faith in so-called bad    
boys1 they should read this introduction
 of the pupils by the bachelor4 ,bless  

his memory6 he will always rank among   
the greatest child trainers4  ,his      
pretence of not letting the boys know   
that he thought they were good fellows  
was a pleasant rebuke of the miserable  
old doctrine that a boy should always be
 told his faults1 but never be spoken to
 about his virtues4 ,this false doctrine
 having been so carefully applied in    
homes and schools for centuries as a    
religious duty1 based on the            
unscriptural doctrine of child          
depravity1 has made a large portion of  
humanity in ,christian countries mere   
defect dodgers1 instead of making them  
conscious of power to do independent    
work for ,god and their fellow-men4     
,dickens had no faith in this doctrine1 
and he taught that one of the highest   
things a teacher can do for a child is  
to recognise and show honest            
appreciation of his best powers and     
qualities4 ,when superintendents search 
as carefully for the good qualities and 
powers of their teachers as some yet do 

for their weaknesses1 and when they are 
so unconventional as to be able to show 
genuine appreciation frankly to the     
teachers themselves1 the schools will   
reach their proper rate of progressive  
development4  ,through the whole series 
of criticisms of the boys1 ,dickens is  
showing the full rich sympathy of his   
own great heart for the whole race of   
boys in the unreasonable and unjust     
criticism to which they are subjected by
 forgetful and ignorant adulthood4      
,those who should be wisest in these    
matters--and especially many who think  
themselves wise--are still very         
forgetful of their own early life1 and  
very ignorant of boyhood4  ,mrs4        
,wackles's school was called a ,ladies' 
,seminary1 but it was in reality a very 
small day school for young ladies of    
proportionate dimensions4      ,the     
several duties of instruction in this   
establishment were thus     discharged3 
,english grammar1 composition1          
geography1 and the use of     the       

dumb-bells1 by ,miss ,melissa ,wackles2 
writing1 arithmetic1 dancing1     music1
 and general fascination1 by ,miss      
,sophy ,wackles2 the art of             
needlework1 marking1 and samplery1 by   
,miss ,jane ,wackles2 corporal          
punishment1 fasting1 and other tortures 
and terrors1 by ,mrs4 ,wackles4         
,miss ,melissa ,wackles was the eldest  
daughter1 ,miss ,sophy the next1 and    
,miss ,jane the youngest4 ,miss ,melissa
 might have seen five-and-thirty        
summers or thereabout1 and verged on the
 autumnal1 ,miss ,sophy was a     fresh1
 good-humoured1 buxom girl of twenty2   
and ,miss ,jane numbered     scarcely   
sixteen years4 ,mrs4 ,wackles was an    
excellent1 but rather     venomous old  
lady of threescore4  ,mrs4 ,wackles's   
school is described to show the         
frivolous nature of such so-called      
private educational institutions1 and to
 strike again the abominable practice of
 abusing children by corporal           
punishment1 fasting1 and other tortures 

and terrors by a venomous old lady of   
threescore4  ,miss ,monflathers's school
 was a boarding establishment for young 
ladies1 in which they were duly         
impressed with the dignity of their     
social position2 with the terrible      
danger of yielding in any way to their  
natural impulses1 all of which were     
assumed to be very wicked2 with the     
sinfulness of sympathizing with or in   
any way recognising the lower classes2  
with the impropriety of knowing the fact
 that there was any wrong in the world  
to be righted or any suffering to be    
relieved2 with the inestimable value of 
aristocratic birth2 and with the most   
important truth that men are very       
dangerous animals1 to be carefully      
shunned4  ,little ,nell was sent to the 
establishment of ,miss ,monflathers with
 notices of ,mrs4 ,jarley's waxworks1   
being temporarily in the employ of that 
lady4      ,nell had no difficulty in   
finding out ,miss ,monflathers's        
,boarding and     ,day ,establishment1  

which was a large house1 with a high    
wall1 and a     large garden gate with a
 large brass plate1 and a small grating 
through which ,miss ,monflathers's      
parlour maid inspected all visitors     
before admitting them2 for nothing in   
the shape of a man--no1 not even     a  
milkman--was suffered1 without special  
license1 to pass that gate4     ,even   
the taxgatherer1 who was stout1 and wore
 spectacles and a     broadbrimmed hat1 
had the taxes handed through the        
grating4 ,more     obdurate than gate of
 adamant or brass1 this gate of ,miss   
,monflathers's frowned on all mankind4  
,the very butcher respected it as     a 
gate of mystery1 and left off whistling 
when he rang the bell4      ,as ,nell   
approached the awful door1 it turned    
slowly upon its hinges     with a       
creaking noise1 and forth from the      
solemn grove beyond came a     long file
 of young ladies1 two and two1 all with 
open books in their     hands1 and some 
with parasols likewise4 ,and last of the

 goodly     procession came ,miss       
,monflathers1 bearing herself a parasol 
of lilac     silk1 and supported by two 
smiling teachers1 each mortally envious 
of     the other1 and devoted unto ,miss
 ,monflathers4      ,confused by the    
looks and whispers of the girls1 ,nell  
stood with     downcast eyes and        
suffered the procession to pass on1     
until ,miss     ,monflathers1 bringing  
up the rear1 approached her1 when she   
courtesied     and presented her little 
packet2 on receipt whereof ,miss        
,monflathers     commanded that the line
 should halt4      ,you're the waxwork  
child1 are you not8 said ,miss          
,monflathers4      ,yes1 ma'am1 replied 
,nell1 colouring deeply1 for the young  
ladies had     collected about her1 and 
she was the centre on which all eyes    
were     fixed4      ,and don't you     
think you must be a very wicked little  
child1 said     ,miss ,monflathers1 who 
was of rather uncertain temper1 and lost
 no     opportunity of impressing moral 

truths upon the tender minds of young   
ladies1 to be a waxwork child at all8   
,poor ,nell had never viewed her        
position in this light1 and not knowing 
what to say1 remained silent1 blushing  
more deeply than before4      ,don't you
 know1 said ,miss ,monflathers1 that    
it's very naughty and     unfeminine1   
and a perversion of the properties      
wisely and benignantly     transmitted  
to us1 with expansive powers to be      
roused from their     dormant state     
through the medium of cultivation8      
,don't you feel how naughty it is of    
you1 resumed ,miss ,monflathers1     to 
be a waxwork child1 when you might have 
the proud consciousness of              
assisting1 to the extent of your infant 
powers1 the manufactures of     your    
country2 of improving your mind by the  
constant contemplation of     the steam 
engine2 and of earning a comfortable and
 independent     subsistence of from two
 and ninepence to three shillings per   
week8     ,don't you know that the      

harder you are at work1 the happier you 
are8      ',how doth the little----'    
murmured one of the teachers in         
quotation     from ,dr4 ,watts4         
,eh8 said ,miss ,monflathers1 turning   
smartly round4 ,who said that8      ,the
 little busy bee1 said ,miss            
,monflathers1 drawing herself up1 is    
applicable only to genteel children4    
',in books1 or work1 or healthful play' 
is quite right as far as they are       
concerned2 and the work means           
painting on velvet1 fancy needlework1 or
 embroidery4 ,in such cases as          
these1 pointing to ,nell with her       
parasol1 and in the case of all     poor
 people's children1 we should read it   
thus3          ',in work1 work1 work4   
,in work alway           ,let my first  
years be passed1         ,that ,i may   
give for ev'ry day           ,some good 
account at last4'      ,just then       
somebody happened to discover that ,nell
 was crying1 and all     eyes were again
 turned toward her4      ,there were    

indeed tears in her eyes1 and drawing   
out her handkerchief     to brush them  
away1 she happened to let it fall4      
,before she could     stoop to pick it  
up1 one young lady of about fifteen or  
sixteen1 who     had been standing a    
little apart from the others1 as though 
she had no     recognised place among   
them1 sprang forward and put it in her  
hand4     ,she was gliding timidly away 
again1 when she was arrested by the     
governess4      ,it was ,miss ,edwards  
who did that1 ,i know1 said ,miss       
,monflathers     predictively4 ,now ,i  
am sure that was ,miss ,edwards4        
,it was ,miss ,edwards1 and everybody   
said it was ,miss ,edwards1 and ,miss   
,edwards herself admitted that it was4  
,is it not1 said ,miss ,monflathers1    
putting down her parasol to take a      
severer view of the offender1 a most    
remarkable thing1 ,miss ,edwards1       
that you have an attachment to the lower
 classes which always draws     you to  
their sides2 or1 rather1 is it not a    

most extraordinary thing     that all ,i
 say and do will not wean you from      
propensities which your     original    
station in life has unhappily rendered  
habitual to you1 you     extremely      
vulgar-minded girl8      ,i really      
intended no harm1 ma'am1 said a sweet   
voice4 ,it was a     momentary impulse1 
indeed4      ,an impulse6 repeated ,miss
 ,monflathers scornfully4 ,i wonder that
 you     presume to speak of impulses to
 me--both the teachers assented--,i am  
astonished--both the teachers were      
astonished--,i suppose it is an         
impulse which induces you to take the   
part of every grovelling and     debased
 person that comes in your way--both the
 teachers supposed so     too4      ,but
 ,i would have you know1 ,miss ,edwards1
 resumed the governess1 in a     tone of
 increased severity1 that you can not be
 permitted--if it be     only for the   
sake of preserving a proper example and 
decorum in this     establishment--that 
you can not be permitted1 and that you  

shall not     be permitted1 to fly in   
the face of your superiors in this      
extremely     gross manner4 ,if you have
 no reason to feel a becoming pride     
before     waxwork children1 there are  
young ladies here who have1 and you must
     either defer to those young ladies 
or leave the establishment1 ,miss       
,edwards4      ,this young lady1 being  
motherless and poor1 was apprenticed at 
the     school--taught for              
nothing--teaching others what she       
learned for     nothing--boarded for    
nothing--lodged for nothing--and set    
down and     rated as something         
immeasurably less than nothing1 by all  
the dwellers     in the house4 ,the     
servant maids felt her inferiority1 for 
they were     better treated2 free to   
come and go1 and regarded in their      
stations     with much more respect4    
,the teachers were infinitely superior1 
for     they had paid to go to school in
 their time1 and were paid now4 ,the    
pupils cared little for a companion who 

had no grand stories to tell     about  
home2 no friends to come with post      
horses1 and be received in     all      
humility1 with cake and wine1 by the    
governess2 no deferential     servant to
 attend and bear her home for the       
holidays2 nothing genteel     to talk   
about1 and nothing to display4 ,but why 
was ,miss ,monflathers     always vexed 
and irritated with the poor             
apprentice--how did that come     to    
pass8      ,why1 the gayest feather in  
,miss ,monflathers's cap1 and the       
brightest     glory of ,miss            
,monflathers's school1 was a baronet's  
daughter--the real     live daughter of 
a real live baronet--who1 by some       
extraordinary     reversal of the laws  
of ,nature1 was not only plain in       
features but     dull in intellect1     
while the poor apprentice had both a    
ready wit and     a handsome face and   
figure4 ,it seems incredible4 ,here was 
,miss     ,edwards1 who only paid a     
small premium which had been spent long 

ago1     every day outshining and       
excelling the baronet's daughter1 who   
learned     all the extras 7or was      
taught them all71 and whose half yearly 
bill     came to double that of any     
other young lady's in the school1 making
 no     account of the honour and       
reputation of her pupilage4 ,therefore1 
and     because she was a dependent1    
,miss ,monflathers had a great dislike  
to     ,miss ,edwards1 and was spiteful 
to her1 and aggravated by her1 and1     
when she had compassion on ,little      
,nell1 verbally fell upon and           
maltreated her1 as we have already seen4
      ,you will not take the air to-day1
 ,miss ,edwards1 said ,miss             
,monflathers4 ,have the goodness to     
retire to your own room1 and not to     
leave it without permission4      ,the  
poor girl was moving hastily away1 when 
she was suddenly1 in a     nautical     
phrase1 brought to by a subdued shriek  
from ,miss     ,monflathers4      ,she  
has passed me without any salute6 cried 

the governess1 raising     her eyes to  
the sky4 ,she has actually passed me    
without the slightest     acknowledgment
 of my presence6      ,the young lady   
turned and courtesied4 ,nell could see  
that she raised     her dark eyes to the
 face of her superior1 and that their   
expression1     and that of her whole   
attitude for the instant1 was one of    
mute but     most touching appeal       
against this ungenerous usage4 ,miss    
,monflathers     only tossed her head in
 reply1 and the great gate closed upon a
     bursting heart4  ,in addition to   
the gross evils of such institutions    
already suggested1 ,dickens exposed the 
cruelty of ,miss ,monflathers1 as a type
 of ,christian rectitude1 toward ,nell1 
whom she assumed to be very wicked1 and 
the tendency of society to treat        
teachers with contempt1 if they are not 
rich4 ,the standard based on mere wealth
 is happily changing4  ,the tone of     
,miss ,monflathers's lofty criticism in 
language and thought1 quite             

incomprehensible to the person          
admonished1 is very true to the life in 
cases of conventional people1 who take  
no pains to understand child nature or  
human nature in any phase1 except its   
depravity4  ,the heartlessness of the   
distinction between the genteel children
 and poor children is clearly pointed   
out4 ,there could scarcely be a more    
unchristlike thought than the one that  
would prohibit the children of the poor 
from the enjoyment of their natural     
tendency to play4 ,no civilization in   
which either by deliberate purpose or by
 criminal negligence the children of the
 poorest are left without the privilege 
and the means for full free play should 
dare to call itself ,christian4 ,yet    
,miss ,monflathers's parody aptly       
represented the practical outworking of 
civilization at the time of ,dickens1   
and long since1 too1 in regard to poor  
children4  ,miss ,monflathers told ,miss
 ,edwards majestically that she must not
 take the air to-day1 and contemptuously

 ordered her to remain in her room all  
day4 ,this was written to condemn the   
common punishment of keeping children in
 at recess or confining them as a means 
of punishment4 ,dickens always thought  
it a crime against childhood to punish a
 child by robbing it of any of its      
natural rights to food1 or fresh air1 or
 free exercise4  ,the ecstasy of passion
 reached by ,miss ,monflathers because  
,miss ,edwards passed her without       
saluting her showed ,dickens's attitude 
toward those who insisted and still     
insist on obeisance from those whom they
 are pleased to regard as inferiors4    
,public school education has been       
criticised because it does not train    
poor children to courtesy to their      
superiors4 ,any system deserves the     
support of all right-thinking people if 
it trains the children of the poorest to
 hold their heads up respectfully1 and  
look the world squarely in the face     
without a debasing consciousness of     
inferiority4 ,the greatest aim of       

education1 so far as the individual is  
concerned1 is freedom--spiritual        
freedom4 ,respect for properly          
constituted authority should become a   
part of every child's consciousness1 but
 this properly involves contempt for the
 arrogant assumption of certain people  
that certain other people should bow    
down in servile humility to them4       
,education must always be the enemy of  
tyranny1 slavery1 and all kinds of      
abasement4  ,the grinders' school was   
introduced to ridicule the practice of  
forcing all children in charitable      
institutions to wear a uniform dress1   
and to attack corporal punishment1      
neglect of moral training1 and the      
practice of placing ignorant men in the 
high position of a teacher4 ,the teacher
 in the grinders' school was a          
superannuated old grinder of savage     
disposition1 who had been appointed     
schoolmaster because he didn't know     
anything1 and wasn't fit for anything1  
and for whose cruel cane all chubby     

little boys had a perfect fascination4  
,the practice of dressing all children  
alike1 and of dressing them all without 
taste1 is continued in most homes for   
orphan children still4 ,surely the poor 
orphans have suffered enough without    
subjecting them to the indignity of     
tasteless dressing4 ,there might at     
least be a difference of taste in       
colour1 for instance1 for the blondes   
and the brunettes4  ,the school taught  
by ,agnes in ,david ,copperfield is     
mentioned to show that if a teacher     
works with a true spirit 7,agnes was a  
splendid character for women to study   
with great care71 teaching is a pleasant
 instead of an unhappy profession4      
,david said3 ,it is laborious1 is it    
not8 ,the labour is so pleasant1 she    
returned1 that it is scarcely grateful  
in me to call it by that name4  ,the    
school attended by ,uriah ,heep and his 
father before him was described as an   
attack on the practice of instilling    
into the minds of poor children the     

consciousness of subserviency4 ,david   
says3 ,i fully comprehended now for the 
first time 7after hearing ,uriah        
describe his training at school7 what a 
base1 unrelenting1 and revengeful spirit
 must have been engendered by this      
early1 and this long1 suppression4  ,the
 first school attended by ,esther in    
,bleak ,house is apparently introduced  
to point out four evils in the social   
training of little children4 ,the other 
children were all older than ,esther2   
her godmother refused to allow her to   
accept invitations to go to the homes of
 the other girls2 she was never allowed 
out to play2 and while holidays were    
given on the birthdays of other girls1  
none were ever given on hers4 ,the      
cruelty of two of these evils was made  
still more bitter by the revelation of  
the fact that she was not treated like  
other girls because of some wrong her   
mother was supposed to have done4  ,miss
 ,donny's school at ,greenleaf was a    
charming place1 conducted in a precise1 

exact1 and orderly way4 ,esther was     
taught well1 and trained well4 ,she was 
to be a governess1 and so she taught as 
she learned4 ,her barren childhood made 
her sympathize with the girls whom she  
taught1 especially the new girls1 and   
she naturally won their love1 and was   
therefore happy4 ,esther possessed every
 essential characteristic of a good     
teacher and a true woman4 ,miss ,donny's
 school is one of the schools in which  
,dickens was approving1 not condemning4 
,mr4 ,cripple's academy is merely       
mentioned in ,little ,dorrit to complain
 about the habit of scribbling over     
buildings and on desks and walls in     
which boys used to indulge1 and of which
 many evidences may yet be found on the 
fences and walls of the present day4    
,the pupils of ,mr4 ,cripple's appeared 
to have been making a copy book of the  
street door1 it was so extensively      
scribbled over in pencil4  ,pip's early 
education1 in ,great ,expectations1 was 
received in ,mr4 ,wopsle's great-aunt's 

school4      ,mr4 ,wopsle's great-aunt  
kept an evening school in the village2  
that is     to say1 she was a ridiculous
 old woman of limited means and         
unlimited     infirmity1 who used to go 
to sleep from six to seven every        
evening1 in     the society of youth1   
who paid twopence per week each1 for the
     improving opportunity of seeing her
 do it4 ,she rented a small cottage1    
and ,mr4 ,wopsle had the room upstairs1 
where we students used to     overhear  
him reading aloud in a most dignified   
and terrific manner1     and            
occasionally bumping on the ceiling4    
,there was a fiction that ,mr4          
,wopsle examined the scholars once a    
quarter4 ,what he did on those          
occasions was to turn up his cuffs1     
stick up his hair1 and give us     ,mark
 ,antony's oration over the body of     
,caesar4      ,much of my unassisted    
self1 and more by the help of ,biddy    
than of ,mr4     ,wopsle's great-aunt1  
,i struggled through the alphabet as if 

it had     been a bramble bush2 getting 
considerably worried and scratched by   
every letter4 ,after that ,i fell among 
those thieves1 the nine figures1     who
 seemed every evening to do something   
new to disguise themselves     and      
baffle recognition4 ,but at last ,i     
began1 in a purblind groping     way1 to
 read1 write1 and cipher on the very    
smallest scale4      ,biddy was ,mr4    
,wopsle's great-aunt's granddaughter2 ,i
 confessed myself     quite unequal to  
the working out of the problem1 what    
relation she was     to ,mr4 ,wopsle4   
,the educational scheme or course       
established by ,mr4 ,wopsle's           
great-aunt may be resolved into the     
following synopsis3 ,the pupils ate     
apples and put straws down one another's
 backs1 until ,mr4 ,wopsle's            
great-aunt collected her energies1 and  
made an indiscriminate totter     at    
them with a birch rod4 ,after receiving 
the charge with every mark     of       
derision1 the pupils formed in line and 

buzzingly passed a ragged     book from 
hand to hand4 ,the book had an alphabet 
in it1 some figures     and tables1 and 
a little spelling--that is to say1 it   
had had once4 ,as     soon as this      
volume began to circulate1 ,mr4         
,wopsle's great-aunt fell     into a    
state of coma1 arising either from sleep
 or a rheumatic     paroxysm4 ,the      
pupils then entered among themselves    
upon a competitive     examination on   
the subject of boots1 with the view of  
ascertaining who     could tread the    
hardest upon whose toes4 ,this mental   
exercise lasted     until ,biddy made a 
rush at them and distributed three      
defaced ,bibles     7shaped as if they  
had been unskilfully cut off the chumped
 end of     something71 more illegibly  
printed at the best than any curiosities
 of     literature ,i have since met    
with1 speckled all over with iron mould1
     and having various specimens of the
 insect world smashed between their     
leaves4 ,this part of the course was    

usually lightened by several     single 
combats between ,biddy and refractory   
students4 ,when the fights     were     
over1 ,biddy gave out the number of a   
page1 and then we all read     aloud    
what we could--or what we couldn't--in a
 frightful chorus2 ,biddy     leading   
with a high shrill monotonous voice1 and
 none of us having the     least notion 
of1 or reverence for1 what we were      
reading about4 ,when     this horrible  
din had lasted a certain time1 it       
mechanically awoke ,mr4     ,wopsle's   
great-aunt1 who staggered at a boy      
fortuitously1 and pulled     his ears4  
,this was understood to terminate the   
course for the evening1     and we      
emerged into the air with shrieks of    
intellectual victory4  ,the reasons for 
describing this school were to renew the
 attack on bad private schools1         
conducted without any state control and 
no supervision or inspection by         
competent officers1 to show the need of 
better appliances and text-books1 and to

 teach the utter folly of allowing      
pupils to try to read any book1         
especially the ,bible1 without          
understanding what they were reading4   
,incidentally ,dickens taught that to   
use the ,bible as it was used in ,mr4   
,wopsle's great-aunt's school develops a
 lack of reverence for it4 ,the evil of 
corporal punishment of the              
indiscriminate and irregular kind comes 
in for a share of condemnation in this  
wretched school4  ,dickens returned to  
the attack on bad private schools in    
,our ,mutual ,friend4 ,he had made a    
thorough study of the evening schools   
conducted in ,london--conducted many of 
them by organizations with good         
intentions4  ,there are a good many     
,sunday schools yet which in some       
respects are open to the criticisms made
 of ,charley ,hexam's first school4     
,the school at which young ,charley     
,hexam had first learned from a         
book--the streets being1 for pupils of  
his degree1 the great     preparatory   

establishment1 in which very much that  
is never unlearned     is learned       
without and before book--was a miserable
 loft in an     unsavoury yard4 ,its    
atmosphere was oppressive and           
disagreeable2 it was     crowded1 noisy1
 and confusing2 half the pupils dropped 
asleep1 or fell     into a state of     
stupefaction2 the other half kept them  
in either     condition by maintaining a
 monotonous droning noise1 as if they   
were     performing1 out of time and    
tune1 on a ruder sort of bagpipe4 ,the  
teachers1 animated solely by good       
intentions1 had no idea of              
execution1 and a lamentable jumble was  
the upshot of their kind     endeavours4
      ,it was a school for all ages and 
for both sexes4 ,the latter were kept   
apart1 and the former were partitioned  
off into square assortments4     ,but   
all the place was pervaded by a grimly  
ludicrous pretence that     every pupil 
was childish and innocent4 ,this        
pretence1 much favoured by     the lady 

visitors1 led to the ghastliest         
absurdities4 ,young women1 old     in   
the vices of the commonest and worst    
life1 were expected to profess          
themselves enthralled by the good       
child's book1 the ,adventures of        
,little ,margery1 who resided in the    
village cottage by the mill2            
severely reproved and morally squashed  
the miller1 when she was five     and he
 was fifty2 divided her porridge with   
singing birds2 denied     herself a new 
nankeen bonnet1 on the ground that the  
turnips did not     wear nankeen        
bonnets1 neither did the sheep1 who ate 
them2 who plaited     straw and         
delivered the dreariest orations to all 
comers1 at all sorts     of unseasonable
 times4 ,so unwieldy young dredgers and 
hulking mudlarks     were referred to   
the experiences of ,thomas ,twopence1   
who1 having     resolved not to rob     
7under circumstances of uncommon        
atrocity7 his     particular friend and 
benefactor1 of eighteenpence1 presently 

came     into supernatural possession of
 three and sixpence1 and lived a        
shining light ever afterward4 7,note1   
that the benefactor came to no          
good47 ,several swaggering sinners had  
written their own biographies in     the
 same strain2 it always appearing from  
the lessons of those very     boastful  
persons that you were to do good1 not   
because it was good1     but because you
 were to make a good thing of it4       
,contrariwise1 the     adult pupils were
 taught to read 7if they could learn7   
out of the ,new     ,testament2 and by  
dint of stumbling over the syllables and
 keeping     their bewildered eyes on   
the particular syllables coming round to
     their turn1 were as absolutely     
ignorant of the sublime history as if   
they had never seen or heard of it4 ,an 
exceedingly and confoundingly           
perplexing jumble of a school1 in fact1 
where black spirits and gray1     red   
spirits and white1 jumbled1 jumbled1    
jumbled1 jumbled1 jumbled     every     

night4 ,and particularly every ,sunday  
night4 ,for then an inclined     plane  
of unfortunate infants would be handed  
over to the prosiest and     worst of   
all the teachers with good intentions1  
whom nobody older     would endure4     
,who1 taking his stand on the floor     
before them1 as chief     executioner1  
would be attended by a conventional     
volunteer boy as     executioner's      
assistant4 ,when and where it first     
became the     conventional system that 
a weary or inattentive infant in a class
 must     have its face smoothed        
downward with a hot hand1 or when or    
where the     conventional volunteer boy
 first beheld such system in operation1 
and     became inflamed with a sacred   
zeal to administer it1 matters not4 ,it 
was the function of the chief           
executioner to hold forth1 and it was   
the function of the acolyte to dart at  
sleeping infants1 yawning     infants1  
restless infants1 whimpering infants1   
and smooth their     wretched faces1    

sometimes with one hand1 as if he were  
anointing them     for a whisker2       
sometimes with both hands1 applied after
 the fashion of     blinkers4 ,and so   
the jumble would be in action in this   
department for     a mortal hour2 the   
exponent drawling on to my dearerr      
childerrenerr1     let us say for       
example1 about the beautiful coming to  
the sepulchre2     and repeating the    
word sepulchre 7commonly used among     
infants7 five     hundred times and     
never once hinting what it meant2 the   
conventional     boy smoothing away     
right and left1 as an infallible        
commentary2 the     whole hotbed of     
flushed and exhausted infants exchanging
 measles1     rashes1 whooping-cough1   
fever1 and stomach disorders1 as if they
 were     assembled in ,high ,market for
 the purpose4      ,even in this temple 
of good intentions1 an exceptionally    
sharp boy     exceptionally determined  
to learn1 could learn something1 and1   
having     learned it1 could impart it  

so much better than the teachers2 as    
being     more knowing than they1 and   
not at the disadvantage in which they   
stood toward the shrewder pupils4 ,in   
this way it had come about that         
,charley ,hexam had risen in the jumble1
 taught in the jumble1 and been         
received from the jumble into a better  
school4  ,dickens slaughtered evils by  
wholesale in this brief description4    
,the influence of the great preparatory 
establishment1 the street1 was brought  
to the notice of thinking people4  ,the 
need of ventilation was pointed out1 and
 the evil of crowding a large number of 
pupils into poorly ventilated rooms was 
made very clear4 ,half the pupils       
dropped asleep1 or fell into a state of 
waking stupefaction4  ,the teachers were
 untrained4 ,they were animated solely  
by good intentions1 and had no idea of  
execution4 ,the consequence was a       
lamentable jumble4  ,the separation of  
the sexes was not approved4  ,the stupid
 blunder of treating all pupils alike1  

without regard to heredity1 environment1
 or past experience1 is aptly           
caricatured in giving the ,adventures of
 ,little ,margery and the ,experiences  
of ,thomas ,twopence to young women old 
in vice and to young male criminals in  
order to reform them4  ,incidentally he 
disapproves of such literature for any  
children1 and also of the               
autobiographies of swaggering sinners4  
,the error pointed out in ,pip's        
education of using the ,new ,testament  
as a book from which pupils should be   
taught how to read is emphasized4 ,by   
dint of stumbling over the syllables and
 keeping their bewildered eyes on the   
particular syllables coming round to    
their turn1 they were as absolutely     
ignorant of the sublime history as if   
they had never seen or heard of it4  ,he
 criticised severely the old custom of  
giving least attention to the choice of 
a teacher for the little ones4 ,the old 
theory was3 they can not learn much any 
way2 anybody will do to teach them4 ,the

 inclined plane of unfortunate infants  
would be handed over to the prosiest and
 worst of all the teachers of good      
intentions1 whom nobody older would     
endure4  ,the dreadful practice1 still  
kept up in some heathen-producing       
,sunday schools1 of having an           
executioner's assistant to keep order1  
is severely condemned4 ,it was the      
function of the acolyte to dart at      
sleeping infants1 restless infants1     
whimpering infants1 and smooth1 their   
wretched faces4 ,the irritating         
influence of this operation on the      
suffering infants and the degrading     
effect on the executioner's assistant   
himself are clearly indicated4  ,but the
 greatest cruelty was in having the     
infants talked at in a droning voice for
 an hour by the chief executioner in a  
voice that would sometimes deaden1      
sometimes irritate their nervous        
systems1 and in language they could not 
comprehend1 about subjects entirely     
foreign to their experiences4  ,the     

danger of spreading contagious diseases 
in such badly ventilated schools was    
shown4 ,dickens was a leader in the     
department of sanitation both in homes  
and in schools4  ,the schools taught by 
,bradley ,headstone and ,miss ,peecher  
were      newly built1 and there were so
 many like them all over the country1   
that one might have thought the whole   
were but one restless edifice     with  
the locomotive gift of ,aladdin's       
palace4      ,all things in these       
schools--buildings1 teachers1 and       
pupils--were     according to pattern1  
and engendered in the light of the      
latest ,gospel     according to         
,monotony4  ,these brief descriptions   
contained volumes of protest against the
 dead uniformity of school architecture1
 and against the sacrifice of           
individuality in schools4 ,there are no 
other buildings in which there should be
 more care taken to have truly artistic 
architecture than in schools1 because   
the children are influenced so much by  

their environment4 ,correct taste may be
 formed more easily and more definitely 
by making the places in which children  
spend so much of their lives truly      
artistic than by studying the best      
authorities4 ,the child's spirits should
 be toned by the colouring of the walls 
of the schoolroom1 and by the pictures1 
statues1 and other artistic articles    
around them4  ,the phrase ,gospel       
according to ,monotony is one of the    
most effective phrases ever used to     
describe the destruction of             
individuality4  ,the ,peecher-,headstone
 schools were described as one of       
several protests against separating     
little girls from little boys in        
schools4  ,phoebe1 the happy young      
woman1 who had never been able to sit up
 since she had been dropped by her      
mother when she was in a fit1 is one of 
the sweetest of the characters of       
,dickens4 ,she lay on a couch as high as
 the window and enjoyed the view as she 
made lace4 ,she taught a little school  

part of the day1 and when ,barbox       
,brothers was at ,mugby ,junction he    
heard the children singing in the       
school1 and watched them trooping home  
happily till he became so interested in 
what was going on in the little cottage 
that he went in to investigate4 ,he     
found a small but very clean room1 with 
no one there but ,phoebe lying on her   
couch4 ,he asked her if she was learned 
in the new system of teaching1 meaning  
the kindergarten system1 because he had 
heard her children singing as he passed4
      ,no1 she said1 ,i am very fond of 
children1 but ,i know nothing of        
teaching1 beyond the interest ,i have in
 it1 and the pleasure it gives     me1  
when they learn4 ,i have only read and  
been told about the new     system4 ,it 
seemed so pretty and pleasant1 and to   
treat them so like     the merry robins 
they are1 that ,i took up with it in my 
little way4 ,my     school is a pleasure
 to me4 ,i began it1 when ,i was but a  
child1     because it brought me and    

other children into company1 don't you  
see8     ,i carry it on still1 because  
it keeps children about me4 ,i do it as 
love1 not as work4  ,what a beautiful   
school6 ,what an ideal spirit for every 
true teacher6 ,what a wise man ,dickens 
was to reveal so much sweetness and     
trueness in the life of such a woman as 
,phoebe6 ,when ,phoebe had overcome her 
restrictions so triumphantly1 surely    
every one who dares to teach should try 
to rise above personal infirmities1 and 
treat children like the merry robins    
that they are4  ,the ,holiday ,romance1 
in which three young children write     
romances for the edification of their   
adult friends and relatives1 to show how
 adult treatment impresses young        
children1 is usually regarded as merely 
an exquisite piece of humour4 ,in       
writing to ,mr4 ,fields about the story 
,dickens said3 ,it made me laugh to that
 extent1 that my people here thought ,i 
was out of my wits1 until ,i gave it to 
them to read1 when they did likewise4   

,there is more philosophy than fun in   
these stories1 however1 and when        
carefully studied they should aid in the
 education of the grown-up people--not  
merely the grown-ups for whom they were 
intended1 but all grown-ups4 ,this is   
especially true of the last story1      
written by ,miss ,nettie ,ashford1 aged 
half-past-six4  ,the story is about     
,mrs4 ,lemon's school and ,mrs4         
,orange's family4  ,the grown-up people 
were the children in ,nettie's story1   
and the children were the managers of   
all things at home and at school4  ,mrs4
 ,orange went to ,mrs4 ,lemon's and told
 her that her children were getting     
positively too much for her4 ,she had   
two parents1 two intimate friends of    
theirs1 one godfather1 two godmothers1  
and an aunt4 ,she wished to send them to
 school1 because they were getting too  
much for her4 ,many real mothers give   
the same reason4      ,have you as many 
as eight vacancies8      ,i have just   
eight1 ma'am1 said ,mrs4 ,lemon4        

,corporal punishment dispensed with8    
,why1 we do occasionally shake1 said    
,mrs4 ,lemon1 and we have     slapped4  
,but only in extreme cases4  ,mrs4      
,orange was shown through the school1   
and had the bad grown-ups pointed out to
 her and their evil propensities        
explained to her in their hearing1 as   
naturally as in a real school4 ,she     
decided to send her family1 and went    
home with her baby--which was a         
doll--saying1 ,these troublesome        
troubles are got rid of1 please the     
pigs4  ,a small party for the grown-up  
children was given by ,mrs4             
,alicumpaine1 and the arrangements made 
for the adults1 and the ways in which   
they were treated by their child        
masters1 and the criticisms on the way  
the seniors behaved are all instructive 
to thoughtful parents4 ,the real things 
that adult people say and do appear     
delightfully stupid or exquisitely silly
 when made to appear as said and done by
 children4      ,when ,mr4 and ,mrs4    

,orange were going home they passed the 
establishment     of ,mrs4 ,lemon1 and  
necessarily thought of their eight adult
 pupils who     were there4      ,i     
wonder1 ,james1 dear1 said ,mrs4        
,orange1 looking up at the window1      
whether the precious children are       
asleep6      ,i don't care much whether 
they are or not1 myself1 said ,mr4      
,orange4      ,james1 dear6      ,you   
dote upon them1 you know1 said ,mr4     
,orange4 ,that's another     thing4     
,i do1 said ,mrs4 ,orange rapturously4  
,oh1 ,i do6      ,i don't1 said ,mr4    
,orange4      ,but1 ,i was thinking1    
,james1 love1 said ,mrs4 ,orange1       
pressing his     arm1 whether our dear1 
good1 kind ,mrs4 ,lemon would like them 
to stay     the holidays with her4      
,if she was paid for it1 ,i dare say she
 would1 said ,mr4 ,orange4      ,i adore
 them1 ,james1 said ,mrs4 ,orange1 but  
suppose we pay her1     then4      ,this
 was what brought the country to such   
perfection1 and made it such     a      

delightful place to live in4 ,the       
grown-up people 7that would be in       
other countries7 soon left off being    
allowed any holidays after ,mr4     and 
,mrs4 ,orange tried the experiment2 and 
the children 7that would be     in other
 countries7 kept them at school as long 
as ever they lived1     and made them do
 whatever they were told4  ,this story  
was written about two years before the  
death of ,dickens1 so it represents his 
maturest thought4 ,its great fundamental
 motive was ,froebel's motto1 ,come1 let
 us live with our children4 ,it was a   
trenchant1 though humorous criticism of 
the methods of treating children        
practised by adults1 at home and at     
school4 ,mrs4 ,orange's adoration for   
children1 while at the same time she was
 proposing to keep them at school during
 the holidays1 is very suggestive to    
those mothers who in society talk so    
much about their precious darlings1 but 
who keep them in the nursery so that    
they have no share in the family life4  

,the practice of calling children bad   
and describing their supposed evil      
propensities in the presence of others  
is also condemned in this story4  ,one  
of the very best of the stories of      
,dickens to show his perfect sympathy   
with boyhood is the story told by ,jemmy
 ,jackman ,lirriper about the boy who   
went to school in ,rutlandshire4  ,it   
reveals the feelings of boys to the     
,tartars who teach school1 as the boys1 
when they got control1 put the ,tartar  
into confinement and forced him to eat  
the boys' dinners and drink half a cask 
of their beer every day4  ,it reveals1  
too1 the psychological condition of a   
healthy boy just entering the adolescent
 period1 if he has been fortunate enough
 to have had a life of love and freedom 
at home2 with his heart filled with love
 for the schoolmaster's daughter        
,seraphina1 and his mind filled with    
hopeful dreams of success1 and triumph1 
and fortune1 and happiness ever         
afterward1 not excluding those who had  

nurtured him1 but sharing all with them1
 and finding his greatest joy in their  
affectionate pride at his success4      
,blessed is the boy who has such        
glorious experiences and such hopeful   
dreams in his later boyhood and onward1 
and thrice blessed is he who finds in   
parenthood hearts so reverently         
sympathetic that it is natural for the  
young heart to overflow into them4  ,but
 such dreams can never come true4 ,they 
are true4 ,nothing is ever more true for
 the stage of evolution in which they   
naturally fill the life of the child4   
,to stop them is a crime2 to shut them  
up in the heart of the boy or girl makes
 them a source of great danger instead  
of an essential element in the          
ennoblement of character4  ,let the boy 
dream on1 and help him to dream by      
sympathetically sharing his visions with
 him4 ,his own visions and the most     
wonderful visions of heroism and        
adventure dreamed by the best authors   
should fill his life during the most    

important stage of his growth1          
adolescence1 when the elements of his   
manhood are rushing into his life and   
require an outlet in the ideal life as a
 preparation for the real life of later 
days4  ,dickens recognises1 too1 in this
 story the great truth so little used by
 educators1 that the child's imagination
 is not restricted by any conditions of 
impossibility or by any laws of ,nature 
or of man4 ,the ideal transcends the    
real1 the desired is accomplished4      
,development is rapid under such        
conditions4      ,and was there no      
quarrelling1 asked ,mrs4 ,lirriper1     
after the boy     and his boy friend had
 gained high renown1 and unlimited      
stores of     gold1 and had married     
,seraphina and her sister1 and had come 
to live     with ,gran and ,godfather   
forever1 and the story was ended8       
,no6 ,nobody ever quarrelled4      ,and 
did the money never melt away8      ,no6
 ,nobody could ever spend it all4       
,and did none of them ever grow older8  

,no6 ,nobody ever grew older after that4
      ,and did none of them ever die8   
,o1 no1 no1 no1 ,gran6 exclaimed our    
dear boy1 laying his cheek upon     her 
breast1 and drawing her closer to him4  
,nobody ever died4      ,ah1 ,major1    
,major6 says ,mrs4 ,lirriper1 smiling   
benignly upon me1     this beats our    
stories4 ,let us end with the ,boy's    
,story1 ,major1 for     the ,boy's      
,story is the best that is ever told4   
,miss ,pupford's school in ,tom         
,tiddler's ,ground reveals the foolish  
conventional formalism of some teachers 
before their pupils2 exposes the        
pretences of some teachers in private   
schools--,miss ,pupford's assistant with
 the ,parisian accent1 who never        
conversed with a ,parisian and never was
 out of ,england2 and condemns the      
practice of sending mere children long  
distances from home to be trained and   
educated3 ,kitty ,kimmeens had to remain
 behind in ,miss ,pupford's school      
during the holidays1 because her friends

 and relations were all in ,india1 far  
away4  ,in ,edwin ,drood ,dickens had   
begun a description of the school3 ,on  
the trim gate inclosing the courtyard of
 which is a resplendent brass plate     
flashing forth the legend3 ',seminary   
for ,young ,ladies4 ,miss ,twinkleton4' 
,the chief thing revealed by the brief  
description given of it is the formal   
conventionality of most teachers in such
 institutions1 the unreality of manner  
and tone and character shown by most    
teachers in the schoolroom4  ,how much  
greater ,miss ,twinkleton's power would 
have been to help in developing human   
hearts and heads1 if she could have been
 more truly human during the day6 ,she  
did not deceive the young ladies either 
by her formalism4 ,they merely said1    
,what a pretending old thing ,miss      
,twinkleton is6  ,when the rumour of the
 quarrel between ,neville ,landless and 
,edwin ,drood reached the seminary1 and 
began to cause dangerous excitement     
among the young ladies1 ,miss           

,twinkleton deemed it her duty to quiet 
their minds4      ,it was reserved for  
,miss ,twinkleton to tone down the      
public mind of     the ,nuns' ,house4   
,that lady1 therefore1 entering in a    
stately manner     what plebeians might 
have called the schoolroom1 but what1 in
 the     patrician language of the head 
of the ,nuns' ,house1 was               
euphuistically1     not to say          
roundaboutedly1 denominated the         
apartment allotted to     study1 and    
saying with a forensic air1 ,ladies6 all
 rose4 ,mrs4     ,tisher at the same    
time grouped herself behind her chief1  
as     representing ,queen ,elizabeth's 
first historical female friend at       
,tilbury ,fort4 ,miss ,twinkleton then  
proceeded to remark that ,rumour1       
ladies1 had been represented by the     
,bard of ,avon--needless were it to     
mention the immortal ,shakespeare1 also 
called the ,swan of his native          
river1 not improbably with some         
reference to the ancient superstition   

that that bird of graceful plumage      
7,miss ,jennings will please stand      
upright7 sung sweetly on the approach of
 death1 for which we have no            
ornithological authority--,rumour1      
ladies1 had been represented by that    
bard--hem6--            ,who drew       
,the celebrated ,jew1      as painted   
full of tongues4 ,rumour in ,cloisterham
 7,miss ,ferdinand will     honour me   
with her attention7 was no exception to 
the great limner's     portrait of      
,rumour elsewhere4 ,a slight fracas     
between two young     gentlemen         
occurring last night within a hundred   
miles of these     peaceful walls 7,miss
 ,ferdinand1 being apparently           
incorrigible1 will     have the kindness
 to write out this evening1 in the      
original language1     the first four   
fables of our vivacious neighbour1      
,monsieur ,la     ,fontaine7 had been   
very grossly exaggerated by ,rumour's   
voice4 ,in the     first alarm and      
anxiety arising from our sympathy with a

 sweet young     friend1 not wholly to  
be dissociated from one of the          
gladiators in     the bloodless arena in
 question 7the impropriety of ,miss     
,reynolds's     appearing to stab       
herself in the hand with a pin is far   
too obvious1     and too glaringly      
unladylike to be pointed out71 we       
descended from our     maiden elevation 
to discuss this uncongenial and this    
unfit theme4     ,responsible inquiries 
having assured us that it was but one of
 those     airy nothings pointed at by  
the poet 7whose name and date of birth  
,miss ,giggles will supply within half  
an hour71 we would now discard     the  
subject1 and concentrate our minds upon 
the grateful labours of     the day4    
,the unnatural formalism of her manner  
and her language are properly held up to
 ridicule by ,dickens4  ,he incidentally
 shows the great blunder of interrupting
 a lesson to censure a pupil1 the       
weakness of having to demand attention1 
and the error of punishing by           

impositions to be memorized or written4 
,what a terrible misuse it is of the    
literature that should always be        
attractive and inspiring to have it     
associated with punishment6 ,he exposes 
the greater crime of making children    
commit to memory selections from the    
,bible as a punishment in ,dombey and   
,son1 and the association of the ,bible 
with tasks in ,our ,mutual ,friend4     
,the ,schoolboy's ,story deals with the 
problems of nutrition1 coercion1 robbing
 a boy of his holidays1 the declaration 
of perpetual warfare between pupils and 
teachers in the olden days1 and the     
surprise of the boys when they found    
that one of their teachers had a true   
and tender heart 7what a commentary on  
teachers that boys should be surprised  
at their being true and good671 and how 
to treat children as ,old ,cheeseman    
did1 when he inherited his fortune and  
married ,jane1 and took the disconsolate
 boys home to his own house1 when they  
were condemned to spend their holidays  

at school4  ,in ,our ,school the chief  
pedagogical lessons are3 the man's      
remembrance of the pug dog in the entry 
at the first school he attended1 and his
 utter forgetfulness of the mistress of 
the establishment2 the folly of external
 polishing or memory polishing on which 
the rust has long since accumulated2 the
 gross wrong of allowing an ignorant and
 brutal man to be a teacher--,the only  
branches of education with which the    
master showed the least acquaintance    
were ruling and corporally punishing2   
the deadening injustice of showing      
partiality1 whether on account of a     
boy's parentage or for any other reason2
 sympathy for holiday stoppers2 the     
interest all children should take in    
keeping and training pet animals2 the   
advantages to boys of having to         
construct houses and instruments of     
performance for these pets--some of     
those who made houses and invented      
appliances for their performing mice in 
school have since made railroads1       

engines1 and telegraphs1 the chairman   
has erected mills and bridges in        
,australia2 the fact that we all liked  
,maxby the tutor1 for he had a good     
knowledge of boys2 and that teachers    
should be very particular about their   
personal neatness1 because children note
 so accurately every detail of dress and
 manner4 ,this is shown by the          
reminiscences about ,maxby1 the ,latin  
master1 and the dancing master4 ,the    
ungenerous rivalry often existing       
between schools1 and schools of thought1
 too1 was pointed out3 ,there was       
another school not far off1 and of      
course our school could have nothing to 
say to that school4 ,it is mostly the   
way with schools1 whether of boys or    
men4  ,the world had little reason to be
 proud of ,our ,school1 and has done    
much better since in that way1 and will 
do far better yet4 ,this closing        
sentence of the sketch is very          
suggestive4  ,dickens described one     
school that he visited in ,america in   

his ,american ,notes1 evidently in order
 to show the need of more care than was 
then taken in the choice of matter for  
the pupils to read4      ,i was only    
present in one of these establishments  
during the hours of     instruction4 ,in
 the boys' department1 which was full of
 little urchins     7varying in their   
ages1 ,i should say1 from six years old 
to ten or     twelve71 the master       
offered to institute an extemporary     
examination of     the pupils in        
algebra1 a proposal which1 as ,i was by 
no means     confident of my ability to 
detect mistakes in that science1 ,i     
declined     with some alarm4 ,in the   
girls' school reading was proposed1 and 
as ,i     felt tolerably equal to that  
art ,i expressed my willingness to hear 
a     class4 ,books were distributed    
accordingly1 and some half dozen girls  
relieved each other in reading          
paragraphs from ,english history4 ,but  
it     seemed to be a dry compilation1  
infinitely above their powers2 and      

when they had blundered through three or
 four dreary passages     concerning the
 treaty of ,amiens1 and other thrilling 
topics of the     same nature 7obviously
 without comprehending ten words71 ,i   
expressed     myself quite satisfied4   
,it is very possible that they only     
mounted to     this exalted stave in the
 ladder of learning for the astonishment
 of a     visitor1 and that at other    
times they keep upon its lower rounds2  
but     ,i should have been much better 
pleased and satisfied if ,i had heard   
them exercised in simpler lessons1 which
 they understood4  ,the world has done  
better since1 and will do far better yet
 in the choice of reading matter for    
children4  ,the school recalled by      
memory in connection with the other     
ghosts of his childhood in ,the ,haunted
 ,house was described briefly1 but the  
description is full of suggestiveness4  
,then ,i was sent to a great cold1 bare 
school of big boys2 where     everything
 to eat and wear was thick and clumpy1  

without being enough2     where         
everybody1 large and small1 was cruel2  
where the boys knew all     about the   
sale before ,i got there his father's   
furniture had been     sold for debt1   
and asked me what ,i had fetched1 and   
who had bought     me1 and hooted at me1
 ,going1 going1 gone4  ,the inartistic  
bareness of the school1 the tasteless   
clothing1 the unattractive1 unsatisfying
 food1 the pervading atmosphere of      
cruelty1 and the heartlessness of the   
boys in tearing open the wounds of the  
sensitive new boy--are all condemned4   
,,chapter ,,xvi4  ,,miscellaneous       
,,educational ,,principles4   ,the need 
of apperception and correlation are     
shown in the result of ,paul ,dombey's  
first lessons under ,miss ,cornelia     
,blimber1 and in the same book in the   
description of the learning ,briggs     
carried away with him4 ,it was like an  
ill-arranged luggage1 so tightly packed 
that he couldn't get at anything he     
wanted4 ,the absolute necessity for     

fixing apperceptive centres of emotion  
and thought in the lives of children by 
experience is shown in the case of      
,neville ,landless in ,edwin ,drood4    
,his early life had been so barren that1
 as he told his tutor1 ,it has caused me
 to be utterly wanting in ,i don't know 
what emotions1 or remembrances1 or good 
instincts--,i have not even a name for  
the thing1 you see--that you have had to
 work upon in other young men to whom   
you have been accustomed4  ,dickens     
emphasized the fact that the lack of    
apperceptive centres of an improper kind
 is a great advantage4      ,that heart 
where self has found no place and raised
 no throne is slow     to recognise its 
ugly presence when it looks upon it4 ,as
 one possessed     of an evil spirit was
 held in old time to be alone conscious 
of the     lurking demon in the breasts 
of other men1 so kindred vices know each
     other in their hiding places every 
day1 when virtue is incredulous and     
blind4  ,there is no more suggestive    

work on the contents of children's minds
 than ,bleak ,house4 ,when ,poor ,jo was
 summoned to give evidence at the       
inquest he was questioned in regard to  
himself and his theology4 ,the results  
were startling4      ,name1 ,jo4        
,nothing else that he knows on4 ,don't  
know that everybody has     two names4  
,never heerd of sich a think4 ,don't    
know that ,jo is short     for a longer 
name4 ,thinks it long enough for him4   
,he don't find no     fault with it4    
,spell it8 ,no4 ,he can't spell it4 ,no 
father1 no     mother1 no friends4      
,never been to school4 ,what's home8    
,knows a broom's     a broom1 and knows 
it's wicked to tell a lie4 ,don't       
recollect who told     him about the    
broom1 or about the lie1 but knows both4
 ,can't exactly     say what'll be done 
to him after he's dead if he tells a lie
 to the     gentlemen here1 but believes
 it'll be something wery bad to punish  
him1 and serve him right--and so he'll  
tell the truth4      ,jo sweeps his     

crossing all day long1 unconscious of   
the link1 if any     link there be4 ,he 
sums up his mental condition1 when asked
 a question1     by replying that he    
don't know nothink4 ,he knows that it's 
hard to     keep the mud off the        
crossing in dirty weather1 and harder   
still to     live by doing it4 ,nobody  
taught him1 even that much2 he found it 
out4      ,jo comes out of              
,tom-all-,alone's1 meeting the tardy    
morning1 which is     always late in    
getting down there1 and munches his     
dirty bit of bread     as he comes      
along4 ,his way lying through many      
streets1 and the houses     not yet     
being open1 he sits down to breakfast on
 the doorstep of the     ,society for   
the ,propagation of the ,gospel in      
,foreign ,parts1 and gives     it a     
brush when he has finished1 as an       
acknowledgment of the     accommodation4
 ,he admires the size of the edifice1   
and wonders what     it's all about4 ,he
 has no idea1 poor wretch1 of the       

spiritual     destitution of a coral    
reef in the ,pacific1 or what it costs  
to look     up the precious souls among 
the cocoanuts and breadfruits4      ,he 
goes to his crossing1 and begins to lay 
it out for the day4 ,the     town       
awakes2 the great teetotum is set up for
 its daily spin and     whirl2 all that 
unaccountable reading and writing1 which
 has been     suspended for a few hours1
 recommences4 ,jo and the other lower   
animals     get on in the unintelligible
 mess as they can4 ,it is market day4   
,the     blinded oxen1 overgoaded1      
overdriven1 never guided1 run into wrong
     places and are beaten out2 and     
plunge1 red-eyed and foaming1 at stone  
walls2 and often sorely hurt the        
innocent1 and often sorely hurt         
themselves4 ,very like ,jo and his      
order2 very1 very like6      ,a band of 
music comes and plays4 ,jo listens to   
it4 ,so does a dog--a     drover's dog1 
waiting for his master outside a        
butcher's shop1 and     evidently       

thinking about those sheep he has had   
upon his mind for some     hours1 and is
 happily rid of4 ,he seems perplexed    
respecting three or     four2 can't     
remember where he left them2 looks up   
and down the street1     as half        
expecting to see them astray2 suddenly  
pricks up his ears and     remembers all
 about it4 ,a thoroughly vagabond dog1  
accustomed to low     company and public
 houses2 a terrific dog to sheep2 ready 
at a whistle     to scamper over their  
backs1 and tear out mouthfuls of their  
wool2 but     an educated1 improved1    
developed dog1 who has been taught his  
duties     and knows how to discharge   
them4 ,he and ,jo listen to the music1  
probably with much the same amount of   
animal satisfaction2 likewise1     as to
 awakened association1 aspiration1 or   
regret1 melancholy or     joyful        
reference to things beyond the senses1  
they are probably upon a     par4 ,but1 
otherwise1 how far above the human      
listener is the brute6      ,turn that  

dog's descendants wild1 like ,jo1 and in
 a very few years     they will so      
degenerate that they will lose even     
their bark--but not     their bite4     
,when ,lady ,dedlock met ,jo1 she asked 
him3      ,are you the boy ,i've read of
 in the papers8      ,i don't know1 says
 ,jo1 staring moodily at the veil1      
nothink about     no papers4 ,i don't   
know nothink about nothink at all4      
,when ,guster1 ,mr4 ,snagsby's servant1 
got him some food1 she said3      ,are  
you hungry8      ,jist6 says ,jo4       
,what's gone of your father and your    
mother1 eh8      ,jo stops in the middle
 of a bite1 and looks petrified4 ,for   
this orphan     charge of the ,christian
 saint whose shrine was at ,tooting1 has
 patted     him on the shoulder2 and it 
is the first time in his life that any  
decent hand had been so laid upon him4  
,i never know'd nothink about 'em1 says 
,jo4      ,no more didn't ,i of mine1   
cries ,guster4  ,when ,allan ,woodcourt 
took him to ,mr4 ,george's and had his  

wants attended to1 he told ,jo to be    
sure and tell him the truth always4     
,wishermaydie1 if ,i don't1 said ,jo4 ,i
 never was in no other trouble at all1  
sir--'cept knowin' nothink and          
starvation4  ,when ,allan saw that ,jo  
was nearing the end1 he said3      ,jo6 
,did you ever know a prayer8      ,never
 know'd nothink1 sir4      ,not so much 
as one short prayer8      ,no1 sir4     
,nothink at all4 ,mr4 ,chadband he was  
a-prayin' wunst at ,mr4     ,snagsby's  
and ,i heerd him1 but he sounded as if  
he wos a-speakin' to     hisself1 and   
not to me4 ,he prayed a lot1 but ,i     
couldn't make out     nothink on it4    
,different times1 there was other       
genlmen come down     ,tom-all-,alone's 
a-prayin'1 but they all mostly sed as   
the t'other wuns     prayed wrong1 and  
all mostly sounded to be a-talkin' to   
theirselves1     or a-passin' blame on  
the t'others1 and not a-talkin' to us4  
,we     never know'd nothink4 ,i never  
know'd what it wos all about4  ,no8 ,mr4

 ,chadband1 your long sermon about the  
,terewth found no place in ,jo in which 
to rest2 nothing to which it could      
attach itself4 ,no wonder he went       
asleep4 ,he had no apperceptive centres 
in his experience or his training to    
which your kind of religious teaching   
was related4  ,poor ,jo6 ,he was the    
first great illustration1 and he is     
still the best1 of the great pedagogical
 truth1 that we see1 and hear1 and      
understand in all that is around us only
 what corresponds to what we are within2
 that our power to see1 and hear1 and   
understand increases as our inner life  
is cultured and developed2 and that a   
life as barren as that of the great     
class of whom ,jo was made the type     
makes it impossible to comprehend any   
teaching of an abstract kind4 ,this     
revelation is of course most valuable to
 primary teachers in cities4  ,dickens  
showed his wonderful insight into the   
most profound problems of psychology in 
his great character sketch of poor ,jo4 

,he agreed with ,herbart regarding the  
philosophy of apperception so far as it 
related to intellectual culture1 but he 
painted ,jo entirely out of harmony with
 ,herbart's psychology in relation to   
soul development4 ,after describing ,mr4
 ,chadband's sermon on ,terewth ,dickens
 says3      ,all this time ,jo has been 
standing on the spot where he woke up1  
ever     picking his cap1 and putting   
bits of fur in his mouth4 ,he spits them
     out with a remorseful air1 for he  
feels that it is in his nature to be    
an unimprovable reprobate1 and it's no  
good his trying to keep     awake1 for  
he won't never know nothink4 ,though it 
may be1 ,jo1 that     there is a history
 so interesting and affecting even to   
minds as near     the brutes as thine1  
recording deeds done on this earth for  
common     men1 that if the ,chadbands1 
removing their own persons from the     
light1     would but show it thee in    
simple reverence1 would but leave it    
unimproved1 would but regard it as being

 eloquent enough without their          
modest aid--it might hold thee awake1   
and thou might learn from it     yet6   
,jo never heard of any such book4 ,its  
compilers1 and the ,reverend            
,chadband1 are all one to him--except   
that he knows the ,reverend             
,chadband1 and would rather run away    
from him for an hour than hear him      
talk for five minutes4  ,when ,jo was   
eating at ,mr4 ,snagsby's he stopped in 
the middle of his bite and looked       
petrified1 because ,guster patted him on
 the shoulder4 ,it was the first time in
 his life that any decent hand had been 
so laid upon him4  ,in ,the ,haunted    
,man the six-year-old child was         
described as a baby savage1 a young     
monster1 a child who had never been a   
child1 a creature who might live to take
 the outward form of man1 but who1      
within1 would live and perish a mere    
beast4  ,hugh1 the splendid young animal
 who was ,john ,willet's stable boy in  
,barnaby ,rudge1 was as deficient of    

most intellectual and spiritual         
apperceptive centres as poor ,jo4 ,when 
,mr4 ,chester asked him his name he     
replied3      ,i'd tell it if ,i could4 
,i can't4 ,i have always been called    
,hugh2     nothing more4 ,i never knew  
nor saw1 nor thought about a father2 and
 ,i     was a boy of six--that's not    
very old--when they hung my mother up at
     ,tyburn for a couple of thousand of
 men to stare at4 ,they might have      
let her live4 ,she was poor enough4     
,little ,george ,silverman's mind was   
almost a blank when his mother and      
father died4 ,he had been brought up in 
a cellar at ,preston4 ,he hardly knew   
what sunlight was4 ,his mother's laugh  
in her fever scared him1 because it was 
the first laugh he had ever heard4 ,when
 discovered alone with the bodies of his
 father and mother in the cellar1 one of
 the horrified bystanders said to him3  
,do you know your father and mother are 
both dead of fever8 and he replied3  ,i 
don't know what it is to be dead4 ,i am 

hungry and thirsty4  ,after he had been 
supplied with food and drink he told    
,mr4 ,hawkyard that he didn't feel cold1
 or hungry1 or thirsty1 and in relating 
the story in manhood he said3      ,that
 was the whole round of human feelings1 
as far as ,i knew1 except     the pain  
of being beaten4 ,to that time ,i had   
never had the faintest     impression of
 duty4 ,i had no knowledge whatever that
 there was     anything lovely in this  
life4 ,when ,i had occasionally slunk up
 the     cellar steps into the street1  
and glared in at shop windows1 ,i had   
done so with no higher feelings than we 
may suppose to animate a mangy     young
 dog or wolf cub4 ,it is equally the    
fact that ,i had never been     alone1  
in the sense of holding unselfish       
converse with myself4 ,i had     been   
solitary often enough1 but nothing      
better4  ,redlaw1 in ,the ,haunted ,man1
 said to the poor boy who came to his   
room3      ,what is your name8      ,got
 none4      ,where do you live8         

,live6 ,what's that8  ,such pictures    
were not drawn to entertain1 or to add  
artistic effect to his stories4 ,they   
were written to teach the world of      
wealth and culture that all around it   
were thousands of human souls with as   
little opportunity for development as   
young animals have2 with defined        
apperceptive centres of cold1 hunger1   
thirst1 and pain only4  ,dickens makes a
 strong contrast between the condition  
of the mental and spiritual apperceptive
 centres in the city boy as compared    
with the country boy1 in a conversation 
between ,phil ,squod and ,mr4 ,george4  
,and so1 ,phil1 says ,george of the     
,shooting ,gallery1 after several       
turns in silence1 you were dreaming of  
the country last night8      ,phil1 by  
the bye1 said as much1 in a tone of     
surprise1 as he scrambled     out of    
bed4      ,yes1 guv'ner4      ,what was 
it like8      ,i hardly know what it was
 like1 guv'ner1 said ,phil1 considering4
      ,how did you know it was the      

country8      ,on account of the grass1 
,i think4 ,and the swans upon it1 says  
,phil1     after further consideration4 
,what were the swans doing on the grass8
      ,they was a-eating of it1 ,i      
expect1 says ,phil4      ,the country1  
says ,mr4 ,george1 plying his knife and 
fork2 why1 ,i     suppose you never     
clapped your eyes on the country1 ,phil8
      ,i see the marshes once1 said     
,phil1 contentedly eating his breakfast4
      ,what marshes8      ,the marshes1 
commander1 returns ,phil4      ,where   
are they8      ,i don't know where they 
are1 says ,phil2 but ,i see 'em1        
guv'ner4     ,they was flat4 ,and miste4
      ,governor and commander are       
interchangeable terms with ,phil1       
expressive     of the same respect and  
deference1 and applicable to nobody but 
,mr4     ,george4      ,i was born in   
the country1 ,phil4      ,was you1      
indeed1 commander8      ,yes4 ,and bred 
there4      ,phil elevates his one      
eyebrow1 and after respectfully staring 

at his     master to express interest1  
swallows a great gulp of coffee1 still  
staring at him4      ,there's not a     
bird's note that ,i don't know1 says    
,mr4 ,george4 ,not     many an ,english 
leaf or berry that ,i couldn't name4    
,not many a tree     that ,i couldn't   
climb yet1 if ,i was put to it4 ,i was a
 real country     boy once4 ,my good    
mother lived in the country4 ,do you    
want to see the     country1 ,phil8     
,n-no1 ,i don't know as ,i do1          
particular4      ,the town's enough for 
you1 eh8      ,why1 you see1 commander1 
says ,phil1 ,i ain't acquainted with    
anythink else1 and ,i doubt if ,i ain't 
a-getting too old to take to            
novelties4      ,how old are you1 ,phil8
  ,phil's answer is intended to indicate
 the lack of even mathematical power in 
those who1 like ,phil1 never had any    
training of the imagination1 nor any    
other training to define their          
apperceptive centres of number beyond   
ten4      ,i'm something with a eight in

 it4 ,it can't be eighty4 ,nor yet      
eighteen4 ,it's betwixt 'em somewheres4 
,i was just eight1 agreeable to     the 
parish calculation1 when ,i went with   
the tinker4 ,that was ,april     ,fool  
,day4 ,i was able to count up to ten2   
and when ,april ,fool ,day came         
round again ,i says to myself1 ',now1   
old chap1 you're one and a eight     in 
it4' ,april ,fool ,day after that ,i    
says1 ',now1 old chap1 you're two       
and a eight in it4' ,in course of time  
,i come to ten and a eight in it2       
two tens and a eight in it4 ,when it got
 so high it got the upper hand     of   
me2 but this is how ,i always know      
there's a eight in it4  ,the folly of   
trying to make a man moral by precept   
alone2 the fact that character is       
developed by what we do1 by true living1
 by what goes out in action1 not by what
 comes in in maxims or theories1 is     
shown in ,martin ,chuzzlewit4      ,it  
has been remarked that ,mr4 ,pecksniff  
was a moral man4 ,so he was4            

,perhaps there never was a more moral   
man than ,mr4 ,pecksniff1     especially
 in his conversation and correspondence4
 ,it was once said of     him by a      
homely admirer that he had a            
,fortunatus's purse of gold             
sentiments in his inside4 ,in this      
particular he was like the girl in      
the fairy tale1 except that if they were
 not actual diamonds which     fell from
 his lips1 they were the very brightest 
paste and shone     prodigiously4 ,he   
was a most exemplary man2 fuller of     
virtuous precept     than a copy book4  
,some people likened him to a direction 
post1 which     is always telling the   
way to a place1 and never goes there4   
,the best of architects and land        
surveyors kept a horse1 in whom the     
enemies already mentioned more than once
 in these pages pretended to     detect 
a fanciful resemblance to his master4   
,not in his outward     person1 for he  
was a raw-boned1 haggard horse1 always  
on a much     shorter allowance of corn 

than ,mr4 ,pecksniff2 but in his moral  
character1 wherein1 said they1 he was   
full of promise1 but of no              
performance4 ,he was always1 in a       
manner1 going to go1 and never going4   
,one of the worst results that can      
follow a system of training is to make a
 man a hypocrite4 ,it is nearly as bad  
to store a mind with good thoughts or   
fill a heart with good feelings without 
giving the character the tendency by    
practical experience to carry into      
effect so far as possible its good      
feelings and high purposes4 ,mr4        
,pecksniff was a moral monstrosity4 ,we 
should create no more ,pecksniffs4 ,a   
different ideal is taught in the remark 
made by ,martin ,chuzzlewit to ,mary1   
,endeavouring to be anything that's     
good1 and being it1 is1 with you1 all   
one4  ,executive training is emphasized 
in ,nicholas ,nickleby4 ,old ,ralph     
,nickleby said of ,nicholas3 ,the old   
story--always thinking1 and never doing4
 ,the same thought is expressed very    

clearly in the pregnant sentence written
 about ,sydney ,carton in ,a ,tale of   
,two ,cities3 ,sadly1 sadly1 the sun    
rose2 it rose upon no sadder sight than 
the man of good abilities and good      
emotions1 incapable of their directed   
exercise4 ,the saddest sight in the     
world is a man or woman using power for 
evil4 ,it is nearly as sad to see a man 
or woman with power1 but without power  
to use it wisely4  ,in ,a ,tale of ,two 
,cities he caricatures admirably the    
class who cling to old customs and      
conventions1 and decline even to discuss
 changes or improvements1 in his        
description of ,tellson's ,bank4        
,tellson's ,bank by ,temple ,bar was an 
old-fashioned place1 even in the        
year one thousand seven hundred and     
eighty4 ,it was very small1 very        
dark1 very ugly1 very incommodious4 ,it 
was an old-fashioned place1             
moreover1 in the moral attribute that   
the partners in the house were     proud
 of its smallness1 proud of its         

darkness1 proud of its ugliness1        
proud of its incommodiousness4 ,they    
were even boastful of its eminence      
in those particulars1 and were fired by 
an express conviction that1 if     it   
were less objectionable1 it would be    
less respectable4 ,this was no          
passive belief1 but an active weapon    
which they flashed at more              
convenient places of business4          
,tellson's 7they said7 wanted no        
elbowroom1 ,tellson's wanted no light1  
,tellson's wanted no     embellishment4 
,noakes and ,co4's might1 or ,snooks    
,brothers' might3 but     ,tellson's1   
thank heaven6      ,any one of these    
partners would have disinherited his son
 on the     question of rebuilding      
,tellson's4 ,in this respect the house  
was much     on a par with the country2 
which did very often disinherit its sons
     for suggesting improvements in laws
 and customs that had long been         
highly objectionable1 but were only the 
more respectable4  ,every child should  

get into his consciousness by           
experience1 not by theory1 the idea that
 he is expected to do his share in the  
improvement of his environment4 ,the    
worst conception he can get is that     
whatever is is right2 that things can   
not be improved4 ,every child should be 
encouraged to make suggestions for the  
improvement of his own environment and  
conditions in the schoolroom1 in the    
yard1 in the details of class           
management1 or in anything else that he 
thinks he can improve4  ,the closing    
sentence of ,our ,school should ring    
always in the minds of teachers1        
especially the last clause3 ,and will do
 far better yet4  ,dickens had implicit 
faith in even weak humanity1 and taught 
the hopeful truth1 that every man and   
every child may be improved1 if the men 
and women most directly associated with 
them are wise and loving4 ,harriet      
,carker said to ,mr4 ,morfin3      ,oh1 
sir1 after what ,i have seen1 let me    
conjure you1 if you are in     any place

 of power1 and are ever wronged1 never  
for any wrong inflict     punishment    
that can not be recalled2 while there is
 a ,god above us to     work changes in 
the hearts he made4  ,the ,goblin of the
 ,bell said to ,toby ,veck in ,the      
,chimes3      ,who turns his back upon  
the fallen and disfigured of his kind2  
abandons them as vile2 and does not     
trace and track with pitying eyes       
the unfenced precipice by which they    
fell from good1 grasping in their       
fall some tufts and shreds of that lost 
soil1 and clinging to them     still    
when bruised and dying in the gulf      
below1 does wrong to ,heaven     and    
man1 to time and to eternity4  ,the     
influence of ,nature on the awakening   
mind of the child was outlined in ,a    
,child's ,dream of a ,star4      ,these 
children used to wonder all day long4   
,they wondered at the     beauty of the 
flowers2 they wondered at the height and
 blueness of     the sky2 they wondered 
at the depth of the bright water2 they  

wondered     at the goodness and the    
power of ,god who made the lovely world4
  ,nature is the great centre of        
interest to the child1 and it may be the
 child's first true revealer of ,god1 if
 adulthood does not impiously come      
between the child and ,god by trying to 
give him a word ,god for his intellect  
too soon to take the place of the true  
,god of his imagination4  ,dickens's    
best characters loved ,nature4 ,esther1 
when recovering from her illness1 said3 
,i found every breath of air1 and every 
scent1 and every flower and     leaf and
 blade of grass1 and every passing      
cloud1 and everything in     ,nature1   
more beautiful and wonderful to me than 
,i had ever found it     yet4 ,this was 
my first gain from my illness4 ,how     
little ,i had lost1     when the wide   
world was so full of delight to me6     
,the deep1 spiritual influences of      
,nature are revealed in the effects of  
life in the growing country on ,oliver  
,twist4      ,who can describe the      

pleasure and delight1 the peace of mind 
and soft     tranquility1 the sickly boy
 felt in the balmy air1 and among the   
green     hills and rich woods of an    
inland village6 ,who can tell how scenes
 of     peace and quietude sink into the
 minds of pain-worn dwellers in close   
and noisy places1 and carry their own   
freshness deep into their jaded         
hearts6 ,men who have lived in crowded1 
pent-up streets1 through lives     of   
toil1 and who have never wished for     
change2 men1 to whom custom has         
indeed been second nature1 and who have 
come almost to love each brick     and  
stone that formed the narrow boundaries 
of their daily walks2 even     they1    
with the hand of death upon them1 have  
been known to yearn at     last for one 
short glimpse of ,nature's face2 and1   
carried from the     scenes of their old
 pains and pleasures1 have seemed to    
pass at once     into a new state of    
being4 ,crawling forth from day to day1 
to some     green sunny spot1 they have 

had such memories wakened up within them
     by the sight of sky1 and hill1 and 
plain1 and glistening water1 that a     
foretaste of heaven itself has soothed  
their quick decline1 and they     have  
sunk into their tombs as peacefully as  
the sun1 whose setting     they watched 
from their lonely chamber window but a  
few hours before1     faded from their  
dim and feeble sight6 ,the memories     
which peaceful     country scenes call  
up are not of this world1 nor of its    
thoughts and     hopes4 ,their gentle   
influence may teach us how to weave     
fresh garlands     for the graves of    
those we love--may purify our thoughts1 
and bear     down before it old enmity  
and hatred2 but beneath all this there  
lingers1 in the least reflective mind1 a
 vague and half-formed     consciousness
 of having held such feelings long      
before1 in some remote     and distant  
time1 which calls up solemn thoughts of 
distant times to     come1 and bends    
down pride and worldliness beneath it4  

,it was a lovely spot to which they     
repaired4 ,oliver1 whose days had       
been spent among squalid crowds1 and in 
the midst of noise and     brawling1    
seemed to enter on a new existence      
there4  ,in the story of ,the ,five     
,sisters of ,york ,alice said to her    
sisters3      ,nature's own blessings   
are the proper goods of life1 and we may
 share     them sinlessly together4 ,to 
die is our heavy portion1 but1 oh1 let  
us     die with life about us2 when our 
cold hearts cease to beat1 let warm     
hearts be beating near2 let our last    
look be upon the bounds which ,god      
has set to his own bright skies1 and not
 on stone walls and bars of     iron6   
,dear sisters1 let us live and die1 if  
you list1 in this green     garden's    
compass4  ,dickens had very advanced    
opinions in regard to the importance of 
physical training1 especially of play1  
as an agent not only in physical        
culture1 but in the development of the  
mind and character4 ,doctor ,blimber's  

school is condemned because the boys    
were not allowed to play1 and ,doctor   
,strong's school is highly commended    
because the boys had noble games out of 
doors there4  ,what splendid runners and
 jumpers and divers and swimmers those  
grand boys were whom ,mr4 ,marton had   
the good fortune to teach in his second 
school in ,the ,old ,curiosity ,shop6   
,mrs4 ,crupp recommended ,david         
,copperfield to take up some game as an 
antidote for his despondency during his 
early love experience4  ,if you was to  
take to something1 sir1 said ,mrs4      
,crupp1 if you was to take to skittles1 
now1 which is healthy1 you might find it
 divert your mind and do you good4      
,mrs4 ,chick told ,mr4 ,dombey that     
,paul was delicate4 ,our darling is not 
altogether as stout as we could wish4   
,the fact is that his mind is too much  
for him4 ,his soul is a great deal too  
large for his frame4 ,yet his father    
paid no attention to the boy's food1 and
 sent him1 when but a little sickly     

child1 to ,doctor ,blimber's to learn   
everything--not to play4 ,they had      
nothing so vulgar as play at ,doctor    
,blimber's4  ,one of the most vicious   
conventions is that which makes vigorous
 play vulgar and unladylike for girls4  
,he called attention in ,american notes 
to the advantages possessed by the      
students of ,upper ,canada ,college1    
,toronto1 inasmuch as the town is well  
adapted for wholesome exercise at all   
seasons4 ,in the same book he gives his 
opinion that ,american girls must go    
more wisely clad1 and take more         
healthful exercise4  ,he praised the    
free life of the gipsy children in      
,nicholas ,nickleby4  ,in ,martin       
,chuzzlewit1 when ,tom ,pinch and       
,martin had to walk to ,salisbury       
instead of riding in ,mr4 ,pecksniff's  
gig1 ,dickens says it was better for    
them that they were compelled to walk4  
,what a breezy enthusiasm he throws into
 his advocacy of walking as an exercise3
      ,better6 ,a rare strong1 hearty1  

healthy walk--four statute miles an     
hour--preferable to that rumbling1      
tumbling1 jolting1 shaking1             
scraping1 creaking1 villainous old gig8 
,why1 the two things will not     admit 
of comparison4 ,it is an insult to the  
walk to set them side by     side4      
,where is an instance of a gig having   
ever circulated a man's     blood1      
unless when1 putting him in danger of   
his neck1 it awakened in     his veins  
and in his ears1 and all along his      
spine1 a tingling heat     much more    
peculiar than agreeable8 ,when did a gig
 ever sharpen     anybody's wits and    
energies1 unless it was when the horse  
bolted1 and1     crashing madly down a  
steep hill with a stone wall at the     
bottom1 his     desperate circumstances 
suggested to the only gentleman left    
inside     some novel and unheard-of    
mode of dropping out behind8 ,better    
than the     gig6      ,better than the 
gig6 ,when were travellers by wheels and
 hoofs seen     with such red-hot cheeks

 as those8 when were they so            
good-humouredly     and merrily bloused8
 when did their laughter ring upon the  
air1 as     they turned them round1 what
 time the stronger gusts came sweeping  
up2     and1 facing round again as they 
passed by1 dashed on1 in such a glow    
of ruddy health as nothing could keep   
pace with1 but the high spirits     it  
engendered8 ,better than the gig6 ,why  
here is a man in a gig     coming the   
same way now4 ,look at him as he passes 
his whip into his     left hand1 chafes 
his numbed right fingers on his granite 
leg1 and     beats those marble toes of 
his upon the footboard4 ,ha1 ha1 ha6    
,who     would exchange this rapid hurry
 of the blood for yonder stagnant       
misery1 though its pace were twenty     
miles for one8      ,better than the    
gig6 ,no man in a gig could have such   
interest in the     milestones4 ,no man 
in a gig could see1 or feel1 or think1  
like merry     users of their legs4     
,dickens taught comparatively little    

about the subjects of instruction or the
 methods of teaching them4 ,he dealt    
cramming its most stunning blow in      
,doctor ,blimber's school1 and he       
criticised sharply the methods of       
teaching classics and literature in the 
same school4 ,he advocated the objective
 method of teaching number in ,jemmy    
,lirriper's training at home by ,major  
,jackman4  ,he took more interest in    
reading and literature than in any other
 department of school study1 so far as  
can be judged from his writings4 ,he    
deplored the practice of allowing       
children to try to read before they     
could recognise the words readily1 and  
understand their meaning in the training
 of ,pip and ,charley ,hexam4 ,at the   
great party at ,mr4 ,merdle's1      the 
,bishop consulted the great ,physician  
on the relaxation of the     throat with
 which young curates were too frequently
 afflicted1 and on     the means of     
lessening the great prevalence of that  
disorder in the     church4 ,physician1 

as a general rule1 was of opinion that  
the best way     to avoid it was to know
 how to read before you made a          
profession of     reading4 ,bishop said1
 dubiously1 did he really think so8 ,and
 ,physician     said1 decidedly1 yes1 he
 did4  ,he criticised1 too1 the reading 
in the school visited in an ,american   
city1 because the girls blundered       
through three or four dreary passages1  
obviously without comprehending ten     
words1 and said he would have been much 
better pleased if they had been asked to
 read some simpler selections which they
 could understand4  ,mr4 ,wegg1 when    
reading for ,mr4 ,boffin in ,our ,mutual
 ,friend1 read on by rote1 and attached 
as few ideas as possible to the text4   
,he discusses the advantages of reading 
suitable books in ,david ,copperfield1  
giving to ,david his own real experience
 in early boyhood4 ,after describing the
 cruel treatment of the ,murdstones1 he 
says3      ,the natural result of this  
treatment1 continued1 ,i suppose1 for   

some     six months1 was to make me     
sullen1 dull1 and dogged4 ,i was not    
made     the less so by my sense of     
being daily more and more shut out and  
alienated from my mother4 ,i believe ,i 
should have been almost     stupefied   
but for one circumstance4      ,it was  
this4 ,my father had left a small       
collection of books in a     little room
 upstairs1 to which ,i had access 7for  
it joined my own7 and     which nobody  
else in our house ever troubled4 ,from  
that blessed little     room1 ,roderick 
,random1 ,peregrine ,pickle1 ,humphrey  
,clinker1 ,tom ,jones1     ,the ,vicar  
of ,wakefield1 ,don ,quixote1 ,gil      
,blas1 and ,robinson ,crusoe1     came  
out1 a glorious host to keep me company4
 ,they kept alive my     fancy1 and my  
hope of something beyond that place and 
time--they1 and     the ,arabian        
,nights1 and the tales of the ,genii4   
,his faith in the influence of reading  
increased as he grew older4 ,in ,our    
,mutual ,friend he says3 ,no one who can

 read ever looks at a book1 even        
unopened on a shelf1 like one who can   
not read4  ,dickens taught a useful     
lesson in ,martin ,chuzzlewit regarding 
the way teachers used to be treated by  
society4 ,even yet there is need of a   
higher recognition of the teaching      
profession in its true dignity by a     
civilization that reverences wealth more
 than intellectual and spiritual        
character4  ,tom ,pinch's sister was    
engaged in the family of a wealthy brass
 founder4 ,she was treated              
contemptuously by him and his wife1 yet 
they complained to ,tom that his sister 
was unable to command the respect of her
 pupil4 ,tom was naturally indignant1   
and he spoke his mind very clearly to   
the brass founder4      ,sir6 cried     
,tom1 after regarding him in silence for
 some time4 ,if     you do not          
understand what ,i mean ,i will tell    
you4 ,my meaning is that     no man can 
expect his children to respect what he  
degrades4      ,when you tell me1       

resumed ,tom1 who was not the less      
indignant for     keeping himself quiet1
 that my sister has no innate power of  
commanding the respect of your children1
 ,i must tell you it is not so2     and 
that she has4 ,she is as well bred1 as  
well taught1 as well     qualified by   
,nature to command respect as any hirer 
of a governess you     know4 ,but when  
you place her at a disadvantage in      
reference to every     servant in your  
house1 how can you suppose1 if you have 
the gift of     common sense1 that she  
is not in a tenfold worse position in   
reference     to your daughters8        
,pretty well6 ,upon my word1 exclaimed  
the gentleman1 that is pretty     well6 
,it is very ill1 sir1 said ,tom4 ,it is 
very bad and mean and wrong     and     
cruel4 ,respect6 ,i believe young people
 are quick enough to observe     and    
imitate2 and why or how should they     
respect whom no one else     respects1  
and everybody slights8 ,and very partial
 they must grow--oh1     very           

partial6--to their studies1 when they   
see to what a pass     proficiency in   
those same tasks has brought their      
governess6 ,respect6     ,put anything  
the most deserving of respect before    
your daughters in     the light in which
 you place her1 and you will bring it   
down as low1     no matter what it is6  
,you speak with extreme impertinence1   
young man1 observed the     gentleman4  
,i speak without passion1 but with      
extreme indignation and contempt     for
 such a course of treatment1 and for all
 who practise it1 said     ,tom4 ,why1  
how can you1 as an honest gentleman1    
profess displeasure or     surprise at  
your daughter telling my sister she is  
something beggarly     and humble when  
you are forever telling her the same    
thing yourself in     fifty plain1      
outspeaking ways1 though not in words2  
and when your very     porter and       
footman make the same delicate          
announcement to all comers8  ,dickens   
described a great variety of weak1 and  

mean1 and selfish1 and degraded people  
in order to expose weakness1 and        
meanness1 and selfishness1 and baseness1
 so that humanity might learn to        
overcome them1 but he reserved his      
supreme contempt for those who oppose   
the general education of the masses1    
because it fills their mind with ideas  
above their station1 or disqualifies    
them for the work they were intended to 
do4 ,this being interpreted1 means in   
plain language that certain human beings
 who1 because they possess wealth1 or   
belong to what they arrogantly call the 
upper classes1 claim the right to       
dominate those who have not a sufficient
 amount of money to be independent of   
them2 to fix what they selfishly call   
the sphere of the lower classes2 and to 
prescribe the limits beyond which the   
children of the poor must not be        
educated1 lest they be lifted beyond    
tame subserviency to their natural lords
 and masters1 and fail to abase         
themselves dutifully or to be           

sufficiently grateful to those above    
them for the pittance they grudgingly   
give them for labouring in the menial   
occupations assigned them4  ,dickens    
despised all ,barnacles1 and ,dedlocks1 
and ,podsnaps1 and ,dombeys1 and        
,merdles2 he ridiculed all who violate  
the sacred bond of human brotherhood2   
but the vials of his bitterest wrath    
were poured upon those who because a    
child was born in the home of poor      
parents would therefore restrict its    
education and dwarf its soul4  ,mr4     
,dombey1 after the christening of ,paul1
 called ,mrs4 ,toodle before his guests1
 and in a very condescending but rigidly
 majestic manner told her he had        
graciously decided to send her son to   
the school of the ,charitable ,grinders4
 ,he prefaced his announcement by a     
brief statement of his views regarding  
education3      ,i am far from being    
friendly1 pursued ,mr4 ,dombey1 to what 
is called     by persons of levelling   
sentiments1 general education4 ,but it  

is     necessary that the inferior      
classes should continue to be taught to 
know their position1 and to conduct     
themselves properly4 ,so far ,i         
approve of schools4      ,in ,mr4       
,dombey's eyes1 as in some others that  
occasionally see the     light1 they    
only achieved that mighty piece of      
knowledge1 the     understanding of     
their own position1 who showed a fitting
 reverence     for his4 ,it was not so  
much their merit that they knew         
themselves1 as     that they knew him1  
and bowed low before him4  ,there are   
thousands of ,dombeys still4 ,two       
,canadian judges recently said in       
speaking of education precisely what    
,mr4 ,dombey and his class said in the  
time of ,dickens4 ,one objected to      
educating the common people because it  
unfitted them for positions as house    
servants1 and made them so outrageously 
independent that they would not bow     
7bend their bodies properly1 bow their  
heads1 and look reverently at the floor7

 when in the presence of their          
mistresses4 ,the other said that the    
very derivation of the word education   
meant to lead out1 and it was therefore 
clear that education should be used to  
develop a few1 'lead them out1' beyond  
the masses in order that they might be  
qualified for leadership4 ,the necessary
 development to be imposed upon all but 
the favoured few in his system of       
government is willingness to follow     
leaders1 and ignorance is the only      
condition that can make this possible4  
,the glory of education is the awakening
 of the consciousness of freedom in the 
soul of the race and the revelation of  
the perfect law of liberty--individual  
right1 social duty4 ,the shackles1      
physical1 intellectual1 and spiritual1  
have fallen from humanity1 as education 
has done its true work of emancipating  
the individual soul and revealing its   
own value and its responsibility for its
 brother souls4  ,the most brutal of all
 the characters described by ,dickens is

 ,bill ,sikes4 ,the most degraded and   
despicable of his characters is ,dennis 
the hangman in ,barnaby ,rudge4 ,dickens
 makes ,bill ,sikes and ,dennis use the 
very same arguments1 from their         
standpoint1 that the so-called upper    
classes have used and still do use      
against the education of the masses4    
,bill ,sikes1 referring to the need of  
small boys in the trade of burglary1    
said3      ,i want a boy1 and he mustn't
 be a big 'un4 ,lord6 said ,mr4 ,sikes1 
reflectively1 if ,i'd only got that     
young boy of ,ned1 the chimbley         
sweeper's6 ,he kept him small on        
purpose1 and let him out by the job4    
,but the father gets lagged2 and then   
the ,juvenile ,delinquent ,society      
comes and takes the boy away from a     
trade where he was arning money1        
teaches him to read and write1 and in   
time makes a 'prentice of him4     ,and 
so they go on1 said ,mr4 ,sikes1 his    
wrath rising with the     recollection  
of his wrongs1 so they go on2 and1 if   

they'd got money     enough 7which it's 
a ,providence they haven't71 we         
shouldn't have half     a dozen boys    
left in the whole trade in a year or    
two4  ,and ,fagin agreed with ,bill     
,sikes4  ,when ,hugh was formally       
admitted as a member of ,lord ,gordon's 
mob ,dennis the hangman was much        
delighted at the addition of such a     
strong young man to the ranks1 and      
,dickens adds3      ,if anything could  
have exceeded ,mr4 ,dennis's joy on the 
happy     conclusion of this ceremony it
 would have been the rapture with which 
he received the announcement that the   
new member could neither read     nor   
write3 those two arts being 7as ,mr4    
,dennis swore7 the greatest     possible
 curse a civilized community could know1
 and militating more     against the    
professional emoluments and usefulness  
of the great     constitutional office  
he had the honour to hold than any      
adverse     circumstances that could    
present themselves to his imagination4  

,bill ,sikes objected to education      
because it spoiled the boys for the     
trade for which he required them2       
,dennis the hangman objected to         
education because it reduced the        
professional emoluments of his great    
constitutional office1 or1 in other     
words1 reduced the number who had to be 
hanged2 and their reasons are just as   
respectable as the reason given by any  
man in any position who objects to free 
education because it unfits boys for    
certain trades1 or girls for service1 or
 because it fills their minds with ideas
 above their station1 or because they   
have to pay their just share of its     
cost1 or for any other narrow and       
selfish reason4 ,selfishness is         
selfishness1 and it is as utterly       
loathsome in a bishop as in ,bill       
,sikes1 in a judge as in ,dennis the    
hangman4  ,dickens never did any more   
artistic work than when he painted the  
aristocratic objectors to popular       
education in their natural hideousness  

with ,bill ,sikes and ,dennis the       
hangman for a harmonious background4    
,,chapter ,,xvii4  ,,the ,,training ,,of
 ,,poor1 ,,neglected1 ,,and ,,defective 
,,children4   ,it is a singular fact    
that humanity in its highest development
 so long neglected the poor1 and the    
weak1 and the defective4 ,they were     
practically left out of consideration by
 educators and philanthropists4 ,the    
fact that they more than any others     
needed education and care was not seen  
clearly enough to lead to definite plans
 for the amelioration of their          
misfortunes until the nineteenth        
century4 ,dickens must always have the  
honour of being the great ,english      
apostle of the poor--especially of      
neglected childhood4  ,he wrote in the  
,uncommercial ,traveller3      ,i can   
find--must find1 whether ,i will or     
no--in the open streets1     shameful   
instances of neglect of children1       
intolerable toleration of     the       
engenderment of paupers1 idlers1        

thieves1 races of wretched and          
destructive cripples both in body and   
mind2 a misery to themselves1 a         
misery to the community1 a disgrace to  
civilization1 and an outrage on         
,christianity4 ,i know it to be a fact  
as easy of demonstration as any     sum 
in any of the elementary rules of       
arithmetic1 that if the ,state     would
 begin its work and duty at the         
beginning1 and would with the     strong
 hand take those children out of the    
streets while they are yet     children1
 and wisely train them1 it would make   
them a part of     ,england's glory1 not
 its shame--of ,england's strength1 not 
its     weakness--would raise good      
soldiers and sailors1 and good citizens1
     and many great men out of the seeds
 of its criminal population2 it         
would clear ,london streets of the most 
terrible objects they smite the         
sight with--myriads of little children  
who awfully reverse our     ,saviour's  
words1 and are not of the ,kingdom of   

,heaven1 but of the     ,kingdom of     
,hell4  ,he sympathized with childhood  
on account of every form of coercion and
 abuse practised upon it by tyrannical1 
selfish1 or ignorant adulthood1 under   
the most favourable conditions2 but his 
great heart was especially tender toward
 the little ones who1 in addition to    
coercion and abuse1 and bad training by 
the selfish1 the ignorant1 and the      
careless1 were compelled to endure the  
terrible sufferings and deprivations of 
poverty4 ,he was conscious not only of  
the material and physical evils to which
 the children of the very poor were     
exposed1 but of the mental and spiritual
 barrenness of their lives1 and one of  
his most manifest educational purposes  
was to improve social conditions1 to    
arouse the spirit of truly sympathetic  
brotherhood 7not merely considerate     
altruism1 but genuine brotherhood7 to   
place the poorest children in conditions
 that would develop by experience the   
apperceptive centres of intellectual and

 spiritual growth1 and to direct special
 attention to the urgent need of        
education for the blind1 the deaf1 and  
the mentally defective4  ,no other      
,american touched his heart and won his 
reverence quite so thoroughly as ,dr4   
,howe1 of ,boston1 who will undoubtedly 
be recognised as one of the greatest men
 yet produced by ,american civilization 
when men are tested by their purposes1  
and by their unselfish work for humanity
 in hitherto untrodden paths4 ,after    
describing ,dr4 ,howe's work for the    
blind1 he reverently says3 ,there are   
not many persons1 ,i hope and believe1  
who1 after reading these passages1 can  
ever hear that name with indifference4  
,dickens charged on humanity1 on        
society1 the crime of making criminals4 
,he said with great force and truth in  
the preface to ,martin ,chuzzlewit3     
,nothing is more common in real life    
than a want of profitable     reflection
 on the causes of many vices and crimes 
that awaken general     horror4 ,what is

 substantially true of families in this 
respect1 is     true of a whole         
commonwealth4 ,as we sow1 we reap4 ,let 
the reader go     into the children's   
side of any prison in ,england1 or1 ,i  
grieve to     add1 of many workhouses1  
and judge whether those are monsters who
     disgrace our streets1 people our   
hulks and penitentiaries1 and           
overcrowd our penal colonies1 or are    
creatures whom we have     deliberately 
suffered to be bred for misery and ruin4
  ,this thought was the motive that led 
him throughout his whole life to try to 
arouse sympathetic interest of the most 
active kind in the conditions and       
circumstances of the poor4  ,one of his 
most striking appeals to thoughtful     
people is made in ,martin ,chuzzlewit4  
,these profound words will always be    
worthy of careful study by teachers and 
reformers3      ,oh1 moralists1 who     
treat of happiness and self-respect1    
innate in     every sphere of life1 and 
shedding light on every grain of dust in

     ,god's highway1 so smooth below    
your carriage wheels1 so rough beneath  
the tread of naked feet1 bethink        
yourselves in looking on the swift      
descent of men who have lived in their  
own esteem1 that there are     scores of
 thousands breathing now1 and breathing 
thick with painful     toil1 who in that
 high respect have never lived at all1  
nor had a     chance of life6 ,go ye1   
who rest so placidly upon the sacred    
bard who     had been young1 and when he
 strung his harp was old1 and had never 
seen the righteous forsaken1 or his seed
 begging their bread2 go1     teachers  
of content and honest pride1 into the   
mine1 the mill1 the     forge1 the      
squalid depths of deepest ignorance1 and
 uttermost abyss of     man's neglect1  
and say can any hopeful plant spring up 
in air so foul     that it extinguishes 
the soul's bright torch as fast as it is
 kindled6     ,and1 oh6 ye ,pharisees of
 the nineteen hundredth year of         
,christian     knowledge1 who soundingly

 appeal to human nature1 see that it be 
human     first4 ,take heed it has not  
been transformed1 during your slumber   
and     the sleep of generations1 into  
the nature of the beasts4  ,dickens saw 
clearly the depravity of human nature1  
but he looked beyond the depravity to   
its cause1 and he found a natural cause 
for the degradation1 but not the cause  
that had been commonly assigned4 ,he    
taught that the highest and holiest     
elements in human nature were the causes
 of its swiftest deterioration when     
misused1 perverted1 or neglected4       
,alice ,marwood1 in ,dombey and ,son1   
was introduced to teach parents and     
society in general the duties they owe  
to childhood1 and to show how lives are 
wrecked by neglect and by a false use of
 power4 ,when she returned1 an outcast1 
to her mother1 and her mother upbraided 
her1 the young woman said3      ,i tell 
you1 mother1 for the second time1 there 
have been years for me     as well as   
you4 ,come back harder8 ,of course ,i   

have come back harder4     ,what else   
did you expect8      ,harder to me6 ,to 
her own dear mother6 cried the old      
woman4      ,i don't know who began to  
harden me1 if my own dear mother didn't1
     she returned1 sitting with her     
folded arms1 and knitted brows1 and     
compressed lips1 as if she were bent on 
excluding1 by force1 every     softer   
feeling from her breast4 ,listen1       
mother1 to a word or two4 ,if     we    
understand each other now1 we shall not 
fall out any more1 perhaps4     ,i went 
away a girl1 and have come back a woman4
 ,i went away undutiful     enough1 and 
have come back no better1 you may swear4
 ,but have you been     very dutiful to 
me8      ,i6 cried the old woman4 ,to my
 own gal6 ,a mother dutiful to her own  
child6      ,it sounds unnatural1 don't 
it8 returned the daughter1 looking      
coldly     on her with her stern1       
regardless1 hardy1 beautiful face2 but  
,i have     thought of it sometimes1 in 
the course of my lone years1 till ,i    

have     got used to it4 ,i have heard  
some talk about duty first and last2 but
     it has always been of my duty to   
other people4 ,i have wondered now and  
then--to pass away the time--whether no 
one ever owed any duty to me4      ,her 
mother sat mowing1 and mumbling1 and    
shaking her head1 but whether           
angrily1 or remorsefully1 or in denial1 
or only in her physical     infirmity1  
did not appear4      ,there was a child 
called ,alice ,marwood1 said the        
daughter with a     laugh1 and looking  
down at herself in terrible derision of 
herself1     born among poverty and     
neglect1 and nurtured in it4 ,nobody    
taught     her1 nobody stepped forward  
to help her1 nobody cared for her4      
,nobody6 echoed the mother1 pointing to 
herself and striking her     breast4    
,the only care she knew1 returned the   
daughter1 was to be beaten1     and     
stinted1 and abused sometimes2 and she  
might have done better     without that4
 ,she lived in homes like this1 and in  

the streets1 with a     crowd of little 
wretches like herself2 and yet she      
brought good looks     out of this      
childhood4 ,so much the worse for her4  
,she had better have     been hunted and
 worried to death for ugliness4      ,go
 on6 go on6 exclaimed the mother4       
,she'll soon have ended1 said the       
daughter4 ,there was a criminal         
called ,alice ,marwood--a girl still1   
but deserted and an outcast4 ,and       
she was tried1 and she was sentenced4   
,and ,lord1 how the gentlemen in     the
 court talked about it6 and how grave   
the judge was on her duty1     and on   
her having perverted the gifts of       
,nature--as if he didn't know     better
 than anybody there that they had been  
made curses to her6--and     how he     
preached about the strong arm of the    
,law--so very strong to     save her1   
when she was an innocent and helpless   
little wretch6 and how     solemn and   
religious it all was6 ,i have thought of
 that many times     since1 to be sure6 

,she folded her arms tightly on her     
breast1 and laughed in a tone that      
made the howl of the old woman musical4 
,so ,alice ,marwood was transported1    
mother1 she pursued1 and was sent     to
 learn her duty where there was twenty  
times less duty1 and more               
wickedness1 and wrong1 and infamy1 than 
here4 ,and ,alice ,marwood is     come  
back a woman4 ,such a woman as she ought
 to be1 after all this4 ,in     good    
time1 there will be more solemnity1 and 
more fine talk1 and more     strong arm1
 most likely1 and there will be an end  
of her2 but the     gentlemen needn't be
 afraid of being thrown out of work4    
,there's     crowds of little wretches1 
boy and girl1 growing up in any of the  
streets they live in1 that'll keep them 
to it till they've made their           
fortunes4  ,bleak ,house is one of the  
greatest of the educational works of    
,dickens4 ,one of its chief aims was to 
arouse a sympathetic interest in the    
lives of poor children4 ,the ,neckett   

children1 ,charlotte1 and ,tom1 and     
,emma1 revealed a new world to many     
thousands of good people4      ,charley1
 ,charley6 said my guardian4 ,how old   
are you8      ,over thirteen1 sir1      
replied the child4      ,oh6 what a     
great age1 said my guardian4 ,what a    
great age1 ,charley6      ,and do you   
live alone here with these babies1      
,charley8 said my     guardian4         
,yes1 sir1 returned the child1 looking  
up into his face with perfect           
confidence1 since father died4      ,and
 how do you live1 ,charley8 ,oh6        
,charley1 said my guardian1 turning     
his face away for a moment1 how do you  
live8      ,since my father died1 sir1  
,i've gone out to work4 ,i'm out washing
     to-day4      ,god help you1        
,charley6 said my guardian4 ,you're not 
tall enough to     reach the tub6       
,in pattens ,i am1 sir1 she said1       
quickly4 ,i've got a high pair as       
belonged to mother4      ,and when did  
mother die8 ,poor mother6      ,mother  

died just after ,emma was born1 said the
 child1 glancing at     the face upon   
her bosom4 ,then father said ,i was to  
be as good a     mother to her as ,i    
could4 ,and so ,i tried4 ,and so ,i     
worked at home1 and     did cleaning and
 nursing and washing1 for a long time   
before ,i began     to go out4 ,and     
that's how ,i know how2 don't you see1  
sir8      ,and do you often go out8     
,as often as ,i can1 said ,charley1     
opening her eyes1 and smiling1          
because of earning sixpences and        
shillings6      ,and do you always lock 
the babies up when you go out8      ,to 
keep 'em safe1 sir1 don't you see8 said 
,charley4 ,mrs4 ,blinder     comes up   
now and then1 and ,mr4 ,gridley comes up
 sometimes1 and perhaps     ,i can run  
in sometimes1 and they can play1 you    
know1 and ,tom ain't     afraid of being
 locked up1 are you1 ,tom8      ,no-o6  
said ,tom stoutly4      ,when it comes  
on dark the lamps are lighted down in   
the court1 and     they show up here    

quite bright--almost quite bright4      
,don't they1 ,tom8      ,yes1 ,charley1 
said ,tom2 almost quite bright4  ,the   
hearts must be hard that are not moved  
to a deeper and more practical interest 
in the children of the poor by this     
pathetic story1 and others of a kindred 
character which ,dickens told over and  
over again for the ,christian world to  
study4 ,and the study led to feeling and
 thought and co-operative action4  ,the 
fruits of these wonderful stories are   
the splendid homes1 and organizations   
for children1 and the laws to protect   
them from cruelty by parents or         
teachers1 or employers1 and the free    
public schools to educate them1 and the 
joy1 and happiness1 and freedom1 that   
are taking the place of the sorrow1 and 
tears1 and coercion of the time when    
,dickens began his noble work4  ,the    
tragic story of poor ,jo illustrated the
 poverty1 the ignorance1 the            
destitution1 the hopelessness1 the      
barrenness1 and the dreadful environment

 of a ,london street boy4 ,the world has
 done much better since1 as ,dickens    
prophesied it would do1 and the good    
work is going on4 ,hundreds of thousands
 of the poor ,joes of ,london are now in
 the public schools of ,london alone of 
whom the ,christian philanthropy of the 
world thought little till ,dickens told 
his stories4  ,in ,nobody's ,story      
,dickens returns to his special purpose 
of changing the attitude of civilization
 toward the education of the poor4 ,the 
,bigwigs represent society1 and the man 
means the poor man4      ,but the       
,bigwig family broke out into violent   
family quarrels     concerning what it  
was lawful to teach to this man's       
children4 ,some of     the family       
insisted on such a thing being primary  
and indispensable     above all other   
things2 and others of the family        
insisted on such     another thing being
 primary and indispensable above all    
other things2     and the ,bigwig       
family1 rent into factions1 wrote       

pamphlets1 held     convocations1       
delivered charges1 orations1 and all    
varieties of     discourses2 impounded  
one another in courts ,lay and courts   
,ecclesiastical2 threw dirt1 exchanged  
pummellings1 and fell together     by   
the ears in unintelligible animosity4   
,meanwhile1 this man1 in his     short  
evening snatches at his fireside1 saw   
the demon ,ignorance arise     there1   
and take his children to itself4 ,he saw
 his daughter perverted     into a heavy
 slatternly drudge2 he saw his son go   
moping down the ways     of low         
sensuality1 to brutality and crime2 he  
saw the dawning light of                
intelligence in the eyes of his babies  
so changing into cunning and            
suspicion1 that he could have rather    
wished them idiots4  ,dickens objected  
to a certain kind of sentimentality     
exhibited in his day toward criminals1  
and draws a very suggestive picture full
 of elements for psychological study in 
,david ,copperfield1 in which he makes  

the brutal schoolmaster ,creakle a very 
considerate ,middlesex magistrate1 with 
an unfailing system for a quick and     
effective method of converting the      
wickedest scoundrels into the most      
submissive1 ,scripture-quoting saints by
 solitary confinement4 ,dickens did not 
approve of the system1 and he did not   
approve either of the plan of the       
spending of so much money by the state  
in erecting splendid buildings for      
criminals1 while the honest poor were in
 hovels1 and especially while the state 
allowed the boys and girls1 through     
neglect1 to be transformed into         
criminals by thousands every year4      
,dickens would have made criminals earn 
their own living1 and he urged the      
establishment of industrial schools for 
the boys and girls of the streets1 so   
that they might become respectable1     
intelligent1 self-reliant1 law-abiding  
citizens instead of criminals4  ,david  
said3      ,traddles and ,i repaired to 
the prison where ,mr4 ,creakle was      

powerful4     ,it was an immense and    
solid building1 erected at a vast       
expense4 ,i     could not help thinking1
 as we approached the gate1 what an     
uproar     would have been made in the  
country if any deluded man had proposed 
to     spend one half the money it had  
cost1 on the erection of an industrial  
school for the young1 or a house of     
refuge for the deserving old4  ,as usual
 with great reformers1 the              
philanthropists of his own day refused  
to accept the theories of ,dickens1 but 
succeeding generations adopted them4    
,the reforms for which he pleaded began 
to be practised so soon because he      
winged his thought with living appeals  
to the deepest1 truest feelings of the  
human heart4  ,dickens said truly of    
,barnaby ,rudge3      ,the absence of   
the soul is far more terrible in a      
living man than in     a dead one2 and  
in this unfortunate being its noblest   
powers were     wanting4  ,he pleaded   
again for those who are weak-minded in  

,mr4 ,dick's case in ,david             
,copperfield4 ,mr4 ,dick was evidently  
introduced into the story to show the   
effect of kind treatment on those who   
are defective in intellect4 ,the insane 
were flogged and put in strait-jackets  
in the time of ,dickens4 ,his teaching  
is now the practice of the civilized    
world4 ,the insane are kindly treated1  
and weak-minded children are taught in  
good schools by the best teachers that  
can be obtained for them4  ,betsy       
,trotwood1 ,david's aunt1 was an        
embodiment of a good heart united with  
an eminently practical head4 ,she did   
not talk about religion1 as did the     
,murdstones1 but she showed her         
religious life in good1 reasonable1     
self-sacrificing1 helpful living4 ,david
 asked her for an explanation of ,mr4   
,dick's case4      ,he has been called  
mad1 said my aunt4 ,i have a selfish    
pleasure     in saying he has been      
called mad1 or ,i should not have had   
the benefit     of his society and      

advice for these last ten years and     
upward--in     fact1 ever since your    
sister1 ,betsy ,trotwood1 disappointed  
me4      ,so long as that8 ,i said4     
,and nice people they were1 who had the 
audacity to call him mad1     pursued my
 aunt4 ,mr4 ,dick is a sort of distant  
connection of mine--it     doesn't      
matter how2 ,i needn't enter into that4 
,if it hadn't been for     me1 his own  
brother would have shut him up for life4
 ,that's all4      ,i am afraid it was  
hypocritical in me1 but seeing that my  
aunt felt     strongly on the subject1  
,i tried to look as if ,i felt strongly 
too4      ,a proud fool6 said my aunt4  
,because his brother was a little       
eccentric--though he is not half so     
eccentric as a good many     people--he 
didn't like to have him visible about   
the house1 and sent     him away to some
 private asylum place2 though he had    
been left to his     particular care by 
their deceased father1 who thought him  
almost a     natural4 ,and a wise man he

 must have been to think so6 ,mad       
himself1     no doubt4      ,again1 as  
my aunt looked quite convinced1 ,i      
endeavoured to look quite     convinced 
also4      ,so ,i stepped in1 said my   
aunt1 and made him an offer4 ,i said1   
',your     brother's sane--a great deal 
more sane than you are1 or ever will be1
     it is to be hoped4 ,let him have   
his little income1 and come and live    
with me4 ,i am not afraid of him2 ,i am 
not proud2 ,i am ready to     take care 
of him1 and shall not ill treat him as  
some people 7besides     the asylum     
folks7 have done4' ,after a good deal of
 squabbling1 said     my aunt1 ,i got   
him2 and he has been here ever since4   
,he is the most     friendly and        
amenable creature in existence2 and as  
for advice6--but     nobody knows what  
that man's mind is1 except myself4      
,dickens was greatly delighted with the 
asylums of the ,united ,states1 and he  
strongly advocated the adoption in      
,england of ,american methods of        

treating the insane4 ,he says1 in       
,american ,notes3      ,at ,south       
,boston1 as it is called1 in a situation
 excellently adapted     for the        
purpose1 several charitable institutions
 are clustered     together4 ,one of    
these is the ,state ,hospital for the   
,insane2 admirably     conducted on     
those enlightened principles of         
conciliation and     kindness1 which    
twenty years ago would have been worse  
than heretical1     and which have been 
acted upon with so much success in our  
own pauper     asylum at ,hanwell4      
,evince a desire to show some           
confidence1 and     repose some trust1  
even in mad people1 said the resident   
physician1     as we walked along the   
galleries1 his patients flocking round  
us     unrestrained4 ,of those who deny 
or doubt the wisdom of this maxim       
after witnessing its effects1 if there  
be such people still alive1 ,i     can  
only say that ,i hope ,i may never be   
summoned as a juryman on a              

commission of lunacy whereof they are   
the subjects2 for ,i should             
certainly find them out of their senses1
 on such evidence alone4      ,each ward
 in this institution is shaped like a   
long gallery or hall1     with the      
dormitories of the patients opening from
 it on either hand4     ,here they work1
 read1 play at skittles1 and other      
games2 and1 when the     weather does   
not admit of their taking exercise out  
of doors1 pass the     day together4 ,in
 one of these rooms1 seated1 calmly1 and
 quite as a     matter of course1 among 
a throng of mad women1 black and white1 
were     the physician's wife and       
another lady1 with a couple of children4
     ,these ladies were graceful and    
handsome2 and it was not difficult to   
perceive at a glance that even their    
presence there had a highly             
beneficial influence on the patients who
 were grouped about them4      ,every   
patient in this asylum sits down to     
dinner every day with a     knife and   

fork2 and in the midst of them sits the 
gentleman whose     manner of dealing   
with his charges ,i have just described4
 ,at every     meal1 moral influence    
alone restrains the more violent among  
them from     cutting the throats of the
 rest2 but the effect of that influence 
is     reduced to an absolute certainty1
 and is found1 even as a means of       
restraint1 to say nothing of it as a    
means of cure1 a hundred times     more 
efficacious than all the                
strait-waistcoats1 fetters1 and         
handcuffs1 that ignorance1 prejudice1   
and cruelty have manufactured     since 
the creation of the world4  ,how much   
those benighted teachers who so         
tragically ask ,what can you do with bad
 boys1 if you do not use corporal       
punishment8 might learn from the last   
sentence6  ,blinded by old ideals1 these
 teachers whip away1 admitting that they
 fail to reform many of the best boys1  
and quieting their consciences with the 
horrible thought that the evil course   

was the natural one for the boys1 and   
that they are not responsible for their 
blighted lives4 ,they comfort themselves
 with the thought that it is ,god's     
business1 and if he made a boy so bad   
that flogging would not reform him1 they
 at any rate are free from blame1       
because they have beaten1 and beaten1   
and beaten him1 and it did him no good4 
,having beaten him1 and beaten him1 and 
beaten him1 they rest contented with the
 sure conviction that they have         
faithfully done their duty2 and when1   
perchance1 the poor boy becomes a       
criminal1 they solemnly say without a   
blush or a pang3 ,i knew he would come  
to a bad end1 but ,i am so thankful that
 ,i did my duty to him4  ,ignominious   
failure to save the brave boys who are  
not cowardly enough to be deterred from 
doing wrong by beating has taught       
nothing to some teachers4 ,even yet they
 placidly beat on1 and get angry if they
 are requested to try freedom as a      
substitute for coercion in the training 

of beings created in ,god's image4 ,they
 even question the sanity and the       
theology of those who dare to doubt the 
efficiency of the sacred rod4 ,they do  
not deem it possible that by studying   
the child and their own higher powers   
they could find easier1 pleasanter1 and 
infinitely more successful methods of   
guiding a boy to a true1 strong life    
than by beating1 and beating1 and       
beating him4  ,the keepers of asylums in
 the time of ,dickens were equally      
severe on the wise friends of the       
insane4 ,they honestly believed that    
terrible evils would necessarily result 
from giving greater freedom to the      
afflicted patients in asylums4 ,dickens 
took the side of freedom and common     
sense1 and the strait-jackets1 and      
handcuffs1 and fetters have been taken  
off1 and1 even as a means of restraint1 
kindness and freedom have done better   
work than all the coercive fetters that 
ignorance1 prejudice1 and cruelty have  
manufactured since the creation of the  

world4  ,so all teachers who have grown 
wise enough have found that kindness and
 freedom are much better even as        
restraining agents1 and infinitely      
better in the development of true1      
independent1 positive1 progressive      
characters than all the coercive terrors
 of rod1 rule1 strap1 rawhide1 or any   
form of cruelty ever practised on       
helpless childhood by ignorance1        
prejudice1 and perverted theology since 
the creation of the world4  ,in         
,american ,notes ,dickens gave a long   
description of ,laura ,bridgman written 
by ,dr4 ,howe1 and showed his intense   
interest in what was then a new movement
 in favour of the education of the      
blind4  ,speaking of ,laura ,bridgman1  
,dickens himself wrote3      ,the       
thought occurred to me as ,i sat down in
 another room before a     girl1 blind1 
deaf1 and dumb2 destitute of smell1 and 
nearly so of     taste2 before a fair   
young creature with every human faculty1
 and     hope1 and power of goodness and

 affection inclosed within her delicate 
frame1 and but one outward sense--the   
sense of touch4 ,there she was          
before me2 built up1 as it were1 in a   
marble cell1 impervious to any     ray  
of light1 or particle of sound2 with her
 poor white hand peeping     through a  
chink in the wall1 beckoning to some    
good man for help1 that     an immortal 
soul might be awakened4      ,long      
before ,i looked upon her the help had  
come4 ,her face was radiant     with    
intelligence and pleasure4 ,her hair1   
braided by her own hands1     was bound 
about her head1 whose intellectual      
capacity and development     were       
beautifully expressed in its graceful   
outline1 and its broad open     brow2   
her dress1 arranged by herself1 was a   
pattern of neatness and     simplicity2 
the work she had knitted lay beside her2
 her writing book     was on the desk   
she leaned upon4 ,from the mournful ruin
 of such     bereavement there had      
slowly risen up this gentle1 tender1    

guileless1     grateful-hearted being4  
,the touching story of ,caleb ,plummer  
and his blind daughter was intended to  
arouse interest in blind children4      
,doctor ,marigold should be one of the  
best beloved of all the beautiful       
characters of ,dickens4 ,if any kind of 
language could awaken an intense        
interest in the education of deaf-mutes1
 the story of the dear old ,cheap ,jack 
must surely do it4  ,the sad picture of 
the cruel treatment of his own little   
,sophy by her mother2 of her dying on   
his shoulder while he was selling his   
wares to the crowd1 whispering fondly to
 her between his jokes2 and the suicide 
of the mother1 when she afterward saw   
another woman beating her child1 and    
heard the child cry piteously1 ,don't   
beat me6 ,oh1 mother1 mother1           
mother6--these prepare the heart for    
full appreciation of the tender1        
considerate1 and intelligent treatment  
of the deaf-mute child adopted by       
,doctor ,marigold in ,sophy's place4    

,i went to that ,fair as a mere         
civilian1 leaving the cart outside the  
town1 and ,i looked about the back of   
the ,vans while the performing was      
going on1 and at last1 sitting dozing   
against a muddy cart wheel1 ,i     come 
upon the poor girl who was deaf and     
dumb4 ,at the first look ,i     might   
almost have judged that she had escaped 
from the ,wild ,beast     ,show2 but at 
the second ,i thought better of her1 and
 thought that if     she was more cared 
for and more kindly used she would be   
like my     child4 ,she was just the    
same age that my own daughter would have
 been1     if her pretty head had not   
fell down upon my shoulder that         
unfortunate     night4      ,it was     
happy days for both of us when ,sophy   
and me began to travel in     the cart4 
,i at once gave her the name of ,sophy1 
to put her ever toward     me in the    
attitude of my own daughter4 ,we soon   
made out to begin to     understand one 
another1 through the goodness of the    

,heavens1 when she     knowed that ,i   
meant true and kind by her4 ,in a very  
little time she     was wonderful fond  
of me4 ,you have no idea what it is to  
have anybody     wonderful fond of you1 
unless you have been got down and rolled
 upon     by the lonely feelings that ,i
 have mentioned as having once got the  
better of me4      ,you'd have          
laughed--or the rewerse--it's according 
to your     disposition--if you could   
have seen me trying to teach ,sophy4 ,at
 first     ,i was helped--you'd never   
guess by what--milestones4 ,i got some  
large     alphabets in a box1 all the   
letters separate on bits of bone1 and   
say     we was going to ,,windsor2 ,i   
gave her those letters in that order1   
and     then at every milestone ,i      
showed her those same letters in that   
same     order again1 and pointed toward
 the abode of royalty4 ,another time ,i 
give her ,,cart1 and then chalked the   
same upon the cart4 ,another time ,i    
give her ,,doctor ,,marigold1 and hung a

 corresponding inscription outside      
my waistcoat4 ,people that met us might 
stare a bit and laugh1 but what     did 
,i care if she caught the idea8 ,she    
caught it after long patience     and   
trouble1 and then we did begin to get on
 swimmingly1 ,i believe     you6 ,at    
first she was a little given to consider
 me the cart1 and the     cart the abode
 of royalty1 but that soon wore off4    
,the way she learned to understand any  
look of mine was truly     surprising4  
,when ,i sold of a night1 she would sit 
in the cart1 unseen     by them outside1
 and would give a eager look into my    
eyes when ,i     looked in1 and would   
hand me straight the precise article or 
articles     ,i wanted4 ,and then she   
would clap her hands1 and laugh for joy4
 ,and as     for me1 seeing her so      
bright1 and remembering what she was    
when ,i     first lighted on her1       
starved and beaten and ragged1 leaning  
asleep     against the muddy cart wheel1
 it give me such heart that ,i gained a 

greater height of reputation than ever4 
,this happiness went on in the cart till
 she was sixteen years old4 ,by         
which time ,i began to feel not         
satisfied that ,i had done my whole duty
     by her1 and to consider that she   
ought to have better teaching than ,i   
could give her4 ,it drew a many tears on
 both sides when ,i commenced           
explaining my views to her2 but what's  
right is right1 and you can't           
neither by tears nor laughter do away   
with its character4      ,so ,i took her
 hand in mine1 and ,i went with her one 
day to the ,deaf     and ,dumb          
,establishment in ,london1 and when the 
gentleman come to speak     to us1 ,i   
says to him3 ,now1 ,i'll tell you what  
,i'll do with you1 sir4     ,i am       
nothing but a ,cheap ,jack1 but of late 
years ,i have laid by for a     rainy   
day notwithstanding4 ,this is my only   
daughter 7adopted71 and you     can't   
produce a deafer nor a dumber4 ,teach   
her the most that can be     taught her 

in the shortest separation that can be  
named--state the     figure for it--and 
,i am game to put the money down4 ,i    
won't bate you     single farthing1 sir1
 but ,i'll put down the money here and  
now1 and     ,i'll thankfully throw you 
in a pound to take it4 ,there6 ,the     
gentleman     smiled1 and then1 ,well1  
well1 says he1 ,i must first know what  
she     has learned already4 ,how do you
 communicate with her8 ,then ,i showed  
him1 and she wrote in printed writing   
many names of things and so     forth2  
and we held some sprightly conversation1
 ,sophy and me1 about a     little story
 in a book which the gentleman showed   
her1 and which she     was able to read4
 ,this is most extraordinary1 says the  
gentleman2     is it possible that you  
have been her only teacher8 ,i have been
 her     only teacher1 sir1 ,i says1    
besides herself4 ,then1 says the        
gentleman1 and more acceptable words was
 never spoke to me1 you're a     clever 
fellow1 and a good fellow4 ,this he     

makes known to ,sophy1 who     kisses   
his hands1 claps her own1 and laughs and
 cries upon it4      ,now1 ,marigold1   
tell me what more do you want your      
adopted daughter to     know8      ,i   
want her1 sir1 to be cut off from the   
world as little as can be1              
considering her deprivations1 and       
therefore to be able to read            
whatever is wrote with perfect ease and 
pleasure4  ,no one ever read this story 
and its delightful closing without being
 more deeply interested in deaf-mutes   
and their education4  ,all the children1
 especially poor and defective children1
 should be taught how much they owe to  
,dickens1 that they might reverently    
love his memory4  ,one of the most awful
 pictures shown to ,scrooge by the      
,phantom was the picture of the two     
wretched1 abject1 frightful1 hideous1   
miserable children4      ,they were a   
boy and a girl4 ,yellow1 meagre1 ragged1
 scowling1 wolfish2     but prostrate1  
too1 in their humility4 ,where graceful 

youth should     have filled their      
features out1 and touched them with its 
freshest     tints1 a stale and         
shrivelled hand1 like that of age1 had  
pinched1 and     twisted them1 and      
pulled them into shreds4 ,where angels  
might have     sat enthroned1 devils    
lurked1 and glared out menacing4 ,no    
change1 no     degradation1 no          
perversion of humanity1 in any grade1   
through all the     mysteries of        
wonderful creation1 has monsters half so
 horrible and     dread4      ,they are 
,man's1 said the ,spirit1 looking down  
upon them4 ,and they     cling to me1   
appealing from their fathers4 ,this boy 
is ,ignorance4 ,this     girl is ,want4 
,beware them both1 and all of their     
degree1 but most of     all beware this 
boy1 for on his brow ,i see that written
 which is ,doom1     unless the writing 
be erased4 ,deny it6 cried the ,spirit1 
stretching     out its hand toward the  
city4 ,slander those who tell it ye6    
,admit it     for your factious         

purposes1 and make it worse4 ,and abide 
the end6  ,dickens bravely fought the   
battle against the enemies of the       
children1 and helped to win the grandest
 victories of ,christian civilization4  
,,the ,,end4     ,,international        
,,education ,,series4  #abmo1 cloth1    
uniform binding4   ,,the ,,international
 ,,education ,,series was projected for 
the purpose of bringing together in     
orderly arrangement the best writings1  
new and old1 upon educational subjects1 
and presenting a complete course of     
reading and training for teachers       
generally4 ,it is edited by ,,william   
,t4 ,,harris1 ,,ll4 ,d41 ,united ,states
 ,commissioner of ,education1 who has   
contributed for the different volumes in
 the way of introduction1 analysis1 and 
commentary4  #a4 ,the ,philosophy of    
,education4 ,by ,,johann ,k4 ,f4        
,,rosenkranz1 ,doctor of ,theology and  
,professor of ,philosophy4 ,university  
of ,koenigsberg4 ,translated by ,,anna  
,c4 ,,brackett4 ,second edition1        

revised1 with ,commentary and complete  
,analysis4 #a4ej4  #b4 ,a ,history of   
,education4 ,by ,f4 ,v4 ,n4 ,,painter1  
,a4 ,m4 ,professor of ,modern ,languages
 and ,literature1 ,roanoke ,college1    
,va4 ,revised edition1 #aijd4 #a4bj net4
  #c4 ,the ,rise and ,early             
,constitution of ,universities4 ,,with  
,a ,,survey ,,of ,,mediaeval            
,,education4 ,by ,s4 ,s4 ,,laurie1 ,,ll4
 ,d41 ,professor of the ,institutes and 
,history of ,education1 ,university of  
,edinburgh4 #a4ej4  #d4 ,the            
,ventilation and ,warming of ,school    
,buildings4 ,by ,,gilbert ,b4           
,,morrison1 ,teacher of ,physics and    
,chemistry1 ,kansas ,city ,high ,school4
 #a4jj4  #e4 ,the ,education of ,man4   
,by ,,friedrich ,,froebel4 ,translated  
and annotated by ,w4 ,n4 ,,hailmann1 ,a4
 ,m41 ,superintendent of ,public        
,schools1 ,la ,porte1 ,ind4 #a4ej4  #f4 
,elementary ,psychology and ,education4 
,by ,,joseph ,,baldwin1 ,a4 ,m41 ,,ll4  
,d41 author of ,the ,art of ,school     

,management4 #a4ej4  #g4 ,the ,senses   
and the ,will4 7,part ,i of ,,the ,,mind
 ,,of ,,the ,,child47 ,by ,w4 ,,preyer1 
,professor of ,physiology in ,jena4     
,translated by ,h4 ,w4 ,,brown1 ,teacher
 in the ,state ,normal ,school at       
,worcester1 ,mass4 #a4ej4  #h4 ,memory3 
,what it is and ,how to ,improve it4 ,by
 ,,david ,,kay1 ,f4 ,r4 ,g4 ,s41 author 
of ,education and ,educators1 etc4      
#a4ej4  #i4 ,the ,development of the    
,intellect4 7,part ,,ii of ,,the ,,mind 
,,of ,,the ,,child47 ,by ,w4 ,,preyer1  
,professor of ,physiology in ,jena4     
,translated by ,h4 ,w4 ,,brown4 #a4ej4  
#aj4 ,how to ,study ,geography4 ,a      
,practical ,exposition of ,methods and  
,devices in ,teaching ,geography which  
apply the ,principles and ,plans of     
,ritter and ,guyot4 ,by ,,francis ,w4   
,,parker1 ,principal of the ,cook       
,county 7,illinois7 ,normal ,school4    
#a4ej4  #aa4 ,education in the ,united  
,states3 ,its ,history from the         
,earliest ,settlements4 ,by ,,richard   

,g4 ,,boone1 ,a4 ,m41 ,professor of     
,pedagogy1 ,indiana ,university4 #a4ej4 
#ab4 ,european ,schools2 ,,or1 ,,what ,i
 ,,saw ,,in ,,the ,,schools ,,of        
,,germany1 ,,france1 ,,austria1 ,,and   
,,switzerland4 ,by ,l4 ,r4 ,,klemm1 ,ph4
 ,d41 ,principal of the ,cincinnati     
,technical ,school4 ,fully illustrated4 
#b4jj4  #ac4 ,practical ,hints for the  
,teachers of ,public ,schools4 ,by      
,,george ,,howland1 ,superintendent of  
the ,chicago ,public ,schools4 #a4jj4   
#ad4 ,pestalozzi3 ,his ,life and ,work4 
,by ,,roger ,,de ,,guimps4 ,authorized  
,translation from the second ,french    
edition1 by ,j4 ,,russell1 ,b4 ,a4 ,with
 an ,introduction by ,rev4 ,r4 ,h4      
,,quick1 ,m4 ,a4 #a4ej4  #ae4 ,school   
,supervision4 ,by ,j4 ,l4 ,,pickard1    
,,ll4 ,d4 #a4jj4  #af4 ,higher          
,education of ,women in ,europe4 ,by    
,,helene ,,lange1 ,berlin4 ,translated  
and accompanied by comparative          
statistics by ,l4 ,r4 ,,klemm4 #a4jj4   
#ag4 ,essays on ,educational ,reformers4

 ,by ,,robert ,,herbert ,,quick1 ,m4    
,a41 ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge4     
,only authorized edition of the work as 
rewritten in #ahij4 #a4ej4  #ah4 ,a     
,text-,book in ,psychology4 ,by ,,johann
 ,,friedrich ,,herbart4 ,translated by  
,,margaret ,k4 ,,smith4 #a4jj4  #ai4    
,psychology ,applied to the ,art of     
,teaching4 ,by ,,joseph ,,baldwin1 ,a4  
,m41 ,,ll4 ,d4 #a4ej4  #bj4 ,rousseau's 
,emile2 or1 ,,treatise ,,on ,,education4
 ,translated and annotated by ,w4 ,h4   
,,payne1 ,ph4 ,d41 ,,ll4 ,d4 #a4ej4     
#ba4 ,the ,moral ,instruction of        
,children4 ,by ,,felix ,,adler4 #a4ej4  
#bb4 ,english ,education in the         
,elementary and ,secondary ,schools4 ,by
 ,,isaac ,,sharpless1 ,,ll4 ,d41        
,president of ,haverford ,college4      
#a4jj4  #bc4 ,education from a ,national
 ,standpoint4 ,by ,,alfred ,,fouillee4  
#a4ej4  #bd4 ,mental ,development of the
 ,child4 ,by ,w4 ,,preyer1 ,professor of
 ,physiology in ,jena4 ,translated by   
,h4 ,w4 ,,brown4 #a4jj4  #be4 ,how to   

,study and ,teach ,history4 ,by ,b4 ,a4 
,,hinsdale1 ,ph4 ,d41 ,,ll4 ,d41        
,university of ,michigan4 #a4ej4  #bf4  
,symbolic ,education4 ,a ,,commentary   
,,on ,,froebel',s ,,mother-,,play4 ,by  
,,susan ,e4 ,,blow4 #a4ej4  #bg4        
,systematic ,science ,teaching4 ,by     
,,edward ,,gardnier ,,howe4 #a4ej4  #bh4
 ,the ,education of the ,greek ,people4 
,by ,,thomas ,,davidson4 #a4ej4  #bi4   
,the ,evolution of the ,massachusetts   
,public-,school ,system4 ,by ,g4 ,h4    
,,martin1 ,a4 ,m4 #a4ej4  #cj4          
,pedagogics of the ,kindergarten4 ,by   
,,friedrich ,,froebel4 #a4ej4  #ca4 ,the
 ,mottoes and ,commentaries of          
,friedrich ,froebel's ,mother-,play4 ,by
 ,,susan ,e4 ,,blow and ,,henrietta ,r4 
,,eliot4 #a4ej4  #cb4 ,the ,songs and   
,music of ,froebel's ,mother-,play4 ,by 
,,susan ,e4 ,,blow4 #a4ej4  #cc4 ,the   
,psychology of ,number4 ,by ,,james ,a4 
,,mclellan1 ,a4 ,m41 and ,,john ,,dewey1
 ,ph4 ,d4 #a4ej4  #cd4 ,teaching the    
,language-,arts4 ,by ,b4 ,a4 ,,hinsdale1

 ,,ll4 ,d4 #a4jj4  #ce4 ,the            
,intellectual and ,moral ,development of
 the ,child4 ,,part ,i4 ,by ,,gabriel   
,,compayre4 ,translated by ,,mary ,e4   
,,wilson4 #a4ej4  #cf4 ,herbart's ,a ,b 
,c of ,sense-,perception1 and           
,introductory ,works4 ,by ,,william ,j4 
,,eckoff1 ,pd4 ,d41 ,ph4 ,d4 #a4ej4     
#cg4 ,psychologic ,foundations of       
,education4 ,by ,,william ,t4 ,,harris1 
,a4 ,m41 ,,ll4 ,d4 #a4ej4  #ch4 ,the    
,school ,system of ,ontario4 ,by the    
,hon4 ,,george ,w4 ,,ross1 ,,ll4 ,d41   
,minister of ,education for the         
,province of ,ontario4 #a4jj4  #ci4     
,principles and ,practice of ,teaching4 
,by ,,james ,,johonnot4 #a4ej4  #dj4    
,school ,management and ,methods4 ,by   
,,joseph ,,baldwin4 #a4ej4  #da4        
,froebel's ,educational ,laws for all   
,teachers4 ,by ,,james ,l4 ,,hughes1    
,inspector of ,schools1 ,toronto4 #a4ej4
  #db4 ,bibliography of ,education4 ,by 
,,will ,s4 ,,monroe1 ,a4 ,b4 #b4jj4     
#dc4 ,the ,study of the ,child4 ,by ,a4 

,r4 ,,taylor1 ,ph4 ,d4 #a4ej4  #dd4     
,education by ,development4 ,by         
,,friedrich ,,froebel4 ,translated by   
,,josephine ,,jarvis4 #a4ej4  #de4      
,letters to a ,mother4 ,by ,,susan ,e4  
,,blow4 #a4ej4  #df4 ,montaigne's ,the  
,education of ,children4 ,translated by 
,l4 ,e4 ,,rector1 ,ph4 ,d4 #a4jj4  #dg4 
,the ,secondary ,school ,system of      
,germany4 ,by ,,frederick ,e4 ,,bolton4 
#a4ej4  #dh4 ,advanced ,elementary      
,science4 ,by ,,edward ,g4 ,,howe4      
#a4ej4  #di4 ,dickens as an ,educator4  
,by ,,james ,l4 ,,hughes4 #a4ej4  #ej4  
,principles of ,education ,practically  
,applied4 ,by ,,james ,m4 ,,greenwood4  
,revised4 #a4jj4  #ea4 ,student ,life   
and ,customs4 ,by ,,henry ,d4 ,,sheldon1
 ,ph4 ,d4 #a4bj net4  #eb4 ,an ,ideal   
,school4 ,by ,,preston ,w4 ,,search4    
#a4bj net4  #ec4 ,later ,infancy of the 
,child4 ,by ,,gabriel ,,compayre4       
,translated by ,,mary ,e4 ,,wilson4     
,part ,,ii of ,vol4 #ce4 #a4bj net4     
#ed4 ,the ,educational ,foundations of  

,trade and ,industry4 ,by ,,fabian      
,,ware4 #a4bj net4  #ee4 ,genetic       
,psychology for ,teachers4 ,by ,,charles
 ,h4 ,,judd1 ,ph4 ,d4 #a4bj net4  #ef4  
,the ,evolution of the ,elementary      
,schools of ,great ,britain4 ,by ,,james
 ,c4 ,,greenough1 ,a4 ,m41 ,,ll4 ,d4    
#a4bj net4  #eg4 ,thomas ,platter and   
the ,educational ,renaissance of the    
,sixteenth ,century4 ,by ,,paul         
,,monroe4 #a4bj net4  #eh4 ,educational 
,issues in the ,kindergarten4 ,by       
,,susan ,e4 ,,blow4 #a4ej net4  ,,other 
,,volumes ,,in ,,preparation4  ,d4      
,,appleton ,,and ,,company1 ,,new       
,,york4   ,a ,,valuable ,,book ,,for    
,,teachers  ,principles of ,educational 
,practice  ,by ,,paul ,,klapper1        
,ph4,d41 ,department of ,education1     
,college of the ,city of ,new ,york4    
#hvo1 ,cloth1 #a4ge4  ,this book studies
 the basic principles underlying sound  
and progressive pedagogy4 ,in its scope 
and organization it aims to give 7#a7 a 
comprehensive and systematic analysis of

 the principles of education1 7#b7 the  
modern trend and interpretation of      
educational thought1 7#c7 a transition  
from pure psychology to methods of      
teaching and discipline1 and 7#d7       
practical applications of educational   
theory to the problems that confront the
 teacher in the course of daily routine4
 ,every practical pedagogical solution  
that is offered has actually stood the  
test of classroom demonstration4  ,the  
book opens with a study of the function 
of education and a contrast of the      
modern social conception with those aims
 which have been guiding ideals in      
previous educational systems4 ,part ,,ii
 deals with the physiological aspects of
 education4 ,part ,,iii is taken up with
 the problem of socializing the child   
through the curriculum and the school   
discipline4 ,the last part of the book1 
,part ,,iv1 ,the ,mental ,aspect of     
,education1 is developed under the      
following sections3 ,section ,a4 ,the   
,instinctive ,aspect of ,mind4 ,mind and

 its development through                
self-expression4 ,self-activity4        
,instincts4 ,section ,b4 ,intellectual  
,aspect of ,mind4 ,the functions of     
,intellect1 ,perception1 ,apperception1 
,memory1 ,imagination1 ,thought         
,activities4 ,the ,doctrine of ,formal  
,discipline and its influence upon      
educational endeavor4 ,section ,c4      
,emotional ,aspect of ,mind4 ,section   
,d4 ,volitional ,aspect of ,mind4 ,study
 of will1 kinds of volitional action1   
habit vs4 deliberative consciousness4   
,the ,education of the ,will4 ,education
 and ,social ,responsibility1 the       
problems of ethical instruction1 and the
 social functions of the ,school4  ,in  
order to increase the usefulness of the 
book to teachers of education there is  
added a classified bibliography for     
systematic1 intensive reference reading 
and a list of suggested problems        
suitable for advanced work4    ,d4      
,,appleton ,,and ,,company   ,,new      
,,york       ,,chicago