ur born temperament, and waiting for a chance.
Your native warm temper suddenly jumped to the front, and FOR THE MOMENT
its influence was more powerful than your mother's, and abolished it. In
that instance you were eager to flash out a hot rebuke and enjoy it. You
did enjoy it, didn't you?

Y.M. For--for a quarter of a second. Yes--I did.

O.M. Very well, it is as I have said: the thing which will give you the
MOST pleasure, the most satisfaction, in any moment or FRACTION of a
moment, is the thing you will always do. You must content the Master's
LATEST whim, whatever it may be.

Y.M. But when the tears came into the old servant's eyes I could have
cut my hand off for what I had done.

O.M. Right. You had humiliated YOURSELF, you see, you had given yourself
PAIN. Nothing is of FIRST importance to a man except results which
damage HIM or profit him--all the rest is SECONDARY. Your Master was
displeased with you, although you had obeyed him. He required a prompt
REPENTANCE; you obeyed again; you HAD to--there is never any escape from
his commands. He is a hard master and fickle; he changes his mind in the
fraction of a second, but you must be ready to obey, and you will obey,
ALWAYS. If he requires repentance, you content him, you will always
furnish it. He must be nursed, petted, coddled, and kept contented, let
the terms be what they may.

Y.M. Training! Oh, what's the use of it? Didn't I, and didn't my mother
try to train me up to where I would no longer fly out at that girl?

O.M. Have you never managed to keep back a scolding?

Y.M. Oh, certainly--many times.

O.M. More times this year than last?

Y.M. Yes, a good many more.

O.M. More times last year than the year before?

Y.M. Yes.

O.M. There is a large improvement, then, in the two years?

Y.M. Yes, undoubtedly.

O.M. Then your question is answered. You see there IS use in training.
Keep on. Keeping faithfully on. You are doing well.

Y.M. Will my reform reach perfection?

O.M. It will. UP to YOUR limit.

Y.M. My limit? What do you mean by that?

O.M. You remember that you said that I said training was EVERYTHING. I
corrected you, and said "training and ANOTHER thing." That other thing
is TEMPERAMENT--that is, the disposition you were born with. YOU
CAN'T ERADICATE YOUR DISPOSITION NOR ANY RAG OF IT--you can only put a
pressure on it and keep it down and quiet. You have a warm temper?

Y.M. Yes.

O.M. You will never get rid of it; but