cking the sensibilities of children in the schools they attend.

One of the difficulties every mother has to encounter is the presence of
undesirable companions in the school. The argument that a child coming
from a sheltered home will not be influenced by such companions is only
in part true. He may not be influenced, or, again, he may. Among older
children, if the wrongdoer be dazzling in manner, looks, social
position, or even in power to lavish money, he will acquire a certain
ascendency over many of his companions, who, if not safeguarded against
his allurements by a clear knowledge of the facts of life, may fall into
his snares.

How, then, can all these various situations be dealt with? How, how
much, when, and where shall the youth be safeguarded against influences,
misconceptions, and mistakes which may mar his whole after-life? These
are the questions which in part this book endeavors to answer.

The answers come from the writer's experience of many years' work with
mothers interested in this subject, especially from the testimony and
the questions of thousands of such mothers in all walks of life who
possessed children of all temperaments.

The book is not meant to be either exhaustive or arbitrary. It is
written with the single desire of helping the mother who may be groping
her way in this matter, its aim being twofold,--to indicate methods of
procedure among which the mother may find one adapted to her special
needs and circumstances, or at least from which she may get hints which
she can herself follow in her own way, and to indicate sources of
information.

One trivial difficulty has presented itself in preparing the succeeding
chapters, and that is the lack in the English language of a pronoun
including both genders. The English impersonal pronoun, being masculine
in form, is liable to create the impression that "he" or "his" exclusive
of "she" or "her" is the subject of discourse. This is not so. Generally
the masculine pronoun is used impersonally in this discussion, and the
discerning reader can easily decide from the context where this is not
the case.

As a help to the busy mother in selecting books for herself and her
children, a list is given at the end of the book. This list is by no
means exhaustive. There are many other and doubtless equally good books.
The books given are reliable, are prettily illustrated, are now in
print, and are easily obtainable at any book-store. If they are not i