nts, if they are left
to themselves. But they will not do it; they ought not to do it. God has
placed the responsibility in the hands of the father and mother, and
unless the manner in which it is exercised is calculated to endanger or
to injure the community, there can rightfully be no interference except
that of argument and persuasion.

It ought also to be considered that upon the parents will come the
consequences of the good or bad education of their children, and not
upon the teacher, and consequently it is right that they should direct.
The teacher remains, perhaps, a few months with his charge, and then
goes to other places, and perhaps hears of them no more. He has thus
very little at stake. The parent has every thing at stake, and it is
manifestly unjust to give one man the power of deciding, while he
escapes all the consequences of his mistakes, if he makes any, and to
take away all the _power_ from those, upon whose heads, all the
suffering, which will follow an abuse of the power, must descend.

CHAPTER VIII.

REPORTS OF CASES.

There is perhaps no way, by which a writer can more effectually explain
his views on the subject of education, than by presenting a great
variety of actual cases, whether real or imaginary, and describing
particularly the course of treatment he would recommend in each. This
method of communicating knowledge is very extensively resorted to in the
medical profession, where writers detail particular cases, and report
the symptoms and the treatment for each succeeding day, so that the
reader may almost fancy himself actually a visiter at the sick bed, and
the nature and effects of the various prescriptions become fixed in the
mind, with almost as much distinctness and permanency as actual
experience would give.

This principle has been kept in view, the reader may perhaps think, too
closely, in all the chapters of this volume; almost every point brought
up, having been illustrated by anecdotes and narratives. I propose,
however, devoting one chapter now, to presenting a number of
miscellaneous cases, without any attempt to arrange them. Sometimes the
case will be merely stated, the reader being left to draw the inference;
at others, such remarks will be added as the case suggests. All will
however be intended to answer some useful purpose, either to exhibit
good or bad management and its consequences, or to bring to view some
trait of human nature, as it exhibits itself in