en, in contradistinction to the imaginary offspring of the
unmarried, that are known by every one to be faultless specimens of
juvenility.

"Come! That is too bad, Mr. Fleetwood," replied Mrs. Laurie, feeling
an immediate sense of relief. "But, I own to the error I committed
before marriage. It seemed to me the easiest thing in the world to
manage children, when I thought about it, and saw where parents
erred, or appeared to err, in their modes of government. I did not
then know what was _in_ children. All their perverseness I laid to
the account of bad management. Alas! I have had some sad experiences
in regard to my error. Still, I cannot but own that children are
made worse by injudicious treatment, and also, that mine ought to be
a great deal better than they are."

"Like the rest of us," returned Mr. Fleetwood, "you have no doubt
discovered, that it is one thing to _think_ about the government of
children, and another thing to be in the midst of their disturbing
sphere, and yet act as if you did not feel it. Theory and practice
are two things. It seems, when we think coolly, that nothing can be
easier than to cause the one exactly to correspond to the other. But
whoever makes the trial, especially where the right government of
children is concerned, will find it a most difficult matter. What
makes the government of their children so hard a thing for parents,
is the fact that the evils of the children have been inherited from
them, and therefore the reaction of these evils upon themselves is
the more disturbing. We haven't as much patience with the faults of
our own children, often, as other people have. They fret and annoy
us, and take away our ability to speak in a proper tone and act with
becoming dignity toward them, and thus destroy their respect for
us."

"Nothing can be truer," said Mrs. Laurie. "I stand rebuked. I am
self-condemned, every day, on this very account. I used to think
that your government and that of Sarah's over your children very
defective. But it was far better than the government that I have
been able to exercise over mine. Ah me!"

"Don't sigh over the matter so terribly, Martha," spoke up the
husband. "We shall get them right in the end. Never give up the
ship, is my motto in this and every thing else. But I wouldn't have
our brother and sister here think for a moment that the scenes they
have witnessed are enacted every day. Their visit is an occasion of
some excitement to our young