nding that taking away his work from a child,
or depriving him of the pleasure of helping his neighbors, is as great a
punishment as a blow.

You may say such ideal methods would not prevail with older boys and
girls, and that may be true, for wrong development may have gone too
far; but it is difficult to find a small child who is lazy or
indifferent, or one who would welcome the loss of work; difficult also
to find one who is not unhappy when deprived of the chance of service,
seeing, as he does, his neighbors happily working together and joyfully
helping others.

I had many Waterloos in my term of generalship and many a time was I a
feeble enough officer of "The Kid's Guards" as the kindergarten was
translated in Tar Flat by those unfamiliar with the German word.

The flock was at the foot of the stairs one morning at eleven o'clock
when there was a loud and long fire alarm in the immediate vicinity. No
doubt existed in the mind of any child as to the propriety or
advisability of remaining at the seat of learning. They started down the
steps for the fire in a solid body, with such unanimity and rapidity
that I could do nothing but save the lives of the younger ones and keep
them from being trampled upon while I watched the flight of their
elders. I was left with two lame boys and four babies so fat and
bow-legged that they probably never had reached, nor ever would reach, a
fire while it was still burning.

Pat Higgins, aged five and a half, the leader of the line, had a sudden
pang of conscience at the corner and ran back to ask me artlessly if he
might "go to the fire."

"Certainly not," I answered firmly. "On the contrary please stay here
with the lame and the fat, while _I_ go to the fire and bring back the
other children."

I then pursued the errant flock and recovering most of them, marched
them back to the school-room, meeting Judge Solomon Heydenfelt,
President of the new Kindergarten Association, on the steps. He had been
awaiting me for ten minutes and it was his first visit! He had never
seen a kindergarten before, either returning from a fire or otherwise,
and there was a moment of embarrassment, but I had a sense of humor and
fortunately he enjoyed the same blessing. Only very young teachers who
await the visits of supervisors in shuddering expectancy can appreciate
this episode.

The days grew brighter and more hopeful as winter approached. I got into
closer relation with some homes than others