em. If we do that the helpful thoughts are sure to come, and
new life will come with them.

A wise man has described the difference between heaven and hell by
saying that in heaven, every one wants to give all that he has to every
one else, and that in hell, every one wants to take away from others
all they have. It is the spirit of heaven that belongs to Christmas.

XIV

_To Mothers_

MOST mothers know that it is better for the baby to put him into his
crib and let him go quietly to sleep by himself, than to rock him to
sleep or put him to sleep in his mother's arms.

Most mothers know also the difficulty of getting the baby into the
right habit of going to sleep; and the prolonged crying that has to be
endured by both mother and baby before the habit is thoroughly
established.

Many a mother gets worn out in listening to her crying child, and goes
to bed tired and jaded, although she has done nothing but sit still and
listen. Many more, after listening and fretting for a while, go and
take up the baby, and thus they weaken him as well as their own
characters.

A baby who finds out, when he is two months old, that his mother will
take him up if he cries, is also apt to discover, if he cries or teases
enough, that his mother will let him have his own way for the rest of
his life.

The result is that the child rules the mother, rather than the mother
the child; and this means sad trouble and disorder for both.

Strong, quiet beginnings are a most valuable help to all good things in
life, and if a young mother could begin by learning how to sit quietly
and restfully and let her baby cry until he quieted down and went to
sleep, she would be laying the foundation for a very happy life with
her children.

The first necessity, after having seen that nothing is hurting him and
that he really needs nothing, is to be willing that he should cry. A
mother can make herself willing by saying over and over to herself, "It
is right that he should cry; I want him to cry until he has learned to
go to sleep quietly by himself He will be a stronger and a more healthy
man for getting into all good habits as a child."

Often the mother's spirit is willing, or wants to be willing, but her
nerves rebel if, while she is teaching herself to listen quietly, she
will take long, quiet breaths very steadily for some time, and will
occupy herself with interesting work, she will find it a great help
toward dropping nervous resi