The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1897-09-30
An Excellent Paper From the
Pen of Mrs. j. M. Hibben.
example says where Precept Fails
and Sermons are less Read
than Tales"

papers were read. The following was
the paper Of Mrs j. M. Hibben:
I'm that fine essay on environment by
the lamented Prof Drummond, students
of Biography are called upon to observe
that in all we'll written lives attention is
concentrated for the first few chapters
upon two points.
1--WE are first introduced to the family
to which the subject of memoir belong.
ed The grandparents, or even the more
remote ancestors are briefly sketched
and their chief characteristics brought
prominently into view. Then the par
ents themselves are photographed in de
tail. Their appearance and physique,
their character and dis. .'osition, their
mental qualities are set before us in a
critical analysis. And finally We are
asked to observe how much the father
and mother respectively have transmit
ted of their particular nature to their
offspring How faithfully the ancestral
lives have met, how mysteriously the
joint characteristics of body and mind
have blended, and how unexpected, yet
how entirely natural recombination is
the result. These points are elaborated
with communicative effect until we realize
at last how little we are dealing with an
independent unit, how much with sur
vival of what seemed buried in the
grave.
"In the second place we are invited to
consider more external influences, school
and schoolmasters, neighbors, home,
pecuniary circumstances, scenery, and
by and by the religious and political in.
fuence of the times. These, also, we
are assured have played their part in
making the individual what he is, We
must not fail to estimate how powerfully
these early influences have moulded
the mind and character, and in what
subtle ways they have determined the
course of the future life.
"This twofold relation of the individ
ual, first to his parents and second to his
circumstances, are the two greatest fac
tors responsible for making all living or
ganisms what they are.
Since these two factors in the devel.
opment of life and character have been
placed in such juxtaposition how i'm
portant it bee that they, the parent
and the teacher, become mutual allie
and co operate for the highest good OF
the child.
1T is sad truth that there are as
many people unqualified to be parents
as there are people teaching unqualified
to be teachers.
But granted that the first factor, a
sensible and intelligent parent, is pres
ent, We must next take for our premises
the presumption that the second factor,
the teacher, holds this important place
by virtue OF her divine right through
snowledge of the stupendous task before
her, and perfect equipment for the work
of helping to mould soul Alright as well
as to store the mind with knowledge.
"There is no critic so just as child
and unless teacher is truly qualified to
inspire trust and right to leadership
they are attempting work greater than
that of 'Sisypbus.'
Like obedient soldiers, children know
their captain where he leads they will
follow what he bids they will do, not
stopping to question or see anything
strange or wrong in what they are de
sired to do. But unless this captainship
and soldiership, this trust and faith ex
lists. no great good can be accomplished,
and we may almost truthfully add, no
CO operation can be established, for the
link that binds the two forces, parent
and teacher, must be sympathy and con
fidence.
"Here that beautiful picture stands
forth in my mind, Cornelia, the mother
OF the Gachci, when pointing to her sons
she so proudly says, These are my jew
els Ialways think of her as regal
woman, a queenly mother, who guarded
those jewels with her LIES best efforts,
whose traits and strength of character
were to those sons as the stronghold OF
treasures on the setting for rarest gems
III We, as mothers, 80 regard our chill
dren, when we send them forth from the
homes where they have been sheltered
and nurtured to come in contact with the
schools, where one hand has to guide
and control 40 or 80 children, instead ol
one or two, do we enter into a true un.
derstanding of what it means to be a
teacher Do we seek to aid and be help
full to that one who has for five days in
the week the forming of that child'f
characterf
"Do parents as rule extend that sym
| ard ;ntorost IN thu faoohara NJ