The National tribune., 1910-04-14

According to the father of young
SidiS, the 11-year-Old Harvard student,
who delivers lectures on the higher
mathematics to gray-haired professors,
etc, the little fellow has no unusual
mental gifts, is no prodigy, but his
knowledge is the result, pure and sim
pie, of his educational training. The
father of the boy, an eminent psychoio-
giSt began very early to train his child s
mind by suggestion, which is the meth
cd employed with little children in the
kindergarten; but DR.. Sidis believed
that this method might be extended to
subjects not taught in the kindergarten;
that any subject, in fact, might be made
interesting and Ineligible to child ii
presented thru the medium of play.
When the little fellow was in the gram
mar school the study of mathematics,
in which he now astOnishes the world
by his proficiency, was absolutely dis
tasteful to him. Discovering this, his
father did not try to force him to do
his sums, but invented mathematical
games with toys, and would play these
with his young son, managing to inter
est him to such an extent that the child
imbibed the principles underlying the
games unconsciously. From that time
on mathematics became a passion with
him. And so it has been with his en-
tire education, which his cfather has
carried on in this manner, by making
an interesting game of the study by SuS-
gestion. The child never felt at any
time that his study was work, always
play, and in this agreeable, unconscious
way dry facts and principles have been
absorbed by him. DIR. Sidis insists that
any normal child would show the same
prodigy signs if trained in the same
way. But how many fathers. or moth
ers, either, for that matter, are there
who would be willing to give the time
and thought that DR.. Sidis has to the
training of their childs mind? Aye,
there's the rub.
The public does not seem to know
very much about young John Rookie
feller, who is to devote his entire time
in the future we are told, to the man
agement of his fathers vast financial
affairs, personal and philanthropical,
except that he teaches a Sunday school
class and is a very exemplary young
man. From very little fellow he
evinced positive passion for Sunday
school, and in consequence of this re-
ligious turn of mind was not particular
ly popular at college. Your college boy
has not much use for a religious chap
as a general thing. Yet young Rookie
feller could not be called a mollycOddle,
either. and was respected by the other
fellows, being chosen treasurer of the
varsity football team. 1t is also told of
him that at one time he arose from his
comfortable bed before o'clock in the
morning, and cut a certain amount of
wood before breakfast. 1t is presumed
he did this because he thought it was
good for him, and not because he
hankered for the job particularly, which
shows that the richest young man in
the world is possessed of considerable
strength of character. In appearance
he is rather short, with broad shoulders,
clmewhat n1la TlpYinn and
eyeglasses. When one realizes how
much harm he could do in the world if
he were another Harry Thaw, for in
stance. we cannot be too thankful that
if not a conspicuously brilliant young
man, he is at least trying conscientious
~ to live the life of Christian gentle
man.
The daughter of Gen. w Fl. L. Wal
lace, Miss Isabel Wallace. of Ottawa,
ILL.,, has just published the Life and
Letters of her father, book which
will be full of interest to the veterans
of the civil war and especially those
survivors of Gen. Wallace's command.
A good deal of the book is given up to
the personal letters which passed be-
tween the General and his wife, reveal
ing a pure and lofty love which sus-
tained them both in the trying days of
the great war The book gives the
e
the Mexican War, and is also replcte
with Information concerning the politi-
cal situation in the country just before
the breaking out of the rebellion. The
battle of Shiloh, where Gen Wallace
was mortally wounded, and the other
battles in which he took part are made
very real by these pc. sOnal chronicles.
The pathetic letter written by Mrs. Wal
lace just after Shiloh makes the women
of the present day realize what they
have been spared by these piping times
of peace and what the women of 1861
1866 were forced to endure Miss Wal
lace has done the country distinct ser
vice by giving us these letters, so full of
valuable information and which reveal
the lofty purpose and chivalrous nature
of one who represented the best type Of
American manhood.
While the custom of playing practi-
cal jokes on poor, tired-out, nervousIy-
exhausted newly-marred couples is
happily dying out to some extent, it
shows vigorous life still. bobbng up
serenely every now and then. Moderate
rice throwing, the fiinging of the
proverbial old slipper just as the happy
couple are about to depart from the
parental roof, are all right. When il
comes to tying white ribbons on the
horses, the brides trunk and on various
parts of the carriage the girls rebel, and
well they may But some facetious.
well-intentioned friends go even further
than this, as was the case the other
day with a young, freshly-wed couple
who left Rochester on a wedding jour
ney. Very foolishly they told their
friends where they were going and
these latter proceeded to get up an out
rageous poster as big as a handbill
bearing the photogra phs of the bIushing
bride and groom. which they mailed "a
the various hotels and newspapers OF
the cities to be visited by the pair The
poster also contained n three-column
description of the couple and the recent
event written in what was intended 10
be an exceedingly humorous vein, but
In which the unfortunate victims of the
joke failed to see any fun. The whole
idea was vulgar and brutal. and no one
would have blamed the groom if he had
taken the law in his hands and had his
so-called friends punished for their i'm
pertinent interference in his private af-
fairs.
short time ago o description was
given IN these columns Of Edmond Ros-
tand'S play OF 'Chantecler," in which
all the parts are taken by men and
women dressed TO represent fowls, birds
and animals. There is no human char
scter in the play. "Chanteclcr'' has been
produced in Paris with great success
and now we are promised by Mr. Chas
Frohman that il shall be brought on,
in this country in another year Miss
Maud Adams, the popular actress, is to
assume the role of Chantecler, the cock
instead of the Guinea Hen, the heroine
ka.a