Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-10-13

in the little book. II is called "A
Great Surprise" and was written for
mother and daddy"
On the nineteenth day Of August in the
year of nineteen two
Most kind and gracious Mime. Stork right
over Norfolk flew
and brough. to my dear mother there Il
wonderful SURPRISE
A little red brown baby girl with large
blackberry eyes.
Now mother she had asked the stork TO
bring to her much joy
And drop a bundle at her door containing
a wee boy.
But when the stork made mistake and
brought just little
She thought that / was better far than
any boy could be
And wrapped me in blanket which she'd
planned for my wee brother
And which my dear Ma Me" had knit
to help my busy mother
And changed the name of Lionel to lit
tie Winifred
And all the things for brother planned
she gave to me instead.
That tells of the arrival of little
Winifred at Norfolk. Va. eight years
ago. 1t practically gives The date
when her education began.
when did you first start to teach
Cherie?" was asked.
"As soon as she was born" replied
Mrs. Stoner That is the secret of
her training. Children's minds are like
wax, subject to an impression In her
nursery l placed beautiful pictures On
the walls and reproductions OF beauu-
full statues. not expensive works of
art, but the models of the best
."Then from the first she was accus-
toned to the best literature. We did
not recite the silly nursery rhymes to
her, but only the best. Instead of tell
ing her the usual stories that are told
children / related to her the stories
from the Bible and from mythology.
When Cherie was three months old L
would read to her from the Latin writ
ers. 1 would recite for her such po-
ems as Crossing the Bar
when she was six months old she
could walk. and when she was eight
months old she could talk" related
Mrs, Stoner when she was year
old she could scan from Virgil, and at
two years she could read. She did
read when she was Il year and hair
old, but think then she did not really
read, but used her memory. From the
first | taught her languages"
Cherie said her favorite play wac
1.-THE Merchant of Venice" but her
mother opined that 1t was '"The Tam
ing of the Shrew." The child's knowl-
edge of mythology led her TO name her
kittens after the three graces, and
when two more came she dubbed them
Zeus and Aphrodite. But her two
dolls bear the prosaic names OF Char
ley and Lucy, and they are being
taught by their infant mother as
Mrs. Stoner teaches Cherie.
Throughout the country college PRO-
fessors and educators have taken the
utmost interest in little Cherries de-
velopment. Professor George Maclos-
kie of Princeton university has studied
her, and not only that, but shared the
honors with the child at a recital at
the Esperanto congress at Chautau-
qua. n. Y, when the little miss was
seven years of age. at the age OF
four the child received medal from
DR.. Zamen, founder of Esperanto, for
her proficiency.
The little girl Is not a fit subject
for the public graded schools, for,
while she has the historical and Ian
guage education of half a dozen col
lege graduates, her mathematical
training. unlike that of young William
James Sidis, her Boston compeer and
hero of the fourth dimension, IS not
unusually precocious-for her. She can
only do fractions and decimals, while
most children of her age are learning
what numbers look like. She is learn
ing arithmetic by correspondence with
Professor F. R Hornbrook of Chicago.
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