The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-03-27
GUY CARLTON
lee DELIVERS
fine LECTURE
ONE OF HIS SUBJECTS WAS "THE
HEART OF A CHILD" WHICH
WAS MOST INTERESTING AND
INSTRUCTIVE.

GUY Carlton Lee delivered two lee
lures in Pensacola yesterday, under
the auspices of the Daughters OF the
Confederacy. One of them, THE Heart
of a Child" was especially good, and
was. in part. as follows:
Secret Of Progress.
'',The secret of the progress OF the
race lies in the uplift and understand.
ing of the heart and soul of the child,
asserted the speaker. 1T lies with the
adults to adjust themselves to the
childs untainted viewpoint and do
their part. To enable the child to un-
derstand the child better should be
the dual aim Of every well-wisher or
the race. The poet Wordsworth gives
us our cue for our attitude towards
children in the abstract:
Trailing clouds OF glory do we come
From God who IL our home;
Heaven lies about us in our infancy.
mot only is the poets picture whole
some and agreeable. but we have an
instructive feeling that 1t Is truthful
from God7 Where is Heaven, pray, If
not In the vicinity Of the cradle and
the playroorn? What could be more
paradisical than the happiness Of the
child?
Conceive Children as Cats.
"Our conception of childhood and
children Is often far removed from
what by the very nature of things
from what 1t should be. That curious
ly welded literary pair, Beaumont and
Fletcher, put into blank verse a warped
sentiment which is still mere or less
prevalent Crying they creep among
us like young cats a rather distorted
picture Of a child you will admit. Yet
there are many who go on thinking
ocA 4ailrsxO ~ chiIdreY as n thew were
merely q necessary evil; many OF you
who distinguished no more readily than
did Beaumont and Fletcher between
meowing of kittens and I have II on
good authority that many Of you pre-
fer the cats
Babies Do Not Smile.
- Science tells US that babies do not
smile What we think Is a smile IL
merely reflex action. Hideous science!
No doubt there may be something use
ful in the reflex theory. In fact when
ANYTHING Is seriously wrong with our
infants and the most poetic and senti-
mental among us call in the specialist
who has made a study of those reflex
actions, beseeching him to diagnose
end prescribe on the purely prosaic
basis Of flesh and nerve. But there is
more than this in childhood. The
flesh, the bone and the nerve is merely
the canvas upon which the tapestry Us
woven science the loom that weaves
the pattern.
you all remember Dickene's picture
Of David Copperfield and Mr.. Murd
stone. How the story of that boys
spiritual anguish has wrung the hearts
of humanity. But the whole trouble
in a nutshell was that the bond of
sympathy was not there. Though you
be dealing with your children you will
appear to them an ogre unless your
MP " Qx1d w n
are to the child heart as the rays of
the June sun are to the budding rose.
There are Solomons a plenty to deal
with all the child problems that arise
today. What the children want and
need and will appreciate is more of
the Chrfst-like spirit which loves
rather than judges, sympathtzes rather
criticizes.
Gods Expression Of Love.
'The child Is Gods expression Of
love. He seems to have placed 1t above
and beyond the domain Of scientific
exploitation. Love is too much for the
scholar. 1t belongs of a right to the
poet, the artist and the musician. We
can reason about other things. We
can only sing and rhapsodize about
love. SO the study Of the child must
not be so much study as an appre-
citation. We can learn. love In no
other way than by loving and he who
would know the child through books,
who would classify it like an etymo-
logical specimen, who would approach
IT as though it were Latin grammar
or text book on political economy,
IS pursuing hopeless quest.
Child culture. did speak Of child
culture the term is a misnomer, It
Is man and woman culture that We
really need. The child Is unspoiled
when delivered into our hands. The
difficulty is that we do not understand
five cannot remember"
Heredity and Environment.
Discussing the relative Importance
OF heredity and environment DR.. Lee
declares that each side has its staunch
champions. The blood will rell'' de-
baters scoff at any argument tending
to, show that extraneous circumstances
may have an effect in remoulding ma
tive traits and characteristics while
perhaps the advocate OF the environ
ment theory may go too far In the
opposite direction.
III you were to bring up a puppy in
the society OF turtle doves Ii would still
be dog. But II you were to treat II
kindly and feed 1t well 1t would be a
much more gentle and mannerly ami
NAL than 1t would be II you beat it
and starved 1t. and the doves would
have a better chance OF living in peace
But most of us have an instructive
feeling that whatever was done with
us In the way of character building
was done in the beginning; that l was
born I. and you were born you, other
wise the whole science OF breeding is
fraud and eugenic endeavor is labor
wasted.
Active and Phiegmatic.
Il ind upon referring to my album
Of babies that in the very early stage
or childhood, there are only two dis
tinct types-active and phlegmatic.
Pretty and homely babies? True, but
the pretty babies are too rare to claim
title to the rank of type With few
exceptions-your own among them. OF
course-the pretty baby is not a nor
NAL healthy youngster. It should be
red and pudgy and almost featureless.
Some experts say that the uglier q
child's nose. or ears, or eyes, at first
the handsomer the features will be at
maturity. Someone has said that as
a baby Virgil was quiet, unassertive
dreamy. If this be true imagine that
Theodore Roosevelt must have been
what the country newspapers would
call a bouncing boy Certain it If