Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-02-14

mood with titled dancers and other
vagaries.
How will she provide for her sons
and how. when they are OF the age
OF personal responsibility. will they
provide for themselves2 They have.
practical people say. not been given
the sort Of education that fits child
for future self-support-
Il do not care especially what my
boys learn" their beautiful mother
has often said, beyond the mere
rudiments."
Il will not have their talents
trained TO the abnormal point OF
genius. I want them to become sim.
pie country gentlemen. should
hate to see one Of them become. for
instance, a Cabinet Minister.
"A very important part OF the edu-
cation Of my children Is teaching
them a love OF beauty. II they love
the beautiful they seek to become
US and we become like what we
think about, 30 II Is most necessary
to see only beautiful objects. Keep
ing this in mind, am most careful
about the selection OF my children's
toys. ! never allow them 10 see any
thing that Is manned or distorted.
Il went shopping In London to buy
my children toys. To my surprise
and disgust, found that the six or
seven leading toys were ali hideous
distortions OF human or animal
bodies. You may be sure my chill
dren received none OF these toys.
never give them anything like your
Billikens or Kewpies or Brownies.
They have never had any dolls with
huge abdomens and little legs and
heads either too large or too small
for their bodies. never I'm right pro-
portion to them. Your Teddy bears
are not bad, because they look like
bears. Most animal toys are hideous
travesties Of the real"
Also the Richardson boys are de-
prived OF tho ordinary picture book
that 80 stimulate the imagination OF
the average child.
MY chIldren's picture books are
copies OF the sculptures and paint
ings in the Louvre and Luxembourg
ana other galleries Of art. They have
never been allowed 10 see anything
MANNED. SO clear a picture that
implanted IN their minds Of the
human body that when my Oldest
son, Rory, saw picture OF Venus do
Milo, he said, ! don't like IT, The
arms we're missing, and he thought
her imperfect He gave the same
criticism OF the Winged Victory.
Il let them look at picture books
only after have gone carefully
through them and scissored every
picture that shows the human figure
other than AZ perfect. Also I cut
out every picture that shows killing.
My boys have never seen the picture
OF Jack the Giant Killer. nor OF the
witch astride q hroomstick, nor such
an absurdity as the COW jumping over
the moon"
Nor have the Richardson boys had
their Imagination stimulated by fairy
stories, Alice In Wonderland IS a
forbidden delight 10 them.
I read or tell them only such
stories as deal with beautiful themes.
go back 70 mythology for them"
said Lady Constance IN unfolding
her educational theory and practice
For instance, 1 tell them the story
OF Theseus and Andromache."
Every morning Of every day for
nine months a year Lady Constance
has sent her children naked into the
garden 10 play.
Il make my boys take exercise
every morning for fifteen minutes In
a perfectly nude state ahe explains.
In that way the air and sunshine
directly reaches their vital organs.
GENERALLY ! send them straight from
their beds 10 the gardens. In the
mid-Winter they take their morning
exercise nude indoors, and after the
bath. Ordinarily fifteen minutes of
play In the nude is enough. A child's
instinct for play is an unerring guide,
They 90 not loiter at their play. In.