Evening star., 1925-01-04
ADVERTISEMENT.

Mrs. Winifred Saclville Stoner, which ap-
peared in The Sun of December 80, entitled
Mother Goose Guilty" and which contains
many wholesome and vital statements as to
the necessity of being alert to the influence
which thought has upon the plastic minds of
little children
But perhaps Mrs. Stoner does not know
that this idea, including her protest against
Mother Goose. is not new, but has been rad
ically advanced, logically analyzed and fear
lessly uprooted in an illuminating childrens
book, entitled Greetings and Message to the
Dear Children, by Augusta E. Stetson, c. S.
D., published by G. P: Putnams Sons. 2
West 45th Street, New York City. In this
lovely book the author not only protests
against the many ways in daily experience in
which children are held in bondage to fear,
but she brings forth spiritually, historically,
musically, pictorially-in simple Biblical and
personal iustrations-a fund of fascinating
and thoughtful material, which enables a
child to think intelligently, in response to the
law of God, or Spirit.
Mrs. Stetsor, at her own expense, pub
lished the text of this book originally in a
full page advertisement, through the press Of
America, because of her love for, and great
interest in, children, and because of her
earnest desire that mothers and teachers of
children might benefit by her years of ex-
perience, and learn how to guard little
child's mentality
During her twenty-five years of close as
sociation with children, in the Sunday
School of her Church, First Church of
Christ, Scientist, New York City, Mrs.
Stetson devoted her tire1ess efforts to edu-
eating the children-nunbering at times
over three hundred-to understand the pow
er of spiritual thought, and their relation to
God. The children, ranging from three to
fifteen years of age. were her special care,
and parents would turn to Mrs Stetson in
time of physical and mental discord to prove
her teachings.
| But to return to Mother Goose. Let me
quote the following from Mrs. Stetsons
| book:
A friend of my father, lawyer,
told me he would give me bright
| silver dollar if would learn and re-
| peat to him some verses of the Moth
er Goose Rhymes. | was four years
old and had learned to read. The
| silver dollar seemed a great reward
Mother gave me the book and I be-
gan to commit the verses. By the
way, children, perhaps you never saw
this book. l hope you never did. If
| you have seen it, then you know that
| Mother Goose was indeed a goose to
send out such foolish rhymes for lit
| tie children to hear from nurses and
mothers 1 will tell you several; and
when you learn that thoughts are
| forces for good or bad, for love and
peace and joy and strength, or for
| fear and discord and sometimes pain,
when you learn this, you will be glad
that you are the twentieth century
| children and know how to think and
speak. One rhyme reads thus:
| Rock-a-bye, baby, upon the tree top,
| When the wind blows, the cradle will rock;
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,
Down comes the cradle, and baby, and all.
Just think, children, of repeating
such words to babies. Babies think,
and they feel the thought of nurse or
mother, or whoever cares for them.
If baby went to sleep, thinking it was
in the cradle and the cradle was on the
! tree top and if it heard the last words
of the nurse, when the bough breaks,
the cradle will fall no wonder that
t it awoke in the night and cried out
with fear that it was coming down,
"cradle and ALL Nursy or mother
might have thought baby had ston1-
ach ache and given it peppermint tea,
but ase know that it was fear that
awakened the baby, and only love de-
stroys fear.
But people did not know in those
days that thoughts influenced for
| good or bad, so they were not respon-
sible, as they are today. Think of an
other one of Mother Goose's many
rhymes, with which the children of
/ the nineteenth century were treated
Hi diddle, diddle,
! The cat played the fiddle,
/ The cow jumped over the moon;
i The little dop laughed see Stch SPORT