instead of leaving them to nurses and coachmen or to the school of the
streets. Companionship in the garden-work will secure this opportunity in
a natural way.

It is only by going into the country that sufficient land for a simple
house with yard in front and garden in the rear--the ideal English
home--can be had. There will be a sacrifice of some of the things the city
gives, but a compromise is the only possible outcome of many claims.

Those who are feeling the return to Nature, who find pleasure in gardening
and in all the soothing effects of country life, or who can bring
themselves to it with moderate pleasure for the sake of the children who
must be encouraged to delight in it, should go out at least ten miles from
the city. In a well-regulated household the early breakfast will be a
natural thing, and the meal will be no more hurried than any other. It is
the class which tries to be both city and country that fills the columns
of the magazines with the trials of the commuter. The father need not see
less of his children, and the common occupation and interest will furnish
opportunities for wise counsel. Much nonsense is written about the perils
of habit and the dangers of routine. It all depends upon what those habits
are. All animal functions are better performed as a matter of habit,
without thought; it saves energy for more intellectual pursuits, which, I
grant, are better kept under volitional control. The animal act of
breakfasting at a given hour, of taking a given train, can be accomplished
as unconsciously as breathing. Early rising should be the rule, because
the children are then available as they are not at night.

We shall assume that the sane man will hold the little home in the country
with all outdoors to breathe in as worth the half-hour journey and the
early breakfast, and that the woman will have time set free by the