* * * * *.
"From the unknown sea that reels and rolls,
Specked with the barks of little souls,
Barks that were launched on the other side,
And slipped from Heaven on an ebbing tide."

The wealth of material, however, clustering around each period of
developing life is so great that selection must be made. Therefore only
those facts illuminating the chosen theme of religious nurture will be
considered.

The baby's world is a "big, blooming, buzzing confusion," according to
James, but gradually, cosmos emerges from chaos. The senses, clouded at
first, become clear and active. Adjustment and voluntary control of the
larger muscles are secured. The art of walking is mastered, and the
great feat of learning a language practically unaided, is well under
way. The awakening mind learns to know certain objects and simplest
relationships within a very limited sphere, and through ceaseless
activity, new experiences are constantly coming in to the soul.

Guided by instinct and impulse, responding to any wind that blows,
sensitive and retentive as the plate of a camera,

"Just a-yearning
To be learning
Anything at all,"

can any religious nurture be given to this tiny little bundle of
possibilities? Manifestly, it will not be through precept and
admonition, for they are meaningless, yet never will life be more open