something. Even a very young child knows that "eenty meenty meiny moe"
is not real sense, though it is a pleasant string of sounds to say in
a game.

Thus we learn to look into what we hear and into what we see and try
to find how much thought there is in it, and the kind of thought it
is. We want to know if goodness is expressed; if the best work of the
man is before us, or if, for a lower reason, his selfishness and
vanity are most prominent. And let us remember that as we seek these
things in the works of others, so others of thoughtful kind will watch
our doings, our playing, our speech, our little habits, and all to see
what our intentions are each time we express ourselves. They will look
to see what thoughts we are putting into our doings, whether thoughts
of goodness or of selfishness. And our actions will always be just as
good as the thought we put into them.

Now a great and a common mistake is, that sometimes we hope by some
mysterious change, as in a fairy tale, that they will be better than
what we intend. But in the first days let us learn that this is not
possible.




CHAPTER VIII.

THE CLASSICS.[26]


"Genuine work done faithfully, that is eternal."--_Thomas Carlyle._