"You know, Mac," I said, "you puzzle me. You're one of the kindest decentest chaps in the world, and yet you go leathering poor Tom Murray. Why do you do it?" "You must keep discipline," he said. I shook my head. "Mac, if you knew yourself you wouldn't ever whack a child." This seemed to tickle him. "Good Lord!" he laughed, "I could write a book about myself! I'm one of the most introspective chaps ever born." "And you understand yourself?" "I have no illusions about myself at all, old chap. I know my limitations." "Well, would you mind telling me why you are a bit of a nut?" I asked. "It isn't usual for a country dominie to wear a wing collar, a bow tie, and shot-silk socks." "That's easy," he said quickly. "I think that teachers haven't the social standing they ought to have, and I dress well to uphold the dignity of the profession. Don't you believe me?" he demanded as I smiled. "Quite! I believe you're quite honest in your belief, but it's wrong you know. There must be a much more personal reason than that." "Rot!" he said. "Anyway, what is the reason?" "I don't know, Mac; it would take months of research to discover it. I can't explain your psychology, but I'll tell you something about my own. These swagger corduroys I'm wearing . . . when I bought them someone asked me why I chose corduroy, and I at once answered: 'Economy! They'll last ten years!' But that wasn't the real reason, I bought them because I wanted to have folk stare at me. I've got an inferiority complex, that is an inner feeling of inferiority. To compensate for it I go and order a suit that will make people look at me; in short, that I may be the centre of all eyes, and thus gain a feeling of outward superiority." This sent Mac off into a roar of laughter. "You're daft, man!" he roared. After a minute or two he said; "But what has all this to do with Tom Murray?" "A lot," I said seriously. "You think you whack Tom because you must have discipline, but you whack him for a different reason. In your deep unconscious mind you are an infant. You want to show your self-assertion just as a kid does. You leather Tom because you've never outgrown your seven-year-old stage. On market-day, when Tom walks behind a drove and whacks the stots over the hips with a stick, he is doing exactly what you did this afternoon. You are both infants." I have had to give up lecturing Mac, for he always takes me as a huge joke. He is a good fellow, but he has the wonderful gift of being blind to anything that might make him reconsider his values. Many people protect themselves in the same way--by laughing. I have more than once seen an alcoholic laugh heartily at his wrecked home and lost job. II.