No judicious parents will allow a son or daughter to be alone much; to seek to be alone is always a bad sign and should be carefully guarded against without its being known that such precaution is observed. Furnish them liberally with instructive and innocent story books and let them read aloud to you or to each other. Take them to walk or ride when you go, and strive to make companions of them as much as possible, making whatever sacrifices are necessary to attain this end. Above all, _encourage their making confidants of you_. Let them feel that they can come and talk freely on any subject, no matter what its nature may be. Do this, and you have thrown around them a bulwark of defence that will withstand the repeated attacks of hosts of evil spirits. When night comes and they go to bed, let them learn to go to sleep at once; no play then--they may be read to sleep, but no romping or playing. No strange children should be allowed to sleep with yours; make them occupy separate rooms or at least separate beds; be sure that the sleeping places of your children are sacred to them alone. Nor is it advisable for children to sleep with a grown person of either sex and particularly not with servants--all for obvious reasons. The observance of all these precautions against influences that might excite sexual disturbance is most sacred in its character and most needful even in a religious point of view; for there should be _chastity_ above all things. CHAPTER IV. ADOLESCENCE OF THE MALE. Adolescence of the male embraces the period of life from the age of fourteen or sixteen years to the age of twenty-five.