When this first and important lesson is thought to be sufficiently impressed upon children’s minds, the parents next proceed to make them sensible of the distinction between good and evil; they tell them that there are good and bad actions, both equally open to them to do or commit; that good acts are pleasing to the Good Spirit which gave them their existence; and that on the contrary, all that is bad proceeds from the Bad Spirit who has given them nothing, and who cannot give them anything that is good, because he has it not, and therefore he envies them that which they have received from the good spirit, who is far superior to the bad one. “This introductory lesson, if it may be so called, naturally makes them wish to know what is good and what is bad. This the parent teaches them in his own way, that is to say, in the way in which he was himself taught by his parents. It is not the lesson of an hour or of a day; it is rather a long course more of practical than of theoretical instruction; a lesson, which is not repeated at stated times and seasons, but which is shown, pointed out, and demonstrated to the child, not only by those under whose immediate guardianship he is, but by the whole community, who consider themselves alike interested in the direction to be given to the rising generation. “When this instruction is given in the form of precepts, it must not be supposed that it is done in an authoritative or forbidding tone, but, on the contrary, in the gentlest and most persuasive manner: nor is the parent’s authority ever supported by harsh or compulsive means; no whips, no punishments, no threats are ever used to enforce commands or compel obedience. The child’s _pride_ is the feeling to which an appeal is made, which proves successful in almost every instance. A father needs only to say in the presence of his children: ‘I want such a thing done; I want one of my children to go upon such an errand; let me see who is the _good_ child that will do it!’ this word _good_ operates, as it were, by magic, and the children immediately vie with each other to comply with the wishes of their parent. If the father sees an old decrepit man or woman pass by, led along by a child, he will draw the attention of his own children to the object by saying: ‘what a good child that must be, which pays such attention to the aged! That child, indeed, looks forward to the time when it shall be old!’ or he will say: ‘may the Great Spirit, who looks upon him, grant this _good_ child a long life!’