In spite of a strong taste on the part of children for what is ugly and brutal, I am sure that we ought to eliminate this element as far as possible from the school stories, especially among poor children. Not because I think children should be protected from all knowledge of evil, but because so much of this knowledge comes into their life outside school that we can well afford to ignore it during school hours. At the same time, however, as I shall show by example when I come to the positive side, it would be well to show children by story illustration the difference between brutal ugliness without anything to redeem it and surface ugliness, which may be only a veil over the beauty that lies underneath. It might be possible, for instance, to show children the difference between the real ugliness in the priest's face of the "Laocoon" group, because of the motive of courage and endurance behind the suffering. Many stories in everyday life could be found to illustrate this. 8. _Stories of infant piety and death-bed scenes_. The stories for children forty years ago contained much of this element, and the following examples will illustrate this point: Notes from poems written by a child between six and eight years of age, by name Philip Freeman, afterwards Archdeacon of Exeter: Poor Robin, thou canst fly no more, Thy joys and sorrows all are o'er. Through Life's tempestuous storms thou'st trod, But now art sunk beneath the sod. Here lost and gone poor Robin lies, He trembles, lingers, falls and dies. He's gone, he's gone, forever lost, No more of him they now can boast. Poor Robin's dangers all are past, He struggled to the very last. Perhaps he spent a happy Life, Without much struggle and much strife.[18] The prolonged gloom of the main theme is somewhat lightened by the speculative optimism of the last verse. Life, transient Life, is but a dream, Like Sleep which short doth lengthened seem Till dawn of day, when the bird's lay Doth charm the soul's first peeping gleam. Then farewell to the parting year, Another's come to Nature dear. In every place, thy brightening face Does welcome winter's snowy drear. Alas! our time is much mis-spent. Then we must haste and now repent. We have a book in which to look, For we on Wisdom should be bent. Should God, the Almighty, King of all, Before His judgment-seat now call Us to that place of Joy and Grace Prepared for us since Adam's fall.