It is hard to conceive of a more unpromising specimen of a child
than one who was placed a few years ago in the Babies’ Hospital
of New York. “Criminal” was plainly marked on the face of this
eighteen-months-old boy. Heredity and environment had done their
worst for him. He was actually vicious. He slapt, pinched,
scratched the other children without provocation. At meal time,
after satisfying his own hunger, he would grab the food from
the others, or with one or two sweeps of his small arms shove
the food from the low table to the floor, and then would either
step on it or, lying flat on his stomach, gather it under him in
order to deprive the others.
A careful eye was kept on him to keep him from doing harm, and
whenever he started out on his little journeyings of lawlessness
and mischief he was not forcibly restrained, but his attention
was diverted in some pleasant way from his wrong intentions. The
attendants were not allowed, by word, look or action, ever to be
hasty or unkind; coercion in any form or under any circumstances
was to be avoided.
The superintendent of the hospital says of him: “In a
surprizingly short time this child began to yield to the
influence which surrounded him; one by one his little vicious
tricks or habits were forgotten, and an occasional smile--a
sweet one it was, too--began to reward our efforts, instead of
the snarls and frowns which had heretofore greeted us. Absolute
cleanliness and regular habits were instituted as a part of the
cure.
“For nearly five years it was my good fortune to be able to keep
the boy with me, and a more attractive, happy and lovable child
it would be hard to find anywhere. He was absolutely obedient;
in fact, it never seemed to occur to him to be otherwise.
“In the course of time our little charge not only grew to be
the oldest inhabitant, but the oldest in point of age, and as
new little ones came and went, his attitude toward them was
lovely. He looked well after the needs of the tiny ones and took
great pains to initiate the older ones into orderly and careful
habits. He shared with them, without a thought of selfishness,
toys, books, or dainties. Surely, heredity did not endow this
child with all his good qualities; they were cultivated at an
early age, and so deeply rooted were these good habits that
they are likely to remain with him through life.”--_Jewish
Exponent._
(3270)
See PRODIGY, A.
=Traits Revealed=--See CHARACTER, TEST OF.
=Transfigured Ugliness=--See BEAUTY IN COMMON LIFE.