I forget
how many times he was whipped; but it was almost too many times to be
believed. The fight was a terrible one. At last, in a paroxysm of his
crying under the blows, the mother thought she heard him sob out "A," and
the victory was considered to be won.
A little boy whom I know once had a similar contest over a letter of the
alphabet; but the contest was with himself, and his mother was the
faithful Great Heart who helped him through. The story is so remarkable
that I have long wanted all mothers to know it. It is as perfect an
illustration of what I mean by "educating" the will as the other one is of
what is called "breaking" it.
Willy was about four years old. He had a large, active brain, sensitive
temperament, and indomitable spirit. He was and is an uncommon child.
Common methods of what is commonly supposed to be "discipline" would, if
he had survived them, have made a very bad boy of him. He had great
difficulty in pronouncing the letter G,--so much that he had formed almost
a habit of omitting it. One day his mother said, not dreaming of any
special contest, "This time you must say G.
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