join the ranks of workers in the line best loved; a deep, tender reverence for one's own mother-too deep for them to speak

ctions, traditions, of our culture, and undertook to

ds in terms of friendship, the one purely personal love they knew, and of ultimate parentage. Vis

three should remain much together, as they did themselves, was also natural. We had

ach couple having "homes" of our

country," explained Celis. "We can

t Terry's stalwart nearness. (This was one of the tim

insisted. "A man wants a home of his

time?" asked Ellador.

iving there-natur

all the time?" Alima dem

ned again that our women di

o-if they have no w

of the home-an

e time?" as

and the mother has charge of it a

, that he always grew impatient; but the

lima had her notebook out now, and a rath

dear," he explained. "Some

at all," I put i

fact that those women who had the most children had the least se

o or no children, and three or four

as we did; we talked of hospitality, entertainment, and various "interests." All the time we knew that to these large-

n-ways and they have their man-ways and their both-ways. We have worked out a system of living wh

dearest,"

nged quarrel with Alima, and needed a sedative. "There's nothing to drink. T

ght he always found a "Colonel" here or there; and when, on an occasion of fierce though temporary despair, he had plunged t

sant ones, either,

ey've neither the vices of men, nor t

that. Don't talk nonse

when they gave me a certain look,

know what 'virtues of women' you mis

ience, no submissiveness, none of that natur

all. These women have the virtue of humanity, with less of its faults than any folks I ever saw. As fo

"Nowhere a man can go and cut loose a bi

ool, and office, and laboratory,

here isn't a home in t

etorted hotly. "I never saw, I never dreamed of, suc

al Sunday school, it's all very well. But I

ulties had long since been overcome. The untroubled peace, the unmeasured plenty, the steady health, the large good will and smooth manag

he sociological achievements involved. Jeff liked it as he

he found nothing to oppose,

he insisted. "If there is no stru

f replied. He was certainly a warm defender of Herland. "Ants

ll you the higher grades of life are reached only through struggle-c

see, they lacked the sex motive and, with it, jealousy. They had no interplay of

mics of the place; it should have come b

y babies joined in it. To see one of their great annual festivals, with the massed and marching stateliness of those great mothers, the young women brave and noble, beautif

er; and instead of developing them in detached lines, they had kept the connection. Let me try again to give, i

girls, the special teachers. She picked out books for me to read. She alway

never have stood the way he behaved-Ellador and I had already a deep, restful feeling, as if we'd always had one another

ety, Love, Wisdom, Justice, Patience, and Plenty. By "plenty" I mean that the babies grew up in an environment which met their needs, jus

about and to do. The people everywhere were friendly and polite. No Herland child ever met the overbearing ruden

g widen out into contact with an endless range of common interests. The things they lear

re to ask her what on earth an insect teacher was-"to ask her its name. She took it from me with a little cry of delight. 'Oh, you blessed child,' she said. 'Do you like obernuts?' Of course I liked obernuts, and said so. It is our best food-nut, you know. 'This is a female of the obernut mo

I was shown the history of the creature, and an account of the damage it used to do and of how long and hard our foremoth

w up in private homes and families, with every effort made to protect and seclude them from a dan

ars following the delicate subtleties, the smooth simplicities with

re is growth, struggle, conquest, the establishment of his family,

bordinate activities of family life, and afterward such

e cycle, and th

n to the national life, and all the rest the individual share in their common activities. Every girl I talked

at life-view had no shady places; they had a high sense of persona

d misplays-as in a game. Some of them, who were palpably less agreeable than others or who had a real weakn

howed the principle of growth and the beauty of wise culture. They had no theory of the essential opp

ty, every phase of their work was modified by its effect on the national growth. The language itsel

e to plan and fulfill such a task; and second, that women should have had so much initiative. We have assumed, as a matter of c

uman mind its inventive reactions, regardless of sex; and further, that a full

environment calculated to allow the richest, freest growth,

ve part of their whole culture beyond this perfect system of child-rearing was the range of interests and associa

ales; but where, with us, these are the dribbled remnants of ancient folk myths and primitive lullabies, theirs were the exquisit

r mothers' arms, or sleeping lightly in the flower-sweet air, seemed natural enough, save that they never cried. I never heard a chil

ving closely with her child, nursing it proudly, often for two ye

er work was among the little ones. She was never far off, however, and her attitude towar

-swept; or rugs as soft; or in shallow pools of bright water; tumbling over with bubbl

of the country, and gradually acclimated

rs do; there were continuous excursions of them, from one part of the

"a cowboy," or whatever pleases their fancy; and our little girls plan for the kind of home they mean to have, or how many ch

hich first made me see the folly of that common notion of our

been re-established. The steady level of good health gave them all that natural stimulus we used to call "animal spirits"-an odd contradiction in terms. They found themselves

red them with our own, my strange uncomf

y and sweetly, but with some amazement that they needed explaining, and

ly not taking Ellador. I did not mind see

ou know my stupidities by heart, and I do not wan

told me, "this new wonderful love between you. The who

over," but to have a couple of million people watching one'

w you what puzzles me, I'll tell you that in our theory great stress is laid on the fo

ectedly agreed. "All our chi

they loved to do it, how

grows, a thing to use and enjoy. We seek to nourish, to stimulate, to exercise the mind of a child as we do the body. There are the

al exercises

overfeed it, to provide such amount and variety of impressions as seem most welcome to each child. That is the easiest part. The other division is in arranging a properly graduate

ystem as you, not approaching it; but tell me more. As to the information-how do

ess among thousands of us to go to your country and learn-learn-learn! But what we do know is readily divisible into common knowledge and special knowledge. The common knowledge we have long since learned to feed into the mind

row w

there is a tendency to atrophy in the disused portion

do you

omy, physiology, nutrition-all that pertains to a full and beautiful personal life. We have our botany and

with history-not w

k, slowly and carefully, developing our whole people along these lines. It is glorious work-splendid! To see the thousands of b

he human mind was no better than in its earliest period of sa

for all noble life: a clear, far-reaching judgment, and a strong well-used will. We spend our best e

system of educa

manner of simple and interesting things to do, as soon as they are old enough to do them; physical properties, of course, come first. But as early as pos

ceful researches of their own. I had wondered at first when they went to school, but so

hundred years, devising better and bett

ames?" I protested. "Maki

he answered.

ori, and guardedly replied: "To some extent." But most of our games, I told her,

asked. "Do they develop the fa

advocates of "sports," and again replied g

Having things made up and set before them

answered. "Are yours more cont

t; of the value of some one strong spirit who possessed initiative and would "start something"; of the children's parties and the onerous duties of the older people set t

imly. "I don't

nd opportunities to learn, but into the society of plentiful numbers of teachers, teachers born and trained,

e to adults. I spent many days with the little ones, sometimes with Ellador, sometimes without

-footed, steady-handed, clear-headed little things. It was a joy to watch a row of toddlers learning to walk, not only on a level floor, but, a little later, on a sort of rubber rail raised an inch or two above the soft turf or heavy rugs, and falling off with shrieks

s of pure physical merriment and natural sleep in which these heavenly babies passed their first years. They never knew they were being educated. They did not dream that in this association o