There is little room, or only inferior positions in the world for men who are not trained, at least in some respects.
Look at the well-trained blacksmith; he
goes across the shop, picks up the horse's
foot, takes a squint, returns to his anvil,
forges the shoe, and it exactly fits the foot.
Contrast him with the bungler who looks at
the foot, then forges a shoe, then fits the
foot to it, often to the ruin of a fine horse.
Now, the fault lies in ever allowing himself
to put a shoe on that is not in proper shape
for the foot; he should determine to make
the shoe fit the foot in place of the foot fitting
the shoe, and he should follow it up
until the object is accomplished. A very
good way to discipline the mechanical eye is
to first measure an inch with the eye, and
then prove it with the rule, then measure a
half inch, then an eighth, and so on, and you
will soon be able to discover at a glance the
difference between a twelfth and a sixteenth
of an inch; then go to three inches, six,
twelve, and so on. Some call this guessing;
there is no guess-work about it. It is
measuring with the eye and the mind. If
you can not see things mechanically, do not
blame the eye for it; it is no more to blame
than the mouth is because we can not read,
or the fingers because we can not write.
Every occupation in life requires a
mechanically-trained eye, and we should realize
more than we do the great importance of
properly training that organ.—Mining and Scientific Press.
(3268)
Training counts, culture adds strength. Sixty per cent of our Congressmen have been college men; 79 per cent of our Senators have been college men; 90 per cent of our supreme judges have been college men; 92 per cent of our presidents have been college men. Training counts; training makes leadership.—N. McGee Waters.
(3269)
See Practise, Graduated.
TRAINING CHILDREN
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.
TRANSFORMATION
When Central Park, New York, was laid
out the engineers encountered an immense
heap of rocks. What to do with it was the
