Page:Duer Miller--The charm school.djvu/93

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The Charm School


added, as one to whom such a thing had never so far happened, "I may be wrong."

"You are not wrong," said her school-master. "She is far above the average—especially in her originality," and he thought of her wonderful story about the Book of Job—"and it is for that reason I do not want to see her run into a mold. What is college education designed for, Mr. Doughty?—the average person—worse than that—the average boy. It standardizes. Now I should like to see Helen study with special masters who would bring out her special powers."

He sketched a wonderful curriculum for her. Mr. Doughty owned he had never considered the matter from this point of view; he had simply assumed that colleges gave the best education at present available. Austin smiled sadly and shook his head at such colossal ignorance, seeming to indicate that his life would be easier if he could submit all parents to an elementary course in the purposes of education. The great man left his study a complete convert to the Bevans theories.

As the door shut behind him, Austin snapped his fingers.

"Bring on more parents," he said, boastfully.

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