Mrs.  Birney  remarks  that :    "A  mother  never  speaks  in  her


TTTK   STAflES   OF   DKVEr.OPMEXT  l;J!)

childreirs  ])resenc('  of  tlio  'awkward  ag^o,'  thereby  increasing  the
painful  self-eonsciousness  of  that  period,nor  does  she  draw  atten-
tion to  the  fact  that  fourteen-year-old  Johnnie  has  on  the  sixth
new  necktie  in  the  course  of  two  weeks.  She  calls  him  proudly
'my  son'  at  this  time  of  his  life,  and  with  sweet  diplomacy  ap-
pears ali'cady  lo  lean  upon  him  and  li>  advise  with  him  concern-
ing small  iiialici-s  thai  all'ord  the  opportunity  for  confidential
talks.  She  wonders  if  some  of  his  twelve-year-old  brother  Paul's
companions  are  all  they  should  be;  she  thought  she  saw  one  of
them  covertly  handing  l*aul  a  cigarette  the  other  day;  she  hopes
he  will  use  his  inlluence  to  convince  him  that  it  is  not  manly
to  smoke  cigarettes  or  to  use  bad  language;  she  is  so  glad  she
can  depend  on  him  to  set  Paul  a  good  example,  etc.  She  has
her  quiet  chats  with  Paul,  too.  Siie  never  scolds  him  for  his
little  assumptions  of  mannish  airs,  and  does  not  say  a  great
deal  about  the  cigarette  e{)isode,  but  she  sees  that  when  there  is
an  illustrated  lecture  in  the  school  he  attends,  on  the  subject :
'Can  a  l)oy  who  has  the  <'igarette  hal)it  become  a  successful  com-
petitor in  athletic  sports  when  he  enters  college?'  ]'aul  is  in-
vited to  go.  Nine  chances  out  of  ten  Paul  will  respond  to  this
appeal,  when  at  his  age  he  might  not  1)e  influenced  by  the  moral-
ity of  the  ciuestion."

Bodihj  Changes  PnuloiiiiiKilc  The  mysterious  change  of
Puberty  has  come.  Manhood  and  Womanhood  are  developing.
