THE ALLEGED WANT OF PITY IN CHILDREN. [To THE EDITOR
OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,—If Mr. Tollemache has no better evidence to give con- cerning the alleged "inconsiderate pitilessness of children" than that contained in his letter in the Spectator of Decem- ber 31st, I am afraid that he must consider himself out of court. Of the two anecdotes cited by him, that of the child and the fly was originally told as a joke. If, as Mr. Tollemache understands, it was related in the manner indicated by Sir E. Burne-Jones, then the deceased painter must have put an entirely new complexion on the original story, which I first heard in America in 1883. Another anecdote told to me at the same time does justice to the deep feeling of reverence which is far more part of the nature of a child than "incon. siderate pitilessness." A man who resided in New York, but whose business lay in the opposite city of Jersey, frequently, on returning from his work, spoke to his wife, in the presence of his little daughter, of Jersey as a "God-forsaken city." In the course of time, it became necessary for him to leave New York and to reside in Jersey. When the old home was empty, and the other members of the family were all ready to depart, the little child asked for permission to return to her bedroom for a few minutes. Kneeling down on the bare floor, but in her accustomed place of prayer, she clasped her hands and murmured : "Dud-bye, Dod, we're going to move over to
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