believetwoorthreeheadsoffamiliesintheneighbourhoodgavetheirsonsabsolutelibertyofchoiceinthematteroftheirprofessions——andamnotsurethattheyhadnotafterwardsconsiderablecausetoregrethavingdoneso。Thevisitors，seeingTheobaldlookshyandwhollyunmovedbytheexhibitionofsomuchconsiderationforhiswishes，wouldremarktothemselvesthattheboyseemedhardlylikelytobeequaltohisfatherandwouldsethimdownasanunenthusiasticyouth，whooughttohavemorelifeinhimandbemoresensibleofhisadvantagesthanheappearedtobe。
Noonebelievedintherighteousnessofthewholetransactionmorefirmlythantheboyhimself；asenseofbeingillateasekepthimsilent，butitwastooprofoundandtoomuchwithoutbreakforhimtobecomefullyalivetoit，andcometoanunderstandingwithhimself。Hefearedthedarkscowlwhichwouldcomeoverhisfather’sfaceupontheslightestopposition。Hisfather’sviolentthreats，orcoarsesneers，wouldnothavebeentakenauserieuxbyastrongerboy，butTheobaldwasnotastrongboy，andrightlyorwrongly，gavehisfathercreditforbeingquitereadytocarryhisthreatsintoexecution。Oppositionhadnevergothimanythinghewantedyet，norindeedhadyielding，forthematterofthat，unlesshehappenedtowantexactlywhathisfatherwantedforhim。Ifhehadeverentertainedthoughtsofresistance，hehadnonenow，andthepowertoopposewassocompletelylostforwantofexercisethathardlydidthewishremain；therewasnothingleftsavedullacquiescenceasofanasscrouchedbetweentwoburdens。Hemayhavehadanill-definedsenseofidealsthatwerenothisactuals；hemightoccasionallydreamofhimselfasasoldierorasailorfarawayinforeignlands，orevenasafarmer’sboyuponthewolds，buttherewasnotenoughinhimfortheretobeanychanceofhisturninghisdreamsintorealities，andhedriftedonwithhisstream，whichwasaslow，and，Iamafraid，amuddyone。
IthinktheChurchCatechismhasagooddealtodowiththeunhappyrelationswhichcommonlyevennowexistbetweenparentsandchildren。Thatworkwaswrittentooexclusivelyfromtheparentalpointofview；thepersonwhocomposeditdidnotgetafewchildrentocomeinandhelphim；hewasclearlynotyounghimself，norshouldIsayitwastheworkofonewholikedchildren——inspiteofthewords“mygoodchild“which，ifIrememberrightly，areonceputintothemouthofthecatechistand，afterall，carryaharshsoundwiththem。Thegeneralimpressionitleavesuponthemindoftheyoungisthattheirwickednessatbirthwasbutveryimperfectlywipedoutatbaptism，andthatthemerefactofbeingyoungatallhassomethingwithitthatsavoursmoreorlessdistinctlyofthenatureofsin。
IfaneweditionoftheworkiseverrequiredIshouldliketointroduceafewwordsinsistingonthedutyofseekingallreasonablepleasureandavoidingallpainthatcanbehonourablyavoided。Ishouldliketoseechildrentaughtthattheyshouldnotsaytheylikethingswhichtheydonotlike，merelybecausecertainotherpeoplesaytheylikethem，andhowfoolishitistosaytheybelievethisorthatwhentheyunderstandnothingaboutit。IfitbeurgedthattheseadditionswouldmaketheCatechismtoolongI
wouldcurtailtheremarksuponourdutytowardsourneighbouranduponthesacraments。Intheplaceoftheparagraphbeginning“I