| Show EXACTING discipline spartan severity ruled philip gilbert hamerton in his childhood philip gilbert hamerton was during childhood his tho victim of a severe and cmel discipline hia father was a man of ungovernable temper and irregular life who had no sympathy with childish foible and whose only idea of educating a boy ws man of him his method of teaching the lad to ride was to accompany him on a vicious black horse and when little philip erred in any of tho observances of good riders to punish him with his heavy hunting whip the whip had a steela hammer at the end of a long handle and if at any ti methe owner fancied that the child was turning out his toes he would not aay anything but with cruel dexterity deal him a blow on the foot sharp enough to make him writhe with pain yet this spartan severity had its valuable side the elder hamerton under sto odthe importance of concentration and if ho saw the boy occupied with ft averal books would say take one of thosa books and read it steadily dont potter and play with half a dozen what he hated most was alie or the shadow of a lie and so bitter was this aversion that philip was sometimes punished unjustly he was expected to practice with dumbbells 15 minutes every morning this exercise was taken in the garden but before beginning he always looked at sitting room one day the father met him and asked have you done your 35 minutes yes papa that is not true said his aunt from the next room he has only practiced for ten minutes look at tho clock the hand stood at 10 minutes past 11 and though the boy protested that he ten minutes before the hour the additional lie put his father in a fury and be was ordered to practice continually for two hours and though the child was ready to drop with fatigue long before the minutes wore over not one of them was remitted youths companion |
