Part 17 (1/2)
”No,” said Jabez viciously
”What's wrong with it?”
”It's too respectable for me,” said Jabez, and his eyes wandered to the table ”Thes like that to me? I'd like to smash the whole lot o' them”
Lane rose from the table, walked to the fireplace, took up the poker and handed it to Jabez
”Smash them,” he said
Jabez had all eyes turned towards him He seized the poker and smashed his cup and saucer
”Excellent!” cried Lane, ”Jabez isthe Commonwealth a better place,” and he pushed forward another cup and saucer These were at once smashed, and Lane proceeded to shove forward the other dishes
But by this tiood fun when you were breaking laws, but here there was no law to break, and Jabez felt that he was doing a foolish thing He wanted to stop, but he could not see hoas to stop with dignity
Fortunately one of the other ine came to his aid
”It's all very well for you, Mr Lane,” she said, ”but this isn't your cottage, and you areJabez break our dishes”
Jabez hailed the idea with delight; he now had an excellent excuse for stopping
”Right you are!” cried Lane cheerfully, ”Jabez will break soold watch and placed it on the table
”Smash that, Jabez”
”No,” said Jabez, ”I won't s that if aand he didn't do it he was a coward
”I dare you to sain
”What! You dare me!”
”Yes, I dare you”
He looked at the watch for a few seconds; then he thren the poker and rushed from the room
Poor Jabez was killed in France I saw the letters that he wrote to Lane froood boy
The early history of Jabez was one of constant suppression Authority was always stepping in and saying: ”Don't do that!” As a result Jabez at the age of seventeen was psychically an infant The infantile desire to break things was suppressed, but it lived on in the unconscious, and years later Jabez found hie hi a few cups Jabez got rid of his long pent up infantile wish to destroy Discipline would have kept the childish wish underground; freedom led to the expression of the wish
Homer Lane is the apostle of Release He holds that Authority is fatal for the child; suppression is bad; the only way is to allow the child freedom to express itself in the way it wants to And because I count airls who once went to the Little Coht I also believe that the schools will coht