have done so. The same little girl who suffered such torments of
anxiety in her parents' absence would always refuse to go to bed
unless she had stood in turn on all the doormats on the staircase of
her home. Other children feel themselves forced to utter certain words
or to go through certain rhythmical movements. They fully understand
that the fear in their mind is irrational and devoid of foundation,
but they are unable to expel it. Often it is hugged as a jealous
secret, so that the childish suffering is only revealed to others
years afterwards, when adult age has brought freedom from it. We will
do well to try by skilful questioning to gain an insight into the
mental processes of a child when we find him showing an uncontrollable
desire to touch lamp-posts or to stand in certain positions; or when
he develops an excessive fear of getting dirty, or is constantly
washing his hands to purify them from some fancied contamination.

The treatment of all these symptoms calls for much insight. The
child's confidence must be completely secured, and he must be
encouraged to tell of all his sensations and of the reasons which
prompt his actions. The nervous child has a horror of appearing unlike
other children, and will suffer in silence. If his troubles are
brought into the light of day with kindness and sympathy they will
melt before his eyes. Even night-terrors are, as a rule, determined by
the suppressed fears of his waking hours. If they are provoked by his
experiences at school, by the fear of punishment or by dismay at a
task that has proved beyond his powers, he should be taken away from
school for the time being. Night-terrors are said to be aggravated by
nasal obstruction due to adenoid vegetations. Clothing at night should
be light and porous, and particular attention should be paid to the
need for free ventilation.