And from this point it seems an easy transition to the subject of
legends of different kinds. Some of the old country legends in
connection with flowers are very charming for children, and so long as
we do not tread on the sacred ground of the nature students, we may
indulge in a moderate use of such stories, of which a few will be
found in the List of Stories, given later.

With regard to the introduction of legends connected with saints into
the school curriculum, my chief plea is the element of the unusual
which they contain and an appeal to a sense of mysticism and wonder
which is a wise antidote to the prosaic and commercial tendencies of
today. Though many of the actions of the saints may be the result of
a morbid strain of self-sacrifice, at least none of them was engaged
in the sole occupation of becoming rich: their ideals were often lofty
and unselfish; their courage high, and their deeds noble. We must be
careful, in the choice of our legends, to show up the virile qualities
rather than to dwell on the elements of horror in details of martyrdom,
or on the too-constantly recurring miracles, lest we should defeat our
own ends. For the children might think lightly of the dangers to which
the saints were exposed if they found them too often preserved at the
last moment from the punishment they were brave enough to undergo. For
one or another of these reasons, I should avoid the detailed history of
St. Juliana, St. Vincent, St. Quintin, St. Eustace, St. Winifred, St.
Theodore, St. James the More, St. Katharine, St. Cuthbert, St. Alphage,
St. Peter of Milan, St. Quirine and Juliet, St. Alban and others.

The danger of telling stories connected with sudden conversions is
that they are apt to place too much emphasis on the process, rather
than on the goal to be reached. We should always insist on the
splendid deeds performed after a real conversion, not the details of