Thoreau on Goethe (_A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers_, Thursday): "He was even too _well-bred_ to be thoroughly bred. He says that he had had no inte

Thoreau on Goethe (_A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers_, Thursday): "He was even too _well-bred_ to be thoroughly bred. He says that he had had no intercourse with the lowest class of his towns-boys. The child should have the advantage of ignorance as well as knowledge, and is fortunate if he gets his share of neglect and exposure." But one should not minimize the level of surveillance that was there for the boomers. A lot of mothers did not work, and though playtime was not micromanaged, it was not that easy to get away with serious mischief.