The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1852-02-19
DON'T TELL FATHER.

- I" But recollect, you mustn't tell father !"
said Mrs. Smith to her children.
Mustn't tell father" whispered the el-
der one to tho younger. holding up their
fingers mysteriously and sapicntly.
"Musn't tell dada ~ cried girl of <cv-
en-, swelling the family chorus, to baby,
of a year and half, under whose weight
she was staggering.
- X
James Smith was the foreman in the
workshop ola jeweller. He was supe-
rior artizan, and trustworthy person. His
cleverness and his faithfulness secured to
him the position he held, which was worth
about three pounds a week. He had
therefore snug little house in the out
skirts of the town, with kitchen-garden
in the rear, and flower-pot in front. He
had young good-natured handsome wife,
and a numerous family. His wife, however,
was good-natured, without much frmness
of character. She loved her children in
foolish discriminating way, and to screen
their faults, would often hide the truth from
the father. She was rather capricious
with them. Strange to say, she was not
dl,cays lenient herself. She was SO KIND
to ther., that she was sometimes disap-
pointed in an adequate retutn, and so be-
coming incensed she used to wrcak tenn
porary vengeance on them-a temporary
casual vengeance; for the same childt hat
she beat one minute, she was sure to hug,
to fondle, and to soothe the next.
The father again somewhat too stern,
and too much inclined to expect his fami-
ly to act with the exactness Of machines,
making little allowance for the buOyancy,
the irregularities, the thoughtlessneSs and
t,e inexperience Of children. He loved
marha, but many grave lecture, many
seri@'s admonition, and many philoso-
Phlcai, re'son, was he constantly giving
her on the s.hiect of rearing children in ac-
eordance wlthNis notions. Truth to say,
both the mother md her children were
somewhat afraid OF he father-and thev
were more hushed ant guarded in their
conduct when the master C the house was
at home,
This was not as it should be But tho
fault did not entirely lie at her do,r He
had two hard headed way with hin, Ger.
tainly still if his wife had been less tinid
that is, if the confidence of truth and goot
principle had animated her to meet bel
husbands ways of thinking, with her own
good feelings, and thus to modify them
instead of evadi-2 his injunctions and ar,
guments, by recourse to a petty duplicity,
II would have been better for her, for him,
and for the children.
James had some taste, and having saved
pound or two, over and above what he
wasim the habit Of placing monthly in the
savings bank, had displaced the little an
omalous dogs and lambs with bosky tssiis.
~ well as pairs of lovers sitting in crimson
grottoes, which had heretofore ornament
ed his mantelshelf by handsome vase.
BE had given many directions to his
wife not to allow the children to play at
ball or at shuttle-cock in the parlor. Even
in the reighn of the little glazed dogs with
tho bosky tails, there existed standing
rule against ganes IN that apartment,
which were likely to produce devastation
among Ihe china quadrupeds; but now
that the vase, the alabaster vase, occupied
the mantelpiece with quite q classical eff,