The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1854-08-19
For the Minnesotian.
Children.

love little children. There is no sight so
pleasing to me as group ofinnocent children
at play.
l always thought striking resemblance OK
listed between children and apples. the sweet
ones representing the girls, and the sour ones
the boys. When l look abroad in the great
human orchard Of life, what variety Of fruit
do behold upon the various trees as they
stand arranged in regular matrimonial
rows.
When one of those trees Of life are removed
from the nursery of girlhood, or single
blcssedncss and transplantcd in the sacred Or
chard of matrimony, they are soon covered with
the bright green foliage of maturcd love, and
their smooth tapcring and well proportional
limbs arc beautifully studded with the apple
blossoms pertaining to welded life, promising
a plentiful harvest of apples in due season.
AS the springtime of youth passes away, and
the summer Of middle age approaches, the fad
ing flowers gradually fall to tue ground, and
the precious apples appear, but they are very
green and tender, and are liable to ga thou
sand ills" yemothcrs and would-b c-moth-
ers of Minnesota! you that have children, at
tend you that are without them, listen, "for
you know not the hour nor the day." &c. O
we comedy lifc-trccs, keep watchful eye upon
those lovely apples, sweet and sour, that clus-
ter about you, and depend upon you for sup
port and nourishmcnt. Let not the rude and
sinful breczes of the world blow them loose
toll <,F 1.,t
gently overshadow the little darlngs with the
leaves of your protection.
But do not go to the other extreme, and bury
them so deep in the foliage of maternal re-
straint, that the mildew of discomfort and re-
bclion will strike them to the core
Occasionally permit the sunshine of amuse-
ment and the air of recreation to act upon
them, for this will gradually tend to ripen
them, but never try to ripen them prematurely,
as is often the case.
Ifyou take juvenile apple too soon from
the nipple of childish simplicity, and instead
of giving it the warm milk of little Wholesome
foolishness, you cover it up in the musty bran
of head study, what is the result? After a
time you have withered specimen of hot-bed
precocity, that will neither taste as well, nor
keep as long as one ripened in the natural way
When your apples become ripe enough to gath
or from the field of infantile loaferism into the
barn of education, Or granary of knowledge,
be very careful how you handle them, for ev-
cry mental bruisc makes them rot the sooner.
Do not tumble them loosely together into the
barrel of needless indulgence but nicely wipe
off the down of ignorance with the dry-rag Of
information, and clean out the bloosom-end OF
selfshness with the colnmendable swab of gen
erosity. With all your watchfullness, some
apples will be found at last to be rotten in the
core that you did not discover, but you will
not be held accountable for that you could
neither see or avert.
Permit no rotten apples to come in contact
with yours for if they do not communicate they
will at least soil the skin Of the character by
their offensive putridity. Keep sharp eye
upon the truant schOolboy Of sensualty aud
and unholy passion for if he should find your
apples, he will bruise and injure the sour ones