Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1858-11-13
From the New York independent
What is to be done with our Charley I?

YEs-that is the question |! The fact
is, there seems TO be no place in heaven
above, or earth beneath, exactly safe and
suitable, except the bed. While he is
asleep then our souls have rest-we know
where he is and what he is about, and sleep
is gracious state but when he wakes up
brighht and early, & begins footing, pound
ny, hammcriug, singing, meddIing, and
asking questions; in short, overturniug the
peace of society generally for about thir-
teen hours out of every lwenty-four.
Everybody wants to know what TO do
with him-everyhody is quite sure that he
cant stay where they are. The cook can't
have him in the kitchen, where he infests
the pantry to get -four to make paste for
hi kites, or melt lard in the new saucepan.
Ii he goes into the wood-shed, he is sure TO
pull the wood-pile down upon his head. If
he be sent up to the garret. you think for
a while that you have settled The problem.
till you find what boundless field for ac-
tivity is at Ouce opened, amid all the pack
ages, boxes, bags, barrels, and caSt-off rub
bish there. Old letters, newspapers, trunks
OF miscellaneous contents. are all rummaged.
and the very reign of chaos and old night
is instituted He sees endless capacities in
all, and he is always hammering something
or knocking something apart, or saving or
planning, or drawing boxes and barrels in
all directions to bnild cities or lay railroad
tracks, till everybody's head aches quite
down the the lower floor, and everybody de-
clares that Charley must be kept out of the
garret.
Then yon send Charley to school, and
hope you are fairly rid of him for a few
hours at least. But he comes home noiser
and more breezy than ever, having learned
OF some twenty other Charleys every sepa-
rate resource for keeping up commotion
that the snperabundant vitality of each can
originate. lie can dance like Jim Smith
he has learned to smack his lips like Joe
Brown-and Will Briggs has shown him
how TO NEW like cat, and he enters the
premises with aew war-whoop, learned
from Tom Evans. He feels large and val
orons; he has learned that he is a boy and
has general impression that be is growing
immensely strong and knowing, ard deSpises
more than ever the conVeBtionalities of mar
lor life; in fact, he is more than ever an
interruption in the way of decent folks who
want TO be quiet.
1t is true, that if entertaining persons
viii devote themselves exclusively to him,
reading and telling stories, he may be kept
quiet; but then this is discouraging work,
for he swallows d story as Rover does
piece Of meat, and looks at yon for another
and another, without the slightest consider
alton, SO that this resource is of shert du.
ration, and then tue old question comes
back, what is TO be done with him
But after all, Charley cannot be wholly
shirked. for he is an insiithtion-a solemn
aud awful factj and on the answer to the
question, what is to be done with him de-
peDds future.
Many hard, mofose, bitter man has
come from Charley turned of and neg
leeted many parental heartsache has
came from Charley left 10 run the streets,
that mama and sisters might play on the
pino and write letters in peace. II is easy
10 get rid of him; there are fifty ways of
doing that. He is spirit that can be
promptly laid, but il not laid Alright will
come back. by-and by, strong man arm
eai when you cannot send him off at plea
sure.
Mama and sisters had better pay little
Tax 10 Oharley now. than terrible one by
and'by- There Is something significant in
the old English phrase, with which our
Scriptures render us familiar, a hAN.chiId
"A sAN-child. There you have the word