The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1858-09-08
s U G II A T E NJ P E r
By T. S. ARTHUR.

yet! Oh, he has such a temper JUS
see how he acts You. John! Hust
this instant and do as 1 tell your
These sentences were uttered ir au ex
cited voice by mother who had come
suddenly upon her little boy, bright
busy, active little fellow three years old
who had discovered new amusement,
and was enjnying himself up to his full
capacity. The amusement was a rude
attempt at castle building The materi-
ais used on the occasion were books from
the library shelves His mother in
company with an aunt, who had arrived
that day Oh a snort visit, happened to
cone upon him in the midst of his pleas
ant sport
Dear little fellow + was on the aunt 8
lips, as ber eyes fell upon the child's an
imated face; but ere ii e words were
spoken his mother had started forward
AID seized him by the arm. With q
sudd den jerk she drew him several feet
away from his mimic building, exclaim
ing as she did SO, in angry tones!
You bad boy How dare you do
this2 just see your fathers books scat
tered all over the floor
A moment or two she held him with a
firm grip; then pushing him from her,
she added =
Put every book in its place upon the
shelves I: and don't you dare to touch
thOm again.
Released from his mothers hand,
John, instead of obeying her, threw him,
self upon the floor, and commenced
kicking and screaming in uncontrolled
passion.
just see how he acts, Mary / repeat
ed the mother. That temper will be
his ruin. John, hush this instant, and
get up as 1 tell you
But the cbild's passion was whirl-
wind, and subsided not until its force
was spent. In her blind anger the moth
er stopped oyer the boy, and was raising
her hand to punish him, when her sister
drew her back and whispered:
Don't Anna A blow new will do
harm.' And she drew the excited moth
er from the room.
Mary, this is not right said the lat
ter, with some severity of manner, as
soon as they were out of the library
You must not come between me and my
children IF you take their part when
| reprove or punish, all my control over
them will be gone
Dear sister!' replied Mary, with
much feeling and great tenderness of
manner, forgive me if 1 have erred
and let the pure love that feel for you
and your child be my apology
There was a silence for nearly a min
ute. A calm was falling upon the moth,
er's spirit.
He bas such dreadful temper, Maryl
If it is not subdned now it will curse
his whole life. You don't know how it
troubles me- at a--z Tett -a
Your duty, it seems to me, is very
plain, sister, was the answer.
Il must break that temper while he is
a child @
You cannot. It will only gain
strength by conflict, replied the sister
is the case then so hopeless ? will
not believe it, Mary
'Oh, no-not hopeless by any means.
How does the oak gain strength and Wig
orous life ? Look at its rugged trunk,
its gnarled and twisted branch 8, and
read the history of its strife with temp
est and tornado thro' half century,
So it is, by action, resistance, and con-
hict that our passions are matured. Do
you imagine that the excitement thro'
which your child has passed will weaken
the bad temper of which you complain ?
Has it. not, on the contrary, given it in
creased strength p .f.
The sister paused.
There Was not sign of evil in his
happy little face when he entered the
library I'd
But he was doing very wrong said
the mother.
Had you told him he must not build
houses with books p er-rf-.z4
Yes, forty times. There isn't an
hour in tho day that l don't have to
check or reprove or punish him for o:e
kind of mischief or another. He knew
it was wrong. 81
May be you check, and reprove, and
punish him to much, Anna suggested
the sister. There is danger in this di-
rection when the child's mind is unu-
sually active. The stream that glides
along smoothly enough thro' the level
meadow, will fret, and chafe, and dash
madly forward if rocky ebstruciions
come in its way
But children must not be permitted
to do as they please. They would soon
be ruined,' said the mother. @
IF you put dam across the stream,
or throw huge rocks into the midst of
it's gently gliding current, you do no.
stop its progress but only swell its vol