The Nevada Democrat., 1858-02-10
A Chapter ON Boys.

A boy is a piece Of existence quite separate
from all things else, and deserves separate
chapters in the natural history Of man. The
real lives of boys are yet to be written. The
lives of pious and good boys, which enrich the
catalogues Of great public societies, resemble a
real boys life about as much as chicken pick
ed and larded, upon q spit, and ready Tor deli
cious eating, resembles fowl in the field. With
some few honorable exceptions, they are impes-
sible boys, with Incredible goodness. Their pi-
ETY. is monstrous A mans experience stuffed
into little boy is simply menstrcus. And we
are soundly skeptical of this whole school Of
Juvenile pate de foie grds piety. Apples that ri
pen long before their time are either diseased
or wermbitten.
So long as boys are babies how much are
they cherished! But by-and by the cradle is
needed for another. From the time that babe
becomes q boy until he is young man, he ia in
an anomalous condition, for which there is no
special place assigned in nature. They are al-
ways in the way.
They are always doing something to call
down rebuke. They are as inquisltive as
monkeys, and meddosome just where you don't
wish them to be. Beys have a period Of mis-
chief as much as they have of ehicken-pox or
measles. They invade yOur drawers mix up
your toOth-powdor with har-oil pull your Ia
ces and collars from their repositories f; upset
your ink upon Invaluable manuscripts; tear up
precious letters; scatter your waters; stick ev-
erything up with experimental sealing wax,
and spoil all your pens in the effort at spelling
all yoHr paper.
Poor boys! What are they good for? it is
an unfathomablo mystery that we come to our
manhood (as the Israelites reached Canaan)
through the wilderness Of boyheod. They are
always wanting something they must not have,
uainU WHARF thnV OH oht not tn he comm o
where they are not wanted, saying the most
awkward things at the most critical times
They will tell lies. and after infinite pains to
teach them the obligations Of truth, they give
US the full benefit of frankness and literalness
by blurting out before company whole bud
get of family secrets Would you take quiet
nap? Slamb-bahg go a whole bevy of boys
through the house Has the nervous baby ut
length, after all manner Of singings, trottngs,
soothings and bosom opiates, just fallen asleep?
Be sure an unmannerly boy will be on hand to
bawl out for permission TO do something or 9th
er which he has been doing all day without
dreaming Of leave,
Who shall decide the daily battle Of the hair
and the bath, the ordeal Of aprons for the ta-
bic, the placing and moving up, and the endless
task of good manners? If there is one saint
that ought to stand higher than another on the
calendar, it is o patient, sweet-tempered chill
dren's nurse Talk of saintship, simply be-
cause a man live in cave, and was abstemious,
or because he died bravely at the stake What
are fagots of fiery sticks. compared to those an
mated fagots which consume nurses and gov
ernesses for months and years, to say nothing
of the occasional variety Of parental Goals?
Are we, then, not on the boys side? To be
sure we are. 1t is not their fault that they are
bsys, nor that older people are not more pa
tent. The restless activity Of boys is their ne
cessity. To restrain it is to thwart nature. We
need to provide for it, Not to attempt to find
amusement for them, but to give them Oppor-
tunity to amuse themselves.