The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1858-12-09
From the Independent, Nov. A.
What is to be Done with our Charley.
BY HARRIET BEEcHER STOWE.

BY HARRIET BEECHER STOWE.
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 there our souls rest-we know
where he is and what he is about, and
sleep in a gracious state but then he
wakes up bright and early, and begins
footing, pounding, hammering, singing,
meddling, and asking questions; in
short, overturning the peace of society
generally for about thirteen hour out
of every twenty-four.
Everybody wants to know what to
do with him-everybody is quite sure
that he can't stay where they are.
The cook can't have him in the kitch-
en-, where he infests the pantry to get
flour to make paste for his kites, or
melt lard in the new saucepan. If he
goes into the wood-shed, he is sure to
pull the wood-pile on his head. If he
be sent up into the garnet, you think
for while that you have settled the
problem, till you find what boundless
field for activity is at once opened,
amid all the packages, boxes, bags,
barrels, and cast-off rubbish there. Old
letters, newspapers, trunks of miscella-
neous contents, are all rummaged, and
the very reign of chaos and old night
is instituted. He sees endless capaci-
ties in all, and he is always hammering
something, or knocking something apart,
or saving, or planning, or drawing box
es and barrels in all directions, to build
cities or lay railroad tracks, till every
body's head aches quite down to the
lower floor, and everybody declares
that Charley must be kept out of the
garnet.
Then you send Charley to school, and
hope you are fairly rid of him for a
few hours at least But he comes
home noisier and more breezy than
ever, having learned of some twenty
other Charlyes every separate resource
Tor keeping up a commotion that the
superabundant vitality of each can
originate. He can dancelike Jim Smith
he haslearned to smack his lips like
Joe Brown, and Will Briggs has shown
him how to NEW like cat, and he en-
tiers the premises with new war
whoop, learned form Tom Evans. He
seems large and valorous: he has
learned that he is boy, and has a
general impression that he is growing
immensely strong and knowing, and
despises more than ever the convention
alities of parlor 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 per-
sons will devote themselves exclusively
to him, reading or telling stories, he
may be kept quiet; but then this is dis
couraging work, for he swallows story
as Rover does a piece Of meat, and
looks at you for another and another,
without the slightest consideration, SO
that this resource is of short duration,
and then the old question comes back /;
What is to be done with him?
But, after all, Charley cannot be
wholly shirked, for he is an institution
"a solemn and awful fact; and on
the answer to the question, What is to
be done with him depends future.
Many hard, morose, bitter MIN has
come from a Charley turned off and
neglected; many parental heart-ache
has come from Charley left to run the
streets, that mamma and sisters might
play on the piano and write letters in
peace. 1t is easy to get rid of him
there are fifty ways of doing that. lie
is spirit that can be promptly laid,
but if not laid Alright will come back,
by-and-by, strong man armed, when
you cannot send him off at pleasure
Mamma and sisters had better pay a
little tax to Charley now, than terri
BILE one by-and-by. There is some
thing significant in the old English
phrase, with which our Scriptures rem
der us familiar, n MAN child-a MAN
child. There you have the word that
should make you think more than twice
before you answer the question
"What shall we do with Charley %.
For to-day he is at your feet; to-day
you can make him laugh, you can make
him cry, you can persuade, coax, and
turn him TO your pleasure you can
make his eyes fill, and his bosom swell
with rccitals of good and noble deeds
in short, can mould him if you will
take the trouble.
But look ahead some years, when
that little Voice shall ring in deep bass
tones; when that small foot shall have
mans weight and tramp; when a
rough beard shall cover his little chin,
and the wilful strength of manhood fill
out that little form, Then you would
give worlds for the key to bis heart, to
be able to turn and guide him at your
will; but if you viii lose that key now
he is little, you may search for it care
f:llly, with tears, some other day, and
sevor find it.
Old housekeope.As have proyerb,
that one hour lost In the morning is
never found all day. 1t has signifi-
eance in this case.
One thing is to be noticed about
Charley, that, rude, and busy, and noisy
as he is, and irksome as carpet rules
and parIor ways are to him, he is still
a social little creature, and wants to be
where the rest of the household are.
4 room ever so Sell adapted for play,