Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1859-01-04
Sslerted sflisrellanp.
WHAT IS TO BE DONE WITH OUR CHARLEY

Yes that is the question The fact
Is, there seems 10 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 then be
wakes up bright and early, and begins
footing, pounding, hammering, singing,
meddllng, and asking questions; in short
oyerturning the peace of society gener-
ally for about thirteen hours 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 kitchen, where he
infests the pantry 10 get -four to make
paste for his kites, or melt lard in the
new saucepan. If be goes into the wood.
shed, he is sure to pull the wood-pile down
upon his head. Ii he be sent up to the
garnet, you think for a while that you
have settled the problem, till you find
what a boundless field for activity is al
once opened, amid all the packages, boxes,
bags, barrels, and cast-off rubbish there
Old letters, newspapers, trunks of mis-
/
and the very reign Of chaos and old night
is Instituted. He sees endless capacities
| in all, and he IS always hammering some
thing, or knocking something apart, or
planning, or drawing boxes and barrels in
all directions to build cities or lay railroad
tracks, I'LL everybodv's head aches quite
down to the lower floor, and everybody
declares that Charley must be kept out of
/ the garret.
Then yod send Charley to school, and
hope you are fairly rid of him for few
hours at least But be comes home nois-
/ Ter and more breezy than ever, having
! learned Of some twenty other Charleys
erery separate resource for keeping up
commotion that the superahundant vitality
of each can originate. He 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 a cat,
and he enters the premises with a new
war-whoop learned from Tom Evans
/ He feels large and valorous he has
/ learned that he is a boy, and has a gen
eral impression that he is growing i'm
mensely strong and knowing, despises
more than ever the conventionalities Of
paror 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
will devote themselves exclusively to him,
reading and telling stories, he may be
! kept quiet; but then this IS dscouraging
work, for he swallows a story as Rover
does piece Of meat, and looks at you for
another, without the slightest considera-
] 4, Il. = = Dfc c1ort I,
ration, and then the old question comes
back, What is TO be done with him
But after all, Charley cannot lie wholly
| shirked, for he is an institution "a sol
emn and awful fact; and on the answer
to the question, What is to be done with
him +? depends future.
| Many hard, morose, bitter man has
come from Charley turned of and neg
lected; many parental heart-ache has
come from a 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. He
is a spirit that can be promptly laid, but
. if not laid Alright will come back, by-and
| by, a strong man armed, when you can
not send him off at pleasure.
Mamma and sisters had better pay
little tax to Charley now, than a terrible
one bv-and-bv. There is something sig
nifcant in the old English phrase, with
which our Scriptures render Us familiar
a 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 Char
ley {"
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 recitals
of good and noble deeds; in short, you
can moad him, if you viii take the
trouble.
But look ahead some years, when that
little voice shall ring In deep tases tones /;
when that small foot shall have mans
weight and tramp; when rough beard
shall cover that little, round chin, and all
the wilful strength OF manhood fill out
that liule foIm. Then You would give
worlds for the key Of his heart, to he able
10 turn and guide him 10 your will but
if YOU lose that key now he Is little, YOU
may search for II carefully, with tears,
some ether dav, ard never find it.
Old house keepers have proverb, that
one hour lost IN the morning IS never
found all day. Ii has a significance III
this case.
One thing is to he noticed about Char
lev, that, rude and busy and noisy as be
is. and irksome as carpet rules and parloy
wavs are 10 him. he Is sill! a social little
creature, and wants to be where the rest
of the household are. A room ever 81
well adapted for play. cannot charm him
i al The hoar when the family Is III re-
anion: be hears The voices IN the parlor
and his pav-room seems desolaie. 1
may be warmed by a furnace and hghtec
,,.;.h rns blf il Is human warmth anC