, 1861-09-28
The XoAng MAn John.

N~~A8 AAA&A
We cherash =. heartfelt sympathy and inter-
eat In the we]fare Of the young man called |
John. Like the patriarch Of U1, he is uufor- |
innate in the day Of his birth. He was born
too late, by some yea1s, or too early altogeth-
er. Well were It for John, that this WAT time
had found him In his pInafores alas, that it
has caught him, If ne may SO express 1t, In
hia pinfeathers. 4 little later and he would
have been tsbearded like a pard, J" and doubt
less brayely shoulder strapped like his gallant
elder brother, Of the skty-Ninth. A little
earlier, and he would have been safely capped
and Tapped In the snug harbor of The Nur-
sery, to Know no more Of War and the rude
alarms than might BIZ joyously associated with
hin tin gun, and his little red flannel Zouaye
panta1oons.
Alas, for John, he occupies a middle POSI-
uon sadly reversing the familiar eaw Of Latin
and English. ssIn medic tutissimus Ibis"
not in the least, John; you are caught half
way, and it is not well for you. It ie the
place Of danger, just now to be Of the age
when the sproutiDg Of the beard tells Of still
callow juvenescence, Too young to enlist, and
"too old, - We fear it Of you, John, to be led
by apron strings, which after sill have proved
The Eafe conduct to manhood, at once the bray
est and best, the War is having bad effect On
John, and We zee it, and regret 1t daily. A
kind Of military law has been d eiared, fatal
to, aud subye1sIye Of, restraints the boys can
lily spare.
There Is dsoger to John in all this, and
NC would that We could reach his ear. The
influence Of the camps and Of military pre-
parationt, is not just akin to the Hnca Of duty
that in peaceful times and in all times did,
and should be inseparable from the pleasant
places Of our homes. Happy the youth yet
il pipafcree. He shall see better surroundings,
what time he reaches the middle passage De
tween youth md manhood, but OF the large
class, OF which John is representative, We
far fer them. We pity the boys, and in the
lsreeuess Of our sympathy could almost wish
them ea!ely shipped abroad to some favored
locality where they might pursue their Geo
gfspby unmolested, and quietly work their
way up to tenown in Fractions and the Rule
Of Three. Will they do it now, with the mu-
sic Of drum and fife ringing incessant in their
ea1s? VIII they settle down to be patient
students, ard faithful shop boys, and industri-
Gus apprentices amid all this stir OF camps,
aud din Of mastering armies? Alas! We fear
for them and their future, for if there WIS
never i royal path to learning, so ecarceIy can
there be a military road. It will not do for
wineries 10 put to sea With men Of war. In
the war Of eagles, the eag1ets must be the
Sufferers.
What do We cd wise for John? Nothing,
since our Colonization scheme is scarcely
practicable. Nothing but to express Our fears
and urge those more closely identified than
We are with these individual ] Johns, to be fully
aware Of their danger. Take care Of the
boys, for surely the growing crop Of the future
men and citizens Of this Republic il in peril,
eGualled in no period in our country history.
Lst us urge vigilant care Of the chickens, for
there arc hawks abroad.