Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1864-02-26

thing out Of which manhood is TO be developed.
| Hence, if true manhood is of any worth in the
world, boyhood must be well taken care Of
| The boy whoi TO be a true man must be brought
up circumspectly. Ii will never answer TO let
him ''come up" Boy-nature, if left to itself,
will run into thousand by roads of viIeness and
vice.
We see and hear the boys of our town in our
streets-not only at proper times, but almost ev-
cry pleasant evening. There are big boys, and
little boys,-yes, little fellows that ought TO be
abed and asleep at dark-playing and yelling
and swearing and quarreling about the streets
in the evening. lfthere is concert, or a speech,
or any public gathering, and you attend it, you
| find boys gathered about the doors i'll the street.
boys on the stairs, boys i'll the passage above,
boys in the hall, boys everywhere. If there is
any applause offered boys add their screeches,
more hideous than wolf-howls, and destroy all
satisfaction which might otherwise be had. If
a boy wishes to come upor go down stairs, he
goes with the clownish tramp of a giant, of
course making all the noise possible. These an
noyances are constant and unmitigated. And
the worst of it is that these mischief-doers seem
to have no sense of propriety. They seem not
to know that they are doing anything wrong
They regard it as all perfectly right.
| One may be excused for asking, ''Have these
boys no parents to teach them propriety?'-
| Must they grow up to be men in stature without
instruction and restraint? What do their fathers
and mothers mean by turning them loose upon
| the world TO learn all manner of evil ways and
be a constant annoyance TO all well-behaved peO-
pie? 1t is easy to pitya portion of them, who
have lost one parent or both and who, therefore,
have not the benefits of full parental care and
| discipline. But many others have both fathers
| and mothers, and they should take care of them.
The boy who is beyond the control of his father,
| OF even his mother, is well started on the road
toranl In nearly all cases too, the fault is with
| the parents.
1t is quite common for those who do not re-
strain their own children properly to conceive
that other people have no business to meddle in
the matter, even by making complaint. But
these are mistaken. Mr.. A. desires to educate
and train his children carefully and properly
He would give them all necessary instruction
and teach them to control themselves. But
what difficulties surround him His neighbors
are not of his mind. They permit their chill
dren to do about as they please. Those children
are neither taught nor governed. They have
only the ''street education. What can Mr. A.
do III the face ofthis example? He has not only
to counteract the tendencies TO evil naturally in
his children, but also TO fight against the evil
exhibited before his children by those of his
neighbors. There is no greater curse to lceA
disposed family than TO hare neighbOrS pho do
not properly instruct and train their Children
One man has no right TO place impediments in
the way of another after this fashion. 1t is
duty which every man who has family owes to
society i'll general, to instruct and train his chill
dren. There can be no doubt of this.
But children must be interested, in order to be
pro6ted. 1t is undoubtedly the duty of parents
to keep their children at home after nightfall, at
least generally. No place is so good for them,
physically or morally. If they are permitted
to go out it should be under safe restrictions
But, it will be irksome for them to remain at
home unless they have some interesting and use
full employment. The employment may often
be of the nature of amusement. The fault in
many families is that parents do not provide
enough of home entertainment for their children
There should always be something at home more
interesting than anything to be found in the
streets. Nor will toys and play things answer
the purpose. Boys dozen years old need TO
have their minds walked up, and to be taught to
read useful books. The hours appropriate for
the physical plays which boys need are hours of
daylight. When the evening comes, let them
find occupation within DOORS as far as possible
1t is the duty of parents to look to this, and to
restrain their boys. They should teach their
children, and not turn them loose upon the
neighborhood 10 make the evening hideous with
noise. Let them be 50 trained that they will
find pleasure in useful pursuits, and will not
desire to be away from home engaged in impro-
per sports, and with dangerous companions
Those who grow up without proper care and
discipline of little TO themselves or sOci-
ETY. when they become men, all for want of
training which their parents should have given
them. 1t is pitiable indeed TO behold young |
man who has no education, or next to none, who |
has 10 taste for knowledge who cannot find sat
isfaction in rational employments but only in
rowdyism and vice. There are many such |
spectacles
1t is well known that in summer and autumn |
it is extremely difficult for those who have fruit
trees TO save their fruit 1t is carried off before
it becomes fairly ripe by young Williams who |
prowl around for that purpose. Here again is
the result of the street education And vet, |
hundreds of fathers and mothers take no care TO |
know where their sons are, what they are do
ing Can any language eXaggerate the enormi-
ty of their offence against society in turning
loose upon her these unframed, and unrestriin-
able semi-savages Can any language overdraw
the enormity of their sin against the children
themselves, in neglccting their education?
Parents sin against their daughters as well as
against their SONS Vain mothers are desirous
of seeing their daughters shine in society,"
Therefore they hurry them out of childhood "a
soon as possible. They put their constitutions
to the most cruel test with thin dresses, thin
shoes and late hours, and seem TO strive To tempt
disease TO fasten upon them il is positively
productive of anguish 10 a sensible person, to
see girls brought out in the evening, and in
stormy weather without warm and sufficient
clothing. The grave has many victim offered
to it without asking, many victim of vanity
and display. Or, if dangers to the health are
avoided, yet the tendency of allowing girls TO
come TOO early into company, and to think
themselves young ladies, is in the direction of
superficial education. 1t is sad to see young
woman, reared within reach of good education
al privileges yet nanifestly neglected as to her
education. Well dressed she may be- indeed.
but she cannot her native language with
or converse intelligentIy respecting
any really important subject. She may be able
to play few pieces ON the piano, but yet she
has no thorough acquaintance with music. She
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