Litchfield enquirer., 1867-12-26
From the Atlantic Monthly. 4 YOUNG DESPERADO.

skEedy Wath his rosy checks resting on o,,
 of his scratched and grimy little hands
 forming altogether T perfect picture (
 peace and innocence, 1t seems hard 10 It
 al!ze what busy, restive, pugnacious : badly ingenious little wretch he IS! Ther
 IS something so comical m those fanny lii
 tie shoes and stockings sprawling on tn tioor-they look as if they could jump II , and run off, if they wanted to-ti4ere
 something so Imaginable abont those ittl
 trousers, which appear to be making val,
 attempts to climb up into the easy chair the said trousers still retaining the shap
 of Johnny's little legs, and refusing to g, to sleep-there IS something, say, abou these things. and about Johnny himself
 which makes it difficult for me to remem
 Der that, when Johnny is awake, he no unfrequently displays traits of characte
 not to be compared with anything but thu cunning Of an Indian warrlor, combined
 with the cumulative qualities of a trained
 prize fighter.
 I'm sure don't know how he came b. such unpleasant propensities. l am my self the meekest of men, Of course, don't mean to imply that Johnny inherited She IS the gentlest of women. But wheI y the whole neighborhood.
 l He was meek enough at first-that is tl { say, for the first six or seven days of his existence. But verify believe he wasn't more than eleven days old when he showed degree of temper that shocked me shocked me i'll one so young. On that oc. ! casion he turned very red in the face--he was quite re bsfo!e -dou oled his hands in the most threatening manner, and finally Tn the impotency of rage, punched himself in the eye. When 1 think of the life he led his mo:her and Susan during the first eight en mont IS after his arrival, ,I shrink from the respon. sibility of allowing Johnny to call me fath- CT.
 Johnnys aggressive disposition was not more early developed than his duplicity. By the time he was two years of age, I had got the following maxim by heart: ''When- ever J. Is particularly quiet, look out for squalls" He was sure to be in some mis- chief. And I must say there was @ novel, ty, an unexpectedness, an ingenuity, in his badness that constantly astonisied me. The crimes he committed were arranged alphabetically. He never repeated him. self. His evil resources were inexhausti- ble. He never did the thing I expected he would. He never failed to do the thing was unprepared for. am not thinking so much of the time when he painted my wri- ting desk with raspberry jam, as of the oc- caslon whec he perpetrated an act of ori- ginal cruelty on Mopsey, favorte kitten in the household. We were sitting in the library. Johnny was playing in the front hall In view or the supernatural stiffness that reigned, I remarked, suspiciously, "Johnnyis very quiet, my dear" At that moment series of pathetic n,ews was heard in the entry, followed by violent scratching on the oil-cloth. Then Mopsey bounded into the room with three empty spools strung upon her tail. The spools wero removed with great difficulty, espe- cially the last one, which fitted remarkably tight. After that, Mopsey never saw work-basket without arching her tortoise shell back, and distending her tail to three times it's natural thickness. Another child would have squeezed the kitten, or stuck pin in it, or twisted her tail; but it was re- served for the superior genius of Johnny to string rather small spools upon it. He never did the obvious thing
 It was this fertility and happiness, if I may say so, of invention, that prevented me from being entirely dejected over my sons behaviour at this period. Sometimes the temptation to seize him and shake him was too strong for poor human nature. But always regretted it afterwards. When I saw him asleep in his tiny bed, with one tear dried on his plump, velvety cheek, and two little mice teeth visible through the parted lips, I couldn't help thinking what little bit of fellow he was, with his funny little fingers and his funny little nails; and it didn't seem to me that he was the sort of person. to be pitched into by 8 great strong man like me.
 .'Wken Johnny grows older," I used to say to his mother, ''I'll reason with him. :"
 Now don't know when Johnny will be old enough to be reasoned with. When reflect how hard 1t Is to reason with wise grown-up people, if they happen to be un- willing to accept your view of matters, I am inclined to be very patient with John- ny, whose experience is rather limited af- ter all, though he is six years and half old, and naturally wants to know why and wherefore. Somebody says something about the duty of "blind obedience" can't expect Johnny to have more wisdom than Solomon, and to be more philosophic than the philosophers. . At times, indeed, have been led to ex- pect this from him. He has shown depth of mird tEat warranted me in looking for anything. At times he seems as if he were 1 hundred years old. He has quaint, bird-like way of cooking his head on one side, and asking question that appears to be the result of years of study. Ii I could answer some of those questions, should solve the darkest mysteries of life and death. His inquiries, however, generally have grotesque flavor. One night, whsn the mosquitos were making lively raids on his person, he appealed to me suddenly
 How does the moon feel when Q skeetel bites it?" To his meditatiye mind, the broad, smooth surface of the moon present. ed temptation not to be resisted by any stray skeeter. n .Hs .a Ee4@alt l freely confess that Johnny is now an6 then too much for me. I wish could reac
 him as cleverly as he reads me. He knows all my weak points; he sees right through me, ana makes me feel that am a help
 less infant in his adroit hands. He has al
 argumentative, oracular air, when thing.
 have gone wrong. which always upsets my dignity. Yet how cunningly he uses hi power! It Is only in the last extremit,
 that he crosses his legs, puts his hand il l his trousers pockets, and argues the cas-, s with me. One day last week he was yer,
 near coming to grief. By my directions
 kindling-wood and coal are placed ever,