Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1868-10-09
Sorrows Of Childhood.

There arc parents who dclibcratcl,
lay themselves out TO torment thcil
children. There are two classes Q
parents who arc the most ilicX0raLl,
cruel ard malignant; it is hard to say
which class cXccls, but it is cert:,i
that both classes exceed alI cxtraol.
dinary mortals. One is the utterly
biackSuard: the parents about whom,
there isno good no pretrnsc OF good
The other is the wrong hcadcdiy CON
scicntious and religious.
You may find parents who, having
started from an humble origin, having
attained to wealth, and who, instead
OF being glad to think that their chill
drcn arc better OIL than they them
selves were, exhibit q. diabo!ical ical-
ousy Of their children. You will find
such wrctchcd beings insisting that
their children will go through need
less trials and notifications, because
they themselves went through the
like. Why, I do not hesitate to Say
that one Of the thoughts which would
most powerfully lead Il worthy man
to value material prosperity, would
be the thought that his boys would
have f:iircr, happier start in lie
than !.c had, and would be saved The
many difficulties Oil which la still
looks back with pain. You will find
parents, especially parents Of the
pharisaical and wrorg-hcadcdly re
li:yiou3 class, who seem to hold il sa-
cred duty TO make the little thing gs un-
happy; who systematically cndcavor
torcndcr life rs bare: ugly, and wretch
cd II thing as possible; who never
praise their children when they do
right, but punish them with great Sc
verify when they do wrong; who
seem to hate to sec their children
lively or cheerful in their presence;
who thoroughly rcpcl all sympathy
or confidence on the part Of their
children, and then mention as a proof
that their children are possessed by
the devil, that their children always
like to get away from them; who re-
joicc to cut off any little enjoyment
rigidly carrying out into practice the
fundamental principle of their creed,
which undoubtedly is, that 'ilobody
should ever please any body else, be-
cause in either case hc is sure to dis
please God"
Then great trouble, always pres
sing heavily Oh many q little mind, is
that it is overtasllcd with lessons.
You still see here and there idiotic
parents striving to make infant phc-
nomcna of their children, and rccor-
ding with much pride how their chill
drcn could read and write at an un-
naturally carly age. Such parents
arc fools beyond question. The great
use to which the first six or seven
years Of life should bo given, is the
laying the foundation Of hcaIthful
constitution in body and mind and
the instilling Of those first principles
of duty and religion which do not
need to be taught out of any books.
Even if you do not permanently ir-
Jure the young brain and mind prcma-
turcly everlasting thcm,-cvcn if
you do not permanently blight the
bodily health and break the minds
cheerful spring, you gain nothing
Your child at fourteen years old is
not bit farther advanced in his cd
ucation than a child who began his
years after him; and the entire result
Of your stupid driving has been to
overcloud somc days which should
have been the happicst of his life.