The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1869-09-11

through having been sharply turned aside
or pulled up on the greasy pavement, gen
eral agitation, which eliminated when at
length an omnibus with more way on than
usual actually passed over the body, the
wretched driver of course suffering the
mental agoncs of Il homicide until relieved
by seeing the straw intestines of his victim.
The greatest misery to the greatest num-
Der is, in fact, the aim of the boys philoso
ply, and it is worth noticing how, even
when apparently tanned and civilized, and
ostensibly earning an honest livelihood, he
contrivcs to make his vocation conducive
to that great end Hence his Partially for
callngs which enable him to persecute so
cicty under the pretcncc of seeking custom,
such as that Of the shoeblack importunate
to "Clean your boots, Sir, When you have
no need of him; or the evening paper ven
der, breaking in upon your meditations
with his shrll recommendation of the last
horrible murder. Even when civilization
has done it's utmost to eXpel nature by
modifying the boy into the 'young gentle
Illustrations only too familiar are to be
found in the boy with the mechanical turn !;
young imps so-called because they have
been discovered destroying the furniture,
or making stencil with some bottled mas
tiness, and have been in consequence set
up with a tool-chest or n ''youth's labora-
tory" by an addle-headed old uncle, who
has some confused notion that it was in
this way the genius of Watt or Faraday
first showed itself. 1t is unnecessary to
dilate upon the suiferings of the household
where this occurs, but fortunately they are
very seldom of long duration. Sooner or
later the young philosopher disables him
self with his tools, or is ''hoist with his
own petard y while in pursuit Of his grand
arcanum, that explosive compound which
shall combine the greatest possible amount
of smell, smoke, and noise.
But these are merely varieties of the boy,
and as such they have as little connection
with our subject as that highly artificial
specimen who is prematurely particular
about his boots, generally dressy, and par
tial to ladies' society," and who is to the boy
pure and simple very much what the town
Indian with Il civilization consisting of
trousers and fire-watcr, is to the original
red man of the prairie.
They may be interesting from 4 Darwin
ian point of view, as exhibiting the origi-
nal boy-nature coming out, here and there,
under domestication, but, as we said before,
they are useless for the study of boy in the
abstract, and it is to this neglected branch
of natural history that we wish to see at
tention directed; the more so because
there seems to be disposition in some
quarters to deal rashly with the subject
1t is growing more and more common to
treat as an assault i'll law that wholesome
corporal punishment which used to be not
only schoolmastcr' privilege, but even his
duty, and some there are who would &C
tually make castigation under any crcum-
stances penal. Is it wise, we would ask in
the face of the facts we have mentioned, to
throw away in this needless manner checks
and safeguards that have been established
by the wisdom of our ancestors for the re-
straint of dangerous instincts and the pro-
lection of society?