American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-05-25
Youths Department.
ENOUGH'S ENOUGH.
BY THOMAS X. BEECHER.

The following, from Woods Household
Mdgazine contains wholesome lesson
for grown folks as well as children
1t was the 4th of July. The big guns
from the forts in the harbor had awakened
me, and the Pop! pop! .fzz! and sur
double headers kept me awake and got me
up an hour too soon.
Next door to us, in the city, lived a
little boy, say eight years old; and
think that l never saw any one boy who
had so many things to make noise with
on the fourth of July. He had six boxes
of shooting crackers; pile after pile of
torpedoes; as many as fifty dOuble-head-
ers or chasers; two or three little iron
craker- pistols, and torpedo jules and,
for the evening, Il dozen rockets, and any
number of pin-weels, blue-lights, Roman
candles and such. His father must have
spent at least sixty dollars to make his
little boy happy!
Well The day began early. The boy
had scarcely slept, he was SO excited.
Up he jumped at the first gun from the
fort, hurried on his clothes, forgot to
wash himself or comb his hair, lighted
his punk (some folks call it spunk),
snatched out pack of crackers and a
half-pint of tOrpedoes, and began his pap,
pop, in the back yard. Fired one at
time his crackers would have kept him
busy a day or two. But before breakfast
time he had got into a crazy hurry, and
would dance and yell round a whole pack
a going off at once!
BY nine o'clock he had moved into the
street, with his ammunition piled on the
front door step, while twenty poor boys
gather round TO see and hear and envy
the rich little maniac. How he rushed
up and down those steps! How red his
face and shiny as he began to sweat!
How he touched 'em off, without waiting
to hear or time to enjoy. By hot half
past ten he had burned 'em all up, ending
off with whole box at once, and smash
ing bundle of a hundred torpedoes at a
throw. He was a sweaty, grimy, crazy
little fury.
And now his fun was all gone until
after dark! So he fretted and whined
and got whipped twice that day. He
teased. They let him send up his rockets
and burn his Roman candles during the
early twilight, while the day was bright,
and then put him abed sick. And 1 think
that in all New York was not one boy SO
poor and ragged but enjoyed more that
day than this little crazy pet, who burned
up at least sixty dollars worth of pop and
fzz
"IteN you, I'd like to hare sirty dozleus'
,corth Of 4M Of July! I'd hare .ttun!" I
hear some of the boys saying. Yes! /
remember when was about eleven years
old, and off at school, they used to give
me just one piece of pie for dessert, after
dinner. 1t tasted so good, and was gone
soon, that l used to think of it all the
way down the hill as l went to recitation,
and wished that it was one big mince pie
for half mile and l had to eat my way
through it, as worm eats into an apple
eat and go! And l have seen boys start
to eat up a candy camel But before they
had chewed and sucked up half of it they
were sick enough of it.
The confectioners they call them
sareetnadkeas in EnglanD, understand this.
And so when they take a new boy into
the shop to work, they tell him 10 eat all
the candy he wants He never cats
much but once. He gets sick of sweets,
and hates them as fly does the mOlasses
is
4 FABLE.
A man in the Mint was told that he
might take away one pocket-full of gold,
if he would run straight home with it and
not stop by the way nor touch his pocket.
So he filled his largest pocket full of gold
ming down little hill, the gold hung
heavy, tore off his pocket, and fell down
in the road. When he had got home and
found his gold and his pocket gone to-
gether, "Alas!" said he, chad taken less
l should have more"
All the real fun that we ever get, we
must take in by little, temperate pockets
full. If we overload once or twice, that
ends the matter. That pocket will never
hold any more fun at all.