American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-11-22
Children.

WE can not expend too much care or
the training and welfare of children, fol
first impressions are always strong, ant
generally most difficult to alter. 1t i:
easier to learn than to unlearn, and The
carelessness of parents in permitting theil
children to wander within reach of con
Eliminating influences is so productive o
serious and lasting ill that it cannot be toe
strongly condemned. 1t is too much the
custom for parents Especially in the pleas
ant world of fashiOn) to give themselves
up so much to their own amusement thai
they become blinded to family ties, and
Danish their offspring to the seclusion Of
the school-room or nursery, there to work
or play under the supervision of govern
esses and servants; and though happily
there are many instances of devoted at
tachment between the little ones and theil
guardians, still the love of the latter can
not equal or suffice for that of an affection
ate parent, nor can their influence, strong
as it may be, ever carry with it the serious
weight and lifelong recollection of a pa
rents kind and instructive cOunsels. The
evil results of the want of tact in the man
agement of children, and want of sympa
thy with their little joys and sorrows, are
unpleasantly apparent in the discontinued
nervous, and ill-tempered children whom
we SO often meet in society. We all know
orally of the male sex) "renfant terrible, y
who is over-fed, over-indulge and over
impertinent; destruction is his chiefamuse-
ment, and neither our clothes nor our bod
les are safe from his assaults. He has a
wonderful talent for exhibiting, at most in
convenient times, the skeletons" that his
acquaintance are only too DESTROYS to keep
in their "cupboards." No secret is safe
with him, and there is no limit to the
mischief he will say or do. Being a
spoiled child, he is always able to have
his little whims INDUCED, for he well
knows that if he is thwarted he has only
to roar and make himself generally dis
agreeable in order to gain his desires. He
forms striking contrast to those of his
brethren who are of a milder and more or
derly temperament, and who, unfortunate
ly, often suffer much for their docility
and obedience. AS they do not intrude
themselve upon our notice, they are fire.
quently put on one side and forgotten,
and Qike so many of their elders in the
race of life pay the penalty of their good
behavior by being condemned to solitude
and oblivion. If the family possesses
more than one small olive branch, the
youngsters may find some consolation in
companionship, and often become devot-
eddy attached to each other; but if, as is
too often the case, the family consists of
but one child, and that IA neglected one,
how sad its fate! What a touching sight
it is to see the little creature compelled to
play alone! There it sits in a distant
corner of the room, surrounded by its
toys, and gently murmuring to itself as it
pretends to hold conversations with i'm
aginary people. 1t is SO engrossed In its
own pursuits that it hardly notices our
approach. 1t seems to live in a little cas-
tie in the air where mirth is forbidden, for
no ringing laughter comes from that lone
ly corner, and Il surprised and frightene d
glance is the only reply to our proposal
for a romp. We turn away with pain, as
we remember that this is one of the little
children that must be seen but not heard.
-Harper'S Bazar.