The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-07-08
Ghe 9 Daily Arens.


1t is one Of the incongruous superficial
tiles of Christian civilization that child
hood, like women, are subjected to a pc
etc sentiment, verbally exalting then
INTO what they are not, and practically un-
cognizant Of everything that they are
Ideally beatiied in the abstract as the
highest human types of perfect innocence,
unquestioning faith, and implicit trust, in
the concrete they are either fulsomely
humored like eQuivocal beings, whom
the least constraint might develop into
enemies, or sternly disciplined as though
they were creatures wanting only oppor-
tunity for treachery and guile of any de-
scription, Thus between the general
sentiment and the individual practice
there is a most perplexing contradiction,
and sooner or later the child finds it out,
and is affected by vague sense of mis-
apprcciative treatment and Injustice in
consequence. Fear seems to be the one
great emotion essential to his government.
Either his parents appear To fear him, and
so yield incontinenty to his every whim
and exaction, or they compel him to fear
them, and spare no penalty to keep that
feeling predominant i'll his tilial sensibili-
ties. In neither personality of the alb
ject sensation can he retain an opinion of
himself calculated to stimulate an ennob-
hing pride. Ii his elders fear him his
instinct prompts him to exercise chiefly
those lower and selfish attributes of his
nature by which his advantage seems to
have been established and if he is in
terror of them it is his natural tendency
to associate obedience and good conduct
with a slavlsh compulson, making them
no virtues in him, Such facts are reQul-
site for consideration when we would UNI
derstand the innumerable apparent incon
gruities of parental rcctitude and hlial
degeneracy, and they are as essential to
a Just comprehension Of such incidents as
the following In Southern city, a few
days ago, two lads, each about sixteen
years old, the sons OF emineutly respect
able citizens, left town on foot together,
with the wild idea Of marching herocally
to the wilds of Texas and there entering
upon career Of romantic Indian adven-
ture. Such boyish freaks are not uncom-
mon, and there is the one way of thwart-
ing them. Telegraph and police were
used to overtake the adventurous youths,
both Of whom were presently upon their
way back to the city, on the cars, in Gus
tody of an officer, 'Thoy have caught
us this time, said one to the other but
well get away again" and turning to
the officer began questioning him about
his pistol. us it a good one p he asked.
Being told that it was, he begged leaye
to hold it in his hand and when this re-
quest was thoughtlessly complied with
suddenly pressed the muzzle to his tenn
pie and blew his brains out The painful
story need not be rohearsed in further
detail to show that there must have been
much genuine, though probably misun-
derstood, misery in the childish life of
the boy suicide From no fierce frenzy Of
passion, but in deliberate terror of return
ing to what was, no doubt, conventonally
a good home, lie took his own life. To at
tribute the original departure from that
home wholly to unwholesome reading or
pernicious associations would undoubtedly
be to contound pretcXt with cause. The
, Texan adventure was the preteXt-thc
| definite object attained at last-aud be-
hind it there must have been some ucom-
patibility of parental treatment with
childish temperament, some long .contin-
ued misapprehension of individual child
mature, to make home a place OF intoler-
able constraint and impress the crude
child like mind with restless conscious
ness of unjust repression and hopeless
misconception. Otherwise it could not
have been in human nature for 50 young
creature to prefer death to further en-
durance, The ease is not exceptional
save in its tragic ending; and the latter
but emphasizes a principle Of domestic
government which deserves far more an
alysis and regulation than Its numberlcss
miscarriaees have thus far gained for it.