The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1875-03-05

i"'NS "ft pt toFS. wen, ltliIIiL H.
And What is the logical inference! Is it
Il CRIME 20 be u boy during the early
years Intervening between infancy and
manhood! Would yea have but asingle
bound between the cradle and the posi-
sion OF citizenship! Would you reverse
nature, do violence to the order of crea-
ton, demanding that manhood IN miria-
tire snail be moro selate, staiG, SELF
possessed and manly than manhood itself:
While the kitten and the lamb are allowed
to fri3k and play, and while We esteem
and love them for their joyousness and
p]layfulncss, for their influence III making
life more sunny shall we not allow the
young OF humanity to be natural, 20 mani
fest some Of the ~playfulness, the cxUbcr-
ances Of spirit, some of the joyous cheer
intended for the springtime of life? May
not Il boy frisk Il little, open tn" safety
valve occasionally for the escape Of the
excess of the natural cxubcrance OF
Ht'i t!Ni IIl'tN a Az appeal iiN' a. ''','
rather than like a man of seventy years.
Why should men forget their boyhood,
and t~yTannically demand that the boys
shall initiate them in all OF their fOllies
their {" crabbclnesS, and their "morosc-
ness" Still, TO be a boy IS not to be
rude. mciviliZcI, on rowdyish bU5 SIM
ply to he Young and appear like the
younS-as ge~ntlenanly, polite and good
rs the circumstances will warrant-and
vt Young, Joyous, hopeful and huoyant.
The boys, ut least some OF them, are
often sllmcfuily abused. Il they n"
natural. Just rs the good Fath"r made
them. active and q little hoistcroua. Ike
the .uung of ali creatures, thcy are
called crude, awkward, mg.iHiy, good
tor-nothin9 louts." They are often told
that they are WORTHLESS, the worst boys
in town, and that the never viii b good
tor anything" And since their parents
assume great wisdom, claiming unusual
integrity, # course these statements,
made rs often as the day returns, must
b. believed. Ii they are nothing, and
never can be anything, the natural i'll
frrcnc" OF these contiding ones is that it
is useless to attempt AN reform.
Thcs" boys are common property, to
do the bidding Of maiden aunts, moroae
mclas, garruIous hangers-on-all who
may fancy lording ii over fractions OF hu-
manly. The are driven here and sent
there. srolled for rcmissncss i'll duty as a
matter of course, as if perfection only was
expected of them, while unreasonable
ness, violence of temper and tyranny
wera virtues III older persons. Ii there
is dirty job, a snutty stove to be cared
for, a heavy box to be lifted, a difficult
task to be undertaken, One demanding
care and patience, an unreasonable neigh
Dor to be pleased and served, n TX to be
ground, q cellar to be cleaned, Il frIsky
cow to be milked-mything bad 10 be
done. and done in the shortest possible
time, and i'll the best possible style-Of
course the boys must be employed. If
there is a dull AK or scythe, Il balky horse
or mule, Il faded or questionable gar
ment, a cold room, anything undesirable,
OF course they are good enough for boys.
In too many instances not an encouraging
word is uttered, not a smile OF love be-
slowed, not Il favor granted without as
surfing them that they do not deserve any
such favors : not a cent given without re-
minling them of the fate of the ''proIigal
SON." Any old "duds" viii answer for
boys, they are s obstructive ; while it
is not known what course they might
pursue if they had something worth ear
ing fur-some inuucement to exercise
care.
Is it strange that boys are not more
refined, more dUtiful, when they are SO
often treated with SO much less respect
and consideration than their sisters! Is
it surprising, with % little sunshine i'll
the home, so little encouragement, that
they sometimes foolishly run away!
A"YALLER" dog has covered himself
with glory as a traveller Oh pilgrim or
quadrupedestrian. He was taken last
fall from Indiana to Kansas. But he
didn't like Kansas, and was homesick
through and through. He found meat
scarce and was averse to a diet of grass
hoppers. So he tramped it over miles
and miles of desolate p~rairies he swan