The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1875-04-22
Being a Boy.

fl was obliged to be boy and .
boy in the country-the best kind of
boy to be in summer-I would b,
about ten years of age. AS soon as
got any older, l would quit it. Th,
trouble with boy is that just as soor
as he begins TO enjoy himselfhe is old
and has to be set to doing something
else. If a country boy were wise h.
would stay at just that age when ht
could enjoy himself most and have tbs
least expected of him in the way o.
work.
OF course the perfectly good boy
will always prefer to work and to dc
the ''chores" for his father and errands
for his mother and sisters rather than
enjoy himself in his own way. Inev.
er saw but one such boy. He lived in
the town Of Goshen-not the place
where the butter is made, but a much
better Goshen than that. And l never
saw him, but heard of him and be.
ing about the same age as, supposed,
l was taken once from Noah, where l
live, to Goshen to see him. But he
| was dead. He had been almost year
so that it was almost impossible to see
him. He died of a most singular dis
ease; it was from not eating green ap-
Piles in the season of them. This bow,
whose name was Solomon, before he
died, would rather split up kindling
wood for his mother than go hunting
the consequence was that he was
kept at splitting kindling wood and
such work most of the time, and grew
better and more useful boy day by
day. Solomon would not disobey his
parents and eat green apples-not even
when they were ripe enough to knock
of with stick-but he had such a
longing for them, probably; so that
his example is difficult one to follow.
In fact boy is hard subject to get
a moral subject from anyway. All his
little playmates who ate green apples
came to Solomon's funeral, and were
very sorry for what they had done.
John was a very different boy from
Solomon, net half so good nor half SO
dead. He was farmers boy, as Sol
omon was, but he did not take Sc much
interest in the farm. If John could
have had his way he would have dis
covered cave full of diamonds, and
lots of nailkegs full of gold pieces
and Spanish dollars, and a pretty little
girl who lived in the cave, and two
beautifully caparisoned horses, upon
which, taking the jewels and money,
they would have ridden of together,
he did not know where. John had
got thus far in his studies, which were
apparently arithmetic and geography,
but were in reality the e'ArabianNights'
and other books of high and mighty
adventure. He was simple country
boy, and did not know much about
the world as it is, but he had one OF
his own Imagination in which he lived
a good deal. l dare say he found out
soon enough what the world is, and
he had lesson or two when he was
quite young in two incidents, which l
may as well relate.
If you had seen John at this time
you might have thought he was only
a shabbily dressed country lad, and
you never would have guessed what
beautiful thoughts lie sometimes had
as he went stubbing his toes along the
dusty road, nor what chivalrous little
fellow he was. You would have seen
a short boy, barefooted, with trowsers
at once too big and too short, held up,
perhaps, by one suspender only, a
checked cotton shirt, and a hat of
braided palm leaf, frayed at the edges
and bulged up in the crown. 1t is i'm
possible 10 keep a hat neat if you use
it to catch humble bees and whisk en-
to bail the water from leaky boat to
catch minnOws in :; to put over honey
bees nests, and to transport pebbles,
straw berries and hens eggs. John
usually carried sling in his hand, or
a bow OF a timber stick, sharp at one
end, from which he could sling apples
at great distance. If he walked in
the road he walked in the middle of it,
scuffiing up the dust; or if he went
elsewh ere, he was likely to be running
on top of the fence or the stone wall,
or chasing chipmonks.
John knew the best place to dig
sweet-flag on all the farm it was in q
meadow by the river, where the bobo-
links sing however, for he said it al
ways reminded him of the whettiag
OF scythe, and that reminded him OF
spreading hay; and if there was any
thing he hated it was spreading hay
after the mowers. 81 guess you
wouldn't like it yourself" said John
s:with the stubbs getting into your
feet, and the hot sun, and the men get.
ting ahead of you, all you could do"
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