The daily gazette., 1876-04-24
Youthful IorecocitY.

not love children. There is something
morally wrong with such a man. If
his tenderest sympathies are not awak-
ened by their innocent prattle; if his
heart does not echo their merry laugh
ter, if his whole nature does not reach
out in ardent longings after their pure
thoughts and unselfish impulses;he is
sour, crusty, grabbed old stick, and the
world full of children has no use for
him. In every age and cline. the best
and noblest men love children. Even
wicked men have tender spot left in
their hearts for little children. The
great men of the earth love them. Dogs
love them. Kamebamemokimodahroah
the king of the Cannibal Islands, loves
them. Rare and no gravy. All, yes,
we all love children.
And what apleasure it is to talk with
them. Who can chatter with bright
eyed, quick witted little darling, any
where from three to five years, and not
appreciate the pride which swells
ones admired? All. yes, to be sure.-
Only yesterday lady friend on a
shopping excursion left her little It'd
toddler, Of five bright summers, in our
experienced charge while she pursued
the duties that called her down town.
Such bright boy; SO delightful it was
to talk to him. We can never forget
the blissful half hour we spent book
ing that prodigy upon his centennial
history.
"Now listen, Clary," we said-his
name is Clarence FitZherbert Alcon de
Marchemont Caruthers-''and learn
about George Washington,
"Who's he?" inquired, Clarence,
etc.
"Llsten," we said. "He was the
father of his country"
"Whose country"
"Ours. and yours. the confederated
union of the American people cement.
ed with the life blood of the men of
&c. poured out upon the altars of our
country as the dearest libation to H.
berty that her votaries can Offer"
There is n peculiar fact in talking to
children tdat very few people possess.
Now most people would have grown
impatient and lost their temper when
little Clarence asked so many irrele'
want questions, but we did not. We
know that however careless he might
appear at first, that we could soon
interest him in the story and that he
would be all eyes and ears. So we
smiled sweetly y-that same sweet smile
which you may notice on our photo
graphs, Just the faintest ripple of a
smile breaking across the face like a
ray of sunlight. and checked by lines
of tender sadness just before the two
ends of it pass each other at the back
of the neck.
And so smiling we went on.
"Well. one day Georges father"
"George who?" asked Clarence.
George Washington. He was a
little boy then, just like you. One
day his father"
aWhose fatber?" demanded Clar-
ence, with an encouraging expression
OF interest.
"George Washington;th this great man
we are telling you of. One day George
Washington's father gave him little
hatchet for a"
"Gave who little hatchet?" the
dear child interrupted with a gleam of
bewitchiug intelligence, Most men
would have got mad, or betrayed signs
of impatience, but we didn't. We
know how to talk to children. Sc we
went on:
"George Washington. His"
"Who gave him the little hatchet?"
"His father. And his father"
"Whose father?"
George Washington's."
"Oh!"
eyes, George Washington. And his
father told him"
"Told who?"
"Told George"
ooh yes, George
And we went on just as patient ard
es pleasant as you could imagine. We
took up the story right where the boy
interrupted, for we could see he was
| Just crazy to hear the end of it. We
said
"And he was told"
"George told him." querried Clar-
| ence.
mo, his father told George"
| "Oh!"
"Y es; told him he must be careful
with the hitchet-"
"Who must be careful?"
George must"
| "Oh!"
"With the hatchet, and not cut him
self with it, or drop it in the cistern, or
leave it out in the grass all night. So
George went round cutting everything
he could reach with hatchet. And at
last he came to splendid apple tree,
his fathers favorite, and cut it down
and"
"Who cut it down."
George did.
"Oh"
"But his father came home and saw
it the first thing, and"
| "Sow the hatchet?"
mo; saw the apple tree. And he
said, who has cut down my favorite
apple tree?"
"George's father. And everybody
said they didn'tknow anything about
it, and"
"Anytbing about what?"
"The apple tree"
"Oh"
"And George came up and heard
them talking about it"
"Heard who talking about it?"