The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1878-12-25
HISTORICAL Sh EToH OF ADAM,S BOY
HOOD,

HOOD.
sfHa ----
In beginning series of sketches concern
\ ing the youthful days of eminent people, it
seems eminently fitting that We begin with
Adam. g as 81
Il is rather difficult to CONCEIVE Of Adam as
a boy, we admit, owing to the popular super
i stition which has painted him coming into
the world full grown, with whiskeas and
moustache complete and the prevailing belief
that there wasn't a boy Ia the world until Eve
came and raised the old boy with Adam; yet
we prefer to think of our ancient pfogenitor
as having had something ola boyhood, and
we suppose we have as good right to theor--
lie upon the subject as any one else.
! Adam was probably as miscellaneous natural
ly as boys generally are. In fact, Darwin
says he was "ap perfect little monkey" Which,
we believe, is a synonym for mischievousness
the world over. But he had no companions
IN his gambol. IL he staid out after dark and
got to cutting up, it was all by himself And
what sport could he have ringing door bells
without a lot of other boys to scamper away
with? And consider the melancholy fun of
fastening cords across the walk at night with
nobody to trip over them.
We can imagine young Adam, with all the
instinct of boy two inches thick in his ma
ture, looking about for some way to divert
himself as other boys do, and whimpering to
himself, "Can't have any fun - OF course,
he couldn't by any possibility have any fun.
No fun running away from school, or steal
ing off to go in swimming, because there was
no one to lick him when he got home
The moro we think about Adams lonely
boyhood the more we are inclined to pity him.
He never knew what circus meant, at least
not until Eve came and introduced him to
one. But we have nothing to do with that
now, as we are only treating of Adams boy
hood.
True, there was big menageric all around
him, but the animals we're tame affairs, lambs,
and lions lying down together in the most
spirtless concord, and the hippopotamus and
canary birds playing with each other like kit
tens.
Little Adam never sat way up on the high
est seat and gazed, awe stricken, as man in
spangled tights sprang, whip in hand, into
cage of savage beasts that rolled their eyes,
gpashed their teeth, and roared until the can
vass Mapped for very fear. No, indeed.
He never saw female ride a Looping horse
around ring, aud jump through hoop,
while man with his face painted white and
his mouth a red exaggeration, tells that con-
vusive story about stufing hay In his shoes
to fill them out and his calves going down to
eat the hay. Young Adam never saw the old
clown, tho hesRame very soon after Adams
day, and the Jokes lie commenced with he has
been getting off ever since.
And how about baseball? Do you suppose
Adam knew anything about that exhilating
diversion that is now doing so much toward
developing the intellect Of our American
youth ? There is no likelihood of it, not
while he was boy. His son Cain, however
seems to have been the first TO get up a club,
but it was the death Of his brother Abel.
While there was so many things that the
boy Adam missed, think not that his solitary
/ life was without its compensation. There
1 was no other boy to steal his marbles, or hide
his top, or jeer at him because he had to wear
his big brothers cast off clothes, or holler
across the street that he had "a letter III the
| post office" or fix a bent pin For him to sit
/ down on. Adam escaped these and thou
sand other aonoyances that boys subject each
other to- He hadn't any brothers or sisters
to tease and worry him. M
Whatever trouble and annoyance his matr-
monial life may have brought him we find a
Lind nf A ,3a
boyhood was exceptionally free from care,
and on that account we are bound to conclude
that his life was not entirely failure. = Gin
ctnaati Saturday Night,