The Douglas independent. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 187?-1885, 1878-10-26
Adams Lonely BOyhood.

In beginning series of sketches con-
cerning the youthful days of eminent
people, it seems eminently fitting that
we commence with Adam Tt is rather
difficult to conceive of Adam as boy,
we admit, owing to the popular super
stition that has painted him coming into
the world full grown, with whiskers and
mustache complete, and a prevailing be-
lief that there wasn't boy in the world
until Eve came and raised the Old Boy
| with Adam, yet we prefer to think Of
our ancient progenitor as having had
something Of a boyhood, and we suppose
we have as good right to theorize i.pon
the subject as any one else.
Adam was probably as mischieveous,
naturally, as boys generally are. In
fact, Darwin says he was ga perfect lit
tie monkey which, we believe, is a
synonym for mischievousness the world
over. But he had no companions in his
gambols. If 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 lot of other boys to
scaluper away withl 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 instincts of boy two inches
thick in his nature, looking about for
some way to divert himself as other boys
do, and whimpering to himself, ssCan't
/ have any funp' 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. No fun sneaking up into the
haymow to indulge in surreptitious
game of euchre always had to s'play it
alone. He couldn't play "tag," because
he might yell, .sIve got the tag all day
and there would be no one to come and
take it away from him. "Hi-spi" had
no charm, for a boy soon gets tired of
hiding when he has to go to work and
find himself. And where is there boy
who likes to work and 'sfnd himselfl"
| The more we think about Adams
lonely boyhood, the more we are inclined
to pity him. He never knew what a
circus meant, at least not until Eve in
Introduced him to one But we have
nothing to do with that now, as we are
treating of Adams boybood. True, there
was menagerie all around him, but the
animals were tame affairs, lambs and
lions lying down together in the most
} spiritless concord, and the hippopota-
: muses. and canary birds playing with
each other ike kittens. Little Adam
never sat way up on the highest seat,
Z and gazed awe-stricken while man in
spangled tights sprang, whip in hand,
} into cage of savage beasts that rolled
their eyes, gnashed their teeth, and
roared until the canvas overhead Topped
with very fear. No, indeed. He never
saw thin legged female ride Looping
horse round a ring, and jump through q
hoop, while man with his face painted
white and his mouth red exaggeration
/ tells that convulsive story about stuffing
hay into his shoes to fill them out, and
his calves going down to eat the hay.
Young Adam never. saw ssthe old clown,
though he came very soon after Adams
! day, and the jokes he commenced with
i he has been getting off ever since.
; And how about base ball2 Do you
! suppose that Adam knew anything about
that exhilarating diversion that is now
| doing SO much toward developing the in
tellect of our American youthl There
is no likelihood of it, not while he was a
! boy. His son Cain, however, seems te
, have been the first who got up 'selub,
but it was the death of his brother Abel
, While there were so many things that
the boy Adam missed, think not that
his solitary life was not without its com.
pansations. There was no other boy to
, steal his marbles or hide his top, or jeel
, at him because he had to wear his
, brothers cast off clothes, or holler across
the street that he had ga letter in the
post Office" or fix bent pin for him to
sit down on, or make faces at his sister,
or spell him down, or steal his dinner,
or tell ON him when he had been in mis-
Adam escaped these and thousand
other annoyances that boys subject each
other to. He hadn't any brothers and
sisters to tease and worry him, and with
whom he was compelled to divide his
: playthings and any nice things to eat
that might come that way. He could
leave a piece of sweetcal<e lying around
anywhere, knowing that none of the
, other children would touch it; and at
night, on retiring, could stick his gum
on to the head board, confident that it
would rest undisturbed until morning.
} Whatever trouble and annoyances his
matrimonial life may have brought him,
we find kind of satisfaction in reflect
ing that Adams boyhood was exception
ally free from care, and on that account
we are bound to conclude that his life
was not an entire failure
State Fair Notes.