The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1878-03-19
Putting the Children TO Bed.

WHATEVER may have been the
w days offences, make 1t up, we beg
you, before bedtime, and don't reserve
that hour for reproof and correction
After "Now Hay me" by lisping tongues
and "Our Father who art in Heaven"
by those of larger growth, seal the sleepy
lips by goodnight kiss, and let the
little ones carry out into the shadowy
realm of dreams the blessed conscious
ness of mother-love. The time must
come-all too soon, alas when these
same faces, matured by care and sorrow
may toss upon sleepless pillows seeking
rest and finding none. Let them at
least have sweet memory of happy
childhood to cherish in future years,
which no bitterness of after life can rob
them of.
Whatever you do, don't punish any
sin of omission or commission by refus-
ing the goodnight kiss" Take any
other method of correction than that.
If you have once seen little creature
signing and sobbing in its sleep for lack
of the accustomed caress you sternly re-
fused-which to the tender little heart
was grief your world-calloused nature
could scarcely comprehend-you will
never do it again. We know mourn
ing mother, whose once sunny hair is at
thirty-five as white as three-score years
and ten ought to make it, whose life is a
perpetual sorrow, and who repeats with
remorseful tears the story of her little
boys last night on earth how in pun
ishment for a series of mischievous
pranks and small disobediences (which
she now knows were born of the fret
fulness and nervousness of incipient
disease,) she refused the goodnight kiss
and sent the little culprit supperless to
bed, an hour before his time; how he
begged and entreated for but one little
kiss, and at last sobbed himself discon-
solate to sleep-she steeling her heart
against him, as she fancied, for his good
how, as the fever spot reddened and
glowed upon his cheeks, he tossed upon
his pillow, called continually in his
dreams kiss me, mamma !" " Kiss
me mamma !" "Just one! !"
How, later in the night, when the
physician pronounced the sudden dis
ease diptheria, in its most malignant
form, she pressed thousand frantic
kisses upon unconscious lips that still
raved ceaseless for lone little kiss !" And
now, before the next bedtime came, the
crib was tenantless, and small corpse
in the parlor below, like an avenging
Nemesis, had banished happiness forever
from that mothers heart. There are
some brutes in human guise-but thank
Heaven they are few-who, having
promised child whipping, will re-
serve it till the hour of retiring, that
the victim, being undressed, may be
doubly defenseless I; as if its puny weak
ness in the power of manly strength
were not enough. These magnanimous
fathers have sometimes been known to
find the culprits already in bed when it
suited their convenience to administer
the thrashing, when by cruel blows they
have recalled the startled sleeper from
the innocent dreams of childhood to the
wretched realities of such barbarous
regime We do not approve of capital
punishment on general principles but
if there ever is case wherein it may be
righteous judgment, let it be visited upon
such parents as these.
Did you ever meet a grown man or
woman whose eyes have suddenly grown
moist at seeing little child creep trust
ingly to its mothers breast, and the
quick, involuntary clasp, of responsive
maternal love? Depend upon it, that
mans or woman's childhood was passed
in cheerless atmosphere, where severi-
ty held sway instead of love, and dig
nifty usurped the place of pity. DO you
know the reason why grandparents are
so prone to "spoil" children as we call
it 1t is simply because, from their supe-
rior years and wisdom, they realize, as
we cannot, how soon the happy days OF
childhood are over, and of how little
consequence the childish pranks really
are which we deem deserve such severe
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