Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1879-02-12
Tie Troublesome One of The Family.

tue pIlIue Oh the mouse, scattering cOnlu-
sion and disaster wherever he goes; the
born rebel who heads all the instructions
against the constituted authorities, and
who breaks the rules which the others
lind themselves constrained 10 follow;
who delies Mary in the nursery and DISC
beys mamma, in the drawing room; who
worries Rachel in the kitchen and Joe in
the garden; the Fibbertigibbet who is
never still; the nursery brigand who is in
perpetual oullawry; the captive enemy in
continual punishment and frequently in
prison. He is the despair of his nurse,
and-unless he is the eldest or the young
cst-Lhc least loved by his mother. Per-
haps his father has Il special tenderness
Tor him, which however. he Is not allowed
to show; kind ofsecret sympathy of sex
which is masked by frowns and rebukes
in public, and expressed by sly caress
behind backs; but save in the cases
where he is exceptionally handsome and
exceptionally caressing, the women of the
family shake their heads over him doubt
fully and look forward 10 the time when
he shall be sent to school or shipped off to
sea, as to blessed release from trouble
and anxiety-which else, they say fretfuly
would be the death of them.
According TO the social degree of his
birth are the prophecies made on his fu-
tufe; but all point to the same thing
failure. If he is of high condition. with
duties but scant obligations. lie is told
that he will be sure to disgrace his name
and state; if of the middle class, which
must work for its living, and where repu-
tltons are to be made by exertion, that
he will never do anything good for him
self, and never be other than II ftilure if
he is Of the working class proper, he is
constantly reminded of the gallows, and
told that he will end his days there as sure
as eggs is eggs-and trifle surer, says
his acute old grandmother, seeing us some
eggs is chicks. No one forecasts good for
him: no one looks forward to the posi-
bility of his present uncomfortable ener-
gics turning to noble uses when the days
of his troublesome childhood shall have
passed and the wider scope of his youth,
the more reasonable purposes of his man.
hood have begun. Because he is trouble
some now, it is assumed that he will be
infamous hereafter; because his activities
disturb the smoother order of things in
the nursery, they are sure 10 be destructive
of good conduct in the world. The causes
of things are just the last of all studied or
considered by the average guiders and
guardians of youth; and the results on
adult convenience, adult arrangements are
made of supreme Importance throughout.
Thus, destruction of property in almost
all families counts for greater offence
thIn moral fault and Il child had better
so far rs the severity of his punishment
goes-lell Il mean and spiteful lie or COM
NIT dishonor than break n large square
of plate glass or tear an expensive suit of
clothes But the disobedience 10 standing
orders about not playing at ball to near
the driving room windows, and the
thoughtlessness concerning the climbing of
trees when in that purple velvet suit of
. best" were nothing in the list of moral
sins compared to the spitefulness of the
lie or the baspncss of the dishonor, which
are the beginnings Of all evil.
But we can never come to the just judg-
ment Of anything, or to The real knowl-
edge of how best to combat and reform,
until we have fathomed and thoroughly
understood the causes. For instance, this
troublesome one ofthe famly-how much
of all that is unpleasant now in its crude
shape springs from qualities of priceless
value in themselves, and the sources of Il
mans future success in life? He is
troublesome and impetuous, always get
ting into danger, and as often into sCrapes,
because he is energelic-and unemployed.
Mark. unemployed; which does not mean
driven TO irksome tasks, crushed and COM
PEELED to dry and wearisome duties, but
because those who have the management
| l.cI j., tj,o,,r,1,-Dc h., l,
to find from him work that would be good
in itself, and which pleasing, amusing, and
interesting him, would utilize faculties
which now turn only to his own discom.
liture and to every other persons displeaS-
ure. lie is rcstless-can never sit still
never occupy himself like his quiet little
sister Polly; or his pale and fragile broth
er Tommy because he is full of health
and strength; and the law of healthy
childhood, by which it grows best, is per-
petual movement, as may be seen by
lambs and foals, kittens and puppies, and
T all other Young things whatsoever, the hu.
man animal following the general rule
with the rest. He is disobedent partly
from thoughtlessncss and partly because
of the almost automatic efforts after self.
assertion-the impulse 10 measure his
strength against the strength of others
which belongs to his aye as much as
uuarrelsomeness, and the impulse to strug.
gle, to fight, to wrestle, to prove who is
the stronger, himself or his brother, hem.
self or his friend and playfellow. And
though this impulse to struggle for physi
cal supremancy which is the same spirit
manifesting itself in muscle instead of will
has TO be checked and brought under the
laws OF civility and charity, good breeding
and peacefulness of life, yet we must new
er forget that it forms one of the funda
mental impulses of human nature, ant
its existence is necessary if we would no
he slaves and towards the creatures of (
strong mans will rather than the indie
pendent assertions OF our own manhood
t. is of no use to fog such II lad as this in
to obedience. He may be coerced for tho
moment, or his spirit may be broken eflec
tunly for all time ;but in the first case he il
sure TO be hardened and made reckless
and bld in the secondhand is the quiet or
derng Of Il nursery, the avoidance o
parental truuble, worth buying by the de
structinn OF one of tie finest energies of
nu,,'. n tu np Far ,,,rnnts oupht neye