The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1881-12-02
On Youthful TnItiOn.

Well, time files, the mackerel have
come up the bay and are biting like
poison, the ferns are growing old and
the boy is learning to talk so that
other people can understand him.
eff you would let me have him about
ono mnnth." said the pleasant voiced
and pleasant faced schoolmistress who
came down here from up river last week,
"I could break him of that careless
habit Of speaking"
Just because the boy had asked his
stern, dark browed father:
"Poppuls, whurs is mines fiffin pole
you peakin' mama um day|
Which by Interpretation is, as the
pleasant voiced schoolmistress would
have taught him to say it:
"Father where is my fishing rod OF
which you were speaking to my mother,
with reference to purchasing it for me
at some time in the indefinite futurep"
And her little serene highness shook
her head and said no ; he has lost his
baby talk and learning to speak Eng
lish too rapidly as it was. The pleasant
face Of the schoolmistress wrinkled up
into an interrogation point.
"Schoolmistress," the Jester said,
"on all matters Of education your
shapely head is not hilly; it is as level
as a new mown lawn. But you don't
want to teach the baby grammar, and
you don't want him to speak good Eng
lish. You want him to be q baby and
you want to encourage him to indulge
in baby talk. In the years to come,
when the pudgy little fists will dig
great tears out of the blue eyes because
the boys can't remember in just what
points there should and must be exact
harmony between the verb and the SUBJ
ject +; whom he is confident that he will
die before he can remember how many
fellows beside "ad, ante, con, in or in.
ter, are followed by the accusative,
when he knows the world will stand still
for, just two hours after school if he
can't recall that all terminations inso me
thing or other take the what you may
call it after some kind Of things; when
he is 30 trusting and has so much con-
6dence in Mr.. Davies that he is aot
only willing but anxious to accept his
statement that the sum of the three
angles of triangle is equal to two
right angles, without going to the board
to prove his truthfulness by demon
stration along in those days the memory
Of his baby talk will come back to us like
sweet music. He will have trouble
enough with the English language and
all the appurtenances thereunto apper-
tanning, by and by. "No," he res
ponded in answer to silent inquiry OF
the pleasant-faced schoolmistress, she
does not know his alphabet, thank
heaven, and he shall not be bothered
with it. Yes, he has alphabet blocks
and knows all the pictures on them
and many preposterous stories about
the pictures. Oh, yes, nc can count
hear him now, counting the pebbles he
has brought home from the beach 'one,
free, seven, free, seven, ten, free, five,
seven, free : certainly he can count, by a
system of his own, too, which is more
than most people have. Don't make O
prig of the baby, schoolmistress. From
the day on which they are six years Gid
they must under the school system Of
the States begin to study, and sit up
straight, and behave properly and speak
correctly, and from that time until the
grave hides them they live and speah
and act, verbally speaking, they be, and
do, and suffer, under social and educa
tional surveillance. And I claim that
at least six years of the life of man and
woman should be free-free as the air
free to talk as the brook runs, with un
trammeled musical prattle and bah
BILE. Why, here few weeks ago, came
q melancholy looking child, about fou
years old, and in my presence and hear
ing, pointed to me, and said to hii
mother:
"'Mamma. of whom is that gentleman
EpeakingY
"Poor little prigl my heart bled fol
him. That afternoon l took that bo,
down by the target, and taught him t.
say, Mama, swhat is dat man spealSin
you aboutr and reconstructed his gen
eral grammar on the same easy basis
and-look me in the eye-if that bo,
didn't tan up like young Indian il
two days, and he gained seven pound
in two weeks.
"You see," the Jester concluded, il
an apologetic tone, for he had done al
unusual amount of preaching that day
"you see, We haven't very broad ex
perience in training children; we hav,
only one chick to cluck over and scratcl
for, but we're bound he shan't 60 Il
school until he's through being baby
and We know, schoolmistress, that he
the happiest baby that ever manglet
arammar."-Burlington HGOkeve.