Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-10-19
then be put back anyhow. Piease let me
stop school. Won't you?
your little daughter,

then be put back anyhow. Please let ma
stop school. Won't you?
Your little daughter.
"MARY.n
But no. Mary continues In school, and
the lessons worry her. and the examins.
tions rack her, and soon she comes to 4
sick bed, PROSTATE with fever, and perhaps
after long suffering and illness. she returns
from deaths Threshold, possibly to re-
cover health.
And the parents wonder what was the
cause of Mary's illness. and the public de-
mand good schools, and the patrons de-
mand quantity, and the school board de-
mands thoroughness, and the superintend-
emit demands discipline, and the teachers
demand recitation and examination, and
the child is sacrificed upon the altar Of
overwork and worry. And this 10 called
education.
And then there is another child, who is
subject to discipline at home. Not beating,
nor whipping: Oh, no The parents don't
believe in that. But still they believe in
the little child hears ringing in its ears:
" Don'tP StopW Take careIr Look
out therel' "Therel I told you'll" What
did you do that for7?" .sStopi" Sit
down and be still |" mot so loudt" And
so on ad infnitum. It varied with the ocoA-
sional introduction of . new phrase. or .
lecture, which is polite name for scold-
ing, and to tho heart of tender child is
less tolerAble than imprisonment. and more
powerless for good. And no parent who
practices it, parental authority aside. could
control their children for one moment
byit.
To the child detected in the petty fault,
the unspoken word 10 oft the loudest, the
clearest and the best insufficient lans
guage but weakens the reproof already adj
ministered by the enlightened conscience;
and any words spoken only dilute and con-
taminate the stream of truth pouring in
upon the little soul from the pure spring
opened DO q rebukins glance Of the eye, or
at most, q gentle. regretful, monosyllabic
reprimsnd. To disturb at such time the
cement of childish thought il wrong. he
is communing with the heavenly monitor,
is learning from the source of all truth !;
learning lessons another cannot teach. To
enter the sanctuary of his thought at such
munion ia downria bit sacrilege.
Then there is the little baby. nursed and
fondled by the doting mother, who, fearing
the child may take cold, is kept in . close
room all the days of his pulling infancy, and
never allowed the blessing Of Q breath Of
free. pure air. unless on hot day. with the
mercury at ninety, it is trundled in the
sun, wrapped in 1snnels and shawls enough
for Quebec winter. Such little ones gener.
ally relieve their mothers and themselves by
dying, and then the mothers wonder why
death takes their children, cared for 30
tenderly. and leaves the little ragged, un-
kempt atterdemaiions. whose hard worked
mothers allow them to come up % best
they may, caring only that they get .
proper supply of food and sleep and air.
And the good pastor talks wisely Of the
mysterious visitation of Providence, and
the mother is silenced.
And then there are the boys, who are
crossed in their sports. allowed to knock
balls on greensward. but forbidden to
punch them on green cloth. Permitted to
play logon achy with pasteboards and pic
lures, but forbidden to play euchre, or
whist. OF course they learn and play
them away from homo. Stolen waters
are sweet" And the first chance tho boy
gets he will situp all night induleing in:the
dissipation, when, if he had been aIlo we'd
as child to play At home, the charm
would have gone before he WAS into his
teens.
And then there are the girls, who wish
to take dancing lessons. and mother is I'M
willing, and father says no, and triumph
antly turns the matter into ridicule by ask
ing her if she wants to educate her heels
As though any part of the human form
divine were above the need of education,
and girl should be allowed to grow up in
Ignorance Of that grace of carriage which
Is the peculiar charm of womah, and will
compensate for many defects. It may be
acquired. while beauty cannot; and educa>
ton of the body ia not less useful than
education of the mind.
By all these prude refusals of parents,
which are usually based upon high moral
grounds, am reminded of the good des-
con whose son was taking dancing lessons.
The father expostulated, demonstrated, and
lty. when the son interrupted with !:
Father, didn't you dance when you were
youngf'
Yes, my son but I've seen the evil of
Well father want to see the evil Of
it too, and then I'll desist"
This is the key that unlocks all these
mysteries--curissity.
Such are other peoples children and now
what of our own
or course they are unlike these. They
are not swathed in blankets and sufocated
in shawls They are not scoldsd and
crossed, and beaten aud bruised, and made
liars and the victims of broken promises !;
nor cramped, nor cowed, nor ragged, nor
jagged. nor urged. nor crowded, nor put in
straight jackets. nor denied innocent pleas.
stand them. Recognizing their wants. We
supply them. Discovering their weak
nesses, We strengthen them. We rule by
love. We teach by example. First We
give them strong, hearty, healthy bodies,
a. supports fer their heads, before we begin
loadirg them. We are slow to promise
them anything; swift to perform our prom
Uses. We give them air and light and exs
ercise and proper food. Wsindulge them
at home in innocent pleasures. We teach
them to pray, and to strive that they may
evet love that which is good, speak that
which is true and do that which is right
To each of them We teach the beautiful
Persian verse:
"On parent knees. naked nsF.born child,
Weeping thou ssfst; while all around thse
smiled; ..=--.
So live that. sinking In thy last long sleep,
Calm thou n.ayst smile, while al around
thee weep"
Ours ia not the day Of miracles. This 10
q universe Of law. Effects follow causes, %
the night the day. Knowing the factors,
the sum is easily computed. Society 10 bet
the sum total of its individuals. Such a.
they are, if Homogeneous, 50 10 it. But
these elements are heterogeneous; the
characters as different As the faces Each
individual has his own peculiar character.
Usually that character is determined in
general outline before the individual Ar.
rives at maturity The child is father Of
the man. What will be the character Of
the first half Of the next century. depends
character of those children, depends upon
US, the men and women Of to-day. Every
character il composed of two elements-
inherited traits and Dost>natal i'm nresaiona