, 1881-07-01

rc-entered the high school, and even
took his place with his former class,
passing a good examination on the very
matters in which he had failed so com
pletely in recitation. nature having let
up" sufficiently in his growth to allow
some share of nOurishmeut to his brain.
The last case of this kind that 1 shall
| quote has Just occurred III my own fam
| ilv, and have thus had twice as much
| opportunity for observation.
One of my sons increased in hight and
| bulk very rapidly, and now, though only
fourteen last February, measures five
| feet seven inches and weighs l42pounds.
| Somewhat more than year ago he be-
gan TO be very lazy. His lessons were
! not prepared, he complained of head
| aches and of not feeling well, yet when
| sent home for such reasons he had no
| difficulty in playing ball IN the fields
/ near our house, and was often found IN
pleasant corner reading Il pleasant
| book. He appeared to have no COM
| Functions of conscience, and his mother
and myself were very much distressed
on this account. 1t was very difficult to
| get him up in the morning, and he DIS
| played generally the same utter slug
| gishness and listlessness that had dis
! tinguiShed Harry n. He forgot mes
sages so easily that he was of less usei
us than the younger children, and we
were obliged to get along with HIM gen
orally as well as We could. He took
such n loathing to all studies or tasks of
any kind that at length l concluded 20
! let them all go. ] told him frankly that
| considered him to be a sick boy, and
! that must wait patiently until he got
well. 1 said should in the meantime
employ him as my clerk or to assist me
in any way that he could.
! In his case two other passing diseases,
self sufticiency and the sea fever, added
their complications. As to the first, L
have for many years been convinced that
sixteen is about the wisest age. a boy
| generally has at that age more sure and
certain knowledge than he has ever had
| before or ever will have again.
This mental condition is very well
expressed in the old proverb which
| says that "Old people think
young people to be fools, but young peo-
pie know old ones to be FOOLS" Very
often 1 have sat at the feet of these
yonng Gamaliels and listened to their
wonderful wisdom. Some of them have
even volunteered to run me and my
school. When 1 have had time to spare
have allowed them to try it, but, though
they soon ''came to grief" they showed
that at that age conceit. like hope,
springs eternal in the human breast, :"
aud though the whelming waters of de-
feat closed over them apparently forever,
they soon come mp as bright and smiling
as before. striking out vigorously for
the shore of some new FL Dorado that to
their eyes seemed so sparkling and so
L haS hal hi txuO
lier than the average, but it is by no
means slight.
OF course when boy is suffering from
such morbid condition of the brain, all
that can be done is to have any amount
of patience, and to keep him employed at
something so as not to allow him to get
into any bad habits from idleness. A
dentist to whom 1 sent my son said: 'The
best thing you can do with that
boy Is to turn him loose in n ten
acre lot until he shall get done grow
ing"
Sending a boy out on farm, or letting
him travel with a tutor, and learn what
he can, or giving up his books and max
ing him clerk somewhere, are among
the best methods of bridging over this
difficulty.
For a man to find that his son is get
ting more and more lazy and useless;
that he sticks to it that he did say a thing
when he did not; that he promises to do
and does it not; that he becomes more
and more indifferent to the most earnest
appeals to him to do his duty-all these
are about rs aggravating and alarming
things to conscientious parent as can
we'll be imagined; but if physicians tell
the trGith, and the cause of all these ac-
tions is cerebral anemia; if, when the
boy promises, his brain cannot perform,
why should we expect him to make bricks
without straw? Let US rather bear pa
tiently with him until boon Nature,
turning in due time from her task of
growth, gives again its regular rations to
the brain, so that the young soldier may
march OncSsmore along the path of duty
and delight us with his progress. If his
brain be well cared for, he will soon,
with added energy, make up what has
been lost and press onward with increased
vigor in the race of life.-[N. Y. Even
ing Post.