The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1882-03-15

er seven worse than tue first 10 tnter an
take possessionl
All parents are happy in viewing them
selves when repeated In their children, Is
if it were q sure pledge Of immortality that
this line of face, that breadth of temple, this
curve OF eyebrow or of lip, were to be hand
ed down the generations; and pleasant as
they find all that, Just So bitter do they End
it when unfortunate traits, that previously
might have been repressed in themselves
but that have not been, and that only afford
misery, are brought into action through in
heritance, and they see their own sIns find
ing them out sgain. Yet, although they
may have reason 10 doubt if any rod him
dered their lying, or did anything bit drive
them to concealment; if any deprivation OF
desired things ever made unselfshness in
them, or did anything but aggravateavarice;
ifany ridicale ever made thedfiicult problem
easy o. comprehension, or if any of the COM
Dulsory and primitive methods wrought any
but momentary and superficial gaining of
an object, and lasting harm and hurt-still
they go on with these methods, the rod, the
dark closet, the mske-game, the robbery
Ito call it its true name), and hinder the
moral aud mental growth of the generation
by just so much unwise action in treating
children like criminals.
That children have always been regarded
as delicious and delightful things, when
giving nobody any anxiety as to their real
welfare, is quite undisputed; but when this
anxiety arises, whether they are criminals
or have been but too often the victims of
criminals is question that might be con-
sidered to their advantage Meanwhile
even our treatment of criminals grows to
partake less and less of the punitive char
acter, and more and more of the hindering
and curative. If we look with condemns
ton on the whipping-post fer grown
people in the full possession Of
all the faculties they ever had,
how can we approve of toe clipper used on
children with faculties but half developed2
Tho general sense of all civilization now
seems TO be that we shall not revenge our
selves for crime, but shall simply prevent
its further commission; how, then, can we
treat tender little beings. without the power
to help themselves, with any less consldera-
tion2 Assuredly the time is not distant
when duty in this regard will be seen from a
different point Of view from that from which
it has been regarded in the past. The half:
opened blossom will not be made to suffer
pain for the worm at its heart,
nor shut up away from The sunshine that
the worm may be left TO est in peace, but
gentle forces will find the blight and remove
1t, and let the bud bloom to what perfection
it may in all the sunshine it can have. That
it may take almost infinite patience to bring
up children as children, and not as crimi-
mails, is not to weigh in the least against tho
necessity. Infinite patience is tie lrst fruit
Of all true love, and no mother, no aunt, no
guardian of children, has a right to be with.
out goodly supply of it, and while attend
ing To the good of the children otherwise, to
bs busy besides in the active cultivation of
This heavenly plant in themselves. There
are numberless ways of REFRESHING evil with
out exciting it, and of cutting off SIN, not By
Topping the little branches, but by gently
digging round the root, and exterminating
as much rs can be reached at once in the
yet imperfect system, which is to grow moro
perfect as each generation regards its sue
cessors as something, if not already superior
10 itself, at any rate to be made so, and not
TO be kept inferior by the lash of tongue aud
rod.