Daily globe., 1882-09-23
Village Boys.

The city is commonly supposed to be
full of temptations to evil, and boys in
their teens to be peculiarly in peril. A
lad between Is and 20, whose home Is
IN quiet rural village where there is
no excitement, and neither theater nor
drinking-saioon allures with its gaudy
attractions, is, according to the superb
cial observer, as safe as possible from
the snares of vice. The circumstances
about him favor his development into
the best order of manhood. Why should
he go astray? II he does, where is his
excuse? And how does it happen that
boys who have been well brought up,
and trained in Christian households, fall
into wrong doing as soon as they are
lett to themselves
"C.'s mother can do nothing with
him, was remarked ID our hearing the
other day, of a certain young fellow
whose bright eyes and pleasant face had
been passport to our favor. Then fol-
lowed catalogue of C's faults and
defects of character, and the tale, con-
firmed by several witnesses, of his hav-
ing been seen in liquor, and of his
spending money too lavishly for his
means. cit is unaccountable, said
his critic, "f for his father was so strict
with him. The boy was kept down
while he lived But his mother has
always been too indulgent.
1t was not unaccountable to one
listener at least. The old stoly-father
pulling in one way, and mather in an
other-had been repeated WI sn this poor
lad had been growing up. "Kept down.
How many parents forget that the keep
lng-down style of home government is
tyranny. The meanest qualities are
| always fostered under despotism. The
object of government in the family
should be to teach self-control, willing
obedience to law, because it is right to
obey. And the one thing never lost
sight of ought to be the Individual re-
sponsibility of every child to God it's
divine Father.
10 return to our village boy and his
compeers. There are few young people
who enjoy incessant work, with no play.
The dullness of many country home
drives its boys outdoors for the recrea-
tion which they crave. Mother is a model
housskeeper. She cannot endure speck
OF dust anywhere. Her parlor is never
used as gathering place for the family.
10 save every cent she can has been the
rule of her life. Therefore, in winter.
everybody huddles in the sitting-room
around one stove, and nobody is ex-
pected to go off with private lamp to
any room of his or her own. There Is
great frugality in the matter OF light.
One by one, as the boys get old enough
to hate the humdrum evenings which
have no single thing about them to
awaken interest or pleasure, they slip
away. They meet others of their age;
and, sitting III some hospitable grocery,
or clustering at the station or postofice,
they tell stories, joke, sing, do many in
nocent things and some not innocent,
and form the habit of staying away from
home in the evening. Very likely, at
some corner of the village street stands
little shop, unpretentious to city eyes,
but with a certain baleful charm to visit
full boys, who. venturing within its doors,
feel thrill of awe at their own daring.
Who that has ever watched a wary
spider Tightening his silken cords about
an unhappy captive do not know how
deftly the saloon-ke -keeper-spide he of
civilization his cord about his vic
Tins. Once in that den as visitor, the
boy loses something of self-respect and
the downward path is easy.
Make home cheerful, good people in
middle life-bright, winsome and beau
tiful to your young sons and daughters.
One way in which you can do this is by
furnishing them liberal supply of good
reading. The meager provision made
for the mind, in houses where the pro-
vision for the body is generous, is some
thing which we can never understand.
How can young or old thrive on diet
composed of the county paper once q
week, and the Sunday y-school library
books brought home by Tom and Jennya
The fact is they do not thrive. They
starve, and leanness comes into their
souls.
A good religious paper, an illustrated
weekly of high character, and monthly
magazine, should be taken in at every
home where there is the thrift of the
average American householder. Be
frugal elsewhere. Let the dress be
palmer; and, if need be, cut off the rich
desserts, the pastry and cake, which
make SO many people sufferers from the
fiend of dyspepsia. But provide books
and papers and do not frown on whole
some merriment. = Christian Latelli-
gencer.