The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1883-01-10
ChiIdren,s SAVINGS.

OuuuIou guy many t"ohs s6"
Sometimes, too, there Is q sort OF wit In
the piercing directness with which they
20 TO tho heart Of question. Mr..
Howard Paul, In collection which he
has Just published Of "Cleyer Things
Said by Children" makes them too
clever BY half.
The story Of the board school stu.
dent who could not be made TO under
stand the nature OF a miracle, and who.
instead Of giving the answer expected
from him, declared that II he saw the
moon shining in the daytime he should
say It was the sun, and that il his master
assured him twas not the sun he should
say his master was drunk, appeared
originally in an official report. The
mingled dullness and ingenuity with
which children will sometimes throw
new light on question by their mode
Of answering IT, Is often very amusing.
In order to explain in n striklngly intel
llgible manner the necessity OF rcgula-
ting one s conduct. school-mastcr asks
q boy what, when watch sometimes
goes too fast, sometimes too slow, tho
owner ought to do with it. "Sell it,"
replies tho boy. Tho reputation for
veracity enjoyed by George Washington
in America has been made by his adj
m'ring fellow. countrymcn the subject
Of innumerable jcsts; and II appears
that some lecturer on moral philosophy,
having questioned a pupil as to why
Washington's birthday was celebrated
more than the lecturers own birthday.
received the prompt answer: because
he never told lie"
There can be no doubt as to the
sharpness Tor as TO the insolvency OF
the boy who. MS no was removing tho
outer part OF a piece OF cheese, and was
told by bis father In tone OF rcmon-
STRANGE that he ate tho rind. answered:
81 am cutting this of for you" Many
OF the sayings ascrbed TO innocent lit
tie children are at lerst as rude as they
are witty. What else can be said OF tho
daring repartee uttered by the boy who
wished first TO know whether his
grandpapa had been with Noah in tho
ark, and, being answered CURLY in the
negative. inquired Of the old man how
II was that he escaped drowningP
There Is deep pathos, on tho other
hand. In the tale OF child who. hay
Ing been presented with half-crown.
and assured moreover that ii was
good one, expressed his regret, saying
that II IL had been bad he might have
kept 1t. b. that as it was good his pa
rents v MD take il from him. There
Is drollcry sometimes In the navete
with which child will state the char
ncter Of an action. A young man, for
instance. coming home from q party 80
late that he thought it desirable 10 take
oil his boots before walking upstairs,
was told by his infant brother in Il COM
mandlng position on the staircase that
he need not BIO afraid OF waking tho
family, since they were "all up.
To stories OF the "en)am terrible"
kind there Is realpno end; for tho terri
bic child Is always among us, and never
ceases saying the wrong thing Mt the
wrong moment. IL was one OF Gayarni's
own "eatan,s terribieS" who. when n
visitor showed the child n packet Of
bon-bons and said he should give them
TO him upon going away, called upon
the gentleman to depart at once. Some
Of Gavarnis "entanL tCrrible' wero
almost too terrible to be funny. They
let out tho most compromising things
about their parents. In English stories
OF the same type, tho "eniant tcrribiG'
confines himself to identifying q casual
acquaintance as the man who kissed his
sister on tho night of the party. There
was not much In tho indiscrction com
mittcd by child who had becn warned
not 10 make any personal remarks TO a
gentleman who had recently lost his
arm In battle. "She obcyed orders
implicitly unit she went To kiss
him Goodnight sho cxclalmcd
adding. Il haven't SAID anything about
your poor arm have T." Heroes do not
rs a rule resent illusions TO wounds
bonorably gained. Tho case may here
DO mentioned of u boy who In . largo
assembly caused general feeling OF
CONSERVATION by claiming n pecuniary
reward for exceptional m crit Just dis
played. He had boon cautioned not
10 laugh during tho singing of n lady
who could not sing without. making
grimacos, and he was promised six
pence II he succeeded in complying
with the injunction given to him, II
want my sixponco, ma" he cried out
at the end Of q more than usually snowy
cavatina; al didn't laugh once" Some
Of Mr.. Howard Pnuls best stories OF
clever sayings by children present, MS
before observed, the effect OF cndowing
the little ones with wit beyond thcil
years. The explanation, however. Il
good. whether "a little girl' gave II OF
not. Of bearing false witness against
your nclghbor." to tho effect that 'ii
was when nobody did nothing and some
body went aad told of H..