The Dickinson press., 1884-08-30
The Small Boy in Georgia.

Macon (Ga.) Telegraph. )-During
the interval between the letting out and
the taking in of school the small boy
has been e~ndeavouring tokill time with
the varied amusements incidental to the
life of the youth.
The school-house had not fairly closed
their doors before the boys were batting
and balling at the park and over the
back streets. One could not leave the
maddening crowd on the busy thorough
fares and step into the residence por-
ton of the city without running afoul
of a game of that national nuisance
bass ball.
But the sun grew hot as the summer
solstice came on, and the balls and bats
were laid away, and the boys took up
kites. Every household was robbed of
its papers, laid carefully away to read
on Sunday, to be used up in the manu-
facture of kites. But the small boy of
the period needs something more excit-
ing than standing like a statue Keeling up
and watching the wriggle Of a kite tail.
Consequently the kite season was of
short duration.
Then the iremaniac fever struck them,
and everywhere knots of boys could be
seen with miniature hose. carts running
at full tilt down the sidewalks. The
merchants were robbed of their sprink-
ling hose and nozzles to supply the de-
mand. This also had its run, and the
hose-cart went the way of winter fuel.
Then came the walking match mania.
Go where you would you would find a
brace or SO Of coatless boys. painting as
they strobe around the blocks, whip
ping their bare calves with keen peach
tree switches, and hopping brows with
sponges stolen from the bath-tubs. In
additional to these walking matches they
had hurdle races by stretching cords at
intervals IN the alleyways and jumping
over them.
These crazes having been thoroughly
exhausted, the season is now on us when
the small boy is ripe for Satan, who is
said to be always ready to find some
thing far idle hands to do. 1t is the
time when, the legitimate amusements
being pegged out, the small boy must
tax his ingenuity to kill time. But day
draws its weary length along with them.
We mentioned yesterday how he trailed
stuffed snakes across the sidewalk ct
night and frightened pedestrians out of
their wits. But the stuffed snake rack
ct has about subsidized, and they are con
juring up other bedevilmeut. We hear
from them in every direction. A gen.
tleman on Academy square missed his
favorite house cat the other dav, and on
going into the back yard he discovered
his boys with the sprinkling hose.
They had fastened the cat in the hencoop
and with the nozzle through the cracks
were giving pussy a shower bath that
was not at all pleasant.
A College street father found his BOYS
in a stable. They had partitioned off q
small room, supplied it with counters
and shelves, and had a regular grocery
store, doing o thriving business. The
father discovered that all the preserves,
canned goods, sugar, pickles, and SO on
had been taken from his pantry, and
were being battered to the neighbor-
hood boys. A branded peach was
"olGH 1wo grass aSaCes, n q top cord
would command a match box full of
peach preserves.
And so it goes. We could fill a col
umn with the depredations upon the
family pantry and pocketbook by these
boys who are waiting for school to re-
sumo. As that time is nearly two
months off, the prospect is that the
town will not only be painted deep red
but turned upside down.