The Bossier banner., 1884-07-24
TEE DISCONTENTED BOY.


may have known boys who live in the
city, and yet who were discontented
with everything about them. There
have been some such, whether you have
met them or not, and it is a singular
fact that as a general rule, they were
always very well contented with them
selves, but seemed to think that they had
good cause to find fault with everything
around them.
| l knew one once-for I have known
lots of boys in my day-and all of us
fellows used to think that Fred Small
was situated Just about as comfortably
as boy ought to be. He had pleasant
home with two sisters IN it; he could go
| to school all the tinle-and there are
good nany boys who can't do that
and his clothes were always neat and
| clean.
Now any one would suppose that
such boy could have regularly jolly
time in this world. You see he had so
many things that thousands of boys
can't have, that just the simple thought
OF how fortunate he was ought to have
kept him as happy as lark all the day
long.
But with all these advantages Fred
was far from being contented. [ don't
mean to say that he was what might be
called thoroughly discontented boy,
for he was not exactly that. If any one
had intimated such thing to him he
would have denied it empbatically, and
thought that he was telling the truth;
but yet he was far from being as happy
| as he ought to have been.
At school he had an idea that he was
forced to study more than was good for
him; that he was obliged to learn manv
| things that would be of no use to him
| when he was man, and that some of his
fellow students were receiving favors
from the teachers that were denied
| him.
At home he thought he was not al
| lowed freedom enough; that his sisters
had more of everything then he had,
and that he was, in several particular
cases actually imposed upon. As, for
instance when the baby got his box of
paints and destroyed fully one-half of
| them, nothing in particular was said
about it, which he thought wrong,
although it would have been hard for
him to have decided, if called upon to do
SO, just what punishment ought to have
been inflicted upon the little thing.
Among his playmates he thought he
was not treated exactly as he ought to
| have been. Some were chosen leaders
in the sports, when he vas positive that
he should have occupied such position.
Some appeared to think that they ex-
celled him in leaping, running or jump
ing and at the same time, refused to
give him an opportunity of testing his
strength with them.
Now of course it was foolish for Fred
to have allowed himself to be vexed or
discontented over what were really
trifes, as compared to the benefits he
enjoyed, of which so many other bows
were deprived; but yet he did feel
vexed and was disconnected, with
never thought that he was making
good deal more than half of his troubles
himself.
Then, again, Fred thought that he
was particularly ill-used because his
parents would not let him 90 out even
ings with the other boys Charlie Stet-
son could go out whenever he wanted
to, and stay until midnight. Charlie
knew how TO play billiards and pool; he
could smoke whole bunch Of cigar
cites in an evening, and had already be-
gun to color pipe; he went to almost
every place of amusement that he
wanted TO, and had more money to
spend than dozen of the other fellows
put together. In short, Charlie did
just as he wanted to, and Fred was dis
contented because he could not enjoy
the same liberty.
Fred's father, however, thought that
ne knew more about such things than
his son did, and it was not many years
before be proved that he was correct.
Charlie continued to keep late hours,
to spend his evenings in billiard rooms
where the air was unfit to breathe be-
cause it was so laden with impurities.
until, when he should have been Young
man, he already looked and felt old.
lie had no energy, was sickly, knew
little Or nothing of what he should have
known, and when Fred graduated Char
lie was nothing more nor less than a
loafer, looked down upon even BY those
who called themselves his companions.
Then when Fred went out into the
world, and understood matters, and par
ticularly himself, better, he saw the
mistake he had made
He realized that he had neither been
obliged SO study too much nor too long,
and he only regretted that he had not
been able to learn more. He came to
understand that at home he had en-
| joyed as many advantages as his sisters
had, that he had been allowed to have
his own way quite IS much as was good
for him. and, when it was 20 longer
possible, he wished that he could have
q baby sister again, foF be MAS certain