Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1884-10-25
SELECTIONS.
SHORT TALK WITH THE BOYS.


ehs
Well, my boy, if there is one sim
gle habit more than another calcu-
lated to bring lad to evil ways it is
that of Nnning around village,
town, Or city, O nights. All the bad
in human nature begins to bubble as
soon as the sun goes down. You
wouldn't dream ofdoing a mean act
to your neighbors by daylight, but
after dark it seems good joke to
lug off gates, upset outhouses, steal
fruit, or raise false alarm of fire.
1t may seem fun to you, but when
you come to sit down and think it
over you can't help but admit that
it is small business. Any action of
yours which puts any one else to
trouble and expense may be qnes-
toned to your detriment.
Find a murderer, burglar, or thief
point out to me the biggest loafer
in your town, and | will show you a
man who began his career by run
ming out O nights.
Don't | want a boy to have fun?
You bet | do! and by and by Pm
going to put you up to a dozen diff
ferent things in that line. But this
grabbing your hat after supper and
sneaking ont over the back fence is
mean piece of business when you
come to figure it down. Down on
the corner you meet Jim This or
Tom That. You go "over town.
and are seen hanging around this or
that place. You may sneak into a
saloon to see game of billiards, but
you hate yourself for it. You may
sit in Smiths grocery and hear a lot
of old bald-headed liars spin their
yarns and abuse religion, but you go
out feeling that you could kick any
one of them who dared to bow TO
your mother.
You'd go home and go to bed if it
wasn't for Jim or Tom. He wants a
little "fun," and he drags you into
it. What lie calls fun is Stringing a
rope across the sidewalk. 1t doesn't
occur to him that some person may
break limb and be put to several
hundred dollars expense, or even be
be killed outright. He thinks it a
cute thing to roll off barrels of salt,
barricade the bridge, set an old shed
on fire or stop up the chimneys on a
widows house. When yon have
played such tricks it comes very
easy to play others which the law
won't look at in the funny light.
There is to-day in Michigan State
Prison IL boy whose career watched
for two years. | first saw him prowl-
ing around O. nights. He had an
honest face and a good heart, but his
father had seemingly never been a
boy himself. He let this lad go and
come as he willed, and within three
months the police had to caution
him. Inside of SIX months he be-
longed to a gang of juvenile thieves.
Within two years he was burglar.
When be stood up in court to receive
his five years sentence, women wept
to see that one so young had drifted
so rapidly to the bad.
What can you do o nights if you
remained home?
Score of things, my boy. In the
first place there's the checker-board,
and in the next place your father
! wants to sit right down and teach
you all be knows about it. Outside
of the interest in chance game
your wits are made the sharper by
such struggles. A good checker
PLAYER will never be rash business
man. The very training makes him
cautious in his dealings. There are
dozens of good boy books to be had,
and your father had better buy you
two or three per week, than turn You
over to the town. There's no end
of mechanical toys and tops and
games.
And suppose you learn how to
draw or paint 7 Look at watch
and you will realize that all the
wheels and springs and shafts and
jewels go to make up perfect time.
] piece. just so with man. There are
lots ofoDe-wheeIed men in this world
They can sell goods, make boots,
run an engine or keep a butcher