The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1885-06-04
{. OUR BOY.
A wonderful Youth who Can Be Trusted
Anywhere and Always.

Anywhere and Always.
That hoy of ours is wonderful chap.
He is smarter than most OF his mates.
has few faults and seldom needs reproof.
We can trust ''our boy anywhere and
always.
Every pastor has heard this said very
many times. He has found that SER
mons and general admonitions 10 pa
rental faithfulness in many cases do no
good. because ~our boy is so good.
The parents give away the sermons
with strange prodigality, often out of
all proportion to their generosity in the
support of missions; and the admoni-
tions do not hit They utterly fail 70
s.liye up TO the doctrine OF deprayity
in its reference 30 ''onr boys.
have come into special acquaintance
with several of these exceptional boys.
and have found them no smarter, and
considerably meaner than other fellows.
But | have come to pity them profound
Nv, because they SO utterly fail OF being
properly trained. How shall ''our by
he reached before the harvest of his Mild
oats j. ready for the reapingg
| remember him well, strong,
manufacturing fellow, once in the Sab
bath-school. But | soon found that it
was a painful case of ''our boy" trouble.
His tastes were wrong. He read vicious
books and began To take OH bad habits.
| prepared two sermons on the training
of children and the value of influence,
and 10 wing the arrow | pointed out the
a a IL h., II nv
because of this %,our boy" delusion.
The mothers thought the sermons
forciblc. excellent. and gave them all
away "How could certain parents
hear such faithful preaching and let
their boys grow Hp amiss? So "our
boy slipped through. Taking "a friend
into confidence. asked How can that
boy be- reached and saved from the eX
cesse, to which lls drift? The reply
was: Il don't know Mrs. - went
TO his mother and told her kindly. n. n
friend. of the danger But the mother
was greatly incen>ed. and replied that
she could take care OF her boy. he could
do no wrong. let other, take care of
their own. While ! was irving to
crack The nut the boy was miserably
-overtaken by hi> own sim
In another home "0ur boy was the
only son. His anct~ tors. back 10 Adam,
had been officers in the church. and he
was expected TO be 10 less. perhaps a
minister. When Met him il was too
late TO do much. He seemed morally
bankrupt. His mother said: II can {
understand il. He has had praying
parents. was baptized. and has been
brought up a. carefully a. we know
how Ii YOU had known il all. and seen
how my husband labored that he might
grow no good man. YOU would not
think that our boy could turn out so.
Why il it? Oh. why is it?"
His acquaintance said: g His parents
trusted him too much. They left him
exposed 10 temptation; not belev-
ing that their boy with such ances-
try. could do wrong. he began to
play cards, to drink ale, whisky. His
parent, would not believe it. Said
oue; lie came to me one night TO aS-
sist his father, and was so tipsy that he
could hardly show me into his house,
bat his parents did not see it, Said
another: AT last we found him one
night in the gutter and two of us walked
him home, opened the door into the
room where his mother was sitting and
pushed him headlong on the floor. That
wa the first time that his mother
would believe that he drank How
conld he drink-"our boy?" II was q
conspicuous case of how not to train up
child in the way he should 90.
Alas for ''our boy" especially if he is
the only child. with no sisters to report
him! Other peoples children sit on the
fences. eat stolen apples and swear like
pirates; "our boy said 80, and he
never tells an untruth. But he is won
derful chap! He never does wrong,
And he has Yet more wonderful parents.
Too bad ne isn't an orphan; then the
world would SHOW him his faults; he
might make something. But ''our boy
is 50 sheltered now by his thoughtless
parents that his chance for noble life
is rather limited. The wicked little
boy across the way. the poor mans one
OF many children viii probably go by
him. They know he is bad. and try to
tal r.s A ~. ,,r,f, -