West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1886-04-30
rAe' 'CAiLpREN.
This u rhCir Age, aud E,crN Thing l.
SubscrNicnt to Thcir wishes.

This u ThCir Age, aud ENcrN Thing l.
SuhscrNtcnt to Thcir Wishes
There is a story toldof Prof Wilson.
that one day. listening to lecture ON
education 10y Dr Whatcly hc grow
mauifcstlN impatient at the rulcs laid
down. and finally Slipped out Of the
room. cNclaiming iratcly to friend
who followed him; II always thought
God Almighty made man. but h, SAYS
1t was the >choomastcr
In like manner most of us have won
dcrcd from time to time whether chill
drrn are made of such ductilc material.
and can bc as readily nodded 10 our
wishes, a~ educators would have uS be-.
liryc. IL it be true that nature count,
Tor nothing and training for every
thing, then what gap between the
boys and girls of two hundred YEARS
ago and the boys and girls We know to
day The rigid bands that once bound
the young to dvcorum have dwmdlcd
To silver thread that snaps under
every rcstiNc movement 10 have
"pcurctlN natural children seem, to
hc th" out~pokcn ambition of parcnt,
who have succeeded i'm rctroyrading
their offspring from artificial civiliza-
ton TO that pure and wholesome say.
agcry which Is evidently their ideal.
LIT is assumed nowadays ~ declares an
angry critic, ''that children have como
INTO the world To make "a noise and it
Is the part of every good parent To put
mp with it, and TO make all household
arrangements with view To their sole
pleasure and convenience"
That the children brought up under
this relaxed discipline acquire certain
merits and charms of their own is an
casily-acknowlcdgcd fact We are not
now alluding to those spoiled and over
indulgcd little people who are the rec
o%nizcd scourgcs of humanity. but
merely TO the boys and girls who have
been allowed from infancy that large
degree of freedom which Is deemed CN-
pcdicnt for enlightened nurseries. and
who regulate their own conduct ON the
vast majority of occasions They are
rs rule Ight-hcartcd, truthful. ailcc-
Tomato and occasionally amusing; but
II can not be- denied that they lack that
nicely of breeding which was at one
time the distinguishing mark OF chill
drcn of the upper classes, and which
was h "a great measure born of the
restraints that surrounded them. The
faculty of sitting still without
iidgcling, of walking without rush
ing and of speaking without scream
ing can he acquired only under
tultlon' but it is worth some
little trouble TO attain When sydney
smith remarked that the children Of
rank were generally so much better
bred than the children of the middle
classes he recognized the greater need
for Fl -.
lives. They may have been less nat
ural, perhaps, but they were infinitely
more pleasing to his fastdious ewes:
and the unconscious grace which hc ad-
mired was merely the reflection of the
universal courtesy that surrounded
them Nor is this all "Thc necessity
OF sclf-rcprcssion, says recent writer
in BiHck'coOd. makes room for
thought, which those children miss who
have no iOrmalitics to observe, no Gus
toms to respect, who blurt out every
irreicvancc, who intorposc ut will with
question and opinion rs it enters the
brain. Children don't learn TO talk by
chattcrlng To one another, and saying
what comes uppcrmOsL Mere listen
ing with intelligence involves an cNcr-
else OF mental speech, and Obscrvant
silence opens the pores Of the mind as
impatient demand, for explanation
never do. 80
This is true, ina-much as il is not the
enid who Is encouraged to talk con
tinually who in the end learns how TO
arrange and express his ideas. Nor
does the fretful desire 10 be- told at
once what every thing means implv
the active mind which parents so fond
ly suppose, unable 10 dcciphcr the
simplest causes for itself YET whore
shall we turn to look for the "obscrv-
ant silence so highly recommended?
The young people who observed and
were silent have passed away little
John Ruskin being assurcdk the last
oi the species and their places are
filled bY those 10 whom observation
and silence are alike unknown This
D. the children age, and all thing.
are subscryicut 10 their wishes.
Masses Of Juvenile literature are pub
lishcd annually for their amusement:
conversation is reduced steadily 10
their level while they arc present:
meals are arrange 20 suit their hours.
and the dishes thereof to sui, their
palatcs; studies arc made simpler and
toys more elaborate with each succeed
ing year. The hardships thcy once
suffered are now happily ended. the
dccorum once cNactcd Is fading rapid
ly away We accept the situation with
philosophy and only now and then.
under The pressure Of some new deyel-
opmcni. arc startled into asking our