The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-10-20

60 to the temple and offer PRAYER, af-
ter which the fun of the day begins.
The ways of children are, # seems.
beginning to be studied from scientific
standpoint. An American lady has
ELECTED from two hundred and twenty
seven Boston schoolboys particulars
OF their tastes in collecting. Out of the
entire number, only nineteen had alb
stained from making collections.
Stamps were the most popular objects;
then marbles, business cards, minerals,
woods, leaves or flowers, autographs,
buttons, birds nests, and many other
articles.
There is often a great contrast be-
tween the ways in which boys and girls
try to amuse themselves. Games which
demand small exertions are generally
girls favorites, though the more active
take kindly to FOUNDERS, whiptop, and
even cricket. But as a rule they are
soon tired; every thing ''isn't fair" and
they won't play Boys games are
more successful. Boys stick much more
to rules, and are less careful of their
clothes. Their games are often accom-
panied by loud threats and fierce recrim-
nations, threats which if executed
would speedily make the playground
present the appearance of battlefield.
1t is the grown-up people who write
the stories, and the children carefully
preserve the text. What boy has not
had his Crusoe raft or cave, or has not
attempted to build a log hut? The bust
ness, pleasures, misfortunes, and adven-
lures of life are all rehearsed by the
romantic little people. There is a story
of Michael Angelo making statue Of
snow in garden, the beauty and pro-
portion of which delighted his compan-
ions and gave promise of the genius he
was afterward to display. Charles Dick
ems tells us of wandering through rooms
when child, armed with club, in the
make-belief that he was an African trav-
eler expecting to be attacked at any mo.
ment by wild beasts or savages, and
therefore holding himself ready to sell
his life as dearly as possible.
This innate tendency to mimicry is
sometimes even displayed amonst the
melancholy surroundings of hospital.
1t must, indeed, be sadly dull for the
poor little patients in a children's hos
pital, but there are rays of sunshine that
CLEAN upon the scene. A kind-hearted
visitor to one of these institutions says:
''Among the boys saw one merry little
fellow gravely putting out his tongue,
while another felt his pulse. Playing
at doctors seemed fit game for chill
dren's hospital; aud l could picture to
myself how mock prescriptions were
made up with sham solemnity of man.
ner, and how fanciful experiments with
imaginary stethoscopes were attempted
by young actors, to beguile the weary
time. One little girl / spoke to seemed
quite proud of her acquaintance with the
ailments of her neighbors, and serious
ly took me to bed to see a bad case o
'broncheetus;' and to cot contiguous
where what she called 'new-money
here was waiting to be cured. To lisl
out big words like 'toobercoolcrosus
appeared to give great pleasure to thu
solemn little doctress, and fancied tn,
patients felt some pride in being point
ed out as victims of such fine-soundins
complaints"
Children who have few toys are throw
on their own resources for amusement
and frequently develop great ingenuit.
and cleverness in their play. We hay
examples in the young Brontes, bus
at their desks and playing at benz
editors, like the girls in Littl
Women when producing thei
weekly paper, the PscksOick Portfolio
But when our little actors, in thei
eagerness to secure properties, develo.
the bump of destructiveness, the result
are not so amusing. Captain Marrya
remarks that children are a great bless
ing when they are kept in the nursery
but they certainly do interfere with til
papa who has the misfortune to be a
author. He little thought, when hi
Youngest girl brought him whol
string OF paper dolls, hanging togethe
by the arms, that they had been cut o
his memoranda. But so it was; an
when he had satisfactorily estabiishe
the fact, and insisted upon an 'inquls
tom to recover his invaluables, b
found that they had had an auto da i
, and that the whole string OF doll!
which contained on their petticoats n
whole string of bewitching ideas, ha
been burnt like so many witches.
, The monkey-like propensity for i'm
tation which makes an infant try t
,, shave himself on getting hold OF papa
razors, when developed in boyhoot
, takes the form of surreptitious smokin
; and staggering, more for the purpos
of acting the man than for any thin
else. The same idea of acting the won
!, an is shown when little girls improvi'
! a long train out Of a newspaper {
! shawl, and sweep .ng in dignified wa
!, about the room, exclaim: I'm man
' MAJ -, :,
|. The importance of a child when lei
any article of dress, stick, or an TN
!, brella to play with, is very notlceab!
: aLittle boy, said a gentleman, ''wf
: do YOU hold that umbrella over yo'
headp It's not raining
"No."
! "And the sun is not shining"
9 "No."
"Then why do you carry it9"
"Cause when it rains, father wants
and when the sun shines, mother wan
: it; and it's only when it's this sort
= | weather that can get to use it at all.
i Children possessed OF mlmetlc qua
= ties are happier without any playthin
J than are their opposites, even when pc
= sessed of the costliest scientific toy
. Town boys are fond Of imagining the!
= selves to be trains and horses, the mol
: of the former and motions OF the latt