Sturgis advertiser. (Sturgis, Dakota [S.D.]) 1887-1???, 1889-04-23
Your Big Brother.

Boys are queer creatures, anyway.
They all have soft hearts. They are
dreaming of love two-thirds of their
time. They make love to big dog, q
horse, the heroine of a novel-or. alas,
some actress who would delude them
for the fun of it. This boy sometimes
feels the fact that he is Crowded out"
of his mothers and fathers attention
and endearments by the younglings.
He sometimes. I say, not always, feels
the indisputyable fact that home is
sort of clearinghouse to him; he
wishes, in such moments, that it were
not SO, but he does not exactly know
how to fix things. A boy is not adroit;
he has no small courtesy ready at hand:
he is at the awkward period of his life,
and could fight easier than he can man
age that sweet fnesse that is necessa ry
to win and keep the love confidence Of
home. Girl, you can do all these things
for him, nine times out of ten. And it
you try you will be astonished by the
wealth Of affeetion that the fellow will
pour out on you. That is, il he is not
yet poisoned at heart by some evil COM
panion of the outside world. God grant
that you yet have time, and with your
George that it is not yet too late!
A big, hardly grown young man is ex-
ceedingly sensitive in certain directions,
though Indifferent enough in others.
You must not make fun of his clothes,
you simply must not. You must not
joke him about his attempts to be older
than he is. You must not carp at his
manners, his blunders in polite things,
or his efforts to play the gallant with
your pretty neighbor. He can stand a
great many hard blows; but there are
sneers and laughs that cut him to the
quick. If you indulge them it may
seem of small account to-day; but he
will call you disagreeable at first, and
end by actually hating you. Years will
not suffice for the healing of such en-.
arrangements. OF all the people in the
house, he can endure ridicule from his
sister with the least grace; for he often
thinks with envy of your more graceful
ways; it comes natural to women to be
graceful rather than to man; and for
you to sheer at his blunders is simply
maddening. Take my warning. Help
him out in these matters, and he will
never forget the kindness. Lend him
your taste in the question of dress,
quietly and privately.
How many young fellow might have
been saved from ruin if little of the
care that is given to the bib-and-tucker
small creatures had been bestowed on
him. I tell you, mothers, you had far
better allow tiny Johnny to go with
dirty face, if necessary, that you may
have five minutes confidential chat
every day with big George. The broom
is not of so much account as George. I
know how full your hands are; but your
hands must never let go of George;
yours are the only hands that can al
ways fashion him. The great, strap.
ping fellow will get along without you,
if you say so; but while his body is
large enough not to need mothers
care, his mind, his heart, are not large
enough by any means. l assure you
the boy often yearns for little endear
ment from you. He often keeps away
from you because he wishes to spare
you trouble; but you simply must show
him that it is never, never any trouble
to his mothers heart to share his con-
fidences. And you yourself know how
fondly you do in reality love him who
grows now to resemble so closely your
husband of the old boyish days when he
first came wooing you.
God bless the big boys of all homes,
and preserve them to those homes
Ne,D York Weekly.