The Meridional. (Abbeville, La.) 1856-1906, 1890-09-13
The bad = ' OF The Family.
Houae Post.

"The bad boy of the family-how
many hcartaches does he cause: how
many sieepless nights and anxfous
days" There is no doubt that the
mother cflen feelsquite hopeless and
worn out, as thought she we're nada
the sport of unfeIentiug fate. She
has tried, from his babyhood IN. 10
train up her boy IS size thinks hA
ought 70 go, and now he is goipg 1
very different way. She has tried
to make him g%entlemauly, courteous.
refined, aud he is rough and boorish
instead, and fills her quiet rooms
with the voice of Stentor and The
strlde'of a grenadier. Instead, he
is a sore disappointment to her ia
many ways. She nrisses-and
misses with an aching heart-the
tenderness she expected from him
when he was a helpless babe IN her
arms. Oh, the mother ola bad boy
has a hard lot, not to be enyied cf
any mortal.
DOUBTLESS she has looked many i
time on some other woman broken.
hearted over a little cofin lid. aud
has felt half disposed TO envy her
even such grief as that. Truly it III
hard to lay the little ones away 10
sleep, but one feels so certain of
them, in their glad immortality Of
youth and lovel One misses the
patter Of the tiny feet, but to think
that now they a never 60 astrayl
Ono listens and listens for the sound
Of the baby voice, but now sweet to
know, at least, that il a never
take on rough u~tterance or impure
speech, and become of the earth
earthly! And SO the mother whose
boy has lived to be a disappoint.
ment to her looks with something
like envy on that mother whose
boy has been laid away to his placid
sleep.
Bal after all, the case is not 50
utterly hopeless. How many Il boy
has come at last to slough df The
roughness; TIC discourtesy. the
.selfshness, Tho AopeIessaeas. and lsas
developed inth a man whom men
have found it not Impossible to love.
The craving are, the period when
the boys character is forming, but
is happily not formed, if full of
receptions. The gross
selfishness has been known to
change to tender care; and the ut.
teriy thoughtless boy has grown to
he the son on whom the mother
learned, who supported her failing
and was tho prop aud
stay IF her declining strength. He
may be wicked, full Of bad habit, d
disappointment to her in many ways,
but the years pass, and the world ii
a roogh one, which drives many q
boy back TO the arms of his mother.
Poor, sorrowing, disappointed
notherl How she looks back to
the days when she sat beside the
cradle and sung the boy 10 sIeen
boy, who has to fill all the
with light some day.
In his cradle slept aud smiled;
Thus the child who as prince Of
peace was hailed.
Thus nigh the mother breast, sulled
TO rest. Child Napoleon down the
lilied river sailed"
II the boy could know, If he could
only understand Happy Tor him il
he could only understand before il
10 100 late.
With most boys, however there
is something that night be done, II
one only knew what 10 do, and how
10 do it. Many d hopelessly bad
is merely d case of ~snperabun.
aant energies misdirected. High
would not have been d pant.
icularly pleasant boy to have about
the house, | fancy, If that wild
OF his had been set at work
lumber at bis brOtherB
carpenter bench. If there were
such a thing as studying the odd
which has been given one
to raise, as best one can, Il would
be well 10 study 1t, aud find some
one thing that the brain loved ID
the hands loved TO plan,
instead Of leaving hands ana brains
10 anuse themselves at wreckiue
lives and braakinO hnarss Tharai9