The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-07-06

prison. My acquaintance with children
has been considerable and | have always
studied them with the greatest interest.
This experience has led mo to indOrse Mr..
Teachers theory that the average child is
more or less Of fibber, and that the boy or
girl who does not occasionally or semi-occa-
siOnally stretch the truth stands a good
chance of premature angelhood. Some
children are hereditary liars. Their mother
or father, or grandmother or grandfather
lied, and the children, with the same blood
in their veins, lie also. The parent forgets
when fretting and deploring the existence
Of this dreadful trait, his or her own youth
full weakness, and the struggle by which it
was successfully grappled with and cast
out. One of our most influential and elO-
quent ministers told me once that
until he WAS 10 years old no was a
most proficient and accomplished liar, and
he added: "While | was head and shoulders
above my comrades in this matter, cannot
recall but one boy in my class who did not
lie on occasion, and he died at the age of
| IL" The minister accounted for this pro-
| pensity on the ground of unusual approba-
| tveness. He was exceedingly ambitious,
| and from his earliest remembrance was 50
| anxious TO be appreciated, praised and con-
sldered smarter than other boys that to at
tain these ends, which seemed SO desirable,
| he lied without stint But he was found out
| 80 U.s. WbNIPcA ny a Ahlh ltdCltI W
whom he had lost his boyish heart This
! put an end TO the habit Though even
| now," he told me with twinkle of his
merry eyes, when | go fishing il is some
| thing of cross to give the exact weight of
the catch. But this ought to DO excusable
| when IL Is remembered that as a boy never
allowed myself TO pull in black fish or a
bass that weighed less than fifty pounds"
Parents do not recall sufficiently their
own experiences as children, and this they
| should be very careful TO do. The biggest lie
that | ever heard told was that of a mother,
who with tears raining down her cheeks, in
formed her naughty little girl that she had
never told n story in her life. | was struck
| dumb by this statement, as the young
mother in question was i'll her early girl
| hood the most consummate and artistic liar |
| had ever known.
This light way of dealing with what
seems very serious question will doubtless
| be resented by some Of my friends, but il
| does seem to me very silly for mothers to be
50 distressed about their babies Children
are little animals, and the moral sense is the
| very last thing awakened. 10 punish a
| child for its departure from the truth is to
| pay premium upon lying. Some
children are SO afraid of the dark, 50
frightened at the thought of the switch or
| the slipper, the hair brush or the bare hand,
| that they will 60 to any length in falsifying
| to secure immunity from such torture. The
| lies OF babies should not be noticed, and lies
| and lying should not DO spoken of before
| them. When the child is old enough to
know the difference between truth and
| fasehood the greatest tact should be used In
their treatment. To begin with, never
threaten, and never accuse a child of pre-
varication without absolute proof When
| perfectly sure show him that he is found
out A tactful mother can sometimes do
this in manner that will nip this pro-
pensity in the bud. / have personally
| known such experiences. The slowly dawn-
ing moral sense is quictened by the fact of
| having been discovered in something that
mamma does not approve of, and the fit
will not be resorted To with 50 much ease,
| if at all, in the future.
| Mothers must have patience with their
| children. for without it they can do nothing.
They must not scold nor slap, nor nag, nor
| deride. Short stories of youngsters who,
because of story telling, came to the grief
especially DIRE ided by the little fibber, at the
same time taking care to impress upon the
| embryonic mindithat mamma will never
| punish for an accident If the truth is told
| concerning it, is often productive of much
good.
Let the children believe that they are
trusted and it Will not be long before they
are worthy of trust, but do not let us call
upon God to take to himself the little ones
who lie because they do not understand the
difference between truth and falsehood.
ELEANOR KIRK.