Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1890-11-12
BEING A BOY.
1t is Troublesome Disease, but Not
Necessarily Fatal.

1t is a Troublesome Disease, but Not
Necessarily Fatal.
From the New York Times.
used to be boy once, but [ seem to
have got over it. Boyhood is curious
disease, but every man has to take his
dose of it. He does not mind it at the
time; but when his complete cure has
been effected he looks back over the pc
riod of the attack, and wonders if he
could ever have had anything SO bad as
that. A boys troubles are mental. He
has strange notions of life and they rattle
him so that he doesn't seem to get square
with matters and things in the estimation
ofanv disinterested observer. Ofcourse,
the boy thinks he is having a James
dandy time; but every one else knows
he is not.
For instance, boy thinks it is real
good fun to go to bed with all his clothes
on, and lie awake for three hours till the
old man has swallowed his sleep-coaxer
and sought his downy perch. Then the
boy gets out of bed, climbs out of the
back window and down rain spout,
barking his shins and skinning his
knuckles on the way, and walks three
miles across plowed fields to steal q
watermelon out of a farmers patch.
And the next day, when they have
suppose that makes the boy feel sore, as
it would a man? Not much. The boy
has had his fun, and the chances are
he'll get up and do the same old act all
over again day after tomorrow.
Again boy thinks it's fun to put an
empty soap box on top of two logs, and
paddle himself up and down a brook
where there are no lighthouses, no har-
bors, and not more than II inches of
water, counting the mud on the bottom.
A boy thinks it's fun to row boat, too.
He will get aboard a big, heavy skiff,
with pair Of seven foot oars, when the
thermometer indicates 80 degreesin the
summer house, and he'll pull
himself around and around in ring,
and cut SIS and figure IS on the water,
and think he's having more fun than a
Grand Army man drawing pension.
A boy thinks it's fun, too, to get four
old bricks and build himself an
oven, and then to make wood fire in
it, and roast four peachblow potatoes
with the skins on, and eat them without
salt. Two boys who can have unto them
selves feast like this, accompanied by
edifying conversation about the eX-
termination ofthe Sioux, think they're
having more fun than you or | would at
public dinner of 10 courses.
Whena boy gets over being boy and
looks back over the period of his dis
order he often wonders how it happened
that he lived through it. But it
appears to be pretty generally Omitted
by medical experts that the boyhood
disease is not necessarily fatal. 1t does
away with a few of it's victims, to be
sure; but they are those who are affected
with the acute form in which 20 foot
rivers appear three feet deep, and
double barrel shotguns are mistaken
for Pandean pipes.
There is one form of the disease which
ought to prove fatal, but for some in
scrutable reason does not. That is the
form which causes the patient to imagine
that jewsharps, flies, banners and horse
fiddles produce music. Usually,
however, they just let the disease wear
itself out. Itwears great many people
out, too; but no matter.