Daily Yellowstone journal., 1891-12-16

CROwAN, Cornwall, Nov. 2S.-lt is a
talk and a scat, +" as Cornish folk them
selves say, that is, a word and a blow, and
oftener the blow first, in the discipline OF
Cornish children and particularly with
Cornish boys.
The girls Of Cornwall give nobody
trouble in early life. They are little autom-
atoms in youth, silent As pagan stone
circles in girlhood, voiceless and blushing
thereafter until welded, when they At once
develop such strength of character, EN-
per and tongue that half the men Of Corn
wall are known individually as "Jinuy's
Jack. - and in r%aillery are greeted with the
inquiry:
"How's the woman as owns 'ee;'
Whether or not the boys require rough
treatment, they get it. They seem to ex-
pect it, and they thrive under it. They
are all boys Of parents who labor
severely, and whose fathers before
them for more than a thousand years
have drudged and striven in the same
sturdy way. Sentiment i'm child train
ing is here unknown. A drill hammer,
h0buailed boot or "a huge fist goes
along smartly with the reprimand. DISC
bedieuce Is almost unknown. Whenever
10 occurs 10 j. "a nine days wonder 90 the
entire village. Recently ! witnessed au i'm
stance Iu f. mining village. y miner had
given his boy a command.
81 went dot" replied the lad >toutly.
"TLa wusu't. ehs Well, if thee doesn't,
TIL give th' "a thump In the nudeck" lback
Of the neck.
The words were not ont of the fathers
mouth before bee had shocked the boy
seuseIe-- uy % blow ia the 'uudeck.' No
one expressed ~ui prise at the treatment.
and the boy was left where be fell until
L.. #.-L |-. Ha ..--|.
-straiguJway TO carry ont his fathers com
maud. But the establishment aud horror
al the boys disobedIeuce set the entire viii
lage iu au uproar.
The Cornish boy Is not permitted 20 Im-
agiue himself proficient. One boy know,
apprcurlced to his grandfather, the village
joiner aud undertaken. had made q little
dovp-3ilrd box with hinges, lock and key,
in which 20 store his pennies and other boy
treasures. He was naturally proud OF the
/ achievement, and asked the old man IL the
work was not well done. The latter I'M
mejiately proceeded 20 kick the too a-plr-
ing lad from one end OF the village 70 the
/ other.
still, In their way and within their rig
or0us conditions of life. the boys of Corn
wall are perhaps AS jolly a lot aud secure
a. much rough. bOyi-u enjoyment AS the
lads Of any other country In the world.
Their costume from the age OF four TO
about ten is peculiar and gives them the
/ appearance OF rudely dressed girls. Their
feet are ,hOd with light hot shoes, over
which short. coarse wooden stockings are
always hanging. A bare reach of shin in
terveues between these and the canvas or
/ corduroy trousers. over the latter l. a
skirt, a. with the boys Of the west Of Ire
land, reaching 70 the knees. Trousers aud
skirt hang from a rough, wooden waist
and over all is a loose "savel." or save all,
Of canvas or coarse muslin, something after
the pattern Of "A short smock frock. The
headgear is supplied by the discarded caps
or billycock hats Of fathers with the best Of
ventilation always provided.
At this age the Cornish boy is simply a
voracious little animal, bent solely on sup
plying a never wholly satisfied hunger, n
his mothers chief duties toward him con
sist in providing an adequate supply Of
what he is forever demanding in the form
Of "trecle mossel." He means treacle and
a morsel Of bread, and the happiest hour
Of his life are employed in its consumption.
He has few chores or errands. hi, chief
labor being 20 supply the household with
water. Thi, j. brought in buckets OF delft
pitchers from long distances, from a half
mile 20 two miles. from pen stalks. %
. ~HI lA- - UT AIlN|ElA. 'NI.IN AHla NNAA0H anu
this be manages 20 convert into diversion,
a. be il never without company.
The Cornish boy, either while -kirtei or
when be has reached the corduroy age, is
never lonesome ia MS little l41or- or ia his
various sturdy pa-times. All Cornish folk
live in communities, move about in grOups
and even emigrate in crowds. Cornish
fishers live Ira villages, miner, are uuIver-
sally found ia little mining towns, and
from three or four % "a dozen farmers,
with their steadIugs aud tiny f-armhouses,
are huddied close together. 80 there are "A
score Of young Cousin Jacks in the
smallest hamle-s, and the advantage and
pleasure of umDers are invariably pos
se--ed.
The games and pastimes Of Cornish boys
are distinctive, aud are markedly different
from those Of boys Of the same quality else
where in England. For instance, football,
the universal boys game Of England, Is
altogether unknown in Cornwall. Crick-
citing is only kept mp through the cOntin-
ued efforts Of the church of England Gu
rates. But kite flying is "a passion with
all Cornish boys. IL even extends 70 men.
have seen many "A miner, after his long
days toll below grass seated upOn some
old pagan menhir OF tor above his village
home. smoking his short pipe, and In a
kind Of grave rapture flying "a KITE taller
than himself, in an endeavOr 10 Guido a
similar achievement on the part of his own
boy and other village lads.
Two Cornish boys games are universal,
endless and very ancient. These are toe
stones" and "cob nutting." The first is
played in all open roads, paths and streets,
and the second in any place under Cor
nish skies where two rival lads can secure
room enough in which to crouch down and
swing their stout little arms. In "toe
stones" a diagram similar to the one
chalked on deck for ship billiards." with
a rounded end like that of a bagatelle
board, is drawn In the road; and the game
consists of kicking with the left foot, the
right foot being always held in the right
hand, a round fat stone from the approach
ing line from one space to another, but
never over but one line, clear around the
entire thirteen spaces, and out again,
without once having dropped the right
foot. The little fellows become wonder
fully expert IL this difficult feat.