The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-07-27
TALKS TO MOTHERS,
uI.-THE BOYS TRAINING IN HUMAN
ITY.
copyright by Cambridge Literary Bureau and
Press 1892.
BY ONE OF THEM

One of the most important duties OF a
mother is to teach her son kindness to
animals. No sight in our boosted age
of civilization is more painful, and
none more disgraceful, than the cruelty
practiced by boys, and regret to say,
by men as well, upon the helpless ami
mails IN their power. ! refrain from re-
peating the narrowing tales l could
tell of torture and abuse unworthy the
rudest savage, which ! have myself
seen on the streets of city priding it
self upon its civilization and humanity.
Within its boundaries dozens of institu-
tons cherish and minister to, not only
the afflicted, but the idle and vicious
members of the human family; and
thousands of mothers give their very
lives to this service, while their young
sons grow up to torment the cat, NAL
treat the dog. and kill and MAIN every
smaller creature they can get their
hands upon. 1t is burning and cry
| ing shame upon us as race in this
nineteenth century, and especially upoI
us as mothers.
No one need say: ~ can't help it!
my boy will do SOP Doubtless he will
not obey when she orders him to desist;
command, even punishment, will not
eradicate that brutal inclination, a
survival from the days when every
mans hand was against his neigh
Dor But if the mother goes to work
properly she can accomplish even this
task.
The boy is little savage, his ten
| derness cannot be counted upon, his
sympathy is an unknown quantity; but
he is a bundle of curiosity, his atten-
ton can be roused-and here is the
point to attack him. He must be in
structed and interested in the lives of
the lower order of creatures. To this
end the mother must begin with her.
self. She must know something of the
wonderful facts of natural history, SO
that when she finds that hopeful son Of
hers mutilating flies and teasing the
kitten she can tell him some curious
and entertaining facts in the lives of
those animals-show him how the fly is
developed, the office it performs, and,
if possible, its marvellous beauty under
the microscope.
The world of life below us is brim-
ming with wonders, and the child is
fairly hungering for information. He
will not throw stones at bird whose
movements he has learned to under
stand, whose actions he is entertained
by, nor will he crush an ant whose
strange and remarkable life history he
knows something Of; he will rather
want to see what it will do. His intel.
ligence must be aroused and fed, and
as he becomes older his sympathies WHY
grow. q
In the days when mans strength Of
arm and Indifference to the sufferings
of others was the only protection to his
family, it was thought that hardness OF
heart and cruelty were manly virtues
but the world has moved little, and
happily we have fallen upon a better
time The example of the Christ-life
has not been utterly without fruit, and
the nobler men are now waking to the
fact that cruelty to animals is moi
only an outrage upon the animals, but q
Thousand times worse for the man OF
boy who practices it.
How a mother protesting to mode
her life upon that meek and gentle one
in Judea, nearly nineteen hundred
years ago, can permit her sons to come
up like the brutal savages who have &
far different ideal is problem l an
unable to solve.
Much could be said on the rights of the
animal, as fellow creatures, and co
be brought forward to prove their use
fulness to mankind; but passing ovel
these points with mere mention, ant
putting the case upon the most selfsl
grounds-it is a deadly wrong to tn,
boy to let him indulge in cruelty
Every act Of brutality hardens him, an(
makes him more ready for crime:
against his fellow man. l will not nov
open the question of the value to a DO,
of being able to maintain his rights
among his playfellows by fighting,
which by many is thought to be an es
sential part of manly boys training
This is by no means settled question
but certainly, whatever may be one
opinion on that point, there is not
shadow of excuse for his being bruta
to the unfortunate creatures who ar
helpless in his hands.
The inhumanity of our race is some
, thing frightful to think of when on
, stops to consider it. The heart of an,
one possessing common sensibility
wrung when he looks into the faces o
the patient horses on the streets, sery
, ants to our pleasure, and treated as
they were machines of wood and irol
, for the rough u sage of men. Verify,
we have not some day to atone for GU
unmerciful treatment of the horse
there can be no justice anywhere.
And the dog-man's humble slave
Ones blood boils at the memory of tn
outragcs perpetrated upon that faithful
being. Of the wrongs of the cat at tn
. hands of tie self-styled lord of cre5
{ ton, little lower than the angels" a
he claims to be, dare not trust mysel
I to speak.
All this it is in the power of mothers t
alter. 1t will be the work Of genera
ton; not one, nor one thousand mother
can do it-but each one can help, an
every boy tha5 comes to manhood jus
and humane will forward the goo
work.