The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1893-08-04

appropriate for schools. the multiplica-
ton of philosophical apparatus, the es-
tablishment of normal schools, which
provide for our children teachers Of lar
gest calber, are themes on which every
philanthropist ought to be congratu-
lated. But this herding of great multi
tudes of children in i'll ventilated school
rooms and poorly equipped halls of in
struction is making many of the places
of knowledge in this country huge holo-
causts.
Politics in many of the cities gets into
educational affairs, and while the two
political parties are scrabbling for the
honors Jephthah's daughter perishes.
1t is so much so that there are many
schools in the country today which are
preparing tens Of thousands of invalid
men and women for the future, so that
in many places by the time the child's
education is finished the child is finished!
In many places, in many cities of the
country, there are large, appropriations
for everything else and cheerful appro-
priations, but as soon as the appropria-
ton is to be made for the educational or
moral interest of the city we are struck
through with an economy that is we'll
nigh the death of us,
SPARE THE DELICATE BRAIN.
In connection with this mention what
might call the examining system of the
common schools and many of the acsde-
mies-children of delicate brain COM
PEELED to tasks that might appall ma
ture intellect, children going down to
school with strap of books half as high
as themselves. The fact is, in some of
the cities parents do not allow their
children to graduate for the simple rea
son, they say, 1--WE cannot afford to al
low our children's health to be destroyed
in order that they may gather the honors
of an institution"
Tens of thousands of children educated
into imbecility, so connected with many
such literary establishments there ought
to be asylums for the wrecked. It is
push and crowd and cram and stuff
and jam until the child's intellect is be-
wildered, and the memory is wrecked,
and the health is gone. There are chill
dren turned out from the schools who
once We're full of romping and laughter
and had checks crimson with health who
are now turned out in the afternoon pale
faced, irritated, asthmatic, old before
their time 1t is one of the saddest sights
on EARTH an old mannish boy or an old
womanish girl.
Girls 10 years of age studying algebral
Boys 10 years of age racking their brains
over trigonometry! Children unacquaint-
ed with their mother tongue crying over
their Latin, French and German lessons!
All the vivacity Of their nature beaten
out of them by the heavy beetle of
Greek lexicon. And you doctor them
for this, and you give them little med
icine for that, and you wonder what is
the matter with them. will tell you
/ what is the matter with them; they are
finishing their education.
In my parish in Philadelphia a child
was so pushed at school that she was
thrown into a fever, and in her dying
delirium, all night long, she was trying
to recite the multiplication table. In
my boyhood I remember that in our
class at school there was one lad who
knew more than all of us put together
extricated us. When we stood up for
the spelling class, he was almost always
the head Of the class. Visitors came to
his fathers house, and he was almost
always brought in as prodigy. AT 10
years of age he was an idiot. He lived
10 years an idiot and died an idiot, not
knowing his right hand from his left, or
day from night. The parents and the
teachers made him an idiot
THE RIGHTS OF CHILDHOOD.
You may flatter your pride by forcing
your children to know more than any
other children, but you are making
sacrifice of that child if by the additions
to its intelligence you are making sub
traction from its future. The child will
go away from such maltreatment with
no exuberance to fight the battle of life.
Such children may get along very well
while you take care Of them, but when
you are old or dead, alas! for them if,
through the wrong system Of education
which you adopted, they have no swarth-
mess or force Of character to take
care of themselves. Be careful how you
make the child's head ache or its heart
futter
hear great deal about black mems
rights and Chinamen's rights and In
dams rights and women's rights. Would
God that somebody would rise to plead
for children's right! The Carthaginians
used to sacrifice their children by put
ting them into the arms of an idol which
thrust forth it hand. The child was put
into the arms of the idol, and no sooner
touched the arms than it dropped into
the fire. But it was the art of the moth
ers to keep the children smiling and
laughing until the moment they died.
There may be a fascination andsa hilari.
: ty about the styles Of education of which
| am speaking, but it is only laughter at
the moment of sacrifice, Would God
there were only one Jephthah's daughter
OBEDIENCE TO BE TAUGHT.
Again, there are many parents who
/ are sacrificing their children with wrong
, systems of discipline--too great rigor OF
too great leniency. There are children
5 in families who rule the household. They
} come to the authority. The high chail
in which the infant sits is the throne
/ and the rattle is the scepter, and the
other children make up the parliament
, where father and mother have no vote
, Such children come up to be miscreants
3 There is no chance in this world for
child that has never learned to mind
: Such people become the botheration O
| the church of God and the pest of tn,
world. Children that do not learn tt
4 obey human authority are unwilling t.
learn to obey divine authority. Childre1
r will not respect parents whose authorit,
e they do not respect. Who are these
I. young men that swagger through thu
]. street, with their thumbs in their vest
r talking about their father as "the oil
a man." the governor "the squire,
t "the old chap or their mother as 9Th
old woman They are those who il
youth, il childhood, never learned to re
. spect authority. Eli, having heard tina