The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1893-08-03

our childrens health to be destroyed In
order that they may gather the honors OF an
institution"
Tens OF thousands OF children educated
into imbecIlity. 40 connected with many such
literary establishments there ought 10 be
asylums for the wrecked. II is push and
crowd and cram and stuff and jam until the
ichilds intellect Is bewildered. and the
memory II wrecked. and the health h gone.
There are children turned out from the
schools who once were full OF romping and
laughter and had cheeks crimson with
health. who are now turned out in the after
noon pale faced. irritsted. asthunatic, old be-
fore their time. II IL one OF the saddest
sights on earth. an old-mannish boy or an
old-womanish girl.
Girls 10 years OF age studying algebra |
Boys II years Of age racking their brains
over trigonometryl Children unacqu aintei
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 q little medicine for that. and you
wonder what Is the matter with them.
will tell Won what Is the matter with them /;
they ara finishing their education.
In my parish In Philadelphia child was
so pushed at school that she was thrown into
u fever, and in her dying delirium. all might
long. she was trying to recite the multiplica-
tion table. In my boyhood remember that
IN our class nj school there was one lad who
knew more than all OF us put together. II
we were fast In our arithmetic. he extrlcated
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.
Al IS years OF age he was IN idiot. He lived
10 years an idiot and died an idiot, not know
ing his right hand from his left. or day from
night. The parents and the teachers made
him an idiot.
You may fiatter yo1r pride by forcing your
children to know more than any other chil-
dren. but you are making n sacrifice OF that
child n by the additions 10 its intelligence
you are making n subtraction from its iu-
ture. The child will go away from sucn mall
treatment 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 and dend. alas for them
II through the wrong system OF education
which you adopted, they have no swarthi-
ness or force OF character TO take care OF
themselves. De careful how you make the
childs head ache or its heart nutter.
hear great deal about black men IS rights
and Chinameu's rights and Indians rights
and women's rights. Would God that some
body would rise 10 plead for children right
The Carthaginians used to sacrifice their
children by putting them Into thenrms OF an
idol which thrust forth its hand. The child
was put into the arms OF the idol. and no
sooner touched the arms than It dropped into
the fire But IL was the art OF the mothers
to keep the children smiling and laughing
until the moment they died. There mny be
fascination and n hilarity nbout the styles
OF education OF which am speaking, but II
" only laughter at the moment OF sacrifice.
Would God there were only one Jephthath's
daughter.
Again, there are many parents who are
sacrificing their children with wrong sys-
tens OF discipline-too great rigor or too
great leniency.. There are children In fam
flies who rule the household. They come 20
the authority. The high chair in which the
infant sits Is the throne, and the rattle is the
scepter. and the other childen make up the
parliament where father and mother have no
vote Such children come up to be mis-
creants.
There Is no chance in this world for n child
l that has never learned TO mind. Such peo-
pie become the botheration OF the church OF
God and the pest OF the world. Children
thst do not learn TO obey human authority
are unwilling 10 learn to obey Divine author
ity.. Children will not respect parents whose
taYfrEtys they do pf' Fssp.ct. who 3, arc thos' tho,
with .asir ep 'as. ,hars.a. lSuss vest. sn' tsIfin
about their father as ''the old >spsG"
''the governor" 'the squire" ''the
old chap" or their mother as ''the
old woman" They are those who in youth.
In childhood. never learned to respect au-
thority. Eli, having heard that his sons had
died In their wickedness, fell over backward
and broke his neck and died. Well he might
What Is life TO father whose sons are de
bauched? The dust OF the valley Is pleasant
TO his taste, and the driving rains that
/ drip through the roof of the sepulcher are
sweeter than the wines OF Helbon.
There must be harmony between the
fathers government and the mothers gov
I ha fath rtyfn hu fap taI 80 30,
great vigor. The mother will bc tempted 10
too great leniency. Her tenderness will
overcome her. Her voice Ia u little softer
her hand seems better ilt TO pull out thorn
and soothe panR. Children wanting any
thing from the mother cry for IL. They hope
10 dissolve her will with tears. But the moth
er must not interfere, must not coax on,
must not beg for the child when the
hour comes for the assertion OF par -ntal
| supremacy and the subjugation OF Il
/ chiid's temper. There comes in the history
of every child an hour when II is tested
| whether the parents shall rule or the child
shall rule. That IL the crucial hour. II tho
child triumphs In that hour, then he viii
some day make you crouch. II is a horrible
scene. / have witnessed it-a mother come
! to old age, shiverlng with terror In the pres
ence OF a son who cursed her gray hairs aud
mocked her wrinkled face and begrudged hoi
the crust she munched with her toothles:
gums
How sharper than serpent's tooth iii
To have a thankleS, child
But, on the other hand, too great rigol
must be avoided. II Is sad thing when do
mestic government becomes cold militar,
despotism. Trappers on the prairie fight fir'
with fire, but you cannot successfully fight
your child's bad temper with your own baC
temper. We must not be too minute in ou
inspection. We cannot expect our children
TO be perfect. We must not see everything
Since we have two or three faults OF our own
We ought not to be- too rough when we dis
cover that our children have as many.
tradition be true, when we were children ",
were not all little Samuels, and our parent
were not fearful lest they could not raise u
because of our premature goodness.
You cannot scold or pound your children
into nobility OF chara.,ter. The bloom OF |
child's heart can never be seen under coli
drizzle. Above all, avoid fretting an,
scolding in the household. Better than Il
years OF fretting at your children Is on
good, round, old fashioned application o
the slipper That minister OF the Gospel o
whom we read In the newspapers that h