The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-03-11
CLEVER CHILDREN.
What Becomes Of the Quick-Witted
Youngsters When They Grow up

What Becomes Of the Quick-Witted
Youngsters When They Grow up
From the London Daily Telegraph.
''What has become of the boys Of ones
YOUTH" was one Of the questions put to
himself by Artemus Ward in the highly
humorous lecture which he delivered
more than 90 y -ars ago in the Egyptian
Han. He answered the interrogatory by
remarlunw that some of them were in
prison; while to the kindred ques ton,
what has become of the girls of our
YOUTH his reply was. Some are mar
ried; others would like to be-" Many
people win probably be reminded of these
utterauccs Of the earliest, and enc of the
best of the American comic Specialists by
. discussiOn originated by contemporary
as 10 the future deStiuiCs of clever chill
dren. Where do all the quick witted,
vivaciOus youngsters that we meet with
in daily life. go TO when they become men
and womenl Do they still retain their in
fantiIe precocity, and, after setting the
nursery in roar with their childish
quips and sallies, blossom into tirst-rate
humorists ana conversational attractions
of the highest orderl
The complaint which is made'is that the
cleveS boys and girls simply disappear, be
coming III later years Just as dull and
heavy as the majority of adults. They
started of in the race of life at too rapid
pace, and were unable to keep it up all
through. Instances, of course, there are
of precOcious children becoming cele-
brated geniuses. Mozart was a skilled
musician at about years old; Lord KEEL
vim studied when a boy of - a scientific
problem that engages his attention at
this day young Watt wasted his time
so it was thOught-when Lad with curl
Gus experiments on the power of steam,
and John Stuart Mill at the age when it
is usual to 90 to school, knew as much
Greek and Latin as most boys who are
leaving it,
These however, may be exceptions that
prove the rule. William Betty. the in
FAINT RoscluS,' made name and a fortune
while still a child, but never fulfilled the
promise of his youth; and it yet remains
to be seen whether any Of the young
musical prodigies. of whom we have had
such a crop of late, will develop into
great composers or instrumentalists in the
distant future Nearly every family
treasures up the wise, witty and tender
sayings of some juvenile belonging to it,
who ought to set the Thames on fire when
he or she grows up, but who somehow or
other, does and says nothing Mt all mem
Orable to redeem the promise of earlier
years.
Why does a little girl who astonishes a
circle of adult takers by suddenly OBJ
oNA flAE IL 10 oO oNettCi IA JO5tpu US ldll
10 rival Mrs. Browning in poetry and
George Eliot in prose? Possibly the ex-
PLANTATION is to be found in that observa-
ton of the Latin grammar about the i'm
possibility of any mortal being wise at all
hours If he is brilliant from > to 10, the
| law Of compensation may compel him to
be deadly dull from 10 upwards
Nature is sure to know best in these
matters; but it is open to question
whether we could not bottle up the waste
intellectual energy of the nursery, so that
it might be rendered really useful TO hui
mainly at later stage, Just as we store
water in tanks during food time to be
ready for a rainless day afterwards The
| process would be merciful to the clever
| children themselves, because-nothingc can
be worse for them than to find out that they
are regarded by their elders as paragons
| Of wit They feel bound to act up to the
reputation, and SO the mind gets over
taxed, and the vein prematurely worked
out.