The Monitor-register., 1896-05-01
"Old Charley. the Shirk."

"Old Charley. the Shirk."
When was a boy my father owned a
span OF horses, named Charley and Bill,
or as we always called them, "Old Char.
ley" and sold Bill" In size and color
they were we'll matched, but in character
they were very different. Old Bill was a
straightforward, honest, industrious
horse, always doing his work faithfully.
without Watching or urging. Old Char
icy. though tougher, if anything, than
oid Bill, and better able to do hard work,
was dishonest, Sinking the hard work
whenever he could, and requiring con-
slant Watching and urging to make him
"keep up his end" and do his share of
the hard drawing. He was a cunning
oid horse, and always shirked his work
when SO situated that he could, by "mak-
ing believe" that he wal drawing very
hard, and thus deceiving those who did
not understand him. l had often heard
MIN pronounced lazy by the teamsters.
put was not aware of his real character
as a shirk till l discovered It one time
accidentally.
rather had a quantity of lumber which
ne wished to send by canal to the CITY of
II, twenty miles distant. Being
unable to find a man to do the boating
for him, he finally hired a boat and CON-
Guided to do his own boating, using his
team to do the towing. Father was
captain, the teamster was steersman. and
it being vacation time, 1 was appointed
driver. The horses were harnessed tan.
dem, that is one before the other. Old
Charley being the hind or saddle"
horse. For the first two or three miles 1
0 d the saddle horse, following the
custom Of other drivers, and then for a
change to rest myself and at the same
time relieve the horse, I dismounted and
VA saw that Old Charley's collar didn'i
touch his shoulder at all; there was room
enough t. put NY hand in between his
shoulder and COLLAR, SO I knew he was
not drawing any, although judging from
the motion of his head and body, he was
drawing with all his might. Old Bill
was towing the boat alone, while Old
Charley was walking along at his ease,
though apparently very Industrious. On
making the discovery that Old Charley
was Sinking, I applied the whip two or
three times, which made him press his
shoulders into the collar and pull in good
earnest. l soon discovered, however,
that he watched me very closely, and
whenever my attention was turned away,
he would ease up in his collar and not
draw any. So 1 found it necessary to
watch his collar, that being the only way
l could discover whether he was Sinking
or no, and when It did not set snugly to
his shoulder, a word or a slight applica'
ton of the whip reminded him Of his
duty.
How many boys and girls are just like
Old Charley: though able to do what is
required of them by their parents or
teachers, they seek in some way to
avoid it.
They are lazy Eyes, that is the true
r~eason), they do not like to do anything
requiring a little effort, and so they are
always Sinking. This is often the case
with scholars in school. When required
to study, they will sit with their books
open before them, but, like Old Charley,
they only make believe. Their minds
are not on their studies at all; it is too
hard work to think-so they shirk. Such
scholars are full of complaints and ex-
ouses, and always lean on their %neighbors
for assistance. They would not like to
be called dishonest, and yet they are; and
besides, they do themselves q great
wrong, for when they are grown to be
men and women, instead of being intelli-
gent and wise, and able to think and
Judge for themselves, they will be igno-
rant and dependent upon others to think
and decide for them.
No, children, do not shirk under any
circumstances. When you have any
duty to performs little work to do, or
q difficult lesson to learn, the best way,
and the ~pleasanrest way, too, is to press
right into the collar at once. Did you
never observe how cheerful and happy the
boy appears who has recited a good lesson,
and how sour and unpleasant the boy
feels who has been detected trying to
shirk his lessons? l pity the poor shirk
who makes himself the laughing stock
of his class by answering that four times
four are forty.four, or that the Green
Mountains are in Greenland, or that the
North River runs north. If a boy is
disposed to shirk, he may succeed for a
while, but, like Old Charley, sooner or
later he will be found out, and then how
unpleasant to be constantly watched and
in constant fear of being punished. I
know it is hard work to work, or, as the
witty Irishman said, that ''hard work is
not easily done,'' but then remember that
it is only by hard work that anything
really good is accomplished in this life,
and especially IL it be the acquisition of
knowledge, it can only be done by hard
study; each individual must think for
himself. Another person can no more
think and study for you than he could
eat for you and you receive the benefit.
Therefore, If you have the least desire to
become a wise and useful man or woman,
make it your rule in early life-NEvER
TO sHIRK.-Elisha n. Carpenter, in