Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1896-11-27
fAuLTs Of AMERIcAN cHILDRlN.
Their Faults Are the Faults Of Men snd
women.-Their Causes and Their Cure.

Ihetr tnults Are the Faults of Men Hnd
women.-Their Causes and Their Cure.
BY THE RIGHT REV. BISHOP DoANE.
The faults of children are the faults Of
men and women in miniatures; and the
faults Of American children are the dim
inutive Of the faults of American men and
women They derive them by inheritance
or they get them by imitation. What are
these faults in detailg
A dear boy of whom / asked the question
"What do you think are your faultsS" said
slowly and deliberately "Thoughtlessne
disobedience and rudeness" / should put
the category in this way: Disrespect and
irreverence; selfindulgenee in speech and
life; careless and slipshod ways of talkingi
and headlong heedlcssness and hurry.
There is much meaning, and there are
many meanings in the act of our Lord,
which set little child in the midst tf
His disciples
First of all, of course, was the avowed
purpose of holding before all men, for i1ni-
tatiOn, the childlike spirit, with all its
graces and gifts which make children
lovely; and the fairest features of their in
born characteristics, ics,-humility, affection
ateness, trustfulness, quick sympathies,
the spirit to learn righteousness, reality,
sincerity, courage, and hope and truth.
More than this, He meant to teach us
the place of the child in the family for the
child's sake and for the family"s sake
But this needs explanation.
The foreign habit of separating and set
ting apart the children from the heart of
family life, of their assignment to nurses
and governesses with a now and then
''look att from the parents, is, though
somewhat fashionable, not widespread
among us, am glad to say Perhaps we
have gone to the other extreme, of allow
ing children to occupy and usurp too much
the interest and attention of the household.
But it is needful for the child's develop
ment that it should grow up in the atmos-
phere of love and under the watchful eye,
which carefully studies the varieties of dis
position that distinguish children from
, each other, and demand diversity of disci-
pline. Again, it is needful for the family
to get the controlled carefulness of conduct
and expression which ought to be the out
come of the habitual presence of child.
Their long ears and sharp eyes are the
very best restraint upon the manners and
speech of their elders.
The old heather legend, "Let nothing
; foul to ear or eye cross this threshold, in
side of which is boy" is the keynote of
this suggestion.
1.-THE STANDARD OF REVERENCE"
The modern perversion of the idea OF
A., 4;
1t is perversion. That we have no "king
to honor" does not mean that ''the powers
that be" have neither dignity nor honor.
The wrangles of parties, the PERSONAL
ties of politics, the frequent changes of adj
ministrations, the coarse criticism of those
} in authority the vulgar violence of the
, partisan press, fill the air with disrespect
And at home, where the fifth command.
ment ought to be impressed and insisted
on, we are too free and easy about disci-
! pline, about our relations with children
and with each other, to keep the standard
up, of the reverence due to age and to au
, thority.
Over and above this, the careless use Of
sacred words; caricatures of and about the
Bible; the loose keeping of Sunday; the
neglect of church going, of family worship
and of the grace at meals, undermine the
foundation of reverence for God, on which
alone all real respectfulness can rest.
Our children are too luxurious and self
indulgent They begin where their parents
leave off. What were luxuries to us ar,
necessities to them. In books, in dress, iI
food, in modern methods of learning
where the teacher does all the work iii
all their ideas and expectations they ar,
spoiled
They do not 'endure hardness" they
bear no burdens in their youth" The.
learn neither self-reliance nor self-control
and with neither minds nor muscles de
; veloped, they are in training, through
, oversensitive nerves. for dissipation, effe
, minacy, hysteria and good-for- nothingnes
Why English should survive anothe
: generation as noble speech, is hard t,
see. The popularity of slang, the falls
: counterfeits Of language in the curren
writin gs of novels and newspapers, the un
corrected mispronunciations the careles
slurring of syllables, the neglect of tn
standard English classics, like Scott an,
Wordsworth, and the substitution for then
of nonsense verses and morbid meIodrama
!, about childhood, written in sloppy an,
4 sentimental sentences are tending to col
( rupt the language of children into 'de
?. filed English which must lower tn
i thinking, and degrade the whole menta
}, caliber of the generation that is coming
d ON.
. Further, the high pressure Of life, tn
! "record- breakings' of ocean travel, tn
}. false standard Of speed in everything, fron
Is a horse to a typewriter, the rush of moder1
Ie living, are begetting in children spirit 0
n headlong haste. This means heedlessnes
!. the doing nothing really we'll, lack of cas-
!. in manners, of composure OF character, O
steadiness and moderation; from whicl
a must grow restlessness, instability, poo
work, discomfort and failure.
Is it not time 20 remember that children
>. are heritage and gift that cometh iron
= the Lord; that they are given to us, b
Ia Him, as Moses was, by the kings daugh
o ter. "Take this child and nurse it 70
le me ,; !" that the first thought of men am
Il women, TO whom the precious gift and tn
: great responsibility Of child is given
q should be in the form and words @
!. Manoah's prayer, "How shall we order tn
child and how shall we do unto him. -
Youths Companion.
y u What though the sea be calm
\. trust to the shore
e Ships have been drowned wher