The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-12-10

| NuCSltollS W lllCil IlD l:ltll C.tll =
which, indeed, often startle one like :
| flash of lightning How far is it from
here to heaven? How long does il
tlke to get there What does the Lore
do up there? How does He look! How
are the people dressed in heaven:
What no they eat. and what do they
drink. there? Have all the angels
| wings? How do the flowers grow:
Why are some men white and some
black! And 50 on. Saint Paul, Sil
| Isaac Newton, and Herbert Spencer
| together would not be able to answer
him. Ah what Il wondrous land OF
mystery and miracle the world is to
the child just beginning to observe and
think. He wants to know every thing
and believes all that is told him. That
delightful period Of existence, some
years, is perhaps the most supremely
happy in our life. 'Tis very true, O
Wordsworth, that '.heaven lies about
us in our infancy" And that the &c,
lestial visions of youth die away and
disappear in manhood.
A curious child, who dwelt upon tract
OF inland ground, applying to his ear
The convolutions of a smoOth-pped shell;
To which, in silence hushed his very soul
Listened intently; and his countenance soon
frightened with joy; for from within were heard
Murmurings. whereby the living monitor expressed
Mystic union with Its native sea.
When child utters consciously
clear or witty thing, one of the two
things must be presumed: the child is
either abnormally clear, or he is no
longer a child. Any one may see this
by utterng a witticism before an audi
ence of children He will soon per-
ceivc that they do not catch its mean
ing; there minds are not yet ripe for
such things. Only precocious child
can utter or apprchenda a witty remark.
| have heard of an English bishop who,
in Offering an orange to Il little child,
said to him: ''Now, my little man, |
shall give you this orange, if you tell
me where God is My lord, ar-
.ua,ol ho bnx hn fho of I,
English nobleman, ''I'll give You two
oranges if You tell me where He is
not" That boy was too clever to live,
and we may well exclaim with Gloster:
So young, wise, they say, ne'er live long.
| have never heard what became of
him; but. if he had lived, | am sure he
would have been heard Of
Papa, | planted some potatoes in
our garden, and what Go you think
came up?'' ''Why potatoes, of fcourse."
NO, sir; there came up drove ofpigs
and ate them al!'' This, too, was
very precocious boy; and | would not
be surprised if he We're kinsman of
the former But he had another kins-
man. who also died early, who was
equally good at witty and wise an
swers. Being praised one day by Il
gentleman for his shrewdncss in reply
ing, and informed 10y another that
smart children were very often dull and
stupid in manhood, this precocious
youth quietly retorted: " Ioa must have
been I very smart boy, sir!'' This
youngster was also bright ut school;
for, being asked one day to illustrate
the use of the prefix dis, he wrote this
sentence on the blackboard: BOYS love
to play, girls to display" Here he
merely displayed his talent in a play
ful manner. But on another occasion,
being asked what his godfather and god
mother had done for him, he answered.:
"They have done nothing for me so far;
what they mean to do | don't know!
This youth must have been built for Il
lawyer: for one day he asked his moth
er whether the teacher ought to have
punished him for something he hadn't
done. NO, my child: why do YOU
ask "BecAusr he llo9gcd me to-day
for not doing ny lcsson>.'
Then again it sometimes happens
that child will hit upon an cXpedient
that grown person would never think
Of Cowpcr could not have had any
BOYS around him. or he would never
have cut in his fence large hole for his
big rabbit and small hole for his lit
tie rabbit to pass through. think it
it is Goldsmith who tells Of little girl
who come to his room one day and
asked for a live coal to kindlc her fire
with. ~ OF may have it, my child"
said he, "but how will yoa carry it!'
"Oh, can carry it. she replied Then,
Ia ,il,g some ashes into the palm of her
han !. she laid the live coal on the same.
by aid OF the tong~. and made off with
her hnr,l,n SWELL" said Goldsmith,
with all my knowledge and philosophy,
should never have thought Of that"
That child would have hppn n real