The Savannah morning news., 1901-11-10


Philadelphia Record.
10 my mind the most deplorable fea-
| lure OF modern life is the decadence Of
good manners among children. In the
Teactlon from the old Spartan prunes,
prlsms, and back board school of de-
pertinent. in which our grandparents
were brought up. the pendulum has
swung to the opposite extreme of no
manners at all, and as a result the
average American child could give a
Plute Indian points in an exhibit of
pure and unadulterated savagery.
GU see 1t everywhere. Disrespect to
| their parents, lack of Difference to age
lack or courtesy to ladies', table man.
ners that would indicate they had been
brought up in a pig sty instead of a
refined home: these are the salient
characteristics of the childhood of our
day. Robust lads sit in the street cars
while old ladies and gray-headed men
stand Hotel corridors ring with chill
drens screams. Self conscious little
pr1gs interrupt the conversation of men
of worldwide fame to interject their
own crude opinions. Not one child in
nifty. can answer even politely when
| spoken to.
This, says Dorothy Dix in the New
| Orleans Picayune, does not overstate
the case one iota. Worse still. if pos
sible, it is painfully apparent to every
close observer that that human boom
erang, whom the French describe as
the ~enfant terrible" is on the in
crease. You not only do not know
what modern child is going
to do, you do not know
what 1t is going to say. or when YOU
| are to be treated to a criticism of your
looks or belongings. whose brutal
| nl<nnGC ara 81 60 ,sAx,
and find amusing because it emanates
from childish lips.
1, myself, have suffered so much
| from this peculiar infection that
have long felt Herod might plead ex-
tenuating circumstances if he would
come and repeat his child massacre,
but the other day l had the whole
subject brought to my attention again
in such a painful way cannot refrain
| from commenting upon it.
1 was calling at a typical American
child bossed home, where the head Of
the house is pretty and bright little
girl Of some or years of age She
had already ingratiated herself in my
affections by asking me how old l was.
and whether my frock was silk-lined
| like her mothers, and how much my
rings cost, and so on, when another
caller entered. She was an old lady
VIII olON w llllC tldlI. anu the
sweetness and dignity of manner that
bespoke the grande dame, but she wore
shabby old black frock. and she
leaned heavily on a. cane. She had
scarcely taken her seat when the in
fantile grand inquisitor turned her at
tention to the newcomer.
You are like witch aren't vou?"
she asked tactfully, leaning on that
cane"
q L.
to you, my dear" replied the old lady.
What makes you wear such big
shoes? went on the child, not noticing
her reply. "they aren't bit like man.
mas. Mammals are patent leather and
have high heels and silver buckles
"Old feet need room to move about
in replied the old lady, a, faint flush
stealing into her checks.
us that the best dress you have
got?" pursued the tormentor, "you
must be dreadfully poor to wear frock
like that. 1t isn't as good as the one
our cook wears"
Il hope you will be more fortunate
than |, and never have to wear shabby
clothes" answered the old lady. and
then, panied and Inundated, she got
up and left. and the mother, instead of
taking that child out and applying a
slipper in the place it would do the
lllOSI SOOus ht-u 10 me.
Dear Mildred is such an observing
child. She sees everything"
And says everything" 1 added.
Now, if the mother had been called
on to plead an excuse for the inexcus-
able behavior of the child, she would
have said that you can't know before
hand what a child is going to say.
That is true enough, but any child that
is years old, and has been taught the
most elementary manners ought to
know enough not to make personal
comments, or to ask what we call lead
ing questions.
Fortunately for our humanity. orr