The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1901-11-08

A1SN>s AesSSoiS5 W. N'H e~oS>>> ~-
pedagogical atmosphere they have JUS
quilted. They are the little men o
the nation, talk marbles. discuss foot
ball, argue, dispute, quarrel and fight
Sometimes they tear one another's
clothing and do other reprehensible
things, but, looking at the small, indie.
pendent bipeds from distant corner
they possess the cuteness in their per
formances that drives ones thoughts
far from business, politics and worry
1t has often been delight to wickedly
indulge in the gamble of"pitch penny
and deliberately lose to the immature
embryotc doctors, lawyers, clergymen
and statesmen, just to enjoy their fran
tic delight and extraordinary gestures
at beating grown man. Say, mister
come around again to morrow after
noon and we'll give you change to
win your money back" Then they
would nudge one another and explode
with laughter at the very idea of such
thing being liable to happen. The
little cheats-I knew they were con-
spring to beat me. but didn't care.
Their very cutcness so entranced me
that l would willingly have goaded
them into robbing a bank if l had
thought they would enjoy it.
Then the little girls under like cir
cumstances, all hippity. hopping, with
their little slim legs nearly always in
the air instead of on the ground, where
Miss Prim declares they ought to be.
Their Marguerites twirling and whir-
ing and the curious little old womanish
punches of hair bobbing about in a
chronic state Of restless youthful spirits.
They talk and gesticulate, but they do
not fight or pitch pennies They are
little mothers, and they talk about
dolls, housekeeping. They tell each
other about the pinafores they have at
home, and pull out of their pockets
crude little bits of crochcting or needle
work. "Oh, my, amt that fine!' By
and by hurdy-gurdy, street piano or
blind fiddler comes along. Then the
little mites of women drop their books,
and cover the sidewalk with their
graceful dancing figures, and they keep
it up as long as some bystander puts
a silver of money in the piano-grind-
er's hand. OF course all this is wrong,
but it is awfully cute, everything that
is cute and pleasant is usually wrong
in the minds of some folks. But,
thank goodness, they are not in the
majority, SO cuteness is not sin.
1t is my candid belief that were it
not for the fact that men and women
unbend and surrender to the attrac-
tion of youthful cuteness, the whole
world would soon become hades or a
lunatic asylum. We are invigorated,
resurrected by little senti-
not the stiff, stilted sort
that is afraid to smile very wide for
fear of breaking some precious blood
vessel, but one that will get down on
the floor and play hobby horse for
cute baby, or pretend to be bear and
hear his roars Of ecstatic delight. 1t
beats blue mass pills, and compels his
liver to secrete sufficient bile to insure
good digestion, sound sleep and light
heart, which means good conscience.
There are lessons without number
to be learned from children unconscious
of playing the pedagogue. A little
arguing in the right direction of the
vein of thought or brain capacity, and
the infant expands into sage that
would have provoked the admiration
Of Plato. "Out OF the mouth of babes
comes forth wisdom" was the way the
wiscst man that ever lived puts it. In
my younger days l took fancy to my
neighbor's baby, and was always glad
Of an opportunity to have it all to my
self. would pour all kinds of stories
into its little pink ears, and it always
listened with intense gravity. So
cutely wise would it sometimes look
when imbibing blood-curdling conf
denccs to it's tender mind that | often
set my teeth down hard on Its cute
little fingers to make it yell with pain.
1t was music to me, and it didn't kill
the baby, for it still lives.
A little mite of a blonde girl was
along the street under the
heavy load of nearly half a peck of
potatoes in paper bag, which she was
tightly straining to her breast with
both hands lest her burden should drop.
The big tears were coursing unre-
down her chubby cheeks,
caused 10y small boy, who was fol-
lowing her up and prodding her in the
back with stick. The young william
had her at a disadvantage and was
making the most of it.
"Why, why" said |, stopping in
front of them, the wicked infant man
keeping at a safe distance ready to re-
treat What does this mean! Is
this little boy your brother, my chiid?'
NO, SIR sobbed the young thing.
Il don't know him. He's been follow
ing me half block, punching me in
the back with a stick, and he won't
stop"
See here,' ''you take these two
. L., l.z1