Amador ledger. (Jackson, Amador County, Calif.) 1875-19??, 1901-03-01

| always feel that there is something
that is noble and eleyating lacking in
those who will impale a fly on a pin
and deliberately proceed to torture it
by pulling off its wings, sticking a pin
into its eyes, and finally ending it all
by pulling the poor insect to pieces.
There is something fiendish and posi-
lively inhuman in anyone who will be
guilty of anything of the kind, and he
should be severely dealt with. Yet /
saw boy treat fly in that way in the
presence of his mother the other day,
and what do you think she said? You
would never guess. She looked at him
fondly and said: "He makes me shud-
der when he does anything like that,
but he's so fond of natural history and
physiology, and his heart is set on
being doctor, so suppose [ must get
used to all that kind of thing, for in
the language of some of our most emil
nent physicians, they destroy to
save A lady who was present and
who was fairly writhing in her chair at
the sight, replied, "But he is not work.
ing on that principle at all; he is de-
to kill and make that poor fly
suffer. We want humanity and thought
fulness among our physicians, and not
only that, but tenderness and an aver
sion to cause needless suffering. What
kind of physician would your boy
make if he is at this tender age cult
waiting that heartlessness that will
allow him to torture things in that
way?" ~ don't look at things i'll that
light at all, replied the mother, with
some spirit. "He wants to be a sur
geon, and they have to be indifferent
to suffering and have cool nerve and
steady hand to- achieve a success in
surgery. He dissected live toad the
other day, and while 1 fairly had a
nervous chill over it, he was as cool as
piece of ice, and knowing that his
ambition in life is to be great surgeon
[ did not have the heart to say any
thing and Bobby caught another fly
and proceeded with his cruel work
while the guest fled from the room, in
dignant and with strong feeling that
she would like to catch Bobby out long
enough to administer the chastisement
that he needed. Yet after all the
mother was largely responsible for the
cruel nature of her boy, and instead Of
trying to teach him kindness and gen.
tleness in all things, she encouraged
him in his acts of cruelty. 1t was q
mistaken idea, and Polly will ''miss her
guess" if she does not yet reap the har-
vest and have many an aching heart
over the cruelty of the boy who is now
her idol and in whom she can see
nothing but what is good and true, but
that is mother-like. ~
know of one little boy who from his
babyhood up showed this cruel spirit
and which his father and mother
seemed perfectly blind to, and / am
watching to see what the harvest will
be for the boy and parents as WELL
When he was mere baby and could
just tOddle round he took keen pleas
ure on stepping on everyOne's toes
Then he took to pinching and sticking
pins into everyone he could. The peo-
pie in the place where his parents
boarded had such an aversion to the
child that they could not bear to have
him come into the room. One evening
he came into the din1ng-room where all
the guests were assembled at dinner,
and as he passed he reached up and
stuck a pin into gentleman's arm
He was ready for him, and quick as a
flash he returned the compliment and
the boy was carried screaming from the
room by his mother, who pronounced
the victim of her sons daily pranks "a
great big overgrown brute to stick pin
into mere baby" He replied that he
was sorry, rot for perpetrating the