The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1902-01-09
The Detection of
Danny's M0n1n7er.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
BY william Mac Leod Raine.

WI lleve In spanking. She hnd ably
maintained In paper before the
North Side Mothers club that To in.
dict physical pain on u helpless child
~as barbaric, cruel. unnecessary and
itterly subversive of those finer feel
.ngs Of comrndeship which should ex-
ist between parent and child. The
club was enthusiastic In It's indorsc-
mcnt Of "The Passing Of Corporal
Punishment" and voted almost unnn-
iniously for the publication and wide
distribution Of the paper. Mrs. Dar-
row felt IL to be u striking instance Of
the strength Of the foolish convcn-
tions which had 80 long bound wo-
men that Mrs. Wentworth. genial
mother of six children though she
was, remained unconvinccd ms to the
practical working OF the new sccn-
tifIc substitutes for the old-fashioncd
rod.
Certainly Mrs. Dnrrow had In Dan.
lei, Jr., splended material upon which
TO test her theories To the utmost.
He was what Mrs. Barry. waslilady
for sundry families In the ncighhor-
hood, called "a limb" Sometimes she
varied her form Of expression. pro-
ouncing him TO be "a little divvlc."
but In either case she mcont the sa me
thing.
He appeared as cherubic n child as
one would want To meet. His big. blue
eyes. his engaging smile. his charm
Ing lisp were eloquent OF innocence.
but In his four-year-old heart Iurked
uggcstions Of depravity Ia he nc
DDted for only ON the bnsis of
sl sin. There were times when
aternal happiness In the posses
bf her darling was no keen that
|hful fear filed her mind lest he
I'd be found too good for this
Id. This was usually when the
'ub lay asleep, with his beautiful.
jlden curls falling across his pink
nd white cheeks. At other times she
rarely had TO combat this anxiety, ex-
cept when he sat In demure silence
plotting further mischief. IL was
characteristic- OF her attitude toward
him that II this pcrpetual-motion na-
chine was quiet for an instant she at
once suspected him of being sick.
Divers were here methods Of pun
ishmcnt. She would take him on her
knee and reason with him till tender
hearted Dannic burst into n sudden
gnsh Of tears Mt the pain he was
causing his "Mommer." She would
make him say his prayers and ask for
giveness, would deny him some cx-
pccted pleasure, or In extreme cases
would lock him up In the coal cellar.
from whence Master Daniel usually
emerged gaily with black hands and
face. having put In his period Of EN-
forced confinement In playing train
engineer. In any ease he always had
the happy faculty OF forgetting iinme-
diatcly that he was under punishment
and beamcd upon his mother so conf
.-lientlyNtha sometimes she too forgo.
n. II she hcartlessiy reminded him
Of his disgrace he made Of II fasci-
nating play, In which he alternately
chidcd himself for his naughtincss
and made penitent promises of amend
menf IN voices suited TO the different
parts.
The morning after the rcnding of
his mothers paper Daniel was unus.
unlly active. II almost seemed ns lf
the formal announcement ~ the
passing Of the rod had stirred him 90
celebration AZ the event. AZ any
rate he cxcrted himself to make his
presence felt In his little world.
"You're tryin' yourself, Dannie. me
bye" Bridget told him wrnthfully. AS
she drove him from the kitchen nj
last.
He lured the pup into the woodshed
and painted him n deep. rich green
varied with occasional stripes Of red.
after which he transferred his at:cn-
tions 70 the eat and lnboriously
worked three umbrella rings ON It's
tail. Later he ventured back into
the kitchen on visit Of Precipitation,
and In the cooks absence. while en-
sleavoring to help himself Ia dough
from the pan To make play bread.
empfIcd the sticky mass upon his
hcsi.
Daniel explained 10 his mother that
d lad been IAN assidcnt." but never
1tr.efS shc locked him Into dark
6so<cs. forgetful for the moment that
n rontsIicd the preserves. When the
young man emerged his face and
hcnds had taken ON a strcaky tint
n plum 1nnn. Al a last resort he wns
c1lgl0ned 70 tke coal cellar. being
D&folly tlcd out Of reach Of the coal.
(. ~ u mlnutes more Of durance
- Sroe osass uoss turned loose
~ NV hsss : IN hour sft-
)An1 M Uonow NJ eoea-