The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1907-12-28
COURTESY IN CHILDREN.

child is like a fragrant exotic-and
about as rare. The average mother
seems to consider her children when
little as ineligible for instruction in
courtesy as the family cat or dog.
When they are older she finds too
often they have grown beyond her
jurisdiction and advice.
While the child is young the moth
er's own courtesy is considered as
sufficient to maintain the dignity OF
the family, but too often the child re-
ceives some petty questionable exam
pies of the real article, as the follow
ing illustration will show:
On a recent rainy day sudden
downpour sent t. many pedestrians
crowding into the line of cars that
followed one another in quick success
sion along busy thoroughfare. At
an especially populous junction peo-
pie poured in from both ends of the
car, filling the seats rapidly. A boy
of eight or nine years, who entered
with his mother, and a young mother
with her infant in her arms both ap-
preached the one vacant seat near the
middle of the car.
Suddenly the boy awoke to a real
ization of the situation, made rapid
dash forward and slid into the seat just
as the young mother, steadying her
self as best she could, reached it. For
an instant she hesitated and looked
down at the boy in evident disappoint-
ment, as though she believed he might
rise, but the boy glanced at her and
smiled triumphantly at his mother,
who had reached him and was stand
ing. too. "That's all right, John
ME" she said, in reply to his look ;
"stay where you are" And Johnnie
did. Almost directly another passen-
ger arose and gave his seat to the
young mother, but the boys mother
stood through the journey of several
miles. Yet that kind of woman
would expect every other mothers
son to get up and give her seat.
Courtesy would demand 1t.
1t is not always that we have the
opportunity of viewing discourtesy in
this ugly light, but it is surprising and
almost beyond belief how broadcast
this spirit is, and how many homesof
supposed culture and refinement har-
bor it in its worst forms. The moth
er who defers the teaching of cour-
teous manner as though it were a
knowledge to be obtained by study,
not by application, usually allows
these matters to drift during child
hood. She permits the children to
quarrel among themselves, to main
tain their arguments by the law of
might and right, to trespass upon the
rights and privileges of one another,
to resent like impositions by physical
argument and to resort to all of the
refined cruelties and brutalities that
only members of the same family
would dare to demonstrate toward one
another. Then out of this chaos Of
bitterness and resentment she will
some day expect sweet courtesy to bud
and blossom.
Courtesy, like charity, begins at
home, and when it doesn't it isn't
worth the name. Teach little chill
dren the golden rule as every child
should know tin spirit as we'll as
word. Teach them to respect the
rights of others, to show consideration
to all who are older, weaker or less
fortunate than themselves. Let them
know the Joy of an occasional self
denial and sacrifice, and you have
sown the seed of courtesy in its truest
and sweetest sense-the only courtesy
that is worth the name.-VM. Wheat.