The Newark journal., 1909-11-19
THOUGHTS
 ON BOYS By J. s. KiRTLEY, D. D.
 Author of the "Young
 Man and Himself," etc. { 
HIS BODY
Copyright. by Joseph D. Bowles.)


 who is sound in body, mind, and heart. and the reader is not left guessing as to what that other object is. The in- visible angels must be humming around him, taking notice and getting points. The chances are, however, that if he should get sight of one Of these angels, he would be about like that typical American boy, whom his mother presented to her. archbishop at a reception. Come, son. she said in her most self-approving air at being able to bring two such persons to- gether, "come, speak to his grace, the archbishop" The boy extended the back Of his left hand, fingers limp and hanging down, while he gaZed off with indifference in another direction, and merely said: How are you Arch"
 He is fearfully and wonderfully made. Muscle and mind and morals; blood, and bone, and brain, and brawn, and body; playing, and praying. and pounding, and sometimes pouting; jumping, and jClting, and jollying and jostling; such is the strange med ley of his composition and his conduct. He is not all body, by any means, but all of him is there in his body, and if it is not in a condition to transact business he is usually a very unhappy citizen, while, if it is ready to coop crate with him in his plans, it is his delightful and confidential friend Sickness is tragieal. When he must lie in the house and hear the voices of his playmates ringing in meeking sat isfaction with themselves. it is one of the acutest sorrows of his boyhood pilgrimage His body is the house in which he lives and it is the instrument with which he transacts business. 1t is movable house, and can find foot ing and keep it's equilibrium at any level between the basement and the cornice just outside the window of the top floor. He loves to make use of it for falling out of bed in his sleep. swinging his legs out of the third story window, jumping from the barn loft. sliding down the banister without touching his hands, riding a bucking broneho, climbing up the water spout and yelling himself hoarse, and every body else deaf
 He usually has to fight for his body, and then he fights with 1t. There is an early stage, which each Of us can at least partially remember, when predatory diseases were bounding us, and for one boy who escaped. at least three fought it ont-mumps and meas les and the whole list Some times the boy lost his house in the contest, was evicted, but usually he held possession, though now and then a window Of the soul, as some one has called the eye, was dimmed or cracked or broken out, or some other ornamental or useful part of the house injured. He is battling for q good constitution, the foundation of his house. This happens rather early.
 His passion for running all sorts of risks is orc of his early perils It is scarcely possible for him to escape the fracture of a bone. The doctor had to be called two different times to come to our house and put my wrecked col lar bones into proper connection with the rest of my anatomy, and just how he escaped being called 20 times for similar services 1 cannot understand. And it was before the rage for the present style of football began, too. Once horse l was riding was respon. sible for it, and the other time an other boy, with whom l was wrestling. had too much muscle for me But we will let that pass, also. The following letter. written by a mother to her aspiring boys teacher, is self-explain- ing: Joe is not able to come to school today. He has just shaved himself for the first time.'
 The other day the physical director in the boys department of the Y. NJ c. A. in our eity-the best boys de partment l have ever known anything about, too-told me that 1t was O. the utmost importance to boy to keep his body clean, and to go into details in doing so: He must keep his finger nails and toe nails trimmed and clean, must see that the nasal pas. sages are clean, must look after his eyes and ears, and especially his 'hi'ot' " lS ilupbIldHl lOf HIS Duentdi and moral, as we'll as physical good or course parents have to do that for him till he gets the habit of doing it himself, and he will not get the habit till he sees that something is depend ing on 1t. Right there the parent finds trouble, for he usually has dis unct aversion to washing on the ground that he will soon get dirty again. boy, sent away from the table to wash his face, came back with only slight improvement, and was told he had not done thorough work His reply was: "I washed. all right but didn't think it necessary to go into details"
 One of the things most likely to trou ble him and his parents is his irregu lar growth.
 If the body is a house, 1t must be made as ample as possible, entirely clean, and its occupant must be clean in thought and speech. The brain is almost full size by the time he is 1G 2 hint to him that the brain must mas ter the body. He cant very well nlay