The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1910-09-17
THEORY AND
PRACTICE

/ Touch. BY experiment perslSIenIly
and shrewdly conducted he had found.
it was a land bounded by the universe,
being absolutely inclusive.
Toward not one of the innumerable
bewiIdering and allurfng objects he
was daily discovering could he stretch
out his fat, pudgy hands without the
voice of fate-otherWtse mother or
nurse girl or father-singing out that
pestiferous refrain, Don't touch it,"
The worst of it was that whoever
sung 1t out always meant it. II the
temptation was stronger than his COM
mon sense he grabbed the object. Then
his hands were slapped as a reward
for his spirit of investigation. At first
he had resented the slappings because
he had not learned to correlate cause
and effect, but now he was three years
and month old and he had grown
philosophical. Some things were
worth being slapped for and others
were not. So he continued to investi-
gate with charming Indifference to
the painful results.
It cannot understand It," Benny's
mother declared, Tagically and often.
He is a child of even more than av-
erage intelligence don't care If he
is mine, he is awfulIy smart-and he
can say little sentences and he undera
stands every remark made to him Yet
after have shrieked Don't touchi' at
him till am weak from lack Of breath
he calmly goes ahead and handles
everything and breaks it. I think it
must be natural depravity. Maybe he'll
turn out a criminal"
Natural fiddlesticks!" snapped Ben
ny's youngest aunt, who knew more
about golf than she did about babies
and therefore felt qualified to pose as
an authority. 'sIt's all your own fault
and that poor, abused little angel Is
simply oppressed and browbeaten. Why
do you leave things around? Why don't
you fix the house so It Is a real home
for your son instead of regular Tan
talus chamber of forbidden sweets"
Il refuse to upset my whole life and
the lives of all my family for the whtm
OF three-year-old baby" said Benny's
mother, grandly. "That would be act
Ing on the wrong principle"
"Pooh!" said Benny's aunt.
When chance gave into her hands
for one whole day the house and her
nephew she rose to the occasion with q
CLEAN of heroism in her eyes.
Cheer up, Benjamin." she said
soothingly to that parsonage, who was
watching her gravely as she moved
about the rooms putting the painted
jardfniere on top Of the piano, making
q wall of fragile vases, books and ink
stands on the high mantel and other
wise putting Satan behind the small
sinner. Cheer up! This is a red-let-
ter day! Not once shall you hear the
slogan, Don't touch!' Your intelligent
aunt has removed all the untoucha-
bles. Frolic and enjoy yourself and re-
joice that you have one relative with a
spark of justice in her makeup. Go
ahead and see how you like 1t! Kiss
me, angel, for being good to you!"
But Benjamin drew the line at that,
For long while he sat and eyed the
admirable things far beyond his reach
and then he started on his usual proWl.
Aglow with satisfaction, his aunt bur
led herself in a book
The unusual silence aroused her
finally. Search revealed BENJAMIN. seat
ed happily In the middle Of the bed
room rug swallowing the last drop from
a bottle of hair tonic. His frantic aunt
wildly swung him by his heels until
she remembered that was the remedy
for choking instead of poisoning Then
she few to the telephone to consult the
doctor. Rushing from that instrument
to see if Benjamin was already curled
up in commissions, she found him in
the kitchen with all the burners Of the
gas stove turned on and himself fair
example of incipient asphyxiation In
tears Of fright she grabbed him and
carried him out on the porch.
please walk, Benny, dear!" she
begged Its for your own good"
But Benny saw no object in walking,
so he sat down fiat. She carried him
back and forth to provide him with as
much fresh air as possible. In the
midst of it he pulled a sharp pin from
Ter hair and stabbed himself within a
raction of an inch of his eye.
Don't you dare move and don't you
Iare touch a thing till | come back!"
he warned him, Historically, as she
eft him and went to hunt the court
,laster
When she returned Benny had pulled
whole row of books of their shelf,
orn some of them and cut hole in a
ace curtain with her embroidery scis-
ors. With It all he still maintained
n unruff1ed, cheerful demeanor and
eemed in his usual state of health.
Ee was still looking for more things to
Investigate and she had no doubt that
g would find them. She gave it up as
opeless and sat down to guard her
risoner.
Benny's mother coming in quietly