Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1910-09-21
THEORY AND
PRACTICE

anu sHIe"uly conducted he had found
1t was land bounded by the universe.
being absolutely inclusive.
Toward not one of the innumerable
bewildering and alluring objects he
was daily discovering could he stretch
out his fat, pudgy hands without the
voice OF fate-otherwise mother or
nurse girl or father-singing out that
pestiferous refrain, Don't touch it,"
The worst of 1t was that whoever
sung 1t out always meant it. If 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.
Il cannot understand it." Benny's
mother declared, tragically and often.
He is child of even more than av-
erage intelligence don't care If he
Is mine, he is awfully smart-and he
can say little sentences and he under
stands every remark made to him. Yet
after | have shrieked Don't touch,' at
him till am weak from lack of breath
he calmly goes ahead and handles
everything and breaks it. | think it
must be natural depravity. Maybe he'll
turn out 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. It'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 a regular Tan,
talus chamber of forbidden sweets"
Il refuse TO upset my whole life and
the lives of all my family for the whim
OF a three-year-old baby" said Benny's
mother, grandly. That would be act
ing on the wrong principle"
POOH" said Bennys aunt.
when CHdHCe gave INTO her hands
Tor one whole day the house and her
nephew she rose to the occasion with a
CLEAN of heroism in her eyes.
Cheer up, Benjamin." she said
soothfngly to that parsonage, who was
watching her gravely as she moved
about the rooms putting the painted
1ardiniere on top Of the piano, making
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-
1olce that you have one relative with q
spark of justice in her makeup. Go
ahead and see how you like 1t, Kiss
me, angel, for being good to youi"
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 prowI.
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 flew to the telephone to consult the
doctor Rushing from that instrument
to see if Benjamin was already curled
up in commissions, she found him I'm
the kitchen with all the burners of the
gas stove turned on and himself a 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. It's for your own good"
But Benny saw no object in walking
so he sat down fat. She carried him
back and forth to provide him with as
much fresh air as possible In the
midst of 1t he pulled a sharp pin from
her hair and stabbed himself within a
fraction of an inch of his eye.
Don't you dare move and don't you
dare touch a thing till / come back"
she warned him. Historically. as she
left him and went TO hunt the court
plaster.
When she returned Benny had pulled
a whole row Of books off their shelf.
torn some of them and cut hole in a
lace curtain with her embroidery scis.
sors. With it all he still maintained
an unrufIied. cheerful demeanor and
seemed in his usual state of health.
He was still looking for more things to
investigate and she had no doubt that
he would find them. She gave it up as
hopeless and sat down to guard her
prisoner
Benny's mother coming I'm quietly
hnarl MT hntin uIlc.rn-L Ln.-nl. !. -