The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-01-23
The Hayward
Kid
BY MARIAN L. GUERNSEY

Seems to me that boy was born con
trary.
II tried all sorts o ways maxim him
obedient. but they failed-that is, all
sorts o. ways except whippin' him
That don't believe in. shut him up
by himself. / deprived him of those
+ little things children most wish for
Then / tried kindness. None o. them
ways worked with Johnnie"
How about your other children"
asked the deacon. when they were
l.ttle?'
They didn't any of 'em appear to
have much sense o. responsibility. II
/ or their mother was sick and we ex-
pected 'em to give up anything they
thought o dom to help us out they
didn't want to do it. Nothing must in
terfere with any pleasure they laid
ont for themselves, My youngest boy
and my second girl was the best o the
lot. They're with us yet. Billy's q
fust rate farm hand. and his sister
Ruth is very useful, helpin' her mother
with the cookin'."
what became of Johnnie"
"Oh. John as he grew older he got
a lot of all fred ridiculous notions In
his head and was worse'n when he
was kid He got an idee that
he'd like to be perfesser in col
lege. Did y ever hear O. SIGH non
sense? He wanted me to spend all
the money I could make on the farm
to edicate him for some useless job.
and when l wouldn't do 1t he got mad
and walked away, sayin' / wouldn't
hear anything from him ever ag'in
onless he'd done somepin wo'th doin'.
After all I'd done for him-keepin'
him in food and ciothes-to treat me
that away! tell you, parents are to
be pitied"
"Then you don't think children
pay?"
mo, they don't in the long run.
When they're little tots they're kind
o. cunnin' and have spasms of affec-
ton In 'em But 1 never could make
out whether the spasms Of badness or
of affection was the principal part OF
'em. Anyway, after all the pains
you've had with 'em they're sure about
the time you get 'em to be of some
use to you to go off, the gals with
some Teller and the boys with some
girl and you never get any return for
your trouble"
Didn't it pay your father to bring
you up?"
81 dunno as it did. I've often |
thought that mebbe 1t didn't"
The gate clicked, and well dressed |
man about thirty came up the walk.
The farmer put on his glasses.
"Somepin familiar about him." he re-
marked. Seems to me I've seen him
before"
Hello, dadw said the newcomer.
.'You don't know me, do your"
by gum! You beant Johnny, be
your
Certainly I'm Johnny"
swell, / want to know! Come back
to see the old man, eh, my boyf I'm
glad to see you" And he
folded his arms about his son.
'.Yes, I'VE come back, dad. When
/ went away l think must have been
a trife cantankerous. was determin-
ed to learn a lot of things that may
seem useless to you. But I've learned
them I'm professor OF biology In
W. university"
"Do tell! What y learned, johnny
"Why. I've learned that we are born
to nature, and our parents Job is to get
nature out of us as fast as they can.
We are all animals, only we humans
are capable of higher development
than those below US. But in the begin
ming there's not much difference be-
tween us and them. Look at a new
born kitten and you'll see 1t clawing
The air. I've seen a newborn baby do
Ing the same thing. But the kitten
grows into a cat, and the baby grows
into a man or woman. While the CIV
Ilized child Is developing 1t Is simply
getting away from Its ancestral inner
tance. 1t has little sense of RESPONSE
DIlity. just as the puppy win eat up all
he dinner provided for the family II
permitted to do so. l dare say, father,
Tou thought me brutal as boy, and
vns brutal, but / was simply obeying
, natural, not refined. law. But I'm
LONG pretty we'll now and have come
Jack to look after those left behind
me-"
"By gum, Johnny. how you talk!
Does biology payf'
mot in money, though my published
looks. my salary and my lectures bring
ne in a fair income. I've something
o spare for you. dad. and mum. and II
here's anything can do for the boys
II the girls I'd be glad TO know It."
We'll. Johnny boy, I'm powerful glad
o see you back. or all my children
'ou was the most obstinate. but you've
rot there. John. and I'm glad Of it.
iou've topped the hull lot of u.s."
And the reason he got there" re-
marked the deacon. was that very OBJ
tlnacy. II he'd been the obedient child
on would have liked him TO be he'd
cen dom work not much better than
horse can do"
But that time is passing away" said
he professor Farming Is now a sci
nee. I've come back to look into the
natter of taking it up on the new
asis"
he did take II up scientifically and