PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS. BE BOYS YET FOR A WHILE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2650, 28 December 1904, Page 76

PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS. BE BOYS YET FOR A WHILE.

I have a Nature Note by me from a Wakatipu correspondent, and one or two I have taken frcm Donald Macdonald's column in the Melbourne Argus ; but lam [ not going to give these to wind up the j year with. I hope, however, that many of my readers will be on the look-out for interesting natural history or other notes that will interest oui readers later on. The other da;' I read in the Melbourne Argus an article "About Boys," which shows that the -writer hasn't forgotten his boyish days. From this article I have pieced together several extracts, and these extracts are followed by a small simple poem that took my fancy. And I wind up with a few "bits" teachers have received in tlieir relations with, pupils and parents. — About Boys. — By "Scribbler." — From the time she begins to tocldle the girl is a little woman, copying the larger edition of tho sex in every particular, from dressing her doll baby to making midget tarts and giving at homes and tea parties. The boy, on chs other hand, can never be truly described as a little man. He is pure, genuine boy, the plague and torment and' treasure of those immediately connected , with him, the darling of his family, and the ■ terror of his neighbours. The boy never copies his elders — exo&pt those in a more adventurous or romantic walk of life than his own. He has no hankering after the conventionalities and elegances of life, adores- slang, and loves 'old, easy-fitting clothes. His father may be 1 a staid, responsible member of society, with a strong sense of dignity, and a. horror of crime and criminals; yet he himelf posij tively yearns to b& a pirate or a bushranger. j The boy's reading :s: s always of the inosß sensational and blood-curdling order, and the Deadwood Dicks and Bludsos of litera1 ture are his heroes. To live in a cave or a . tent is the summit of his ambition. It would be a wise man or woman who could form the faintest conception of the countless schemes and dreams that flourish in a boy's fertile- brain. Set him to even light' ~a fire, and immediately his imagination runs not. He fixes the sticks to represent walls and a roof, j.nd thus constructs a J house. When the kindler is set fire to, ! and the whole edifice blazes, he sees, in his : mind's eye, frantic fireman rushing up, and I hose spouting showers of water. Even the j breakfast porridge is not common oatmeal Ito him. H& irrigates it with milk, digs ! canals and lakes, and sets islands in the middle of them, and it goes down all the j sweeter for the touch of fa-ncy. He loves valour, and is usually "spoiling" for a fight — whether between dogs or his own kind. In the juvenile world there are I no courts of justice for the redress of j yn-ongs, so he must get justice for himself 1 in the old primitive- way, with the weapons j that Nature gave him — his fists, j Duty compels a fellow to fight somej times. A grown-up boy of my acquaintance estimates that he averaged a dozen fights " a Aveek at one time of his life — all in defence of family honour. His father happened to be a policeman, so he had "a go" 1 with every second boy in the district to { av&nge the taunting "Yah! Yer father's a j copper!" His days were sanguinary, and) his body sore, with enforcing respect for his father's occupation. No one has ever yet seen into a boy's soul. The innocent, mikJ-eyed little urchin, whom you pat on the head and condescendingly call "a good little boy" may be thinking thoughts that would astonish you. He is probably sizing you up in his small mind, and perhaps finding you wanting. Every blemish in your personal appearance and! every flaw in your mind and manner is visible to those keen, merciless eyes of his. With marveilous intuition, he mentally sums you up at once as a cad, a sneak, a bully, or a brick. Neither must his seise of decorum be' outraged. A boy severely reproved a flighty relative. His parents had visitors one evening, and she happened to be of the company. Like Trilby, her foot is one of hei strong points. She had on a nice new pair of shoes and open-work stockings, and did not try to hide either. But someone else had a sense of the fitness of things if she hadn't. A small boy crawled cautiously along the carpet towards her, and! vigorously pulled down her skirts, exclaimmg in a horrified whisper, "Aunty! Aunty I You re showing all your stockings !" He is a born humorist, always on the lookout for comical situations. On a bitterly cold wintei- morning, in the Fitzroy gardens, a party of boys, evidently pitying the plight of one of the statues, "mid nodings on," decided to clothe him as well as they could. Two of tfoam climbed up on the pedestal, and endeavoured to drag a "sweater" over the cold, white shoulders, while the rest watched operations. It was one of the funniest things I ever saw-^so ridiculously appropriate, just what you felt was wanted that raw morning. But a policeman's helmet loomed in sighf, so they departed hurriedly, leaving Hercules still unclothed. Trees are one of the joys of a boy's life. Put hiir into a garden with half a dozen, trees, and you can safely bet any money that he will explore every one of them within half an hour. In a back yard 1 , within, my view, there i=s a willow — also several boys. One of them is always up that tree, with an axe, a saw, or a hammer. Sometimes they drive nails into it, at others j saw off branches, at others chop notches otri; of it, like steps. Yet that poor torture<| tree lives on, in spite of them, though it looks rather lopsided. Just now it weara ite new spring- garments as gaily as if nail or saw had never been driven into it. Taking into consideration the many adventures, and perils, and P*"t&y&> of gh o?« dinaiy boy's lif«, it is tato37»3hig that $9

many reach mankind with the full complement of eyes and arms and legs — or ever reach it at all. He possesses such insatiable curiosity; investigates and experiments with everything. He puts gunpowder on ther fire, to see what will happen ; fearlessly examines firearms to discover whether they are loaded, and how they work; explores deserted mining shafts and tunnels; eats -anything of a doubtful nature, to find out whether it is poisonous; tempts Providence, in short, in every way, yet usually comes .out on top." But most people have a soft Bpot-*in their heart for boys — so, perhaps, Providence has, too, and -tenderly watches over them. —Be a- Boy While You Can. — Be a boy while you can, my lad, 'Tis a glorious thing to be Atune with the sun and the woods, my lad, And free as the wind is free. 'Tis good to have vigour in limb, my lad, Muscle and heart to mould, So be a hoy while you can, my lad, "There's time for getting old. t Be» boy while you can, my lad. 'Tis a wondterful gift you hold— A body and mind to be trained, my lad, v A tale to be rightly told. The world will have need of you aoon, my lad, Strong arm and fearless heart, Then :be a man with,a. will, my lad, ' c And take si man's good "part. ' - r ' „ -.'- — Hadley Bourne. — Mothers' Excuses -fo v Teacher3.— Miss Brown: You m?ist stop teach my, Ifizzie fisical torture she needs yet readin an' figors ftiit eums more as that, if I want her-to do jumpin' I kin make her jump. — Mrs-Canavowsky. Dear "Teacher: "Pleas excus Fritz for staying • home" he had def meesells to oblige his father.— J. B. Dear Miss- Teacher : Please excuse Rachel for being away those two days her -grandmother i died to oblige her mother.— Mrs Benski. , Miss : Frank could not come these tree weeks because he "had amonia and informations of the vowels.— Mrs Smith. Miss : Please let Willie home at 2 o'clock. I take Him our for a little pleasure to see his grandfather's grave. — Mrs R. On Form IX.— May the 3 1904,— Sir hi ham Moste truley sorey- that hi "had to keape Albett A. tome to jjfiy.has his brother his pisend his fufc And hi* have to take him to te horspitle hi- Will call' And Gee you hif you dowte my' Wird you? most humble Mr . .- —Somewhat Unexpected. — M'Yes. — An inspection by a Diocesan inBpector was proceeding/ says "J. H. H. in. the Echo,' the other-day in a country 'school, and the inspector was greatly exasperated by the apparently dense stupidity of one of the boys, Whom he scolded with considerable warmth for a while.' Then, resuming his .questions, he asked,fi"lf our Lord were to come- on earth now, what would' 3 r ou ask Him to do?" To his amazement the booby of the class, -stirred tip by' his fierce-admoni-tion, answered, "To -caet the devil out of you; sir!" 1 . A school teacher "asked her., pupils who Nero was. The -only response came from a little fellow,- who Held Up his hand. "Arthur," said the teacher, "do you know whd Nero "Yes, ma'arn^" 'he answered proudly, "he's the one we sing about in' "our Sunday school"- The teacher was unable*, to recall any song where Nero wae mentioned. -"What is the song like, t Arthur?" she' asked.' "Nero, my God, to thee," was the answer given.