A BOY'S GRIEVANCE.--A boy of fourteen complains to us that his mother
treats him as if he were a baby. He says she forbids his going to a
certain safe and pleasant lake, to bathe or swim, and that she will not
consent to his taking trips into the country with two friends of his own
age, who are splendid fellows.
No doubt it seems to this lad that his mother is a little bit
unreasonable. But she may have a strong feeling of terror about the deep
waters of the lake which he thinks so safe, and if, as I judge from his
note, he is really a kind and manly boy, he would prefer to go without
the pleasure of swimming rather than make his mother anxious or uneasy
about him.
Ladies are sometimes more timid than there is any need to be about
places and things which boys and men consider entirely free from danger.
Yet a gentleman always prefers to yield his own wishes rather than to
let his mother or sister suffer from alarm.
As for the out-of-town trips, the mother's objection might be removed if
the boys would get some older friend to go with them. It is always well
to take the advice of mothers with regard to friends. Boys think they
can choose wisely for themselves, but they are not able, as older
persons are, to see just what companions are best for them. I do not
think you would complain of home restraints if you remembered how much
the dear mother has done for you all your life. No love is so unselfish
as a mother's, and we can not prize it too highly.
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