The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1876-01-08
A Woman's Life History.

! A Woman's Life History.
| What a succession of changing taste
a collection of the treasures of on,
woman's life would evince. From til,
time she is 3 to 10, the scraps of nose
less teapots, or armless dolls, CHILDHOOD
can not bear to cast aside, cherishins
fond belief that some way the miss
ing members may grow again and FL
the box of precious things she hold.
dear. All children have such delu
sions. / never doubted but my
fathers watch would grow to be 4
clock, that my uncle's pistol would
enjoy middle age of gun and an
honorable old age as cannon; OF thai
my brothers little jacket would even
tually sprout tail and do duty as a
dress-coat. Believing this, how could
leave my noseless dolls? Neither
can any other child. So the baby's
treasures are of this sort, till school
rivalries and pursuits fill the little
boxes with pretty crochet patches, with
rewards of merit" with promotion
tickets, and bits of soapstone slate
pencils, attached to which are won
derful associations. Then comes a
time in which pink.tinted notes, signed
Charley, and withered bouquets, and
half of a meek little, cheap gold ring
occupy the box. But there comes a
day when Mademoiselle is launched on
society. Bits of newspaper relating
how Miss Browns birthday party was
graced by the beautiful presence of
Mlle.-.B Ballroom items where some
jenkins describes the rose-colored silk
of the charming Mile a love
letter or two and a picture of sweet
young creature with small side-whis-
kers patterns of lovely setting sacks
and intricate paper maps to guide a
woman into a pompadour basque fill
the box. This class of treasure, with
some notifications, holds its own,
from 20 to 40 The inevitable picture
fuctuates now it's side-whiskers and
now it isn't. Generally about 40 the
box begins to hold a first-class article
in the way of a company eye-glass,
and reserve stock of darning-needles,
and copy of cover the River" and
Bryants Thanatopsis," and recipe
for Mrs. Mellick's sugar gingerbread,
then tickets to a church fair, to which
the old lady didn't go, and an excellent
silver thimble, as full of holes as
sieve. All! later ON come the treas
ures at which one can not laugh. The
old green paper-box is broken now,
and numberless white cotton stitches
hold the bottom in. The Sands that
tremhlingly unite the faded ribbon
that binds it are wrinkled and |
/; the dim eyes peering fondly |
within can scarcely see the treasures
for the tears that blind them. In the
yellow paper there's lock of his hair,
the dear -whiskered Adonis that |
waltzed into her affections forty years
ago, but that's the least valuable of the
Side by side with boys
pes-top lies tiny baby's stocking.
There are creases at the ankle, the
swell of the fat leg in it yet, but the
little foot Chats in it still for the
eye) has wandered far away
from the quiet path of home, and the
poor old mother questions if most OF
pleasure or pain attaches to the menu
)ry of her eldest born. In one cor
ler are few dried rosebuds. VIII
he anguish of the hour in which she
irst made their acquaintance ever cease
20 wiring her suffering heart? They
.ame to her from a strangers hand with
| detailed account of her boys death
md burial in foreign land. 1t was a
thoughtfulness which took
rom above his pulseless heart few pale
buds for mother to guard and weep
,ver to the last hour of her life.
There is rusty, blackened penny
md school ticket, from which the
nix has been washed by tears; and
here's dreary history attached to
hat. They were found in Johnny's
rocket one day when Jodnny, without
lis little trousers, went swimming to
lis death in Boston harbor. | find Eve
,een telling you of the contents of my
Aunt Hannah's treasure-box, and,
having got so far, may as well finish
he narrative, which. besides its truth,
las something of romance to recon-
mend it. One day, after Aunt Ham
lah had been tenderly touching her
treasures, had sighed over the stocking
nd pondered over the little bunch of
she picked up the penny
dear, lost Johnny's one bit of worldly
Tealth-and reverently kissed it. Poor
Id soul, for years she could not make
i'm dead. He was given to joking,
he specialized. What if he had run
way to sea, and left his trousers rs a
ecoy to speak of death instead of dis
bedience? Alas! No-he might
ave gone to sea without trousers, but
e never would have deserted his soil
iry coin. So johnny was counted
cad, and the copper and the school
cket were consccrated pieces of prop
rty.
Twenty years had certainly elapsed
nee the accident in Boston harbor,
nd Aunt Hannah was living with a
IL Il l. | ,