American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1880-01-03

cynical, but want To tell YOU that even
1 have had many pretty dream OF love
real, live, waking dreams, too; and,
when | recall them, could hug myself
with transport that | have still the "a
pacity to recognize and appreciate their
flavor. OF all the pleasures of fne''.ory,
none are more relishahl'. 10 me than
those which come laughing out of my
boyish past, attended by the fond con-
ceits and the romantic darings of those
school-day loves. l am not sure that
some of my maturer dreams may not
profitably be assigned to places in the
radiant company"
expressed something like surprise at
the freak of my queer Sarchedo",
pect (nay, may as We'll confess iD l
should have owned without blush to
having thousand times fed my solitary
musings on similar exhilarating sips
from the golden bowl long since cracked,
not broken, at the fountain.
He was too earnest and too happy in
his "reminiscences to be baked by Any
look of mine; besides, he could not but
see that was an Interested listener.
pushed aside the work which had re-
sumed desultorily after the first flush
cigar, poised it airily between his lips,
and bending his fine eyes upon me,
asked with engaging frankness: 1" Have
1 never told you the story of my earliest
love?''
shook my head,
You shall have it,
Ho flung himself back in his chair
and laughed. The color came and went
in waves over his face. | could see tina,
his merriment was not altogether I'M
mixed with tender regretfulness. 1 knew
it was not regret over lost youth, for hat,
he not assailed me for such vain indul-
gence? 1t was, rather, a chastened re-
membrance of a loved and lost COM
panionship of two innocent and uhtried
souls walking hand in hand along a
pathway boriered with kingcups and
daisies.
"She was the daughter of our mem
Der of Congress. was lad at school
and our seats were ON tho ,afne line
separated by narrow aisle, i'm the little
village schoolhouse that had just beet
built, with a cupola to give it dignity
and divided into the Big and Little
rooms-that is to say, one room for the
big boys and girls and the other for be
ginners. l was one of the big boys
If l remember rightly, was IA year.
old, and had already achieved a friendly
intimacy with Browns Grammar, San
der's Fifth Reader, and Somebody:
Physical Geography. hasi also hay
notion of Physiology, and had latel,
spelled the school down-because al
the other fellows, and the girls. too, in
sisted on superfluously padding out tn.
word dishoncr with OUR But IN,
chief claim to distinction was the awe
inspiring circumstance that had go
into algebraic equations of the first de
gree. If A had bought a harness ant
B new mowing-machine, for such ant
such prices, and AS grandmother want
ed a new Bingham gown, it was just the
easiest thing in the world for me to as
certain the price of it by deft manipu.
iation of that magical Y. q have
since applied it to many unknown guam
titles, but somehow l have forgotten
the trick. 1t never comes out right any
more.)
swell, the little girl across the aisle
and L soon became lovers. know il
was that X that brought it about, and
when l discovered that she preferred
my sled to all others in the village, and
used to have errands after school on the
way that led past my house, my state Of
mind was simply ecstatic. But, God
bless me! that was nothing to the thrill
of joy that ran through all my veins
when bore her off in triumph to the
supper table at donation party in the
very teeth of l6-year old chap who
had come Up from New York to spend
the winter, and who had the unmistak.
able air of the city boy, and no end Of
good clothes and a gold watch and chain
to boot. He had cast an admiring eye
on my girl and his discontinue gave me
a vengeful satisfaction. / often used to
wonder how he ever stood up and
laughed so serenely when l glared or
| him. However, he went back to New
York in the spring, and the next time
saw him he was delivering most elo-
quent and powerful speech on the floor
of the National House of Representa-.
tives. We were friends for a good
many years after that, but, poor fellow,
like Latour d'Auvergne, he died on the
field of BATTLE shot through the head
leading charge at Five Forks.
"How gayly and rosily the years
went by. My little love and had
reached that age when sleds had to be
discarded, but all that time we had beer
weaving oriental romances for our fu
ture. My first and most glorious
thought was to run away and go to sea
The dull life of merchantmen was MOI
to be thought of. There was no war il
which might win a deathless fame, re
christen myself Paul Jones and come
home laden with prize money ant
dressed in dazzling uniform, princi
pally of gold lace, and bear my prout
and blushing bride away with me OF
the bounding pillows of the deep blu,
sea. You must know that the old folk
were inimical to me, and of course
regarded them as heartless and sordit
enemies, whose lives 1 spared solely on
of consideration for their daughter, tn,
Il