Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1881-01-14
The Old Blue Chest.

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serious faces and hushed voices were gath
cred in room in house on Fort street east.
For two years poor old woman had lived
there, not exactly a beggar nor an object of
charity, but certainly in want She had a
husband when she first moved there--a poor
old man whose days could not be long; but
one day he was missing He may have fallen
into the river, or he may have wandered out
into the country and died. This left the old
woman alone, and there were days in which
no one went near her or addressed her The
other day when she felt the chill of death
approaching she wanted some one with her.
She had lived alone but she could not die
that way. She wcpt as tender hands clasped
hers and kind voices addressed her. Death
had already placed its mark on her face, and
the women could do nothing. While their
tears fell upon her wrinked hands, she
passed away as child sleeps.
There was but little in the room beyond
an old blue chest--battcred and bruised and
splintered, but yet holding together 1t had
seen strange times, that old chest II had
held silks and broadclothes perhaps-it
had surely held rags. 1t had been moved
from house to house and from town to
town. 1t had listened to laughter and heard
sobs and means. 1t had grown old no faster
than the woman whose hands had so often
lifted its lid. II had doubtless kept the
company Of good carpets and furniture and
arpplyaru and lapuIin.r .,i.I
had climbed over il and hidden in il. II
had faded, and its hinges were rusty and
weak, but it had out-lived its owner.
The women looked about for garments
in which to enshroud the dead Nothing
was in sight, One of them lifted the lid of
the old blue chest, and called the others to
help drag II out from its dark corner II
held treasure-such treasure as men could
not buy nor poverty steal away There was
a dress of fine material, cut after fashion
long years ago. For twenty years the chest
had been its guardian. 1t would have sold |
for few dollars, but though the cravings |
of hunger had come often and the cold had |
fought its way to her marrow that poor old |
woman would not part with that relic of
better days. II may have been link 10
connect her with wealth and love. Beneath
it was treasure still more priceless Care
fully wrapped in paper was u silver dime
more than fifty years old. A weeks fast would
not have sent her TO the bakers with that
relic. A child, dead in its young years, had
worn that dime around its neck as rift
or talisman. There was childs mitten,
stained and worn, but mitten knit by II
proud young mother for her child 1t could
not speak to tell the dim past, but it had
power. AS the women saw il they covered
their faces with their aprons and wept.
There was boys cap and girls hat,
both so old, faded and time-eaten that they
had TO be tenderly handled. The women
looked from them to the poor old white face
on the bed and whispered
"None but good mother would have
treasured these relics She was old and poor,
but her heart was pure
Deeper down, as if 10 battle the search of
Time itself, was a familiar toy--a chid's
dumb watch Hands were broken and gone,
face scratched and case battered, but the
women handled itas if u touch would shiver
it. There was dolls head, u boys line,
some toy chairs, Il yarn ball, and other things
TO show that in the long ago that dead
woman had felt the soft kisses Of children,
heard their "good-nights" and thanked God
that she was blessed. Each relic was wcpt
over-each was replaced with fresh tear
stains. They asked the old blue chest no
questions 1t relics might have been voice
less TO a man, but TO n woman and mother
each one had tale in words as plain as
print. They shed more tears as they bent
again over the poor old dead, and they said
TO each other:
"If che had only told US Of this how we
would have loved her and sought TO Tighten
her sorrows."
But she had gone. She'has come and
gone as mystery, and but for the old blue
chest in the corner few would have cared,
and none would have sorrowod.--,Detr0h
Free Press