The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-04-19
THE OLD TRUNK,
Mrs. Arp UDpacking the Relf., ,f ,,.
Ago.

!he cid trunk was open. Away down
'h lts mysterious recesses Mrs. Arm was
searching for something, and as | sat in
.ue otnef corner with my little table and
pei watched her as she laid The ancient
reiics on chair and unfolded first one
Anu then another, and looked at them an
earnestly and then folded them up again
Wnat are you hunting for nv dear ."
saia l. ."Oh, nothing much" said she .
i was just looking over these little
uress . to see if there was anything that
would do for the little grandchildren
hefe is pretty dress. This dress cost
me many a careful stitch. All these
p'aiGs pE, were made by hand, my own hand
there is very little such work done
now, Tor we had no sewing machines
theh ana 1t took long, long time. Thja
embroidery was beautiful then and it ia
pre.ty yet. DO you remember when the
nist daguerrean came to our town TO take
pictures Well Hattie wore this dress
when her picture was taken, and I
thought she was the sweetest little thing
IN the world, and SO did you, and she
was. Slnce then we nave mad ambroty oes
anu photographs and porcelain pictures
ana don't know what all ; but that lit.
t,e daguerreotype gave me more pleasure
| Inah anything since, and it is pretty now.
Let me see-that was twenty five years
| ago, and now | think this same dress
VIII look right pretty on Hattie's child.
ana mere is one that our first bov was
christened In, and there ia 30 machinc
WORK about that either. That was more
tnan thirty years ago, and now there are
i0ur grandchildren at his house, and
three more at another ones house and I
dont know what will become of all the
poor little things but l reckon the Lord
VIII provide for them. And here is a
little garment that Jennie made. Poor
Jennie she had troubled life but she is
IN Heaven now and I'll save this for Pet.
ohe Will prize it because her mother
made It, And here is piece of nv
Weuding dress-do you remember it?
know you said then that looked like
an angel In it but my wings have dropped
on long ago and now I'm only poor
old woman, faded flower, an oyerworked
mother, ten living children and three
more up yonder, and will be there too.
nope, before long, for I'm getting tired,
| very tired, and it seems to me l would
IKE to be nursed nursed by my mother,
ana petted like she used to pet me in the
long, long ago. And here is a pair of
little baby shoes, and the little darling
who wore them in the grave, but he is
better off now, and wouldent call him
back if l could. Sometimes l want to
feel Sad, and l rummage over these old
things. There is not much here now, for
every little while have to get out some.
thin to mend with or patch or make
over again. | wish you would 20 and
see what Carl and Jessie are doing, down
at the branch reckon, and feet all wet
and they have both got dreadful colds
| cant keep them away from that
branch"
"Dident you play in the branch, my
dear, when you were a child" said /?
Yes" said she, mournfully, "but moth
ing couldenl hurt me then we were not
raised 80 delicate in those days You
know | used TO ride to the plantation,
twelve miles, and back again in day
and bring bag of fruit on the horn of
the saddle, but the girls couldent do it
now. They can 60 to party in bug.
g., and dance half the night, but that is
all excitement, and they are not fit for
anything the next day. We dident have
any dances-hardly ever-we went to the
country weddings sometimes. You re-
member we went to James Dunlap's
wedding, when he married Rebecca Sam.
mons. That was a big frolic-an old
fashioned frolic. Everybody was there
from all the naborhood, and there were
more turkeys and roast pig and cake than
| ever saw, and we played everything we
could think of. Rebecca was mighty
pretty then, but poor woman-she has
had thousand children, too, just like
myself, and l reckon she is faded too,
and tired" "But Jim Dunlap hasn't
faded," said I. 81 see him when 1 20 to
Atlanta, and he is big and fat and merry
looks little like old David Davis"
"Oh, yes, of course he does" said
Mrs. Arp. "The men do:i': know any
thing about care and anxiety and sleep
less nights. 1t is q wonder TO me they
die at all" "But l have helped you all
| could my DEAR" said l, "and you see
its telling on me. Look at these silver
hairs and these wrinkles and crows.feet,
and my back hurts ever and anon and
this rainy, bad weather gives me the
rheumatism, but you haven't gray hair
and hardly seam on your alabastor
forehead. Why, you will outlast me
and outlive me too, and maybe there
will be rich widower stepping arotnd
here in my shoes and you will have q
fine carriage aud pair of beautiful bay
horses, and"
William, I told you to go after Carl
and JESSIE"
"If Vanderbilts wife should die and
he could accidentally see you," said /,
latter I'm gone, there's no telling
"Well, 60 along now and find the
children, and when you come back I'll
listen to your foolishness. I'm not going
to let yoa Gle if can help it, for don't
know what would become of us all.
Yes, you have helped me, know, and
been great comfort and did the best
you could-most Of the time, yes most
Of the time-and l might have done
worse, and you must nurse ME now and
pet me for / am getting childish. ,"And
you must pet me too," said 1. "Oh, Of
course WILL" said she, "am not always
petting you. Now 60 long after the
children before we both get to crying
aud have scene, and wish you would
see if the buff cochin hens have hatched.
in the hen house." "She has been set
ting about four' zen weeks" said I, "but
she is getting old and: these old mothers
are slow, mighty elow." IS,
/ went after the children, and sure
enough they were fishing in the spring
branch, and their shoes were wet and
muddy, and they were bare.headed, and
l marched them up tenderly, and Mrs.
Arp set them down by the fire and dried
their shoes, and got them some more
stockings, and then opened their little
mo-ninp school How patiently these