The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-10-16

restless business-planning population that it sets
little store by individual history, and many q
valuable life goes out and leaves almost nothing
but tombstone and family memory to bear wit
ness that it ever lived. In other countries and
communities more interest attaches to family
records, and galleries of family portraits and
collections OF family incidents enable one genera
ton of Smiths or Browns to know all about the
one, or two, or ten before it. We shall come to
that here in time. but we are not very near it
yet For the present we must be content with
such memories of the past as one another of
US may have chance or disposition to put in
more durable form than the pleasant gossip of
friendly party.
Standing we'll along in the road of life, and
looking back, we do not see the conveyance Of
the lines that bound it as we other objects in
far perspective To me, at least, they seem to
rather widen, and show me the incidents of our
school days more conspicuously and clearly than
those of recent years I can't remember an
event of last year as distinctly as an incident of
our "Old Seminary" days, forty-six years ago.
may have seen man pick up dollar bill from
the sidewalk last year, and forgotten it so COM
petely that no accuracy of description will re-
call 1t, but I'll never forget that on the spring
morning of 1881, when l was first on my way to
the Seminary. l was passing round the west
side of the Circle. picked up white handker-
chief, which gave to the late revered James M.
Ray, whom | overlook minute later, thinking
it was his He looked at it, saw a mark on it,
and read, 81. L. K" why" said he, that
must be Mr.. Kempers." Looking again. he
said: mo; this mark is j. L. K.,' and his I'M
tians arc j. S. f. The handkerchief probably
belongs to Mr.. John L. Ketcham." Mr. Kemp
er's name fastened that trivial incident in my
memory as long as any remains to fasten any
thing to.
Can't we all recall incidents of recitations. of
the play ground, of school-boy excursions, away
back before the great political contest of 1910,
more distinctly than far more important incl
dents forty years later2 Some of you remember,
besides our standard skinny" and town ball,
that we sometimes varied the fun by making
snow forts against the worm fence east of the
school-house, and attacking the garrison; that
once at least we divided into Indian tribes, the
Seminoles and the Cherokees or Shawness, with
Lew Wallace, coored with poke juice, chief OF
one, and VIII Morrison to whom Mr. kunper
gave the name of Warrior" chief of the other,
both armed with war clubs bloody with the wine
of the poke stalk Don't you remember how
Mark Smith once knocked ball from the town
ball" ground onto the roof of Dr. Mears's new
houSe-a feat to challenge the best baseball
player to-day-and little later knocked Of
Baby" Osborns teeth out with a backhanded
lick of his shiny club while the latter
was boobyishly standing behind unseen2 I'm
sure some of you remember how john Coburn
smashed several of the jewels in Mr.. Kempers
silver patent-iever watch by running into him
with the end of his shinny-club sticking out
ahead and how Charley Ray got his forehead
cut open by club that left scar he still wears
broken. and was famed by a mislick of glorious
cid Steve" Coburn for month. Maybe some
others of you recall funny incident of the
playground about the spring of 1872 Some of
the smaller boys, Sam Morris, Bill Henderson,
Bill Alex Morrison, John Quarles or some of that
squad had dug hole for ''sky ball." little
south of the Shiny ground, and one spring
morning. after a rain. that hole was full of water,
John S. Dunlop had been playing Skinny like
Garrick Mallory, with a straight stick, and
irQd hoA cofn and IF r. ~fio int
little round bowl Of hole full Of water, and set
himself on the other end to rest. Bob Ramsey
came along in a minute and John sat facing
the Skinny ground to the north Bob at his
back, coming from the school-house, and unseen.
He hooked his club around Johns stick and
with a quick jerk let him drop plump into the
bowl of water that fitted him as nicely as if he
had been melted and poured into it. He fitted
too closely to leave any room for water, and what
was in it was spurted out all around as profusely
as if it came from a street hose. 1t was funny
enough for everybody but the damp-ended John
OF course, we all remember the licking that
Jim Beecher got and we'll deserved, and had the
manliness to admit was just what he had earned;
to provoke it, Early in the spring of that year
was it AZ or 43l-while wild ducks were on
the wing, had been telling Jim of a duck hunt
ing expedition in which had killed and brought
home three 'mallards." / didn't know whether
they were mallards or teal. but one name was as
good as another. and, as the Irishman said, "bet-
ter too" and the name and the fun took Jim's
fancy. So we arranged a hunting expedition for
the next Saturday. The future divine was so
delighted with the diversion that he went again
on Monday, and again on Tuesday. and think
it was on Wednesday that Henry Ward brought
him up to the seminary in the morning, holding
him by the arm. police fashion, and handed him
over to Mr.. Kemper to do with as he thought
right. Another instance of revered old
teachers justice was shown in his catching
Wilson Jordan and Joe Pope, I believe,
fighting in Mr.. Rays alley, and march
ing them up to the laboratory room
lick each other into good behavior. You remem-
Der how he put the boys on their honor once,
after they had got into an idiotic freak of devil
try, one evening after school, and broken half of
the windows on the south side of the house, and
how they came up manfuly. made confession
and restitution, and got full forgiveness. Do any
of you remember how he scored Zenas Nc
Laughlin for reading composition on the
Worm of the Still, that had been published in
the newspapers for half dozen years, and
that Bill McMahan got the name of Dr. johnson
for using part of one Of the "Ramblers" in the
same wayg
But these "reminiscences, as fondly as they
come to mind, only remind us that the sunset
shadows are lengthening behind us as we 90
down the hill that slopes more and more steeply
as we descend. and before long-very soon for
some not very long for any-we shall all sleep
together at the foot"
Calvin Fletcher and wife then asked that the
next reunion of the Old Seminary boys and girls
be held on Sept 49, 1885, and that it be held at
their residence at Spencer, extending an invita-
ton to every one to come and spend the day
with them. The proposition. which is with the
executive committee, will probably be accepted.
The boys" then repaired to the grounds, to
the north of the Exposition building and played
game Of town-ball Henry Coburn and Samuel
" Morris acted respectively as catcher and
thrower ON one side and Charles Morr-
son and George Hantsch catcher ard
thrower on the other The striking
was vigorous and the running remarkable.
There was also game of football. but the sport
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