The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1894-10-19
THE HAIR.C0VERED TRUNK,
II Brings Back Sweet Memories Of Child.
hoods Happy Days.

| -A~FPS ""ySs
1t may have been years since you
opened it last. 1t may have been
years since you were up to the old
attic into which the trunk was carried
when you left home in your young
manhood to go forth into an unknown
future. You may have entirely for
gotten all about the contents of the
little old trunk.
The future you went to seek may
have been SO full of care and work
and diSappointments that your child
hood memories have been efIaced.
But they have come back again now
that you are in tue old attic with the
little old trunk and its contents be-
fore you. You lift the lid slowly and
take out the things one by one. Some
of them your mother put into the
trunk after you had gone from home.
Among them are some of your baby
clothes.
1t almost makes you blush to think
that you, a man Of five feet eleven or
six feet one, that you ever wore that
little embroidered bonnet or that little
merin0 sacque. 1t seems like ridc-
ulous impossiblty that the tiny
white trock with the short. sleeves
looped up with faded blue. ribbons
and the low neck should ever have
been worn by you. And there is an
old ambrotypc of a pudgyfaced in
fant in that same gown, and that also
is you. And to think that a tall,
stout, elderly man like you should
ever have looked lik that! And there
is tiny lock of yellow hair tied to-
gether with bit of blue ribbon IN
the case with the picture. There are
gray hairs now where that silky gol-
den halr once grew, and you can
hardly believe it possible that the
yellow rInglet came from your own
head.
| What old book is this? You'open
the cover and read on the hy-leaf:
Presented to William Henry Brown
by his Sunday school teacher for COM
mltting to memory the entire book 0f
Matthew"
How much of the book of Matthew
could you repeat now? All the better
for you II its teachings have guided
you and directed you through life,
but it is doubtful if YOU could repeat
even the Sermon on the Mount.
And here are four of the "Reward of
Merit" cards from the various schools
you attended in your youth. They do
not signify, however, that you really
merited the testimonial or that it is a
proof Of good conduct, for even the
boy who got wallopcd three Times a
week received one of these cards on
the last day of school. All bygOnes
were forgotten on the "laSt day." so
all of these rewards of merit cards
count for nothing.
Here is a candy rooster that mirac-
ulously escaped being eaten years and
years ago. 1t was one of the few
christmas gifts of your childhood,
for Chistmas gifts were not so com
mon then as now. Your boy of 10
had more money spent for him last
Chistmas than you ever had spent for
you in all your boyhood. And if here
amt your old skates Queer, clumsy
looking things they are. Those boys
of yours would never be caught with
them on. But they were never any
happier with their fancy skates at s.
a pair than you have been with these
clumsy old skates Of yours. What
memories of moonlight nights on the
ponds and frozen streams with the
''other boys" and the other boys sis
teIs. Do you remember that pretty,
rosy-cheekcd country maid, with
whom you used to skate hand In
hand for hours and hours? You had
forgotten all about her. but you can
see her face plainly now. You remem-
ber just how she looked in her little
red hood and mittens and her red and
black checked flannel gown. What a
pleasure ii was to strap on her boots,
clumsy as they were. And away you
went with clasped hands under the
leafless trees overhanging the brook
or the river. How you laughed over
the fall you got and how little you
minded the cold. And you remember
how she boxed your ears over those
stolen kisses
And here are your old schoolbooks.
Here is the old blue spelling book,
dog's-eared and with many missing
leaves. Here is your name in your
own sprawllng handwriting and under
1t this couplet:
|
For in it is the owners name."
And on another page are these lines:
Ifmy name you want to find,
Look on page one hundred and nine."-
You turn to page 100 and find writ
ten on the yellow margin:
"You are big Ounce for looking"
Here is your old slate, with your
name cut into the frame and scratched
across the top with pin. What
hours you have spent over that slate,
puzzllng out those sums in partial
payments and fractions I! What ten
der messages you have written on IT
for your youthful sweetheart How.
many boyhood memories II recalls
And here is bundle Of the FIRST let.