The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-01-15
SQUIRE GLENZ'S
HOLIDAY TRIP
He Shakes Hands With the Memo
ries Of the Past.
HE WAS A BOY ONCE M0REa
Girl Who Spelled II Word Wrong to
Save Him Shame and tho Power ofn
Rabbits Hind Foot for Scratcll-
ing Arc All Remember ed.
HE WAS A BOY ONCE M0REa

ing Arc All Remember ed.
We reproduce from the Charlottesville
Progress the following pen picture of boy
hood days by John Philip Glenn, written
to that paper and published under the
head Squire Glenn's Holiday
We do not know Mr.. John Philip Glenn,
but he deserves to rank among the emo
tlonal writer's OF America in the front
rank:
IN SPITE OF PROTEST.
"N1rs. Glenn had protested. She said
if there was ever a time when a man
ought to stay at home and make himself
agreeable it was during the Christmas hol-
idays. The boys thought 1 might stay
and pop fi-quackers wifi EN- and Mary
Jane, to whom L seldom looked in vain
for sympathetic appreciation, declared
that IL was simply awful even to thlnh
OF going away at such a time.
But did think about it. / had plan
ned it months before, and had said to
myself again and again that when the
corn had all been shucked the fodder
iickcd and the winter wood hauled, in
back to the old hone-place and to the
scenes of early childhood. There had not
been day III all the passing years since,
as a youth, / had turned to catch the
last sad glimpse of farewell signals. that
/ could not have called to mind the PIC
ture then presented, and have felt AGAIN
the boyish homesicll grief that filled my
heart as / went down the old familiar
lane, over the hill that led by the school
house
A BOY AGAIN.
Il wanted to go back and be boy
once more ana 70 shake hands with Eile
memories OF the past. wanted 10 lorSet
all the cares and sorrows the years Since
then had brought, and to sleep once more
in the little room with is trundle-bed
memories OF Il mothers love ana oil Il
sweet lace touching mine.
Il love to think that memory brings
back TO u.s. unmarried by time, the scenes
ana incidents or our early me- ana mat
all the intervening years are puWerleSs to
change Tor us the faces seen III youth ana
never seen again. And 50 The picture oi
the old home-piace, with its lights ana
shadows and blessed memories, mas ever
been the same, ana the song OF the mock
ing bird that built Its nest IN the CEDAR
hv the porch is as sweet to-day as when
it came in, many, many years ago,
through the little open window that look
ed out just wnere the big chimney made
its bend
FACE TO FACE.
Yes, 1 was going back-despite all pro-
tests-and breathe the very atmosphere
of early recollections. | intended TO stand
face to face with memory, and take a
closer view of the picture OF the old farm
house with its high-pltched root ana IT'S
long Teranda, hid beneath the money
suckle and wiSteria.
How well did L remember every detail
of the picture and every spot that marked
some fond association. l would visit all
OF them. | would go to the spring at the
foot Of the hill, where the great oaks
stood (the goured is on the rock to the
left, and TO the mlk-house-Just below
with the pans spread out on top to eaten
the sunshine, and with the skinner
the measure of u boys reward for churil-
ing-hansing against the tree close by
Would / be in time for butchering? And
a. the thought there came the recollec-
ton OF slipping out OF bed while Yet the
stars were bright, of dressing by the
light of the big fire in the sittinS-room,
and of peeping through the window at
the larger fire >lown i'll the corner OF the
orchard by the spring. WHAT glorious
anticipations of roasted pig-talls OF biid-
ders to be burst of chine and spare ribs
RABBITS IIND-FOOT.
81 would go again through the orchard,
beyond the pasture, to the field of low
pines and OF brushwood, to where the
rabbit gums were hid among the broom
sedge and the 'high-briarS. And If the
gum was down. and through the trig-
ger-hole I saw a rabbits back, would the
wish again come to me that his head was
from the door? l believed it would.
One of the familiar paths led to the
school-hou on the hill-the dear, old
school-house with its scrubbed walls and
Whitfield desks and ink spots on the
toor-and to the recollection Of a little
brown-haired girl. who knew the word
missd but blushing. spelled it wrong TO
save me grief. Would | know her desk
and mine, and would 1 feel the love and
pride that filled me once. as recalled
the memory OF her smile, and read once
more the tiower-stained notes she wrote
me? l thought knew would.
ANTNY OVER.
II would go again to the deep hole
with its rock for diving, and with its
catfish that l feared to touch. l would
play 'antny' over the smoke-house and
hunt eggs in the barn loft. and AT night.
if the wind was high, [ would listen Tor
the scraping of the locust bouGh on the
window BY the bed and think OF the
ghost stories Aunt Charlotte used to tell
l would be very happy.
And while the snow lay lightly on the
ground about me there was warmth ana
sunshine in my heart The picture that
came to me was full of flowers and sum
mer fra GRANGE, and III happy anticipation.
l lived again under the high-pltched roof.
and the knocking bird had built her nest
once more in the little cedar by the porch,
and the honeySuCkeS were in bloom III
every room there were familiar faces ana
The voices Of loved ones. and from out
the orchard, just back of the garden.
came the song of many birds.
STOOD TOO NEAR.
"But when, in truth. l climbed again
the stairway to the little room, and went,
as I had gone so many times before, to
where I knew the trundle bed must be,
the homesick grief was still within me,
and every sweet and hallowed memory
was tinged with sadness. The fault was
mine-not in the picture-l stood too
near.
IN fancy once again I played at hide
and seek and built snow men. ana rode
stick horses-all this and more upon the
very spots had done the same long years