The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1904-07-15
gelect @isrellany.
When I Was Younger.

and youth which may not be desig-
mated by the romantic title of "adven-
lures" have lessons which are quite as
interesting as they are instructive. 1t
would be too much to claim that | had
ever enjoyed any adventures of the
yellow-backed dime-novel order dur
ing my youth. Nevertheless, l re-
member vividly incidents of consider
able amusement and interest to me as
| look back to the
s'Days that were as long
As twenty days are now"
NV father died when l was but
twelve years old. From that time /
had to earn my living, by the sweat
of my face, in various honest ways.
farmed, herded sheep and cattle,
worked in plan,ng mill, clesked in
the grocery. the jewelry store, ard the
drug store, even canvassed as book
agent, solicited fire insurance, and had
a position in bank. All this time !
was ambitious to become an actor, do
ing my share in school exhibitions,
and occasionally putting on the burnt
cork and shaking the 'bones." But
the real tug of life began with my
conversation. From that time | found
that | had a conscience TO reckon
with
To be sure those boyhood days were
filled up with the adventures which
then seemed exceedingly momentous
but can now be regarded as mere CON-
monplace. l shall never forget my
attempt to break colt that insanely
took a notion to break me, and nearly
broke my neck. That ended my
horse-taming career. Of course, like
many another boy, l had the ambition
to run away from home, and started
one Sunday morning to walk the rail-
road track for Chicago, fifty-six miles
away. At a distance of about four
miles from home. as the noon time
came, the pains of hunger got hold OF
me. My vivid Imagination brought
before me the good Sunday dinner OF
roast chicken which the folks we're just
then sitting down to. l could hold
out no longer. My ambition evapo-
rated. I turned on my heel and
started for that chicken-dinner, and
made about one-third the time in
reaching home that had consumed
in running away. In fact, the only
run of the whole performance was on
that return trip. A little late to dine
with the rest of the family found
that my mother had saveda good bit
of the very part of the chicken l liked
best, and had kept it hot in the oven
for me, wondering why was $50 late"
I did not tell her, but as l devoured
that plateful of chicken and then
tackled the pie, l said: "Yum, yum,
homes good enough for me-"
As boy of eleven winters | tried
to enlist in the army as drummer.
The war was on, and l bad become
quite good drummer, as l thought,
beating on orange boxes and empty
barrels with sticks and radishes and
green onions in my fathers grocery
store. I shall always carry With me
the sense of humiliation and disgust
that came over my boyish but patriot
ic spirit when the recr aiting officer
suggested that my infantile tenderness
precluded the possibility of my help
ing to put down the rebellion, or dis
tinguishing myself as military gen.
ius.
There was plenty Of good, old-fash-
ioned fun in my school days in Kan
kakee, Galena, and Rockford, Ill. l
we'll remember that those were the
good old days of the wholesome birch,
and teachers believed in promoting
learning with a rawhide. 1t made
boys smart, in one sense, if not in an
other / grieve now to look back, and
have to admit that in every school l
attended | left a record for thrashings
received which ought to have prophe-
sled success in life, or even canoniza-
ton. My last experience was at
Rockford. Having been forewarned
of coming chastisement which my
superiors thought l deserved, made
preparation for the coming engagement
by putting on two pairs of thick pan
falcons that morning. waited the
onset of the dark -browed principal
with an inward grin, and sort OF
come-on Macduff spirit of defiance.
When the rawhide came down scarce
ly felt it, but it made loud "whack"
and I jumped and yelled like young
Indian. My "agony" nearly broke up
that session of school, and likewise
49, - =,