Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-23
THE ART OF TRUNK PACKING.
With Some Examples Of the Same Set
Forth by Mr.. Gumtree.


From the New York Sun.
Every now and then" said Mr. Cum
tree, II read a piece in the papers about
the art Of trunk packing; old, experienced
men who have travelled much telling young
er fellows how to avoid carrying unneces-
sary stuff and how to stow the things
that they do carry to the best advantage:
all sound advice and useful, no doubt, to
the immature, but ! improve on all these
professors and have no trouble about pack
Ing at ALL suppose because I've got q
wife.
MY business takes me away occasional.
ly on trips that last three, four, five weeks
at q time; and when am about to start
ON one Of these trips Mrs. Gumtree always
packs my trunk.
MRS. Gumtree, without question, Is the
greatest trunk packer that ever lived. bar
none, and don't doubt that she holds the
same belief, for when she has got ell
through packing she always tells me that
she doesn't believe I will ever be able to
get the stuff back into the trunk again
when come home.
"But she Is the star packer, sure enough
She puts In not only everything want,
but everything ought to have, adding to
both in quantity, certain percentage for
emergency; so that nothing ever goes
wrong or falls short. And when it's all
packed she goes over 1T all to me in de-
tall and tells me where I'll find everything.
This is waste of time, for know I'll find
everything all right, and more than right;
but she likes to tell me, and so humor
her, and then we lock the trunk UP, the
man comes for It and start
And do find Leverything all right; Il
has never failed. and in due time when I
get ready to come home. do my own little
stunt of packing for the homeward trip,
getting into that trunk the stuff that Mrs.
Gumtree thought never could. but which
I never fail to do.
Il don't pretend to be a professor of
artistic packing. but only Of that branch
Of the packing art which consists in the
ability TO get certain amount of stuff
within the limits of certain specified
compass, and in that think must excel,
for can always get the stuff In all right
somehow. Things that won't go any other
way l jam In and wedge in wherever they
will go, making mass that is compact il
not methodical.
Cant ever get the stun back into the
trunkf Why. it's easy. It's a cinch. and as
finally get the lock to connect and buckle
the strap around It. I smile at Mrs. Gum
tree. at the other end Of the line. and say
to myself as survey the trunk, Yes. yes.
guess we know q little something about
trunk packing ourselves But:
When come to get home and Mira
Gumtree lifts the lid OF that trunk and
looks at the solidified chaos within:
Frederick Gumtree,' she always says
to me- II you ever come back with trunk
packed like that again I'll get a divorcer
my trunk. outward bound. with Just the
same comprehensiveness. order and trim
ness, and as long as her kindness holds in
this. and as long as can remember how
to do the grand consolidated compress act
for the return trip feel that have snail
need indeed to take any lessons whatever
from any OF those would-be professors of
the noble art of trunk packinr.U