Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-15
The Autograph Album
By Nixon Waterman


l. repeat themselves, and now, they say"
the autograph-album persecution is likely to
be revived in all of its old-tirne virulence
Those of us who were compelled to pass through
those dark ages of much senseless sentimental
ity remember that it was not many years ago
when the social condition of Our people was
such that citizen could not enter human
habitation, other than his own, without being
punished by having to write a foolish little
verse, the effect of which, in many instances,
he could not live down until that autograph
album was, by fair or foul means, put beyond
public perusal.
1t must be confessed with a considerable
degree of reluctance that in the incipiency of
the craze it tickled our vanity just little when
some one begged us to write IN his or her book.
1t was nearly always " her, - for the feminine
half of the public seemed to fall easy victims
to the autograph-book mania
To close observer it really looks as if the
school-book fy-leaf was responsible for it all
With our maiden aunt's permission, we open
the books she used at school when she was
amid youths delightful surroundings, with in
Vulnerable rainbows gladdening her skies, and
read the sincere sentiments therein expressed.
Snug up in a corner of a page, written in
girls neat hand. is
"This space is mine
In which to write.
Remember me
When out of sight"
Then follows couplet that, Judging from the
frequency with which it appears in the school
books of that day, must have been a prime
favorite:
Remember me when this you see,
And think of one who thinks of thee"
The question that presents itself to the
sweet girl graduate of to-day is: After grad
uation, WHAT" Basing an opinion on the
f1y-leaf poetry of the past, it would seem as if
the girls of that period, when they quit school,
must have been kept busily engaged in full
filling promises to think about former school
mates. The hy-leaf poets seemed to have
been haunted with awful fear that they
might sometime be forgotten, and they did
all they could to forestall such lamentable
calamity. They were continually reiterating
such declarations as;
Time cannot change this heart of mine,
Though clouds shut out the and shine.
I'll think of you whereer you be;
So you remember to think of me-
This was forceful and to the point, if not
smoothly poetical. How could one negatively
answer the following?
Perhaps in vain these words will be:
To ask you to remember me;
But must it ever be our lot
To meet and then to be forgot?"
And among the popular forms of expressing
the ever-topmost sentiment were these:
It's sweet to be remembered;
IT'S sad to be forgot;
And you, my dearest schoolmate,
Forget forget me not"
"Al | ask is one small spot
In which to write: Forget me not"
The following blends touch of utilitarian-
ism and dash of sentiment in a most subtle
manner:
When all alone and washing dishes,
Remember me and my good wishes"
Here is one that is frequently seen among
the fy-leaf offerings.
Though oceans roll between us,
And distant be your cot,
This one request l wish to make:
Forget, forget me not"
One frequently finds in boys books of that
old-time period the following serial gem, of
which the opening couplet is sure to be found
on the front fiy-leaf:
''If my name you wish to see,
Look on page 49,"
There is something about the saucy crudely-
scrawled challenge that makes you take up |
the search for the hidden name. But on page |
twenty-three the searcher is told:
If my name you still pursue,
Look on page Io2.'
On page one hundred and two these lines |
have been penciled in the margin:
If you care to look once more
Turn to page 2o4.'