The Press., 1907-08-21
THROWING THINGS AWAY.
The Time When You Weary of Hoard
ed membranes.

The Time When You Weary of Hoard
ed membranes.
81 am beginning to throw away
things" said Mr.. Flittingby, accord
| ing to the New York Sun-"going
through my papers and things and
throwing things away.
81 find among them newspaper clip.
pings about things that 1 would never
have thought of again but for this re-
hinder and some things I have for
gotten so completely that even the
sight of the clippings does not recall
to me why cut them out and saved
them, so unimportant really are many
of the things about which we bother
ourselves or which at some time we
found Of interest.
There are letters from men long
since dead, and old bills that recall
forgotten periods of our life that now
seem strange to us, we live SO much
old receipts? The men that gave them
are dead now or moved away, and
these accounts will never be sent in
again, and If they were they have long
since been outlawed by the lapse Of
time. Throw them away.
Here are old birthday cards, with
pretty, with affectlonate, with loving
greetings, bringing most pleasant
memories, though they do remind US
of the years that have gone since first
they came to us. And why should we
preserve them longer? We can re-
member, we can cherish those who
sent them without them to remind us,
and they would only lie there with the
old papers in the drawers: To the
basket gently with them.
"And here, as 1 live, are some old
valentinesl Well, WE'LL This does
make us young again. But, dear, dear,
that was long ago. Why should we
keep them longer? To the basket
gently. We have the valentine her
self now
There are so many things that we
put away to save, to treasure. Life
seems to stretch away interminabIy be-
fore US when we are young and we
are going to keep these things always,
and it takes us happily a long, long
time to get where we can see the be-
ginning Of the end Youth envelops
us with buoyancy and strength that
make life seem joy that is to go on
forever, and in sturdy middle age, in
deed, we take little account of the
years, but then comes a time when
we begin to realize that two and two
make four and no more
Nov, l have arrived at that time
Of life when 1 begin to know. Don't,
for heavens sake, think that I am
taking mournful view. Far from it.
life never seemed to me SO full of
joy as now, and I'm good for q good
long stretch of it; yet, with senses keen
and understanding broadening, finding
in everything and taking
this broader view of things, not occu-
pied too much by detail, this stored up
accumulation of long gathering truck
seems superfuous and useless, and so
I'm just going through it and throwing
things away.
'This lot that I've been going
through today is just stuff that has
accumulated In the cubbyholes in my
desk, but I've got boxes and bundles |
Of such stuff stored away, and must |
get 1t out a box or a bundle at a |
time, and go through it and throw 1t |
away, for Of what use will 1t ever be |
to anybody? What becomes of this
sort of stuff, anyway, when people
sr--I mean why shouldn't sort this
stuff out now myself and not leave it
% cumber things up for somebody else
70 throw away?
There may be some things, to be
sure, that I'll want to save, things that
'ther people will want to keep, and
hese things 1 will save; but as to the
'ulk Of this stuff, why, it's just so
much hindering, useless baggage, and
his I'll throw away and with the
lecks cleared start life anew"