The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1908-06-19

About z O'Clock In the morning l
woke up, and where do you suppose
was? At the foot of the stairs in my
mothers clothesbasket. My father
and mother and my brothers and SIS
ters stood round, looking at me anx-
iously. l rubbed my eyes and remem-
bered l had been dreaming that l was
coasting. l must have jumped out of
bed in my sleep, gone down stairs and
brought up the clothesbasket instead
of my sled, got into it and coasted
down the stairs, waking up the whole
family, who were verymuch alarmed
Did you have any clothes on?"
asked Bessie.
Il had on my night-dress, my little
fur cap and my overshoes," laughed
her father 81 felt decidedly foolish"
And it didn't hurt you any?"
questioned Bessie.
mot a Bit" her father answered.
"People who walk in their sleep Of
ten escape uninjured where they
would be severely hurt were they
awake"
Bessie got her block and pencil and
began to write.
Then that will do?" her father
asked 1T is certainly true story"
Eyes, indeed" siereplied. And
I don't believe anybody will have a
composition just like mine, do you?"
Christine Gleason.
BOYS AND GIRLS OF THE. PAST.
If you boys and girls had lived a
century ago, this is what would have
happened to you:
When you were babies you would
have worn no nice, warm, comforta-
BILE undergarments. No; you would
have worn low necked and short
sleeved dresses, and have been kept
in houses so cold you shiyered. You
would have cried, wouldn't you?
Well, that's what the babies did; but
it didn't do any good. You would
have been given a dose of bitter med
icine instead of any warm clothes.
The mothers and fathers wore velyets
and furs, but they didn't think such
things were good for babies-long
ago.
Long ago-just as soon as you
outgrew your first clothes-you
would have been dressed just like
your parents An old book tells us
that little tot Of two years old was
dressed in this fashion: yellow
brocaded satin over petticoat of
crimson velvet 1t touched the floor
in front and trailed behind" How
would you enjoy dress like this il
you intended to go out coasting Or
skating or to fly kite?
Boys were dressed just like their
fathers-long ago-in doublets.
leather breeches, fancy waistcoats,
and, what do you think of this, boys?
after seven years of age all boys of
aristocratic families wore white wigs!
School was most uninteresting. No
kindergartens or play or music. The
children were put at their lessons by
the time they were two or three years
old. At Ave they could read and
write and answer correctly any ques-
ton in the Catechism
Long ago children had almost no
toys. They were very few and very
expensive. If little girl and boy Of
that time could peep into modern
nursery and see it's beautiful dolls
and dishes, furniture, mechanical ell
gines, toys and books, they would
surely think they were in fairyland.
Despite all these hardships, the
children of long ago were happy. Let
US not be sorry for them because
their ways were different from ours;
let us, rather, learn from them in
dustry, system, simplicity, order!i-
ness and piety. 1t is well to remem-
Der the lines of Oliver Wendell
Holmes:
Little of old we value here
Wakes on the morn of it's hundredtn
year
Without both looking and feeling
queer
Washington Star.