New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-04-13

I OF course, had all kinds of pets-cats.
dogs, rabbits, coon and a sorrel Shet-
land pony named General Grant. When
my younger sister first heard OF the real
General Grant, by the way, she was much
struck by the coincidence that some one
should have given him the same name a.
the pony. (Thirty years later my own
children had their pony Grant) In the
country we children ran barefoot much Oh
the time. and the seasons went by In
round of uninterrupted and enthrallina
pleasures-supervisng the haying and
harvesting. picking apples. hunting frogs
successfully and woodchucks unsuccess-
fully, gathering hickory nuts and chest
nuts for sale to patient parents, building
wigwams in the woods, and sometimes
playing Indians in too realistic manner
by staining ourselves land incidentally
our clothes) in liberal fashion with poke
cherry Juice Thanksgiving was an APP
precated festival, but it in no way came
up to Christmas Christmas was an &C.
casion Of literally delirious joy. In the
evening we hung up our stocking-or
rather the biggest stockings we could
borrow from the grown-ups-and before
dawn we trooped in to open them while
sitting on fathers and mothers bed; and
the bigger presents were arranged, those
for each child on its own table. in the
drawing room, the doors to which were
thrown open after breakfast. | never
knew any one else have what seemed 10
me such attractive Christmases, and in
! the next generation l tried to reproduce
/ To- Oh
/ My father, Theodore Roosevelt. was the
best man ] ever knew. He combined
strength and courage with gentleness.
/ tenderness and great unselfshness. lie
would not tolerate In us children selhs'-
J ness or cruelty, idleness, cowardice or
untruthfulness. AS we grew older he
made us understand that the same stand
ard of clean living was demanded for
the boys as for the girls; that what was
wrong in a woman could not be right in
man. With great love and patience
and the most understanding sympathy
and consideration. he combined insist
ence on discipline He never physically
punished me but once but he was the
only man of whom l was ever really
afraid. / do not mean that IT was d
we children adored him. We used to
wait i'm the library in the evening until
We could hear his key rafting in the
latch of the front hall, and then rush out
TO greet him, and we would troop into
his room while he was dressing, to stay
there as long as We were permitted,
eagerly examining anything which came
out of his pockets which could be re-
garded as an attractive novelty. Every
child has fixed in mis- memory various
details which strike il as of grave i'm
portance. The trinkets he used to keep
in little box on his dressing table We
children always used to speak of as
treasures" The word. and some Of the
trinkets themselves passed on the next
generation. My own children. when
small. used to troop into my room while
was dressing. and the gradually accu-
mulating trinkets in the "ditty-box'-the
gift OF an enlisted man in the navy--al-
ways excited rapturous JOY. On occa-
sions of solemn festivity each child
would receive trinket for his or her
very own" My own children. when
very small. by the way. enjoyed one
pleasure | do not remember enjoying
myself. When l came back from riding
the child who brought the bootjack
would itself promptly get into the boots
and clump up and down the room win
delightful feeling of kinship with JACK
of the seven league strides
The Furnishing incident have referred
to happened when | was four years old.
| bit my elder sisters arm. l do not re-
member biting her arm, but do remem-
Der running down to the yard, perfectly
conscious that | had committed crime.
From the yard l went into the kitchen,
got some dough from the cook. and
crawled under the kitchen table. In
minute or two my father entered from
the yard and asked where | was. The
warm hearted Irish cook had a charac-
teristIc contempt for 'informers.' but al
though she said nothing she compromised
between informing and her conscience by
casting look under the table. My father
Immediately darted for ME under the
table. | feebly heaved the dough at him.
and having the advantage OF him be-
cause / could stand up under the table.
got fair start for the stairs. but was
caught halfway up them. The punish
ment that ensued fitted the crime. and
hope-and believe-that 1t did me good.
l never knew any one who got greater
JOY out of living than did my father or
any one who more whole heartediy per-
formed every duty; and no one whom
have ever met approached his combine
ton Of enjoyment Of life and perform
ance Of duty
He worked hard at his business. for he
died when he was forty-six, too early to
have retired. He was interested In every
social reform movement. and he did an
immense amount Of practical charitable
work himself. He was a big. powerful
man. with a leonine face and his heart
filed with gentleness for those VINO