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The Commoner.
VOLUME 5, NTmbeii
40
.
4M WKmM
WHEN YOU ARE A BOY AGAIN
Last week you slipped a quarter
of a century from your shoulders, and
instead of being a busy man with
grave cares upon you, you were just
a care-free "boy again in your mind.
Theso little jaunts upon memory's
train back into tho blossom time of
life are ost enjoyable, excursions,
are they not? Just before this par
ticular jaunt you were worried and
flustered, your eyes were lack-lustre,
your appetite wasv poor and your di
gestion worse. Everything seemed
to bo going wrong. You were just
about to givb up in despair when you
happened to doze a little bit, and
those long unused brain colls got to
work and lo, in less than no time
at all you were away back yonder in
the old days, with nothing of weight
on your jnind except the work of
keeping tho woodbox full of wood
and the chores done around the
house.
Presto change.
the next meeting of tho city trustees
they havo counoilnien now a hog
and cow ordinance tras adopted.
But you never could frame up any
schemo to do away with those old
rock street crossings, could you? They
are there yet, and just as slippery and
treacherous as ever.
Remember tho time Lin Thompson
shot himself? That wrs the. funniest
thing. Lin boarded at your house,
you remember, and you wanted to
frame up a schemo to got Em and
Ina over for an evening of hilarity
under pretense that they were visit
ing your sister, Kittle. But the
mothers of Em and Ina .thought they
ought to be studying' their lessons
and refused their consent. So Lin
'wrapped up his hand in a heavy ban
dage' and you produced a little blood
to stain It. That ability to produce
a little blood got you out of school
more than once, ir you remembor.
Then word was sent to Em and, Ina
that Lin had shot himself. But
their mothers were suspicious and
Em's little brother, Frank, was sent
over to investigate. What you did to
Frank was a plenty. He returned
home with his eyes popping out and
reported that Lin was awfully shot
up. So Em and Ina came over.
Thou you and Lin and Em and Ina
and .Kittle had a high old time for
an hour, popping corn in tho kitchen
.while mother rocked in the sitting
room and warned you not to make
so much noise on nccount of the
neighbors. The two girls did think
'for a little bit that Lin was shot,
for he did look pale and pained as
he lay there propped up In bed with
his hand wrapped" up in a pillow case.
But it took a lot of argument and
ipersuaslon and promises to fix mat
ters with the mothers of Em and Ina,
didn't it?
"Or -George Seeman?" Of course
you remembor him. Ho wasn't so old,
but ho was town marshal, and it was
his duty to chase all under seventeen
off tho streets when Ben Harris rang
tho old school boll at 9 o'clock p. m.
That's why you called "01' George
Seeman." By the way, perhaps if
you strain your ears a little you can
hear that old study boll again. No?
Well, it would be worth all the grand
operas in the world just to hear it
again, wouldn't it?
It was on another hallowe'en night,
wasn't it, that the whole crowd of
you met at May's or was it at Em's
and had great times until long
after everybody else was in bed, and
then started out? Will climbed
through a window into the old school
house and -by means of a key that
took months to make and surreptiti
ously fit got up into the bell tower.
Then he tied a string to the old clap
per and let the free end down on the
outside of the tower. Then he and
Zelce and "two others" remained while
the rest of you went over to the
old Methodist church and the old
Christian church and performed sim
ilar feats of legerdemain with their
bells. And when the old Christian
church bell gave tho signal what an
awful jangle of bells there was!
And "01' George Seeman" camo aw
ful near catching the whole crowd,
too. Remember how he came stump
ing along with that old cane, and
how the whole crowd had to sneak
down behind the fence because you
were afraid to go into the -house,
knowing that "01' George" was watch
ing? It was awful cold that night,
and if "01 George" had waited just
a little bit longer he'd have captured
the crowd, for you nearly frozen to
death hugging the frozen ' ground.
But ho had to hunt for a fire, so you
got away.
Yes that's "01 George's" tomb
stone; that one over there on the
mound where the tattered little flag
waves. They put It there last Me
morial day, for "01' George" was a
soldier, and he never wholly recov
ered from the wound he received at
Wilson's Creek, when ho fought un
der Lyons.
1 Say, remembor how we boys and
girls solved the sidewalk problem and
,the hog problem? That was too good.
jTho old wooden walks were in hor
rible shape, and the nogs roamed the
.'streets without let or hindrance.
There were too many unprogressivo
;peoplo to make a sidewalk crusade
.effective, and too many people own
ing hogs and letting them run free.
It was hallowe'en night ifcyou remem
ber. There was a party over at Ann's
nouse that night, and after tearing
the roof off the house almost you
all set out to play a rew pranks. You
filled your pockets with shelled corn,
then beginning at the middle of the
street you scattered that corn up to
and under those dilapidated old side
walks, repeating the process all over
town. My, my! But weren't those
sidewalks in a fix the next morning?
Those old Missouri hogs had rooted
them past all fixing in order to get
at that corn. There must have been
more than a mile of new sidewalk
laid inside of the next month, and at
Gee, how you used to love to coast
down the long hill just west of town!
That was the finest coasting hill in
the country, wasn't it? And what
great crowds you used to have out
there. You'd start at the top,, and
wizz!! Swish!! There you were at
the bottom a good three-quarters of
a mile away. It was a long walk
back, but you didn't mind it provid
ing the right party had accompanied
you down the hijl. But you rather
looked on Grant and Frank as public
benefactors when tney "borrowed"
one of Molter's old horses one night
and used It to drag all the sleds back
up tho hill. It's been a long time
since you coasted down that hill, and
the boys and Kirls of toflnv rin f
seem to take much fancy to that
granu oiu sport. Tho last time you
went flying down tnat hill was the
night Ann got hurt. She was com
ing up tho hill with Fred and saw
a sled strike her broth nr. Tnhn ,!
, thinking ho was badly hurt' she
started across the road to help him.
Just then tho "bob" guided by Charley
camo dashing along and it struck
Ann. Well, you hauled her home on
a sled piled high with wraps and
overcoats, and for a month she
hovered between life and death. But
she camo out all right. Ann is now
the mother of a girl as big as she
was the night she was hurt, and her
son is almost as big as Fred.
- But somehow or other there wasn't
any more fun coasting that winter or
tho next, and by the next you were
gone out into the world to hustle
for a living.
"Will DeBaugh's overshoes?" Of
course you remember them. There
are some things so gigantic that once
seen are never forgotten. H6 used
to always bring them inside of the
school room. He wouldn't leave them
outside like the rest or you did yours.
And one day when Prof. Hill was out
of tlie room somebody got hold of
r.hem and there was a grand over
shoe throwing match. Finally Lou
hung them on tho chandelier and
got back into his seat just as Prof.
Hill returned. Tho most Innocent
face In the whole room was that of
Lou's. My, how innocent that boy
could look just after the perpetration
of some particularly big bit of mis
chief! Of course you remember who
it was that was charged with the
heinous offense. He took his books
in hand and went home at the re
quest of Prof Hill. And all the time
Lou sat there and looked as inno
cent as a babe. A couple of days
later he went back, because Lou
" 'fessed up" to his father that night.
Somehow or other Lou's posture at
his desk seemed rather strained lor
a week or two.
All of you thought Prof. Hill was
cross and crabbed, and you used to
say harsh things about him. But
it's different now. Every day you
realize what a benefit his-counsel and
his example havo been to you. And
you never think of him without re
gret for his departure, and never fail
to pay a tribute to his memory when
you meet one of those old school
mates. If you ever go through
Hiawatha, Kans., you'll be sure to
stop off and pay a tribute of tears
and flowers aboye the grave where
lies the dust of one of God's noble
men Osmer C. Hill, Gentleman.
Right over there, where all those
big trees are growing used to be a
pond. Brodbeck's pond, it was; and
it was tho only skating place for
miles around. The raing have washed
in the dirt until it Is' good land now,
and those trees merely showed how
long ago it was that you skated there.
You never got credit for it, but you
and the rest of 'em cleared all the
brush in the timber Building fires on
the banks of that pond in the winter
time. Let's see, there was you, and
Minnie, and Bonnie, and Em, and Ina,
and May, and Code, and Kittle, and
Cora, and Joe, and Zeke, and Lin,
and Grant, and Fred, and Clare O,
the list is too long. .But you used to
walk a mile and a half to that pond
and skate until JaKe Foster's hade
on the way back from the 11:17 train
warned you that you would have to
hustle if you got home Defore mid
night. There wasn't any danger skat
ing on that pond, because it would be
frozen to the bottom when tho ice
was three jr four inches thick. It
was different after you got to skat
ing on Kunkel's pond. That was a
mill pond, and it was awful deep.
The water was cold, too. Most of you
learned that by experience, for you
would try the ice early In the winter
and late, too.
My, how time does fly. Only a lit
tle more than a year ago Fred took
his son, Corbin, down to Kunkel's
pond to show the boy how the "old
man" could skate wnen he was a
boy. Alas, Fred forgot to test tho ice
properly, and he only succeeded in
ISM
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showing the hoy how frantically he
could break ice in an effort to get
to shore. And just think Corbin is
as big now as Fred was when all o
you used to go out to Brodbeck's pond
or over to Kunkel's on those delight
ful old winter evenings.
Yes, sir; the old Sentinel hand
press used to sit right over there by
that door.. That cylinder press
doesn't look natural now. In those
old days you used to manipulate the
roller while John Marshall Croley
swung back on the iever and im
pressed upon the white paper tho
items that "Deacon" had jotted down
for you and John and Tom to put into
type. That tall yong fellow bend
ing over the imposing stone there
is the baby brother .of the old days
when you took your first lesson In
the printing business in the old Sen
tinel office. About the only familiar
sight Is that of "Deacon," who still
hustles the locals. He is just as
young, just as jolly and just as com
panionable as he was a quarter of a
century ago. But that colored boy,
John Marshall Croley, sleeps over in
the little old cemetery, and Tom, al
though he is now half-owner of the
paper, seldom goes there because he
has to .look after the mails. When
you see the pile of Sentinels turned
out by that cylinder press how you
A HARD QUESTION
"What's Coal Worth?"
A harder question is, "How can I pet a few
tons?" Bat tho latter query would be easily
answered if 1 could sell some moreo' myboi.Ks.
"WHETHER COMMON OR NOT"
Is a book of nenrlySOO pages contfilHlne the
verses and sketches I have contributed toj.no
Commoner and other publications. Mr -
In tho foreword, says ot thebnok: "I npbaJf
this foreword In the belief that tho book w
benefit those who are led to pwiisc It. I nw
ew books left, but no conl. The book conta
many burning words" but they won t take ino
chill oft the rooms although they win
your heart. Anthrnclte sells In Lincoln ftt
a ton. My book sells for enough i to b it
poun,1s-Sl. 0. Bend mo a dollar and, I J' p
you the book and throw In my son. A i .,
of My-Mother When a Girl " inn f '
O'Shea, full sheet music, illuminated Mt'W
Book Is olothbonnd and bandsomel) Trtixeu.
WILL M. MAUPIN,
1216 G Street, Lincoln, Neb.
P. 8.-My landlord is putting n "fHott
the coal house I'd like to see bo o ir i f
Tnmtce Ivor's product looks beneath u. l
ready to put up, too
3,.
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-Un'iiJ&;')Mt,