Excerpt from Boyhood Reminiscences, 1855-1865 They say that when a man develops reminiscent tendencies and makes the past the burden of his thoughts and conversation, while the avid present and future are crying for attention, it is a sign of approaching age. Be that as it may, I am going to take the risk of being classed as venerable and give to those who care to read, a few personal temin iscences covering boy life in D'ansville during the decade from 1855 to 1865. These ten years cover that period of my life, from five to fifteen when the brain takes new impressions from day to day and stores. Them away for future dissection. These impressions are indelible and it is a recognized fact that the aged to whom the events of yesterday are a blank, are constantly recurring to the things that happened in childhood. Now these phonographic records stored away in my brain cabinet for more than half a century I am going to take down and grind out for my own pleasure mainly, but if they interest the older people at all and show to the young what we boys and girls did away back in the middle of the 19th century I shall not consider my labor in vain. It is a fact that from the time the brain cells begin to take and hold impressions at the age of five and so on to fifteen when the normal youth begins to put off childish things, is the most important period in the life of a man. It is during this time that the seeds of good and evil are sown, and as they are sown even so shall the future develop the individual. In offering these sketches, the writer warns those who read that their actual historical value may not be very great. These notes are simply the digging up of mental data stored up for many years and no responsibility will be taken for errors in dates, names and local events. Remember that the author was only a boy, with a rapidly developing sensitive brain, quick to take impressions and often no doubt taking them incorrectly. His radius of observation was also a small one, centering at the home and growing fainter and less obvious as the circle developed, so criticism is not invited. The truth shall be strictly adhered to and the pardon of any descendants of those who may be mentioned in a possibly humorous - never unkind way in these papers, is solicited in advance. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.