Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1870-04-15
THE JOSH BILLINGS PAPERS.
THE ANT.

1900 SA~NA'
The ant is @ menny footed insekt
They live about five thousand five hun.
dred and fifty of them (more or less) in the
same hole in the ground, and hold their
property in common.
They have no holy days, no eight hour
system, nor neve- ot1iAo for any higher
wages.
They are very cheerful little toilers, and
have no malice, nor back door to their
hearts.
There IL no sedentary loafers among
them, and you never see one out ov job
They git up arly, go tew bed late, work
all the time, and eat on the run.
You never see two ants arguing sum
phoolish question that neither of them
didn't understand; they didn't kare
whether the moon il inhabited or not nor
whether fish weighing two pounds, put
into pail o. water already phull, will
make the pail slop over or weigh more.
They amt hunting after the philoso-
piers stone, nor Citing crazy over the
cause of the sudden earthquakes.
They don't care whether Jupiter is thirty
or thirty five millions of miles up in the
air, nor whether the earth hobs around on
its axes or not SO long as it don't bob over
their korn crib and spill their barley.
They are simple, little bizzy ants, full
ov faith. working hard, living prudently,
committing no sin, prazeing God by mind
ing their own bizzness, and dieing when
their time comes, tew make room for the
next crop ov ants.
They are a reproach to the lazy, an en-
couragement teW the Industrious, rebuke
to the viscious, and study to the Chris
tian.
If you want tew take lesson in arkitick-
ture, go and set down bi the side ov their
hole in the ground, and wonder how so
menny kan live SO thick.
# your pashunes need consolation,
watch the ants and be strengthened.
If man had added to his capacity the
pashnnes and grit ov theze atoms Of ami
mated natur, every mountain on the buzz
yum Of the arth would, before this, have
been levelled, and every inch of surface
would scream with fruitfulness and count
less lots OF human critters would hev been
added teW the Inhabitants of the universe,
and bin fed on corn and other sass.
L have set by the hour and half down
near the ant hill, and marveled ; hav won
dered at their instinkts, and have thought
how big must be the jackass who was sat
isfied to believe that even an ant, least ov
the bugs, could have been created, made
bizzy, aud sot to work by chance.
On, how do pity the individual who
behaves that ali things here are the work
of al aksident ! He robs himself Of all
pleasure on earth end all right in heaven.
had rather be an ant (even humble,
Eandy-legged, profane, swearing anti than
to look upon the things this world as I
would upon the throw of tie dice.
Ants are older than Adam.
Man (tor very WIZ reasons) warnt built
until ali other things were finished and
pronounced good
If man had been made fust he would
have insisted upon bossing the rest Of the
job.
Ee probably would have objected to
having emmy little, bizzy ants at all and
various other ohj-kshuns would hav bin
offered, equally green.
I am glad TINT man wns the last thing
made,
If man hadn't hav been made at all, you
never would have heard me find emmy fault
with it.
1 haven't much faith in man, not bekause
he kant do we'll, but bekause he wont.
Ants hav bye laws, and constitushun,
and they mean sumthing,
Their laws Amt like our laws, made with
hole in them, SO that q man can steal a
boss and ride thru them on walk.
They don't hav any whiskey ring, that
is virtewous simply bekause it hooks by
the millyuD, and then legalizes its own
ackts.
They don't have emmy legislators that yu
kan buy, nor emmy judges, laying around
on the half shell, reddy to be swallered.
[ rather like the ants, and think now
shall sell OFT mi money and rea! estate
and jine them.
Fatal m1stake-A Father Shoots his Son.
We were informed yesterday by reliable
authority of one of those fatal mistakes
which sometimes occur, and which, when
they do, bring to recollection other cases
of precisely similar character which are
published in daily papers. The parties to
this sad act of mistake were negroes, but
were quiet, orderly and well-liked by
their neighbors. They were also in com
Portable circumstances. It appears that
one night last week the father, Edward
Williams, and son, James, who slept in
different rooms, heard some one try to get
into the house, having jumped the fence in
the rear flor the purpose of robbery; both
were aroused by the noise, and James,
the son, a youth about sixteen CIR
seventeen years old, got up and went out
in the yard to see what was the matter.
The father also got up about the same
time, and, getting mis- gun, started also
for the back door, not knowing that his
son was up and in the yard it being dark,
no SIoOu III Guo uOuso LEAR tn0 uOOr. ana
the son, after searching and finding no
one, was returning into the house, when
the old man, thinking it was the thief,
fred, the shot taking effect in the neck
and breast of his son. His feelings can be
imagined better than described. The
youth fingered until Sunday morning,
when he died, after much suffering. The
man was named Edward Williams, and, as
we said before, was a Woodworking. in
dustrious man.-Savannah Necs, April 5.
Rebellion at @ Weddfng-A Girl Halls at
the Word Obey.