The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-06-05
BILL ARps SUNDAY CHAT.
His penslvo Mcdl,atIons by the Mill 10,

His Pensive Meditations by the Mill Pond
/ When young man comes to our towr
OH business, and has to go back on til,
next train, and has little spare time
and hires gray horse and buggy, anC
comes out to see us late in the evening
and can't stay to supper, its sign he i,
friendly. Pm sorter dull on emotions
They don't come quick to the surface and
gush like somo folks, but was glad tc
see him, shore. | never knew ANYTHING
but good of him in my life. He's goi
discretion. Ii he likes anybody he show.
it; but if he don't like 'e,n they never
find it out. He attends strictly to busi
ness, except that he will take time enough,
to show his respect for every pretty girl
within days Journey. He cant help that
there's lump somewhere in his crani.
um that propels him, and its got more
power than all the steam in compress
lie is always doing something to please
en-, and if it wasn't against the law would
marry half dozen out of pure goodness
of heart. Ny prediction is that he will
finally take poor young widow, who
has seen better days, just to be father
to her orphan children. Ono time he
went to see pretty girl way down in
Polk, and her pious old father had a
family rule that every child should re-
peat IL verse of Scripture at the break fast
table in the place of grace, and he ex-
pectcd his visitors to- do the same, if they
could. My young friend was taken some
what by surprise, but he Rlled Just in
time and said in his turn "Hc that
findeth q wife, tindeth good thing from
the Lord" which was the only verse he
could think of, and come up from the
bottom of his heart like inspiration.
wish he would make haste and consoli.
date with some one Of EN-, for he'd make
her happy and work in the harness so
gentle.
You see my thoughts are running now
In that direction, for am lonesome. lis
altogether possible for man to be lone
some, with s or 10 in the family, if the
bright particular star is gone. ''Going
to stay another week." Pm afenrd /
amt as populous with her rs | thought I
was. Too much inertia about her. and
maybe it will be hard to get her back
home us it was to get her away from it..
l reckon she's waiting for some love- let
ters, and fresh string Of promises, and
she'll get en-, for / never was stubborn
aoout thing of that sort. a long time
ago | tried poutin, and experimental
with her who could hold out the longest.
but in two days came to the conclusion
| wasent at home, or was of no consc-
qucnce, or was dead, and so I let up on
poutin. The survival of the tittest wps-
ent In circumstance compared with il.
Yesterday l went to mill. It's a good
place 10 go 20 when your feelings are
dlsturbed-wken your natural equilibri-
UNI is out of balance. The sound of the
falling water and the trembling hum of
the mill house will soothe YOU into n
calm serenity. Old men who lived here
with the Indians say they always carried
their lunatics to the falls and kept EN-
there until they got well. Maybe if the
white folks would build their asylums by
mill-dam, it might cure more folks of
craziness than the doctors l never saw
miller excited, or in anyways rambunc-
tious. They arc calm and sareen, and
bother the world as little rs possible.
Folks tell heap of tales about en- TAX
ing too much toll and their hogs being
always fat, but that's all slander. It's
like the talk about preachers sons, and
tailors' cabbage, and shoemakers' wives
going barefooted, and the grocer telling
his son to sand the sugar and come into
prayers. 1ulnan nature is obliged to
have story on everybody.
But don't think milcrs life is con
ductive 10 make great man of him. 1t
will quiet man down and reconcile him
to misfortune and monotony, but it aint
calculated to rouse the lion, if there &
any i'll him. l never heard of one being
anything but miller. Andy Johnson
was tailor, and Henry Clay mill-boy,
and Joe Brown plowed man-cow, and
Judge Underwood broke hides and cur
ried leather, and Mr.. Burritt was black
smith, and when my good mother used
to hear OF these great men springin up
from such humble callings she would re-
mind me that l rode the mail one of the
hardest winters that ever froze boys
toes off, and maybe something would
come of it, but it dident
used go to mill, too, just like Henry
Clay, "the mill-boy of the clashes" rs
they calle4s him, and got good many
slashcs myself for going in washing
and sometimes for getting back little
too soon. If some other boy dident go
with me | always found one to come
back with, and we would leave the grist
so as to run races all the way home and
git to 60 back next day. Then it was
such glorious frolic to 60 in washing
and swim around, which my careful
mother dident approve of, and so she
used to sew my shirt together Mt the
collar; but then mo aud Bill Nialthy
used to carry along needle and thread
fand after we came out l would lie down
and let him sew up my collar, and then
would sew up hisen, and we could como
mighty nigh making the stitches all The
same as they was. That's mighty bad ]
know, but you see we was boys.
That kind of fun is all over now, but
its still comfort when am sad to hitcl
UP the little wagon and take Two or three
of the BARNS to mill, and rs they rise the
top of the hill that brings the big ole
wheel in sight, hear the little voices pip,
up and sing
Listen to the water mill
All the livc-long day"
There's been so much poetry writer
about them and the big wheels, and tn,
water falling over the dam, they've go
to be almost as classic as an old we'll
bucket; Then there's the fishing priyi
leges which are a sweet luxury to then
who likes em, and Daniel Webster sale
that but two classes of people did like
em---gcntlemen and vagabonds. The
middle class had no fancy for it, which
always satisfied me that did not belon,
to that class. Fishin is, however, n very
deceivin business. a man expects NOR,
from it and realizes less than any bust
ness upon earth, exceptin saw-mill.
do love to hear Dolph Ross tell how
| many big ones he drew up TO the ton q