The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-08-12
Bill Arp on the Crops.

When q farmer has laid by his crop
and the seasons have been kind and the
corn and cotton look green and vigorous
and the sweet potato vines have covered
the ground, what an innocent luxury it
is to set in the piazzer in the shades OF
evening and with ones feet on the ban.
nisters, contemplate the beauty and boun.
ty of nature and the hopeful prospects OF
another years support. It. looks like
that even an Ishmaelite might then feel
calm and serious, and if he is still un-
grateful for his abundant blessings he is
worse than heather, and ought toIbe
run out of Christian country with the
Chinese plank in the democratic platform.
Every year brings toll and trouble and
apprehension, but there always comes
along rest and peace and the ripe fruits
Of ones labors.
In the journey Of life the mountains
loom up before us and they look high
| and steep and rugged, but somehow they
always disappear just before we get to
them and then We can look back and feel
ashamed that we borrowed SO much trou
BILE and had so much anxiety for nothing.
What great pile of miserable fears We
build up every day. It's good for man
to ruminate overit and resolve to have
more faith in providence, and am ru-
minating now. I was thinking about the
pthat has been laid by and that brought
to mine another crop that was pref.
ty much done with and is able to
take care of itself with q little watching.
1 mean the crop Of children that for 80
years has kept US n working and worrying
by day and by night, in summer and
winter, in peace and in war. but it's all
over now thank the good Lord for His
mercies. The last tender shoot is about
laid by. No more nurseing and toting
around and warming the milk by the
midnight lamp. No more baby songs or
paregoric or teething or collie or cntnip
tea. No more washing and dressing and
undressing and putting to bed. No tip
toeing round the room when they are
asleep or playing horse and bear and mon
key when they are awake. Never again
will there be two or three of EN- crawling
all over man or under his chair, or rid.
ing on his back or trotting on his weary
knees as he sings the same old songs that
he has sung thousand times before.
Our last and youngest, has PASSED the
rubicon. Bless her little heart, if twas
all for my sake, 1 wish she would never
grow any more or any older, for she is
the comfort of my declining years. She
can now wash and dress, and undress, and
say her own prayers and put her little
self to bed. She can sing her own songs,
and look at the picture books, und save
us many step, for she waits on US now
like fairy and fills the house with sun.
light. The crop is laid by, thank good
ness and l wouldent undertake to make
another for house full of gold. In the
heyday of our youthful vigor a kind
Providence enables us to bear up splen-
didly under these sorts OF burdens, but an
old man can't--it wasn't intended-it's
against the order of nature. Many a
time have 1 watched the old blue hens
that lays and sets and matches her little
brood, and works and watches for EN- q
couple of months, and then lays by the
crop and goes to laying again for another.
We can't do that, and don't want to,
for I tell you Pm tired. If there's any
peril in life that is like lingering sui
eide, it is for an old widower who has
raised one crop to marry q young wife
and go to cropping again. don't think
they will ever get to Heaven, for the
Arabs say that Paradise wasn't made for
fools. IfeverI nm a lone widower which
the lord forbid, I'll flee from marrying
woman like would from the wrath to
come, for my time is out. I've served
my full term, and now that am luxuri.
ating in the long shadows, I don't
want anybody but her to sing John
Anderson my Joe to me. I've been try
ing to get her off to Catoosa for week
OF so to recuperate her feelings and enjoy
society. I offered to sell ycarlin and
raise few dollars, but she is afraid that
something might happen. Little Carl is
her idol and yesterday he was fooling
around shutting up humble bees in gimp
son weed blossoms and got stung and bis
hand and his arms are all swelled up and
my wife, Mrs. Arp, she had read about
little bee sting killing man and of course
big bee sting could kill a little boy oil
the easier. Then again the grapes are
ripe and the apples are green and the
children banker after EN- and might get
aick, and there's some little clothes to
make, and the winter socks are to be knit
and so on and so forth, and lastly but
not leastly there seems to be some trouble
about something to wear. When sheputs
on her best clothes she always looks
mighty pretty to me, but still | suppose
Pm no Judge of such things. I told her
that every blessed woman at Catoosn was
exactly in the same fix. They had moth
ing to wear. But after all, that is
little pardonable weakness that we
men have no right to complain Of for
they are heap better than We are wheth-
er they have got anything to wear or not.
We must all do the very best we can to
clothe EN- decen.ly. When old mother
Eve had to leave home she made the
same complaint and father Adam did the
best he could-he got her some fig leaves
and few straws and fixed her up.
A farmer has got some leisure now to
ruminate upon his State and his country.
It's every patriots duty to reflect upon
political situation and prospect and get
all the light he can. For several years
we have been mostly concerned about
our State-prizing her out of the mud.
But now she is all safe and it's fitting
time for us to consider our national af-
fairs.
Our national politics is big thing. It
always was big thing, but it seems to
me now that the coming presidential con.
test is bigger than it ever was before.
I've been hoping for change ever since
the war, but it was weak sort of hope
that was prepared in advance for dis.
appointment, bat now I've got on abiding,
consoling faith that the end of the lane
is in sig6t-tbat we are bound to whip
EN-, horse, foot and dragons. My hopes
are so pregnant and exhilerating that l
could hardly bear up under defeat. The
calamity to the nation and to me would
be awful. As one of the only two origi-
- u,.oooE ,oap p,ovho 7 fota II IN