Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1882-02-21
The Lingering Stay Of H0ary Winter in
the Maiden Lap Of Spring.

the Maiden Lap Of Spring.
CALLS FORTH A FEW REMARKS FROM
BILL ARP, WHEREIN HE INDUCES
IN REFLECTIONS SUITABLE TO THE
SEASON.
Winter still fingers in the lap OF
spring. T don't blame the old gentle
man for sitting there as long as she will
let him, but wish he would make
haste and go. This coquetting of youth
with old age is amusing for little
while, but we can get sick of it quicker
than anything in the world. I never
see an old gray headed widower making
fool of himself about young woman
but what think of winter trying to
wed the buds and blossoms of the
spring. I never hear of nice young
girl marrying an old man for his money
but what I think of the same thing
How his cold breath freezes on her
warm lips and his thin and icy arms
chills the blood that courses in her
youthful veins! Such things will hap
pen, and can't help it.; but it always
makes me sad. At such times I wan,
to be young and rich and marry her
myself, just out of pity. It's SO unnat
ural and out of season. "Oh, the snow,
the beautiful snow" somebody has said
but it's not beautiful to me now. I'm
thinking of the wheat in the boot, and
the early corn, and potatoes, and the
frnit crop. I never did like north
shore to bring cold, sickly rain. or q
snow. or sleet, or something. It's an
i'll wind that comes to us from that
quarter anyhow They never blow
any thing kind or refreshing, and
reckon would freeze us to the vitals 1t
they could.
We thought the spring had come, and
the birds, and the trees, and the flowers,
and the turkey hens, and the little
wrens that are building their nests in
the porch thought SO too. But it's
great mistake. The carpets have been
taken up little ahead of time, and the
children have had to put on their shoes
and stockings again. We've done
cleared up the premises once-a regular
spring rejuvenation-raking and burn
ing, and washing out doors, and
quicksilvering indoors. Besides, it be
Ing fit and proper time for it, we were
expecting company, and SO was gently
put in harness and went to work with q
will. My wife wanted the front walk
bordered with nice, spakely rock, and
ditch cut wide enough to fill up with
rich soil all sifted fine for the flower
seed. When I had finished that job
she had me to white wash the rock and
SOW the seed, and then she wanted two
or three little circolar holes dug and
filled up in the same IA inner, and did
it so nice she wanted two or three more,
and kept on wanting until she got to
nine, and then she said the dog would
be capering all over them in the night,
ana had to split up LA little sticks
and stake the dog out, and then she
wanted enough of those beautiful wild
lilies from the swamp to border terrace,
and they had to be spaded up with
enough earth to keep them from know
ing they had been moved. It's a good
idea not to let man know the extent
of his job; when I look around the
front yard and survey the amount of
work that has been so quietly drawn
out of me, feel proud of my labors
and amazed at my docility. 1t seems 10
me now that it's all done; everything
is done; but reckon not-I reckon not.
Mrs. Arp has got some more develop
ments slowed away in her fertile
brain which will come forth in due
time. She wont tax me beyond endur
ance. She will temper the wind to the
shorn lamb. I very frequently feel like
I was lamb. But then she pays well
pays promptly, not in filthy lucre,
but in smiles and grateful lOOks-nOt in
romantic rhapsodies or gushing torrents
but in that calm and serene glow of sat
isfaction which lights up her apprecia
tive countenance and makes me feel
proud to do her bidding. Some folks
would rather hear a woman exclaim.
"Oh! my-how lovely-how beautiful
-splendid-be best man in the
world-come, let me kiss you, you dear
old feller." don't think would like
that. reckon not, though, as it was
never tried on me; I can't say for GER
tain may be would.
Everything around and about our
premises ia mighty clean and nice now.
L wish it would stay SO I don't care 30
much about it myself, but it harmonizes
with Mrs. Arp and the scriptures. I'm
afraid I am little heathenish about
such things, for don't like to live un-
der such constraint-to have to scrape
my shoes so much and shut the doors
and hang up my hat and empty the
wash bowl. 1 don't like to see the ashes
taken up quite so clean and so often and so
much sweeping and scrubbiDg. don't
think the broom ought to be'set in the
corner upside down, nor the clean towel
bid in the washstand where me and the
little boys can't find it. think would
like q room somewhere close about
where me and the children could do as
we please and enjoy little dirt on the
floor and throw the saw and the ham
mer and few nails around and kick off
our muddy shoes and mould bullets and
pop corn and play horse and marbles
md tumble up the bed and do as we
please and clean up things about once a
month";. But there's no room to spare
and 80 I have to endeavor to live like
gentleman whether: 1 want to or not.