The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1883-09-08
TE oLDE FOLKES.
Most Everybody Is Dead and Gone-"Bill
Arp Laments the Loss Of the Men
OF sixty Years Ago.


OF Sixty Years Ago.
AHa".r lGn.l CDa.iitn'i.n.
Most everybody is dead. That is.
all the old folks. There are mighty
few left of the old stock that used to
move around so lively and take the
lead in business and public Affairs
Some of us arc getting lonesome now.
The ranks keep filling up, but we don't
know the new recruits. Old Father
Time is corscripi officer, and he won /
take any substitute nor give anybody 4
bomb-proof place. There are no quar-
termaStcrS, nor commissares, nor pot
ash gettcrS in this war, but il is fight,
fight, fight, all the time. Sooner or
later all of us have go, to 20. We can't I
desert, nor dodge, nor play sick, nor
shoot finger of, and there are no
furloughs and no pensions and no dis
charge. There is not even promotion
for good conduct or noble daring
There is nothing but to do and die.
Well, its all right know, or il wouldn't I
have been so, but it gricves me to hear
the bell tolling all about and to see the
old stock passing away. Thirty-two
years ago moved to Rome and il was
a right smart town of 5000 people,
They are not there now. What are
left ] can count on my fingers, hardly 4
dozen of the old settlers, and they move
about very slow. Old Mother White
died the other day. The oldest of
them all. She was always going abou;
doing good or trying TO. She ou,livcd
her old "Maun" the Scotchman, and
she outlived her children, bu, she never
surrendered TO grief or trouble. These
old Scotch people have habits and
principles like cast-iron. They never
change. The old "Maun," as we
called him. was always merry, At work
making harness. He had his time TO
eat and to sleep and TO pray and to sing
and to read the Bible, and his time TO
work, and he never neglected the regu-
Ter programme. Old Maun White
couldn't sing, bu, he thought he could,
and he considered i, as mich duty As
TO pray. lie was always in his seat At
the church. He was heavy man, but
he waddled up the hill to the meeting
house with alacri,y, and took his sea,
like he meant business, and he did mean
business. He said amen and amen all
through the preachers prayer and then
he opened his hymn book with eager
ness and stood up right in front Of the
choir and sang from way down. He
tried 10 follow, but was sure TO get 4
little ahead, for he enjoyed il and want
cd TO do more than his share. The
choir did their best TO smother him,
but they couldn't. His bellows was
strong and blew loud. His kind OF
singing wouldn't have been tolerated
from any other man, for he was always
little up or little down, and he
tapcred off. His voice was good deal
below bass, and came up like there was
cogwhccl in his throat. But every
body that knew the old man enjoyed
his singing, for il seemed to do him SO
much good, aud at times when the
words were very tender the old man
would say "amen" at the end of the
stanza. | remember that one time
when Henry Gar,rell and George S,ovall
were leading music the old man turned
two leaves in his hymn books, and got
from long into short meter, and the
words didn't fit the music. There
wasn't enough OF them, and the old
Maun shook his head and gave grunt
and filed out with a couple of amens.
He heard litter behind him, and,
looking round, muttercd audibly,
"Thars' sumthin' wrong about here. "
We ioked him about it next day, and
he laughed as he said: "Ah, well, you
know that David said sing unto the
Lord new song, and deed it. Yes,
| deed it," | wonder how many chill.
drcn old Mother White has taught in
Sunday School. She has had class OF
little ones ever since knew her, and
she taught them all the same thing, to
love God and tell the truth and do
right. don't think she ever improved
on that--she didn't know anything
about the science Of religion or the
evidences ofChristianity, and she didn't
want TO know. 1t was enough for her
that she loved her Maker, and loved
everybody, and her Maker loved her.
Her faith was iron-clad; she lived in
il, and she died in it. II could trade
in chances for heaven, would be will
ing to trade for hers. She is there,
reckon, and some OF the children she
taught are there, too, and they gave the
old lady 4 welcome that was heaven
enough for her.
pO-If thou art rich, then show the
greatness Of thy fortune, or what is bet.
ter, the greatness of thy soul, in the
meekneSs of thy conversation con-
descend TO men Of low estate, support
the distressed and naironize the neglec-