Connecticut western news., 1883-08-22
THE OLD FOLKS.
''BilI Arp'' Laments the Loss of the Men
 of Sixty Years Ago.

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 are getting lonesome now. The ranks keep filling up, but we don't know the new recruits. Old Father Time is con- script officer, and he won't take any sub- stitute nor give anybody bomb-proof place. There are no quartermasters- nor commissaries nor potash getters in this war, but it is fight, fight, all the time. Sooner or later all of us have got to go. We can't desert nor dodge nor play sick Tor shoot 8 finger off, and there are no furloughs and no pensions and no dis charge. There is not even a promotion for good conduct or noble daring. There is nothing but to do and die. Well, it's all right I know, or it wouldn't have been so, but it grieves me to hear the bell tolling all about and to see the old stock passing away.
 Thirty-two years ago Imoved to Rome, Ga., and it was 8 right smart town of F3 ,00O people. They are not there now. What are left can count onmy fingers, hardly 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 go- ing about doing good or trying to-. She outlived her old "Maun" the Scotch man, and she outlived her children, but she never surrendered to grief or trouble.
 These old Scotch people have hab- its and principles like cast-iron. They never change. ''The old "Maun, Y" as we called him, was always merry, and always at work making harness, and he died in harness. He had his time to eat and to sleep and to pray Ito sing and to read the bible, and his to work, and he never neglected tl Regular pro- gramme. 2
 Old Maun White couldn8 8sing, but he thought he could, and he considered it as much 8 duty as to praY He was all ways in his seat at the chnrch. He was 8 heavy man, but he waddled up the hill to the meeting-house with alacrity, and took his seat like hemeant business. He said amen and amen all through the the preachers prayer and then he opened | his hymn-book with eagerness and stood upright in front of the choir and sang from away down. He tried to follow, but was sure to get g. little ahead, for he enjoyed it and wanted 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 tol- erated from any other man, for he was always little up or little down, and he tapered off. His voice was good deal below bass, and came up like there was a cogwheel in his throat. But everybody that knew the old man en- joyed his singing, for it seemed to do him so much good, and at times when the words were very tender the old man would say 'tamen" at the end of the stanza. I remember that one time when Henry Gartell and George Stovall were leading music the old man turned two leaves in his hymn-book 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 filled out with 8 couple of amens. He heard litter behind him, and, looking round, muttered audibly, "Thar's sum- thin wrong about here" We joked 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 l deed it. Yes, deed it"
 I wonder now many children old Mother White has taught in Sunday School. She has had class of little ones ever since I 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 oi Christianity, and she didn't want tc know. It 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 it, and she died in it. If I could trade in chances for heaven, I would be willing to trade for hers. She is there, reckon, ano some of the children she taught are there, too, and they gave the old lady z welcome that was heaven enough fol her.