The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-01-10
CHRISTMAS DAY.
Visions of Childhood and Old Age.
Atlanta Constitution.

1reS1Qe alQ makes tuluSS llFelJ3 "eothoi
or no weather. There are hopes and ex.
pectations and everybody is in good
humor. Even the dog and the cat seem
happier than usual, and the turkey COB.
bier struts and gobbles like he vas proud
to be sacrificed and have the place OF
honor at the head of the table. I see the
old folks and sisters of the naborhood
perusing around the stores in the village
and looking at the pretty things and try
ing to make up their minds what to buy,
and hide away for the little folks and the
little folks are laying their mysterious
plans to surprise mama and papa. Carl
and Jessie have begged little change
from their mother to buy me a pipe, and
little more from me to buy her some
cologne, and, of course, we are not to tell
anybody, and now they haze got little
store by the big gate on the road and got
nabor Freeman's children to help, and
they are selling apples and crackers and
cheese and oranges and old clothes and
broken crockery and everything else they
can beg from their mothers. Consider
ing what the partners eat up themselves
and sell to the darkies on credit, think
the concern is getting shaky and will fail
before long. .,.,,,
Imagination now wings its fight over
the civilized world and see thousands,
yes millions If happy children around
the Christmas trees, or gathered IN the
parlor to receive the beautiful presents
that old Santa Claus has brought. Ar
rayed in their best clothes and with joy
| full faces they must present to the Ali
Seeing eye beautiful and lovely sight.
Would to God that this was the only
child picture to be seen on next Christ
mas morning. There are thousands who
will see no Christmas tree, no stockings
by the mantle, perhaps no stockings to
nut there. no Christmas dinner, no good
warm clothes, no, nothing but poverty,
piuching poverty, that chills the warm
blood Of youth and withers hope and
feeds despair. What shall We do, what
can we do for the children of the poor?
Well, will tell you children who have
been blessed with comforts and hardly
ever knew want; you can divlde-dl,
vide. Pick out some poor child and
make him or her happy even for little
| WQlle auu Gueu yOu WaiA pS ."PeS, WV
Company is coming, kindred and
friends are expected and things are sorter
in a hurly. burly at my house. 1 hear
the lively beat Of the pestle and morter
as.the cinnamon and the mace and the
ginger are being crushed. l hear the
chopping knife in the tray for Mrs. Arp
is making up mince meat, and there is
powerful to do over it and so | got ready
to take a little hunt and depart these
coasts and get out of it, but she saw me
and said she had two widths of carpet
that looked right well on the wrong side
and she wanted me to put them down in
the hall, strip on each side as it were
and then to put down strip of Cocoa
mating in the middle and just cover the
edges of the carpeting. Well, I've done
it all nice and straight, and nobody will
know but what the hall is carpeted all
over and the mating put down in the
middle over it to walk on and catch all
the dirt. But as sure as you are born
there is nothing under that mating but
the floor. Now who would have thought of
that but contriving ingenious woman.
She has got through with the sausage
meat and | think is satisfied with that
lob, for while was writing up stairs she
was working away in the basement and
had plenty of help, and ever and anon
would cook fragment and send it up
to me to taste aud wanted to know wheth-
er it wanted more salt or more pepper or
more sage or what. Well l tasted and
tasted and eat it all up and looked
wise and said it was just about
ripht-in fact it couldent be better-it
was exactly right, it nas splendid. In
about half an hour she sent up another
little dab and said she had put in more
salt and more sage, and so tried it again
and said it was mighty good before, but
now it was delightful: The next time
she sent some and said she put in more
pepper and so I eat it all with gusb and
pronounced it immaculate, infallible, in.
discrisable, and all the adjsctives and
adverbs could think of. And 80 after
she had satisfied herself the sausage was
pronounced all right. There is nothing
ike having good wife to mix things and
a good husband to taste and pronounce
Judgment. When both work together
these domestic affairs are grand success.
But what worries me now is the abun.
dance of good things that cluster around
these Christmas holidays. Why l never
saw the like in my life. Here is the hog
killing that brings US ussparerib and back
bone and sausage and souce and hog brains
and cracklins, and na5or Freeman sent
us down quarter of nice fat calf, and
now comes the turkey and mince pies
close on, and the children in Flerida
sent US two boxes of oranges and I'm
afraid we will eat ourselves to death, or
if we don't ne will all perish when these
good things are gune. 1t is feast or
famine at my house. But the good of it
all is that it dident take any money hard
ly and so its nobody's business but OUTS.
The pride of a farmers life is to raise his
good things at home. His meat, his
fowls, his butter, and potatoes and apples
and sage and so forth, and his wife can
set her company down to good dinner
and say here is enough for dozen and it
has not cost us more than % cents. That
is farming and wish we could all do it,
and I believe we could if we would try.
Home productions are the best, for they
are always pure and genuine.
Let US keep our money at home and
quit running after people who say and
think, 81 like your money frstrate, but
dad burn your morals and your politics" i"
Pm going to let them fellers alone | am,
l don't ask them any odds. l own half
dozen children and three darkeys and
they all do as I say, and think I'm a good
father and good master, and ] don't
want them fellers to interfere with the
one OF the other. Just let us alone and
we will all get to heaven as soon as they
will and live as happily in this subloonary
world. wouldent sell one of my niggers
any sooner than l would one of my chill
dren, for they love me and don't want to
90. BILL ARP.
Fifteen years ago an Alabama man
II.