The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-01-10
CliRISPMAS DAY,
Visions of Childhood aud OLD Age.
.Atldnta COnsfitutiofl.

| or no weather. There are hopes and eX-
pectations and everybody is in q good
humor. Even the dog and the cat seem
happier than usual, aud the turkey COB.
bier struts and gobbles like he was 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 tho
little folks are laying their mysterious
plans 20 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 have got little
store by the big gate on the road and got
nabor Freeman's children to help, aud
they are selling apples aud 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
|
yes millions of happy children around
| par!or to receive the beautiful prese ate
that old Santa Claus has brought. Ar
rayed in their best clothes aud with Joy
ful faces they must present to the All
Seeing eye a 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
put there, no Christmas dinner, no good
warm clothes, no, nothing but poverty,
pinching 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 divide-di-
| vide. Pick out some poor child and
make him or her happy even for little
while and then you will be happy too.
Company is coming, kindred and
friends are expected and things are sorter
i'll a hurly. burly Mt my house. hear
the lively beat Of the pestle and morter
as the cinnamon and the mace and the
ginger are being crushed. hear the
chopping knife in the tray for Mrs. Arp
is making up mince meat, aud there is q
powerful to do over it and so got ready
to take little hunt and depart these
coasts and get out Of il, but she saw me
and said she had two widths of carpet
that looked right we'll on the wrong side
aud 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 q contriving ingenious woman
She has got through with the sausage
meat and think is satisfied with that
job. foS while was writing Up stsi-s 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 and wanted to know wheth-
er it wanted more salt or more pepper or
more sage or what. Well tasted and
tasted and eat it all up and looked
wise aud said it was just about
right-in fact it couldent be better-it
was exactly right, it was splendid. In
about half an hour she cent up another
little dab and said she had put in more
salt and more sage, and 80 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 eat it all with gusb and
pronounced it Immaculate, infallible, in
discrisable, and all the adjectives and
adverbs could think of. And go after
she had satisfied herself the aausage was
pronounced all right. There is nothing
like having good wife to mix things and
good husband to taste and pronounce
judgment. When both work together
these domestic affairs are a grand success.
But what worries me now is tie abun.
dance of good things that cluster around
these Christmas holidays. Why never
killing that brings us sparerib and back
bone and sausage and souce and hog brains
and cracklins, and na5or Freeman sent
US down a quarter of nice fat calf, and
now comes the turkey and mince pies
close Oh, and the children Ia Florida
sent US two boxes of oranges and I'm
afraid we will eat ourselves to death, or
if we don't we will all perish when these
good things are gone. 1t is feast or q
famine at my house. But the good of it
all is that it dident take any money hard
ly and 80 its nobody's business but ours.
The pride Of 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 ali do it,
and l believe we could if we would try.
Home productions are the beat, for they
are always pure and genuine.
Let us keep our money at home and
quit running after people who say and
think, II like your money firstrate, but
dad burn your morals and your politics. -
Pm going to let them fellers alone am,
I don't ask them any odds. own half
q dozen children and three darkeys and
they all do as say, and think Pm good
father and good master, and dom:
want them feIlers to interfere with the
one or 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. wouident sell one Of my niggers
any sooner than would one of my chill.
drsn, for they love me and don't want TO
60. BILL ARP.
| = Fifteen years ago an Alabama man
kiljed naddIor Evar aince that Tins