The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-02-07
THOSE BOYS.
Arp Rola.eO HE Experience with The
AtlGntd Constitution.

4
Arp Rclates He Experience With Them
| AlGntd Constitution.
How can q man ruminate and be Z
philosopher and Illuminate his thought
| upon paper when numerous and lovely
offspring Of ell oizes aud sexes are dane,
ing around the room to the music, and
laughing and squealing and squslling
and every now and then an infantile baui
ia heard as one of the little chaps gets q
bump on the floor. 1t is all part of the
battle of life, aud every patriarch must
fight ii out on that line and be recon.
| oiled. You cen tame one child, but YOU
can't tame q dozen when they they are
all in bunch. There is no getting away
from 'em here by day or night, 10 this
kind of weather, for they must ptay in
the house, and every room belongs 10 'em,
and if lock 'em out they beg and bang
at the door until get sorry and have to
let 'em in. So every night turn 'em all
in to the big parlor and let 'em frolic un
iii they tire down and get sleepy, aud
then peace reigns in Warsaw until morn.
ing | am scrouged up, right now, in
the chimney corner in big arm chair
trying tc write while these hilarious
chaps Of two generations are making
enough racket to make lunatic asylum
ashamed of itself. often wonder If any
other patriarch has such lively ire.
pressible set around him. Does anybody
else's children slam The doors az hard
and talk as much and get hungry as often
and are as everlastingly on the 20, NOV.
ing to and fro like fddlers elbow.
Mrs. Arp says they get it oil from their
paternal ancestor, and tells how l get up
in the morning with the chickens and 90
bruising around aud shutting doors and
ringing the breakfast bell before break
fact is put on, and ever and anon peep.
ing in pt her bed room door 10 ses
whether she is awake or asleep. "Of
course am awake" says she, "for how
could anybody sleep after you get up, the
very time of all times when / want TO
sleep"
my anxiety" said l, "my anxiety
about you for fear you are sick or perad
venture are dead, and then besides / am
80 awful lonesome without you"
Mrs. Arp never replies to the like of
that, but che looks at me, she does.
As hen gatherith her brood under
her wings, so doth Mrs. Arp look after
her brood. She knows no other 10y, and
is everlastingly working over some old
garment and making it anew. Carl 10
strutsing around now in bran new over.
coat that looks like it como from the
tailors, and it was cut down from one of
my old coats. What would have become
of the children if they had never had
any mothers; who would scold 'em when
they deserved it, and take it all back
when they put on q penitential flce
who is just about to whip 'em forty times
a day, and winds up with sugar or candy
or apples or something else she has hid
away; who e1claims with pitifui horror,
merciful heavens and did ever and
what 10 TO become of you? and didn't |
tell you to keep out Of that branch
Who washes their chspped hands and
aunoints 'em with glycerine and vase.
line, and puts 'em to bed and tucks the
covor all around 'em so good, and thon
npreado on another aui,,.s h5eitoTo Oh. goes
to bed herself? Who makes 'em set
down by her and spell and read and then
explain it all as they get into deep water
and can't fathom the big words? Who
teaches 'em manners and how to behave
and repeat it over and over again every
day snd all tho year round and never
gets tired?
How these boys do strut round and
brag and play the hero when they begin
TO wear gallusses aud can shoot gun
and have !:;iled their frat birds.
Dog ssy Get II can't wheel bully
load of wood to the house. can wheel
more'n you can"
"Bet you five dollars you can't. can
wheel more'n q mule can pull, dog'd if
can't"
"Confound that confounded old nail,
it's tore my coat, and grandma will 70
for me. I'm going to get Aunt Honey
to sew it up."
"That disguation old billy goat went
and throv'd me this morning. was q
riding him and he didn't want 10 20 in
the branch and get his old feet wet, and
give him cut and he made big jump
to jump over and landed me right in the
water, confound his old dingnation hide
of him."
Jerusalem, what big hawk! Ain't
he o rip .snorter? If / had gun now
and he was to light on that sycamore l
could just plug him from away back"
"Bet you couldnert."
"Bes could. Deg my cats il could.
ent just get away with him; I'd cure him
of sncking eggs."
"Hawks don't suck eggs"
"Bet you they do."
"Bet you they don't"
"Well, I know that crows suck eggs,
and hawks amt no better than crows.
One day Mrs. Arp was in hearing of
scraps and fragments Of such elegant
conversation among her children aud
grand. children, :nd ehe suddenly ap-
peared and lifted up her voice and said {:
"Come here boys. Come right here,
every one of you. Did ever hear such
language In all my life7 Where in the
wids world Gid you learn 10 say coufoun
and dingnation and blame my skin and
dad burn it all? Did you learn such
ugly words In any book at school, Why
I'm afraid you will get to swearing if you
keep on"
"Well, mana, IL amt no harm to say
confound, 10 it7 hearn papa say ICON.
found the luck" the other day when he
slipped down the back steps on the ice."
"Well, that's very different thing.
Your papa he-well reckon he wa,
taken by surprise-I reckon it just
clipped out SO he slipped down before he
knew It,"
"Grandma I heard grandpa say devil
the other day. Don't you know he said
there was some folks just like the devil,
for when the devil was sick he prayed :,
and when he got veil he went to cussin
again 2"