The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1885-03-26

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fou may practice all the lessons
Taught by Cupid since the fall;
But know a little widow
Who could win and fool you all.
Bill Arp's Letter.
1t takes good deal of help al
home to keep the children up al
school. There are four of them go
ing now, including grandchildren
and every night some of US have t.
stand them up and spell them, and
Jessie wants to giggle little when
Linton misses, and Carl won't keeE
his feet still, and l have to look sol
emn and regulate them. Then we
have to hel p them write their exer.
cises, and they just declare the les
sons are too hard and long. Then
we hear their little speeches and
try to get them out of the sing song
tone and to train them to nature
and emphasis, but it is hard to do.
But they are evoluting slowly and
the light is dawning on their young
minds. Jessie is the brightest and
most patient, as girls always are.
The boys haven't got time, for they
are thinking about slingshots and
marbles, and getting chestnuts and
walnuts and riding the horses. But
school is big thing with them and
they always come home full of news.
Jessie gets head marks and Carl
and Linton hint round that the
teacher is partial. Ralph tells on
them about their shortcomings, and
Carl gets even with him by saying,
"well, saw you throw a kiss at q
girl to-day in school time"
Tho school is nearly two miles
away, and so we have a time of it
getting breakfast in time for them
to get there at o'clock. 1t takes a
sight of vittels for their dinner, and
it has to be put up for them, and
away they go with their baskets
and books, and Mrs. Arp never
tails to follow them to the door and
give them parting counsel, and q
double dose to Carl. They always
come home hungry, and Jessie said
yesterday she dident have enough
dinner, and when we figured it out
she had had two biscuits with ham,
one biscuit with sugar and one with
jelly and a turnover pie. When
they get in sight of home about
shutdown we always hear them sing
ing as they come cut of the woods
a quarter of a mile away, and our
hearts go out to meet them, and
the dog gets up and looks and lis
tens and WagS his tail with dogs
delight.
Our nabor's children are going,
too, and there is a creek to cross on
log, and mill close by, and "a
strip of woods to go through, where
boOgers hide, and the little girls
look about them timidly and the
boys brag and tell how they could
kill a bear or a wild cat. They
have heard the old story about some
children sitting on a log to rest by
the roadside and suddenly the log
began to move and they found it
was an awful snake-a boa con-
strictor-and now they peruse eve
ry log in the way for fear of being
swallowed whole.
Mixed schools, l think, are tho
best for both sexes. The boys are
more mannerly and dress heater,
and are more ambitious to know
their lessons. There is 3 time in
the life OF a boy when he awakes to
q peculiar interest in the girls. A
time when he begins to "notice 'em''
as CODE says. asked him one day
how nabOr Jones was getting on
since he lost his wife, and CODE
said: "Well, he is gittin' over it
right smartly. She amt been dead
but six months, but he is dressin'
up amazin' and gwine to church,
and they say he is 'noticin'.'"
l used to notice good deal when
l was a school boy, and there was
one girl in particular whom !
wouldn't turn down if could. And
1 wouldn't let anybody turn me
down either and get in between.
These little spring chicken loves are
Nigh ty sweet and charming, but
they don't last long, and 30 when
sue moved away 1 grieved awhile,
but survived and she did too. ]
did not marry my first love, but
Mrs. Arp did, bless her heart,
though she declares captured her
when she was but a child and had
emit had time to look round, " ell,
reckon 1 did hurry up things
amazing, and gave no flag Of truce
The other day when 1 passed the
Big Stone mountain, near where i
used to live, looked upon it's bar
rem and majestic summit that use
to be our trysting place and memo
ry carried me back to the days OF
my gushing youth, when there was
a lofty tower up there, and my
Sweetheart and / mounted its spiral
stair and sat together at the top in
sweet communion with nature and
ourselves, and as l looked into her
hazel eyes it seemed to me we were
a little nearer heaven than l had
been before. 1t was a glorious hour
but it could not last, for there was
a storm impending and the light
ming flashed and the thunder peal
ed and we hurried down to safe
retreat, Not long afterwards the
storm came and the wind blew and
beat upon that tower and it fell.
just so it was with our life and
our ambition. The mountains TOP
is grand and beautiful for awhile,
but it is bleak and cold and danger
Gus. Our safest refuge and happi-
est retreat is down among the hum
BILE fcweFs that blossom it is base
BILL ARP.
pearcv,s ohm gnacj6o