The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-02-25
VALENTINES DAY.
ARP TALKS OF THE WAYS OF THE
WORLD.

The Change in the Wcather in Which
Old st. Valentine Lived und in Which
we ReSpirc-InYiiiny the Poor to
Town to Freeze Them Life in the
Country Other Items.
The good st. Valentine lived in n
warmer latitude than this-somoii,ncs
we have n breath Of spring by the Nth
of February, but not often. The birds
arc not mating now-in fact, they have
not yet come out of winter quarters in
this region. The peach buds arc not
swelling. The willows on the branches
show no signs. We have planted moth
ing in the garden, hut we live in hope
and faith that spring will come and is
near at hand. The young lambs have
came and are shaking their little tails.
and some Of the hens have gone to set
ting and that 8 sign. 1t has been n
hard, long winter. aad SO we will enjoy
the spring all the more. We can't plow
for the ground is either frozen or it is
too wet. The boys can't hunt, for the
guns freeze to their hands, but they run
rabbits, and we have n rabbit stew most
every day all mixed up with Irish pots-
toes, and it is savory dish. 1t is
mighty hard to keep up an inviting bill
OF fare now, for we arc afar from oysters
and fish and bccrStcak. 1t is too late
for backbone and sparcrb and too soon
for turnip greens, and so the rabbits and
the birds help out and vary the monoto-
ny. But We have big lyc hominy most
all the time, and that is hard to beat :;
and We have cggs-lots Of cggs-and
cook them in lots Of ways, and they arc
good any way yon cook them. don't
know what the country folks would do
without chickens and eggs. \ good fat
old hen makes the hest soup in the
world, and will almost cure tho tosth-
ache at my house. Then We have nice
fresh bnttcrmilk every day and corn
meal hoccakcS split open and 'u,tcr to
go with it. And once or twice in a while
am allowed to have q mess OF cod fish.
with eggs and cream, and the dish is set
close to mo at one end Of the long table,
and Mrs. Arp sits aEar off at the other
end and looks amazed to soc the chill
'irqn help me dispose OF it. "'rhc idea"
says she, that my children eat cod fish y
And SO, when she and they car tripc, 1
ut on airs, and say. "'Ihe idea OF my
e6e ..ripc !" Cow peas are
, good country dish and thct.h4-.
hing know of. Children love them and
will keep fat and healthy, aud then there
're the roasted potatoes that they never
get tired Of. Anything roasted in the
lShcS or boiled on the Goals is better
han to he cooked on 4 stove. We have
great big tircplnccs, four feet wide, ant.
he little chaps have got cggs or pota-
ocs i'll the ashes most every day, and it
tceps them dirty and contcntcd. for
hey arc always hungry, and that is n
good sign. Children who have no nppc-
itc are in bad way. They arc puny.
So it is with stock. The best hors IS arc
he hcartiest eaters. Hungry folks don't
need any tonics to whct the appetite. !
Owe to see II working man eat, for he
'nj"ys it, and he Enjoys his sleep, and
gets up in the morning refreshed, and is
'cndy for another day. have great re-
'pcct and admiration for the working
men of this land. They arc the back
zone Of the government and will be its
'est protection when trouble comes.
Mr.. Randall wrote we'll about them in
he Augusta paper, when he said that if
hose millionaircs, who arc making their
immense fortunes out Of sweat and toll
ldcnt change their method, they would
AVE to pay Onc-half Of the common
people to keep the other half from TAX
ng their i'll gotten gains away. Wealth
) not always secure. There are mil.
ions Of restless people who would di-
vide out if they could, and they are get
ing bolder every day. But the COM
mon farmers and laborcrs Of the country
ire not Of their class. They are for law
and order and good government. 4 man
who works hard every day is not to be
\ disturber Of the public tranquility.
He hasent got time or inclination
ldleness is the parent Of vice. and when
these idle men beg for employment, the
rich iaen had better give it to them
give it to them at any sacrifice. IF a
man wants to work for bread for his fam
lily the work ought to be provided, even
if it is working on the road. Bread is
due every man if he will work for it.
When the mills arc stopped and thou
sand families are cut off from bread they
are a terrible element to deal with.
There are some things that know no law,
and hunger is one Of them. The con-
Of wealth in the hands Of