The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-10-11
BILL ARP,S LETTER.
He Ruminates Over the Losses and Crosses
of Life.
Atlanta Constitution.

Attut[Q GOTStuttt0N.
/ was Just Illuminating over the trials
and tribulations, the losses and crosses of
keeping up with society and running the
domestic machine. How expenses in
crease and encroach upon yon inch by
inch, and how things wear out aud you
have to buy new ones before you know it,
and how you don't know when the cook
will quit, and how most everything is on
strain, and there is good side and a
bad side every pleasure, and we must not
expect too much and we won't be disap
pointed, but we must move along calm
aud serene, and take things as they
come and watch them as they go, and By
the time we are old enough to die we will
be Just about ftten to live, and this
proves that this life is just little skir
mish of raw recruits-a tuning OF the
violen, school where we may learn the
incidents if we will. The best pleasure
that I have ever found is that which l
gave away, or that which somebody gave
to me. AS Shakespeare says about mercy,
it is twice blessed-it blesseth him that
gives and him that doth receive, and so
one day in midsummer when it was awful
hot and the nights milk soured before
breakfast, and the cream spoiled the
coffee, Mrs. Arp sighed and said, 81 do
wish we had refrigerator" which was
an exclamation I bad heard before.
Well, I found beautiful solid cherry
one in Rome soon after and bought it,
and while she was out visiting slipped
il. in the diningr DOM and we managed to
keep her out until the supper bell rang,
and nobody said anything as she walked
the portierre, but ell of us were
watching and listening. Mira. Arp can
see more with her two eyes and see 1T
quicker than anybody, and she paused
upon the threshold and exclaimed, "Well
did I ever; isn't it beautiful just what
I wanted !" and she approached her lord
with a maiden's grace and patted him on
one cheek and kissed him upon the other
and then perused the refrigerator to her
hearts content. II was all right and
peace aud tranquility abounded for a
right smart while. Next morning the
ice business was duly inaugurated, and
lust to chow what fool ! am about some
things. I will confess that I thought a
refrigerator was contrivapce to keep
things cool without ice. / Inever dreamed
that / was entailing upon my poor prcket
lust thirty cents day for three or four
months 10 the year. But when money
brings smiles and sweet milk and solid
butter all mixed up together, it pays and
I'm going 10 run on that line as long as
can. Home life is the biggest part OF
life and the best. a mans home is his
castle, his church, his flower garden, his
music hall, bis continual delight and
comfort, or it is. his curse. tt just what
the husband and wife choose to make 1t
"a hell or heaven. But have always
thought that home was more sacred to
the wife than the husband-more femin.
inc than masculine, for she has to dwell
there and abide continually and it ought
to be made as attractive as possible and
as wonan loves ornament morethan man
and has an eye and heart for the beau
tiful both in nature and art, it becomes
every good, thoughtful, considerate hus.
band, to indulge his wife in everything
that he csn afford. Suppose he doesn't
care snap about lace curtains or carpets,
or papered walls, or china dishes or
pretty pictures, or beautiful flowers, he
has tied unto him being who does and
she can't get away from the place that is
to be her prison or her pleasure untll she
dies. Sometimes I get worried because
there is so much cooking and 80 much
cleaning up and securing, and washing,
and so many things that have to be
mended and replaced, and my memory
goes back to The primitive days of my
Youth, when ne lived in a little humble
house of three rooms, with little square
porch in front. There were but two
rooms, in front, and shed room attached
"a shed room that was not ceiled, and
nv brother and I slept there and have
never heard any mueic half so sweet as
the sound of the rainss it pattered on
that roof on long winter night: 1t
seemed to me the sweet lullaby of the
angels, and, it almost brings the tears
from nv fearless eyes now as recall the
tenderness with which our good mother
came every night and tucked the cover
around us, and said "good night my dar.
liDgs." There was no glass in the windo"
-nothing but battered shutter-no
ceiling or plastered wall, no fire place,
and vet we were happy and coutented
and slept in comfort and had pleasant
dreams and were up with the morning
sun
"That never rose wink too soon
Nor brought too long day"
Those old times were mighty good
times for we did not know that better
times would ever come and l imagine
that halfa century from now, when my
wife and I have been long under the sod
and our children will be looking back te
these very days as days of primitive sim
pIicity and yet more full Of happines:
aud sweet content than any they evel
epioyed. And all this comes from the
bnoyancy and brightness that belongs tt
youth-to childhood. What @ beautiful
halo surrounds everything then. Wha
luxury of delight to fish or to hunt o.
to top chestnut trees or pick chinkapin'
or gather Walnuts and blackhaws ane
maypops or to wade 10 the branch ant
hunt BIRDS nests or catch young rabbit
or to set traps for birds. The world il
very lovely to child and would keeE
it so if I could. I would rather be !
child of nature than child of art.
have no greater horror than to SCI
Young girls shut up within convent
amid monastic. ascetic, miaanthropi,
teachers-cranks who have soured on th'
world and are doing penace with solemn
faces and continual prayers. We arr
what the Creator made us-social, cheer
full and glad by nature just as the lambs
L see that some poor miserable fools ar
trying to write down marriage as a mis-
take and fraud and they are cranks too
The marriage relation is the natural rela
tion and when Dame Nature speaks sb
speaks truth. It isjust as natural for tn
sexes to mate as it is for doves. 0
course they sometimes mate badly, bu
they had better do that thar not mate a
all.
Speaking of the old times, I an
reminded Of older times still, for I hav
before me newspaper that is date,
August 10th, 1918. 1t is the "Marylan,
Journal and Baltimore Advertiser," AM
has long communication from Georg
Washington, who was booming his lands
twenty thousand acres) on the Kanawh
river and wanted to lease them to settlers
| I notice that the letter S is all right a