The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-02-09
OLD SCHOOL DAYS.
Arp Tells of the Days of nls Youth.

The older we grow the oftener do we
reverse the telescope and look back.
How distant seem the scenes of our
youth. If did not know better I would
say it has been a hundred years since I
was littlo boy trudging along to the
first school / ever attended. The old
school days are notable part of every
ones life. My wife and l frequently
indulge in these memories, for we went to
school together, though I was six years
her senior. We tell over to the children
all the funny things that happened, and
discuss the frailties and the virtues of
our school mates and magnify the teach
ers, and she tells them as how I was a
smart hoy aud stood head in the spelling
class for month at time, and she re.
members the speeches I spoke, and with
pretended regret says: "Children,
your father was a very handsome boy,
with black, glossy hair, and he had plenty
of it then. The girls used to cast sleeps
eyes at him then, but dident, for l was
too young to be sweetheart then, but
he had them. Yes, he was smart and
good-looking too, and he knew it. Yes,
lie knew it. He had fight once at
school about his sweetheart. Her name
was Penelope McAlpin and another boy
called her Penny-lope just to tease your
pa, and he hit him right straight and
they fought like wild cats for awhile.
When he was young man and was in
my teens, he was the dressiest youth in
the town, and wore the tightest boots.
Oh, my! 1 had no idea be would ever
notice me, and I don't know yet what
made him do it."
Well, you see the like of that called
for response, and so I had to put in
and tell what q beautiful hazel.eyed
creole she was-what long raven hair
that fell over her shoulders in waving
tresses, and what beautiful hands and
feet, and how fawnlike she locomoted
about and about, and how shy and
startled she was when I began to address
her, and what juicy lips that seemed
pouting for lover, and then her teeth
her pearly teeth-that were almost as
pretty as those she has now. told them
how hard it was to win her until she
found out I was in earnest, and then how
suddenly she surrendered with tumultu-
GUS affection, and I recited with tender
pathos those beautiful lines of Coleridge {:
"She wept with pity and delight,
She blushed with love and virgin shame,
And like the murmur of dream
I heard her breathe my name.
She half enclosed me in her arms;
She pressed me with meek embrace,
And bending back her head, looked up
And gazed upon my face"
Just then Mrs. Arp stopped sewing
and gazed at me sure enough, as she
said: "Was there ever such story
teller? Why, you know I didn't do any
such thing. You ought to be ashamed
of yourself"
81 was just telling how 'Genevive'
did," said I, "and how Coleridge won
his bright and beauteous bride.' She
had hazel eyes, too."
Young man, you had better not try to
airt with pair of hazel eyes. 1t is q
waste of time and dangerous. They are
less susceptible than the blue, and when
once deceived do not pine away in grief,
but rally for revenge and take it out in
scorn. If you tackle them you had bet
ter 60 in to win or leave the country.
And while think of it, I'll make an
other remark: When you WOO and win
and we'd, you had better keep on wooing
end winning afterwards or leave the
country. 1t takes power of love to do
them.
We little chaps used to 60 to school to
female teachers-to Yankee school
marms, who were we'll educated and
smart. But they never taught school
very long, for our widowers married
them about as fast as they came. You
see, our high strung blooded girls
wouldn't marry widowers, for they could
always get young men to their liking,
but well-to.do widower bad fancy for
settled woman, who was raised to
economy, and would be so grateful for
having bettered her condition in life.
Of course they did not all marry widow
ers, but they married, and they made
good wives and good mothers, and their
descendants are all over the sunny land,
and have proved splendid cross from
southern blood and northern energy.
The first teacher I ever went to was a
Yankee woman, and she had Ounce
block set up in the middle of the room
for the lazy scholars to sit on. The mis-.
chieyous ones were made to stand on the
table or in the corner with face to the
wall. She never whipped US and was a
kind, motherly woman. Jim Wardlaw
eft" her once and she laid him on her
lap and tried to spank him, but he bit her
on the knee and she screamed "mercy"
and let him go.
The other day chanced to be one of
a party of assorted gentlemen and they
took it by turns telling of their school
boy frolics and adventures. One said,
"while I was going to school to old
Greer picked lot of wet mud off my
shoe heels and made it into ball and
thought would just toss it over and hit
Ed. Omberg, who sat on the other side
of the school.room. Old Greer was on
that side too and right between me and
Ed, but I thought 1 could flip it over
his head while he WAS leaning over his
desk setting copies, but somehow dident
flip it hard enough and it came down on
old Greer's head kerfop and hattened