The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1890-05-15
BILL ARP's PHILOSOPHY.
atlanta Consultation.

thing else of turbulent and transitory
nature. I'm going to boycott everything
now except domestic affairs. I'm going
to attend to my own business. I'm going
to stay at home and work, and if l read a
paper at all it will be with one eye on the
head lines and nothing else.
They say that exercise is remedy for
trouble-trouble of mind or trouble of
body. Get up and move around lively.
MY old father was afflicted with rheuma
tism, and when the sharp pains began to
worry him he would take his long stick
and start ont over the farm and limp, and
grunt, and drag himself along until he
got warmed up, and in an hour or so
would come back feeling better. A. man
can nope and brood over his troubles,
until, as Cobe says, "they get thicker and
more aggrevatiner." He told me he had
tried liver medicine and corn juice and
various "anecdotes for disease, but that
right good sweat of perspiration was the
best thing for man or a beast" He used
to cure mules of the collie by trotting them
around until the sweat come.
I haven't got the collie nor the rheuma-
tism, but I feel such q constant uxorial
goneness, that l have to step around
lively to forget myself. I feel just like |
had lost my tobacco. The sparrows are
regaling on my strawberries. The happy
mocking birds are singing their tee diddle
and toe doodle, and the lordly peacock
screams and struts and spreads his magnifi:
cent tail, and all natur seems gay and
| Joyous, but how can the lord of creation
sing glad song when his lady is far away
in a strange land A letter from there
says: "Malnma is having good time and
behaving so nice to everybody" Of
course, of course. And I'm nice to every
body ere-especially the ladies-some of
them come every day, come to comfort me
they say. I'm having pretty good time
considering. We had some fine music
last night-some of the boys came home
with Carl to practice for serenade TO the
spring chickens. They had guitar and
some harps aud triangle and were right
good singers besides, aud | enjoyed it i'm
mensely. Jessie is q musician too, and
when she struck the wrong key with some
saatory notes like, "Oh jimmy is your
Ash. Cake Done," and 1.-THE Highland
Fling" and Run Nigger Rum" accom-
panied by the sweet harmonicas and the
guitar Just couldn't keep my old extrem-
tiles subdued, and they got me up and
toted me around on light fautastictoes
amazing. l was all by myself in the next
room, but I had lots of fun. 1t does
man good sometimes to unbend himself
and forget his antiquity. l like 8 little
hornpipe or pigeon wing on lhe sly
sometimes 1t may be original sin or it
may be that there is time to dance, as
Solomon Gays, but I like it. My beard is
growing gray, and there's not many hairs
between my head, and the cerelean
heavens, but Pm obliged to have some
recreation, especially when Mrs. Arp is
away. You ought to see me caper around
to the music with a little grand child,
three year old who chooses me for a part,
ner whenever the music begins. She
knows the dancing tunes as well as l do,
bless her little heart. My boys have got
new step now that they call the buzzard
lope, that is grand, lively and peculiar.
The story goes that an Old darkey lost his
aged mule, and found him one Sunday
evening lying dead in the woods and for.
ty niue buzzards feasiiug upon his carcass
Forty eight Of them flew away, but the
for,y-ninth, whose feathers were gray
with age, declined to retire. Looking
straight at the darkey, be spread his
wings abou; half aud half, like the Amer.
lean eagle on a silver dollar, aud tucked
his tail under his body and drew in his
chin and pulled down his vest and began
to lope around the dead mile in solitary
manner. He was greedy bird and liked
his meat served rare, and rejoiced that he
now had the carcass all 10 himself and so
he loped around with alacrity. The old
darkey was fiddler and dancer by in
etinct and inspiration. He had danced
all the dances and pranced all the prances
Of his ncighborhood for half century.
He had played prompter for the white
folks at a thousand frolics, and knew
every step and turn and fling of the heel
tap and the toe, but he had never seen
such peculiar double demi culver shuttle
as that old buzzard loped around that
mule He stood aghast. He spread his
arms juat half and half aud bent his back
in the middle, unlimbered his ankle
joints, sliGened his elbows, and forgetting
both the day and The place he followed
that bird around that mule for four solid
hours and caught the exquisite lope ex.
ac,ly. at dusk the tired buzZard soused
his beak into one of the dead mules eye
and bore it away to his roost, while the
old darkey loped all the way home to his
cabin door feeling ten years younger for
his masterpiece. The buzzard lope suits
an old man splendid, for it is best
performed with rheumatism in one leg
and st. Vitus dance in the other and
is said to be sovereign remedy for both
of them.
Some folks don't care much about mu.
sic-some don't care anything about
dancing, butt some folks like both, because
it is their nature and they can't help it.
It is Just as natural for children to
love to dance to the harmony Of sweet
sounds as it is for them to play marbles
or jump the rope or any other innocent
sport. The Church allows its members to
pat the foot to music, but condemns
dancing, because it leads to dissipation
and bad company, but we shouldent led it
lead the young folks that way. The
Church condemns minstrel shows and
minstrel songs, but have lately stolen from
them some of their sweetest tunes, and
set them to sacred verse, and is all the
better for it. Who does not appreciate
the "Lily of the Valley" that is now sung
to the "Cabin in the Lane" Puritanism,
and penance, and long faces, and assumed
distress are passing away. The Methodist
discipline that forbade jewery, and orna.
ments, and line dressing has become alb
solete, for it was against Dature-what
our creator has given us to enjoy let us
enjoy in reason and in season and be all
tho more thankful for His goodness
believe in music. Joseph Henry
Lumpkin, our great chief justice, said
there was music in all things except in
the brsying Of an ass or the tongue Of
scold. believe in the refining influences
of music over the young, and if an occa.
sional dance Mt home or i'll the parlor
of friend will make tho young folks
happy, let them be made happy. l read
Dr.. Calboun's beautiful lecture that he
delivered before the Atlanta Medical col