The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1892-09-28
BILL ARP'S TALK.
Children Are Blessing to the World
Atlanta Constitution.

Children are good invention. Lord
Bacon said they were impsdiments to
great enterprises but Pm not satisfied
about that. Reading and observation
teaches me that they are the promoters,
the inspiration of progress and invention.
Men work harder and think det er when
there are children behind them. don't
know any great enterprise .s have
bsen projected by men without them.
Steamboats,. railroads, cotton gins, tele-
graphs, printing presses, sewing machines
were all invented by men who had fam
lilies. Children are in the way of war,
but not of peace. The world is working
for them. To raise and maintain and
educate them and see them settled is itH
principal business. Indeed, much of the
lying and cheating and swindling that is
perpetrated in trade is done on their &C.
count, and there are men in prison for
larceny whom heaven would discharge
and say ego and sin no more"
was ruminating about this because
there is a lot of little chaps here in the
house now, and they keep up racket
and inspire me to great enterprises. l
| am contriving an invention to regulate
them. There are three little girls from
over the hill and little rooster from
Florida. The are sent here to get them
out of the way Of the new babies. There
| is brand new orc over the hill and she
| is girl-"a nuther gurl," as the Florida
boy wrote his mother. Mrs.TArp is over
there, of course, making catnip tea and
| sugar.tits and blessing" it's little heart.
Yes, the baby is a nuther gurl-that's
four right straight along in q row, and
the paternal puts on high tragedy and
e1claims: "Hang out your banner the
cry is still they come" The number is
all right and the quality is good, but the
assortment isn't satisfactory, for there
is not boy to grow up with his sisters
and look after them and protect them.
It's bad but it can't be helped. Another
one of our offspring has four boys, and
here are four girls and the last is beau.
tiful child-look's just like her mother
and her mother looks like me. That
last is what I say, though it's not com.
mon remark. Poor little innocent T.
she looks like she didn't have friend in
the world, and Mrs. Arp says she cried
half the night and she reckons it WAS
because she made q mistake. But she
didn't mean to and is sorry. The pater'
nal ancestor steps around Solemnly and
looks away off like he WAS the injured
person. Fond hopes and puerile e1pec-
tations have been sadly disappointed, but
the mother nestles the child 10 her bosom
and with tear in her eye whispers: {:
"Mamma will love you" And she will.
If the little thing had come cross eyed,
or def0rmed, there would nave Deen one
friend. As Coleridge said:
"a mother is a mother still"
''The holiest thing alive"
There are four queens nova pretty
good hand for poker. Maybe four kings
will come along and take them by and
by and it will be all right. Girls are
worth more than boys anyhow. They
are purer ard better and keep nearer to
heaven. 1t is mighty we'll that up there
they neither marry nor are given in mar
riHge, for if they did the girls would have
a poor showing for husbands. 1t would
be worse than Utah. There is more orig.
inal sin in one little boy than in four
little girls. Here is this Florida chap
who hadn't been on the lot an hour be-
fore he had made friends with the dog
and was siccing him on the cats and had
them hiding under the house. He can
turn hand spring and cart-wheel and
stand on his head and cut the pigeon
wing with a stone. He has just finish
| ed reading the Young Marooners that
| tells 30 many useful aud wonderful
things, and how hs wants somebody to
fall in the creek and get almost drowned
&C that he can bring him to, and he wants
| the lightning to strike boy 80 that he
can throw water on him. I had to watch
him on the train for he thinks the plat
form on the hind car is the best place for
boy to ride. But give the little girls a
doll apiece and something to make play
house and they are happy. It's a wonder
| to me that girls love boys, anyway. It's
wonder that they will marry them and
bind themselves hand and foot to trouble
and many time to grief and misery.
But our Florida boy and these little
girls are all right and keep things lively.
love to have them around. Last night
We had music and song and a little dance,
and even old Aunt Ann, who WAS clean.
ing up the dining room was seen through
the half.open door tripping and courte-
sying to the music on the sly and ne
caught her at it and she was scared and
apologized and said the music Was so
dancy she couldn't help it. She asked
us not to tell Uncle Sam, or the preacher
and I won't. Then our big girls played
little plays with the children and sold
pawns sine or very 6ne," and chow
many miles to miley BRIGHT" and made
Miss Betty out of bolster and had 8
good time all around until bedtime. We
have to keep them in the house because
Mrs. Arp said so, for one is running at
the nose, and another is croupy and the
room is 80 full of cut papers aud picture
books and balls and marbles that can
hardly get about. I threaten to lick
them sometimes, but they have long
since lost confidence in me on that line.
/ used to make our children fear me but
az the parents get older they become