The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1892-06-07
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
HE Grows REMINISCE AND TALKS
OF THE PAST.
a s,xtonn,a1 birthday Rolls Around at His
House and He is Perplexed az 10 no"
to Celebrate the Occasion.
Written for The Constitution.

Old Father Time keeps rolling on. All
the DAYS and weeks and years seem 10 oe
coming this way. Ammo Domini mas
brought another birthday to my nouse
not exactly a centennial but slAUehn1"l.
used to think it would be very SAD 10 gro"
old and / wondered that old people coui0
be SO cheerful. When my young VIE "as
sweet sixteen it never occurred ~
me that she would be over Sixty.
It seemed impossible or at leasb
so far away that it gave me no
concern. But here it is, she has crossed
the Rubicon, trying to catch up with me.
Yesterday was her sixty-first birthday
| but she is only sixty years old. How ID
| that, children? We didn't know wh2t to DO
for her. Didn't know what she wanted or
needed for she never tells. i did hear hef
romancing one day about how she would
like to have a carriage and a pair of gentle
| horses and good driver at her command
SO that she could ride around and make VS.
its and go to the missionary meeting. III
| going to get her that equipage or turnout
or plant Or establishment just as soon as
can, though it may be in the new Jerusa-
| lem. She deserves to ride the rest OF her
days for she has worked and walked
enough. She has done her share. Good
gracious, what a mountain of toll and care
| and anxiety it would make il we could see
it all piled up. The mother VINO raises
ten children i'll the old-fashioned way has
! done enough, has fought good tight ana
deserves a pension. For more than forty
years she has been making their garments
and teaching them to spell and to read ana
the catechism and washing their faces ana
blowing their noses and fixing them up 1of
church and Sunday school and little parties
and tying up stumpped toes and cut
fingers and nursing them In sickness ana
| watching the measles and mumpS ana
whooping cough by night and by day. JOB
| tells of the dark hours of the night when
deep sleep falleth upon q man-yes, q NAH
but it don't fall upon weary mother WIN
a teethng child And have not forgotten
the beautiful plated bosom shirts she used
to make for me before the days of sewing
machines. The children were the biggest
thing, of course, and they are yet, but she
never forgot me. All she wanted me to Go
was to provide the needful and / did 1T.
Yes, l did it, except during the war. 1T
was nip and tuck then and she was dodg-
ing the yankees a good part Of the time,
with half q dozen little chaps Juggling after
her who thought it was frolic. They run
her and her little brood all the way up
and down the Chattahoochee river Tor 5oQ
miles and she would hardly get settled
down to rest in one place before she had
to skeedadde to another. The good book
says, Love your enemies, but that IS
such hard thing to do don't believe
that very many people undertake 1t, maybe
some of the sinners do but the Christians
don't, l know. They ddent at Omaha nor
Portland and some of our southern preach
ers briste up and show fight like a porcu-
pine. There may be some sanctitied WO-
men who have no resentment, but the men
are scarce. The sanctifed folks never had
to run from the foul invader.
Well, L didn't know what to do for the Infr'
ternal ancestor, nor how to celebrate her
birthday. l thought of doing as Cain DID,
bring her some of the first fruits of my gar
den-the garden that | planted and work
in every day-my beautiful potatoes and
peas and beans and raspberries and .aspar-
agus, and a squash bloom to put III itr
hair, but the girls said that l better lot.
Then / thought l would write her some poe
try and say verses inscribed to my wife on
her s2tyfEst Rf fghsH bus tsaed to wsff
wanted some Thoughts like. John Andersen,
my 10, ought to have written in reply TO
his wife's sweet words.
But now your brow is bald, John;
Your locks are like the snow;
But blessings on your frosty brow,
John Anderson, my 10.
That suits me, but it don't suit her raven
hair at all. She is not old enough to be
muched up and crutched up with pathetic
poetry. She is not lettering down, John
nor getting ready to sleep together at the
foot"
"Jchn Anderson, ny Jo!"
used to write some poetry, but somehow
I've lost the lick. Frank l.. Stanton writes
all of mine now, and he does it beautifully.
In seven years more we will have a golden
wedding, if we live, and I'll get Mir. STAN
ton TO write some verses for that. We never
had but one wedding and there wasent
much fuss made over it,. No presents.
My wife cost me SO, that's all. Ten dol
lars for ring and $40 to the preacher
and the rest for fancy marriage certificate
Yes, we did get some darllies to wait
upon us and nurse the children and they
were good and loved US and loved the chill
dren. They were part of the family but
Mr.. Lincoln procamated them all away but
Tip. Tip wouldn't go until we told him:
He had a wife and children to support
and we all had to scutfle for bread then.
But is is all right. We are not complain
ing" whatever is is rght"-except some
few things like snakes and tarantulas and
| hyenas and train robbers and Omaha
preachers and the foul invader.
But | did commemorate her birthday after
q fashion. l backed an envelope with
Zines inscribed to my wife on her sixty
first birthday and inside she found the
lines which check on Mr. Towards
bank for $40. That settled it. That made
domestic affairs all calm and serene 1t
generally does Money is good lubricator
for the wagon in which we make the journey
| of life. Money is good for sore eyes and
fainting hearts. Money inspires our love
and graduates and stimulates our religion.
| Not that the maternal ancestor had been
restrained in her desires or limited in her
pride, but there is a tranquil satisfaction
| in having some spare money about you. No
| man ought to allow himself or his wife to
get clean out of money. He ought to carry
u dollar or two in his pocket and feel of
| it now and then. A man can afford to
owe 100000, but he can't feel like
gentleman if his purse is entirely empty.
Some folks carry buckeye or rabbit foot
in the pocket but a silver dollar is better.
History just keeps on repeating itself
Thirty years ago our little four-year-old
daughter got the scissors and slipped off in
another room and clipped her tiaxen hair
and cut up things scandalous. Her mother
found her diligently pursuing the same bus
| mess and suddenly lit upon her unawares
| and spanked her so vigorously that the
| memory of it is still fresh and green. That
| little daughter lives over the hill not far
away and has plenty of spanking mate
rial of her own now. Yesterday
| morning her little four-year-old
| get into the pouts and wouldent 80 in to
morning prayers. SO she was left out
rather than have the usual soemnities dis
turbed. And so while they We're praying
the old devil was watching and he gave the
child the scissors and told her to go il.
And she did. Her mother found her hair
mangled and gashed and scariied awfuIly
and forthwith without warning she eevat-
ed her garments and spanked her ndigna-
ton in the good old way They are even
now--mother and child, and so ii keeps