The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1893-03-28
ARP'S SYMPATHY
FOR ANYBODY HELPLESS, ESPEC-
IALLYY THE YOUNG.
Bill Doesn't Understand Why Children
Should 10 Afflicted With Thai
Terrible WhoopinE Cough.

Here she comes running and wants some
body to hold her while she coughs and
coughs until the blood darkcns her face
and the tears run down her cheeks. Inc
poor little orphan l wonder what the
yybOOping cough was made fOr-and the
measles and mumps and scarlet fever, ana
the collie and all these infantile diseases that
prey upon and distress the poor little IN
nocents-what have they done that they
should suffer. | know what have done
and left undone, and it is no wonder that
grown people, except a few, have mead
ache and toothache and rheumatism ana
consumption, and whole doctor doom
full of complaints. / feel that l. deserve
my share OF all these bodily troubles, anu
even if [ don't, | know that they better
prepare me for heaven. They make me SO
tired that | am willing to go when my tiine
cometh. But L can't understand why these
little children. who are all UNCONSCIOUS Oh
original sin or any other SIN sLoulu SUI
fer so. :.
But suppose that we can't understand 1t,
what are we going to do about lt-nothnS-
nothing of course, and so the BEST tnlhg 10
do is to accept all the conditions OF HE ana
be thankful Though lie lie STAY ha me YET
spring morning, while the sweet south wind
is breathing its balmy Odors upon us,
was Illuminating upon Ifc and Is measure
of 10y and sorrow, and ] wondered why
both were not more evenly distributed. Why
and leave out others? Why should the i'll,
fated Naronic go down with all on board ana
the Aurania came safe to port W ny Shouiu
one man fall in battle and his comrade
escape unharmed? Is it fate or providence
Is if chance or destiny that one should be
taken and the other left? know not ana
will not let it disturb me. L do know that
7 am here and have a duty to perform
Life is real life is earnest,
And the grave not It's goal.
I know that virtue is everywhere respected
and that good people save the world just as
ten good men would have saved oodoh.
What a shock it is to the civilized world
when n shin goes down at sea and paSsen-
gers and crew 49, ,,, o
UnknelIed uncofiined, and unknown.
Why Is it, why does 1t so harrow up our
feelings and provoke our tenderest synpa-
thjes? Here are 5000 people dying every
day in the United States and they would
make Il funeral procession 900 miles long;
Not less than $4,000 kindred are bereaved
and mourn for them, and yet an 'hese COZ
fins and graves and saddened hearts ana
homes do not concern the public Ike the
sinking of a ship at sea. The manner OF
the death is not so horrible. 1ndeeu,
drowning is said to be the least repulsiVe
of all deaths for it is painless and the ag-
ony of mind is soon over, and yet 1t IS an
awful calamity. No help, no kindred, no
last words, no messages of love-, no requiem,
no flowers on the grave, In my early youth
the shock of the loss of the pilot III winch
Theodorsea Allston persisted had not passed
away. She was the beautiful daughter OF
Aaron Burr That ship went down with
all on board and no one knew when or
where, and the whole south was greved.
She had married distinguished son OF
South Carolina and was herself the great
granddaughter of Jonathan Edwards, and
her beauty and her loneliness had saved her
father from being convicted OF treason. 1t
was tender story that my father used to
tell me and | loved such things and love
them yet. The next disaster that shock.
ed the country in my youth was the loss OF
the Home that went down on the Carolina
coast when almost in sight of land. re-
member how Georgia mourned Tor OhYer
Prince her most distinguished lawyer, who
sank with that vessel. lie was our United
States senator and the gifted author of
many sketches Had he sickened and
died ct home not half the grief and sym
patty would have been manifested by the
public heart. We are more reconciled 10
the inevitable than to the unSeeQ, uneX-
pected stroke that comes at sea from the
mighty hand of God. We all desire to die
at home-at home, where loving hands
can smooth the aching head and loving
and weep. | do and if L
don't get better 1 am not going far away
any more There is nothing sadder to me
than to see kindred who are near and dear
gather at the depot TO meet Jne corpse Oh IL
son or a daughter who had died in a strange
land and whose last request was to be taken
home.
But | do not know why my thoughts
have run this way for the day Is bright
and the birds are singing and the fruit
trees are in bloom and there is nothing to
maIe me sad--nothing save the struggling
child that every little while has to rack
her little frame with that relentless cough
and often it is over, to hear her say: ooh,
/ am 50 tired I wish that we could di-
vide out pain and trouble and that / could
take part of hers. Yes; and sometimes
/ wish that somebody could take part of
mine. BILL ARP.