The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-01-23
BILL ARPlS LETTER:
Ten at Table in Florida and Nine OF Them
are Women.
atlanta Constitution.

AtCQntG CO7lStttte1On.
''If things wasent as good as they
are they might be good deal worse as
they is" was the old darkey's philoso-
ply. An old Frenchman said to me ::
'Mine fren ef you can help ting vat
goes wrong, go long and helps de ting
but ef you cannot help de ting, den
you n1ust be reconcile to de ting-dat
is good felosofe, and you is old enuf
to be felosofer.' That is very fine
advice, but I have heard the old
Frenchman rave and exclaim "le dia-
die" over trife. The distress over
trouble has to wear out. It can't be
forced out by any mental effort. Great
Affections take q long time. Small
troubles are more frequent and are
soon forgotten. "Sorrow endureth for
night but Joy cometh in the morn
ing" Heard a man say yesterday :
'Major, I'm as humble as wet dog.
I haven't said cuss word since the
freeze. I've lost my crop Of oranges
and 600 lemon trees are killed to the
ground. They had just begun to bear
and 1 was proud of them. I never
saw my groves for week after the
freeze and was somewhat prepared for
it, and SO I never said bad word. I
felt just like I do when at the funeral
Of a friend. It was too big thing
for me to attack. And besides my
own calamity, I had passed by some
humble nabors whose market gardens
were all ruined-not a living thing in
them. I stopped to sympathize, and
found them sad but hopeful. They
were fixing to plant again. They were
not kicking or complaining, and so
when got to mine I was ashamed to
use profane language"
But these truck growers will soon
come out of the wreck. Garden seed
comes down on every train. Our con-
ductor dropped $50 worth Of tomato
seed at one station. A month ago the
plants were two feet high and beauti-
fully green. The fields looked like
our cotton fields in June. When 1
returned last week there was no sign
Of vegetation there. We took sail
to the island yesterday. Afresh sup
ply of shells had banked up high on
the beach, and mingled with them
were hundreds of dead fish and crabs
and seabirds. The storm must have
been fearful. All day and all night
the roar of the surf was like the sound
Of many waters. My wife says she
dident dare to sleep. The family
gathered round the blazing fire and
wondered what more or what worse
was to come. My daughter sent to
town for more blankets, but as the old
Persian philosopher said when in trou-
Bile, "even this shall pass away,
and it did pass. The icy blast whis-
pered Hveni vidi vici' and went on,
and now the weather and the waters
are calm and serene. The harbor is
full of boats and the boats full Of fair
women and peaceable men. Visitors
are smiling and happy if citizens are
not. The owners Of large groves are
able, if not willing, to bear their loss.
The smaller the crop the less the
grief. My daughters grove has suf-
fered less than any I know Of, for she
had but one tree and no fruit was on
that.
We have happy family here, but |
am not calm and serene-I am over
cropped. I need help to entertain
these ladies. I sit down to the table
the only man among ten women. And
five Of them are wise and five Of them
are foolish, for FIVE are married and
FIVE are unmarried. ''The lady or the
tiger-which ?" No, I take that
back. / dident say it. It was lap
sus lingue. None of them are foolish,
for some live on hope and some on
memory. It is happy family. There
are matrons and maids and widows,
and all are kind and considerate to
me. My wife and I are the chaperons
and hold down the brakes, and she
holds me down when I get too uppity
and bigoty. She doesent say anything,
but when man has lived with a wo-
man for forty-fve years he can tell
from the wink of her eye or the dimple
on her chin or the pose OF her head
what size is thinking about. I am
getting deaf now and can't hear her
when I don't want to. When [ get
blind I don't know what she will do.
The little girl orders her about.
''Grandma, I want new calico dress.
Grandma, want some bread and syrup.
Grandma, want some scissors to cut
paper dolls" She says that is all she
is good for now-to wait on the grand
children, and she won't be here long
10 do that. Whenever you hear a
grandmother say that, you may know
she isent near dead-just wants some
body to pet her. l Ialways tell her she
will outliye me six years, for am
that much older. Speaking of dying,
1 had a letter from a schoolboy the
other day who wanted a speech for a
debating society, and the question
was, "Is it possible for a man to die
before his time comes p II main
to;n - said he "that IL ia for ono dav