The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-02-27
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
Do Eot Forget lhc Old FC'ks When You
Are Away.
-iNnNtu Consultation.


.wcc,cS, pleasure | >houl,! answer let
trrS from homr--lcttcrs from l,in,ire,:
and friends. We g, ",r daily mail
very carly in The morning. and it act
ually induces a habi Of early rising in
he hou>choli Long before breakfast
ilic family and tn" guests con!:rcga'c
in the large room where the mail has
!,ecn assorted upon the center table.
With earnest hopes and eager eyes
,hcy sean the letters and | SEE 4 lock
rr disappointment if the expected
oncs are ni>sins. hut they rarely fail.
and soon the fortunate ones have sci
! lied down to an enjoyment that is pure
rs love and welcome rs charity. !
Know Of no pleasure that can be given
IS chcaply as the pcrusal of kind. low
ING letters from dear oncsat home. and
there is nc excuse. no apology that
will atone for neglect of writing
them. Many sad momcnts are passed
by parents because their long absent
children do not write to them, for it
hctokcrs lack Of flal love or a har-
Icncd heart. II is a sure sign Of sell
fish Indifference. Nce,lcnt tell me
that he is a splendid young man-so
handsome, so -rcntlcmanly. If he
habitually ncglccts to write to his
rother have no respect for him. |
wouldn't trust him as a cashier or a
clerk. Once nor twice year does
rot satisfy. Once month is a
stingy maEcshift, when We consider
how easy it is to do, and how little
the cost compared with tie pleasure
it gives. | have known 4 venerable
mother to put her sons letter care
fully away among her dearest treas
urcs and get it out again occasionally
and wipe her spcctaccs for another
reading. Why, it would pay a boy a
thousanl-foll to look in upon that
mother as she reads his letter. cspcci-
ally if it was a good long one, and
came from his heart. 1t would pay
him to sec her read a postal card if it
had nothing onit but, "NIy dear, dear
mother and "t'od bless you and
his signature. Young men, why don t
you carry some postal cards in your
pocket, as you travel from place to
place, and every day or two pencil a
few lines while on the train and hand
to the conductor. He will mail it on
the train. lie always does it for me.
50, then, there is positively no ex-
cusc, and if you think st. Peter will
let you in at the golden gate you arc
mistaken Honor thy father and
mother, is the only one of the ten
: commandments that has promise in
It. Shakespeare says, chow sharper
than scrpent's took it is to have an
ungratcful child.
All this is about letters from chill
; drcn to parents. But there are other
letters that should be writtcn-lcttcrs
from friends to friends that always
! give pleasure. The best quality Of a
letter is that it should be willingly
written. How often do We hear it
said. ''Oh, I've got to write some let
!! GERS and | had rather do anything in
the world than to write letters. y
Well, of course. there are some cores
otndcnts like schoolgirls and transient
friends that arc not particularly dcslr-
able, but. if letter is worth writing
al all. it should be well written-carc-
f;lly and thoroughly written. There
, is world of character in letter.
The other day one Of our household
received a letter from young lady in
Atlanta and it was so bright, so ncwsy,
50 genial that it went the Grand rounds.
; Everybody read it, and each one said,
"Well, Mary does write such beau
tiful letter. She is very superior
girl" Most people regard writing
good letters as Il gift, but it is not.
Ii is rainstaking, thoughtful task.
Thousands Of letters are not worth the
postage. Sheridan said that Easy
writing was curst hard reading and
Pope said
True ease in writing comes from art, rot
chance,
As those move easiest who havo learned to
dance"
| have observed though as a general
rule. the most gifted takers are the
! poorest correspondents, The pen is
tco slow for their wits. One Of the
!; most genial companions and trucst
friends | ever had never wrote me 4
letter. never answered any, and had
the same old excuse that he had rath-
! cr take whipping than write Il letter.
What blessing is the privilege.
+! Two ccnls-only cents. to be carried
/! 1 .o0o milc<-onl! ) cents TO cross the
E; \tlantic ocean. | remember when it
WAS quite tax to Pay for letter
{, from another State to Georgia. 1t
was - cent. and was paid at the end
; oI the linc-pail by the one who re-
,, .;vcd it. and if i: was poor letter
; he felt like lie was chcate'i-imposcd
uI,on. Many a time when ! WAS the
nostmastcr< 5 clerk lave handed out
! letters and they We're inspected all
. over and handed back with the re-
mark, well. You can keep it until |
f; gct the money. In that day there
were no envelopes. 10 muciiacc-;nost