The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-02-12
BILL ARP IN
Way Down by the Gulf of MexicO-HOw
He Caught Fish on Sunday and
Mrs. Arp Made Him Put it
Rnrk Inhn the water.

a. @@
Back Into the Water.
We are boarders now-my WIe anO
I-boarding with daughters AN
care. no responsibility, no nothing &c
do INIT 20 nav at the end of the month
There are some other boarders here,
nice girls. and ONE more expected.
am the only boy about. Our girls are
showing their mother how they can
keep house. Everything IS new ano
pretty-the house and furniture ano
tableware; and I am gently eDJolneo 70
be nice and careful, which / am. lam
doing INV best to conform. My Wne
likes II. She always did like a little
stvle. She came from quality folks, Dut
I am only half Jersey. we nave
courses at the table now and the VlC1eS
are brought in in detachments. 1dont
know how much to eat Of any course,
for T don't know what is behind, but l
ann learning. There are two knives
and three forks and two spoons at my
two plates. The first course for break
fast is grape fruit and the sharp,
pointed spoon is 70 dig it out with. 1
don't like grape fruit, and sol a TILL
that course is over and try to help GU
the conversation and not appear tired
try TO conform. The next course Ii
oatmeal a kind of porridge which is
considered healthy food for poor Irish
and sick Americans, but as / am
neither I have TO wait until that course
Ia over. It is the style now TO eat slow
and a long time and to spice the repast
with bright and witty conversation,
but &c requires much patience and
weakness for q hungry man to calm
and serene under such circumstances.
Nevertheless I try to conform. The
next course Is f1sh-fresh broied pom
PIANO or Spanish mackerel, and then
my turn comes. And then the plates
are changed again and the chicken and
steak and potatoes and hominy and
eggbread and biscuit come, in all of
which / conform with becoming alac-
rity. Then comes another change for
syrup and Wsfes, and last of all the
coffee, which I have longed for all the
time. But I've got the dead wood on
coffee now, for the cook has respect for
my age and habits and brings me a cup
of hot coffee long before the folks get
up. This helps me amazing and so l
manage to get along, and as Daniel
Webster said ON his last bed, 81 still
live" One little thing disturbs my
equilibrium: I always say grace at
table and ask the Lord to bless what is
set before US, but as there is nothing
visible or eatable when we sit down a
the table I will have to change my
grace and ask the Lord to bless the salt
and pepper and what is in the kitchen
getting ready to come. There are two
Georgia families here, side by side. and
we brought out servants with us. They
are all happy, except that one man left
his girl behind and she is deeply con
cerned for fear he will hang his clothes
on a hickory limb and go too near the
water. 'Oh, my darling, she writes,
ST don't want you to roar any boat Oh,
what would become of me if you should
get drowned in the surging waterl It
is mighty bad to be drowned In creek,
but, oh! to think of being drowned in
the deep gulf of Mexico. So be shore
and don't roar a boat any more" Why
shouldn't she spell it roar, for it is done
with an oar. We couldn't get him to
go to the island with Us yesterday. He
W~on'troar any more. Last Sunday eve
my wife and I walked down to Colonel
Fraser's dock, that is near by, and see
ing a baited hook on the floor, / care
lessly dropped it over in the water Just
to see, you know. l wasn't thinking
about fishing at all when suddenly
something grabbed the hook and was
running away with it, and I had to
pull to save the line and pole from be-
ing carried away. Ny wife got excited,
too, and cried out for me to pull, which
I did and brought up a huge founder.
Then she remembered that it was Sun
day and made me throw the beautiful
Dish back In the bay. Ny friend Murphy
wouldn't have thrown it back. No,
sir-narry time. A founder is a curious
dsh with its eyes on one side. It it as
lat as a founder and as brown one side
and as white as snow ON the other. But
I'm not going to drop a hook in the
water any more on Sunday, for these
Florida fish don't go to meeting and
have no regard for the Sabboth. Thew
are always hungry and Bud Kernodle
saws that in some nlacaan man has 70