The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-09-14
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
BATS, BEES AND WOMEN PLY
LosOPHICALLY DISCUSSED.
William Wishes He Were Naturalist
Gen. Young's Crazy Quilt.

Last night while We we're all quietly reading
my wife locked up and remarked: 'There Is
bat in the room" long time ago she used
to jump up with aacrity and go into another
room and wait till got The little varmlnt out,
blt ammo domini takes the scale out Of To.
man as we'll as man, ard so now she keeps her
seat. The girls said, "take the lamp into the
hall and il will 60 out, but 1t wouldn't. MY
wife said, ':vou lad better get the broom anu
knock it down, but don't you knock II thls
way" noticed that rhe had put The Sunny
South on her head saddle fashion, and the girls
had covered up all bur their eyes. Carefully
mounted chair and began to sweep for the
little creature as it stimmed around, but IT
takes long time and lost my perpendicular
veral times. The bs! is the missing hnk,
said as gave another stroke. Seems to be,
said my wife. 'You miss it every time" TT
Is not an amphibious snimsl, said l. but very
ambiguous" said she ut l. chiropterous and
vesrertilio." said as l made another lunee
and the chair careeued and let me down easy
Pausing while to get breath, remarked that
those big words Of Linneus meant having hands
and fingers and coming out q. twilight "Well
do please get the thing out Of here-and
you csn tel US about it afterwards" said my
Mife The next effort was an accidental
succcss The bat was knocked down and
swept cut. Then got the cyclopeedla and dis.
covered from it how tie bat VS. bird that lad
no egg hrt gave birth soits young and sucked
them-how it had hands and feet and fingers
ard toes and even finger nails and toe nails
how it had teeth, canincs and nlolars; how 1t
was not blind but had little tiny eyes hid in
The hair, eyes that cannot bear the light an
are entirely closed when fyinS around lighted
room. tuvier experimental with them and
Int their eyes out and they could still hy around
and never tou h wall or ceiling. H. said
it was owing to their exquisite sense OF touch
and of smell and hearing. The ancicnts ssid
the bat had sixth sense by which they could
avoid collision with walls anil 30 forth, but Gu
yicr did not think So They are very ancient
little animal and I reckon had place some
where in NoalI's ark, but We don't know whether
lie put them with the birds or the bugs. Moses
declared them unclean and c!as ed them with
owis and rultures 1t seems to us that it is
rcor. miserable life they live, but reckon they
'nioy it. especially when they come IN the
house and alarm he women and children.
They have unique and lonely place in crea-
tion. there being but two or three kinds, and
they never cross or mix and have NJ society.
They have the miniature hands and feet OF hu-
man beings, the :e tn of dog and wings to fiy
like bird Even Darwin could not tell whether
hey evoluted backward CT forward.
wish hat WAS naturalist. 1t IS an ever
living mystery to study these little creatures
MI around MS How fly cen so swiftly glide
upon the window psse, what language the ants
use as they pass and repasi ore another as they
60 and come from their hidden nests. watch
them on the poles in tho trel:s and they never
fail to pause for an instant aud say something
and quickly pass On. May be It is ''Howdy,"
or Are all well?" or 81 AM glad to see you-
i've my love TO the children That they say
something there is no doubt. Then there are
The lightning bugs tha- would bs great won
der if they were not so common. Did you ever
observe that they never tighten except to rlse
higher in the all? They make no descending
light. and so it is evil, mt that the light they
make is not 10 sec by. but to propel them up.
wards It is an ell ctric power-a force without
hea.-and our scient s might study 1t and
analyze the wonderful littlo chemical machine
that lies hidden in its tail l. is power as
well as q ligh'. My friend Bussey, the bee
man Of Ma,ictia, says he tried diligently TO
cross lightning bugs with his bees so that the
cross could see how to work in the dark, but
lie failed. l have great respect for Linneus
and CuYier and Audobon and AgasslZ, who
have left US such a treasury of knowedg@ that
they gathered from n,ture. 1t does seem that
providence raises up such men with kind
i,urpose and gives them key to unlock
His s:orehouse. Every once in great
while great man comes up to MIN
;s:er to our pleasure, our learning or
cur comfort. Thus knowledge be-
comes difusrd and the world becomes
wiser and better If m4n is the best finder
woman is The best diffuser OF knowledge: l
contemplated them yesterday as they worked
III a crazy quilt ~ my house. a COOL lady,
who is alwais ut work for the church, or the
Dcor. or the leathen. brought over the patch
.vcrk of q Quilt 10 be made up. She got her
many friends to make each square and yes
,erdav it WAS al stitched together and en-
hroidcred and the seams pressed down ana
,ich border put on, AMI 1t is about as lovely az
a crazy quilt can be, for they are tie most
distracted things in the wo:ld aud nobody but
I azy people admire them. General Young
liked 20 have taken fit oTer this one before II
WAS put together, and he has bought 1t Tor 20
and is going to take it to Guatemala when ne
90 8 back and will make an official spread OF
it on his couch OF state. Perhaps he ma: wear
il on rccep:ion days like Roman toSa or
Spanish nlantilla. At any rate. these eood
women have been as crazy as The ql:lt, and all
fer til sake of the heathen C"incse, who arc
kiliig up orir missionaries. I hope it vii! be
invest d in powder. | never saw the like. lie
harder The times thc harder do The women beg
for money for soma charitable or church WORK
Almo1t very mil brings an urgent, pleading
lrt,Cv from here wanting little help
for mercv's sake What would the churches
do v:.t.lout them? What would the PRAYER
meetings do or the weddings OF tue funerals?-
BILL ARP, in Atlanta Constitut ton.