The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-10-29
BILL ARP SEES THE FAIR.
AND HIS FOLKS SPEND THE DAY.
The Arp Family Enjoyed It Hugely
\ Yhey Did Not teach the Midway.

AND HIS FOLKS SPEND THE DAY.
The Arp Family Enjoyed 1t Hugely
They Did Not Reach the Midway.
The worlds fair was a grand show.
We did not see 1t, my wife and L, but
some OF the family did and the talk
and tell of it lasted six months. 1t was
the greatest show that ever was on
earth. But it was too big q show for q
day or "a week. My folks say they
never got through with it and had to
hurry over what they did see. The
fair at Atlanta is big enough for me-
big enough for my time and my com
p%rehension. My wife and | have been
n it has renewed her youth and now
she has something else to talk about
besides the missionary meetings and
the grandchildren and the flowers that
| haven't put in the pit. Yes, [ took
her down last Wednesday. 1t took
right smart Of preparation, of course,
for she had an idea that the people
would all expect her and observe her
outfit, and she has great respect for
public occasions and for herself, too,
II so her paraphernalia had to be
revised and remOdeled. She knows
how poor | am and said it would cost
too much for her to go, but | told her
she should go if it broke me and all my
friends and relations. These maternal
ancestors, who, for thirty and forty
years, have served the Lord and their
country in the ~infantry service and
toiled day and night IN raising chill
dren, nursing and sewing and caring
for offspring-slaves to destiny and
the curse that vas put on Mother Eve
e without u little child that was
too young and helpless to take care of
itself, never with Il day or a night that
80 f,na f,n,N =, n..i.t tl@, l--l1
have u good time in their last days if
therG< is q good time for anybody in
this sNblunary world. They are like
the heNOes who came from the war.
They arG~hlIe-P AMI, who said, II nave
fought a good tight" But Paul would
have known Il little more about fight
ing if he had been a family man and
had to get up in the night when he was
almost dead for sleep and walk the
floor in his night gown with a teething
child in his arms and singing, Hush
my dear be still and slumber," or
"Oh, where shall rest be found,
Rest for the weary soul
Paul had a hard time, but he never
graduated in the lighting business.
He was too smart to enter the infantry
service.
My wife was almost afraid to under
take the eXpOsitiOn-afraid she would
get tired and worn out tramping
around, but like all mothers she lets
the youngest child persuade her. The
older ones have scattered and gone and
some of then we fear are weaned, but
the youngest of all the flock is here
and h is not weaned. She was
twenty-one yesterday and is married
and has IL child Of her own, but she is
not weaned. Oh, no: she is still our
comfort and brings us sunshine every
day. Just think Of it. Ten living
children and the youngest has passed
her twenty-one. The oldest is clean
out Of sight. He is almost as old as |
am and has sons who have graduated
has my name and my birthday is an
electrician at the exposition. He
escorted us. round and when we were
asked to register our names in q book
| wrote mine in full and he took the
pen and just wrote ''ditto,' and we
went on.
We got safely into the grounds, my
vile and L n u youngest daughter,
who was celebrating her birthday. and
began the grand rounds about . o'clock
in the morning. We stopped Ions
Si~tuation-to look at the panorama and
to locate the particular buildings.
was the chaperon, for | had becn there
before, and so | pointed out everything
before we began the perusal. There
is the government building" said |.
81 wish you could spend half u day
there. That Smithsonian exhibit is
just magnificent. There is the wo-
mans building. There is the liberal
arts. There is the agricultural build
ing and there the machinery. Over
fhnra 10 tha Mi1tuau #, o,,n,, .l,..l
you know, the devil has u pulpit at the
rear end and the Midway is his pulpit
here.'
In u time we started on the grand
rounds. | had two shawls and a basket
OF lunch and some other traps to carry.
but that was all right for q while. j
will carry anything on such occasions.
| carried those paraphernalia until |
o'clock, when we got to a place where
we could eat up the lunch and leave
the shawIs and the etcetera. We took
was in the lead like a pilot sometimes
was behind like q shepherd dog.
am very dOcilH on such occasions.
Sometimes | would sit down some
where and wait till they got done look
ing. | had no trouble anywhere except
at the fisheries. The crowd was very
thick there and most of them we're
Aiggers and white folks and the pass
way is narrow. Gentlemen" said |,
please don't crowd this lady-she il
my wife," but they paid no more ptten-
ton to me than If | was a common man
n | reckon | IN If | could have
called back twenty years [ would have
knocked one fellow u rod and taught
him some manners. Those fish are
just beautiful, but | have seen sheeps-
head down at Clear Water lust like
them. | have cen them all around q
palmetto post sucking the ~barnacles
and they were so thick you could not
see through them. They wouldent
notice a hook with the most tempting
bait on it, but | could take IL grain or
u gigpole and strike it down amongst
them and kill half Il dozen AT u stroke.
1t O us an hour to get through the
government building and we did not
see 1T ali to our satisfaction. That
alone is a great show. Our paternal
governmentohas beer good TO us md
the Smithsonian institution carried
out h Will of that noble E%nglishman
who left a million dollars for the diff
fusion OF knowledge among men. The
preface to the catalogue saws thew
would have sent.us much more il we
had had room for it. Since Smithson
died many other philanthropists have
left money to that great institution.
Lots OF money in various sums from
$4,000 up to "a quarter of q million.
Say what you please about the northern
people, they are the greatest people
on earth to make big fortunes and