The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-10-30
BILL ARP'S LETTER,
Arp Secs the Fair.
atlanta Constitution.

The World Fair was grand show.
We did not sec it. my wife and |, 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 biz show for Il day or 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 mc-big enough for my
time and my comprehension. Mywlfe
and have been and it has renewed
her youth and now she has something
else to talk about besides the mission
airy 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. and so her para
phernalia had to be revised and re-
modelled. She knows how poor am
and said it would cost too much for
her to go, but l told her she should
90 if it broke me and all my friends
and relations. These maternal anccs-
tors, who, for thirty and forty years,
have served the Lord and their coun-
try in the infantry service and toiled
day and night in raising children,
nursing and sewing and caring for
offspring-slavcs to destiny and the
curse that was put on Mother Eve
never without little child that was
too young and helpless to take care of
itself, never with day or anight that
was free from anxiety, they should
have good time in their last days if
there is good time for anybody in
this sublunary world. They arc like
the heroes who came from the war.
They arc like Paul, who said, II have
fought good fight. - But Paul would
have known a little more about fight
ing if he had been 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 teething
child in his arms and singing, "Hush
my dear be still and slumbcr,' or
sob, where shall rest be found,
Rest for the weary SOUL"
Paul had hard time, but he never
graduated in the fighting 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 WORKOUT tramping
around, but like all mothers she lets
the youngest child persuade her. The
older ones have scattered and gone
and some of them we fear are weaned.
but the youngest of all the flock is
here and she is not wcaned. She was
twcnty-one yesterday and is married
and has child of her oSn, but she is
not wcaned. 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 twcnty-onc. The oldest is clean
out of sight. lie is almost as old as |
am and has sons who have graduated
and gone to work. One of them, who
has my name and my birthday, is an
electrician at the Exposition. He
escorted us rouud and when we were
asked to register our names in a 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
wife and and our youngest daughter,
who was celebrating her birthday, and
began the grand rounds about9 o clock
in the morning. We stopped long
enough to take bird S eye view of
the situation-to look at the panorama
and to locate the particular buildings.
was the chaperon, for | had been
there before, and SO l pointed out
everything before we began the peru
sal. "There is the government build.
ing" said l. Il wish you could
spend half day there. That Smith
sonian exhibit is just magnificent.
There is the Woman building. There
is the Liberal Arts. There is the Agri-
cultural building and there the ma
chincry. Over there is the Midway:
In every Church, you know, the devil
has pulpit at the rear end and the
Midway is his pulpit here.
In due time we started on the grand
rounds. l had two shawls and a bas-
kct of lunch and some other traps to
carry, but that was all right for a
while. | will carry anything on such
occasions. | carried those parapher-
MALTA until o clock, when We got to
a place where we could eat up the
lunch and leave the shawls and the
ctcctcra. We took it in by slow de-
grecs. Sometimes | was in the lead
like pilot sometimes was behind
like a shepherd dog. | am very docile
on such occasions. Sometimes would
sit down somewhere and wait till they
got done looking | had no trouble
anywhere cxceptat the fisheries. The
crowd was very thick there and most
of them were niggers and white folks
and the passway is narrow. Gentle.
men, said |, please don crowd
this lady-She is my wife, but they
paid no more attention to me than it
was common man and reckon |
am. If | could have called back
twenty years would have knocked
one fellow rod and taught him some
manners. Those fish are just beauti-
full. but | have seen shccpshead down
at Clear Water just like them. | have
seen them all around Il palmetto post
sucking the barnaclcs and they were
so thick YOU could not see through
them. They wouldcnt notice a hook
with the most tempting bait on it,
hut could take a grain or "igpolc
and strike it down amongst them and
kill half dozen at Il stroke. 1t took
us an hour to get through the govern
mcnt building and We did not see it all
to our satisfaction. That alone is a
great show Our patcrnal government
has been good to us and the Smith
sonian institution carried out the will
of that noble Englishman who left
million dollars for the diffusion OF