The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-06-03

every OHe WIN goes Out 1TUm lLS sacTeu
portals or returns within them to rest
from the cares of a busy world. It is
one of my constant regrets that there
are so many good people in this great
big world who have no home-not an
acre on Gods green, earth they car
call their own. If every family had q
home the children would grow up bet.
ter citizens, better patriots; the parents
would hold up their heads and be
thankful to God for his blessings. The
good wife and daughters would treasure
the vines they planted, and the flowers
they grew in the front yard-aowers
that are the smiles of God upon a sin.
cursed world. The poet says:
"1he world has nothing to testow;
From our own selves'our joys must fow,
And that dear place-'our homet'"
was Illuminating about these things
as I sat in my veranda in the shadow
of the vines-the Virginia creeper,
the madeira and cinnamon vines tina,
by day and by night are climbing
higher and higher, charging and un:
folding their tender leaves that will
soon cover the trellice. / love to
watch their daily progress. I bull,
the framework for these vines and am
proud Of it. even though my wife did
boss the job and me, too. Twas she
Who made me set the posts out two
feet from the edge of the veranda floor
and brace them to the top Of the
columns. 'Twas she who suggested
canes from the cane brake-long canes
that were stuck in the ground and
fastened to the crossbar. These canes
are just one foot apart and are inter.
laced with horizontal canes, also a
foot apart, and the basket work keeps
the whole fabric good and strong
Strong and vigorous vines have already
climbed and twined around every cane
but she said there must be windows in
the lattice, so that we could sit in oul
chairs and see the trains go by and
the carriages and bicycles and funeral
professions and picnic parties and the
children going TO school and look al
our neighbors who live across the way
So there. is a. splice of three feet where
the vines cling close to the perpendic.
ular poles, but are not allowed to send
out any horizontal shoots. This gives
us ample vision of the outer world,
and I sit daily in my big arm chair
and rest my feet upon the railing and
rumiuate upon life with its blessings
and am thankful that I live.
Just a word about that railing. Il
used to be about three feet high and
studded with upright balusters, the
top rail too high and the bottom one
too low for a good foot rest. So when
I bought the property the first thing ]
did was to reform the long veranda,
It cost but a triile to take out the up,
right pieces and lower the top rail and
run a middle n and then put short
square pieces between them and alter.
nate them like a road to Jericho. This
makes the cheapest and most comfort.
able railing in the world, and gives
an old man choice of three elevations
for his feet and gives a modest woman
choice of two. Ihave already observed
in my brief life hal there are two
classes of people who like to elevate
their pedal extremities when in a state
of i~nDocuous desuetude-old men and
lazy lawyers. Old age is excusable,
for his legs art tired, especially when
his corporosity increases with advan'
cling years, or he is bossed around the
flower garden by his loving wife; the
average lawyer is excusaDle, too,
suppose, toritis the brain that quickens
the flow of blood to the extremities,
and if the brain has nothing to work
on-no cases, no clients-the legs gel
sleepy and must have rest.
[ can tell a town loafer's age pretty
we'll by his posture when seated. Ar
old, confirmed loafer wants two chairs,
one to rest his feet upon. If he is
lawyer he prefers a table.
But I am off the subject again.
was thinking about the iowers-the
new and beautiful flowers that Mrs.
Arp got from Mr.. Berckman-these
cannas that are so georgeously lovely
and are now blooming into beauty.
We had some yellow mi before, but
now have other eolors that are brilliant
and attractive. l decorated my vege'
table garden last year with sun flow
ers, but l don't think my wife fancied
them. She said they made her eyes
tired, but she is delighted with the
crimson and orange and ~variegated
cannas and her Mareschal Neil roses
and ~carnation pinks. She wants only
81 or So worth of new flowers every
spring, and up to this time she has
had it, thank the good Lord for His
mercies. The weather has been awful
hot, but 7 have had to dig and fork up
the ground and haul fertilizers in the
wheel barrow and lay off a new flower
bed and change plants from the old
ones and tote water and sprinkle and
rake around till me neither garments
were moist and as salty as Lots wife.
It hasn't rained a drop in three
weeks Notwithstanding my rheumatic
pains and my wife's eorns and the
rooster's Growing in the night, and SC
I have everything to water every
evening. We have had no III servant
but me for a long time, and my wife
says I look exceedingly we'll, consider
ing age and infrmity, and the girls
smile around on the sly to see how a
little uxorial tafy spurs me on.
Had a letter yesterday from a suf.
fering benedict, who says his girls
wanted him to stop chopping cotton
and sowing peas and send some help
to take up the carpets and whitewash
the palings and the trees and the pig
pen and clean up things generally, fol
some town kinfolks were threatening
to visit them. He said he was about
to Guido the girls, but his wife re.
enforced them and said they dident
ask such favors but twice a year and
were the best daughters in the world,
and she thought he might spare Q
L