The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-11-29
42 FLOWERS
Philosopher Gathers the Brown
Leaves, Burns Them and
Sweeps Walks.
MEETS A FRIEND OF YEARS AGO
8artow's Sage Hears a Man Compli-
ment His Wife and Recalls
Childhood Days.

Now that the elections are all over, let
us wash our hands and turn over new
leaf. 1t is a curious paradox that as
general rule a man can't be elected until
he first falls from grace Politics makes II
strange mixture of Calvinism and Ar
minianism. But l reckon we will all sur
viye our disappointments and, as DIR. Mil
! Ter used to say, learn to spell the word
acquiesce. He always pronounced 1t with
! the first long like it was acquieece. This
seems to be the young mems era and
reckon they can run the machine, but
must say that it has been long time
since / have had my choice in anything
outside of my home. / am doing reasOna-
/ bly, well under my own vine and fig tree,
where l am elected all the time. The fact
/ is. | never fall from grace inside of my
4 own premises, though sometimes things
are not calm and serene even there.
! | worked hard yesterday cleaning up the
flower garden and got quite a sweat
az perspiration The leaves from our fig
trees had blow an over the beds and the
chysanthemums had fallen down and had
to be staked up and tied and the old
Gamma stocks had to be cut down and re
moved BY the time / had got every
thing in good order and the leaves all
burned and the walks raked out, | thought
it was about time to receive some praise
from somebody, for l had observed that
Mrs Arp was sewing by the open window
and occasionally gave me an uxorial
4 glance. And so | sat down on the iron
seat and nlopped the honest dew from
my aged forehead. Suddenly she drew
near the window and remarked:
/ Il wish you could just see Mrs. Craw-
ford's front yard and flower garden; they
are as clean as a parlor. | was there
yesterday at the meeting of the aid so
ciety and everything was lovely. M.
Crawford certainly knows how to keep a
place in order
( Well that disturbed my tranquility Il
little and / was about to say maybe you
had better get him to come up here and
fix this one, but | ddent But | wasent
serene at all and yentured to remark that
Mr. Crawford didnent do it, for he had to
weigh cotton all day and / reckon it was
Mrs Crawford's work ! paused for a re-
ply, but she resumed her needle and
thread and / sat and ruminated When
I came TO dinner ! continued my broken
remarks and said that Mr.. Crawford
dident have four acres Of big oak trees to
/ litter up his little front yard and ]
thought that a carpet rich brown leaves
wasent an unsightly thing nohow She
asked me to send down my plate for SOME
chicken After another pause | remark
cd that had long since found out that we
couldent have every good thing in one
place We cOuldent have a beautiful
grove and a fine flower garden near it
for flowers won't grow under the shade.
Those beautiful roses that Mrs. Lara
more sent me have the sunshine all the
day.
Let me help you to one of these poach-
ed eggs" she said.
but / reckon, said /, as l handed my
plate, Mrs Crawford had things fixed up
extra fine because the aid society was
! coming"
1T is going to meet here next week,
my wife remarked in modifying tone Of
voice
Wont you have glass of buttermilk;
it is fresh and good"
And so l gave it up, and after dinner
she came out and was quite profuse in her
admiration, for she knows it takes lott
Of encouragement to keep me at work
III keep on cleaning up until that aid so
ciety comes and goes I'll watch the
Ileayes as they fall and catch 'em in hat
I'll sweep and sandpaper every walk and
then Mrs Crawford can go home and
praise me to Mr.. Crawford and put him
in the pouts. I'm going to put out two
more rows Of strawberry plants to-day, |
for she limited that we hardly had enough. /
| heard her tell the girls that she was
ashamed of that old patched-up carpet in /
the dining room, for it had been down for
four winters, and she wished she did have |
Il large rug to put under the table. III /
surprise her with one some Of these days /
when / sell my gold mine. 1t will sell |
now, / reckon since Mckinley was elect /
ed for there is gold in it. 1t was the |
only thing ] had that Sherman's bum
mers dident pick up and carry off.
/ Travelled the other day with an old /
soldier from Atlanta to Gainesville. He .
couldent find a seat, and looked troubled |
as he toted his old valise up and down |
the aisle So / pulled his coattail and /,
made him sit with me. He looked thank
full and in reply to my inquiry, said he |
was going to Calhoun, and from there to
his son-in-law's in the country, a couple |
of miles; said he wanted to see Sally and |
her children mighty bad
sally is a powerful good woman said
ltts anu SlIC has II BOO1s iAiQuSlIAOuS NUS
band, and they are gittin along mighty
well considerin' My old woman died
eight years ago, and I'm so lonesome at
home that / go about and about and stay
with our married children. That's all
that an old man can do for comfort"
This old veteran was nearing his four
score and was still quite alive and lively.
He followed old Joe Johnston all the way
down from Chicamauga and had never
been over the ground since. How the
old mans eyes frightened as | pointed
out Kennesaw mountain, though he said
he marched on the other side toward
New Hope church.
eve had q hard fight over there" he
said. "and we everlastingly salivated 'em,
as the boys said. We kept old Sherman
powerful busy burrying of his dead"
pointed out Lost mountain, and when
we reached the station that they used to