The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1896-10-09
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
TALKS PROMISCUOUsLY OF FOL.
sTICs AND GRANDCHILDREN.
He Also Moralizes Somewhat On tho
Financial Question.

Cobe was right. Cobe said We would
have rain about the time the drought
broke up. Cobe is q man OF opinions.
1 asked him one day how his nabor,
Mrs. Jenkins, was, and he said, "She
is powerful sick--she is, shore. II she
lives till morning shall have some
hopes of her, but if she don't believe
she will die" The long drought has
broken at last, and we are all grateful,
even if we are not happy. Hard times
are on us and hard winter just ahead
Of us, but old folks can lcok back and
say it is not as bad as war. thought
that this full moon in conjunction with
the equinox would bring US rain, but I
wasn't counting on quite so much con-
junction in family affairs. The autumn
al equinox brought telegram from
Florida announcing the birth Of an
other grandson, Ralph, Jr.. and before
could answer the dispatch here came
the little girls over the hill-all out Of
breath and wild with excitement
"Mamma has got another little boy,
whoopeei tho sweetest little boy. Oh,
my. amt you glad, grondma2"
| Why of course We are glad.
When four girls come right
straight along in row it's time for
boy-a boy to grow up and wait on
them and defend them and protect
them. Two grandsons brought by the
same equinoctial gale. just think of
it and ponder. And the old COW has
found heifer calf, besides-a little
fawn.eyed Jersey. What's in the windp
And so this little chap over the hill
answered the Florida telegram and
said: civilian Aubrey, Jr., sends
gI eetings to Ralph Smith, Jr., and
says hello how do you like it? Your
little cousin" And SO it goes, multi
plying and replenishing according to
scripture. Two more for parents to
love and cherish and work for and
fight the battle of life and have some
school boy fights, too, reckon. Two
more to have Joy and sorrow mixed,
and to bring grief or gladness to their
parents. Well, it's hard time to have
an increase in tho family, for nowadays
even ON infant is right smart expense,
but Cobe says Everything Is adopted
and there never was a 'possum
born into the world but what
there was 'simmon tree close
by" So let them come. "Hang cut
your banners on the outer wall,
for the cry is 'still they comet" We
are getting old, my wife and I, but we
can welcome q few more grandchild-
rem. I would like to live on few
years for their sake and chide them
when they do wrong and praise them
when they do right. Sometimes my
chiding hurts their mothers feelings,
but dent care. Mothers spoil the
boys and fathers the girls, and SO 1t
takes hard old man like me to ex-
press my sentiments regardless of feel
ing. Line upon line, precept upon pre-
cept, here little, there little. Some
time ago I threatened to spank little
she looked astonished and indignant
as she replied, "Mamma say me too
'issle to 'pank." And she was, but the
threat did her good. When school
days come it takes q powerful watch
ing to keep the children straight.
They not only leave their lessons.
but soon catch on to all the
slang and bad words and devilment
that other children know. In fact .
eond mother who has the worst boysin
town told me her greatest trial was the
association hat her children had with
the bad children in the public school.
Poor woman-mistaken mother. It
would be dangerous to hint to her that
her boys were the talk of the town.
remember tnat about thirty years ago
an exacting, fractions teacher thumpad
one of our boys on the head with q
- 1~.l. Ill
didn't hurt him much, but it hurt
his mother. and she hasn't got over it
yet. don't know which made her the
maddest. the "numbskull" or the lick.
That 10 one good thing about tho pub.
Ito school system-the teacher is not
sfraid of the parents, and IL 10 one bad
thing, for II he 10 par tial teacher or q
frsctious man he ought 10 be afraid.
A few more weeks Of politics and
then We will have peace. at least for q
season. How many lies have been
told no man knoweth, but they are all
recorded and st. Peter keeps tho books.
I read The New York Journal and
The Constitution every day, and when
get through know that Bryan will
be elected. Then Iread-unwiliingly-
The World and my faith weakens and
my props are knocked from under un-
til the next day. And SO it goes.
elect Bryan and Sewall every morning
and unelect them before dinner, and
it's hurting my digestion. But I'm
mad with these gold debaters who keep
preaching honest money and talking
about Reputation. Dogon-'em. con-
found 'emi They have deprecated
my little property 80 per cent
already. I borrowed $500 on a