The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1896-11-21
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
TALKS PRoMscUoUsLY OF POL
iTIcs AND GRANDCHILDREN.
He Also SIoralizes Somewhat ON the
Financial Question.

|
have rain about the time the drought
broke up. Cobe is man of opinions.
I asked him one day how his nabor,
Mrs. jenkins, was, and he said, ssShe
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 look back and
say it is not as bad as war. I 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 ofsan-
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,
whoopeel the sweetest little boy. Oh,
my, amt you glad, grandma?'
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 wind?
And so this little chap over the hill
answered the Florida telegram and
said: civilian Aubrey, Jr., sends
greetings to Ralph Smith, Jr., and
says. hello how do you like itp 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
pray for and hope for. Two more to
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 the family, for nowadays
even an infant is right smart expense,
but Cobo 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 ], but We
can welcome 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
Gliding hurts their mothers feelings,
but I don't care. Mothers spoil the
boys and fathers the girls, and so it
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 q little. Some
time ago threatened to spank little
grsndchild to make her behave, and
she looked astonished and indignant
as she replied, sMamma say me too
little to 'pank." And she was, but the
threat did her good. When school
days come it takes 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
fond mother who has the worst boys in
town told me her greatest trial was the
association that her children had with
tho 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. I
remember that about thirty years ago
ali exacting, fractions teacher thumped
ones OF our boys on the head with a
book and called him a nnmbskull. It
didn't hurt him much, but it hurt
his mother. and she hasn't got over it
yet. I don't know which made her the
the "numbskull'' or the lick.
That is one good thing about the pub
lie school systematic teacher is not
afraid OF the parents, and it is one bad
thing, for if he is partial teacher or .
fractions man he ought to be afraid.
A few more weeks of politics and
then we will have peace, at least for a
season. How many lies have been
told no man knoweth, but they are all
recorded and st. Peter keeps the books.
l read The New York Journal and
The Constitution every day, and when
l get through I know that Bryan will !
be elected. Then d-unwillingly-
The World and my faith weakens and |
my props are knocked from under uu-
til the next day. And SO it goes. I |
elect Bryan and Sewall every morning
ind unelect them before dinner, and |
rs hurting my digestion. But Tn
mad with these gold debaters who keep !
preaching honest money and talking /
about reputation. Dogon-'em, con-
found 'eml They have deprecated
my little property so per cent
I borrowed $500 on q |
town lot three years ago when
it was worth 81 900 easy, and now
[ can't get half that sum for it. I'll
has shrunk from an acre to half an
acre. 1t won't pay my debt, and cane
hardly get the money to pay the semi.
annual interest. That's fact. Every
thing is shrunk but debts and grand
children. Now, just put me back
where / was-pour it back in the Jug,
md stop all this talk about Reputation
md honest money. Do the money
lenders want the earth2 This efrifa 10