The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1896-11-21
ARP ON DROUGHTs.
Philosopher Takes Time, Too, TO
Talk About Grandchildren.
Politics Get a Word AlsO-sage OF Barlow
Moralizes on the Question
and Says Reputation Makes
Him Tired.

broke up. CODE is a man of opinions.
1 asked hin one day how his MAJOR,
Mrs. Jenkins, was, ard he said: 'She
is powerful sick-she is, more. If she
lives till morning 1 shall have some
hopes for her, but if she don'tI believe
she will die" The long drought has
broken at last, and we are all grete-
full, even if we are not happy. Hard
times are on us and a hard winter just
ahead of us, but old folks can look back
and say it is not as bad as war. /
thought that this full moon in con
junction with the equinox would bring
us rain, but 1 wasn't counting on quite
so much conjunction in family affairs.
The autumnal equinox brought a tele-
gram from Florida announcing the
birth of another grandson, Ralph, Jr.,
and before 1 could answer the dispatch
here came the little girls over the hill
all out of breath and wild witk cx-
citement-"Mamma has got another lit
tie boy, whoopee! the sweetest little
boy. Oh, my, amt you glad, grandm,a?"
Why of course we are glad. When four
girls come right straight along in a row
it's time for a boy-a boy to grow up
and wait on them and defend them and
protect them. Two grandsonE brought
by the same equinoctial gaze. lust
think of it and ponder. And the old cow
has found a heifer calf, besides-a lit
tie 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 it? Your little
cousin" And so 1t goes, multiplying
and replenishing according to Scrip
ture. Two more for parents tc love and
cherish and work for and pray for md
hope for. Two more to fight the bartle
of life and have some school boy fights,
too, I reckon. Two more to have joy
and sorrow mixed, and to bring grief
or gladness to their parents. Well, it's
a hard time to have an increase in the
family, for nowadays even an infant
is right smart expense, but CODE says
Everything is adopted and there n0ver
was a 'possum born into Ghe world but
what there was a 'simmon tree close
n.y. 6O leu ulC4A SO1AICs lung CNS
your banners on the outer wall, for the
cry is still they comet"
We are getting old, my wife and 1,
but we can welcome a few grand
children. I would lire to live on a
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 a
hard old man like me to express my
sentiments regardless of feeling. Line
upon line, precept upon precept, here
a little, there a little. Some time ago
I threatened to spank a little grand
child to make her behave, and she
looked astonished and indignant as
she replied: Mamma say me too little
TO 'pank." And she was, but the threat
did her good. When school days come
it takes a power of watching to keep
the children straight. They not only
leave their lessons, but soon catcl. on
to all the slang and bad words and
devilment that other children know. In
fact a fond mother who has the worst
boys in town told me her greatest trial
was the association that her children
had with the bad children in the public
school. Poor woman-mistaken moth
er. It would be dangerous 20 hint tc
her that her boys were the talk of the
town. 1 remember that about 30 years
ago an exacting fraction teacher
thumped one of our boys on the head
with a book and called mes nUmbskull
1 didn't hurt him much, but it bur
his mother, and she hasn't got over j
vet. I don't know what made her tht
maddest, the "numbskull' or the lick
That is one good thing about the pub
lie school systematic teacher is no
afraid of the parents, and it is n bat
thing, for if he is q partial teacher o
a fractions man he ought to be afraid.
A few more weeks of politics, ant
then we will have peace. at least for
season. How many lies have been toll
no man. knoweth, but they are all re
corded, and st. Peter keeps the books
1 read the New York Journal and tn
Constitution every day, and when
get through 1 know that Bryan will b
elected. Then I read-unwillingly-
the World, and my faith weakens an
my props are knocked from under III
til the next day. And SO it goes.
elect Bryan and Sewall every mornin
and unelect them after dinner. and it
hurting my digestion. But I'm ma
with these gold debaters who kee
I preaching honest money and talkin
about reputation. Dogon 'em. col
found 'em! They have deprecated m
; little property so per cent. already.
borrowed $500 on a town lot three veal
ago when it was worth $1,000 cas-,
and now I can't get half that sum fc
It. It has shrunk from an acre to ha
an acre. It won't pay my debt, an
/ can't hardly get the money to pay tt
semi-annual interest. That's a fac
Everything is shrunk but debts an
Q grandchildren. Now, just put me bae
; where I was-pour it baeksin the ju
md stop all this talk about repudiatic
and honest money. Do the none
q lenders want the earth? Thihsstrife
: between the borrowers and the lende
the poor and the rich-and alive as
il a restoration of the currency
equalization Of values. Reputation, j
dnodf Money ranrazentS values al