The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1897-07-07
BILL APPS WEELY LETTER.
The Barlow Sage Assists IN Celebrating a
Birthday Party.
He HAS A GOOD TIME WITH CHILDREN
Philosopher Tires of the Sport and
Writes of the Dedication of General
Grants Tomb, and Also OF General
Lee.

Another birthday IN tne family.
There are ten children and nineteen
grand children and somehow everyone
of them has a birthday about once
year.
My wife remembers them all just
like she knows her alphabet, but the
alphabet keeps frightening out as the
years roll on and she says her memory
is weakening.
There is but one orphan in all the
lot-a little black-eyed girl who lives
with us, and so it was agreed that she
should have birthday party, for she
was just eight years old today. It was
a mighty big thing for little girl and
will last her as long as she lives, I
reckon, and she will never have hap
pier one. She goes to school and all
her little friends had to be invited.
Forty little notes had to be written
and forty little envelopes had to be
backed and put in the postoffice and
this afternoon at 4 o'clock forty little
boys and girls came up the winding
way through the grove and in course
Of time were playing on the lawn
as happy and as noisy as flock of
black birds. They played everything
except baseball and football and other
college curriculums and wound up
with ''many, many stars are in the
sky" I broke into the ring myself
IN that game and kissed a pretty little
girl and got kissed by another. Age
has its privileges and these are of them.
By and by the piano announced that
the party was prepared, the feast was
ready and so all these little folks were
soon circled around the long table and
the side tables, where the ice cream
and the strawberries and the cake and
the flowers were nestled in luxuriant
abundance. Eight little red wax can
dies were burning in the center and
eight vases filled with flowers signif-
cant of hope that the little girl might
have light to her path and her way
be strewn with roses.
Ny observation was that all these
children behaved we'll and have good
training at home. OF course the boys
are always hungrier than the girls, and
it takes more to do them. It is said
that one time the queen of Sheba had
DO boys and girls all dressed alike and
brought in before King Solomon to see
if his great wisdom could pick out the
boys from the girls. And SO the king
called for bowls of water and towels
and had them passed around for each
one to wash their hands in. The girls
carefully turned up their cuffs, but the
boys just sloshed their hands in the
water regardless of scattering their
sleeves. But I would have sent ice
cream around in saucers, for know
that the girls would be satisfied with
two, while the boys, as general rule,
could be persuaded to take one more.
| don't blame them. Good strawberry
ice cream surely is q good thing and
harmless and three moderate saucers
have never hurt me yet. My wife will
have another birthday in two weeks
and [ shall insist on more ice cream.
Well, we have had an evolution at
our house that has astonished the ma
tives. We have five acres of grove in
front of }bur house, and it has long
been incMsed with 700 feet of fence
along the two streets that bound two
sides of OF domicile. That fence was
getting old, and had been often repair
ed, but feAntly the city fathers passed
the cowbklinlnce for good, and forth
with inW4day l had removed every
vestise Wthat fence. 1t looks very
odd; in fff, it looks like South Caro-
lima. M2;wife does not know whether
she likes it or not; says the place looks
undressed, and she feels like taking
cold, but it will save me about $50,
and that is q big thing with us now.
80 let the evolution go on. 1t is sign
OF progress. Since we have lived here
hogs have been abolished; next the 50,
looms, and last, the COWS have been
ruled off the streets, and the boys. af-
ter 8 o'clock at night. We are going
to have clean, nice, orderly town. II
[ was rich I would have a fountain
down in the grove and dipper chain7
ed to 1t and some iron seats in the
shade not far away, where the thirsl
ty and the weary might have rest.
These little attentions don't cost much,
and make both place and people at
tractive. The little things make up
the sum of Our life's happiness. The
grand pageant that celebrated the ded-
ieation of General Grants new tomb
was over in day, but his generosity
to Lee at Appomatox, and his kind
ness to the south after the war, eclipsed
all his victories. Grant had sense
enough to know that his triumph was
to boast of, considering that
he had three soldiers to our one, and
lost near a million men, and now has
another million on the pension rolls.
Why not even old Jack Falstaff would
have Dragged over such a victory. But
[ liked General Grant He was
southern man, and his wife southern
woman. He owned slaves up to the
very day of freedom, and lived off their
hire, so says his biographer, General
James Grant Wilson, and Mrs. Grant
said in st. Augustine few years
ago that her sympathies had
to be smothered all through
the war for her husbands sake. I
bave said it before, and 1 say it again,
pat most all professional soldiers will
fer their swords to the highest bid
Yer. They have preference, of
course, but patriotism is not as big
hing as personal success. If man
,nnld see hehina the snanas ho uonld