The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1897-06-26
ARP A CHILD AGAIN.
Philosop her Attends an Eight
Year-Old Birthday Party
Takes Part in the Games Tires of
Babies and Writes of Grants
Tomb and of Gem
eral Lee.

iAere are ten children and 10 grandehil-
Sfen, and somehow every one of them
has a birthday about once year.
Ny wife remembers them all, just like
she knows her alphabet, but the alpha
bet keeps lengthening out as the years
roll on, and she says her memory is
weakening.
There is but one orphan in all tie lot
"a little black-eyed girl who lives with
lis, and SO it WIS agreed that she should
have Il birthday party, for she was just
eight years old to-day. 1t was mighty
big thing for little girl, and will last
Ter us long as she lives, reckon, and
she will never have happier one. She
goes to school, and all her little friends
had to be invited. Forty notes had to
to be backed and put in the post Office,
and this afternoon at four o'clock 40
little boys and girls came up the wind
ing way through the grove, and in
course of time were playing on the lawn
as happy and as noisy as a flock of
blaekbirds, They played everything
except baseball and football and other
college eurriculams and wound up with
'many, many stars in the sky" |
broke into the ring myself in that game
and kissed pretty little girl and got
Kissed by another. Age has its priv
iIeges, 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 cir
eled 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 album
dance. Eight little red WAX candles
were burning in the center, and eight
vases filed with flowers significant of
hope that the little girl might have a
light to her path and her way be strewn
with roses.
My observation was that all these
children behaved well and have good
training at home. OF course, the boys
are always hnngrier than the girls, and
it takes more to do them. 1t is said
that one time the queen of Sheba had
40 boys and girls all dressed alive 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 tow
els and had them passed around for
each one to wash their hands in. The
fC
but the boys just sloshed their hands
in the water regardless of scattering
their sleeves. But 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 a good thing and
harmless, and three moderate saucers
have never hurt me yet. My wife will
have another birthday in two weeks,
md | shall insist on more ice cream.
Well, we have had an evolution at our
house that has astonished the natives.
We have five acres of grove in front OF
our house, and it has long been inclosed
with 700 feet of fence along the two
streets that bound the two sides of our
domicile. That fence was getting old,
and had been often repaired, but re-
Gently the city fathers passed the COW
ordinance for good, and forthwith in a
day had removed every vestige of that
fence. 1t looks very odd; in fact, it
looks like South Carolina. My 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 big
thing with us, now. So let the eyo-
luton go on. 1t is a sign of progress
Since we have lived here hogs have been
abolished; next the saloons, and, last,
the cows have been ruled off the streets,
and the boys, after nine o'clock at
night. We are going to have a clean,
nice, orderly town. If | was rich |
would have Il fountain down in the
grove and a dipper chained TO it and
some iron seats in the shade not far
away, where the thirsty and the weary
might have rest. These littleattcntions
don't cost much, and make both place
and people attractive. The little things
make up the sum of our life's happiness.
The grand pageant that celebrated the
dedication of Gen. Grants new tomb
was over in a day, but his generosity to
Lee at Appomatox, and his kindness to
the south after the war, eclipsed all his
victories. Grant had sense enough to
know that his triumph was nothing to
boast of, considering that he had three
soldiers to our one, and lost near a
million men, and now has another mill
lion on the pension rolls. Why, not
even old Jack Falstaff would have
Dragged over such a victory. But /
liked Gen. Grant. lie was southern
man, and his wife a southern woman.
He owned slaves up to the very day of
freedom, and lived off their hire, SO
says his biographer, Gen. James Grant
Wilson, and Mrs. Grant said in St.
Augustine a few years ago that her
sylnpathies had to be smothered all
through the war for her husband
sake. | have said it before, and say
it again, that most all professional sol
diers will offer their swords to the high
est bidder. They have a preference, of
course, but patriotism is not as big a
thing as personal success. If a man
could see behind the scenes he would
find many notable instances of this.
Then, what a lie is history; what a
hypocrite is fame. DR.. johnson said
that patriotism is the last refuge of n
Ecoundrel." He meant pretended patri-
,tism. of course. Milton expressed it
better when he said that brave men
md worthy natriOfS are dear 10 God