The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-05-23
[BOl[L ARP a GE10l[D AGA0E1o
Barlow Man Tires Of General Grants To-"


Another birthday in the family. There
are ten children and nineteen grand
children and somehow every one or tneln
has a birthday about once a year.
My wife remembers them all just ike
she knows her alphabet, but the alphapet
keeps lengthening out as the years roll on
and she says her memory is weakening.
There is but one orphan in all the lot
little black-eyed girl who lives with
us. and 50 it was agreed that she should
have birthday party, for she was Just
eight wears old to-day. 1t was mighty
nice thing for little girl and will last
her as hong as she lives, reckon ana
she will never have happier one. She
goes to school and all her little FRIENDS mad
to be invited. Forty little notes had to
be written and forty little envelopes had
to be backed and put in the postofhce
and this afternoon at 4 o'clock forty lit
tie boys and girls came up the winding
way through the grove and were ASH Apply
and as noisy as flock of blackbirds.
They played everything except baseball
and football and other college curricu-
lums and wound up with many many
stars are in the sky" ! broke into the
ring myself in that game and kissed
pretty little girl and got kissed by anoth-
er. 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 abun-
dance. Eight little red wax candles were
burning in the center and eight cases I'LL
ed with flowers significant 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 chill
dren behaved we'll and have good train
ing at home. OF course the boys are al
ways hungrier than the girls, and it takes
more to do them. 1t is said that one
time the queen of Sheba had forty boys
girls all dressed alike and brought
in before King Solomon to see il 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
mp their cuffs, but the boys just sloshed
their hands in the water regardless of
SCATTERING their sleeves. But l would
have sent ice cream around in saucers,
for know that the girls would be salts
fed with two, while the boys, as general
rule, could be persuaded to take one more.
I don't blame them. Good strawberry
ice cream surely is good thing and HARM
less and three moderate saucers have
never hurt me yet. My wife will have
another birthday in two weeks and l
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 Enclosed
with 700 feet of fence along the two
streets that bound two sides Of our domi-
cile. That fence was getting old, and
had been often repaired, but recently the
city fathers passed the COW ordinance for
good, and forthwith in day / had re-
moved every vestige of that fence. 1t looks
very odd; in fact, it looks like South
Carolina. My wife does not know wheth-
er she likes it or not; says the place looks
undressed, and she feels like taking cold,
but it will save ME about 500, and that
is big thing with us, now. So let the
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 8 o'clock at night. We
are going to have a clean, nice, orderly
town. If l was rich l would have
fountain down in the grove and dipper
chained to it and some iron seats in the
shade not far away, where the thirsty
and the weary might have rest. These
little attentions 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 General
Grants new tomb was over in day, but
his generosity to Lee at Appomattox, 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
million ON the pension rolls. why
even old Jack Falstaff would have Drag
ged over such victory. But liked Gen-
4eral Grant. He was a Southern man,
and his wife Southern woman he
owned slaves up to the very day or free
dom, and lived off their hire, so says ms
biographer. General James Grant Wal
son, and Mrs. Grant said in st. Angus
tine few years ago that her sympa tines
had to be smothered all through the wal
for her husbands sake. l have SAID a
before, and I say it again, that mos'
all professional soldiers will offer thelI
swords to the highest bidder. They have
preference, Of course, but patriotism II
not as big thing as personal success. II
q man could see behind the scenes nc