St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1899-04-29
AFTER FIFTY YEARS.
Bill Arp and His Wife Celebrate
Their Golden Wedding.
Many Pretty Presents Recefved-F1ne
Sentiments of Friends Written
In Prose and yerse--The
Aftermath.

Ii
ding is over, and my good wife and l
are still marching to the end of the
journey. The fiftieth anniversary of
our welded life brought no change and
did not for moment stop the ticking
of the marble clock upon the mantel.
The days and the weeks and the months
are still coming this way. We did not
cross the Rubicon nor the Jordan nor
the Styx, but only set up another mile
stone and marked If so. Now we are
on the last quarter stretch, nearing the
goal. and if it was left to us we would
make it an even race. Birth and mar
riage and death are the most notable
events in this life, the most pregnant
with fate, and destiny, of happiness or
misery, and it becomes us to pause oc-
casionally and ponder them. five can
do this with serenity and gratitude it
is well, for there is no comfort in mel
ancioly.
And so we were made happy on our
wedding day. and are happy yet as we
recall the kind, loving greetings of
children and kindred and friends. A
shade of sadness came over us, of course,
.as we thought of the missing one, the
youngest boy afar off in Mexico, but
he will come some of these summer
days, and bring his sunshine with him.
He always brings it, and he always
sends it in his letters. There is no
better sign of boy than for him to
write home often and regularly, and
Carl does that. Mr.. Craig, of Macon,
sent us by express prepaid pretty iron
double seat for the veranda or the
lawn and wrote: Il made this with my
own hands for your golden wedding.
My wife and wanted to show our love
for your son Carl who was good and
kind to our dear boy while he was sick
in Mexico. Our boy came home and
died, but we have not forgotten Carl,
God bless him. What comfort to "a
parent are the letters from the children.
What comfort are good, kind letters
from friends known and unknown
and we have had them by the
hundred during the past two weeks,
and kilograms, toos from New York
to Texas - and from the islands
of our new domain. We were
zed-overwhelmed and wondered
what we had done to provoke such in
terest in our home affairs. And then
the press has showered its benedictions
SO lavishly that / was constrained to
whisper when will this thing stop
where will this bird light. We are
proud of all this. but not vain, and we
are more gratifed than proud, but the
query is still with us: "What have we
done and is not this all dream?"
And. then. there are the beautiful gifts
and souvenirs that kept on coming
from friends near home and friends
abroad. They crowded our tables and
adorned the walls. These golden pres
ents gIaddened our golden years and
tittedl the golden wedding so appro-
priately, and the flowers did, too--beau-
tiful flowers from Brooklyn and At
lanta and Rome and Mobile and Mariet-
ia and all laden with pretty sentiments
and some with the ever living lines from
Mrs. Henans:
"Bring flowers, fresh flowers, for the bride
to wear: 4 8 5&
They were born to blush in her shining
hair"
Yes. all is for the bride. She lets me
look at the beautiful things, and even
TO handle them, but they are all hers
except the golden-headed cane and the
French clock that my dear old coliege
mate. Jim Warren, sent me. And she
has given me one of the gold fountain
pens and a pair of the cuff buttons and
the new-fangled carving fork that
thought was curling tongs for my scat
tered hair. 1t seems to me that l an
little humber than was before the
wedding, for she claims all the pretty
things, from the massive gold ladle o.
Mrs. Akin and the beautiful COLDER
chalices Of the Constitution and the
lovely spoon service of the Home ant
Farm and the gold-mounted umbrell;
from Kansas City, down, to the colder
bookmark and the golden toothpicks
There are scores of other beautiful
things in glass and gold, and they ar
all hers / am no longer the cashIe
of this bank, for the bride has pu
away the golden coin, though she say
she only wants to keep ii awhile ant
will then give it back to me. remem
ber when my father got pension o
$700 for poor old man who owed hin
500 and had owed it for years. Fathe
counted out the gold and gave it t
him, thinking that of course he woul'
pay the debt, but he wrapped it up care
fully and put it away down in hi
pocket and started for his horse, VIII
vas hitched to the rack near by. A
he was about to go father said to him
.Mr. jenkins, / thought you told m
you would pay me when you gotyou
pension?' "Yes, did, Asa said HI
i'and I'm gwine to do it tomorrow
shore. / Jest wanted to take 1t a
home and let the old woman look at
and feel of it and count it, and W
would sleep with it in the house on
night, Asa--just one night, Asa Ant
sure enough, he did bring it back mex
day and paid the debt and put the res
in my fathers safe.
T know that my bride will do tha
too. Fifty years ago she promised m
everything she had or was going
have. and SO will wait. She has alwa!
given me everything that. came exceI
the children She claims all of thel
and still speaks of them as MY chi
dren-my boys and my girls" Eva
Howell, my old friend, came to our wet
ding and brought his good wife wit
him. You see, was at his father
wedding long before he was born, ar
L wanted him here hut. when he W.