The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-07-19
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
Bill Tells About His Wife's Departure
from Home.
Atlanta Constitution.


thought their mother ought to rouse
up and go somewhere and take rest.
1t was great undertaking to get her
off. It took whole week to get her
apparel in first class condition for she
wasn't raised on common clothes and
won't wear them now especially when
she goes abroad or to church. We final
ly got her of, though the train liked to
have left her while she was saying
goodbye and kissing all the little
grandchildren. One of the girls went
with her, but | was to scatter around
at home. Two weeks was the time she
gave herself, for she says that is as
long as anybody ought to stay any
where on visit, for sometimes folks
wear out their welcome and don't know
it. In fact one week is the safest. She
went to Rome, where our Oldest boy
and his family live and where she lived
for twenty-seven years. Some of her
early friends are still there and they
came to see her, of course, and talked
about the dear old times until their
eyes got teary and they drew their
chairs Il little closer and were merry
and sad by turns as they talked OF the
living and the dead. On Sunday she
| went to our same old church and sat in
the same old pew and drank in music
from the same old organ, but the
preacher and the choir were changed.
After service she was forced to hold
a reception in the vestibule, where old
friends and their children and grand
children gathered around her, the
friends to greet her and their children
to look upon the matron OF the olden
time Of whom they had heard. Yes,
this wonderful woman who so gently
dominated her lord and master and
kept him so sweetly subdued that he
liked the subjugation.
She spent delightful week and the
programme for another was already
arranged when on Saturday some bird
of the air told her that was sick and
she could hardly wait for the evening
train. I had been sick, but the crisis
had passed and for fear she might hear
it and cut short her stay I wrote her
that was getting well and to finish
her rest. She is not that kind OF {.
woman or wife, and sure enough about
6 p. M. happened to look out OF the
window and saw her coming up the
lawn like she feared would die before
she got here. Then | had to tell her
as how was taken down on Wednes-
day for my same old kidneys got
belligerent again and wrestled with
me and threw me and had vertigo
and lumbago and embargo and my eye
balls ached and how the doctor treated
me heroically and scandalously and
dosed me with something every two
hours-all different-and nobody can
tell what cured me.
But all's well that ends we'll, ankn0w
l am in for another lease. Of course
an old wagon will break down ever and
anon and has to be patched up and
kept creased, OF it can't go. By and
by 1t will all collapse and turn to dust
like the one-hoss shay.
And new here comes the PhiIadel-
phia Record just to disturb my tran
quility and aggravate me into using
more language On those yankee editors.
have already used upall my adjectives
on Boston and never dreamed / would
need any for the Quaker City. The
Record pretends to be a democratic
paper, but it has got a Whole column
about the Andersonville prison and its
horrors, which it says have created Il
sentiment that will last as long as time.
and how the poor creatures were shot
down like dogs and starved, and had to
dig wells twenty-five feet deep With
their hands and scraps of shells in Il
vain effort to- get water to drink, etc.
Well, it is awful to read. but wOuld
like to'know where those shells came
from-mnst have fed the boys on
oysters.
Yes. Blaine charged all those horrors
upon us ina terrible speech, and Ben
Hill replied to him in one OF the great
est speeches. of his life and refutcd
every charge and did it from the war
records and proved to the world that
Grant and Stanton and Lincoln were
responsible for every death and all the
distress that occurred at Anderson
vile. They utterly refused toexchangc
prisoners with us when importuneu to
do SO for the sake of humanity. Tor
Grant said that our men in northern
prisons would 60 back to fighting again.
We begged them to send us ratlons and
medicine for their men and told them
that both might be distributed by their
own officers and surgeons. They re-
fused this. and, of course, their men
died like sheep, for we had no mcdl-
cines and our own rations were corn
meal and salt pork But those prison
crs had Just what their guards had.
Ask the guards who still live. Ask
Captain Hudson. of Marietta. one OF
the best of men. and he will tell you
that the prisoners had everything that
he did and there was no inlumanity,
but nity and SorrOW for them and in