The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1900-09-19
BILL ARP's RUMINATIoNs.
THE OLD PHILOSOPHER ~ SAD.
ihrce OF His Intimate Friends DIED
the Same Day.

among the Stars, but their home is ,
mere among cur people, our frie nds aud |
hlHdred and the concerns of our daily !
ME. WEo has not wondered how he |
cau.e to be thipking OF this thing or
lhat and traced it hack to something |
wholly irrelevant, but leading on by |
|Hadowy lines. But little while ago |
WAS sadly thinking about the sudden
death Ot three more Of my good friends |
friends whom loved aud everybody
Ioved who knew them, MIR Moore, OF !
Auburn Colonel Mynatt, OF Atlanta,
and DR.. GOCIChius, OF Rome, left us on
tho same dag. They were good men
end the world was ms dc better by their
presence.
WAS thinking especially abou, DR..
Goetchius. the preacher, whose Jour
ney and destination was 50 suddenly
changed, for he had bought his ticket
!or Iallulah Falls there TO spend his
vacation, ard was 10 take the train al
3 o'clock. He rose from his bed at :!
and at he was dead and his spirit
soaring heavenward. Then thought
about Mrs. Barbau!d's lines that fit so
well
Life we have been long together
In pleasant and in cloudy weather,
lis hard TO part when friends are dear
Perhaps twill cost sigh or tear
Then steal away-giVe little warning:
Choose thine own time,
Bay not goodnight, but in some brighter
cline
Bid me good morning
Then ] ruminated about that won
derlnl woman. How she was the first
to write story books for the chlturen
and hymns for the church and how her
life was spent in the sch0u.room among
the children that she loved. And then
| rt called that beautiful hymn tuat
she wrote
How blcst the righteous when he dies,
When sinks the weary soul to rest
! How mildly beam the closing eyes
How gently heavcs the expiring breast"
And then | thought of the words of
, Balaam, upon which that hymn was
! founded, "Oh . may die the d,oth
! ot the righteous and may my last end
10 like His And this reminued me
vi the other words Of Balaam: What
! hath Go! wrought" :" That was the
/ wire l. WAS sent from Washtngtun TO
/ Baltimore by Miss Anna Ellsworth,
, tho daughter OF the commissioner Of
ratents. She had been very Kind to
, Professor Morse and he had promised
/ that che should send the first message
f This was sent on the ~ Ia day ui May,
/ lsll, anu two days iatCr thU second mcs-
..Ge was sent from Baltimore to Wash
ipEton, announcing that j lalno8 * Polk
had been nom mated for president. | re.
remember al this for | WAS In college
then. But still the people were in.
c"edul0us ana waited for the mail train
20 bring the news. Then ruminated
on the hard lot OF great inventuvs, and
how Morse spcnt all Of MS small estate
and received but little encourage meDt,
ocing 80 utterly poor that he had TO go
without food at times Tor twcnty-fOur
hours, and how he pleaded with Con.
gress for three years IN vain for nn .n-
preparation to hcl? him perfect ard
huild IS line TO Baltim0re-an how 1T
the very last, when ho was in uUsUa r
aud had given up a!l hope, Congress
Gld at midnight, On the last day OF the
session, pass the bill for 80 900, and
Anna Ellsworth came running tC Nim
N delighted haste aud told Kim the
good news. What an agonizing life he
Tad led during oil these years, for he
had been refused help at home and
had been To England ana 10 France IN
search Of it and found IL tot. Now lust
think OF it. After he had built his first
lines and his success was estaolishc, ha
tll1rGd his patonts 20 the Uuit2d States
?0f $lU0, 600 aud it WAS refused and lie
was coAstr&in"d to sell to private
parties an invention that soon came to
be worth one hundred millions But le
died full OF years and full Of honCrs, ard
even France mado him 3 location Of
400 900 Traces. Wha: q wonderful rl,n
perhaps the greatest all arOui Il III, n
that ever liyed-f0r he was ?. p&intn!. Of
distraction and HnOwp, the pupil ard
the peer Of Allston and West and the
city OF Charleston was his best friend
and patron and has now his portraits Of
Monroe and Lafayette. lie w9sA sculp.
tor, an architect, u philosopher aud a
poet, ard he would have reached the
top in all had he not become so abscr b.
ed in harnessing the lightning. As g
matter OF course he vas kept In litiya-
: tion several years and other parties
tried to steal his invention, but the
Supreme Court OF toe United susie.
, did hnally allirm everything that he
, claimed. lie died in 1872 in his oignLy-
first year.
Here my thoughts rested for q while
and then returned 10 DR.. Goetchius
and the many Other fricnGs VITO have
/ gone before and have left me- vi
most alone. How fOndly onr mi,uls
cling TO tho friends Of our youth our
schOoimatc5 and college matrs-nnd
every now and then we near OF another
"ho has dropped out Of line, aud / kc
| .t.S pSi pOi III DaIUST snOl', Ola l. fItlSr
! Time whispers next" My dear O,d
/ friend jim Warren still lives t. ..r..t
me when ! come ard so does Chess
! Howard and DR.. AI"xand"r uni his
! brother and Evan HowCl Tnon re-.
called the grand amt bcautifu! words
OI Ingalls, spoken in MS cuiCpS on S.n.
ator Beck. The right 10 livL j.. ic
human cstimali>b, the most s.:c.el,
The most inviolahl", To. most inaltenn.
able. The JOY of living ir such 3 s;,lyn-
cid and luminous day as hi Is ircnn-
cnivahe. To CXist IS exulta'ior. 10
i've forever ~ our suhiimest rOrc ~
know, To love, to achieve, 10 triumph
IL rapture, and yet we are all under
sentence OF death. Without 81 trial or
opportunity OF defense, with nu know
ledge Of the accuscr or tue natuco and
cause OF the accusation without D.inr
confronted with the witnesses against
ls we have been summoned TO tho bar
OF life and condemned to dcatb. There
is neither excnl PCT ion nor urDaal. Tho
tender mother cries passioratolv for
mercy for her first born, hGt there "a
no ciemency. The craven fnlon sulleplv
prays lor moment in which to be
"neled, but there ia no rcDrive. The
soul hopelcssly beats ts wings upon
the bars, shuddcrs and disappears.
lSut the death OF q good mnn il nnt
an lnConsolable lamcntation. 1t il a
strain OF triumph and lie may exclnim
"l,h the Roman poet, Non umnis
vi Oflaf, and turning to tho Silpnt and