The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-02-21

CuOIy 40 w IulA up Will u !OG u lnOO'
cent children and join in their little
sports. have the blues sometimes and
this always gives relief. They make
me forget myself. don't know how
man gets along without them.
When little troubles make me sigho
Or feeling sad and can't tell why,
These children bring serenity.
George Francis Train is now an old
man and has seen lots Of trouble. He
was an eloquent, gifted crank and
made quite noise in the world thirty
and forty years ago, but was never a
success, and so ho soured on the
world and swore off from it. He de-
clared that man was a fraud, hypo-
critic, and woman was weak and help
less and that little children were the
only happy and uncontaminated crea-
lures in this wicked world and the on
ly society he should mingle with as
long as he lived. It has now been
a'"ut twenty-five years since he swore
oil and from that time his daily habit
has been to visit some park in New
York every day and take a basket Of
fections or fruits and all his pockets
full and make headquarters on the
same park bench and gather around
him score or two Of little folks and
feed them and play with them and
listen to them as they laugh and
romp and frolic. They all know him
and love him and run to him when he
comes like little chicks run to the old
hens call. / saw him once and drew
near with friend to hear what he was
telling th" children, but he spied us
and stopped talking and soon moved
away to another seat and the children
followed him. Before the civil var
l heard him make an outdoor spccch
at Rochester to very large audience
and he advocated the policy of the
government issuing ten thousand mil
lions OF money 81 that every man
could have his pockets full and every
woman her bosom full and then, said
he, we would build railroads aud ca
nails and docks and churches and ships
and steamboats, and monuments and
live like kings and princes. "The gov
ernment has the right to issue it and
has the presses to print it and why
don they do it and give it away to
the people and make everybody hap
py. just then countryman cried
out: "But hold on Train, wouident
there be collapse after awhile?"
Train looked at him with contempt as
he replied: "Why, Of course there
would. Any fool would know that,
but the railroads and docks and canals
aad churches wouldent collapse.
They would be there, wouldent they?"
And the crowd yelled: "Hurrah for
Train!" 1t was hard to tell whether
he was fool or philosopher. His
redeeming trait is his fonduess for
children.
These little chaps that come to my
house are my daily annoyance and my
daily comfort. They make trains on
the floor with my books and mess up
my table and draw ponies and dogs or
make me do it. One of them tc-oed
over my ink yesterday and seemed
very sorry and said: "Gran'pa, 1 so
sorry; I beg my pardon. I won't do
it any moEe-will II" and she put her
little arms around my neck and kissed
me. She made me glad that she had
spilled the ink. Some of them are
making speeches now and will back
up against the wall and make bow
and go through Orphan Annie and
'.Mary's Lamb" rand "Annie Bell
like schoolboy, and then l love to
glance at the mother to see thA sweet,
proud look upon her face. That look
seems to say that is my child; isn't
she smart? And then / glance at my
wife, the grandmother, and her con-
tented look seems to say: my grand
child; if it hadent been for me that
child wouldent have been here"
Well, that's q fact. There is never
any doubt about who is the mother of
a child.
Blessed children; what do they care
about our world of trouble whether
Goebel lives or dies, or the war in
Africa or tho Philippines, or how
many negro postmasters Mckinley ap-
points: They dont tknow how grieved
am that Senator Morgan is likely to
be defcatcd-that great and good man
whom the nation delights to choror.