The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-12-18
THR STARS ALn rELh.
Bill Arp Tells About the Great
Meteoric Shower In 1883.
Atlanta Constitution.

with any distinct lines of deniarcation
between them. They glide into each
other and it is hard to tell where the
one quits and the other begins. We
have infants and school boys and lovers,
Dut very few are soldiers, and not one
in q hundred ever becomes q justice of
the peace. His sixth age. does not do
justice to u men and women of three
score years and ton, for most of them
gTow fat instead of lean, and our big
manly voices have not turned to treble,
nor do they pipe and whistle in their
sound. l can till sing bass to the long
meter doxology and my wife can sing
"Mary had q little lamb TO the baby.
As to the seventh age, which he pic
lures as second childhood anil mere
oblivion without teeth or taste or eyes
or ears or anything, we never see them
--our old people die before they get to !
that. But in the life of every man
and m there are epochs, events,
mile stones, as it were, that stand out
prominent in memory and mark their
progress from youth to old age. My
earliest recollection is the killing of our
dog Hector, who was supposed to be
mad, and it grieved us for we loved
him and he loved us.
Next L recall the falling of the stars
in 1888. My father held me up and
with my feet upon the top railing of
the bannisters, l saw them come down
in myriads as quietly anil softly as
snowfakes and they went out as they
neared the earth. They were separate
and distinct as Inc stars, but as near
together as the sparks from the Chin
ney of an oldtime blacksmith shop.
George Lester was my playmate anil
lived close by, and the next morning
he and L hunted all over his mothers
garden TO find some signs of the stars
that fell, but found none. While they
were falling our negro cook, Aunt
Allsey, was down on her knees pray
ing, and as she chung to my mothers
night gown she called On Jesus to come
and take Is all to heaven. That night
was an epoch and It is worth being rs
years old to have witnessed it.
70! My next remembrance of note is a
journey to Savannah with my father
and mother and brother, where we took
a sail vessel for Boston. / remember
the magnificent double row of china
tees in the long street, and L wonder
now ii there is a person living in
Savannah who was living there then
and remembers that row of beautiful
trees that are long since dead and gone.
L remember that voyage of thi1ty-three
days around Cape Hatteras, where our
ship was almost wrecked, and mother
held fast unto her children and silently
prayed for deliveranCe. L remember
when we reached Boston and how, af.
ter our visit was over, father bought q
carriage and pair of horses, and we
journeyed by land from Boston tC
Georgia and never crossed a railroad,
Tor there was none to cross. l remem-
Der our stop at the Natural Bridge in
Virginia, and how we walked away
down In the gorge and looked up and
afterwards stood on the bridge and
Looked down from the dizzy height.
When L was about ten years old /
had another epoch, for [ had a fight on
Sunday at a camp meeting and got
licked, and my fine Sunday clothes
were all spoiled with mud and dirt. A
country boy said 1 was a town boy and
was dressed too fine and he was gwine
TO take the starch Outen my rufled
shirt. And he did. 1 fought as hard
as l could, but he licked me and
cried. 1 bad gone to the spring to get
some water and the fight came off
there. My father whipped me next
morning and the school teacher got
ready to whip me again, but 1 showed
him my legs and he let me off with a
talk. My next episode has left an in
delible impression. We had to walk
two miles TO school and about half wav
there was a big gully that we Used to
slide down in. One morning Bill Malt
bic and Overton Young and Jim Will
son and myself stopped to slide down,
and Bill pulled out a deck of cards and
a he would show us how TO play. [
had never seer a deck before in nv
life, but / had hearn tell of 'em. They
were mighty pretty and he taught us
how TO shuttle and cut and deal and
turn Jack anil play seven-up.
One morning Tom Wilson and Jim
Alexander came along as they were
going to school and heard our racket
In the gully and they caught us play
ing cmds. They slipped up on us, for
we were completely absorbed in the
game, and Tom said: "Well you are
the youngest set of gamblers L ever
saw in my life. The sheriff will get
you and put you all in Jail before
night" / never was scared 80 bad in
~ hC Il SoLiuh u Stuuy my LESSONS
nor eat my dinner at school and watch
ed for the sheriff all day long. But
that cured me of card playing and /
w handled a deck again until | got
to college. College was a good place
to play cards then; it is a good pl, ICE
to kick a ball now. Tom Wilson and
Jim Alexander were good-hearted boys
and never told on us. Tom died years
ago and Jim died last month in Allan
ia. He got to be a great doctor and
everybody loved him. When / receiy.
ed the telegram that told me he was
dead I felt like another prop was gone,
and that now only one was left-his
brother Tom in Rome. Maltbie is dead i
and Young and Jim Wilson. All my
schoolmates are dead except one and
all my school teachers and college pro-
fessors are dead.
Fol several years there was no epocli
no episode. Every day was alike
until [ began to notice the girls with a
peculiar longing emotion and brushed
my hair more carefully and carried a
&leaner handkerchief and wore tighter
pots well polished. In fact, l got to
a dandy in my dress. Shakespeare
ekes fun of the lover and dismisses