The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1901-08-29
ARP ON OLD FRIENDS
Bill Says He Receives Letters From
Old Men.
KNEW EACH OTHER LONG AGO
Likes the Letters and Tries to An
.swer Them Rheumatism in Arm
sramps His Replies.

They are not all dead. In fact, they
>:seem to multiply as the years roll on
my ccNtempoI aries, mean. l receive
more letters from old men than l ever
did. aud they write we'll and give long
epistieS. When a man gets along in the
seventies ne feels lonesome, notwith-
standing the near presence of children
and grandchildren. The companions of
his youth are gone. and so some of
these old men unbosom themselves to
me for sympathy. | like such letters
and t:y 10 answer them all. but rheu-
matism in my arms and hands cramps
my replies. One old gentleman from
Alabama says he feels better after he
has written. for he is a native Georgi-
an and lcves her people and her Old
red hills and the sweet memories of
Emory college and his visits to Athens,
where his uncle Elizar Newton lived,
and he met me there in the forties.
and John Grant and Dan Hughes and
Jack Brown and Billy Williams, who
married my friends cousin and took
charge CT the blind asylum-and now
he heard DR.. Church preach and was
charmed with the music Of the choir
where Miss Ann Waddell and Rosa
Pringle and other pretty girls sang
and how tall, long. high man, with a
big hooked nose and huge ''pomum
AdamuS' on his throat, sang base. AMI
how he was a roommate of Tom Nor
wood at Emory and classmate CT
Bishop Key and Judge a. 3. Long
street. the author Of Georgia Scenes"
was the president: and how he rem0"-
ed to Alabama in 1S49 and married 2nl
has seven daughters and no sons aud
has ten orphan grandchildren, and hes
to work early and late to support and
educate them, but never sees and rare
V hears from any friend Of his youth
md is at times sad and depressed and
ongs for sympathy. Poor old man,
wish that he lived near me. for |
would visit him and cheer him up and
tell him anecdotes and antidotes. and
We would talk over the times and swap
college stories and brag about the Socd
Did days when there were no teie-
graphs or telephones or bicycles, and We
lid not want any; no sewing machines
ii SlOs Z OlOlICS, anu VIC u4Nb Y lASS1
any; no football or baseball or haz.ns
Or suicides or appendicitis. And in
those days came Toombs and Stephens
and Judge Dougherty and Howell Cobb
and Walter Colquitt and spake to the
people face to face. and such eloquent
men as George Pearcee and Bishop
Capers and Jesse Mercer ard DR.. Ioyt
and GoUlding and Ingles preached 10
them. Yes, We would t-lk about tho
days of our boyhood. when there wa5
no gas or kerosino or friction matches
nothing but candles TO give us lignt.
and no ProMetheUs 70 steal fire from
heaven to light them with. Shakespeare
knew now il was, for he wrote:
-'How far that little candle throws its
beams.
So shines a good deed in naughty
world"
If Shakespeare wrote by candle light,
why shouldn't we? And ne, too. used
the flint and steel to make spark to
light them. Pick your flint and keep
your powder dry" was General Jack
sons order to New Orleans. When |
was a young merchant gun-tlints were
as common as marbles. and sold them
at the same price-10 cents dozen.
Wonderful. wonderful are the changes,
and we old people fall in with them
and adapt them to our use and our
comfort. | wouldn't be set back to the
good cid times. if | could, but woild
enjoy seeing this generation all set
back about seventy years, just Tor
about a week. My Alabama friend and
other veterans would be tickled to
death 70 see the universal disNay-no
railroads or telegraph. no mail but
once q week-and % cents for n@le
Loser. No daily newspapers in tie
state and only four weeklies, with no
sensations. no suicides or lynchlnSs.
There would be no cooking stoves, no
coal. no steel pens or envelopes, no
cigarettes. No millionaires or free nlg-
gers. remember when cotton was
racEcl in round bales with crow5ar.
The eng beg was made first and was
suspended from a hole in the gin
-6ausa fJ3r md Uncle Jack got down
n j; ana packed the cotton hard as II
was thrown to him. He PACKED two
Na,cs 2 day and they weighed 4Oo
pounds each. Two Of them filled tEe
lbed Of the big wagon and FIVE more
we're crossed or top and fastened down
with & long pole. Al the little spaces
were filled with corn and fodder, the
big cover put On and with a four or
siX-horse team We were off for Angus
ia. 1t was ten-day's trip and we boys
were happy TO go along and camp out
all n!S.t and listen to the niger drl-
yers tell about ghosts and Jack-o-