The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-03-07
BILL ARP'S LETTER
Barlow Man Has the Grip and Is
PessimlstiC.
DOSED WITH HIDDEN CASTOR OIL
Bill Bemoans the Death Of Judge
Blandford and Relates humor-
Gus Incidents Of That Good
Mans Early Life.
OOSED WITH HIDDEN CASTOR OIL


fancy"
It has been years since l met my |
friend, Mark Blandford. l see by the
press dispatches that he Is dead
died in Columbus last week. 1t griev-
ed me for time, although he was old
enough to die Eighty years is a good
old age if the man is good. Every
time one of these old trees falls 1t
shocks me- George Barnes died not
long ago in Augusta, and l was griey-
ed, for l loved him and l unconscious
ly whispered, Next" Only three of
us left of the senate Of 1866. There
were forty-four,l but the old reaper has
cut down all but our Chief Justice
Simmons, our chaplain, Brother Var
brough, and myself-and l am sick
But | was Eliminating about Jut y
Blandford-men called him Mark-we
who knew him best. He was, as Ham
let said of Yorlck, a man Of Infinite
jest and most excellent fancy. When
the spirit moved him he could enter
tain his friends most pleasantly, and
1t was our delight to get him and
Judge Underwood and Judge Buchan-
an together with Evan Howell as a
teaser and spend the evening hours
during the session Of the supreme
court when Mnrk was one OF the
Judges During the court hours CaleT
Justice Warner was sitting there as
serious and solemn as a Presbyterian
preacher drinking in the record and
digesting the law Of the case, while
Mark took in the surroundings and abb
sorbed the humorous side Of every
thing He was a good lawyer, but
Jumped to conclusions like a woman
and never saw much difference be-
tween the plaintiff and defendant I'M
less one of them was a woman or a
widow. One night we visited Mark
In his room and he regaled us with
his experiences in justices courts
when he was young and devilish. The
old time justice court was good
school for a young lawyer. He not
only practiced law in it, but the arts
of oratory and could use big words
with impunity, for neither the old
squire nor the jury knew their mean
ing, but were impressed with their
learned length and lingering sound
/ still remember the Fretman case
that Mark rehearsed that night. A
yankee school teacher from the Nut
meg State had sued Jim Jenkins fol
S18 worth Of schooling for his two
BOYS. Troup and Calhoun. jenkins
wouldn't pay it because the two little
nullifiers hadn't learned anything hard
w and they told him that FretmaI
gave powerful long recesses and car
ried on with the girls amazingly, espe
cially with Sally Amanda Jones. Fret
man was a good-looking yankee, witt
pink cheeks and winning ways, an
was popular with the girl scholars
Sometimes Salamander, as they calle
her didn't go out at recess, but pre-
tended she had some sums to do, an
wanted the teacher to show her how
Troup said heheard her sQueal one day
and peeped through the crack and sa'
Fretman squeezing her She was
red-headed gal.
Old Phil Davis was the justice cour
Marks plea was that Fretman WASH
a scholar and not fttin' to teach, an
that he couldn't read writin' nor writ
readin' nor spell all the words in Dal
lei Webster's blue-back spellin' boo
and he made motion to put him O
the stand and spell him. Fretman
LAWYER fought it, but the old squii
said he must spell Fretman WE
scared. He trembled all over like
cold, wet dog. spell Phthisic," sa
Mark and he spelt 1t correctly. +
then spelt him right along on all scr
of big words and little words and loI
words. and Afterwards, but Fretmf
never missed until finally Mark say
seNow spell Ompompynusuk" Fretmi
drew long breath and said it WASH
in the book. But Mark proved by
old preacher that it was in his boo
and so old Phil spoke up and sal
"Mr Fretman, you must spell it, sil
He was then sweatln' ike run-do7
fllly. He to X one pass at 1t and mil
ed "You can come down, sir, SO
Mark; you've lost your case" A
sure enough old Phil gave judgme
against him and he had the cost
pay. But he was good grit, for
stuck to his school and his Salami
der