The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1902-11-20
BILL ARP AND
HIS WIFE ALONE.
An Ola Virginia Gentleman
Invites Them to His Birthday
Dinner.

Atlanta Constitution.
Lord Bacon said, "Wivcs arc youn
mems mistrcsscs, companions for mic
die age and old mems nurses" Their
is truth in that and my wife is nursin
me now. Our girls have gone Off, on
to a wedding and the other to Atlnnt
on visit. | told them to go, for the
had been penncd up hvI1 with me TO
Tour long months and their mOthe
said she would take care of me unit
they returned. l gctalong pretty wei
during the day, but at night my cougi
Is distressing and my wife has to dos
me with various remedies until get t,
sleep. The rain has come at last ant
purified the air and | feel better. Yes
wo two al alone in great big house
She sits i'll her accustomed corner anG
sews most all day long, while | sit op
pOsite in mlne and write or read aloud
TO her, and when meal time comes she
sits at one end of the table and | at
the other, and that's ali.
Old Father Gibbons came nne miles
and my wife to his birthday dinner.
Next week he will bo 50 years old, and
and still gets about lively and takes a
comfort in mt eung his friends and
abusing the Yankees. 1t Is hard to re-
construct these old veterans, especially
whom they come from Virginia. He
and his brother moved to Georgia lust
after the close of tho war. lie settled
in this county Oh u good farm and his
brother located in Rome. never was
at the old gentleman's house but once
and that was in 1866. His brother
was Il game man and had been a col
oncl in the Confederate army. When
the carpct-baggcrs and near -niggers
Ovcrrun their section and plundered
every rcbcPs home, tho colonel or
ganiZed Il band of avengers and played
ku kluX among thcm.a and whipped them
and ran them off, and later they came
back with Federal officers and the
colonel and his band had TO leave to
save their lives.
Not long after the colonel had settled
in Rome the Virginia carpct-baggcrs
got military order for his arrest and
transportation TO Virginia for trial. a
deputy marshal and another fellow
came secretly TO Rome, but the colonel
had already been advised Of their COM
ing and so one dark night about 10
O'Clock he came TO my house and told
mc his peril, and said he could 90 TO
his brothers. place i'll this county and
hide out until the pursuit had blowed
over. SO l hitChed my horse to our
rockaway and we left IN haste. / knew
the road to Kingston and he knew the
rest of the way.
1t was about 3 O'Clock when we
reached the place and saw the gin
house out in the field. There we
stopped and he took refuge in 1t, and
told me to tie my horse out in the
bushes and then go down and rouse up
his brother. This is the old man who
asked us to come and dine with hlm
When / knocked at the door he came
in his night clothes and said, " Who
is that and what do you want?" l
whispered my business and told him
to talk low, for VIC didn't want The
family or the negroes to know any
thing. He put on his clothes and went
to his brother and L got in my convey
ance and made for Rome, where |
arrived about sunrise. The colonel
kept hid in the gin house under the
cotton for nearly month and then
dared TO return, for the officers had
departed.
l never sec this fine old Virginit
gentleman but what ! think of that ride
and the narrow escape his brother
made. Verify reconstruction was
worse than war. But it is all over now
thank the good Lord, and we can hole
our reunions and carry our battle-tOrr
banners and build our monuments ant
lay the corner stone for Winnie Davis
and lynch the brutcs that assault on
wives and daughters, and as Governo
Oates said to our defamers in Congress
What are you going 10 DO about it?'
And as for lynching, / repeat what
have SAID before, "I.ct the good wo,
90 on. Lynch 'em! Hang 'eml Shoo
'eml Burn 'cm." Israel Putnam wen
into cave with torch to shoot th'
wolf that had devourcd the lambs 0
his flock, and just so would lynch tn
brutes who outrage our women. II
is not human. lie IS brute,
beast and all these demonstrations b
Governors and judges and shcriffs ar
hypocritical and perfunctory. In thei
breasts they rejoice in the lynching.
And there is another set of hypt
critics who infest our Southern land.
mean those who for tho sake Of filth
lucre and nothing else invite lsoost
welt to visit their city and they promis
him an ovation. He comes nearer bcin
, O fgure-head of q President than an
, we have ever had. lie is conGrme
. slanderer Of great and good mai
, and he knows he slandered HIM an
r will not rctract or apologize. Our w
men have just laid corner stone fl
!, q monument to his lamented daught'
and our veterans and members of Il
n Legislature approved it by their pre-
a eDce, and yet some of the same Gre
:. iules would invite Roosevelt to Sava
nah and Macon and Augusta.
wouldn't invite any man to my Tow
whom wouldn't invite to my houe