The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1902-02-20
BILL ARP'S LETTER
Barlow Man Has the Grip and Is
PessimiStic,
gOSED WITH HIDDEN CASTOR OIL
Bill Benoane the Death of Judge
Blanoforc ard Relates Humor-
Gus Incidents of That Good
Mans Early Life.

of infinite jest and most excellent
fancy"
1t has been years since l met my
friend, Mark Blandford ! see by the
press dispatches that he is dead
died in Columbus last week. 1t griey-
ed me for time, although he was old
enough to die. Eighty years is good
old age if the man is good. Every
time one of these old trees falls it
shocks me. George Barnes died not
long ago in Augusta, and / was griev-
ed, for l loved him and / unconscious
ly whispered, Next" Only three OF
US left Of the senate of 1866. There
were forty-four, but the old reaper has
cut down all but our Chief Justice
Simmons, our chaplain, Brother Var
brough, and myself-a1d l am sick
But I was Eliminating about Judge
Blandford--men called him Mark-we
who knew him best. He was, as Ham
let said of Yorick, 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 Buch2n-
an together with Evan Howell as
teaser and spend the evening hours
during the session Of the supreme
court when Mnrk was one CT the
judges. During the court hours Chief
Justice Warner was sitting there as
serious and solemn as Presbyterian
preacher drinking in the record and
digesting the law of the case, while
Mark took in the surroundings and alb
sorbed the humorous side OF every
thing. He was a good lawyer. but
Jumped to conclusions like woman
and never saw much difference be-
tween the Plaintiff and defendant I'M
less one of them was woman or
widow. One night we visited Mark
in his room and he RECALLED 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 immunity, for neither the cid
squire nor the jury knew their mean
ing, but were impressed with Their
learned length and lingering sound.
still remember the Frctman case
that Mark rehearsed that night.
Yankee school teacher from the Nut
meg State had sued Jim jenkins for
s18 worth OF schooling Tor his two
boys, Troup and Calhoun. jenkins
wouldn't pay 1t because the two little
nullifers hadn't learned anything hard
ly and they told him that Fretman
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, with
pink cheeks and winning ways, and
was popular with the girl scholars.
Sometimes Salamander, as they called
her, didn't go out at recess. but pre-
tended she had some sums to do, and
wanted the teacher to show her how.
Troup said he heard her squeal one day,
and peeped' through the crack and saw
Fretman squeezing her. She was
red-headed gal.
Old Phil Davis was the justice court.
Marks plea was that Fretman wasn't
a scholar, and not fttin' to teach, and
that he couldn't read writin' nor write
readin' nor spell all the words in Dan
lei Webster's blue-back spellin' book,
and he made motion to put him on
the stand and spell him. Fretman's
lawyer fought it, but the old squire
said he must spell. Fretman was
scared. He trembled all over like a
cold, wet dog. Spell Phthisic," said
Mark, and he spelt it correctly. He
then spelt him right along on all sorts
of big words and little words and long
words, and Afterwards, but Fretman
never missed until finally Mark says,
"Now spell Ompompynnsuk." Fretman
drew a long breath and said it wasn't
III Tue DUOh. DuI MAJ n plONCu ny oL
old preacher that it was in his book,
and so old Phil spoke up and said.
"Mr Fretman, you must spell it, sir. ,"
He was then sweatin' like a rundown
filly. He took one pass at it and miss
ed ''You can come down, sir" said
Mark; you've lost your case" And
sure enough old Phil gave j judgment
against him and he had the cost to
pay. But he was good grit, fer he
stuck to his school and his Salaman-
der.
At the next court Mark moved to
non-suit a doctor who had sued fell
Ter, and he filed plea Of malpractice
and demanded profert of his diplo-
ma. The doctor said he had one at
home, and begged for time to go after
It, Old Phil gave him time, and he
rode six miles and back as hard as he
could lick it, and shook it in Marks
fapa +rinmOhqntlY Mark smiled ard