The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-07-03
-R!IL ARP'S LETTER
GLOOMY Weather Takes Hi
larity Out Of Barlow Sage.
TOO SICK TO WRITE EASY
ments lnterfered With Customary
Celebration Of Mrs. Apps Birth
day-Hls Mexican" Boy -
Brought a Fleeing Joy.

uay-1is mexican" Boy -
Brought a Fleeing Joy.
Joel Chandler Harris says that easy
reading is hard writing" and Sheridan
giVos'the antithesls when he says.
You Write with ease to show your
brewing.
But easy writing is eurst hard read.
ing"
am too sick to write easy, but
don't wish to be curst about It. This
gloomy weather takes away ell my BIZ
larity. Lowell says. ooh, what's so
rare as day In June" It has rained
ev, day and every night since the
1st ii we don't like It at my house.
roit was my wlfe's birthday and we
hoped 1t would be bright and balmy,
for the poor woman don't get but two
maternal feasts in year and two pa
ternal kisses. | was sick the night
before and she was up with me half
the night and slept late. l had creep
ed in to breakfast and slipped a Eve
dollar gold piece gnder her plate and
intended to rise and kiss her unwrin-
killed.. brow when she appeared. but she
slA ed up behind me and kissed mo
firs% She never did It that way be-
fore, and the boys hint that she saw
the gold shining and It, excited her
lablal views and osculatory glands
and she couldn't refrain.
"Gold, gold, gold, gold,
Bright and yellow, hard and cold,
Heavy to get and light to hold,
Spent by the young. but Rugged by the
old,
To Save, to ruin, or to curse to bless,
Now stamped with the image Of good
Queen Bess,
And now of bloody iEary."
But she got more than gave her,
and nobody got kiss but me. Chill
dren," said l, this is your mothers
9venty-second birthday. You know
IN the stars fell seventy-two years
thepd that's the reason they did
They knew that brighter light
Joining and so they paled their
ERectual fires and fell to the ground
and expired.
II am only H." said my wife. "Why
do you try to make me 1872" "Be-
cause " said l, you have had seventy
two birthdays. You had one the day
vas born. When you were a
4 you had had two" She then
icNup.
These birthdays are the mile stones
that measure the journey of life. Next
Monday l will be 72. On the 23d one
of the girls will be 40. On the Gath
my mother was born and so was my
little grandchild, Caroline, who was
named for her. My wife can tell the
bi,@ bay of every child and grand
chi4 but know only nalf dozen.
Welt the Mexican boy did come and
for whole week we have Toasted on
his presence and listened to the same
old songs he used to sing. He is a
in-7No. singer and has plenty Of help
s"eetenNhe children and grandchildren
twenty i night was filled with music
" AG3>tAe cares that infest toe day
Folded their tents like the Arabs
And silently stole away.
And the little boy, who is only 20
months old, and looks nike me, joins
in the 'hlIarity and tries to sing, and
holds up his skirt and dances the
p ,akewalk and kicks up his feet and
b to the audience with great sol
He plays monkey In the show,
young mother thinks he is the
1T and prettlest child In all the
3orld, and l think So for they say ne
: is lust like me. What kind Of world
would this be without these little chill
dren, apd yet the last census says
they ar not wanted up in New Eng
land any more They say that Roose-
welt loves children and wants to en-
courage maternity. Well, I'll give him
credit for that when he retracts and
apologies. Our Mexican boy says the
poems of Mexico have them by the
score, 1helr adobe houses have but
one room with dirt floor, and
Won VIII see a man and his wife and
a flock Of dirty, lousy, greasy chill
dren and a half dozen dogs all gather.
cred there by day and roosting there