Woodville Republican., 1903-04-18
BILL ARP'S LETTER
Gives the Young People Pointers
Concerning Correspondence.
bothered Aaaia with the ChaiA-I.st-
ser nustness-Ineipea Haise FaRds
TO Mark Confederate Graves
at Frcdericksbura.

Kind friends, please forbear. know
that the time for compositions and de-
bates and essays IL near at hand, but
am msickand cannot help you this spring
am weak and don't want TO strain my
mind. ! haven't been out Of the house
but twice in three months. My wife
and the doctor watch me and won't let
me GO. 4 few weeks ago slipped of
to my daughters one pleasant evening
and had TO be hauled back in a buggy,
for it is uphill to my house, and was
weaker than thought. You see, had =
sunstroke last June and have never re-
covered from Il. Every night, IL the
weather is bad, have to get up about
midnight and sit BY the fire and cough
for an hour or two. BEt can answer
letters, and have from dozen TO a
score every day. II pleases me to an
swer the letters OF the young folks, for
many of them need help. Iknow that |
did when was away off at school. My
father was an old school teacher, and
knew how 10 help me. lie wrote near
ly all of my junior orators speech, and
got credit for 1t, though lonly crossed
the rs and dotted the lis and put my
name TO the end of It, But there are
hundreds OF boys and girls who have no
help, and ! am sorry for them, and so
for many years past ! have tried to
help them. Some OF them just want
help little, few ideas, but Others
wan; the whole thing. In fact, one boy
asked me 10 write him two, so that he
could take choice. Most OF them for.
get TO enclose stamp and my postage
account got TO be such a burden that
as Rip Van Wrinkle said: Il swore off,
and quit answering such letters. 1t Ii
bad manners 10 write to a man on bust
ness that does not concern him and ex
| pect him TO pay the return postage.
receive many long manuscripts with
request to read and criticise and return
and tell where to have published and
what the writer will probably get pait
| for them. hsve two on hand, just re
ceiyed--no stamps enclosed--one is q
| grammatical curiosity. Hardly a lin,
that does not contain bad grammar OF
misspelled word. II takes nearly hal
line for the word "spectacles" and /
has II letters in it. The word angel i
spelled angle, and yet the writer ex
poets to get paid for the story.
The other manuscript is an inquir.
into the race problem-no stamps AM
1t contains II questions for me to an
| swer. Another long letter on foolscal
writes of the good old times, and say
| in conclusion that if | will answer
he win write me again and put his nam
TO the next letter. There is no name t.
this. lie Is an Irishman, Ireckon. On
other request wish TO make about lei
tiers. Please place your post Office ad
aress plainly at the top and your nam
plainly at the bottom. Many time
have passed letter all around the fam
lily trying to decipher the signature
Sometimes | have cut the signature OF
and pasted 1t on the back of the reply
thinking that probably the postmaste
at the writer's home would recogniz
it. II the post office address is omitIe
and the postmark on the envelope
blurred, as it frequently is, IT is impos
sible to know where reply should b
sent, and IL guess at 1t and gues
wrong IL goes to the dead letter ofiic'
Now, you young people must not forge
these little things, for they are in
portant, especially the stamps. Some
times we literary men are greatly pei
picked to know what to do with som
letters. One more request. DO no
write TO me at Atlanta. ] do not liy
there. Ny home is in Cartersyille. an
thought that everybody knew 1t b