University of South Carolina Libraries
The Press and Banner. ABBEVILLE, S, C. SUPPLEMENT. BILL ARP. Bill Gives a Chapter on Music. Atlanta ConstitutionMusic is tho only employment that is innocent, refining and that cannot be indulged in to excess. It stands bj* itself as the peculiar gift of God. It is the only | art that is alike common to angels and to men. It has a wonderful compass and - 1?l variety, ana yet irom iuo gruuuca t tV/ lug simplest it is all pleasingand all inuocent. Every other pleasure can bo carried to dissipation, but not music. } The highest order of music is that which wo never hear, but only read about and wonder. It is called the music of the spheres?the grand symphony that is made by the planets and other heavenly . bodies coursing around the sun, and which Milton says is only heard by God and the angels. I don't suppose that such creatures as wo are, nfllicted and limited with original sin, could boar that kind of music. The child that is charmed with a lullaBy or soothed to sleep with, "Hush, my dear. Lie still and slumber," would - - TTatirlol he Jngnieneu at au uiaiunu nuui But musical taste is progressive like every other good thing. Tho time was when I thought "Billy in tho low grounds" and "Bonaparte crossing tho Rhine" perfectly splendid, but I don't now. I have advanced to a higher grade. By degreos the children have educated me, and as they climb up 1 climb aliitle, too. Time was when I thought "Kathleen Mavoureen" the sweetest song, and my wife, whom I was courting, the sweetest singer in tho world. But I don't now?that is, I mean tho song. There aro sweeter songs. I don't wish to bo misunderstood oinrrflv Xo doubt her voice has the same alluring, ensnaring, angelic elysian sweetness it had forty years ago, more or less, but the fault is in me, for when a man has been once allured and ensnared and is getting old and deaf he. loses some of his gushing appreciation. Nevertheless, when her oldest daughter touches the ivory keys and sings Longfellow's beautiful hymn of "Daylight is done and tho darkness Falls from tho wings'of night," my appreciation seems to come back ancl it makes me calm and serene. Thero is nothing in all nature that so proves tho goodness of God to his creatures as in giving to them the love of music and the faculty to make it. It is the cheapest and most universal pleasure. Much of it costs nothing, for wo hear it in tho winds and waves, tho trees, the waterfalls, and from the birds ftud insects. It is of many kinds, irom me peamigauthom that swells tho noto of praiso in "Westminster Abbey down to the plantation harmonics of tho old time darkies around the corn pile, Between these extremes we have tho music of tho drama, the concert, the nursery and the drawing room. I was having these thoughts because Mrs. Arp and the children were practicing somo Church music in the parlor, preparing for Sunday. Somo of the family bolongto tho choir, and it is a good thing to belong to. Choirs have their little musical fusses sometimes and get in * " ? 1 ? t- ?4. ? /vl Ann I 4- In A f?AA/l 1110 pouis J UUl, HUVBriUBicso, ii> 13 a gvuw. place to raise children, it makes them go to Church and to Sunday School, and goearly, and if they are facing the congregation they have to keep awake and beliavo dccently, and they do <lieir best to look pretty and sing sweetly. I used to belong to the choir, and it was there Mrs. Arp saw mo and ever and anon heard the sweet strains of rnv melodious tenor voice. But alas! that voice nas cnangea to a bas3 at ono end and a falsetto at the other, and "there's a melancholy crack in my laugh." Young man, young woman, if you have any gifts for music you had better join the Church choir, but if you havn't, don't. Sacred music is very much varied according to denominations. Tho Roman Catholic Church is the oldest and richest and has the most passionate Jmusic and tho finest organs, and embraces a rendering of such intense words as are found in the "Agnus Dei" and Gloria in Excelsis, and the litany and chants of the old masters. The Protestant Church has rejected the dramatic style and confined its music to hymns and psalms of sober temper, and in the main has done away with the fuguo and galloping style of one part chasing another through the vocal harmonies. I remember wlion it was the fashion in fashionable choirs to givo one part several feot tho start in tho race and tho others would start later and overtake it before they all got to the end of the line. Thero is a hymn beginning, "I lovo to steal awhilo away," and the tenor would start out with "I love to steal" and then the alto would prance up with "I lovo to steal," and then the bass confessed tho unfortunate frailty, "I love to steal," and hurried on for fear the first man would steal it all before he got ther9. Sacred music is of very ancient origin. Indeed, it is older than the Church or the temple, for we find that Moses sang a song when ho had crossed tin Red sea, and he said, "I will sing a song unto the Lord, for ho is my strength and my salvation," and when he had finished his song Miriam took it up, and she and her maidens sane and mado music on the timbrols. King David sang all through his psalms, and Isaiah not only sang, but wanted overything to sing, for ho says: "Sing, oh ye heavens, for the Lord hath dono it. Break forth into singing, oh yo mountains, and every tree, for the Lord liath redeemed Israel." ! I was looking over this book that v arc now using in our Church, a now at beautiful book containing 1200 hymns ai a tune with written music to every hym Here are 3(50 authors of all Christian d nominations. Of these, sixty-one ft women, seventy are English Episcop lians, twenty are Scotch Presbyterian ten are English Presbyterians, and onl eight are American Presbyterians. Eig! are Methodists, ten are Baptists, fourte< aro Congregationalists, and five a Roman Catholics. The rest are Dissen ers, Lutherans, Unitarians, Moravian Quakers and Independents. Only fift; four aro Americans. Leaving out Isa; Watts and diaries Wesloy most of the: hymns wero composed bj English Epi copalians. Isaac Watts was the found' of liymnology. Ono ^undred and twei ty-six of his hymns aro in this book. I has been dead 112 years, -but we aro stl singing: "Welcome Sweet Day of Rest," "IIo Beauteous Aro Their Feet," "When Can Read My Title Clear/' "Bef<5re J liovah's Awful Throne," "Am I a Soldi of the Cross ?" and many more of h composing. He was a very small man with a vei large soul. He was only five feet hig anil weighed less than a hundred poun< and nover married. His hymns are sur ill over the Christian world. Our gram parents and parents, ourselves and 01 children have all treasured them and hi come familiar with them. 1 Charles Wesley,' a Methodist, has thl ty-six hymns in this book?most of thei inspired from his intonse, absorbing loi of the Saviour?such as "Blow ye tl trumpet, blow," and "Jesus, lover of m soul." He was a brother of John Wesle; the foundor of Methodism, who came l Georgia with him in 1735. Rev. John Newton has twenty hymi in this collection. What a strange, even ful life was his. Soized and impresse for a seaman on board a man^of wj when he was only nineteen years of agedeserted?was caught and flogged and d> crmled?deserted again and hired himse o W to a slave-trading vessel, Four years a torwards be went back to England an married Mary Catlett, the girl be hj loved for years. He tben equipped a si: ver of bis own, and shipped negroes froi Africa to the West Indies and made fortune. In a few years he became dii gusted.with the business, and studu Mathematics, Latin, Greek and Hebre without a teacher. About that time Wes ley and Whitfield began their great r ligious uprising, nnd ho was converte and joined them and went to preachin; When eighty years old be preached thr< times a week, and when urged to stop c account of his feeblo health, be replied "What! Shall tho old African negi trader and blasphemer stop while he ca speak ??No !" No wonder that the gro change inspired him to writo those beat ful hymns: "Amazing Grace! Ho Sweet tho Sound," "One There is Abcn All Others," "Glorious Things of Th< Are Spoken," "Saviour, Visit Thy Plai tation." And next comes Cowper?the amiabl lovable, miserable Cowper?whose li was spent in alternating between hoj and despair, and was sent sevoral timi to the insane asylum. In his luc: intervals of hope he composed sue hymns as . "Sometimes a Light Surprises," "There is a Fountain Filled wil Blood," "Oh, for a Closer Walk With God," ar many others. James Montgomery, a Moravian, hi twenty-three hymns in this book. H early life was full of trouble. He wi indicted, tried and imprisoned for writir - ? ii? 41.? a?. I a UilllfclU UU HIV mil U1 tuu Maoiuct kjuv. after his release bo wrote an account tho riot at Sheffield, and was again in prisonod. Tho press had but little fre dom. iu those days, but his gentle, earnc Christian character finally won for hi: tho regard of his enemies, and ho w; granted a pension by the crown. The are no hymns in this book or any hoc sweeter than his.' Such, for instance, i "Oh, whore shall rest be found! "Prayer is the soul's sincere desire," ar ' People of tho living God," etc. Addison, too, that stately, polished wi ter of essays, found time and inclinatic to pay poetic tribute to his maker. The: is no poetry more majestic than tl hymns beginning, "When all thy raercie oh! my God," and "The spacious firm nent on High." And next we have II ber, tho gifted bishop of Calcutta, tl Christian gAitleman who never knew want, but, nevertheless, spent his life : charity and missionary work. H world renowned hymn would have in mortalized him if he had written nothii else. "From- Greenland's Icy Mountain: still stands as the chief of all missionai hymns. Ho wrote others of ex.juisi beauty, such as "Brightest and Best tho Sons of the Morning," and "By Co Siloam's Shady Rill." Then there arc many o^her compose who did not write much, but wrote e: cecding well. Thero is? "How Firm a Foundation," by Goorj Keith; "t'omo Ye Disconsolate," I Thomas Moore, the poet laureate of Eii| land; "Awake My Soul," by Modlej "Come Thou Fount of Every Blossing by Robert Robinson. Rev. Augustus Toplady' has sever beautiful hymns, but none comparo wil his "Rock of Ages Cleft for Me." S William Gladstone, the great premier England, was so much impressed wil this hymn that he has translated it in Latin and othor languages. Of a lafc date we find "Nearer My God to Thee by Mrs. Adams, an English lady. The oldest hymn in this book wi written by Thomas Stornholn, iu 15J Ho was groom to Henry VIII. The no; oldest is well worth rcmembranco, for was written in 1690 by Thomas Ken, ar has but one vorse, and that verso is sur 1 oftcncr than any other verso in the worl re Its first lino is "Praise God from whojn id all blessings flow." If Thomas Ken is id in the heavenly choir, (and wo believe he n. is,) what serene comfort does his translae ted soul enjoy as it listens every Sabbath re to his own doxology ns it goes up from a a- million voices and swells heavenward s, from thousands of organs all over Chrisly tendom. lit Then we have hymns from Richard ;n Baxter, who was Chaplain to Charles II, *?AO?O4A/1 nciMwnntiAn Af P ? /% m _ ID ouu jl ooiotcu tuu uaut^abivu vi v?viut well. s, And bore wo hare hymns from Mrs. y- Charles, tho gifted authoress of the ac Schonberg Cotta Stories, and from Wilse liam Cullen Bryant, our own po.et lanros ate, and Francis S. Key, tho author of the or ''Star Spangled Banner," and from Mrs. [i- Sigourney and John Dryden, another le poet laureate of England, and Henry Kirk [II White, who died in his twenty-first year, but left on his monument "The Star of w Bethlehem." Here, too, is the litany by I Sir Robert Grant. And here are many e- hymns from Dr. Mulilenberg, who er wrote, "I would not live alway." is And now iet me pause to remember that all these men and women are dead, y Some havo been dead 300 years, some 200, ;h and very many 100, and some for less, Is but all arc doad. But poetry outlives ig prose, and a song ou tlivos a sermon. It i- is a comforting fact that most all of the ir famous poets havo been Christian men e. and women and havo given to the Church some of their sweetest and holiest r_ thoughts in song. m Dr. Oliver W. Holmes and John G. ro Whitford are represented in this collec.. linn. ltJ y But hymns without music lose half their beauty. They are like birds witliout wings?they cannot fly heavenward. And now if the choir and the congrega,8 tion will enter into the spirit of these beautiful hymns and sing them with pure 1(j religious foeljng It will be acceptable lr praise. A song without inspiration is _ music, but it is not praise. Professional B. choirs who 9ing for pay seem to be sing If ing for men and not for God. Such singf. ing is liko tHo funerals that have hired 1(j mourners. When tho tune fits the sentil(j mout of tho hymn, like it was all one creation of genius, it greatly enhances the m beauty of both. The coronation hymn a would not be half so popular if the coros_ nation music wore not set to it. And !(j this is one reason why the oratories of the w grand old masters, such as Handel and Mozart, havo never been excelled. They composed botn tno sentiment ana me B" song. Bill Arp. id P. S.?If anybody knows anything of g. Simeon W. Hill, of Cobb's Legion of 10 Cavalry, who was captured at Gettysbu rg and sent to Point Lookout, please address 'n W. T. Cowan, Due West, S. C. I: _ ro Facts in a NotsbelL m at To the Editor of the News and Courier: lm A good deal of interest is being developed w in the growing of the Texas thin-shell ,c pecan, which promises greater results 30 financially than can be obtained by the - raising of oranges, walnuts, almonds, prunes or olives. 0 The long life of tho pecan is largely in j-q its favor, because, unlike most orchard )0 productions, one planting will last for Ba generations, bearing oven for six hundred id years. One secret of its long life is its tap root, which will go down to the depth of thirty feet or more, if required, for moisture, .jj feeding upon soils unreached by ordinary surface-rootod trees. While many l(j trees are perishing for want of moisture, tho pecan is green and thrifty, making M delightful shade, which can bo trained j8 into wide-spreading trees if desired. w The wild trees coramenco.bearing at six years old, at eight years will begin to ,n pay, anfl at the ago of ten years will yield 0j. from 150 to 200 pounds per tree; at fifteen . will yield from 10 to 13. bushels, somef i mna mnrn rinHivnfmn imnrnv^Q tlinm st its earlier bearing, increased size,.thinner m shells and larger products?a fact not aa universally known. Unlike most trees' r0 planted from the seod, at least 90 per cent of the product of the pecan will be ag like the seed planted?possibly 100 per cent. 1(j Being of the hickory family the pecan can bo grown where the hickory can, but .j_ it is reasonable to suppose that in tho m northern part of the United States nature re would provide a thicker husk for cover10 ing tho nut. Tho pecan neither trans,8 plants, grafts nor buds well, so the only a. safe way is to plant the root where tho Q_ tree is to stand. ie There is no need of giving up tho a ground wholly to the growth of the pern can, because the ground can be used by is growing peaches, Irish potatoes, tomai toes, beans, peas or strawberries. Plantig ing 35 by 35 for the pecan, peach trees can be planted every 171 leet, giving 36 i" pecan trees per acre and 85 peach trees, ry between which in rows can be grown the te smaller products. When the pecan trees of come into bearing the peach trees will ol have served their time and can bo removed. rs To utilizo lands which lie along the ic- stream* and ovorflow so as to render them of no value for ploughed crops, the ;e pecan can be planted among tho standing >y trees 35 by 35 feet apart. g- Persons may plant out 50 to 100 acres in j; pecans and farm the land until the trees come into bearing, when they will receive a larger income from tho pecans? al ten times as great as from any farm crop, th acre lor acre. ir Having no enemies, hardy, thrifty, of easily grown, they pay better profits on Ih tho investment than anything else to known, banking, real estate, bonds or Br stocks not excepted. At only ono cent per pound, the hard shell pecans are worth twenty-five cents per pound in the as markets, thev will earn ten times as y. much as cotton will at ten cents per. st pound. Ton acres in pecans will earn it more clear profit than five hundred acres id will in cotton at ton cents per pound, ig Fifty acres in 'pecans will earn more d, net profit when ten years old than a bank with a capital of 5300,000 earning 10 pe: cent. At fifteen years will earn mor< I than a hank with ?000,000 earning 10 pe; cent., counting the pecans at ten cent: per pound. Somo may doubt these figures, bu thoy can be abundantly verified, show ing that hero is an industry which ii worth millions to the United States, an< can bo carried on by any ono owninj land at littlo cost, risk, care or trouble If doubted, write to the undersigned who will give further information i wanted. IIeiujkrt Pcst. Fort Worth, Texas. Overproduction or Cotton. Southern planters in the cotton beltar greatly troubled over the low prieo a which their staplo is sold, and are dili gently considering plans by which the: hope to leach and maintain higher prices Tho fact is there is too much cotton that is, its production lias increased to i point beyond tho demand for cottoi imnrilfc j ow~ Tho acrcagc planted in cotton has in crcased from 8,000,000 acres before th I war to 19,000,000 acres last year, and to ; still larger planting this year. Th American product has increased 282 po cent, sincc the warj while tho cotton con sumption of the world hns only increase! 117 per cent. In 1871 tho average incom from an acre of cotton was ?3o.42; las year it was only 31Q.11. Tho averag price per pound has fallen from twelv and a half cents in the decade from 188 to 1890 to nine cents, which is all that i offered now. It-is evident that price must decline if this overproduction con tinues, and the increasing competition o Indian and Egyptian cotton in th English market contributes very mate rially to the same result. The cotton-growers of the South wil show their wisdom at this juncture ty giving no heed to the remedies and vis ionary schemes which tho cranks wh< believe in tho paternal duties and func tions of the State are sure* to propose Nothing will be gained by giving to th State, in any shape, tho control either o tho production or of tho marketing of th crop. These are things with which th State has no business to meddle. Tho only way in which the evil can b cured is by reducing production to th limit of tho demand. This will rais prices and make them steady. A case o , over-production is annlagous to the cas< of a merchant who lays in a stock o goods far in excess of the demand fo them and thcnjias to soil them belov cost in order to realize something. Botl methods lead to bankruptcy. The wise policy for tho Southern far mer to pursue is to vary his crop?to re strict his production of cotton and t increase his growth of qorn and othe cereals. He should, iu every case, raisi his own bread and moat. In every sec tion of the country diversified agncui ture is the most prosperous; and the lov price of cotton this year will do som good if it leads to a greater variety o crops in tho "cotton States.? Washingto, Post. Rye and Its Uses. This crop can be used to good advantage for four purposes. It can be growl for the grain and straw, the same a wheat, oata and barley, and considerioj the risk and the yields, it is fully a profitable as wheat. In many localitie there is less risk of failure of the cro] than there is with the wheat. Close ti suitable market the straw is ot mor value than that of either oats or wheat For soiling, rye is one of the bes crops that can be sown. It starts ti grow very early in the spring and wil usually be ready to cut off earlier thai anything else. Id many casea this wil be found to be quite an advantage. Eye is one of tbebeBt crops tbat cai be sown for late fall, winter or earl; spring pasturage. When sown for (hi purpose, as a rule, it should be sowi early, preparing the noil in good tiltl so that a good, vigorous, thrifty growtl I can be made in the fall before cold | freezing weather sets in. In this wa; it can be made to furnish a considerable quantity of feed during the winte I when the weather will permit the stocl to run out. I Breeding stock of all kinds can bi benefitted if they have a patch of rji upon which they can be turned during the winter and early spring. A good rye patch is of special valui to the brood sows and growing pigs dur ing the winter. So far as it is possible growing pigs should have green food and they will keep healthier and thrivi better if this is supplied. During thi winter the rye will furnish this men economically than anything else. A supply of green food early in the sprinj enables the breeding stock to suppl; their offspring with more milk, and thii will secure a better growth. For soiling rye is one of the best crop that can be used. It can be sown in tb< summer or early fall after the cropi have matured, and will make a sufficien growth to be ploughed under in th< spring in time to plant corn. It wil grow in thin land. It makes its growtl when, to a great extent, the land is idle aud if ploughed under in good season ii a valuable fertilizer. For building uj land that has been cropped down, rye if one of the best crop9 that can be grown There are few farms but where rye can b< made profitable either for manuring, soil ing or pasturing.?^ .Louis Republic. ? The railway commission of Florldj has been abolishel r . All Sorts of Parng 4g| r ?A Portland, Ore., C ... o 3 died recently left property valued at over $200,000. ' ? It ia hard for people to enjoy leli gion 'ery much who beep both hands in 3 their pockets. v ? There is h clergyman in New Mex ico who goes by the name of Rev. Iono, cent Wolf. f ? "Woman feels where man thinks." Yes, and that's what makes the man prematurely bald. ? The man with a cork leg, a glass eye, false teeth aod a borrowed reputa0 tion is a man of parts. ? A Ion of tomatoes as they come from the field, it is estimated, will fill * from 400 to 540 cans. ? Perteze Zrnchzszkowskelowski is a a cabinet-maker of Buffalo, N. Y. He 1 occasionally uses bis name for a saw. ? She?"I don't suppose you are fond - of kissing babies?" He?"Not unless 0 tbey are girl babies about 18 years old." a ? Delaware has a very singular pbe0 nomenon at Wilmington in tbe shape of a citizen 54 years old who is cutting hin 1 third set of teeth. a 0 ? "My mamma's got whiter teeth than t your mamma," said Allle "She'd e oughter have. She changes 'em oftener," e retorted Maudie. 0 ? The difference between realism and 3 idealism is just the difference between, a * girl's opinion of her lover and theyoung ,f manJfcmrelf. e ?Tne French still fight an average of >. 4,000 duels a year, but as tbey are mostly bloodless affairs the subject is not a 1 painful one to dwell on. y ? In the 6,000,000 letters that reached " iVk A f^na/1 1 flffot- offl AA loaf Wrtfl? MfAa bUO UCAU IVUWl UUiW JOOU JOOl IUOIO TV oo 0 money amounting to $28,642 and checks ( and notes of the value of $1,471,871. g ? "I was kicked by a horse when I f was little and knocked senseless," said * o Chappie. "How soon do you expect to o recover?" asked the cynical Maud. ? Artificial eyes are supplied to all the 0 wodd from Thuringia, Germany. Near0 ly all the grown inhabitants of some of f the villages are eogaged in their manue facture. ,f .? Bilkins?"After all the country is ? the place. How different from the city ! v. No dust, no noises, no everlasting grind u of business." Jinkins?"Yaas; but above all, no duns." ? The life insurance compar ies of the ~ United States pay one million five handred thousand dollars per year toward 0 supporting the physicians who make * their medical examinations. . ^ ? "My dear Julia," said one pretty f girl to another, "can you make up your e mind to marry that odious Mr Snuff?" f "Why, my dear Mary," replied Julia, "I n believe I could take him on a pinch." ? Mr. Frederick K. Ridge, of Cambridge, Mass, has within the last three years given to charitable, religious and municipal institutions more than $3,000, 1 000. He inherited his money. * . ? It is said that P. D. |Armour, i f ^ Chicago, is the largest individual com8 mercial operator in the world. His 3 transactions last year reached the enor^ mous aggregate of $03,000,000. 3 ? A colony of 200 or 300 monkeys ;s 0 reported to exist in the everglade3 of '' Florida. They are supposed to owe their ' origin to the wreck of a vessel upon the 0 coast, having on board monkeys which escaped into the foreBt. 1 ? The little daughter of a leading * physician in a certain coanlry town, i .i . r 11 1 . presented me ionowmg as uer unit 3 school ensay: "There was a little girl, ^ and she was very sick ; they sent for my papa, and she died very quick." 1 ? The president's salary is paid to him 1 in monthly installments of $4,166 67. 9L The warrant is brought to the White ' House by a special messenger from the ^ treasury dppnrtment, and after the president has endorsed it as he would an ordir nary draft, his private secefary deposits it at the Columbia bank. When the president is out of town the draft is mailed to a him. The same method is pursued in 3 paying the justices of the supreme court. ' ? Mr. J. H. Bates, of Acwarth, Ga., has what one might call a curiosity. It e is pumpkins that will weigh not less than one hundred and twenty-five pounds. ' Mr. Bate# has five hills of the mammoth ' Tours pumpkin, so named from having 3 originated near Tours, France, where B they are largely grown, both for table 9 and cattle use. It grows to an immense L size, even with ordinary culture. In an ^ agricultural report it is related that 7 a single specimen reached the enor-? 5 mous weight of 320 pounds, and that the product of one via* amounted to nearly 3 nine hundred pounds. The flesh is of a 9 beautiful salmon color, solid nearly all 3 the way through with very few seed. Mr. Bates is undoubtedly the champion | pumpkin raiser of Georgia. i Sad End of n PIcuic. ' Batesbubg, September Z.?k~ acci' dent to a picnic party to day fj/m Leea> ville at Quattlebaum's Mill resulted in 9 the drowning of Miss Alice Smith. A young man and three young ladies ' went out in the pond in a batejui and from some cause it was overturn^. Two of ' the young ladies and the young man, by heroic efforts of others, were 8*ved. No blame is attached to anyone. The young lady was highly connected and great grief 1 prevails in the community over the sad death. ?