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VOL. 1.] EASLEY, SOUTH CAROLINA, FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 1884. [NO. 43.
ghs fnnleg 5Je5enger.
Enteed it the Postofflee at Easleb
S. C., a Second Class Matter.
J. R. HAGOOD, Editor and Prop'r
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MFSsM-NGE R, Easle, S. C.
THE OLD BEAU.
How cracked and poor his laughte
ringsl
How dulled his eyes, once flashinj
warm!
But still a courtly pathos clings
About his bent and withered form.
lTo-night.' whete mirth and mus)
d iklls,
His wrinkle cheek, his locks of snow
GleamR near the grandsons of th
belles
He smiled on forty years ago!
We watched him here, and half be
lieve
Our gaze may witness, while h
prates,
Death, like a footman. touch his sleeve
And tell him that the carriages waits
-Edgar Fawcett.
BETSY HAMILTON'S LETTER.
A Sketch of Life in the Backwoods
Craps was all laid by and i
wasn't hard for the new writin
inarster to git up a class; th
young folks all jined mostly for thi
fun of gittin' together.
A right smart chance of old folki
tuck lessons too. Old man Loftic
lowed he had allers hearn it said
it was never too late to larn, anc
he was a gwine to larn how t(
sign his name if nothin' more
peared like he had been makin
of
his
X
mark
long enough.
We' uns seed the wrti'mar
ster a comin' and maw she jerkec
the broom quick and swept up th<
hath, and sot a cheer in the entry
and axed him to light and come
in.
Cousin Pink and me and Cale
dony got back in the shed roon
and peeped through the crack 01
the door at him.
'What mought be your name?
said Aunt Nancy, "of I mought be
so bold as to ax.'
'Broom is my name,' says he.
and Cal she snickered, and whis.
pered, 'A new broom sweeps clean,'
says she.
He sot a bit, then axed:
'Whar do you'uns keep your
drinkin' water?' and went back to
water shelf, and atter he drunk a
gourd of .water he tuck a wash;
and long as he was a stranger,
> Flurridy she riz the chest lid and
tuck out a bran new store bought
handtowel, that hadn't never been
Sbiled, and he scrubbed and scrub
r bed, and I know in reason he
mought have serubbed thar tel yet
' if Aunt liancy hadn't a tuck pity
' on him and gin him a 6ld saff
towel.
'Them as never has tried to dry
ther faces on one of these here
new stiff store bought towels 'fore
hit's been washed don't know how
aggrevatin' it is,' says Aunt Nan
" cy, tryin' to be civil mannered to
wards him. 'rake a cheer and set
r down and be seated.'
The minute the Freshours sees
c anybody at our house here they
comes. The ole 'oman come in a
puffin' and a blowin' to see who
the stranger was, and the chillun
Vcome a tearin' across the truck
patch fetchin' in all the rmud on
i ther bar feet. . They stood right
afore him with ther eyes and mouth
wide open. Some chillun, you
know, couldn't see a wink lessen
ther mouth was open. We gals
e had slicked our heads and starch
ed our faces and come out, and
was all standin' around like he
was a monkey show. He had on
tied his bundle and was a showin'
the spessiments of his hand write
and all sorts of little birds in red
ink and blue ink, some a settin' up
t on quill pens and some with leaves
' in ther mouths. And he had a
goose a swimmin' on the water
a that he lowed he made all once't
without takin' up his pen, and
Aunt Nancy she winked at maw
i didn't believe nairy word of it.
i Flurridy lowed them birds tuck
I her eye, and Cousin Pink lowed
> the goose tuck her'n. The little
Freshours' 'peared like they would
jist bardaciously climb all over
the man spite of everything if ther
mnammy hadn't jerked 'em back.
She gin Dick a jerk and lowed:
'Set down thar, Dicky, the stran
ger don't want to nuss you. Come
here to me, Becky Ann, you're too
big to do that way, pine blank like
you never had saw nothin' afore
in your life; and you know your
uncle Josiah Freshours drawed a
bird and a tarripin too out'n red
ink and blue ink too--set down
'fore I slap you down, and quit a
gazin' like you hadn't never saw
naothin' afore, and which you know
$0o) is.'
He wanted pap to let him put
our names down. Pap he wras
about half tight, and lowed:
'I don't know as I keer about it
My folks ken all writ tollerable
fair fists, leastways they ken read
it theyselves. But I reckin they'll
all want to take-they most ingin
nerly takes every fool thing as
comes. along. They buys from all
the peddlers, and allers gits el4eat
ed; they tuck cipherin' lessons
from that rethmetic man, and he
was gwine to larn 'em all so fast
how to do any sum in the United
States in two minutes and a half,
and he never so much larnt 'em
how to count six aigs. Then they
tuck singin' from that ar trout
mouth squealin' fiddler that come
along here last year at tater dig
gin' time. The fact of the busi
ness is this whole settlement is
about half crazy. He never larnt
'em a dime's worth as I could see.
But nevertheless, howsomever, not
withstanding, singin' you know is
one thing and writin' is tother, and
while I maintains to the doctrine
that a pretty hand write haint no
sign of smartness, nevertheless,
notwithstanding I never stands as
no stumbling block in the way of
my chillun a larnin' nothin'. Live
and larn have allers been my mar
tow, but I'll tell you the truth and
stakewy affldavit on u, that the
biggest fool ever I seed writ the
beautifullest hand write.'
Then Aunt Nancy up and low
ed:
'Is it 'no larn no pay,' or is you
got to plank up the money afore
hand? Sposen now, for n'instance,
I goes and takes, jist sposen you
ktnow, and sposen I don't .arn how
will you gimme my money back or
will you keep it? That's what I
desire to inquire fore I puts my
name down. leastways that's what
I'm axin' aforehan'. Not as I am
a thinkin' of puttin' it down, mind
you, but I was jist a sposen.'
He laughed and told her if she'd
take he wouldn't charge her noth
in', and so he put her name down.
When old man Freshours hearn
that old man Loftis was a gwine to
take writin' lesspns he lowed he
wouldn't be outdone, and told the,
writin' marster to put his name
down too. 'And you ken jist come
over to my house,' says he 'and eat
out the worth of it in vittles, or1
you ken wait tel I ken take some1
water-millions to town airy one,
odds is the difference to me.'
But odds wasn't the difference
to Mr. Broom. He eyed old Fresh
ours a minute (he had done seed
old Miss Freshours and the chil
lun) and said he believed he'd
druthier wait tel he sold the water
millions, and who blamed him?
The writin' school was hell at
the school'ouse. In course me and
Cal sot together and kep up a pow
er ofgiggl in' and not snuch writ
in'4 We sot on a long bench side
fa long desk. I looked away
dlown at tother eendaf the bench
mnd seed 1ky Roberson a twistin'
>f his mouth every letter he writ.
[ hunched Cal ai&4kme and her
got to laughin'.
'Look at Aunt Nancy,' says I,
and she was a twistin' of her lips
rust one side then tother, jist pine
blank like she was a cuttin' out a
rrock with the scissors. Then we
looked down the bench and toth
ers was all screwing ther mouths
too. Cap Dewberry wusser'n all.
The writin' marster come and ax
ed me and Cal what was the mat
ter. Cal she lowed:
'Haint thar some way to larn a
body to write without writin' with
ther mouths?'
He lowed he didn't twist his'n,
but we watched him when he sot
the next copy, and he looked pine
blank like he was a gwine to whie
tie.
Me and Cal had a power of fun,
but we never larnt mnWh. Two
or three of the gals fell in love with
Mr. Broom, and' was jealous of Cal
edony. But when he left all of a
suddent betwixt two days, bekase
the lawyers was atter him for steal
in' that fin6ridin' critter,'they was
monstrous glad he' was gone. Pap
lowed: 'The new Broom swept
liisnef MyatrhAA known.'
When old Miss Freshours hearn
it, she lowed:
'Thar now, I knowed it all the
time, for I dreagp 006 him a
erossin' of nuuddy r. .
BzTsY HAXII/oN.
WOUTLDN'T TAKE IIs ADVICE.
One day soon after Pope's defeat
at second Bull Run, and Chantily,
a private soldier belonging to an
Ohio regiment sought an interview
with his captain, and announced
that he had a plan for a military
campaign which must certainly re
sult in crushing out the rebellion.
rhe officer very naturally inquir
ed for particulars, but the soldier
refused to reveal them. and asked
tor a chance to lay his plans.be
tore Pope himself. After some
lelay he was given a pass to head
quarters. He did not get to see
Pope, but after tihe chief of staff
mad coaxed and promised and
bhreatened for a quarter of an hour
bhe Buckeye stood up and replied:
'Well, sir, my plan is for John~
Pope and Bob Lee to swap comn
mnands, and if we don't lick the
South inside of sixty days you
may shoot me for a patent hay
t'ork swindler.'
When he returned to camp he
was naturally asked what success
be met with, and he ruefnlly re-.
plied:
'Well, they had a plan of their
'What was it?'
'Why they took me out and
booted me for a mile and g half!'
--Detrait Press.