Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1871-03-09
ON Our Young Folks for Marcel
FLIBERTIGIBBET.
BY ELIZABETH KILHAM.


Jerusalem, forever CAV,
KICK up yer heels an dance away"
sang Fbbertigibbet from the fence out
side.
There never was anything more like
a monkey and less like a boy than
Flibertigibbet. That was not his real
name. a stranger, much amused at
his curious appearance and his queer
capers, said in his hearing, THAT boy
is a perfect Flibertigibbet; :" he, APP
parently liking the sound, caught it up,
and ever afterwards, when asked his
name, responded, "Flibtigb; :" and
nobody seemed to remember that he
had ever had any other.
He would have been perfect treas
ure to an Ethiopian minstrel troupe
In his methods of locomotion he APP
preached the marvellous,-very rarely
walking upright on his feet, but some
times going sideways, like crab, on
hands and feet; sometimes revolving
like wheel, first one hand, then one
foot on the ground; and again walking
on his hands, both heels in the air. All
day long he haunted the school house,
pushing the door ajar and peering
through the crack, fiattening his nose
against the windows and making faces
at the children, climbing to the roof OF
the one story building, and shouting
down the chimney, or beating tattoo
on the shingles. These exercises he
occasionally varied by going through a
course Of gymnastics on the porch,
singing for accompaniment the chorus
of Rally round the flag" his version
of the second line being. "Down wiz o
twataa, ye-up wiz a stab, that "ye-
up" given with shrek that more than
once, before we became accustomed To
it, made us hastily drop book or pencil
and run to the door, thinking that
some one was hurt
Considering that he was in a state OF
perpetual motion, and such extraordi-
nary motion too, 1T was fortunate that
he wore but one garment. What that
garment was, whether a high pair OF
pantaloons with string round the
neck, or long jacket with a rufie
at the knee, no mortal could tell. We
looked at it and puzzled over 1T; but
how it was made, or put ON, OF kept
on, we never discovered. Nobody evel
attempted to guess what the article he
wore on his head had originally been.
If hat, every vestige of brim was
gone; it was so thickly encrusted with
dirt, both outside and in, that it stood
on his head erect and solid as a wooder
bowl and he had way of pulling il
down over his left eye and winkine
from under it, that was perfectly ire
sistible.
We made several attempts to get hin
into school; but "nobody didn't kotch
him in dar, whar he got ter sit still al
day" After much persuasion he was
prevailed upon TO come to Sunday
School; but his promise was given
with the proviso that "ef he didn't
like it, he warn't a gwine ter STAY" Sc
one Sunday he walked in, as independ,
ent as ever, aud perfectly indifferent &c
the contrast between himself and the
other children, all dressed in their Sun
day best. lie was placed in class, and
sat down, keeping his hat on, and wink.
ing harder than ever.
During the lesson the question was
asked, "Of what are we made 2" One
of the children, pointing to the new
conner, who excited considerable curl
osity among them, said, docs you
know dat ar, boy z"
"Spec / does, said Fhbertigibbet
"Well, what am it den-what am you
made OBJ"
He rolled his great wide open eyes
round for a minute, then drawied out,
"Sa-a and"
"Hil" exclaimed his questioner
yoa dunno noffin, boy you amt made
o. ne sand: you's made o. dirt"
This seemed to strike Flibertigibbei
as rather personal, and he doubled his
fists and turned fiercely upon the speak
er: "Say dat ar agin, boy, an I'll
mash Yer mouf. amt no mo- dirt dan
you is"
"Well, who say You isl Yves all
made o dirt. de hull on us, de teacher
an ALL
To this astounding statement Fiber
tigibbet madeno reply, but INDUCED in
a prolonged whistle.
On the whole, however. he conducted
himself more peaceably than we feared
would be possible: and we began to
have some hopes of tanning him. The
next Sunday he came again, and was
asked question respecting what he
had been taught the Sunday previous.
He looked refectively at the ceiling,
inquiringly out of the window, and
sympathizingly at his bare feet, which
he twisted over one another necessarily:
but made no answer. His teacher said,
" Don't you remember what told you
about that Sunday7"
"Yaas'm, knows dat yer telled me
sufin, hut de win bowed SO hard !
mus ha' forgot it." And again he
broke out into whistle, apparently
considering this an exercise eminently
suited to the time and place
This being stopped, he spent the re-
mainder of the time trying how far he
could slide down the bench without
falling off; and that was his last ap-
pearance at Sunday School But every
Sunday afterwards he sat the whole at
terpoOn on the fence in front of the
school house, seeming to enjoy himself
exceedingly, and occasionally giving
vent to his feelings in responses to the
singing os the school; all of them pref
ty much after the style of Jerusalem,
forever gay"
On this particular Sunday afternoon
he was not alone. He sat on the fence
heiding the end of string; and on
the ground, at the other end of the
string, was dog. And such looking
dog There was something about him
that reminded one of a King Charles
spaniel. But that has long, silky hair,
white and glossy brown; while this
little animal was covered with what
looked Like tufts of black wool, and his
face was black. The only white about
him was on his feet, and they looked all
the whittier by contrast with the black.
He had the soft brown eyes peculiar to
the King Charles spaniel and he
turned them appealing upon the passers-
by, as if he would say to them that he
had seen better days, that he was a dog
In reduced circumstances, and to beg
them to come to his aid. When Fiber
tlgibbet first appeared with this dog
the opinion was freely expressed that
he had come into possession of him by
means not in accordance with the strict
observance of the Eighth Command