Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1871-03-09
From Our Young Folks for March.
FLIBERTIGIBBET.

BY ELIZABETH KILHAM.
Jerusalem, forever free,
Beautiful land of rest
sang the Sunday school. And
Jerusalem, forever gay,
Kick up yer heels an dance away"
sang Flibertigibbet from the fence out
side.
There never was anything more like
monkey and less like 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 perfect Flibertigibbet;" he, ap-
parently liking the sound, caught it up,
and ever afterwards, when asked his
name, responded, Flibtiglb;" and
nobody seemed to remember that he
had ever had any other.
He would have been perfect treas
nre 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
( l. IL l.
occasionally varied by going through a
course OF gymnastics on the porch,
singing for accompaniment the chorus
of "Rallv round the flag" his version
Of the second line being, Down wiz u
twatah, ye-up wiz stab, that eye
NJ" given with a 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, it was fortunate that
he wore but one garment. What that
garment was, whether high pair of
pantaloons with string round the
neck, or a long jacket with ruffie
ut the knee, no mortal could tell. We
looked at it and puzzled over it; but
how it was made, or put on, o. kept
on We never discovered Nobody ever
attempted to guess what the article he
wore on his head had originally been.
If a hat, every vestige of brim was
gone it was so thickly encrusted with
dirt, both outside and in, that it stood
al Il Il
bowl and he had way of pulling it
down over his left eye and winking
from under it, that was perfectly ire
sistible.
We made several attempts to get him
into school; but "nobody didn't kotch
him in dar, whar he got ter sit still all
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 1t, he warn't gwine ter stay" SO
one Sunday he walked in, rs independ-
ent as ever, and perfectly indifferent to
the contrast between himself and the
other children, all dressed in their Sun
day best. He was placed in class, and
sat down, keeping his hat on, and wink
ing nafuer than ever.
Daring 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, Does you
know dat ar, boy"
"Spec | does, said Flibertigibbet.
well, what am it den-what am you
made oh 2"
He rolled his great wide open eyes
round tor minute, then drawled out,
Sa-a and"
Hi" exclaimed his questioner;
you dunno notfin, boy you amt made
o no sand; yous made o. dirt"
This seemed to strike Flibertigibbet
as rather personal, and he doubled his
fists and turned fercely upon the speak
err Say dat ar agin, boy, an I'll
mash yer mouf. | amt no mo- dirt dan
you is"
We'll, who say you isl Yves all
made o dirt. de hull on us, de teacher
an all p"
To this astounding statement Fiber
tlgibbet made no 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 retiectively at the ceiling,
inquiringly ont of the window, and
Sympaf hi zipplv OF hi, hora faSf which