Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-02-11
A DEADLY ASSAULT.

How the Old Lady Lost Her Cats.
A gentleman residing in Nashville tell:
this story:
At Hbe time l was going to school In Phil.
adelphia, myself, brother and two cousins
boarded with a withered up old dame
whose chief delight in life consisted in her
large collection of cats, and whose natural
enemies were her wild young boarders, the
latter being always ready to seize upon any
and every opportunity to tease the old lady
by flirting with her pretty nieces and play
ing tricks on the cats, for "boys will be
boys" However, Mrs. s. generally re-
paid the graceless quartette for their tricks
by giving them poor dinners, or none at all,
when unpunctual to her hours-fastening
the doors upon retiring, thereby keeping the
belated youngsters shivering on the door
steps until they could succeed in awakening
the oyerworked and sleepy headed servant.
As the summer vacation approached, the
opposing forces suspended hostilities, and q
sort of armed neutrality was maintained.
Mrs. s. relaxed the severity of her
discipline in the hope of her boaders return
ing in September, while we youngsters
were occupied in preparing for grand coup
de main to take place the night before our
departure for home.
For some weeks we had carried to our
room at night as many brick-bats as we
could smuggle in, and these we locked up
In our closets until we had accumulated
several hundred. Then we sewed up a lot
Of valerian root in stout canvas bag, which
on the eventful night, we fastened securely
to a stake driven in the centre OF the old
lady's grass plat, beneathUur windows.
It is well known that the scent Oh
valerian has a powerful attraction for falines,
aud about the Titching hour of ten on the
night in question, nearly every festive Tom
and sportive Tsb5y for distance of half
q mile around (snd their name was legion)
had congregated in the old lady's back yard
and were splitting, scratching, csterwauling
and carrying on at fearful rate.
In the meantime, we youngsters, with the
assistance of half dozen friends whom we
had invited in, had carried our ammunition
to the room overlooking the scene of the
from the window.
Mrs. s. was awakened by the music nf
the free concert (Which had been gotten up
principally for her benefiD just as It reached
its widest and most interesting stage. The
old lady sprang from her bed, opened the
window, directly beneath ours, and in her
shrillest tone alternately called for her pus-
siesto come to her, or launched forth vehe-
ment inVeotiVes upon the strange cats,
wondering what possessed all the felines IN
'11;g1i 70 90 crazy in her yard,
The neighbors, whose premises over
looked the field of operations, came to Their
windows, loudly cursing "that cid witcH,
Mrs. s., and her CATS" while she, wrought
up to a perfect frenzy, shrieked out de-
fance and naughty words in return.
As soon as we thought the proper interest
in the entertainment was manifested, at q
given signal we opened fire on the feline
mob with our brick bats, showering them
down with all the vigor and vim character
istic of school boys, while the yells Of the
stricken ones, added to the screams of Mrs.
s., and the encouraging cheers of the
made very lively scene indeed.
Stew, few shall part where many meet"
The following morning the ssnguinary
battle field showed a score or so of dead
cats; as many more badly wounded; a cart
load of brick bats, and matron who !
mouERed and refused to be comforted, be-
cause her pussies were not.
We were non est, having taken our de-
parture by the early morning train.