The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1874-10-02
TIE BOARD FENCE.

"Shoo. shoe, get home, you plaguy crit
tersn' cried Mr. Babcock, waving MS arms
as he chased dozen sheep and lambs
through gap in the fence.
1t was a wooden fence, and when he had
succeeded in driving the animals the other
side Of it, he lifted it from it, reclining posi-
ton and propped it mp with stakes. This
was an operation he had found himself
obliged to repeat many times in the course
of the season, and not only of that season,
but of several previous seasons.
Yet Mr. Babcock was neither slack nor
thriftleSs; in fact, he rather prided himself
on the ordinary appearance OF his farm, and
not without reason. How then shall we
count for his negligeace in this particular
instance?
The truth was that this fence formed the
boundary line between his estate and that
of Mr.. Small and three generations of men
who owned these estates had been unable to
decide to whom it belonged to rebuild and
keepit in repair. If tie owners had cAanced
to be men of peaceful dispositions, they had
compromised the matter and avoided
y,
iunged to that much larger class VINO would
sooner sacrifice their own comfort and cor
yenieuce than their so-c.;lied rights. this
fence had been a source of unending bickei-
ings and strife.
And of this class were the present owners.
Again and again they had consulted their
respective Lawyers on the subject and
dragged from their hiding places musty old
deeds and records, bat always with the same
result.
81 say it belongs to you to keep it in re-
pair; that's as plain as pike-s.aH," Mr..
Babcock would say.
''And | say it belongs to you-any fool
might see tLat,'' Mr. Small would reply,
and then high words would follow, and they
would part in anger, more determined and
obstinate than ever. The lawyers fees and
the loss Ivy damages from each others cattle
had already amounted to sum sufficient to
have built fence around their entire
tates, but what was that compared to the
satisfaction OF having their own way?
There were not wanting in the neighbor-
hood peace-makers who would gladly have
settled the affair by arbitration, but to this
neither of the beiiigerento would listen for
moment.
At last, one day, Miss Letitia Gill, a
woman much respected in the village, and
of some weight as land owner and tax
paver, sent for Mr.. BabcOck to come and
see her on business a Summons which he
made haste to obey, as how could it be
otherwise where lady was concerned?
Miss Letitia sat at her window sewing a
seam. but she dropped her work and took
off her spectacles when Mr.. Babcock made
his appearance.
$50 you got my message; thank you for
coming, I'm sure. Sit down, do. L sup
pose nv man Isaac told you l wanted to
consult YOU on a matter Of business mat
ter of equity, may say. 1t can't be ex-
pected that we women folks should be the
best Judges about sach things, you know !;
there's Isaac, to be sure, bat then he lives
on the place, and maybe he wouldn't be
exactly impartial in his judgment about our
affairs"
"Jes' so,'' said Mr.. Babcock.
.sWeU. the state of the case is this !:
When Isaac came up from the long meadow
to dinner-they're moving the meadow to-
day. and an uncommonly good yield there
is-when he came up to dinner, he found
that stray COWS had broken into the vegeta-
bic garden"
''He did, hey?'
sYou can fancy the riot they made |
declare. Isaac was almost ready to use pro-
fame language. I'm not sure that he didn {
saw deuce, and I'm certain he did say
darn : and, after all, couldn't feel to re-
nroach him very severely, for the pains he
has taken with that garden is something
amazing; working in it, Mr.. Babcock,
early and late, wedding and digging and
watering and now to see 1T all torn and
trampled so that you wouldn't know which
was beets and which was cucdmbers, it's
enough to rouse anybody temper"
"It is, so,'' said Mr.. Babcock-
..Aud that isn't all, for by the looks OF
! tb;ncs they must have been rampagrng in