The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1874-11-27
mi s c e lIaneOu us I.
How to Assess Damages.

"Shoo, shoe, get home, you plaguey crit
tiers !" cried MIR. BabcOck, waving hi
arms as he chased dozen sheep and lamb
through a gap in the fence 1t was a wood
en- fence, and when he had succeeded il
driving the animals on the other side of it
he lifted it from its reclining position anG
propped it up with stakes. This was ar
operation he had found himself obliged tc
repeat many times in the course of the sea
son, and not only of that season but Of
several previous seasons.
Yet Mr.. Babcock was neither slack MOI
thriftless; in fact, he rather prided him.
self on the ordinary appearance of his farm
and not without reason. How then shall
we account for his negligence in this par
ticular instances
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 I'M
able to decide to whom it belonged to re-
build and keep it in repair. If the owners
had CHANGED to be men of peaceful dispo-
sitions, they had compromised the matter
and avoided quarrel; but if on the con-
trary, they belonged to that much larger
class who would sooner sacrifice their own
comfort and convenience than their So
called rights, this fence had been source
of unending pickering and strife.
And of this class were the present own
ers. Again and again they had consulted
their respective lawyers on the subject and
dragged from their hiding places musty
old. deeds and records, but always with the
same result.
70 tn unt 70 l.
pair; that's as plain as q pike-statf," Mr..
Babcock would say.
And l say it belongs to you-any fool
might see that" Mr.. Small would reply,
and then high words would follow, and
they would part in anger, more determin-
ed and obstinate than ever. The lawyers
fees and the loss by damages from each
others cattle had already amounted to a
sum sufficient to have built fence around
their entire estate, but what was that COM
pared to the satisfaction of having their
own way
There were not wanting in the neigh
borhood, peace-makers who would gladly
have settled the affair by arbitration, but to
this neither of the belligerents would listen
for moment
At last, one day, Miss Letitla Gill, wo-
man much respected in the village, and of
some weight as n land owner and taX-pay-
er, sent for Mr.. Babcock to come and sec
her on business; summons which he
made haste to obey, as how could it be
otherwise where lady was concerned
Miss Lctitia 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, Pm sure. Sit down, do. | sup
pose my man Isaac told you l wanted to
consult you on matter of business-a
matter of equity may say. 1t can't he
expected that we women folks should be
the best judges about such things, you
know; there's Isaac, to be sure, but then
he lives on the place, and maybe he
wouldn't be exactly impartial in his iudg.
ment about our affairs"
"Jes So" said Mr.. Babcock.
"Well, the state of the case is this :
When Isaac came up from the long mea-
dow to dinner-they're moving the mea-
dow to-day, and an uncommonly good
yield there is-when he came up to din
ner he found that stray cows had broken
into the vegetable garden"
lie ulu, ney r.
"You can fancy the riot they made. |
declare, Isaac was almost ready to use pro-
fame language. I'm not sure that he didn't
say deuce and am certain he did saw
darn : and, after all, couldn't feel to re.
proach him very severely, for the pains he
has taken with that garden is something
amazing; working in it, Mr.. Babcock, ear,
ly and late, W. eding and digging and wa
tering; and now to see it all torn and
tramplcd SO that you wouldn't know which
was beets and which was cucumbers. it's
enough to arouse anybody's temper.n
ut is So" said Mr.. Babcock.
"And that isn't all, for by the looks of
things they must have been rampaginp in
the orchard and clover field before thew
got into the garden. Just you come and
see" and putting on her sun-bonpet Miss
Letitia showed Mr.. Babcock over the dam.
aged precincts.
"You don't happen to know whose ami
mails did the mischief" said Mr.. Babcock.
swell, didn't observe them in particu-
lar myself but Isaac said there was one
with peculiar white mark, something
like cross, on its haunch."
"Why, that's Small's old brinde," cried
Mr.. Babcock. 81 know the mark as well
as | know the nose on my face. She had
balls on her horns didn't she 2"
Eyes, so Isaac said"
"And kind of hump on her back 2n