The Republican. [volume] (Maryville, Tenn.) 187?-187?, 1874-08-01
THE BOARD FENCE.

"Shoo, shoe, get home, yol plaguy
critters " cried Mr.. Babcock, waving
his arms as he chased a dozen sheer
and lambs through gap in the fence
1t was a wooden fence, and when ht
had succeed in driving the animals the
other side Of it, lie lifted it from its re-
clining position, and propped it up 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 orderly appearance Of
his farm, and not without reason. How
then shall we account for his negli.
gence in this particular instance?
The truth was that this fence formed
the boundary line between his estate and
that of Mr.. Small and three genera.
tions of men who owned these estates
had been unable to decide to whom il
belonged to rebuild and keep it in re-
pair. If the owners had chanced to be
men OF peaoeable dispositions, they had
compromised the matter and avoided O
quarrel but if, on the contrary, they
belonged to that much larger class who
would sooner sacrifice their own COM
fort and convenience than their so-called
rights, this fence had been source of
unending chickering's and strife.
And of this class we're 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 re-
cords, but always with the same result.
81 say it belongs to you to keep it in
repair ; that's as plain as a pike staff"
MIR. Babcock wonld say.
"And l says it belong to you,-any
fool might eoe tbet," III. Sia;l would
reply, AMI then high words would fol
low, and they would part in anger, more
determined and obstinate than before
The lawyers fees and the loss by dam
ages from each others cattle had al
ready amounted to a sum sufficient TO
have built a fence round their entire
estates, but what was that compared to
the satisfaction of having their own
way?
There was 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 Letitia Gill, a
woman much respected in the village.
and Of some weight as a landowner and
taxpayer, sent for Mr.. Babcock to come
and see her on business summons
which he made haste to obey, as how
could he do otherwise where lady was
concerned.
Miss Letitia sat at her window sew
ing up a seam, but she dropped her
work and took off her spectacles when
MIR. Babcock made his appearance.
$50 you got my message thank you
for coming, I'm sure. Sit down, do. L
suppose my man Isaac told you |
wanted to consult you on a matter of
bdsiness,-a matter of equity, I NAV
say. Ii can't be 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 judgment about
our affairs.
"Jes' So" said Mr.. Babcock.
" Well, 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 uncUmmonly
good yield there is,-when he came up
to dinner, he found that certain stray
cows had broken into the vegetable
garden"
"He did, hey?'
" You can fancy the riot they made,
L declare, Isaac was almost ready to use
profane language. Pm not sure that he
didn't say deuce, and I'm not certain
he did say darn and after all,
couldn't feel to reproach 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 water
ing, and now to see it all torn and
trampled so that you wouldn't know
which was beets and which was cucum.
bers, it's enough to rouse anybody's
temper.
cit is So" said Mr.. Babcock.
And that isn't all, for by the looks
OF things they must have been rampag.
ing full hour in the orcnard and clio.
VERIFIED before they had got into the
garden. Just you come and see :" and
putting on her sun-bonpet, Miss Letitia
showed Mr.. Babcock over the damaged
precinct.
"You don't happen to know those
animals did the mischief?" said Mr..
Babcock.
"WelI, I didn't observe them in par
ticular, but Isaac said there was one
with a particular white mark; some
thing like cross on her haunch."
"Why, that's Small's old Brindle." "
cried Mr.. Babcock. "I know the mark
as we'll as 1 know the nose on my face.
She had balls on her horns, didn't
she ?"
Yes, 30 Isaac said.
" And kind of hump on her back ?"
"a perfect dromedary,' said Miss
Letitia. noticed that myself"
"Tbey we're Smal's COWS, no doubt
about it at all, said Mr.. Babcock, rub.
bing his hauds. "No sheep with them
hey p
"Well. now ] think of it, there were
sheep-they ran away rs soon as thefn
saw Isaac. Yes, certainly Uhre were
sheep" said Miss Letit&.s
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