Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1878-09-05

from her face and looked around
the company. Her action at
once arrested their attention,
and, pausing in their play, they
all looked up inquiringly.
Gazing directly in the face of
Judge -, she said in trem-
ulous voice, "Do you know me,
Judge -?'
.No, mother, / don't remem-
Der YOU" SAID the Judge pleas
antly. "W here have we metY'
"My name is Smith" (" said
she. Il was with my poor boy
three days, off and OH, in the
courtroom at Oshkosh, when he
was tried for-for--for robbing
somebody; and you are the
same man that sent him to pris-
on for ten years; and he died
there last June"
All faces were now sobered,
and the passengers began 10
gather around and stand up all
over the car to listen and see
what was going on. She did
not give the judge time TO an
swer her, but becoming more
and more excited, she went on:
Gle was good boy, if you did
send him to prison. lie helped
lis clear the farm, and when
father was took sick and died he
done all the work, and was get
ting along right smart till he
took to going to town and got
to playing keards and drinking,
and then somehow he didn't like
TO work after that, but used to
stay out often till mornin, and
then he'd sleep SO late, and /
couldn't wake him when /
knowed he'd bin out so late the
night before. And then the
farm kinder run down, and then
we lost the team; one of them
got killed when he'd bin TO town
one awful cold night, he staid
late, and / suppose they had got
cold standin' out, and got
skecred, and broke loose, and
run most home but run agin the
fence, and a stake run into one
OF EN-, and when we found it the
next morning it was dead, anu
he other WAS standin' under the
shed. And so after awhile he
coaxed me To let him sell the
farm, and buy a house and lot
in the village, and he'd work at
carpenter work. And so | did,
as We couldn't DO nothin' on the
farm. But he grew worse than
ever, and after a while he
couldn't get any work, and
wouldn't do any thing but gam
bic and drink all the time. /
used TO do every thing | could
to get him to quit and he a good,
industrious boy agin, but he
used TO get mad after awhile,
and once he struck ME, and then
in the morning | found he had
what little money was left of
the farm, and had run off. AT
ter that / got along as well as |
could, cleanin' houses for folks
and washin', but / didn't hear
nothing Of him for four or five
years; but but when got ares
ted and was took up to Oshkosh
for trial, he writ to me-"
BY this time there was not al
dry eye in the car, and the cards
had disappeared. The old lady
herself was weeping silently
and speaking in snatches. But
recovering herself, she went on:
"But what could do? | sold
the house and lot to get money.
to hire lawyer; and | believe
he is here somewhere Hooking
aroundl. o yes! there he is.
Mr.. -" pointing to Lawyer
-, who had not taken part in
the play. "And this is the man,
/ am sure, who argued against
him." pointing TO Mr.. the
district attorney. "And you
Judge, sent him to prison for
ten years; s'pose it was right,
for the poor boy told me that he
really did rob the bank. But
he must have been drunk; for
they had been playing keards
most all night, and drinking.
But O dear! it seems to me
kinder as though If he hadn't
got to playing keards he might