The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1879-08-14
"THEY SAY"
SANDER in High Life. A Bloody
Fight, and how it Ended.
Written for the citizen.l

hCASuDOIS duO lublmdI6 aSSOCldGeS,
}, Joyous, contented, thrifty, and
e everything went "merry as the mar
u riage bells" until slander for its own
|, selfish ends, swept its jangline
Y hand across all the chords of thelI
S young lives, to weaken, break and
S ruin them forever!
S They were handsome couples, in
e telligent, and always appearing we'll
e dressed, they soon became noted in
s the neighborhood. But it was Civ
s en- up that Mr.. p. F. was decid-
edly the handsomest of the party,
e though the Juveniles often applied
e the word loud to his snowy dress,
y which l own was rather a curious
r combination. He had, however,
= one very serious drawback to his
i handsome person: very ugly
: foot, real, huge, plebian foot!
and they proved to his exceeding
vanity as great an annoyance as
the club-foot of the over-sensative
Byron, which he permitted to embit.
:. ter all his life.
He did not have the advantage of
the fair sex to pull them under dra-
perry out of sight of those mischiev-
ously inclined to poke fun at the
expense of the enormous pedestals,
and bore the scrutiny with ill-co
cealed feeling, and the trite saying
was oft quoted, "his feathers fall
when he looks at his feetr Even
with this drawback, if the common
courtesies of life were showed him,
even by married female, he took
it for granted she preferred him
above all others, and commenced to
annoy her with his attentions, so
great was his over-weening vanity.
They were my friends, and I felt
deeply interested in their welfare,
for had spent many lonely hours
in these wild hills with them, study
| ing their peculiarities and held their
future much at heart. Yet, con
fess 1 saw nothing to condemn,
save in the conduct of my male
friends, and even In them thought
a little advice, that they "might see
themselves as others saw them"
would restore the equilibrium of
the public mind, and hush up the
flow of gossip, that | felt if contin-
ued, would lead to bad consequen-
ces. Mr.. p. F. neglected his wife,
and was little too prodigal with
his smiles and bows to other fe-
males, TO escape the eye of Mrs.
Grundy, ever on the qus ViVs for
these little misdemeanors and to ex-
aggerate them ten-fold to her will
ing listeners and this was her
greatest fault.
1 do not think that Mr.. p. F.
intended any wrong toward his
mate; it was merely carelessness in
passing her by Co escort his pre- tty
neIghbor, Mrs. H., to the fountain
or to the park, for he was vain and
thoughtless of the consequences to
others, and perhaps Indifferent to
the worlds opinion. Mrs. H. was
| elegant and lady like in her deport-
ment and gave him the courtesy
that good breeding demanded, and
withal had an ear for music and Mr..
P. F. INDUCED his voice often, as
our whole neighborhood can testify,
and this may have been the charm
of his society to Mrs. H. In the
mean time Mrs. P. F. had been |
served with the tittle-tattle of the |
neighborhood, and listening faith
fully without rebuke to those whom
the devil had elected to
"Convey a libel by frown,
And wink a reputation down."
had given Mrs. H. the go by, and
they were no longer friends. This
gave me pain, and I particularly de-
sired the good feeling and socia-
bility that is so essential in neigh
borhood for comfort, to continue.
Alas! I thought my position and
superior Judgment would authorize
me in speaking apart to my young
friends, as thankless and disagreea-
bic as the task might prove, and
that it was my duty to do so. Just
as l had made up my mind to the
ordeal, there was added pair of
little ones to the family of Mr.. p.
F. thought this most fortunate.
The new cares and fatherly pride in
the young ones would give release
from home monotony; and as it was
the binding duty of every father to
help the over-taxed and weakly
wife in rearing and training the
young, that he would not brave pub
lie opinion in shrinking it, even if
disagreeable, in seeking more con-
genial society than the complaints
of feeble, worried wife, and crying ,
young ones. Alas, for my hopes!
Excuse me, am depressing. This
is not lecture upon the wrongs of
woman, but talk upon the bane of
SANDER and its evil consequences,
and we should be as careful in de-
failing it as we would in mixing ,
in the food we place be-
fore our friends.
''He who steals my purse, steals trash;
But he who flches from me my good name,
Takes what doth not enrich him,
And leaves me poor indeed"
Things had got by this time into
a wonderful stew, and neighbors t
neglected their duties at home, and {
went from house to house to discuss
the all-absorbing topic and each G
day it grew in size and more alarm i
ing, as honesty and honor were for l
gotten or ignored in the wild ex- l
element to be in at the death of e
the victims. There were noisy, C
reckless takers, that made one sick y
TO hear them talkl There were 9TH {
ers with the cynical, tolerant look, n
slightly elevated eyebrow, and toss d
Of the head, that said palmer than &
LknOsO more than all, and thus v
oy insinuating looks, and few Inu- :
sndoes slime over their victims, and
.he ruin of those not strong enough
20 battle with the clatter-waves, is
accom- plished. Mr.. II. had been
absent from home week. never
thought him so popular as Mr..
P. +. He was boisterous and
lid not care for home ties.
de was too fond of gadding
around, and it was rare that any
,ne could get at where he had been fe
md into what society he made him 81
self familiar. OF these things he -
vas ever reticent and one was al o,
most ohliOad to forgive him when | =.