The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1880-03-24
SHIFTING.
BY HARRIET e. S. CREssY.

Ed. BY HARRIET E. S. CREssY.
"I must have my pay right off, SO
you may as well stir around and get It,
or tRereH be fussl" said the naughty
Mr.. Starb1ck to poor man who owed
him small sum of money.
well, replied the humble fellow,
whom We will call Jack Styles, will
pay you next week without fail. ? eter
tapley Is owing me enough to pay it.,
and he IS coming over to Butcher j ohm
sons next Tuesday with beef critter,
and ne viii then pay me, and viii
hard it over to you"
Mind you do, or you'll be sent up
for month or two" was the reply.
This threat seemed hard and uncaIIed
for, as Jack always paid his debts when
ever he could; but he had been very
unfortunate all through the hard, long
winter, and now needed little time to
pay the debts that had accumulated
He had been very i'll with rheumatism
for q month or two; beside, his wife
and two children had been sick with
fevers, and his doctors bill had amount
ed to more than he had earned; for
when he could work his help had been
needed at home, and work had been
scarce, and it was with difficulty he had
found anything to do when he was able
to do it. Old Starbuck knew all this;
and knew also that Jack was an honest
fellow; but ne always was very hard
with the poor and unfortunate.
Jack took the cruel threat very much
to heart, and fretted himself nearly into
fever for two or three days. What if
Fanley should disappoint him, after all
1t hardly seemed possible he would,
for the butcher had the promise of the
COW for the following Tuesday; but
Fanley lived some eight miles away,
and something might happen that he
would not come with her. Oh, he
hoped there would not; for he had a
great horror of jail, and had never
been threatened like that before.
Thank God, men are not now i'm
prisoned for debt in the State where
JACK then lived; but such was the law
at that time; and many poor man,
though honest, was thrust into prison,
and his family left in want, for the |
reason that he could not pay his debts |
What possible good such law could do !
we have never been able to see, as it /
only filed up the iails, made expense
for the State, and deprived the family |
of the help they needed, beside placing |
the culprit in a condition to earn moth I
ing to relieve himself of the debt for
which he was imprisoned. Perhaps It
h prevented some from running into debt
as much as they otherwise would; in
this respect it might have done some
good.
Well, Tuesday came and Jack kept
good lookout for Faniey and his COW,
hO 10 khn hut 81 !
lave to pass his house. About Ii
O'clock of that forenoon a boy came
running to his house to inform him
that both man and COW were ON the way
thitheF, but the latter had fallen into
the snow, and he was a little afraid she
was dead. Jack sprung and ran with
all his might to the place where the COW
was lying, which was half mile from
his house; and there, to his utter de
spair, the creature was sprawled on the
snow. stone dead - m - r
" What could have been the matter
with herw asked Jack greatly excited.
Don't know, Tn sure, less it's she's
worrit to death tramping in the snow"
Jack looked at the bloated animal
and surmised that something more than
fatigue had caused the dissolution. But
a sled and yoke of oxen were procured
and the carcass drawn to Butcher John
son, who, after making g post-mortem
examination, found that the deceased
came TO her death from drepsy, undue
fatigue from tramping in the snow has !!
tenlng the event. Of course he could
not purchase the carcass of a diseased 7
animal, SO 1t was turned over to the
of the field.
Honloxr - L. L. e. L
was poor man, and Jack, who was told
~ tanley that he could not pay him at :
present, was frantic. y
To Jail, then, I must 60" he tear.
fully exclaimed. "There is no use in :
trying to put off old Starbuck any
longer. I would not dare face him with !, :
the old promise in my mouth; no, to :
jail must CO."
4, That atafternoon he went to see Starbuck, :
who said to him, as soon as he saw him, !
You've come, then, to pay me the i
money!"
Jack hung a;s head and meekly re- g
pied, Nc, Ms. StarLaoA, 6ne cow died" =
=. None s.C,L y yonr stories; if you have y
loS soS che money you viii have home y
9yer there q little Rhile,'' he said, point "a
ng to the jail. aH q
1 could not get it" D
;, Nuh ced, then; here, walk over to NJ
sheriff Patton's with me, taking the te
.long. '--- waning -- - -
Starbuck, who was hard drinker. of
vas pretty drunk, and he went alone al ne
"a uneyen gait, still hold of Jacks col.
ar. Meeting the Sheriff after poino
hort distance, he handed Jack over ~ Ia
Iim and returned home. y ua la