The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1880-06-25
THE BOARD FENCE.

Shoe. shoe, get home, you plaguy
critters" cried Mr.. Babcock, waving
his arms, as he chased the dozen sheep
and lambs through a gap in the fence.
1t was wooden fence, and when he
had succeeded in driving the animals to
the other side of it, he lifted it from its
reclining position and propped it up
with stakes. This was an operation he
had found himself obliged to repeae
many times in the course of the season,
and not only for that season, but of sew
eral previous seasons.
Yet Mr.. Babcock was neither slack
nor thriftless; in fact, he rather prided
himself on the ordinary appearance of
his farm, and not without reason. How
then shall we account for his negli-
gence in this particular instanceP
The truth was that this fence formed
the boundary line between his estate
and that of Mr.. Small; and three gen
erations of men who owned these es-
tates had been unable to decide to whom
it belonged to rebuild and keep it in re-
pair. If the owners had chanced to be
men of peaceful dispositions, they
would have compromised the matter,
and avoided quarrel; but if, on the
contrary. they belonged to that much
larger class who would sooner sacrifice
their own comfort and convenience than
their so-called rights. this fence would
have been source of unending bicker-
ings and strife.
And of this class were the present
owners. Again and again had they
consulted their respective lawyers on
the subject, and dragged from their hid
ing-places musty old deeds and records,
but always with the same result.
" l say it belongs to you to keep it in
repair; that's as plain as a pikc-stafi,"
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 fol-
low, and they would part in anger, more
determined and obstinate than ever, and
lawyers fees and loss by damage from
each others cattle had already amounted
to sum sufficient to have built fence
around their entire estates, but what
was that compared to the satisfaction of
having their own way.
At last, one day Miss Letitia Gill, a
woman much respected in the village,
and of some weight as landowner and
taxpayer, sent for Mr.. Babcock to come
and see her on business; summons
which he made haste to obey. as how
could it be otherwise where lady was
concernedp
Miss Letitia sat at her window sewing
seam, but she dropped her work and
took off her spectacles when Mr.. Bab-
cock made his appearance.
So 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 business-a
matter of equity, Lmay say. 1t 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; 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 uncommonly
good yield there is-when he came up
TO dinner he found that stray cows had
broken into the vegetable garden"
He did, heyf"
You can fancy the riot made. de-
clare Isaac was almost ready to use pro-
fame language. j am not sure that he
didn't; 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 watering, and now to
see it all torn and trsmpled so that you
wouldn't know which was beets and
which was cucumbers. It's enough to
raise nybody's temper."A ff-t i'.
1t is so," said Mr.. Babcock.
''And that isn't all, for by the looks of
things they must have been rampaging
in the orchard and clover field before
they got into the garden. Just you
come and see," and putting on her sun
bonnet, Miss Letitia showed Mr.. Bab-
cock over the damaged precincts.
"You don't happen to know whose
animals did the mischiefP said Mr..
Babcock.
"Well, l didn't observe them in par
ticular myself, but Isaac said there was
one with peculiar white mark, some
thing like cross, on its haunch."
"Why, that's Small's old brindle."
cried Mr.. Babcock. 81 know the
mark as well as l know the nose on my
face. She had balls on her horns, didn't
sheP"
Yes, so Isasc said"
i"And kind Of hump on her backP"
"A pertcdt tdrpmedary, )" said Biiss
Letitia; 81 noticed that myself"
"They were Small's cows, no doubt
Gi it at ALL" said Mr.. Babcock, rub
bing his hands. No sneep with them,
heyp"