The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1882-06-01
Our Young People
The Board Fence.

Inc Board renee.
"Shoo, shool get home, you
plaguey critterr' cried Mr.. Bah
cock, waving his arms, as he chased
a dozen sheep and lambs through a
gap in the fence.
1t was a wooden fence, and when
he had succeeded in driving the an
finals to the other side of it, he lifted
it from the reclining position and
propped it up with stakes. This
was an operation he found him
self 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 rath-
er prided himself ON the order
ly appearance of his farm, and not
without reason. How then shall
we account for his negligence III
this particular instance.
The truth was that this fence
formed the boundary line between
his estate and that of Mr.. Small,
aud three generations of men who
owned these estates had been una
BILE to decide to whom it belonged
to rebuild and keep it in repair. If
the owners had CHANGED to be men
of peaceful disposition, they would
have compromised the matter and
avoided a quarrel, but if, ON the con
trary, they belonged to that much
larger class who would sooner sac
rife their own comfort and conven-
fence than their so-called rights,
this fence would have been source
of unending pickering and strife.
And of this class were the pres
ent owners. Again and again had
they consulted their respective law
yers on the subject, and dragged
from their hiding places musty ole
deeds and records, but always with
| the same result.
81 say it belongs to you to keeI
it in repair; that is as plain as 6
pIke-staff," Mr.. Babcock would say
defiantly.
'And 1 say it belongs to you
| any fool might see that?" Mr.
Small would reply; and then high
words would follow, and they
would part in anger, more deter
| mined and obstinate than ever.
The lawyers fees and the loss by
damages from each others cattle
had already amounted to sum suf
fcient 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, woman much respected in
the village, and of some weight as
landowner and taxpayer, sent
for Mr.. Babcock to come and sec
her on business; a summon he
made haste to obey, as how could
it be otherwise where a lady was
concerned?
Miss Letitia sat at her window
sewing a seam, but she dropped hel
work and took off her spectacles
when Mr.. Babcock made his ap
pearance.
$50 you got my message; thank
you for coming, I'm sure. Sit
down, do. l suppose my man
Isaac, told you l wanted to consult
you on business-a matter of equi
ty, may say. 1t can't be expec-
ted that we woman folks should
be the best judges about such
things, you know; there's Isaac, tc
be sure, but then he lives on the
place; maybe he wouldn't be ex-
actly impartial in his judgment
about our affairs
"Jes' So" said Mr.. Babcock.
swell, the state of the case is
this: When Isaac came up from
the long meadow to dinner-theyr 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, hey2'
"You can fancy the riot made. i
declare, Isaac was almost ready to
use profane language. 1 am sure
that he didn't; and, after all,
couldn't feel to reproach him very
severely, for the pains that he has
taken with that garden is some
thing amazing; he's worked in it,
Mr.. Babcock, early and late, weed
ing, and digging, and watering, and
now to see it all torn and trampled
so that you wouldn't know which
was beets and which was cucumbers.
It's enough to raise anybody's
temper"
at is so," said Mr.. Babcock.
'And that amt all, for by the
looks of things, they must have
been rampaging in the orchard
and clover-feld before they good in
to the garden. just you come and
see;'' and putting on her sun bon
net, Miss Letitia showed Mr.. Bah
cock over the damaged precincts.
"You don't happen to know
whose animals did the mischief"
said Mr. Babcock.
"Well, 1 didn observe them in
particular myself, but Isaac said
there was one with peculiar white
mark, something like a cross, on its
haunch."
"Why, that's Small's old brindle,"
cried Mr.. Babcock. 81 know the
mark as well as / know the nose on
my face. She had balls on her
horns, didn't she, Miss Gillf"
''Yes; so Isaac said"
"And a kind of hump on her
back?"
"a perfect dromedary," said
Miss Letitia. 81 noticed that my
SELF
They are Small's cows, no doubt
of it at al" said Mr.. Babcock, rub
bling his hands. mo sheep with
them, heyY"
GsXVall now I think of IT thare