The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1882-09-01
JIMMY BROWN TELLS AN "OLD
OLD STORY.1


robbelles IN toSn, and everybody has |
been almost afraid to 60 to bed.
The robbers broke IN Doctor Smiths
house one night. Dr. Smith is one OF
those doctors that don't give any medi-
cine except cold water, and he heard the
robbers aud came down stairs in his
nightgown, with big umbrella in his
hand, and said If you DON'T leave this
minute I'll shoot you" Aud the rob
bers they said Ohol that umbrella isn't
loadedl" /" and they took him and tied his
hands and feet, and put mustard plas-
ter over his mouth, so that be couldn't
yell, aud then they filed the wash tub
with water and made him sit down in it,
and told him that now he'd know how 1t
was himself, and went away andleft him,
and he nearly froze to death before morn
ing.
Father wasn't bit afraid Of the rob-
bers, but he said he'd FIX something so
that he would wake up il they got in the
house. So he put coal shuttle full of
coal about half way up the stairs. aud
tied string across the upper hall just
az the head OF the stairs He said that
if q robber tried to come up stairs he'd
upset the coal shuttle, and make tire.
mendous noise, and that if lie did not
happen to upset 1t, he would certainly
fall over the string atthe top Of the stairs.
He told us that If we heard the coal shut
tie go off in the night. Sue and mother
and we're to open the windows and
scream, while he got up and shot the
robher
The first night, after father had fixed
everything nicely for the robbers, he
went to bed, and then mother told him
she had forgotten to lock the back door.
So father he said Why can't women
sometimes remember something. And
lie got up and started to go down stairs
in the dark. He forgot all about the
string, and fell over it with an awful
crash, and then began to fall down the
stairs. When be got half way down be
met the coal shuttle, and that went dowr
} the rest of the way with him, aud you
never in your life heard anything like
, the noise the two of them made. We
opened our windows and cried murder,
aud fire and thieves, aud some men tha
! were going by rushed 10 aud picked III
} father, and would have taken him off K
Jail, he was that dreadfully black, il
hadn't told them who he was.
But this was not the awful time TIM
mentioned when began to write, ant
if I don't begin to tell you about il,
sha'n't have any room left on my paper
Mother gave dinner party last Thurs
day. There were ten indies aud twelyt
gentlemen, and one Of them was tha
dreadful Mr.. Martin with the cork leg
and other improvements, as Mr., 'rraveri
calls them. Mother told me not to le
her see me in the dining room or she't
let me know; and I meant to mind, onl,
! / forgot and went into the diningroom
just to look at the table, a few minutei
before dinner.
1 was looking at the raw oysters, whel
Jane-that's the girl that waits on th'
table.-said: "Run, Master Jimmy
J here's your mother coming" Now
4 just diyed under the table, and though
/ I'd stay there for minute or two, u1ti
! mother went out Of The room again.
Ii wasn't only mother that came, bn
! the whole company, and they sat dow
I to dinner without giving me any chanc
4 to get out. l tell you il was dreadfu
I situation. had only room enough +
+ sit still, and nearly every time ! move
/ hit somebody's foot. Once tried b
! turn around, and while was doing it
hit my head against the table SO har
that thought had upset something
and was sure that people would know
was there. But fortunately everybod
thought that somebody else had ioggled
I SO 1 escaped for that time.
1t was awfully tiresome waiting fo
: those people to get through dinner.
! seemed as if they could never e.
enough, and wheu they were not eatin
they we're all talking at once. 1t taugi
a lesson against gluttony, apd nobod
will ever fnd me sitting for hours at til
dinner table. Finally made up m
= mind that ! must havesome amusemen
and as Mr. Martins cork leg was clos
!. ! by me, / thought would have some fn
1, with that.
= : There was big darning needle in m
: pocket, that kept there in case | shoul
= want to use it for anything. ! Iha7pene
to think that Mr. Martin couldn't fe'
I anything that wasdcne to his cork LEI
s. and that it would be great fun to driN
a