Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1883-10-27
From the Milwaukee SUM-

want to buy any cabbages?' said
stopped at the door Of the grocery,
dressed in a blue wamus, his breeches
tucked in his boots and an old hat on
his head, with a hole that let out bus
hair through the top. BE had got out
II a democrat wagon, and was holding
the lines hitched to a horse about forty
Years old, that leaned against the hitch
ing post to rest. "Only q shilling
apiece"
ooh, go way" said the grocery man:
II only pay three cents apiece" And
then he looked at the boy and said,
Hello, Hennery, is that you? I have
missed you all the week, and now you
come onto me sudden, disguised as a
granger. What does this all nean?"
at means that l have been the vic
tim Of as vile a conspiracy as ever was
known since Caesar was stabbed and
Mark Antony Grated over his PROSTATE
corpse in the Roman forum, to an audi
ence Of snpes and scene shutters, and
the boy dropping the lines on the side
walk, said, whoa, darn you" to the
horse that was asleep, wiped his boots
on the grass in front Of the store and
came in. and seated himself on the old
half bushel. ''Thcre, this seems like
home again
What's the row? Who has been
playing it on you?' and the grocery
nan smellcd a sharp trade in cabbages.
"Well, I'll tell you. Lately our folks
have been constantly talking Of the in
d~,,enlcnt life Of the farmer, and how
easy II is, and how they would like it if
would learn TO be a farmer. They said
there was nothing like it; and several of
the ncighbors joined in and said l hal
the natural ability to be one of the most
successful farmers in the State. They
nll drew pictures Of the fun it was to
work on n farm, whore you could get
your work done and take your tish-pole
and 90 off and catch fish, or a gun and
goout and Kill game, and how you could
ride horses, and pitch hay, and smell
the sweet perfume, and go to husking
bees and dances, and everything, and
they got me all worked up SO l wanted
TO 90 to work on q farm. Then an old
deacon that belongs to our church, who
runs IA farm about eight miles out of
town. he came on the scene and said he
wanted a boy, and if | would go out and
work for him he would be easy ON me.
1t was all Il pnt-up job on me, just like
they play three card monte on q fresh
stranger. ! was took in. BY gosh, |
have been Il there a week, and here's
what there is left Of me. The only way
| got Il chance to- come to town was to
tell the farmer | could sell cabbages to
YOU for a shilling apiece. I knew you
sold them for fifteen cents and i thoug ht
You would give n shilling. SO the farm
&c. SAID he would pay mo my wages in
cnll,agcs ut a shilling apiece and only
charge me q dollar for the horse and
& to bring them in. SO you only
pay three cents. Here are thirty cab
bagcs which will come to ninety cents.
pay n dollar for the horse, and when |
get back to the farm | owe the farmer
ten cents, besides working a week for
nothing. oh, its all right. 1 don't
kick, but tins ends farming for Henncry.
| know when | have got enough of an
easy life on a farm. | prefer a hard
life. breaking stones on the streets, to an
easy. dreamy life N a farm"
''Thcy did play it on you, didn't
they said the grocery a "But
wasn't the old deacon q good man to
work for?'
Good man nothin'." said the boy, as
began to CRATE it on the inside of his
rough hand. 81 tell you there's q heap
of difference in n deacon in Sunday.
school, telling about sowing wheat and
tarcs, and a deacon out on a farm in q
lurryIng season., when there is hay t,
get III and wheat to harvest, all at tn,
same time. | went out to the farm Sun
day with the deacon and his wife, anO
they coullnt talk too much about til,
nice time we would have. and the fun;
hut the deacon changed more than fort,
degrees III five minutes after we got on
to the ta.r. H. jumped out Of the
wagon and pulled off his coat, ana ,e,
his wife climb out uvcr the wheel. anG
yelled TO the hired girl to bring out til.
milk pail. and told me to fly around an,
unharncss the horse, and throw down :
lot Of hay for all the work animals. an,
then told me to run down to the pastur,
and drive up a lot Of cows. The pastm
was half a mile away. and the COWS W.,
scattered around in the woods, and the
mosquitoes were thick, and I got ali
covered with mud and burrs, and stung
with thistles, and when / got the cattle
near to the house. the old deacon yelled
TO me that / was slower than molasses in
the winter, and then I took n club and
'ried to hurry the COWS, and he yelled
at me to stop hurrying, cause I would
r'tard the flow of milk. BY gosh, 1 was
mad- | asked for a mosquito bar to put
over ME next time l went after the COWS.
and the people all laughed at me, and
when | sat down on the fence to scrape
The mud of my Sunday pants, the dea-
con yelled, Come, come, procrastination
Is the thief of time. You get up and 60
and teed the pigs. He was So mean
that could not help throwing a lurdock
tnr against the side Of the COW he was
milking, and it struck her right in the
hank on the other side from where tn.
deacon was. Well, you'd a dide to see
The COW lump up and blat. All four Of
her feet were of the ground at the same
time. AMI | guess most Of them hit the
ieacon on his Sunday vest, and the rest
Int the milk pail, and the COW back,..
AGAINST the fence and bellered. and the
dtacor WAS Gll covered with milk and