The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1885-09-03
From Good Cheer.
What One Girl Did.

EGHE'S the funniest girl, my sis
~ ter Florry is the very funni-
SIS est girl l every saw.
eco That is, l don't mean to say
she wears boomers, or cuts her
hair off, and breaches and anything
like that, but-she's queer, that's
all I've heard mother groan, time
and again, and say she didn't know
where Florry took it from, being so
odd you know; and always then ia
theirs voice kinds of husks up, aud
he says he wishes there was dozen
such odd girls where there isn't one;
the world would be better for it, he
says.
1 agree with father; almost al
ways do. But if father didn't take
up for her, 1 would, all the same.
For my sister Florry is the best girl
that ever loved, if / do say it.
can prove it all by Canaan, too, if
you'd like to have me. Why, last
" inter
Now, maybe oughtn't to tell this
story. Mother wouldn't like it a
bit if she knew l was going to-.
N.Y. but didn't she take on about
it? She said it was a dreadful
thing to do, and that Florry was
destined to bring disgrace Cd the
whole family name, and ought to
be shut up in a lunatic asylum.
And father, too, for upholding her
in it. And I, myself, because l
said twas jolly. she didn't know
what the world was coming to,
mother didn't, and she just fairly
made herself sick worrying about
what folks would say. And l sup
pose she'd have it over again If she
knew the story was going to be put
in carbohydrates and all. But if
1 spell the family name with
p instead of an N, don't see how
there can be any great harm done,
do you? Who will know it's ours.
You see, Canaan was never any
great of town, that is, mean it
was little place enough, but not
much going on, till Mr.. Cripps
built his big shoe factory. That
made times livelier in more ways
than one. Everybody said, why,
how the place had changed, but
some people thought it wasn't a
very good kind of change. Some
people wished Mr.. Grips had built
his shoe factory somewhere else. l
guess poor old Aunty Tucker wish
ed so when her grandson Dave was
carried home one night drunk,
drunk, do you believe, and all be-
cause of Mr.. Cripp's shoe factory.
And she'd come to live in Canaan
because Dawes father had died a
drunkard, and she didn't want poor
Dave tempted as he had been.
For, you see, there never was a
drop of liquor sold in Canaan, that
any body knew of, anyway, until
Mr.. CTipps built his shoe factory.
That's why some people wished he
had done it.
But it didn't do any good to wish,
of course, after twas done. There
stood the factory, big as life, right
in the middle of the village; and
pretty soon, alongside OF it, stood
something that never'd been seen
before in Canaan-a rum shop.
Of course, that wasn't what the
man called it who opened it. His
name was Mr.. Seavy, and he was a
stranger in Canaan. He called it a
restaurant" and he had a nice
gold lettered sign, which read,
"Seavey's restaurant. Hot meals at
all hours" But there wasn't;
though he did keep cakes and pies
to sell if any body wanted 'em.
That was just for the name of it,
you know; it was a rum shop in
stead of a restaurant that Mr..
Seavy kept, and he had a license to
keep it, too, framed up behind the
door, if anybody wanted to see it.
He showed it to poor old Aunty
Tucker the day she went and beg
ged and begged, crying fit to melt q
stone all the time, that he wouldn't
sell her Dave any more liquor.
Really, my good woman" said
he, "Lhere'd be just as much sense
in asking my neighbor, Mr.. Spicer,
to stop selling sugar"
And maybe he thought so, but l
don't believe it. Anyway, he kept
on and sold the poison stuff, same
as ever, to Dave Tucker and all the
factory bonds, and things went
from bad 60 worse, and by-and by
my sister Florry came nome from q
visit east.
1 never'u forget how her face
looked when I told her about every
thing, and old Aunty Tucker going
to Seavy's saloon. 1t just fairly
blazed white. She couldn't hardly
believe it at first, but it didn't take
her a great while to see for herself.
Then, one day, she put her hands
on my shoulders, and her voice
trembled, and her big, dark eyes
were full of tears.
Jack, DEAR" said she, "some-
thing must be done. We can't see
our own old Canaan blackened so,
aDd cursed"
Something commenced to get
right up in my throat, too. What
makes it, always, / wonder? And
that kind of a stirring warm behind
your eyes7
well, what?' said 1 and Hooked
the other way.
Something" said she. "We'll
see. You'll help, won't you, Jack
what you camp
"Well, 1 guess" said.
So first we went to Squire Pen
nock's girls. and Elder Blacks wife,
and Mrs. DR.. Gardiner, TO see what
they thought about it. But
they didn't any of them feel like
taking hOld,-that twas the mems
place to 60 ahead, and really they
knew little about it, anyway, only
by hearsay. They supposed it was
no more than was done in other
places. And Mrs. DR.. Gardiner
patted Florry's cheek in way I'd
like to dave pulled her ears for.
Pm afraid you're getting to be
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