St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1889-04-20
MY BODYGUARD.

MY BODYGUARD.
0ome Humiliating Incidents Of My
Boyhood DayA
1t fs because / am lar removed from
tnose who knew me when was a boy
tnat have the moral courage to write
tne following details Of something thai
occurred in my youth. should not
care to meet the jeers and gibes OF my
Old friends. who will recall as well as /
DO the huniliating incidents am about
to narcate.
The scene was a rural district in q
Western State, and the affair was the
result OF my first attempt to play the
beau. was sixteen years old at the
time. and the young lady whom l IA
vorcd with my attentions was a year
younger.
There was to be n party at a farm
house in the ncishborhood. to which
my brother Frank and l had been in
vAed. / conceived the idea of putting
uring as a young gentleman. by escort
Ing Miss jamie Sharpe to the party at
Farmer Trufant's.
Miss jamie sat just across the aisle
from me at the little country school,
20 that it was easy enough for me to
make known my desire to her. which /
did by wiping my slate very clean. and
drawing wreath of queer-lOOking
flowers around the edges, with q sup
posed turtle-dove in each corner. In
the center wrote:
miss JANE-Compliments OF the season
from Mister Silas b. Darby TO Miss Jane
Sharpe, dezfring the pleasure OF her society to
the Party tonight. Let me know on the other
side of the slate, when the tcecher is not a-look
Ing"
/ never could spell well, but did
think / knew how to write an invitation
according to the rules of polite society,
and fancied my note to be most elegant
in form.
When slyly slipped the note across
to Miss Jane. she glanced at it, read the
lines, and was at once seized with o
violent and prolonged fit of giggling.
Then she again read the note. peeped
shvly at me over the top of the slate.
her bright blue eyes twinkling merrily.
ducked her head down under the desk.
and giggled again. after which she
leaned halfway across the aisle, and
whispered:
'.Aint you ashamed of yourself. 81
Darby?"
Nevertheless. when the slate came
back to me. there was scrawled on il
these words:
Miss Sharpe accepts OF the Company OF
Mister S:las Darby, vita thanks for the same"
Then Miss Sharpe turned her back
uron me. and again fell to giggling. and
did not glance toward me again that
day.
Now while was not a cOwardly boy,
there was one animal of which was
mortally afraid. and tha. was dog.
never could overcome my fear Of a
savage dog; the bark of one made my
blood run cold, and could not be in
duced to go to house where one was
kept The uglicst little cur could
easily put me to flight. and never
could be made to believe that there |
were dogs which would not bite.
Ten minutes after Miss Jane had sent |
me her note. accepting my company. |
there flashed into my mind the sicken- |
ing recollection that Farmer Trufant |
was the owner Of an ugly. noisy, vic
ious-looking dog. Of which was very
much afraid, although had repeatedly |
been told that this dog was living |
veri6ca;ion OF the old saying that
..barking dogs never bite" Old TObe |
was such an evil-loOking. sullcn animal
that / had no confidence that his ma
ture was peaceablc. and ] could not |
think of encountering him at night |
without a feeling OF horror.
Now my brother Frank was not afraid |
of dogs He was fond of them. and |
had a way of making friends at once
with even savage dogs. II they were
too sullen and vicious to succumb to . |
soft-voiced. coaxing way he had, he
could glare at them, and roar out: Be
gonc," in a way that always put them
to fight had always envied him his
power over dogs, but never SO much as
on the day asked Miss jamie TO &C
company me to the party.
My anxiety grew greater as the day
wore on, and when evening came had
made up my mind to do very humil-
iating thing. Iwould ask Frank to 60
with me as sort of body-guard. keep
ing at a respectful distance. as body
guai ds should 10.
Frank was a good-natured. fun-loving
boy. and he mortified me very much by
bursting into roar of laughter xhen l
made my appeal to him on our way
home from school that night
''Oh, he had to take tho boys along
70 keep the dogs awayr' he shouted.
changing Inc Of an old rhyme to suit
the occasion, and dancing up and down
before Inc in the road.
Then. taking advantage of my neces-
sity. he began making hard terms with
me, insisting on having my handsome
pair OF new skates in return for his old
ones forms that ! agreed to on con-
di:ion that he kept absolutely silent re-
rarding his part in the affair. and did
not desert ne at the critical moment
The truth is, Frank was inordinately
fond OF q JOKE. and / was careful to
eua.l against bis playing one on mo
ais t;rsa But 10 promised - seftle