The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1897-06-11
same smart silence.

took his text one pleasant summer day
as we driv along the old Federal road on
our way to town. And from that text
he went on and preached forth SER
mont on the human mouth, the like of
which l have never since heard from
mortal mans lips.
''The world always will have some
right serious doubts, Rufus, in regards
to the man which has been afflicted
with a rale bad case of brealxin out at
the mouth. If you want people to
stop and listen at what you have got to
say you viii have to take your time
and pick your chances and say it right
quick. The world is busy and the
people are busy-too almighty busy
to stop and set down and listen
to a man if he lets his tongue
slip the bride and makes his mouth
common property.
''Now 1 recollect as fresh and clear as
if it was but only yesterday how l
pulled Sim Peevy through the cam
paign in his first race for county judge.
To tell the living gospel truth, Rufus,
Sim Peevy was only fair to middlin
when it come to brains. Well, he had
common sense enough to keep the
office straight and do what was right,
and that was all satisfactual with me.
You understand, in the mainline, me
and Sims father, old man Flem Peevy,
had come out here together in the first
settlement of the country. We had
made our clearins and built our cab
bins and fit the wild Indians and killed
bear together. And then in the years
to come when his son Sim had crowd up
to be man and took up the notion that
he mought as well to run for county
judge as not, couldn't do thing but
throw my hand and my heart into the
fight with him. I did finally at last
pull the boy through by the hair of his
head and the skin of his teeth, as it
were, but let me tell you, Rufus, it
took some hard pullin and clost watch
in to do it.
"The mainest great trouble with Sim
Peevy was his mouth. He was ruther
dull at tallxin anyhow, and up to that
time he had maintained a large and
lovely silence, SO to speak. He stood
six feet in his socks, tilted the beam up
at $50 pounds, and was one of the most
likeliest and smartest lookin men in
forty miles around, and it was on them
general grounds that the people took
to him. But he got into the race, and
the next thing knowed somebody had
put the fool notion into his head that
politics meant talkin, and blamed if he
didn't come mighty nigh fallin down
with his basket of eggs on the very
first heat. He went down there to
ratification in Old fuckers Mill Beat,
and thought he would make speech.
That was all. He didn't make no
speech. But he turned his mouth
loose and tried his level blamedest for
three-quarters of an hour. I never did
find out what he said. He didn't know,
and nobody else couldn't tell me. But
anyhow, henceforwards and forever
after that the Peevy cake was all
dough in fuckers Mill Beat.
"The other man in the famous race
for county judge was Dick Mason
which Dick he was as quick and smart
as a streak of creased lightnin. He
could turn more suddent tricks in one
campaign than any livin man ever
saw. Soon as I heard about the orful
bad talkin scrape which Sim Peevy had
got into down at fuckers Mill lowed
that Dick Mason was at the bottom of
it, and it didn't take me but one day
and night to find out for certain that
the Mason side was the very men that
had screamed the loudest and longest
for Peevy to make a speech. Con-
sound 'em, they knowed good and well
if they ever got my man on his feet
before a crowd he would go lame and
bust his jug and spill the moIasses be-
fore he quit.
$50 the next meetin was helt over
there at Bark Log, and soon as ever the
crowd got together they set up roarin
big yell for Peevy and a speech. But in
the mainline / had saw their trick,
and, dadblame 'em, was there on the
grounds my own individually self to
scotch the game. Before the meetin
opened I had took Sim off down un-
der the hill and learnt him his letters.
"eMix and mingle with the crowd
as free and promiscus as you please,
Simeon says ], but don't do any tall1in
to speak of. You can shake hands with
the voters, and smile upon the women
folks, and kiss the babies, Simeon. my
boy, but let the other side make all the
speeches. Be pleasant with every
body and look as smart as you possibly
can, but don't talk. Simecn-don't talk
''Frcru then On through the campaign
I didn't have q blame thlHs Fg a1 bHt