Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 June 1874 — THE BOARD FENCE. [ARTICLE]

THE BOARD FENCE.

BY RUTH CHESTERFIELD.

“Shoo, shoo, get home, you plaguy critters!” cried Mr. Babcock, waving his arms as he chased a dozen sheep and lambs through a gap in the fence. It was awdoden fence,, and when he id succeeded in driving the animals tiie other side of it, he lifted it from its reclining position and propped it up with stokes. This was an operation -he had found himself obliged to repeat many times in the course of the season, and not only of that season, but of several previous seasons. Yet Mr. Babcock was neither slack nor thriftless; in fact he rather prided himself on the orderly appearance of his farm, andjnot without reason. How then shall we account for his negligence in this particular instance? The truth was that this fence formed the boundaty line between his estate and that, of Mr. Small ; and three generations of men who owned these estates had been unable to decide to whom it belonged to rebuild and keep it in repair. If the owners had chanced to be men of peaceable dispositions, they had compromised the matter and avoided a quarrel; but if, on the contrary, they belonged to that much larger class who would sooner sacrifice their own comfort and convenience than their so-called rights, this fence had been a source of unending bickerings and strife. And of this class were the present owners. Again and again they had consulted their respective lawyers on the subject and dragged from their hidingplaces musty old deeds and records, but always with the same result, “ I say it belongs to you to keep it in repair; that’s as plain as a pike-staff,” Mr. Babcock would say. “ And I say it belongs to you— any fool might see that," Mr. Small would reply, and then high words would follow, and they would part in anger, more determined and obstinate than before. The lawyers’ fees and the loss by damages from each other’s cattle had already amounted to a sum sufficient to have built a fence round their entire estates, but wliat was that compared to the satisfaction of having their own way? There were not wanting in the neigh-, borliood peace makers who would gladly have settled the affair by arbitration; but to this neither of the belligerents would listen for a moment. At'’last, one day, Miss Letitta Gill, a woman much respected in the village, and of some weight ns a land-owner and taVpayer, sent for Mr. Babcock to come and see. her on business; a summons whiOh he made hnste to obey, as how could ho do otherwise whero a lady Was concerned? Miss Letitia sat at her window sewing up a seam, but she dropped her work and took off, her spectacles when Mr. Babcock made his appearance. got my message;thank you for coming, t'jn suce. Sit down, do. I suppose my man Isaac told you I wanted to consult you on a matter of business — a matter of equity, I may say. It can’t be expected that we women folks should be the . best judges about sucht things, you know; there’s Isaac, to be sure, but then he lives on the place, and maybe he wouldn't be exactly impartial in his judgment about our affairs.” “ J’es’ aQj’.’ saiU Mr. Babcock. “WclClhe State of the case is this: When Isaac came up from the long_ meadow io dinner—they’re mowing the meadow to-day, and an uncommonly good yield, there is—when he came up to dinner, he found that certain stray cows had, broken into the vegetable garden." ( ‘He aid, hey?” “ You can saucy the riot they made. I declare, was almost ready to use profane didn’t say ‘ deuce,’ and I’m certain he did say ylapn;’ and, jifter f alh. I, couldn’t feel to |im Vtery 'severely, for the painsle has tlkeA wfch t jat garden is something imazmft woritingfa it, Ms. Babcock, early and late, weeding and digging and watering; and .now ip-see IV all torn and trampled eo thhC ysu wouldn’t know which was beets and which was cucumbers, it’s enough to rouse anybody's temper. * * V “ It is so,” said Mr. Babcock. “ And alh ft* by the looks of things fhey niust have' been rampaging a full Jjpur stt the orchard and clover-field before they got into the garden. Just you come and seeand putting on her sun-tamaot •’Kiss Letitia- showed Mr. Babcock eyer the damaged precinct ,r----“Yovf donT happen to know’whose animalq.dto the mischief?" .sajd Mr. Babcocks (| ;.’ : \ . ; j ' • “ Wellri didn’t observe tlietn in particular fisyself, b«t Isaac said there was one witlf*a peculiar white mark, something like-a cross, on her haunch.” “ KhYj jhst’e Small’s old Brindle," cried Mr. Babcock, U 1 know the mark as wall: W-I know the nose on my face. She JmmA balls onJwr boras, didn’t she ?" “ Man so. Isaac said.” “ And a kind of hump on her back?” “ A perfect dromedary,” said Min Letitfft; >4 netteefl that myself." “ THWjr wei% -fimaH’r cows—nb doubt about it at alV’ eaid Mr Babcock, rubbing hia hands., “No sheep with them, “ now I think of it, there were sheep—they ran away as soon as they saw Isaac, Yes, certainly there were sheep.” skid Min Letitia. “ lihfswlt—they always go with the cowsfaifd what you wish *linn"—— “Is so fix the damages,” said Mist

Letitia. “As I said before, women folks are no judges about such matters.” Mr. Babcock meditated a moment, and then said: “ Well, I wouldn’t take a cent less than seventy-five dollars, if I were you—not a cent.” “ Seventy-five dollars! Isn’t that a food deal, Mr. Babcock? You know I on’t wish to be hard on the poor man; all I want is a fair compensation for the mischief done.” “ Seventy-five dollars is fair, ma’am—in fact, I may say it’s low; I wouldn’t have a herd of cattle and sheep tramping through Miy premises in that way for a hundred.” “ There’s one thing I forgot to state — the orchard gate was open or they couldn’t have got in; that may make a difference." “ Not a bit —not a bit. You’d a right to have your gate open, but Small’s cows had no right to run loose. I hope Isaac drove ’em all to pound, didn’t he?” “ I heard him say he’d shut ’em up somewhere, and didn’t mean to let ’em out till the owner calls for ’em. But, Mr. Babcock, what if he should refuse to pay the damages? I should hate to go to law about it.” “Be won’t refuse; if he does, keep the critters till he will pay. As to law, I guess lie’s had about enough of that.” “ I’m sure I thank you for your advice,” said Miss Letitia, “and I mean to act upon it to the very letter.” And Mr. Babcock took his leave with a very happy expression of countenance. Scarcely was he out of sight when Miss Letitia sent a summons for Mr. Small, which he obeyed as promptly as_ his neighbor had done." She made to him precisely the same statement she had made to Mr. Babcock, showed him the injured property, and asked him to fix damages. It was remarkable that before he did this he should ask the same question Mr. Babcock had asked, namely, whether she had any suspicion to whom the animals belonged. “Well, one of them I observed had a terribly crooked liorn.” “ Precisely—it’s Babcock’s heifer. I should know her among a thousand. She was black and white, wasn’t she?” “ Well, now I think of it, she was; one seldonypes so clear a black and white on a <tftw.” “To be sure; they’re Babcbck’s animals fast enough. Well, let me see—what you want is just about a fair estimate,' I suppose?” * - “ Certainly.” “ Well, I should say ninety dollars was as low as he ought to be allowed to get off with.” ,1 “ Oh, but I fear that will seem as if I meant to take advantage. Suppose we call it—say seventy-five?” - “ Just as you please, of course; but hanged if I'd let him off for less than a hundred, 11 'tw»» my case.” “ And if he refuses to pay?” ’ “ Why, keep his animals till he comes round, that’s all.” “But thete’s one thing I neglected to mention—our gate was standing open; that may alter the case.” “Not at all—there’s no law against your keeping your gate open; there is against stray animals.” “Very well—thank you for your advice,” said Miss Letitia; and Mr. Small departed with as smiling a countenance as Mr. Babcock had worn. But at milking time that night he made a strange discovery; old Brindle was missing! At about the same hour Mr. Babcoek made a similar discovery; the black and white heifef was nowhere to be found! A horrible suspicion seized them both —a suspicion which they would not hare made known to each other for the world. They waited till it was dark, and then Mr. Babcock stole round to MissLctitia’s, and meekly asked leave to look at the animals which had committed the trespass. He would have done it without asking leave only that thrifty Miss Letitia always locked her barn doors at night. While lie stood looking over into the pen where the cows were confined, and trying to negotiate with Miss Letitia for the release of the heifer, along caihc Mr. Small, in quest of Brindle. The two men stared at each other for an instant in blank dismay, then hung their heads in confusion. It was useless to assert that the damages were too high, for had they not fixed them themselves? It was useless to plead that Miss Letitia was in a manner responsible for what had happened, on account of the open gate, for had they not assured her that circumstance did not affect the case? It was useless to’ say that she had no right to keep the cows in custody, for had they not counseled her to do so? As to going to law about it, would they not thus become the sport of the whole town? “‘.He that diggetli a pit, lie himself shall fall into it,’ ” said Miss Letitia, who read wliat was passing in their minds as well as if they had spoken, for the light of Isaac’s lantern fell full on their faces. “ However, I don’t wish to be hard upon you, and on one condition I will free the cows and fqrgivc you the debt.” “ What is that?” Both looked the question, but did not ask it. “ The condition is that you promise to put a good new fence in place of the old one that separates your estates, dividing the cost between you, and that henceforth you will live peaceably together as far as in you lies. Do you promise ?” “Yes,” muttered both, in a voice scarcely audible. “ Shake hands upon it, then,” said Miss Letitia. ———. " They did so. • ' “ Now let the cows out, Isaac; it’s time They were milked,” said she. And the two ihen went away driving their animals before them, with a shame-faced air greatly in contrast to the look of triumph with which they had last quitted her presence. The fence was built, and the strife ceased when the cause was removed, but it was long-before Miss Letitia’s part in the affair came to the public ear; for she herself maintained a strict silence concerning it, and enjoined the same upon her man-servant Isaac.— Youth’s Companion. , —For the fiscal year ending Jane 80, 1872, there were brewfed and sold in the States and Territories 8,009,*69 gallons of fermented liquors, and daring tkSflollow ing year 8,910,823 gallons. In 1873 there were 8,554 breweries in the United,States, against 3,421 the previous year. Of these Pennsylvania haa 500, New York 4,811, Ohio 296, Wisconsin 290, and Massachusetts 49. —This year's maple-sugar yield in YermonUyejUmated at 15,000,000 pounds, « ' >. . A '