Miscellany

' He sliall do il !' ' But he says lio won'i.' ' I'll show lum a trfcK worlli twoof that - see if I don'í !' 'I tuld him just wlial yon sniíl, and he rejilied quite engrlly, that lie would do no such thing. Tlinl il' you expectrd to get anything of lu'm by that kind of lluslerng, you was mistaken.' 'Did he say thaí V 'Yes he did.' ' Very well '. P1I show him that Iie's mistaken his man. 1 r.cver did allow nny one to do just as lie pleased wiiii me, and never wil}. Riglit ís í-igíit, and I'll stand up to it while l've breath in my b .dy. - I'll spend the last dollor l've got, be Ib re I'll suíTer a man like hm to do n e nn injury and then insult me when I ask for repnration. ' ' He says therc are t'.vo sidos to this question.' 'Indeed! So there aris. A right side nnda wrong side. And before be's dono wi:h the matter, lie'll find out wlio stands on the wrong side; and that to his cost. Talk to me about bluter - indeed '. I'll show him something like bluster before we've done.' And thus Mr. Absalorn Pendergast fumcd awny because a pair of oxen belonging lo h!s n&ighbor, Tho. Peters, had broken into his cornfield, just as the green blndes were n foot high, and spent the nighl there, doing no small injury to ihe young erop. Most men would say that he had cause for loss of temper, especiallv as l'eters very coolly refused to pay the damages assessed by Pendergast. But let us define clearly the position of the belligerentá. Tiie fence around Mr. Pendergosl's field, was certainly not in the very be.-t condition in the world ; and as s-'on as Peters learned ihat liis oxen had been making HepreJations on his neighbor's young corn, he at once assumed that they must have'entered through some broker pan nel. Still he feit grieved at wliat had happcnod, and was abuut starting to see his neighbm, when ho was surpriscd by the reception of t bilí &fier tilia tenor : - ' Thomas Pelers, to A. Pendenjast Dr. For damages done by oxen in corn-field, SlO.' 'Mr. Pendergast cannot, certainly, be in earnest in sending me bilí,' ihe ' surprised farmer said liis ■ messewgor ! nho bronght il. Yes sir, be is in rarnest.' 'Vcry wcll ; do you tclf Mr. I gast for me, that 1 am very much astonishcd n; his even dreaming I would pay such a bilí. Tell hm, that I sny iL he wishes lo grow corn, lie must keep good fences.' The deparled, and gave the reply of Peters, in even a warmer and more oflensivc manner tlinn it was uttered. Of course, Pendcrgast fired up at tliis insulting Iangnage, and sent bacli Ilie bil! witli a thrent of consequences f the oflending neiglibor did t:ot nimcdia!elv come to terms. Peters had grown no cooler by refiéftion. The more he thought aboiit ihcdemand that had teen made upon liini, the inore t frt'itoi Hm. Uhen the bilí carnea second time, ith some sharp words nnd ihrenis, tlmt liad grcnvii sharper since they left the Ups of Pendergast, he was nngry and made ha efibits lo conceal what he fo!t. BftfoM the day had passed, Thomas Peters had a summons lo nppear befure ! a mngistrate in a neighboring villagp, to nnswer to a suit for trespass brought : gninst him by Pendergist. The trial i was fixfd for that day one week. As soon as llie matter became noised ! about, the friemis of the two antagonists ' ere much surprised, and thcre was a good deal of ta!k, and no small interest feit on the subject. Those to whom Prndergast t.ilked, snid he was right in rrquiring Ii is neig-hbor to pay damnges ; and thote wiih whom Peters talked, said ' he was right n no', paying tliem. Somd who thus took sides were ín eaniest.while othere, of [lie aU-lhí ug.s-to-.-ill-men cía, favorecí llie sida of one or tho other, a? t'.ey happenej tobe with either thc plairtüFor dei'endent, and Tatiiied wi'h a doub 'o breath ihe aalagoni.jt fires. Bul al! did hot do this ; ilierè was one excpplion in Mr. Gondycaí-, a good and failliful ::inii inevery iliit.'g ihat pertained to lu'm. Assoon as Re heard what had oc curreJ, llie first dfsiro he fe!t was to ! reconcüe ma:ters. Ue went to Mr. Pendergnst and erquíred the cause of Ins extreme proceeding oyainst his nciglibor. ítisa plain case,' was the reply.- 'Misoxen broke into my fi ]J and destroycd my corn, and he refuses to pny the dftmnge. What afo I lodo? He Mas' cJestroj ed my properly apd wil] not pny ' Cor it. Mast I caimly pocket the loss? : No - Abs-filoni Pendergast is not someek a manos that. He never alloivsany; jone to ride rough shod over hiin in that' kind of fa-ihiun.' ' Did you represent the matter to bím I íaWy, Mr. Pendergast? I have nevef found Mr. Peíers a very Bni"asonab!e man.' 'I have sent .ni a bilí for the damage don.' ' j'efore ?ecing him V 'Ceriainly. I had no wisfi lo sce him about ihc matter. 1 fe!t loo much provnkrd at 1) ís alloiving n pair of ui ruly oxen tn foragenbout at night. He ouIit lo hnve known tiiey would do djimare somewhere.' 'Peilu-ip.s l:e did not know th"_v were out.' 'fleouglit to have known it lhen. !f be should'nt, how should I V 'I Ihink it would hnve been much better fyou had see-i Ptlers beforc you commenc6d a suii. I nmsure he would have done what was right.' 'Nothe.' . ' Ilas'nt he always borne tho character ! of an upriglit man ? Such I have nlvvays found him.' 'You never fcnow a man uniil you ; Iry am! provo him. 1 understand Pelers, '■ now, vcry weB, and he wit! understancl me, loo, I am thinking, lefore we nre done witb each other. 1 shoiild'nt havo : cnlled in the lnw to aid in settling this matter, f he had'nt sent me an insultng message, as well as refuse to pa ihe bill.' 'And you are determined to go on ith the matter V 'Cerlainly; I nm not a man to ook back and hesita te aíW I have once taken rny course. 1 1 is oxen destroyed my corn ntid he refused to pay ihe damago. Is'nt Hm a plain case ' ] think il is.' ' 1 am sui-e i; would l)e Letter if you would see Thomas Peters, and talk over the case witli imbefore goingany furIher.' ' And get insulted for my pains. No, no ; I liave too mucli respect for myse!f to iltj the risk of an insult to rny face, from n man who sends mo an insulting reily lo a just demaiid.' Finding lie couk' do nolhing witli Pcnderg-ist, Mr. Ooodyoar dflled upon Mr. Peters. He iound himquilens much nccnsed as ïhe other, and ailcdging ihat lie was peifectly wp]I salisfied tliat Pondergast's oio' licfteiy fence must Iinvc been broken down, or Iris o.xen would nover hnve inadelheir way iiito llie corn-field. He had never known them to break into ;my iuclosuro, and did not bel leve thev had in lhis instnnce. As lo their having done ten dollars' worth of dnmnge, that wns preposterous. Ten cenls' woflh of seed corn would rencw the liills, and thal part of the erop would be only two or three Weeks later thnn the othcr, and be fully matured befóte f,ost. As to law, he could hnve that to hi.s heai-t's content. Before he was done, he would find ihat lnw could bo used by one man as wel! as another.' Mr. Gojdyrar remonstr: tcd aga:nst this relaliaiory spirit, hut it was of no use. The couive pursued towards him i:a:l tluown Mr. Pelers into a Violent passion, and he could neither hear nor see reason. I When the trial carne on, the two men f stood confronting e.ieh oiher, scowling i and niJttering. Pendergnst mado n plain statement of his ense, whicli seemod vorv i olear to the magistrale. He had wiinossj es to swear thnt thcy had seen the oxen , of Peter in his corn field, and liad holped to drive tliem out. To this, Petera op. posed the statement, thnt the fences of his j neighbor were shamefüliy out of repair ; I and produced a witness whoswore that in i passing the field of Pendergnst on the day previous to the damage being done, he noticed a mil out of the panne] thro' which the oxen pased. . This was to Mr, Pendeigast unexpected teslimonv, nnd he met it with a linstv de niaj. i 'Then you mean,' snid I he magistrale. with some sternness, ' lo charge the wit, ness wiih perjury.' i 'Oh no- no, not that; but lie must lo ■ , mistaken.' 'But I tmvesworn tlint I snw it,' said the witness, wiih a flushed face and n fum i voice. ' A pair of oxea could not get !n thro' I a fence in w,w.h only one rail was oit,' 1 urged Pcndergast, tun.inj to a magis! trate. 'But to leave a small opening íh n fence is only to induce an animni to make a larger one, epeci;i]lv if within the enclosure tl, ere is anytljing to lempl h's apl'etite. If a maii's fences aro not gooil, whohashe to blnme but lu'mself? If thrre rails are ennugh for a (ei.ee, wliy do we have four nnd sometimos five? Or Wbj do we have ftnees ot all ? a'cl Pete. Ihe magistrate did not see the case so clrar now, by any means. In tact, he feit rather puzzled by il. Tliere has been a trespass ; but who was most to b!ame Por it was hard to te}]. If Iwo or '.hree raih had been out of the fence, or iiune at all, the case would have been enough for eïilier the defendant or pjaíntiffi Rut lije one rail puzzled liim. Anox could not get through the fence wï'.h only one rsil out j but f the fence liad been wliole, there woold have beeji no trespass. Pendergast was to blame for not keeping his fence in order, onJ Peters was lo blame for Ittting I,is o.en run loóse. After taking a diy to consjdor about the mtaier, he concluJed to dismiss the can by rcquiring Peters to pay cost ; thus dividing the matter betwepn the (WO litigants- the one sufl'ering the loss of the corn, and the other bearing the cost of proseciuion. Of couse, (his decisión satisfied neither party. Tliere was an appral, and securily given for cost. From kind nnd obliging j npj'gl-.bors, the twa men nnw became bitter enemies, and determined to do each other as much injury as possible. A retaining fee of twestiiy dollars was paid by each, lo secure the services of a lawyer by who.n he was asured that his case Was perfectly clear, and that the court would decide in his favor without a Í ment's hesitaüon. ' Press the matter tfirough witli ihe least possible derlap,' said Pendeïgast to his legal representativa. 'Yournay trust me for tliat,' replied the lawyer 'vith a bland smil'e. 1 Let there be no unnecessary delay ; I wish the case (ried at the first term,' Peters said to his lawy'ér, at.d recoived for repiy that allshould bo'as ho would desii-e. It was ncarly three months before the trir! could come on. But, somehuw or otlier, it was put off for anotli?r term. Why, cliënt could not clearly malse out. Their respective lawyeis stated to !hom the renson plainly enougl), in legal pli rase, bu! the meaniug of what thev said was about as eomprehensible to them as Grcelc. Ono ihing, however, was clearly undersiood ;tli3t was thedamnge of len dollars from eaeh for.cosls tha: had to be paid in order to gct the suit conlir.ueü. Meantime the belligerentssliotfed their teeili at ench other wlienever tliey liappened to meot. It was a year hoíore the case camo ioirly to trial, and then it was thrown out, and cach party requircd to pny h:s own costs, thejudge severely rcpremandng botlr complainant and ttefendont evcrsuflering a matter in which both had a share of bkirno, and which ought to linvc been settled nmicnbly in fivo minutes, to ome into eourt. The cost to ench, inoluding lawycrs' fecs, was just nne hundred dolla s. Th is resul t by no mcnns improved llie state of feeling thnt had for a wliole ypar exiil'ed between llie pnitics-, Mr. Pendorgal had lost halfasmuch nshis vvhole field of corn woii]! yield, and Peters more than hts yoke of oxen was wóith. Boih tvere fretted, atigry, and unhappy, and made their families extremely uncomfortaMe. A brief ralm succeeded to this sirife of passion, and then there was war aain. - ' j Peters commenced a suit ngninst Pender■ [gnat, Ij recover ihe litindrrd dollars costs and feos lie had been eompplled to pay.- On the trial, he proved tlmt the son of Pcndergast, wlio liad been sent by bis falher to bis liouso on nn nn'nnd, after dnrk on tbo same mgh't the oxen destrovJed bis corn, had, in leaving bis p remises, I , left Ihe gnie open, tliroügh which his ox; en had mndetheir way out upon :he public road, and afterwards through Pendergast's broken fence inio his corn field. - jThe witness who proverl tbis wasexplicit in his test imony, nnd no cross queStiorilHg of the defendant's counsel could cbnfbse him, or cause him to wav'er in :he least j frotn his first distmctly given evidence. ' All efforfs to invnlidate this unexpected testimony were in vain. lt had to be ndmitted. Peters gained his causo afíer a feit of disiurbing and unprofitnble litigation.- Dut Pendergast appealnel. Another year J of suspense, disquietude and angry exci'ement succeeded, and the highercourt .afTirmed the decisión. There was no help for PirJerga-it. The hundl-cd dollars had lo be paid, and two hundred dollars of ! !e3s and costs besides. Four liundred dollars spent in the eff rt lo recover ten dollars wns ratlicr a Iserious matler, and so t was feit by the original liiigant. He was mortified, chagrined and angry bevond measure ; and ■unhesiiatingly dedared tht ilie witness wiio had sWorn that hts son liad Isft Peters' ga te open had perjured hjmseíf.- ► This charge carne to the ears of the witnoss, wiio compIanTeJ lo Peters, That individual, irrítated by three years !gI annoyances, and fcelinp, in tlie diminiblied productiver.ess of his farm, the effecfs of a diverted niind, liad no vèry 'kind feelings for the man nho liad occn'sioned him bolh trouble and loss. ' Sue him for defamation,' Mr. Peters siid to the witness. ' ['11 stand by you. - Lay the damnges at five thouiand dolhrs.' This advice was taken. In about a Svcek Pendergnst wns siartled by the appênrènce of the ofllcof with a writ, summoninghimto answer, in a criminal prosecution, Pof defamation of ch.i.-acler. - Thk was a serious matter, and so he feit it to bc. YV'ben he called upon his Bnryer, that gpntlema;i looked grave ; but promised to defend him to lhe utmost of his ability. The loss of the four 1 dred dollars in cosis of suils and d j ges, and a loss of an enual aniount irom neglecting his farm, more or less, for some. years, had made money matters j rather close willi Mr. Pendergist, who j was not what a broker would cali verv siibslnnüal. Ile was hearlily sick o( law, and wished, from the bottomof lu's hearl, that he had not been the foul lie was to get inrolvpd n ts meshes, Yorn which theie now seeroed no hope of exirication. A suit for defamation of cliaracter, th damages laid at five thousand dollars, especially when he was conscious thai there wcre more tliau a dozen persons who could prove tha! he had chargad the witncss with perjury, was no joke. Damages of half the nmoimt, if recovcreJ, would utlerly ruin him. In fa?!, without iciling his ftfrtri, he co.uld not raise ilvc hundrci dollars. But ;ill this fear avaüed not. IIo hnd , excited the enmity of a man vrhosc wrath j was not easily appeased. The suit was ! egularly doeketed Tor trinl, By the aij [ of his lawyer, it was deferred for orie or two terms; but there was u limit to Uu's. The case at last cume fairly before the court ; wilness nfter witness was examined ; and llie cvidencc1 produced clear and unequivocal. It was cleay that Pendergnsi would be found guïïly. The tri-ar bad oceupied two days, and l!ie prosecutïng attorney and defendant'. coutis&t had nearly b-rouht their war of words to a co-nclusion. 'f Iw court then oHjourncd the cnse over until the iio.t rnorning, wlien the counsel of Mr. Ptndergast was tó inake ono more eflbrt in his behalf, and tlicn the case would go to jury. i woi-c nnxious dnvs tlio unhappy mnn who had conjure.í (lp all this trouble for liimself h'ad never before spent. Wlion night carne, lie returned. homp, deeply dcpresscd in spirit, and mostsadly regretling his own folly in placing hitnseli ín such a desperate condilion. Te;i awaited him ; and soon nfler he carne in, he sat down to the tab!e witli his wife and liis four youngchiklren, for vlio-;e liappiness lie was devoting, choerfully, lhe best eflorts of his life. Their home was a plensant one, and in it and .1 round il wero gathered many comforts, the reward of ears of patiënt labor. Ilere llie firsl sweet moons of his happy wedded life had -been spent ; here his children bod been born ; nnd ihis pot, he had fundly believed, wuuld be to thenr ei-en in manhoud, tho hornestead to which their cys and lioarts would turn. Alus f now tliere liung iipon only a stander thread t'ic chance of its remaining in his pnssession. Me looked around upon the brighl yoving facos tbat circ'ed liis wcll Sllei board, hnppily unconscious of the danger with wbiclithey were threalenec', and his hcart tank within liim. He looked into the iroubled countenance of his wifo, and his eycs filled with tears. A few mouthfuls of food were eaten mereiy for appearance' sake ; but it pfláeed along his palote without leavinga sign of iis peculiar flavor. Never in Ma life had he feit so vvretched. Now, clar as if lit by a sunbeam wns his own folly apparent to his mind. The imperative demand which he had made upon his neighbor for damages, he nw nnd lelt was an unjust derriand, tot he and his were far more to blame for the loss of his corn, trifling in reality, than Pelers had been. So mucli for has'e and passion ! but consciousness uf error carne too late. He had sflpped the foundations of his o,vn welfare, and now lhe niins were about to fall upon his own head. ('Continued next week.)