THE TIM BUNKER PAPERS. 77 



tell them. We all thought he had given it up as a bad 

 job. 



But it seems the creature went home, and persuaded his 

 oldest girl to show off on horseback. You see, Tom Wil- 

 cox, the same fellow that took the premium last year on 

 a horse with the heaves, had a young horse that he wanted 

 to sell for a big price. His daughter, Matilda Wilcox, 

 offered to ride, if Tom would get her a new silk dress and 

 a new bonnet with feathers and get Letitia Lawson to 

 ride in company with her. Nobody knew anything about 

 it out of Smithville until all the arrangements were made, 

 and the handbills were out, announcing &quot; a grand female 

 equestrian performance,&quot; to come off at Hookertown on 

 the last day of the fair. 



It made a sensation in these parts, you may depend. 

 Every grog-shop in Smithville was emptied to the dregs, 

 and I guess every gambler and blackleg in the County 

 was on hand to see &quot; Tish Lawson and Till Wilcox have a 

 set-to,&quot; Every negro fiddler and ragamuffin in the neigh 

 borhood was drawn out to see the fun. There was a 

 chance for betting, and a good deal of money changed 

 hands on the occasion. I pitied the poor girls from the 

 bottom of my heart, and I guess if they could hear the 

 coarse, brutal remarks made by the crowd, they would 

 never be caught in such a scrape again. 



&quot; A most scandalyous affair,&quot; said Seth Twiggs, as he 

 stopped into our house next morning, the smoke rolling 

 up in a cloud of excitement. &quot; It beats the Dutch, Esq. 

 Bunker. I wouldn t have my darter make a show of her 

 self so for all outdoors.&quot; 



&quot; The thing is agin natur,&quot; responded Mrs. Bunker. 

 &quot; But it is just what their fathers might expect from their 

 bringing up. They make tomboys of all their girls in 

 Smithville.&quot; 



You see, these girls, and Tom Wilcox s horse, that won 

 the race, are the County talk, and will be for a month. 



