“Flipp”
[...] Norfolk and is Arrested — Comes Home and Has A Round With Some of Our Business Men and Sees a Clerk Disfigured.
November 8, 1889
Mr. Editor: Boarding the beautiful steamer Plymouth on Wednesday morning of last week at 10 o’clock, accompanied by “that wife of mine,” we were soon steaming down the placid stream for the Edenton Fair. After a run of forty minutes we passed the light house and were out upon the glittering bosom of the Albemarle sound, the steamer, held steady by the strong arm of the man at the wheel, Capt. Williams, who has no equal as a commanding officer, glided over the white capped waves with as much grace as the swan. After a steady run of some fifty minutes we entered Edenton Bay, as pretty a sheet of water as can be found in the State.
At last, after an hour and fifty minutes spent most pleasantly on board the steamer we were landed safe at Edenton. We were at once escorted to the Bay View hack and were driven through the streets of that old historic town at a break neck speed up to the Bay View where we were met by that courteous proprietor, John Bonner. After partaking of a first-class dinner we went out to the Fair ground where everybody seemed to be having a good time. Leaving “that wife of mine” in the care of some friends I walked around to the stables to see the stock, there I met Mr. James B. Waters, the man who has few equals as a horse trainer, he told me he was going to pull the strings over “Gypsy Blair” in the next race, I told him at once that I had $50 to loose on her, some man near by took up the bet, so while he bet on another horse I pinned my faith and cash to “Gypsy Blair” and the result was this, I got the $50. The owner of the trotter, Mr. L. L. Newberry, said I ought to “divy” but I failed to see the point.
Well the fair was a grand success and everybody left satisfied, except “that wife of mine,” she wanted me to buy her a race horse, I refused of course and told her to go home, buy Jim Midgett’s steer and a side saddle and have her own time. One of the most creditable features of this occasion was the fact that the Plymouth and Edenton boys met and parted without a fight or even a cross word and it is the first time for years. I hope the old annimosity that has existed so long has passed into the forggotten future never again to be remembered by either town.
Well, I parted with “that wife of mine” she returned home and I boarded the N. 8 Train for Norfolk, arriving at that city I went at once to the Percel House where I remained all night, next morning I called on Mr. T. A. Perry, of the Perry Manufactoring Company, I found him to be the same old easy Perry we all use to know and like so well while in this town. Mr. Perry told me that his business was good and he had every encouragement of a future success. In the office I found his son Nelson, better known to our people as “Little Perry,” he is not much larger than when he left here, he asked me about his old chum, Charlie Jackson, and others of our citizen, who he said, use to take him for a play thing. I spent the time quite pleasant until on my way to the hotel at night, a man tried to take all the side walk, and I, with all the dignity of a Plymouthian, tried to break a few of his ribs and as he roled in the gutter I intended to prepare a job for the dentist, by knocking a few of his teeth down his throat when a policeman asked me to take a walk with him, and I think I would have spent the night in the station house but Bill Harrison came up and told the policeman that I was a good fellow and only wanted to start, within myself, a house of correction for the young man in the gutter, then the man that wore the blue and brass said I could go. I and Mr. Harrison walked down to the hotel, I thanked him for getting me out of trouble and he left me.
I spent Sunday very quietly and was glad to see Monday come, when I again boarded the train for home where I arrived O.K. On looking around town the next day, to see what had happened since I left, I found that Sam Beasley had traded horses twice, the first time he got a gray horse and the next time he got a horse that he has to go to the corner of a street to turn round he is so long sided.
On my round I stepped into the oyster saloon of Robt. Wright here I was served to oysters in the finest style. There were lots of customers in there and I could not get on to his popularity until I saw his ad in the Beacon, then I “caught on.”
On going to my wardrobe this Wednesday morning to look for my old clothes I failed to find them, but in their place hung as I thought new ones, but “that wife of mine” informed me that she had [...] the clothes cleaner, at work on them. Well, I doned a suit of them and went down to see Mr. Dan Garrett, the popular manager of Geo. E. Stevenson’s Food Store. I found him just as busy as if he had to sell all the corn, hay, and meal that was to be sold in town, while his clerk, Herbert Hooker, was equally busy, selling groceries of which they carry a large stock. After taking a look at that beautiful sign you spoke of last week I walked on down the street. On passing the Kentucky Stables I heard something fall, on looking in there was a certain young dry goods clerk pulling himself up off the floor looking like a cyclone had struck him. I could not imagine what had happened until he limped out with his pants torn in the mos conspicious places, saying something about the d–n goat, then I knew he had been fooling with one of those “royal bumpers.” If you are anxious to know who this clerk is, just walk in Hornthal’s dry goods store and yell “goats” and then see which of his clerks makes for the back door.” — “Flipp”
