The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-10-06

the ADJOINING squares-looked at one another'
and then proceeded to obey me without a muir
muir. They took up-they had never taken up
such a customer 'before-the astonished quad
ruped, in the manner had suggested, and car
RED him safe and sound down the area steps.
While this apparently funereal procession
was in progress, gentleman stepped forward
and addressed me with a very excited de-
meanor: Excuse me, sir; l have but just
come, and am unacquainted with the circum-
stances. You are medical man, see; l am
connected with the press, sir. What IS the
matter, sir What has happened? Who is
It, sir? Is it lady or gentleman, and are
they dead, or only insensible ?"
4" He is a gentleman, and at present speech
less, returned ], hurriedly, as / accompanied
the sufferer in question into the house.
oh, the relief of mind and body when saw
that Jerusalem pony deposited safely in our
back green The gratitude with which / over
whelmed those guardians of the public safety J
the recklessness of expense with which | opened
bottle after bottle of superior beer for their re-
freshment.
/ woke Leonora, to recount to her all that
had done. and had some difficulty to prevent
her rushing to the window to look at the new
arrival.
"I don't even know what Jerusalem pony
is,r urged she; shall be lying awake, and
trying to picture what unusual -
At this iuncture, her doubts were set at rest
forever by the most tremendous braying that
ever issued from the mouth of jackass since
the days of Balaam it was exactly beneath our
bedroom window and sounded like a brass
band composed of ophicleides out of repair.
&" Why, it's only dreadful donkey, Alfred"
cried Leonora, with Just indignation.
" It's forty donkeys," cried i, penitently, and
stopping my ears. Never, indeed, shall | for
get that noise, which seems even now to be
ringing through the chambers of memory.
We retired to rest, however-that is to say,
We lay down and listened. Sometimes we would
nourish faint hope that all was over, that the
Jerusalem pony would himself require the bless
ings of sleep, and become quiet; and some
times the real horrors of our situation could
not be dispelled by any such baseless fancy. |
think the creature must have been composing
a coronach or lament for his absent mother or
other relatives; for, after very short pauses,
such as might have been given by any donkey
to composition, he would burst forth with a
torrent of discordant wailing of about fourteen
lines in length-as far as we could judge-and
ending In an Alexandrine. 1t was horrible
from the first, and rapidly grew to be unbear-
able. At 2.30 A. M. put on my dressing
gown and slippers, and, taking down the rope
from one Of the window-curtains, sailed forth
into the back green. Sleep had of course been
banished from every other inhabitant of Para
disc Row as we'll as from ourselves a score OF
human heads regarded me from far and near,
from first fat to attic, with interest and salts
faction. They believed, in their foolish and
reveDgeful hearts, l knew, that l was about to
hang the Jerusalem pony. was not going to
do anything of the kind.
/ approached the animal, uttering sounds
such as, in the mouths of his late attendants, /
had observed to give him pleasure; but
might Just as well have read aloud the Act for
Prevention of Cruelty TO Animals. He turned
away; he fed he even lifted up his heel
against me. Disguised, but not dispirited by
this conduct, pursued the flying beast with
persevering vigor, despite the futtering of my
lengthy garment, and the increasing GOODNESS
of my unprotected legs. ] caught him. l tied
up his Jaws, securely, as / thought, with the
curtain-rope, and retired amid murmurs OF
| applause to my apartment, leaving him speech
less and discounted.
Better, far better would it have been, had I
never attempted this The great harmonies OF
/ Nature are not to be hushed by the rude hands
of Man. Scarcely had my head touched the
/ pillow, when the bray, halfstihed, pitful, more
harassing beyond expression than before, re
commenced with hideous pertinacity, and in
| creased in volume with every note Presently
! the rope gave way, and the full tide of song
burst forth again from that Jerusalem pony. as
| the pent-up waters from an Intellectual dam
while the cock, imagining, no doubt, that il
was dawn, and accusing itself of over-sleeping
and permitting another creature to be the first
to salCte the sun, added its shrill tribute to the
din.
I'll 1 Il. Il I
Log aaat 81 lssdsand&la fr--ara1%s.a Abe
nothing less will stop hims"
Give him chlOroform," cried Leonora, sar-
ca,ticaily you're so fond Of that"
This remark, intended to wound my profes-
sional feelings, was, as sometimes happens, the
very best advice that could be given to me. |
snatched up an enormous phial of that divine
| essence, and again rushed down to the back
green 10 silence the domestic enemy. This
time / conquered in fifteen minutes-it must
be confessed, after tremendous exertion-I was
standing in my dressing down and slippers
upon that PROSTATE Jerusalem pony, like an.
other Rarey; victim to science, he reposed
like sleeping infant who has had enough of
his bottle
This victory, achieved in the sight of respect
able though sleepless myriads, has been quite
an advertisement to me. My practice is in.
creasing, and the child's ankles are being rap
| idly strengthened. A breach knocked through
the wall of our back green permits the imme
date cause of this prosperity to retire. after his
daily labors, to pasture at a considerable dis
lance. LeonOra is more than Modified. She
has withdrawn the hasty expression once made
use OF, about something being no more like
another thing thar a horse chestnut is like a
| cEestnut-horse, and confesses that Jerusalem
pony is very good pony after ALL Her sole
regret now is that he is not a piebald. Cham
beyS's Journal.