The Democratic press. (Eaton, Preble County, Ohio) 1860-1865, 1861-07-11

was on the ntt deSperdndo order, de-
clared that, despite the fistula on
his neck, and that he was continu-
ally yerking his head in harness,
and had an ugly way of going on
three legs and holding up the fourth
as if in reserve for a catastrophe, a
good supply of oats might make
him very decent creature. Ashe
was led away to the stableyto profit
by Toms hint oftffe oats, wecoufd
not help noting the remarkable
metamorphosis Of which he was ca
pable. Seen from in front, as he
yerked his head in the air, he was
quite like an ostrich, but from the
side, on account of an immense pro-
lection of the hip-bones, he seemed
the caricature of a camel, AL
though, we were quite ready to be-
lieve, as father, in his discomft-
ure, ventured to remark, that he
must have been kept on barrel
hoops and shavings. Once in the
stable, it was further developed
that he was incapable of managing
his food until it had been nearly
pulverized, which, without a look
at his teeth, at once decided the
question of age. Still, with char
acteristic hopefulness, We bore up
against these symptoms till the an
imal was fairly in harness; there,
neither moral or physical force
could tempt him to bulge when he
was predisposed for a rest; blows
seemed rather to infuse an accept
able warmth through his chilly
veins, for, we fancied, comfortable
satisfaction settled over his features
at each stroke of the whip. Like
the boy with the elephant, our one
question was what to do with him?
Use him we could not, for even
were he disposed to travel, what
one of us would endure the morti-
fication of riding behind him? The
stable seemed ike q tomb. How
many little vanities, how many an
ticipated triumphs were buried
there! Every day mother sighed
over the dollars-the sinking fund,
as Tom called it-swept from our
scanty store; every day passers-by
seemed casting derisive grins at the
stable; every day he clung to life
with renewed tenacity. He was
literally a skeleton at the door, for,
though he 'lived upon nothing but
victuals and drink his bones re-
fused to be covered.
At length, there chancedinto the
house a Yankee peddler, 1.-THE,
wiry, keen-eyed man, to whom fa-
ther, as desperate extremity, Of
fered the horse in exchange for
some culinary utensils. The stran-
ger at once closed with the bargain,
which 80 elated father that he con-
fded to him the whole story of the
swindle. AS he concluded, the
stranger, emboldened by the unu-
sual familiarity, gave him q pat
ronizing slap on the shoulder, with
a twinkle of his grey eye which
said more emphatically than words,
You're green un.'
If a pestilence had passed from
US, we could not have been more
relieved than by the removal of the
horse. Just after his departure,
we found father chipping away at
a smooth stone, with a sort of hu-
morous, self-deprecating smile, and,
peering over his shoulder, saw the
following inscription:
In MEMORY OF BAREBoNEs,
Who departed this stable Nov., 1847.
"We fool is kno,on by his foNy."
This was the peace-offering he
presented mother, and she, dear wo-
man, did what any loving wife
could under the circumstances -
laid her hand caressingly on his
shoulders, and with her best smile,
said, you're q dear mani Wheth-
er this purchase had anything to
do with Toms subsequent bias to-
wards races, or with Margaret's ex-
pending the first 1.-THE of a fortune
which fell to her in after days for
span of fine horses, I leave my rea-
ders to Judge; for myself, Iresolved
from that moment never to marry
a man who could not choose a horse
against odds