Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-10-05
THE DAILY PRESS.
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make matters as disagreeable as possible,
chanced that early one evening was reused
from sort Of travelling dose by sort Of
crash and jar, and the settling down Of the
front part Of the vehicle. The fore part of
the axletree had broken close to the fore
wheel, and until it could be repaired we
could not proceed further
"Theres q small village back here about
three miles," said the driver, to which l
am going to take the horses, and you may
either come with me or get lodging in q
farmhouse close by"
AS was the only passenger, preferred
ihe nearest lodgings; and getting the
driver TO assist me in removing my luggage
thither, / asked entertainment of the farmer,
who assented in q cordial manner and in
less than an hour l was seated at table, and
doing ample justice to the good cheer before
me-
The family of Mr.. Mansfeld-for such
was the name Of the worthy farmer-con-
sisted of himself, wife, pretty daughter of
fourteen, and large English mastiff. l
have included the dog because his wonder
ful sagacity entitled him to rank much
higher than an ordinary beast.
Before l knew any thing of the remarka-
BILE qualities Of the animal, was peculiarly
attracted to him by q certain air of stately
dignity combined with gentleness and the
almost human look of intelligence that
beamed from his eyes. 1t seemed, when he
looked at 1ns steadily and heard me speak,
as if he really knew what said, and more
than once / caught myself fancying lat he
was about to reply.
"Thats q very fine dog you have, Mr..
Mansfield" casually remarked, as / drew
hack from the table and saw the eyes of the
animal fixed so gently and comprehensively
upon mine. "At what price do you value
him"
"His weight in diamonds could not pur-
chase him, sir replied the farmer.
Indeed!
"No, sir; he is one of us-one of our
family / may say-and l would quite as
soon think of disposing of my wife, or my
daughter Hattie there, as Of selling him"
"There must be very strong attachment
between you, certainly" 1 rejoined.
Indeed there is; bond of union that
nothing but death can sever. A most ex-
traordinary animal, sir, is Bruno; and to
him, under God, l am indebted for the life
this would long since have been house Of
mourning
"YOu excite my curiosity; will you not
favor me with the story"
presently l will, sir. But first let me
show you how much Bruno knows and un-
derstands. Where did you place the candle
stick last night, Hattie, when you went to
bed ?"
Con the table, father"
"Is it there now?"
"No sir, l brought it down this morning"
"And the extinguisher
al left that on the table"
"You may 60 and get it. Stay! he con-
tinued, as he rose to obey, you may not be
able to get it in the dark, and Bruno can.
Go and get it, Bruno"
The dog, who had been seemingly looking
at US and seemingly listening to the CONVEX
cation, now quietly arose, and going to the
door, which opened upon stairway, he
stretched himself upward, lifted the latch
with one paw, pulled the door open with the
other and disappeared. In few moments
he returned with en- extinguisher in his
month, which he carried straight to his
master.
" Give it TO Hattie" said the master.
The dog at once advanced to the girl.
81 think mother wants it, laughed Hat
tie.
The dog Immediately went TO Mrs. Mans
field, who was busy drying some dishes and
placing them upon an old fashioned cup
hoard.
"Poor Bruno said the mistress with a
smile; "they are only trying you; but if
you will 90 over to the fireplace, and take
a seat until am done, will relieve you Of
your charge
No human being could have shown a
more readily comprehension of every thing
SPOKEN in an ordinary tone than did the sa-
gacious BRUTE and as he walked over with
asteady step and seated himself as directed,
with the extinguisher still in his mouth, l
involuntarily uttered an exclamation Of
surprise.
81 suppose you think this is a very clever
trick which he has been taught" observed
the farmer, turning to me with a triumphant
smile; but I assure you, upon my honor,
| never asked him to do the same thing be-
fore"
OF course, / was all amazement. What,
save the power of speech, was the dividing
line between this brute and the human spe-
cies? After trying him several times more,
in different ways, and thus proving him to
have knowledge of all that was said to
him, Mr. Mansfield proceeded to relate the
following exciting and interesting incident
Six years ago last summer" began the
worthy farmer, on cold, drizzly after
noon, | drove down to the village to get my
horse shod and being detained till nearly
dark, Hattie was sent by her mother to
fetch the COWS from distant pasture. There
seemed to be sufficient daylight for the pur-
pose when she first set out; but night came
fast and suddenly, and when l got home
Hattie had not yet returned. From the
very moment of being told whittier she had
gone, felt a strange uneasiness about the
poor girl; for the night had then set in in
1ensely dark, and her path lay over rug
ged hill through o patch Of woods, and
a miry swamp, where l had made safe
foot-path by sinking some logs in the
treacherous ground, and constructing rude
bridge across the sluggish stream. But
Should either she or the COWS miss this
bridge, and get into the swamp, there was
danger Of their being mired and sutfocated ;
and, therefore, it was with good deal OF
anxiety that myself and wife, lighted by a
lantern, hurried over to the perilous spot
hoping TO meet Hattie on the way.
" A fine, misty rain was steadily falling
and clouds hung about the earth like fog
so that it was possible to see only o few
feet with the aid of the light, and not al
inch without it. Judging from a careful
inspection that the cattle had not crossed
the bridge, we went over TO the pasture il
search ofthem, calling Hattie loudly all tn
time. We found most Of the animals at n