Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1869-04-02
From "spare Hours"
Our Dog.

/
one good feature except his teeth and eyes,
and his bark, if that can be called feature.
He was not ugly enough to be interesting :;
his color black and white, his shape leggy and
clumsy; altogether what Sidney Smith would
have called an extraordinarily ordinary dog.
Nv brother William found him the centre of
attraction to a multitude of small black
guards who were drowning him slowly in
LOchend Loeb, dong their best to lengthen
out the process, and secure the greatest amount
of fun with the nearest approach to death.
Even then Toby showed his great intellect by
pretending to be dead, and thus gaining time
for an inspiration. William bought him for
twopence, and as he had it not, the boys ac-
companied him to Pilrig Street, when hap
pened to meet him, and giving the tworence
to the biggest boy had the satisfaction of see
ing general engagement Of much severity,
during which the twopence disappeared; one
penny going off with very small and swift
boy, and the other vanishing hopelessly into
the grating Of drain.
Toby was for weeks in the house unbe-
known to any one but ourselves two and the
cook, and from my grandmother's love oftid-
iness and hatred of dogs and of dirt, believe
she would have expelled - him whom we saw
ed from drowning" had not he, in his
straightforward way, walked into my fathers
bedroom one night when he was bathing his
feet, and introduced himself with wag Of
his tail, intimating general willingness to
be happy. My father laughed most heartily,
and at last Toby, having got his way to his
bare feet, and having begun to lick his soles
and between his toes with his small rough
tongue, my father gave such AMI unwonted
shout of laughter, that we-grandmother,
sisters, and all of us-went in. Grandm0th-
er might argue with all hei energy and skill,
but as surely as the pressure of Tom Jones'
infantile fist upon Mr. Allworthy's forefnger
undid all the arguments of his sister, so did
Toby's tongue and fun prove too many for
grandmother eloquence. | somehow think
Toby must have been up to all this, for |
think he had a peculiar love for my father
ever after, and regarded grandmother from
that hour with careful and cool eye.
Toby, when full grown, was strong,
coarse dog coarse in shape, in cOuntenance,
in hair, and in manner. | used to think that
according to the Pythagorean doctrine. he
must have been, OF been going to be Gil
merton carter. lie was of the bullterrer
variety, coarsened through much mongrelism
and dubious and varied ancestry. His teeth
were good, and he had large skull, and
rich bark as Of dog three times his size,
and a tail which | never saw equalled-in-
deed it was a tail PER Sc it was Of immense
girth and not short, equal throughout like a
policeman baton the machinery for work
ing it was OF great power, and acted in way
as far as | have been able to discover, quite
original We called il his ruler.
When he wished to get into the house, he
first wined gently, then growled, then gave
sharp bark, and then came a resounding.
mighty stroke which shook the house this,
after much study and watching, We found
was done by his bringing the entire length OF
his solid tail fiat upon the door, with sud
den and vigorous stroke; it was quite tour
dc force or a coup dc gueue, and he was per-
feet IN il at once, his first lang authoritative
having been as mastery and telling as his
last.
With all this inbred vulgar air. he was
dog Of great moral excellence-afecti0nate
faithful honest up to his light, with an odd
humor as peculiar and as strong as his tail.
My father, in his reserved way, was very fond
Of him, and there must have been very funny
scenes with them, for we heard bursts Of
laughter issuing from his study when they
two were by themselves there was some
thing in him that took that grave, beautiful,
melancholy face. One can fancy him in the
midst Of his books. and sacred work and
thoughts. pausing and looking at the secular
Toby, who was looking out for smile to be
gin bis rough fun, and about to end by cours-
ing and giuriH round the room, uIsetting
nv fathers books, laid out on the floor for
consultation, and himself nearly at times, as
he stood watching him-and off his guard
andlshaking with laughter. Toby had always
great desire to accompany my father up to
town this my fathers good taste and sense
of dignity. besides his fear Of losing his friend
Ia vain fear , forbade, and as the decision
Of character Of each was great and nearly
equa it was often drawn game. Toby ul-
timatcly. by making it his entire object, tri-
umphed. lie usually was nowhere to be seen
on my father leaving he however saw him,
and lay in wait at the head of the street. and
up Lcith Walk he kept him in view from the
opposite side like a detective, and then when
he knew it was hopeless % hound him home,
he crossed unblushingly over, and joined
company, excessively rejoiced Of course.
never saw in any other dog than Toby
the sudden transition from discretion. not to
say ahiact cowardice. to blazing and perman-
ent yalor. From his earliest years he show
ed a general meanness Of blood inherited from
many generations Of starved, bekicked, and
down-trodden forenthers and mothers, result
ing in a condition of intense ablectness in all
matters of personal fear; anybody, even a
beggar, by go,rl and threat of eye, could
send him of bowling by anticipation, with
that mighty tail between his legs. But it
was not always so to be, and had the pri-
e. slftf
and for life, spring up in Toby at once, as did
Athene from the skull of Joye. 1t happened
i thus -
Toby was in the way Of hiding his Gull
b. nary bones in the small gardens before hi;
, own and the neighboring doors Mr.. Scrym-
geour, two doors off, bulky, choleric, red
- haired, red-iaced man-forro rulte-was, by
I the law Of contrast, a great cultivator Of how-
ers, and be had often scOwldd Toby into all
f but non-existence by a stamp of his foot and
: a glare of his eye. One day his gate being
4 open, in walks Toby with huge bone, anc
I making a hole where Scrymgeour had two
: minutes before been planting some precious
: slip, the name Of which ON paper and on q
f stick Toby made very light of, substituted hi:
e bone, and was engaged covering 1t, or think
Y ing he was covering it up with his shoyeline
: nose IA very odd relic of paradise in the dog
when 5. spied him through the inner glas,
door, and was out upon him like the Assyri
z an, with a terrible golcl | watched them
Instantly Toby made straight at him with &
roar too, and an eve more torve than Scrym
: geour's, who retreating without reserve, fel
prostratc, there is reason to believe, in hi
I own lobby. Tobycontented himself with pro
= claiming his victory at the door, and return
/ ing finished his bOne-planting at his leisure
. the enemy, who had scuttled behind tht
glass door, glaring at him.
From this moment Toby was an altered
l dog. Pluck at first sight was lord of all
t from that time dated his first tremendous de
d liveraucc Of tail against the door, which ",
d called - come listen to my tall That yer,
t evening he paid visit to Leo, next door
e dog, big, tyrannieal bully and coward, whicl
: its master thought a newfoundland, bu
r whose pedigree we knew better this brut
d continued the same system of chronic exter
e mination which was interrupted at Lochend
4 - having Toby down among his feet, AM
d threatening him with instant death two o
# three times a day. To him Toby paid visi
d that very evening, down into his den, an,
c walked about, as much as to say :. Come on
4 Macduffl'' But Macdnff did not come on
II and henceforward there was an armed neu
n trallty, and they merely stifened up and mad
r their backs rigid, pretended each not to Sc
the other, walking solemnly round, as is tn
+ manner of dogs. Toby worked his new-foun'
It faculty thoroughly, but with discretion. H
g astonished beggars, kept his own IN his owl
r garden against all comers, and came off vic
e torious in several well-fought battles; but h
: was not quarrelsome or foolhardy. 1t wa
t odd how his carriage changed, holding hi
: head up, and how much pleasanter he was a
r home To my father, next to William, VIII
g was his Humane Society man. he remaine'
s stanch. He died.
8 AGES OF LIVING ELEBRITIEs--The followin
are the ages respectively of several well know