Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-02-08
AN UGLY DOG.

Spllsh-splash, went thatwretched
dog through the mud, his ears hanging
down and his tail between his legs.
ooh! the ugly dogw criedtwo young
girls who were carrying home clothes
from the wash. .........
"Oh! the ugly brute!" shouted car
ter; and he gave his whip loud crack
to frighten him. But the dog took no
heed of them. He ran. patiently on,
only stopping at the crossings when
there were too many carriages for him
to pass, but not seeming to busy him
self at all as to what people said,. or
what they thought about him. = =
He ran on so for a long way.
Z No doubt of it, he was an ugly dog.
He was lean and scraggy. His coat
was of dirty gray color, and in many
places the hair was worn off in patches
Neither was there any tokens that he
had ever been a handsome dog, and
that his present state of wretchedness
was owing merely to sudden misfortune.
He looked, on the contrary, as though
he had always been an ill-fed dog, hay
ing desultory habits, no home to go to,
and seldom anything better to eat than
a chance bone or crust picked up in
the gutter. Yes, he was certainly a
miserable dog.
But wondered to see him run so OBJ
stinately in the middle of the road,
when there was room in plenty for him
on the pavement. He'wasa small dog,
and by trotting close under the shop
fronts he could have slipped unnoticed
through the crowd, and not have ex-
posed himself to be run over by the
cabs and whipped by the carriers. But
no; he preferred the road where the
mud was, and he ran straight before
him, without looking right or left, just
exactly as if he knew his way.
[ might have paid no more attention
to this dog, for there are enough OF
which 1 take no notice; but I observed
that he had collar round his neck, and
that to his collar was attached basket.
This set me thinking; for q dog that
carries basket is either d dog sent out
on an errand, or a runaway dog thathaf
left his master, and does not know
where to go. Now which could this one
be? If he was dog that ran on er
rands, why did not his owners feed him
better, so that his ribs should look less
spare. But if he was o dog that haG
left his master, and run away into 'tht
world to face care and trouble alone
what hardships or what cruelties had he
had to suffer, that he should have take1
such step in despair? I felt / should
like to have these questions answered
for there was something of mystery il
them; l therefore followed the strang,
dog.
We were in Oxford street, in tha
part of which lies between the Marbl,
Arch and Duke street, and the dog wa
running in the direction of the Regen
Circus. 1t was a dull wet day in win
ter; the rain had been falling. A graz
fog was spreading its vapors along tn,
road, and every one looked cold and un
comfortable. A few shops were bein,
lighted up here and there, for evening
was setting in. But the contrast be
tween the glare of the gas and the oc
casional glow of the red coal fires burn
ing cheerily in the CRATES of ground-foo
parlors, only served to make the street
seem more dark and dreary. And We
the dog went pattering on, going at
sort of quick jog-trot pace, keeping hi
ears always down, and paying no atten
ton either to the omnibuses that rollec
by him, the costermongers who swor
at him, or the other dogs which stopped
at times with a puzzled air, and gaze,
at him with silent wonder. l had t.
step out fast to keep up with him. I
was astonishing how that squalid do
could trot. was afraid more than one
that he would distance me, but, thank
to the knack he had of always keepin
to the middle of the road, I was pre-
vented from losing sight of him. w
passed North Audley street, after tina
Duke street, and we then came opposit
small street which forms a very nal
row and dirty thoroughfare at the en-
which is nearest Oxford Street Her
the dog paused for moment, and az
peared to hesitate as to what he shoul
do. He made fewsteps forward, the
receded; but, finally, seemed to max
up his mind and entered the street, sti
trotting. There was no one there. Th
dim drizzling rain, which had begun [
fall again, the cold, and the fog had q
scared away the habitual frequenters
one or two sordid cookshops that Lin
both sides of the way There was onl
rag-and-bone-man sorting bottles
his door and coughing wheezily fro
old age and misery. The dog went OF
The street grows wider asene proceed
and the houses also became better nm
cleaner. INasked myself whether Il
dog could possibly have his home her
and whether he would not suddenly di
appear down an area, in which case IL