Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1873-04-25
The Leisure Hour.
".sr UGLr DOG"

"Splash-splash," went that wretched
dog through the mud, his ears hanging
down and his tail between his legs.
"Oh the ugly dogr' cried two young
girls who were carrying home clothes from
the wash.
"Oh the ugly brutel' shouted carri-
err; and he gave his whip loud crack to
trishten him. He ran patiently on, only
stopping at the crossings when there were
too many carriages for him to pass, but
not seeming to busy himself at all as to
what people said, or what they thought
| about him.
| He ran on so for long way.
No doubt of it, he was an ugly dog. He
was lean and scraggy. His coat was of a
dirty gray color, and in many places the
hair was worn off in patches. Neither
were there any tokens that he had ever
been 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, having desultory habits, no
home to go to, and seldom anything better
a
up in the gutter. Yes, he was certainly a
miserable dog.
But I wondered to see him run so obsti-
nately in the middle Of the road, when
there was room in plenty for him on the
pavement He was small dog, and by
| trotting close under the shop-frOnts he
could have slipped unnoticed through the
L., In tpnC TN
run over by the cabs and whipped by the
carriers. But no; he preferred the road
where the mud was, and ran straight be-
fore him, without looking right or left, just
exactly as If he knew the way.
might have paid no more attention to
this dog, for there are enough OF whom
take no notice but / observed he had
collar round his neck, and that to this col
lar was attached basket. This set me
thinking; for dog who carries basket is
either dog sent out on an errand, or dog
who has left his master, and does otknow
where to CO. Now which could this one
be? If he was a dog that run on errands,
why did not his owners feed him better, so
that his ribs should look less spare? But il
he was dog who had left his master, and
run away into the world to face care and
trouble alone, what hardships or what cru
elites had he had to suffer, that he should
have taken such a step in despair felt
should like to have these questions answer
ed, for there was something of mystery in
them; therefore followed the dog.
We were in Oxford street, in that part of
it which lies bet ween the Marble Arch and
Duke street, and the dog was running in
direction of Regent Circus. 1t was a dull
| wet day in winter; the rain had been fall
Ing A gray fog was spreading its vapors
along the road, and every one looked cold
| and uncomfortable. A few shops were be-
| ing lighted up here and there, for evening
was setting in. But the contrast between
| the glare of the gas and the occasional glow
of the red coal fires burning cheerfully in
the CRATES of ground floor parlors, only
| served to make the street seem more dark
and dreary. And yet the dog pattered on,
| going at a sort of quick jogtrot pace. keep
ing his ears always down, and paying no
attention either to the omnibuses that roll
ed by him, the costermongers who swore
at him, or the other dogs who stopped AT
times with a puzzled air, and gazed at him
| with silent wonder. / had to step out fist
to keep up with him. 1t is astonishing
how that squalid dog could trot. / was
afraid more than once that he would dis
| tance me, but thanks to the knack he had
of always keeping in the middle of the
| road, was prevented from losing sight o
him. We passed North Audley street, af-
| ter that Duke street, which forms a very
narrow and dirty thoroughfare at the end
! which is nearest Oxford street. Here the
dog paused for moment and appeared to
| hesitate as to what he should do. He made
few steps forward, then receded but
finally, seemed TO make up his mind and
entered the street, still .rotting. There
| was no one there. The dim drizzling rain
which had began to fall again, the cold and
the fog had scared away the habitual FIRE.
| quenters of the one or two sordid cook
shops that line both sides of the way
| There was only rag-and-bone man sort.
ing broken bottles ut his door and cough
ing wheezily from old age and misery
The dog went on. The streets grow wider
as one proceeds, and the houses also becam,
better and cleaner. asked myself wheth
or the dog could possibly have his hom,
about here, and whether he would not sud
denly disappear down an area, in whicl
case the romance of the thing would hav,
been ended, and should have had my
walk for nothing. But no, he turned alb
ruptly off at a news, and after a few sec
onds of the same apparent hesitation as be
fore, slackened his pace and stopped oppo
site public house.
A news Is never quite empty. Their,
are always grooms loafing about the I'M
door-ways, or stable-boys going in and ou
Of wash-houses. At the moment when tn
dog and appeared a coachman was bar
Messing two horses TO a brougham, and
couple Of men were helping him. Oppo
site, and exchanging remarks with then
from the threshold OF the public house
stood a servant in breeches smoking
long clay pipe the dog was standing still
but all at once, before had time to sus
pect what was going to happen, he rose u
on bis hind legs and commenced walking
gravely round In circles.
! The man with the breeches and the ella,