Litchfield enquirer., 1873-06-05
The Springfield Republican. OUR UGLY DOC.

!
 Oar ugly dog came to us, one morning,
 like the McDonala's baby
 I ''Out of the eve ywhsre iato here."
 And. similarly, the first thing he did was to howl to the fnll extent of his capacity
 which was great. The first thing we knew of him he was sitting upon the door steps, disconnected fact, and filling the air with his lamentations.
 The captain went out to see what man. ner of dog this might be, for we well knew that it was neither of our own, see l ing that Fluff. the Maltese terrier, was curled up on the sofa, and Ban, the New
 foundland, was lying on the rug. An ex- clamation from the captain summoned as to the piazza; and there, for the first time We saw ''our ugly dog"
 | There was nothing about him to indi- cate the important part he was afterward 1 to play in our family history. He was a | big dog, of no breed in particular, but, rather, as it seemed, of all races in gener- al. The shape of his head and his blunt muzzle seemed 10 indicated a bulldog stripe among the many bars sinister of his scutcheon; but then he had lop-ears, with thin scanty fringe.s which diinly suggested a spaniel. He was neither smooth, nor shaggy, nor rough; but his l coat resembled an old door mat worn out ! in spots. He was short-bodied and long legged, aud that half his tail which mal- l ice or accident had left him, was, like his I ears, thinly fringed with coarse, long hair. l As to his color, the groundwork seemed to be dirty yellowish white, irregularly spotted with patches of faded Maltese-cat color, and he was also ''ticked" here and there with pea spots of dull yellow. His l one eye, for he had lost the other, was l his one good point, being like deer hounds in color and expression. He was thin to starving point; he was dirty, and draggled, and disconsolate, to the Last de- gree which dog nature can endure; and apparently he had made up his mind that all hope was gone, and he had taken his place on our door-steps to sing his own despairing dirge.
 No sooner, however, did he behold the whole family about him, than he lifted himself on his hind legs, and began to beg, howiing mournfully all the time. Fluff gave little yelp of disgust, turned short round, and went into the house, evidently unable to endure the sight of so much vuIgarity and distress. Ban, who scorned to attack a brother in trouble, and who was never rapid i4 adopting any res olution, stood staiung Tn astonishment at the sight of dog on his hind legs.
 ''In the name of goodness" said the captain, "give the creature something to eat p
 Of course something was produced, and, when the stranger had in some degree satisfied his hunger, he testified, in every way which dog could, his intense thank fitness.
 sI suppose we shall have this beast added to our family menagerie, now" said I. sHe doesn't belong in the village, for I think am generally acquainted with all the dogs in the place.
 "Oi course, we can't keep him." said the captain. s.It would Le too much to have another dog. dare say he'll trot off when he has rested little"
 Of course, the ugly dog did not trot off, and, though we declared, every day, that we could not have him, almost equally, of course, he became 8 member of the family. At first he insinuated himself into the shed, where Ban gave him share of his own quarters; then he modestly and humbly took up corner in the kltch- en, and followed the little boys into the parlor, bringing in his mouth Charley's gloves, which had been dropped in the yard; and, in the. course of 2 few days, ''the ugly dog had established an equal right with Ban and the oats. He was knowing creature, and could fetch and carry, as we'll as beg. He was irreproach- able in dog morals, and his soul seemed to overflow with affection for every mem Der of the family; even for little, arrogant, contemptuous Fluff, who parked himself faint the first time the stranger came in- to the house, and omitted no opportunity to show his own superiority to the ugly dog, who could have swallowed him like pill.
 No one in the place knew anything had strayed away from a travelling cara van which had passed through the place few days before. In week s'the ugly dog" had become favorite with all, from the master of the house down to the cat and the three kittens, who contracted @ habit of sitting upon him, liberty which he seemed in no wise to resent. His very ugliness was sort of recommendation No one else had such a very ugly dog, and he was so meek, and grateful, and loving, that no one not constitutionally averse to dogs could have resisted his advances.
 A few days after he came, I heard that an old friend of ours was visiting at re- lation's in Galoosa, a place about four teen miles from the little town of Mays vile, where our lot had been cast for the last few years. was anxious to see Mrs. St. Clair, and to hear news of our friends in New York, but there seemed to be difficulty in getting to Galoosa.
 One of our horses happened to be lame, and the other, though peaceable enough in double harness, was apt to be skittish and ill conducted when driven alone. It was quite impossible for the captain to leave his business at that time, and 1t seemed that, unless I could borrow or hire horse, the visit must be given up.
 Now it was not easy to get hold of a horse in Maysville. There were, to be sure, three or. four teams belonging to our saw-mill, but they were all engaged three deep in their legitimate bushes, and, as it happened all the other horses in the place were either busy or sick, reluc- tantly resigned myself tostaying at home. Just then our friend, Mir. Calvin Bruce, a man somewhat given to horses, came home from Detroit, and, hearing of my necessity, he at once placed at my dispo- sal what he called ga pair of colts. " There was no trouble in finding driver. At that time, Dick Monroe and his sis ter Diana were staying with us on visit. Dick, at IT, considered that he knew all that was to be known about horses, and would have undertaken to drive the char tot of the sun with as much confidence as Phaeton himself
 Calvin destribed the colts as .gentle enough, only pretty spunky," and averred that 'ht was easy enough to manage them | if fellow only let them have their own way" and then Calvin made the colts the subject of parllel with the female sex, which will not repeat, lest should draw down upon my head some of those phials of wrath which are always ready to be uncorked for the benefit of any one who says a word on either side of the much vexed' and vexing question.
 The captain demurred g little at letting Diana and myself go off behind the colts with no more experienced guardian than Dick. at which distrust of his powers, Master Dicks dignity was good deal hurt; but then fattered myself that I too could drive little, and was very anx-