The weekly echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1868-1876, 1876-04-20

one leg like a humming top, and swear
ing as if he had a hornets nest in his
pants pocket. Towser, resting on his
tail, bottled his banks in astoniskment,
while tho mule regarded the pair apa-
thetically, as If a mailman, more or less,
was a subject Of sublime indifference to
him.
When Mr. Boblink got down from
dancing on his new silk hat, rage an
ain had full possession Of him. You
coulda't lay pin point on part Of
his person that wasn't riled he was mad
All through-under, over. and round
about him. The angels Of peace, pity,
and tenderness had just to stand back,
clear a space of forty feet, to give him
clear swing, and watch him sail in. He
had been cruelty deceived, and the
blood of the Boblinks was up. He made
ferocious charge on the invader, cary
ing the air with his cane, but his mule
ship appeared again to have gone to
sleep, and paid no more attention to the
cane than if it had been straw.
Mr. Boblink had just turned around
to find some heavier weapon, when his
wife, watching from the window, Denelu
the mule suddenly and systematically
straighten out his left hind-leg in Mr..
Boblink's direction, and that worthy but
very mad gentleman was observed to fly
through the air as if he had been shot
out of a cannon, turn a somersault over
the dog, try to pillow furrow with his
nose and vest buttons, and finally sub
side into a very much enraged and
bruised heap of sOiled and torn broad
cloth. Round number one was univer-
sally coded to the mule.
Towser, after getting out from under
his master, sprang at the mule, giving
wide berth to the hind-leg portion of that
animal, and attacking him in front, bark
ing loud enough to raise the shingles on
the roof of the house, and swapping vi
ciously at the intruder's front legs; and
Mrs. Boblink was just thinking what
faithful, noble dog, to come so boldly to
the defense of his master, when the mule
dropped his bland, innocent face toward
him suddenly, and removed a foot or so
of TOwser's backbone; and that worthy
animal, after bestowing a parting glance
over his shoulder of disgust and undying
hatred to the whole mule tribe, folded
away his bark, leaned over on his side,
and was gone in a minute and a half to
meet his grandfather Tray in dogs para
disc, where yellow mules are not adj
mitted.
Mr.. BobIink got up on his feet in a
dazed manner, as if he couldn't exactly
understand how it all happened, but the
sight of that old yellow hulk grinning at
him, together with a red hot sensation
under his coat-tails, made it clear to his
mind; and, with three-story fighting
oath, he snatched an immense stick of
cordwood and aimed a murderOus blow
a the beasts pensive and childlike face.
To his dying day he will never be able to
how the brute changed ends
20 quick. He seemed to work ON pivot,
for the next moment Mr., Boblink found
that mules dainty hoof nesting just
where his vest leaves off and his sus-
pender buttons are sewed on.
Still, all the uncooked missionaries in
foreign lands couldn't have persuaded
him it wasn't an earthquake he was nurs-
ing instead of a mules hind foot; and he
had Just about made up his mind that he
didn't want to live any longer in the
same wicked world with a yellow mule,
when the brute kicked him again Just
between the shoulders, hard enough to
shatter the constitution of the United
States, the ten commandments, and Ply
mouth rock. That kick started Mr..
Boblink's eyes out Of their sockets like a
Fulton market lobster. 1t didn't appear
10 hurt the male a bit; ne rather seemed
TO enjoy it; for he switched his stumpy
tail lazily, leaned over and pulled down
a section of the picket fence with his
teeth, and slowly meandered away.
Mrs. Boblink and the hired girl came
out, picked up her shattered and bunged-
up husband, whom she found cropping on
his hands and knees, as If he was looking