Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1877-03-23
rgT DAroLD BET VAS SoLD.

/ wandered where a curious crowd
Thrcnged IN an open square
no ses an ancton held, Of things
That were both odd and rare.
1t vas atrsyelinp shOwmans stock =
That made the people stare.
There were horses gray and ponies brown,
And birds Of every kin.
And lions grim, and polar bears,
And serpents loue and thini
An elephant was mp for sale
Amid the noisy din. rr
Grayely above the gaping crowd
Tho huge beast patient stood,
tlYet Gnzed, methonght, with anxious eye,
Beyond the rabble rude,
To where an old man sat apart ...
In ixed and mournful mood.
And Why 20 sotrowful old mani'' 'e
said. Vie rnised his head.
His eyes were full Of the dumb grief
OF faces that were dead.
They're selling of old Bet from me,
In husky voice he said.
'Aud do you care so muchYp A tear
.g I. Upon the rough cheek fell. .iI =.
Stranger sit down beside me here,
And. IL youlike, 1 N tell A ra
Why that old beast Is dear TO me,
And why love her well. -
~ 1Tis nigh twelve years since Bet andI
First started on tho road. - er
And never once, in all that time,
I've touched whip or goad;
r- She ~ the gentlest, quickest thing,
That ever bore load. ......... F.
She'd catch a trick, and do II, too,
- Before you'd time 10 wink. t
And every, word I'D speak she'd know
e. - And times Inlinost think
She'd find, at least. a way to talk,
And be that missin' link esr. r.
Always the same old gentle girl,
Though little hay she d get;
Sometimes when biz was very bad,
And roads were rough, and wet
She was the gentlest OF we three,
Me, Jimmie aud old Bet.
Jim was my little one, you see,
The brightest. sweetest boy
That ever came from heaven on earth
To be a fathers Joy
His mother died when he was born,
And Bet, awhile, was coy,
And Jealous. too, until at length
She somehow, seemed to fud
That Jimmie had no mother left,
And so she changed her mind,
And dopted him herself, and proved
As any mother kind.
We brought him mp by hand, US two,
You needn't smile, it's true,
There's not nurse in all the land
That could old Bet out do.
She d make cradle of her trunk,
And shake his rattle, too.
And when the nights were cold and sharp
The rain came driving in.
Beneath her big warm side he'd lay
And laugh at blankets thin.
No fear that Bet would doze away
And crush the baby in.
Ali well. one day (the rich don't know
What poor folks have to dO)
i was trimming Jimmie for the ring,
When, as he vaulted through
A paper hoop, he missed and fell,
All white and senseless, too.
His spine was hurt, and two long years
~ We nursed my crippled child.
Yet even when he suffered most
r lie patient was and mild.
hundred times he dried my tears
And coaxed me till | smiled.
We never left him, Bet and l,
But steady day by day
She'd softly swing him of to sleep,
Or fan his pain away,
And every cake or nut she'd get
On Jimmie's bed she lay.
o.. sBut,that's not aii-Aoue stormy night,
Justas we pitched the tent,
The lightning struck n tigers cage,
And ont the mad beast went. ... f.srs
Then suddenly there came the scream
For help, that Jimmie sent.
We heard the tiger suarl Just where ..
The tiny bed did lie
The keepers jerked their pistols out
And rushed toward the cry.
: Quick as we were, old Bet was first;
She iungthe baby highl
Andas upon her great black head
He clung, all white and Hat,
With lifted trunk and leyeed tusks
Old Betsey faced the catl
? gave her double hay that night
Who wouldn't after thatY
At last Jim died, and when in peace
ca The little angel lay, Cd.
The very clowns had tears to shed,
%. +, And one knet down to pray.
'' Although our boss was rough and hard,
We didn't show that day.
And as around the coffin small
40 Gathered our solemn band
. Old Betsey took ii up herself
Fer we could stretch hand,
And when we left the grave looked back,
And seemed to understand. f1
Then only ,re were left. That seemed
But closer still to tether
Old Bet and me, and sadly since,
- In fair or stormy Weather, -.ss.-
Upon the road or IN the ring,
we've mourned our dead together.
p They say beasts have no souls-no heaven
When they are dead-I kROW
II there's q place where faithful love q
Has got the smallest show
They'll let Bet in, or else it's not
The place want to 90.
1 haven't many years to live, .... ..
And Betsey's growing old,
They might have let us rough it through"
just then his face grew cold
For as he spoke the hammer fell,
And poor old Bet was sold.
--Frdik H. GdsSaWdy, IN San Francisco Chronicl