The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1878-01-03
The Man With a Deg-A Story Told by
Rob Rnrdefte.


b. When a nan has once fallen 9 slave
to the dog habit, when he has become
addicted to dog, when he drags dog
around after him into cars, into omnl-
buses, into society. all the Murphy move
ments in the world can not reform that
man. And there are such men. Oh,
millions of 'em. -
Wednesday night a bridal party
boarded the train at Elizabeth, New
Jersey. l heard laughter and weeping,
and knew that laughter and weeping
never went well together. except at
weddings. So said, speaking to my
self--the only man who never contra
diets me when I tell liesL''T will have
look at the young people" went out
and looked.
saw the bridegroom, happy, laugh
inc; fussy as an old hen with her last
lone chicken, holding a black-and-taii
dog tenderly in his arms, and clutching
his bride BY the elbow to help her on the
car The brakeman shouted:
"Hold on; take that dog to the bag
gage-car." -,,-..,,-
Dismay, CONSERVATION, terror, came
out and sat all over that young mans
face, but it frightened up again with a
/ happy thought. He dropped his brides
arm, and folded both arms about the
dog of his heart.
mo, YOU DON'T" he shouted ''no,
/ you don't. I've got letters for that dog.
! I've got a letter for that dog from the
| SUPERINTENDENT of the division. This dog
goes with me.
And he danced up and down the plat
! form with excitement, while the brake
man helped his bride on the train, and
then the young husband followed, cling
/ ing to that precious dog.
/ Now, do you know | wanted to take
that girls hands (having previously sent
a postal-card home for permission), and
say to hers
'sDear young woman, confide in me.
Allow me to collaryour husband. Then
do YOU brace yourself against the side
OF the car and kick him so high that all
/ the dogs in America will have starved to
/ death before he comes down."
/ But didn't say any thing. But when
| the party came back into the sleeper,
then there was a scene. The porter
looked at the dog uneasily, and said he
"allOwed it was kind of Onregular, totin'
dogs into de parlor cars.'' And what
ever misgivings he may have had on the
| subject were speedily cleared By pas
senger-a tesjy old gentleman with
| back as broad as a county atlas, and
breath so short that he breathed three
/ times in speaking a word of two sylla-
bles-an old gent with the baldest head
that ever Knocked hair oil, head with n
fringe of upright, bristly hair all round
| it. He stood in the aisle, as he heard
I the dog mentioned, stepping out from
behind the curtains in the attire of
man who is not going into society, i'm
mediately. His bare feet spread out on
/ the floor, his suspenders dangled down
behind him, his fat face glOwed with
rage, and he rOared out to the porter:
''0ut with that dog. No dogs sleep
where | do. | amt used to it and I
won't have it. Trundle him out"
Hold on there cried the confident
husband, "that dogs all right. I've
! got letters
''Blast your lettersi" rOared the old
party. ''The whole United States Post
! office Department can't crowd dog in
on us. Tell you, young man, it amt
right; it amt decent, and, by gum, it
amt safe. Body of man in the bag
gage-car now, on this very train, that
was bit by lap-dog two weeks ago
while he was asleep, and died just IL
days afterward. Country's full of mad
| dogs"
| This was lie, about the dead man,
but it woke every BODY in the car, set
/ all the women to screaming, and arm
/ ed public sentiment against the dog.
''But tell you the dog isn't mad,
persisted the owner, "aDd he'll have to
| stay in here. L have letters from the
| Superintendent of the DIVISION"
Blast the Superintendent" rOared
the asthmatic passenger, triumphantly,
60 He's got nothing to do with the sleep
ing-car. Take the dog into day-coach
and shut him up in wood-box. Throw
him overheard. don't care what you
| do with him, but he can't stay hare"
81 But, my dear sir, " pleaded the young
! man.
"Don't want to hear nothingi" yelled
( the fat passenger, g L don't travel with
a menagerie. Nobody wants your dog
in here!"
''Nol Nobodyl Nobody wants him!"
cane in hearty, fearless chorus from the
other berths, the chorus carefully and
modeStly keeping itself out of sight, so
as not to detraet from the power of the
solo who was gasping ont the most ter
rifle denunciations OF all dogs in gen.
eral and especially this one particular
| dog.
"But my dog" the young man
would plead. ..r.r
'.Devil take your dog, SIR the old
{ passenger would gasp. . What is your
! dog or any mans dog to my comfort?
L say 1 shan't sleep with him in this car.
He can't stay here"
Well, the upshot of it was, the dog
had to emigrate into a day-coach, and
it is gospel fact that that man, just
married, with the prettiest bride that
has been seen in this country (sinee eight
years ago) didn't know whether to sit
in the day-coaeh and hold his dog all
night, or stay back in the sleeper with
his wife, He trotted in and out from
one car to the other until nearly mid
night, keeping every body in fidget.
And every time he came in, the glis-
tening head OF the fat passenger would
poke out from between the curtains,
and he would melt the reproachful
chances of the bereaved young man with
stony glare that would have detected
the presence of that dog had the young
man even attempted to smuggle him in
to the ear by shutting him up TN q watch
case Darlington HaVkeys.