The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1878-01-17

Drives an exile
From the saeth OF his ancestral homestead. *
We may build moro splendid habitations,
fn our rooms With paintines and with sculp-
Buy with s1 sst ts Ss Cd ssp a:sosi..ion.l
fHE TRUMPETER'S HORSE.
4sissai as@asses4
was nearly forty years Of age, and
felt myself SO safely anchored in the
peacesble haven Of 8 bachelors life
tnk hothmg would induce me to run
the risk OF disturbing it by marriage.
But I had reckoned without the trump
eter's horse.
1t was at the end of September, 1864,
mat I arrived ct Paris from Baden, IN
tending only to remain four-and-twenty
hours. l had invited four or five
friends to join me in Potion for the
hunting season, and, as they were to
arrive at the beginning of October,
had only allowed myself a week at La
Roche large to prepare for their re-
ception. A letter from home awaited
myTarival at Paris, bringing me the
disastrous intelligence that out Of twelve
horses five had fallen i'll or lame dur
ing my stay in Baden, so that I was
under the necessity of remounting my
cavalry before left Paris. -,
made the round of all the horse
aealers 0ffh6 Champs Elysees, where
was shown collection of screws, the
average price Of which was Hl2O, but |
was neither in q humor nor in cash to
throw away my money upon such USE
less beasts. It was Wednesday, the
day of Cheri's autumn sale; l went to
the Rue de Ponthieu, and purchased at
A.renture eight horses, which cost me
altogeth@ f2O0. "Outof the eight, !"
said I to myself, there will be surely
four ortive which will co."
Among. these horses there was. one
which, i confess, I bought principally
OF account Of his coat. The catalogue
did not assign to him any special quail
ifications as hunter. All that it
stated was, "Brutus, saddle-horse,
aged, well-broken." It was q large
dappled gray horse, but never had
seen zone better marked, its smooth,
white s4dn. dappled over with fine
black spots SO regularly distributed.
The next morning left for La Roche
large, and the following day nv horses
arrived. My first care was for Brutus.
This gray horse had been running for
the last forty-eight hours in my head,
and was anxious to try his PAGES, and
see what he was good for. He had long
teeth. and every mark of respectable
age. a powerful shoulder. and he car
ried his head well; but what most adj
mired in Brutus was the way in which
he looked at me, following every move
ment with his attentive, intelligent, in
quisitive eye. Even my words seemed
to interest him; he leaned his head on
one side as if to hear me, and when |
had finished speaking replied with
merry neigh. The other seven horses
were brought out to me in succession,
but they resembled any other horses,
and Brutus certainly was different from
them all. l was anxious to take little
ride in the country, in order to make
his acquaintance.
Brutus allowed himself to be sad
died, bridled and mounted as a horse
who knew his work, and we started
quietly together, the best friends possi-
bic. He had beautiful mouth, and
answered to every turn of the rein,
arching his neck and champing his bit.
His PAGES were perfect; he began by
slow. measured canter, raising his ieet
very high and letting them fall with
the regularity of a pendulum. / tried
him at trot and short gallop, but
when l sought to quicken his pace he
began to amble in grand style. .Ah,n
said l, II see how it is; have bought
an old horse out Of the cavalry riding
school at Saumur. s it@s9o
l was about to turn homeward, salts
fed with the talents of Brutus, when a
shot was heard short distance off. It
was one of my keepers firing at rab-
bit, for which shot be it said, en- pas
SAINT, he afterward received ahandsome
present from my wife. was then ex-
actly in the center of an open space
where six long green roads meet. On
hearing the shot, Brutus stopped short
and put his ears forward in an attitude
OF attention. ! was surprised to see him
SO impressionable. After the brilliant
military education, / assumed he had
received in his youth, he must be well
accustomed to, the report of gun. L
pressed my knees against him to make
him move on, but Brutus would not
stir. / tried to back him, to make. him
turn to the right. or to the left, but in
vain. l made him feel my riding whip,
but still he was immovable. Brutus
was not to be displaced; and yet, do not
smile for mine is true history-each
time urged him to move, the horse
turned his head round and gazed upon
me with an eye expressive of impa-
tience and surprise, and then relapsed
into his motionless attitude. There
wQ evidently some misunderstanding
betFeen me and my horse. saw it ii /
hids6yDa.s Brutus was saying, as plain
~ as he could without speaking, ~.
horse, do what ought to do, and you,
horseman, do not perform your part
l was more. puzzled than: embar-
raised. What a strange horse Cheri
has sold me! and why does he look
upon me n such wayp'' was about
to proceed to extremities and admins
ter to him good thrashing, when an
ottprshot wss ed. i
The horse thea made one bound. Il
thought ! had gained my point, and
again tried to start him, but in vain. |
He stopped short and planted himself
more resolutely than ever. / then got !
into rage and my riding entered |
into play. I took it in both hands and |
struck the horse right and left. But |
BrutusI TO, lost pstience, and, finding |
passive reeiataqce unavaillng, defended I
himself by rearing. kicking and plung-