The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-07-19

nun with Inc. He was death on cfts-bull-
tearer, you know-death on cats Godfry-
mighty! how he hated eats Well, 1 was
| peddlin that time-had him with me-'bout
three weeks ago-had this dog with me.
Had to sell him cause he'd jump off the
cart, and run into every store we come to
N grab the cats,-grab 'em by the back of
the neck n hold on till they're dead. GOD
| frymighty! how he'd hold on-bulLtearer,
| you know-hold on awful Had to sell him
| at last he killed many cats. Got cussin'
every store come to cause he killed the
cats. But had him with me this time
fore sold him-'bout three weeks ago.
Well, we come to a store one day, IN large
black N white dog run out, (mine was a
small og-bull-tearer) the other dog, the
black N white dog, he run out and barked
at my dog My dog jumped for him an
| grabbed him by the nose-right by the nose,
N held on. Godfrymighty! how he held onl
Bull-tearers, you know'll hang on awful The
other man, his owner, man t owned the
black n white dog, he run out N tried to
pull my dog off. No use, he held on-bull-
tearer you know. And the other man-inan
It owed the other dog-black N white dog
he grabbed my dog by the hind legs; then he
swung 'em both right round his head-both
of 'em-both dogs-my dog N the black and
white dog-swung 'em both round his head
swung 'em right round. But my dog
didn't let go till he'd bit piece out er that
dogs nose-the black and white dog's-took
piece right out # his nose. After that
had to sell him; couldn't keep him; always
killin' cats, you see; never'd let go till he
killed 'em. Godfrymightiest dog to hold ON
ever saw. Reg'lar bull-tearer."
So ended the chronicle of the bull-terrier.
There are people who profess to think
the country post-ofiice or village tavern or
railway station the true meeting place of ru-
raj gossips. They are mistaken and know
not whereof they speak. The post-office is
only available at mail-time; the tavern only
ofinterest when a stranger draws up before
it, or in court or convention time; the sta
tion only visited at the arrival of trains But
the country-store is always open and fire.
quented during waking hours. 1t is the true
paradise of the loafer
In the subjoined communication "B'
leads us through many pleasant ways and
into right merry company. The taste he
gives of Scott and Moore and Nodier and
the men they liked to hear and talk about
makes us wish for the whole feast. OF Scott
certainly there must be many delightful
things to tell, and Moore's Diary is a mine
well worth working. The Frenchman will
be revelation to many of us, and the little
we have heard is so good that we eagerly
prick up our ears for more. Yorick hopes
''B' will continue his researches and not
fail to appear with his find at the reopening
of the Drawer in September:
have been roaming, my dear Yorick, during
the hot weather, with dear Sir Walter Scott
through the highlands of Scotland, as he de-
scribes them in his letters and diary, which
we read so enthusiastically in Lockharts Life
of the Magician of the North (or is it the Wiz
ard of the North0 While roaming through
these charming and characteristic letters I
came across the following sentence, which de-
scribes very aptly the condition Of my own
head in these days. "When you turn bottle
with its head downmost, you must have re-
marked that the extreme impatience of the
contents to get out, all at once, greatly impedes
their getting out at all.'
Now, that is my condition. 1 have so many
quotations, jokes, stories, and literary remarks
on hand, that, although they have long been
ready for your Drawer, they won't, any of
them, come at my call. So will try to pour
more slowly, and keep the bottle pretty level.
first hot oto off, hx,
"Eboracus," darting the anathema of medical
knowledge against the ever frequent use of
''blood coursing in his reins," Gnstead of arte-
ries), rather amused me, and 1 was not less
amused when on the following day found two
authors using the word arteries correctly One
OF them was Calvert, who has lately written
"Life of Rubens;" the only commendable thing
in the whole being the correct use of the word
in question. read that "Life" with all the
energy of which am capable, and when had
ended, cried in despair, "Why hasn't he told
us something about Rubens's tfe?" On the
very same day L picked up a romance by
Charles Nodier IA prince amongst French sto-
ry-tellers) and therein read of "blood beating
his arteries which again amused me and
proved that some authors will try to overcome
popular prejudices and so-ealled popular igno-
rance.
Our friend Nodier was capital story-teller.
1t is interesting to see how much influence
Goethe's "Werther" had upon him. We trace
this influence through all his early tales, until
he formed his own style. Nodier was not only
good story-teller, but he was man with a
mind, as one or two quotations here shall prove.
take them at random from wild and dark
romance of his called "Jean Sbogar:"
"Show me in history monarchy which has
not been founded by thief"
"Some one asked me once il loved children.
L believe do; they are not yet men,"
Liberty is not so rare treasure; it is in the
hands OF all strong men, and in the purse of
all the rich''
when politics becomes science of words
all is lost. There is something more vile in
the world than the slavery of tyrant; that is,
the dupe of sophism."
This last quotation commend to our Green
back friends, and so leave Nodier aside for
time.
AS everyone knows, this year was the CEN
tennial year of the birth of Tom Moore How
could better celebrate it than to read his
Diary? So passed almost all of my leisure
hours in the month of May in wandering
through those eight fascinating volumes, (the
first complete reading, by the way, that our
Public Library copy of the work ever met
with) and as made notes here and there, L
beg to offer them for hot days reading:
Somebody remarked to Lord Abercorn, how
well his trees grew. Sir, he replied they
have nothing else to do"
Several Russians came into the best Lon
don society in 1S14-15, and were said to be very
fond OF eating candles. Jeckyl said one day
very demurely, Bad for the liver, but good for
the lights
when the Princess of Wales came over to
England in 1895 it was discussed in company
where Lady Charlotte Lindsey was what one
word of English her Royal Highness Totally
Ignorant of English) should be taught first to
speak. All agreed that yes was the most
useful word. Lady Charlotte, however, sug-
gested no. as twice as useful, because it so
often stood for yes'
"Sydney Smith was once knocked down by
a carriage. Remembering how much of Lord
Grey's patronage had accrued from accidents
to clergymen, he found himself saying as he
fell: Here's another"
"Not far from London there once stood a