Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-04-13

would then slowly come nearer at my re-
peated words of forgiveness and endear-
ment, until at length he crouched down
to the earth at my feet, and hid his head
there as / caressed him.
One hot, sultry day l went to the vii
lage, mile distant, and took him with
me. 1t was long, dusty tramp for us,
and by the time we were ON the road re-
turning homeward the late afternoon had
come. On the near approach to the
house there was long stretch of level
road, at the end of which it turned off
down the hill There was a clump of
trees at this turning point AS I entered
upon this long stretch I noticed that the
dog painted dreadfully from the heat,
which was intense and sitting. Sudden
ly setting up whelp, he dashed forward
with the speed of the wind, and was out
of sight in the cloud of dust which he
raised before / had begun to think of
trying to stop him. Again, the cloud
having lifted, I caught sight of him, just
as he was scampering around the curve
into the clump of trees, and L saw no
more of him for some time. [ ran on
and hastily searched for him in the
thicket; not seeing him there | rushed
to the house and searched the premises.
No dog. looked and inquired in every
imaginable place, but found him not.
The pup was gone, and [ was in despair.
I sat disconsolate on the front porch,
and brooded over my misfortune, tor
tured with remorse for former, and I'M
til then forgotten deeds of cruelty; when
lifting up my eyes after awhile, beheld
the beloved and sincerely mourned OBJ
iect coming toward me. With heart
swelling with gratitude embraced him
and took him into supper. [ never dis
covered where he had hidden himself,
but was told afterward that he he'd had a
fit, caused by the heat.
He was truly affectionate animal,
and the manner of his approach when [
called to him from distance was quite
affecting. had merely to whistle few
notes and say "Here Frisk, here frisk!"
and the effect was electrical. Instantly
would he fling up his head, and, without
delay, would come tearing down the road
unto me, and, unable to stop himself,
would eventually halt some little distance
beyond me, then come back painting,
and recklessly fling himself all over my
person in the extremity of his fondness.
Of course he grew, and as he grew we
learned to love one another with great
sincerity. In winter | made luxurious
bed of rags i'll little area adjoining the
sitting room, and there allowed him to
sleep at night. And in the morning he
never failed to pleaseme with his scratch
ing at the door when I came down to
warm myself by the fire.
Such was the companion of my youth,
ever cheering and kind, little terrier that
he was, with his brown spots and rough,
whitish-gray coat. I shall never forget
him nor his peculiar1ties. / shall not
forget the sorrow with which / at last
learned that we must part-that he was
mine no more. For we became separated
through most lamentable circumstance
This circumstance was that, having
taken him with me for company on sew
eral of my numerous journeys to the vii
lage, [ at length discovered him in the
society of and becoming fatally intimate
with certain of the village dogs. From
that time onwardmy peace was disturbed,
and I became victim of cares and
anxieties. Bitter jealousy was upper
most my mind, and / never allowed
him to accompany me to the village
mort. DOA1 ~ oOou dppcdISo eudt Cudt
did not prevent his going there on his
own hook, and I made the alarming
discovery that the baleful influence of
those village dogs was gradually wean-
ing him from me; there grew up
slight GOODNESS between us, and his
former demonstrations of Joy at my
approach were changed into an appear
ance of guilt and a desire to avoid ME,
at first expressed with deprecatory
looks and hanging tail, but afterward
AS he became hardened by frequent
stolen visits to the village-with bold
looks of defiance and logged indiffer-
ence; until at length he was complete
~ alienated from me, and went to the
village and his beloved new acquaint-
ances to return no more, leaving me in
sorrow and loneliness.
One sad night after this mournful cir
cumstance, dreamed: and 10 in my
dream the rain roared down, seething
and splashing in the village street. But,
oh, bitterness of grief what availed my
lamentations for what [ saw in my dream
for what [ saw-the lean and lifeless
body of little Frisk, lying on the cold
stones with the pitiless rain pouring on
him.