The National tribune., 1882-03-11

anu STU ITOlA one WINDOW 10 une Quiet, ilke
the devil in a medicine bottle, the people
stood still and laughed as if they saw an ape.
after three days it was an old story, but
luckily the colonel of the regiment married
young wife and she had set her heart on
driving up and down the highway in glass
coach drawn by four horses. The colonel
had no objections except the expense, and
for years had sung in the evening the beau
tiful song Die Traktementen, die sind zu
klein but he had always considered di-
rectly afterwards how he could best increase
his property, and three days before his we'd
ding won from Hungarian count calash
with two horses, one of which was regular
screw
$50 he went to my little captain and told
him how delightful it would be to turn
coachman and drive himself, and as the two
things needful to make trade, clever man
and simpleton, met, the bargain was struck,
the colonels wife got glass coach and nay
captain the calash and the screw.
lone fine morning when all Peterwardein
expected no HARM my little captain was sit
ting in his new calash driving himself, and
ran the pole through the window of the col
onel's lady's coach. This made great stir,
and the colonels adiutant came out and
asked if the devil was in him.
mo said the captain, mot in me, but the
mares They talked it over and over till
the talking became bargaining, and the bar
gaining became a swap. The adjutaHt was
also one Of the people who know how to
manage so that no harm comes up the rope
to them when they lead dogs, and my little
captain got in exchange for his calash-. and
pair Of mares, saddle horse, gray, which
if it had been the same in front as it was be-
hind, would have left nothing to be desired.
81 knew this gray thoroughly; it had
been sent to Bukowipa the year before to
make up the number Of horses wanted for
the cavalry; and the little captain received
in exchange for his two horses one good-for-
nothing devil, for there were ten furious
fiends and fire-eaters in this one gray, which
ran with all four legs in the air at once, and
was Of no use in Gods world except tastand
in the stable, eat oats, and smash the groom's
shins
well, my little captain got this very gray,
and the next day mounted it and rode
through the streets of Feterwardein into the
fields, and the ten devils in the gray rode
with him, but remained asleep, and the gray
danced along the road like Clerk Blocken's
old black mare. My captain was riding on
ward thinking Of nothing in particular
when hunter came up with dog and my
little captain began to wonder where the.
hunter was going and where the dog was
going, and what the dog was doing with the
hunter and the hunter with the dog. While
he was thinking over these circumstances
their eyes, and whish my little captain
was lying in the ditch.
"Here, my son" said my uncle Matthies
"here" thought his confounded moral was
coming and ducked. NO" said he, "not
yet, the story isn't finished; here my son
originates the saying: When do mountain and
GALLEY meet? To which the answer is: When
Pucklichter falls into ditch.
"The confounded gray then ran round the
race course till it reached the spot where the
captain lay, when it kicked, plunged, neigh
ed, and snorted, while the ten devils in it
had its tail straight out in the air.
"My little captain gathered his bones to-
gether out of the ditch as well as he could,
spit fire and f1ame, snatched the hunters
sun from his shoulder and shouted Wait,
you scoundrel, we haven't done with each
other yet, as the turkey cock said to the
earthworIn wrfthing in its bill,' and wanted
to shoot the gray.
"But the hunter caught his arm and
begged him to spare the horse; it was
senseless animal and meant no harm. When
my little captain swore he couldn't bear the
sight OF it, the hunter swore that he needn't;
he would take the beast himself and give
his hunting-dog for it, and at last succeeded
in soothing him.
$50 this bargain was struck. But the
dog was not the end of the swapping; there
was more to come.
"My little captain knew as much about
hunting as cow does of Sunday, but for
the sake of the brown dog he became
great Nimrod, ran about in pair of huge
top boots, shot himself with both barrels
through the brim of his hat before the eyes
of the whole squadron, and then went par
as if nothing had happened. |
"WelT, I was then quartermaster and
acted as a mother to the whole squadron,
kept the key of the stgong-box and could
the officers by making ad-
vances, so they often took me with them
when they went out hunting, and I was
tired enough of running about for I got |
nothing but weary legs.
"Well, my little captain and 1 went to-
gether, and 1 was clever enough to keep |
three steps behind, for I thought, Your
calves and what is over them are not his
hat-brim.' My little captain called his dog,
patted, stroked, and flogged him,
pulled his ears, made him seek and carry, |
and went through so many performances |
with him that even dog with an angels |
patience would have lost its wits. Ponto
at last became so giddy that he ran when |
he ought to have pointed and pointed when !
he ought to have run, and the captain fired
and missed, blamed Ponto and wanted to
kill the dog. pitied the creature and said
"'The dog is young, captain, it hasn't
been trained enough yet; let me have it,
and I'll give you this pipe bowl. See,
~