The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1885-10-31
FIVE MINUTES wITH 1 MAD DOC.
ISt. James Gazette.l

20 10 the Britannia public house,
In Soho and poison a large retriever
belonging to the landlord. My
master had seen the dog during
bis rounds, and found il in dan
gerously rabid state. | filed i
small bottle with hydrocyanic acid,
and. taking a syringe, went OF at
once to see about ii. Arriving at
the house l stated my business,
aud was handed over to the pot
boy to be conducted to the dog
which i could hear bowling every
few seconds. There being no
yard to the house, they had chain.
cd the dog down in the cellar to
q staple in the wall. "'Es q very
bad case, sir,n said my guide. 'sn'
I'll be glad when it's all over; for,
although be was a great pet with
us all, an that fond of the kids
you never see, it's swfulto zee lin
not know any of us, but when we
goes near im to have lin como o.
flying at us. Think Ell suffer
muchr There he goes ear him I
All day long, Q 'owls like that.'
assured him it would soon be
over without much pain, aud de.
scending some steps, we passed
through q room in the basement
that was dimly lit by a small and
grimy window. Cases of wines
aud spirits we're ranged against
the walls, aud we could hear the
tramp of the thickly shod custom
ers in the bar or taproom just
above our heads. Opening door
we passed into another room this
was lighted only by the small win.
dow in the room We bad just left,
as il shone through the now open
door. "He's in there,n said the
pot boy, pointing to another door
in the wall opposite.
Thinking there was a window in
the room, | pushed the door open,
aud immediately heard the rattle
of chain and the hoarse half howl,
half growl ofthe poor beast, whose
eyes | could see against the far
wall cleaning through the dark.
Window there was none.
"Why on earth didn't you bring
a light ~ | asked, angrily; "you
don't suppose l can poison him in
the dark 7"
"Thought I lad a match," said
the boy, fumbling in his pockets
"there's a a gas jet just inside the
door,"
had no matcheP, so | sent him
up pstairs to get some. and awaiting
his return, sat down on on empty
beer keg near tho door.
The dog seemed uneasy, and
fancying the light through the
doorway annoyed and distressed
him, I pushed it to with my hand
The boy was some time gone q
found afterward he had been tt
ask his mistress If she would like
to have last look at the old dog)
and | sat there thinking over tb,
Job. The air of the cellar was
close, and the smell of the wet
sawdust on the floor was unpleas
ant. Clank went the dogs chain
against the wall or the floor rs he
moved uneasily about, wondering
dare say, what was my errant
there. Then the movement ceased
for time, or, partly absorbed IL
my thoughts, failed to notice 1t
The next minute | started, feeling
something rub against my leg
Looking down, | saw two cleaning
eyes just at my knee. The dog
was loose. the staple having work
ed it's way out Of the damp and
yielding mortar.
For q second OF two nearly lost
consciousness. Ny heart seemed
to stand still by an effort kept
from going off into faint. | shall
never forget the next few minutes
as long as | live. l was alone in
the dark, with this rabid beast
rubbing about my legs--first one
and then the other, as if he were
trying to find out who | was. Then
he rested his nose on my knees
and looked straight up into my
face. / sat like o statue, knowing
that at the slightest movement he
would probably seize me and
knowing (who better y that such a
bite In his advanced state of die
ease was almost certain death, and
horrible death, too. Nerving
myself, I sat perfectly still, calcu.
lating as we'll as | could my
chances of escape. Presently the
dog put one paw then the other,
on my knee, aud standing on bis
hind legs, gently rubbed his head
against my breast, then over my
arms, aud then commenced to ex
plore my face. ! shut my eyes, and
felt his nose pass several times
across my face, covering it with
~