The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-11-13
HECTOR UNITED THEM.
1t Was the Only Way As He Could
MT Show Fayoritism.

Not that son of Priam, the beloved OF
Andromache, but still a real prince Of
his race, and greatly beloved by one
small A magnificent mastiff
is Hector, as brave and bold, not to say
as gallant and noble, as many a hero
with two legs less. AS for dogs not be-
ing able to think, any who al en-
terrain such an idea deserves to live in
"a chill condition of doglessness' to the
end of his days. ! will tell you about
Hector and you may judge for yourself.
Having been suddenly thrown upon
my own resources, as so often befalls a
girl brought up in luxury in this swiftly
whirling maelstrom of u American
life, | determined to cultivate the only
decided talent | possessed, that for paint
ing. Dresden was recommended to me
as a place both cheap to live in and Of
fering unusual facilities for art study. /
accordingly went there. Without a
chaperon? Certainly. / was to be a per-
son of affairs, and what was a business
woman to do with 81 costly, not to say
inconvenient, IN appendage as a chape-
ron? All winter l studied and copied in
the gallery, and when summer came |
took the little steamboat which runs up
and down the Elbe, bowling its smoke
stack so de~ferentially to all the bridges,
and hunted up picturesque castles to
sketch.
"Lieben-felsen" was the beautiful old
scbloss l fell specially in love with, SO l
finally persuaded an old couple who
lived near it to take me to board for a
few weeks. They had rather a nice lit
tie house and a garden that sloped down
to the waters edge. There, under the
~overhanging trees, / used to sit for hours
gazing up at the massive towers just on
the other side Of the castle wall. Now
and then a feeling of loneliness swept
over me, and my heart yearned for some
of the pleasures of my joyous past.
One morning l asked my landlady if
any of the numerous German laws would
be infringed if l should go in swimming.
At first she declared I would drown i'm
mediately, but when | assured her that
I had known how to swim since a child,
she finally consented, with a protest as
to the general unusualness of American
behavior.
How refreshing it was! What happi-
ness to plunge fearlessly into the cool,
clear water! Not a living soul was to be
seen; not a sound to be heard. Suddenly
a great splash startled me. / felt my
bathing dress seized between the shout
ders and myself dragged vigorously out
of the water upon the bank. / was thor
oughly terrified, but fortunately made
no resistance. AS / looked up an enor-
nous head appeared and large pair Of
| eyes gazed inquiringly into mine.
had always loved dogs, but this mon
strous disturber of my peace was so for
midable that I dared not move. He, too,
was motionless; and / read on his collar
| the name, 'Hector." At last l raised
my hand very gently and patted him on
the neck, and to my infinite relief I per-
ceived a slight vibration in the tip end
| of his tail. just as l was wondering how
far l dared Presume upon that friendly
symptom he Tapped his rough tongue all
over my face. Then I sat up and
laughed, and he jumped and f%rolicked,
as large as a young lion, as gentle as a
kitten.
Presently I tried to go back into the
water, but to this he forcibly objected,
and I was obliged to submit. When I
returned to the house he accompanied
me, to the terror of my hostess. HE
belongs up at the schloss," she explained;
''the young graf is away travelling, and
almost all the servants are afraid of
him"
u -
"Poor fellow, I thought; he has been
lonely, too; that is what we read in each
others eyes. After hat Hector and
were inseparable. He came every day,
and we explored all the surrounding
country together. l am sure he thought
yes, thought, just as much as you or /
consequently ought to appoint himself
my guardian. To me he seemed like a
living link to the beautiful old castle, a
protector and faithful friend.
One morning as we were returning
from a long walk saw advancing that
always novel sight to American eyes, a
woman and a dog harnessed together,
dragging q cart. In this instance the
cart was full of vegetables. 1t was evil
0CAbAy q llid hCu L tbhAAS plOoOCo "
town. Now Hector was a true knight,
valiant, loyal apd gentle, but he pos
sessed also that other characteristic of
knighthood, he brooked no intruders;
and no sooner did one of his kind appear
than he challenged him to combat. l
knew this and trembled, but hoped for
the best.
Unluclily, however, that plebeian dog,
as he approached, presumed to give a
defiant bark, which settled his fate. In
stantly Hector gave n spring, and seiz-
ing his boastful adversary shook him
out of his harness in less time than it
takes to tell of it, overturning the cart
and scattering the vegetables in every
direction. / was distressed beyond meas
ure, and called Hector in the most COM
manding tones / could assume. Then l
coaxed him, all of which he entirely ig-
nored. Meanwhile the other one of the
p was by no mean quiet.
She was indeed perfectly furious-she
abused Hector, she abused me, she
abused the aristocracy, to which she
seemed to think we both belonged. as
highway robbers and assassins! In my
desperation / picked up a stick to COM
pei Hector to obedience. but she mistook
my motive and advanced upon me in y