San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-08-14
ONLY A BILLY GOAT.
But He Was the Source of Much
JOY TO Bridegroom.


|
Joy TO a Bridegroom.
| Washington Star.
A reporter for the Star met q
gentleman whose business causes
him TO travel q great deal, a day or
SO ago, and found him talking abou
goats
/ tell you, he said, the goat is "a
| splendid animal. never owned one
myself, and do not expect to, but I
have very kindly feeling toward
goats, and / will tell you why. 1 am
| a city-bred man and never go into
the country tor longer than day or
| two at the time. l don't like it. You
have to put up with too many incon-
veniences. There is no place to go in
the evenings. You don't see compa-
ny enough. In short, it's stupid and
like the city better. However that's
| not the reason why / like goats, but
| it has something to do with it. When
you are travelling through the rural
districts you dom see q goat, but as
soon as you begin to approach city
you see billies and naunies inplenty.
Well, 1t happened to me once on my
| return from New York 10 Washing
ton that 1 took the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad and that we broke
| down. / was going to be married at
noon the next day and l tell you l
| frightened when / tumbled out of the
coach late in the afternoon and found
that we were wrecked and couldn't
get backward or forward. The con-
ductor and the brakemen hustled
| and after four or five hours we got Of
again Oh another train. Along to-
ward morning again We came to q
| stand. This time we weren't WI ecked,
! but soms train ahead of us was. A
delay of five or six hours again would
| put me in pretty fix. There was
the bride who would be waiting at
the altar, and The best man vainly
watching each incoming train. and
high and dry somewhere between
Wilminton and Philadelphia.
I found the conductor and told
him that had to get on to Washing.
ton; that the company would have to
give me special train II necessary;
that the Government of the United
States would go to pieces if I wasn't
in Washington before IL o. clock.
To make long story, short. I man.
aged to catch slow acomodatiop train
not due in Washington until ILLS a.
M, already three quarters OF an hour
J late, and usually an hour behind time
when it got to Washington. How
ever it was the best could do.
You may talk about the longest
| night of your life, but L honestly be-
| lieve no man ever saw q longer night
than the one spent on those cars.
| When morning came we seemed TO
be creeping along. We were now an
hour and half behind time. Then
did what ought TO have done be-
fore. I went to the engin eer of the 10.
connective and took him into my conf
dence. He was good fellow, and he
said he'd try TO get through on time,
but that he had dou BITS whether he
cou Id so on account Of all the stops
he had to make.
Welt said 1, you get me in Wash
ington al ILLS and this $50 bill is
yours.
No Sir, says he, you can send me
q piece OF your wedding cake-that
will be good payment.
went back to the seat and waited.
The old train went as she never bad
gone before, but those contour ded
way stations had to be stopped at
and it was really hard to get up any
steam between them, they were 80
close to one another.
There used to be in those days
particular billy goat that had a rang"
of it's own about two miles. beyoi d
the capital. He was a great Dig fell
low with noble long beard, and
whenever / saw him I used to be
nl II
getting near home. His pasture was
on q high embankme near the rail
road track.
AS the hour approached IL Is kept
my eyes peeled ter the goat. The
engineer was doing his best for l
know he past one or two little stations
| at tremendous speed and the passen-
gers who were waiting to get out
there began to complain, However /
| didn't care for that. 1t was just ll:l2
| o. clock when we rounded q curve in
the road, and forgot where was in
my excitement and screamed out in
delight: The goat! the goat!
Yes, there was old billy standing
on the bluff wigglipg his stump of a
tail munching piece of brown papet
and looking saucy as goat ever
looked, and goats can look very saucy
when they try.
We got in on time. My best man
eized me and rushed me to q carriage
and dressed and got to the church
just three minutes behind time. But
| never see billy goat without asso-
ciating him in my MUD with home
and the lucky escape had on my
wedding day. ~. L..
And the engineer-did he get his
cake? asked the reporter.
You can bet he old. He got more
cake than anyone else at the wedding,