St. Landry democrat., 1891-12-12
I" HECTOR"
BY CELIE GAINES.

Not that son Of Priam, the beloved OF
Andromache, but still real prince OF
his race, and greatly beloved by one
small woman. A magnificent mastiff is
Hector, as brave and bold, not to say a.
J. gallant and noble, as many hero with
two legs less. AS for dogs not being able
to think, any one who can entertain such
an idea deserves to live in "chill cond-
ton 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 girl
brought up in luxury in this swiftly
whiring maelstrom of our American life,
/ determined to cultivate the only decided
talent | possessed, that for painting
Dresden was recommended to me as a
place both cheap to live in and offering
unusual facilities for art study. l ac-
cordingly went there. Without q
| chaperone? Certainly. | was to be a
person of affairs, and what was business
woman to do with so costly, not to say in
convenient, an appendage as chaperone?
All winter | studied and copied in the
| gallery, and when summer came | took
the little steamboat which runs DIP and
down the Elbe, bowling its smoke-stack so
| deferentially to all the bridges, and
hunted up picturesque castles to sketch.
''Lieben-f elsen' was the beautiful old
schoss fell specially. in love with; so |
finally persuaded an old couple who lived
| near it to take me into board for lew
weeks. They had rather a nice little
house, and 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 feeling of loneliness swept
over me, and my heart yearned tor some
of the pleasures Of the joyous past. One
morning | asked my landlady if any Of
the numerous German laws would be in
fringed if I should go in swimming. At
first she declared | would drown immedi-
ately, but when assured her that had
known how to swim since child, she
finally consented with protest as to the
general unusualness Of American be-
hayior.
How refreshing it was! What happi-
ness to plunge fearlessly into the cool,
clear water! Not living soul was to
be seen; not sound to be heard. Sud-
denly great splash startled me. felt
my bathing dress seized between the
shoulders andmyself dragged vigorously
out of the water upon the bank. was
thoroughly terrified, but fortunately
made no resistance. AS | looked up ali
enormous headappeared, and large pair
Of eyes gazed inquiringly into mine.
had always loved dogs, but this monstrous
disturber of my peace was so formidable
that | dared not move. He, too, was
motionless; and | read on his collar the
name, "Hector" At last | raised my
hand very gently and patted him on the
neck, and to my infinite relief~I per-
ceived slight vibration in the tip end
of his tail Just as--I Ivy iE g. wondering
how far | dared presume upon that
friendly Symptom, he Tapped his rough
tongue all over my face. Then sat up
and laughed, and he jumped and
frolicked as large as a young lion, as
gentle as kitten.
Presently l tried to go back into the
water, but to this he forcibly objected,
and / was obliged to submit. When
returned to the house he accompanied
me, to the terror of my hostess. "He
belongs up at the schloss," she ex-
planned; 'the young graf is away trav-
cling, and almost all the servants are
afraid Of him.
Poor fellow, I thought; he has been
lonely, too; that is what we read in each
others eyes. After that Hector and
were inseparable. He came every day
and we explored all the surrounding
country together. | am sure he thought
yes, thought, just as much as you or |
can think-that he saved my life and
consequently ought to appoint himself
my guardian. To me he seemed like
living link to the beautiful old castle,
protector and faithful friend.
One morning as we were returning
from long walk, saw advancing that
always novel sight to American eyes, a
woman and dog harnessed together,
dragging cart. In this instance the
cart was full Of vegetables. 1t was evil
IDENTIFY market frau taking produce to
town. Now Hector was true knight, val
liant, loyal and gentle, but he possessed
also that other characteristic Of knight
hood, he brooked no intruders; and no
sooner did one Of his kind appear than
he challenged him to combat. | knew
this and trembled, but hoped for the
best. Unluckily, however, that plebeian
dog, as he approached, presumed to give
a defiant bark, which settled his fate.
Instantly, Hector gave one spring, and
Selling 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 mea-
sure and called Hector in the most COM
manding tones | could assume. Then
coaxed him, all Of which he entirely
ignored. Meanwhile, the other one of
the span was by no means quiet. She
was indeed perfectly furious. She abused