Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-01-22
STORY OF A WONDERFUL HORSE.
The Animal Was Taught Many Amusing
Tricks Which He Never Forgot.

The Animal Was Taught Many Amusing
Tricks Which He Never Forgot.
If the owner applies to his horse the rule
of kindness and not of fear, it is astonish-
ing how intelligent, sympathetic and ODE
dent the horse becomes. 1t also very fire.
quently will retain the most clear and dis.
tinct recollection of its old master and its
previous training and habits, although a
long interval of time may have elapsed
since the master and it met.
This is amusingly illustrated in the we'll
authenticated instance of horse called
Punch, owned and trained by the late Mr..
Ashley, the proprietor for many years of
the establishment called by his name (now
Sanger's theater) on the Surrey side of the
Thames.
Ashley was on the best of terms with
Punch, and had taught it no end of clever
tricks. After a variety OF gambols with
the clown it would thrust its head and
neck through a napkin made for the pur-
pose, then sit down to a well spread table,
knock its hoof on the table as hint to
the clown, its attendant, to hurry up and
be sharp. 1t would furiously seize with its
mouth the bellpull. 1t would then eat
whatever was brought, mock TURTLE. e.,
bran mash, n bread fowl, turnips, carrots,
oats beans, etc, called in the play bill by
French culinary terms in fashion. TAX
ing kettle in it's mouth by the handle it
would pour some water in punch bowl,
seize a bottle made for the purpose and
labeled brandy" pour it into the punch
bowl, and deliberately nodding, would
drink the clowns health. Then it would
gayly waltz and finally fall down as a
drunken man would. This scene would
bring down hurricane of applause.
Punch was voted unanimously "star"
performer.
After some time Mr.. Ashley made up a
company, with Punch among the number,
and sent them on tour into the provinces.
They exhibited with various success until
they reached Galway, where, from bad
management or bad luck, they collapsed,
Owing to difficulty in communicating with
Mr. Astley-or something worse--the cred
itors seized the effects and stud, and poor
Punch was hauled off and sold at Il horse
fair, All traces of the horse were lost, al
though Mr.. Ashley did all he could to dis.
cover and regain his favorite.
Four years afterward Ashley, CHANGING
to he in rough quarter of the town, es-
pied in a costermonger's cart a wretched
looking, downcast creature, with bones al
most protru ing through its skin, and a
miserable liklAess to the lost favorte.
Ashley in doubt stood still and tremu-
lousy said, Punch" whereupon the cos
ter's animal pricked up its ears, stood up
on it's hind legs, upset the costermonger
and the carts contents and breaking loose
waltzed up to its old master. Astley's
Down, sir" was instantly obeyed and
there was perfect and touching recognition
between the two.
"Will You part with the animal9" in
quired Ashley of the costermonger.
YES, and glad to be rid of it for i've
pound note"
After having paid the money, the coster-
monger told bun what he had heard and
himself knew about the horse 1t was able
enough Ito take yer air out by the roots"
If it ever saw kettle on the fire il would
rush in, seiz> aud commence all sorts of
games; that it would tug at bellpulls, put
its hoofs on the table, till table or bell
came to grief: and if the band PLAYED in
the street. it would waltz like n real Chris
tian and then pretend to "fall dead like a
herring"
In less than month, after having been
well fed and tended, Punch was back at
its old post looking as fat as Drawn and
ringing bells and drinking brandy and
water, recollecting all its old clever com
ical tricks--as great and general favorite
as ever.-London Tit-Bits.
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