The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1896-09-18
MUGGINS.

Van Caters bought his famous bull
pup when bull pups were in fashion.
and paid a good round sum for him.
The pup came of a long line of fighting
ancestors, and his noble name was
Muggins.
Inside of week Muggins had Van
Caters completely in subjection. Mug
gins slept on Van Caters bed and
chawed Van Caters feet when he
moved them in the night; Muggins
breakfasted on Van Caters cuffs,
lunched on Van CATERS boots, dined
and supped on choice bits of Van Gait
ers' friends.
Muggins, plus Van Caters, walked
down Fifth avenue of an afternoon,
and was sure to become involved in
some street brawl before Van, Caters
got him home again. Generally Van
Caters got mixed up in the row as well,
and once the two landed in a police
station and had to be bailed out.
Not that Muggins picked quarrels.
Far from that. But Muggins was so
bow-legged that he walked in a chain
stitch pattern from one side of the walk
to the other, and Muggins was of an
ugliness that appalled, one; like the re-
Election Of a respectable dog in a con-
vex mirror with a Fink in it.
There was something about the crook
ed, yet jaunty advance of him, some
thing in the slanting leer of his bulg-
ing brown eye, that set other dogs
teeth on edge. Hence battle for Mug
gins brooked no criticism. Pugs and
such things he rolled about on the cob
bles until their tails were out of curl.
But when big dogs went home minus
an ear or section of tail or with badly
lacerated leg the owner merely groan-
ed, 'It's that beastly bull pup of Van
Caters"
So much for the va1or of Muggins.
For intelligence Muggins was wonder.
Humor-Muggins' sense of humor was
colossal.
He used regularly to charge upon the
blind man who sold pencils at the foot
of the al" station and grab the handful
of his wares the old fellow so patheti-
cally extended. Then Muggips would
retreat to the cable track to devour
them, leaving Van Caters to pick up
the poor old chap, set him on his camp
stool and make good his loss. The
blind man never came to endure Mug
gins onslaughts with equanimity,
though he profited largely by this novel
method of sale.
Muggins went about Brooklyn in a
cab with Van Caters at the time of the
trolley strikes, when Van Caters was
hunting up sensations and various regi-
mental friends of his. Muggins escap-
ed from the cab in Hicks street and
upset a whole company of the Thir-
teenth Regiment boys, who were drill
Ing in front of Chinese laundry, their
temporary quarters. Muggins started
to run around the block and dashed be-
tween the legs Of company X, then
changed his mind and dashed back
again, bowling over the whole line The
boys were angry enough to have bayo-
neted him If Van Caters had not
caught him in the rebound and hauled
him into the cab.
Then Muggins was the sworn enemy
of the young De Peysters, next door,
who were always playing tricks on the
passers-by. They were trying the cob
blestone trick Sne day, and had set on
the walk a granite block done up in
wrapping paper with a pink string.
While they lurked In the areaway,
waiting to hoot at the first unfortunate
who should attempt to kick it out of
his path, Muggins came trotting down
the steps and made for it. The boys
charged him, but Muggins kept them
off. He tried his jaw on each of the
four corners of the block. and a howl
of derision went up from his foes. Then
Muggins tried to carry 1t off by the
string and failed. Finally, with inf
mite difficulty and low growls he rolled
it to the foot of the Van Cater steps
and stood guard over it, nibbling 1t pen
sively the while till his master appear
ed.
1t was "tamale" year that year and
tamale men were on every corner. Mug
gins has ideas on the subject. He
liked the smell of the hot tamales and
the grateful warmth emanating from
the big tin cans in which the tamales
were stored. If he found tamale man
absent from his post for moment Mug
gins would squat down like Chinese
Idol in front of the can, and take charge
of it.for the rest of the evening, while
customers waited and the tamale man
shrieked and swore, afraid to approach
and Van Caters enjoyed the fun.
Then Muggins prevented his master
20 10 Do
The night Of Mrs. Van Caters empire
ball Muggins had concealed himself in
the conservatory some time during the
day and appeared when Van Caters
was starting in. Emilia looked very
well under the light of the fairy lamps,
and It was all very tender and touch
ing. Muggins changed all that by pre-
tending to start a rat or cat or any
old thing and chivyying it round and
round the conservatory till he got Van
Caters laughing so that he couldn't
speak and another man came up and
claimed Emilia for the next dance, and
there was an end Of that. Very glad
Van Caters was of it, too, for just then
he fell in love with little Marie.
Marie was the only person whom
Muggins feared. She was second
cousin and poor. and visited the Van
CATERS most Of the time. You can
Judge of her status In the family by
the fact that the children alternately
hugged and bullied her, and the elders
made her handsome presents when
they remembered her existence.
Marie was little and fragile and SEN
sitive, but by no means coward. She
dos.ox.doak honarlno aho hod