The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-06-06

hermit; the theory 81 the brewer from
Charleston appeared 70 have spread
widely and to have been accepted, hnd-s
ing believers far more & easily than
would have been the case with any state
ment OF the facts concerning him, 70
farsas they had fallen within my knowl--
edge. .$s5 j .3}:I ID.
At last winter drew TO q CLOSE, and
spring came on. advancing coyiy, as is.
the custom Of maidens before whom
the world is ready to bow in eager hom-
age. Then the last of the snow-banks
disappeared from the recesses OF the
hills, the slopes grew green, and the
rank vegetation Of the marsh fonFished
in all the vigor of its strong new life
Once more there were birds in the trees
and flowers in the fields, and once more
from the sea swept invigoratiny
breezee. nv
/ To all about me- spring brought re-.
newed activities. There was a..:tipe
hustle on the farms, and even the sleepy
village seemed to beuawakened. For
the first time my ease became onerous;,
| / fell to inventing tasks to- convince
myself that one could be busy it he
would. My horse, whose existenca
during the winter had been all THAI
equine sloth could desire was how III III
steady service. for the roads were excel
lent, being sufficiently sandy soon to
rid themselves of undesirable moisture,
and i explored the highways and, by
ways for miles around. Near the viii
lage let my steed choose his own gait,
but when we found a level bit of road
where there were likely to be TO spec
tutors the trotter had TN opportunity
to prove his speed. He was all that Car
penter had said for him; devoid of
nerves. yet, when pushed, by long odds
the fastest animal i'll the region. Els.
appearance certainly was against him.
Arching the neck he left to the younger
and less philosophical of his kind; his
head was carried as low as that OF the,
oldest and most decrepit pillow horse.
in the town. He was free from the vice
: of stumbling, yet often seemed to
threaten to lose his footing On the
slightest provocation. A high knee
action was foreign to his notions and
his ordinary trot WAS: q nlerets1auftie.
Yet he covered ground Surprisingly,
even when apparently only 9foutig1nge,
along. His only serious fault, from q
practical point of view, was = !. hard b . d
mouth, which sometimes made IT mo
easy task to pull him ~ q after Eli one IS of
our spurts. 49,. Is i,s,.<sgis; ,t,-.
We were jogging along toward the
village one day, when heard sharp
pattcr of hoofs behind me, and soon
DR.. Banks' clever little mare drew up
alongside the dark bay. ...
Good morning, Norris her owner
called out, in his CHEEKY voice, which
had done as much for his patients as
half his prescriptions. ,.. ..s......
Fine day, doctor" shouted back to
him. t.",..
Every professional-looking nag you've
got there he continued. "Wnl stand
without hitching, I'll be bound"
''He answers my purpose well
enough" l responded, rather stiffiy,
for after awhile jokes about ones horse,
no matter how we'll intentioned, lose the
charm of novelty.
"Pity he hasn't more speed" said the
other. and, with twitch of the reins,
he shot his mare couple of lengths
ahead. 1t was probably his elae g
trot a hundred yards az y q I'd He'll pull
up to watch in triumph my tardy APP.
proach. When he looked over his
shoulder, however, the bays head was
close to his wheel. Much surprised,
and no less disappointed, he brought
his animal down to walk, a proceed
ing which promptly initiated.
'I've been wanting to have talks
with you, Norris" he said. 1T has