The Press., 1897-07-01

@ Sense or nuknoT anu AVN0 AAA~1As
 Played In the Meadow by Old Ball.
 Frank and the Broken Rein.
 The country doctor is expected to go whenever called-rGin or shine, heat or cold, night or day; son ctimtA perhaps, leisurely, but often as quickly as pOssi- ble Through all this his horse and himself are constant companions and share together the joys and the sorrows of the road. Itis not strange, therefore, that an attachment of more than ordi- nary intensity often springs up between them, during which tie man notes the almost human qualities of the horse.
 While quite q Ley I kIew horse of such humor and intelligence that he gave me a high opinion of horses in general. SomCLCw tke tricks of old Ball led me to consider horse as almost of kin to human beings, and have always talked to them and treated them ac- cordingly Ball, fine animal belong ing to my uncle, who lived on farm adjoining ours, was a sorrel horse of good size and especially fine head, with heavy neck and shoulders. He had done a great deal of farm work ill his time, but was now too old for anything but occasional light service, so he usually had the range of a pasture in front of the house, that reached up to the yard fence. There were cattle and sheep in the same pasture.
 Ball was noted for his cunning and clever tricks, such as opening gates and doors, pulling down bars and the like, but no one suspected him of playing practical jokes on sheep when one after another was found on the wrong side of the fence It was by his antics and evident delight whenever a sheep was so found that he attracted attention. A watch was instituted, and soon, when Ball thought no one saw him, he slyly picked up G y!CCp by the wool with his teeth and dropped it over the fence. Then. going away some distance, he anxiously waited, evidently watching for some enc to come out of the house. As soon as Eo saw that the sheep was discovered he gave snCrt and began to run HLd kl,k Cp his heels with delight.
 Som( times ho would steal articles and ElGc t!tnr, evidently just for the fun of the thing. Ore day q heavy maui, such i.s is used fer splitting rails and wood. WAS left so near the fcTct that he cot !d reach it When hu sup, posed that O,-U saw him, he took the maui uo Nlth Lis tCCt!!, carried 1t to the farther FldC of the field, carefully hid it behind the stump Of tree, and then w%tt .,d the result This time he had lUn tttIi t,;1IyirG the maui away, so tho men mace great ;GO, pretending to be hunting for it, looking i'll the fence CClntrs Grd behind stumps, while Ball W as Il:nril 2, snorting and kicking up his heels with unECunded delight Wherever they TTpToached the maui, he tried to attract their attention to some other TO1Lt,
 While l have been engaged in the practice of HCdiCine Il horses have had TO CTTCrtunlty to perform tricks like these. Lut mary times l have seen exhibitions Cf intelligence and humor no less marked.
 1 have known many hcrses that sSlow ed good desrec Of humor as well as in | telligencc, but for good sense 1 think Frank was little superior to any oth- CT He was years old when I traded l for him.
 l When he first came into my posses sion, he had the habit of frequently throwing his head up, and, as his bridle was somewhat loose, the brow band would sometimes lodge upon his ear | Whenever this happened I would stop him, get out of the buggy and replace | it. He soon learned to throw the band up whenever he would like to stop and be petted little. I might have pre- vented this at once by making the bri- | de fit better, but it occurred to me that, with this beginning, I might soon teach him to stop when anything else got | wrong, and this did, sc that the least | disarrangement of the harness would | cause him to stop and wait to have it fixed. Sometimes, however, he would | stop when the trouble was not, in my | opinion, sufficient to warrant so eau tious procedure.
 One day, as was driving along at a slow trot over a smooth, lonesome road had dropped the reins over the buggy apron and was becoming quite inter ested in the reading of a newspaper when Frank suddenly stopped, I looked all around and over him, but could see nothing wrong, so said, with some emphasis, "Get up, Frankl" But he still stood and kept throwing his head up and down. AS sat there with the paper in my hand I looked again, and especially to the bridle, but saw nothing wrong. l now, without taking up the reins, took the whip from its socket and giving him. a sharp cut, repeated my command to go along This undeserved l punishment nettled him very much, but still he would not move forward. After standing for a few moments, as if il deep thought, he suddenly turned to the | right until the wheel on that side touched the buggy. Then again he stooc stock still, only throwing his head a! before. l now took up the reins anC pulled with the left hand to bring hin back into the road, when, to my aston ishment, found that the rein on that side, which had been fastened with z snap, was unsnapped
 When l got out to fasten it, Franl squealed. believe horse never squeali unless he is excited. 1 never heard
 Frank squeal before, but now he no only squealed, but shook his head, paweC
 the ground and manifested his deligh
 by every means that he could command
 As we afterward moved along home
 ward several times, as the though
 would come to his mind afresh, he would shake his head and squeal for joy.-
 Youths Companion.
 | Stevens and Maynard