Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-01-23

"a Christmas Eve.
pomorseless time, with cruel in
...toncc. had robbed Mickey Finn S
,l,vcoat of his pristine playfulness.
ais step was slow and decrepit. His
,,s-rer was blase.
Iiis teeth were loosened so that the
,-a.ssome rutabaga turnip and the
!.tr- carrot would have awakened only
.nonptasod desire. But he was not
~. ID SO cruel a test, because these
fairties were reserved for the nanny
Nth economical tactical intent. In
Hrs. Firms rude philosophy utility
needed philanthropy.
rut old age was not altogether re-
so1asible for loosening the goat S
18th Decay had taken an able as
si.a9t in the shape of trolley car.
In the course OF a long and varied
career the goat had acquired some
tnowledge of botany and natural his
,ory. TO these were added some few
fats regarding painting, which the
cost had assimilated from circus bills.
10 yarv the monotony of prosaic ex-
;stenee the goat had acquired a playful
habit Of stepping on the track just as
the horse car came along.
It we'll known principle of equine
action that no self-respecting horse
ever tried 10 step over a goat that was
alive. Consequently the driver was
forced to use his whip also his stock
ot exDetiyes. But an all-wise Provi-
denco had denied the goat any knowl-
elga Of physics, especially of the mar
yaous power of electricity. Hence,
when they replaced the horsecar with
uoeys-but details are unnecessary.
But although the billy's teeth were
l7osencd and his kneejoints stiff with
rheumatism he was not unhappy. Long
i9tr0sDectiOn, together with inherited
instinct, had taught him the salutary
lesson that life is a comedy, and so it
was that he came to be regarded as a
hum0rist rather than a tragedian.
BY common consent he was associat-
Ell with the clam and the negro baby
fl popular estimation. Why this was
50 it would be hard to tell, for he al
ways wore a look of unwinl1ing SOL
cmnicy and inscrutability. Still, he
was universally IOFeu.
The boys cared for him because he
had been the means of putting many
cents into their pockets. Because of
bis magnificent proportions, his great
horns and his splendid beard, he was
coveted by many passersby. The boys
lossoed him with a clothes line (for a
consideration), his legs were tied to-
go.her, he was thrown into a wagon,
end carried several miles away to dec
crate some well-kept lawn But he
never remained away more than three
days, and came back to his old pas
turage dragged a rope with stake
tied 70 it, to be resold the next week.
Ind now that the fiery old buccanoer
had arrived at such an advanced age
that he was of no more uae az a pro-
pulSve force, he was still beloved by
his owner. Mickey could not forget
the many glorious hours when, seated
uDon the back of the goat like a knight
err2nt, he had ridden over the hills in
search Of adventure In fancy Mickey
could feel himself again astride Of
his horned charger, and his heart raced
es he remembered with what fiery i'm
patience the goat had reared in an in
tICCIudl GNU w NtISOCC llil
Nh. those were halcyon days,-days
reDlete with vigor for the goat and rare
as porterhouse steak for the boy. And
now that the goat had almost reached
the end Of LIES tether the boys heart
vas filled with tenderness. He patted
the hoary old patriarch upon the head
lie stroked his long rabbi-like beard
He looked into the goats questioning
eyes and with the prescience of a seer
he realized that the goat would never
breathe the air of another gladstone
Jule day nor assist small boy to
climb a fence.
Il was noon Of day late in December
when these reflections came to Mickey
Mechanically he united the goats teth-
er and together they walked out of the
shed into the warm sunshine. Side by
side uttering no word, but yet in entire
sympathy. they wendell their way up
the sunny slope of Stumpy field. which
vas now carpeted with snow, over the
ridge where the sassafras grew
through the laurel and the sumach
bushes into the pine woods.
A fugitive red squirrel watched them
With questioning eyes as they stood to-
gethor looking over the landscape so
familiar Then the goat raised his
head and uttered a plaintive ma-a-a,
which echoed through the silent WOOD,
frightened the partridge and died away
in The distance 1t was as il he had
said in the words of Paul Hayne:
0, for one more glimpse of my lost
youth
With all youths glory in it.
y "
II was Christmas Eve. The decayed
logs which Mickey had gathered from