The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1898-01-28

| A southern congressman was telling
| a story in one OF the down. town hotels
| a few nights ago about his father. a
well-known lawyer of Tennessee, who
served two terms in congress years ago.
my father was very stern to men
and very kind to animals. During my
| whole life 1 never saw him lose his
temper with a dumb thing but once.
| We lived on a large plantation in the
| mountains of Tennessee, and on the
| place could be found every specie of
| domesticated animals known to zoolo-
| gists, with the possible exception of
| camels and elephants. Although a
| source of constant care to him, really
believe my father loved every animal
and fowl he owned. Among other
| things, we had large flock Of geese,
| and though 1 suppose that city people
know little about pet geese, I can tes-
| tify that they make the most affec-
| Tomato and faithful pets, almost equal
| ing dogs in their fidelity.
| my father came home one day from
an adjoining county where he had been
| to attend court, and found that in his
absence one of the ganders, in a fight
| for a mate, had been defeated, coming
out of the battle with broken wing
But he was still faithful to the goose
of his choice, and followed around aft
er the happy pair with his wing trail
| ing in the dust.
Aroused His Sympathy.
"All the sympathy in my fathers
heart went out to this unfortunate gan
| der, and dismounting from his horse
| he petted 1t, took 1t under his arm and
brought it with him to his Office in the
| front yard of the home place. The
| gander seemed to accept father at once
in place of his lost mate, and quacked
contentedly all the way home.
THAT gander stuck by the old man
| closer than a brother. The way he got
familiar on short acquaintance was a
wonder, and before a week had passed
his chief desire seemed to be to sepa-
rate my father from his family. for he
would try to fight the children off from
| the office, and even had the audacity to
| tackle my mother when she went to pay
a visit to the office. The old man smiled
| when any one mentioned that gander's
| jealousy, and said that in a week or
two that old gay bird would be talking
like human. He would then call the
| gander's name-'Tip'-and the gander
would set up terrible quacking and
| come straight to father
An Apt Scholar.
Zip proved himself an apt schol-
ar and, although the old man was a
great talker, inside a month that gan
der could give him cards and spades in
game of talk. The old man didn't
say anything about it, but when he was
talking with a friend and Tip would
chime in, could see him give the gan
| der wistful glance, sort of an appeal
| to him to let some else talk a little bit
| "It was then about the time of the
| breaking out of the civil war, and all
| was excitement in our neighborhood.
| Men would stop and talk to each 9TH
| er as they passed in the road, and the
| old man had any number of prominent
| men come to talk over the events
| crowding upon them. One night there
was quite a number of them gathered
in the little office, talking earnestly,
| when Tip solemnly strolled in and took
| up his position by fathers chair. The
old man paid no attention to the bird,
but listened attentively to what was be-
ing said. Directly / saw him rise in his
chair, his face aglow with excitement,
| and raising his arm in a fervent ges-
ture, he began:
| And So Did the Camden.
ct tell you. gentlemen
"'Quack, quack quack,' put in Tip.
1.-THE old man looked at the gander,
and began again:
L tell you, sirs, that
"'Quack, quack, quack. quack,' put
| in Tip louder than before.
THAT we can never
"'Quack. quack, quack, quack,'
| voiced Tip in tones loud enough to
drown the old mans voice.
| 90
pitch and went on:
mo, never stand such outrages
| as
"'Quack, quack, quack, quack,'
| screamed Tip in tones to suit
Are being heaped upon US, and by
the gods, if
"'Quack! Quack! Quackr Tip
screamed as loud as he could.
Proper PREPARATION is not made, it
| means
"'Quack! Quack! Quack!' screamed
Tip in tremendous squawls.
| "'War!' Numbered the old man, and
he caught Tip on the toe of his boot and
landed him out in the middle of the
| yard, a sorely surprised gander. Tip
| was faithful, however, but he soon for
| got all that he was taught about talk
| ing. He remained around the place un-
til some northern troops that came
through declared they needed fresh
meat, and as Tip was about the fresh
J est thing about the place, he was
| promptly captured and devoured.'
He Wants Too Much.
One of the attaches of a prominent
embassy in Washington, who calls him
| self a diplomat in the absence of all
his superiors, is new arrival, and
| thinks the way to make himself talkeI
about and prominent In the social
whirl is to complain of the manner in
which he is served. His greatest COM
plant is that at the hotel where he
| lives the servants do not brush his
] clothes and in other ways made them
| selves useful to him. He wants the at
tention of a valet, but he wants the
servants to give that attention. In Ian
i guild tones and with weary air he said
that the servants did not open the bed
for him at night. When he went to his
room to undress he found the bed re-
! NAMED as 1t had been made up in the