The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-02-15
MARCUS AURELIUS
BY HAROLD AVERY
copyright, 1906, by Joseph B. Bowles.)

parently lost in deep reverie, and
! wearing on his head an absurd model
of top-hat. On hearing my footsteps
he rose and shambled across the grass
to meet me, his hat (Which was Sc
cured with an elastic band cooked
| knowingly over one eye.
'Why, you remember him." cried
the boy. ''This is the dog bought at
| the farm. We call him Marcus Au-
relius because he's always meditating.
He's awfully clever; I've taught him
heaps of tricks
The animal sauntered up and wiped
his paws on my trousers by way of a
greeting.
Hello Marc!" said his master. "Sit
up!"
The dog promptly Topped down full
length on the grass.
II didn't tell you to de-" cried the
boy. "Sit up you little blackguard!"
Marc, with his top-hat hanging un-
der his chin like nose-bag, rolled
over and entertained us by "dying"
on his back.
That's just like him." said the boy;
tits the easiest trick he's got; and
whenever I tell him to do anything
else he always will die he won't sit
up or run round after his tall
Marc having died" for what he
considered a reasonable length of
time, now rose to his feet and saun-
tered back to his meditations, this
time wearing his top-hat on the back
of his neck, as though it was a SOL
dier's knapsack.
whats he got that on for?"
"Why, want him to get accus-
toned to it, because I'm going to teach
him to wear it when he goes out into
the street."
what can he do besides die?"
WELL" answered the boy, IT think
he'd make a good sporting dog be-
cause he's always digging holes in the
garden, and I think he's kill rats if he
had the chance. I tried him once with
a mouse that caught in the stable;
I let it loose on the kitchen floor, and
somehow Marc lost it, and it ran away
somewhere, and we couldn't find it,
and mother made an awful fuss. She
doesn't like Marc, I'm sure she doesn't,
and he isn't allowed even to lie in
front of the dining room fire, but al
ways has to go into a basket. Women
never value good dog; they don't
know one when they see him. Do they,
Marc?"
The dog-who appeared now to
have finally determined to carry his
top-hat as chest protector hear
ing his name called, awoke with a.
start from his reverie, and after mo-
| ment's hesitation, as though he forgot
exactly how the trick began, turned
slowly over and "died."
Many years have slipped away
since I first saw Marcus Aurelius medi-
tating on the sun-lit lawn, and though
l knew him as baby, I find him to
be quite gray-haired old man. No
top-hat appears rakishly perched upon
his shapeless head, and he stretches
himself with perfect confidence upon
the sacred hearthrug and suffers no
rebuke.
Mare" says mother, with slight
tremble in her voice, where's your
master?"
The dog wags his stumpy tail, but
it is heartless proceeding, and he
does not even raise his head Per-
haps he knows as well as we do that
wide seas roll between himself and
Australia, and long before the boy will
ever think of crossing them again.
Marcus Aurelius will have performed
his old trick in sober earnest and
shambled off down that dusty pathway
trodden years ago by the family of
juvenile porkers, the old sheep-dog,
and all the other friends of his youth.