The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-06-26


up this time of night for in such cold
weather. just to hear dogs run fox"
| 1t struck me there was a good deal of
sound philosophy In the good lady's re-
marks but she was a woman, and she
had never read Somerville.
| l dressed myself, walked out, walked
my servant and ordered my horse Truly
1t was a lovely morning for the season of
/ the year; December never ushered in one
more lovely. Like a sheet of snow the
frost overspread the earth. Not breath
was stirring. The coming huntsman had
sounded his horn upon a distant hill, and
| its unrepeated notes had died away. A
cloudless sky o'erspread the EARTH as rich
in beauty as ever won the gaze of mortal.
Upon the western verge, In all his mar
| tial glory, stood Orion. his FURNISHED
eDaulets and spangled sash with unusual
brightness glowing. Capella glittered
brighter still, and Castor. Procyon. and
Arcturus rivalled her in luster. But
Sirius reigned the monarch of the starry
host; and countless myriads of lesser
:, lights glowed and sparkled and twinkled
DER all the widespread canopy.
| OH exclaimed I, how rich, how
beautiful, how glorious the armament,
See. yonder is Bootes In the chase! HIS
Chara and Asterion drive on the lusty
Bear! Who shall condemn the chase
when it's pleasures are written in char
acters of deathless fire upon the face of
the heavens"
l was lost In admiration of the SPLEEN
1 doris which surrounded me, when an
other sound of the majors horn informed
me that he was upon the confines of the
village and at the same instant my SER
want announced that my horse was in
waiting. As I approached him for the
purpose of mounting:
Master said he you gwine fox
huntin' on da hoss?'
Yes" said I promptly; "why?"
"Eh-eh,' rejoined he, with litter.
why, what is it amuses you so,
Isaac?"
'B'ess de Lordi smooth-tooth want
never made for fox-huntin', I know. He
too lazy, hess de Lord Time de houn'
give one squall, dey done left Smooth
tooth clean outen sight an hearin'."
"Oh, l presume not, Isaac I said. II
shall not attempt to keep up with the
hounds. I shall just keep In full hearing
| of them by cutting across and heading
them"
"Eh-eh! Fox run twice round a field
| fore Smooth-tooth cut across him,
know; hess de Lordi'
| One would suppose that Isaac's hint
would have reminded me to take a whip
1 or spur, or both, along with me, but II
did not
Crocket horn was answered by sew
eral from the neighboring hills; and, be-
fore had proceeded the eighth of a mile
towards the point of rendezvous a loud
chorus of horns and beagles announced
tnat all were assembled but myself
raised my ram s-horn and blew more
prop1tious blast than my first, in token
ehat was on my way. My horse, as the
reader has perhaps conjectured from the
colloquy Just repeated, was not Somer-
ville's clean, generous steed"; but he
was a horse of uncommon gravity and
| circumspection. I gave him the name of
Smooth-tooth simply because, when he
became my property the faces of his
teeth were generally worn smooth
Though he was kind and accommodating
enough In all matters of business, he had
an utter aversion to everything like levi
ty, and to all rambes which seemed to
| have no definite object. Age had done
| much, doubtless, in SOLDERING Smooth
tooth's temper; but inflrmity had con-
spired with age to produce this effect
for he was most lamentably deaf so
| that the common remark of our state in
| relation to aged horses, 'he has heard 1t
thunder too often,' would by no means
have applied to Smooth-tooth; for. to
my certain knowledge he had not heard
1t thunder for five years at least
| l bent my course toward the village
and as Smooth-tooth was wholly uncon-
| scious of the uproar there, he set out, as
usual, upon gentle pace. BY diligent
application of heels I signified to him
that I looked for something more spright-
| ly upon this occasion. Smooth-tooth took
the hint, and mended his pace; but I in
formed him, as before, that this would
not do. He then paced brsker still; but
this did not abate my rigor He then
paced to the top of his speed and find
ing me still unsatisfied, he struck, most
reluctantly, into a lazy canter. This re-
duced my beats from triple to common
time, but did not bring them to a full
pause. At the end of five long, awk-
ward, reluctant lopes, Smooth-tooth
stopped with demi-semiquaver rest, and
wheeled at the same instant to go home
| in utter disgust, for he seemed now to
have satisfied himself that I had taken
leave of my senses, and that 1t was high
time for him to throw himself upon his
reserved rights" As I always entertained
a high respect for these. I accommodated
myself to his views, after having dlscov-
cred that he was not to be forced out
Of them. There was. however, some pol
icy mixed with my clemency; for, slow
ly as Smooth-tdoth moved in his master
effort, he walked up an artificial breeze
which seemed to search the very cavities
| of my bones, and which already pro-
duced some acknowledged warnings for
the comfortable bed which l had de-
serted
When l reached the village found all
the huntsmen collected; and after lit
tie delay, occasioned by a g-fght, or
rather a fight of one dog against all the
rest flor hounds, like the willy politicians
of the present day, all jump on the under
most, we moved forward to the hunting
ground. This lay three miles from the
village; and, could anything have enliv-
ened the jaunt, my company would, for it
consisted of a merry group of every va
riety of disposition. But freezing man
cannot be lively, and. consequently, I
was not.
Our pack consisted of IS or 20 hounds,
but there were but two of them which
could be relied upon with confidence
George Hurts Louder and Captain Reid
Rome With these I was we'll acquainted,
having often been with them in the deer
and rabbit hunt. Could I say, like Hor-
ace "exigi monumentum acre perennius, .
they should be immortalized; for better
|MORPHTNE