New Britain herald., 1914-08-04
WHAT OTHERS SAY
Views on all sides of timely questions as discussed in ex- changes that come to Herald office.
About Mules. (New York Sun.

Tt is customary to deride, abuse, rldicule and generally belittle the nlule,' said a man who confesses to an intimacy with mules, that fits him to know what he is talking about
 but let me tell you right now that first though, consider the mule from my point of view, which is the proper one. There is no doubt that it is characteristic of the mule to loaf, and loaf hard, whenever he gets a chance, but he more than makes up for it when he knuckles down to work. If you will take an honest observa tion of the mule you will see that he has a certain contemplative, ingenu- ous, open minded cast of countenance, with tinge of mournfulness in his expression, which comes, perhaps, from too much reflection on his some what ambiguous status in genealogical classification. Nobody can look a mule ir the face without bias and not be convinced of his absolute straightfor- werdness and good faith.
 "In the face, by the way, and paren- thetically, is the proper way to look at a mule. He can't kick with his fcrefeet, and straightforward as he is from front view, he is quite as straightbackward from the rear if he is moved to take time from his re- flective pondering to dem onstrate it, and, as a rule, you want to be sure of your odds if you are going to be, that he won't be moved.
 Tt will not be viciousness, however, that moves him to such demonstration It is simply the mules idea of play fulness. the taking of a moment off fnv c1, think life is all an empty dream and to show that things are really not what they seem, so far as that contem- plative and mournfully inert pose of his might confuse you into believing they were. He has no more thought of harm in it than-well, than a trip hammer might have if it came down on you.
 ''The mule is liable to run away, but if he does he does it entirely of his own initiative, and because it has sud- denly come into his mind that to run away would be a pleasing diversion from that disposition of his to fall into disturbing reflection. Cannons shot off under him couldn't induce the mule to run away. No outside in- fuence could impel him to it.
 And in running away the mule brings to the performance of it the same unruffled dignity that marks him always, whether as the motive power of a canal boat or the gayly caparisoned impeller of Spanish diligence. The runaway mule turns out for all objects in his path. A child, a dozen children, may be before him in the road, but never a one will he do damage to. Horses that run away are blind, and have no sense while thus engaged. They are frenZied. The mule shows no more em otion while running away than W hile tugging at a load of tanbark.
 Yes. It is customary to deride, abuse, ridicule and generally belittle the mule, but let me tell you right now that when you are looking at pair of up-and-up Kentucky or Ten ressee mules, my son, don't forget that you are casting your eye over some thing that nothing less than 1, 1000 nice, round, fat dollars can be plunked down as the equivalent of, and no par ticular hurry to dicker 'em off even for that" :-.