Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-01-07
THE COWNSMAN
NICHOLAS III

! WHEN Toby died, his disconsolate family
w thought that never again would they
| take TO their hearts another dog. Perfectlons
| such as Toby's could not be thought of us
| centeriug once more in any creature OF the
| canine race; and we went on for time
dreary and dogless. 1t was then that the
! foreign aristocrat, Nicholas, came into our
| lives. Nicholas was diplomat by birth, as
| appeared later in his breeding and con-
| duct. His father had been sometime of the
| American legation, at what was then known
as st. Petersburg; his mother was bred in
Brussels and had the cntry--or lay in the
| entry--of our embassy to King Albert
| Nicholas was the second because his father
| was the first and his father was named
! after an emperor in times when emperors
were still undethroned and unmurdered.
| NICHOLAS was born in Il chateau on
| v the Lake of Geneva and just about the
| time of the breaking out of the great war.
| Being too young to travel, he delayed the
| young woman who was to cscort him to
| America. SO that both narrowly cscaped be-
! ing nterncd in Germany. When Nicholas
| arrived in New York he was met by the
| Gownsman and duly seen through the
toms in company with parrot of malicious
| and initiative temper. Nicky. as he was soon
familiarly called, weighed rather less at that
! time than the parrot. for he was only few
| times the size of grown white rat and very
much of n white rats complexion But he
| had already grown bark which the malicious
| parrot had learned to initiate exactly, so that
| when the Gownsman walked off the pier with
cage in one hand and basket in the other,
| it was quite impossible to tell vocally which
was which. legend came off of that ship
| with Nicholas to the effect that he had routed
| ppl,in who 10
clincd combat. Blood will tell.
| OF NICHOLAS it might be said as of some
" other aristocrats, that he was possessed
| of customs, but no manners. His customs in
| time fell into allegiance and his manners i'm
| proved until he grew to be handsome young
| fellow, sleek, white of hair on delicate pilk
skin, his ears only properly spotted, 1.-the,
| graceful and beautiful runner. His eyes
| were one of his points they were diagonal
| little Sits the eyes of a dog uncertain, not
human like those of his Uncle Toby, to
whom, Nicholas would have YOU know. he was
| only remotely related To Nicholas, humans
| were a convenient and somewhat irksome
necessity. connected in some mysterious wise
| with warmth. housing and provendcr; to be
| treated civilly as became n gentleman. but
| not to become too familiar with. Nicholas
| was polite and yielded occasionally to the
| Establishments of society, but kept himself
aloof. perhaps dreaming of the aristocratic
world of his ancestry, of chatcaux, embassies
| and lackeys attendant.
| TT is difficult to think of two Ideas so
| rcpugnant as those of dog and work. In
efficient Germany, even dogs used to work
/ for the Fatherland. helping to drag carts,
sometimes harncssed with woman. and this
| Hunnish practice extended beyond Germany's
| sometime borders. There are also tales, in
| old days, of unhappy dogs unnaturally
| trained to turn a spit, thereby assisting in
| that base occupation the culinary prepara-
| tion of food But your true dog is by nature
| either a gentleman or vagabond. And he
| will fight for you. steal for you. die for you,
| but not work for you. lie loathcs work even
| he loves sport, and he will growl at him
| who carries q bundle and snap at the legs
| of the wretch who has the impertincnce to
go ill dressed. Nicholas was an inveteratc
respecter of persons and liked the well
groomed, especially ladies. For polite rea-
| sons he responded somewhat to the butchers
boy; but for folk in trade, as a rule he pre-
| served nothing but a contemptuous indif-
| ference.
| WHETHER born of aristocratic disdain
| w or of some romantic streak undiscernble
yearncd.for the larger. outside world. Neither
persuasion nor discipline could cure him of
| the runaway habit: door on the crack a
| gate ajar, and he was off to freedom. to ad-
| venture, happiness. Many were the ran
| sons that we paid for his return from points
| at times miles away II is said that he always
| headed for New York and the great white
way. but this is not substantiated. "a
| white bull terrier answerng-when he deigns
| to answer-to the name of Nicholas" be-
came standing advertisement in the daily
| papers. and strange ours were sometimes
| brought, even when Nicholas happened to be
''at home answering remotely to the
| description in that they were not cats. One
| afternoon about twilight when Nicholas hap
| pcned to be out, he was apparently brought
home, but turned into the garden behaved
with strange and unwontcd dfidence when
approached and appealed to- He seemed
weary and was fed and put to bed in his
| favoritc corner. The next morning. the
| veritablc Nicholas appeared. and upon in
vestigation. the supposed Nicholas turned
out to be a Nichola, n veritabe cousin on
the dstaf side. Here was the beginning of
| Il happy romance. But absolutely nothing
came of it. Nichola was not wedding
belle.
A PPARENTLY our anxiety as to the re-
turn of our prodigal was i'll found. He
could take care of himself The pound never
got him; and he returned more than once
with broken rope colarlcss. Nothing
could have been more ridiculous than his ap-
pcarance in the early morning. whining at
the gate. dirty. miserable, blcar eyed. de-
jected. Precisely like Il man who had been
on n spree. he rravcd drink monc drink. and
sleep, long, heavy, audible sleep. After
which bath and a good meal would make
him over as good dog as any. What be
came Of Nicholas? The Gownsman is
almost ashamed to tell. He enlisted in the
navy. Or, at least. he was parted with to
one of those who go down to the sea in ships
but not for a consideration Who could so
disgrace an aristocrat? Perhaps he became
a famous mascot on destroyer and now
wears some kind of an honorable cross? Who