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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.— SUPPLEMENT. 



next day he went to a member of the family and 

 asked for water ; he had a peculiar way of ask- 

 ing for different things, so that those who knew 

 him could tell his wants. She went to the dress- 

 ing-room, and there was plenty of water. Cap 

 looked at it, languidly tasted, and then looked up, 

 thinking something must be the matter ; it was 

 turned away, and fresh water given him, which 

 he drank. The next day the same thing occurred, 

 and the next after, so as to be remarked, and an 

 explanation asked, when the foregoing conversa- 

 tion was recalled ; and never till the day of his 

 death, three years later, did he touch a drop of 

 water without having first seen it poured freshly 

 out, though never before had he thought of ob- 

 jecting. 



Captain slept in the house at night, on the 

 broad, flat landing where the stairs turned, thus 

 having full view and command of everything ; 

 the doors were all left open, and every morn- 

 ing at about five he would go and put his nose 

 in my father's hand and wake him up, appar- 

 ently to tell him the night was safely past ; be- 

 ing patted, and "All right, Cap," said, he would 

 go down, having completed his vigil, to await 

 the first appearance of a servant, to let him out 

 for his morning walk, which was usually short. 

 Just before going to bed he also took a walk, 

 which was not so sure to be short if the night 

 was pleasant — unless requested to return soon ; 

 he would then come back almost immediately. 

 Whenever my father went away, he would lie 

 at the foot of my mother's bed, realizing that 

 there was a change, and that she needed protec- 

 tion. 



He was essentially companionable, and could 

 not tolerate being left alone — not that I think 

 he had sins to think of that made him unhappy, 

 but he loved company, and would follow me 

 miles on a walk ; and it was on one of these 

 walks, when I was older, and, alas ! he too, that 

 his first signs of advancing age showed them- 

 selves. The day was very warm, and Cap ac- 

 companied me to take a lesson some distance 

 out of town. During the lesson he asked for 

 water, which when brought he could scarcely 

 reach, his hind-legs being almost powerless. His 

 endeavors to walk were most agonizing ; he look- 

 ing to me uncomprehending the cause, and ask- 

 ing for help. After a while he was better, and I 

 started to walk home with him, there being no 

 carriage or other conveyance obtainable in the 

 place. We had <rone but a short distance when 

 Cap again wanted water, and I stopped at the 

 country grocery-store to get some They brought 



it from the back of the store, but he could not 

 drink, and lay down quite overcome. My own 

 misery was iutense, for I thought him dying. 

 There was the usual gathering of a corner store, 

 who all tried to console me with accounts of 

 their dogs. One voluble Yankee told of his : 

 " The little black one with white spots, you 

 knowed him, you know ! " I suppose I looked 

 a little blank, for he said, " Anyhow, Jim did \ " 

 turning to the store-keeper for corroboration. 

 " Wall, he got a-foul a toad one day, and was 

 just so. He'll come out on it all right." Every 

 one stopped who passed, till quite a crowd col- 

 lected, each one with his own theory. In time 

 a teamster with his dray loaded with lumber was 

 passing, whom I hailed, told the necessities of 

 the case, and he consented to unload his timber 

 by the side of the road and take Cap home. 

 The timber being taken off and Captain put in 

 its place, the teamster started. Cap began to 

 try to wriggle himself off the dray, not liking the 

 distance between him and me on the sidewalk. 

 He would have infallibly fallcu off between the 

 wheels, so the man stopped — it was no go. I 

 then got on and he made no further objection, 

 so we journeyed into town, I holding an um- 

 brella over his head, little thinking of the figure 

 I cut! 



When arrived at home, the veterinary sur- 

 geon was called, but not being able to attend 

 immediately, father, thinking Cap poisoned, ap- 

 plied all sorts of known antidotes. Among oth- 

 ers, oil was poured down his throat, and in the 

 resistance he bit my father — not viciously, but 

 naturally, for who does not remember the days 

 when some one held our noses, and another some 

 one poured the detested castor-oil down, and 

 what vigorous remonstrances we made ? When 

 the surgeon came he pronounced it a slight at- 

 tack of paralysis, and we knew we should not 

 have Cap much longer. He recovered, though, 

 and went about for a time as usual. 



The garden was a delight to him, filled with 

 fruit and flowers. One would think he really 

 had a sense of the beautiful to see him stop at a 

 rose-bush and contemplate it. Indeed, he did 

 his best to keep things in order by not running 

 across-lots, but always in the paths with the ut- 

 most propriety. Fruit of all kinds he liked, es- 

 pecially gooseberries, which he picked for him- 

 self with great care, holding up his lips and turn- 

 ing his head under the branch, then carefully 

 pulling them off one by one. But if any one was 

 in the garden, not he ! That must be done for 

 him. He would follow me from bush to bush, 



