t to be afraid of
a goat. He said all you wanted to do, in subduing the spirit of animals,
was to gain their confidence. He said he could, in two minutes, so win
the affections of that goat that it would follow him about like a dog,
and he went up and stroked the animal's head, scratched its ear, and
asked them if they could not see they had taken the wrong course with
the goat. He said a goat was a good deal like a human being. You could
coax, but you could not drive. "Come, Billy," said he, as he moved off,
snapping his fingers.

It is Mr. Nowell's unbiased opinion that Billy _did_ come. Not that he
saw Billy come, but he had a vague suspicion, from a feeling of numbness
some two feet from the base of the brain, that William had arrived
in that immediate vicinity, and while he was recalling his scattered
thoughts and feeling for any pieces of spine that might have become
detached from the original column, Billy came again and caught three of
Mr. Nowell's fingers in the pile driver. That was talk enough between
gentlemen, and Mr. Nowell got his back against a fence and climbed up on
top backwards.

When he caught his breath he said that was the worst shock he ever
experienced since he fell off the step ladder last summer. He said he
had rather break a bear to ride any time.

At this point Mr. Crombie espied a letter carrier on the other side of
the street, and called him over. He told the letter carrier if he would
step into the yard and drive the goat in the barn they would all unite
in a petition to have the salaries of letter carriers raised. There is
no class of citizens more accommodating than our letter carriers, and
this one came in and walked up to the goat and pushed the animal with
his foot.

"This goat seems tame enough," said he, turning around to speak to Mr.
Crossman. His words had not more than vaporized in the chill air before
the goat had planted two trip hammer blows into the seat of government,
and the letter carrier went into the barn, fell over a wheelbarrow, and
the letters from his sack were distributed in a box stall.

It was a beautiful sight to look upon, and they would have been there
till this time had it not been that the Countess happened to come along
gathering swill, and the party made up a purse of three dollars for her
if she would take the goat away.

She took a turnip top from her swill pail, offered it to the goat, and
the animal followed her off, bleating and showing every e