Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 June 1894 — An Astonished Admiral. [ARTICLE]

An Astonished Admiral.

“Sailors, like horsemen, have g tendency to become bow-legged,” said Captain S. Wooden, an ex-navy officer, who was at the Southern yesterday. “I once saw an old Admiral whose long sea service had given hia legs a decided outward curvature, have a singular adventure with a bull dog that was a pet aboard ship. The sailors had taken great pains with the dog’s education and taught him a number of tricks. One of his most frequent exploits was to jump through the aperture made by the man holding one of his feet against the other knee. It was a trick that the dog seemed to take great delight in performing. One day the Admiral came on board the ship on a visit of inspection, and while standing on deck conversing with some of the officers was spied by the dog. The Admiral’s bow legs seemed to strike the dog as affording the best chance fora running leap he had seen in many a day. Suddenly he made a rush and leapt like a whirlwind through the tempting gap. In astonishment at what had passed beneath him, the Admiral turned quickly around to see what was the cause. The dog took this action as a signal for an “encore,” and jumped again, barking furiously all the time as a means of showing how much he enjoyed the sport. The bewildered face of the Admiral was too much for the 'gravity of the spectators, and, forgetting the respect due to rank, they broke into a hearty roar, in which, after he understood the situation, they were joined by the Admiral himself.”—[St. Louis Globe-Dem-ocrat.