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Show AN IMPROMPTU CIRCUS ACT. Our jovial friend J. F. Squires, Esq., recently purchased a horse which has a good local reputation for speed. With a buggy mounted on runners, Mr. Squires, on Monday last, thought to try the animal's mettle and at the same time enjoy a sleigh ride with his wife and child. Unfortunately, the route selected took in the depot, where a snow plow with three locomotives had just arrived. Such a combination of strange objects would be enough to alarm a being of greater intelligence than a horse. Our friend whirled round a corner at a quick trot, bringing the snow plow scarecrow in sudden sight of the horse. The animal took one lightning look, stopped as suddenly as a rotten apple thrown against a stone wall, and instantly made the shortest turn on record in equine gymnastics. This sudden reversal of orbit threw out into the "beautiful," the occupants of the sleigh. With rare tenacity friend John stuck to the lines for a time, while the horse gave him a sleigh ride all but the sleigh. Tiring of riding so close to the snow, Mr. Squires let go the lines with the traditional result-a broken vehicle and a damaged harness. On its way home, the horse neglected to steer far enough to larboard of some shade trees. Fortunately no one was hurt except Mr. Squires. He was not badly injured by the accident but he felt kind of bruised the next morning, when on reaching his shop he read on the door a notice, "For sale cheap, a fast buggy horse," which some way had posted up. |