Braidwood, as energetically as if they were earning their daily
bread.
The fascination of fires even extends to the brute creation. Who has
not heard of the dog "Chance," who first formed his acquaintance with
the Brigade by following a fireman from a conflagration in Shoreditch
to the central station at Watling-street? Here, after he had been
petted for some little time by the men, his master came for him, and
took him home; but he escaped on the first opportunity, and returned
to the station. After he had been carried back for the third time,
his master--like a mother whose son will go to sea--allowed him to
have his own way, and for years he invariably accompanied the engine,
now upon the machine, now under the horses' legs, and always, when
going up-hill, running in advance, and announcing the welcome advent
of the extinguisher by his bark. At the fire he used to amuse himself
with pulling burning logs of wood out of the flames with his mouth.
Although he had his legs broken half a dozen times, he remained
faithful to his pursuit; till at last, having received a severer hurt
than usual, he was being nursed by the firemen beside the hearth, when
a "call" came, and at the well-known sound of the engine turning out,
the poor brute made a last effort to climb upon it, and fell back dead
in the attempt.
Pages:
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27