Plymouth weekly banner. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1856, 1856-08-28
From the Independent. August 2.
The DOG Noble and the Empty Hole.
BY HENRY WARD BEEcBER.

The first summer which We spent in
Lenox. we had along a very intelligent
dog named Noble. He was learned in
many things. and by his dog lore excited
the undying admiration of all the chill.
dreu. Blu. there were some things which
Noble could never learn. Having Oh one
occasion seen a red squirrel run into q
hole in stone wall, he could not be per-
suaded that he was not there for ever
more.
Several red squirrels lived close to the
house, and had become familiar, but not
tame. They kept up regular romp with
Noble. They would come down from
the maple trees with provoking GOODNESS;
they would run along the fence slmost
within reach; they would cock their tails
and sail across the read TO the barn, and
vet there was such well timed cslculs-
tion under all this apparent rashness, that
Noble invariably arrived at the critical
spo, jus, as the squirrel left it.
On one occasion, Noble was so close
upon his red. backed friend that, una bic
to get up the sple tree. he lodged into
hole in the wall. ran through the chinks,
emerged al little distance. and spraug
into the tree. The intense enthusiasm
OF the dog al the hole can hardly be des-
c.ibed He filled it full of barking. He
paved and scratched as If undermining a
bsstion. Standing off at, little distance
he would pierce the hole with gaze as
| intense aud fixed ss if he were trying
| magnetism on it. Then, with tail sx.en.
ded, and every hair thereon electrified.
be would rush at the empty hole with a
prodigious onslaught.
This immaginary squirrel haunted No.
bic night and day. The very squirrel
himself would run up before his face in
to the tree, and. crouched in a crotch,
would ST; silently watching the whole
process of bombarding the empty hole
vi tn great sobriety and relish. But No.
bio would allow Of mn doubts HIS con-
vic iion that that hole had a squirrel in.
continued unshaken Tor six weeks. When
all other occupations failed. this hole re
msined to him. When there were no
more chickens TO harry. no pigs TO bite.
no cattle TO chase. no children TO romp
with. no expeditions 10 make with the
grown folks, and when he had slept all
that his dog skin would hold. he would
walk ou, of the yard. yswn and stretch
himself, and then look wistfully at the
hole. as if thinking TO himself. "Well, as
there is nothing else to dc, may ss well
try that hole sgain!"
We had almost forgotten this little
trait. until the conduct of the New York
Express. in respect to Col. Fremont's re-
ligion brought il ludicrously TO mind a.
gain. COL Fremont is, and always has
| been, as sound Protestant as John Knox
ever was. He was bred in the protestant
faith and has never changed. He is un.
acqusinted with the doctrines and core,
monies of the Catholic Church, and has
never attended the services of that church
with two or three exceptions. when curl
osi.y. or some other extTinsic reason, led
him as q witness We DO not state this
as vague belief. We know what we say.
We say il upon cur own personal honor
and proper knowledge. Col. Fremont
never was. and is not now, Roman
Catholic. He has never been wont TO
attend that church. Nor has he in any
way. directly or Indirectly, given occa-
sion for this report.
1t is grasuitous falsehood, utter. bar
rem. absolute and unqualified. The story
has been got up for political effect. lii
still circulated for that reason, and like
other political lies. ii is sheer, unscru-
pulous falsehood from top to bottom.
from the core to the skin, and from The
skin back to the core again. In oil its
parts. il pulp. in tegement. rind. cell
and seed. it is thorough and total un-
truth. and they who spread il bear false
witness And as to oil the stores Of The
Fulmer. etc., as TO supposed converse
tions with Fremont. in which he defen-
ded the mass, and what not. they are pure
fictions. They never happened. The
author of them ere slspderers; the men to
believe them are dupes; the men who
ssrese them become endorsers of wilful
and corrupt iibellers.
Bat the Express, like Noble, has opeu-
ell on this hole in the wall, and cen new
er be done barking al it. When every-
thing else fails. this resource remains
There they are. idefaligablY--the Ex-
press and Noble-a church without Ere
mont, and hole without squirreltn it!