The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1856-09-03
The Dog Noble, and tho Empty
Hole,

Hole.
The first summer which we spent in
Lenox, we had along a very intelligent
dog named NoJIe He WAS learned in
many things. and by his dog-lore excited
the undying admiration of all the chill
dren. But there were some things
which Noble could never learn. Having
on Que occasion seen n red squirrel run
into hole in a stone wall he could not
be persuaded that lie was not there for
evermorc.
Several red squirrels lived close to
the house and had become familiar. but
lot tame. They Kept up regular romp
with Noble They would como down
from tie maple trees with provoking
cJolncss; they would run along the
fence almost within reach they you'd
cock their tails and sail across the road
to the barn and yet there was such a
wcll.timed calculation under all this ap.
parent rashncss, that N06(c invariably
arrived at the critical spot just as the
squirrel left it.
On one occasion N-oJIe was so close
upon his rcd backed friend that. unable
to get Up The maple tree, he lodged iu-
to hole in the wall, ran through the
chnks, emerged at little distance aud
sprung into the tree. The intense en-.
thusiasm Of the dog at that hole can
hardly be described lie filled 1t full Of
barking. He paved and scratched as if
undermining bastion. Standing off at
little distance ho would pierce the hole
with gaze as intense and fixed as it he
were trying magnetism on it. Then, with
tail extended, and every hair thereon G.
lectriticd, he would rush at the empty
hole with a rrodigions onslaught.
This imaginary squirrel haunted No.
1Ic nj GIT and day. The very squirrel
himself would run up before his face in
to the tree, and crouched in crotch,
would sit silently watching the whole
process of bombardiuc the empty hole,
with great sobrieiy and relish. Bat No.
I/e would allow Of 10 doubts. His con.
viction that that hole had squirrel
in continued unshaken for six weeks.
When all other occupations failed this
hole remained 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 to make with
the grown folks, and when he had slept
all that lis dos.skin would hold, lie
would walk cut Of the yard, yawn aud
stretch himself and then look wistful-
Iy at the hole, as if thinking to himself,
"Well as there is nothing else to do |
may as well try that hole again v
We had almost forgotten this little
trait, until the conduct of the Nc,c- York
Express, in respect to Col Frcmonts
religion brought it ludicrously to mind
again. Col. Flcmont is aud always has
been, as sound a Protestant as John
Knox ever was. lie was bred in the
Protestant faith and has never changed.
lie is unacquainted with the doctrines
and ceremonies Of the Catholic Church.
aud has never attended the services Of
tions when curiosity, or some extriusic
reason, led him as witness We do
not state this upon vague belief We
know what we say. We say it upon our
own personal honor and proper knowl.
edge. Col. Fremont never was ami is
not now, a Roman Catholic. lie has
never been wont ia attend that Church.
Nor has he in any way, directly or indi-
rectly, given occasion for this report.
1t is gratuitous filsohood, utter, bar
rcn, absolute, and unqualified The story
has been got up Tor political effect
1t is still circulated for that reason aud
like other political lies. i. is a sheer. un-
scrupulous falsehood. from top to bot
tom, from the score to the skin. aud
from the skin back to the score again
In all its parts, in pulp. te2ument, riud,
cell and seed, il is thorough, and total
uutruth, and they who spread it bear
false witness. Aud as to all the stu; les
OF the Fulmer, etc as to supposed cou-
versatons with Fremont, in which he
defended the mass. and what not they
are pure fclions. They never happened.
The authors Of them are slanderors the
men to believe them are dupes the men
who spread them become enGorSers of
wiliul aud corrupt libcllers
But the ETDrcSS like Noble, has open
er be done barking at it. Day after day
it resorts to this empty hole. When
everything else fails this resource re-
mains. There they are, indefatigably-
tho Express and Noble a church with
out Fremont, aud hole without
squirrel in it /
lu some respects however, the dog
had tho advantage. Sometimes We
thought that he really believed that there
was a squirrel there. But at other
times he apparently had an iukling Of
the righteousness of his conduct, for he
would drop his tail, aud walk towards US
with his tongue out aud his eyes little
aslant, seeming to say, My dear sir,you
dou't understand dogs feelings [
should of course much prefer a squirrel,
but if | cant have that, an empty hOlc
is better than nothing, imagine how
| would catch him if ho oaS thore. Be
sides, people who pass by don't know the
facts Thav thinlT that I bara not ANNA