The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1874-02-19
All About DOES.

Did You ever inquire into the meaning
Of that question Of God in his word.
"Nho knoweth the spirit of man that 90
eth upward, and the spirit of the beast
that gocth downward to the earth ?' Does
4prart} mean immortality, and dornu,tl4}
mean destruction? Is the spirit Of man
the breath of the Almighty, and is the
spirit of the beast his creation. to have an
end with all things else that has Il be
ginning
Some curious anecdotes about dogs
have lately awakened an old interest in
the subject, and | am half tempted to tell
YOU some facts regarding a doc that be
longed to my father | once had them in
his handwriting. but the manuscript is
lost My only hesitation arises from the
fact that many who read them will regard
the statements with 50 great unbelief. that
| shall suffer in their esteem by vouching
as do for the truth of everything here
recorded
NY father had Il small and beautiful
dog, who reioiced in the name of Fidelity.
lie differed from other good dogs only in
being better than others, and in manifest
lng something that rcsembled religious
Scnsibility, OF u peculiar attachment to re-
lgious places and religious services. lie
attended family worship with punctualitv
and regularity that the other members Of
the family might well have inflated and
certainly did not sWpass. If stranger
was present, and much company visited
our house--the dogs attention to him was
regulated by his taking the lead OF not in
the religious worship Of the household
If the visitor at my fathers request con-
Quoted the worship, the dog at once at
tached himself to his person and when
he departed the dog escorted him out
" the village; sometimes going home
with him to a neighboring town and MAX
ing him visit Of a few days If the Wis
tor did not perform any religious service
in the house. the dog took no notice of
him while there, and suffered him to
depart unattended and evidently unre-
GREETED
Such dog was, Of course. an habitual
attendant on the public services of the
church on the Sabbath. 1t required ex-
traordinary care to keep him at home
Shut up in the room. he dashed through a
window and was at church before the
family. He was once shut up in an out
house that had no floor. He dug out I'M
der the sill of the door and was at the
church before the first psalm was sung.
In the church he occupied the upper step
of the pulpit in which his master minis
tered. He lay quiet during the service,
unless other dogs below misbehaved. in
which case he left his seat, and after qui-
citing the disturbance resumed it. He
was equally devoted to the weekly PRAYER
meeting which was held from house to
house. the appointment being announced
on the Sabbath. He remembered the
evening and the place and was always
present. AS 1t was not agreeable to have
Il dog IN an evening meeting at a private
house, he was confined at home. The
next week he went early before the fami
ly had thought to SHIT him up, and wait
ed for the hour and the people. He knew
the names of the families where the
meetings We're held and where they lived,
and could have gone to any one Of them
on an GRAND as easily and correctly as a
enid. And the only knowledge he had of
the place OF meeting he got, as others did,
by hearing the notice on Sunday. These
habits OF the dog We're not the fruits of
education. On the contrary, pains were
taken to prevent him from induloino in
his religious preferences He did NOT
manifest a fondness for other meetings
sr tor any individuals out of the family
circle except those whom he recognized
by their habit of praying, as the people
in whom he was especially interested.
My father was wont to relate numerous
anecdotes of the same general character,
OF this remarkable animal and the rela-
ton of them always caused his eyes to
ill with tears. He had strong impress
sion that there was something very mys-
ferrous about this propensity of the dog,
and being himself a sternly Orthodox d.