The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1875-08-30
WHOLE NO. 60

bled romping youngster. Who saws
there is not in all this joviality, ssfhns
kindness, fellowship and the sense Of
humor; all Christian virtues. as we nm
derstand them?
l have seen Jack apologize with his
eyes as plainly as if he said in words:
81 am exceedingly sorry for my misde,
meanor; humble myself before YOU as
I would before my God"
And, IN fact, as some one has well OBJ
served, we stand to dogs, in the relation
Of gods. We hold in our hands. for
them, the issues of life and death we
are to them the dispensers of perpetual
bounty; our houses, our implements.
our arms, must strike them with an awe
similar to that with which the Indian re-
CARDS the manifestations of the Thunder
God.
And yet sometimes think the tenden-
cy OF man has been to underrate rather
then overrate the intelligence of his
humble associates. See how pigs can be
trained to learn the alphabet, horses to
waltz and monkeys to mimic the drama.
There is dog in Paris now that works
out sums IN arithmetic that would puz-
zle Normal School graduate, and that
too under circumstances which seem to
forbid trick.
| Ihe anclentS were not without some
show OF probability when they supposed
that the souls Of the dead revisited the
earth in the bodies of animals. If there
is spiritual life outside of this material
life, as we are taught to believe. who
shall say what forms and modes of be-
ing it assumes. May not that conscious
entity, the soul, pass during countless
ages, from planet to planet, though all
those multitudnous systems which unroll
themselves, night after night, in magnif.
cent pageantry before our gaze?
Jack here, with his apologize ewes.
and bis strong love of human compan-
ionship. may have been philosopher
on OF of the planets OF Aldata~an. Or
he may have been an editor on one Of
those remote dots of light which GO to
make up that creamy, curdy, streak
which we call 1.-The Milky way.''
Or perchance, coming nearer home, he
t was money-lender under Rameses. and
r exacted his 'shent per 'shent and ground
the greasy faces of the garlic-eating
Egyptian poor. Or he NAV have been 4
! Roman soldier and carried his eagle he-
fore Cesar. If so, do not wonder he
, is ashamed of his present degenerate
$ state, tail and all, and apologises for it
out Of his brown eyes.
But whatever Jack is. wherever ha
: came from. or wherever he is oeinp.
o Jack loves me; that is self-evldent. Ha
y experiences spasms Of exquisite pain
/ whenever SC. ID him; he goes into par
. oxysms OF delight if l deign to notice
him. There are lines of sympathy
n which link the contents of his poor little
i imperfect brain-pan with my educated
n intelligence, He can neither read MOI
;. write nor vote and yet he has to a large
degree, the same emotions and affections
a that have he loves and he hates ht
= enjoys and he suffers; he hungers and
e. he thirsts; he has his friends and his en-
; emies; he is fond of his home and ever
OF his companion OF the kennel; he il
&c capable Of rage, terror, gratitude
or shame, mo lesty, reverence, merrimen
ID humor, and sorrow. He is even super
stitious. and has savage's horror 8
ANYTHING white shining out at aim from
y the dark. And as superstition is simpl,
p barbarous religion he may even hav,
ne some rudimentary dog-creed ofhis own
= holding the same relation to q properl,
: organized theology that his few rud'
r tones Of v.i;e,s wherewith he expresse
his emotions, hold to cultivated Lar
guage: Who knows what thoughts AZ
in that hairy-covered little Uranium Q
at what conceptions OF his Creator ar
granted to him, vouchsafed out of th
~ illimitable charity Of God, but incom
of municable to man?
ck How little we know Of that Mi1ht
Sc Power of which both Jack and 81
ID simply expressions! This at least v
can learn, that these humble creature
70 were built up out Of the same dust, b
ut the same great Architect; and that OF
d first duty ID to be kind to them. /
Ut some broad, pleasant, planet-embracin
W sense, we are their bretheren; and v
es should make their poor, brief lives plea,
~ ant and comfortable. As we are 1o(
at in their eyes because Of our power Y
es should be gods to them in our mercy an
Ee, benefcance.