The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1876-08-18
MIDDLERIB,s DOG.
A Tale of Horror.
rom The huntington HaYkcye,

/ y lllll slICCt llC OlllCI IISnt. WI
Middlerib, who is a devoted do!
fancier, owns beautiful houn'
about five months old. 1t is con
sidered an ornament to the neigh
borhood. A hound pup, at tha
age, is an object of sarprisin!
beauty under any circumstances
but when you consider that Mr.
Middlerib has raised his pup OF
scientific principles, boiled bee
and rice, you can readily imagine
what a canine divinityitis. Gaun
legs, longer than your grandlath
er's stories, and after the ones Sc
crooked that the dog sticks hi,
foot into everything in the yarG
every time he tries to scratch his
ear. Sides look as though he had
swallowed an old hoOpskirt and
the springs showed through; more
ribs under his hide than there arc
spots in it. Tail as long as the
dog. and two inches across the
big end and tapering down like a
marlin-spike; SO lean you can
count every joint in it, and SC
hard that you couldn't scratch il
with a diamond. Has every APP
pearance of having been made
ten years before the dog was, and
then hung out to bleach in the
rain and dry in the sun until the
dog came along. Ears soft as a
kid glove, and about the size and
appearance of a blacksmith's
apron. Bear every evidence of
being considered by all other
dogs in the precinct as dreadful
nice things to chew. Beautiful
eyes; open twenty three hours
and fifty nine minutes out of the
twentyfour; scare every woman
into fits that looks into the back
yard after dark. Sweet mouth;
opens on a hinge at the back of
his head, and is never shut unless
there is something in it. That is
the best picture Of a growing
hound, one of these kind with
er-colored spots, that we can
draw, and Mr.. Middlerib's was just
like that only more so. His prin-
cipal characteristic was tendency
to lunch. He was fond of nib
bling little things around the
house. Split his face last Sunday
while the folks were at church,
and shut it down over . whole
ham. He likes to peck at odd
bones and scraps, and Monday
morning he ate two table cloths,
a flannel shirt, a big roller towel,
half o dozen clothes pins, and
thirteen linear yards of clothes
line before the washing had been
hung out half an hour. Fond of
eggs, too, and knows every hen
by sight in the neighborhood, and
sets off on friendly call every
time he hears a cackle. Mrs. NJ.
wants to sell him, but Middlerib
says gold couldn't buy him. So
he stays, and eggs are scarce in
that ward as ever.
Well, the other night Mrs. M.
had made something by pulveriz-
ing a lot Of very hot potatoes.
We believe it was yeast, but we
won't commit ourselves. Any
how, it was necessary that it
should cool very presently, and
after some misgiving relative to
the dog and his weakness, WHICH
were dispelled by Middlerib's in
1ignant defense of that sagacious
animal, the dish containing the
fiery compound was placed on the
outer edge of a window sill to
cool in the night air.
Then the family resumed their
occupation of hearing Middlerih
explain the causes that led to the
recent revolution in politics.
Such a weird, unearthly, pierc-
ing wall hadn't been heard since
Dresseldorf learned to play the
clarionet. 1t seemed to come out
of the ground, out of the sky, out
Of the air around them, and for an
instant the frightened Middleribs
gazed on each other with white,
Terror blanched faces. Then they
rushed to the door and looked
out. A gaunt, ghostly form, with
liver colored spots and a mouth
full of hot potato yeast, thrashed
wildly up and down the yard,
splitting the darkness with terrific
yells at every jump. 1t was Mid
Herbs dog, and it was apparent
" feeling uneasy. II dashed
nadly around in short circles and
"Police," and scraped
his jaws with his paws, and wept
md rubbed his chops along the
cold ground, and swore and howl, !
ed for water, and paved the earth |
md sang psalms, and in several
ways expressed his disapproba
ion of potato yeast as a diet. Fl
lally he wedged himself in be-
;ween the fence and the asb.bar. |
'el and told all about it, how it
happened and what it felt like,
md how he liked il aa far as he'd |
got. He never slept a wink that
night. He was too anxious to get
1is narrative completed and see
,he proofs of it. Neitherdid any
body in the peighhorhood sleep,
either. And every time a water
pitcher would crash down into the
yard, or q boot jack bang against
bn fappn ~. m anIirnn nIitp pn |