Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-03-26
Fidelity of the Dog.

There is no conquest made by mar
over the brute creation more complete
and useful than that of the dog. His
swiftness, strength, and scent have
made him q powerful ally for man
against all other animals, and have con-
tributed, in no small degree, to the
establishment Of society. His fidelity
and attachment to his master are with
out parallel in any other animal. He
assumes his masters manners; knows
and defends his property; and remains
true and faithful till death. This he
does. not from constraint or want, but
solely from the purest gratitude and
truest friendship.
As an instance Of the dogs attach
ment and fidelity to his master. it is
related that, in the time of Robes.
pierre, a revolutionary tribunal in one
of the departments of the north of
France, condemned to death an ancient
and respectable magistrate, on suspicion
of his being guilty of a conspiracy. I'm
mediately after the decree was passed,
be was committed to prison, where he
saw his family dispersed by a system
of terror. Some had taken flight;
others, themselves arrested, were car.
ried into distant gaols; his domestics
were dismissed; his house was buried
in the solitary of the seals; his friends
either abandoned him or con cealed
themselves; everything in the world
was silent to him except his dog. This
faithful animal had been refused ad-
mittance into the prison. He had re-
turned 70 his masters house, and found
it shut. He took refuge with a neigh
Dor, who received him, but it must be
added, that this man received him
trembling, in secret, and dreading lest
his humanity for an animal should CON
duct him to the scaflold. Every day,
at the same hour, the dog left the
house and went to the door of the
prison. He was refused admittance;
but he constantly passed an hour be-
fore it, and then returned. His fidelity
at length gained upon the porter, and
he was one day allowed to enter. The
dog saw his master. 1t was difficult to
separate them; but the gaoler carried
him away, and the deg returned to his
retreat. He came back the next morn
ing, and every day; and once each day
he was admitted. He licked the hand
of his friend, looked at him, licked his
hand again, and went away of him
self.
When the day of sentence arrived.
notwithstanding the crowd and the
guard, he penetrated into the hall,
and crouched himself at the feet Of the
unhappy man, whom he was about to
lose forever. They conducted him to
the prison, and the dog for that time
did not visit the door. The fatal hour
arrives; the prison opens; the unfortu-
nate man passes out; it is the dog that
receives him at the threshold. He
clings upon his hand. Alas that
hand will never be spread upon thy
caressing head He follows him; the
Ak falls; the master dies; but the ten
derness of the dog cannot cease. The
body is carried away; he walks by its
side; the earth receives it; he lays him
self upon the grave. There he passes
the first night, the next day, and the
second night. The neighbor, in the
mean time, unhappy at not seeing him,
risks himself searching for the dog;
guesses, by the extent of his fidelity,
the asylum chosen; finds him, csresses
him, brings him back, and gives him
food. An hour afterwards the dog es-
capped, and regained his favorite place.
Three months psssed away; each
morning he came to seek his food, and
then returned to the grave of his mas
ter; but each day he was more sad,
more meagsr, more languishing, and it
was plain that ne was gradually reach
ing his end. They endeayored, by
claiming him up, to wean him; but you
can not triumph over nature He
broke or bit through his bonds; escap'
ing, returned to the grave, and never
quilted it more 1t was in vain they
endeavored to bring him back. They
carried him food, but he ats no longer
For four-and.twenty hours he was seen
employing his weakened limbs in dig
ging up the earth that separated him
from the remains of the man he had
so much loved. Passion gave him
strength, and he gradually approached
the body; his labor of affection then
vehemently increased; his efforts be.
came convulsive--he shrieked in his
struggle; his faithful heart gave way.
and he breathed out his last gasp, as If
l. u l. L L. 49,