The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-03-22
PENCIL AT THE DOG SHOW.
She Recognizes Old Friends Reincarnated
in Canine Form.


There is much that is human in a dogs
character and much that is dog-llke in the hui
man character. Everybody recognizes the
bulldog, the hunter, the spaniel, and the
swapping ours among his felow-men, and
Pencil, having lately become convinced that
these imperfect human beings were condemned
to work out their salvation through various
forms of life, went to the dog show to find
some of these doggish humans who had passed
over the river of time and may be reincarnated
in some OF the superior dogs OF the bench
show. If half dozen dogs OF a reighborhood
of no pedigree worth mentioning can make
night hideous with their orgies and howls, one
who has had bis rest disturbed by that
noctural serenade can multiply it by hun
dreds, in volumes and books, to get at the din
that assailed Pencil going in to inspect the
show and make scientific search for the lost
souls. Those dogs OF high degree had all
been judged and labeled with prizes of the
various classes, but it is not for modest
searcher after the mysteries "of the things
that were'' to note these events.
Can it be possible Do my ewes deceive me
They do not. While they are not quite clear
enough to see into "astral space'' they do
recognize that old uncle of mine-say, to re-
lieve you from the thought that he might be
yours-in that red-eyed, cross, old dog who
glared at and growled ominously the minute
he caught sight of Pencil, just rs he used to
when Pencil was young thing and stood
very much in awe OF his ponderous displeasure.
How delightful to see him imprisoned in the
sleek hide of a we'll bred bulldog We would
not have had him too much degraded by hav-
ing him reborn into common cur. Our ven
geance has no malice in it.
Passing on, we instantly recognize one of
our first beaux, who courted another girl
under cover of paying fugitive attentions to
several Of us. He is in the guise of a pointer
dog. He is well cared for being reincarnated
in among good pack of hunters, and his
rowing disposition is bound to be disciplined
and corrected by sad-faced English keeper
with no sentimental nonsense about him.
Numerous frowning ladies of our acquaint-
ance Gin days of yore' are safely housed in
natty cages on the top shelf, with carpeted
floors and well-lined sleeping baskets. Safe
at last, you little shams. degenerated pets of
society, harmless now.
Having known SO many of the flee
dog, snappy,. snarly, growly family, it was
difficult to tell who was who from the many
specimens present, any one of whom might
have the soul of - imprisoned in this ner-
vous little carcass. Much to the surprise of
Pencil, people who had been regarded as of the
rodent tribe or the fox family were really good
stuff Of which good dogs are made. Not with
out fidelity and affection, but with great
weakness of character in other directions,
nature evoluted them into CANNES of various
species and they now promise to be useful
members OF society, whereas formerly the
mixture Of their petty vices with their thin
virtues was not healthful in the human fam
lily. Some of these translated felons were
marked as sold from $12 to 500 apiece
Dame Nature wastes nothing in this world.
Ii one of her productions proves failure in
one lire she has only to say, ''Die," which
means, "Live in some other form,' and all
her mistakes are rectified, humanity has an
other chance, and science is vindicated even
in the personnel of this most successful OF
dog shows.