The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-06-11

vhin Of eosa cir and the scent Of the water.
fesnaps II ~ becsuse there was no vstsr
snyvnefe thak. when vao child, I -
loafeo sof the 80 and thai. when did mos
visn 70 b poet, prayed thas might
oecome . sailor. Bat - tell ron Of the
mad doks that haunted my earliest DAYS.
Ny fossss-fasheT vas an innkseper.
His name vas Garrimon. which 10 Pro
vencal for Mountain Rat" II not that .
splendid name. GarYimonf Why have
never used u IN any Of my booksf Well.
oasimon's tavern vs. the rendexvous OF
the village. The ealOWas on the first door,
and can remember how as niehtfali the
ei.ck-oearded dark-eyed men Of the viz
iaee armed to the teeth, one with asword.
another With gun and most With scythes,
used to come in from ell parts Of the dis
tnct talking nothing but Of the Chin Fou.
the mad dog that Was securing the land
and against whom they had armed them.
seives- Then ran to Memo, nv foster
mother, and chung to her skirts and lay
awaks Ali night. trembling - thought o:
sne Chm Fou and OF the terrible weapons
strong. black-bearded men. were -
i.'Ehsened Of him a. the quakinR
htsle wretch, Who started at every sound
that the wind made in the caves
OF the old house. Where ! lay in bed
could hear rough voices - they sat round
the inn tables drinking lemonade. for the
Provencai II 90 excitable by nature that
mere lemonade acts upon him like strong
ofink, and II Vas the Chin Fou and moth
Ing else that they talked about But what
brought my horror to . climax and left an
Noticeable impression on me Vas that
one day nearly met the mad dog. II was
summer evening. / remember. and ! was
valkins home. carrying little basket,
thick vines Suddenly heard Wild cries:
"Aou Chin Fou, aou Chin Fou." Then
came . discharge Of guns Mad with
terror. jumped inso tho vines, rolling
head over ears, and - lay there unable
20 stir . finger. heard the dog 20 BY a.
II . hurricane were passing, heard his
fierce breath and the thunder Of the
stones that in his mad eourse he rolled be.
fore him. and my heart stopped besting in
. paroxysm Of terror, which is the
strangest emotion that have ever felt IN
al my life. Since then have an absolute
horror Of dogs, and by extension. indeed.
OF all animals. People have Yeproached
me for this. and say that . poet cannot
dislike animals. l cant help. it. 1 hate
them all. think they are what Is ugly
and vile in nature. They are caricatures
of all that is most ioathsome and base in
man: they are the latrines OF humanity.
And curiousiy enough all my children
have inherited this same horror for dogs.
II remember that ut 49, when ! was
down in the valley Of Chevreuse, not far
from Madame Adams place at Gif, the
recollection of that afternoon came upon
me 50 strongly that. borrowing Victor
Hugo's title, wrote the Forty Days Of .
Condemned Man, In which / essayed to
depict day BY day the sensations Of man
y ho had been bitten BY . mad dog. This
work made me i'll. neuropath. Before
had finished writing 1t. had grown to
believe that indeed had been bitten, and
the result was that my horror and dread
were confirmed. The sight of dog is to-
day still enough TO distress mo exceed
ingiy. This phenomenon makes me think.
what have noticed before and repeatedly
said that. comparing man to . book, he 10
set mp in type at . very early age. and that
in after life it is only new editions of him
that are printed. by which I mean that .
mans character and habits are crystal
iized while he is still . very young man.
and that in after life he only goes through
the same phases Of emotion over and over
again.
.'other souvenirs Of my youth? Well
the Homeric battles that we children Of
the town used to have. Nismcs Is divided
into Huguenots and Roman Catholics. and
each party hated each other as keeniy ~
they did in France on the day Of st. Bar
tholomew, " hich dawned on that sanguin-
ary eve. The fcud was - keen between
the children Of the town. and many were