The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-12-27
SHOUTING AND BARKING;
DOGS IN THE MEETING
How Dog Stopped a CoIored Sisters Shouting,
After Putting His Nose Into the Sacra-
mental Bread.


eral Assembly of North Carolina was held
under large oak in Pasquotank county,
and that one of the rules governing that
body was that the members should wear
shoes. during the sessions thereof, and
that they should not throw their chicken
and other bones under the tree.
We cannot see for the life OF us why
that Assembly required its members to
put on shoes, while in session, unless 1t
was to impress the common people with
the dignity of that body, but, 1T is easy
to understand why chicken bones were
not allowed to be thrown down under
the oak. 1t was doubtless to keep the
dogs from prowling around after those
bones. and fighting over them, While the
Assembly was engaged in legislative work;
and, we are bound to admit that tie
members of that Assembly were wise in
their day and generation, Tor they knew
that dogs were dogs, and that dogs by
instinct, habit and common department
were not fit to be allowed in public meet
ines. Hence, when the legislators ate
their lunches, of chicken, backbones and
hog Jaws, they were required, by law,
to throw the bones outside the legislative
circle covered by the big oak. Supposing
that each member had a dog We can I'M
agine the scene around, when the bones
were thrown out; the many fights which
occurred among the dogs for dogs, like
men will fight over bones,) and tn" much
bad feeling engendered when member
with shoes on kicked another members
dog.
Some people have a way Of carrying
dogs to church; and yet it is very Well
known that dogs have not improved IN
manners since the days of old Jezebel
Some of the most annoying, as well as
some of the most ludicrous scenes, in
churches, have been occasioned by 6cgs.
In my young days used to attend preach
ing at old Pleasant Springs, about eight
miles south of Raleigh. The Christian
denomination worshipped there, and Rev.
Anthony Franks was the pastor The
Sunday of which 1 am writing was the
communion occasion, and the basket
which contained the bread and wine, sat
on the floor In front of the pulpit. While
Mr. Franks was preaching, the ch!'dren
over on the mothers side of the church
were eating biscuits, and dropping the
crumbs; and about half dozen dogs OF
various sizes, colors and classes were
pushing and crawling under benches and
the womens dresses, trying to get the
crumbs, and the whole biscuits as We'll,
that occasionally were dropped by fGgety
children. l noticed one dog, specially.
that seemed to be not only very active
I'm crumb hunting, but had feTocious
air about him, and would ,yrowi at the
children now and then. At length he
found the basket, which contained the
sacramental bread, and into it his nose
went; and, but FOR the very timely inter
ference of a member, who sat near by,
he soon would have devoured 1t. The
sermon ended, the communion followed,
the white members coming first. Then
came the colored people and among them
Old ':Aunt Prissy Banks" who thought
shouting was always in order when peo-
pie took the communion, and she had as
much right as anybody; so she shouted,
but. no sooner did she break out than
did that dog, with ferocious look, begin
to bark. At first she did not seem to
notice him, but she soon discovered that
he was barking at her, for, turn which
way she might, he was in her front bark
ing as if he had freed a coon. She
quoted down long enough to leave the
house; but, as soon as she touched the
ground, and thinking the dog was still
in the church, she began to shout again.
In a moment the dog was there, aad, it
possible barking more iercely than he
did in the house. For fully five minutes
it was shouting and barking, and bark
ing and shouting. Aunt Prissy would say
GLORY to God, go way from here!" Glory
to God, go way from here! But the dog
wouldn't go. He continued to bark until
some of the colored sisters told Aunt
Prissy she'd better stop, and size did.
saying by the way of wind-up: "Thank
o,,,,k IN
en-; dey all goes to the tother place. and
wish dat dorg was dar rite now
Rev. William l. Langdon was preaching
at the Methodist church, on Federal
Point, about 1850, when a bench-legged
flee, the property of one of the members
of that church, made himself very con-
spicuous. He would run to the door and
bark, then he'd run to his master, and
then go round among the boys who .-ould
pet him, and in various and numerous
ways he managed to disturb the preacher,
while he amused the children. At last
he went into the pulpit, hoped up on
the bench and began 80 lap water out
of the preachers pitcher. The preacher
took in the situation and thinking he had
a right to the pulpit, and that the dog
was an intruder, he kicked him out He
went out bowling, and the master. and
all the family, to whom the dog belonged,
went out with him; and such was the dis
turbance outside. the preacher had to
stop; and the church came nigh being
broke up. The people were divided upon
the matter. Some of them said the
preacher was not to blame; that the dog
had no business in the pulpit drinking
out of the preachers pitcher; while
others thought that dogs ought to be
allowed to do as, and go where, they
pleased, so they did not bite people. 1t
took the church long time to recover
from that dog affair.
Away back in the forties there was
a church, in Chatham county which had
been so rent by dissensions among its
members, as to be left off the circuit,
consequently it had no preaching.
brother Postell, I think it was, then liv-
ing in Pittsboro, concluded, in the early
summer that he would go out and preach
to those people and try to harmonic the
discordant elements He took brother
Hanks. an old time Sankey, with him TO
lead the singing; and went prepared 10
CIV GREAT MANY things about brOtherly