Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-06-23
Caln,age
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talrnaae. D. D.

Los Angeles Cal. June 19.--Not in
the literal but in the figurative sense
does the preacher deal with this I'M
usual text by drawing the broad dis
tinction between the life that is in
epired by love of all that is noble and
pure and one that has become degraded
and brutal through the indulgence of
selfish passions. The text is Revela-
ton xxi, Is. "Wihout are dogs"
II never could sympathize with the
slur which the Bible casts upon my
canine friends" once said an old man
to me. est John in that passage Of
Scripture, without are dogs seems TO
dcspise the dog MS l dcspisc the buzz
gard or the hyena. He seems to pic
tlre the Internal regions as the only
suitable place for their kennels. He
insinuates their companioDship for
man to be n humiliation and degra-
dation. Now. in contrast to that as
sertion, have Ear more respect for 3n
honest dog than | have for dishonest
tleceitful man. ! count among my dear
est friends some of the representatives
of the canine race. Indeed l go so FAR
I'm my respect for dogs that if in that
heavenly land fond one of the beau
tiful dogs I have owned on earth sleep
ing at my feet in that abode of bliss
or looking I'D into my face with tho
expression OF love and fidelity I have
seen so often I should not feel 1t any
blight but rather an enhancement OF
my happiness
could understand my friends feel
ing. and love dogs well enough to
sympathfze with it. There are no
grounds for believ ng in future life
for animals. but confess that if IN the
boundless love OF God we should find
that even for the faithful dog there
was paradise l for one should re-
joice. I have that affection that Sir
Walter Scott had for the canine race
and l always feel a sense of compan-
ionship when dog Is doing in my
study. As n boy delighted to have
q canine companion in my rambles, and
to this day l feel, rs Bismarck used 10
say, that no man should despise the
11l'lNSlllD VI tiutS Va INtN ilC'4''ttF ~
confide in them some Of his inDermost
thoughts AMI secrets When we ar"
rambling over the hills or in our CITY
walks and my dog friends stop AMI
listen to what say am always surn
of one fact-that they will not betray
my confidence as have known son q
men to do. Eyes, yes.' l said 10 my
aged friend. '!ike you, l have always
loved the dog; but, unlike you, do not
believe the Bible really depreclateS the
faithfulness Of good dog This pas
sage of Scripture. "Without are dogs"
Is not casting a slur upon tie dog 1t
IS not sneerin3 at the ancestors of some
Of those noble beasts belonging to the
royal families of dogs which We have
adopted into our homes as honorel
Labitues of our tiresides. The seer Of
Iatmos had never seen such dogs rs
ours. The dogs with which he was fa-
lniliar were such homeless, carrion eat
ing dogs as those which TO this do"
roam the narrow streets of Jcru
salem and Damascus, degraded ours.
whose presence would have been de-
fling to that beautiful city which he
Eaw in vision. Therefore it is to the
eastern dog, homeless and friendless,
which l have so often seen IN my
travels and by whose howlings l have
been awakened at night and have
watched while standing upon the ho-
Tel porch of the far east. when he says
with evident qualification, without
are dogs"
The Quarrelsorsc Were Excluded.
But l believe tho apostle had a fur
Their and deeper meaning than this
think no meant that the qualities
which the dog represented 10 his mind
were excluded from the heavenly city
SelflShness, degradation, quarrelsome
ness all that rendered dogs hateful to
the Jews Of the orient. whether in
beast or man, We're outside those
heavenly walls. and, first, | believe
he meant that in heaven there would
be neither physical nor mental mon
strosities. 1t is to be a place where
there would be a perfect mind in har-
mony with perfect body and the per
feet soul in every way shall bave per
feet externalities. There are sone men
30 degraded with their vices lint their
very forms and features have become
tepuleiye. They bear the same rela-
lion to good living, intelligent men that
Tie oriental dogs bear to our house
hold pets.
We love to look at the masterpieces
Df Sir Edwin Landsccr, the painter of
dogs. There seems TO be something
rycn more than human in his High
land Shepherds CHIEF Mouruor," some
iling more than mere brute fcrOcity in
his Stag at Bay" something more
than n sportsman's halloo in the RE
iurn From Deerstalking." But the
flashing eyed, powerful chested, clean
iimbed, glossy coated models OF Land
bccr are entirely different physical
specimens from the outCGst dogs Of the
east, Have you ever stopped and look
I'd with pity upon Il poor NANCY cur
crawling along the street, Have YOU
ycen disease like porcupine quilts stick
ing ont all over him? Have you seen
the people shy off as he came along
and heard the passersby say: Poor
dog! Why do not the dog catchers
come along and put him out Of his
miseryW Have you ever seen dogs
IT. a.