Year: 1867

a Characteristic chapter on pet poodles
and puppy loving people, after this sort /;


One Of the most remarkable sights is
the dog-fancier--a strapping six-foot
dandy, leading after him, with silken
strings, a whole brood of nasty little
poodles. This fellow is type of the
class; you meet them everywhere at
every Continental city. There are
thousands Of them in Frankfort, men
strangely infatuated on the subject of
little dogs Now pardon me if l devote
some serious reflections to this extraor-
dinary and unreasonable propensity,
which, l fear, is rapidly taking root in
the hearts of the American people,
especially the female portion of our pop
ulation. In men it is often excusable;
they may be driven to it by unrequited
affection. l never see fine looking
fellow leading a gang of little poodle
dogs after him, that | don't imagine he
has had some dreadful experience in the
line Of true love; but with the opposite
sex the case is quite different.


eff women have one weakness more
marked than another" says Mrs. Beecher
Stowe, in very eloquent passage of the
ministers Wooing," 1T is toward ven
Grafton. They are born worshipers-
makers of silver shrines for some divinity
or other, which, of course, they always
think fell straight down from heaven"
And, in illustration of this very just re-
mark, she refers to instances where cele-
brated preachers and divines have stood
like the image that Nebuchadnezzar the
king set up, "and all womankind, CO.
quettes and firts not excepted, have
been ready to fall down and worship
even before the sound of cornet, flute,
harp, sackbut, and SO FORTH" where the
most gifted and accomplished of the sex
shave turned away from the fattery of
admirers, to PROSTATE themselves at the
feet of a genuine hero, who never
moved them except by heroic deeds and
the rhetoric of noble life"-a most
striking and beautiful trait in woman's
character to which all homage should be
rendered. She clingeth unto man even
as the ivy clingeth unto the oak. But
does anybody pretend to tell me that
man is always the lucky recipient of
this devotion? Alas, no! Not always
for him is it that women are burdened
with this load of "fealty, faith, and rev.
erence more than they know what to do
with;" not always for him is it that
''they stand like hedge of sweet peas,
throwing out futtering tendrils every
where for something high and strong to
climb by"


Alas! man is but a cipher among the
objects of woman's heroic devotion. l
have a lady in my eye who from early
youth has bestowed the tenderest affec-
tons of her heart upon Poll parrots;
another, who for years has wept over
the woes of little chicken; who would
abandon her midnight slumber to min
lister to the Affections of lame turkey,
and insensible to the appeals of her
lover, only relax in her severity when
moved by the plaintive mewing of cat
another, who, in the bosom of her
family, and tenderly adored by her hus-
band, has long since yielded to the
fascinating allurements of sewing
machine, and wrapped around its cog
wheels, cotton spools, and hammering
needles the poetry of aromantic attach
ment; and lastly Ghe particular case in
point, at which l marvel most of alD,
three most bewitching young ladies, Of
acknowledged beauty, who are hope
lessly and irrevocably gone in love with
what do you think Not man,
erect and noble, with the brow of Jove
and the eye of Mars; not ever horse,
the paragon OF beautiful and intelligent
animals, or a lion, the king of the for
est; but miserable, dirty, nasty, little
lapdog; asnappish, foul eyed, inodorous,
sneaking little brute, which even the
cats hold in contempt And yet they
LOVE it; at least they say so, and have
no reason to doubt their word. Have
l not heard them morning noon and
night, protest their devotion to the dear
little FIDEL--the precious beautiful little
FDEL-the adorable love of little
FIDEL! Oh, it is enough to make the
angels weep to see the grace and fond
ness with which this horrid little wretch
is caught up in those tender white arms,
and hugged to those virgin bosoms, and
kissed by those pouting and honeyed
lips! Faugh! 1t drives me mad.
What is the use of wasting so much
sweetness when there are thousands of
good, honest fellows actually pining
away from unrequited affection? brave
sons of toll, ready at moments notice
to be caressed by these sweet pea vines,
who are throwing out their fiuttering
tendrils for something high and strong
to cling to.


leave it to any honest miner, if, it is
not provoking to the last degree to see
the noblest capacity Of woman's nature
thus cruelty and wastefully perverted ~
the choicest affections devoted to mis-
cradle, disgusting and unsympathizing
little monster-the very honey of their
lips lavished on that foul and mucous
nose, which, if it knows anything,
must know something not fit to be men
toned to polite ears. Heavens! how
often have / longed to have fair kick
at one of these pampered little brutes.