The sympathy I give, I need— The poet's doom is thine! 9. Art thou a lover, Will?-Hast proved Thine is the lot of all who've loved, 10. Hast trusted in a friend, and seen A common error-men still lean 11. Hast thou, in seeking wealth or fame, O'er all the earth 'tis just the same 12. Hast found the world a Bābel1 wide, 13. What, none of these?-Then, whence thy pain? 14. Dost merely ask thy just deşert? 15. But use thee kindly; for my nerves, 1 Bā ́bel, the name of the city where the confusion of languageş took place [Gen. XI. 9]; hence, confusion; disorder. 2 Mam'mon, wealth; riches. disposition to ûrge for one's self undue claims. 4 Pěn'ance, labor, pain, or suffering, self-applied, or imposed by authority of the Church, as a punishment for faults. 16. Farewell, poor Will !-not vălueless This lesson by thee given : "Keep thine own counsel, and confess Thyself ǎlōne to Heaven!" MORRIS.1 V SECTION VII. I. 23. THE FRENCHMAN'S DOG. VOLUMES could be filled with anecdotes of the mutual attachment of men and dogs; and we are of opinion that the affection in such cases is very much more noble and generous than is usually supposed. No person, probably, can have any proper idea of this tendernèss of feeling, who has not kept a favorite dog. 2. Courage, watchfulness, fidělity —many of the best qualities that awaken respect, admiration, and love, among human beings are possessed to a wonderful extent by dogs. There seems to be a sort of humanity 4 in them. This is most ǎd'mirably shown in the beautiful picture that appears on the next page. Mark the determination to protect, and conscious repose of power, in the large dog, and the bristling assurance, indulged from a sense of security, of the small one! 3. Dogs, in their love for man, play a part in nearly ěvèry tragedy. A modern novelist, describing a murdered man, adds, in 1860. He died in New York, July 6, 1864. 1 George P. Morris, the popular American song-writer, was born in Philadelphia, Oct. 10, 1802. He commenced his literary career in New York, at the age of fifteen. As a journalist he was sprightly and entertaining, though as a poet, and more particularly as a song-writer, he acquired his chief reputation. Millions of copies of his songs have been circulated. Various editions of his poems have been pub. lished, the last of which appeared 2 An'ec dōte, a particular fact or single passage of private life of an interesting nature; a short story. 3 Fi děl'i ty, loyalty; faithfulness. 4 Hu mǎn'i ty, the nature peculiar to man; kindness. 5 Trǎg'e dy, a poem prepared for the stage, representing some action having a fatal and mournful end; any event in which human lives are lost by human violence. with râre power of picture-words: "The full, sweet light of the summer-day fell into the chamber of the dead, where they had laid him down, and left him in the deep stillnèss that no footfall stirred, no voice distûrbed, and no love watched, save that of a little spaniel,1 which had crept into his breast, and flew at those who sought to move her from her vigil, and erouched there, trembling and moaning piteously." 1 Spaniel (spǎn'yěl). Vig'il, the act of keeping awake; watch. 4. We believe, that, among the different varieties of dogs, the small spaniel kind is the most affectionate; but probably we are led to entertain this notion from an acquaintanceship with the character of our own favorite Fiddy—a small spaniel, of joyous and intelligent character, and possessing boundlèss attachment to persons about her. An anecdote is told of a small dog of this variety which does not appear to us to be in any respect incredible.1 5. During the Reign of Terror in France, a gentleman in one of the northern departments was accused of conspiring against the republic, and sent to Paris, to appear before the revolutionary trībūnal.2 His dog was with him when he was seized, and was allowed to accompany him, but, on arriving in the capital, was refused admission to the prison of his master. The distress was mutual: the gentleman sorrowed for the loss of the society of his dog; the dog pined to get admission to the prison. 6. Living only on scraps of food picked up in the neighborhood, the poor dog spent most of his time near the door of the prison, into which he made repeated attempts to gain admittance. Such unremitting fidělity at length melted the feelings of the porter, and the dog was allowed to enter. His joy at seeing his master was unbounded; that of his master, on seeing his dog, was not less. 7. It was difficult to separate them; but the jailer, fearing for himself, carried the dog out of the prison. Every day, however, at a certain hour, he was allowed to repeat his visit. At these interviews, the affectionate animal licked the hands and face of his måster; looked at him again; again licked his hands, and whined his delight. After a few mornings, feeling assured of re-admission, he departed at the call of the jailer. 8. The day came when the unfortunate captive was taken before the tribunal; and, to the surprise of the court, there also was the dog. It had followed his master into the hall, and clung to him, as if to protect him from injury. One would naturally imagine that the spectacle of so much affection would have 4 1 In crěd'i ble, not possible to be credited or believed. & Master (mås'ter). 4 Spěc'ta cle, something present 2 Tri bū'nal, the seat of a judge; ed to view; usually, a remarkable hence, a court of justice. sight. moved the judges, and induced them to be merciful. But this was a period in which ordinary feelings were reversed, and men acted in the spirit of maniacs1 or dēmons.2 9. Will it be credited ?—the prisoner, accused only of being an aristocrat, was doomed to be guillotined; and, in pronouncing sentence, the judge added, partly in jest and partly in earnèst, that his dog might go with him! The condemned man and his humble companion were conducted back to prison. What were the mental sufferings of the unhappy gentleman, it is needless to inquire; the dog was happily unconscious of the approaching tragedy. 10. Morning dawned; the hour of execution arrived; and the prisoner, with other victims of revolutionary vengeance, went fōrth to the scaffold. One låst caress was permitted; next minute the ax fell, and severed the head of the poor gentleman from his body. His dog saw the bloody deed perpetrated, and was frantic with grief. He followed the mangled corpse of his måster to the grave. No persuasions could induce him to leave the spot. Night and day he lay on the bâre ground. Food was offered, but he would not eat. 11. If a dog's heart could be broken, the heart of this one surely was. Day by day his body grew thinner, his eye mōre glåssy. Occasionally he uttered low, moaning sounds. They were the expiring efforts of nature. One morning he was found, stretched lifeless on the earth. Death had kindly put an end to his sufferings. 12. Who can describe the depth of agony that this faithful creature had endured? None. All can, however, tell how Frånce has been punished for the crimes of which the above is only one among many thousands. 1 Mā'ni ǎc, a madman. 2 De'mon, a spirit holding a middle place between men and the gods of the pagans; an evil spirit ; a devil. 3 A ris'to crǎt, one who favors, in principle or practice, a form of government whose power is vested in the chief persons of a state; one who is haughty, proud, or overbearing in his temper or habits. 4 Guillotined (gil lō tēnd'), beheaded with the guillotine, a machine in which a heavy ax is raised by means of a cord, and let fall upon the neck of the victim. |