THE OLD FARM DOG. 61 



from the city for their summer's outing ; and no 

 one of the family were they more glad to see 

 than he. In vain does one of them, ignorant of 

 his death, call him this day to give him food and 

 drink. 



Sitting here and thinking of him and of 

 others of his kind which I have known and at 

 the same time reviewing our present knowledge 

 of science and of life I cannot but believe that 

 dogs possess a soul if humans do, and that that 

 soul survives in the hereafter if human souls so 

 survive. Rather would I meet and greet old 

 "Bep" than scores of so-called humans who, at 

 times, hasten to meet and fawn upon me because 

 they have some favor to ask. His was a greet- 

 ing with no such end in view. 'Twas a greeting 

 of heartfelt joy, of pure comradeship. Long 

 may his memory remain green. Peacefully may 

 his bones rest. Kindly may his soul be treated 

 in the "great hereafter" where millions of his 

 kind have preceded him, mourned by some mas- 

 ter left behind but soon to follow. 



Almost every log or stone, when upturned, re- 

 veals a trace of some tragedy enacted beneath 



