April 2 1906 (Monday)

THAT'S ONE SMART DOG: The Washington Post begins a story with this sentence: "Apropos of nothing in particular, Alexandria wishes to arise and announce to the world that a resident of this ancient and honorable municipality owns the smartest dog in the world." The proof? Well, it turns out the dog, belonging to Mr. A. Powell Brookes of Alexandria, Va., became sick about two months ago. Someone (the paper notes it was "a negro") took him to Creighton's drug store. After an examination, he was given some capsules and was carried home. Two weeks after that, the same dog showed up at the drug store -- alone. He sat by the door and slipped in when a customer opened it. He sat near a counter and wagged his tail. Finally, Mr. Creighton took a look at him and found the dog was ill once again. He gave "Sank" the same medicine, and the dog walked home. This happened one more time. Critics might say that the dog returned because the medicine was tasty. The people of Alexandria, however, are certain that this is not the case and that the dog is, indeed, the smartest dog in the world. If the dog really wasn't sick, he was still smart.... smart enough to fool those Alexandrians.

GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT: The soldier who took the family Bible from a home in Fredericksburg, Va., during the Civil War has returned it -- about 40 years later. Or maybe it was a relative or friend of the Union soldier. The Washington Post says that someone named R. R. Riddell of Albany, N.Y., contacted the clerk of Fredericksburg, saying they wanted to return to Bible to the family that owned it. The clerk did some research. Now, the Bible is on its way to Miss Fannie Nash of Carters Wharf in Richmond County, Va. She's the granddaughter of William O. Belderson, who owned the Bible at the time of the war. Evidently the plundering soldier -- or R.R. Riddell -- is a slow reader. It sure took the thief a long time to get to Exodus and the "thou shalt not steal" part of the book.

A LOOK AT LANGUAGE: One of the headlines in The Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) uses an intriguing word for a story of a fatal drunken fracas among miners in Charleroi, Pa. The phrase goes, "End of Orgy in Woods." It's not what someone might think. There were not females, or sexual activity, mentioned in the story. The definintion of "orgy" is simply "a frantic revel; a drunken revelry." One wonders: When did the word get sexy?