The Literate Kerry (Vol. 13)

Mark Twain (pseud.) wroteFollowing the Equator in 1897. The excerpt below is taken, as written, from that selection.)

Dogs are incapable of blushing, a fact which has given rise to the suggestion that they are incapable of shame. Even if dogs could blush this would pass unnoticed on a black dog. Man is the Only Animal that Blushes. Or needs to.

(The following excerpt was taken from A Sheaf written in 1916 by John Galsworthy, (1867-1933). He wrote novels, plays and short stories with themes that focus on upper class English society, the economically and socially oppressed and explored questions of social justice. Galsworthy was awarded the 1932 Nobel Prize in literature.)

Many, no doubt, first bound or bred the dog to his service and companionship for purely utilitarian reasons; but we of to-day, by immemorial tradition and a sentiment that has become almost as inherent in us as the sentiment toward children, give him a place in our lives utterly different from what we accord to any other animal,(not even excepting cats); a place that he has won for himself throughout the ages, and that he ever increasingly deserves. He is by far the nearest thing to man on the face of the earth; the one link that we have spiritually with the animal creation; the dumb creature into whose eyes we can look and tell pretty well for certain what emotion, even what thought, is at work within; the dumb creature which---not as a rare exception, but almost always---steadily feels the sentiments of love and trust. This special nature of the dog is our own handiwork, a thing instilled into him through thousands of years of intimacy, care, and mutual service, deliberately and ever more carefully fostered; extraordinarily precious even to those of us who profess to be without sentiment. It is one of the prime factors of our daily lives in all classes of society---this mute partnership with dogs.


(In History of Quadrupeds, written in 1790, Thomas Bewick gives his opinion of the terrier .)

The Terrier has a most acute smell, is generally an attendant on every pack of Hounds, and is very expert in forcing Foxes or other game out of their coverts. It is the determined enemy of all the vermin kind; such as Weasels, *Foumarts, Badgers, Rats, Mice, &c. It is fierce, keen, and hardy; and in its encounters with the Badger, sometimes meets with a very severe treatment, which it sustains with great courage and fortitude. A well-trained Dog frequently proves more than a match for that hard-biting animal.

There are two kinds of Terrier,- the one rough, short legged, long-backed, very strong, and most commonly of a black or yellowish colour, mixed with white; the other is smooth, sleek, and beautifully formed, having a shorter body, and more sprightly appearance: it is generally of a reddish brown colour, or black, with tanned legs; and is similar to the rough Terrier in disposition and faculties, but inferior in size, strength, and hardiness.

*A Fomart is a European Ferret.

(A Ring-Ouzel is a rare bird often called the Blackbird of the Moors. The author of the poem is unknown.)

Ring-Ouzel

Ay, see the hounds with frantic zeal
The roots and earth uptear;
But the earth is strong and the roots are long,
They cannot enter there.
Outspeaks the Squire, "Give room, I pray,
And hie the terriers in;
The warriors of the fight are they,
And every fight they win."

Last Updated: 01/20/2005, 1:43 pm