Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1895-08-30
ANIMAL AFFECTION.


his master no, not when he is starcke
dead The story OF the Dog of Hell
vellyn" is given with sufficient detail
in Hordsworth's verses. For three
months it remained the only mournei
by the body of its master, until it was
found by shepherd, who recognized
it as the dog which he had seen with
the lost man on the high passes late
one summer evening. A shepherd gave
che following account Of the inciden,
some years afterward, 1.-The unfor
tunate man" he said, was resident
of Manchester, who was in the habit o.
visiting the lakes, and, trusting to his
knowledge of the country had ventured
to cross one of the passes of Hell
vellyn late in the afternoon accompan
led only by his dog. In the dusk he
wandered from the track, fell over the
rocks, and persisted. After many weeks
Of fruitless search the dog was discov.
cred guarding his masters body" The
shepherd had never heard the poem,
but concluded his story with exactly
the same sentiment, if not the same
words. "God knows" he said, "how
the poor beast was supported so long"
The dog of Ilelvellyn" gained a mon.
ument in Wordsworth's verse.
Another dog mourner has been hon.
ored by monument of stone. This is
the Edin burgh dog, "Greyfriars' Bob.
by" which followed its masters body
to the funeral and, after the burial,
lay so constantly by the grave that the
keepers of the graveyard gave it small
kennel in which to lie. It's masters
grave became from that time its home,
and on its death it was honored with a
monument recording its devotion. I"
In the case of the dog the strongest
forms of the emotions of affection,
jealousy and grief center round human
beings They are shown in a very
minor degree in their relation to each
other. Perhaps the most curious in.
stance is that of female which mated
for life with handsome male dog, for
which she reserved her entire affec.
tons, and after his death would asso-
ciate with no other AN instance both
of grief and constancy But the minor
forms of sorrow are very readily evoked
in their dealings with men. why
should leave the dog at home?" asks
the sportsman in MIR. Oswald Craw-
ford's witty account of Portuguese
''cacada." If leave him at home he
will howl all day, and my wife will
wish herself dead" Their sensitive.
ness under temporary disgrace or neg
lect is no less obvious; but canine sor
row is in its strongest form reserved
to deplore the loss of human friends OF
masters In no other domestic animal
is the emotion so constantly exhibited
or in SO strong form, although MIR.
Rudyard Kipling's story of my Lord
> the Elephant Of founded on fact show.
that that animal is sometim capable
of as great devotion as the dog
Horses and cattle. though attached
to individuals, do not usually exhibi
emotion at their loss In all the rumi
nant animals the expression of emo
ton is very limited, and not casil,
recognized. Cows certainly are mucl
distressed at the loss of calf, and dee
by that of fawn. On the other hand
:. the former are so inexplcably dull Of
comprehension that in India it is tn,
custom to stuff the skin of calf which
y has been turned into veal. and set il
the COW stable, which at once induces
; the COW to continue giving milk. Cats
when in distress, seem moved by exact
ly opposite causes to those which in
: duce sorrow in the dog They are in
/ finitely miserable at the loss of thei
kittens, and frequently adopt som'
:. other creature in their place, but the,
y seem little moved by the death or sick
ness of human friends. But this is no
: always the case. During the last in
Huenza epidemic a lady who was at
:. tackled was moved into differen
!, room from that which she usually oc
= cnpied. Her cat, gray Angora, a
: once discovered this, and came and sa
outside for some days, but was not ad
:, United, for fear it might also catch tn
. universal plague. When it. did con
. trive to enter it sprang on the bed
purring and showing as much pleasur
as it had previously shown detection.
Wild animals naturally limit bot
: their affections and regrets to eac
!. others society. In the social life G
= most animals there is SO little differ
4 ence between the individuals that tn
- loss of one is easily replaced. 1t leave
a no gap in the daily life, as the loss c
4 a human being may in that of dc
= nestle animal. But Lord Lovat ha
: given sufficient number of instance
a of the grief felt by wild deer at tn
death or wounding of their compan
Il ions TO supplement the lesson of Sir
Landseer's picture entitled "IIighlant
Nurses" in which the kinds are watch
/, ing by wounded stag. Birds, which
/, since the days when Aeschylus dc
scribed the hurried and anxious high
!. of the vultures of their young have a
ways shown the utmost distress an
;, grief at the loss of their nestlings
= seem seldom affected to sorrow by an
=. other circumstance, though Miss Bel
. son. in her book, Subject to Vanity,
i has lately given an account of the III
: human Indifference Of hen Budje!
igar parrakeet when it's mate was IL
;, and Of the obvious detection which TIL
. indi ference caused in the sick birt
:, But it is now doubted whether ''lov
:. birds" die of grief after the loss of the
- mate, though the fact that one usual
!, dies very soon, often only few hour
I, after the other, is not disputed. Bu
they are delicate birds. and the sam
unsuitable food or sudden draugf
:, which kills one, usually affects til
: other. They are probably victims, nc
:. of sorrow, but of errors in ''domesti
. hygiene. y London Spectator
II Also Used In Greece.
It "And then" continued the travele
n who had got back from Russia, wv