The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-12-03
WAS A FR1ENp OF ANIMALS.
Sir Walter Scott Adored by Horses and
Dogs.

| SdlnD ana MAZDA, lnueeQ Ill MS own life
! time Mazda so often had his portrait
painted with his great master that ut last
he got so he would get up and stalk out
| of the room at the sight of II man getting
out brushes and setting up an easel. so
tired had he gotten of posing. But Scott
! had wonderful power over all kinds of
animals, and IL number of friends among
them less famous than his deer hounds,
| that are we'll worth remembering.
At Abbotsford there was II certain
black pig that fell in love with him for
no reason but because he did. Scott
never petted or noticed piggy, but when.
ever he could get at him piggy was at his
masters heels. If he could get out of his
pen he would trot after Sir Walter just
as the dogs did. When strange visitors
saw this queer sight it seemed to embar-
rass Scott IL little; he would laugh and
say the pig was daft and have him shut
up. But you may be sure all the time he
had II soft spot in his heart for the little
black porker, for did he not have Il soft
spot for everything that ..breathed around
him? The pig was not the only case of
love unprovoked, for one year II hen set
up similar .pretensions to sentimental
attachment. and followed the poet about
in similar fashion. Also two donkeys
who belonged to his married daughter,
would come running to the fence when
they saw him going by their field, al
though he never had anything to dc with
them except meeting such advances as
this with decent friendliness.
Carlyle used TO tell how when he was
first married and went to live in Edin-
bursh, he used to take little dog of his
wife's out airing.in the street it was Il
most shy, timid little dog, afraid of
everybody except mis- own family, and
could be trusted to keep close to heel
without lash, but one .aday he tiisap-
peared and Carlyle looked about dis.
tractedly for him, saw him at last caper-
ing about the feet of Il big lame man,
who mad not noticed him ut all. The big
lame man was Scott. Doggie had never
seen him before, but like piggy, had just
fallen ill love with him on sight.
Scott loved horses, and his children,
almost as soon as they could toddle, were
provided with ponies, and some of these
ponies were little Shetlands that were
scarcely bigger than the great dogs about
and like the dogs they would trot into
the house anu be fed by the children from
the table as they ate their own meals
Scott himself even after he became ST
Walter, and II rich and famous man, was
in the habit of feeding his own favorite
ridin" horses, and he had three, mt
different times, Captain, Lieutenant and
Brown Adam, who would rather skip II
meal than eat what any other person had
given them. The first thing in the morn
ing with Scott WIS to 20 as soon as he
was dressed and, rs he said, speak to the
horses. Brown Adam was Il very high
spirited animal, but when he was saddled
and bridled it was the custom to open the
stable door as IL signal that his master
wanted him, and then lie would trot ut
once to the leaping en- stone, as the
Scotch call it, and stand there like IL rock
until his lame master was in the saddle
After Scott owned him Brown Adam
never allowed any one else to mount him,
and one groom had IL leg broken and
another an arm trying it.
Scott had another charger equally eX-
elusive anu devoted, but his story had IL
strange ending that Scott always spoke
of with sadness. This steed had Il Queerly
feminine name, for he was called Daisy
perhaps this was because he was such
beauty. He was snow-white without Il
speck on him, and he had name that
Scott described by saying it was like
those Rubens liked to paint. Daisy was
like Brown Adam in standing so scrup-
lousy still for Scott to mount, that it
seemed clear that he understood that his
masters lameness made goo1 conduct
especially necessary.
In 1915 Scott made IL Journey to visit
the scene of the battle of Waterloo and
was gone several weeks. When he came
home IL mysterious change had come over
the spirit of Daisy's dream. He was not
friendly when Scott came to the stable to
speak to him, and when it came to mount
ing-well, he would not be mounted. and
that was all there was about it. Scott
was thrown several times in trying it,
He could not guess what he had done to
offend Daisy, but he tried for weeks to
make up the quarrel, but it was no use.
Daisy would neither forget nor forgive,
and at last he was sold and Scott was
, sad. ''Ay, ay," lie would say in telling
the story, ''these creatures have many
thoughts of their own, no doubt. that we
can never penetrate
All kinds of pets pleased Sir Walter
though he loved his dogs so much that he
kept II window omen in all kinds of
weather that they might run in and out
of his study rs they pleased. He could
love cats, too. and he had one.
Hinse of Hinsfeldt; that was IL great
favorite. This big black fellow would
going walking with his master along with
would chase hares, too, along with the
best of them, though it is not odd that he
ever caught any.
Ralph, the Raven, was wonderful bird
that Scott owned and was very proud of.
He said Ralph could talk better than any
parrot he ever heard, and long after Ralph
died of overcatin0, stories about him were
told at Abbottsford. When Scott wanted
one of his friends to diet strictly for his
health, he used sometimes to wind up
letters urging temperance i'm food by
writing:
when you are craving,
Remember the Raven;
When you've dined on calf
Think of poor Ralph