CHARACTER OF THE DOG. 39 



who had discovered, in the far west, the corpse 

 of an Indian, extended on the prairie, surrounded 

 by a gang of wolves, which a famishing dog still 

 kept at bay. What a picture for an artist to de- 

 lineate, and how forcibly it reminds us of the 

 touching lines of the poet ! 



" And he was faithful to a corpse, 

 And kept the birds and beasts 

 Which hungered there, at bay." 



When those whom you are most bound to love 

 and reverence, have passed down to the grave 

 when friends fall off, and the darker side of hu- 

 manity becomes more and more apparent, as you 

 walk through life then, and not till then, you 

 may learn to prize the fidelity of a dog. 



His leaping heart is still for thine, 



Without a thought of guile, 

 And in his eyes his truth doth shine, 



As beauty may not smile. 



