86 A BOOK OF MORTALS 



the same inspired record of Balaam's ass when similarly 

 blamed. 



Analysing these two appeals, " Is thy servant a dog ? " 

 and "Am I not thine ass ? " it is impossible not to see that 

 genuine self-respect and whole-hearted fidelity lie with the 

 donkey ! 



And truly a dog — even amongst the Jews — might well 

 have retorted on the man : " Being thy dog, why should I 

 do this thing ? " seeing that from the very beginning of 

 Time the fidelity of dogs has been their most marked 

 characteristic. 



All the most ancient dog stories harp on this one theme. 



Gelert, Dragon, Bran, Moera, Hodain, Horme ; these 

 and many another name leap to the forefront of memory, 

 bringing with them their record of absolutely flawless 

 fidelity. 



Can we forget, either, the Dog of the Seven Sleepers, 

 Kutmir, who while his masters slept for three hundred and 

 nine years, kept watch and ward, standing beside them 

 without food, drink, or sleep f 



The fable anyhow shows the character which dogs had 

 gained for themselves, and mankind's recognition of it. One 

 feels glad that Mahomet at least permitted Kutmir as a 

 reward to enter the Mahomedan Paradise, though Chris- 

 tianity — despite the fact of the sleepers being Christian 

 refugees from the Decian persecutions — treated the per- 

 formance with its usual silent contempt for all animal life. 



For though the dog is mentioned no less than forty 

 times in the Bible it is never given a good word and is 

 nearly always spoken of in terms of absolute abhorrence. 



Despite this, a carven dog lies still at the crossed feet of 



