ANIMAL NOTABLES 185 



ANOTHER 



Somewhat akin to the story of the pony and the pig 

 in the Spectator of March 12, is the following narrative 

 in the life of Sir Walter Scott, illustrating his fondness 

 for animals and their attachment to him. I find it in a 

 volume entitled " Stories of Kemarkable Persons," by 

 the late Dr. William Chambers, who gives Sir Walter's 

 son-in-law, Lockhart, as voucher for the authenticity of 

 the story : 



" At Abbotsford, in the autumn of 1820, when a large 

 party, including Sir Humphry Davy, Dr. Wollaston, and 

 Henry Mackenzie were sallying out Scott on his pony, 

 with Maida gambolling about him there was some com- 

 motion and laughter when it was discovered that a little 

 black pig was frisking about and apparently resolved to 

 be one of the party for the day. Scott tried to look stern, 

 and cracked his whip at the creature, but was in a moment 

 obliged to join in the general cheers. Poor piggy was 

 sent home. " This pig," says Lockhart, " had taken, 

 nobody could tell how, a most sentimental attachment to 

 Scott, and was constantly urging his pretensions to be 

 admitted a regular member of his tail along with the 

 greyhounds and terriers ; but indeed I remember him 

 suffering another summer under the same sort of per- 

 tinacity on the part of an affectionate hen. I leave the 

 explanation for philosophers but such were the facts." 



D. BROWN ANDERSON. 



March 26, 1904. 



NOTE. The pig has the reputation of being a perfect 

 gourmet for sentiment. 



