He lost none of his brightness, although strength began to fail him in
1808, so that he could no longer accompany Sir Walter on his rides.
But still when as evening drew on, the servant would say, “Camp, the
shirra’s comin’ hame by the ford,” or “by the hill,” Camp would patter
stiffly to the front door or back, as the direction might imply, and
there await the master whom he could no longer follow. He died the
ensuing year, in January, and was buried in the garden of Scott’s
Edinburgh house, where even yet the place is pointed out. The whole
family stood in tears around the grave, while Sir Walter himself,
with sad face, smoothed the turf above his old companion. He had been
invited to dine from home that night, but excused himself on account
of the death of a dear old friend; and none wondered when they learned
that the friend was Camp.
Contemporary with Camp were the two greyhounds, Percy and Douglas, who,
though far less dear, were much petted. It is on record that despite
Lady Scott’s fear of robbers, a window was always left open for these
dogs to pass in and out. They lie buried at Abbotsford with other of
their doggish kin. Percy, in particular, is honored by a stone of
antique appearance, and this inscription, befitting some valiant knight:
“Cy git le preux Percie.”
[Illustration: SIR WALTER SCOTT AND HIS BULL-TERRIER, CAMP.
(_From the painting by Raeburn._)]
Poor Camp went over to the majority of dogs in January; in July, Sir
Walter wrote to a friend that he had filled the vacant place with a
shaggy terrier-puppy of high pedigree, and named it Wallace--its donor
being a descendant of that famous Scotchman. Somewhat later the family
was enlarged by a smooth-haired kintail terrier called Ourisque, which,
if attending the master on his rides, would sometimes pretend fatigue,
and whine to be taken up on horseback, where it would sit upright,
without any support, in great state.
But of all Sir Walter’s pets, the most famous was Maida, a gift in 1816
from his Highland friend Glengarry. He describes it with enthusiasm,
as “The noblest dog ever seen on the Border since Johnny Armstrong’s
time, ... between the wolf and deer greyhound, about six feet from
the tip of the nose to the tail, and high and strong in proportion.”
Captain Thomas Brown, who knew Maida well, says, “So uncommon was
his appearance, that he used to attract great crowds in Edinburgh to
look at him whenever he appeared on the streets. He was a remarkably
high-spirited and beautiful dog, with black ears, cheeks, back and
sides, ... the tip of his tail white, ... his hair rough and shaggy;
... that on the ridge of his neck, he used to raise like a lion’s mane,
when excited to anger.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account