A valuable lesson, please read: (The town was Warrensburg, Missouri. The year, 1870. A dog owner was suing another townsman who had shot his dog, and was asking $50 in damages. The crowd in the court sat hushed as lawyer Senator George Graham Vest, representing the dog owner, made his final plea. When he had finished, the jury retired to return within minutes with its verdict. The award? Not $50 as the owner had asked, but $500. This is Senator Vests tribute to mans best friend.) The best friend that a man may have in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. The son or daughter he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it most. A mans reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall upon their knees to do us honor when success is with us, may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its clouds upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one who never deserts him, the one who never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog. A mans dog stands by him in prosperity and poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his masters side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer. He will lick the wounds and sores that come from encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master, as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as consistent in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth as an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog will go with him. And when the last scene of all comes, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful even in death. Copied from The Ugly Otter and his beautiful wife.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 11:44:27 +0000
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