Tuesday 26 June 2007

Lord Byron again

I thought I would repeat this post ( January 2007 ) as I was reminded of this poem today.
Lord Byron (1788-1824) honoured his beloved Newfoundland with the following inscription on a monument in Newstead Abbey:
'Near this spot
Are deposited the Remains of one
Who possessed
Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferocity,
And all the Virtues of Man without his Vices.
This Praise, which would be unmeaning
Flattery
If inscribed over human ashes,
Is but a just tribute to the memory of
Boatswain, a Dog
Who was born at Newfoundland, May 1803
And died at Newstead, Nov.18th 1808."

4 comments:

jmb said...

Hi Eurodog,
This is a nice tribute to a beloved dog but he died when he was only 5 1/2 years old. Still I suppose this was pre-vaccine days so perhaps dogs did not live to even a normal age as they do today.
regards
jmb

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful tribute. I would loved to have known Bryon - mad, bad an dangerous, what an intoxicating combination.

Flowerpot said...

What a way with words he had! And evidently preferred dogs to humans, or at least to women...

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Good old Byron - made me cry!