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An Eulogy To A Dog
Faithful Friend
George Graham Vest, a lawyer from Sedalia, Missouri who later became
a U.S. Senator, gave this eulogy in response to a lawsuit on behalf
of "Old Drum", a foxhound who was viciously killed by a human
neighbor. His owner brought suit for damages. When Mr. Vest concluded
the case with this speech below, the courtroom was filled with tears.
Old Drum's master won this law suit.
"The
best friend man has in the world may turn against him and become his
worst enemy. His son, or his daughter, that he has reared with loving
care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us,
those whom we trust with our happiness and good name may become traitors
to their faith. The money a man has he may lose. It flies away from
him, perhaps when he needs it most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed
in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall
on their knees when success is with us may be the first to throw the
stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our head.
The
one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world,
the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful
or treacherous, is his dog. A man's dog stands by him in prosperity
and poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground
when the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only to
be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to
offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in 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 wing, and reputation
falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey
through the heavens.
If
fortune dries his master forth, an outcast in the world, friendless
and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege that that of
accompanying him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when
that last scene comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and
his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends
pursue their way, there, by the graveside will the noble dog be found,
his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness,
faithful, and true, even in death."
Senator
Vest, speaking to a jury about Old Drum, shot in 1869.
--Senator George Graham Vest
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