MAETERLINCKS DOGS - 1919 - INTRODUCTION - 0UR dogs Faithful companions of a life which they venerate without understanding Indulgent friends, whose constant adoration compels the affection of the most unwilling Are we so greedy of love that we needs must cherish and encourage the offering of these poor unconscious hearts Are we so athirst for domination that it pleases us to play towards these ingenuous minds the part of a god dispensing punishments and favours We understand the watch-dog, the guardian who lies awake in the darkness, to signal the approach of intruders. Our hearts are touched by the devotion of the blind mans dog, by the self-abnegation of the pointer, the retriever. We respect the sheep-dog, who watches over the flock the dog of Flanders, who is the poor mans horse, carefully pursuing his strenuous calling and we marvel at the police-dog, who fulfils his noblest of all missions in seeking upon the battle-field the bodies of his immolated gods. But these worthy quadrupeds are in the canine world what officials, manufacturers, merchants, clergy and their like are in our human society, in a word, the I necessary cog-wheels of our community. Now, being neither a blind man nor a sportsman, neither a shepherd nor a soldier, I have been able to consider these deserving animals only from a distance and I shall speak merely of those who must, in their own world, be regarded as vagabonds, idlers, oddities, or philosophers, that is, as the riff-raff of canine society. Our dogs cultivated no other virtues than those of the heart and they understood how to make themselves beloved. In truth I cannot tell you why they were loved but do we ever know why we love and are we to be more exacting towards animals than towards These worthy quadrupeds mLqseuLp Suyqmoq qvyq JO qs yay pug oq qs day q oqu a 3u qsrpa uros laaelq qsnw I pue suorusduro, p j y q m 0 j I B 03 ajaezuoq op oq sa d asayq ur y s r I Osquaaa aq dr3qu. e . qou pnur aM qng l no sr . ay uaqM ur auro, 07 pue UI . sr . ay u a y q no OS oq pneio3 qdwold ayq pueqslapun oq npuqg I seal ay u nqa P UB sloop JO no OS Lay3 6 y o u y d uou ruo, sSuraq u. eruny J B J a3uala pp M squeuaq S y pue as apuo, E aqrun q ay ay un qou a n suo q q a m 0 amseaid a am sploge puv L lenuyquo3 am sqlnqsyp I B F U U E J a lo u I laAa Surylew sr s e a L 30 ssauiinj ayq w o y p u ag B a q n I se am appq sag o yp ne lof puapj LW uaur S30CI StX3NI X3. LZIVK X Idlers, oddi tics, or philosophers CONTENTS PAGE DEDICATION . a . V INTRODUCTION . . . vii CHAP I. LOUIS THE DEBONNAIRE . . I I I.. RAYMOND T HE CLOWN OR, THE CHILDRENS ENTERTAINER . 19 IV. ADHEMAR T HE MISUNDERSTOO . D 43 VI. GOLAUD THE SUPERDOG Adelaide . . . a a 125 Golauds Vocabulary . a . 127 Golauds Travelling-impressions . 129 Some of Golauds Home Impressions . 132 Golauds Views on Boxing . I35 Golauds Views on the War . . I45 VII. JULES THE SPONGER a 153 VIII. THE DEATH OF GOLAUD a . 165 IX. THE ANCESTOR O F THE KENNEL 173 xiii