AN irascible Samuel Pepys was unimpressed by proceedings in the Council Chamber at Whitehall in September 1667. Charles II, Pepys noted, was distracted. ‘All I observed… is the silliness of the King, playing with his dog all the while, and not minding the business, and what he said was mighty weak.’ Evidently, the pleasure-loving monarch struggled to absorb himself in Alderman Barker’s complaints about the Council of Ireland, preferring instead to stroke his spaniel as his mind wandered.
Which dog lover among us fails to sympathise with Charles? The King’s view was almost certainly akin to that of French naturalist the Comte de Buffon. In his Natural History of 1755, Buffon celebrated canine elegance and good nature: ‘The dog, independent of the beauty of his figure, his strength, vivacity, and nimbleness, possesses every internal excellence which can attract the regard of man.’
For centuries, men and women have identified ‘internal excellences’ in their dogs. At one time or another, every puppy owner has shared the young Queen Victoria’s reaction to her newest Skye terrier, Islay, whom she described on March 13, 1839, as ‘so gentle, so good-natured, and friendly and so funny’. Our dogs, we know, offer us the same sweet temper and unquestioning loyalty that a dying Argus once showed Odysseus or that Greyfriars Bobby paid to the memory of his former owner John Gray, keeping vigil on his grave: their affection is unquestioning and unflagging. ‘Faithful and Fearless’, a sumptuous new exhibition at the Wallace Collection, explores this loving relationship between owner and dog in a series of canine paintings, sculptures and even stuffed specimens. Visually magnificent and unashamedly celebratory, it offers visitors an inspiring fillip.
Denne historien er fra March 29, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra March 29, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds