The Twa Dogs

The Twa Dogs

'Twas in that place o' Scotland's isle,

That bears the name o' auld King Coil,

Upon a bonnie day in June,

When wearin' thro' the afternoon,

Twa dogs, that were na thrang at hame,

Forgather'd ance upon a time.

The first I'll name, they ca'd him Caesar,

Was keepit for His Honor's pleasure:

His hair, his size, his mouth, his lugs,

Shew'd he was nane o' Scotland's dogs;

But whalpit some place far abroad,

Whare sailors gang to fish for cod.

His locked, letter'd, braw brass collar

Shew'd him the gentleman an' scholar;

But though he was o' high degree,

The fient a pride, nae pride had he;

But wad hae spent an hour caressin,

Ev'n wi' al tinkler-gipsy's messin:

The tither was a ploughman's collie

A rhyming, ranting, raving billie,

Wha for his friend an' comrade had him,

And in freaks had Luath ca'd him,

After some dog in Highland Sang,

Was made lang syne, - Lord knows how lang.

He was a gash an' faithfu' tyke,

As ever lap a sheugh or dyke.

His honest, sonsie, baws'nt face

Aye gat him friends in ilka place;

His breast was white, his touzie back

Weel clad wi' coat o' glossy black;

His gawsie tail, wi' upward curl,

Hung owre his hurdie's wi' a swirl.

Nae doubt but they were fain o' ither,

And unco pack an' thick thegither;

Wi' social nose whiles snuff'd an' snowkit;

Whiles mice an' moudieworts they howkit;

Whiles scour'd awa' in lang excursion,

An' worry'd ither in diversion;

Until wi' daffin' weary grown

Upon a knowe they set them down.

An' there began a lang digression.

About the "lords o' the creation."

  We worked together to learn the first part of this long poem (full text here) about Caesar and Luath.  We discovered that Luath was named after Robert’s own collie dog.  In Gaelic, Luath means swift or nimble.  Robert named his dog after Cuchullin's hunting dog from the epic poem Ossian which tells the story of the life and battles of Fingal.

“Morning trembles with the beam of the east; it glimmers on Cromla's side. Over Lena is heard the horn of Swaran. The sons of the ocean gather around. Silent and sad they rise on the wave. The blast of Erin is behind their sails. White, as the mist of Morven, they float along the sea. "Call," said Fingal, "call my dogs, the long-bounding sons of the chase. Call white-breasted Bran, and the surly strength of Luath! Fillan, and Ryno;--but he is not here! My son rests on the bed of death. Fillan and Fergus! blow the horn, that the joy of the chase may arise; that the deer of Cromla may hear, and start at the lake of roes."

You can see a statue of Luath with his master in Dumfries and another in Boston, MA.  Sir Edwin Landseer was also inspired by this poem and painted the scene where Luath and Caesar have sat themselves down to discuss “the lords o’ the creation”. 

As part of her literacy goal for this topic Iona copied her verses out and illustrated them