"A gash[7] and faithfu' tyke
As ever lap a sheugh[8] or dike.
His honest, sonsie,[9] baws'nt[10] face,
Aye gat him friends in ilka place.
His breast was white, his touzie[11] back
Weel clad wi' coat o' glossy black;
His gaucie[12] tail, wi' upward curl,
Hung o'er his hurdies[13] wi' a swirl."
[7] Knowing.
[8] Ditch.
[9] Comely.
[10] White-striped.
[11] Shaggy.
[12] Bushy.
[13] Hips.
Luath's companion was a foreign dog, from "some far place abroad, where sailors gang to fish for cod," in short, Newfoundland. He was, moreover, a dog of "high degree," whose "lockèd, letter'd, braw brass collar showed him the gentleman and scholar." The "gentleman" is appropriately called Cæsar, a name commonly given to Newfoundland dogs.
The picture carries out faithfully the poet's conception of both animals. Luath is here to the very life, with shaggy black back, white breast, and honest face. We only regret that his position does not allow us to see the upward curl of his bushy tail. Cæsar is a black and white Newfoundland dog with a brass collar. The model is said to have been Neptune, the dog of a certain Mr. Gosling.[14]