HIGHLAND SHEPHERD'S
CHIEF MOURNER
Questions to arouse interest. What do you see in this picture? For whom is the dog grieving? What makes you think the shepherd may have been an old man? a religious man? a lonely man? Is there anything in the picture that would suggest the country in which he lived? What is there in the picture to suggest the time of the year? the occupation of the man? What kind of dog is this? Who painted the picture? Tell something about his life. Do you like this picture? How does it make you feel?
Original Picture: South Kensington Museum, London.
Artist: Sir Edwin Landseer (lănd´´sēr).
Birthplace: London, England.
Dates: Born, 1802; died, 1873.
The story of the picture. Here we are looking into the interior of a highland shepherd's hut. Our eyes are immediately attracted to the center of the room, where we see the coffin of the shepherd covered with a blanket against which his dog keeps solitary watch. A well-worn Bible and a pair of glasses on the stool near by, the hat, the cane, all suggest something of the life and age of the shepherd. We are told that he was a very old man who had lived all his life among the hills of Scotland. For the last few years, at least, he had lived here alone except for the companionship of his faithful dog and his sheep.
The good old dog could tell you all about it. How, early in the morning, he would go with his master to drive the sheep to the best grazing ground, where all day long they guarded and watched them, the man and the dog sharing their noonday lunch of coarse bread. And why did they need to watch the sheep so carefully? There were a great many eagles whose nests were high up in the giant oak trees or up in some rocky cliff far away, and they came flying over the hills looking for food. Woe to the sheep if their master was not near to care for them, for then an eagle would swoop down upon his choice and carry it away to his nest. Then, too, there may have been wild animals prowling about, and the sheep must be protected from them. The dog and his master also had to keep watch lest some lamb stray away from the flock and get lost.
In the evening the dog helped his master drive the sheep to shelter in the great sheds where they were kept safe all night. Then up the hill they would climb to their home, where the shepherd prepared the simple evening meal for himself and his dog. Now what could they do after supper? It was too far for the old man to go to the distant village, and no one was likely to come in to see them. No doubt, too, he was very tired, and ready to go to bed very early. You know how sleepy you are after you have been out in the fields all day long. But first he read a little in his Bible; and when the dog saw his master take up the book and put on his spectacles, he probably stretched out on the floor and kept very still.
As time went on, the old man became more feeble and the dog worked all the harder to save his master's strength. It may be that toward the last the dog did almost all the work of caring for the sheep. Then, one morning, the old shepherd did not wake up. Even the tugging and sharp barks of his faithful friend failed to arouse him. It may be that the dog's barks brought some passing drovers to the door.