Monday 9 January 2012

When Terriers raced across the plains...

Reassured after the cat episode, you take stock of your surrroundings. The library is certainly copious. It covers several walls and a higher level accessible by extending ladders.
A few titles catch the eye, " Ornithological Ramblings in the Hindu Kush", "Criminality and the Cat - a Study of Deviant Feline Behaviour".
The range is catholic in taste. The books are leather bound with gilt lettering to the spine. A large morocco bound volume at the bottom of the stack suggests itself. "The English Bull Terrier as represented by the Artist's Hand", an illustrated tome with full colour plates. You open the book, admire the greenish blue marbled end papers and gasp with astonishment as you see the first plate.
Surely the English Bull Terrier as a breed was introduced only in the 19th century? Here is evidence to the contrary. Joining those auroch, deer and horses on the cave wall are what seem to be small herds of a familiar breed of dog........

No comments:

Post a Comment