GHLAND 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 (l[)a]nd''s[=e]r).
=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 a