lebeian little
beast beside the aristocratic, high-spirited horse.

The donkey bends his head in a deprecating way below Betty's handsome
neck, and the horse permits the companionship of an inferior with
gentle tolerance. There is something very appealing about the donkey,
a patient little beast of burden, meekly bearing his saddle. The
bloodhound shows no little curiosity as to the shoeing process, as if
it were something new to her. She sits on her haunches, thrusting her
head forward, the long ears drooping, the sensitive nose sniffing the
strange odors.

Among these dumb companions the blacksmith feels himself surrounded by
friends. He is a lover of pets, as we see by the birdcage hanging in
the window. His sturdy frame looks equal to the demands of his trade,
which are in fact very laborious. It is grimy work, and only the
roughest clothes can be worn. A big leather apron with a cut down the
middle is, as it were, his badge of office. Our farrier does his work
with conscientious earnestness, concentrating all his thought and
energy upon each blow of the hammer. The task completed, he will take
an honest pride in the good piece of work he has done for Betty.

It is interesting to know that old Betty's owner was Mr. Jacob Bell,
an intimate friend and business adviser of Landseer.

III

SUSPENSE

A wounded knight has been brought home to his castle, and a line of
blood-stains on the floor shows where he was carried through the hall
to the room beyond. The family and servants press after, the door is
closed, and the favorite hound is shut out in the hall alone. Only the
meaningless murmur of voices, broken perhaps by the groans of his
master, tells what is going on within. It is a moment of suspense, and
the dog waits with drooping head, and eyes fixed mournfully on the
barrier which separates him from the object of his devotion.[3] So
alert is every sense that at the slightest touch upon the door he will
spring forward and push his way in.

[Footnote 3: A similar situation is described in the story of _Bob,
Son of Battle_, where the shepherd dog waits in suspense outside the
sickroom of his mistress.]

It is some such story as this which the painter tells us in the
picture called Suspense.[4] Every detail is full of meaning to the
imagination. The heavy door, studded with great nails, calls to mind
the old Norman castle; the gauntlets on the table and the plume on the
floor suggest the armor of the