Watch Dog
The doorman of a Paris theatre had strict instructions to keep dogs outside, but it was the humans they let in who caused all the trouble.
1815
King George III 1760-1820
The doorman of a Paris theatre had strict instructions to keep dogs outside, but it was the humans they let in who caused all the trouble.
1815
King George III 1760-1820
The following anecdote comes from a pamphlet entitled Popular Sketches of British Quadrupeds, published in 1815. Reflecting the gentler times of Georgian England, the authors looked not only at working animals but also at pets, and treated the reader to a tissue of heartwarming tales of their affection and intelligence.
IN October 1800, a young man going into a place of public entertainment at Paris, was told that his dog could not be permitted to enter, and he was accordingly left with the guard at the door. The young man had scarcely entered the lobby, when his watch was stolen. He returned to the guard, and begged that his dog might be admitted, as through his means, he might discover the thief: the dog was suffered to accompany his master, who intimated to the animal that he had lost something; the dog set out immediately in quest of the strayed article, and fastened on the thief, whose guilt on searching him was made apparent. The fellow had no less* than six watches in his pocket, which being laid before the dog, he distinguished his master’s, took it up by the string and bore it to him in safety.
* Strictly speaking, the author should have written ‘no fewer than’. ‘Less’ should be used for a reduced amount of one thing (e.g. less sugar), ‘fewer’ should be used for a reduced number of several things (fewer sugar cubes). Unless, of course, the author meant ‘no less [a scandal] than’, in which case he was right.
1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
A man went to a Paris theatre. The doorman would not let his dog in. He left the dog with the doorman.
See if you can include one or more of these words in your answer.
IAdmit. IIRefuse. IIIWho.