Rab and His Friends

I was bitten severely by a little dog when with my mother at Moffat Wells being then three years of age and I have remained bitten ever since in the matter of dogs. I remember that little dog... and were I allowed to search among the shades in the cynic Elysian fields I could pick her out still. -from Our Dogs The 1858 short story Rab and His Friends-based on a true incident about a gray mastiff Rab and his relationship with an Edinburgh doctor and one of the doctors patients-is considered one of the finest examples of Victorian melodrama. It is also beautifully portrays the extraordinary insight author John Brown had into the canine temperament; it and other essays included here on Browns life with the faithful animals will enchant dog lovers. Also featured in this volume: Browns renowned 1863 sketch Marjorie Fleming. Scottish physician and writer John Brown (1810-1882) is best known for his two volumes of essays Horae Subsecivae (Leisure Hours) (1858 1861).