Boatswain

The following poem " Epitaph to a Dog, " is Lord Byron's tribute to his dog,
"Boatswain," etched on a monument in the garden of Newstead Abbey.

Near this spot
Are deposited the Remains of one
Who possessed Beauty
Without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferocity,
And all the Virtues of Man
Without his Vices.
This Praise, which would be unmeaning flattery
If inscribed over Human Ashes,
Is but a just tribute to the Memory of "Boatswain," a Dog
Who was born at Newfoundland,
May, 1803,
And died at Newstead Abbey
Nov. 18, 1808.

- Lord Byron

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