ch.6, v.45-80 (journey to cape)

The Trial

O what torment is this that my companion visits upon me?
What wisdom justifies this abasement of the glories of my hide?
Nay, I think none, but endure still this willfulness of her unsmelling.

Yea, for in the numberless hairs of my coat
I have carried unto this our denning place
The many pleasing odors of our recent journey,
And enrich the fibers of our carpets with the perfume of salt and sand,
And, lo, even that perfume of the exotic beasts from deep upon the sea floor
Whose rare carcasses the waves of the sea brought before us
Rotten and redolent upon the head of the beach.

My companion she comprehends not the enlargement of our portion in these new treasures
Added unto our storehouse of odors
And in the paucity of the perception of her nostrils
She knows not the sacrifice she makes nor the loss she subjects us to.




Look if you dare upon this bitter crime of hygiene, and see the injustice of my portion.
I am hemmed in by porcelain, and thick lather covers my face.
The tremblings of my limbs are as quiet lamentations;
They call unto my companion to stop the torrent of this false ablution,
But she knows that her hand only can command the flowing of the water of the faucet,
And heeds not my entreaty.




And, yea, tho' my drowned limbs could carry me over
The wall of this slippery confine, still I remain within.
I challenge not her command of sacrifice,
Nay, nor challenge neither the command that my deliverance
Must wait upon the aid of her relenting arms.



Why then this acquiescence?
Why, but for that I am a wise dog of many years
With the grayness of experience upon my muzzle.
I have seen often such rituals within the porcelain altar,
And know that from this my patience with her ignorance
Shall follow generous praises for my ears,
And for my stomach even better
The choicest of choice rewards
Given many times over from the palm of her open hand,
And thus is preserved the communion of canine and primate
In the smoky goodness of the jerky treat.

Exegesis and Commentary
Okay, water is not in and of itself always good.