Five: Far From The Madding Crowd: Thomas Hardy
The news that Bathsheba Everdene had left the neighborhood had an influence upon Gabriel Oak. It is heard that she had gone to a place called Weatherbury. Gabriel had two dogs. George the elder with ebony tipped nose surrounded by a margin of pink flesh, and a coat marked in random splotches approximating in white and slaty colour. The dog had originally belonged to a shepherd of inferior morals and dreadful temper, and the result was that George knew the exact degrees of condemnation signified by curses and swears. Long experience has taught the animal the difference between "come in!" and "D-- -- ye come in!" that he knew to a hairs breadth the rate of trotting back from the ewes' tails that each call involved. Though old he was clever and trustworthy. The young dog, George's son might have been the image of his mother. He was learning the sheep keeping business, but had not got beyond the rudimentary. He was earnest but strong headed. If sent behind the s...