Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
BE1999.4.1 |
Object Name |
Tombstone |
Description |
A triangular grave marker made from a flat stone. There is an engraved brass plaque that measures approximately 14 x 10 cm. Inscribed on the stone is: 'Bunty 13 years, Mickey Free 16 1/2, Tam 17 years 9 Months - Virtue of man without his vices'. |
Year Range from |
1927 |
Dimensions |
H-4 W-47 L-50 cm |
History |
The marker was found on or near the donor's property during the mid-1960s. The donor's sister owned the house at the time and the tombstone was found when a basement excavation was being done on Ravine Road. The marker was kept as a memento and was displayed in the family's living room for many years. Bunty refers to Mazo de la Roche's Scottish terrier. Mickey Free and Tam refer to the Scottish and Irish terrier dogs of Mazo's friend, Madge Parkhill. In her autobiography, Ringing in the Changes, Mazo writes "And so -- the day after Christmas- she died. We took her body to Trail Cottage and John Bird dug a grave for her beneath the snow, under the trees where she had hunted, sniffed the scents she relished. We set a little stone there in her memory and for it I borrowed a line from Byron's epitaph for Boatswain: 'Virtues of man, without his vices.' The bodies of two other dogs lie there, a Scottie and an Irish terrier which belonged to a friend, Madge Parkhill." p. 195. Mazo de la Roche (1879-1961) loved animals and owned several dogs including two terriers, Bunty and Hamish. Her favourite, Bunty, inspired many of her works including Portrait of a Dog. In 1927, Mazo de la Roche's novel 'Jalna' won the $10,000 first prize in a competition sponsored by 'Atlantic Monthly', which provided her with recognition and success in the future. Mazo lived in Trail Cottage, which was located on property that had originally belonged to the Benares Estate. Some people speculate the Benares House was Mazo's inspiration for the `Whiteoaks' of Jalna. Mazo was friends with the Harrises and had visited Benares. References: Ringing in the Changes: An Autobiography. Mazo de la Roche, 1957. McMillan & Company Ltd. C.J. Taylor, 'de la Roche, Mazo' Canadian Encyclopaedia, 2000 Edition' (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1999), 639. |