Devil Dogge? I Say Good Boye

 

Everyone's heard of Charles the First's talented if impetuous cavalry commander, Prince Rupert of the Rhine (PROTR), but did you know he had a war dog called Boy? Boy was a large and rare hunting poodle(!) given to the prince by the Earl of Arundel when Rupert was imprisoned in Linz during the Thirty years War.

When the English Civil War broke out, Boy joined his master on the Royalist side and valiantly ran with the King's cavalry against the insurrectionist Paliamentarians. These hated Boy with puritan fervor, assigning the dog magical powers.

PROTR

Boy, they claimed, was a devil dog, a Lapland sorceress in canine form with the ability to speak arcane languages, a mix between Hebrew and High Dutch, apparently. He could prophecy, perform acts of espionage, make himself invisible and far more besides; Boy was bullet and knife proof, a valuable asset on the battlefield.

One Royalist pamphleteer lampoons doggish puritan superstition thus, in Observations Ʋpon Prince Rupert's white Dogge called Boye:

He is weapon-proofe himself, and probably hath made his Master so too, my self and the rest whom you have imployed to be of the conspiracy against him, have alwayes failed of our at∣tempts, as if something more then witchcraft watcht over him. Once I gave him a very hearty stroke, with a confiding Dagger, but it slided off his skin as if it had beene Armour of proofe nointed over with Quick-silver. Besides he hath been tempted with pieces of Capon and other choice morcells, as well seasoned all, as poyson and extemporary prayer could doe it: but the Cur as obstinately rejected them, as if he had knowne beforehand what they were, so that they hurt him no more then the plague-plaister, sent in the Letter did Mr. Pym.

Read Observations, it's short and amusing, but alas Boy wasn't bulletproof and met his end at the battle of Marston Moor in 1644, which saw the Royalists defeated with Rupert himself having to flee the field.

I'm no expert but I think the figure in the foreground is a LAPLAND WITCH

On Charles' defeat, Rupert left England only to return at the Restoration and serve as an Admiral in the Second Dutch War. How did this bold cavalryman become an Admiral? Therein lies another tale. 

In the meanwhile, here at the Compound we salute you PROTR and your dog, what a good boye.

Cheers,

LSP

British Cryptids

Great Britain's no stranger to the weird and wonderful, to mysterious creatures which may or may not be real. Experts, brave enough to look beyond the dogma of current scientific orthodoxy call them "cryptids," creatures that aren't proved by science, until they are. Here at the Compound we're pleased to present a sample of these beasts from the Sceptered Isle.

The Mullally

The Mullally. Long thought to be a lingering remnant of pagan devotion to the corn goddess, the Mullally mythos starts in Devon and became popularized in the 17th century children's song, "Mullally, Mullally, we all fall down." Sightings of the large toothed cryptid are currently confined to London. 

The Southwark

The Mullally is not to be confused with the Southwark, popularly known as the Streatham Werewolf and famous for howling, "I'm the Southwark, it's what I do!" Recent sightings of this half-man, half- something else seem to indicate the Southwark has grown less aggressive in recent years.

Boy

Moving North, reports are coming in about a strange creature locals call "Boy."  Boy, apparently a holdover from an age where biological sex and dentistry was somehow blurred, stalks the winding, cobbled streets of Gloucester, a cathedral city labouring under an ancient curse.

So Faull

To the Northeast, local legend talks of the Faull, part man, part woman, who haunts the onetime Royalist port of Bristol. Witnesses report earsplitting shrieks, cutting the night, "Am I a man!?!"

The Nameless Thing

Then there's the Nameless Thing. A vampire?

Cheers,

LSP

Observations Upon A Dog

Keen-eyed readers of this popular and cosmopolitan mind blog have noticed the startling similarity of the Compound's dog, Blue Monarchist, to Prince Rupert of the Rhine's notorious canine accomplice, Boy.

Feared and hated by Parliamentarians as a devil dog and witch's familiar, Boy, a rare white hunting poodle, was applauded by Royalists for his(?) ability to speak multiple languages, prophecy, make himself and his master impervious to bullets, while wreaking bloody mayhem amongst those who dared offend him. 

All this to say nothing of the dog's preference for stained glass, oriented altars and chanted liturgy. 

Boy infuriated the mutinous, superstitious, killjoy, Christmas-banning Puritans as much as he pleased loyal servants of the Crown, who famously made the dog Sergeant Major General of the British Army. 

Notwithstanding rank or perhaps because of it, Boy chased out of rear echelon captivity to follow his master at the charge, and was shot at Marston Moor. The Royalist cause followed soon after, along with Britain's first and only military dictatorship.

Blue Edgehill, you have been warned.

Spiro Spero,

LSP

Gone To The Dogs

You may not have heard that Prince Rupert of the Rhine's battle dog, Boy, was believed to be a witch's familiar. Boy was shot with a silver bullet by superstitious puritan fanatics at the unfortunate battle of Marston Moor.

My dog, Blue Royalist, isn't a witch's familiar but has run the risk of being shot for stealing fried pies, steak, cheese, butter(!) and the occasional chicken. Not very SKCM but we'll let it pass, for now.

Blue isn't going fishing this afternoon, he is staying at the Compound to guard the position against intruders, malfeasants and the various flotsam and jetsam of post-Obama America.

Tight lines,

LSP

So Who is Marco Rubio?

The American public and the world wants to know, who is presidential hopeful, Marco Rubio?

Is he a shill for the New World Order and the GOP establishment?

Maybe he's just an enthusiastic boy.

Or a bat-eared alien, masquerading as a normal man.

You, the reader, be the judge.

LSP