Dr. John Brown - Short Story

https://theoviebooks.wordpress.com/ "Rab all this time had been full awake and motionless; he came forward beside us; Ailie's hand, which James had held, was hanging down; it was soaked with his tears." "Rab and His Friends" is a simple story which includes an insight into how John Brown's teacher and employer, Doctor James Syme, taught and operated. The other main characters are Rab, a ferocious mastiff dog, his owner, James Noble, a carter or carrier by trade, and the carter's ailing wife Ailie. Set in Edinburgh in the 1830s, the story begins with a fight between Rab and a bull terrier which Brown, the narrator, watches as a teenage boy. Six years later, Brown is a medical student at Minto House Hospital and has maintained a friendship with Rab and James, the laconic carrier. One day, James arrives at the hospital with his wife Allie, who is found to have advanced breast cancer. First published 1859 Ovi Magazine: published March 2022