Only a Dog by Hesba Stretton

Latimer Churchill loved his dog Jock and they had many good times together. When he married Nelly, she found a jealous pain began to take root because of Jock. The question is asked, "Does sin stop with ourselves; or does it descend as an evil influence upon the lower animals which we associate closely with our own habit and lives?" This story illustrates repenting from jealousy and asking forgiveness.

Paperback 4X6, 54 pages, 1 illustration. ISBN  9781941281314; Pocket Moral Stories.

SARAH SMITH (1832-1911) was born in Wellington, England.  She had the good fortune of being able to read books from her father's bookshop, a printer of evangelical literature. Her mother was a strong evangelical, but died when Sarah was young. In the March 19th, 1859 issue of Household Words, a publication conducted by Charles Dickens, she published her first short story called The Lucky Leg. It is an intriguing story about a man who wanted to marry a woman with a missing leg. It was more secular, but her talent was recognized. Hesba Stretton became her pen name, Stretton coming from the name of a neighboring village, and Hesba coming from the initials of her siblings. H (Hannah or some sources Harriett), E (Elizabeth), S (Sarah), B (Benjamin), and A (Annie).