Short Fiction · Chapter
When Papa Swore in Hindustani explained
Colonel Reynolds threatens to shoot his daughter Sylvia's pug, Tommy, for destroying his carnations.
What happens
Colonel Reynolds threatens to shoot his daughter Sylvia's pug, Tommy, for destroying his carnations. Sylvia loves the dog because it was a gift from Reginald Dallas, whom the colonel refused to let her marry after Dallas outshot him during a hunt. When the colonel eventually shoots Tommy, nineteen young neighbors each send a replacement pug, hoping to win Sylvia's favor. The colonel, furious, forces the removal of the dogs and, impressed by Dallas's absence from the scheme, finally consents to Sylvia marrying him.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Marriage
Sylvia's love for Reginald Dallas and the colonel's eventual consent to their marriage drive the plot.
Comedy and Misunderstanding
The farcical situation of nineteen pugs arriving and the colonel's exasperation provide comic relief.
Characters to notice
- Tommy
Sylvia's pug, shot by Colonel Reynolds for digging up carnations.
- Henry Pifield Rice
Not directly present; no relevant excerpt.
Key passages
“That infernal dog of yours has been at my carnations again!”
Your dog has ruined my flowers once more.
Colonel Reynolds confronts Sylvia about Tommy's destruction.
“I shall shoot him on the spot you would be doing him a kindness.”
I will kill him immediately, which would be a favor to him.
The colonel threatens to shoot Tommy if he misbehaves again.
“Nineteen young men were struck, quite independently of one another, with a brilliant idea.”
Nineteen men each independently thought of sending a pug to Sylvia.
The comedic premise of multiple suitors sending replacement dogs.