Words to live by

Over at one of the dog posts on Balloon Juice, a commenter quotes the epitaph that Queen Victoria wrote for her favorite dog::

“Here lies Dash, the favorite spaniel of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, by whose command this memorial was erected. He died on the 20th December 1840 in his ninth year. His attachment was without selfishness, his playfulness without malice, his fidelity without deceit. Reader, if you would live beloved and die regretted, profit by the example.”