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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/31847-8.txt b/31847-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..73e36e0 --- /dev/null +++ b/31847-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4858 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dog Stories from the "Spectator", by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Dog Stories from the "Spectator" + being anecdotes of the intelligence, reasoning power, + affection and sympathy of dogs, selected from the + correspondence columns of "The Spectator" + +Author: Various + +Editor: J. St. Loe Strachey + +Release Date: March 31, 2010 [EBook #31847] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOG STORIES FROM THE "SPECTATOR" *** + + + + +Produced by Irma Spehar, Christine D. and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + + +Transcriber's Note: +Punctuation, Spelling and Geographical errors retained as found in +the original. + + + + +_DOG STORIES._ + + + + +DOG STORIES + +_FROM THE "SPECTATOR"_ + + + BEING ANECDOTES OF THE INTELLIGENCE, REASONING + POWER, AFFECTION AND SYMPATHY OF + DOGS, SELECTED FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE + COLUMNS OF "THE SPECTATOR" + +_WITH AN INTRODUCTION_ + +BY + +J. ST. LOE STRACHEY + + NEW YORK: MACMILLAN AND CO. + MDCCCXCV + + "Sir, to leave things out of a book, merely because people + tell you they will not be believed, is meanness." + + (_Dr. Johnson._) + + +_All rights reserved._ + + + + +CONTENTS. + + PAGE + + INTRODUCTION 7 + + SYLLOGISTIC DOGS 15 + + THE REASONING POWER OF DOGS 49 + + EMOTION AND SENTIMENT IN DOGS 99 + + DOGS AND THE ARTS 119 + + DOG FRIENDSHIPS 131 + + CURIOUS HABITS OF DOGS 155 + + THE SENSE OF HUMOUR AND CUNNING IN DOGS 165 + + USEFUL DOGS 177 + + MISCELLANEOUS 193 + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +I. + +The following Dog Stories are taken from the pages of the _Spectator_, +with the permission of the editors and proprietors. It was suggested to +me by Mr. Fisher Unwin that the many strange and pleasant stories of +dogs which from time to time are sent to the _Spectator_ by its +correspondents would, if put together, form a volume of no little +entertainment for all who love dogs, or are interested in stories of +animal intelligence. Up till now the _Spectator_ dog stories, after the +week of their publication, have practically been inaccessible to the +general reader; for he is a bold man who will attack a bound volume of a +newspaper in search of amusement. Though I at once agreed that the +suggested book would be a very readable one, and likely to please +dog-lovers all the world over, I did not, till the selection was nearly +made, realise how much the stories gain by being grouped together. A +single story of a clever dog may amuse, but it is liable to be put aside +as an accident, a coincidence, a purely exceptional circumstance which +proves nothing. If, however, instead of a single story we have half a +dozen illustrating the same form of intelligence, the value of the +evidence is enormously increased, and a collection of dog stories may +become of very great value in determining such questions as the power of +dogs to act on reason as well as on instinct, or their ability to +understand human language. The solution of these problems is, I cannot +help thinking, materially advanced by the stories in the present book. +Take, again, the group of stories which I have labelled Purchasing Dogs. +One sample of this kind might, as I have noted above, be put off as a +case of imperfect observation, or as a curious coincidence; but when we +get a whole group of stories it becomes very difficult to doubt that +dogs may learn the first principles of the science of exchange. The +Italian dog (page 59) which did the narrator a service by fetching him +cigars, demanded payment in the shape of a penny, and then used that +penny by exchanging it for a loaf, was far advanced in the practice of +Political Economy. He not only understood and acted on an implied +contract, but realised the great fact at the back of the currency. "What +are guineas," said Horne Tooke, "but tickets for sheep and oxen!" The +Italian dog did not, like a savage, say, "What is the use of copper to +me, I cannot eat it?" Instead, he perceived that the piece of copper was +a ticket for bread. It should be noted too that this dog, the dog called +Hardy (page 57) and others, were able to distinguish between the pieces +of copper given them. Again, the Glasgow story (page 53) shows that a +dog can learn to realise that a halfpenny will buy not merely one thing +but several things--in fact, that the great advantage of exchange by +currency over barter is that it gives you a choice. While on the subject +of purchasing dogs, it is curious to reflect how very little is wanted +to convert the dog that is able to purchase into a free agent. If a dog +can exchange his faculty for cigar carrying or his tricks against +half-pence, why should he not exchange useful services, such as guarding +a house or herding sheep, and so become self-supporting? Imagine a +collie paid by the day, and, when his work was over, receiving twopence +and going off to buy his supper. But the vista opened is too +far-reaching. One sees down it dogs paid by the hour and by the piece, +and then dogs asking for better pay and shorter hours, and, finally, +dogs on strike, and dog "black-legs," or "free dogs." + + +II. + +A word should be said as to the authenticity of the stories in the +present volume. It is a matter of common form for the evening newspapers +to talk of the _Spectator_ dog stories as hoaxes, and to refer in their +playful, way to "another _Spectator_ dog." It might not then unnaturally +have been supposed that a person undertaking to edit and reprint these +stories would have found a considerable number that showed signs of +being hoaxes. I may confess, indeed, that I set out with the notion of +forming a sort of Appendix to the present work, which should be headed +"Ben Trovato," in which should be inserted stories which were too +curious and amusing to be left out altogether, but which, on the other +hand, were what the Americans call a little "too tall" to be accepted as +genuine. The result of my plan was unexpected. Though I found many +stories in which the inferences seemed strained or mistaken, and others +which contained indications of exaggeration, I could find but two +stories which could reasonably be declared as only suitable for a "Ben +Trovato." I therefore suppressed my heading. The truth is that the +animal stories are much more carefully sifted at the _Spectator_ office +than our witty critics and contemporaries will admit. No stories are +ever published unless the names and addresses of the writers are +supplied, and all stories are rejected which have anything clearly +suspicious about them. What the editors of the _Spectator_ do not do is +to reject a dog-story because it states that a dog has been observed to +do something which has never been reported as having been done by a dog +before, or at any rate, something which is not universally admitted to +be doable by a dog. Apparently this willingness to print stories which +enlarge our notions of animal intelligence is regarded in certain +quarters as a sign that the _Spectator_ will swallow anything, and that +its stories must be apocryphal. I cannot, however, help thinking that +all who care for the advancement of knowledge in regard to animals +should be grateful to the editors of the _Spectator_ for not adopting +the plan of excluding all dog stories that do not correspond with an +abstract ideal of canine intelligence. Had they acted on the principle +of putting every anecdote that seemed _primâ facie_ unlikely into the +waste-paper basket, they would certainly have missed a great many +stories of real value. In truth, there is nothing so credulous as +universal incredulity. An attitude of general incredulity means a blind +belief in the existing state of opinion. If we believe that animals have +no reasoning power, and refuse to examine evidence that is brought to +show the contrary, we are adopting, the attitude of those who disbelieve +that the earth goes round the sun because they seem daily to see a proof +of an exactly opposite proposition. If people are to refuse to believe +anything of a dog that does not sound likely on the face of it, we shall +never get at the truth about animal intelligence. What is wanted is the +careful preservation and collection of instances of exceptional +intelligence. + + +III. + +Before I conclude this Introduction, I should like to address a word of +apology to the correspondents of the _Spectator_ whose letters form the +present volume. Though the copyright of the letters belongs to the +editors and proprietors of the _Spectator_ I should have liked to ask +the leave of the various writers before republishing their letters. +Physical difficulties have, however rendered this impossible. In the +case of nearly half the letters the names and addresses have not been +preserved. In many instances, again, only the names remain. Lastly, a +large number of the letters are ten or twelve, or even twenty years old, +and the writers may therefore be dead or out of England. Under these +circumstances I have not made any effort to enter into communication +with the writers before including their letters in this book. That their +permission would have been given, had it been asked, I do not doubt. The +original communication of the letters to the _Spectator_ is proof that +the writers wished a public use to be made of the anecdotes they relate. +As long, then, as the letters are not altered or edited, but produced +verbatim, I may, I think, feel assured that I am doing nothing which is +even remotely discourteous to the writers. + + + + +_SYLLOGISTIC DOGS._ + + + + +A DOG ON LONG SERMONS. + + [_Aug. 4, 1888._] + +During a recent journey in Canada, I met with a striking instance of +reason in a dog. I was staying at the Mohawk Indian Institution, +Brantford, Ontario. The Rev. R. Ashton, superintendent of the school, is +also incumbent of the neighbouring Mohawk Church (the oldest Protestant +church in Canada). Mr. Ashton is very fond of animals, and has many +pets. One of these, a black-and-tan terrier, always accompanies the +ninety Indian children to church on Sunday morning. He goes to the +altar-rails, and lies down facing the congregation. When they rise to +sing, he rises; and when they sit, he lies down. One day, shortly before +my visit, a stranger-clergyman was preaching, and the sermon was longer +than usual. The dog grew tired and restless, and at last a thought +occurred to him, upon which he at once acted. He had observed that one +of the elder Indian boys was accustomed to hand round a plate for alms, +after which the service at once concluded. He evidently thought that if +he could persuade this boy to take up the collection, the sermon must +naturally end. He ran down to the back seat occupied by the boy, seated +himself in the aisle, and gazed steadfastly in the boy's face. Finding +that no notice was taken, he sat up and "begged" persistently for some +time, to Mr. Ashton's great amusement. Finally, as this also failed, the +dog put his nose under the lad's knee, and tried with all his strength +to force him out of his place, continuing this at intervals till the +sermon was concluded. + +Did not this prove a distinct power of consecutive reasoning? + + A. H. A. + + +A COMMERCIAL TREATY BETWEEN A DOG AND A HEN. + + [_July 7, 1888._] + +Your dog-loving readers may be interested in the following instance of +animal sagacity. Bob is a fine two-year-old mastiff, with head and face +of massive strength, heightened by great mildness of expression. One day +he was seen carrying a hen, very gently, in his mouth, to the kennel. +Placing her in one corner, he stood sentry while she laid an egg, which +he at once devoured. From that day the two have been fast friends, the +hen refusing to lay anywhere but in "Bob's" kennel, and getting her +reward in the dainty morsels from his platter. There must have been a +bit of canine reasoning here. "Bob" must have found eggs to his liking, +that they were laid by hens, and that he could best secure a supply by +having a hen to himself. + + THOMAS HAMER. + + +A DOG NURSE. + + [_Feb. 20, 1875._] + +A patient recently consulted me who was blind and subject to fits. I +pointed out to her friends the danger to which she was exposed in case a +fit came on when she was in the vicinity of a fire, and they informed me +that she incurred little or no risk, because a favourite dog ran at once +and fetched assistance the moment a fit came on. This intelligent animal +would rush into the next house barking eagerly, would seize the dress of +the woman who lived there, and drag her to the assistance of his +mistress. If one did not go, he would seize another, and exhibited the +most lively symptoms of distress until his object was accomplished. + + CHARLES BELL TAYLOR, M.D., F.R.C.S. + + +INSTINCT, OR REASON? + + [_Sept. 1, 1888._] + +The following incident in dog-life may perhaps find a place in the +_Spectator_. I quote from a letter received a few days ago from my +nephew, "T. G. T.," resident in South Africa:--"Johannesburg, +Traansvaal.--My dog Cherry has had three great pups, and I had to leave +her behind at the Grange. When I was going away, Cherry and the pups +were located in some stables. She came out and watched the tent-truck +and my things packed up. Presently I went away, and when I came back I +found Cherry had carried all the pups on to the top of my luggage, and +evidently had not the least intention of staying behind." + + T. W. T. + + +HOSPITAL DOGS. + + [_June 26, 1875._] + +Dr. Walter F. Atlee writes to the editor of the _Philadelphia Medical +Times_:-- + +"In a letter recently received from Lancaster, where my father resides, +it is said:--'A queer thing occurred just now. Father was in the office, +and heard a dog yelping outside the door; he paid no attention until a +second and louder yelp was heard, when he opened it, and found a little +brown dog standing on the step upon three legs. He brought him in, and +on examining the fourth leg, found a pin sticking in it. He drew out the +pin, and the dog ran away again.' The office of my father, Dr. Atlee, is +not directly on the street, but stands back, having in front of it some +six feet of stone wall with a gate. I will add, that it has not been +possible to discover anything more about this dog. + +"This story reminds me of something similar that occurred to me while +studying medicine in this same office nearly thirty years ago. A man, +named Cosgrove, the keeper of a low tavern near the railroad station, +had his arm broken, and came many times to the office to have the +dressings arranged. He was always accompanied by a large, most +ferocious-looking bull-dog, that watched me most attentively, and most +unpleasantly to me, while bandaging his master's arm. A few weeks after +Cosgrove's case was discharged, I heard a noise at the office door, as +if some animal was pawing it, and on opening it, saw there this huge +bull-dog, accompanied by another dog that held up one of its front legs, +evidently broken. They entered the office. I cut several pieces of wood, +and fastened them firmly to the leg with adhesive plaster, after +straightening the limb. They left immediately. The dog that came with +Cosgrove's dog I never saw before nor since." + +Do not these stories adequately show that the dogs reasoned and drew new +inferences from a new experience? + + B. + + + [_April 6, 1889._] + +Knowing your interest in dogs, I venture to send you the following +story. A week or two ago, the porter of the Bristol Royal Infirmary was +disturbed one morning about 6.30 by the howling of a dog outside the +building. Finding that it continued, he went out and tried to drive it +away; but it returned and continued to howl so piteously, that he was +obliged to go out to it again. This time he observed that one of its +paws was injured. He therefore brought it in and sent for two nurses, +who at once dressed the paw, and were rewarded by every canine sign of +gratitude, including much licking of their hands. The patient was +"retained" for two days, during which time he received every attention +from those inside the house, and from the neighbours outside, who +quickly heard of the case. As no one appeared to claim the dog, he was +sent to the Home for Lost Dogs in the city, where so interesting an +animal was, of course, not long in finding a purchaser. The dog was one +of those called "lurchers." + +I have myself called on the porter of the infirmary for confirmation of +the story, and am assured by him of its truth. How did an apparently +friendless dog know where to go for surgical aid? The case differs from +that of the dog which took its friend for treatment to King's College +Hospital in London, for I understand that the King's College dog had +previously been taken to the hospital for treatment itself; but in this +case there is no such clue. + + HELEN M. STURGE. + + +FEATURES IN THE CHARACTER OF A DOG. + + [_June 10, 1876._] + +For some time past I have noticed in your journal letters and articles +referring to the wonderful powers of dogs. As I was myself much struck +by many features in the character of a dog which I knew, illustrating, +as I think, not only affection, but reasoning faculties, I shall +acquaint you with a few of these, believing that they may be +_interesting_, at least to all admirers of that noble animal. + +The dog of which I speak was a terrier. It showed its affection in the +most marked manner in several ways. Every morning, as soon as it got out +of the kitchen, it came to its master's door, and if not admitted and +caressed about the usual hour, gave evident signs of impatience. It +would lie quiet till it thought the time had arrived, but never longer. +Afterwards it went to the breakfast-room, and occupied its master's +chair till he arrived. On one occasion a visitor was in the house, who, +coming first into the room, ordered the dog to come off the best chair. +To this it paid no attention, and when threatened with expulsion, at +once prepared for defence. But as soon as its master appeared it +resigned its place voluntarily, and quietly stretched itself on the rug +at his feet. + +At another time it was left for three weeks during its master's absence +from home. It saw him leave in a steamer, and every day until his return +it repaired to the quay upon the arrival of the same boat, expecting him +to come again in the one by which he had gone. It distinguished between +a number of boats, always selecting the right one and the right hour. + +One evening it accompanied its master when he went to gather mussels for +bait. As the tide was far in, few mussels remained uncovered; and after +collecting all within reach, more were required. A large bunch lay a few +feet from the water's edge, but beyond reach; yet as the dog was not one +of those who take the water to fetch, its master had no expectation that +it would prove useful on the present occasion. Seeing him looking at +the mussels, however, it first took a good look at those in the basket, +and then, without being directed at all, went into the water. Selecting +the right bunch from amongst the stones and wreck with which it was +surrounded, it brought it to land, and laid it at its master's feet. +This, I think, is a proof of _reason_, rather than of instinct. The dog +had never been trained to go into the sea, and would not probably have +brought out the mussels had it not seen that they were wanted. + +It showed wonderful instinct, however, just before the death of one of +its pups, and before its own death. Its pup had not been thriving, and +the mother gave unmistakable proof that she foresaw its death. She dug a +grave for it and put it in. Nor, when it was removed, would she let it +lie beside her, but immediately dug another grave, where she was less +likely to be disturbed. Upon the day of her own death, also, she used +what strength she had to dig her grave, in which she lay, preferring to +die in it, than in what would seem to most a place of greater +comfort.[1] + +These may not be singular incidents, but they are still remarkable and +worthy of notice. They serve to show us the wonderful nature of man's +faithful friend, the dog, and how he has many traits of character fitted +to make him the worthy receiver of kindness and respect. + + T. + +[Footnote 1: It is difficult to accept T.'s explanation of the dog's +object in digging. Possibly its aim was to obtain warmth or shelter.] + + +BULLY'S SHORT CUT. + + [_Aug. 29, 1874._] + +I see that you welcome all notes of interest upon our fellow-beings, the +dogs. Here is one that seems to prove they have a sense of time and of +distance as measured by time. + +I was walking with my bull-terrier, Bully (seven years old last +Christmas), during a hot afternoon this month homewards along the Bund +(Shanghai), and I suddenly missed him. I turned back for twenty or +thirty yards, and, not finding him, I gave up the search, saying, "He +knows the way home well enough." Presently I saw him on my right, +dripping with water, cantering on at a round pace, without looking about +him, homewards. I watched him, curious to see whether he would go +straight home. No. He kept on till he reached the distance of about 150 +yards, and looked ahead, _not_ smelling the ground. He then deliberately +walked back, catching sight of me in about twenty yards after his +turning back, and wagged his tale recognisingly. He had evidently been +to cool himself in the river (thirty yards to the right, it being low +tide), and, thinking I would go on at the ordinary pace without him, he, +after his bath, struck directly at a long diagonal for the point I would +have reached if I had not turned back to look for him. He did not seem +to have the slightest misgiving as to his sense of the distance I +_ought_ to have walked during the time of his bath. His turning was done +seemingly with a calm assurance of certainty. I may add that there were +twenty to thirty foot-passengers scattered over the portion of road in +question at the time, whose footsteps might have effaced my scent on the +_watered_ granite macadamised roadway, even supposing the dog to have +tried his sense of smell, _which he did not_, as far as I could see, and +I noticed him carefully. + + W. G. S. + + +CANINE INTELLIGENCE. + + [_July 24, 1886._] + +You often give us pleasant anecdotes of our four-footed friends. You may +think the following worthy of record. I have a little dog, a not +particularly well-bred fox-terrier. He is much attached to me, and shows +by his obedience, and sometimes _in_ his disobedience, that he +understands a good deal. Yesterday I was away all day, and he, I am +told, was very uneasy, and searched everywhere for me. Every day at 5 +p.m. I go to church. Toby seems to know this is not an ordinary walk, +and never offers to come with me. But yesterday, when the bell began, he +started off and took up his position by the vestry door. I believe he +reasoned with himself, "There goes the bell; now I shall catch the +Vicar." + +WILLIAM QUENNELL. + + +THE DOG AND THE FERRY. + + [_April 4, 1885._] + +Reading from time to time many pleasant anecdotes in the columns of the +_Spectator_--which, by the way, I receive as regularly, and read as +eagerly, as when resident in England many years ago--relative to the +sagacity of dogs, I send the following, thinking it possible you may +deem it worthy of insertion. + +Some three years ago I was "having a spell" in Brisbane, after a +lengthened sojourn on a sheep station in the interior of Queensland. +During my stay in the city I had the good fortune to gain the friendship +of a gentleman who owned a magnificent collie. My friend, his dog Sweep, +and myself, were frequently together, engaged either in yachting among +the islands of Moreton Bay, or 'possum hunting under the towering +_eucalypti_ which fringe the banks of the river Brisbane. Naturally +"Sweep" (who was a most lovable animal) and myself soon began to +entertain a warm friendship for one another, which friendship gave rise +to the anecdote I am about to relate. Returning to my hotel about +midnight from the house of a friend, I was not a little startled at +finding my hand suddenly seized from behind by a dog, which, however, I +at once recognised as my handsome acquaintance, Sweep. I patted him, at +the same time endeavouring to withdraw the hand which he held firmly, +but gently, between his teeth. It was of no use, as, in spite of all my +endearments, he insisted on retaining his hold, wriggling along by my +side, and vigorously wagging his tail, as though he would say, "Don't be +afraid; it's all right." We soon reached a point in the main street down +which we were walking, where a side avenue branched off towards the +river. My way lay right ahead. Sweep, however, insisted on my taking the +road which lay at a right-angle to my course. I felt some annoyance at +his persistence, as I was both tired and sleepy; but, having no choice +in the matter, I followed his lead. Having walked some two or three +hundred yards down _his_ street, he released his hold, dancing round +me, then running on for a few yards and looking back to see if I were +following. Becoming interested, I determined to see what he was after, +so, without further resistance, I followed submissively. At last, having +reached the river, which at this place was about four hundred yards +wide, he, with many joyous barks, ran down the ferry steps, and jumped +into the empty boat of the ferryman. At last I was able to guess at his +motive for forcing me to follow him. His master, who lived across the +river, had accidentally lost sight of his dog returning from his office +in the city; and Sweep appeared to understand perfectly that unless the +boatman received his fare he, Sweep, would not be carried over, my +friend frequently sending the dog over by himself when wishing to attend +concerts, &c., invariably paying the fare as of an ordinary passenger. +The ferryman, who at once recognised my canine friend, laughed heartily +when I told him how I had been served, took my penny, and set off at +once for "Kangaroo Point," Sweep gaily barking "good-night" until he +reached the opposite bank. I heard subsequently that he used to swim the +river when left behind; but having had two narrow escapes from sharks, +his nerves had become somewhat shaken so far as water was concerned. + + J. WM. CREIGHTON. + + +THE REASON OF DOGS. + + [_Nov. 13, 1875._] + +Having often read, with great pleasure, the anecdotes about dogs which +from time to time appear in the _Spectator_, I venture to send you one +which has come under my own observation, and which, it seems to me, +shows an effort of reasoning implying two distinct ideas--one the +consequence of the other--more interesting than many of those clever +performances of educated dogs which may or may not be merely mechanical +actions. + +The dog who performed the following trick was then a great, half-grown, +awkward puppy, whose education, up to that time, had been much +neglected. It has been better attended to since, and now, although +sportsmen probably consider such an animal sadly thrown away upon a +lady, he is a very pleasant friend and companion. My two dogs, Guy and +Denis, form as capital a pair, for contrast's sake, as one need wish to +see. They are both handsome dogs of their kind--Guy, a fine black +retriever, with no white hair upon him, and, I believe, in the eyes of +sportsmen, as well as those of his mistress, a very desirable +possession, good-tempered, clever, and affectionate; Denis, as naughty +and spoilt a little fellow as ever existed, and a great pet, also black, +except for his yellow paws and chest, but covered with long, loose +locks, instead of Guy's small, crisp curls. + +Denis is exceedingly comic, and a constant source of amusement. He is +very faithful to his mistress, whose bedside during illness he has +refused to leave, even for food; but it must be confessed that he is not +amiably disposed towards most people, and is a perfect tyrant over the +other animals. Some account of the two dogs' character is necessary, to +explain the little scene which took place between them one evening about +a year ago. Guy, it must be premised, is at least twelve months younger +than Denis, consequently, when the former first arrived--a miserable and +very ugly little puppy, a few weeks old, more like a small black jug +than any known animal of the canine species, having had the mange, and +lost all his hair--Denis undertook his education, and ruled him so +severely that his influence lasted a long while; indeed, even after Guy +had grown so big that Denis almost needed to stand upon his hind legs in +order to snap at him, the great dog would crouch meekly at a growling +remonstrance from the little master, and never dared to invade his +rights--to approach his plate of food, or to drink before him. Now a +days Guy has discovered his own power, and although too good-natured an +animal ever to ill-treat the little dog, no longer allows any liberties, +but at the same time, when the scene which I am about to describe took +place, he was still under the impression that Denis's wrath was a +terrible and dangerous matter. + +And now for my story, which, it seems to me, shows as much real +reasoning power in an untrained animal as any anecdote that I ever read. +One evening I took my two dogs to the kitchen, to give them the rare +treat of a bone apiece. (Dogs were certainly never intended to make +Natal their home, for, in order to keep them alive at all, they should +never be given anything that they like, especially meat, and even then +the most careful management often fails in preserving them from disease +and death.) One of my sisters was with me, and together we watched the +dogs over their supper. Guy, with his great mouth, and ravenous, growing +appetite, made short work with his, every vestige of which had vanished; +while little Denis was still contentedly sucking away at his small +share, not very hungry, and taking his pleasures sedately, like a +gentleman, as he is. And then Guy began to watch the other with an +envious eye, evidently casting about in his mind how he might gain +possession of that bone. He was even then, though not full grown, so big +and strong that he could have taken it by force with the greatest ease; +but such an idea did not cross his mind; he decided to employ stratagem +to win the prize. I must mention here, that amongst other naughty +practices of my dogs, is that of rushing out of the house and barking +violently upon the slightest sound without. This is Denis's fault, +which Guy, in spite of all my lessons, has contracted from him. With the +evident intention of sending Denis out, Guy suddenly started up, and +began to bark _towards_ the door in an excited manner, but not running +out himself, as he certainly would have done, had he really heard +anything. Down went Denis's bone, and out rushed he, barking at the top +of his voice. Did Guy follow him? Oh, dear no! he had no such +intentions; he sneaked up to Denis's bone immediately, picked it up, and +ran to the other end of the room. But when he had got it, he did not +know what to do with it; there was no hiding-place for him there, and he +dare neither await Denis's return openly, nor risk meeting him at the +door. My sister and I were, by this time, both sitting on a bench +against the wall, watching the scene between the dogs, and Guy, after +running once round the room, with the bone in his mouth, came and crept +in beneath my seat, where he was hidden by my dress, and where he lay, +not eating the bone, and in perfect silence. Presently Master Denis +trotted back, quite unconscious, and shaking the curls out of his eyes, +as much as to say, "My dear fellow! what a fuss you've made; there's +nothing there." He looked about for his bone for a few minutes, but soon +gave up the search, and began to amuse himself with other things. After +a while, I, forgetting the culprit beneath my seat, rose, and crossed +the room, leaving him exposed. Guy was in a great fright; he jumped up, +and running to my sister, who was still seated, he stood up with his +forepaws upon her lap, and the bone still untouched in his mouth, as +though begging her protection. Denis, however, did not observe him, and +after a few minutes, Guy's courage returned, and finally he ventured to +lie down, with the bone between his paws, and began to gnaw it, keeping +one eye fixed on Denis the while. This, however, was going a step too +far. Denis was attracted by the sound, and recognised his own bone the +moment that he looked round. He marched up to Guy (who immediately +stopped eating) and stood before him. Denis growled, and Guy slowly +removed one great paw from his prize. Denis advanced a step, with +another growl; Guy removed the other paw, and slunk back a little, +whereupon Master Denis calmly walked up, took possession of his bone, +and went off with it. + +I am bound, however, to remark that after another half-hour's contented +amusement over it, he resigned the remainder, which was too hard for his +small mouth, to Guy, who finished the last morsel with great +satisfaction. Now that he is full grown, Guy still gives up to Denis in +many little ways, but it is evidently through generosity only, for he +has proved himself perfectly capable of taking his own part. But he is +very gentle with his little playmate, except at night, when he lies +across my door-way--entirely of his own accord--and will allow no one +and nothing to enter without my command. + + FRANCES E. COLENSO. + + +A CANINE SIGHT-SEER. + + [_May 20, 1876._] + +As a subscriber to your journal, I have observed from time to time +discussion on the "reasoning power of dogs." I will tell you what I +observed to-day. In consequence of the Levée there was a great crowd in +Pall Mall. I was invited by a friend to accompany him in his carriage +from St. James's Palace down Pall Mall, when lo and behold, his dog, +which usually runs with the carriage, insisting on getting in also. +Nothing could induce him to get out, and whilst passing along Pall Mall +he amused himself looking out of window at the police, soldiers, and +crowd collected. When through, he was glad enough to get out again, and +readily followed through the most frequented streets. Now, I have no +doubt as to that dog's "reasoning power," respecting his ability to +follow his carriage safely through the dense crowd collected around St. +James's Palace and Marlborough House. + + H. + + +THINKING OUT A PLAN. + + [_March 3, 1888._] + +Are animals able to think over and carry out a plan? The following +anecdotes will answer the question. When in India, I had a small rough +terrier who, when given a bone, was sent to eat it on the gravel drive +under an open porch in front of the bungalow. On several occasions two +crows had made an attempt to snatch the dainty morsel, but their plans +were easily defeated by Topsy's growls and snapping teeth. Away flew the +crows to the branch of a tree near by. After a few moments of evident +discussion, they proceeded to carry out the plan of attack. One crow +flew down to the ground and gave a peck at the end of the dog's tail. +Topsy at once turned to resent this attack in the rear, whilst the other +crow flew down and bore the bone away in triumph. + +The same dog had a favourite resting-place in an easy-chair, and was +very often deprived of it by a dog which came as visitor to the house. +Topsy did not approve of this, and her attempts to regain her seat were +met with growls and bites. This justified an act of eviction, and the +busy little brain decided on a plan. The next day, as usual, the +intruder established himself in the chair, which was close to the open +door. Topsy looked on for a moment, and then flew savagely out of doors, +barking at a supposed enemy. Out ran the other dog to see what was up, +and back came Topsy to take possession of her coveted seat. The other +dog came slowly back, and curled himself up in a far-off corner. The +above I was an eye-witness to, and therefore can vouch for the truth of +what I relate. + + K. P. + + +A PARCEL-CARRYING DOG. + + [_Feb. 9, 1895._] + +In illustration of the anecdotal letters about dogs and their habits, in +the _Spectator_ of February 2nd, and Mr. Lang's paper in this month's +_Nineteenth Century_, I send you the following story of a dog which I +had in 1851 and for three years afterwards. He was a handsome +Newfoundland dog, and one of the most intelligent animals with which it +was ever my good luck to meet. I was living in a village about three +miles from Dover, where I did all my shopping and marketing, being +generally my own "carrier." Sometimes Nep would carry home a small +parcel for me, and always most carefully. On one occasion Nep was with +me when I chose a spade, and asked the ironmonger to send it by the +village carrier. The spade was put by, labelled and duly addressed. I +went on to have a bathe, my dog going with me, but on finishing my +toilet in the machine, and calling and whistling for Nep, he was nowhere +to be seen. He was not to be found at the stable where I had left my +horse, but on calling at the ironmonger's shop I found he had been there +and had carried off the spade which I had bought, balancing it carefully +in his mouth. When I reached home, there Nep was, lying near his kennel +in the stable-yard looking very fagged, but wearing a countenance of the +fullest self-satisfaction, and evidently wishing me to think he had +fulfilled his "dog-duty." My friend Mr. Wood, who was a thorough lover +and admirer of dogs, was delighted to hear of his intelligent +performance. + + "CANOPHILIST." + +P.S.--I may add Nep always guarded me when bathing, and always went into +the water with me, too, often uttering a peculiar kind of "howl." + + + + +_THE REASONING POWERS OF DOGS._ + + + + +PURCHASING DOGS. + + [_May 26, 1877._] + +Some time ago I sent you my recollections of a dog who knew a halfpenny +from a penny, and who could count up as far as two (see page 56). I have +been able to obtain authentic information of a dog whose mental powers +were still more advanced, and who, in his day, besides being celebrated +for his abilities, was of substantial benefit to a charitable +institution in his town. The dog I refer to was a little white +fox-terrier, Prin by name, who lived at the Lion Hotel, at +Kidderminster, for three or four years; but now, alas! he is dead, and +nothing remains of him but his head in a glass case. + +I had heard of this dog some months ago, but on Saturday last, having to +make a visit to Kidderminster, I went to see him. The facts I give about +him are based on the statements of Mr. Lloyd, his master, and they are +fully substantiated by the evidence of many others. I have before me a +statement of the proceeds of "Dog Prin's box, Lion Hotel; subscriptions +to the Infirmary." The contributions began in September, 1874, and ended +on April 25th, 1876, and during that period the sum of £13 14s. 6d. was +contributed through Prin's instrumentality. + +He began by displaying a fancy for playing with coins, not unusual +amongst terriers, and he advanced to a discovery that he could exchange +the coins for biscuits. He learnt that for a halfpenny he could get two +biscuits, and for a penny, three; and, having become able to distinguish +between the two coins, it was found impossible to cheat him. If he had +contributed a penny, he would not leave the bar till he had had his +third biscuit; and if there was nobody to attend to his wants, he kept +the coin in his mouth till he could be served. Indeed, it was this +persistence which ultimately caused poor Prin's death, for there is +every reason to fear that he fell a victim to copper-poisoning. + +By a little training he was taught to place the coins, after he had got +the biscuits, upon the top of a small box fixed on the wall, and they +were dropped for him through a slot. He never objected to part with them +in this way, and having received the _quid pro quo_, he gave complete +evidence of his appreciation of the honourable understanding which is so +absolutely necessary for all commercial transactions. + +An authenticated case like this is of extreme value, for just as the +elementary stages of any science or discovery are the most difficult and +the slowest in accomplishment, so are the primary stages of all mental +processes. To find the preliminary steps of the evolution of mathematics +and commerce in a dog is therefore a very important observation, and +everything bearing on these early phases of intellect should be +carefully recorded. + + LAWSON TAIT. + + + [_Feb. 10, 1877._] + +The _Spectator_ is always so kind to animals that I venture to send you +the following story of a dog's sagacity, which may be depended upon as +absolutely true:-- + +During the meeting of the British Association at Glasgow, a friend of +mine had occasion to go one day from that place to Greenock on business. +Hearing, on his arrival, that the person he wished to see was out, but +expected shortly to return home, he determined to take a stroll about +the town, to which he was a stranger. In the course of his walk he +turned into a baker's shop and bought a bun. As he stood at the door of +the shop eating his bun, a large dog came up to him and begged for a +share, which he got, and seemed to enjoy, coming back for piece after +piece. "Does the dog belong to you?" my friend asked of the shop-woman. +"No," she answered, "but he spends most of his time here, and begs +halfpennies from the people who pass." "Halfpennies! What good can they +be to him?" "Oh, he knows very well what to do with them; he comes into +the shop and buys cakes." + +This seemed rather a remarkable instance of cleverness even for the +cleverest of animals, so, by way of testing its reality, my friend went +out of the shop into the street, where he was immediately accosted by +the dog, who begged for _something_ with all the eloquence of which a +dog is capable. He offered him a halfpenny, and was rather surprised to +see him accept it readily, and walk, with the air of a regular customer, +into the shop, where he put his forepaws on the counter, and held out +the halfpenny towards the attendant. The young woman produced a bun, but +that did not suit the dog, and he held his money fast. "Ah," she said, +"I know what he wants," and took down from a shelf a plate of +shortbread. This was right; the dog paid his halfpenny, took his +shortbread, and ate it with decorous satisfaction. When he had quite +finished he left the shop, and my friend, much amused, followed him, and +when he again begged found another halfpenny for him, and saw the whole +process gone through a second time. + +This dog clearly had learned by some means the use of money, and not +merely that it would buy something to eat, but that it would buy +several things, among which he could exercise a right of choice. What is +perhaps most remarkable is that his proceedings were entirely +independent, and for his own benefit, not that of any teacher or master. + + A. L. W. + + + [_Feb. 17, 1877._] + +When a student at Edinburgh, I enjoyed the friendship of a brown +retriever, who belonged to a fishmonger in Lothion Street, and who was +certainly the cleverest dog I have ever met with. He was a cleverer dog +than the one described by "A. L. W." because he knew the relative value +of certain coins. In the morning he was generally to be seen seated on +the step of the fishmonger's shop-door, waiting for some of his many +friends to give him a copper. When he had got one, he trotted away to a +baker's shop a few doors off, and dropped the coin on the counter. If I +remember rightly (it is twelve or fifteen years ago), his weakness was +"soda scones." If he dropped a halfpenny on the counter he was +contented with one scone, but if he had given a penny he expected two, +and would wait for the second, after he had eaten the first, until he +got it. That he knew exactly when he was entitled to one scone only, and +when he ought to get two, is certain, for I tried him often. + + LAWSON TAIT. + + + [_Feb. 17, 1877._] + +In the _Spectator_ of the 10th inst. a correspondent describes the +purchase of cakes by a clever dog at Greenock. I should like to be +allowed to help preserve the memory of a most worthy dog-friend of my +youth, well remembered by many now living who knew Greenwich Hospital +some thirty or five-and-thirty years ago. + +At that time there lived there a dog-pensioner called Hardy, a large +brown Irish retriever. He was so named by Sir Thomas Hardy, when +Governor (Nelson's Hardy), who at the same time constituted him a +pensioner, at the rate of one penny per diem, for that he had one day +saved a life from drowning just opposite the hospital. Till that time +he was a poor stranger and vagrant dog--friendless. But thenceforward he +lived in the hospital, and _spent his pension himself_ at the butcher's +shop, as he did also many another coin given to him by numerous friends. +Many is the halfpenny which, as a child, I gave Hardy, that I might see +him buy his own meat--which he did with judgment, and a due regard to +value. When a _penny_ was given to him, he would, on arriving at the +shop, place it on the counter and rest his nose or paw upon it until he +received _two halfpennyworths_, nor would any persuasion induce him to +give up the coin for the usual smaller allowance. I was a young child at +the time, but I had a great veneration for Hardy, and remember him well, +but lest my juvenile memory might have been in fault, I have, before +writing this letter, compared my recollections with those of my elders, +who, as grown people, knew Hardy for many years, and confirm all the +above facts. There, indeed, was the right dog in the right place. Peace +to his shade! + + J. D. C. + + + [_Feb. 7, 1885._] + +Have you room for one more dog story, which resembles one lately +reported in a French journal? A few years since I was sitting inside the +door of a shop to escape from the rain while waiting for a trap to take +me to the railway station in the old Etruscan city of Ferentino. +Presently an ill-bred dog of the pointer kind came and sat down in front +of me, looking up in my face, and wagging his tail to attract my +attention. "What does that dog want?" I asked of a bystander. "Signore," +he answered, "he wants you to give him a soldo to go and buy you a cigar +with." I gave the dog the coin, and he presently returned, bringing a +cigar, which he held crossways in his mouth until I took it from him. +Sent again and again, he brought me three or four more cigars from the +tobacco-shop. At length the dog's demeanour changed, and he gave vent to +his impatience by two or three low whines. "What does he want now?" I +asked. "He wants you to give him two soldi to go to the baker's and buy +bread for himself." I gave him a two-soldo piece, and in a few minutes +the dog returned with a small loaf of bread, which he laid at my feet, +at the same time gazing wistfully in my face. "He won't take it until +you give him leave," said another bystander. I gave the requisite +permission, and the dear animal seized the loaf and disappeared with it +in his mouth, and did not again make his appearance before I left the +city. "He always does like this," said the standers-by, "whenever he +sees a stranger in Ferentino." + + GREVILLE I. CHESTER. + + +CAUTIOUS DOGS. + + +INTELLIGENT SUSPICION IN A DOG. + + [_July 7, 1888._] + +The following instance of dog instinct (or reasoning?) will, I think, +interest some of your readers. About a fortnight ago, while crossing the +Albula Pass, our driver stopped for a few moments at the little +restaurant on the highest point of it. A rough kind of herdsman's dog, +of no particular breed, I suppose, came out and sat down by the carriage +and looked up at us. We happened to have a few Marie biscuits in the +carriage, so I threw half of one out to him. I suppose he had no +experience in Huntley and Palmer's make, for he looked at and smelled it +carefully, and then declined to eat it, but again looked up at me. I +then took the remaining half, bit off and ate a little bit of it, and +then threw over the rest to him. This time he ate it at once, then +turned and ate the first piece, which he had before refused, and at once +came and asked for more, which I had great pleasure in giving him. I +may add that I have several times tried a similar experiment with more +pampered dogs at home, but have never succeeded with it. Whether this +arises from the latter knowing, in most cases, from experience what they +like and what they do not like, or, as I am rather inclined to think, +from the superior intelligence of this Alpine dog, who really reasoned +that what I could eat he could, I leave your readers to decide for +themselves. + + G. W. C. + + +AN ALPINE DOG. + + [_July 21, 1888._] + +I do not think that it was superior intelligence in the Alpine dog over +other intelligent dogs which induced him to wait to eat the biscuit till +he had seen the giver eat some of it. We have a very sagacious little +Highland terrier, and he in the same manner often refuses a new kind of +biscuit or cake until he has seen me bite off a small piece and eat it, +and then he will do the same. I have also found our boarhound +distrusting food occasionally, and declining to take it from his bowl +until I have given him some with my hand. Then he seems to feel that it +is all right, and comes down from his bench and eats it. This perhaps is +not exactly the same, but it is still a phase of a dog's distrust of +unaccustomed food, and his reasoning power respecting it. This wonderful +reasoning power any one accustomed to dogs soon discovers. + + J. B. G. + + +DOGS AND LANGUAGE. + + +DO DOGS UNDERSTAND OUR LANGUAGE? + + [_Aug. 4, 1883._] + +I think the question has been mooted in your columns as to whether dogs +sometimes understand our language. A circumstance that has just occurred +leads me to think that it does happen, where they are highly organised +and living much with their owners. While our family party were sitting +over dessert, a cork jumped from an apollinaris-water bottle on the +sideboard. I took no notice at first, but after the conversation was +ended, I got up and looked about for a few minutes, soon giving up the +search. My brother asked what I was looking for, and I answered. I had +no sooner sat down than our little dog crept from behind a piece of +furniture, where she was reposing on the end of a rug, and went straight +up to the cork, looking up at me and pointing to it with her nose. It +was near me, but the shadow thrown by the table prevented my seeing it. +She is a very nervous little fox-terrier, a most "comfort-loving +animal," and spends her life with one or the other of us on my sofa, +when her master is out, but hearing his voice at a great distance, and +always attending to it. + + ANYTHING BUT A DOG-FANCIER. + + +HOW OUR MEANING IS CONVEYED TO ANIMALS. + + [_Aug. 11, 1883._] + +The following anecdote may interest some of your readers:--Some years +ago, when starting for a foreign tour, I entrusted my little Scotch +terrier, Pixie, to the care of my brother, who lived about three miles +distant from my house. I was away for six weeks, during the whole of +which time Pixie remained contentedly at his new abode. The day, +however, before I returned, my brother mentioned in the dog's hearing +that I was expected back the next day. Thereupon, the dog started off, +and was found by me at my bedroom door the next morning, he having been +seen waiting outside the house early in the morning when the servants +got up, and been admitted by them. Pixie is still alive and flourishing, +and readily lends himself to experiments, which, however, yield no very +definite result. He certainly seems to understand as much of our meaning +as it concerns his own comfort to understand, but how he does it I +cannot quite determine. I should be sorry to affirm, clever as he is, +that he understands French and German, yet it is certainly a fact that +he will fall back just as readily if I say "Zurück!" as if I say "To +heel!" and advance to the sound "En avant!" as well as to "Hold up!" As +in both cases I am careful to avoid any elucidatory gesture or special +tone of voice, I am inclined to think that there must be here a species +of direct thought transference. At the same time, I am bound to add that +without the spoken word I am unable to convey the slightest meaning to +him. This, however, may be due to what I believe to be a fact, that it +is almost impossible without word or gesture to formulate the will with +any distinctness. If this theory be correct, the verbal sounds used +would convey the speaker's meaning, not in virtue of the precise sounds +themselves, but of the intention put into them by the speaker. I should +be glad to know if the experience of others tends to confirm this +theory, which I do not remember to have seen suggested before. + + A. EUBULE-EVANS. + + + [_Aug. 18, 1883._] + +I beg to contribute another anecdote on the subject of how our meaning +is conveyed to animals. When I was in Norway with my husband, a dog +belonging to the people of the house went with us in all our walks. One +day a strange dog joined us, and seemed to wish to get up a fight with +our dog, Fechter, who for protection kept almost under our feet; my +husband said several times, "Go on, Fechter," in English, which he +immediately did, but soon came back again. At last we succeeded in +driving the strange dog away, but he soon returned. Then my husband said +without any alteration of tone or gesture that I was aware of, "Drive +that dog away, Fechter." He immediately rushed at him, and we saw no +more of our troubler. I have long thought that dogs do understand, not +"the precise sounds themselves, but the intention put into them by the +speaker." + + AN OBSERVER OF ANIMALS. + + +ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE. + + [_Aug. 18, 1883._] + +Perhaps I should have said the "Intelligence of Animals," but my +meaning, in relation to the interesting correspondence in your columns, +is no doubt clear. The whole question seems to me to lie in the +proverbial nutshell, and to be solvable by the proverbial common sense. +Dogs' hearing is undoubtedly very keen and accurate, and even subtle; +and dogs have also the power of putting this and that together in a +marvellously shrewd and almost rational fashion. They cannot understand +sentences, but they get hold of words, _i.e._, sounds, and keep them +pigeon-holed in their memory. I might as well argue moral principle +from the fact that my dog Karl, like scores of other dogs, will hold a +piece of biscuit on his nose so long as I say "trust," and will when I +say "paid for" gaily toss his head and catch the biscuit in his honest +mouth, as argue that because he finds eleven tennis-balls among the +shrubs in five minutes, when I say, "We can't find them at all, Karl; do +go and find them, good dog, will you? Find the balls, old +fellow"--therefore he understands my sentence. He simply grasps the +words "find" and "balls," sees the game at a standstill, and reasons out +our needs and his responsibilities, quickened by the expectation of +pattings on the head, pettings, and pieces of biscuit. It is remarkable +that if I try to delude him by uttering "base coin" in the shape of +words just like the real words, as, for example, if I say "Jacob" +instead of "paid for," he makes no mistake, but refuses the morsel, +however delicate, till it _is_ "paid for." + +Prominent nouns, participles, verbs, &c., make up the _lingua franca_ +that so beautifully links together men and dogs, and now and then men +and horses, their intelligence being quickened by their dumbness, as is +that of deaf and dumb men and women, whose other faculties become so +keenly intensified, and who put this and that together so much more +quickly than do we who have all our faculties. There are of course +"Admiral Crichtons" among dogs, as there are among men, but the +difference between dog and dog will generally, I think, be traceable +more to human training than to born capacity. The yearning look which +Karl gives when (told to "speak") he gives forth his voice in response, +is sometimes piteously like "Oh, that I could really tell all I feel!" +He is like, and all dogs of average intelligence are like, the Frenchman +I met yesterday on the beach at Hastings, who wanted to know whether he +could reach Ramsgate on foot before nightfall, and how far it was, and +who, as I only know a few French words, and am utterly unable to speak +or understand sentences, was obliged to make me understand his wants by +a few nouns such as everybody knows, and by causing me to put this and +that together. There is of course the vital defect in the parallel that +I could learn to understand French, and the dog could never learn to +understand sentences; but as so many parallels have vital defects of +some kind, even down to that historic self-drawn parallel between +Alexander and the robber, we may well say, whether we be men or dogs, +"Let me reflect." Dogs do undoubtedly reflect, and reason, and remember; +and they never forget their "grammar," as school-boys do. Instinct, like +chance, is only a name expressing fitly enough our own ignorance. Did +not Luther and Wesley believe in the resurrection of animals? + + S. B. JAMES. + + + [_Aug. 25, 1883._] + +A little illustration of canine intelligence shown by my collie, Dido, +may be added to those which have lately appeared in the _Spectator_. The +dog was lying on the floor in a room in which I was preparing to go out. +An old servant was present, and when I had given her directions about +an errand on which she was going, I said, "You will take Dido with you?" +She assented, and the dog directly got up to follow her downstairs. I +then remembered that I should want a cab, so I asked the servant to send +one, and not to leave the house till I rang the bell. On her leaving the +room, Dido resumed her quiet attitude on the floor, with her nose to the +carpet. In rather less than ten minutes I rang the bell, and the dog at +once sprang up and ran downstairs to join her companion. I had not +spoken a word after asking the servant to wait for the bell. Was this +word-reading, or voice-reading, or thought-reading. + + S. E. DE MORGAN. + + +ANIMALS AND LANGUAGE. + + [_Sept. 1, 1883._] + +I can match Mrs. De Morgan's pretty story of her Dido. A wise old dog +with whom I have the privilege to associate was, two or three days ago, +lying asleep in her basket by the fire. I entered the room with my hat +on, and invited her to join me in a walk; but, after looking up at me +for a moment, as canine politeness required, she dropped back among her +cushions, obviously replying, "Thank you very much, but I prefer +repose." Thereupon I observed, in a clear voice, "I am _not_ going on +the road [a promenade disliked by the dogs, because the walls on either +side restrict the spirit of scientific research]; I am going up the +mountain." Instantly my little friend jumped up, shook her ears, and, +with a cheerful bark, announced herself as ready to join the party. + +Beyond doubt or question, Colleen had either understood the word "road," +or the word "mountain," or both, and determined her proceedings +accordingly. Nothing in my action showed, or could show, the meaning of +my words. + +If any of your readers who have resided for some weeks or months in a +country where a language is spoken entirely foreign to their own--say, +Arabic, or Basque, or Welsh--will recall of how many words they +insensibly learn the meaning without asking it, and merely by hearing +them always used in certain relations, they will have, I think, a fair +measure of the extent and nature of a dog's knowledge of the language of +his masters. My dog has lived fewer years in the world than I have +passed in Wales, but he knows just about as much English as I know +Welsh, and has acquired it just in the same way. + + F. P. C. + + +TEACHING DOGS A METHOD OF COMMUNICATION. + + [_Dec. 29, 1883._] + +Mr. Darwin's "Notes on Instinct," recently published by my friend, Mr. +Romanes, have again called attention to the interesting subject of +instinct in animals. + +Miss Martineau once remarked that, considering how long we have lived in +close association with animals, it is astonishing how little we know +about them, and especially about their mental condition. This applies +with especial force to our domestic animals, and, above all, of course, +to dogs. I believe that it arises very much from the fact that hitherto +we have tried to teach animals, rather than to learn from them--to +convey our ideas to them, rather than to devise any language, or code of +signals, by means of which they might communicate theirs to us. No doubt +the former process is interesting and instructive, but it does not carry +us very far. + +Under these circumstances it has occurred to me whether some such system +as that followed with deaf mutes, and especially by Dr. Howe with Laura +Bridgman, might not prove very instructive if adapted to the case of +dogs. Accordingly I prepared some pieces of stout cardboard, and printed +on each in legible letters a word, such as "food," "bone," "out," &c. I +then began training a black poodle, Van by name, kindly given me by my +friend, Mr. Nickalls. + +I commenced by giving the dog food in a saucer, over which I laid the +card on which was the word "food," placing also by the side an empty +saucer, covered by a plain card. Van soon learnt to distinguish between +the two, and the next stage was to teach him to bring me the card; this +he now does, and hands it to me quite prettily, and I then give him a +bone, or a little food, or take him out, according to the card brought. +He still brings sometimes a plain card, in which case I point out his +error, and he then takes it back and changes it. This, however, does not +often happen. Yesterday morning, for instance, he brought me the card +with "food" on it nine times in succession, selecting it from among +other plain cards, though I changed the relative position every time. No +one who sees him can doubt that he understands the act of bringing the +card with the word "food" on it, as a request for something to eat, and +that he distinguishes between it and a plain card. I also believe that +he distinguishes, for instance, between the card with the word "food" on +it and the card with "out" on it. + +This, then, seems to open up a method which may be carried much further, +for it is obvious that the cards may be multiplied, and the dog thus +enabled to communicate freely with us. I have as yet, I know, made only +a very small beginning, and hope to carry the experiment much further, +but my object in troubling you with this letter is twofold. In the first +place, I trust that some of your readers may be able and willing to +suggest extensions or improvements of the idea. Secondly, my spare time +is small, and liable to many interruptions; and animals also, we know, +differ greatly from one another. Now, many of your readers have +favourite dogs, and I would express a hope that some of them may be +disposed to study them in the manner indicated. The observations, even +though negative, would be interesting; but I confess I hope that some +positive results might follow, which would enable us to obtain a more +correct insight into the minds of animals than we have yet acquired. + + JOHN LUBBOCK. + + +COMMUNICATION WITH ANIMALS. + + [_April 12, 1884._] + +You did me the honour, some weeks ago, to insert a letter of mine, +containing suggestions as to a method of studying the psychology of +animals and a short account of a beginning I had myself made in that +direction. + +This letter has elicited various replies and suggestions which you will +perhaps allow me to answer, and I may also take the opportunity of +stating the progress which my dog Van has made, although, owing greatly, +no doubt, to my frequent absences from home and the little time I can +devote to him, this has not been so rapid as I doubt not would otherwise +have been the case. Perhaps I may just repeat that the essence of my +idea was to have various words, such as "food," "bone," "water," "out," +&c., printed on pieces of card-board, and, after some preliminary +training, to give the dog anything for which he asked by bringing a +card. I use pieces of cardboard about ten inches long and three inches +high, placing a number of them on the floor side by side, so that the +dog has several cards to select from, each bearing a different word. + +One correspondent has suggested that it would be better to use variously +coloured cards. This might, no doubt, render the first steps rather +more easy, but, on the other hand, any temporary advantage gained would +be at the expense of subsequent difficulty, since the pupil would very +likely begin by associating the object with the colour, rather than with +the letters. He would, therefore, as is too often the case with our own +children, have the unnecessary labour of unlearning some of his first +lessons. At the same time, the experiment would have an interest as a +test of the colour-sense in dogs. + +Another suggestion has been that, instead of words, pictorial +representations should be placed on the cards. This, however, could only +be done with material objects, such as "food," "bone," "water," &c., and +would not be applicable to such words as "out," "pet me," &c.; nor even +as regards the former class do I see that it would present any +substantial advantage. + +Again, it has been suggested that Van is led by scent rather than by +sight. He has, no doubt, an excellent nose, but in this case he is +certainly guided by the eye. The cards are all handled by us, and must +emit very nearly the same odour. I do not, however, rely on this, but +have in use a number of cards bearing the same word. When, for instance, +he has brought a card with "food" on it, we do not put down the same +identical card, but another with the same word; when he has brought +that, a third is put down, and so on. For a single meal, therefore, +eight or ten cards will have been used, and it seems clear, therefore, +that in selecting them Van must be guided by the letters. + +When I last wrote I had satisfied myself that he had learnt to regard +the bringing of a card as a request, and that he could distinguish a +card with the word "food" on it from a plain one, while I believed that +he could distinguish between a card with "food" on it and one with "out" +on it. + +I have now no doubt that he can distinguish between different words. For +instance, when he is hungry he will bring a "food" card time after time, +until he has had enough, and then he lies down quietly for a nap. Again, +when I am going for a walk, and invite him to come, he gladly responds +by picking up the "out" card, and running triumphantly with it before me +to the front door. In the same way he knows the "bone" card quite well. +As regards water (which I spell phonetically, so as not to confuse him +unnecessarily), I keep a card always on the floor in my dressing-room, +and whenever he is thirsty he goes off there, without any suggestion +from me, and brings the card with perfect gravity. At the same time he +is fond of a game, and if he is playful or excited will occasionally run +about with any card. If through inadvertence he brings a card for +something he does not want, when the corresponding object is shown him, +he seizes the card, takes it back again, and fetches the right one. No +one who has seen him look along a row of cards, and select the right +one, can, I think, doubt that in bringing a card he feels that he is +making a request, and that he can not only perfectly distinguish between +one word and another, but also associates the word and the object. + +I do not for a moment say that Van thus shows more intelligence than +has been recorded in the case of other dogs; that is not my point, but +it does seem to me that this method of instruction opens out a means by +which dogs and other animals may be enabled to communicate with us more +satisfactorily than hitherto. I am still continuing my observations, and +am now considering the best mode of testing him in very simple +arithmetic, but I wish I could induce others to co-operate, for I feel +satisfied that the system would well repay more time and attention than +I am myself able to give. + + JOHN LUBBOCK. + + +INSTINCT OF LOCALITY IN DOGS. + + [_March 4, 1893._] + +A cat carried a hundred miles in a basket, a dog taken, perhaps, five +hundred miles by rail, in a few days may have found their way back to +the starting-point. So we have often been told, and, no doubt, the thing +has happened. We have been astonished at the wonderful intelligence +displayed. Magic, I should call it. Last week I heard of a captain who +sailed from Aberdeen to Arbroath. He left behind him a dog which, +according to the story, had never been in Arbroath, but when he arrived +there the dog was waiting on the quay. I was expected to believe that +the dog had known his master's destination, and been able to inquire the +way overland to Arbroath. Truly marvellous! But, really, it is time to +inquire more carefully as to what these stories do mean; we must cease +to ascribe our intelligence to animals, and learn that it is we that +often possess their instinct. A cat on a farm will wander many miles in +search of prey, and will therefore be well acquainted with the country +for many miles round. It is taken fifty miles away. Again it wanders, +and comes across a bit of country it knew before. What more natural than +that it should go to its old home? Carrier-pigeons are taught "homing" +by taking them gradually longer flights from home, so that they may +learn the look of the country. We cannot always discover that a dog +actually was acquainted with the route by which it wanders home; but it +is quite absurd to imagine, as most people at once do, that it was a +perfect stranger to the lay of the land. To find our way a second time +over ground we have once trod is scarcely intelligence; we can only call +it instinct, though the word does not in the least explain the process. +Two years ago I first visited Douglas, in the Isle of Man. I reached the +station at 11 p.m.; I was guided to a house a mile through the town. I +scarcely paid any attention to the route, yet next morning I found my +way by the same route to the station, walking with my head bent, deeply +thinking all the time about other things than the way. I have the +instinct of locality. Most people going into a dark room that they know +are by muscular sense guided exactly to the very spot they wish; so +people who have the instinct of locality may wander over a moor exactly +to the place they wish to reach without thinking of where they go. There +may be no mental exercise connected with this. I have known a lady of +great intelligence who would lose her way within half-a-mile of the +house she had lived in forty years. This feeling about place belongs to +that part of us that we have in common with the lower creatures. We need +not postulate that the animals ever show signs of possessing our +intelligence; they possess, in common with us, what is not intelligence, +but instinct. + + A. J. MACKINTOSH. + + + [_Sept. 24, 1892._] + +Will you allow me to record in the _Spectator_ "another dog story"? It +is one that testifies, for the thousandth time, to canine sagacity, +and, as we are still in the silly season, which has this year in +particular been so very prolific in human follies, it may be of special +interest to learn some clever doings on the part of beasts. Quite +recently a Westphalian squire travelled by rail from Lüxen to Wesel, on +the Rhine, for the purpose of enjoying some hunting, and took with him +his favourite hound. The hunting party was to have started on a Sunday +morning at nine o'clock, but, to the squire's great disappointment, his +sporting dog could nowhere be discovered. Disconsolate, he arrived on +the following Monday afternoon at his house, and, to his great delight, +he was greeted there with exuberant joy by his dog. The latter, who had +never made the journey from Lüxen to Wesel, had simply run home, thus +clearing a distance of eighty English miles through an unknown country. +Why the sporting dog should have declined to join the hunt is, perhaps, +a greater mystery than the fact of his returning home without any other +guidance than his sagacious instinct. Possibly he was a Sabbatarian, and +objected to imitate his master's wicked example. So, Sunday papers, +please copy! + + EIN THIERFREUND. + + + [_Sept. 8, 1894._] + +May I be allowed to offer to your readers yet another instance of the +faithfulness and sagacity of our friend the dog? The anecdote comes from +a distinguished naval officer, and is best given in his own words: "This +is what happened to a spaniel of mine. It was given to our children as a +puppy about three or four months old, and we have had it about five or +six months, making it about ten months old. It was born about three +miles from here, at Hertford, and has never been anywhere but from one +home to the other. When the time came for breaking him in for shooting +purposes, I sent him to a keeper at Leighton-Buzzard, and, to insure a +safe arrival, sent the dog with my man-servant to the train here, and +thence to King's Cross. He walked with the dog to Euston Station, turned +him over to the guard of the 12.15 train and the animal duly arrived at +Leighton-Buzzard at 1.30, and was there met by the keeper and taken to +his home about three miles off. That was on the Friday. On the following +Tuesday, the dog having been with him three full days, he took him out +in the morning with his gun, and at eight o'clock on Wednesday morning +(that being the following day) the dog appeared here, rather dirty, and +looking as if he had travelled some distance, which he undoubtedly had. +There is no doubt that this puppy of ten months old was sent away, +certainly forty or fifty miles as the crow flies, and that he returned +here in a day. How he did it no one can say, but it is nevertheless a +fact. It would be interesting to know his route and to trace his +adventures." This anecdote is the more remarkable in consequence of the +extreme youth of the dog, and particularly as he belongs to a breed of +sporting dogs which are not generally considered to rank among the most +intelligent of the species. + + F. H. SUCKLING. + + + [_Sept. 15, 1894._] + +The "True Story of a Dog," in the _Spectator_ of September 8th, may be +matched, possibly explained, by a similar occurrence. I had bought a +Spanish poodle pup of an Irishman who assured me, "Indade, sir, an' the +dog knows all my childer do, only he can't talk." He shut doors, opened +those with thumb-latches, and rushed upstairs and waked his mistress at +words of command. One day we were starting to drive to our former home +in the city, six miles distant, but the dog was refused his usual place +in the carriage, and shut up in the house. When we arrived, to our +astonishment we found him waiting for us on the doorstep! We could not +conceive how he got there, but upon inquiry found that he had got out, +gone to the station, in some way entered the train, hid under a seat, +and on arrival in the city threaded his way a mile through the streets, +and was found quietly awaiting our arrival. + + R. P. S. + + + [_May 3, 1884._] + +How do we know that in inviting dogs to the use of words Sir John +Lubbock is _developing_ their intelligence? Are we sure that he is not +asking them to descend to a lower level than their own, in teaching them +to communicate with us through our proper forms of speech, unnecessary +to them? I can vouch for the truth of the following story. A young +keeper, living about twelve miles east of Winchester, on leaving his +situation gave away a fox-terrier, which had been his constant companion +for some months; he then took another place in the north of Hampshire, +near the borders of Berkshire, in a part of the country to which he had +never been. The new owner of the dog took her with him to a village in +Sussex; before she had been there long she disappeared, and after a +short time found her old master in the woods at his new home. As I have +said before, he had never been there before, neither had she. Rather +ungratefully, he again gave the dog away, this time to a man living some +way north of Berkshire; she came back to him in a few days, and, I am +happy to say, is now to be allowed to stay with the master of her +choice. Can such a nature need to be taught our clumsy language. + + A. H. WILLIAMS. + + + [_Feb. 16, 1895._] + +As I see that you have published some interesting anecdotes about dogs, +I send you the two following, which perhaps you may think worth +inserting. + +In 1873 we came to live in England, after a residence upon the +Continent, bringing with us a Swiss terrier of doubtful breed but of +marked sagacity, called Tan. One day, shortly after reaching the new +home from Switzerland, the dog was lost under the following +circumstances:--We had driven to a station eight miles off--East +Harling--to meet a friend. As the friend got out of the railway carriage +the dog got in without being noticed and the train proceeded on its way. +At the next station--Eccles Road--the dog's barking attracted the +attention of the station-master, who opened the carriage door, and the +dog jumped out. The station-master and the dog were perfect strangers. +He and a porter tried to lock up the dog, but he flew viciously at any +one who attempted to touch him, although he was not above accepting +food. For the next three days his behaviour was decidedly methodical; +starting from the station in the morning, he came back dejected and +tired at night. At last, on the evening of the third day, he reached +home, some nine miles away, along roads which he had not before +travelled, a sorry object and decidedly the worse for wear; after some +food he slept for twenty-four hours straight off. + +Anecdote number two. One day a handsome black, smooth-haired retriever +puppy was given to us, whom we named Neptune. The terrier Tan greatly +resented having this new companion thrust upon him, and became very +jealous of him. Being small, he was unable to tackle so large a dog, but +sagacity accomplished what strength could not. Tan disappeared for two +days. One evening, hearing a tremendous commotion in the yard, we +rushed out to find a huge dog of the St. Bernard species inflicting a +severe castigation upon poor Nep, Tan meanwhile looking on, complacently +wagging his tail. Both Tan and his companion then disappeared for two +more days, after which Tan reappeared alone, apparently in an equable +frame of mind, and satisfied that he had had his revenge. We never +discovered where the large dog came from. I can attest the truth of the +two stories. + + CECIL DOWNTON. + + +RAILWAY DOGS. + + [_July 10, 1887._] + +Your dog-loving readers may be interested to hear that there is (or was +till lately) in South Africa a rival to the well-known Travelling Jack, +of Brighton line fame, after whom, indeed, he has been nicknamed by his +acquaintance. + +I was introduced to him eighteen months ago, on board the _Norham +Castle_, on a voyage from Cape Town to England--a voyage which this +distinguished Colonial traveller was making much against his will. He +was a black-and-tan terrier with a white chest, whose intellect had +therefore probably been improved by a dash of mongrelism, and I was told +that he belonged to a gentleman connected with the railway department +living at Port Elizabeth. It appears that it was Mr. Jack's habit +frequently to embark all by himself on board the mail steamer leaving +that place on Saturday afternoon, and make the trip round the coast to +Cape Town, arriving there on Monday morning. Where he "put up" I do not +know, but he used to stay there until Wednesday evening, when he would +calmly walk into the station, take his place in the train, and return to +Port Elizabeth in that way, thus completing his "circular tour" by a +railway journey of about eight hundred miles. + +He was well known by the officers and sailors of the _Norham_, and her +commander, Captain Alexander Winchester (who can vouch for these facts), +told me that, as the dog seemed fond of the sea, he had determined to +give him a long voyage for a change, and had kept him shut up on board +during the ship's stay at Cape Town. + +Jack was evidently very uneasy at being taken on beyond his usual port, +and he was on the point of slipping into a boat for the shore at +Madeira, probably with a view of returning to the Cape by the next +steamer, when I called the captain's attention to him, and he was +promptly shut up again. I said good-bye to him at Plymouth, and hope he +found his way home safely on the return voyage. + + EX-COLONIST. + + + [_June 23, 1894._] + +I have read with much interest the stories in the _Spectator_ of the +sagacity of animals. The following, I think, is worth recording:--The +chief-engineer of the Midland and South-Western Junction Railway, Mr. J. +R. Shopland, C.E., has a spaniel that frequently accompanies him or his +sons to their office. On Saturday last this dog went to Marlborough from +Swindon by train with one of Mr. Shopland's clerks, and walked with him +to Savernake Forest. Suddenly the dog was missing. The creature had gone +back to the station at Marlborough and taken a seat in a second-class +compartment. The dog defied the efforts of the railway officials to +dislodge him. When the train reached Swindon he came out of the carriage +and walked quietly to his master's residence. + + SAMUEL SNELL. + + + [_March 30, 1895._] + +I was witness the other day of what I had only heard of before--a dog +travelling by rail on his own account. I got into the train at Uxbridge +Road, and, the compartment being vacant, took up the seat which I now +prefer--the corner seat at the entrance with the back to the engine. +Presently a whole crowd of ladies got in, and with them a dog, which I +supposed to belong to them. All the ladies except one got out at Addison +Road, and then the dog slunk across the carriage to just under my seat. +I asked my remaining fellow-passenger whether the dog was hers; she said +"No." No one got in before she herself got out at South Kensington, +where the dog remained perfectly quiet, but at Sloane Square a man was +let in, and out rushed the dog, the door actually grazing his sides. Had +he not taken up the precise place he did, he must have been shut in or +crushed. "That dog is a stowaway," I observed to the porter who had +opened the door. "I suppose he is," the man answered. The dog was making +the best of his way to the stairs. Clearly the dog meant to get out at +that particular station (he had had ample opportunity of getting out +both at Addison Road and South Kensington), and had, as soon as he +could, taken up the best position for doing so. How did he recognise the +Sloane Square Station, for he had had only those two opportunities of +glancing out? It seems to me it could only have been by counting the +stations, in which case he must be able to reckon up to five. The dog +was a very ordinary London cur, white and tan, of a greatly mixed Scotch +terrier stock, the long muzzle showing a greyhound cross. He was thin, +and apparently conscious of breaking the law, hiding out of sight, and +slinking along with his tail between his legs, and altogether not worth +stealing. I suppose that he had been transferred to a new home which had +proved uncongenial, and was slipping away, in fear and trembling, to his +old quarters. + + J. M. L. + + + + +_EMOTION AND SENTIMENT IN DOGS._ + + + +A DOG'S REMORSE. + + [_Sept. 1, 1883._] + +A remarkable instance of the effect that can be produced upon a dog by +the human voice was related to me yesterday. Some of your correspondents +would consider it confirmatory of their notion that dogs have mind +enough to understand words; but I myself rather believe that the sound +of the voice acts upon the _feelings_ of dumb animals just as +instrumental music acts upon us. The story is as follows:--A clergyman +had for a long time a dog, and no other domestic animal. He and his +servant made a great pet of the dog. At last, however, the clergyman +took to keeping a few fowls, and the servant fed them. The dog showed +himself very jealous and out of humour at this, and when Sunday came +round, and he was left alone, he took the opportunity to _kill and bury_ +two hens. A claw half-uncovered betrayed what he had done. His master +did not beat him, but took hold of him, and _talked_ to him, most +bitterly, most severely. "You've been guilty of the sin of murder, +sir,--and on the Sabbath day, too; and you, a clergyman's dog, taking a +mean advantage of my absence!" &c. He talked on and on for a long time, +in the same serious and reproachful strain. Early the next morning the +master had to leave home for a day or so; and he did so without speaking +a word of kindness to the dog, because he said he wished him to feel +himself in disgrace. On his return, the first thing he was told was, +"The dog is dead. He never ate nor drank after you had spoken to him; he +just lay and pined away, and he died an hour ago." + + L. G. GILLUM. + + +A CONSCIENCE-STRICKEN DOG. + + [_Feb. 1, 1879._] + +You have frequently published letters containing stories bearing on the +question of the moral nature and the future of the lower animals. I +venture to send you some facts about a dog, narrated to me by a lady, +whose name and address I enclose for your own satisfaction, and at my +request written down by her as follows-- + +"A young fox-terrier, about eight months old, took a great fancy to a +small brush, of Indian workmanship, lying on the drawing-room table. It +had been punished more than once for jumping on the table and taking it. +On one occasion, the little dog was left alone in the room accidentally. +On my return, it jumped to greet me as usual, and I said, 'Have you been +a good little dog while you have been left alone?' Immediately it put +its tail between its legs and slunk off into an adjoining room, and +brought back the little brush in its mouth from where it had hidden it. + +"I was much struck with what appeared to me a remarkable instance of a +dog possessing a conscience, and a few months afterwards, finding it +again alone in the room, I asked the same question, while patting it. At +once I saw it had been up to some mischief, for with the same look of +shame it walked slowly to one of the windows, where it lay down, with +its nose pointing to a letter bitten and torn into shreds. On a third +occasion, it showed me where it had strewn a number of little tickets +about the floor, for doing which it had been reproved previously. I +cannot account for these facts, except by supposing the dog must have a +conscience." + +The conduct of this dog seems to me, sir, to exhibit something different +from fear of punishment, viz., a sense of shame, a remorse, a desire to +confess his fault, and even to expiate it by punishment, in order to +feel the guilt no longer. He rather sought punishment, than feared it. + + TH. HILL. + + +A DOG'S AFFECTION. + + [_April 24, 1875._] + +I saw an anecdote in your paper the other week illustrative of the +sagacity of a dog. Kindly allow me to place upon record, as a kind of a +companion picture, an anecdote showing the _affection_ of one of the +canine species--a fine young retriever. For some weeks I have been +staying away from my house in the country, where is the fine young +retriever in question. Well, last week the household missed him for +hours, and began to think he was lost. Nothing of the kind, however. The +servant, happening to go up to my bedroom, found him with his head +resting on my pillow, moaning heavily, and it was only with great +difficulty that she could drive him away. Surely it is incidents such as +these that have made so many great men rail against humanity and uphold +their dog! + + WILL WILLIAMS. + + +AFFECTION. + + [_Sept. 15, 1894._] + +As you sometimes admit anecdotes of animals into the _Spectator_, +perhaps you may consider the following fact worthy of record. In a hotel +where I am staying, being distressed by the cry of anguish of a dog +occasionally, I inquired the cause, and was told that whenever he +happens to be in the hall when luggage is brought down to go in the +omnibus, he utters these bitter cries, and has to be removed. His master +left him here many months ago, and the supposition is that the sight of +the luggage and omnibus recalls his loss; and is another instance of the +faithful affection of these half-human creatures. + + J. K. + + +SYMPATHY IN A DOG. + + [_July 30, 1892._] + +The article, "Animals in Sickness," in the _Spectator_ of July 23rd, has +reminded me of the following anecdote, which was told to me some years +ago by a butcher residing at Brodick, in the Isle of Arran. He told me +that he had had two collie dogs at the same time, one old and the other +young. The old dog became useless through age, and was drowned in the +sea at Brodick. A few days afterwards, its body was washed ashore, and +it was discovered by the young dog, who was seen immediately to go to +the butcher's shop and take away a piece of meat and lay it at the dead +dog's mouth. The young dog evidently thought that the meat would revive +his old comrade, and thereby showed remarkable sympathy in aid of, to +him, the apparent "weak." + + DAVID HANNAY. + + +A DOG'S HUMANITY. + + [_April 18, 1891._] + +Possibly it is from an excess of the "maudlin sentimentality" of which +physiologists complain in those who protest against cruelty to animals, +that I find it almost painful to read such pathetic stories of dogs as +the one given by Miss Cobbe in the _Spectator_ of April 11th; for they +tell of such intelligence and devotion, that, remembering the inhuman +way in which our poor dogs are too often treated, we feel it would be +almost better if they lacked these human qualities. + +The following is an anecdote of the same kind, that ever since I heard +it, I have been intending to send it to the _Spectator_. The servant-man +of one of my friends took a kitten to a pond with the intention of +drowning it. His master's dog was with him, and when the kitten was +thrown into the water, the dog sprang in and brought it back safely to +land. A second time the man threw it in, and again the dog rescued it; +and when for the third time the man tried to drown it, the dog, as +resolute to save the little helpless life as the man was to destroy it, +swam with it to the other side of the pool, running all the way home +with it, and safely depositing it before the kitchen fire; and "ever +after" they were inseparable, sharing even the same bed! + +When not long ago I came across the noble sentiment that "hecatombs of +brutes should be tortured, if man thereby could be saved one pang," I +found myself dimly wondering what constituted a "brute." Certainly, in +the incident I have just given, the "brute" was not the dog! + + S. W. + + +A CANINE MEMBER OF THE S.P.C.A. + + [_June 18, 1892._] + +If you think this little anecdote of canine friendliness worthy of the +_Spectator_, will you insert it for me? Last week a sick dog took up its +abode in the field behind our house, and after seeing the poor thing +lying there for some time, I took it food and milk-and-water. The next +day it was still there, and when I was going out to feed it, I saw that +a small pug was running about it, so I took a whip out with me to drive +it away. The pug planted itself between me and the sick dog, and barked +at me savagely, but at last I drove it away, and again gave food and +milk-and-water to my _protegé_. The little pug watched me for a few +moments, and as soon as he felt quite assured that my intentions towards +the sick dog were friendly, it ran to me wagging its tail, leapt up to +my shoulder, and licked my face and hands, nor would it touch the water +till the invalid had had all it wanted. I suppose that it was satisfied +that its companion was in good hands, for it trotted happily away, and +did not appear upon the scene again. + + VIOLET DAVIES. + + +A DOG'S COURTESY. + + [_Nov. 29, 1890._] + +In your article on Mr. Nettleship's pictures of animals, you note the +delicacy of a dog that has been properly trained in the matter of taking +its food. My little dog is not only most dainty in that particular, but +strictly observes the courtesy, which is natural, not taught, of not +beginning his dinner (served on white napery that is never soiled) until +his master begins his own. No amount of coaxing on the part of the +ladies (they do not wait) will induce him to eat if I am late: he merely +consents to have his muzzle taken off, inspects his dinner, and then +seeks his master's room, where he waits to accompany him in orderly +fashion downstairs. + + C. HARPER. + + +CANINE JEALOUSY. + + [_Dec. 12, 1891._] + +I am not versed in dog-lore, and it may be that my love for the animal +makes me an ill judge of the importance of the following story; but a +friend vouches for its truth, and to my mind it has its importance, not +from its display of jealousy, but from the dog's deliberate acceptance +of the undoubtedly changed condition, and the clearly metaphysical +character of his motive. + +The story is this. A young man had owned for some years a dog who was +his constant companion. Recently the young man married, and moved with +his bride and his dog into a house on the opposite side of the street +from his father's house, his own former home. The dog was not happy, for +the time and attention which had formerly been his was now given to the +young wife. In many ways he showed his unhappiness and displeasure, in +spite of the fact that the master tried to reconcile him and the bride +to win him. One day when the master came home, his wife sat on his +knee, while Jack was lying by the fire. He rose from his place, came +over to the couple, and expressed his disapproval. "Why, Jack," said the +master, "this is all right, she's a good girl," and as he spoke, he +patted her arm. Jack looked up at him, turned away, and left the room. +In a moment they heard a noise, and going into the hall, they found Jack +dragging his bed downstairs. When he reached the front door, he whined +to be let out, and when the door was opened, he dragged his bed down the +steps, across the street to his old home, where he scratched for +admittance. Since then he has never been back to his master, refusing +all overtures. + + CHAS. MORRIS ADDISON. + + +A JEALOUS DOG. + + [_Jan. 12, 1895._] + +I was greatly interested in the story of the generosity shown by a dog, +as related in the _Spectator_ of January 5th, because of a similar case +within my own knowledge, and yet so different, as to prove that the +dispositions of animals are as varied as those of human beings. A friend +of mine had two fox-terriers, inseparable companions, and both equally +devoted to their mistress. On one occasion, when the family had been +away from home for some time, and were returning, one of these pets, not +being well, was brought back with its mistress, while the other was left +to follow with the horses, &c., and did not arrive for three days. On +entering the house, the dog had a very sullen appearance, took no notice +of any one, but searched everywhere till he found his companion; then +flew at his throat, and would have killed him but for timely succour! +Could any human being have indulged in a more rankling jealousy? + + E. A. K. + + +A DOG THAT SCORNED TO BE JEALOUS. + + [_Jan. 5, 1895._] + +The following history of canine sympathy may interest your readers. I +was once the happy owner of a large and beautiful bull-terrier, Rose, +and at the same time of a still dearer, though less beautiful, little +mongrel, Fan, both passionately attached to a member of my household, +commonly called their best friend. A certain shawl belonging to this +adored friend was especially sacred in Fan's eyes. She never allowed any +one to touch it without remonstrance--Rose least of all--and when her +best friend was in bed, it was Fan's custom to ensconce herself in her +arms, and not to allow any dog, and only the most favoured of human +beings, to approach without violent growlings, if not worse. Fan was a +tiny grandmother who had long ruled the household; Rose, an +inexperienced newcomer. One day, in a fit of youthful folly, Rose jumped +over a gate and spiked herself badly, and was consigned for ten days to +the care of the veterinary surgeon. On her return, she was cordially +welcomed by Fan and myself; but when she rushed upstairs to the room of +her best friend (then confined to her bed), my mind forboded mischief. +We followed, and I opened the door. With one bound Rose flew into her +best friend's arms, taking Fan's very own place, and was lost in a +rapture of licking and being caressed. Fan flew after her, but to my +amazement, instead of the fury I expected, it was to join with heart and +tongue in the licking and caressing. She licked Rose as if she had been +a long-lost puppy, instead of an intruder; and then, of her own accord, +turned away, leaving Rose in possession, and took up a distant place on +the foot of the bed, appealing to me with an almost human expression of +mingled feelings--the heroic self-abnegation of new-born sympathy +struggling with natural jealousy. The better feelings triumphed (not, of +course, unsupported by human recognition and applause), till both dogs +fell asleep in their strangely reversed positions. After this, there was +a slight temporary failure in Fan's perhaps overstrained self-conquest; +but on the next day but one she actually, for the first (and last) time +in her life, made Rose welcome to a place beside her on the sacred +shawl; where again they slept side by side like sisters. This, however, +was the last gleam of the special sympathy called forth by Rose's +troubles. From that day Fan decidedly and finally resumed her jealous +occupation and guardianship of all sacred places and things, and +maintained it energetically to her life's end. + + C. E. S. + + + + +_DOGS AND THE ARTS._ + + + + +MUSIC AND DOGS. + + [_Oct. 24, 1891._] + +Dogs, as well as horses, can recognise tunes. Many years ago a friend, +during a short absence from our station on the Kurrumfooler, lent my +sister a pet dog. Cissie was constantly in the room while playing and +singing went on, without taking any notice; but whenever the temporary +mistress began singing one favourite song of the absent mistress's, the +dog would jump on a chair by her side with evident pleasure. + + O. H. G. + + + [_Oct. 24, 1891._] + +I have read with much interest your correspondent's letter on the +capability of animals to distinguish tunes. I had a small dog who, when +first I got him, would have howled incessantly during singing. This, +however, he was not allowed to do, except to one tune, which he soon +knew and always joined in, not attempting to "sing" other songs. We +tried every sort of experiment to see if he would recognise his own +tune, which he invariably did, and would whine if the air was hummed +quite quietly. + + C. F. HARRISON. + + + [_Oct. 24, 1891._] + +Anent "Orpheus at the Zoo," the following facts may interest you. Of two +dogs of mine, one showed a great fondness for music. She (though usually +my shadow) would always leave me to go to a room where a piano was being +played, and the more she liked the music, the closer she crept to the +player, even if a stranger to her. If, however, one began to play scales +or exercises, she would get up, walk to the door, sit down, and, after +waiting a bit, go away out of sight, but not out of hearing, for she +soon appeared again on the resumption of music to her taste. On the +other hand, mere "strumming" very quickly obliged her to go right away +out of hearing. I confess that I have many times plagued the poor dog +by thus sending her backwards and forwards. Her looks were often very +comical. The other dog evidently hated music--would try to push a player +from the piano, go out of hearing, and show other unmistakable signs of +dislike. A band would draw one dog out to listen, while the other rushed +away to hide. In one house the dog first mentioned had, for some reason +or other, a particular objection to the room where the piano was, and +never willingly stayed there. Music would bring her in, but only to sigh +and moan, evidently in great pity for herself at being obliged to listen +under such (to her) trying conditions. From these and other observations +I am convinced that there is the musical dog as well as the unmusical, +just as with human beings. + + D. + + +RECOGNITION OF LIKENESSES BY DOGS. + + [_May 5, 1894._] + +In the _Spectator_ of April 21st there is an article on Apes, in which +the following occurs:--"Monkeys, we believe, alone among animals can +recognise the meaning of a picture." It may interest some of your +readers to hear that certain other animals can also do this, two +instances having come under my own observation. A cat belonging to a +little girl I know was on the child's bed one morning, and made a spring +at a picture of a thrush, about life-size, which was hanging near. The +other case is that of a dog--a female Irish terrier--who is in the habit +of running with her mistress's pony carriage. When she sees the pony +being harnessed, she often shows her delight by jumping up at its head +and barking. In a certain shop to which she sometimes goes with her +mistress there is a picture of a horse hanging. The dog invariably +behaves in exactly the same manner to this, jumping up and barking at +it, thus showing unmistakably that she recognises its meaning. + + JULIA ANDREWS. + + + _May 19, 1894._ + +The following instance bears on the subject discussed in the _Spectator_ +of May 5th. We had for a newcomer to our circle a little terrier dog. I +was informed it had been seen in the library facing a large-sized +portrait of myself, and barking furiously. I was somewhat sceptical +until a day or two later I saw it repeat the performance. I have +wondered whether it was because the dog thought it a good or bad +representation of the original, and so was complimenting or otherwise +the artist. + + FRANK WRIGHT. + + + [_May 19, 1894._] + +Apropos of the recognition of pictures by dogs (_Spectator_, May 5th), I +think you may be interested in the two following facts which came under +my notice a few years ago. A sagacious but quite uneducated old terrier +came with his master to call for me, and coiled himself on the hearthrug +while we talked. Turning himself round in the intervals of slumber, his +eye caught an oil-painting just over his head (a life-size half-length +of a gentleman). He immediately sat up, showed his teeth, and +growled--not once, but continually--as both angry and mortified that +neither eyes nor nose had given him notice of the arrival of a stranger! +The next instance was similar, except that the chief actor was a young, +intelligent collie, who, on the sudden discovery of a man looking at him +from the wall, barked long and furiously. In both instances, after their +excitement had subsided, I led the dogs to look at another picture +similar in size, and also of a gentleman, but neither of them would take +the smallest notice of it. I need only add that the picture which the +dogs appreciated was painted by Sir Henry Raeburn--the other was not. +Might not a few sagacious canine members be a useful addition to the +Royal Academy Hanging Committee? + + B. THOMSON. + + + [_May 26, 1894._] + +Many years ago I had a similar experience to Mr. Frank Wright. A +likeness of myself, head and shoulders, drawn in chalk from a +photograph, and enlarged to nearly life size, hung on the dining-room +wall of a house I then occupied. One evening my wife silently called my +attention to a young English terrier, who had not been very long with +us, looking up at it very steadfastly. He regarded it for about a minute +in silence, and at last broke out into a loud bark, which I supposed to +mean that in his opinion the wall was not my proper place, and that only +an evil genius could have set anything like me in such a position. + + G. + + + [_June 2, 1894._] + +You were so good as to insert my little account of the politeness of a +parrot in the _Spectator_, will you now allow me also to bear witness to +the recognition of a likeness by a dog? Some time ago I was painting two +portraits in the country, and one day by chance I placed the picture of +my hostess on the ground. Immediately her old spaniel came and gazed +intently at the face for several seconds. Then he smelt at the canvas, +and, unsatisfied, walked round and investigated the back. Finally, +having discovered the deception, he turned away in manifest disgust, and +nothing that we could do or say, on that day or on any other, would +induce that dog to look at that picture again. We then tried him by +putting my portrait of his master also on the ground, but he simply gave +it a kind of casual contemptuous side-glance and took no further notice +of it. We attributed this not to any difference in the merits or +demerits of the two portraits, but simply to the fact that the dog felt +he had been deceived once, but was not to be so taken in again. + + LOUISA STARR CANZIANI. + + +RECOGNITION BY ANIMALS OF PICTURES. + + [_Sept. 7, 1889._] + +Thirty years ago I was staying at Langley, near Chippenham, with a lady +who was working a large screen, on which she depicted in "raised" work +(as it was then called) a life-sized cat on a cushion. The host, a +sportsman now dead, was much struck with the similarity to life of the +cat, so he fetched his dog (alas! like too many of the species), a +cat-hater. The animal made a dead set at the (wool) cat, and but for the +master's vigorous clutching him by the collar, the cushion would have +been torn into atoms. I related this tale lately in Oxford, and my +hearer told me that a friend in the Bevington Road had just painted a +bird on a fire-screen, and her cat flew at it. + +My own old dog, Scaramouch (a pet of the Duke of Albany's in his +undergraduate days), disliked being washed, and when I showed him a +large _Graphic_ picture of a child scrubbing a fox-terrier in a tub, he +turned his head away ruefully, and would not look at his brother in +adversity. + + J. M. HULBERT. + + + + +_DOG FRIENDSHIPS._ + + + + +DOG FRIENDS. + + [_Feb. 16, 1889._] + +The following story of friendship between two dogs may, I think, +interest some of your readers. Some time ago I used often to stay with a +friend in Wiltshire, whose park is separated from the house by a lake +which is about a hundred and fifty yards broad at the narrowest part. +Being extremely fond of animals, I soon became intimate with two +delightful dogs belonging to my hostess, a large collie, called Jasper, +and a rough Skye terrier, Sandie. The pair were devoted friends, if +possible always went out together, and, sad to relate, even poached +together. One afternoon I called them, as usual, to go for a walk, and +making my way to the lake, I determined to row across and wander about +in the deer-park. Without thinking of my two companions, I got into the +boat and pushed off. Jasper at once jumped into the water and gaily +followed the boat; half way across he and I were both startled by +despairing howls, and stopping to look back, we saw poor little Sandie +running up and down the bank, and bitterly bewailing the cruelty of his +two so-called friends in leaving him behind. Hardening my heart, I sat +still in silence, and simply watched. Jasper was clearly distressed; he +swam round the boat, and looking up into my face, said unmistakably with +his wise brown eyes, "Why don't you go to the rescue?" Seeing, however, +that I showed no signs of intelligence, he made up his mind to settle +the difficulty himself, so turned and swam back to forlorn little +Sandie; there was a moment's pause, I suppose for explanations, and +then, to my surprise and amusement, Jasper stood still, half out and +half in the water, and Sandie scrambled on to his back, his front paws +resting on Jasper's neck, who swam across the lake and landed him safely +in the deer-park! I need not describe the evident pride of the one, or +the gratitude of the other. + + ROY. + + +FRIENDSHIPS OF DOGS WITH OTHER ANIMALS. + + +A LESSON. + + [_Feb. 23, 1889._] + +Your correspondent "Roy's" very interesting account of "A Canine +Friendship" tempts me to send you the following about two Dandy Dinmonts +in this neighbourhood. + +Friends of mine in Dumfriesshire had in their house two Dandie Dinmont +dogs who were inseparable friends and constant companions in all that +was going on. One day one of these dogs disappeared unaccountably, and +nothing was seen of it for a week. His owners were very vexed, thinking +he must have got within the range of some keeper's gun or met with some +other accident. + +But the absentee's home-keeping companion was greatly distressed; he +moped about, and would not touch any food for several days; till, +unexpectedly on my friend's part, the truant suddenly reappeared and +showed himself in the house. The dog who had remained at home, when he +saw the arrival of his former friend, looked steadily at him for a few +seconds, and then, without further parley, went at him and gave the +truant a thoroughly sound thrashing. I always explain this to myself by +supposing that the home-keeping dog decided that the truant had caused +him for several days needless anxiety and abstinence from food, and that +the truant must learn by painful experience that such behaviour could +not be lightly condoned by his inseparable companion. + + J. G. + + +CONSCIOUS AUTOMATA. + + [_July 31, 1875._] + +I have lately heard a story that I hope you may think worthy of a place +among your illustrations of the thoughtful intelligence of "Conscious +Automata." Many years ago, a family having a house in Grosvenor Square, +and a place in the country (I think in Warwickshire), owned a terrier, +who, in the country, made great friends with a large Newfoundland. When +they came to town they brought the terrier, and he resided in a mews +where he was much annoyed by a cur who lived next door, and attacked him +whenever he came out. One day the terrier disappeared, but after a +little time returned, bringing with him his big friend, who gave the +vulgar bully a satisfactory thrashing--not attempting to kill him. This +has been told me by an old servant, who was then a young man, living in +service in London, close to the owners of the dogs. He answers for the +facts of the story as he heard them at the time. + + F. C. + + +DOG AND PIGEON. + + [_Sept. 22, 1888._] + +The _Spectator_ does not disdain anecdotes of dogs and their doings, and +I think the following history, to which I can bear personal testimony, +may be found not uninteresting to your readers. At this delightful house +in Perthshire, where I am on a visit, there is a well-bred pointer, +named Fop, who, when not engaged in his professional pursuits on the +moor, lives chiefly in a kennel placed in a loose-box adjoining the +other stables attached to the house. Nearly a year ago there were a pair +of pigeons who lived in and about the stable yard. One of the birds +died, and its bereaved mate at once attached itself for society and +protection to the dog, and has been its constant companion ever since. +On the days when the sportsmen are not seeking grouse the dog is in his +kennel, and the pigeon is always his close attendant. She roosts on a +rack over the manger of the stable, and in the day-time is either +strutting about preening her feathers, taking her meals from the dog's +biscuit and water tin, or quite as often sitting in the kennel by his +side, nestling close to him. Fop, who is an amiable and rather +sentimental being, takes no apparent notice of his companion, except +that we observe him, in jumping into or out of his kennel while the +pigeon is there, to take obvious care not to crush or disturb her in any +way. The only other symptom Fop has shown of being jealous for the +pigeon's comfort and convenience is that when of late two chickens from +the stable-yard wandered into the apartment where the dog and pigeon +reside, he very promptly bit their heads off, as if in mute intimation +that one bird is company, and two (or rather three) are none. + +The story is rather one of a pigeon than a dog, for it is quite evident +that she is the devoted friend, and that he acquiesces in the +friendship. On the days when Fop is taken, to his infinite delight, on +to the moor, the pigeon is much concerned. She follows him as far as she +dare, taking a series of short flights over his head, until a little +wood is reached, through which the keeper and dogs have to take their +way. At this point her courage fails her, and she returns to the stable, +to wait hopefully for her comrade's return. + +This singular alliance is a great joy and interest to the keepers, +coachmen, and grooms of the establishment, and as the keeper gave me a +strong hint that the story ought to be told in print, adding that he had +seen much less noteworthy incidents of animal life promoted to such +honour, I have ventured to send it to you. I may add that the pigeon is +of the kind called "Jacobin," and is white, with a black wing. Is there +any precedent for such close intimacies between animals so widely +separated in kind and habit? + + ALFRED AINGER. + + +A HEN AND PUPPIES. + + [_Sept. 29, 1888._] + +In reply to Mr. Ainger's question as to there being "any precedent for +such close intimacies between animals so widely separated in kind and +habit" as the dog and pigeon mentioned in his interesting letter, I can +mention two cases which have come under my notice this last summer at my +farm in Berkshire. In one case the friendship existed between a pullet +and a pig. The pullet never left the farmyard to join in the rambles of +the other fowls, but kept near the pig all day, occasionally roosting on +its friend's back when taking its afternoon nap. + +The other case was more remarkable. A hen, with strong motherly +instincts, but no family of her own, acted for several weeks as +foster-mother to eight spaniel puppies. The real mother, a very gentle +creature, soon acquiesced in the arrangement. The hen covered the +puppies with her wings just as though they had been chickens, and +remained with them day and night. When they began to walk she was still +their constant attendant; when they learned to lap and eat a little she +would "call" them and break up their food. As they grew older the poor +foster-mother had her patience sorely tried. They barked and capered +around her, leading her altogether a sad life. After the puppies +deserted her she was often seen sitting close to their mother, the pair +apparently quite understanding each other. My children were naturally +delighted to watch these strange sights, and the hen, though not at +other times very tame, maintained perfect equanimity while they played +with the puppies around her. + + F. C. MAXWELL. + + +A DOG AND A RABBIT. + + [_Sept. 29, 1888._] + +Mr. Ainger, in giving his interesting incident of strange friendships +between animals, asks if there are any precedents for such incongruous +intimacy as he saw between a dog and a pigeon. To most close observers +of animals, such curious cases, though always noteworthy, are well +known; naturalists like Buckland and many others have frequently +recorded them. + +With the view of adding to the lore on this matter, permit me to cite +the following. Two Scotch terriers are lying before the fire. Prince is +an amiable sort of dog; Jack is rather surly; both good vermin-killers +and fond of hunting. I bring in a common buck rabbit, and place it +beside the dogs, with the intimation they were not to touch it. Trust, +and then alliance, quickly grew between it and Prince, whilst Jack shows +unmistakable hatred. In a few days the two friends, with their paws +absurdly clasping each other's necks, sleep happily on the rug; they +play together, they chase each other up and down the stairs and all over +the house at full speed, and when tired come back to the rug. Jack +refusing all this sort of thing, makes the rabbit look at him with a +sort of awe. Does Bunny make no mess in the house? None whatever; he +goes into the garden as the dogs do, and like them, scratches at the +door when he wants to return. All this he does without any instruction +from us. After a while, being very fond of him, we put on the floor a +pretty pink-eyed doe as a present. He stares, sniffs her all over, kills +her on the spot, and goes for a romp with his dear Prince. Jack always +sleeps under my bed from choice, and just before I put out the light as +I lie, stands up against the bed for his last pat and "good-night." +Bunny has observed all this, and quietly creeps into the room, which he +refuses to leave; then likewise always asks for his "good-night," and +sleeps somewhere near his great "ideal." + +Another instance, published in "Loch Creran" by my friend Mr. Anderson +Smith. I punished my cat for killing a chicken. The next day he is seen +to carry a live chicken in his mouth and lay it down to the hen he had +previously robbed. He and the chicken afterwards were frequently +observed leaving the orchard together, and travelling through the +courtyard and back passages, find their way to the kitchen fireplace, +where they would sleep in good fellowship. This chicken, I discovered, +had been stolen nearly two miles away. It is important to remark that +the cat, though a cruel bird-killer, never touched another chicken. Was +the idea of compensation in the cat's mind? If not that, all the +circumstances are singularly coincident. And why did the chicken prefer +the cat's companionship to that of its fellows? + + E. W. PHIBBS. + + +ANOTHER PIGEON STORY. + + [_Oct. 6, 1888._] + +Mr. Ainger's letter in the _Spectator_ of September 22nd reminds me of +an almost identical friendship that existed some years ago at Grove +House, Knutsford. A long-haired mastiff was kept chained as a watch-dog, +and when a white fantail pigeon's mate died, it attached itself to the +mastiff, and was continually with it in the kennel. When the dog had its +breakfast of porridge and milk, the pigeon would eat out of the bowl at +the same time; and when the dog had finished, it would lie flat on its +side while the pigeon perched on its head and pecked off the grains of +oatmeal that stuck to the long hair round its mouth. The only danger to +the pigeon seemed to be that when the dog rushed out of the kennel +suddenly to bark, it seemed to forget the pigeon, and we used to fear +that the heavy chain might hurt it; but it never was hurt. This +friendship lasted many years, till one of the two, I forget which, died. + + ISABEL JAMISON. + + +DOG AND KITTENS. + + [_July 1, 1893._] + +The following story may, perhaps, interest some of your readers:--Willie +is a small, rough-haired terrier, a truculent and aggressive character, +the terror of tramps, in a skirmish with one of whom he has lost an +eye. He rules the kitchen with a rod of iron, the inmate there admiring +and fearing him. Next to tramps, Willie hates cats; he has been flogged +again and again for chasing the neighbour's "Tom"; nothing can stop him +rushing at the alien cat, however. But for his own domestic "Tabby" he +has tolerance and a certain amount of affection; if another dog were to +attack her, dire would be the warfare. A while ago, this cat had three +kittens; two were taken by the maid and placed in a bucket of water, and +left to their fate. Before that fate had come Willie perceived them; he +snatched them from the bucket one by one, and carried them to his +kennel. The maid attempted to get them away, but Willie flew at her with +fury, and then returned to lick first one and then the other, to shove +them up together, and lie down near them, and in every way to give the +poor half-dead things a chance. This went on for some time; but when at +last there was no sign of breath, and he saw that they were hopelessly +dead, he marched out of the kennel, shook himself, and indicated to the +maid that she might now proceed to bury them, that they were past +intelligent treatment. He treats the remaining and living kitten with +the indifference of the scientific for the normal. + + L. H. + + +A CANINE NURSE. + + [_May 18, 1895._] + +Being a frequent reader of anecdotes of the sagacity of animals in your +paper, I think you may consider the following trait of character in a +dog worthy of notice. Jack, a rough-haired fox-terrier of quiet +disposition, but a good ratter, and an inveterate enemy to strange or +neighbouring cats, of whom, to my sorrow, he has slain at least one, +became without effort the attached friend of a minute kitten introduced +into the house last November. This friendship has been continued without +intermission, and is reciprocated by the now full-grown cat. She, +unfortunately, got caught in a rabbit-trap not long ago, but escaped +with no further injury than a lacerated paw, which for some time caused +her much pain and annoyance. Every morning Jack was to be seen tenderly +licking the paw of the interesting invalid, to which kind nursing no +doubt her rapid recovery may be attributed; and though she is now more +than convalescent and able to enjoy her usual game of play, he still +greets her each morning with a gentle inquiring lick on the injured paw, +just to see if it is all right, before proceeding to roll her over in +their accustomed gambols. This seems to me a marked instance of +individual affection overcoming race-antipathy. + + BLANCHE ROCHFORT. + + +A CURIOUS FRIENDSHIP. + + [_Feb. 6, 1875._] + +I have two dogs, two cats, and a kitten. Many years of experience have +shown me, in the teeth of all proverbs, that cats and dogs, members of +the same household, live together quite as amicably as human beings. + +Only, like human beings, they have their dislikes and preferences for +each other. At the present time, my dog Snow is on terms of hearty +friendship with my grey cat Kitty, but of polite indifference with my +black cat Toppy. + +Toppy, for some years back, has been subject to fits, owing, it is +considered, to the lodgment of some small shot near her spine, whilst +out trespassing (or poaching). + +Yesterday Snow rushed into the kitchen with face so anxious and piteous +that my servants both exclaimed that something must have happened; gave +signs, as he can do, that somebody was to go with him, and was followed +into the drawing-room, where Toppy, left alone, had fallen under the +grate in a fit, and was writhing amid the ashes and embers. She was +rescued, and beyond a little singeing, does not seem much the worse. + +To reach the kitchen, Snow must have pushed open a red-baize door, which +he has never been known to open before, and before which he will stay +barking for ten minutes at a time to be let through. + +If any biped, supposing himself to be endowed with reason, humanity, and +articulate speech, tells me that Snow is a conscious automaton, can I +give him any other answer than, "You're another"? + + J. M. L. + + +AN ACT OF CANINE FRIENDSHIP. + + [_Nov. 6, 1880._] + +I have read from time to time in the pages of the _Spectator_ instances +of canine sagacity furnished by your correspondents, which have, no +doubt, interested many others besides myself. The following incident +occurred last Saturday, in my walk from the beach, which, perhaps, may +amuse your readers, as it did me. + +My curiosity was excited by seeing a young retriever on his hind legs +licking very ardently the face of a nice-looking donkey, who was +tethered on the bank. After licking his face all over for a long time, +he began to frisk around him, evidently anxious to have a trot together; +but, finding that his friend was tied by a rope, he deliberately began +to gnaw it, and in a very short time succeeded in setting him free! The +owner of the donkey, who happened to be at work close by, then +interfered, and put a stop to their little game, or otherwise Master +Neddy would, no doubt, have been seduced to join in a scamper. From the +warmth of the dog's salutes, I imagine that he and the donkey were old +friends. + + S. RICHARDS. + + +DOG AND CANARY. + + [_Nov. 20, 1880._] + +I was much interested in the account of the friendship that existed +between the young retriever and the donkey whom he released by gnawing +the rope. The little incident I send of another retriever may also +interest your readers. A friend of mine had a pet canary, while her +brother was the owner of a retriever that was also much petted. One day +the canary escaped from the house, and was seen flying about the grounds +for a few days, and when it perched was generally on high elm-trees. At +last it vanished from view, and this dear little pet was mourned for as +lost or dead. But after the interval of another day or so, the +retriever came in with the canary in his mouth, carrying it most +delicately, and went up to the owner of the bird, delivering it into her +hands without even the feathers being injured. Surely nothing could +illustrate more beautifully faithful love and gentleness in a dog than +this. + + E. TILL. + + +CAT-AND-DOG LOVE. + + [_April 13, 1878._] + +Would you allow me, as a cat fancier of nearly thirty years' standing, +to corroborate, by a personal experience, Mr. Balfour's testimony in +your last issue to the possibility of a genuine attachment between a cat +and a dog? A few weeks ago, I called upon a bachelor friend who has two +pets, a handsome black female cat, of the name of Kate, and a bright +little terrier, responding to the call of David. My friend assured me +that they lived on the most affectionate terms. They were certainly not +demonstrative, but they were importations from Scotland, and refrained +from "spooning" before folk. The character of the attachment was soon +tested. Another acquaintance entered the room, accompanied by a terrier +of about the same size as David, although not of the same variety. This +dog made at once for the cat, then resting in front of the fire. She +backed against the wall, and prepared for a fight, in which, if I may +judge from her size, she would have been victorious. But she was saved +the trouble of using her claws. Before she could utter a feline +equivalent for "Jack Robinson," before the door could be closed, David +rushed at the intruder, and literally ran him out of the room and down +two flights of stairs, with a rapidity worthy of a member of the Irish +Constabulary. By the time he returned, his Dulcinea had arranged herself +for another nap, but she opened one eye as her companion took his place +by his side, and-- + + "Betwixt her darkness and his brightness, + There passed a mutual glance of great politeness." + +I witnessed a similar scene some years ago in a country inn in the north +of Scotland. On that occasion, one dog defended against another a +favourite cat and a favourite hen. + +Speaking of cats, can any one say what has become of the late Pope's +black cat, Morello? Did he die before his master, or has some one +adopted him? Châteaubriand, as everybody knows, adopted Micetto, the +grey favourite of Leo XII. + + WILLIAM WALLACE. + + + + +_CURIOUS HABITS OF DOGS._ + + + + +THE DOG THAT BURIED THE FROGS. + + [_Feb. 2, 1895._] + +Knowing your love of animals, and the interest so often shown in your +columns in their ways, I venture to send you the following story I have +lately heard from an eye-witness, and to ask whether you or any of your +readers can throw any light upon the dog's probable object. The dog in +question was a Scotch terrier. He was one day observed to appear from a +corner of the garden carrying in his mouth, very gently and tenderly, a +live frog. He proceeded to lay the frog down upon a flower-bed, and at +once began to dig a hole in the earth, keeping one eye upon the frog to +see that it did not escape. If it went more than a few feet from him, he +fetched it back, and then continued his work. Having dug the hole a +certain depth, he then laid the frog, still alive, at the bottom of it, +and promptly scratched the loose earth back into the hole, and friend +froggy was buried alive! The dog then went off to the corner of the +garden, and returned with another frog, which he treated in the same +way. This occurred on more than one occasion; in fact, as often as he +could find frogs he occupied himself in burying them alive. Now dogs +generally have some reason for what they do. What can have been a dog's +reason for burying frogs alive? It does not appear that he ever dug them +up again to provide himself with a meal. If, sir, you or any of your +readers can throw any light on this curious, and for the frogs most +uncomfortable, behaviour of my friend's Scotch terrier, I should be very +much obliged. + + R. ACLAND-TROYTE. + + +AN EXPLANATION. + + [_Feb. 9, 1895._] + +I think I can explain the puzzle of the Scotch terrier and his interment +of the frogs, for the satisfaction of your correspondent. A friend of +mine had once a retriever who was stung by a bee, and ever afterwards, +when the dog found a bee near the ground, she stamped on it, and then +scraped earth over it and buried it effectually--presumably to put an +end to the danger of further stings. In like manner, another dog having +bitten a toad, showed every sign of having found the mouthful to the +last degree unpleasant. Probably Mr. Acland-Troyte's dog had, in the +same way, bitten a toad, and conceived henceforth that he rendered +public service by putting every toad-like creature he saw carefully and +gingerly "out of harm's way," underground. + +A great number of the buryings and other odd tricks of dogs must, +however, I am sure, be considered as Atavism, and traced to the +instincts bequeathed by their remote progenitors when yet "wild in the +woods the noble _beastie_ ran." Such, I believe, is generally admitted +to be the explanation of the universal habit of every dog before lying +down to turn round two or three times and scratch its intending +bed--even when that bed is of the softest woollen or silk--apparently to +ascertain that no snakes or thorns lurk in its sleeping-place. + +A dog which I once possessed exhibited such reversion to ancestral +habits in a noteworthy way. She was a beautiful white Pomeranian; and +when a litter of puppies was impending, on one occasion she scratched an +enormous hole in our back-garden in South Kensington, where her leisure +hours were passed--a hole like the burrow of a fox. It was not in the +least of the character of the ordinary circular punch-bowl so often +scooped out by idle or impatient dogs, but a long, deep channel running +at a sharp angle a considerable way underground. Obviously, it was +Yama's conviction that it was her maternal duty to provide shelter for +her expected offspring, precisely as a fox or rabbit must feel it, and +as we may suppose her own ancestresses did on the shores of the Baltic +some thousand generations ago. When the puppies were born, Yama and the +survivor were established by me in a most comfortable kennel in the same +garden, with a day nursery and a night nursery (covered and open) for +the comfort and safety of the puppy. But one fine morning, when the +little creature had begun to crawl over the inclosure of its small +domain, I happened to go into the garden while Yama was absent in the +house, and discovered that my little friend was missing. The puppy had +disappeared altogether; and at the same time I noticed that the +flower-bed in which Yama had made her excavation had been nicely +smoothed over by the gardener, who was putting the place in order. A +suspicion instantly seized me, and I exclaimed, "You have buried my +puppy!" I ran to the spot where the hole had been made, and, having +swept aside the gardener's spadeful of soil, found the deeper part of +the hole, running slanting underground, still open. I knelt down and +thrust in my arm to its fullest stretch, and then, at the very end of +the hole, my fingers encountered a little soft, warm, fluffy ball. The +puppy came out quite happy and uninjured, freshly awakened from sleep, +having shown that his instinct recognised the suitability of holes in +the ground for the accommodation of puppies; just as the hereditary +instinct of his mother had led her to prepare one for him, even in a +South Kensington garden! + + FRANCES POWER COBBE. + + +A DOG AND HIS DINNER. + + [_Feb. 16, 1895._] + +I knew a dog in Ireland--a large retriever--who had been taught always +to bring his own tin dish in his mouth, to be filled at the late dinner. +For some reason his master wished to make a change, and to feed him +twice a day instead of once, to which he had always been accustomed. The +dog resented this, and when told to bring his dish, refused, and it +could nowhere be found; on which his master spoke angrily to him, and +ordered him to bring the dish at once. With drooping tail and sheepish +expression he went down the length of the garden, and began scratching +up the soil where he had buried the bowl deep down, to avoid having to +bring it at an hour of which he did not approve. + + A LOVER OF DOGS. + + +DOGS AND LOOKING-GLASSES. + + [_June 23, 1894._] + +You are fond of odd actions of dogs, so perhaps the following may be +acceptable. I have two fox-terriers--young dogs--Grip and Vic. In the +morning, at early tea in our bedroom, Vic gets angry with Grip's +reflection in the long glass of the wardrobe, barks at him furiously as +he moves about, and scratches at the glass, quite regardless of her own +face between her and his reflection. And when he assaults her from +behind, to make her play with his real self, she turns round and snaps +at him viciously, and then returns to her attack on his reflection. He +jumps upon the window-sill, and fancies he sees a squirrel in the +garden, and dashes past her to the door; she follows the motion of the +reflection till she is past the edge of the glass, and loses it, when +she dashes back to the glass again. This has occurred several days in +the last week, and seems to me almost absurd. The dogs are just about a +year old, and so beyond puppy folly, though very lively and playful +still. + + A. M. B. + + + + +_THE SENSE OF HUMOUR AND CUNNING IN DOGS._ + + + + +DOGS' SENSE OF HUMOUR. + +THE POWER OF IMITATION IN DOGS. + + [_Oct. 22, 1882._] + +The following anecdote may interest those of your readers who are +accustomed to observe the characteristic actions of dogs. I can vouch +for its accuracy, as I was an amused eye-witness, and several members of +my family were also present, and have often told the story. + +A friend of ours and his wife were spending a musical evening with us, +and an old, black, English terrier, who belonged to the house, had been +in the drawing-room, which was upstairs. The dog had been kindly noticed +by our friend, who was partially lame from paralysis. On leaving the +drawing-room the dog followed him to the top of the staircase (we, with +his wife, were waiting below in the hall), and with cocked tail and +ears stood gravely watching his slow, limping descent. When the invalid +was nearly at the foot of the stairs the dog began to follow, limping on +three legs (he was quite sound), in humorous imitation of our poor, +afflicted friend, and this assumed lameness was gravely kept up till he +arrived on the mat. It was impossible to repress a smile, though our +politeness was at stake, and the unconsciousness of our friend added to +the difficulty. + + A. R. + + +SENSE OF HUMOUR IN DOGS. + + [_July 28, 1888._] + +A recent anecdote from one of your correspondents about a dog and a hen +brought to my mind an incident, related to me by an eye-witness, of a +dog who had a constant feud with the fowls, which were prone to pilfer +from the basin containing his dinner. On one occasion he was lying in +front of his kennel, quietly watching a hen as she made stealthy and +tentative approaches to his basin, which at length she reached and +looked into, finding it perfectly empty. The dog wagged his tail. + + J. R. + + +A DOG'S SENSE OF HUMOUR. + + [_March 9, 1895._] + +Does the following dog-story show a sense of humour? A retriever was in +the habit of leaving his bed in the kitchen when he heard his master +descending the stairs in the morning. On one occasion a new kitchen-maid +turned him out of his bed at a much earlier hour than usual. He looked +angrily at her, but walked out quietly. Time passed, and he was nowhere +to be found. At last, in going to her bedroom, the kitchen-maid found +him coiled up in her own bed. + + B. B. + + +CUNNING DOGS. + +A DOG AND A WHIP. + + [_May 18, 1889._] + +You have lately published several dog stories. Allow me to send you +another for publication should you think it worthy. It was told me +to-day by a lady whom I cross-examined to get full details:--"Some +twenty years back we had a poodle--white, with one black ear. After the +manner of his race, he was never quite happy unless he carried something +in his mouth. He was intelligent and teachable to the last degree. The +great defect in his character was the impossibility of distinguishing +_meum_ from _tuum_. Anything he could get hold of he seemed to think, +according to his dogged ethics, to be fairly his own. On one occasion he +entered the room of one of the maidservants and stole her loaf of bread, +carefully shutting the door after him with his feet--the latter part +being a feat I had taught him. The woman--Irish--was scared, and thought +that the dog was the devil incarnate. The necessity of discipline on +the one hand, and of occupation on the other, induced me one day to +enter a saddler's shop, situated in a straight street about half a mile +from our house, and buy a whip. Shortly after my return home he +committed some act of petty larceny, so I gave him a beating with the +whip he had carried home. Going for a walk next day the dog, as usual, +accompanied me, and was entrusted with the whip to carry. Directly we +got outside the door he started off at his best pace straight down the +street, paying no attention whatever, to my repeated calls. He entered +the saddler's shop and deposited the whip on the floor. When I arrived +the saddler showed me the whip lying exactly where the dog had deposited +it." + + HENRY H. MAXWELL. + + +A RUSÉ DOG. + + [_March 21, 1885._] + +A story which came to my knowledge a few months ago may be of interest +in connection with the _Spectator's_ series of anecdotes illustrating +the intelligence of animals. + +One summer afternoon a group of children were playing at the end of a +pier which projects into Lake Ontario, near Kingston, New York, U.S.A. +The proverbial careless child of the party made the proverbial backward +step off from the pier into the water. None of his companions could save +him, and their cries had brought no one from the shore, when, just as he +was sinking for the third time, a superb Newfoundland dog rushed down +the pier into the water and pulled the boy out. Those of the children +who did not accompany the boy home took the dog to a confectioner's on +the shore, and fed him with as great a variety of cakes and other sweets +as he would eat. So far the story is, of course, only typical of scores +of well-known cases. The individuality of this case is left for the +sequel. + +The next afternoon the same group of children were playing at the same +place, when the canine hero of the day before came trotting down to them +with the most friendly wags and nods. There being no occasion this time +for supplying him with delicacies, the children only stroked and patted +him. The dog, however, had not come out of pure sociability. A child in +the water and cakes and candy stood to him in the close and obvious +relation of cause and effect, and if this relation was not clear to the +children he resolved to impress it upon them. Watching his chance, he +crept up behind the child who was standing nearest to the edge of the +pier, gave a sudden push, which sent him into the water, then sprang in +after him, and gravely brought him to shore. + +To those of us who have had a high respect for the disinterestedness of +dogs, this story may give a melancholy proof that the development of the +intelligence, at the expense of the moral nature, is by no means +exclusively human. + + CLARA FRENCH. + + +DOG DECEIVERS. + + [_Feb. 9, 1895._] + +Your fondness for dogs induces me to send you the following anecdote, +which shows their power of acting a part for purposes of their own. Some +years ago a fox-terrier of mine was condemned by a veterinary surgeon to +consume a certain amount of flour of sulphur every day. He was at all +times a fanciful and dainty feeder, and every conceivable ingenuity on +my part was exhausted in the vain endeavour to disguise the daily +portion and to give it a more tempting appearance. Each new device was +invariably detected. However hungry he might be he turned from the +proffered morsel in disgust, and it ended almost invariably in my having +to put it down his throat. One morning, after keeping him for many hours +without food, and having neatly wrapped the powder in a most appetising +piece of raw meat, I offered it him in the vain hope that hunger might +prevail over prejudice. But no. With averted head and downcast look he +steadily and determinedly declined to partake of it. I encouraged him in +vain. Deep dejection on his part; despair, but persistence, on mine. All +of a sudden his whole manner changed. He assumed a brisk and cheerful +demeanour, joyfully accepted the hitherto rejected offering, and running +merrily through the open door, disappeared swiftly a few yards off round +the corner of the building. Inside the room I ran as quickly to a +window, whence I could view his proceedings, and there watched him while +he deposited the hated morsel on the ground, dug a hole in the +flower-bed, and buried it. His jaunty, triumphant air as he returned I +shall never forget. + + F. E. WYNNE. + + + + +_USEFUL DOGS._ + + + + +GUARDIAN DOGS. + + [_July 15, 1892._] + +Having read for years your interesting letters and articles on animals +in the _Spectator_, I feel sure you will like to have a thoroughly +authentic account of a dog in this neighbourhood. I am allowed to give +the name of the owner, who is living at Lyme Regis, where I was staying +last week. The two incidents happened within a few weeks of each other. + +Mrs. and Miss Coode were alone in their house (except the servants); and +one night Miss Coode was awakened by hearing two knocks at her door and +a slight whine. It was between three and four o'clock in the morning. +She rose and opened the door to find the dog there, and at the same time +noticed and heard a stream of water running down the stairs. She went up +the staircase to its source, and aroused the servants to attend to it. +As soon as the dog saw that the matter was being remedied, he quietly +went back to the mat in the hall and went to sleep again. The dog is a +large one, a cross between a retriever and a greyhound--a very beautiful +creature, resembling a poacher's lurcher. + +The second incident occurred only last week, when Miss Coode was again +aroused. This time by a loud crash, as if a picture had fallen. Almost +immediately the dog bounded upstairs, threw himself against the door, +which happened to be ajar, burst into the room, panting and eyes +glistening,--this, at least, Miss Coode saw as soon as she struck a +light, for it was between twelve and one o'clock. She went out on to the +staircase and downstairs to look at the pictures in the drawing-room. +The dog would not follow. The cook, coming down from her room, called +him a coward not to go with his mistress, but Sheppard did not move. +Miss Coode found all safe below, and returned upstairs, and the dog went +with her to the top floor, where the ceiling of a small room had fallen +in. He then retired to his mat, having done his duty. He also showed his +sagacity in going to the daughter's room--the one most capable of seeing +to matters. Hoping, as a dog-lover, that this may interest all such, and +help to prove that dogs think and reason more than some human +beings--also to show that we often inferior beings have no right to +presuppose that the superior animals have no souls. + + K. CLARKE. + + +A TRUE WATCH-DOG. + + [_Aug. 5, 1893._] + +The "dog" letter in the _Spectator_ of July 15th is wonderfully like my +experience, some years ago, with my little red Blenheim, Frisk. She +always slept in a basket, close to the hall door. One night she dashed +up the stairs, loudly barking, ran first to my eldest sister's room, +then through a swing-door to another sister's room, barking outside each +door, then upstairs again to my room at the top of the house, where she +remained barking till I got up and opened it, when she ran in, still +barking, and waited till I was ready to go down with her. She scampered +on before me, I following close, and when we both reached the hall she +dashed still barking to the door, to show me whence her alarm had +arisen. It was the policeman turning the handle of the door from the +outside to see if it was properly closed! One night, a long time after +the first adventure, I was wakened by a quiet scratch at the door of my +room. No barking this time; but, tiresome as it was to be disturbed on a +cold night, I got up and opened the door, and was conscious in the +darkness that Frisk was standing there. "Come in, Frisk," said I. But no +movement; Frisk stood waiting. "Come in, Frisk," I repeated, somewhat +sharply. No movement, no bark! Then, being sure that something must be +wrong, I lighted a candle, and there stood Frisk outside the door, never +offering to come in. She trotted quietly down before me, not speaking a +word. When we were both through the swing-door, and at the head of the +stairs, I saw that the inner door to the hall was open, and also that +of the morning-room, from which shone a bright light. My heart went +pit-a-pat for a moment; then seeing Frisk run quietly down the stairs, I +followed her, when she calmly jumped into her basket again, and I, +venturing into the morning-room, found that my brother-in-law had left +the lamp burning by mistake--a proceeding which Frisk plainly knew was +wrong, and had therefore come upstairs to inform me, but had not thought +it necessary to disturb the rest of the household this time! She had +come straight up to my room without disturbing any one else, to tell me +of the irregularity of a light burning when every one was in bed, and +that being done, jumped into bed again, conscious of having performed +her duty. + + GEORGINA A. MARSH-CALDWELL. + + + [_Aug. 12, 1893._] + +I can give an instance as convincing as that of Miss Marsh-Caldwell of +the way in which a true watch-dog will measure the extent of his +duties. I lived for many years opposite a wood, in which the game at +first was preserved. I had a dog named Prin, who had begun by being a +gardener's dog, but having caught the distemper and been unskilfully +treated by his master he remained nearly blind, and was left on my hands +by the man when he quitted my service. The dog was a great coward, but +good-tempered and affectionate, and the partial loss of sight seemed to +have developed greatly the senses both of hearing and smell, so that he +was recognised as a capital watch-dog. He was promoted to the kitchen, +and would have been promoted to the drawing-room but for the +obstreperousness of his affection, which seemed to know no bounds if he +was admitted even into the hall. I slept at that time in a room over the +kitchen, fronting the road. One night I was awakened by Prin growling, +and, after a time, giving a snappish bark underneath me. I got out of +bed and throwing up the sash, listened at the window, where, after a +time, I heard slight noises, which convinced me that some one or more +persons were hiding in the shrubbery between the house and the road, +whom I supposed to be burglars. I called out, "Who's there?" without, of +course, eliciting any answer, and, after a time, I heard the click of +the further gate (there being two, one opposite my house, the other +opposite its semi-detached neighbour, and out of my sight), after which +all was quiet. But I had noticed that from the moment of my getting out +of bed Prin had not uttered a sound. The same thing happened seven or +eight times, and always in the same way, Prin growling or barking till +he heard me get out of bed, and then holding his tongue, as feeling that +he had fulfilled his duty in warning his master, and that all +responsibility now devolved upon me. The secret of the matter I +discovered to be that poachers, with no burglarious intentions towards +me, used the shrubbery as a hiding-place before getting over the +opposite paling into the wood. + +One other instance of Prin's sagacity I will also mention. I had a black +cat, with white breast, named Toffy, between whom and Prin there was +peace, though not affection. There was also another black cat, with +white breast, that prowled about, an outlaw cat, who made free with my +chickens when he could! It was a bitter winter, and the snow had lain +already for days on the ground. I was walking one Sunday morning in my +garden, Prin being out with me. He quitted me to go under a laurel-hedge +bounding a shrubbery, and presently began barking loudly. I went towards +him, and saw a white-breasted cat sitting stretched under the laurels, +with front paws doubled under him, which I took to be Toffy asleep. I +scolded Prin for disturbing Toffy, and he stopped barking, but remained +on the spot whilst I continued my walk. Presently--say two or three +minutes after--I heard him barking still more loudly than before, and so +persistently that I returned to the spot. Noticing that the cat had +never moved through all the noise, I crept up under the bushes, and +found that it was not Toffy asleep, but the outlaw cat, dead--evidently +of cold. Thus my poor purblind watch-dog had--(1) barked to draw my +attention to what appeared to him an unusual phenomenon; (2), held his +tongue in deference to my (supposed) superior wisdom, when I told him he +was making a mistake; (3), not being, however, satisfied in his mind, +remained to investigate till he was convinced he had not been mistaken; +(4), called my attention to the facts still more instantly till I was +satisfied of them for myself. Could _homo sapiens_ have done more? + + J. M. L. + + + [_Aug. 12, 1893._] + +I am reminded by the anecdote related in the _Spectator_ of July 15th, +"A Canine Guardian," of the sagacity of a favourite Scotch terrier which +was displayed some years ago. I was dressing one morning, and my +bedroom-door was ajar. Standing at my dressing-table, I was surprised to +see Fan come up to me, frisking about, and looking eagerly into my face, +whether from pleasure or not I could not tell. I spoke to and stroked +her, but she was in no way soothed, and she ran out of the room +evidently much excited. In she came again, more earnestly trying to tell +me what she wanted, rushing up to me and again to the door, plainly +begging me to follow her, which I did, into the next room, where +breakfast was laid. I at once saw what she had easily felt was out of +order--the kettle was boiling over, and the water pouring from the spout +had drenched the hearth. Hence her discomfort, and her effort to tell me +of the disaster. Having brought me on the scene, she seemed perfectly +content. + + C. A. T. + + + [_Aug. 12, 1893._] + +Not long ago I was passing a barn-yard in this place, and stood to look +over the gate at a pretty half-grown lamb standing alone outside the +barn. But the sight of me so enraged a fierce, shaggy grey dog tied up +to his kennel between the lamb and me, that he barked himself nearly +into fits, showing all his teeth, and straining so furiously at his +chain as to make me quite nervous lest it should give way. In the +meantime, I struck such terror into the heart of the lamb that it fled +across the yard to place itself under the protection of the dog, and +stood close by his side, whilst he barked and danced with fury. As I +drew a little nearer, the lamb backed right into the kennel, and when, +after I had made a circuit in order to watch the further movements of +this strange pair of friends from behind a tree, I saw their two faces +cautiously looking out together, cheek-by-jowl, whilst the dog's anger +was being reduced to subsiding splutters of resentment. He was not a +collie, but a very large sort of poodle. + + C. S. + + +COLLIES AT WORK. + + [_March 25, 1893._] + +At six o'clock this morning, I saw a mountain-shepherd stand at a gate +on the hill-top. Seven sheep were on the outside of the gate--six of the +shepherd's flock, the other a strayer. The man wanted his own sheep in; +so, before opening the gate, he quietly said: "'Rob,' catch the +strayer." In an instant "Rob" pinned the sheep, holding him, strong and +wild as he was, as though he were in a vice; and then, by another word, +"Gled" was told to bring the others in through the gate now opened for +them. Although "Gled" brought his six wild sheep right over "Rob" and +his strayer, the sheep was held securely till the gate was closed, and +the order given to "let it gang." + + WILLIAM FOTHERGILL. + + +A COLLIE AT WORK. + + [_Aug. 11, 1894._] + +We stood at the bottom of a deep valley with the hills rising abruptly +on either side, when Robert Scott said: "Yonder is the sheep I led away +from Llangynider, all those weary miles yesterday. I saw it as I came +over the hill-top down to the house this morning. If you wish, "Kate" +shall bring it down to my feet here for you to see it." "What?--bring +that single sheep! How will she know the one you want, and how can she +get it away from the flock by itself? I will not believe that possible +till I see it done, at all events." + +He spoke a low word or two to the collie by his side, and away went +"Kate" right up over rock and bracken, till we could see the flock far +away upon the height above give a very rapid turn, and in a few minutes +afterwards, down rushed a strong mountain wether with the wily "Kate" +working to the right and left about thirty yards behind it. "Come away, +back 'ahint me," cried Scott; and "Kate," at once leaving the sheep, +appeared positively to fly far out, and coming round behind us, stopped +the wether in his headlong course, bringing him to a stand literally at +the shepherd's feet. "Robert," I said, "when (as you intend) you sail +next month for New Zealand, you will not take 'Kate' with you, but leave +her here for seven sovereigns." "Nae, nae, sir," was the reply, "seventy +sovereigns would nae buy her." + + W. FOTHERGILL. + + + + +_MISCELLANEOUS._ + + + + +A SUNDAY DOG. + + [_Feb. 17, 1877._] + +A correspondent favoured your readers last week (see page 53) with an +interesting anecdote of a dog's intelligence in reference to the use of +money. Permit me to relate an instance of a dog's intelligence in +reference to the day of the week. Some three-and-twenty years ago, in +the infancy of the Canterbury Province, New Zealand, there lived in the +same neighbourhood as myself two young men, in the rough but independent +mode of life then prevalent in the colony, somewhat oblivious of old +institutions. These men possessed a dog each, affectionate companions of +their solitude. It was the custom of this primitive establishment to +utilise the Sabbath by a ramble, in quest of wild ducks and wild pigs, +about the swamps and creeks of the district. It was observed that long +before any preparations were made for starting, the dogs always seemed +to be more or less excited. This was remarkable enough, but not so much +as what followed. One of these men after a while left his friend, and +taking his dog with him, went to live with a clergyman about four miles +off. Here ducks and pigs had to be given up on Sundays for the +church-service. It was soon noticed that this dog used to vanish betimes +on Sundays, and did not turn up again until late. Upon inquiring, it was +found that the dog had visited its old abode, where on that day of the +week sport was not forbidden. The owner tried the plan of chaining up +the animal on Saturday evenings, but it soon became very cunning, and +would get away whenever it had the chance. On one occasion it was +temporarily fastened to a fence-rail about mid-day on a Saturday. By +repeated jerks it loosened the rail from the mortice-holes, and dragged +it away. Upon search being made, this resolute but unfortunate dog was +found drowned, still fast to the chain and rail, in a stream about two +miles away in the direction of its old haunts. The gentleman who owned +the other dog is in England now, and went over the details of the facts +herein stated with me quite recently. + + ALFRED DURELL. + + +A COW'S JEALOUSY OF A DOG. + + [_April 30, 1892._] + +As a subscriber to and constant reader of the _Spectator_, I have +derived much pleasure from the anecdotes of animal instinct, sagacity, +and emotion, which from time to time have appeared in your columns. +Perhaps you may like to publish the following instance of jealousy in a +cow; it is, at any rate, a story at first-hand, as I myself was an actor +in the affair. + +A few years ago, I had a quiet milch-cow, Rose, who certainly was fond +of Thomas, the man who milked her regularly, and she also showed an +aversion to dogs even greater than is usual in her species. One night, +for what reason I now forget, I had tied up a young collie dog in the +little cowshed where she was accustomed to be milked. The following +morning, I had just begun to dress, when I heard the puppy barking in +the cowshed. "Oh!" thought I, "I forgot to tell Thomas about the puppy, +and now the cow will get in first and gore it." The next minute I heard +a roar of unmistakable fear and anguish--a human roar. I dashed down to +the spot, and at the same moment arrived my son, pitchfork in hand. +There lay Thomas on his face in a dry gutter by the side of the road to +the cowhouse, and the cow butting angrily at him. We drove off the cow, +and poor Thomas scuffled across the road, slipped through a wire fence, +stood up and drew breath. "Why, Thomas," said I, "what's the matter with +Rose?" "Well, sir," said Thomas, "I heard the pup bark and untied him, +and I was just coming out of the cowhouse, with the pup in my arms, when +'Rose' came round the corner. As soon as she see'd the pup in my arms, +she rushed at me without more ado, knocked me down, and would have +killed me if you hadn't come up." Thomas had indeed had a narrow escape; +his trousers were ripped up from end to end, and red marks all along his +legs showed where Rose's horns had grazed along them. "Well," said I, +"you'd better not milk her this morning, since she's in such a fury." +"Oh! I'll milk her right enough, sir, by and by; just give her a little +time to settle down like. It's only jealousy of that 'ere pup, sir. She +couldn't abide seeing me a-fondling of it." "Well, as you like," said I; +"only take care, and mind what you're about." "All right, sir!" + +In about twenty minutes, Thomas called me down to see the milk. The cow +had stood quiet enough to be milked. But the milk was deeply tinged with +blood, and in half an hour a copious red precipitate had settled to the +bottom of the pail. Till then I had doubted the jealousy theory. After +that I believed. + + C. HUNTER BROWN. + + +AN AUSTRALIAN DOG-STORY. + + [_May 11, 1895._] + +Seeing the great interest which many of your readers take in the study +of canine character and intelligence, I think perhaps the following +incident is worth recording. Whilst walking with a lady friend along +Studley Park Road, Kew (a residential suburb of Melbourne), on a very +quiet afternoon some time ago, we were surprised by a large St. Bernard +dog, which came up to us and deliberately pawed my leg several times. +Our perplexity at his extraordinary behaviour was perhaps not unmixed +with a little misgiving, for he was an animal of formidable size and +strength; but as he gave evident signs of satisfaction at our noticing +him, and proceeded to trot on in front--at intervals looking round to +make sure we were following--we became interested. When we had followed +him about forty yards, he stopped before a door in a high garden wall, +and, looking round anxiously to see that we were noticing, reached up +his paw in the direction of the latch. On stretching forth my hand to +unfasten the door, his extreme pleasure was exhibited in a most +unmistakable manner; but when he saw me try in vain to open it, he +became quiet, and looked at me with an expression so manifestly anxious +that I could no more have left the poor animal thus than I could have +left a helpless little child in a similar position. With eager attention +and expectancy he listened while I knocked, and when at last some one +was heard coming down the garden path, he bounded about with every sign +of unlimited joy. + +Now here was one of the so-called "brutes," which, failing to get in at +a certain door, cast about for a way out of the difficulty, and seeing +us some distance down the road (we were the only persons in sight at the +time), he had come to us, attracted our attention, taken us to the door, +and told us he wanted it opened. We both agreed that the animal had all +through shown a play of emotion and intelligence comparable to that of +a human being; and, indeed, we felt so much akin to the noble creature +that we have both, since then, been very loath to class dogs as +"inferior animals." + + GEORGE EASTGATE. + + +TWO ANECDOTES OF DOGS. + + [_Feb. 2, 1895._] + +Having derived much pleasure from reading the frequent natural history +notes which from time to time appear in the _Spectator_, I venture to +send you two instances of what seems to me the working of the canine +mind under quite different circumstances. The first refers to an +incident which happened a great many years ago. It was this. One day, +when a lad, I was walking with my father accompanied by a strong, +smooth-haired retriever called Turk. We were joined by the bailiff of +the farm, and in the course of our walk Turk suddenly discovered the +presence of a rabbit concealed in what in Scotland is called a +"dry-stane dyke." After a little trouble in removing some stones, poor +bunny was caught and slaughtered, being handed to the bailiff, who put +it in his coat pocket. Shortly afterwards we separated, the bailiff +going to his home in one direction, and we to ours in an opposite one. +Before we reached home we noticed that Turk was no longer with us, at +which we were rather surprised, as he was a very faithful follower. Some +time after we got home, perhaps an hour, I chanced to see a strange +object on the public road which puzzled me as to what it was. It raised +a cloud of dust as it came along, which partly obscured the vision. What +was my surprise when I found it was Turk dragging a man's +shooting-jacket, which proved to be the bailiff's, with the rabbit still +in the pocket. We afterwards learnt that the dog, to the surprise of the +bailiff, quietly followed him home, and lay down near him. Presently the +man took off his coat, and laid it on a chair. Instantly Turk pounced +upon it, and dashed to the door with it in his mouth. He was pursued, +but in vain, and succeeded in dragging the coat from the one house to +the other, a distance of one mile and three-fourths. It was evident the +dog had a strong sense of the rights of property. He believed the rabbit +belonged to his master, so he set himself to recover what he thought +stolen goods. + +The other anecdote refers to quite a recent date, and the only interest +it has, is that it shows how perfectly a dog can exhibit facial +expression, and also read at a glance the slightest indications of +feeling in the human face. I had a well-broken Irish setter, which was +perfectly free of hare or rabbit as to chasing, but he was a sad rascal +for all that. I also had at the time a rough Scotch terrier, and the two +dogs were great chums. The moment they got the chance they were off +together on a rabbit-hunt. Like idiots, they would spend hours in vainly +trying to dig rabbits out of their burrows. One day as I was returning +home I met the pair in the avenue. They were the very picture of +happiness. At first they did not see me, and came joyously on at a trot. +The instant they observed me they came to a full stop, some forty yards +off. The setter gently wagged his tail, and looked at me with an +expression of anxious inquiry. Taking heart, he slowly advanced to +within about thirty yards, and then came the varying play of feature +which so interested me. He was in great doubt as to whether I had +guessed what tricks he had been up to; but as I made no sign, he was +gradually looking more comfortable and gaining confidence. Suddenly I +noticed a patch of mud above his nose, and I must have unconsciously +shown him I had made a discovery of some kind, for that instant he +turned tail and bolted home at the utmost speed of which he was capable. +Without uttering a single word, or making a single gesture, the dog and +man understood each other perfectly. It was the language of faces. + + R. SCOT SKIRVING. + + +A DOG OBEYING A SUMMONS + + [_Jan. 18, 1890._] + +The enclosed may interest you. I received it this morning. I have no +doubt Dr. Barford, of Wokingham, would verify it, but I have not the +pleasure of his acquaintance. The following is the story:-- + +"Dr. Barford's dog at Wokingham was put into a muzzle; he objected to +it, took it off, and hid it somewhere, no one knows where. Policeman saw +him; summoned Dr. B.; case was to come off one Saturday. The children +told dog how wicked _he'd_ been: Dr. B. would have to appear at the +Court, and he too, as it was his doing; he'd lost the muzzle. Case was +postponed (I think policeman witness had influenza). Dr. B. was told of +postponement by letter; forgot to tell children or dog. At Saturday's +Bench, Magistrates much astonished by the dog appearing in Court and +sitting solemnly opposite them." + + ALYS M. WOOD. + + +A PUG'S INTELLIGENCE. + + [_Feb. 1, 1890._] + +Several newspaper cuttings have been sent to me with the story of my dog +which appeared in the _Spectator_ of January 18th, and one or two of +them suggest a doubt as to the veracity of the story. I write, +therefore, to tell you that it is literally true, only that the +policeman was away for his holiday instead of having influenza, and the +case came off on Tuesday instead of Saturday. My dog is a pug, a very +choice specimen of his kind, and was given to me by the late Dr. Wakley, +editor of the _Lancet_, who was a great connoisseur in dogs. His +intelligence is really marvellous, and he has done many things as +extraordinary as the one related by Miss Wood. + +He is devotedly attached to my baby, and always accompanies me in my +morning visit to the nursery. On one occasion the child (who is just as +fond of him as he is of her) was very ill, and for three weeks was +unconscious. As soon as this was the case, the dog ceased to go near +the nursery, as if by instinct he knew he would not be noticed. Mr. +Walters from Reading was attending the baby, and the dog soon got to +know the time he paid his visits. He would watch him upstairs, and when +he came down listen most attentively to his report. At length the child +was pronounced out of danger. The very next morning, up went master Sam, +made his way straight to the child's cot, and stood on his hind legs to +be caressed. Although she had taken no notice of any one for some time, +she seemed to know the dog, and tried to move her hand towards him to be +licked. He quite understood the action, licked the little hand lovingly, +and then trotted contentedly away. After this he went up to see her +regularly, as he had been accustomed to do. He is quite a character in +the town, and nearly every one knows Sammy Weller. + +Before I had this dog, I always thought I understood the difference +between reason and instinct, but his intelligence has quite puzzled me. + + MARY H. BARFORD. + + +ARE DOGS "COLOUR-BLIND"? + + [_Jan. 12, 1884._] + +Your correspondent, "W. H. O'Shea," has found several dogs +"colour-blind," If black is a colour, I can give several instances in +which a black retriever dog of mine was certainly _not_ "colour-blind." +He had the greatest antipathy to sweeps and coalheavers, and would fly +at them if not fastened up or carefully watched. He would even bark at a +passing hearse! In all other respects, he was the best-tempered dog in +the world, and I can only imagine that when very young he must have been +ill-used by either a sweep or a coalheaver. + + C. R. T. + + +LUCKY AND UNLUCKY. + + [_April 28, 1877._] + +As letters telling of dogs and their doings occasionally appear in the +_Spectator_, perhaps the following rather pathetic anecdote of a dog I +know well may also find a place there. Two or three weeks ago, Lucky--so +called from having, when an outcast, found its present happy +home--perhaps by way of showing its gratitude to its benefactors, +presented them with five small Luckys, or rather, with one exception, +Unluckys, as the melancholy process always resorted to with these +too-blooming families had to be carried out in this instance, and the +five were reduced to one. Poor Lucky was inconsolable, looking +everywhere for them, and looking, too, with such appealing eyes into the +faces of her friends, and asking them so plainly where they were. Near +her kennel was an inclosed piece of ground for pigeons, and as it was +discovered that rats were carrying off the young pigeons, and as Lucky +had carried off one or two rats, it was decided one night to leave the +door of the pigeons' house open, that Lucky might have the run of it; +and the next morning, side by side with the puppy, was found a baby +pigeon, looking quite bright and at home, but hungry, and poor Lucky, +proud of the addition it had made to its family, was looking more +contented than it had done since the loss of its puppies. The pigeon +must have fallen from its nest, some distance from the ground, and +Lucky, while on the look-out for rats, must have found it, and carefully +carried it to her kennel, with the vague feeling, perhaps, that it was +one of her own lost little ones "developing" a little curiously. +Unfortunately the arrangement could not be a permanent one, and the +famished little pigeon was put back into its own nest, to be found again +the next morning in Lucky's bed, but this time dead. The old birds seem +to have deserted it, and it had died of starvation. If Lucky could give +this account herself, it might be much more interesting, for it was +thought not at all improbable that she had actually rescued from a rat +the bird she was so anxious to adopt, as a small wound was found upon +it such as a rat might have made, and as a young pigeon had been taken +the night before from the same nest; but this is only conjecture, and +Lucky only could tell us the facts; how often it would be interesting, +if our humble friends could tell us their adventures! A friend who is +staying with me tells me that a few months ago her dog was lost for a +week, and at the end of that time it came back one night in a scarlet +ruff and spangles, and looking altogether dreadfully dissipated. +Evidently it had been the "performing dog" in some show, "Punch and +Judy" perhaps; being naturally a clever dog, it would quickly have +learnt the part of "Toby" in that delightful and time-honoured +exhibition. If it could only have written also an article entitled "A +Week of My Life," with what pleasure the _Spectator_ would have +published it! + + S. + + +THE COURAGE OF ANIMALS. + + [_Feb. 11, 1893._] + +In the _Spectator_ of December 31st, which, although a regular +subscriber to your valuable paper, I only happened to see to-day, owing +to absence from home, I notice a reference in the article entitled "The +Courage of Animals," to the fact that the wild dogs of India attack and +destroy tigers. I have no personal knowledge of the matter, but I have +been told by an Indian officer that the _modus operandi_ of the "red +dogs" is as follows:--Having found their tiger they proceed, not to +attack him at once, as might be inferred from your article, but to +starve him until they have materially reduced his strength. Night and +day they form a cordon round the unfortunate beast, and allow him no +chance of obtaining food or rest; every time the tiger essays to break +the circle, this is widened as the pack flies before him, only to be +relentlessly narrowed again when the quarry is exhausted. After a +certain period of this treatment the tiger falls a comparatively easy +prey to his active and persevering enemies. This theory of their plan of +attack, while it may detract somewhat from the wild dogs' reputation for +courage, must add considerably to our estimate of their intelligence. + + EDWARD PAUL, Jun. + + +SOME FACTS OF MATERNAL INSTINCT IN ANIMALS. + + [_Oct. 1, 1892._] + +I lately met some friends who had with them a little dog, called Vic, +who had adopted the family of a cat in the house, and, while in +possession, would not let the mother come near her kittens. The kittens +were kept in a very tall basket, and Vic would take them in her mouth, +and jump out with them one by one, and then carry them into the garden +and watch over them, carrying them back in the same way after a time; at +other times, lying contentedly with them in the basket. Of course Vic +had to be forcibly removed when the adopted family required their +mother's attention for their sustenance. I also have met a friend who +saw a hen-hawk, who was in a cage, mothering a young starling. Three +young, unfledged starlings were given the hawk to eat. She ate two, and +then broodled the other, and took the utmost care of it. Unhappily, the +young starling died; and from that moment the hawk would touch no food, +but died herself in a few days. + +The same friend was on a mountain one day, when a sheep came up to him, +and unmistakably begged him to follow her going just in front, and +continually looking round to see if he was following. The sheep led him +at last to some rocks, where he found a lamb fast wedged in between two +pieces of rock. He was able to liberate the lamb, to the evident joy of +the mother. + +I myself once saw a cat "broodling" and taking care of a very small +chicken, which, being hatched first of a brood, had been brought into a +cottage and placed in a basket near the fire. It managed to get out of +the basket, and hopped up to the cat, who immediately adopted it. + + WM. WALSHAM WAKEFIELD. + + +HAVE ANIMALS A FOREKNOWLEDGE OF DEATH? + + [_April 30, 1892._] + +In a recent _Spectator_ there is a quotation from Pierre Loti to the +effect that "animals not only fear death, but fear it the more because +they are aware that they have no future." Pierre Loti is a brilliant +novelist, but I am not aware that he is a scientific naturalist, and I +trust his idea is a mere chimera. Loti would take from the brutes the +one privilege for which men may envy them, and endows them with a +knowledge of the aftertime that we have only by revelation. However, two +common-sense naturalists have published their belief that the lower +animals have a foreknowledge of death, and one of them goes so far as to +give an account of an old horse committing suicide. He says the animal +frequently suffered from some internal disease, and that it deliberately +walked into a pond, and, putting its nostrils under water, stood thus +till it dropped dead from suffocation. The incident, I think, is easily +explained. Many horses drink in the manner described, and in old horses +heart-disease is not uncommon. I imagine the stoppage of respiration +caused a sudden and natural death from heart-disease. + +I should like to ask naturalists who think animals know that they must +die, where they draw the line. They must stop somewhere between a dog +and a dormouse. Poets have made far more frequent allusion to the +subject than naturalists, and they may be quoted on both sides. Philip +James Bailey, in illustration of his contention that hope is universal, +says: "and the poor hack that sinks down on the flints, upon whose eye +the dust is settling, he hopes to die." But we have on the other hand +Shelley's Skylark, with its "ignorance of pain," because it differs from +men who "look before and after." Wordsworth's little girl of eight knew +less than her dog, if she had one, for, says the poet, "what could she +know of death?" I admit that when the carnivora have crushed their prey +to death they cease to mangle them; but I fancy that is only because +there is no more resistance; and a bull will trample on a hat and leave +it when it becomes a shapeless mass. The nearest thing I ever saw to an +apparent foreknowledge of death, was in the case of that least +intelligent of dogs, a greyhound. I had to shoot it to prevent useless +suffering from disease. It followed me willingly, but when I led it to a +pit prepared as its grave it instantly rushed off at its best speed. I +suggest that it saw instinctively something unpleasant was about to +happen, but it does not follow that death was present to its mind. +Domestic poultry will furiously attack one of their number that +struggles on the ground in its death-agony. They do not dream of death; +they think its contortions are a challenge to combat. + + R. SCOTT SKIRVING. + + +OUR FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS, BIG AND LITTLE. + + [_Nov. 8, 1873._] + +May I be permitted to question, in the most friendly way, the assumption +of "Lucy Field," in your last issue, that the lives of small dogs are in +constant jeopardy from "a race of giant dogs, and exceptionally large +dogs," at Muswell Hill? If it be so, then, surely the "giant dogs" of +that region are exceptions. My experience goes to confirm the truth +taught by Sir Edwin Landseer's "Dignity and Impudence," a fine print of +which adorns my portfolio. I had a broken-haired friend, weight about +eight pounds, learned in two languages, canine and English, who rejoiced +in the name of Teens, given him by babes with whom he condescended to +play, because he was a "tiny, teeny dog." I must confess that my late +friend--alas! that I should say late--who was chivalrically brave in +killing rats and carrying on war with cats, was a very bully, a kind of +Ancient Pistol towards big dogs. To see him meet a Newfoundland or +large retriever was as good as a play. Teens, with his tail curled like +the spring of an ancient watch, his broken-haired back stiffened with +indignation, would stand and give the pass-word all dogs seem to know, +and be overhauled and examined as he walked round the giant like an +English gunboat by a Spanish fifth-rate; but when once the enemy turned +his back, Teens exploded like a cracker, running under the big dog's +nose, and often springing at his lip. His gigantic, but generous foe (or +friend) always fled, or walked away, followed by a torrent of abusive +barks, which, from their peculiar intonation, I took for dog-slang, and +Teens returning with an impudent smile on his countenance, wiped his +feet on the pavement as a sign of triumph. I have seen him do this a +hundred times, and never saw a big dog attempt to punish his impudence. +Jeems, a black-and-tan of smaller weight, who seemed to walk upon +springs, and who on work-a-days was called Jim, and James on Sundays, +which day he perfectly well knew, was more like Parolles. He bullied +big dogs at a distance, and seldom stood up to them like the truculent +Teens, and, although he ran away, was seldom pursued and never hurt, +while the Claimant (he was for his size unwieldly in fatness as a pup), +who (or which) still lives with me, is now bullying a shambling +retriever pup, full-grown, but, like Cousin Feenix, uncertain as to his +gait, who good-naturedly submits to it. Here, perhaps, there is danger; +for very big pups will pursue any little thing that runs away, and one +of their large paws, which they put down as if they wore heavily clumped +boots, might certainly crush the life--a very noisy, fussy, busy life it +is--out of my small and impertinent, pretentious Tichborne. This dog, by +the way, brings down his mistress her boots, as a hint for her to take a +walk, and blows like a trumpet or young walrus under the door to be let +in, having been corrected for scratching the panel. I end as I began, by +assuring you that my experience, no less than that of my friends, lies +in the direction of extreme generosity exhibited by large dogs towards +small ones; I would not deny that a large dog may now and then punish an +impudent and aggressive toy-terrier, but, as a rule, we can only wonder +at the providential wisdom which makes them so generous and forbearing; +having a giant's strength, they seldom indeed use it like a giant. + + HAIN FRISWELL. + + +DOG CONSCIOUSNESS. + + [_Nov. 2, 1872._] + +Our terrier Crib took upon himself yesterday to add his testimony to +your view of "dog-consciousness," as expressed in the _Spectator_ of the +19th ult. Crib verges on perfection, save that he is frantically jealous +of any other animal who may receive attention, but yesterday he rebelled +against the injustice of being compelled to eat all his dinner, and +refused to swallow one special piece of bread; but finding that his +refusal was not accepted, apparently made a virtue of necessity, and +gulped down the bread with a look and wag of the tail, giving me to +understand that I ought to be satisfied, which I was not, as I observed +a slight swelling in one cheek. So concealing my suspicion I furtively +watched. Crib also occasionally eyed me, lying down and then walking +round the room, and sniffing in the corners, as he is wont to do. In a +few minutes, and when I appeared safely absorbed in my paper, he made +his way slowly to where pussy was lapping her saucer of milk; passing +her without stopping, he cleverly discharged the hated mouthful into +pussy's milk, and continuing his walk to the rug, laid himself down and +slept the sleep of the just. + + C. S. + + +A DOG STORY. + + [_June 1, 1895._] + +Perhaps you will allow me to add another to your interesting list of dog +stories. In a house where I once boarded there was a large and +remarkably sagacious St. Bernard mastiff, who used to come into my +sitting-room and give me his company at dinner, sitting on the floor +beside my chair, with his head on a level with the plates. His master, +however, fearing that he was being over-fed, gave strict injunctions +that this practice should no longer be permitted. On the first day of +the prohibition the dog lay and sulked in the kitchen; but on the second +day, when the landlady brought in the dishes, he stole in noiselessly +close behind her, and while for the moment she bent over the table, he +slipped promptly beneath it, and waited. No sooner had she retired than +he emerged from his hiding-place, sat down in his usual position, and +winked in my face with a look which seemed to say, "Haven't I done her!" +In due course, the good woman came to change the plates, and as soon as +he heard her step, he slunk once more under the table; but in an +instant, ere she had time to open the door, he came out again, as if he +had suddenly taken another thought, and threw himself down on the rug +before the fire--to all appearance fast asleep. "Ah, Keeper; you there, +you rascal!" exclaimed his mistress, in indignant surprise, as she +caught sight of him. The dog opened his eyes, half raised his body, +stretched himself out lazily at full length, gave a great yawn as if +awakened from a good long sleep, and then, with a wag of his tail, went +forward and tried to lick her hand. It was a capital piece of acting, +and the air of perfect guilelessness was infinitely amusing. + + GEO. MCHARDY. + + +WOW: A STORY OF A CAT'S PAW. + + [_March 23, 1872._] + +I think you will be interested in the following anecdote of a +distinguished foreigner. One of the happiest results of that abandonment +of their ancient exclusiveness which has rendered us familiar with the +Japanese, has been the arrival on these shores of a very pretty fluffy +little dog, a born subject of the Mikado, who hails or rather barks from +Nagasaki, and who is happily domiciled with a friend of mine, of a +sufficiently elevated mind to esteem at its proper value the privilege +of being the master of a clever and refined dog. The child of the sun +and the earthquake has been named Wow, an ingenious combination of the +familiar utterance of his kind with the full-mouthed terminals of the +language of the merely human inhabitants of his country. My own +impression is that Wow smacks rather of the melodious monosyllabic +tongue of the Flowery Land than of that of the Dragon country; but this +is a detail, and, as a young naval officer newly come from Nipon +remarked to me lately, with much fervour, "Thank God! a fellow isn't +obliged to learn their lingo." Wow has made himself at home and happy in +his Northern residence with all the courtesy and suavity of a true +Japanese, and has attached himself to his master with apparent +resignation to the absence of pigtail and petticoat, articles of attire +replaced in this case by the wig and gown of a Q.C. About this +attachment there is, however, none of the exclusiveness which +characterises the insular dog. Wow is a politician, or at least a +diplomatist, and he desires to maintain friendly relations, with +profitable results to himself, with everybody. He succeeds in doing so +to an extraordinary extent, of which fact his master lately discovered +evidence. Very strict orders, including the absolute prohibition of +bones, had been issued with regard to Wow's diet. The ideas of a country +in which little dogs eat, but are not eaten, require liberality in his +opinion, and Wow made up his mind he would have his bones without +incurring the penalties of disobedience, which his master, in the +interests of the delicate foreigner, was determined to inflict. A +commodious and elegant residence was fitted up in the study for Wow, and +he was permitted free access to the upper floors of the house, but the +line was drawn at the kitchen staircase. That way lay bones and ruin, +and its easy descent was interdicted by stern command, which Wow +understood as clearly as did its utterer, though he at first affected a +simple and unconscious misapprehension. Then Wow was reproved and gently +chastised, an administration of justice performed with the utmost +reluctance by his master, but with the happiest results. Nothing could +be more admirable than Wow's submission, more perfect than his +obedience. He never looked towards the kitchen stairs, and would attend +at the family meals without following the retiring dishes with a wistful +gaze, or betraying a longing for the forbidden bones by so much as a +sniff. Attached to the lower department of the household is a humble +cat, a faithful creature in her way, but not cultivated by my friend as +I could wish. With this meek and useful animal Wow contracted a +friendship regarded by his master as a proof of his amiability and +condescension. (In my capacity of narrator I am compelled to use the +latter somewhat injurious term--as a private individual with an undying +recollection, I repudiate it). But the single-minded Q.C. had something +to learn of the four-footed exile from the Far East concerning this +intimacy. Coming into his study one day at an unusual hour, he saw the +cat--I do not know her name, I am afraid she has not one--stealthily +depositing a bone behind a curtain. Presently she went downstairs, and +returned with a second bone, which she conveyed to the same place of +concealment, whence proceeded a gentle rustling and whisking, suggestive +of the presence of Wow, whose house, or pagoda, was empty. Then arose +the Q.C., and cautiously peeped behind the curtain, where he beheld Wow +and his humble friend amicably discussing their respective bones, Wow's +being the bigger and the meatier of the two. + +Thus did the Japanese exile illustrate the cosmopolitan story of the +catspaw (with the improvement of making it pleasant for the cat), and +accomplish the proverbially desirable feat of minding both his meat and +his manners. If we could be secured against their imitation, it would be +pleasant to ask our own domestic pets the problems: + + "What do you think of that, my cat?" + "What do you think of that, my dog?" + + + A CONSTANT READER AND DISCIPLE. + + +THE BIOGRAPHY OF SPRIG. + + [_Jan. 20, 1872._] + +I dare not hope to equal the eloquent and most touching biography of +Nero, with whom I had the honour of a slight acquaintance. But I was the +possessor of an animal who, in his way as a dog, not a cat, for +originality of character, reasoning power, talent, and devoted affection +I have never seen equalled in his species, and you and your readers may +possibly be interested by a sketch of his biography. + +Where Sprig was born I do not know, nor had I any acquaintance with his +parents. One morning several years ago I chanced to go down stairs +early, and found the milk-boy at the hall door, delivering his daily +supply to the cook. In the courtyard before my house was a +bright-looking rough terrier of small size, frisking about very +cheerfully, trying to catch the small stump of a tail which some cruel +despoiler had left him. As he was engaged in this pastime, a large brown +retriever entered the gate, to look on, I suppose, for he had an amused +expression of face, and was wagging his tail amicably. Sprig, however, +though but a mite in comparison, decidedly resented the intrusion, and +flew at the retriever's throat, from which he had to be choked off by +his owner, who brought him back in his arms. The little fellow was in +the highest state of excitement and anger, his bright, intelligent eyes +flashing, and his hair bristling. He was indeed most amusingly fierce, +but was soon calmed when he was shown, and told, that his enemy had +fled, whereupon the following colloquy ensued between myself and his +owner: Myself: "And where did you get that dog, boy? You did not steal +him, I hope?" Boy, in a rich Dublin brogue: "Ah, now! would I stale +anythin', yer honner, an' me the poor milk-boy? Is it stale him? Bedad, +it's my father's cuzin that's at the Curragh! Sure he's a corporal, so +he is. He brought him, and he sez, 'Yez'll get me a pound for him, and +no less.' So it's a pound I want for him, sur, and nothin' less. An' +sure John Lambert knows me well--so he does!" When John, my servant, +was sent for, he gave a good account of the lad, and as he entirely +approved of Sprig, I gave the sovereign, showing it to the dog, whose +wondering eyes were glancing from one to the other. Then I said to the +boy, "Put him into my arms, and tell him he belongs to me;" and he did +so. The little fellow looked curiously and wistfully at the lad, who, to +do him justice, had tears in his eyes, and then nestled into my breast, +licking my hands and face. When my daughter came down stairs, I took up +Sprig and placed him in my youngest daughter's arms, a process he +appeared to comprehend perfectly, and told him she was his mistress; nor +to the day of his death did he ever falter in his devoted allegiance to +her. He was very fond of me and of us all, but his deepest love was for +his mistress, and on many occasions was most affecting to see. She was +often delicate, and once had a sharp attack of typhus fever. In this +illness Sprig never left her. He would lie at the foot of her bed +watching her, and would sometimes creep gently up to her, put his paws +round her neck, and lick her hands softly, while the pleading of his +large eyes looking from his mistress, in her unconscious delirium, to +her sister and me, was touching in the extreme. Indeed, there were then +many sad illnesses, but Sprig was always the same. As my child grew +stronger and better her little friend would amuse her by the hour +together; sit up, beg, preach, play with his ball, and try in humble +doggie fashion to beguile her of her pain. But I am anticipating. + +Sprig was, I believe, what is called a Dandie Dinmont, and as he grew up +he became, for his class, a very handsome, as he was a sturdy, little +fellow, with great strength for his size. He was a reddish-brown colour, +more dark-red than brown, like a squirrel, with white below, and a +delightfully fuzzy head, and a breast of long soft white hair. His eyes +were that peculiar bright liquid "dog" brown which is capable of so much +expression, and he grew to have a long moustache and beard. Even the +most un-observant of dogs admired him, for he resembled no terrier I +have ever seen. I think he would have won the prize of his class at the +Dublin Dog Show, had it not been for a terrible accident he met with in +being wounded by a large foxhound in a neighbouring orchard. His neck +was then torn open, and he was rescued by John only in time to prevent +his being killed. As it was, it was weeks before he could walk--and how +patient he was all the time! and as the wound healed it left a +thickening of his skin which had an awkward look. Sprig was, however, +"highly commended." In his youth he was perhaps rather short in his +temper, and always resented in the most distinct manner any liberty that +was taken with him. To tread upon his foot was perilous, but he was at +once pacified if an apology was made that it was accidental; but to pull +his tail wilfully was an insult which he resented bitterly, and for +which much atonement was necessary, or he would go under the sofa and +cry in his peculiar manner when offended. + +As he grew up, Sprig developed various talents which were highly +cultivated. His greatest pleasure, perhaps, was in an india-rubber ball, +with which his gambols were indescribably pretty and constant. It was a +great distress when he lost or mislaid his ball, and he was miserable +till he found it, or another was brought him. It was a cruel thing to +say, when one of us went to town, "Sprig, I will bring you a new ball," +and as sometimes happened, to forget to do so. On return he would sniff +about the person who had gone, poke his nose into his or her pockets, +and if disappointed could hardly be soothed, but would go away and have +his quiet cry to himself. Sometimes a kind friend who knew him might +bring him a new ball; but it very much depended on who presented it +whether it was accepted or not, and I am afraid that too frequently for +his good manners he turned it over contemptuously with his nose and left +it for the old one, which, gnawed, bitten, and broken, was still the +favourite. I used sometimes to make a ball squeak by pressing the hole +against my hand, and I believe he thought it was in pain, for he would +whine piteously, and would not let me rest till he had it again in his +possession. It was most amusing to see him when a parcel of new balls +arrived, he having been told beforehand that one was coming. He would +find out directly who had it, and become impatient and cross indeed if +he did not get it directly. When the parcel was given him, his great +delight was to open it himself and select _one_. A red ball was usually +preferred, but not always. All were subjected to the most varied +trials--gnawed, smelt, and rolled, till the one which pleased his fancy +was finally selected; of the rest he would take no notice whatever. + +Sprig was thoroughly a gentleman, and on most occasions he was most +attentive to lady visitors. He never noticed gentlemen. On one occasion, +when my daughters were out, a dear friend called (Nero's mistress). She +told us afterwards that Sprig had been a most attentive beau. He met her +at the hall door, welcomed her in his odd fashion, trotted before her +into the drawing-room, looking behind him to see if she followed. He +then jumped upon the ottoman, inviting her to sit down; when she was +seated he brought his ball and went through all his tricks with it, sat +up on his hind legs, begged with his paws, preached to her in his own +queer way, and kept her amused till, no longer able to remain, she bid +him good morning and left, evidently to his disgust. "Could he have +spoken," she said afterwards, "he would have told me to wait, for his +mistresses would soon be back; the look was in his face, but the words +were wanting." His attention to visitors was never omitted. When we had +a ball or evening party, he would await, with John Lambert, the several +arrivals at the hall door, welcome each new party, and usher them in a +solemn manner into the drawing-room or tea-room, returning for a new set +to his former place. Nor did he want for an occasional cake or biscuit +at the tea-table; "he was so amiable," said the young ladies, "he could +not be resisted." + +As an instance of how perfectly he understood what was said to him, I +may relate that one hot day I had walked out from town, and being +thirsty went into the dining-room for a drink of water. I saw Sprig's +ball under the table, and when I went into the garden where my girls +were sitting they said, "Sprig has lost his ball, and is perfectly +miserable." After I had sent him to look about for it, I said, "Now, +Sprig, I know where it is; I saw it in the dining-room under the table; +go fetch it." He looked brightly at me, and I repeated what I had said. +He trotted off, and while we were wondering whether he had understood +me, he returned with it in his mouth quite delighted. I have mentioned +his preaching, which may sound rather irreverent, but it was an +accomplishment entirely of his own invention. When seated in a chair +after dinner, and requested to preach, he would sit up, place his +forepaws gravely on the table, and then lifting up one paw as high as +his head, and then the other, deliver a discourse to the company in a +sort of gurgling, growling manner, with an occasional low bark, which +was indescribably ludicrous to see and hear. What he meant by it we +could never find out, but I question whether he prized any of his +accomplishments more than this. + +Sometimes, but not often, he would go out by himself to take a walk, we +supposed to see his friends, for I never heard that he had any love +affairs. If we all, or my daughters, or myself, met him on his return, +I, or they, or we all might call to him, notice him as he brushed past +us, or ask him to come for a walk. No. He would have none of our +company; he would cut us dead, and go toddling home, his tail more erect +and quivering than ever; never hastening his sedate pace, and giving his +usual kick-out with one hind leg every third or fourth step, as was his +custom. He would have no connection with us; that was quite clear and +decided. Sprig was very fond, too, of a walk with his mistresses or with +me, and, though never taught it, would always wipe his feet clean on the +hall mat as he came in. I am now going to relate an anecdote of Sprig +which I know is almost beyond credibility, but the occurrence so +displayed his power of thought and reason that I cannot withhold it. My +usual haunt is my den, as I call it, a large room at one end of our old +rambling house. There Sprig never came unless with his mistresses, and +indeed never was easy when he was there. I had begun a large full-length +picture of my daughters, and Sprig and Whisky, a small Skye puppy, were +to be painted lying at their feet. As the picture progressed, Sprig +seemed to understand all about it, and paid me the compliment of wagging +his tail at the portraits. One day my girls had been sitting to me, and +it was now Sprig's turn to sit. I put him into the proper position and +told him to lie still, and he proved a most patient sitter. When the +sketch of him was finished, I showed it to him; I think he was pleased +with his likeness, for he licked my face; but as he smelt at his +portrait, he did not like himself, and growled. Whisky was now put into +position, but was very restless, although Sprig scolded her by snarling +at her. Next day I had put the picture against the wall near the +window, and before a few steps which led up into my bedroom, and was +busy perched on a step-ladder with the after-portion of it. By and by I +heard a great scratching at my bedroom door, which was closed, and Sprig +whining to get in. I thought this odd, but it was too much trouble to +come down from my perch, and I told him to go away. He, however, only +whined and scratched the more. I therefore descended, and getting behind +the picture, went up the steps and opened the door. Sprig did not notice +me, but pushing past me hurried down the steps, and then, as I emerged +into the room, looked up to me blandly, and actually sat down in the +place in which I had put him the day before. I said to him gravely, +though infinitely amused, "No, Sprig, I don't want you to-day; look, the +colour is all wet, go away to your mistress." He looked very blank and +greatly disappointed, and stood up with his tail drooped. Suddenly a +bright thought seemed to strike him, as if he had said, "Now I have it!" +Whisky had got hold of one of my slippers, and was playing with it in +my bedroom, and Sprig, rushing up the steps, seized her by the "scruff" +of her neck, dragged her howling down the steps, and put her, I can use +no other words, into the place where she had been the day before. He +then came to me frisking about, and could he but have spoken, would have +said, "If you don't want me, you must her, and there she is!" He was +quite triumphant about it; and dirty as I was, and palette in hand, I +took him forthwith to the drawing-room and told them what had happened. + +I could tell numberless other stories of the reasoning power and +intelligence of our little pet, but I should trespass at too great +length on your patience. I could describe a curious friendship which +sprang up between him and a German friend who was staying some time with +us; how he learned many new tricks from him, and was taught to hop on +his hind legs from one end of the drawing-room to the other, with our +friend hopping backwards before him; I could describe his evening romps +with my dear father, never omitted while my father lived; and the many +curious traits by which his great love for us was perpetually +displayed--how he learned to crack nuts of all kinds, and to pick out +the kernels like a squirrel--how he never went into the servants' hall +or the kitchen, and refused to associate with the servants, though +friendly with them, and especially with John Lambert, his fast friend. +But I must bring this sketch to a close. + +We had been absent about a year in Germany and the South of France. +After we left, Sprig was inconsolable, and would not eat; but the cook +made him little curries and rice, and after a time he became more +resigned. We only heard that he was well, and hoped we should find him +so. The day we arrived I thought he would have died for joy. He gasped +for breath, and lay down, and when taken up by his mistress lay in her +arms almost insensible. It was long before he came to himself, and when +he did revive, it is quite impossible to describe his delight, or what +he did. He was, indeed, quite beside himself with joy, scouring about, +dragging his mistress here and there, doing all his tricks in a +confused manner, and, in short, behaving after a very insane fashion +indeed. We noticed he had a slight cough; but he seemed otherwise quite +well, and we thought it would go away; but it increased, and at that +time there was an epidemic of bronchitis among dogs. We sent him to an +eminent veterinary surgeon, who blistered him (and how patient the poor +fellow was under the pain cannot be told), but though relieved for the +time, the end was near. One morning he was seen to do an apparently +quite unaccountable thing. He took his son Terry (whom he was never +known to notice except by knocking him over and standing upon him, +growling fiercely), all round our village, and visited all the dogs in +it. John saw him doing this early in the morning, and told me of it. I +suppose he was commending Terry to their favour. He coughed a great deal +all day, and breathed heavily; but in the evening he was very bright, +and to all appearance much better, and insisted on doing all his tricks +till it was time to go to bed. Sprig never would go to bed willingly. +John used to come to the drawing-room door and call him, and he would go +to it, but stand growling till he was caught up and carried off. That +evening, as we remembered, he seemed more than ever unwilling to go, but +was caught up and carried away. + +In the morning, about six o'clock--it was summer-time--I was just about +to get up, when John Lambert knocked at my door, and came in with Sprig +in his arms. He did not speak, and I asked him whether Sprig was worse. +"He's dead, sir," said he, with the tears rolling down his face, and +hardly able to speak. "Quite dead, sir; he must have died only a little +while ago, for when I went to let him out, I found him dead and quite +warm, as he is still." I am not ashamed to write that my eyes felt very +blind, but there was no hope; the dear little fellow was quite dead; he +had died calmly, and his eyes were bright; they had not glazed. + +We buried him, John and myself, when he was quite cold and stiff, by a +rose-tree at the end of the garden. Poor John could hardly dig the +grave, and his tears fell fast and silently and upon dear old Sprig as +we covered him up for ever. I wish I could write a fitting epitaph for a +creature who, through his life, was a constant source of pleasure to all +who knew him. + + M. T. + + +A DOG STORY. + + [_June 8, 1895._] + +A friend thinks I ought to add to the collection of dog stories +appearing in the _Spectator_, one which is within my own knowledge, and +may appear deserving of publication. My uncle, a well-known Chairman of +the Bench of Magistrates in a western county, had a tenant on his +estates who occupied a farm not far from the River Severn. The farmer +possessed a favourite dog, who slept at the foot of his bed every night. +When a brother emigrated to Canada, the farmer gave him the dog as a +travelling companion. In the course of time the news arrived that the +emigrant and his family, together with the dog, had safely reached their +destination--a farm in the interior of Canada some days' journey from +the port where they landed. At a later date the brother in Canada wrote +to his family in England saying that the dog had disappeared. Some time +afterwards the dog came back to the farm of his old master, about three +miles from Gloucester, and though at first it could hardly be believed +that he was returned from Canada, yet he soon established his identity +by taking his old place at the foot of his master's bed at night. +Inquiries were made, and the dog's course was traced backwards to the +River Severn, thence to Bristol, and thence to a port in Canada. It +appeared that, after running from his home in Canada to the seaport, he +selected there a vessel bound for Bristol, and shipped on board. After +arriving at the Bristol basin, he found out a local vessel trading up +and down the River Severn (locally called a "trow"), and transferred +himself to her deck. When he reached the neighbourhood of Gloucester, +the dog must have jumped into the Severn and reached the shore nearest +to his old home. + +I can vouch for the truth of this story, from information received from +my relations on the spot shortly after the occurrence took place. I knew +the farm well, and the farmer who occupied it. + + H. C. N. + + +A CAT-AND-DOG FRIENDSHIP. + + [_June 8, 1895._] + +The interesting letter, "A Canine Nurse," in the _Spectator_ of May +18th, recalls to mind an equally curious event in cat and dog life which +occurred some years since in a house where I was living, but with the +additional interest of a hen being also implicated. + +In the back-kitchen premises of an old manor-house, amongst hampers, and +such like odds and ends, a cat had a litter of kittens. They were all +removed but one, and as the mother was frequently absent, a hen began +laying in a hamper close by. For a time all things went well, the hen +sitting on her eggs and the cat nursing the kitten within a few inches +of each other. The brood were hatched out, and almost at the same time +the old cat disappeared. The chickens were allowed to run about on the +floor for sake of the warmth from a neighbouring chimney, and the kitten +was fed with a saucer of milk, &c., in the same place, both feeding +together frequently out of the same dish. The hen used to try to induce +the kitten to eat meal like the chicks, calling to it and depositing +pieces under its nose in the most amusing way; finally doing all in its +power to induce the kitten to come, like her chicks, under her wings. +The result was nothing but a series of squalls from the kitten, which +led to its being promoted from the back to the front kitchen, where it +was reared until it was grown up. At this time a young terrier was +introduced into the circle, and after many back-risings and bad language +on pussy's part, they settled down amicably and romped about the floor +in fine style. Eventually the terrier became an inveterate +rabbit-poacher--killing young rabbits and bringing them home--a +proceeding to which the cat gave an intelligent curiosity, then a +passive and purring approval, and finally her own instincts having +asserted themselves, she went off with the dog, hunting in the woods. +Our own keeper reported them as getting "simply owdacious," being found +a great distance from the house; and keepers of adjacent places also +said the pair were constantly seen hunting hedgerows on their beats. On +one occasion I saw them myself hunting a short hedge systematically, the +dog on one side, the cat on the other; and on coming near an open +gateway a hare was put out of her form, and bounding through the open +gate, was soon off; the dog followed, till he came through the gateway, +where he stood looking after the hare; and the cat joining him, they +apparently decided it was too big or too fast to be successfully chased, +so resumed the hedge-hunting, each taking its own side as before. + +They frequently returned home covered with mud, and pussy's claws with +fur, and would lie together in front of the fire; the cat often grooming +down the dog, licking him and rubbing him dry, and the dog getting up +and turning over the ungroomed side to be finished. This curious +friendship went on for six months or more, till the dog had to be kept +in durance vile to save him from traps and destruction, the cat, nothing +daunted, going on with her poaching until one day she met her fate in a +trap, and so brought her course to an end. The dog was a well-bred +fox-terrier, and the cat a tabby of nothing beyond ordinary +characteristics, save in her early life having been fostered by a hen, +and in her prime the staunch friend and comrade of poor old Foxie, the +terrier. If there are "happy hunting-grounds" for the animals hereafter, +and such things are allowed in them, no doubt they will renew their +intimacy, if not their poaching forays, together there. + + R. J. GRAHAM SIMMONDS. + + +THE SENSE OF BOUNDARY IN DOGS. + + [_March 14, 1885._] + +I have been much interested in the communications which have appeared +from time to time in the _Spectator_ in reference to "animal +intelligence." Recently my attention has been called to a somewhat +striking illustration of it, in the case of my own dog and his canine +neighbour next door. Wallace is an Irish staghound, and is about a year +old. My neighbour's dog is a pointer, and is considerably advanced in +life. There is no hedge nor fence separating the two estates. The +dividing line runs between two stone posts about a foot in height, and +more than two hundred feet from each other. The dogs have never been +friendly, the pointer having repeatedly driven Wallace back over the +boundary when he has caught him trespassing. Both dogs, even when going +at full speed, stop the moment my dog has crossed the line. How does +the pointer know where the line runs, and how does Wallace know when he +is safely across it? + + F. TUCKERMAN. + +THE END. + + + + +INDEX. + + + Affection, 106 + + Affection, A Dog's, 105 + + Alpine Dog, An, 63 + + Animal Intelligence, 68 + + Animals and Language, 72 + + Animals, Communication with, 77 + + Animals, Friendships of Dogs with other, 135 + + Animals, How our Meaning is Conveyed to, 65 + + Animals, The Courage of, 217 + + Are Dogs Colour-blind? 213 + + Arts, Dogs and the, 119 + + Australian Dog Story, 203 + + Automata, Conscious, 136 + + + Biography of Sprig, 237 + + Boundary, Sense of, in Dogs, 260 + + Bully's Short Cut, 30 + + + Canary, Dog and, 150 + + Canine Friendship, An Act of, 153 + + Canine Intelligence, 32 + + Canine Jealousy, 113 + + Canine Member of the S.P.C.A., 110 + + Canine Nurse, A, 147 + + Canine Sightseer, A, 44 + + Cat-and-Dog Friendship, 256 + + Cat-and-Dog Love, 151 + + Cat's Paw, A Story of a, 233 + + Cautious Dogs, 61 + + Character of a Dog, Features in the, 26 + + Collies at Work, 191, 192 + + Colour-blind? Are Dogs, 213 + + Commercial Treaty between Dog and Hen, 19 + + Communication, Teaching Dogs a Method of, 74 + + Communication with Animals, 77 + + Conscience-stricken Dog, A, 103 + + Conscious Automata, 136 + + Courage of Animals, The, 217 + + Courtesy, A Dog's, 112 + + Cow's, A, Jealousy of a Dog, 200 + + Cunning Dogs, 170 + + Curious Friendship, A, 148 + + Curious Habits of Dogs, 155 + + Cut, Bully's Short, 30 + + + Deceivers, Dog, 173 + + Dinner, A Dog and his, 163 + + Dog, A, and a Rabbit, 141 + + Dog, A, and a Whip, 170 + + Dog, A, and his Dinner, 163 + + Dog, A Conscience-stricken, 103 + + Dog, A Jealous, 115 + + Dog, A, Obeying a Summons, 210 + + Dog, A, on Long Sermons, 17 + + Dog, A Parcel-carrying, 47 + + Dog, A Rusé, 171 + + Dog, A Sunday, 197 + + Dog, A, that Scorned to be Jealous, 116 + + Dog, An Alpine, 63 + + Dog and Canary, 150 + + Dog and Hen, Commercial Treaty between, 19 + + Dog and Kittens, 145 + + Dog and Pigeon, 139 + + Dog and the Ferry, 33 + + Dog Consciousness, 228 + + Dog, Cow's Jealousy of a, 200 + + Dog Deceivers, 173 + + Dog, Features in the Character of a, 26 + + Dog Friends, 133 + + Dog Friendships, 131 + + Dog, Intelligent Suspicion in a, 61 + + Dog Nurse, A, 20 + + Dog Story, A, 230 + + Dog Story, A, 254 + + Dog Story, An Australian, 203 + + Dog, Sympathy in a, 107 + + Dog, The, that Buried the Frogs, 157 + + Dog's Affection, A, 105 + + Dog's Courtesy, A, 112 + + Dog's Humanity, A, 108 + + Dog's Remorse, A, 101 + + Dogs and Language, 64 + + Dogs and Looking-glasses, 164 + + Dogs and the Arts, 119 + + Dogs, Cautious, 61 + + Dogs, Cunning, 170 + + Dogs, Curious Habits of, 155 + + Dogs, Emotion and Sentiment in, 99 + + Dogs, Guardian, 179 + + Dogs, Hospital, 22 + + Dogs, Humour and Cunning in, 165 + + Dogs, Instinct of Locality in, 83 + + Dogs, Music and, 121 + + Dogs, Power of Imitation in, 167 + + Dogs, Purchasing, 51 + + Dogs, Railway, 94 + + Dogs, Reason of, 37 + + Dogs, Reasoning Powers of, 49 + + Dogs, Recognition of Likenesses by, 124 + + Dogs, Sense of Boundary in, 260 + + Dogs, Sense of Humour in, 168, 169 + + Dogs, Sentiment and Emotion in, 99 + + Dogs, Syllogistic, 14 + + Dogs, Teaching a Method of Communication to, 74 + + Dogs, Two Anecdotes of, 206 + + Dogs, Useful, 177 + + + Emotion and Sentiment in Dogs, 99 + + Explanation, An, 159 + + + Features in the Character of a Dog, 26 + + Ferry, Dog and the, 33 + + Foreknowledge of Death? Have Animals a, 221 + + Four-footed Friends, Our, 224 + + Friends, Dog, 133 + + Friendship, A Cat-and-Dog, 256 + + Friendship, A Curious, 148 + + Friendship, An Act of Canine, 153 + + Friendships, Dog, 131 + + Friendships of Dogs with other Animals, 135 + + Frogs, The Dog that Buried the, 157 + + + Guardian Dogs, 179 + + + Habits of Dogs, Curious, 155 + + Have Animals a Foreknowledge of Death? 221 + + Hen and Puppies, 137 + + Hen, Commercial Treaty between Dog and a, 19 + + Hospital Dogs, 22 + + Humanity, A Dog's, 108 + + Humour and Cunning in Dogs, 165 + + + Instinct, Maternal, in Animals, 219 + + Instinct of Locality in Dogs, 83 + + Instinct, or Reason? 21 + + Intelligence, A Pug's, 211 + + Intelligence, Animal, 68 + + Intelligence, Canine, 32 + + Intelligent Suspicion in a Dog, 61 + + + Jealous Dog, A, 115 + + Jealous, Dog that Scorned to be, 116 + + Jealousy, Canine, 113 + + + Kittens, Dog and, 145 + + + Language, Animals and, 72 + + Language, Dogs and, 64 + + Likenesses, Recognition of, by Dogs, 124 + + Locality in Dogs, Instinct of, 83 + + Looking-glasses, Dogs and, 164 + + Love, Cat and Dog, 151 + + Lucky and Unlucky, 214 + + + Maternal Instinct in Animals, 219 + + Meaning, How Conveyed to Animals, 65 + + Method of Communication, Teaching Dogs a, 74 + + Music and Dogs, 121 + + + Nurse, A Canine, 147 + + Nurse, A Dog, 20 + + + Our Four-footed Friends, 224 + + + Parcel-Carrying Dog, A, 47 + + Pictures, Recognition by Animals of, 129 + + Pigeon, Dog and, 139 + + Pigeon Story, 144 + + Plan, Thinking out a, 45 + + Power of Imitation in Dogs, 167 + + Powers, Reasoning, of Dogs, 49 + + Pug's Intelligence, A, 211 + + Puppies, Hen and, 137 + + Purchasing Dogs, 51 + + + Rabbit, A Dog and a, 141 + + Railway Dogs, 94 + + Reason, Instinct or, 21 + + Reason of Dogs, 37 + + Reasoning Powers of Dogs, 49 + + Recognition by Animals of Pictures, 129 + + Recognition of Likenesses by Dogs, 124 + + Remorse, A Dog's, 101 + + + Sense of Humour in Dogs, 168, 169 + + Short Cut, Bully's, 30 + + Sight-seer, A Canine, 44 + + S.P.C.A., A Canine Member of the, 110 + + Sprig, Biography of, 237 + + Summons, A Dog Obeying a, 210 + + Sunday Dog, A, 197 + + Suspicion, Intelligent, in a Dog, 61 + + Syllogistic Dogs, 14 + + Sympathy in a Dog, 107 + + + Teaching Dogs a Method of Communication, 74 + + Thinking out a Plan, 45 + + Treaty, Commercial, between Dog and Hen, 19 + + True, A, Watch-dog, 188 + + + Unlucky, Lucky and, 214 + + Useful Dogs, 177 + + + Watch-Dog, A True, 188 + + Whip, A Dog and a, 170 + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Dog Stories from the "Spectator", by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOG STORIES FROM THE "SPECTATOR" *** + +***** This file should be named 31847-8.txt or 31847-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/8/4/31847/ + +Produced by Irma Spehar, Christine D. and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Dog Stories from the "Spectator" + being anecdotes of the intelligence, reasoning power, + affection and sympathy of dogs, selected from the + correspondence columns of "The Spectator" + +Author: Various + +Editor: J. St. Loe Strachey + +Release Date: March 31, 2010 [EBook #31847] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOG STORIES FROM THE "SPECTATOR" *** + + + + +Produced by Irma Spehar, Christine D. and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class='trnote'><p>Transcriber's Note:</p> +<p>Punctuation, Spelling and Geographical errors retained as found in +the original.</p></div> + + +<h1><i>DOG STORIES.</i></h1> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + + + +<h2><a name="Dog_Stories" id="Dog_Stories"></a><span class="smcap">Dog Stories</span></h2> + +<p class='center'><i>FROM THE "SPECTATOR"</i></p> + +<div class='padding'> +<p class='center'> +BEING ANECDOTES OF THE INTELLIGENCE, REASONING +POWER, AFFECTION AND SYMPATHY OF +DOGS, SELECTED FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE +COLUMNS OF "THE SPECTATOR"</p> +</div> +<div class='padding'> +<p class='center'><i>WITH AN INTRODUCTION</i></p> + +<h3>BY</h3> + +<h2>J. <span class="smcap">St.</span> LOE STRACHEY</h2> +</div> +<div class='padding'> +<p class='center'> +NEW YORK: MACMILLAN AND CO.<br /> +MDCCCXCV<br /> +</p></div> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class='center'>"Sir, to leave things out of a book, merely because people +tell you they will not be believed, is meanness."</p> + +<p class='center'>(<i>Dr. Johnson.</i>)</p></div> + + +<p class='center'><i>All rights reserved.</i></p> + + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> + + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='right'>PAGE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>INTRODUCTION</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>SYLLOGISTIC DOGS</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE REASONING POWER OF DOGS</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>EMOTION AND SENTIMENT IN DOGS</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_99">99</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>DOGS AND THE ARTS</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>DOG FRIENDSHIPS</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_131">131</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>CURIOUS HABITS OF DOGS</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE SENSE OF HUMOUR AND CUNNING IN DOGS</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>USEFUL DOGS</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_177">177</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>MISCELLANEOUS</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td></tr> +</table></div> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION"></a>INTRODUCTION.</h2> + + +<h3>I.</h3> + +<p>The following Dog Stories are taken from the pages of the <i>Spectator</i>, +with the permission of the editors and proprietors. It was suggested to +me by Mr. Fisher Unwin that the many strange and pleasant stories of +dogs which from time to time are sent to the <i>Spectator</i> by its +correspondents would, if put together, form a volume of no little +entertainment for all who love dogs, or are interested in stories of +animal intelligence. Up till now the <i>Spectator</i> dog stories, after the +week of their publication, have practically been inaccessible to the +general reader; for he is a bold man who will attack a bound volume of a +newspaper in search of amusement. Though I at once agreed that the +suggested<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> book would be a very readable one, and likely to please +dog-lovers all the world over, I did not, till the selection was nearly +made, realise how much the stories gain by being grouped together. A +single story of a clever dog may amuse, but it is liable to be put aside +as an accident, a coincidence, a purely exceptional circumstance which +proves nothing. If, however, instead of a single story we have half a +dozen illustrating the same form of intelligence, the value of the +evidence is enormously increased, and a collection of dog stories may +become of very great value in determining such questions as the power of +dogs to act on reason as well as on instinct, or their ability to +understand human language. The solution of these problems is, I cannot +help thinking, materially advanced by the stories in the present book. +Take, again, the group of stories which I have labelled Purchasing Dogs. +One sample of this kind might, as I have noted above, be put off as a +case of imperfect observation, or as a curious coincidence; but when we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> +get a whole group of stories it becomes very difficult to doubt that +dogs may learn the first principles of the science of exchange. The +Italian dog (page <a href="#Page_59">59</a>) which did the narrator a service by fetching him +cigars, demanded payment in the shape of a penny, and then used that +penny by exchanging it for a loaf, was far advanced in the practice of +Political Economy. He not only understood and acted on an implied +contract, but realised the great fact at the back of the currency. "What +are guineas," said Horne Tooke, "but tickets for sheep and oxen!" The +Italian dog did not, like a savage, say, "What is the use of copper to +me, I cannot eat it?" Instead, he perceived that the piece of copper was +a ticket for bread. It should be noted too that this dog, the dog called +Hardy (page <a href="#Page_57">57</a>) and others, were able to distinguish between the pieces +of copper given them. Again, the Glasgow story (page <a href="#Page_53">53</a>) shows that a +dog can learn to realise that a halfpenny will buy not merely one thing +but several things—in fact, that the great advantage of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> exchange by +currency over barter is that it gives you a choice. While on the subject +of purchasing dogs, it is curious to reflect how very little is wanted +to convert the dog that is able to purchase into a free agent. If a dog +can exchange his faculty for cigar carrying or his tricks against +half-pence, why should he not exchange useful services, such as guarding +a house or herding sheep, and so become self-supporting? Imagine a +collie paid by the day, and, when his work was over, receiving twopence +and going off to buy his supper. But the vista opened is too +far-reaching. One sees down it dogs paid by the hour and by the piece, +and then dogs asking for better pay and shorter hours, and, finally, +dogs on strike, and dog "black-legs," or "free dogs."</p> + + +<h3>II.</h3> + +<p>A word should be said as to the authenticity of the stories in the +present volume. It is a matter of common form for the evening newspapers +to talk of the <i>Spectator</i> dog stories as hoaxes, and to refer in their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> +playful, way to "another <i>Spectator</i> dog." It might not then unnaturally +have been supposed that a person undertaking to edit and reprint these +stories would have found a considerable number that showed signs of +being hoaxes. I may confess, indeed, that I set out with the notion of +forming a sort of Appendix to the present work, which should be headed +"Ben Trovato," in which should be inserted stories which were too +curious and amusing to be left out altogether, but which, on the other +hand, were what the Americans call a little "too tall" to be accepted as +genuine. The result of my plan was unexpected. Though I found many +stories in which the inferences seemed strained or mistaken, and others +which contained indications of exaggeration, I could find but two +stories which could reasonably be declared as only suitable for a "Ben +Trovato." I therefore suppressed my heading. The truth is that the +animal stories are much more carefully sifted at the <i>Spectator</i> office +than our witty critics and contemporaries will admit. No stories<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> are +ever published unless the names and addresses of the writers are +supplied, and all stories are rejected which have anything clearly +suspicious about them. What the editors of the <i>Spectator</i> do not do is +to reject a dog-story because it states that a dog has been observed to +do something which has never been reported as having been done by a dog +before, or at any rate, something which is not universally admitted to +be doable by a dog. Apparently this willingness to print stories which +enlarge our notions of animal intelligence is regarded in certain +quarters as a sign that the <i>Spectator</i> will swallow anything, and that +its stories must be apocryphal. I cannot, however, help thinking that +all who care for the advancement of knowledge in regard to animals +should be grateful to the editors of the <i>Spectator</i> for not adopting +the plan of excluding all dog stories that do not correspond with an +abstract ideal of canine intelligence. Had they acted on the principle +of putting every anecdote that seemed <i>primâ facie</i> unlikely into the +waste-paper basket, they would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> certainly have missed a great many +stories of real value. In truth, there is nothing so credulous as +universal incredulity. An attitude of general incredulity means a blind +belief in the existing state of opinion. If we believe that animals have +no reasoning power, and refuse to examine evidence that is brought to +show the contrary, we are adopting, the attitude of those who disbelieve +that the earth goes round the sun because they seem daily to see a proof +of an exactly opposite proposition. If people are to refuse to believe +anything of a dog that does not sound likely on the face of it, we shall +never get at the truth about animal intelligence. What is wanted is the +careful preservation and collection of instances of exceptional +intelligence.</p> + + +<h3>III.</h3> + +<p>Before I conclude this Introduction, I should like to address a word of +apology to the correspondents of the <i>Spectator</i> whose letters form the +present volume. Though the copyright of the letters belongs to the +editors<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> and proprietors of the <i>Spectator</i> I should have liked to ask +the leave of the various writers before republishing their letters. +Physical difficulties have, however rendered this impossible. In the +case of nearly half the letters the names and addresses have not been +preserved. In many instances, again, only the names remain. Lastly, a +large number of the letters are ten or twelve, or even twenty years old, +and the writers may therefore be dead or out of England. Under these +circumstances I have not made any effort to enter into communication +with the writers before including their letters in this book. That their +permission would have been given, had it been asked, I do not doubt. The +original communication of the letters to the <i>Spectator</i> is proof that +the writers wished a public use to be made of the anecdotes they relate. +As long, then, as the letters are not altered or edited, but produced +verbatim, I may, I think, feel assured that I am doing nothing which is +even remotely discourteous to the writers.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="SYLLOGISTIC_DOGS" id="SYLLOGISTIC_DOGS"></a><i>SYLLOGISTIC DOGS.</i></h2> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p> +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p> +<h3>A DOG ON LONG SERMONS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Aug. 4, 1888.</i>]</p> + +<p>During a recent journey in Canada, I met with a striking instance of +reason in a dog. I was staying at the Mohawk Indian Institution, +Brantford, Ontario. The Rev. R. Ashton, superintendent of the school, is +also incumbent of the neighbouring Mohawk Church (the oldest Protestant +church in Canada). Mr. Ashton is very fond of animals, and has many +pets. One of these, a black-and-tan terrier, always accompanies the +ninety Indian children to church on Sunday morning. He goes to the +altar-rails, and lies down facing the congregation. When they rise to +sing, he rises; and when they sit, he lies down. One day, shortly before +my visit, a stranger-clergyman was preaching, and the sermon was longer +than usual. The dog grew tired and restless, and at last a thought +occurred to him, upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> which he at once acted. He had observed that one +of the elder Indian boys was accustomed to hand round a plate for alms, +after which the service at once concluded. He evidently thought that if +he could persuade this boy to take up the collection, the sermon must +naturally end. He ran down to the back seat occupied by the boy, seated +himself in the aisle, and gazed steadfastly in the boy's face. Finding +that no notice was taken, he sat up and "begged" persistently for some +time, to Mr. Ashton's great amusement. Finally, as this also failed, the +dog put his nose under the lad's knee, and tried with all his strength +to force him out of his place, continuing this at intervals till the +sermon was concluded.</p> + +<p>Did not this prove a distinct power of consecutive reasoning?</p> + +<p class='right'>A. H. A.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p> +<h3>A COMMERCIAL TREATY BETWEEN A DOG AND A HEN.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>July 7, 1888.</i>]</p> + +<p>Your dog-loving readers may be interested in the following instance of +animal sagacity. Bob is a fine two-year-old mastiff, with head and face +of massive strength, heightened by great mildness of expression. One day +he was seen carrying a hen, very gently, in his mouth, to the kennel. +Placing her in one corner, he stood sentry while she laid an egg, which +he at once devoured. From that day the two have been fast friends, the +hen refusing to lay anywhere but in "Bob's" kennel, and getting her +reward in the dainty morsels from his platter. There must have been a +bit of canine reasoning here. "Bob" must have found eggs to his liking, +that they were laid by hens, and that he could best secure a supply by +having a hen to himself.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Thomas Hamer</span>.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span></p> + +<h3>A DOG NURSE.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 20, 1875.</i>]</p> + +<p>A patient recently consulted me who was blind and subject to fits. I +pointed out to her friends the danger to which she was exposed in case a +fit came on when she was in the vicinity of a fire, and they informed me +that she incurred little or no risk, because a favourite dog ran at once +and fetched assistance the moment a fit came on. This intelligent animal +would rush into the next house barking eagerly, would seize the dress of +the woman who lived there, and drag her to the assistance of his +mistress. If one did not go, he would seize another, and exhibited the +most lively symptoms of distress until his object was accomplished.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Charles Bell Taylor, M.D., F.R.C.S.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p> +<h3>INSTINCT, OR REASON?</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Sept. 1, 1888.</i>]</p> + +<p>The following incident in dog-life may perhaps find a place in the +<i>Spectator</i>. I quote from a letter received a few days ago from my +nephew, "T. G. T.," resident in South Africa:—"Johannesburg, +Traansvaal.—My dog Cherry has had three great pups, and I had to leave +her behind at the Grange. When I was going away, Cherry and the pups +were located in some stables. She came out and watched the tent-truck +and my things packed up. Presently I went away, and when I came back I +found Cherry had carried all the pups on to the top of my luggage, and +evidently had not the least intention of staying behind."</p> + +<p class='right'>T. W. T.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p> +<h3>HOSPITAL DOGS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>June 26, 1875.</i>]</p> + +<p>Dr. Walter F. Atlee writes to the editor of the <i>Philadelphia Medical +Times</i>:—</p> + +<p>"In a letter recently received from Lancaster, where my father resides, +it is said:—'A queer thing occurred just now. Father was in the office, +and heard a dog yelping outside the door; he paid no attention until a +second and louder yelp was heard, when he opened it, and found a little +brown dog standing on the step upon three legs. He brought him in, and +on examining the fourth leg, found a pin sticking in it. He drew out the +pin, and the dog ran away again.' The office of my father, Dr. Atlee, is +not directly on the street, but stands back, having in front of it some +six feet of stone wall with a gate. I will add, that it has not been +possible to discover anything more about this dog.</p> + +<p>"This story reminds me of something similar that occurred to me while +studying medicine in this same office nearly thirty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> years ago. A man, +named Cosgrove, the keeper of a low tavern near the railroad station, +had his arm broken, and came many times to the office to have the +dressings arranged. He was always accompanied by a large, most +ferocious-looking bull-dog, that watched me most attentively, and most +unpleasantly to me, while bandaging his master's arm. A few weeks after +Cosgrove's case was discharged, I heard a noise at the office door, as +if some animal was pawing it, and on opening it, saw there this huge +bull-dog, accompanied by another dog that held up one of its front legs, +evidently broken. They entered the office. I cut several pieces of wood, +and fastened them firmly to the leg with adhesive plaster, after +straightening the limb. They left immediately. The dog that came with +Cosgrove's dog I never saw before nor since."</p> + +<p>Do not these stories adequately show that the dogs reasoned and drew new +inferences from a new experience?</p> + +<p class='right'>B.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span></p> +<p class='right'>[<i>April 6, 1889.</i>]</p> + +<p>Knowing your interest in dogs, I venture to send you the following +story. A week or two ago, the porter of the Bristol Royal Infirmary was +disturbed one morning about 6.30 by the howling of a dog outside the +building. Finding that it continued, he went out and tried to drive it +away; but it returned and continued to howl so piteously, that he was +obliged to go out to it again. This time he observed that one of its +paws was injured. He therefore brought it in and sent for two nurses, +who at once dressed the paw, and were rewarded by every canine sign of +gratitude, including much licking of their hands. The patient was +"retained" for two days, during which time he received every attention +from those inside the house, and from the neighbours outside, who +quickly heard of the case. As no one appeared to claim the dog, he was +sent to the Home for Lost Dogs in the city, where so interesting an +animal was, of course, not long in finding a purchaser. The dog was one +of those called "lurchers."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p> + +<p>I have myself called on the porter of the infirmary for confirmation of +the story, and am assured by him of its truth. How did an apparently +friendless dog know where to go for surgical aid? The case differs from +that of the dog which took its friend for treatment to King's College +Hospital in London, for I understand that the King's College dog had +previously been taken to the hospital for treatment itself; but in this +case there is no such clue.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Helen M. Sturge</span>.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p> +<h3>FEATURES IN THE CHARACTER OF A DOG.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>June 10, 1876.</i>]</p> + +<p>For some time past I have noticed in your journal letters and articles +referring to the wonderful powers of dogs. As I was myself much struck +by many features in the character of a dog which I knew, illustrating, +as I think, not only affection, but reasoning faculties, I shall +acquaint you with a few of these, believing that they may be +<i>interesting</i>, at least to all admirers of that noble animal.</p> + +<p>The dog of which I speak was a terrier. It showed its affection in the +most marked manner in several ways. Every morning, as soon as it got out +of the kitchen, it came to its master's door, and if not admitted and +caressed about the usual hour, gave evident signs of impatience. It +would lie quiet till it thought the time had arrived, but never longer. +Afterwards it went to the breakfast-room, and occupied its master's +chair till he arrived. On one occasion a visitor was in the house, who, +coming first into the room,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> ordered the dog to come off the best chair. +To this it paid no attention, and when threatened with expulsion, at +once prepared for defence. But as soon as its master appeared it +resigned its place voluntarily, and quietly stretched itself on the rug +at his feet.</p> + +<p>At another time it was left for three weeks during its master's absence +from home. It saw him leave in a steamer, and every day until his return +it repaired to the quay upon the arrival of the same boat, expecting him +to come again in the one by which he had gone. It distinguished between +a number of boats, always selecting the right one and the right hour.</p> + +<p>One evening it accompanied its master when he went to gather mussels for +bait. As the tide was far in, few mussels remained uncovered; and after +collecting all within reach, more were required. A large bunch lay a few +feet from the water's edge, but beyond reach; yet as the dog was not one +of those who take the water to fetch, its master had no expectation that +it would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> prove useful on the present occasion. Seeing him looking at +the mussels, however, it first took a good look at those in the basket, +and then, without being directed at all, went into the water. Selecting +the right bunch from amongst the stones and wreck with which it was +surrounded, it brought it to land, and laid it at its master's feet. +This, I think, is a proof of <i>reason</i>, rather than of instinct. The dog +had never been trained to go into the sea, and would not probably have +brought out the mussels had it not seen that they were wanted.</p> + +<p>It showed wonderful instinct, however, just before the death of one of +its pups, and before its own death. Its pup had not been thriving, and +the mother gave unmistakable proof that she foresaw its death. She dug a +grave for it and put it in. Nor, when it was removed, would she let it +lie beside her, but immediately dug another grave, where she was less +likely to be disturbed. Upon the day of her own death, also, she used +what strength she had to dig her grave, in which she lay, preferring to +die in it, than in what<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> would seem to most a place of greater +comfort.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> + +<p>These may not be singular incidents, but they are still remarkable and +worthy of notice. They serve to show us the wonderful nature of man's +faithful friend, the dog, and how he has many traits of character fitted +to make him the worthy receiver of kindness and respect.</p> + +<p class='right'>T.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> It is difficult to accept T.'s explanation of the dog's +object in digging. Possibly its aim was to obtain warmth or shelter.</p></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p> +<h3>BULLY'S SHORT CUT.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Aug. 29, 1874.</i>]</p> + +<p>I see that you welcome all notes of interest upon our fellow-beings, the +dogs. Here is one that seems to prove they have a sense of time and of +distance as measured by time.</p> + +<p>I was walking with my bull-terrier, Bully (seven years old last +Christmas), during a hot afternoon this month homewards along the Bund +(Shanghai), and I suddenly missed him. I turned back for twenty or +thirty yards, and, not finding him, I gave up the search, saying, "He +knows the way home well enough." Presently I saw him on my right, +dripping with water, cantering on at a round pace, without looking about +him, homewards. I watched him, curious to see whether he would go +straight home. No. He kept on till he reached the distance of about 150 +yards, and looked ahead, <i>not</i> smelling the ground. He then deliberately +walked back, catching sight of me in about twenty yards after his +turning back, and wagged his tale recognisingly. He had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> evidently been +to cool himself in the river (thirty yards to the right, it being low +tide), and, thinking I would go on at the ordinary pace without him, he, +after his bath, struck directly at a long diagonal for the point I would +have reached if I had not turned back to look for him. He did not seem +to have the slightest misgiving as to his sense of the distance I +<i>ought</i> to have walked during the time of his bath. His turning was done +seemingly with a calm assurance of certainty. I may add that there were +twenty to thirty foot-passengers scattered over the portion of road in +question at the time, whose footsteps might have effaced my scent on the +<i>watered</i> granite macadamised roadway, even supposing the dog to have +tried his sense of smell, <i>which he did not</i>, as far as I could see, and +I noticed him carefully.</p> + +<p class='right'>W. G. S.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p> +<h3>CANINE INTELLIGENCE.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>July 24, 1886.</i>]</p> + +<p>You often give us pleasant anecdotes of our four-footed friends. You may +think the following worthy of record. I have a little dog, a not +particularly well-bred fox-terrier. He is much attached to me, and shows +by his obedience, and sometimes <i>in</i> his disobedience, that he +understands a good deal. Yesterday I was away all day, and he, I am +told, was very uneasy, and searched everywhere for me. Every day at 5 +p.m. I go to church. Toby seems to know this is not an ordinary walk, +and never offers to come with me. But yesterday, when the bell began, he +started off and took up his position by the vestry door. I believe he +reasoned with himself, "There goes the bell; now I shall catch the +Vicar."</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">William Quennell.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE DOG AND THE FERRY.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>April 4, 1885.</i>]</p> + +<p>Reading from time to time many pleasant anecdotes in the columns of the +<i>Spectator</i>—which, by the way, I receive as regularly, and read as +eagerly, as when resident in England many years ago—relative to the +sagacity of dogs, I send the following, thinking it possible you may +deem it worthy of insertion.</p> + +<p>Some three years ago I was "having a spell" in Brisbane, after a +lengthened sojourn on a sheep station in the interior of Queensland. +During my stay in the city I had the good fortune to gain the friendship +of a gentleman who owned a magnificent collie. My friend, his dog Sweep, +and myself, were frequently together, engaged either in yachting among +the islands of Moreton Bay, or 'possum hunting under the towering +<i>eucalypti</i> which fringe the banks of the river Brisbane. Naturally +"Sweep" (who was a most lovable animal) and myself soon began to +entertain a warm friendship for one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> another, which friendship gave rise +to the anecdote I am about to relate. Returning to my hotel about +midnight from the house of a friend, I was not a little startled at +finding my hand suddenly seized from behind by a dog, which, however, I +at once recognised as my handsome acquaintance, Sweep. I patted him, at +the same time endeavouring to withdraw the hand which he held firmly, +but gently, between his teeth. It was of no use, as, in spite of all my +endearments, he insisted on retaining his hold, wriggling along by my +side, and vigorously wagging his tail, as though he would say, "Don't be +afraid; it's all right." We soon reached a point in the main street down +which we were walking, where a side avenue branched off towards the +river. My way lay right ahead. Sweep, however, insisted on my taking the +road which lay at a right-angle to my course. I felt some annoyance at +his persistence, as I was both tired and sleepy; but, having no choice +in the matter, I followed his lead. Having walked some two or three +hundred yards down <i>his</i> street, he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> released his hold, dancing round +me, then running on for a few yards and looking back to see if I were +following. Becoming interested, I determined to see what he was after, +so, without further resistance, I followed submissively. At last, having +reached the river, which at this place was about four hundred yards +wide, he, with many joyous barks, ran down the ferry steps, and jumped +into the empty boat of the ferryman. At last I was able to guess at his +motive for forcing me to follow him. His master, who lived across the +river, had accidentally lost sight of his dog returning from his office +in the city; and Sweep appeared to understand perfectly that unless the +boatman received his fare he, Sweep, would not be carried over, my +friend frequently sending the dog over by himself when wishing to attend +concerts, &c., invariably paying the fare as of an ordinary passenger. +The ferryman, who at once recognised my canine friend, laughed heartily +when I told him how I had been served, took my penny, and set off at +once for "Kangaroo Point," Sweep<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> gaily barking "good-night" until he +reached the opposite bank. I heard subsequently that he used to swim the +river when left behind; but having had two narrow escapes from sharks, +his nerves had become somewhat shaken so far as water was concerned.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">J. Wm. Creighton.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE REASON OF DOGS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Nov. 13, 1875.</i>]</p> + +<p>Having often read, with great pleasure, the anecdotes about dogs which +from time to time appear in the <i>Spectator</i>, I venture to send you one +which has come under my own observation, and which, it seems to me, +shows an effort of reasoning implying two distinct ideas—one the +consequence of the other—more interesting than many of those clever +performances of educated dogs which may or may not be merely mechanical +actions.</p> + +<p>The dog who performed the following trick was then a great, half-grown, +awkward puppy, whose education, up to that time, had been much +neglected. It has been better attended to since, and now, although +sportsmen probably consider such an animal sadly thrown away upon a +lady, he is a very pleasant friend and companion. My two dogs, Guy and +Denis, form as capital a pair, for contrast's sake, as one need wish to +see. They are both handsome dogs of their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>kind—Guy, a fine black +retriever, with no white hair upon him, and, I believe, in the eyes of +sportsmen, as well as those of his mistress, a very desirable +possession, good-tempered, clever, and affectionate; Denis, as naughty +and spoilt a little fellow as ever existed, and a great pet, also black, +except for his yellow paws and chest, but covered with long, loose +locks, instead of Guy's small, crisp curls.</p> + +<p>Denis is exceedingly comic, and a constant source of amusement. He is +very faithful to his mistress, whose bedside during illness he has +refused to leave, even for food; but it must be confessed that he is not +amiably disposed towards most people, and is a perfect tyrant over the +other animals. Some account of the two dogs' character is necessary, to +explain the little scene which took place between them one evening about +a year ago. Guy, it must be premised, is at least twelve months younger +than Denis, consequently, when the former first arrived—a miserable and +very ugly little puppy, a few weeks old, more like a small black jug +than any known animal of the canine species,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> having had the mange, and +lost all his hair—Denis undertook his education, and ruled him so +severely that his influence lasted a long while; indeed, even after Guy +had grown so big that Denis almost needed to stand upon his hind legs in +order to snap at him, the great dog would crouch meekly at a growling +remonstrance from the little master, and never dared to invade his +rights—to approach his plate of food, or to drink before him. Now a +days Guy has discovered his own power, and although too good-natured an +animal ever to ill-treat the little dog, no longer allows any liberties, +but at the same time, when the scene which I am about to describe took +place, he was still under the impression that Denis's wrath was a +terrible and dangerous matter.</p> + +<p>And now for my story, which, it seems to me, shows as much real +reasoning power in an untrained animal as any anecdote that I ever read. +One evening I took my two dogs to the kitchen, to give them the rare +treat of a bone apiece. (Dogs were certainly never intended to make +Natal their home,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> for, in order to keep them alive at all, they should +never be given anything that they like, especially meat, and even then +the most careful management often fails in preserving them from disease +and death.) One of my sisters was with me, and together we watched the +dogs over their supper. Guy, with his great mouth, and ravenous, growing +appetite, made short work with his, every vestige of which had vanished; +while little Denis was still contentedly sucking away at his small +share, not very hungry, and taking his pleasures sedately, like a +gentleman, as he is. And then Guy began to watch the other with an +envious eye, evidently casting about in his mind how he might gain +possession of that bone. He was even then, though not full grown, so big +and strong that he could have taken it by force with the greatest ease; +but such an idea did not cross his mind; he decided to employ stratagem +to win the prize. I must mention here, that amongst other naughty +practices of my dogs, is that of rushing out of the house and barking +violently upon the slightest sound without.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> This is Denis's fault, +which Guy, in spite of all my lessons, has contracted from him. With the +evident intention of sending Denis out, Guy suddenly started up, and +began to bark <i>towards</i> the door in an excited manner, but not running +out himself, as he certainly would have done, had he really heard +anything. Down went Denis's bone, and out rushed he, barking at the top +of his voice. Did Guy follow him? Oh, dear no! he had no such +intentions; he sneaked up to Denis's bone immediately, picked it up, and +ran to the other end of the room. But when he had got it, he did not +know what to do with it; there was no hiding-place for him there, and he +dare neither await Denis's return openly, nor risk meeting him at the +door. My sister and I were, by this time, both sitting on a bench +against the wall, watching the scene between the dogs, and Guy, after +running once round the room, with the bone in his mouth, came and crept +in beneath my seat, where he was hidden by my dress, and where he lay, +not eating the bone, and in perfect silence. Presently Master Denis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> +trotted back, quite unconscious, and shaking the curls out of his eyes, +as much as to say, "My dear fellow! what a fuss you've made; there's +nothing there." He looked about for his bone for a few minutes, but soon +gave up the search, and began to amuse himself with other things. After +a while, I, forgetting the culprit beneath my seat, rose, and crossed +the room, leaving him exposed. Guy was in a great fright; he jumped up, +and running to my sister, who was still seated, he stood up with his +forepaws upon her lap, and the bone still untouched in his mouth, as +though begging her protection. Denis, however, did not observe him, and +after a few minutes, Guy's courage returned, and finally he ventured to +lie down, with the bone between his paws, and began to gnaw it, keeping +one eye fixed on Denis the while. This, however, was going a step too +far. Denis was attracted by the sound, and recognised his own bone the +moment that he looked round. He marched up to Guy (who immediately +stopped eating) and stood before him. Denis growled, and Guy slowly +removed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> one great paw from his prize. Denis advanced a step, with +another growl; Guy removed the other paw, and slunk back a little, +whereupon Master Denis calmly walked up, took possession of his bone, +and went off with it.</p> + +<p>I am bound, however, to remark that after another half-hour's contented +amusement over it, he resigned the remainder, which was too hard for his +small mouth, to Guy, who finished the last morsel with great +satisfaction. Now that he is full grown, Guy still gives up to Denis in +many little ways, but it is evidently through generosity only, for he +has proved himself perfectly capable of taking his own part. But he is +very gentle with his little playmate, except at night, when he lies +across my door-way—entirely of his own accord—and will allow no one +and nothing to enter without my command.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Frances E. Colenso.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p> +<h3>A CANINE SIGHT-SEER.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>May 20, 1876.</i>]</p> + +<p>As a subscriber to your journal, I have observed from time to time +discussion on the "reasoning power of dogs." I will tell you what I +observed to-day. In consequence of the Levée there was a great crowd in +Pall Mall. I was invited by a friend to accompany him in his carriage +from St. James's Palace down Pall Mall, when lo and behold, his dog, +which usually runs with the carriage, insisting on getting in also. +Nothing could induce him to get out, and whilst passing along Pall Mall +he amused himself looking out of window at the police, soldiers, and +crowd collected. When through, he was glad enough to get out again, and +readily followed through the most frequented streets. Now, I have no +doubt as to that dog's "reasoning power," respecting his ability to +follow his carriage safely through the dense crowd collected around St. +James's Palace and Marlborough House.</p> + +<p class='right'>H.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p> +<h3>THINKING OUT A PLAN.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>March 3, 1888.</i>]</p> + +<p>Are animals able to think over and carry out a plan? The following +anecdotes will answer the question. When in India, I had a small rough +terrier who, when given a bone, was sent to eat it on the gravel drive +under an open porch in front of the bungalow. On several occasions two +crows had made an attempt to snatch the dainty morsel, but their plans +were easily defeated by Topsy's growls and snapping teeth. Away flew the +crows to the branch of a tree near by. After a few moments of evident +discussion, they proceeded to carry out the plan of attack. One crow +flew down to the ground and gave a peck at the end of the dog's tail. +Topsy at once turned to resent this attack in the rear, whilst the other +crow flew down and bore the bone away in triumph.</p> + +<p>The same dog had a favourite resting-place in an easy-chair, and was +very often deprived of it by a dog which came as visitor to the house. +Topsy did not approve of this,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> and her attempts to regain her seat were +met with growls and bites. This justified an act of eviction, and the +busy little brain decided on a plan. The next day, as usual, the +intruder established himself in the chair, which was close to the open +door. Topsy looked on for a moment, and then flew savagely out of doors, +barking at a supposed enemy. Out ran the other dog to see what was up, +and back came Topsy to take possession of her coveted seat. The other +dog came slowly back, and curled himself up in a far-off corner. The +above I was an eye-witness to, and therefore can vouch for the truth of +what I relate.</p> + +<p class='right'>K. P.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p> +<h3>A PARCEL-CARRYING DOG.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 9, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>In illustration of the anecdotal letters about dogs and their habits, in +the <i>Spectator</i> of February 2nd, and Mr. Lang's paper in this month's +<i>Nineteenth Century</i>, I send you the following story of a dog which I +had in 1851 and for three years afterwards. He was a handsome +Newfoundland dog, and one of the most intelligent animals with which it +was ever my good luck to meet. I was living in a village about three +miles from Dover, where I did all my shopping and marketing, being +generally my own "carrier." Sometimes Nep would carry home a small +parcel for me, and always most carefully. On one occasion Nep was with +me when I chose a spade, and asked the ironmonger to send it by the +village carrier. The spade was put by, labelled and duly addressed. I +went on to have a bathe, my dog going with me, but on finishing my +toilet in the machine, and calling and whistling for Nep, he was nowhere +to be seen. He was not to be found<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> at the stable where I had left my +horse, but on calling at the ironmonger's shop I found he had been there +and had carried off the spade which I had bought, balancing it carefully +in his mouth. When I reached home, there Nep was, lying near his kennel +in the stable-yard looking very fagged, but wearing a countenance of the +fullest self-satisfaction, and evidently wishing me to think he had +fulfilled his "dog-duty." My friend Mr. Wood, who was a thorough lover +and admirer of dogs, was delighted to hear of his intelligent +performance.</p> + +<p class='right'>"<span class="smcap">Canophilist.</span>"</p> + +<p>P.S.—I may add Nep always guarded me when bathing, and always went into +the water with me, too, often uttering a peculiar kind of "howl."</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_REASONING_POWERS_OF_DOGS" id="THE_REASONING_POWERS_OF_DOGS"></a><i>THE REASONING POWERS OF DOGS.</i></h2> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p> + +<h3>PURCHASING DOGS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>May 26, 1877.</i>]</p> + +<p>Some time ago I sent you my recollections of a dog who knew a halfpenny +from a penny, and who could count up as far as two (see page 56). I have +been able to obtain authentic information of a dog whose mental powers +were still more advanced, and who, in his day, besides being celebrated +for his abilities, was of substantial benefit to a charitable +institution in his town. The dog I refer to was a little white +fox-terrier, Prin by name, who lived at the Lion Hotel, at +Kidderminster, for three or four years; but now, alas! he is dead, and +nothing remains of him but his head in a glass case.</p> + +<p>I had heard of this dog some months ago, but on Saturday last, having to +make a visit to Kidderminster, I went to see him. The facts I give about +him are based on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> statements of Mr. Lloyd, his master, and they are +fully substantiated by the evidence of many others. I have before me a +statement of the proceeds of "Dog Prin's box, Lion Hotel; subscriptions +to the Infirmary." The contributions began in September, 1874, and ended +on April 25th, 1876, and during that period the sum of £13 14s. 6d. was +contributed through Prin's instrumentality.</p> + +<p>He began by displaying a fancy for playing with coins, not unusual +amongst terriers, and he advanced to a discovery that he could exchange +the coins for biscuits. He learnt that for a halfpenny he could get two +biscuits, and for a penny, three; and, having become able to distinguish +between the two coins, it was found impossible to cheat him. If he had +contributed a penny, he would not leave the bar till he had had his +third biscuit; and if there was nobody to attend to his wants, he kept +the coin in his mouth till he could be served. Indeed, it was this +persistence which ultimately caused poor Prin's death, for there is +every reason to fear that he fell a victim to copper-poisoning.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p> + +<p>By a little training he was taught to place the coins, after he had got +the biscuits, upon the top of a small box fixed on the wall, and they +were dropped for him through a slot. He never objected to part with them +in this way, and having received the <i>quid pro quo</i>, he gave complete +evidence of his appreciation of the honourable understanding which is so +absolutely necessary for all commercial transactions.</p> + +<p>An authenticated case like this is of extreme value, for just as the +elementary stages of any science or discovery are the most difficult and +the slowest in accomplishment, so are the primary stages of all mental +processes. To find the preliminary steps of the evolution of mathematics +and commerce in a dog is therefore a very important observation, and +everything bearing on these early phases of intellect should be +carefully recorded.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Lawson Tait.</span></p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 10, 1877.</i>]</p> + +<p>The <i>Spectator</i> is always so kind to animals that I venture to send you +the following<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> story of a dog's sagacity, which may be depended upon as +absolutely true:—</p> + +<p>During the meeting of the British Association at Glasgow, a friend of +mine had occasion to go one day from that place to Greenock on business. +Hearing, on his arrival, that the person he wished to see was out, but +expected shortly to return home, he determined to take a stroll about +the town, to which he was a stranger. In the course of his walk he +turned into a baker's shop and bought a bun. As he stood at the door of +the shop eating his bun, a large dog came up to him and begged for a +share, which he got, and seemed to enjoy, coming back for piece after +piece. "Does the dog belong to you?" my friend asked of the shop-woman. +"No," she answered, "but he spends most of his time here, and begs +halfpennies from the people who pass." "Halfpennies! What good can they +be to him?" "Oh, he knows very well what to do with them; he comes into +the shop and buys cakes."</p> + +<p>This seemed rather a remarkable instance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> of cleverness even for the +cleverest of animals, so, by way of testing its reality, my friend went +out of the shop into the street, where he was immediately accosted by +the dog, who begged for <i>something</i> with all the eloquence of which a +dog is capable. He offered him a halfpenny, and was rather surprised to +see him accept it readily, and walk, with the air of a regular customer, +into the shop, where he put his forepaws on the counter, and held out +the halfpenny towards the attendant. The young woman produced a bun, but +that did not suit the dog, and he held his money fast. "Ah," she said, +"I know what he wants," and took down from a shelf a plate of +shortbread. This was right; the dog paid his halfpenny, took his +shortbread, and ate it with decorous satisfaction. When he had quite +finished he left the shop, and my friend, much amused, followed him, and +when he again begged found another halfpenny for him, and saw the whole +process gone through a second time.</p> + +<p>This dog clearly had learned by some means the use of money, and not +merely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> that it would buy something to eat, but that it would buy +several things, among which he could exercise a right of choice. What is +perhaps most remarkable is that his proceedings were entirely +independent, and for his own benefit, not that of any teacher or master.</p> + +<p class='right'>A. L. W.</p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 17, 1877.</i>]</p> + +<p>When a student at Edinburgh, I enjoyed the friendship of a brown +retriever, who belonged to a fishmonger in Lothion Street, and who was +certainly the cleverest dog I have ever met with. He was a cleverer dog +than the one described by "A. L. W." because he knew the relative value +of certain coins. In the morning he was generally to be seen seated on +the step of the fishmonger's shop-door, waiting for some of his many +friends to give him a copper. When he had got one, he trotted away to a +baker's shop a few doors off, and dropped the coin on the counter. If I +remember rightly (it is twelve or fifteen years ago), his weakness was +"soda scones." If he dropped a halfpenny<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> on the counter he was +contented with one scone, but if he had given a penny he expected two, +and would wait for the second, after he had eaten the first, until he +got it. That he knew exactly when he was entitled to one scone only, and +when he ought to get two, is certain, for I tried him often.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Lawson Tait.</span></p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 17, 1877.</i>]</p> + +<p>In the <i>Spectator</i> of the 10th inst. a correspondent describes the +purchase of cakes by a clever dog at Greenock. I should like to be +allowed to help preserve the memory of a most worthy dog-friend of my +youth, well remembered by many now living who knew Greenwich Hospital +some thirty or five-and-thirty years ago.</p> + +<p>At that time there lived there a dog-pensioner called Hardy, a large +brown Irish retriever. He was so named by Sir Thomas Hardy, when +Governor (Nelson's Hardy), who at the same time constituted him a +pensioner, at the rate of one penny per diem, for that he had one day +saved a life from drowning just opposite the hospital.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> Till that time +he was a poor stranger and vagrant dog—friendless. But thenceforward he +lived in the hospital, and <i>spent his pension himself</i> at the butcher's +shop, as he did also many another coin given to him by numerous friends. +Many is the halfpenny which, as a child, I gave Hardy, that I might see +him buy his own meat—which he did with judgment, and a due regard to +value. When a <i>penny</i> was given to him, he would, on arriving at the +shop, place it on the counter and rest his nose or paw upon it until he +received <i>two halfpennyworths</i>, nor would any persuasion induce him to +give up the coin for the usual smaller allowance. I was a young child at +the time, but I had a great veneration for Hardy, and remember him well, +but lest my juvenile memory might have been in fault, I have, before +writing this letter, compared my recollections with those of my elders, +who, as grown people, knew Hardy for many years, and confirm all the +above facts. There, indeed, was the right dog in the right place. Peace +to his shade!</p> + +<p class='right'>J. D. C.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p> +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 7, 1885.</i>]</p> + +<p>Have you room for one more dog story, which resembles one lately +reported in a French journal? A few years since I was sitting inside the +door of a shop to escape from the rain while waiting for a trap to take +me to the railway station in the old Etruscan city of Ferentino. +Presently an ill-bred dog of the pointer kind came and sat down in front +of me, looking up in my face, and wagging his tail to attract my +attention. "What does that dog want?" I asked of a bystander. "Signore," +he answered, "he wants you to give him a soldo to go and buy you a cigar +with." I gave the dog the coin, and he presently returned, bringing a +cigar, which he held crossways in his mouth until I took it from him. +Sent again and again, he brought me three or four more cigars from the +tobacco-shop. At length the dog's demeanour changed, and he gave vent to +his impatience by two or three low whines. "What does he want now?" I +asked. "He wants you to give him two soldi to go to the baker's and buy +bread for himself." I gave<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> him a two-soldo piece, and in a few minutes +the dog returned with a small loaf of bread, which he laid at my feet, +at the same time gazing wistfully in my face. "He won't take it until +you give him leave," said another bystander. I gave the requisite +permission, and the dear animal seized the loaf and disappeared with it +in his mouth, and did not again make his appearance before I left the +city. "He always does like this," said the standers-by, "whenever he +sees a stranger in Ferentino."</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Greville I. Chester</span>.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span></p> +<h3>CAUTIOUS DOGS.</h3> + + +<h3>INTELLIGENT SUSPICION IN A DOG.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>July 7, 1888.</i>]</p> + +<p>The following instance of dog instinct (or reasoning?) will, I think, +interest some of your readers. About a fortnight ago, while crossing the +Albula Pass, our driver stopped for a few moments at the little +restaurant on the highest point of it. A rough kind of herdsman's dog, +of no particular breed, I suppose, came out and sat down by the carriage +and looked up at us. We happened to have a few Marie biscuits in the +carriage, so I threw half of one out to him. I suppose he had no +experience in Huntley and Palmer's make, for he looked at and smelled it +carefully, and then declined to eat it, but again looked up at me. I +then took the remaining half, bit off and ate a little bit of it, and +then threw over the rest to him. This time he ate it at once, then +turned and ate the first piece, which he had before refused, and at once +came and asked for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> more, which I had great pleasure in giving him. I +may add that I have several times tried a similar experiment with more +pampered dogs at home, but have never succeeded with it. Whether this +arises from the latter knowing, in most cases, from experience what they +like and what they do not like, or, as I am rather inclined to think, +from the superior intelligence of this Alpine dog, who really reasoned +that what I could eat he could, I leave your readers to decide for +themselves.</p> + +<p class='right'>G. W. C.</p> + + +<h3>AN ALPINE DOG.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>July 21, 1888.</i>]</p> + +<p>I do not think that it was superior intelligence in the Alpine dog over +other intelligent dogs which induced him to wait to eat the biscuit till +he had seen the giver eat some of it. We have a very sagacious little +Highland terrier, and he in the same manner often refuses a new kind of +biscuit or cake until he has seen me bite off a small piece and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> eat it, +and then he will do the same. I have also found our boarhound +distrusting food occasionally, and declining to take it from his bowl +until I have given him some with my hand. Then he seems to feel that it +is all right, and comes down from his bench and eats it. This perhaps is +not exactly the same, but it is still a phase of a dog's distrust of +unaccustomed food, and his reasoning power respecting it. This wonderful +reasoning power any one accustomed to dogs soon discovers.</p> + +<p class='right'>J. B. G.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> +<h3>DOGS AND LANGUAGE.</h3> + + +<h3>DO DOGS UNDERSTAND OUR LANGUAGE?</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Aug. 4, 1883.</i>]</p> + +<p>I think the question has been mooted in your columns as to whether dogs +sometimes understand our language. A circumstance that has just occurred +leads me to think that it does happen, where they are highly organised +and living much with their owners. While our family party were sitting +over dessert, a cork jumped from an apollinaris-water bottle on the +sideboard. I took no notice at first, but after the conversation was +ended, I got up and looked about for a few minutes, soon giving up the +search. My brother asked what I was looking for, and I answered. I had +no sooner sat down than our little dog crept from behind a piece of +furniture, where she was reposing on the end of a rug, and went straight +up to the cork, looking up at me and pointing to it with her nose. It +was near me, but the shadow thrown by the table prevented my seeing it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> +She is a very nervous little fox-terrier, a most "comfort-loving +animal," and spends her life with one or the other of us on my sofa, +when her master is out, but hearing his voice at a great distance, and +always attending to it.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Anything but a Dog-fancier.</span></p> + + +<h3>HOW OUR MEANING IS CONVEYED TO ANIMALS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Aug. 11, 1883.</i>]</p> + +<p>The following anecdote may interest some of your readers:—Some years +ago, when starting for a foreign tour, I entrusted my little Scotch +terrier, Pixie, to the care of my brother, who lived about three miles +distant from my house. I was away for six weeks, during the whole of +which time Pixie remained contentedly at his new abode. The day, +however, before I returned, my brother mentioned in the dog's hearing +that I was expected back the next day. Thereupon, the dog started off, +and was found by me at my bedroom door the next morning, he having been +seen waiting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> outside the house early in the morning when the servants +got up, and been admitted by them. Pixie is still alive and flourishing, +and readily lends himself to experiments, which, however, yield no very +definite result. He certainly seems to understand as much of our meaning +as it concerns his own comfort to understand, but how he does it I +cannot quite determine. I should be sorry to affirm, clever as he is, +that he understands French and German, yet it is certainly a fact that +he will fall back just as readily if I say "Zurück!" as if I say "To +heel!" and advance to the sound "En avant!" as well as to "Hold up!" As +in both cases I am careful to avoid any elucidatory gesture or special +tone of voice, I am inclined to think that there must be here a species +of direct thought transference. At the same time, I am bound to add that +without the spoken word I am unable to convey the slightest meaning to +him. This, however, may be due to what I believe to be a fact, that it +is almost impossible without word or gesture to formulate the will with +any distinctness. If<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> this theory be correct, the verbal sounds used +would convey the speaker's meaning, not in virtue of the precise sounds +themselves, but of the intention put into them by the speaker. I should +be glad to know if the experience of others tends to confirm this +theory, which I do not remember to have seen suggested before.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">A. Eubule-Evans.</span></p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>Aug. 18, 1883.</i>]</p> + +<p>I beg to contribute another anecdote on the subject of how our meaning +is conveyed to animals. When I was in Norway with my husband, a dog +belonging to the people of the house went with us in all our walks. One +day a strange dog joined us, and seemed to wish to get up a fight with +our dog, Fechter, who for protection kept almost under our feet; my +husband said several times, "Go on, Fechter," in English, which he +immediately did, but soon came back again. At last we succeeded in +driving the strange dog away, but he soon returned. Then my husband said +without any alteration<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> of tone or gesture that I was aware of, "Drive +that dog away, Fechter." He immediately rushed at him, and we saw no +more of our troubler. I have long thought that dogs do understand, not +"the precise sounds themselves, but the intention put into them by the +speaker."</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">An Observer of Animals.</span></p> + + +<h3>ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Aug. 18, 1883.</i>]</p> + +<p>Perhaps I should have said the "Intelligence of Animals," but my +meaning, in relation to the interesting correspondence in your columns, +is no doubt clear. The whole question seems to me to lie in the +proverbial nutshell, and to be solvable by the proverbial common sense. +Dogs' hearing is undoubtedly very keen and accurate, and even subtle; +and dogs have also the power of putting this and that together in a +marvellously shrewd and almost rational fashion. They cannot understand +sentences, but they get hold of words, <i>i.e.</i>, sounds, and keep them +pigeon-holed in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> their memory. I might as well argue moral principle +from the fact that my dog Karl, like scores of other dogs, will hold a +piece of biscuit on his nose so long as I say "trust," and will when I +say "paid for" gaily toss his head and catch the biscuit in his honest +mouth, as argue that because he finds eleven tennis-balls among the +shrubs in five minutes, when I say, "We can't find them at all, Karl; do +go and find them, good dog, will you? Find the balls, old +fellow"—therefore he understands my sentence. He simply grasps the +words "find" and "balls," sees the game at a standstill, and reasons out +our needs and his responsibilities, quickened by the expectation of +pattings on the head, pettings, and pieces of biscuit. It is remarkable +that if I try to delude him by uttering "base coin" in the shape of +words just like the real words, as, for example, if I say "Jacob" +instead of "paid for," he makes no mistake, but refuses the morsel, +however delicate, till it <i>is</i> "paid for."</p> + +<p>Prominent nouns, participles, verbs, &c., make up the <i>lingua franca</i> +that so beautifully<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> links together men and dogs, and now and then men +and horses, their intelligence being quickened by their dumbness, as is +that of deaf and dumb men and women, whose other faculties become so +keenly intensified, and who put this and that together so much more +quickly than do we who have all our faculties. There are of course +"Admiral Crichtons" among dogs, as there are among men, but the +difference between dog and dog will generally, I think, be traceable +more to human training than to born capacity. The yearning look which +Karl gives when (told to "speak") he gives forth his voice in response, +is sometimes piteously like "Oh, that I could really tell all I feel!" +He is like, and all dogs of average intelligence are like, the Frenchman +I met yesterday on the beach at Hastings, who wanted to know whether he +could reach Ramsgate on foot before nightfall, and how far it was, and +who, as I only know a few French words, and am utterly unable to speak +or understand sentences, was obliged to make me understand his wants by +a few nouns such as everybody<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> knows, and by causing me to put this and +that together. There is of course the vital defect in the parallel that +I could learn to understand French, and the dog could never learn to +understand sentences; but as so many parallels have vital defects of +some kind, even down to that historic self-drawn parallel between +Alexander and the robber, we may well say, whether we be men or dogs, +"Let me reflect." Dogs do undoubtedly reflect, and reason, and remember; +and they never forget their "grammar," as school-boys do. Instinct, like +chance, is only a name expressing fitly enough our own ignorance. Did +not Luther and Wesley believe in the resurrection of animals?</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">S. B. James.</span></p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>Aug. 25, 1883.</i>]</p> + +<p>A little illustration of canine intelligence shown by my collie, Dido, +may be added to those which have lately appeared in the <i>Spectator</i>. The +dog was lying on the floor in a room in which I was preparing to go out. +An old servant was present, and when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> I had given her directions about +an errand on which she was going, I said, "You will take Dido with you?" +She assented, and the dog directly got up to follow her downstairs. I +then remembered that I should want a cab, so I asked the servant to send +one, and not to leave the house till I rang the bell. On her leaving the +room, Dido resumed her quiet attitude on the floor, with her nose to the +carpet. In rather less than ten minutes I rang the bell, and the dog at +once sprang up and ran downstairs to join her companion. I had not +spoken a word after asking the servant to wait for the bell. Was this +word-reading, or voice-reading, or thought-reading.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">S. E. De Morgan.</span></p> + + +<h3>ANIMALS AND LANGUAGE.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Sept. 1, 1883.</i>]</p> + +<p>I can match Mrs. De Morgan's pretty story of her Dido. A wise old dog +with whom I have the privilege to associate was, two or three days ago, +lying asleep in her basket by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> the fire. I entered the room with my hat +on, and invited her to join me in a walk; but, after looking up at me +for a moment, as canine politeness required, she dropped back among her +cushions, obviously replying, "Thank you very much, but I prefer +repose." Thereupon I observed, in a clear voice, "I am <i>not</i> going on +the road [a promenade disliked by the dogs, because the walls on either +side restrict the spirit of scientific research]; I am going up the +mountain." Instantly my little friend jumped up, shook her ears, and, +with a cheerful bark, announced herself as ready to join the party.</p> + +<p>Beyond doubt or question, Colleen had either understood the word "road," +or the word "mountain," or both, and determined her proceedings +accordingly. Nothing in my action showed, or could show, the meaning of +my words.</p> + +<p>If any of your readers who have resided for some weeks or months in a +country where a language is spoken entirely foreign to their own—say, +Arabic, or Basque, or Welsh—will recall of how many words they +insensibly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> learn the meaning without asking it, and merely by hearing +them always used in certain relations, they will have, I think, a fair +measure of the extent and nature of a dog's knowledge of the language of +his masters. My dog has lived fewer years in the world than I have +passed in Wales, but he knows just about as much English as I know +Welsh, and has acquired it just in the same way.</p> + +<p class='right'>F. P. C.</p> + + +<h3>TEACHING DOGS A METHOD OF COMMUNICATION.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Dec. 29, 1883.</i>]</p> + +<p>Mr. Darwin's "Notes on Instinct," recently published by my friend, Mr. +Romanes, have again called attention to the interesting subject of +instinct in animals.</p> + +<p>Miss Martineau once remarked that, considering how long we have lived in +close association with animals, it is astonishing how little we know +about them, and especially about their mental condition. This applies +with especial force to our domestic animals, and, above all, of course, +to dogs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> I believe that it arises very much from the fact that hitherto +we have tried to teach animals, rather than to learn from them—to +convey our ideas to them, rather than to devise any language, or code of +signals, by means of which they might communicate theirs to us. No doubt +the former process is interesting and instructive, but it does not carry +us very far.</p> + +<p>Under these circumstances it has occurred to me whether some such system +as that followed with deaf mutes, and especially by Dr. Howe with Laura +Bridgman, might not prove very instructive if adapted to the case of +dogs. Accordingly I prepared some pieces of stout cardboard, and printed +on each in legible letters a word, such as "food," "bone," "out," &c. I +then began training a black poodle, Van by name, kindly given me by my +friend, Mr. Nickalls.</p> + +<p>I commenced by giving the dog food in a saucer, over which I laid the +card on which was the word "food," placing also by the side an empty +saucer, covered by a plain card. Van soon learnt to distinguish between<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> +the two, and the next stage was to teach him to bring me the card; this +he now does, and hands it to me quite prettily, and I then give him a +bone, or a little food, or take him out, according to the card brought. +He still brings sometimes a plain card, in which case I point out his +error, and he then takes it back and changes it. This, however, does not +often happen. Yesterday morning, for instance, he brought me the card +with "food" on it nine times in succession, selecting it from among +other plain cards, though I changed the relative position every time. No +one who sees him can doubt that he understands the act of bringing the +card with the word "food" on it, as a request for something to eat, and +that he distinguishes between it and a plain card. I also believe that +he distinguishes, for instance, between the card with the word "food" on +it and the card with "out" on it.</p> + +<p>This, then, seems to open up a method which may be carried much further, +for it is obvious that the cards may be multiplied, and the dog thus +enabled to communicate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> freely with us. I have as yet, I know, made only +a very small beginning, and hope to carry the experiment much further, +but my object in troubling you with this letter is twofold. In the first +place, I trust that some of your readers may be able and willing to +suggest extensions or improvements of the idea. Secondly, my spare time +is small, and liable to many interruptions; and animals also, we know, +differ greatly from one another. Now, many of your readers have +favourite dogs, and I would express a hope that some of them may be +disposed to study them in the manner indicated. The observations, even +though negative, would be interesting; but I confess I hope that some +positive results might follow, which would enable us to obtain a more +correct insight into the minds of animals than we have yet acquired.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">John Lubbock.</span></p> + + +<h3>COMMUNICATION WITH ANIMALS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>April 12, 1884.</i>]</p> + +<p>You did me the honour, some weeks ago, to insert a letter of mine, +containing suggestions<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> as to a method of studying the psychology of +animals and a short account of a beginning I had myself made in that +direction.</p> + +<p>This letter has elicited various replies and suggestions which you will +perhaps allow me to answer, and I may also take the opportunity of +stating the progress which my dog Van has made, although, owing greatly, +no doubt, to my frequent absences from home and the little time I can +devote to him, this has not been so rapid as I doubt not would otherwise +have been the case. Perhaps I may just repeat that the essence of my +idea was to have various words, such as "food," "bone," "water," "out," +&c., printed on pieces of card-board, and, after some preliminary +training, to give the dog anything for which he asked by bringing a +card. I use pieces of cardboard about ten inches long and three inches +high, placing a number of them on the floor side by side, so that the +dog has several cards to select from, each bearing a different word.</p> + +<p>One correspondent has suggested that it would be better to use variously +coloured<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> cards. This might, no doubt, render the first steps rather +more easy, but, on the other hand, any temporary advantage gained would +be at the expense of subsequent difficulty, since the pupil would very +likely begin by associating the object with the colour, rather than with +the letters. He would, therefore, as is too often the case with our own +children, have the unnecessary labour of unlearning some of his first +lessons. At the same time, the experiment would have an interest as a +test of the colour-sense in dogs.</p> + +<p>Another suggestion has been that, instead of words, pictorial +representations should be placed on the cards. This, however, could only +be done with material objects, such as "food," "bone," "water," &c., and +would not be applicable to such words as "out," "pet me," &c.; nor even +as regards the former class do I see that it would present any +substantial advantage.</p> + +<p>Again, it has been suggested that Van is led by scent rather than by +sight. He has, no doubt, an excellent nose, but in this case he is +certainly guided by the eye. The cards<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> are all handled by us, and must +emit very nearly the same odour. I do not, however, rely on this, but +have in use a number of cards bearing the same word. When, for instance, +he has brought a card with "food" on it, we do not put down the same +identical card, but another with the same word; when he has brought +that, a third is put down, and so on. For a single meal, therefore, +eight or ten cards will have been used, and it seems clear, therefore, +that in selecting them Van must be guided by the letters.</p> + +<p>When I last wrote I had satisfied myself that he had learnt to regard +the bringing of a card as a request, and that he could distinguish a +card with the word "food" on it from a plain one, while I believed that +he could distinguish between a card with "food" on it and one with "out" +on it.</p> + +<p>I have now no doubt that he can distinguish between different words. For +instance, when he is hungry he will bring a "food" card time after time, +until he has had enough, and then he lies down quietly for a nap. Again, +when I am going for a walk, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> invite him to come, he gladly responds +by picking up the "out" card, and running triumphantly with it before me +to the front door. In the same way he knows the "bone" card quite well. +As regards water (which I spell phonetically, so as not to confuse him +unnecessarily), I keep a card always on the floor in my dressing-room, +and whenever he is thirsty he goes off there, without any suggestion +from me, and brings the card with perfect gravity. At the same time he +is fond of a game, and if he is playful or excited will occasionally run +about with any card. If through inadvertence he brings a card for +something he does not want, when the corresponding object is shown him, +he seizes the card, takes it back again, and fetches the right one. No +one who has seen him look along a row of cards, and select the right +one, can, I think, doubt that in bringing a card he feels that he is +making a request, and that he can not only perfectly distinguish between +one word and another, but also associates the word and the object.</p> + +<p>I do not for a moment say that Van thus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> shows more intelligence than +has been recorded in the case of other dogs; that is not my point, but +it does seem to me that this method of instruction opens out a means by +which dogs and other animals may be enabled to communicate with us more +satisfactorily than hitherto. I am still continuing my observations, and +am now considering the best mode of testing him in very simple +arithmetic, but I wish I could induce others to co-operate, for I feel +satisfied that the system would well repay more time and attention than +I am myself able to give.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">John Lubbock.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p> +<h3>INSTINCT OF LOCALITY IN DOGS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>March 4, 1893.</i>]</p> + +<p>A cat carried a hundred miles in a basket, a dog taken, perhaps, five +hundred miles by rail, in a few days may have found their way back to +the starting-point. So we have often been told, and, no doubt, the thing +has happened. We have been astonished at the wonderful intelligence +displayed. Magic, I should call it. Last week I heard of a captain who +sailed from Aberdeen to Arbroath. He left behind him a dog which, +according to the story, had never been in Arbroath, but when he arrived +there the dog was waiting on the quay. I was expected to believe that +the dog had known his master's destination, and been able to inquire the +way overland to Arbroath. Truly marvellous! But, really, it is time to +inquire more carefully as to what these stories do mean; we must cease +to ascribe our intelligence to animals, and learn that it is we that +often possess their instinct. A cat on a farm will<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> wander many miles in +search of prey, and will therefore be well acquainted with the country +for many miles round. It is taken fifty miles away. Again it wanders, +and comes across a bit of country it knew before. What more natural than +that it should go to its old home? Carrier-pigeons are taught "homing" +by taking them gradually longer flights from home, so that they may +learn the look of the country. We cannot always discover that a dog +actually was acquainted with the route by which it wanders home; but it +is quite absurd to imagine, as most people at once do, that it was a +perfect stranger to the lay of the land. To find our way a second time +over ground we have once trod is scarcely intelligence; we can only call +it instinct, though the word does not in the least explain the process. +Two years ago I first visited Douglas, in the Isle of Man. I reached the +station at 11 p.m.; I was guided to a house a mile through the town. I +scarcely paid any attention to the route, yet next morning I found my +way by the same route to the station, walking with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> my head bent, deeply +thinking all the time about other things than the way. I have the +instinct of locality. Most people going into a dark room that they know +are by muscular sense guided exactly to the very spot they wish; so +people who have the instinct of locality may wander over a moor exactly +to the place they wish to reach without thinking of where they go. There +may be no mental exercise connected with this. I have known a lady of +great intelligence who would lose her way within half-a-mile of the +house she had lived in forty years. This feeling about place belongs to +that part of us that we have in common with the lower creatures. We need +not postulate that the animals ever show signs of possessing our +intelligence; they possess, in common with us, what is not intelligence, +but instinct.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">A. J. Mackintosh.</span></p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>Sept. 24, 1892.</i>]</p> + +<p>Will you allow me to record in the <i>Spectator</i> "another dog story"? It +is one that testifies, for the thousandth time, to canine sagacity,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> +and, as we are still in the silly season, which has this year in +particular been so very prolific in human follies, it may be of special +interest to learn some clever doings on the part of beasts. Quite +recently a Westphalian squire travelled by rail from Lüxen to Wesel, on +the Rhine, for the purpose of enjoying some hunting, and took with him +his favourite hound. The hunting party was to have started on a Sunday +morning at nine o'clock, but, to the squire's great disappointment, his +sporting dog could nowhere be discovered. Disconsolate, he arrived on +the following Monday afternoon at his house, and, to his great delight, +he was greeted there with exuberant joy by his dog. The latter, who had +never made the journey from Lüxen to Wesel, had simply run home, thus +clearing a distance of eighty English miles through an unknown country. +Why the sporting dog should have declined to join the hunt is, perhaps, +a greater mystery than the fact of his returning home without any other +guidance than his sagacious instinct. Possibly he was a Sabbatarian, and +objected<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> to imitate his master's wicked example. So, Sunday papers, +please copy!</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Ein Thierfreund.</span></p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>Sept. 8, 1894.</i>]</p> + +<p>May I be allowed to offer to your readers yet another instance of the +faithfulness and sagacity of our friend the dog? The anecdote comes from +a distinguished naval officer, and is best given in his own words: "This +is what happened to a spaniel of mine. It was given to our children as a +puppy about three or four months old, and we have had it about five or +six months, making it about ten months old. It was born about three +miles from here, at Hertford, and has never been anywhere but from one +home to the other. When the time came for breaking him in for shooting +purposes, I sent him to a keeper at Leighton-Buzzard, and, to insure a +safe arrival, sent the dog with my man-servant to the train here, and +thence to King's Cross. He walked with the dog to Euston Station, turned +him over to the guard of the 12.15 train and the animal duly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> arrived at +Leighton-Buzzard at 1.30, and was there met by the keeper and taken to +his home about three miles off. That was on the Friday. On the following +Tuesday, the dog having been with him three full days, he took him out +in the morning with his gun, and at eight o'clock on Wednesday morning +(that being the following day) the dog appeared here, rather dirty, and +looking as if he had travelled some distance, which he undoubtedly had. +There is no doubt that this puppy of ten months old was sent away, +certainly forty or fifty miles as the crow flies, and that he returned +here in a day. How he did it no one can say, but it is nevertheless a +fact. It would be interesting to know his route and to trace his +adventures." This anecdote is the more remarkable in consequence of the +extreme youth of the dog, and particularly as he belongs to a breed of +sporting dogs which are not generally considered to rank among the most +intelligent of the species.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">F. H. Suckling.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p> +<p class='right'>[<i>Sept. 15, 1894.</i>]</p> + +<p>The "True Story of a Dog," in the <i>Spectator</i> of September 8th, may be +matched, possibly explained, by a similar occurrence. I had bought a +Spanish poodle pup of an Irishman who assured me, "Indade, sir, an' the +dog knows all my childer do, only he can't talk." He shut doors, opened +those with thumb-latches, and rushed upstairs and waked his mistress at +words of command. One day we were starting to drive to our former home +in the city, six miles distant, but the dog was refused his usual place +in the carriage, and shut up in the house. When we arrived, to our +astonishment we found him waiting for us on the doorstep! We could not +conceive how he got there, but upon inquiry found that he had got out, +gone to the station, in some way entered the train, hid under a seat, +and on arrival in the city threaded his way a mile through the streets, +and was found quietly awaiting our arrival.</p> + +<p class='right'>R. P. S.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p> +<p class='right'>[<i>May 3, 1884.</i>]</p> + +<p>How do we know that in inviting dogs to the use of words Sir John +Lubbock is <i>developing</i> their intelligence? Are we sure that he is not +asking them to descend to a lower level than their own, in teaching them +to communicate with us through our proper forms of speech, unnecessary +to them? I can vouch for the truth of the following story. A young +keeper, living about twelve miles east of Winchester, on leaving his +situation gave away a fox-terrier, which had been his constant companion +for some months; he then took another place in the north of Hampshire, +near the borders of Berkshire, in a part of the country to which he had +never been. The new owner of the dog took her with him to a village in +Sussex; before she had been there long she disappeared, and after a +short time found her old master in the woods at his new home. As I have +said before, he had never been there before, neither had she. Rather +ungratefully, he again gave the dog away, this time to a man living some +way north of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> Berkshire; she came back to him in a few days, and, I am +happy to say, is now to be allowed to stay with the master of her +choice. Can such a nature need to be taught our clumsy language.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">A. H. Williams.</span></p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 16, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>As I see that you have published some interesting anecdotes about dogs, +I send you the two following, which perhaps you may think worth +inserting.</p> + +<p>In 1873 we came to live in England, after a residence upon the +Continent, bringing with us a Swiss terrier of doubtful breed but of +marked sagacity, called Tan. One day, shortly after reaching the new +home from Switzerland, the dog was lost under the following +circumstances:—We had driven to a station eight miles off—East +Harling—to meet a friend. As the friend got out of the railway carriage +the dog got in without being noticed and the train proceeded on its way. +At the next station—Eccles Road—the dog's barking attracted the +attention<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> of the station-master, who opened the carriage door, and the +dog jumped out. The station-master and the dog were perfect strangers. +He and a porter tried to lock up the dog, but he flew viciously at any +one who attempted to touch him, although he was not above accepting +food. For the next three days his behaviour was decidedly methodical; +starting from the station in the morning, he came back dejected and +tired at night. At last, on the evening of the third day, he reached +home, some nine miles away, along roads which he had not before +travelled, a sorry object and decidedly the worse for wear; after some +food he slept for twenty-four hours straight off.</p> + +<p>Anecdote number two. One day a handsome black, smooth-haired retriever +puppy was given to us, whom we named Neptune. The terrier Tan greatly +resented having this new companion thrust upon him, and became very +jealous of him. Being small, he was unable to tackle so large a dog, but +sagacity accomplished what strength could not. Tan disappeared for two +days. One evening,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> hearing a tremendous commotion in the yard, we +rushed out to find a huge dog of the St. Bernard species inflicting a +severe castigation upon poor Nep, Tan meanwhile looking on, complacently +wagging his tail. Both Tan and his companion then disappeared for two +more days, after which Tan reappeared alone, apparently in an equable +frame of mind, and satisfied that he had had his revenge. We never +discovered where the large dog came from. I can attest the truth of the +two stories.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Cecil Downton.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p> +<h3>RAILWAY DOGS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>July 10, 1887.</i>]</p> + +<p>Your dog-loving readers may be interested to hear that there is (or was +till lately) in South Africa a rival to the well-known Travelling Jack, +of Brighton line fame, after whom, indeed, he has been nicknamed by his +acquaintance.</p> + +<p>I was introduced to him eighteen months ago, on board the <i>Norham +Castle</i>, on a voyage from Cape Town to England—a voyage which this +distinguished Colonial traveller was making much against his will. He +was a black-and-tan terrier with a white chest, whose intellect had +therefore probably been improved by a dash of mongrelism, and I was told +that he belonged to a gentleman connected with the railway department +living at Port Elizabeth. It appears that it was Mr. Jack's habit +frequently to embark all by himself on board the mail steamer leaving +that place on Saturday afternoon, and make the trip round the coast to +Cape Town, arriving there on Monday morning. Where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> he "put up" I do not +know, but he used to stay there until Wednesday evening, when he would +calmly walk into the station, take his place in the train, and return to +Port Elizabeth in that way, thus completing his "circular tour" by a +railway journey of about eight hundred miles.</p> + +<p>He was well known by the officers and sailors of the <i>Norham</i>, and her +commander, Captain Alexander Winchester (who can vouch for these facts), +told me that, as the dog seemed fond of the sea, he had determined to +give him a long voyage for a change, and had kept him shut up on board +during the ship's stay at Cape Town.</p> + +<p>Jack was evidently very uneasy at being taken on beyond his usual port, +and he was on the point of slipping into a boat for the shore at +Madeira, probably with a view of returning to the Cape by the next +steamer, when I called the captain's attention to him, and he was +promptly shut up again. I said good-bye to him at Plymouth, and hope he +found his way home safely on the return voyage.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Ex-Colonist.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span></p> +<p class='right'>[<i>June 23, 1894.</i>]</p> + +<p>I have read with much interest the stories in the <i>Spectator</i> of the +sagacity of animals. The following, I think, is worth recording:—The +chief-engineer of the Midland and South-Western Junction Railway, Mr. J. +R. Shopland, C.E., has a spaniel that frequently accompanies him or his +sons to their office. On Saturday last this dog went to Marlborough from +Swindon by train with one of Mr. Shopland's clerks, and walked with him +to Savernake Forest. Suddenly the dog was missing. The creature had gone +back to the station at Marlborough and taken a seat in a second-class +compartment. The dog defied the efforts of the railway officials to +dislodge him. When the train reached Swindon he came out of the carriage +and walked quietly to his master's residence.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Samuel Snell.</span></p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>March 30, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>I was witness the other day of what I had only heard of before—a dog +travelling by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> rail on his own account. I got into the train at Uxbridge +Road, and, the compartment being vacant, took up the seat which I now +prefer—the corner seat at the entrance with the back to the engine. +Presently a whole crowd of ladies got in, and with them a dog, which I +supposed to belong to them. All the ladies except one got out at Addison +Road, and then the dog slunk across the carriage to just under my seat. +I asked my remaining fellow-passenger whether the dog was hers; she said +"No." No one got in before she herself got out at South Kensington, +where the dog remained perfectly quiet, but at Sloane Square a man was +let in, and out rushed the dog, the door actually grazing his sides. Had +he not taken up the precise place he did, he must have been shut in or +crushed. "That dog is a stowaway," I observed to the porter who had +opened the door. "I suppose he is," the man answered. The dog was making +the best of his way to the stairs. Clearly the dog meant to get out at +that particular station (he had had ample opportunity of getting out +both at Addison Road<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> and South Kensington), and had, as soon as he +could, taken up the best position for doing so. How did he recognise the +Sloane Square Station, for he had had only those two opportunities of +glancing out? It seems to me it could only have been by counting the +stations, in which case he must be able to reckon up to five. The dog +was a very ordinary London cur, white and tan, of a greatly mixed Scotch +terrier stock, the long muzzle showing a greyhound cross. He was thin, +and apparently conscious of breaking the law, hiding out of sight, and +slinking along with his tail between his legs, and altogether not worth +stealing. I suppose that he had been transferred to a new home which had +proved uncongenial, and was slipping away, in fear and trembling, to his +old quarters.</p> + +<p class='right'>J. M. L.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="EMOTION_AND_SENTIMENT_IN_DOGS" id="EMOTION_AND_SENTIMENT_IN_DOGS"></a><i>EMOTION AND SENTIMENT IN DOGS.</i></h2> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p> +<hr style='width: 45%;' /><p> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p> +<h3>A DOG'S REMORSE.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Sept. 1, 1883.</i>]</p> + +<p>A remarkable instance of the effect that can be produced upon a dog by +the human voice was related to me yesterday. Some of your correspondents +would consider it confirmatory of their notion that dogs have mind +enough to understand words; but I myself rather believe that the sound +of the voice acts upon the <i>feelings</i> of dumb animals just as +instrumental music acts upon us. The story is as follows:—A clergyman +had for a long time a dog, and no other domestic animal. He and his +servant made a great pet of the dog. At last, however, the clergyman +took to keeping a few fowls, and the servant fed them. The dog showed +himself very jealous and out of humour at this, and when Sunday came +round, and he was left alone, he took the opportunity to <i>kill and bury</i> +two hens.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> A claw half-uncovered betrayed what he had done. His master +did not beat him, but took hold of him, and <i>talked</i> to him, most +bitterly, most severely. "You've been guilty of the sin of murder, +sir,—and on the Sabbath day, too; and you, a clergyman's dog, taking a +mean advantage of my absence!" &c. He talked on and on for a long time, +in the same serious and reproachful strain. Early the next morning the +master had to leave home for a day or so; and he did so without speaking +a word of kindness to the dog, because he said he wished him to feel +himself in disgrace. On his return, the first thing he was told was, +"The dog is dead. He never ate nor drank after you had spoken to him; he +just lay and pined away, and he died an hour ago."</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">L. G. Gillum.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p> +<h3>A CONSCIENCE-STRICKEN DOG.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 1, 1879.</i>]</p> + +<p>You have frequently published letters containing stories bearing on the +question of the moral nature and the future of the lower animals. I +venture to send you some facts about a dog, narrated to me by a lady, +whose name and address I enclose for your own satisfaction, and at my +request written down by her as follows—</p> + +<p>"A young fox-terrier, about eight months old, took a great fancy to a +small brush, of Indian workmanship, lying on the drawing-room table. It +had been punished more than once for jumping on the table and taking it. +On one occasion, the little dog was left alone in the room accidentally. +On my return, it jumped to greet me as usual, and I said, 'Have you been +a good little dog while you have been left alone?' Immediately it put +its tail between its legs and slunk off into an adjoining room, and +brought back the little brush in its mouth from where it had hidden it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I was much struck with what appeared to me a remarkable instance of a +dog possessing a conscience, and a few months afterwards, finding it +again alone in the room, I asked the same question, while patting it. At +once I saw it had been up to some mischief, for with the same look of +shame it walked slowly to one of the windows, where it lay down, with +its nose pointing to a letter bitten and torn into shreds. On a third +occasion, it showed me where it had strewn a number of little tickets +about the floor, for doing which it had been reproved previously. I +cannot account for these facts, except by supposing the dog must have a +conscience."</p> + +<p>The conduct of this dog seems to me, sir, to exhibit something different +from fear of punishment, viz., a sense of shame, a remorse, a desire to +confess his fault, and even to expiate it by punishment, in order to +feel the guilt no longer. He rather sought punishment, than feared it.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Th. Hill.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p> +<h3>A DOG'S AFFECTION.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>April 24, 1875.</i>]</p> + +<p>I saw an anecdote in your paper the other week illustrative of the +sagacity of a dog. Kindly allow me to place upon record, as a kind of a +companion picture, an anecdote showing the <i>affection</i> of one of the +canine species—a fine young retriever. For some weeks I have been +staying away from my house in the country, where is the fine young +retriever in question. Well, last week the household missed him for +hours, and began to think he was lost. Nothing of the kind, however. The +servant, happening to go up to my bedroom, found him with his head +resting on my pillow, moaning heavily, and it was only with great +difficulty that she could drive him away. Surely it is incidents such as +these that have made so many great men rail against humanity and uphold +their dog!</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Will Williams.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p> +<h3>AFFECTION.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Sept. 15, 1894.</i>]</p> + +<p>As you sometimes admit anecdotes of animals into the <i>Spectator</i>, +perhaps you may consider the following fact worthy of record. In a hotel +where I am staying, being distressed by the cry of anguish of a dog +occasionally, I inquired the cause, and was told that whenever he +happens to be in the hall when luggage is brought down to go in the +omnibus, he utters these bitter cries, and has to be removed. His master +left him here many months ago, and the supposition is that the sight of +the luggage and omnibus recalls his loss; and is another instance of the +faithful affection of these half-human creatures.</p> + +<p class='right'>J. K.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span></p> +<h3>SYMPATHY IN A DOG.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>July 30, 1892.</i>]</p> + +<p>The article, "Animals in Sickness," in the <i>Spectator</i> of July 23rd, has +reminded me of the following anecdote, which was told to me some years +ago by a butcher residing at Brodick, in the Isle of Arran. He told me +that he had had two collie dogs at the same time, one old and the other +young. The old dog became useless through age, and was drowned in the +sea at Brodick. A few days afterwards, its body was washed ashore, and +it was discovered by the young dog, who was seen immediately to go to +the butcher's shop and take away a piece of meat and lay it at the dead +dog's mouth. The young dog evidently thought that the meat would revive +his old comrade, and thereby showed remarkable sympathy in aid of, to +him, the apparent "weak."</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">David Hannay.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span></p> +<h3>A DOG'S HUMANITY.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>April 18, 1891.</i>]</p> + +<p>Possibly it is from an excess of the "maudlin sentimentality" of which +physiologists complain in those who protest against cruelty to animals, +that I find it almost painful to read such pathetic stories of dogs as +the one given by Miss Cobbe in the <i>Spectator</i> of April 11th; for they +tell of such intelligence and devotion, that, remembering the inhuman +way in which our poor dogs are too often treated, we feel it would be +almost better if they lacked these human qualities.</p> + +<p>The following is an anecdote of the same kind, that ever since I heard +it, I have been intending to send it to the <i>Spectator</i>. The servant-man +of one of my friends took a kitten to a pond with the intention of +drowning it. His master's dog was with him, and when the kitten was +thrown into the water, the dog sprang in and brought it back safely to +land. A second time the man threw it in, and again the dog rescued it; +and when for the third time the man tried to drown it, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> dog, as +resolute to save the little helpless life as the man was to destroy it, +swam with it to the other side of the pool, running all the way home +with it, and safely depositing it before the kitchen fire; and "ever +after" they were inseparable, sharing even the same bed!</p> + +<p>When not long ago I came across the noble sentiment that "hecatombs of +brutes should be tortured, if man thereby could be saved one pang," I +found myself dimly wondering what constituted a "brute." Certainly, in +the incident I have just given, the "brute" was not the dog!</p> + +<p class='right'>S. W.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p> +<h3>A CANINE MEMBER OF THE S.P.C.A.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>June 18, 1892.</i>]</p> + +<p>If you think this little anecdote of canine friendliness worthy of the +<i>Spectator</i>, will you insert it for me? Last week a sick dog took up its +abode in the field behind our house, and after seeing the poor thing +lying there for some time, I took it food and milk-and-water. The next +day it was still there, and when I was going out to feed it, I saw that +a small pug was running about it, so I took a whip out with me to drive +it away. The pug planted itself between me and the sick dog, and barked +at me savagely, but at last I drove it away, and again gave food and +milk-and-water to my <i>protegé</i>. The little pug watched me for a few +moments, and as soon as he felt quite assured that my intentions towards +the sick dog were friendly, it ran to me wagging its tail, leapt up to +my shoulder, and licked my face and hands, nor would it touch the water +till the invalid had had all it wanted. I suppose that it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> satisfied +that its companion was in good hands, for it trotted happily away, and +did not appear upon the scene again.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Violet Davies.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p> +<h3>A DOG'S COURTESY.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Nov. 29, 1890.</i>]</p> + +<p>In your article on Mr. Nettleship's pictures of animals, you note the +delicacy of a dog that has been properly trained in the matter of taking +its food. My little dog is not only most dainty in that particular, but +strictly observes the courtesy, which is natural, not taught, of not +beginning his dinner (served on white napery that is never soiled) until +his master begins his own. No amount of coaxing on the part of the +ladies (they do not wait) will induce him to eat if I am late: he merely +consents to have his muzzle taken off, inspects his dinner, and then +seeks his master's room, where he waits to accompany him in orderly +fashion downstairs.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">C. Harper.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p> +<h3>CANINE JEALOUSY.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Dec. 12, 1891.</i>]</p> + +<p>I am not versed in dog-lore, and it may be that my love for the animal +makes me an ill judge of the importance of the following story; but a +friend vouches for its truth, and to my mind it has its importance, not +from its display of jealousy, but from the dog's deliberate acceptance +of the undoubtedly changed condition, and the clearly metaphysical +character of his motive.</p> + +<p>The story is this. A young man had owned for some years a dog who was +his constant companion. Recently the young man married, and moved with +his bride and his dog into a house on the opposite side of the street +from his father's house, his own former home. The dog was not happy, for +the time and attention which had formerly been his was now given to the +young wife. In many ways he showed his unhappiness and displeasure, in +spite of the fact that the master tried to reconcile him and the bride +to win him. One day when the master<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> came home, his wife sat on his +knee, while Jack was lying by the fire. He rose from his place, came +over to the couple, and expressed his disapproval. "Why, Jack," said the +master, "this is all right, she's a good girl," and as he spoke, he +patted her arm. Jack looked up at him, turned away, and left the room. +In a moment they heard a noise, and going into the hall, they found Jack +dragging his bed downstairs. When he reached the front door, he whined +to be let out, and when the door was opened, he dragged his bed down the +steps, across the street to his old home, where he scratched for +admittance. Since then he has never been back to his master, refusing +all overtures.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Chas. Morris Addison.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p> +<h3>A JEALOUS DOG.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Jan. 12, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>I was greatly interested in the story of the generosity shown by a dog, +as related in the <i>Spectator</i> of January 5th, because of a similar case +within my own knowledge, and yet so different, as to prove that the +dispositions of animals are as varied as those of human beings. A friend +of mine had two fox-terriers, inseparable companions, and both equally +devoted to their mistress. On one occasion, when the family had been +away from home for some time, and were returning, one of these pets, not +being well, was brought back with its mistress, while the other was left +to follow with the horses, &c., and did not arrive for three days. On +entering the house, the dog had a very sullen appearance, took no notice +of any one, but searched everywhere till he found his companion; then +flew at his throat, and would have killed him but for timely succour! +Could any human being have indulged in a more rankling jealousy?</p> + +<p class='right'>E. A. K.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p> +<h3>A DOG THAT SCORNED TO BE JEALOUS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Jan. 5, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>The following history of canine sympathy may interest your readers. I +was once the happy owner of a large and beautiful bull-terrier, Rose, +and at the same time of a still dearer, though less beautiful, little +mongrel, Fan, both passionately attached to a member of my household, +commonly called their best friend. A certain shawl belonging to this +adored friend was especially sacred in Fan's eyes. She never allowed any +one to touch it without remonstrance—Rose least of all—and when her +best friend was in bed, it was Fan's custom to ensconce herself in her +arms, and not to allow any dog, and only the most favoured of human +beings, to approach without violent growlings, if not worse. Fan was a +tiny grandmother who had long ruled the household; Rose, an +inexperienced newcomer. One day, in a fit of youthful folly, Rose jumped +over a gate and spiked herself badly, and was consigned for ten days to +the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> care of the veterinary surgeon. On her return, she was cordially +welcomed by Fan and myself; but when she rushed upstairs to the room of +her best friend (then confined to her bed), my mind forboded mischief. +We followed, and I opened the door. With one bound Rose flew into her +best friend's arms, taking Fan's very own place, and was lost in a +rapture of licking and being caressed. Fan flew after her, but to my +amazement, instead of the fury I expected, it was to join with heart and +tongue in the licking and caressing. She licked Rose as if she had been +a long-lost puppy, instead of an intruder; and then, of her own accord, +turned away, leaving Rose in possession, and took up a distant place on +the foot of the bed, appealing to me with an almost human expression of +mingled feelings—the heroic self-abnegation of new-born sympathy +struggling with natural jealousy. The better feelings triumphed (not, of +course, unsupported by human recognition and applause), till both dogs +fell asleep in their strangely reversed positions. After this, there was +a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> slight temporary failure in Fan's perhaps overstrained self-conquest; +but on the next day but one she actually, for the first (and last) time +in her life, made Rose welcome to a place beside her on the sacred +shawl; where again they slept side by side like sisters. This, however, +was the last gleam of the special sympathy called forth by Rose's +troubles. From that day Fan decidedly and finally resumed her jealous +occupation and guardianship of all sacred places and things, and +maintained it energetically to her life's end.</p> + +<p class='right'>C. E. S.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="DOGS_AND_THE_ARTS" id="DOGS_AND_THE_ARTS"></a><i>DOGS AND THE ARTS.</i></h2> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span></p> +<hr style='width: 45%;' /><p> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p> +<h3>MUSIC AND DOGS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Oct. 24, 1891.</i>]</p> + +<p>Dogs, as well as horses, can recognise tunes. Many years ago a friend, +during a short absence from our station on the Kurrumfooler, lent my +sister a pet dog. Cissie was constantly in the room while playing and +singing went on, without taking any notice; but whenever the temporary +mistress began singing one favourite song of the absent mistress's, the +dog would jump on a chair by her side with evident pleasure.</p> + +<p class='right'>O. H. G.</p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>Oct. 24, 1891.</i>]</p> + +<p>I have read with much interest your correspondent's letter on the +capability of animals to distinguish tunes. I had a small dog who, when +first I got him, would have howled incessantly during singing. This, +however, he was not allowed to do, except<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> to one tune, which he soon +knew and always joined in, not attempting to "sing" other songs. We +tried every sort of experiment to see if he would recognise his own +tune, which he invariably did, and would whine if the air was hummed +quite quietly.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">C. F. Harrison.</span></p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>Oct. 24, 1891.</i>]</p> + +<p>Anent "Orpheus at the Zoo," the following facts may interest you. Of two +dogs of mine, one showed a great fondness for music. She (though usually +my shadow) would always leave me to go to a room where a piano was being +played, and the more she liked the music, the closer she crept to the +player, even if a stranger to her. If, however, one began to play scales +or exercises, she would get up, walk to the door, sit down, and, after +waiting a bit, go away out of sight, but not out of hearing, for she +soon appeared again on the resumption of music to her taste. On the +other hand, mere "strumming" very quickly obliged her to go right away +out of hearing. I confess<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> that I have many times plagued the poor dog +by thus sending her backwards and forwards. Her looks were often very +comical. The other dog evidently hated music—would try to push a player +from the piano, go out of hearing, and show other unmistakable signs of +dislike. A band would draw one dog out to listen, while the other rushed +away to hide. In one house the dog first mentioned had, for some reason +or other, a particular objection to the room where the piano was, and +never willingly stayed there. Music would bring her in, but only to sigh +and moan, evidently in great pity for herself at being obliged to listen +under such (to her) trying conditions. From these and other observations +I am convinced that there is the musical dog as well as the unmusical, +just as with human beings.</p> + +<p class='right'>D.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p> +<h3>RECOGNITION OF LIKENESSES BY DOGS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>May 5, 1894.</i>]</p> + +<p>In the <i>Spectator</i> of April 21st there is an article on Apes, in which +the following occurs:—"Monkeys, we believe, alone among animals can +recognise the meaning of a picture." It may interest some of your +readers to hear that certain other animals can also do this, two +instances having come under my own observation. A cat belonging to a +little girl I know was on the child's bed one morning, and made a spring +at a picture of a thrush, about life-size, which was hanging near. The +other case is that of a dog—a female Irish terrier—who is in the habit +of running with her mistress's pony carriage. When she sees the pony +being harnessed, she often shows her delight by jumping up at its head +and barking. In a certain shop to which she sometimes goes with her +mistress there is a picture of a horse hanging. The dog invariably +behaves in exactly the same manner to this, jumping up and barking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> at +it, thus showing unmistakably that she recognises its meaning.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Julia Andrews.</span></p> + + +<p class='right'><i>May 19, 1894.</i></p> + +<p>The following instance bears on the subject discussed in the <i>Spectator</i> +of May 5th. We had for a newcomer to our circle a little terrier dog. I +was informed it had been seen in the library facing a large-sized +portrait of myself, and barking furiously. I was somewhat sceptical +until a day or two later I saw it repeat the performance. I have +wondered whether it was because the dog thought it a good or bad +representation of the original, and so was complimenting or otherwise +the artist.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Frank Wright.</span></p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>May 19, 1894.</i>]</p> + +<p>Apropos of the recognition of pictures by dogs (<i>Spectator</i>, May 5th), I +think you may be interested in the two following facts which came under +my notice a few years ago. A sagacious but quite uneducated old terrier<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> +came with his master to call for me, and coiled himself on the hearthrug +while we talked. Turning himself round in the intervals of slumber, his +eye caught an oil-painting just over his head (a life-size half-length +of a gentleman). He immediately sat up, showed his teeth, and +growled—not once, but continually—as both angry and mortified that +neither eyes nor nose had given him notice of the arrival of a stranger! +The next instance was similar, except that the chief actor was a young, +intelligent collie, who, on the sudden discovery of a man looking at him +from the wall, barked long and furiously. In both instances, after their +excitement had subsided, I led the dogs to look at another picture +similar in size, and also of a gentleman, but neither of them would take +the smallest notice of it. I need only add that the picture which the +dogs appreciated was painted by Sir Henry Raeburn—the other was not. +Might not a few sagacious canine members be a useful addition to the +Royal Academy Hanging Committee?</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">B. Thomson.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p> +<p class='right'>[<i>May 26, 1894.</i>]</p> + +<p>Many years ago I had a similar experience to Mr. Frank Wright. A +likeness of myself, head and shoulders, drawn in chalk from a +photograph, and enlarged to nearly life size, hung on the dining-room +wall of a house I then occupied. One evening my wife silently called my +attention to a young English terrier, who had not been very long with +us, looking up at it very steadfastly. He regarded it for about a minute +in silence, and at last broke out into a loud bark, which I supposed to +mean that in his opinion the wall was not my proper place, and that only +an evil genius could have set anything like me in such a position.</p> + +<p class='right'>G.</p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>June 2, 1894.</i>]</p> + +<p>You were so good as to insert my little account of the politeness of a +parrot in the <i>Spectator</i>, will you now allow me also to bear witness to +the recognition of a likeness by a dog? Some time ago I was painting two +portraits in the country, and one day by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> chance I placed the picture of +my hostess on the ground. Immediately her old spaniel came and gazed +intently at the face for several seconds. Then he smelt at the canvas, +and, unsatisfied, walked round and investigated the back. Finally, +having discovered the deception, he turned away in manifest disgust, and +nothing that we could do or say, on that day or on any other, would +induce that dog to look at that picture again. We then tried him by +putting my portrait of his master also on the ground, but he simply gave +it a kind of casual contemptuous side-glance and took no further notice +of it. We attributed this not to any difference in the merits or +demerits of the two portraits, but simply to the fact that the dog felt +he had been deceived once, but was not to be so taken in again.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Louisa Starr Canziani.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p> +<h3>RECOGNITION BY ANIMALS OF PICTURES.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Sept. 7, 1889.</i>]</p> + +<p>Thirty years ago I was staying at Langley, near Chippenham, with a lady +who was working a large screen, on which she depicted in "raised" work +(as it was then called) a life-sized cat on a cushion. The host, a +sportsman now dead, was much struck with the similarity to life of the +cat, so he fetched his dog (alas! like too many of the species), a +cat-hater. The animal made a dead set at the (wool) cat, and but for the +master's vigorous clutching him by the collar, the cushion would have +been torn into atoms. I related this tale lately in Oxford, and my +hearer told me that a friend in the Bevington Road had just painted a +bird on a fire-screen, and her cat flew at it.</p> + +<p>My own old dog, Scaramouch (a pet of the Duke of Albany's in his +undergraduate days), disliked being washed, and when I showed him a +large <i>Graphic</i> picture of a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> child scrubbing a fox-terrier in a tub, he +turned his head away ruefully, and would not look at his brother in +adversity.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">J. M. Hulbert.</span></p> + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="DOG_FRIENDSHIPS" id="DOG_FRIENDSHIPS"></a><i>DOG FRIENDSHIPS.</i></h2> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p> +<hr style='width: 45%;' /><p> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p> +<h3>DOG FRIENDS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 16, 1889.</i>]</p> + +<p>The following story of friendship between two dogs may, I think, +interest some of your readers. Some time ago I used often to stay with a +friend in Wiltshire, whose park is separated from the house by a lake +which is about a hundred and fifty yards broad at the narrowest part. +Being extremely fond of animals, I soon became intimate with two +delightful dogs belonging to my hostess, a large collie, called Jasper, +and a rough Skye terrier, Sandie. The pair were devoted friends, if +possible always went out together, and, sad to relate, even poached +together. One afternoon I called them, as usual, to go for a walk, and +making my way to the lake, I determined to row across and wander about +in the deer-park. Without thinking of my two companions, I got into the +boat and pushed off. Jasper at once jumped into the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> water and gaily +followed the boat; half way across he and I were both startled by +despairing howls, and stopping to look back, we saw poor little Sandie +running up and down the bank, and bitterly bewailing the cruelty of his +two so-called friends in leaving him behind. Hardening my heart, I sat +still in silence, and simply watched. Jasper was clearly distressed; he +swam round the boat, and looking up into my face, said unmistakably with +his wise brown eyes, "Why don't you go to the rescue?" Seeing, however, +that I showed no signs of intelligence, he made up his mind to settle +the difficulty himself, so turned and swam back to forlorn little +Sandie; there was a moment's pause, I suppose for explanations, and +then, to my surprise and amusement, Jasper stood still, half out and +half in the water, and Sandie scrambled on to his back, his front paws +resting on Jasper's neck, who swam across the lake and landed him safely +in the deer-park! I need not describe the evident pride of the one, or +the gratitude of the other.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Roy.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span></p> +<h3>FRIENDSHIPS OF DOGS WITH OTHER ANIMALS.</h3> + + +<h3>A LESSON.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 23, 1889.</i>]</p> + +<p>Your correspondent "Roy's" very interesting account of "A Canine +Friendship" tempts me to send you the following about two Dandy Dinmonts +in this neighbourhood.</p> + +<p>Friends of mine in Dumfriesshire had in their house two Dandie Dinmont +dogs who were inseparable friends and constant companions in all that +was going on. One day one of these dogs disappeared unaccountably, and +nothing was seen of it for a week. His owners were very vexed, thinking +he must have got within the range of some keeper's gun or met with some +other accident.</p> + +<p>But the absentee's home-keeping companion was greatly distressed; he +moped about, and would not touch any food for several days; till, +unexpectedly on my friend's part, the truant suddenly reappeared and +showed himself in the house. The dog who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> had remained at home, when he +saw the arrival of his former friend, looked steadily at him for a few +seconds, and then, without further parley, went at him and gave the +truant a thoroughly sound thrashing. I always explain this to myself by +supposing that the home-keeping dog decided that the truant had caused +him for several days needless anxiety and abstinence from food, and that +the truant must learn by painful experience that such behaviour could +not be lightly condoned by his inseparable companion.</p> + +<p class='right'>J. G.</p> + + +<h3>CONSCIOUS AUTOMATA.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>July 31, 1875.</i>]</p> + +<p>I have lately heard a story that I hope you may think worthy of a place +among your illustrations of the thoughtful intelligence of "Conscious +Automata." Many years ago, a family having a house in Grosvenor Square, +and a place in the country (I think in Warwickshire), owned a terrier, +who, in the country, made great friends with a large Newfoundland. When +they came to town<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> they brought the terrier, and he resided in a mews +where he was much annoyed by a cur who lived next door, and attacked him +whenever he came out. One day the terrier disappeared, but after a +little time returned, bringing with him his big friend, who gave the +vulgar bully a satisfactory thrashing—not attempting to kill him. This +has been told me by an old servant, who was then a young man, living in +service in London, close to the owners of the dogs. He answers for the +facts of the story as he heard them at the time.</p> + +<p class='right'>F. C.</p> + + +<h3>DOG AND PIGEON.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Sept. 22, 1888.</i>]</p> + +<p>The <i>Spectator</i> does not disdain anecdotes of dogs and their doings, and +I think the following history, to which I can bear personal testimony, +may be found not uninteresting to your readers. At this delightful house +in Perthshire, where I am on a visit, there is a well-bred pointer, +named Fop, who, when not engaged in his professional pursuits on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> +moor, lives chiefly in a kennel placed in a loose-box adjoining the +other stables attached to the house. Nearly a year ago there were a pair +of pigeons who lived in and about the stable yard. One of the birds +died, and its bereaved mate at once attached itself for society and +protection to the dog, and has been its constant companion ever since. +On the days when the sportsmen are not seeking grouse the dog is in his +kennel, and the pigeon is always his close attendant. She roosts on a +rack over the manger of the stable, and in the day-time is either +strutting about preening her feathers, taking her meals from the dog's +biscuit and water tin, or quite as often sitting in the kennel by his +side, nestling close to him. Fop, who is an amiable and rather +sentimental being, takes no apparent notice of his companion, except +that we observe him, in jumping into or out of his kennel while the +pigeon is there, to take obvious care not to crush or disturb her in any +way. The only other symptom Fop has shown of being jealous for the +pigeon's comfort and convenience is that when of late<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> two chickens from +the stable-yard wandered into the apartment where the dog and pigeon +reside, he very promptly bit their heads off, as if in mute intimation +that one bird is company, and two (or rather three) are none.</p> + +<p>The story is rather one of a pigeon than a dog, for it is quite evident +that she is the devoted friend, and that he acquiesces in the +friendship. On the days when Fop is taken, to his infinite delight, on +to the moor, the pigeon is much concerned. She follows him as far as she +dare, taking a series of short flights over his head, until a little +wood is reached, through which the keeper and dogs have to take their +way. At this point her courage fails her, and she returns to the stable, +to wait hopefully for her comrade's return.</p> + +<p>This singular alliance is a great joy and interest to the keepers, +coachmen, and grooms of the establishment, and as the keeper gave me a +strong hint that the story ought to be told in print, adding that he had +seen much less noteworthy incidents of animal life promoted to such +honour, I have ventured to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> send it to you. I may add that the pigeon is +of the kind called "Jacobin," and is white, with a black wing. Is there +any precedent for such close intimacies between animals so widely +separated in kind and habit?</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Alfred Ainger.</span></p> + + +<h3>A HEN AND PUPPIES.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Sept. 29, 1888.</i>]</p> + +<p>In reply to Mr. Ainger's question as to there being "any precedent for +such close intimacies between animals so widely separated in kind and +habit" as the dog and pigeon mentioned in his interesting letter, I can +mention two cases which have come under my notice this last summer at my +farm in Berkshire. In one case the friendship existed between a pullet +and a pig. The pullet never left the farmyard to join in the rambles of +the other fowls, but kept near the pig all day, occasionally roosting on +its friend's back when taking its afternoon nap.</p> + +<p>The other case was more remarkable. A hen, with strong motherly +instincts, but no family of her own, acted for several weeks as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> +foster-mother to eight spaniel puppies. The real mother, a very gentle +creature, soon acquiesced in the arrangement. The hen covered the +puppies with her wings just as though they had been chickens, and +remained with them day and night. When they began to walk she was still +their constant attendant; when they learned to lap and eat a little she +would "call" them and break up their food. As they grew older the poor +foster-mother had her patience sorely tried. They barked and capered +around her, leading her altogether a sad life. After the puppies +deserted her she was often seen sitting close to their mother, the pair +apparently quite understanding each other. My children were naturally +delighted to watch these strange sights, and the hen, though not at +other times very tame, maintained perfect equanimity while they played +with the puppies around her.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">F. C. Maxwell.</span></p> + + +<h3>A DOG AND A RABBIT.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Sept. 29, 1888.</i>]</p> + +<p>Mr. Ainger, in giving his interesting incident<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> of strange friendships +between animals, asks if there are any precedents for such incongruous +intimacy as he saw between a dog and a pigeon. To most close observers +of animals, such curious cases, though always noteworthy, are well +known; naturalists like Buckland and many others have frequently +recorded them.</p> + +<p>With the view of adding to the lore on this matter, permit me to cite +the following. Two Scotch terriers are lying before the fire. Prince is +an amiable sort of dog; Jack is rather surly; both good vermin-killers +and fond of hunting. I bring in a common buck rabbit, and place it +beside the dogs, with the intimation they were not to touch it. Trust, +and then alliance, quickly grew between it and Prince, whilst Jack shows +unmistakable hatred. In a few days the two friends, with their paws +absurdly clasping each other's necks, sleep happily on the rug; they +play together, they chase each other up and down the stairs and all over +the house at full speed, and when tired come back to the rug. Jack +refusing all this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> sort of thing, makes the rabbit look at him with a +sort of awe. Does Bunny make no mess in the house? None whatever; he +goes into the garden as the dogs do, and like them, scratches at the +door when he wants to return. All this he does without any instruction +from us. After a while, being very fond of him, we put on the floor a +pretty pink-eyed doe as a present. He stares, sniffs her all over, kills +her on the spot, and goes for a romp with his dear Prince. Jack always +sleeps under my bed from choice, and just before I put out the light as +I lie, stands up against the bed for his last pat and "good-night." +Bunny has observed all this, and quietly creeps into the room, which he +refuses to leave; then likewise always asks for his "good-night," and +sleeps somewhere near his great "ideal."</p> + +<p>Another instance, published in "Loch Creran" by my friend Mr. Anderson +Smith. I punished my cat for killing a chicken. The next day he is seen +to carry a live chicken in his mouth and lay it down to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> the hen he had +previously robbed. He and the chicken afterwards were frequently +observed leaving the orchard together, and travelling through the +courtyard and back passages, find their way to the kitchen fireplace, +where they would sleep in good fellowship. This chicken, I discovered, +had been stolen nearly two miles away. It is important to remark that +the cat, though a cruel bird-killer, never touched another chicken. Was +the idea of compensation in the cat's mind? If not that, all the +circumstances are singularly coincident. And why did the chicken prefer +the cat's companionship to that of its fellows?</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">E. W. Phibbs.</span></p> + + +<h3>ANOTHER PIGEON STORY.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Oct. 6, 1888.</i>]</p> + +<p>Mr. Ainger's letter in the <i>Spectator</i> of September 22nd reminds me of +an almost identical friendship that existed some years ago at Grove +House, Knutsford. A long-haired mastiff was kept chained as a watch-dog, +and when a white fantail pigeon's mate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> died, it attached itself to the +mastiff, and was continually with it in the kennel. When the dog had its +breakfast of porridge and milk, the pigeon would eat out of the bowl at +the same time; and when the dog had finished, it would lie flat on its +side while the pigeon perched on its head and pecked off the grains of +oatmeal that stuck to the long hair round its mouth. The only danger to +the pigeon seemed to be that when the dog rushed out of the kennel +suddenly to bark, it seemed to forget the pigeon, and we used to fear +that the heavy chain might hurt it; but it never was hurt. This +friendship lasted many years, till one of the two, I forget which, died.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Isabel Jamison.</span></p> + + +<h3>DOG AND KITTENS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>July 1, 1893.</i>]</p> + +<p>The following story may, perhaps, interest some of your readers:—Willie +is a small, rough-haired terrier, a truculent and aggressive character, +the terror of tramps, in a skirmish with one of whom he has lost an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> +eye. He rules the kitchen with a rod of iron, the inmate there admiring +and fearing him. Next to tramps, Willie hates cats; he has been flogged +again and again for chasing the neighbour's "Tom"; nothing can stop him +rushing at the alien cat, however. But for his own domestic "Tabby" he +has tolerance and a certain amount of affection; if another dog were to +attack her, dire would be the warfare. A while ago, this cat had three +kittens; two were taken by the maid and placed in a bucket of water, and +left to their fate. Before that fate had come Willie perceived them; he +snatched them from the bucket one by one, and carried them to his +kennel. The maid attempted to get them away, but Willie flew at her with +fury, and then returned to lick first one and then the other, to shove +them up together, and lie down near them, and in every way to give the +poor half-dead things a chance. This went on for some time; but when at +last there was no sign of breath, and he saw that they were hopelessly +dead, he marched out of the kennel, shook himself, and indicated to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> the +maid that she might now proceed to bury them, that they were past +intelligent treatment. He treats the remaining and living kitten with +the indifference of the scientific for the normal.</p> + +<p class='right'>L. H.</p> + + +<h3>A CANINE NURSE.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>May 18, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>Being a frequent reader of anecdotes of the sagacity of animals in your +paper, I think you may consider the following trait of character in a +dog worthy of notice. Jack, a rough-haired fox-terrier of quiet +disposition, but a good ratter, and an inveterate enemy to strange or +neighbouring cats, of whom, to my sorrow, he has slain at least one, +became without effort the attached friend of a minute kitten introduced +into the house last November. This friendship has been continued without +intermission, and is reciprocated by the now full-grown cat. She, +unfortunately, got caught in a rabbit-trap not long ago, but escaped +with no further injury than a lacerated paw, which for some time<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> caused +her much pain and annoyance. Every morning Jack was to be seen tenderly +licking the paw of the interesting invalid, to which kind nursing no +doubt her rapid recovery may be attributed; and though she is now more +than convalescent and able to enjoy her usual game of play, he still +greets her each morning with a gentle inquiring lick on the injured paw, +just to see if it is all right, before proceeding to roll her over in +their accustomed gambols. This seems to me a marked instance of +individual affection overcoming race-antipathy.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Blanche Rochfort.</span></p> + + +<h3>A CURIOUS FRIENDSHIP.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 6, 1875.</i>]</p> + +<p>I have two dogs, two cats, and a kitten. Many years of experience have +shown me, in the teeth of all proverbs, that cats and dogs, members of +the same household, live together quite as amicably as human beings.</p> + +<p>Only, like human beings, they have their dislikes and preferences for +each other. At the present time, my dog Snow is on terms<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> of hearty +friendship with my grey cat Kitty, but of polite indifference with my +black cat Toppy.</p> + +<p>Toppy, for some years back, has been subject to fits, owing, it is +considered, to the lodgment of some small shot near her spine, whilst +out trespassing (or poaching).</p> + +<p>Yesterday Snow rushed into the kitchen with face so anxious and piteous +that my servants both exclaimed that something must have happened; gave +signs, as he can do, that somebody was to go with him, and was followed +into the drawing-room, where Toppy, left alone, had fallen under the +grate in a fit, and was writhing amid the ashes and embers. She was +rescued, and beyond a little singeing, does not seem much the worse.</p> + +<p>To reach the kitchen, Snow must have pushed open a red-baize door, which +he has never been known to open before, and before which he will stay +barking for ten minutes at a time to be let through.</p> + +<p>If any biped, supposing himself to be endowed with reason, humanity, and +articulate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> speech, tells me that Snow is a conscious automaton, can I +give him any other answer than, "You're another"?</p> + +<p class='right'>J. M. L.</p> + + +<h3>AN ACT OF CANINE FRIENDSHIP.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Nov. 6, 1880.</i>]</p> + +<p>I have read from time to time in the pages of the <i>Spectator</i> instances +of canine sagacity furnished by your correspondents, which have, no +doubt, interested many others besides myself. The following incident +occurred last Saturday, in my walk from the beach, which, perhaps, may +amuse your readers, as it did me.</p> + +<p>My curiosity was excited by seeing a young retriever on his hind legs +licking very ardently the face of a nice-looking donkey, who was +tethered on the bank. After licking his face all over for a long time, +he began to frisk around him, evidently anxious to have a trot together; +but, finding that his friend was tied by a rope, he deliberately began +to gnaw it, and in a very short time succeeded in setting him free! The +owner<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> of the donkey, who happened to be at work close by, then +interfered, and put a stop to their little game, or otherwise Master +Neddy would, no doubt, have been seduced to join in a scamper. From the +warmth of the dog's salutes, I imagine that he and the donkey were old +friends.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">S. Richards.</span></p> + + +<h3>DOG AND CANARY.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Nov. 20, 1880.</i>]</p> + +<p>I was much interested in the account of the friendship that existed +between the young retriever and the donkey whom he released by gnawing +the rope. The little incident I send of another retriever may also +interest your readers. A friend of mine had a pet canary, while her +brother was the owner of a retriever that was also much petted. One day +the canary escaped from the house, and was seen flying about the grounds +for a few days, and when it perched was generally on high elm-trees. At +last it vanished from view, and this dear little pet was mourned for as +lost or dead. But after the interval<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> of another day or so, the +retriever came in with the canary in his mouth, carrying it most +delicately, and went up to the owner of the bird, delivering it into her +hands without even the feathers being injured. Surely nothing could +illustrate more beautifully faithful love and gentleness in a dog than +this.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">E. Till.</span></p> + + +<h3>CAT-AND-DOG LOVE.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>April 13, 1878.</i>]</p> + +<p>Would you allow me, as a cat fancier of nearly thirty years' standing, +to corroborate, by a personal experience, Mr. Balfour's testimony in +your last issue to the possibility of a genuine attachment between a cat +and a dog? A few weeks ago, I called upon a bachelor friend who has two +pets, a handsome black female cat, of the name of Kate, and a bright +little terrier, responding to the call of David. My friend assured me +that they lived on the most affectionate terms. They were certainly not +demonstrative, but they were importations from Scotland, and refrained +from "spooning" before folk. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> character of the attachment was soon +tested. Another acquaintance entered the room, accompanied by a terrier +of about the same size as David, although not of the same variety. This +dog made at once for the cat, then resting in front of the fire. She +backed against the wall, and prepared for a fight, in which, if I may +judge from her size, she would have been victorious. But she was saved +the trouble of using her claws. Before she could utter a feline +equivalent for "Jack Robinson," before the door could be closed, David +rushed at the intruder, and literally ran him out of the room and down +two flights of stairs, with a rapidity worthy of a member of the Irish +Constabulary. By the time he returned, his Dulcinea had arranged herself +for another nap, but she opened one eye as her companion took his place +by his side, and—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"Betwixt her darkness and his brightness,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">There passed a mutual glance of great politeness."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>I witnessed a similar scene some years ago in a country inn in the north +of Scotland.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> On that occasion, one dog defended against another a +favourite cat and a favourite hen.</p> + +<p>Speaking of cats, can any one say what has become of the late Pope's +black cat, Morello? Did he die before his master, or has some one +adopted him? Châteaubriand, as everybody knows, adopted Micetto, the +grey favourite of Leo XII.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">William Wallace.</span></p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CURIOUS_HABITS_OF_DOGS" id="CURIOUS_HABITS_OF_DOGS"></a><i>CURIOUS HABITS OF DOGS.</i></h2> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span></p> +<hr style='width: 45%;' /><p> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE DOG THAT BURIED THE FROGS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 2, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>Knowing your love of animals, and the interest so often shown in your +columns in their ways, I venture to send you the following story I have +lately heard from an eye-witness, and to ask whether you or any of your +readers can throw any light upon the dog's probable object. The dog in +question was a Scotch terrier. He was one day observed to appear from a +corner of the garden carrying in his mouth, very gently and tenderly, a +live frog. He proceeded to lay the frog down upon a flower-bed, and at +once began to dig a hole in the earth, keeping one eye upon the frog to +see that it did not escape. If it went more than a few feet from him, he +fetched it back, and then continued his work. Having dug the hole a +certain depth, he then laid the frog, still<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> alive, at the bottom of it, +and promptly scratched the loose earth back into the hole, and friend +froggy was buried alive! The dog then went off to the corner of the +garden, and returned with another frog, which he treated in the same +way. This occurred on more than one occasion; in fact, as often as he +could find frogs he occupied himself in burying them alive. Now dogs +generally have some reason for what they do. What can have been a dog's +reason for burying frogs alive? It does not appear that he ever dug them +up again to provide himself with a meal. If, sir, you or any of your +readers can throw any light on this curious, and for the frogs most +uncomfortable, behaviour of my friend's Scotch terrier, I should be very +much obliged.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">R. Acland-Troyte.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p> +<h3>AN EXPLANATION.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 9, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>I think I can explain the puzzle of the Scotch terrier and his interment +of the frogs, for the satisfaction of your correspondent. A friend of +mine had once a retriever who was stung by a bee, and ever afterwards, +when the dog found a bee near the ground, she stamped on it, and then +scraped earth over it and buried it effectually—presumably to put an +end to the danger of further stings. In like manner, another dog having +bitten a toad, showed every sign of having found the mouthful to the +last degree unpleasant. Probably Mr. Acland-Troyte's dog had, in the +same way, bitten a toad, and conceived henceforth that he rendered +public service by putting every toad-like creature he saw carefully and +gingerly "out of harm's way," underground.</p> + +<p>A great number of the buryings and other odd tricks of dogs must, +however, I am sure, be considered as Atavism, and traced to the +instincts bequeathed by their remote progenitors<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> when yet "wild in the +woods the noble <i>beastie</i> ran." Such, I believe, is generally admitted +to be the explanation of the universal habit of every dog before lying +down to turn round two or three times and scratch its intending +bed—even when that bed is of the softest woollen or silk—apparently to +ascertain that no snakes or thorns lurk in its sleeping-place.</p> + +<p>A dog which I once possessed exhibited such reversion to ancestral +habits in a noteworthy way. She was a beautiful white Pomeranian; and +when a litter of puppies was impending, on one occasion she scratched an +enormous hole in our back-garden in South Kensington, where her leisure +hours were passed—a hole like the burrow of a fox. It was not in the +least of the character of the ordinary circular punch-bowl so often +scooped out by idle or impatient dogs, but a long, deep channel running +at a sharp angle a considerable way underground. Obviously, it was +Yama's conviction that it was her maternal duty to provide shelter for +her expected offspring, precisely as a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> fox or rabbit must feel it, and +as we may suppose her own ancestresses did on the shores of the Baltic +some thousand generations ago. When the puppies were born, Yama and the +survivor were established by me in a most comfortable kennel in the same +garden, with a day nursery and a night nursery (covered and open) for +the comfort and safety of the puppy. But one fine morning, when the +little creature had begun to crawl over the inclosure of its small +domain, I happened to go into the garden while Yama was absent in the +house, and discovered that my little friend was missing. The puppy had +disappeared altogether; and at the same time I noticed that the +flower-bed in which Yama had made her excavation had been nicely +smoothed over by the gardener, who was putting the place in order. A +suspicion instantly seized me, and I exclaimed, "You have buried my +puppy!" I ran to the spot where the hole had been made, and, having +swept aside the gardener's spadeful of soil, found the deeper part of +the hole, running slanting underground, still<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> open. I knelt down and +thrust in my arm to its fullest stretch, and then, at the very end of +the hole, my fingers encountered a little soft, warm, fluffy ball. The +puppy came out quite happy and uninjured, freshly awakened from sleep, +having shown that his instinct recognised the suitability of holes in +the ground for the accommodation of puppies; just as the hereditary +instinct of his mother had led her to prepare one for him, even in a +South Kensington garden!</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Frances Power Cobbe.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span></p> +<h3>A DOG AND HIS DINNER.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 16, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>I knew a dog in Ireland—a large retriever—who had been taught always +to bring his own tin dish in his mouth, to be filled at the late dinner. +For some reason his master wished to make a change, and to feed him +twice a day instead of once, to which he had always been accustomed. The +dog resented this, and when told to bring his dish, refused, and it +could nowhere be found; on which his master spoke angrily to him, and +ordered him to bring the dish at once. With drooping tail and sheepish +expression he went down the length of the garden, and began scratching +up the soil where he had buried the bowl deep down, to avoid having to +bring it at an hour of which he did not approve.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">A Lover of Dogs.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span></p> +<h3>DOGS AND LOOKING-GLASSES.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>June 23, 1894.</i>]</p> + +<p>You are fond of odd actions of dogs, so perhaps the following may be +acceptable. I have two fox-terriers—young dogs—Grip and Vic. In the +morning, at early tea in our bedroom, Vic gets angry with Grip's +reflection in the long glass of the wardrobe, barks at him furiously as +he moves about, and scratches at the glass, quite regardless of her own +face between her and his reflection. And when he assaults her from +behind, to make her play with his real self, she turns round and snaps +at him viciously, and then returns to her attack on his reflection. He +jumps upon the window-sill, and fancies he sees a squirrel in the +garden, and dashes past her to the door; she follows the motion of the +reflection till she is past the edge of the glass, and loses it, when +she dashes back to the glass again. This has occurred several days in +the last week, and seems to me almost absurd. The dogs are just about a +year old, and so beyond puppy folly, though very lively and playful +still.</p> + +<p class='right'>A. M. B.</p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_SENSE_OF_HUMOUR_AND_CUNNING_IN_DOGS" id="THE_SENSE_OF_HUMOUR_AND_CUNNING_IN_DOGS"></a><i>THE SENSE OF HUMOUR AND CUNNING IN DOGS.</i></h2> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span></p> +<hr style='width: 45%;' /><p> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p> + +<h3>DOGS' SENSE OF HUMOUR.</h3> + +<h3>THE POWER OF IMITATION IN DOGS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Oct. 22, 1882.</i>]</p> + +<p>The following anecdote may interest those of your readers who are +accustomed to observe the characteristic actions of dogs. I can vouch +for its accuracy, as I was an amused eye-witness, and several members of +my family were also present, and have often told the story.</p> + +<p>A friend of ours and his wife were spending a musical evening with us, +and an old, black, English terrier, who belonged to the house, had been +in the drawing-room, which was upstairs. The dog had been kindly noticed +by our friend, who was partially lame from paralysis. On leaving the +drawing-room the dog followed him to the top of the staircase (we, with +his wife, were waiting below in the hall), and with cocked tail and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> +ears stood gravely watching his slow, limping descent. When the invalid +was nearly at the foot of the stairs the dog began to follow, limping on +three legs (he was quite sound), in humorous imitation of our poor, +afflicted friend, and this assumed lameness was gravely kept up till he +arrived on the mat. It was impossible to repress a smile, though our +politeness was at stake, and the unconsciousness of our friend added to +the difficulty.</p> + +<p class='right'>A. R.</p> + + +<h3>SENSE OF HUMOUR IN DOGS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>July 28, 1888.</i>]</p> + +<p>A recent anecdote from one of your correspondents about a dog and a hen +brought to my mind an incident, related to me by an eye-witness, of a +dog who had a constant feud with the fowls, which were prone to pilfer +from the basin containing his dinner. On one occasion he was lying in +front of his kennel, quietly watching a hen as she made stealthy and +tentative approaches to his basin, which at length she reached and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> +looked into, finding it perfectly empty. The dog wagged his tail.</p> + +<p class='right'>J. R.</p> + + +<h3>A DOG'S SENSE OF HUMOUR.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>March 9, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>Does the following dog-story show a sense of humour? A retriever was in +the habit of leaving his bed in the kitchen when he heard his master +descending the stairs in the morning. On one occasion a new kitchen-maid +turned him out of his bed at a much earlier hour than usual. He looked +angrily at her, but walked out quietly. Time passed, and he was nowhere +to be found. At last, in going to her bedroom, the kitchen-maid found +him coiled up in her own bed.</p> + +<p class='right'>B. B.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p> +<h3>CUNNING DOGS.</h3> + +<h3>A DOG AND A WHIP.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>May 18, 1889.</i>]</p> + +<p>You have lately published several dog stories. Allow me to send you +another for publication should you think it worthy. It was told me +to-day by a lady whom I cross-examined to get full details:—"Some +twenty years back we had a poodle—white, with one black ear. After the +manner of his race, he was never quite happy unless he carried something +in his mouth. He was intelligent and teachable to the last degree. The +great defect in his character was the impossibility of distinguishing +<i>meum</i> from <i>tuum</i>. Anything he could get hold of he seemed to think, +according to his dogged ethics, to be fairly his own. On one occasion he +entered the room of one of the maidservants and stole her loaf of bread, +carefully shutting the door after him with his feet—the latter part +being a feat I had taught him. The woman—Irish—was scared, and thought +that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> dog was the devil incarnate. The necessity of discipline on +the one hand, and of occupation on the other, induced me one day to +enter a saddler's shop, situated in a straight street about half a mile +from our house, and buy a whip. Shortly after my return home he +committed some act of petty larceny, so I gave him a beating with the +whip he had carried home. Going for a walk next day the dog, as usual, +accompanied me, and was entrusted with the whip to carry. Directly we +got outside the door he started off at his best pace straight down the +street, paying no attention whatever, to my repeated calls. He entered +the saddler's shop and deposited the whip on the floor. When I arrived +the saddler showed me the whip lying exactly where the dog had deposited +it."</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Henry H. Maxwell.</span></p> + + +<h3>A RUSÉ DOG.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>March 21, 1885.</i>]</p> + +<p>A story which came to my knowledge a few months ago may be of interest +in connection<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> with the <i>Spectator's</i> series of anecdotes illustrating +the intelligence of animals.</p> + +<p>One summer afternoon a group of children were playing at the end of a +pier which projects into Lake Ontario, near Kingston, New York, U.S.A. +The proverbial careless child of the party made the proverbial backward +step off from the pier into the water. None of his companions could save +him, and their cries had brought no one from the shore, when, just as he +was sinking for the third time, a superb Newfoundland dog rushed down +the pier into the water and pulled the boy out. Those of the children +who did not accompany the boy home took the dog to a confectioner's on +the shore, and fed him with as great a variety of cakes and other sweets +as he would eat. So far the story is, of course, only typical of scores +of well-known cases. The individuality of this case is left for the +sequel.</p> + +<p>The next afternoon the same group of children were playing at the same +place, when the canine hero of the day before came trotting down to them +with the most friendly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> wags and nods. There being no occasion this time +for supplying him with delicacies, the children only stroked and patted +him. The dog, however, had not come out of pure sociability. A child in +the water and cakes and candy stood to him in the close and obvious +relation of cause and effect, and if this relation was not clear to the +children he resolved to impress it upon them. Watching his chance, he +crept up behind the child who was standing nearest to the edge of the +pier, gave a sudden push, which sent him into the water, then sprang in +after him, and gravely brought him to shore.</p> + +<p>To those of us who have had a high respect for the disinterestedness of +dogs, this story may give a melancholy proof that the development of the +intelligence, at the expense of the moral nature, is by no means +exclusively human.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Clara French.</span></p> + + +<h3>DOG DECEIVERS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 9, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>Your fondness for dogs induces me to send<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> you the following anecdote, +which shows their power of acting a part for purposes of their own. Some +years ago a fox-terrier of mine was condemned by a veterinary surgeon to +consume a certain amount of flour of sulphur every day. He was at all +times a fanciful and dainty feeder, and every conceivable ingenuity on +my part was exhausted in the vain endeavour to disguise the daily +portion and to give it a more tempting appearance. Each new device was +invariably detected. However hungry he might be he turned from the +proffered morsel in disgust, and it ended almost invariably in my having +to put it down his throat. One morning, after keeping him for many hours +without food, and having neatly wrapped the powder in a most appetising +piece of raw meat, I offered it him in the vain hope that hunger might +prevail over prejudice. But no. With averted head and downcast look he +steadily and determinedly declined to partake of it. I encouraged him in +vain. Deep dejection on his part; despair, but persistence, on mine. All +of a sudden his whole manner<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> changed. He assumed a brisk and cheerful +demeanour, joyfully accepted the hitherto rejected offering, and running +merrily through the open door, disappeared swiftly a few yards off round +the corner of the building. Inside the room I ran as quickly to a +window, whence I could view his proceedings, and there watched him while +he deposited the hated morsel on the ground, dug a hole in the +flower-bed, and buried it. His jaunty, triumphant air as he returned I +shall never forget.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">F. E. Wynne.</span></p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p> +<hr style='width: 0%;' /> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="USEFUL_DOGS" id="USEFUL_DOGS"></a><i>USEFUL DOGS.</i></h2> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span></p> +<hr style='width: 45%;' /><p> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p> + +<h3>GUARDIAN DOGS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>July 15, 1892.</i>]</p> + +<p>Having read for years your interesting letters and articles on animals +in the <i>Spectator</i>, I feel sure you will like to have a thoroughly +authentic account of a dog in this neighbourhood. I am allowed to give +the name of the owner, who is living at Lyme Regis, where I was staying +last week. The two incidents happened within a few weeks of each other.</p> + +<p>Mrs. and Miss Coode were alone in their house (except the servants); and +one night Miss Coode was awakened by hearing two knocks at her door and +a slight whine. It was between three and four o'clock in the morning. +She rose and opened the door to find the dog there, and at the same time +noticed and heard a stream of water running down the stairs. She went up +the staircase<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> to its source, and aroused the servants to attend to it. +As soon as the dog saw that the matter was being remedied, he quietly +went back to the mat in the hall and went to sleep again. The dog is a +large one, a cross between a retriever and a greyhound—a very beautiful +creature, resembling a poacher's lurcher.</p> + +<p>The second incident occurred only last week, when Miss Coode was again +aroused. This time by a loud crash, as if a picture had fallen. Almost +immediately the dog bounded upstairs, threw himself against the door, +which happened to be ajar, burst into the room, panting and eyes +glistening,—this, at least, Miss Coode saw as soon as she struck a +light, for it was between twelve and one o'clock. She went out on to the +staircase and downstairs to look at the pictures in the drawing-room. +The dog would not follow. The cook, coming down from her room, called +him a coward not to go with his mistress, but Sheppard did not move. +Miss Coode found all safe below, and returned upstairs, and the dog went +with her to the top<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> floor, where the ceiling of a small room had fallen +in. He then retired to his mat, having done his duty. He also showed his +sagacity in going to the daughter's room—the one most capable of seeing +to matters. Hoping, as a dog-lover, that this may interest all such, and +help to prove that dogs think and reason more than some human +beings—also to show that we often inferior beings have no right to +presuppose that the superior animals have no souls.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">K. Clarke.</span></p> + + +<h3>A TRUE WATCH-DOG.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Aug. 5, 1893.</i>]</p> + +<p>The "dog" letter in the <i>Spectator</i> of July 15th is wonderfully like my +experience, some years ago, with my little red Blenheim, Frisk. She +always slept in a basket, close to the hall door. One night she dashed +up the stairs, loudly barking, ran first to my eldest sister's room, +then through a swing-door to another sister's room, barking outside each +door, then upstairs again to my room at the top of the house, where she +remained barking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> till I got up and opened it, when she ran in, still +barking, and waited till I was ready to go down with her. She scampered +on before me, I following close, and when we both reached the hall she +dashed still barking to the door, to show me whence her alarm had +arisen. It was the policeman turning the handle of the door from the +outside to see if it was properly closed! One night, a long time after +the first adventure, I was wakened by a quiet scratch at the door of my +room. No barking this time; but, tiresome as it was to be disturbed on a +cold night, I got up and opened the door, and was conscious in the +darkness that Frisk was standing there. "Come in, Frisk," said I. But no +movement; Frisk stood waiting. "Come in, Frisk," I repeated, somewhat +sharply. No movement, no bark! Then, being sure that something must be +wrong, I lighted a candle, and there stood Frisk outside the door, never +offering to come in. She trotted quietly down before me, not speaking a +word. When we were both through the swing-door, and at the head of the +stairs,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> I saw that the inner door to the hall was open, and also that +of the morning-room, from which shone a bright light. My heart went +pit-a-pat for a moment; then seeing Frisk run quietly down the stairs, I +followed her, when she calmly jumped into her basket again, and I, +venturing into the morning-room, found that my brother-in-law had left +the lamp burning by mistake—a proceeding which Frisk plainly knew was +wrong, and had therefore come upstairs to inform me, but had not thought +it necessary to disturb the rest of the household this time! She had +come straight up to my room without disturbing any one else, to tell me +of the irregularity of a light burning when every one was in bed, and +that being done, jumped into bed again, conscious of having performed +her duty.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Georgina A. Marsh-Caldwell.</span></p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>Aug. 12, 1893.</i>]</p> + +<p>I can give an instance as convincing as that of Miss Marsh-Caldwell of +the way in which a true watch-dog will measure the extent of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> his +duties. I lived for many years opposite a wood, in which the game at +first was preserved. I had a dog named Prin, who had begun by being a +gardener's dog, but having caught the distemper and been unskilfully +treated by his master he remained nearly blind, and was left on my hands +by the man when he quitted my service. The dog was a great coward, but +good-tempered and affectionate, and the partial loss of sight seemed to +have developed greatly the senses both of hearing and smell, so that he +was recognised as a capital watch-dog. He was promoted to the kitchen, +and would have been promoted to the drawing-room but for the +obstreperousness of his affection, which seemed to know no bounds if he +was admitted even into the hall. I slept at that time in a room over the +kitchen, fronting the road. One night I was awakened by Prin growling, +and, after a time, giving a snappish bark underneath me. I got out of +bed and throwing up the sash, listened at the window, where, after a +time, I heard slight noises, which convinced me that some one or more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> +persons were hiding in the shrubbery between the house and the road, +whom I supposed to be burglars. I called out, "Who's there?" without, of +course, eliciting any answer, and, after a time, I heard the click of +the further gate (there being two, one opposite my house, the other +opposite its semi-detached neighbour, and out of my sight), after which +all was quiet. But I had noticed that from the moment of my getting out +of bed Prin had not uttered a sound. The same thing happened seven or +eight times, and always in the same way, Prin growling or barking till +he heard me get out of bed, and then holding his tongue, as feeling that +he had fulfilled his duty in warning his master, and that all +responsibility now devolved upon me. The secret of the matter I +discovered to be that poachers, with no burglarious intentions towards +me, used the shrubbery as a hiding-place before getting over the +opposite paling into the wood.</p> + +<p>One other instance of Prin's sagacity I will also mention. I had a black +cat, with white breast, named Toffy, between whom and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> Prin there was +peace, though not affection. There was also another black cat, with +white breast, that prowled about, an outlaw cat, who made free with my +chickens when he could! It was a bitter winter, and the snow had lain +already for days on the ground. I was walking one Sunday morning in my +garden, Prin being out with me. He quitted me to go under a laurel-hedge +bounding a shrubbery, and presently began barking loudly. I went towards +him, and saw a white-breasted cat sitting stretched under the laurels, +with front paws doubled under him, which I took to be Toffy asleep. I +scolded Prin for disturbing Toffy, and he stopped barking, but remained +on the spot whilst I continued my walk. Presently—say two or three +minutes after—I heard him barking still more loudly than before, and so +persistently that I returned to the spot. Noticing that the cat had +never moved through all the noise, I crept up under the bushes, and +found that it was not Toffy asleep, but the outlaw cat, dead—evidently +of cold. Thus my poor purblind watch-dog<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> had—(1) barked to draw my +attention to what appeared to him an unusual phenomenon; (2), held his +tongue in deference to my (supposed) superior wisdom, when I told him he +was making a mistake; (3), not being, however, satisfied in his mind, +remained to investigate till he was convinced he had not been mistaken; +(4), called my attention to the facts still more instantly till I was +satisfied of them for myself. Could <i>homo sapiens</i> have done more?</p> + +<p class='right'>J. M. L.</p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>Aug. 12, 1893.</i>]</p> + +<p>I am reminded by the anecdote related in the <i>Spectator</i> of July 15th, +"A Canine Guardian," of the sagacity of a favourite Scotch terrier which +was displayed some years ago. I was dressing one morning, and my +bedroom-door was ajar. Standing at my dressing-table, I was surprised to +see Fan come up to me, frisking about, and looking eagerly into my face, +whether from pleasure or not I could not tell. I spoke to and stroked +her, but she was in no way soothed, and she ran out<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> of the room +evidently much excited. In she came again, more earnestly trying to tell +me what she wanted, rushing up to me and again to the door, plainly +begging me to follow her, which I did, into the next room, where +breakfast was laid. I at once saw what she had easily felt was out of +order—the kettle was boiling over, and the water pouring from the spout +had drenched the hearth. Hence her discomfort, and her effort to tell me +of the disaster. Having brought me on the scene, she seemed perfectly +content.</p> + +<p class='right'>C. A. T.</p> + + +<p class='right'>[<i>Aug. 12, 1893.</i>]</p> + +<p>Not long ago I was passing a barn-yard in this place, and stood to look +over the gate at a pretty half-grown lamb standing alone outside the +barn. But the sight of me so enraged a fierce, shaggy grey dog tied up +to his kennel between the lamb and me, that he barked himself nearly +into fits, showing all his teeth, and straining so furiously at his +chain as to make me quite nervous lest it should give way. In the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> +meantime, I struck such terror into the heart of the lamb that it fled +across the yard to place itself under the protection of the dog, and +stood close by his side, whilst he barked and danced with fury. As I +drew a little nearer, the lamb backed right into the kennel, and when, +after I had made a circuit in order to watch the further movements of +this strange pair of friends from behind a tree, I saw their two faces +cautiously looking out together, cheek-by-jowl, whilst the dog's anger +was being reduced to subsiding splutters of resentment. He was not a +collie, but a very large sort of poodle.</p> + +<p class='right'>C. S.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p> +<h3>COLLIES AT WORK.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>March 25, 1893.</i>]</p> + +<p>At six o'clock this morning, I saw a mountain-shepherd stand at a gate +on the hill-top. Seven sheep were on the outside of the gate—six of the +shepherd's flock, the other a strayer. The man wanted his own sheep in; +so, before opening the gate, he quietly said: "'Rob,' catch the +strayer." In an instant "Rob" pinned the sheep, holding him, strong and +wild as he was, as though he were in a vice; and then, by another word, +"Gled" was told to bring the others in through the gate now opened for +them. Although "Gled" brought his six wild sheep right over "Rob" and +his strayer, the sheep was held securely till the gate was closed, and +the order given to "let it gang."</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">William Fothergill.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p> +<h3>A COLLIE AT WORK.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Aug. 11, 1894.</i>]</p> + +<p>We stood at the bottom of a deep valley with the hills rising abruptly +on either side, when Robert Scott said: "Yonder is the sheep I led away +from Llangynider, all those weary miles yesterday. I saw it as I came +over the hill-top down to the house this morning. If you wish, "Kate" +shall bring it down to my feet here for you to see it." "What?—bring +that single sheep! How will she know the one you want, and how can she +get it away from the flock by itself? I will not believe that possible +till I see it done, at all events."</p> + +<p>He spoke a low word or two to the collie by his side, and away went +"Kate" right up over rock and bracken, till we could see the flock far +away upon the height above give a very rapid turn, and in a few minutes +afterwards, down rushed a strong mountain wether with the wily "Kate" +working to the right and left about thirty yards behind it. "Come away, +back 'ahint<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> me," cried Scott; and "Kate," at once leaving the sheep, +appeared positively to fly far out, and coming round behind us, stopped +the wether in his headlong course, bringing him to a stand literally at +the shepherd's feet. "Robert," I said, "when (as you intend) you sail +next month for New Zealand, you will not take 'Kate' with you, but leave +her here for seven sovereigns." "Nae, nae, sir," was the reply, "seventy +sovereigns would nae buy her."</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">W. Fothergill.</span></p> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="MISCELLANEOUS" id="MISCELLANEOUS"></a><i>MISCELLANEOUS.</i></h2> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p> +<hr style='width: 45%;' /><p> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span></p> +<h3>A SUNDAY DOG.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 17, 1877.</i>]</p> + +<p>A correspondent favoured your readers last week (see page 53) with an +interesting anecdote of a dog's intelligence in reference to the use of +money. Permit me to relate an instance of a dog's intelligence in +reference to the day of the week. Some three-and-twenty years ago, in +the infancy of the Canterbury Province, New Zealand, there lived in the +same neighbourhood as myself two young men, in the rough but independent +mode of life then prevalent in the colony, somewhat oblivious of old +institutions. These men possessed a dog each, affectionate companions of +their solitude. It was the custom of this primitive establishment to +utilise the Sabbath by a ramble, in quest of wild ducks and wild pigs, +about the swamps and creeks of the district. It was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> observed that long +before any preparations were made for starting, the dogs always seemed +to be more or less excited. This was remarkable enough, but not so much +as what followed. One of these men after a while left his friend, and +taking his dog with him, went to live with a clergyman about four miles +off. Here ducks and pigs had to be given up on Sundays for the +church-service. It was soon noticed that this dog used to vanish betimes +on Sundays, and did not turn up again until late. Upon inquiring, it was +found that the dog had visited its old abode, where on that day of the +week sport was not forbidden. The owner tried the plan of chaining up +the animal on Saturday evenings, but it soon became very cunning, and +would get away whenever it had the chance. On one occasion it was +temporarily fastened to a fence-rail about mid-day on a Saturday. By +repeated jerks it loosened the rail from the mortice-holes, and dragged +it away. Upon search being made, this resolute but unfortunate dog was +found drowned, still<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> fast to the chain and rail, in a stream about two +miles away in the direction of its old haunts. The gentleman who owned +the other dog is in England now, and went over the details of the facts +herein stated with me quite recently.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Alfred Durell.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span></p> +<h3>A COW'S JEALOUSY OF A DOG.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>April 30, 1892.</i>]</p> + +<p>As a subscriber to and constant reader of the <i>Spectator</i>, I have +derived much pleasure from the anecdotes of animal instinct, sagacity, +and emotion, which from time to time have appeared in your columns. +Perhaps you may like to publish the following instance of jealousy in a +cow; it is, at any rate, a story at first-hand, as I myself was an actor +in the affair.</p> + +<p>A few years ago, I had a quiet milch-cow, Rose, who certainly was fond +of Thomas, the man who milked her regularly, and she also showed an +aversion to dogs even greater than is usual in her species. One night, +for what reason I now forget, I had tied up a young collie dog in the +little cowshed where she was accustomed to be milked. The following +morning, I had just begun to dress, when I heard the puppy barking in +the cowshed. "Oh!" thought I, "I forgot to tell Thomas about the puppy, +and now the cow will get in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> first and gore it." The next minute I heard +a roar of unmistakable fear and anguish—a human roar. I dashed down to +the spot, and at the same moment arrived my son, pitchfork in hand. +There lay Thomas on his face in a dry gutter by the side of the road to +the cowhouse, and the cow butting angrily at him. We drove off the cow, +and poor Thomas scuffled across the road, slipped through a wire fence, +stood up and drew breath. "Why, Thomas," said I, "what's the matter with +Rose?" "Well, sir," said Thomas, "I heard the pup bark and untied him, +and I was just coming out of the cowhouse, with the pup in my arms, when +'Rose' came round the corner. As soon as she see'd the pup in my arms, +she rushed at me without more ado, knocked me down, and would have +killed me if you hadn't come up." Thomas had indeed had a narrow escape; +his trousers were ripped up from end to end, and red marks all along his +legs showed where Rose's horns had grazed along them. "Well," said I, +"you'd better not milk her this morning, since she's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> in such a fury." +"Oh! I'll milk her right enough, sir, by and by; just give her a little +time to settle down like. It's only jealousy of that 'ere pup, sir. She +couldn't abide seeing me a-fondling of it." "Well, as you like," said I; +"only take care, and mind what you're about." "All right, sir!"</p> + +<p>In about twenty minutes, Thomas called me down to see the milk. The cow +had stood quiet enough to be milked. But the milk was deeply tinged with +blood, and in half an hour a copious red precipitate had settled to the +bottom of the pail. Till then I had doubted the jealousy theory. After +that I believed.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">C. Hunter Brown.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p> +<h3>AN AUSTRALIAN DOG-STORY.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>May 11, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>Seeing the great interest which many of your readers take in the study +of canine character and intelligence, I think perhaps the following +incident is worth recording. Whilst walking with a lady friend along +Studley Park Road, Kew (a residential suburb of Melbourne), on a very +quiet afternoon some time ago, we were surprised by a large St. Bernard +dog, which came up to us and deliberately pawed my leg several times. +Our perplexity at his extraordinary behaviour was perhaps not unmixed +with a little misgiving, for he was an animal of formidable size and +strength; but as he gave evident signs of satisfaction at our noticing +him, and proceeded to trot on in front—at intervals looking round to +make sure we were following—we became interested. When we had followed +him about forty yards, he stopped before a door in a high garden wall, +and, looking round anxiously to see that we were noticing,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> reached up +his paw in the direction of the latch. On stretching forth my hand to +unfasten the door, his extreme pleasure was exhibited in a most +unmistakable manner; but when he saw me try in vain to open it, he +became quiet, and looked at me with an expression so manifestly anxious +that I could no more have left the poor animal thus than I could have +left a helpless little child in a similar position. With eager attention +and expectancy he listened while I knocked, and when at last some one +was heard coming down the garden path, he bounded about with every sign +of unlimited joy.</p> + +<p>Now here was one of the so-called "brutes," which, failing to get in at +a certain door, cast about for a way out of the difficulty, and seeing +us some distance down the road (we were the only persons in sight at the +time), he had come to us, attracted our attention, taken us to the door, +and told us he wanted it opened. We both agreed that the animal had all +through shown a play of emotion and intelligence<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> comparable to that of +a human being; and, indeed, we felt so much akin to the noble creature +that we have both, since then, been very loath to class dogs as +"inferior animals."</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">George Eastgate.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p> +<h3>TWO ANECDOTES OF DOGS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 2, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>Having derived much pleasure from reading the frequent natural history +notes which from time to time appear in the <i>Spectator</i>, I venture to +send you two instances of what seems to me the working of the canine +mind under quite different circumstances. The first refers to an +incident which happened a great many years ago. It was this. One day, +when a lad, I was walking with my father accompanied by a strong, +smooth-haired retriever called Turk. We were joined by the bailiff of +the farm, and in the course of our walk Turk suddenly discovered the +presence of a rabbit concealed in what in Scotland is called a +"dry-stane dyke." After a little trouble in removing some stones, poor +bunny was caught and slaughtered, being handed to the bailiff, who put +it in his coat pocket. Shortly afterwards we separated, the bailiff +going to his home in one direction, and we to ours in an opposite one. +Before we reached home we noticed that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> Turk was no longer with us, at +which we were rather surprised, as he was a very faithful follower. Some +time after we got home, perhaps an hour, I chanced to see a strange +object on the public road which puzzled me as to what it was. It raised +a cloud of dust as it came along, which partly obscured the vision. What +was my surprise when I found it was Turk dragging a man's +shooting-jacket, which proved to be the bailiff's, with the rabbit still +in the pocket. We afterwards learnt that the dog, to the surprise of the +bailiff, quietly followed him home, and lay down near him. Presently the +man took off his coat, and laid it on a chair. Instantly Turk pounced +upon it, and dashed to the door with it in his mouth. He was pursued, +but in vain, and succeeded in dragging the coat from the one house to +the other, a distance of one mile and three-fourths. It was evident the +dog had a strong sense of the rights of property. He believed the rabbit +belonged to his master, so he set himself to recover what he thought +stolen goods.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span></p> + +<p>The other anecdote refers to quite a recent date, and the only interest +it has, is that it shows how perfectly a dog can exhibit facial +expression, and also read at a glance the slightest indications of +feeling in the human face. I had a well-broken Irish setter, which was +perfectly free of hare or rabbit as to chasing, but he was a sad rascal +for all that. I also had at the time a rough Scotch terrier, and the two +dogs were great chums. The moment they got the chance they were off +together on a rabbit-hunt. Like idiots, they would spend hours in vainly +trying to dig rabbits out of their burrows. One day as I was returning +home I met the pair in the avenue. They were the very picture of +happiness. At first they did not see me, and came joyously on at a trot. +The instant they observed me they came to a full stop, some forty yards +off. The setter gently wagged his tail, and looked at me with an +expression of anxious inquiry. Taking heart, he slowly advanced to +within about thirty yards, and then came the varying play of feature +which so interested me. He was in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> great doubt as to whether I had +guessed what tricks he had been up to; but as I made no sign, he was +gradually looking more comfortable and gaining confidence. Suddenly I +noticed a patch of mud above his nose, and I must have unconsciously +shown him I had made a discovery of some kind, for that instant he +turned tail and bolted home at the utmost speed of which he was capable. +Without uttering a single word, or making a single gesture, the dog and +man understood each other perfectly. It was the language of faces.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">R. Scot Skirving.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span></p> +<h3>A DOG OBEYING A SUMMONS</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Jan. 18, 1890.</i>]</p> + +<p>The enclosed may interest you. I received it this morning. I have no +doubt Dr. Barford, of Wokingham, would verify it, but I have not the +pleasure of his acquaintance. The following is the story:—</p> + +<p>"Dr. Barford's dog at Wokingham was put into a muzzle; he objected to +it, took it off, and hid it somewhere, no one knows where. Policeman saw +him; summoned Dr. B.; case was to come off one Saturday. The children +told dog how wicked <i>he'd</i> been: Dr. B. would have to appear at the +Court, and he too, as it was his doing; he'd lost the muzzle. Case was +postponed (I think policeman witness had influenza). Dr. B. was told of +postponement by letter; forgot to tell children or dog. At Saturday's +Bench, Magistrates much astonished by the dog appearing in Court and +sitting solemnly opposite them."</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Alys M. Wood.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p> +<h3>A PUG'S INTELLIGENCE.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 1, 1890.</i>]</p> + +<p>Several newspaper cuttings have been sent to me with the story of my dog +which appeared in the <i>Spectator</i> of January 18th, and one or two of +them suggest a doubt as to the veracity of the story. I write, +therefore, to tell you that it is literally true, only that the +policeman was away for his holiday instead of having influenza, and the +case came off on Tuesday instead of Saturday. My dog is a pug, a very +choice specimen of his kind, and was given to me by the late Dr. Wakley, +editor of the <i>Lancet</i>, who was a great connoisseur in dogs. His +intelligence is really marvellous, and he has done many things as +extraordinary as the one related by Miss Wood.</p> + +<p>He is devotedly attached to my baby, and always accompanies me in my +morning visit to the nursery. On one occasion the child (who is just as +fond of him as he is of her) was very ill, and for three weeks was +unconscious. As soon as this was the case,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> the dog ceased to go near +the nursery, as if by instinct he knew he would not be noticed. Mr. +Walters from Reading was attending the baby, and the dog soon got to +know the time he paid his visits. He would watch him upstairs, and when +he came down listen most attentively to his report. At length the child +was pronounced out of danger. The very next morning, up went master Sam, +made his way straight to the child's cot, and stood on his hind legs to +be caressed. Although she had taken no notice of any one for some time, +she seemed to know the dog, and tried to move her hand towards him to be +licked. He quite understood the action, licked the little hand lovingly, +and then trotted contentedly away. After this he went up to see her +regularly, as he had been accustomed to do. He is quite a character in +the town, and nearly every one knows Sammy Weller.</p> + +<p>Before I had this dog, I always thought I understood the difference +between reason and instinct, but his intelligence has quite puzzled me.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Mary H. Barford.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span></p> +<h3>ARE DOGS "COLOUR-BLIND"?</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Jan. 12, 1884.</i>]</p> + +<p>Your correspondent, "W. H. O'Shea," has found several dogs +"colour-blind," If black is a colour, I can give several instances in +which a black retriever dog of mine was certainly <i>not</i> "colour-blind." +He had the greatest antipathy to sweeps and coalheavers, and would fly +at them if not fastened up or carefully watched. He would even bark at a +passing hearse! In all other respects, he was the best-tempered dog in +the world, and I can only imagine that when very young he must have been +ill-used by either a sweep or a coalheaver.</p> + +<p class='right'>C. R. T.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span></p> +<h3>LUCKY AND UNLUCKY.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>April 28, 1877.</i>]</p> + +<p>As letters telling of dogs and their doings occasionally appear in the +<i>Spectator</i>, perhaps the following rather pathetic anecdote of a dog I +know well may also find a place there. Two or three weeks ago, Lucky—so +called from having, when an outcast, found its present happy +home—perhaps by way of showing its gratitude to its benefactors, +presented them with five small Luckys, or rather, with one exception, +Unluckys, as the melancholy process always resorted to with these +too-blooming families had to be carried out in this instance, and the +five were reduced to one. Poor Lucky was inconsolable, looking +everywhere for them, and looking, too, with such appealing eyes into the +faces of her friends, and asking them so plainly where they were. Near +her kennel was an inclosed piece of ground for pigeons, and as it was +discovered that rats were carrying off the young pigeons, and as Lucky +had carried off one or two rats, it was decided one night<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> to leave the +door of the pigeons' house open, that Lucky might have the run of it; +and the next morning, side by side with the puppy, was found a baby +pigeon, looking quite bright and at home, but hungry, and poor Lucky, +proud of the addition it had made to its family, was looking more +contented than it had done since the loss of its puppies. The pigeon +must have fallen from its nest, some distance from the ground, and +Lucky, while on the look-out for rats, must have found it, and carefully +carried it to her kennel, with the vague feeling, perhaps, that it was +one of her own lost little ones "developing" a little curiously. +Unfortunately the arrangement could not be a permanent one, and the +famished little pigeon was put back into its own nest, to be found again +the next morning in Lucky's bed, but this time dead. The old birds seem +to have deserted it, and it had died of starvation. If Lucky could give +this account herself, it might be much more interesting, for it was +thought not at all improbable that she had actually rescued from a rat +the bird she was so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> anxious to adopt, as a small wound was found upon +it such as a rat might have made, and as a young pigeon had been taken +the night before from the same nest; but this is only conjecture, and +Lucky only could tell us the facts; how often it would be interesting, +if our humble friends could tell us their adventures! A friend who is +staying with me tells me that a few months ago her dog was lost for a +week, and at the end of that time it came back one night in a scarlet +ruff and spangles, and looking altogether dreadfully dissipated. +Evidently it had been the "performing dog" in some show, "Punch and +Judy" perhaps; being naturally a clever dog, it would quickly have +learnt the part of "Toby" in that delightful and time-honoured +exhibition. If it could only have written also an article entitled "A +Week of My Life," with what pleasure the <i>Spectator</i> would have +published it!</p> + +<p class='right'>S.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE COURAGE OF ANIMALS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Feb. 11, 1893.</i>]</p> + +<p>In the <i>Spectator</i> of December 31st, which, although a regular +subscriber to your valuable paper, I only happened to see to-day, owing +to absence from home, I notice a reference in the article entitled "The +Courage of Animals," to the fact that the wild dogs of India attack and +destroy tigers. I have no personal knowledge of the matter, but I have +been told by an Indian officer that the <i>modus operandi</i> of the "red +dogs" is as follows:—Having found their tiger they proceed, not to +attack him at once, as might be inferred from your article, but to +starve him until they have materially reduced his strength. Night and +day they form a cordon round the unfortunate beast, and allow him no +chance of obtaining food or rest; every time the tiger essays to break +the circle, this is widened as the pack flies before him, only to be +relentlessly narrowed again when the quarry is exhausted. After a +certain period of this treatment the tiger falls a comparatively<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> easy +prey to his active and persevering enemies. This theory of their plan of +attack, while it may detract somewhat from the wild dogs' reputation for +courage, must add considerably to our estimate of their intelligence.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Edward Paul</span>, Jun.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span></p> +<h3>SOME FACTS OF MATERNAL INSTINCT IN ANIMALS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Oct. 1, 1892.</i>]</p> + +<p>I lately met some friends who had with them a little dog, called Vic, +who had adopted the family of a cat in the house, and, while in +possession, would not let the mother come near her kittens. The kittens +were kept in a very tall basket, and Vic would take them in her mouth, +and jump out with them one by one, and then carry them into the garden +and watch over them, carrying them back in the same way after a time; at +other times, lying contentedly with them in the basket. Of course Vic +had to be forcibly removed when the adopted family required their +mother's attention for their sustenance. I also have met a friend who +saw a hen-hawk, who was in a cage, mothering a young starling. Three +young, unfledged starlings were given the hawk to eat. She ate two, and +then broodled the other, and took the utmost care of it. Unhappily, the +young starling died; and from that moment the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> hawk would touch no food, +but died herself in a few days.</p> + +<p>The same friend was on a mountain one day, when a sheep came up to him, +and unmistakably begged him to follow her going just in front, and +continually looking round to see if he was following. The sheep led him +at last to some rocks, where he found a lamb fast wedged in between two +pieces of rock. He was able to liberate the lamb, to the evident joy of +the mother.</p> + +<p>I myself once saw a cat "broodling" and taking care of a very small +chicken, which, being hatched first of a brood, had been brought into a +cottage and placed in a basket near the fire. It managed to get out of +the basket, and hopped up to the cat, who immediately adopted it.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Wm. Walsham Wakefield.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p> +<h3>HAVE ANIMALS A FOREKNOWLEDGE OF DEATH?</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>April 30, 1892.</i>]</p> + +<p>In a recent <i>Spectator</i> there is a quotation from Pierre Loti to the +effect that "animals not only fear death, but fear it the more because +they are aware that they have no future." Pierre Loti is a brilliant +novelist, but I am not aware that he is a scientific naturalist, and I +trust his idea is a mere chimera. Loti would take from the brutes the +one privilege for which men may envy them, and endows them with a +knowledge of the aftertime that we have only by revelation. However, two +common-sense naturalists have published their belief that the lower +animals have a foreknowledge of death, and one of them goes so far as to +give an account of an old horse committing suicide. He says the animal +frequently suffered from some internal disease, and that it deliberately +walked into a pond, and, putting its nostrils under water, stood thus +till it dropped dead from suffocation. The incident, I think, is easily +explained.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> Many horses drink in the manner described, and in old horses +heart-disease is not uncommon. I imagine the stoppage of respiration +caused a sudden and natural death from heart-disease.</p> + +<p>I should like to ask naturalists who think animals know that they must +die, where they draw the line. They must stop somewhere between a dog +and a dormouse. Poets have made far more frequent allusion to the +subject than naturalists, and they may be quoted on both sides. Philip +James Bailey, in illustration of his contention that hope is universal, +says: "and the poor hack that sinks down on the flints, upon whose eye +the dust is settling, he hopes to die." But we have on the other hand +Shelley's Skylark, with its "ignorance of pain," because it differs from +men who "look before and after." Wordsworth's little girl of eight knew +less than her dog, if she had one, for, says the poet, "what could she +know of death?" I admit that when the carnivora have crushed their prey +to death they cease to mangle them; but I fancy that is only<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> because +there is no more resistance; and a bull will trample on a hat and leave +it when it becomes a shapeless mass. The nearest thing I ever saw to an +apparent foreknowledge of death, was in the case of that least +intelligent of dogs, a greyhound. I had to shoot it to prevent useless +suffering from disease. It followed me willingly, but when I led it to a +pit prepared as its grave it instantly rushed off at its best speed. I +suggest that it saw instinctively something unpleasant was about to +happen, but it does not follow that death was present to its mind. +Domestic poultry will furiously attack one of their number that +struggles on the ground in its death-agony. They do not dream of death; +they think its contortions are a challenge to combat.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">R. Scott Skirving.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span></p> +<h3>OUR FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS, BIG AND LITTLE.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Nov. 8, 1873.</i>]</p> + +<p>May I be permitted to question, in the most friendly way, the assumption +of "Lucy Field," in your last issue, that the lives of small dogs are in +constant jeopardy from "a race of giant dogs, and exceptionally large +dogs," at Muswell Hill? If it be so, then, surely the "giant dogs" of +that region are exceptions. My experience goes to confirm the truth +taught by Sir Edwin Landseer's "Dignity and Impudence," a fine print of +which adorns my portfolio. I had a broken-haired friend, weight about +eight pounds, learned in two languages, canine and English, who rejoiced +in the name of Teens, given him by babes with whom he condescended to +play, because he was a "tiny, teeny dog." I must confess that my late +friend—alas! that I should say late—who was chivalrically brave in +killing rats and carrying on war with cats, was a very bully, a kind of +Ancient Pistol towards big dogs. To see him meet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> a Newfoundland or +large retriever was as good as a play. Teens, with his tail curled like +the spring of an ancient watch, his broken-haired back stiffened with +indignation, would stand and give the pass-word all dogs seem to know, +and be overhauled and examined as he walked round the giant like an +English gunboat by a Spanish fifth-rate; but when once the enemy turned +his back, Teens exploded like a cracker, running under the big dog's +nose, and often springing at his lip. His gigantic, but generous foe (or +friend) always fled, or walked away, followed by a torrent of abusive +barks, which, from their peculiar intonation, I took for dog-slang, and +Teens returning with an impudent smile on his countenance, wiped his +feet on the pavement as a sign of triumph. I have seen him do this a +hundred times, and never saw a big dog attempt to punish his impudence. +Jeems, a black-and-tan of smaller weight, who seemed to walk upon +springs, and who on work-a-days was called Jim, and James on Sundays, +which day he perfectly well knew, was more like<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> Parolles. He bullied +big dogs at a distance, and seldom stood up to them like the truculent +Teens, and, although he ran away, was seldom pursued and never hurt, +while the Claimant (he was for his size unwieldly in fatness as a pup), +who (or which) still lives with me, is now bullying a shambling +retriever pup, full-grown, but, like Cousin Feenix, uncertain as to his +gait, who good-naturedly submits to it. Here, perhaps, there is danger; +for very big pups will pursue any little thing that runs away, and one +of their large paws, which they put down as if they wore heavily clumped +boots, might certainly crush the life—a very noisy, fussy, busy life it +is—out of my small and impertinent, pretentious Tichborne. This dog, by +the way, brings down his mistress her boots, as a hint for her to take a +walk, and blows like a trumpet or young walrus under the door to be let +in, having been corrected for scratching the panel. I end as I began, by +assuring you that my experience, no less than that of my friends, lies +in the direction of extreme generosity exhibited by large<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> dogs towards +small ones; I would not deny that a large dog may now and then punish an +impudent and aggressive toy-terrier, but, as a rule, we can only wonder +at the providential wisdom which makes them so generous and forbearing; +having a giant's strength, they seldom indeed use it like a giant.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Hain Friswell.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span></p> +<h3>DOG CONSCIOUSNESS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Nov. 2, 1872.</i>]</p> + +<p>Our terrier Crib took upon himself yesterday to add his testimony to +your view of "dog-consciousness," as expressed in the <i>Spectator</i> of the +19th ult. Crib verges on perfection, save that he is frantically jealous +of any other animal who may receive attention, but yesterday he rebelled +against the injustice of being compelled to eat all his dinner, and +refused to swallow one special piece of bread; but finding that his +refusal was not accepted, apparently made a virtue of necessity, and +gulped down the bread with a look and wag of the tail, giving me to +understand that I ought to be satisfied, which I was not, as I observed +a slight swelling in one cheek. So concealing my suspicion I furtively +watched. Crib also occasionally eyed me, lying down and then walking +round the room, and sniffing in the corners, as he is wont to do. In a +few minutes, and when I appeared safely absorbed in my paper, he made +his way<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> slowly to where pussy was lapping her saucer of milk; passing +her without stopping, he cleverly discharged the hated mouthful into +pussy's milk, and continuing his walk to the rug, laid himself down and +slept the sleep of the just.</p> + +<p class='right'>C. S.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></p> +<h3>A DOG STORY.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>June 1, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>Perhaps you will allow me to add another to your interesting list of dog +stories. In a house where I once boarded there was a large and +remarkably sagacious St. Bernard mastiff, who used to come into my +sitting-room and give me his company at dinner, sitting on the floor +beside my chair, with his head on a level with the plates. His master, +however, fearing that he was being over-fed, gave strict injunctions +that this practice should no longer be permitted. On the first day of +the prohibition the dog lay and sulked in the kitchen; but on the second +day, when the landlady brought in the dishes, he stole in noiselessly +close behind her, and while for the moment she bent over the table, he +slipped promptly beneath it, and waited. No sooner had she retired than +he emerged from his hiding-place, sat down in his usual position, and +winked in my face with a look which seemed to say, "Haven't I done her!" +In due course, the good woman came to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> change the plates, and as soon as +he heard her step, he slunk once more under the table; but in an +instant, ere she had time to open the door, he came out again, as if he +had suddenly taken another thought, and threw himself down on the rug +before the fire—to all appearance fast asleep. "Ah, Keeper; you there, +you rascal!" exclaimed his mistress, in indignant surprise, as she +caught sight of him. The dog opened his eyes, half raised his body, +stretched himself out lazily at full length, gave a great yawn as if +awakened from a good long sleep, and then, with a wag of his tail, went +forward and tried to lick her hand. It was a capital piece of acting, +and the air of perfect guilelessness was infinitely amusing.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">Geo. McHardy.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span></p> +<h3>WOW: A STORY OF A CAT'S PAW.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>March 23, 1872.</i>]</p> + +<p>I think you will be interested in the following anecdote of a +distinguished foreigner. One of the happiest results of that abandonment +of their ancient exclusiveness which has rendered us familiar with the +Japanese, has been the arrival on these shores of a very pretty fluffy +little dog, a born subject of the Mikado, who hails or rather barks from +Nagasaki, and who is happily domiciled with a friend of mine, of a +sufficiently elevated mind to esteem at its proper value the privilege +of being the master of a clever and refined dog. The child of the sun +and the earthquake has been named Wow, an ingenious combination of the +familiar utterance of his kind with the full-mouthed terminals of the +language of the merely human inhabitants of his country. My own +impression is that Wow smacks rather of the melodious monosyllabic +tongue of the Flowery Land than of that of the Dragon country; but this +is a detail, and, as a young naval<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> officer newly come from Nipon +remarked to me lately, with much fervour, "Thank God! a fellow isn't +obliged to learn their lingo." Wow has made himself at home and happy in +his Northern residence with all the courtesy and suavity of a true +Japanese, and has attached himself to his master with apparent +resignation to the absence of pigtail and petticoat, articles of attire +replaced in this case by the wig and gown of a Q.C. About this +attachment there is, however, none of the exclusiveness which +characterises the insular dog. Wow is a politician, or at least a +diplomatist, and he desires to maintain friendly relations, with +profitable results to himself, with everybody. He succeeds in doing so +to an extraordinary extent, of which fact his master lately discovered +evidence. Very strict orders, including the absolute prohibition of +bones, had been issued with regard to Wow's diet. The ideas of a country +in which little dogs eat, but are not eaten, require liberality in his +opinion, and Wow made up his mind he would have his bones without +incurring the penalties of disobedience,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> which his master, in the +interests of the delicate foreigner, was determined to inflict. A +commodious and elegant residence was fitted up in the study for Wow, and +he was permitted free access to the upper floors of the house, but the +line was drawn at the kitchen staircase. That way lay bones and ruin, +and its easy descent was interdicted by stern command, which Wow +understood as clearly as did its utterer, though he at first affected a +simple and unconscious misapprehension. Then Wow was reproved and gently +chastised, an administration of justice performed with the utmost +reluctance by his master, but with the happiest results. Nothing could +be more admirable than Wow's submission, more perfect than his +obedience. He never looked towards the kitchen stairs, and would attend +at the family meals without following the retiring dishes with a wistful +gaze, or betraying a longing for the forbidden bones by so much as a +sniff. Attached to the lower department of the household is a humble +cat, a faithful creature in her way, but not cultivated by my friend<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> as +I could wish. With this meek and useful animal Wow contracted a +friendship regarded by his master as a proof of his amiability and +condescension. (In my capacity of narrator I am compelled to use the +latter somewhat injurious term—as a private individual with an undying +recollection, I repudiate it). But the single-minded Q.C. had something +to learn of the four-footed exile from the Far East concerning this +intimacy. Coming into his study one day at an unusual hour, he saw the +cat—I do not know her name, I am afraid she has not one—stealthily +depositing a bone behind a curtain. Presently she went downstairs, and +returned with a second bone, which she conveyed to the same place of +concealment, whence proceeded a gentle rustling and whisking, suggestive +of the presence of Wow, whose house, or pagoda, was empty. Then arose +the Q.C., and cautiously peeped behind the curtain, where he beheld Wow +and his humble friend amicably discussing their respective bones, Wow's +being the bigger and the meatier of the two.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span></p> + +<p>Thus did the Japanese exile illustrate the cosmopolitan story of the +catspaw (with the improvement of making it pleasant for the cat), and +accomplish the proverbially desirable feat of minding both his meat and +his manners. If we could be secured against their imitation, it would be +pleasant to ask our own domestic pets the problems:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"What do you think of that, my cat?"<br /></span> +<span class="i0">"What do you think of that, my dog?"<br /></span> +</div></div> + + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">A Constant Reader and Disciple.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE BIOGRAPHY OF SPRIG.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>Jan. 20, 1872.</i>]</p> + +<p>I dare not hope to equal the eloquent and most touching biography of +Nero, with whom I had the honour of a slight acquaintance. But I was the +possessor of an animal who, in his way as a dog, not a cat, for +originality of character, reasoning power, talent, and devoted affection +I have never seen equalled in his species, and you and your readers may +possibly be interested by a sketch of his biography.</p> + +<p>Where Sprig was born I do not know, nor had I any acquaintance with his +parents. One morning several years ago I chanced to go down stairs +early, and found the milk-boy at the hall door, delivering his daily +supply to the cook. In the courtyard before my house was a +bright-looking rough terrier of small size, frisking about very +cheerfully, trying to catch the small stump of a tail which some cruel +despoiler had left him. As he was engaged in this pastime, a large brown +retriever entered the gate, to look on,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> I suppose, for he had an amused +expression of face, and was wagging his tail amicably. Sprig, however, +though but a mite in comparison, decidedly resented the intrusion, and +flew at the retriever's throat, from which he had to be choked off by +his owner, who brought him back in his arms. The little fellow was in +the highest state of excitement and anger, his bright, intelligent eyes +flashing, and his hair bristling. He was indeed most amusingly fierce, +but was soon calmed when he was shown, and told, that his enemy had +fled, whereupon the following colloquy ensued between myself and his +owner: Myself: "And where did you get that dog, boy? You did not steal +him, I hope?" Boy, in a rich Dublin brogue: "Ah, now! would I stale +anythin', yer honner, an' me the poor milk-boy? Is it stale him? Bedad, +it's my father's cuzin that's at the Curragh! Sure he's a corporal, so +he is. He brought him, and he sez, 'Yez'll get me a pound for him, and +no less.' So it's a pound I want for him, sur, and nothin' less. An' +sure John Lambert knows<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> me well—so he does!" When John, my servant, +was sent for, he gave a good account of the lad, and as he entirely +approved of Sprig, I gave the sovereign, showing it to the dog, whose +wondering eyes were glancing from one to the other. Then I said to the +boy, "Put him into my arms, and tell him he belongs to me;" and he did +so. The little fellow looked curiously and wistfully at the lad, who, to +do him justice, had tears in his eyes, and then nestled into my breast, +licking my hands and face. When my daughter came down stairs, I took up +Sprig and placed him in my youngest daughter's arms, a process he +appeared to comprehend perfectly, and told him she was his mistress; nor +to the day of his death did he ever falter in his devoted allegiance to +her. He was very fond of me and of us all, but his deepest love was for +his mistress, and on many occasions was most affecting to see. She was +often delicate, and once had a sharp attack of typhus fever. In this +illness Sprig never left her. He would lie at the foot of her bed +watching her, and would sometimes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> creep gently up to her, put his paws +round her neck, and lick her hands softly, while the pleading of his +large eyes looking from his mistress, in her unconscious delirium, to +her sister and me, was touching in the extreme. Indeed, there were then +many sad illnesses, but Sprig was always the same. As my child grew +stronger and better her little friend would amuse her by the hour +together; sit up, beg, preach, play with his ball, and try in humble +doggie fashion to beguile her of her pain. But I am anticipating.</p> + +<p>Sprig was, I believe, what is called a Dandie Dinmont, and as he grew up +he became, for his class, a very handsome, as he was a sturdy, little +fellow, with great strength for his size. He was a reddish-brown colour, +more dark-red than brown, like a squirrel, with white below, and a +delightfully fuzzy head, and a breast of long soft white hair. His eyes +were that peculiar bright liquid "dog" brown which is capable of so much +expression, and he grew to have a long moustache and beard. Even the +most un-observant of dogs admired him, for he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> resembled no terrier I +have ever seen. I think he would have won the prize of his class at the +Dublin Dog Show, had it not been for a terrible accident he met with in +being wounded by a large foxhound in a neighbouring orchard. His neck +was then torn open, and he was rescued by John only in time to prevent +his being killed. As it was, it was weeks before he could walk—and how +patient he was all the time! and as the wound healed it left a +thickening of his skin which had an awkward look. Sprig was, however, +"highly commended." In his youth he was perhaps rather short in his +temper, and always resented in the most distinct manner any liberty that +was taken with him. To tread upon his foot was perilous, but he was at +once pacified if an apology was made that it was accidental; but to pull +his tail wilfully was an insult which he resented bitterly, and for +which much atonement was necessary, or he would go under the sofa and +cry in his peculiar manner when offended.</p> + +<p>As he grew up, Sprig developed various<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> talents which were highly +cultivated. His greatest pleasure, perhaps, was in an india-rubber ball, +with which his gambols were indescribably pretty and constant. It was a +great distress when he lost or mislaid his ball, and he was miserable +till he found it, or another was brought him. It was a cruel thing to +say, when one of us went to town, "Sprig, I will bring you a new ball," +and as sometimes happened, to forget to do so. On return he would sniff +about the person who had gone, poke his nose into his or her pockets, +and if disappointed could hardly be soothed, but would go away and have +his quiet cry to himself. Sometimes a kind friend who knew him might +bring him a new ball; but it very much depended on who presented it +whether it was accepted or not, and I am afraid that too frequently for +his good manners he turned it over contemptuously with his nose and left +it for the old one, which, gnawed, bitten, and broken, was still the +favourite. I used sometimes to make a ball squeak by pressing the hole +against my hand, and I believe he thought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> it was in pain, for he would +whine piteously, and would not let me rest till he had it again in his +possession. It was most amusing to see him when a parcel of new balls +arrived, he having been told beforehand that one was coming. He would +find out directly who had it, and become impatient and cross indeed if +he did not get it directly. When the parcel was given him, his great +delight was to open it himself and select <i>one</i>. A red ball was usually +preferred, but not always. All were subjected to the most varied +trials—gnawed, smelt, and rolled, till the one which pleased his fancy +was finally selected; of the rest he would take no notice whatever.</p> + +<p>Sprig was thoroughly a gentleman, and on most occasions he was most +attentive to lady visitors. He never noticed gentlemen. On one occasion, +when my daughters were out, a dear friend called (Nero's mistress). She +told us afterwards that Sprig had been a most attentive beau. He met her +at the hall door, welcomed her in his odd fashion, trotted before her +into the drawing-room,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> looking behind him to see if she followed. He +then jumped upon the ottoman, inviting her to sit down; when she was +seated he brought his ball and went through all his tricks with it, sat +up on his hind legs, begged with his paws, preached to her in his own +queer way, and kept her amused till, no longer able to remain, she bid +him good morning and left, evidently to his disgust. "Could he have +spoken," she said afterwards, "he would have told me to wait, for his +mistresses would soon be back; the look was in his face, but the words +were wanting." His attention to visitors was never omitted. When we had +a ball or evening party, he would await, with John Lambert, the several +arrivals at the hall door, welcome each new party, and usher them in a +solemn manner into the drawing-room or tea-room, returning for a new set +to his former place. Nor did he want for an occasional cake or biscuit +at the tea-table; "he was so amiable," said the young ladies, "he could +not be resisted."</p> + +<p>As an instance of how perfectly he understood what was said to him, I +may relate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> that one hot day I had walked out from town, and being +thirsty went into the dining-room for a drink of water. I saw Sprig's +ball under the table, and when I went into the garden where my girls +were sitting they said, "Sprig has lost his ball, and is perfectly +miserable." After I had sent him to look about for it, I said, "Now, +Sprig, I know where it is; I saw it in the dining-room under the table; +go fetch it." He looked brightly at me, and I repeated what I had said. +He trotted off, and while we were wondering whether he had understood +me, he returned with it in his mouth quite delighted. I have mentioned +his preaching, which may sound rather irreverent, but it was an +accomplishment entirely of his own invention. When seated in a chair +after dinner, and requested to preach, he would sit up, place his +forepaws gravely on the table, and then lifting up one paw as high as +his head, and then the other, deliver a discourse to the company in a +sort of gurgling, growling manner, with an occasional low bark, which +was indescribably ludicrous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> to see and hear. What he meant by it we +could never find out, but I question whether he prized any of his +accomplishments more than this.</p> + +<p>Sometimes, but not often, he would go out by himself to take a walk, we +supposed to see his friends, for I never heard that he had any love +affairs. If we all, or my daughters, or myself, met him on his return, +I, or they, or we all might call to him, notice him as he brushed past +us, or ask him to come for a walk. No. He would have none of our +company; he would cut us dead, and go toddling home, his tail more erect +and quivering than ever; never hastening his sedate pace, and giving his +usual kick-out with one hind leg every third or fourth step, as was his +custom. He would have no connection with us; that was quite clear and +decided. Sprig was very fond, too, of a walk with his mistresses or with +me, and, though never taught it, would always wipe his feet clean on the +hall mat as he came in. I am now going to relate an anecdote of Sprig +which I know is almost beyond credibility, but the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> occurrence so +displayed his power of thought and reason that I cannot withhold it. My +usual haunt is my den, as I call it, a large room at one end of our old +rambling house. There Sprig never came unless with his mistresses, and +indeed never was easy when he was there. I had begun a large full-length +picture of my daughters, and Sprig and Whisky, a small Skye puppy, were +to be painted lying at their feet. As the picture progressed, Sprig +seemed to understand all about it, and paid me the compliment of wagging +his tail at the portraits. One day my girls had been sitting to me, and +it was now Sprig's turn to sit. I put him into the proper position and +told him to lie still, and he proved a most patient sitter. When the +sketch of him was finished, I showed it to him; I think he was pleased +with his likeness, for he licked my face; but as he smelt at his +portrait, he did not like himself, and growled. Whisky was now put into +position, but was very restless, although Sprig scolded her by snarling +at her. Next day I had put the picture against the wall near the +window,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> and before a few steps which led up into my bedroom, and was +busy perched on a step-ladder with the after-portion of it. By and by I +heard a great scratching at my bedroom door, which was closed, and Sprig +whining to get in. I thought this odd, but it was too much trouble to +come down from my perch, and I told him to go away. He, however, only +whined and scratched the more. I therefore descended, and getting behind +the picture, went up the steps and opened the door. Sprig did not notice +me, but pushing past me hurried down the steps, and then, as I emerged +into the room, looked up to me blandly, and actually sat down in the +place in which I had put him the day before. I said to him gravely, +though infinitely amused, "No, Sprig, I don't want you to-day; look, the +colour is all wet, go away to your mistress." He looked very blank and +greatly disappointed, and stood up with his tail drooped. Suddenly a +bright thought seemed to strike him, as if he had said, "Now I have it!" +Whisky had got hold of one of my slippers, and was playing with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> it in +my bedroom, and Sprig, rushing up the steps, seized her by the "scruff" +of her neck, dragged her howling down the steps, and put her, I can use +no other words, into the place where she had been the day before. He +then came to me frisking about, and could he but have spoken, would have +said, "If you don't want me, you must her, and there she is!" He was +quite triumphant about it; and dirty as I was, and palette in hand, I +took him forthwith to the drawing-room and told them what had happened.</p> + +<p>I could tell numberless other stories of the reasoning power and +intelligence of our little pet, but I should trespass at too great +length on your patience. I could describe a curious friendship which +sprang up between him and a German friend who was staying some time with +us; how he learned many new tricks from him, and was taught to hop on +his hind legs from one end of the drawing-room to the other, with our +friend hopping backwards before him; I could describe his evening romps +with my dear father, never omitted while my father lived; and the many +curious<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> traits by which his great love for us was perpetually +displayed—how he learned to crack nuts of all kinds, and to pick out +the kernels like a squirrel—how he never went into the servants' hall +or the kitchen, and refused to associate with the servants, though +friendly with them, and especially with John Lambert, his fast friend. +But I must bring this sketch to a close.</p> + +<p>We had been absent about a year in Germany and the South of France. +After we left, Sprig was inconsolable, and would not eat; but the cook +made him little curries and rice, and after a time he became more +resigned. We only heard that he was well, and hoped we should find him +so. The day we arrived I thought he would have died for joy. He gasped +for breath, and lay down, and when taken up by his mistress lay in her +arms almost insensible. It was long before he came to himself, and when +he did revive, it is quite impossible to describe his delight, or what +he did. He was, indeed, quite beside himself with joy, scouring about, +dragging his mistress here and there, doing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> all his tricks in a +confused manner, and, in short, behaving after a very insane fashion +indeed. We noticed he had a slight cough; but he seemed otherwise quite +well, and we thought it would go away; but it increased, and at that +time there was an epidemic of bronchitis among dogs. We sent him to an +eminent veterinary surgeon, who blistered him (and how patient the poor +fellow was under the pain cannot be told), but though relieved for the +time, the end was near. One morning he was seen to do an apparently +quite unaccountable thing. He took his son Terry (whom he was never +known to notice except by knocking him over and standing upon him, +growling fiercely), all round our village, and visited all the dogs in +it. John saw him doing this early in the morning, and told me of it. I +suppose he was commending Terry to their favour. He coughed a great deal +all day, and breathed heavily; but in the evening he was very bright, +and to all appearance much better, and insisted on doing all his tricks +till it was time to go to bed. Sprig never<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> would go to bed willingly. +John used to come to the drawing-room door and call him, and he would go +to it, but stand growling till he was caught up and carried off. That +evening, as we remembered, he seemed more than ever unwilling to go, but +was caught up and carried away.</p> + +<p>In the morning, about six o'clock—it was summer-time—I was just about +to get up, when John Lambert knocked at my door, and came in with Sprig +in his arms. He did not speak, and I asked him whether Sprig was worse. +"He's dead, sir," said he, with the tears rolling down his face, and +hardly able to speak. "Quite dead, sir; he must have died only a little +while ago, for when I went to let him out, I found him dead and quite +warm, as he is still." I am not ashamed to write that my eyes felt very +blind, but there was no hope; the dear little fellow was quite dead; he +had died calmly, and his eyes were bright; they had not glazed.</p> + +<p>We buried him, John and myself, when he was quite cold and stiff, by a +rose-tree at the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> end of the garden. Poor John could hardly dig the +grave, and his tears fell fast and silently and upon dear old Sprig as +we covered him up for ever. I wish I could write a fitting epitaph for a +creature who, through his life, was a constant source of pleasure to all +who knew him.</p> + +<p class='right'>M. T.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span></p> +<h3>A DOG STORY.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>June 8, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>A friend thinks I ought to add to the collection of dog stories +appearing in the <i>Spectator</i>, one which is within my own knowledge, and +may appear deserving of publication. My uncle, a well-known Chairman of +the Bench of Magistrates in a western county, had a tenant on his +estates who occupied a farm not far from the River Severn. The farmer +possessed a favourite dog, who slept at the foot of his bed every night. +When a brother emigrated to Canada, the farmer gave him the dog as a +travelling companion. In the course of time the news arrived that the +emigrant and his family, together with the dog, had safely reached their +destination—a farm in the interior of Canada some days' journey from +the port where they landed. At a later date the brother in Canada wrote +to his family in England saying that the dog had disappeared. Some time +afterwards the dog came back to the farm of his old master, about three +miles<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> from Gloucester, and though at first it could hardly be believed +that he was returned from Canada, yet he soon established his identity +by taking his old place at the foot of his master's bed at night. +Inquiries were made, and the dog's course was traced backwards to the +River Severn, thence to Bristol, and thence to a port in Canada. It +appeared that, after running from his home in Canada to the seaport, he +selected there a vessel bound for Bristol, and shipped on board. After +arriving at the Bristol basin, he found out a local vessel trading up +and down the River Severn (locally called a "trow"), and transferred +himself to her deck. When he reached the neighbourhood of Gloucester, +the dog must have jumped into the Severn and reached the shore nearest +to his old home.</p> + +<p>I can vouch for the truth of this story, from information received from +my relations on the spot shortly after the occurrence took place. I knew +the farm well, and the farmer who occupied it.</p> + +<p class='right'>H. C. N.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span></p> +<h3>A CAT-AND-DOG FRIENDSHIP.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>June 8, 1895.</i>]</p> + +<p>The interesting letter, "A Canine Nurse," in the <i>Spectator</i> of May +18th, recalls to mind an equally curious event in cat and dog life which +occurred some years since in a house where I was living, but with the +additional interest of a hen being also implicated.</p> + +<p>In the back-kitchen premises of an old manor-house, amongst hampers, and +such like odds and ends, a cat had a litter of kittens. They were all +removed but one, and as the mother was frequently absent, a hen began +laying in a hamper close by. For a time all things went well, the hen +sitting on her eggs and the cat nursing the kitten within a few inches +of each other. The brood were hatched out, and almost at the same time +the old cat disappeared. The chickens were allowed to run about on the +floor for sake of the warmth from a neighbouring chimney, and the kitten +was fed with a saucer of milk, &c., in the same place,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> both feeding +together frequently out of the same dish. The hen used to try to induce +the kitten to eat meal like the chicks, calling to it and depositing +pieces under its nose in the most amusing way; finally doing all in its +power to induce the kitten to come, like her chicks, under her wings. +The result was nothing but a series of squalls from the kitten, which +led to its being promoted from the back to the front kitchen, where it +was reared until it was grown up. At this time a young terrier was +introduced into the circle, and after many back-risings and bad language +on pussy's part, they settled down amicably and romped about the floor +in fine style. Eventually the terrier became an inveterate +rabbit-poacher—killing young rabbits and bringing them home—a +proceeding to which the cat gave an intelligent curiosity, then a +passive and purring approval, and finally her own instincts having +asserted themselves, she went off with the dog, hunting in the woods. +Our own keeper reported them as getting "simply owdacious," being found +a great distance from the house; and keepers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> of adjacent places also +said the pair were constantly seen hunting hedgerows on their beats. On +one occasion I saw them myself hunting a short hedge systematically, the +dog on one side, the cat on the other; and on coming near an open +gateway a hare was put out of her form, and bounding through the open +gate, was soon off; the dog followed, till he came through the gateway, +where he stood looking after the hare; and the cat joining him, they +apparently decided it was too big or too fast to be successfully chased, +so resumed the hedge-hunting, each taking its own side as before.</p> + +<p>They frequently returned home covered with mud, and pussy's claws with +fur, and would lie together in front of the fire; the cat often grooming +down the dog, licking him and rubbing him dry, and the dog getting up +and turning over the ungroomed side to be finished. This curious +friendship went on for six months or more, till the dog had to be kept +in durance vile to save him from traps and destruction, the cat, nothing +daunted, going on with her poaching until<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> one day she met her fate in a +trap, and so brought her course to an end. The dog was a well-bred +fox-terrier, and the cat a tabby of nothing beyond ordinary +characteristics, save in her early life having been fostered by a hen, +and in her prime the staunch friend and comrade of poor old Foxie, the +terrier. If there are "happy hunting-grounds" for the animals hereafter, +and such things are allowed in them, no doubt they will renew their +intimacy, if not their poaching forays, together there.</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">R. J. Graham Simmonds.</span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE SENSE OF BOUNDARY IN DOGS.</h3> + +<p class='right'>[<i>March 14, 1885.</i>]</p> + +<p>I have been much interested in the communications which have appeared +from time to time in the <i>Spectator</i> in reference to "animal +intelligence." Recently my attention has been called to a somewhat +striking illustration of it, in the case of my own dog and his canine +neighbour next door. Wallace is an Irish staghound, and is about a year +old. My neighbour's dog is a pointer, and is considerably advanced in +life. There is no hedge nor fence separating the two estates. The +dividing line runs between two stone posts about a foot in height, and +more than two hundred feet from each other. The dogs have never been +friendly, the pointer having repeatedly driven Wallace back over the +boundary when he has caught him trespassing. Both dogs, even when going +at full speed, stop the moment my dog has<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> crossed the line. How does +the pointer know where the line runs, and how does Wallace know when he +is safely across it?</p> + +<p class='right'><span class="smcap">F. Tuckerman.</span></p> + +<p class='center'>THE END.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span></p> +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span></p><hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX.</h2> + + + +<ul><li>Affection, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> + +<li>Affection, A Dog's, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li> + +<li>Alpine Dog, An, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li> + +<li>Animal Intelligence, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> + +<li>Animals and Language, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> + +<li>Animals, Communication with, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> + +<li>Animals, Friendships of Dogs with other, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> + +<li>Animals, How our Meaning is Conveyed to, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> + +<li>Animals, The Courage of, <a href="#Page_215">217</a></li> + +<li>Are Dogs Colour-blind? <a href="#Page_211">213</a></li> + +<li>Arts, Dogs and the, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> + +<li>Australian Dog Story, <a href="#Page_201">203</a></li> + +<li>Automata, Conscious, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Biography of Sprig, <a href="#Page_235">237</a></li> + +<li>Boundary, Sense of, in Dogs, <a href="#Page_258">260</a></li> + +<li>Bully's Short Cut, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Canary, Dog and, <a href="#Page_151">150</a></li> + +<li>Canine Friendship, An Act of, <a href="#Page_150">153</a></li> + +<li>Canine Intelligence, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> + +<li>Canine Jealousy, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> + +<li>Canine Member of the S.P.C.A., <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> + +<li>Canine Nurse, A, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> + +<li>Canine Sightseer, A, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> + +<li>Cat-and-Dog Friendship, <a href="#Page_254">256</a></li> + +<li>Cat-and-Dog Love, <a href="#Page_152">151</a></li> + +<li>Cat's Paw, A Story of a, <a href="#Page_230">233</a></li> + +<li>Cautious Dogs, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> + +<li>Character of a Dog, Features in the, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> + +<li>Collies at Work, <a href="#Page_190">191</a>, <a href="#Page_191">192</a></li> + +<li>Colour-blind? Are Dogs, <a href="#Page_211">213</a></li> + +<li>Commercial Treaty between Dog and Hen, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> + +<li>Communication, Teaching Dogs a Method of, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> + +<li>Communication with Animals, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> + +<li>Conscience-stricken Dog, A, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> + +<li>Conscious Automata, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> + +<li>Courage of Animals, The, <a href="#Page_215">217</a></li> + +<li>Courtesy, A Dog's, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> + +<li>Cow's, A, Jealousy of a Dog, <a href="#Page_198">200</a></li> + +<li>Cunning Dogs, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> + +<li>Curious Friendship, A, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + +<li>Curious Habits of Dogs, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li> + +<li>Cut, Bully's Short, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> +</ul> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span></p> +<ul> +<li>Deceivers, Dog, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> + +<li>Dinner, A Dog and his, <a href="#Page_163">163</a></li> + +<li>Dog, A, and a Rabbit, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> + +<li>Dog, A, and a Whip, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> + +<li>Dog, A, and his Dinner, <a href="#Page_163">163</a></li> + +<li>Dog, A Conscience-stricken, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> + +<li>Dog, A Jealous, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> + +<li>Dog, A, Obeying a Summons, <a href="#Page_208">210</a></li> + +<li>Dog, A, on Long Sermons, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> + +<li>Dog, A Parcel-carrying, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> + +<li>Dog, A Rusé, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> + +<li>Dog, A Sunday, <a href="#Page_195">197</a></li> + +<li>Dog, A, that Scorned to be Jealous, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li> + +<li>Dog, An Alpine, <a href="#Page_62">63</a></li> + +<li>Dog and Canary, <a href="#Page_151">150</a></li> + +<li>Dog and Hen, Commercial Treaty between, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> + +<li>Dog and Kittens, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> + +<li>Dog and Pigeon, <a href="#Page_137">139</a></li> + +<li>Dog and the Ferry, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> + +<li>Dog Consciousness, <a href="#Page_226">228</a></li> + +<li>Dog, Cow's Jealousy of a, <a href="#Page_189">200</a></li> + +<li>Dog Deceivers, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> + +<li>Dog, Features in the Character of a, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> + +<li>Dog Friends, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> + +<li>Dog Friendships, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> + +<li>Dog, Intelligent Suspicion in a, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> + +<li>Dog Nurse, A, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> + +<li>Dog Story, A, <a href="#Page_228">230</a></li> + +<li>Dog Story, A, <a href="#Page_252">254</a></li> + +<li>Dog Story, An Australian, <a href="#Page_201">203</a></li> + +<li>Dog, Sympathy in a, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li> + +<li>Dog, The, that Buried the Frogs, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li> + +<li>Dog's Affection, A, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li> + +<li>Dog's Courtesy, A, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> + +<li>Dog's Humanity, A, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li> + +<li>Dog's Remorse, A, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> + +<li>Dogs and Language, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> + +<li>Dogs and Looking-glasses, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> + +<li>Dogs and the Arts, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Cautious, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Cunning, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Curious Habits of, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Emotion and Sentiment in, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Guardian, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Hospital, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Humour and Cunning in, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Instinct of Locality in, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Music and, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Power of Imitation in, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Purchasing, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Railway, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Reason of, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Reasoning Powers of, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Recognition of Likenesses by, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Sense of Boundary in, <a href="#Page_258">260</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Sense of Humour in, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Sentiment and Emotion in, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Syllogistic, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Teaching a Method of Communication to, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Two Anecdotes of, <a href="#Page_204">206</a></li> + +<li>Dogs, Useful, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> +</ul> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span></p> +<ul> +<li>Emotion and Sentiment in Dogs, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> + +<li>Explanation, An, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Features in the Character of a Dog, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> + +<li>Ferry, Dog and the, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li> + +<li>Foreknowledge of Death? Have Animals a, <a href="#Page_219">221</a></li> + +<li>Four-footed Friends, Our, <a href="#Page_222">224</a></li> + +<li>Friends, Dog, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> + +<li>Friendship, A Cat-and-Dog, <a href="#Page_254">256</a></li> + +<li>Friendship, A Curious, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + +<li>Friendship, An Act of Canine, <a href="#Page_150">153</a></li> + +<li>Friendships, Dog, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> + +<li>Friendships of Dogs with other Animals, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> + +<li>Frogs, The Dog that Buried the, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Guardian Dogs, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Habits of Dogs, Curious, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li> + +<li>Have Animals a Foreknowledge of Death? <a href="#Page_219">221</a></li> + +<li>Hen and Puppies, <a href="#Page_140">137</a></li> + +<li>Hen, Commercial Treaty between Dog and a, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> + +<li>Hospital Dogs, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> + +<li>Humanity, A Dog's, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li> + +<li>Humour and Cunning in Dogs, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Instinct, Maternal, in Animals, <a href="#Page_217">219</a></li> + +<li>Instinct of Locality in Dogs, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> + +<li>Instinct, or Reason? <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> + +<li>Intelligence, A Pug's, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> + +<li>Intelligence, Animal, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> + +<li>Intelligence, Canine, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> + +<li>Intelligent Suspicion in a Dog, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Jealous Dog, A, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> + +<li>Jealous, Dog that Scorned to be, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li> + +<li>Jealousy, Canine, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Kittens, Dog and, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Language, Animals and, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> + +<li>Language, Dogs and, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> + +<li>Likenesses, Recognition of, by Dogs, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> + +<li>Locality in Dogs, Instinct of, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li> + +<li>Looking-glasses, Dogs and, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> + +<li>Love, Cat and Dog, <a href="#Page_152">151</a></li> + +<li>Lucky and Unlucky, <a href="#Page_212">214</a></li> +</ul> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span></p> +<ul> +<li>Maternal Instinct in Animals, <a href="#Page_217">219</a></li> + +<li>Meaning, How Conveyed to Animals, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> + +<li>Method of Communication, Teaching Dogs a, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> + +<li>Music and Dogs, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Nurse, A Canine, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> + +<li>Nurse, A Dog, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Our Four-footed Friends, <a href="#Page_222">224</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Parcel-Carrying Dog, A, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> + +<li>Pictures, Recognition by Animals of, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> + +<li>Pigeon, Dog and, <a href="#Page_137">139</a></li> + +<li>Pigeon Story, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> + +<li>Plan, Thinking out a, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> + +<li>Power of Imitation in Dogs, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li> + +<li>Powers, Reasoning, of Dogs, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> + +<li>Pug's Intelligence, A, <a href="#Page_209">211</a></li> + +<li>Puppies, Hen and, <a href="#Page_140">137</a></li> + +<li>Purchasing Dogs, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Rabbit, A Dog and a, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> + +<li>Railway Dogs, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> + +<li>Reason, Instinct or, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> + +<li>Reason of Dogs, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> + +<li>Reasoning Powers of Dogs, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> + +<li>Recognition by Animals of Pictures, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> + +<li>Recognition of Likenesses by Dogs, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> + +<li>Remorse, A Dog's, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Sense of Humour in Dogs, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> + +<li>Short Cut, Bully's, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> + +<li>Sight-seer, A Canine, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> + +<li>S.P.C.A., A Canine Member of the, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> + +<li>Sprig, Biography of, <a href="#Page_235">237</a></li> + +<li>Summons, A Dog Obeying a, <a href="#Page_208">210</a></li> + +<li>Sunday Dog, A, <a href="#Page_195">197</a></li> + +<li>Suspicion, Intelligent, in a Dog, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> + +<li>Syllogistic Dogs, <a href="#Page_15">14</a></li> + +<li>Sympathy in a Dog, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Teaching Dogs a Method of Communication, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> + +<li>Thinking out a Plan, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> + +<li>Treaty, Commercial, between Dog and Hen, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> + +<li>True, A, Watch-dog, <a href="#Page_181">188</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Unlucky, Lucky and, <a href="#Page_212">214</a></li> + +<li>Useful Dogs, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Watch-Dog, A True, <a href="#Page_181">188</a></li> +</ul> +<ul> +<li>Whip, A Dog and a, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> +</ul> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Dog Stories from the "Spectator", by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOG STORIES FROM THE "SPECTATOR" *** + +***** This file should be named 31847-h.htm or 31847-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/8/4/31847/ + +Produced by Irma Spehar, Christine D. and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Dog Stories from the "Spectator" + being anecdotes of the intelligence, reasoning power, + affection and sympathy of dogs, selected from the + correspondence columns of "The Spectator" + +Author: Various + +Editor: J. St. Loe Strachey + +Release Date: March 31, 2010 [EBook #31847] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOG STORIES FROM THE "SPECTATOR" *** + + + + +Produced by Irma Spehar, Christine D. and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + + +Transcriber's Note: +Punctuation, Spelling and Geographical errors retained as found in +the original. + + + + +_DOG STORIES._ + + + + +DOG STORIES + +_FROM THE "SPECTATOR"_ + + + BEING ANECDOTES OF THE INTELLIGENCE, REASONING + POWER, AFFECTION AND SYMPATHY OF + DOGS, SELECTED FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE + COLUMNS OF "THE SPECTATOR" + +_WITH AN INTRODUCTION_ + +BY + +J. ST. LOE STRACHEY + + NEW YORK: MACMILLAN AND CO. + MDCCCXCV + + "Sir, to leave things out of a book, merely because people + tell you they will not be believed, is meanness." + + (_Dr. Johnson._) + + +_All rights reserved._ + + + + +CONTENTS. + + PAGE + + INTRODUCTION 7 + + SYLLOGISTIC DOGS 15 + + THE REASONING POWER OF DOGS 49 + + EMOTION AND SENTIMENT IN DOGS 99 + + DOGS AND THE ARTS 119 + + DOG FRIENDSHIPS 131 + + CURIOUS HABITS OF DOGS 155 + + THE SENSE OF HUMOUR AND CUNNING IN DOGS 165 + + USEFUL DOGS 177 + + MISCELLANEOUS 193 + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +I. + +The following Dog Stories are taken from the pages of the _Spectator_, +with the permission of the editors and proprietors. It was suggested to +me by Mr. Fisher Unwin that the many strange and pleasant stories of +dogs which from time to time are sent to the _Spectator_ by its +correspondents would, if put together, form a volume of no little +entertainment for all who love dogs, or are interested in stories of +animal intelligence. Up till now the _Spectator_ dog stories, after the +week of their publication, have practically been inaccessible to the +general reader; for he is a bold man who will attack a bound volume of a +newspaper in search of amusement. Though I at once agreed that the +suggested book would be a very readable one, and likely to please +dog-lovers all the world over, I did not, till the selection was nearly +made, realise how much the stories gain by being grouped together. A +single story of a clever dog may amuse, but it is liable to be put aside +as an accident, a coincidence, a purely exceptional circumstance which +proves nothing. If, however, instead of a single story we have half a +dozen illustrating the same form of intelligence, the value of the +evidence is enormously increased, and a collection of dog stories may +become of very great value in determining such questions as the power of +dogs to act on reason as well as on instinct, or their ability to +understand human language. The solution of these problems is, I cannot +help thinking, materially advanced by the stories in the present book. +Take, again, the group of stories which I have labelled Purchasing Dogs. +One sample of this kind might, as I have noted above, be put off as a +case of imperfect observation, or as a curious coincidence; but when we +get a whole group of stories it becomes very difficult to doubt that +dogs may learn the first principles of the science of exchange. The +Italian dog (page 59) which did the narrator a service by fetching him +cigars, demanded payment in the shape of a penny, and then used that +penny by exchanging it for a loaf, was far advanced in the practice of +Political Economy. He not only understood and acted on an implied +contract, but realised the great fact at the back of the currency. "What +are guineas," said Horne Tooke, "but tickets for sheep and oxen!" The +Italian dog did not, like a savage, say, "What is the use of copper to +me, I cannot eat it?" Instead, he perceived that the piece of copper was +a ticket for bread. It should be noted too that this dog, the dog called +Hardy (page 57) and others, were able to distinguish between the pieces +of copper given them. Again, the Glasgow story (page 53) shows that a +dog can learn to realise that a halfpenny will buy not merely one thing +but several things--in fact, that the great advantage of exchange by +currency over barter is that it gives you a choice. While on the subject +of purchasing dogs, it is curious to reflect how very little is wanted +to convert the dog that is able to purchase into a free agent. If a dog +can exchange his faculty for cigar carrying or his tricks against +half-pence, why should he not exchange useful services, such as guarding +a house or herding sheep, and so become self-supporting? Imagine a +collie paid by the day, and, when his work was over, receiving twopence +and going off to buy his supper. But the vista opened is too +far-reaching. One sees down it dogs paid by the hour and by the piece, +and then dogs asking for better pay and shorter hours, and, finally, +dogs on strike, and dog "black-legs," or "free dogs." + + +II. + +A word should be said as to the authenticity of the stories in the +present volume. It is a matter of common form for the evening newspapers +to talk of the _Spectator_ dog stories as hoaxes, and to refer in their +playful, way to "another _Spectator_ dog." It might not then unnaturally +have been supposed that a person undertaking to edit and reprint these +stories would have found a considerable number that showed signs of +being hoaxes. I may confess, indeed, that I set out with the notion of +forming a sort of Appendix to the present work, which should be headed +"Ben Trovato," in which should be inserted stories which were too +curious and amusing to be left out altogether, but which, on the other +hand, were what the Americans call a little "too tall" to be accepted as +genuine. The result of my plan was unexpected. Though I found many +stories in which the inferences seemed strained or mistaken, and others +which contained indications of exaggeration, I could find but two +stories which could reasonably be declared as only suitable for a "Ben +Trovato." I therefore suppressed my heading. The truth is that the +animal stories are much more carefully sifted at the _Spectator_ office +than our witty critics and contemporaries will admit. No stories are +ever published unless the names and addresses of the writers are +supplied, and all stories are rejected which have anything clearly +suspicious about them. What the editors of the _Spectator_ do not do is +to reject a dog-story because it states that a dog has been observed to +do something which has never been reported as having been done by a dog +before, or at any rate, something which is not universally admitted to +be doable by a dog. Apparently this willingness to print stories which +enlarge our notions of animal intelligence is regarded in certain +quarters as a sign that the _Spectator_ will swallow anything, and that +its stories must be apocryphal. I cannot, however, help thinking that +all who care for the advancement of knowledge in regard to animals +should be grateful to the editors of the _Spectator_ for not adopting +the plan of excluding all dog stories that do not correspond with an +abstract ideal of canine intelligence. Had they acted on the principle +of putting every anecdote that seemed _prima facie_ unlikely into the +waste-paper basket, they would certainly have missed a great many +stories of real value. In truth, there is nothing so credulous as +universal incredulity. An attitude of general incredulity means a blind +belief in the existing state of opinion. If we believe that animals have +no reasoning power, and refuse to examine evidence that is brought to +show the contrary, we are adopting, the attitude of those who disbelieve +that the earth goes round the sun because they seem daily to see a proof +of an exactly opposite proposition. If people are to refuse to believe +anything of a dog that does not sound likely on the face of it, we shall +never get at the truth about animal intelligence. What is wanted is the +careful preservation and collection of instances of exceptional +intelligence. + + +III. + +Before I conclude this Introduction, I should like to address a word of +apology to the correspondents of the _Spectator_ whose letters form the +present volume. Though the copyright of the letters belongs to the +editors and proprietors of the _Spectator_ I should have liked to ask +the leave of the various writers before republishing their letters. +Physical difficulties have, however rendered this impossible. In the +case of nearly half the letters the names and addresses have not been +preserved. In many instances, again, only the names remain. Lastly, a +large number of the letters are ten or twelve, or even twenty years old, +and the writers may therefore be dead or out of England. Under these +circumstances I have not made any effort to enter into communication +with the writers before including their letters in this book. That their +permission would have been given, had it been asked, I do not doubt. The +original communication of the letters to the _Spectator_ is proof that +the writers wished a public use to be made of the anecdotes they relate. +As long, then, as the letters are not altered or edited, but produced +verbatim, I may, I think, feel assured that I am doing nothing which is +even remotely discourteous to the writers. + + + + +_SYLLOGISTIC DOGS._ + + + + +A DOG ON LONG SERMONS. + + [_Aug. 4, 1888._] + +During a recent journey in Canada, I met with a striking instance of +reason in a dog. I was staying at the Mohawk Indian Institution, +Brantford, Ontario. The Rev. R. Ashton, superintendent of the school, is +also incumbent of the neighbouring Mohawk Church (the oldest Protestant +church in Canada). Mr. Ashton is very fond of animals, and has many +pets. One of these, a black-and-tan terrier, always accompanies the +ninety Indian children to church on Sunday morning. He goes to the +altar-rails, and lies down facing the congregation. When they rise to +sing, he rises; and when they sit, he lies down. One day, shortly before +my visit, a stranger-clergyman was preaching, and the sermon was longer +than usual. The dog grew tired and restless, and at last a thought +occurred to him, upon which he at once acted. He had observed that one +of the elder Indian boys was accustomed to hand round a plate for alms, +after which the service at once concluded. He evidently thought that if +he could persuade this boy to take up the collection, the sermon must +naturally end. He ran down to the back seat occupied by the boy, seated +himself in the aisle, and gazed steadfastly in the boy's face. Finding +that no notice was taken, he sat up and "begged" persistently for some +time, to Mr. Ashton's great amusement. Finally, as this also failed, the +dog put his nose under the lad's knee, and tried with all his strength +to force him out of his place, continuing this at intervals till the +sermon was concluded. + +Did not this prove a distinct power of consecutive reasoning? + + A. H. A. + + +A COMMERCIAL TREATY BETWEEN A DOG AND A HEN. + + [_July 7, 1888._] + +Your dog-loving readers may be interested in the following instance of +animal sagacity. Bob is a fine two-year-old mastiff, with head and face +of massive strength, heightened by great mildness of expression. One day +he was seen carrying a hen, very gently, in his mouth, to the kennel. +Placing her in one corner, he stood sentry while she laid an egg, which +he at once devoured. From that day the two have been fast friends, the +hen refusing to lay anywhere but in "Bob's" kennel, and getting her +reward in the dainty morsels from his platter. There must have been a +bit of canine reasoning here. "Bob" must have found eggs to his liking, +that they were laid by hens, and that he could best secure a supply by +having a hen to himself. + + THOMAS HAMER. + + +A DOG NURSE. + + [_Feb. 20, 1875._] + +A patient recently consulted me who was blind and subject to fits. I +pointed out to her friends the danger to which she was exposed in case a +fit came on when she was in the vicinity of a fire, and they informed me +that she incurred little or no risk, because a favourite dog ran at once +and fetched assistance the moment a fit came on. This intelligent animal +would rush into the next house barking eagerly, would seize the dress of +the woman who lived there, and drag her to the assistance of his +mistress. If one did not go, he would seize another, and exhibited the +most lively symptoms of distress until his object was accomplished. + + CHARLES BELL TAYLOR, M.D., F.R.C.S. + + +INSTINCT, OR REASON? + + [_Sept. 1, 1888._] + +The following incident in dog-life may perhaps find a place in the +_Spectator_. I quote from a letter received a few days ago from my +nephew, "T. G. T.," resident in South Africa:--"Johannesburg, +Traansvaal.--My dog Cherry has had three great pups, and I had to leave +her behind at the Grange. When I was going away, Cherry and the pups +were located in some stables. She came out and watched the tent-truck +and my things packed up. Presently I went away, and when I came back I +found Cherry had carried all the pups on to the top of my luggage, and +evidently had not the least intention of staying behind." + + T. W. T. + + +HOSPITAL DOGS. + + [_June 26, 1875._] + +Dr. Walter F. Atlee writes to the editor of the _Philadelphia Medical +Times_:-- + +"In a letter recently received from Lancaster, where my father resides, +it is said:--'A queer thing occurred just now. Father was in the office, +and heard a dog yelping outside the door; he paid no attention until a +second and louder yelp was heard, when he opened it, and found a little +brown dog standing on the step upon three legs. He brought him in, and +on examining the fourth leg, found a pin sticking in it. He drew out the +pin, and the dog ran away again.' The office of my father, Dr. Atlee, is +not directly on the street, but stands back, having in front of it some +six feet of stone wall with a gate. I will add, that it has not been +possible to discover anything more about this dog. + +"This story reminds me of something similar that occurred to me while +studying medicine in this same office nearly thirty years ago. A man, +named Cosgrove, the keeper of a low tavern near the railroad station, +had his arm broken, and came many times to the office to have the +dressings arranged. He was always accompanied by a large, most +ferocious-looking bull-dog, that watched me most attentively, and most +unpleasantly to me, while bandaging his master's arm. A few weeks after +Cosgrove's case was discharged, I heard a noise at the office door, as +if some animal was pawing it, and on opening it, saw there this huge +bull-dog, accompanied by another dog that held up one of its front legs, +evidently broken. They entered the office. I cut several pieces of wood, +and fastened them firmly to the leg with adhesive plaster, after +straightening the limb. They left immediately. The dog that came with +Cosgrove's dog I never saw before nor since." + +Do not these stories adequately show that the dogs reasoned and drew new +inferences from a new experience? + + B. + + + [_April 6, 1889._] + +Knowing your interest in dogs, I venture to send you the following +story. A week or two ago, the porter of the Bristol Royal Infirmary was +disturbed one morning about 6.30 by the howling of a dog outside the +building. Finding that it continued, he went out and tried to drive it +away; but it returned and continued to howl so piteously, that he was +obliged to go out to it again. This time he observed that one of its +paws was injured. He therefore brought it in and sent for two nurses, +who at once dressed the paw, and were rewarded by every canine sign of +gratitude, including much licking of their hands. The patient was +"retained" for two days, during which time he received every attention +from those inside the house, and from the neighbours outside, who +quickly heard of the case. As no one appeared to claim the dog, he was +sent to the Home for Lost Dogs in the city, where so interesting an +animal was, of course, not long in finding a purchaser. The dog was one +of those called "lurchers." + +I have myself called on the porter of the infirmary for confirmation of +the story, and am assured by him of its truth. How did an apparently +friendless dog know where to go for surgical aid? The case differs from +that of the dog which took its friend for treatment to King's College +Hospital in London, for I understand that the King's College dog had +previously been taken to the hospital for treatment itself; but in this +case there is no such clue. + + HELEN M. STURGE. + + +FEATURES IN THE CHARACTER OF A DOG. + + [_June 10, 1876._] + +For some time past I have noticed in your journal letters and articles +referring to the wonderful powers of dogs. As I was myself much struck +by many features in the character of a dog which I knew, illustrating, +as I think, not only affection, but reasoning faculties, I shall +acquaint you with a few of these, believing that they may be +_interesting_, at least to all admirers of that noble animal. + +The dog of which I speak was a terrier. It showed its affection in the +most marked manner in several ways. Every morning, as soon as it got out +of the kitchen, it came to its master's door, and if not admitted and +caressed about the usual hour, gave evident signs of impatience. It +would lie quiet till it thought the time had arrived, but never longer. +Afterwards it went to the breakfast-room, and occupied its master's +chair till he arrived. On one occasion a visitor was in the house, who, +coming first into the room, ordered the dog to come off the best chair. +To this it paid no attention, and when threatened with expulsion, at +once prepared for defence. But as soon as its master appeared it +resigned its place voluntarily, and quietly stretched itself on the rug +at his feet. + +At another time it was left for three weeks during its master's absence +from home. It saw him leave in a steamer, and every day until his return +it repaired to the quay upon the arrival of the same boat, expecting him +to come again in the one by which he had gone. It distinguished between +a number of boats, always selecting the right one and the right hour. + +One evening it accompanied its master when he went to gather mussels for +bait. As the tide was far in, few mussels remained uncovered; and after +collecting all within reach, more were required. A large bunch lay a few +feet from the water's edge, but beyond reach; yet as the dog was not one +of those who take the water to fetch, its master had no expectation that +it would prove useful on the present occasion. Seeing him looking at +the mussels, however, it first took a good look at those in the basket, +and then, without being directed at all, went into the water. Selecting +the right bunch from amongst the stones and wreck with which it was +surrounded, it brought it to land, and laid it at its master's feet. +This, I think, is a proof of _reason_, rather than of instinct. The dog +had never been trained to go into the sea, and would not probably have +brought out the mussels had it not seen that they were wanted. + +It showed wonderful instinct, however, just before the death of one of +its pups, and before its own death. Its pup had not been thriving, and +the mother gave unmistakable proof that she foresaw its death. She dug a +grave for it and put it in. Nor, when it was removed, would she let it +lie beside her, but immediately dug another grave, where she was less +likely to be disturbed. Upon the day of her own death, also, she used +what strength she had to dig her grave, in which she lay, preferring to +die in it, than in what would seem to most a place of greater +comfort.[1] + +These may not be singular incidents, but they are still remarkable and +worthy of notice. They serve to show us the wonderful nature of man's +faithful friend, the dog, and how he has many traits of character fitted +to make him the worthy receiver of kindness and respect. + + T. + +[Footnote 1: It is difficult to accept T.'s explanation of the dog's +object in digging. Possibly its aim was to obtain warmth or shelter.] + + +BULLY'S SHORT CUT. + + [_Aug. 29, 1874._] + +I see that you welcome all notes of interest upon our fellow-beings, the +dogs. Here is one that seems to prove they have a sense of time and of +distance as measured by time. + +I was walking with my bull-terrier, Bully (seven years old last +Christmas), during a hot afternoon this month homewards along the Bund +(Shanghai), and I suddenly missed him. I turned back for twenty or +thirty yards, and, not finding him, I gave up the search, saying, "He +knows the way home well enough." Presently I saw him on my right, +dripping with water, cantering on at a round pace, without looking about +him, homewards. I watched him, curious to see whether he would go +straight home. No. He kept on till he reached the distance of about 150 +yards, and looked ahead, _not_ smelling the ground. He then deliberately +walked back, catching sight of me in about twenty yards after his +turning back, and wagged his tale recognisingly. He had evidently been +to cool himself in the river (thirty yards to the right, it being low +tide), and, thinking I would go on at the ordinary pace without him, he, +after his bath, struck directly at a long diagonal for the point I would +have reached if I had not turned back to look for him. He did not seem +to have the slightest misgiving as to his sense of the distance I +_ought_ to have walked during the time of his bath. His turning was done +seemingly with a calm assurance of certainty. I may add that there were +twenty to thirty foot-passengers scattered over the portion of road in +question at the time, whose footsteps might have effaced my scent on the +_watered_ granite macadamised roadway, even supposing the dog to have +tried his sense of smell, _which he did not_, as far as I could see, and +I noticed him carefully. + + W. G. S. + + +CANINE INTELLIGENCE. + + [_July 24, 1886._] + +You often give us pleasant anecdotes of our four-footed friends. You may +think the following worthy of record. I have a little dog, a not +particularly well-bred fox-terrier. He is much attached to me, and shows +by his obedience, and sometimes _in_ his disobedience, that he +understands a good deal. Yesterday I was away all day, and he, I am +told, was very uneasy, and searched everywhere for me. Every day at 5 +p.m. I go to church. Toby seems to know this is not an ordinary walk, +and never offers to come with me. But yesterday, when the bell began, he +started off and took up his position by the vestry door. I believe he +reasoned with himself, "There goes the bell; now I shall catch the +Vicar." + +WILLIAM QUENNELL. + + +THE DOG AND THE FERRY. + + [_April 4, 1885._] + +Reading from time to time many pleasant anecdotes in the columns of the +_Spectator_--which, by the way, I receive as regularly, and read as +eagerly, as when resident in England many years ago--relative to the +sagacity of dogs, I send the following, thinking it possible you may +deem it worthy of insertion. + +Some three years ago I was "having a spell" in Brisbane, after a +lengthened sojourn on a sheep station in the interior of Queensland. +During my stay in the city I had the good fortune to gain the friendship +of a gentleman who owned a magnificent collie. My friend, his dog Sweep, +and myself, were frequently together, engaged either in yachting among +the islands of Moreton Bay, or 'possum hunting under the towering +_eucalypti_ which fringe the banks of the river Brisbane. Naturally +"Sweep" (who was a most lovable animal) and myself soon began to +entertain a warm friendship for one another, which friendship gave rise +to the anecdote I am about to relate. Returning to my hotel about +midnight from the house of a friend, I was not a little startled at +finding my hand suddenly seized from behind by a dog, which, however, I +at once recognised as my handsome acquaintance, Sweep. I patted him, at +the same time endeavouring to withdraw the hand which he held firmly, +but gently, between his teeth. It was of no use, as, in spite of all my +endearments, he insisted on retaining his hold, wriggling along by my +side, and vigorously wagging his tail, as though he would say, "Don't be +afraid; it's all right." We soon reached a point in the main street down +which we were walking, where a side avenue branched off towards the +river. My way lay right ahead. Sweep, however, insisted on my taking the +road which lay at a right-angle to my course. I felt some annoyance at +his persistence, as I was both tired and sleepy; but, having no choice +in the matter, I followed his lead. Having walked some two or three +hundred yards down _his_ street, he released his hold, dancing round +me, then running on for a few yards and looking back to see if I were +following. Becoming interested, I determined to see what he was after, +so, without further resistance, I followed submissively. At last, having +reached the river, which at this place was about four hundred yards +wide, he, with many joyous barks, ran down the ferry steps, and jumped +into the empty boat of the ferryman. At last I was able to guess at his +motive for forcing me to follow him. His master, who lived across the +river, had accidentally lost sight of his dog returning from his office +in the city; and Sweep appeared to understand perfectly that unless the +boatman received his fare he, Sweep, would not be carried over, my +friend frequently sending the dog over by himself when wishing to attend +concerts, &c., invariably paying the fare as of an ordinary passenger. +The ferryman, who at once recognised my canine friend, laughed heartily +when I told him how I had been served, took my penny, and set off at +once for "Kangaroo Point," Sweep gaily barking "good-night" until he +reached the opposite bank. I heard subsequently that he used to swim the +river when left behind; but having had two narrow escapes from sharks, +his nerves had become somewhat shaken so far as water was concerned. + + J. WM. CREIGHTON. + + +THE REASON OF DOGS. + + [_Nov. 13, 1875._] + +Having often read, with great pleasure, the anecdotes about dogs which +from time to time appear in the _Spectator_, I venture to send you one +which has come under my own observation, and which, it seems to me, +shows an effort of reasoning implying two distinct ideas--one the +consequence of the other--more interesting than many of those clever +performances of educated dogs which may or may not be merely mechanical +actions. + +The dog who performed the following trick was then a great, half-grown, +awkward puppy, whose education, up to that time, had been much +neglected. It has been better attended to since, and now, although +sportsmen probably consider such an animal sadly thrown away upon a +lady, he is a very pleasant friend and companion. My two dogs, Guy and +Denis, form as capital a pair, for contrast's sake, as one need wish to +see. They are both handsome dogs of their kind--Guy, a fine black +retriever, with no white hair upon him, and, I believe, in the eyes of +sportsmen, as well as those of his mistress, a very desirable +possession, good-tempered, clever, and affectionate; Denis, as naughty +and spoilt a little fellow as ever existed, and a great pet, also black, +except for his yellow paws and chest, but covered with long, loose +locks, instead of Guy's small, crisp curls. + +Denis is exceedingly comic, and a constant source of amusement. He is +very faithful to his mistress, whose bedside during illness he has +refused to leave, even for food; but it must be confessed that he is not +amiably disposed towards most people, and is a perfect tyrant over the +other animals. Some account of the two dogs' character is necessary, to +explain the little scene which took place between them one evening about +a year ago. Guy, it must be premised, is at least twelve months younger +than Denis, consequently, when the former first arrived--a miserable and +very ugly little puppy, a few weeks old, more like a small black jug +than any known animal of the canine species, having had the mange, and +lost all his hair--Denis undertook his education, and ruled him so +severely that his influence lasted a long while; indeed, even after Guy +had grown so big that Denis almost needed to stand upon his hind legs in +order to snap at him, the great dog would crouch meekly at a growling +remonstrance from the little master, and never dared to invade his +rights--to approach his plate of food, or to drink before him. Now a +days Guy has discovered his own power, and although too good-natured an +animal ever to ill-treat the little dog, no longer allows any liberties, +but at the same time, when the scene which I am about to describe took +place, he was still under the impression that Denis's wrath was a +terrible and dangerous matter. + +And now for my story, which, it seems to me, shows as much real +reasoning power in an untrained animal as any anecdote that I ever read. +One evening I took my two dogs to the kitchen, to give them the rare +treat of a bone apiece. (Dogs were certainly never intended to make +Natal their home, for, in order to keep them alive at all, they should +never be given anything that they like, especially meat, and even then +the most careful management often fails in preserving them from disease +and death.) One of my sisters was with me, and together we watched the +dogs over their supper. Guy, with his great mouth, and ravenous, growing +appetite, made short work with his, every vestige of which had vanished; +while little Denis was still contentedly sucking away at his small +share, not very hungry, and taking his pleasures sedately, like a +gentleman, as he is. And then Guy began to watch the other with an +envious eye, evidently casting about in his mind how he might gain +possession of that bone. He was even then, though not full grown, so big +and strong that he could have taken it by force with the greatest ease; +but such an idea did not cross his mind; he decided to employ stratagem +to win the prize. I must mention here, that amongst other naughty +practices of my dogs, is that of rushing out of the house and barking +violently upon the slightest sound without. This is Denis's fault, +which Guy, in spite of all my lessons, has contracted from him. With the +evident intention of sending Denis out, Guy suddenly started up, and +began to bark _towards_ the door in an excited manner, but not running +out himself, as he certainly would have done, had he really heard +anything. Down went Denis's bone, and out rushed he, barking at the top +of his voice. Did Guy follow him? Oh, dear no! he had no such +intentions; he sneaked up to Denis's bone immediately, picked it up, and +ran to the other end of the room. But when he had got it, he did not +know what to do with it; there was no hiding-place for him there, and he +dare neither await Denis's return openly, nor risk meeting him at the +door. My sister and I were, by this time, both sitting on a bench +against the wall, watching the scene between the dogs, and Guy, after +running once round the room, with the bone in his mouth, came and crept +in beneath my seat, where he was hidden by my dress, and where he lay, +not eating the bone, and in perfect silence. Presently Master Denis +trotted back, quite unconscious, and shaking the curls out of his eyes, +as much as to say, "My dear fellow! what a fuss you've made; there's +nothing there." He looked about for his bone for a few minutes, but soon +gave up the search, and began to amuse himself with other things. After +a while, I, forgetting the culprit beneath my seat, rose, and crossed +the room, leaving him exposed. Guy was in a great fright; he jumped up, +and running to my sister, who was still seated, he stood up with his +forepaws upon her lap, and the bone still untouched in his mouth, as +though begging her protection. Denis, however, did not observe him, and +after a few minutes, Guy's courage returned, and finally he ventured to +lie down, with the bone between his paws, and began to gnaw it, keeping +one eye fixed on Denis the while. This, however, was going a step too +far. Denis was attracted by the sound, and recognised his own bone the +moment that he looked round. He marched up to Guy (who immediately +stopped eating) and stood before him. Denis growled, and Guy slowly +removed one great paw from his prize. Denis advanced a step, with +another growl; Guy removed the other paw, and slunk back a little, +whereupon Master Denis calmly walked up, took possession of his bone, +and went off with it. + +I am bound, however, to remark that after another half-hour's contented +amusement over it, he resigned the remainder, which was too hard for his +small mouth, to Guy, who finished the last morsel with great +satisfaction. Now that he is full grown, Guy still gives up to Denis in +many little ways, but it is evidently through generosity only, for he +has proved himself perfectly capable of taking his own part. But he is +very gentle with his little playmate, except at night, when he lies +across my door-way--entirely of his own accord--and will allow no one +and nothing to enter without my command. + + FRANCES E. COLENSO. + + +A CANINE SIGHT-SEER. + + [_May 20, 1876._] + +As a subscriber to your journal, I have observed from time to time +discussion on the "reasoning power of dogs." I will tell you what I +observed to-day. In consequence of the Levee there was a great crowd in +Pall Mall. I was invited by a friend to accompany him in his carriage +from St. James's Palace down Pall Mall, when lo and behold, his dog, +which usually runs with the carriage, insisting on getting in also. +Nothing could induce him to get out, and whilst passing along Pall Mall +he amused himself looking out of window at the police, soldiers, and +crowd collected. When through, he was glad enough to get out again, and +readily followed through the most frequented streets. Now, I have no +doubt as to that dog's "reasoning power," respecting his ability to +follow his carriage safely through the dense crowd collected around St. +James's Palace and Marlborough House. + + H. + + +THINKING OUT A PLAN. + + [_March 3, 1888._] + +Are animals able to think over and carry out a plan? The following +anecdotes will answer the question. When in India, I had a small rough +terrier who, when given a bone, was sent to eat it on the gravel drive +under an open porch in front of the bungalow. On several occasions two +crows had made an attempt to snatch the dainty morsel, but their plans +were easily defeated by Topsy's growls and snapping teeth. Away flew the +crows to the branch of a tree near by. After a few moments of evident +discussion, they proceeded to carry out the plan of attack. One crow +flew down to the ground and gave a peck at the end of the dog's tail. +Topsy at once turned to resent this attack in the rear, whilst the other +crow flew down and bore the bone away in triumph. + +The same dog had a favourite resting-place in an easy-chair, and was +very often deprived of it by a dog which came as visitor to the house. +Topsy did not approve of this, and her attempts to regain her seat were +met with growls and bites. This justified an act of eviction, and the +busy little brain decided on a plan. The next day, as usual, the +intruder established himself in the chair, which was close to the open +door. Topsy looked on for a moment, and then flew savagely out of doors, +barking at a supposed enemy. Out ran the other dog to see what was up, +and back came Topsy to take possession of her coveted seat. The other +dog came slowly back, and curled himself up in a far-off corner. The +above I was an eye-witness to, and therefore can vouch for the truth of +what I relate. + + K. P. + + +A PARCEL-CARRYING DOG. + + [_Feb. 9, 1895._] + +In illustration of the anecdotal letters about dogs and their habits, in +the _Spectator_ of February 2nd, and Mr. Lang's paper in this month's +_Nineteenth Century_, I send you the following story of a dog which I +had in 1851 and for three years afterwards. He was a handsome +Newfoundland dog, and one of the most intelligent animals with which it +was ever my good luck to meet. I was living in a village about three +miles from Dover, where I did all my shopping and marketing, being +generally my own "carrier." Sometimes Nep would carry home a small +parcel for me, and always most carefully. On one occasion Nep was with +me when I chose a spade, and asked the ironmonger to send it by the +village carrier. The spade was put by, labelled and duly addressed. I +went on to have a bathe, my dog going with me, but on finishing my +toilet in the machine, and calling and whistling for Nep, he was nowhere +to be seen. He was not to be found at the stable where I had left my +horse, but on calling at the ironmonger's shop I found he had been there +and had carried off the spade which I had bought, balancing it carefully +in his mouth. When I reached home, there Nep was, lying near his kennel +in the stable-yard looking very fagged, but wearing a countenance of the +fullest self-satisfaction, and evidently wishing me to think he had +fulfilled his "dog-duty." My friend Mr. Wood, who was a thorough lover +and admirer of dogs, was delighted to hear of his intelligent +performance. + + "CANOPHILIST." + +P.S.--I may add Nep always guarded me when bathing, and always went into +the water with me, too, often uttering a peculiar kind of "howl." + + + + +_THE REASONING POWERS OF DOGS._ + + + + +PURCHASING DOGS. + + [_May 26, 1877._] + +Some time ago I sent you my recollections of a dog who knew a halfpenny +from a penny, and who could count up as far as two (see page 56). I have +been able to obtain authentic information of a dog whose mental powers +were still more advanced, and who, in his day, besides being celebrated +for his abilities, was of substantial benefit to a charitable +institution in his town. The dog I refer to was a little white +fox-terrier, Prin by name, who lived at the Lion Hotel, at +Kidderminster, for three or four years; but now, alas! he is dead, and +nothing remains of him but his head in a glass case. + +I had heard of this dog some months ago, but on Saturday last, having to +make a visit to Kidderminster, I went to see him. The facts I give about +him are based on the statements of Mr. Lloyd, his master, and they are +fully substantiated by the evidence of many others. I have before me a +statement of the proceeds of "Dog Prin's box, Lion Hotel; subscriptions +to the Infirmary." The contributions began in September, 1874, and ended +on April 25th, 1876, and during that period the sum of L13 14s. 6d. was +contributed through Prin's instrumentality. + +He began by displaying a fancy for playing with coins, not unusual +amongst terriers, and he advanced to a discovery that he could exchange +the coins for biscuits. He learnt that for a halfpenny he could get two +biscuits, and for a penny, three; and, having become able to distinguish +between the two coins, it was found impossible to cheat him. If he had +contributed a penny, he would not leave the bar till he had had his +third biscuit; and if there was nobody to attend to his wants, he kept +the coin in his mouth till he could be served. Indeed, it was this +persistence which ultimately caused poor Prin's death, for there is +every reason to fear that he fell a victim to copper-poisoning. + +By a little training he was taught to place the coins, after he had got +the biscuits, upon the top of a small box fixed on the wall, and they +were dropped for him through a slot. He never objected to part with them +in this way, and having received the _quid pro quo_, he gave complete +evidence of his appreciation of the honourable understanding which is so +absolutely necessary for all commercial transactions. + +An authenticated case like this is of extreme value, for just as the +elementary stages of any science or discovery are the most difficult and +the slowest in accomplishment, so are the primary stages of all mental +processes. To find the preliminary steps of the evolution of mathematics +and commerce in a dog is therefore a very important observation, and +everything bearing on these early phases of intellect should be +carefully recorded. + + LAWSON TAIT. + + + [_Feb. 10, 1877._] + +The _Spectator_ is always so kind to animals that I venture to send you +the following story of a dog's sagacity, which may be depended upon as +absolutely true:-- + +During the meeting of the British Association at Glasgow, a friend of +mine had occasion to go one day from that place to Greenock on business. +Hearing, on his arrival, that the person he wished to see was out, but +expected shortly to return home, he determined to take a stroll about +the town, to which he was a stranger. In the course of his walk he +turned into a baker's shop and bought a bun. As he stood at the door of +the shop eating his bun, a large dog came up to him and begged for a +share, which he got, and seemed to enjoy, coming back for piece after +piece. "Does the dog belong to you?" my friend asked of the shop-woman. +"No," she answered, "but he spends most of his time here, and begs +halfpennies from the people who pass." "Halfpennies! What good can they +be to him?" "Oh, he knows very well what to do with them; he comes into +the shop and buys cakes." + +This seemed rather a remarkable instance of cleverness even for the +cleverest of animals, so, by way of testing its reality, my friend went +out of the shop into the street, where he was immediately accosted by +the dog, who begged for _something_ with all the eloquence of which a +dog is capable. He offered him a halfpenny, and was rather surprised to +see him accept it readily, and walk, with the air of a regular customer, +into the shop, where he put his forepaws on the counter, and held out +the halfpenny towards the attendant. The young woman produced a bun, but +that did not suit the dog, and he held his money fast. "Ah," she said, +"I know what he wants," and took down from a shelf a plate of +shortbread. This was right; the dog paid his halfpenny, took his +shortbread, and ate it with decorous satisfaction. When he had quite +finished he left the shop, and my friend, much amused, followed him, and +when he again begged found another halfpenny for him, and saw the whole +process gone through a second time. + +This dog clearly had learned by some means the use of money, and not +merely that it would buy something to eat, but that it would buy +several things, among which he could exercise a right of choice. What is +perhaps most remarkable is that his proceedings were entirely +independent, and for his own benefit, not that of any teacher or master. + + A. L. W. + + + [_Feb. 17, 1877._] + +When a student at Edinburgh, I enjoyed the friendship of a brown +retriever, who belonged to a fishmonger in Lothion Street, and who was +certainly the cleverest dog I have ever met with. He was a cleverer dog +than the one described by "A. L. W." because he knew the relative value +of certain coins. In the morning he was generally to be seen seated on +the step of the fishmonger's shop-door, waiting for some of his many +friends to give him a copper. When he had got one, he trotted away to a +baker's shop a few doors off, and dropped the coin on the counter. If I +remember rightly (it is twelve or fifteen years ago), his weakness was +"soda scones." If he dropped a halfpenny on the counter he was +contented with one scone, but if he had given a penny he expected two, +and would wait for the second, after he had eaten the first, until he +got it. That he knew exactly when he was entitled to one scone only, and +when he ought to get two, is certain, for I tried him often. + + LAWSON TAIT. + + + [_Feb. 17, 1877._] + +In the _Spectator_ of the 10th inst. a correspondent describes the +purchase of cakes by a clever dog at Greenock. I should like to be +allowed to help preserve the memory of a most worthy dog-friend of my +youth, well remembered by many now living who knew Greenwich Hospital +some thirty or five-and-thirty years ago. + +At that time there lived there a dog-pensioner called Hardy, a large +brown Irish retriever. He was so named by Sir Thomas Hardy, when +Governor (Nelson's Hardy), who at the same time constituted him a +pensioner, at the rate of one penny per diem, for that he had one day +saved a life from drowning just opposite the hospital. Till that time +he was a poor stranger and vagrant dog--friendless. But thenceforward he +lived in the hospital, and _spent his pension himself_ at the butcher's +shop, as he did also many another coin given to him by numerous friends. +Many is the halfpenny which, as a child, I gave Hardy, that I might see +him buy his own meat--which he did with judgment, and a due regard to +value. When a _penny_ was given to him, he would, on arriving at the +shop, place it on the counter and rest his nose or paw upon it until he +received _two halfpennyworths_, nor would any persuasion induce him to +give up the coin for the usual smaller allowance. I was a young child at +the time, but I had a great veneration for Hardy, and remember him well, +but lest my juvenile memory might have been in fault, I have, before +writing this letter, compared my recollections with those of my elders, +who, as grown people, knew Hardy for many years, and confirm all the +above facts. There, indeed, was the right dog in the right place. Peace +to his shade! + + J. D. C. + + + [_Feb. 7, 1885._] + +Have you room for one more dog story, which resembles one lately +reported in a French journal? A few years since I was sitting inside the +door of a shop to escape from the rain while waiting for a trap to take +me to the railway station in the old Etruscan city of Ferentino. +Presently an ill-bred dog of the pointer kind came and sat down in front +of me, looking up in my face, and wagging his tail to attract my +attention. "What does that dog want?" I asked of a bystander. "Signore," +he answered, "he wants you to give him a soldo to go and buy you a cigar +with." I gave the dog the coin, and he presently returned, bringing a +cigar, which he held crossways in his mouth until I took it from him. +Sent again and again, he brought me three or four more cigars from the +tobacco-shop. At length the dog's demeanour changed, and he gave vent to +his impatience by two or three low whines. "What does he want now?" I +asked. "He wants you to give him two soldi to go to the baker's and buy +bread for himself." I gave him a two-soldo piece, and in a few minutes +the dog returned with a small loaf of bread, which he laid at my feet, +at the same time gazing wistfully in my face. "He won't take it until +you give him leave," said another bystander. I gave the requisite +permission, and the dear animal seized the loaf and disappeared with it +in his mouth, and did not again make his appearance before I left the +city. "He always does like this," said the standers-by, "whenever he +sees a stranger in Ferentino." + + GREVILLE I. CHESTER. + + +CAUTIOUS DOGS. + + +INTELLIGENT SUSPICION IN A DOG. + + [_July 7, 1888._] + +The following instance of dog instinct (or reasoning?) will, I think, +interest some of your readers. About a fortnight ago, while crossing the +Albula Pass, our driver stopped for a few moments at the little +restaurant on the highest point of it. A rough kind of herdsman's dog, +of no particular breed, I suppose, came out and sat down by the carriage +and looked up at us. We happened to have a few Marie biscuits in the +carriage, so I threw half of one out to him. I suppose he had no +experience in Huntley and Palmer's make, for he looked at and smelled it +carefully, and then declined to eat it, but again looked up at me. I +then took the remaining half, bit off and ate a little bit of it, and +then threw over the rest to him. This time he ate it at once, then +turned and ate the first piece, which he had before refused, and at once +came and asked for more, which I had great pleasure in giving him. I +may add that I have several times tried a similar experiment with more +pampered dogs at home, but have never succeeded with it. Whether this +arises from the latter knowing, in most cases, from experience what they +like and what they do not like, or, as I am rather inclined to think, +from the superior intelligence of this Alpine dog, who really reasoned +that what I could eat he could, I leave your readers to decide for +themselves. + + G. W. C. + + +AN ALPINE DOG. + + [_July 21, 1888._] + +I do not think that it was superior intelligence in the Alpine dog over +other intelligent dogs which induced him to wait to eat the biscuit till +he had seen the giver eat some of it. We have a very sagacious little +Highland terrier, and he in the same manner often refuses a new kind of +biscuit or cake until he has seen me bite off a small piece and eat it, +and then he will do the same. I have also found our boarhound +distrusting food occasionally, and declining to take it from his bowl +until I have given him some with my hand. Then he seems to feel that it +is all right, and comes down from his bench and eats it. This perhaps is +not exactly the same, but it is still a phase of a dog's distrust of +unaccustomed food, and his reasoning power respecting it. This wonderful +reasoning power any one accustomed to dogs soon discovers. + + J. B. G. + + +DOGS AND LANGUAGE. + + +DO DOGS UNDERSTAND OUR LANGUAGE? + + [_Aug. 4, 1883._] + +I think the question has been mooted in your columns as to whether dogs +sometimes understand our language. A circumstance that has just occurred +leads me to think that it does happen, where they are highly organised +and living much with their owners. While our family party were sitting +over dessert, a cork jumped from an apollinaris-water bottle on the +sideboard. I took no notice at first, but after the conversation was +ended, I got up and looked about for a few minutes, soon giving up the +search. My brother asked what I was looking for, and I answered. I had +no sooner sat down than our little dog crept from behind a piece of +furniture, where she was reposing on the end of a rug, and went straight +up to the cork, looking up at me and pointing to it with her nose. It +was near me, but the shadow thrown by the table prevented my seeing it. +She is a very nervous little fox-terrier, a most "comfort-loving +animal," and spends her life with one or the other of us on my sofa, +when her master is out, but hearing his voice at a great distance, and +always attending to it. + + ANYTHING BUT A DOG-FANCIER. + + +HOW OUR MEANING IS CONVEYED TO ANIMALS. + + [_Aug. 11, 1883._] + +The following anecdote may interest some of your readers:--Some years +ago, when starting for a foreign tour, I entrusted my little Scotch +terrier, Pixie, to the care of my brother, who lived about three miles +distant from my house. I was away for six weeks, during the whole of +which time Pixie remained contentedly at his new abode. The day, +however, before I returned, my brother mentioned in the dog's hearing +that I was expected back the next day. Thereupon, the dog started off, +and was found by me at my bedroom door the next morning, he having been +seen waiting outside the house early in the morning when the servants +got up, and been admitted by them. Pixie is still alive and flourishing, +and readily lends himself to experiments, which, however, yield no very +definite result. He certainly seems to understand as much of our meaning +as it concerns his own comfort to understand, but how he does it I +cannot quite determine. I should be sorry to affirm, clever as he is, +that he understands French and German, yet it is certainly a fact that +he will fall back just as readily if I say "Zurueck!" as if I say "To +heel!" and advance to the sound "En avant!" as well as to "Hold up!" As +in both cases I am careful to avoid any elucidatory gesture or special +tone of voice, I am inclined to think that there must be here a species +of direct thought transference. At the same time, I am bound to add that +without the spoken word I am unable to convey the slightest meaning to +him. This, however, may be due to what I believe to be a fact, that it +is almost impossible without word or gesture to formulate the will with +any distinctness. If this theory be correct, the verbal sounds used +would convey the speaker's meaning, not in virtue of the precise sounds +themselves, but of the intention put into them by the speaker. I should +be glad to know if the experience of others tends to confirm this +theory, which I do not remember to have seen suggested before. + + A. EUBULE-EVANS. + + + [_Aug. 18, 1883._] + +I beg to contribute another anecdote on the subject of how our meaning +is conveyed to animals. When I was in Norway with my husband, a dog +belonging to the people of the house went with us in all our walks. One +day a strange dog joined us, and seemed to wish to get up a fight with +our dog, Fechter, who for protection kept almost under our feet; my +husband said several times, "Go on, Fechter," in English, which he +immediately did, but soon came back again. At last we succeeded in +driving the strange dog away, but he soon returned. Then my husband said +without any alteration of tone or gesture that I was aware of, "Drive +that dog away, Fechter." He immediately rushed at him, and we saw no +more of our troubler. I have long thought that dogs do understand, not +"the precise sounds themselves, but the intention put into them by the +speaker." + + AN OBSERVER OF ANIMALS. + + +ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE. + + [_Aug. 18, 1883._] + +Perhaps I should have said the "Intelligence of Animals," but my +meaning, in relation to the interesting correspondence in your columns, +is no doubt clear. The whole question seems to me to lie in the +proverbial nutshell, and to be solvable by the proverbial common sense. +Dogs' hearing is undoubtedly very keen and accurate, and even subtle; +and dogs have also the power of putting this and that together in a +marvellously shrewd and almost rational fashion. They cannot understand +sentences, but they get hold of words, _i.e._, sounds, and keep them +pigeon-holed in their memory. I might as well argue moral principle +from the fact that my dog Karl, like scores of other dogs, will hold a +piece of biscuit on his nose so long as I say "trust," and will when I +say "paid for" gaily toss his head and catch the biscuit in his honest +mouth, as argue that because he finds eleven tennis-balls among the +shrubs in five minutes, when I say, "We can't find them at all, Karl; do +go and find them, good dog, will you? Find the balls, old +fellow"--therefore he understands my sentence. He simply grasps the +words "find" and "balls," sees the game at a standstill, and reasons out +our needs and his responsibilities, quickened by the expectation of +pattings on the head, pettings, and pieces of biscuit. It is remarkable +that if I try to delude him by uttering "base coin" in the shape of +words just like the real words, as, for example, if I say "Jacob" +instead of "paid for," he makes no mistake, but refuses the morsel, +however delicate, till it _is_ "paid for." + +Prominent nouns, participles, verbs, &c., make up the _lingua franca_ +that so beautifully links together men and dogs, and now and then men +and horses, their intelligence being quickened by their dumbness, as is +that of deaf and dumb men and women, whose other faculties become so +keenly intensified, and who put this and that together so much more +quickly than do we who have all our faculties. There are of course +"Admiral Crichtons" among dogs, as there are among men, but the +difference between dog and dog will generally, I think, be traceable +more to human training than to born capacity. The yearning look which +Karl gives when (told to "speak") he gives forth his voice in response, +is sometimes piteously like "Oh, that I could really tell all I feel!" +He is like, and all dogs of average intelligence are like, the Frenchman +I met yesterday on the beach at Hastings, who wanted to know whether he +could reach Ramsgate on foot before nightfall, and how far it was, and +who, as I only know a few French words, and am utterly unable to speak +or understand sentences, was obliged to make me understand his wants by +a few nouns such as everybody knows, and by causing me to put this and +that together. There is of course the vital defect in the parallel that +I could learn to understand French, and the dog could never learn to +understand sentences; but as so many parallels have vital defects of +some kind, even down to that historic self-drawn parallel between +Alexander and the robber, we may well say, whether we be men or dogs, +"Let me reflect." Dogs do undoubtedly reflect, and reason, and remember; +and they never forget their "grammar," as school-boys do. Instinct, like +chance, is only a name expressing fitly enough our own ignorance. Did +not Luther and Wesley believe in the resurrection of animals? + + S. B. JAMES. + + + [_Aug. 25, 1883._] + +A little illustration of canine intelligence shown by my collie, Dido, +may be added to those which have lately appeared in the _Spectator_. The +dog was lying on the floor in a room in which I was preparing to go out. +An old servant was present, and when I had given her directions about +an errand on which she was going, I said, "You will take Dido with you?" +She assented, and the dog directly got up to follow her downstairs. I +then remembered that I should want a cab, so I asked the servant to send +one, and not to leave the house till I rang the bell. On her leaving the +room, Dido resumed her quiet attitude on the floor, with her nose to the +carpet. In rather less than ten minutes I rang the bell, and the dog at +once sprang up and ran downstairs to join her companion. I had not +spoken a word after asking the servant to wait for the bell. Was this +word-reading, or voice-reading, or thought-reading. + + S. E. DE MORGAN. + + +ANIMALS AND LANGUAGE. + + [_Sept. 1, 1883._] + +I can match Mrs. De Morgan's pretty story of her Dido. A wise old dog +with whom I have the privilege to associate was, two or three days ago, +lying asleep in her basket by the fire. I entered the room with my hat +on, and invited her to join me in a walk; but, after looking up at me +for a moment, as canine politeness required, she dropped back among her +cushions, obviously replying, "Thank you very much, but I prefer +repose." Thereupon I observed, in a clear voice, "I am _not_ going on +the road [a promenade disliked by the dogs, because the walls on either +side restrict the spirit of scientific research]; I am going up the +mountain." Instantly my little friend jumped up, shook her ears, and, +with a cheerful bark, announced herself as ready to join the party. + +Beyond doubt or question, Colleen had either understood the word "road," +or the word "mountain," or both, and determined her proceedings +accordingly. Nothing in my action showed, or could show, the meaning of +my words. + +If any of your readers who have resided for some weeks or months in a +country where a language is spoken entirely foreign to their own--say, +Arabic, or Basque, or Welsh--will recall of how many words they +insensibly learn the meaning without asking it, and merely by hearing +them always used in certain relations, they will have, I think, a fair +measure of the extent and nature of a dog's knowledge of the language of +his masters. My dog has lived fewer years in the world than I have +passed in Wales, but he knows just about as much English as I know +Welsh, and has acquired it just in the same way. + + F. P. C. + + +TEACHING DOGS A METHOD OF COMMUNICATION. + + [_Dec. 29, 1883._] + +Mr. Darwin's "Notes on Instinct," recently published by my friend, Mr. +Romanes, have again called attention to the interesting subject of +instinct in animals. + +Miss Martineau once remarked that, considering how long we have lived in +close association with animals, it is astonishing how little we know +about them, and especially about their mental condition. This applies +with especial force to our domestic animals, and, above all, of course, +to dogs. I believe that it arises very much from the fact that hitherto +we have tried to teach animals, rather than to learn from them--to +convey our ideas to them, rather than to devise any language, or code of +signals, by means of which they might communicate theirs to us. No doubt +the former process is interesting and instructive, but it does not carry +us very far. + +Under these circumstances it has occurred to me whether some such system +as that followed with deaf mutes, and especially by Dr. Howe with Laura +Bridgman, might not prove very instructive if adapted to the case of +dogs. Accordingly I prepared some pieces of stout cardboard, and printed +on each in legible letters a word, such as "food," "bone," "out," &c. I +then began training a black poodle, Van by name, kindly given me by my +friend, Mr. Nickalls. + +I commenced by giving the dog food in a saucer, over which I laid the +card on which was the word "food," placing also by the side an empty +saucer, covered by a plain card. Van soon learnt to distinguish between +the two, and the next stage was to teach him to bring me the card; this +he now does, and hands it to me quite prettily, and I then give him a +bone, or a little food, or take him out, according to the card brought. +He still brings sometimes a plain card, in which case I point out his +error, and he then takes it back and changes it. This, however, does not +often happen. Yesterday morning, for instance, he brought me the card +with "food" on it nine times in succession, selecting it from among +other plain cards, though I changed the relative position every time. No +one who sees him can doubt that he understands the act of bringing the +card with the word "food" on it, as a request for something to eat, and +that he distinguishes between it and a plain card. I also believe that +he distinguishes, for instance, between the card with the word "food" on +it and the card with "out" on it. + +This, then, seems to open up a method which may be carried much further, +for it is obvious that the cards may be multiplied, and the dog thus +enabled to communicate freely with us. I have as yet, I know, made only +a very small beginning, and hope to carry the experiment much further, +but my object in troubling you with this letter is twofold. In the first +place, I trust that some of your readers may be able and willing to +suggest extensions or improvements of the idea. Secondly, my spare time +is small, and liable to many interruptions; and animals also, we know, +differ greatly from one another. Now, many of your readers have +favourite dogs, and I would express a hope that some of them may be +disposed to study them in the manner indicated. The observations, even +though negative, would be interesting; but I confess I hope that some +positive results might follow, which would enable us to obtain a more +correct insight into the minds of animals than we have yet acquired. + + JOHN LUBBOCK. + + +COMMUNICATION WITH ANIMALS. + + [_April 12, 1884._] + +You did me the honour, some weeks ago, to insert a letter of mine, +containing suggestions as to a method of studying the psychology of +animals and a short account of a beginning I had myself made in that +direction. + +This letter has elicited various replies and suggestions which you will +perhaps allow me to answer, and I may also take the opportunity of +stating the progress which my dog Van has made, although, owing greatly, +no doubt, to my frequent absences from home and the little time I can +devote to him, this has not been so rapid as I doubt not would otherwise +have been the case. Perhaps I may just repeat that the essence of my +idea was to have various words, such as "food," "bone," "water," "out," +&c., printed on pieces of card-board, and, after some preliminary +training, to give the dog anything for which he asked by bringing a +card. I use pieces of cardboard about ten inches long and three inches +high, placing a number of them on the floor side by side, so that the +dog has several cards to select from, each bearing a different word. + +One correspondent has suggested that it would be better to use variously +coloured cards. This might, no doubt, render the first steps rather +more easy, but, on the other hand, any temporary advantage gained would +be at the expense of subsequent difficulty, since the pupil would very +likely begin by associating the object with the colour, rather than with +the letters. He would, therefore, as is too often the case with our own +children, have the unnecessary labour of unlearning some of his first +lessons. At the same time, the experiment would have an interest as a +test of the colour-sense in dogs. + +Another suggestion has been that, instead of words, pictorial +representations should be placed on the cards. This, however, could only +be done with material objects, such as "food," "bone," "water," &c., and +would not be applicable to such words as "out," "pet me," &c.; nor even +as regards the former class do I see that it would present any +substantial advantage. + +Again, it has been suggested that Van is led by scent rather than by +sight. He has, no doubt, an excellent nose, but in this case he is +certainly guided by the eye. The cards are all handled by us, and must +emit very nearly the same odour. I do not, however, rely on this, but +have in use a number of cards bearing the same word. When, for instance, +he has brought a card with "food" on it, we do not put down the same +identical card, but another with the same word; when he has brought +that, a third is put down, and so on. For a single meal, therefore, +eight or ten cards will have been used, and it seems clear, therefore, +that in selecting them Van must be guided by the letters. + +When I last wrote I had satisfied myself that he had learnt to regard +the bringing of a card as a request, and that he could distinguish a +card with the word "food" on it from a plain one, while I believed that +he could distinguish between a card with "food" on it and one with "out" +on it. + +I have now no doubt that he can distinguish between different words. For +instance, when he is hungry he will bring a "food" card time after time, +until he has had enough, and then he lies down quietly for a nap. Again, +when I am going for a walk, and invite him to come, he gladly responds +by picking up the "out" card, and running triumphantly with it before me +to the front door. In the same way he knows the "bone" card quite well. +As regards water (which I spell phonetically, so as not to confuse him +unnecessarily), I keep a card always on the floor in my dressing-room, +and whenever he is thirsty he goes off there, without any suggestion +from me, and brings the card with perfect gravity. At the same time he +is fond of a game, and if he is playful or excited will occasionally run +about with any card. If through inadvertence he brings a card for +something he does not want, when the corresponding object is shown him, +he seizes the card, takes it back again, and fetches the right one. No +one who has seen him look along a row of cards, and select the right +one, can, I think, doubt that in bringing a card he feels that he is +making a request, and that he can not only perfectly distinguish between +one word and another, but also associates the word and the object. + +I do not for a moment say that Van thus shows more intelligence than +has been recorded in the case of other dogs; that is not my point, but +it does seem to me that this method of instruction opens out a means by +which dogs and other animals may be enabled to communicate with us more +satisfactorily than hitherto. I am still continuing my observations, and +am now considering the best mode of testing him in very simple +arithmetic, but I wish I could induce others to co-operate, for I feel +satisfied that the system would well repay more time and attention than +I am myself able to give. + + JOHN LUBBOCK. + + +INSTINCT OF LOCALITY IN DOGS. + + [_March 4, 1893._] + +A cat carried a hundred miles in a basket, a dog taken, perhaps, five +hundred miles by rail, in a few days may have found their way back to +the starting-point. So we have often been told, and, no doubt, the thing +has happened. We have been astonished at the wonderful intelligence +displayed. Magic, I should call it. Last week I heard of a captain who +sailed from Aberdeen to Arbroath. He left behind him a dog which, +according to the story, had never been in Arbroath, but when he arrived +there the dog was waiting on the quay. I was expected to believe that +the dog had known his master's destination, and been able to inquire the +way overland to Arbroath. Truly marvellous! But, really, it is time to +inquire more carefully as to what these stories do mean; we must cease +to ascribe our intelligence to animals, and learn that it is we that +often possess their instinct. A cat on a farm will wander many miles in +search of prey, and will therefore be well acquainted with the country +for many miles round. It is taken fifty miles away. Again it wanders, +and comes across a bit of country it knew before. What more natural than +that it should go to its old home? Carrier-pigeons are taught "homing" +by taking them gradually longer flights from home, so that they may +learn the look of the country. We cannot always discover that a dog +actually was acquainted with the route by which it wanders home; but it +is quite absurd to imagine, as most people at once do, that it was a +perfect stranger to the lay of the land. To find our way a second time +over ground we have once trod is scarcely intelligence; we can only call +it instinct, though the word does not in the least explain the process. +Two years ago I first visited Douglas, in the Isle of Man. I reached the +station at 11 p.m.; I was guided to a house a mile through the town. I +scarcely paid any attention to the route, yet next morning I found my +way by the same route to the station, walking with my head bent, deeply +thinking all the time about other things than the way. I have the +instinct of locality. Most people going into a dark room that they know +are by muscular sense guided exactly to the very spot they wish; so +people who have the instinct of locality may wander over a moor exactly +to the place they wish to reach without thinking of where they go. There +may be no mental exercise connected with this. I have known a lady of +great intelligence who would lose her way within half-a-mile of the +house she had lived in forty years. This feeling about place belongs to +that part of us that we have in common with the lower creatures. We need +not postulate that the animals ever show signs of possessing our +intelligence; they possess, in common with us, what is not intelligence, +but instinct. + + A. J. MACKINTOSH. + + + [_Sept. 24, 1892._] + +Will you allow me to record in the _Spectator_ "another dog story"? It +is one that testifies, for the thousandth time, to canine sagacity, +and, as we are still in the silly season, which has this year in +particular been so very prolific in human follies, it may be of special +interest to learn some clever doings on the part of beasts. Quite +recently a Westphalian squire travelled by rail from Luexen to Wesel, on +the Rhine, for the purpose of enjoying some hunting, and took with him +his favourite hound. The hunting party was to have started on a Sunday +morning at nine o'clock, but, to the squire's great disappointment, his +sporting dog could nowhere be discovered. Disconsolate, he arrived on +the following Monday afternoon at his house, and, to his great delight, +he was greeted there with exuberant joy by his dog. The latter, who had +never made the journey from Luexen to Wesel, had simply run home, thus +clearing a distance of eighty English miles through an unknown country. +Why the sporting dog should have declined to join the hunt is, perhaps, +a greater mystery than the fact of his returning home without any other +guidance than his sagacious instinct. Possibly he was a Sabbatarian, and +objected to imitate his master's wicked example. So, Sunday papers, +please copy! + + EIN THIERFREUND. + + + [_Sept. 8, 1894._] + +May I be allowed to offer to your readers yet another instance of the +faithfulness and sagacity of our friend the dog? The anecdote comes from +a distinguished naval officer, and is best given in his own words: "This +is what happened to a spaniel of mine. It was given to our children as a +puppy about three or four months old, and we have had it about five or +six months, making it about ten months old. It was born about three +miles from here, at Hertford, and has never been anywhere but from one +home to the other. When the time came for breaking him in for shooting +purposes, I sent him to a keeper at Leighton-Buzzard, and, to insure a +safe arrival, sent the dog with my man-servant to the train here, and +thence to King's Cross. He walked with the dog to Euston Station, turned +him over to the guard of the 12.15 train and the animal duly arrived at +Leighton-Buzzard at 1.30, and was there met by the keeper and taken to +his home about three miles off. That was on the Friday. On the following +Tuesday, the dog having been with him three full days, he took him out +in the morning with his gun, and at eight o'clock on Wednesday morning +(that being the following day) the dog appeared here, rather dirty, and +looking as if he had travelled some distance, which he undoubtedly had. +There is no doubt that this puppy of ten months old was sent away, +certainly forty or fifty miles as the crow flies, and that he returned +here in a day. How he did it no one can say, but it is nevertheless a +fact. It would be interesting to know his route and to trace his +adventures." This anecdote is the more remarkable in consequence of the +extreme youth of the dog, and particularly as he belongs to a breed of +sporting dogs which are not generally considered to rank among the most +intelligent of the species. + + F. H. SUCKLING. + + + [_Sept. 15, 1894._] + +The "True Story of a Dog," in the _Spectator_ of September 8th, may be +matched, possibly explained, by a similar occurrence. I had bought a +Spanish poodle pup of an Irishman who assured me, "Indade, sir, an' the +dog knows all my childer do, only he can't talk." He shut doors, opened +those with thumb-latches, and rushed upstairs and waked his mistress at +words of command. One day we were starting to drive to our former home +in the city, six miles distant, but the dog was refused his usual place +in the carriage, and shut up in the house. When we arrived, to our +astonishment we found him waiting for us on the doorstep! We could not +conceive how he got there, but upon inquiry found that he had got out, +gone to the station, in some way entered the train, hid under a seat, +and on arrival in the city threaded his way a mile through the streets, +and was found quietly awaiting our arrival. + + R. P. S. + + + [_May 3, 1884._] + +How do we know that in inviting dogs to the use of words Sir John +Lubbock is _developing_ their intelligence? Are we sure that he is not +asking them to descend to a lower level than their own, in teaching them +to communicate with us through our proper forms of speech, unnecessary +to them? I can vouch for the truth of the following story. A young +keeper, living about twelve miles east of Winchester, on leaving his +situation gave away a fox-terrier, which had been his constant companion +for some months; he then took another place in the north of Hampshire, +near the borders of Berkshire, in a part of the country to which he had +never been. The new owner of the dog took her with him to a village in +Sussex; before she had been there long she disappeared, and after a +short time found her old master in the woods at his new home. As I have +said before, he had never been there before, neither had she. Rather +ungratefully, he again gave the dog away, this time to a man living some +way north of Berkshire; she came back to him in a few days, and, I am +happy to say, is now to be allowed to stay with the master of her +choice. Can such a nature need to be taught our clumsy language. + + A. H. WILLIAMS. + + + [_Feb. 16, 1895._] + +As I see that you have published some interesting anecdotes about dogs, +I send you the two following, which perhaps you may think worth +inserting. + +In 1873 we came to live in England, after a residence upon the +Continent, bringing with us a Swiss terrier of doubtful breed but of +marked sagacity, called Tan. One day, shortly after reaching the new +home from Switzerland, the dog was lost under the following +circumstances:--We had driven to a station eight miles off--East +Harling--to meet a friend. As the friend got out of the railway carriage +the dog got in without being noticed and the train proceeded on its way. +At the next station--Eccles Road--the dog's barking attracted the +attention of the station-master, who opened the carriage door, and the +dog jumped out. The station-master and the dog were perfect strangers. +He and a porter tried to lock up the dog, but he flew viciously at any +one who attempted to touch him, although he was not above accepting +food. For the next three days his behaviour was decidedly methodical; +starting from the station in the morning, he came back dejected and +tired at night. At last, on the evening of the third day, he reached +home, some nine miles away, along roads which he had not before +travelled, a sorry object and decidedly the worse for wear; after some +food he slept for twenty-four hours straight off. + +Anecdote number two. One day a handsome black, smooth-haired retriever +puppy was given to us, whom we named Neptune. The terrier Tan greatly +resented having this new companion thrust upon him, and became very +jealous of him. Being small, he was unable to tackle so large a dog, but +sagacity accomplished what strength could not. Tan disappeared for two +days. One evening, hearing a tremendous commotion in the yard, we +rushed out to find a huge dog of the St. Bernard species inflicting a +severe castigation upon poor Nep, Tan meanwhile looking on, complacently +wagging his tail. Both Tan and his companion then disappeared for two +more days, after which Tan reappeared alone, apparently in an equable +frame of mind, and satisfied that he had had his revenge. We never +discovered where the large dog came from. I can attest the truth of the +two stories. + + CECIL DOWNTON. + + +RAILWAY DOGS. + + [_July 10, 1887._] + +Your dog-loving readers may be interested to hear that there is (or was +till lately) in South Africa a rival to the well-known Travelling Jack, +of Brighton line fame, after whom, indeed, he has been nicknamed by his +acquaintance. + +I was introduced to him eighteen months ago, on board the _Norham +Castle_, on a voyage from Cape Town to England--a voyage which this +distinguished Colonial traveller was making much against his will. He +was a black-and-tan terrier with a white chest, whose intellect had +therefore probably been improved by a dash of mongrelism, and I was told +that he belonged to a gentleman connected with the railway department +living at Port Elizabeth. It appears that it was Mr. Jack's habit +frequently to embark all by himself on board the mail steamer leaving +that place on Saturday afternoon, and make the trip round the coast to +Cape Town, arriving there on Monday morning. Where he "put up" I do not +know, but he used to stay there until Wednesday evening, when he would +calmly walk into the station, take his place in the train, and return to +Port Elizabeth in that way, thus completing his "circular tour" by a +railway journey of about eight hundred miles. + +He was well known by the officers and sailors of the _Norham_, and her +commander, Captain Alexander Winchester (who can vouch for these facts), +told me that, as the dog seemed fond of the sea, he had determined to +give him a long voyage for a change, and had kept him shut up on board +during the ship's stay at Cape Town. + +Jack was evidently very uneasy at being taken on beyond his usual port, +and he was on the point of slipping into a boat for the shore at +Madeira, probably with a view of returning to the Cape by the next +steamer, when I called the captain's attention to him, and he was +promptly shut up again. I said good-bye to him at Plymouth, and hope he +found his way home safely on the return voyage. + + EX-COLONIST. + + + [_June 23, 1894._] + +I have read with much interest the stories in the _Spectator_ of the +sagacity of animals. The following, I think, is worth recording:--The +chief-engineer of the Midland and South-Western Junction Railway, Mr. J. +R. Shopland, C.E., has a spaniel that frequently accompanies him or his +sons to their office. On Saturday last this dog went to Marlborough from +Swindon by train with one of Mr. Shopland's clerks, and walked with him +to Savernake Forest. Suddenly the dog was missing. The creature had gone +back to the station at Marlborough and taken a seat in a second-class +compartment. The dog defied the efforts of the railway officials to +dislodge him. When the train reached Swindon he came out of the carriage +and walked quietly to his master's residence. + + SAMUEL SNELL. + + + [_March 30, 1895._] + +I was witness the other day of what I had only heard of before--a dog +travelling by rail on his own account. I got into the train at Uxbridge +Road, and, the compartment being vacant, took up the seat which I now +prefer--the corner seat at the entrance with the back to the engine. +Presently a whole crowd of ladies got in, and with them a dog, which I +supposed to belong to them. All the ladies except one got out at Addison +Road, and then the dog slunk across the carriage to just under my seat. +I asked my remaining fellow-passenger whether the dog was hers; she said +"No." No one got in before she herself got out at South Kensington, +where the dog remained perfectly quiet, but at Sloane Square a man was +let in, and out rushed the dog, the door actually grazing his sides. Had +he not taken up the precise place he did, he must have been shut in or +crushed. "That dog is a stowaway," I observed to the porter who had +opened the door. "I suppose he is," the man answered. The dog was making +the best of his way to the stairs. Clearly the dog meant to get out at +that particular station (he had had ample opportunity of getting out +both at Addison Road and South Kensington), and had, as soon as he +could, taken up the best position for doing so. How did he recognise the +Sloane Square Station, for he had had only those two opportunities of +glancing out? It seems to me it could only have been by counting the +stations, in which case he must be able to reckon up to five. The dog +was a very ordinary London cur, white and tan, of a greatly mixed Scotch +terrier stock, the long muzzle showing a greyhound cross. He was thin, +and apparently conscious of breaking the law, hiding out of sight, and +slinking along with his tail between his legs, and altogether not worth +stealing. I suppose that he had been transferred to a new home which had +proved uncongenial, and was slipping away, in fear and trembling, to his +old quarters. + + J. M. L. + + + + +_EMOTION AND SENTIMENT IN DOGS._ + + + +A DOG'S REMORSE. + + [_Sept. 1, 1883._] + +A remarkable instance of the effect that can be produced upon a dog by +the human voice was related to me yesterday. Some of your correspondents +would consider it confirmatory of their notion that dogs have mind +enough to understand words; but I myself rather believe that the sound +of the voice acts upon the _feelings_ of dumb animals just as +instrumental music acts upon us. The story is as follows:--A clergyman +had for a long time a dog, and no other domestic animal. He and his +servant made a great pet of the dog. At last, however, the clergyman +took to keeping a few fowls, and the servant fed them. The dog showed +himself very jealous and out of humour at this, and when Sunday came +round, and he was left alone, he took the opportunity to _kill and bury_ +two hens. A claw half-uncovered betrayed what he had done. His master +did not beat him, but took hold of him, and _talked_ to him, most +bitterly, most severely. "You've been guilty of the sin of murder, +sir,--and on the Sabbath day, too; and you, a clergyman's dog, taking a +mean advantage of my absence!" &c. He talked on and on for a long time, +in the same serious and reproachful strain. Early the next morning the +master had to leave home for a day or so; and he did so without speaking +a word of kindness to the dog, because he said he wished him to feel +himself in disgrace. On his return, the first thing he was told was, +"The dog is dead. He never ate nor drank after you had spoken to him; he +just lay and pined away, and he died an hour ago." + + L. G. GILLUM. + + +A CONSCIENCE-STRICKEN DOG. + + [_Feb. 1, 1879._] + +You have frequently published letters containing stories bearing on the +question of the moral nature and the future of the lower animals. I +venture to send you some facts about a dog, narrated to me by a lady, +whose name and address I enclose for your own satisfaction, and at my +request written down by her as follows-- + +"A young fox-terrier, about eight months old, took a great fancy to a +small brush, of Indian workmanship, lying on the drawing-room table. It +had been punished more than once for jumping on the table and taking it. +On one occasion, the little dog was left alone in the room accidentally. +On my return, it jumped to greet me as usual, and I said, 'Have you been +a good little dog while you have been left alone?' Immediately it put +its tail between its legs and slunk off into an adjoining room, and +brought back the little brush in its mouth from where it had hidden it. + +"I was much struck with what appeared to me a remarkable instance of a +dog possessing a conscience, and a few months afterwards, finding it +again alone in the room, I asked the same question, while patting it. At +once I saw it had been up to some mischief, for with the same look of +shame it walked slowly to one of the windows, where it lay down, with +its nose pointing to a letter bitten and torn into shreds. On a third +occasion, it showed me where it had strewn a number of little tickets +about the floor, for doing which it had been reproved previously. I +cannot account for these facts, except by supposing the dog must have a +conscience." + +The conduct of this dog seems to me, sir, to exhibit something different +from fear of punishment, viz., a sense of shame, a remorse, a desire to +confess his fault, and even to expiate it by punishment, in order to +feel the guilt no longer. He rather sought punishment, than feared it. + + TH. HILL. + + +A DOG'S AFFECTION. + + [_April 24, 1875._] + +I saw an anecdote in your paper the other week illustrative of the +sagacity of a dog. Kindly allow me to place upon record, as a kind of a +companion picture, an anecdote showing the _affection_ of one of the +canine species--a fine young retriever. For some weeks I have been +staying away from my house in the country, where is the fine young +retriever in question. Well, last week the household missed him for +hours, and began to think he was lost. Nothing of the kind, however. The +servant, happening to go up to my bedroom, found him with his head +resting on my pillow, moaning heavily, and it was only with great +difficulty that she could drive him away. Surely it is incidents such as +these that have made so many great men rail against humanity and uphold +their dog! + + WILL WILLIAMS. + + +AFFECTION. + + [_Sept. 15, 1894._] + +As you sometimes admit anecdotes of animals into the _Spectator_, +perhaps you may consider the following fact worthy of record. In a hotel +where I am staying, being distressed by the cry of anguish of a dog +occasionally, I inquired the cause, and was told that whenever he +happens to be in the hall when luggage is brought down to go in the +omnibus, he utters these bitter cries, and has to be removed. His master +left him here many months ago, and the supposition is that the sight of +the luggage and omnibus recalls his loss; and is another instance of the +faithful affection of these half-human creatures. + + J. K. + + +SYMPATHY IN A DOG. + + [_July 30, 1892._] + +The article, "Animals in Sickness," in the _Spectator_ of July 23rd, has +reminded me of the following anecdote, which was told to me some years +ago by a butcher residing at Brodick, in the Isle of Arran. He told me +that he had had two collie dogs at the same time, one old and the other +young. The old dog became useless through age, and was drowned in the +sea at Brodick. A few days afterwards, its body was washed ashore, and +it was discovered by the young dog, who was seen immediately to go to +the butcher's shop and take away a piece of meat and lay it at the dead +dog's mouth. The young dog evidently thought that the meat would revive +his old comrade, and thereby showed remarkable sympathy in aid of, to +him, the apparent "weak." + + DAVID HANNAY. + + +A DOG'S HUMANITY. + + [_April 18, 1891._] + +Possibly it is from an excess of the "maudlin sentimentality" of which +physiologists complain in those who protest against cruelty to animals, +that I find it almost painful to read such pathetic stories of dogs as +the one given by Miss Cobbe in the _Spectator_ of April 11th; for they +tell of such intelligence and devotion, that, remembering the inhuman +way in which our poor dogs are too often treated, we feel it would be +almost better if they lacked these human qualities. + +The following is an anecdote of the same kind, that ever since I heard +it, I have been intending to send it to the _Spectator_. The servant-man +of one of my friends took a kitten to a pond with the intention of +drowning it. His master's dog was with him, and when the kitten was +thrown into the water, the dog sprang in and brought it back safely to +land. A second time the man threw it in, and again the dog rescued it; +and when for the third time the man tried to drown it, the dog, as +resolute to save the little helpless life as the man was to destroy it, +swam with it to the other side of the pool, running all the way home +with it, and safely depositing it before the kitchen fire; and "ever +after" they were inseparable, sharing even the same bed! + +When not long ago I came across the noble sentiment that "hecatombs of +brutes should be tortured, if man thereby could be saved one pang," I +found myself dimly wondering what constituted a "brute." Certainly, in +the incident I have just given, the "brute" was not the dog! + + S. W. + + +A CANINE MEMBER OF THE S.P.C.A. + + [_June 18, 1892._] + +If you think this little anecdote of canine friendliness worthy of the +_Spectator_, will you insert it for me? Last week a sick dog took up its +abode in the field behind our house, and after seeing the poor thing +lying there for some time, I took it food and milk-and-water. The next +day it was still there, and when I was going out to feed it, I saw that +a small pug was running about it, so I took a whip out with me to drive +it away. The pug planted itself between me and the sick dog, and barked +at me savagely, but at last I drove it away, and again gave food and +milk-and-water to my _protege_. The little pug watched me for a few +moments, and as soon as he felt quite assured that my intentions towards +the sick dog were friendly, it ran to me wagging its tail, leapt up to +my shoulder, and licked my face and hands, nor would it touch the water +till the invalid had had all it wanted. I suppose that it was satisfied +that its companion was in good hands, for it trotted happily away, and +did not appear upon the scene again. + + VIOLET DAVIES. + + +A DOG'S COURTESY. + + [_Nov. 29, 1890._] + +In your article on Mr. Nettleship's pictures of animals, you note the +delicacy of a dog that has been properly trained in the matter of taking +its food. My little dog is not only most dainty in that particular, but +strictly observes the courtesy, which is natural, not taught, of not +beginning his dinner (served on white napery that is never soiled) until +his master begins his own. No amount of coaxing on the part of the +ladies (they do not wait) will induce him to eat if I am late: he merely +consents to have his muzzle taken off, inspects his dinner, and then +seeks his master's room, where he waits to accompany him in orderly +fashion downstairs. + + C. HARPER. + + +CANINE JEALOUSY. + + [_Dec. 12, 1891._] + +I am not versed in dog-lore, and it may be that my love for the animal +makes me an ill judge of the importance of the following story; but a +friend vouches for its truth, and to my mind it has its importance, not +from its display of jealousy, but from the dog's deliberate acceptance +of the undoubtedly changed condition, and the clearly metaphysical +character of his motive. + +The story is this. A young man had owned for some years a dog who was +his constant companion. Recently the young man married, and moved with +his bride and his dog into a house on the opposite side of the street +from his father's house, his own former home. The dog was not happy, for +the time and attention which had formerly been his was now given to the +young wife. In many ways he showed his unhappiness and displeasure, in +spite of the fact that the master tried to reconcile him and the bride +to win him. One day when the master came home, his wife sat on his +knee, while Jack was lying by the fire. He rose from his place, came +over to the couple, and expressed his disapproval. "Why, Jack," said the +master, "this is all right, she's a good girl," and as he spoke, he +patted her arm. Jack looked up at him, turned away, and left the room. +In a moment they heard a noise, and going into the hall, they found Jack +dragging his bed downstairs. When he reached the front door, he whined +to be let out, and when the door was opened, he dragged his bed down the +steps, across the street to his old home, where he scratched for +admittance. Since then he has never been back to his master, refusing +all overtures. + + CHAS. MORRIS ADDISON. + + +A JEALOUS DOG. + + [_Jan. 12, 1895._] + +I was greatly interested in the story of the generosity shown by a dog, +as related in the _Spectator_ of January 5th, because of a similar case +within my own knowledge, and yet so different, as to prove that the +dispositions of animals are as varied as those of human beings. A friend +of mine had two fox-terriers, inseparable companions, and both equally +devoted to their mistress. On one occasion, when the family had been +away from home for some time, and were returning, one of these pets, not +being well, was brought back with its mistress, while the other was left +to follow with the horses, &c., and did not arrive for three days. On +entering the house, the dog had a very sullen appearance, took no notice +of any one, but searched everywhere till he found his companion; then +flew at his throat, and would have killed him but for timely succour! +Could any human being have indulged in a more rankling jealousy? + + E. A. K. + + +A DOG THAT SCORNED TO BE JEALOUS. + + [_Jan. 5, 1895._] + +The following history of canine sympathy may interest your readers. I +was once the happy owner of a large and beautiful bull-terrier, Rose, +and at the same time of a still dearer, though less beautiful, little +mongrel, Fan, both passionately attached to a member of my household, +commonly called their best friend. A certain shawl belonging to this +adored friend was especially sacred in Fan's eyes. She never allowed any +one to touch it without remonstrance--Rose least of all--and when her +best friend was in bed, it was Fan's custom to ensconce herself in her +arms, and not to allow any dog, and only the most favoured of human +beings, to approach without violent growlings, if not worse. Fan was a +tiny grandmother who had long ruled the household; Rose, an +inexperienced newcomer. One day, in a fit of youthful folly, Rose jumped +over a gate and spiked herself badly, and was consigned for ten days to +the care of the veterinary surgeon. On her return, she was cordially +welcomed by Fan and myself; but when she rushed upstairs to the room of +her best friend (then confined to her bed), my mind forboded mischief. +We followed, and I opened the door. With one bound Rose flew into her +best friend's arms, taking Fan's very own place, and was lost in a +rapture of licking and being caressed. Fan flew after her, but to my +amazement, instead of the fury I expected, it was to join with heart and +tongue in the licking and caressing. She licked Rose as if she had been +a long-lost puppy, instead of an intruder; and then, of her own accord, +turned away, leaving Rose in possession, and took up a distant place on +the foot of the bed, appealing to me with an almost human expression of +mingled feelings--the heroic self-abnegation of new-born sympathy +struggling with natural jealousy. The better feelings triumphed (not, of +course, unsupported by human recognition and applause), till both dogs +fell asleep in their strangely reversed positions. After this, there was +a slight temporary failure in Fan's perhaps overstrained self-conquest; +but on the next day but one she actually, for the first (and last) time +in her life, made Rose welcome to a place beside her on the sacred +shawl; where again they slept side by side like sisters. This, however, +was the last gleam of the special sympathy called forth by Rose's +troubles. From that day Fan decidedly and finally resumed her jealous +occupation and guardianship of all sacred places and things, and +maintained it energetically to her life's end. + + C. E. S. + + + + +_DOGS AND THE ARTS._ + + + + +MUSIC AND DOGS. + + [_Oct. 24, 1891._] + +Dogs, as well as horses, can recognise tunes. Many years ago a friend, +during a short absence from our station on the Kurrumfooler, lent my +sister a pet dog. Cissie was constantly in the room while playing and +singing went on, without taking any notice; but whenever the temporary +mistress began singing one favourite song of the absent mistress's, the +dog would jump on a chair by her side with evident pleasure. + + O. H. G. + + + [_Oct. 24, 1891._] + +I have read with much interest your correspondent's letter on the +capability of animals to distinguish tunes. I had a small dog who, when +first I got him, would have howled incessantly during singing. This, +however, he was not allowed to do, except to one tune, which he soon +knew and always joined in, not attempting to "sing" other songs. We +tried every sort of experiment to see if he would recognise his own +tune, which he invariably did, and would whine if the air was hummed +quite quietly. + + C. F. HARRISON. + + + [_Oct. 24, 1891._] + +Anent "Orpheus at the Zoo," the following facts may interest you. Of two +dogs of mine, one showed a great fondness for music. She (though usually +my shadow) would always leave me to go to a room where a piano was being +played, and the more she liked the music, the closer she crept to the +player, even if a stranger to her. If, however, one began to play scales +or exercises, she would get up, walk to the door, sit down, and, after +waiting a bit, go away out of sight, but not out of hearing, for she +soon appeared again on the resumption of music to her taste. On the +other hand, mere "strumming" very quickly obliged her to go right away +out of hearing. I confess that I have many times plagued the poor dog +by thus sending her backwards and forwards. Her looks were often very +comical. The other dog evidently hated music--would try to push a player +from the piano, go out of hearing, and show other unmistakable signs of +dislike. A band would draw one dog out to listen, while the other rushed +away to hide. In one house the dog first mentioned had, for some reason +or other, a particular objection to the room where the piano was, and +never willingly stayed there. Music would bring her in, but only to sigh +and moan, evidently in great pity for herself at being obliged to listen +under such (to her) trying conditions. From these and other observations +I am convinced that there is the musical dog as well as the unmusical, +just as with human beings. + + D. + + +RECOGNITION OF LIKENESSES BY DOGS. + + [_May 5, 1894._] + +In the _Spectator_ of April 21st there is an article on Apes, in which +the following occurs:--"Monkeys, we believe, alone among animals can +recognise the meaning of a picture." It may interest some of your +readers to hear that certain other animals can also do this, two +instances having come under my own observation. A cat belonging to a +little girl I know was on the child's bed one morning, and made a spring +at a picture of a thrush, about life-size, which was hanging near. The +other case is that of a dog--a female Irish terrier--who is in the habit +of running with her mistress's pony carriage. When she sees the pony +being harnessed, she often shows her delight by jumping up at its head +and barking. In a certain shop to which she sometimes goes with her +mistress there is a picture of a horse hanging. The dog invariably +behaves in exactly the same manner to this, jumping up and barking at +it, thus showing unmistakably that she recognises its meaning. + + JULIA ANDREWS. + + + _May 19, 1894._ + +The following instance bears on the subject discussed in the _Spectator_ +of May 5th. We had for a newcomer to our circle a little terrier dog. I +was informed it had been seen in the library facing a large-sized +portrait of myself, and barking furiously. I was somewhat sceptical +until a day or two later I saw it repeat the performance. I have +wondered whether it was because the dog thought it a good or bad +representation of the original, and so was complimenting or otherwise +the artist. + + FRANK WRIGHT. + + + [_May 19, 1894._] + +Apropos of the recognition of pictures by dogs (_Spectator_, May 5th), I +think you may be interested in the two following facts which came under +my notice a few years ago. A sagacious but quite uneducated old terrier +came with his master to call for me, and coiled himself on the hearthrug +while we talked. Turning himself round in the intervals of slumber, his +eye caught an oil-painting just over his head (a life-size half-length +of a gentleman). He immediately sat up, showed his teeth, and +growled--not once, but continually--as both angry and mortified that +neither eyes nor nose had given him notice of the arrival of a stranger! +The next instance was similar, except that the chief actor was a young, +intelligent collie, who, on the sudden discovery of a man looking at him +from the wall, barked long and furiously. In both instances, after their +excitement had subsided, I led the dogs to look at another picture +similar in size, and also of a gentleman, but neither of them would take +the smallest notice of it. I need only add that the picture which the +dogs appreciated was painted by Sir Henry Raeburn--the other was not. +Might not a few sagacious canine members be a useful addition to the +Royal Academy Hanging Committee? + + B. THOMSON. + + + [_May 26, 1894._] + +Many years ago I had a similar experience to Mr. Frank Wright. A +likeness of myself, head and shoulders, drawn in chalk from a +photograph, and enlarged to nearly life size, hung on the dining-room +wall of a house I then occupied. One evening my wife silently called my +attention to a young English terrier, who had not been very long with +us, looking up at it very steadfastly. He regarded it for about a minute +in silence, and at last broke out into a loud bark, which I supposed to +mean that in his opinion the wall was not my proper place, and that only +an evil genius could have set anything like me in such a position. + + G. + + + [_June 2, 1894._] + +You were so good as to insert my little account of the politeness of a +parrot in the _Spectator_, will you now allow me also to bear witness to +the recognition of a likeness by a dog? Some time ago I was painting two +portraits in the country, and one day by chance I placed the picture of +my hostess on the ground. Immediately her old spaniel came and gazed +intently at the face for several seconds. Then he smelt at the canvas, +and, unsatisfied, walked round and investigated the back. Finally, +having discovered the deception, he turned away in manifest disgust, and +nothing that we could do or say, on that day or on any other, would +induce that dog to look at that picture again. We then tried him by +putting my portrait of his master also on the ground, but he simply gave +it a kind of casual contemptuous side-glance and took no further notice +of it. We attributed this not to any difference in the merits or +demerits of the two portraits, but simply to the fact that the dog felt +he had been deceived once, but was not to be so taken in again. + + LOUISA STARR CANZIANI. + + +RECOGNITION BY ANIMALS OF PICTURES. + + [_Sept. 7, 1889._] + +Thirty years ago I was staying at Langley, near Chippenham, with a lady +who was working a large screen, on which she depicted in "raised" work +(as it was then called) a life-sized cat on a cushion. The host, a +sportsman now dead, was much struck with the similarity to life of the +cat, so he fetched his dog (alas! like too many of the species), a +cat-hater. The animal made a dead set at the (wool) cat, and but for the +master's vigorous clutching him by the collar, the cushion would have +been torn into atoms. I related this tale lately in Oxford, and my +hearer told me that a friend in the Bevington Road had just painted a +bird on a fire-screen, and her cat flew at it. + +My own old dog, Scaramouch (a pet of the Duke of Albany's in his +undergraduate days), disliked being washed, and when I showed him a +large _Graphic_ picture of a child scrubbing a fox-terrier in a tub, he +turned his head away ruefully, and would not look at his brother in +adversity. + + J. M. HULBERT. + + + + +_DOG FRIENDSHIPS._ + + + + +DOG FRIENDS. + + [_Feb. 16, 1889._] + +The following story of friendship between two dogs may, I think, +interest some of your readers. Some time ago I used often to stay with a +friend in Wiltshire, whose park is separated from the house by a lake +which is about a hundred and fifty yards broad at the narrowest part. +Being extremely fond of animals, I soon became intimate with two +delightful dogs belonging to my hostess, a large collie, called Jasper, +and a rough Skye terrier, Sandie. The pair were devoted friends, if +possible always went out together, and, sad to relate, even poached +together. One afternoon I called them, as usual, to go for a walk, and +making my way to the lake, I determined to row across and wander about +in the deer-park. Without thinking of my two companions, I got into the +boat and pushed off. Jasper at once jumped into the water and gaily +followed the boat; half way across he and I were both startled by +despairing howls, and stopping to look back, we saw poor little Sandie +running up and down the bank, and bitterly bewailing the cruelty of his +two so-called friends in leaving him behind. Hardening my heart, I sat +still in silence, and simply watched. Jasper was clearly distressed; he +swam round the boat, and looking up into my face, said unmistakably with +his wise brown eyes, "Why don't you go to the rescue?" Seeing, however, +that I showed no signs of intelligence, he made up his mind to settle +the difficulty himself, so turned and swam back to forlorn little +Sandie; there was a moment's pause, I suppose for explanations, and +then, to my surprise and amusement, Jasper stood still, half out and +half in the water, and Sandie scrambled on to his back, his front paws +resting on Jasper's neck, who swam across the lake and landed him safely +in the deer-park! I need not describe the evident pride of the one, or +the gratitude of the other. + + ROY. + + +FRIENDSHIPS OF DOGS WITH OTHER ANIMALS. + + +A LESSON. + + [_Feb. 23, 1889._] + +Your correspondent "Roy's" very interesting account of "A Canine +Friendship" tempts me to send you the following about two Dandy Dinmonts +in this neighbourhood. + +Friends of mine in Dumfriesshire had in their house two Dandie Dinmont +dogs who were inseparable friends and constant companions in all that +was going on. One day one of these dogs disappeared unaccountably, and +nothing was seen of it for a week. His owners were very vexed, thinking +he must have got within the range of some keeper's gun or met with some +other accident. + +But the absentee's home-keeping companion was greatly distressed; he +moped about, and would not touch any food for several days; till, +unexpectedly on my friend's part, the truant suddenly reappeared and +showed himself in the house. The dog who had remained at home, when he +saw the arrival of his former friend, looked steadily at him for a few +seconds, and then, without further parley, went at him and gave the +truant a thoroughly sound thrashing. I always explain this to myself by +supposing that the home-keeping dog decided that the truant had caused +him for several days needless anxiety and abstinence from food, and that +the truant must learn by painful experience that such behaviour could +not be lightly condoned by his inseparable companion. + + J. G. + + +CONSCIOUS AUTOMATA. + + [_July 31, 1875._] + +I have lately heard a story that I hope you may think worthy of a place +among your illustrations of the thoughtful intelligence of "Conscious +Automata." Many years ago, a family having a house in Grosvenor Square, +and a place in the country (I think in Warwickshire), owned a terrier, +who, in the country, made great friends with a large Newfoundland. When +they came to town they brought the terrier, and he resided in a mews +where he was much annoyed by a cur who lived next door, and attacked him +whenever he came out. One day the terrier disappeared, but after a +little time returned, bringing with him his big friend, who gave the +vulgar bully a satisfactory thrashing--not attempting to kill him. This +has been told me by an old servant, who was then a young man, living in +service in London, close to the owners of the dogs. He answers for the +facts of the story as he heard them at the time. + + F. C. + + +DOG AND PIGEON. + + [_Sept. 22, 1888._] + +The _Spectator_ does not disdain anecdotes of dogs and their doings, and +I think the following history, to which I can bear personal testimony, +may be found not uninteresting to your readers. At this delightful house +in Perthshire, where I am on a visit, there is a well-bred pointer, +named Fop, who, when not engaged in his professional pursuits on the +moor, lives chiefly in a kennel placed in a loose-box adjoining the +other stables attached to the house. Nearly a year ago there were a pair +of pigeons who lived in and about the stable yard. One of the birds +died, and its bereaved mate at once attached itself for society and +protection to the dog, and has been its constant companion ever since. +On the days when the sportsmen are not seeking grouse the dog is in his +kennel, and the pigeon is always his close attendant. She roosts on a +rack over the manger of the stable, and in the day-time is either +strutting about preening her feathers, taking her meals from the dog's +biscuit and water tin, or quite as often sitting in the kennel by his +side, nestling close to him. Fop, who is an amiable and rather +sentimental being, takes no apparent notice of his companion, except +that we observe him, in jumping into or out of his kennel while the +pigeon is there, to take obvious care not to crush or disturb her in any +way. The only other symptom Fop has shown of being jealous for the +pigeon's comfort and convenience is that when of late two chickens from +the stable-yard wandered into the apartment where the dog and pigeon +reside, he very promptly bit their heads off, as if in mute intimation +that one bird is company, and two (or rather three) are none. + +The story is rather one of a pigeon than a dog, for it is quite evident +that she is the devoted friend, and that he acquiesces in the +friendship. On the days when Fop is taken, to his infinite delight, on +to the moor, the pigeon is much concerned. She follows him as far as she +dare, taking a series of short flights over his head, until a little +wood is reached, through which the keeper and dogs have to take their +way. At this point her courage fails her, and she returns to the stable, +to wait hopefully for her comrade's return. + +This singular alliance is a great joy and interest to the keepers, +coachmen, and grooms of the establishment, and as the keeper gave me a +strong hint that the story ought to be told in print, adding that he had +seen much less noteworthy incidents of animal life promoted to such +honour, I have ventured to send it to you. I may add that the pigeon is +of the kind called "Jacobin," and is white, with a black wing. Is there +any precedent for such close intimacies between animals so widely +separated in kind and habit? + + ALFRED AINGER. + + +A HEN AND PUPPIES. + + [_Sept. 29, 1888._] + +In reply to Mr. Ainger's question as to there being "any precedent for +such close intimacies between animals so widely separated in kind and +habit" as the dog and pigeon mentioned in his interesting letter, I can +mention two cases which have come under my notice this last summer at my +farm in Berkshire. In one case the friendship existed between a pullet +and a pig. The pullet never left the farmyard to join in the rambles of +the other fowls, but kept near the pig all day, occasionally roosting on +its friend's back when taking its afternoon nap. + +The other case was more remarkable. A hen, with strong motherly +instincts, but no family of her own, acted for several weeks as +foster-mother to eight spaniel puppies. The real mother, a very gentle +creature, soon acquiesced in the arrangement. The hen covered the +puppies with her wings just as though they had been chickens, and +remained with them day and night. When they began to walk she was still +their constant attendant; when they learned to lap and eat a little she +would "call" them and break up their food. As they grew older the poor +foster-mother had her patience sorely tried. They barked and capered +around her, leading her altogether a sad life. After the puppies +deserted her she was often seen sitting close to their mother, the pair +apparently quite understanding each other. My children were naturally +delighted to watch these strange sights, and the hen, though not at +other times very tame, maintained perfect equanimity while they played +with the puppies around her. + + F. C. MAXWELL. + + +A DOG AND A RABBIT. + + [_Sept. 29, 1888._] + +Mr. Ainger, in giving his interesting incident of strange friendships +between animals, asks if there are any precedents for such incongruous +intimacy as he saw between a dog and a pigeon. To most close observers +of animals, such curious cases, though always noteworthy, are well +known; naturalists like Buckland and many others have frequently +recorded them. + +With the view of adding to the lore on this matter, permit me to cite +the following. Two Scotch terriers are lying before the fire. Prince is +an amiable sort of dog; Jack is rather surly; both good vermin-killers +and fond of hunting. I bring in a common buck rabbit, and place it +beside the dogs, with the intimation they were not to touch it. Trust, +and then alliance, quickly grew between it and Prince, whilst Jack shows +unmistakable hatred. In a few days the two friends, with their paws +absurdly clasping each other's necks, sleep happily on the rug; they +play together, they chase each other up and down the stairs and all over +the house at full speed, and when tired come back to the rug. Jack +refusing all this sort of thing, makes the rabbit look at him with a +sort of awe. Does Bunny make no mess in the house? None whatever; he +goes into the garden as the dogs do, and like them, scratches at the +door when he wants to return. All this he does without any instruction +from us. After a while, being very fond of him, we put on the floor a +pretty pink-eyed doe as a present. He stares, sniffs her all over, kills +her on the spot, and goes for a romp with his dear Prince. Jack always +sleeps under my bed from choice, and just before I put out the light as +I lie, stands up against the bed for his last pat and "good-night." +Bunny has observed all this, and quietly creeps into the room, which he +refuses to leave; then likewise always asks for his "good-night," and +sleeps somewhere near his great "ideal." + +Another instance, published in "Loch Creran" by my friend Mr. Anderson +Smith. I punished my cat for killing a chicken. The next day he is seen +to carry a live chicken in his mouth and lay it down to the hen he had +previously robbed. He and the chicken afterwards were frequently +observed leaving the orchard together, and travelling through the +courtyard and back passages, find their way to the kitchen fireplace, +where they would sleep in good fellowship. This chicken, I discovered, +had been stolen nearly two miles away. It is important to remark that +the cat, though a cruel bird-killer, never touched another chicken. Was +the idea of compensation in the cat's mind? If not that, all the +circumstances are singularly coincident. And why did the chicken prefer +the cat's companionship to that of its fellows? + + E. W. PHIBBS. + + +ANOTHER PIGEON STORY. + + [_Oct. 6, 1888._] + +Mr. Ainger's letter in the _Spectator_ of September 22nd reminds me of +an almost identical friendship that existed some years ago at Grove +House, Knutsford. A long-haired mastiff was kept chained as a watch-dog, +and when a white fantail pigeon's mate died, it attached itself to the +mastiff, and was continually with it in the kennel. When the dog had its +breakfast of porridge and milk, the pigeon would eat out of the bowl at +the same time; and when the dog had finished, it would lie flat on its +side while the pigeon perched on its head and pecked off the grains of +oatmeal that stuck to the long hair round its mouth. The only danger to +the pigeon seemed to be that when the dog rushed out of the kennel +suddenly to bark, it seemed to forget the pigeon, and we used to fear +that the heavy chain might hurt it; but it never was hurt. This +friendship lasted many years, till one of the two, I forget which, died. + + ISABEL JAMISON. + + +DOG AND KITTENS. + + [_July 1, 1893._] + +The following story may, perhaps, interest some of your readers:--Willie +is a small, rough-haired terrier, a truculent and aggressive character, +the terror of tramps, in a skirmish with one of whom he has lost an +eye. He rules the kitchen with a rod of iron, the inmate there admiring +and fearing him. Next to tramps, Willie hates cats; he has been flogged +again and again for chasing the neighbour's "Tom"; nothing can stop him +rushing at the alien cat, however. But for his own domestic "Tabby" he +has tolerance and a certain amount of affection; if another dog were to +attack her, dire would be the warfare. A while ago, this cat had three +kittens; two were taken by the maid and placed in a bucket of water, and +left to their fate. Before that fate had come Willie perceived them; he +snatched them from the bucket one by one, and carried them to his +kennel. The maid attempted to get them away, but Willie flew at her with +fury, and then returned to lick first one and then the other, to shove +them up together, and lie down near them, and in every way to give the +poor half-dead things a chance. This went on for some time; but when at +last there was no sign of breath, and he saw that they were hopelessly +dead, he marched out of the kennel, shook himself, and indicated to the +maid that she might now proceed to bury them, that they were past +intelligent treatment. He treats the remaining and living kitten with +the indifference of the scientific for the normal. + + L. H. + + +A CANINE NURSE. + + [_May 18, 1895._] + +Being a frequent reader of anecdotes of the sagacity of animals in your +paper, I think you may consider the following trait of character in a +dog worthy of notice. Jack, a rough-haired fox-terrier of quiet +disposition, but a good ratter, and an inveterate enemy to strange or +neighbouring cats, of whom, to my sorrow, he has slain at least one, +became without effort the attached friend of a minute kitten introduced +into the house last November. This friendship has been continued without +intermission, and is reciprocated by the now full-grown cat. She, +unfortunately, got caught in a rabbit-trap not long ago, but escaped +with no further injury than a lacerated paw, which for some time caused +her much pain and annoyance. Every morning Jack was to be seen tenderly +licking the paw of the interesting invalid, to which kind nursing no +doubt her rapid recovery may be attributed; and though she is now more +than convalescent and able to enjoy her usual game of play, he still +greets her each morning with a gentle inquiring lick on the injured paw, +just to see if it is all right, before proceeding to roll her over in +their accustomed gambols. This seems to me a marked instance of +individual affection overcoming race-antipathy. + + BLANCHE ROCHFORT. + + +A CURIOUS FRIENDSHIP. + + [_Feb. 6, 1875._] + +I have two dogs, two cats, and a kitten. Many years of experience have +shown me, in the teeth of all proverbs, that cats and dogs, members of +the same household, live together quite as amicably as human beings. + +Only, like human beings, they have their dislikes and preferences for +each other. At the present time, my dog Snow is on terms of hearty +friendship with my grey cat Kitty, but of polite indifference with my +black cat Toppy. + +Toppy, for some years back, has been subject to fits, owing, it is +considered, to the lodgment of some small shot near her spine, whilst +out trespassing (or poaching). + +Yesterday Snow rushed into the kitchen with face so anxious and piteous +that my servants both exclaimed that something must have happened; gave +signs, as he can do, that somebody was to go with him, and was followed +into the drawing-room, where Toppy, left alone, had fallen under the +grate in a fit, and was writhing amid the ashes and embers. She was +rescued, and beyond a little singeing, does not seem much the worse. + +To reach the kitchen, Snow must have pushed open a red-baize door, which +he has never been known to open before, and before which he will stay +barking for ten minutes at a time to be let through. + +If any biped, supposing himself to be endowed with reason, humanity, and +articulate speech, tells me that Snow is a conscious automaton, can I +give him any other answer than, "You're another"? + + J. M. L. + + +AN ACT OF CANINE FRIENDSHIP. + + [_Nov. 6, 1880._] + +I have read from time to time in the pages of the _Spectator_ instances +of canine sagacity furnished by your correspondents, which have, no +doubt, interested many others besides myself. The following incident +occurred last Saturday, in my walk from the beach, which, perhaps, may +amuse your readers, as it did me. + +My curiosity was excited by seeing a young retriever on his hind legs +licking very ardently the face of a nice-looking donkey, who was +tethered on the bank. After licking his face all over for a long time, +he began to frisk around him, evidently anxious to have a trot together; +but, finding that his friend was tied by a rope, he deliberately began +to gnaw it, and in a very short time succeeded in setting him free! The +owner of the donkey, who happened to be at work close by, then +interfered, and put a stop to their little game, or otherwise Master +Neddy would, no doubt, have been seduced to join in a scamper. From the +warmth of the dog's salutes, I imagine that he and the donkey were old +friends. + + S. RICHARDS. + + +DOG AND CANARY. + + [_Nov. 20, 1880._] + +I was much interested in the account of the friendship that existed +between the young retriever and the donkey whom he released by gnawing +the rope. The little incident I send of another retriever may also +interest your readers. A friend of mine had a pet canary, while her +brother was the owner of a retriever that was also much petted. One day +the canary escaped from the house, and was seen flying about the grounds +for a few days, and when it perched was generally on high elm-trees. At +last it vanished from view, and this dear little pet was mourned for as +lost or dead. But after the interval of another day or so, the +retriever came in with the canary in his mouth, carrying it most +delicately, and went up to the owner of the bird, delivering it into her +hands without even the feathers being injured. Surely nothing could +illustrate more beautifully faithful love and gentleness in a dog than +this. + + E. TILL. + + +CAT-AND-DOG LOVE. + + [_April 13, 1878._] + +Would you allow me, as a cat fancier of nearly thirty years' standing, +to corroborate, by a personal experience, Mr. Balfour's testimony in +your last issue to the possibility of a genuine attachment between a cat +and a dog? A few weeks ago, I called upon a bachelor friend who has two +pets, a handsome black female cat, of the name of Kate, and a bright +little terrier, responding to the call of David. My friend assured me +that they lived on the most affectionate terms. They were certainly not +demonstrative, but they were importations from Scotland, and refrained +from "spooning" before folk. The character of the attachment was soon +tested. Another acquaintance entered the room, accompanied by a terrier +of about the same size as David, although not of the same variety. This +dog made at once for the cat, then resting in front of the fire. She +backed against the wall, and prepared for a fight, in which, if I may +judge from her size, she would have been victorious. But she was saved +the trouble of using her claws. Before she could utter a feline +equivalent for "Jack Robinson," before the door could be closed, David +rushed at the intruder, and literally ran him out of the room and down +two flights of stairs, with a rapidity worthy of a member of the Irish +Constabulary. By the time he returned, his Dulcinea had arranged herself +for another nap, but she opened one eye as her companion took his place +by his side, and-- + + "Betwixt her darkness and his brightness, + There passed a mutual glance of great politeness." + +I witnessed a similar scene some years ago in a country inn in the north +of Scotland. On that occasion, one dog defended against another a +favourite cat and a favourite hen. + +Speaking of cats, can any one say what has become of the late Pope's +black cat, Morello? Did he die before his master, or has some one +adopted him? Chateaubriand, as everybody knows, adopted Micetto, the +grey favourite of Leo XII. + + WILLIAM WALLACE. + + + + +_CURIOUS HABITS OF DOGS._ + + + + +THE DOG THAT BURIED THE FROGS. + + [_Feb. 2, 1895._] + +Knowing your love of animals, and the interest so often shown in your +columns in their ways, I venture to send you the following story I have +lately heard from an eye-witness, and to ask whether you or any of your +readers can throw any light upon the dog's probable object. The dog in +question was a Scotch terrier. He was one day observed to appear from a +corner of the garden carrying in his mouth, very gently and tenderly, a +live frog. He proceeded to lay the frog down upon a flower-bed, and at +once began to dig a hole in the earth, keeping one eye upon the frog to +see that it did not escape. If it went more than a few feet from him, he +fetched it back, and then continued his work. Having dug the hole a +certain depth, he then laid the frog, still alive, at the bottom of it, +and promptly scratched the loose earth back into the hole, and friend +froggy was buried alive! The dog then went off to the corner of the +garden, and returned with another frog, which he treated in the same +way. This occurred on more than one occasion; in fact, as often as he +could find frogs he occupied himself in burying them alive. Now dogs +generally have some reason for what they do. What can have been a dog's +reason for burying frogs alive? It does not appear that he ever dug them +up again to provide himself with a meal. If, sir, you or any of your +readers can throw any light on this curious, and for the frogs most +uncomfortable, behaviour of my friend's Scotch terrier, I should be very +much obliged. + + R. ACLAND-TROYTE. + + +AN EXPLANATION. + + [_Feb. 9, 1895._] + +I think I can explain the puzzle of the Scotch terrier and his interment +of the frogs, for the satisfaction of your correspondent. A friend of +mine had once a retriever who was stung by a bee, and ever afterwards, +when the dog found a bee near the ground, she stamped on it, and then +scraped earth over it and buried it effectually--presumably to put an +end to the danger of further stings. In like manner, another dog having +bitten a toad, showed every sign of having found the mouthful to the +last degree unpleasant. Probably Mr. Acland-Troyte's dog had, in the +same way, bitten a toad, and conceived henceforth that he rendered +public service by putting every toad-like creature he saw carefully and +gingerly "out of harm's way," underground. + +A great number of the buryings and other odd tricks of dogs must, +however, I am sure, be considered as Atavism, and traced to the +instincts bequeathed by their remote progenitors when yet "wild in the +woods the noble _beastie_ ran." Such, I believe, is generally admitted +to be the explanation of the universal habit of every dog before lying +down to turn round two or three times and scratch its intending +bed--even when that bed is of the softest woollen or silk--apparently to +ascertain that no snakes or thorns lurk in its sleeping-place. + +A dog which I once possessed exhibited such reversion to ancestral +habits in a noteworthy way. She was a beautiful white Pomeranian; and +when a litter of puppies was impending, on one occasion she scratched an +enormous hole in our back-garden in South Kensington, where her leisure +hours were passed--a hole like the burrow of a fox. It was not in the +least of the character of the ordinary circular punch-bowl so often +scooped out by idle or impatient dogs, but a long, deep channel running +at a sharp angle a considerable way underground. Obviously, it was +Yama's conviction that it was her maternal duty to provide shelter for +her expected offspring, precisely as a fox or rabbit must feel it, and +as we may suppose her own ancestresses did on the shores of the Baltic +some thousand generations ago. When the puppies were born, Yama and the +survivor were established by me in a most comfortable kennel in the same +garden, with a day nursery and a night nursery (covered and open) for +the comfort and safety of the puppy. But one fine morning, when the +little creature had begun to crawl over the inclosure of its small +domain, I happened to go into the garden while Yama was absent in the +house, and discovered that my little friend was missing. The puppy had +disappeared altogether; and at the same time I noticed that the +flower-bed in which Yama had made her excavation had been nicely +smoothed over by the gardener, who was putting the place in order. A +suspicion instantly seized me, and I exclaimed, "You have buried my +puppy!" I ran to the spot where the hole had been made, and, having +swept aside the gardener's spadeful of soil, found the deeper part of +the hole, running slanting underground, still open. I knelt down and +thrust in my arm to its fullest stretch, and then, at the very end of +the hole, my fingers encountered a little soft, warm, fluffy ball. The +puppy came out quite happy and uninjured, freshly awakened from sleep, +having shown that his instinct recognised the suitability of holes in +the ground for the accommodation of puppies; just as the hereditary +instinct of his mother had led her to prepare one for him, even in a +South Kensington garden! + + FRANCES POWER COBBE. + + +A DOG AND HIS DINNER. + + [_Feb. 16, 1895._] + +I knew a dog in Ireland--a large retriever--who had been taught always +to bring his own tin dish in his mouth, to be filled at the late dinner. +For some reason his master wished to make a change, and to feed him +twice a day instead of once, to which he had always been accustomed. The +dog resented this, and when told to bring his dish, refused, and it +could nowhere be found; on which his master spoke angrily to him, and +ordered him to bring the dish at once. With drooping tail and sheepish +expression he went down the length of the garden, and began scratching +up the soil where he had buried the bowl deep down, to avoid having to +bring it at an hour of which he did not approve. + + A LOVER OF DOGS. + + +DOGS AND LOOKING-GLASSES. + + [_June 23, 1894._] + +You are fond of odd actions of dogs, so perhaps the following may be +acceptable. I have two fox-terriers--young dogs--Grip and Vic. In the +morning, at early tea in our bedroom, Vic gets angry with Grip's +reflection in the long glass of the wardrobe, barks at him furiously as +he moves about, and scratches at the glass, quite regardless of her own +face between her and his reflection. And when he assaults her from +behind, to make her play with his real self, she turns round and snaps +at him viciously, and then returns to her attack on his reflection. He +jumps upon the window-sill, and fancies he sees a squirrel in the +garden, and dashes past her to the door; she follows the motion of the +reflection till she is past the edge of the glass, and loses it, when +she dashes back to the glass again. This has occurred several days in +the last week, and seems to me almost absurd. The dogs are just about a +year old, and so beyond puppy folly, though very lively and playful +still. + + A. M. B. + + + + +_THE SENSE OF HUMOUR AND CUNNING IN DOGS._ + + + + +DOGS' SENSE OF HUMOUR. + +THE POWER OF IMITATION IN DOGS. + + [_Oct. 22, 1882._] + +The following anecdote may interest those of your readers who are +accustomed to observe the characteristic actions of dogs. I can vouch +for its accuracy, as I was an amused eye-witness, and several members of +my family were also present, and have often told the story. + +A friend of ours and his wife were spending a musical evening with us, +and an old, black, English terrier, who belonged to the house, had been +in the drawing-room, which was upstairs. The dog had been kindly noticed +by our friend, who was partially lame from paralysis. On leaving the +drawing-room the dog followed him to the top of the staircase (we, with +his wife, were waiting below in the hall), and with cocked tail and +ears stood gravely watching his slow, limping descent. When the invalid +was nearly at the foot of the stairs the dog began to follow, limping on +three legs (he was quite sound), in humorous imitation of our poor, +afflicted friend, and this assumed lameness was gravely kept up till he +arrived on the mat. It was impossible to repress a smile, though our +politeness was at stake, and the unconsciousness of our friend added to +the difficulty. + + A. R. + + +SENSE OF HUMOUR IN DOGS. + + [_July 28, 1888._] + +A recent anecdote from one of your correspondents about a dog and a hen +brought to my mind an incident, related to me by an eye-witness, of a +dog who had a constant feud with the fowls, which were prone to pilfer +from the basin containing his dinner. On one occasion he was lying in +front of his kennel, quietly watching a hen as she made stealthy and +tentative approaches to his basin, which at length she reached and +looked into, finding it perfectly empty. The dog wagged his tail. + + J. R. + + +A DOG'S SENSE OF HUMOUR. + + [_March 9, 1895._] + +Does the following dog-story show a sense of humour? A retriever was in +the habit of leaving his bed in the kitchen when he heard his master +descending the stairs in the morning. On one occasion a new kitchen-maid +turned him out of his bed at a much earlier hour than usual. He looked +angrily at her, but walked out quietly. Time passed, and he was nowhere +to be found. At last, in going to her bedroom, the kitchen-maid found +him coiled up in her own bed. + + B. B. + + +CUNNING DOGS. + +A DOG AND A WHIP. + + [_May 18, 1889._] + +You have lately published several dog stories. Allow me to send you +another for publication should you think it worthy. It was told me +to-day by a lady whom I cross-examined to get full details:--"Some +twenty years back we had a poodle--white, with one black ear. After the +manner of his race, he was never quite happy unless he carried something +in his mouth. He was intelligent and teachable to the last degree. The +great defect in his character was the impossibility of distinguishing +_meum_ from _tuum_. Anything he could get hold of he seemed to think, +according to his dogged ethics, to be fairly his own. On one occasion he +entered the room of one of the maidservants and stole her loaf of bread, +carefully shutting the door after him with his feet--the latter part +being a feat I had taught him. The woman--Irish--was scared, and thought +that the dog was the devil incarnate. The necessity of discipline on +the one hand, and of occupation on the other, induced me one day to +enter a saddler's shop, situated in a straight street about half a mile +from our house, and buy a whip. Shortly after my return home he +committed some act of petty larceny, so I gave him a beating with the +whip he had carried home. Going for a walk next day the dog, as usual, +accompanied me, and was entrusted with the whip to carry. Directly we +got outside the door he started off at his best pace straight down the +street, paying no attention whatever, to my repeated calls. He entered +the saddler's shop and deposited the whip on the floor. When I arrived +the saddler showed me the whip lying exactly where the dog had deposited +it." + + HENRY H. MAXWELL. + + +A RUSE DOG. + + [_March 21, 1885._] + +A story which came to my knowledge a few months ago may be of interest +in connection with the _Spectator's_ series of anecdotes illustrating +the intelligence of animals. + +One summer afternoon a group of children were playing at the end of a +pier which projects into Lake Ontario, near Kingston, New York, U.S.A. +The proverbial careless child of the party made the proverbial backward +step off from the pier into the water. None of his companions could save +him, and their cries had brought no one from the shore, when, just as he +was sinking for the third time, a superb Newfoundland dog rushed down +the pier into the water and pulled the boy out. Those of the children +who did not accompany the boy home took the dog to a confectioner's on +the shore, and fed him with as great a variety of cakes and other sweets +as he would eat. So far the story is, of course, only typical of scores +of well-known cases. The individuality of this case is left for the +sequel. + +The next afternoon the same group of children were playing at the same +place, when the canine hero of the day before came trotting down to them +with the most friendly wags and nods. There being no occasion this time +for supplying him with delicacies, the children only stroked and patted +him. The dog, however, had not come out of pure sociability. A child in +the water and cakes and candy stood to him in the close and obvious +relation of cause and effect, and if this relation was not clear to the +children he resolved to impress it upon them. Watching his chance, he +crept up behind the child who was standing nearest to the edge of the +pier, gave a sudden push, which sent him into the water, then sprang in +after him, and gravely brought him to shore. + +To those of us who have had a high respect for the disinterestedness of +dogs, this story may give a melancholy proof that the development of the +intelligence, at the expense of the moral nature, is by no means +exclusively human. + + CLARA FRENCH. + + +DOG DECEIVERS. + + [_Feb. 9, 1895._] + +Your fondness for dogs induces me to send you the following anecdote, +which shows their power of acting a part for purposes of their own. Some +years ago a fox-terrier of mine was condemned by a veterinary surgeon to +consume a certain amount of flour of sulphur every day. He was at all +times a fanciful and dainty feeder, and every conceivable ingenuity on +my part was exhausted in the vain endeavour to disguise the daily +portion and to give it a more tempting appearance. Each new device was +invariably detected. However hungry he might be he turned from the +proffered morsel in disgust, and it ended almost invariably in my having +to put it down his throat. One morning, after keeping him for many hours +without food, and having neatly wrapped the powder in a most appetising +piece of raw meat, I offered it him in the vain hope that hunger might +prevail over prejudice. But no. With averted head and downcast look he +steadily and determinedly declined to partake of it. I encouraged him in +vain. Deep dejection on his part; despair, but persistence, on mine. All +of a sudden his whole manner changed. He assumed a brisk and cheerful +demeanour, joyfully accepted the hitherto rejected offering, and running +merrily through the open door, disappeared swiftly a few yards off round +the corner of the building. Inside the room I ran as quickly to a +window, whence I could view his proceedings, and there watched him while +he deposited the hated morsel on the ground, dug a hole in the +flower-bed, and buried it. His jaunty, triumphant air as he returned I +shall never forget. + + F. E. WYNNE. + + + + +_USEFUL DOGS._ + + + + +GUARDIAN DOGS. + + [_July 15, 1892._] + +Having read for years your interesting letters and articles on animals +in the _Spectator_, I feel sure you will like to have a thoroughly +authentic account of a dog in this neighbourhood. I am allowed to give +the name of the owner, who is living at Lyme Regis, where I was staying +last week. The two incidents happened within a few weeks of each other. + +Mrs. and Miss Coode were alone in their house (except the servants); and +one night Miss Coode was awakened by hearing two knocks at her door and +a slight whine. It was between three and four o'clock in the morning. +She rose and opened the door to find the dog there, and at the same time +noticed and heard a stream of water running down the stairs. She went up +the staircase to its source, and aroused the servants to attend to it. +As soon as the dog saw that the matter was being remedied, he quietly +went back to the mat in the hall and went to sleep again. The dog is a +large one, a cross between a retriever and a greyhound--a very beautiful +creature, resembling a poacher's lurcher. + +The second incident occurred only last week, when Miss Coode was again +aroused. This time by a loud crash, as if a picture had fallen. Almost +immediately the dog bounded upstairs, threw himself against the door, +which happened to be ajar, burst into the room, panting and eyes +glistening,--this, at least, Miss Coode saw as soon as she struck a +light, for it was between twelve and one o'clock. She went out on to the +staircase and downstairs to look at the pictures in the drawing-room. +The dog would not follow. The cook, coming down from her room, called +him a coward not to go with his mistress, but Sheppard did not move. +Miss Coode found all safe below, and returned upstairs, and the dog went +with her to the top floor, where the ceiling of a small room had fallen +in. He then retired to his mat, having done his duty. He also showed his +sagacity in going to the daughter's room--the one most capable of seeing +to matters. Hoping, as a dog-lover, that this may interest all such, and +help to prove that dogs think and reason more than some human +beings--also to show that we often inferior beings have no right to +presuppose that the superior animals have no souls. + + K. CLARKE. + + +A TRUE WATCH-DOG. + + [_Aug. 5, 1893._] + +The "dog" letter in the _Spectator_ of July 15th is wonderfully like my +experience, some years ago, with my little red Blenheim, Frisk. She +always slept in a basket, close to the hall door. One night she dashed +up the stairs, loudly barking, ran first to my eldest sister's room, +then through a swing-door to another sister's room, barking outside each +door, then upstairs again to my room at the top of the house, where she +remained barking till I got up and opened it, when she ran in, still +barking, and waited till I was ready to go down with her. She scampered +on before me, I following close, and when we both reached the hall she +dashed still barking to the door, to show me whence her alarm had +arisen. It was the policeman turning the handle of the door from the +outside to see if it was properly closed! One night, a long time after +the first adventure, I was wakened by a quiet scratch at the door of my +room. No barking this time; but, tiresome as it was to be disturbed on a +cold night, I got up and opened the door, and was conscious in the +darkness that Frisk was standing there. "Come in, Frisk," said I. But no +movement; Frisk stood waiting. "Come in, Frisk," I repeated, somewhat +sharply. No movement, no bark! Then, being sure that something must be +wrong, I lighted a candle, and there stood Frisk outside the door, never +offering to come in. She trotted quietly down before me, not speaking a +word. When we were both through the swing-door, and at the head of the +stairs, I saw that the inner door to the hall was open, and also that +of the morning-room, from which shone a bright light. My heart went +pit-a-pat for a moment; then seeing Frisk run quietly down the stairs, I +followed her, when she calmly jumped into her basket again, and I, +venturing into the morning-room, found that my brother-in-law had left +the lamp burning by mistake--a proceeding which Frisk plainly knew was +wrong, and had therefore come upstairs to inform me, but had not thought +it necessary to disturb the rest of the household this time! She had +come straight up to my room without disturbing any one else, to tell me +of the irregularity of a light burning when every one was in bed, and +that being done, jumped into bed again, conscious of having performed +her duty. + + GEORGINA A. MARSH-CALDWELL. + + + [_Aug. 12, 1893._] + +I can give an instance as convincing as that of Miss Marsh-Caldwell of +the way in which a true watch-dog will measure the extent of his +duties. I lived for many years opposite a wood, in which the game at +first was preserved. I had a dog named Prin, who had begun by being a +gardener's dog, but having caught the distemper and been unskilfully +treated by his master he remained nearly blind, and was left on my hands +by the man when he quitted my service. The dog was a great coward, but +good-tempered and affectionate, and the partial loss of sight seemed to +have developed greatly the senses both of hearing and smell, so that he +was recognised as a capital watch-dog. He was promoted to the kitchen, +and would have been promoted to the drawing-room but for the +obstreperousness of his affection, which seemed to know no bounds if he +was admitted even into the hall. I slept at that time in a room over the +kitchen, fronting the road. One night I was awakened by Prin growling, +and, after a time, giving a snappish bark underneath me. I got out of +bed and throwing up the sash, listened at the window, where, after a +time, I heard slight noises, which convinced me that some one or more +persons were hiding in the shrubbery between the house and the road, +whom I supposed to be burglars. I called out, "Who's there?" without, of +course, eliciting any answer, and, after a time, I heard the click of +the further gate (there being two, one opposite my house, the other +opposite its semi-detached neighbour, and out of my sight), after which +all was quiet. But I had noticed that from the moment of my getting out +of bed Prin had not uttered a sound. The same thing happened seven or +eight times, and always in the same way, Prin growling or barking till +he heard me get out of bed, and then holding his tongue, as feeling that +he had fulfilled his duty in warning his master, and that all +responsibility now devolved upon me. The secret of the matter I +discovered to be that poachers, with no burglarious intentions towards +me, used the shrubbery as a hiding-place before getting over the +opposite paling into the wood. + +One other instance of Prin's sagacity I will also mention. I had a black +cat, with white breast, named Toffy, between whom and Prin there was +peace, though not affection. There was also another black cat, with +white breast, that prowled about, an outlaw cat, who made free with my +chickens when he could! It was a bitter winter, and the snow had lain +already for days on the ground. I was walking one Sunday morning in my +garden, Prin being out with me. He quitted me to go under a laurel-hedge +bounding a shrubbery, and presently began barking loudly. I went towards +him, and saw a white-breasted cat sitting stretched under the laurels, +with front paws doubled under him, which I took to be Toffy asleep. I +scolded Prin for disturbing Toffy, and he stopped barking, but remained +on the spot whilst I continued my walk. Presently--say two or three +minutes after--I heard him barking still more loudly than before, and so +persistently that I returned to the spot. Noticing that the cat had +never moved through all the noise, I crept up under the bushes, and +found that it was not Toffy asleep, but the outlaw cat, dead--evidently +of cold. Thus my poor purblind watch-dog had--(1) barked to draw my +attention to what appeared to him an unusual phenomenon; (2), held his +tongue in deference to my (supposed) superior wisdom, when I told him he +was making a mistake; (3), not being, however, satisfied in his mind, +remained to investigate till he was convinced he had not been mistaken; +(4), called my attention to the facts still more instantly till I was +satisfied of them for myself. Could _homo sapiens_ have done more? + + J. M. L. + + + [_Aug. 12, 1893._] + +I am reminded by the anecdote related in the _Spectator_ of July 15th, +"A Canine Guardian," of the sagacity of a favourite Scotch terrier which +was displayed some years ago. I was dressing one morning, and my +bedroom-door was ajar. Standing at my dressing-table, I was surprised to +see Fan come up to me, frisking about, and looking eagerly into my face, +whether from pleasure or not I could not tell. I spoke to and stroked +her, but she was in no way soothed, and she ran out of the room +evidently much excited. In she came again, more earnestly trying to tell +me what she wanted, rushing up to me and again to the door, plainly +begging me to follow her, which I did, into the next room, where +breakfast was laid. I at once saw what she had easily felt was out of +order--the kettle was boiling over, and the water pouring from the spout +had drenched the hearth. Hence her discomfort, and her effort to tell me +of the disaster. Having brought me on the scene, she seemed perfectly +content. + + C. A. T. + + + [_Aug. 12, 1893._] + +Not long ago I was passing a barn-yard in this place, and stood to look +over the gate at a pretty half-grown lamb standing alone outside the +barn. But the sight of me so enraged a fierce, shaggy grey dog tied up +to his kennel between the lamb and me, that he barked himself nearly +into fits, showing all his teeth, and straining so furiously at his +chain as to make me quite nervous lest it should give way. In the +meantime, I struck such terror into the heart of the lamb that it fled +across the yard to place itself under the protection of the dog, and +stood close by his side, whilst he barked and danced with fury. As I +drew a little nearer, the lamb backed right into the kennel, and when, +after I had made a circuit in order to watch the further movements of +this strange pair of friends from behind a tree, I saw their two faces +cautiously looking out together, cheek-by-jowl, whilst the dog's anger +was being reduced to subsiding splutters of resentment. He was not a +collie, but a very large sort of poodle. + + C. S. + + +COLLIES AT WORK. + + [_March 25, 1893._] + +At six o'clock this morning, I saw a mountain-shepherd stand at a gate +on the hill-top. Seven sheep were on the outside of the gate--six of the +shepherd's flock, the other a strayer. The man wanted his own sheep in; +so, before opening the gate, he quietly said: "'Rob,' catch the +strayer." In an instant "Rob" pinned the sheep, holding him, strong and +wild as he was, as though he were in a vice; and then, by another word, +"Gled" was told to bring the others in through the gate now opened for +them. Although "Gled" brought his six wild sheep right over "Rob" and +his strayer, the sheep was held securely till the gate was closed, and +the order given to "let it gang." + + WILLIAM FOTHERGILL. + + +A COLLIE AT WORK. + + [_Aug. 11, 1894._] + +We stood at the bottom of a deep valley with the hills rising abruptly +on either side, when Robert Scott said: "Yonder is the sheep I led away +from Llangynider, all those weary miles yesterday. I saw it as I came +over the hill-top down to the house this morning. If you wish, "Kate" +shall bring it down to my feet here for you to see it." "What?--bring +that single sheep! How will she know the one you want, and how can she +get it away from the flock by itself? I will not believe that possible +till I see it done, at all events." + +He spoke a low word or two to the collie by his side, and away went +"Kate" right up over rock and bracken, till we could see the flock far +away upon the height above give a very rapid turn, and in a few minutes +afterwards, down rushed a strong mountain wether with the wily "Kate" +working to the right and left about thirty yards behind it. "Come away, +back 'ahint me," cried Scott; and "Kate," at once leaving the sheep, +appeared positively to fly far out, and coming round behind us, stopped +the wether in his headlong course, bringing him to a stand literally at +the shepherd's feet. "Robert," I said, "when (as you intend) you sail +next month for New Zealand, you will not take 'Kate' with you, but leave +her here for seven sovereigns." "Nae, nae, sir," was the reply, "seventy +sovereigns would nae buy her." + + W. FOTHERGILL. + + + + +_MISCELLANEOUS._ + + + + +A SUNDAY DOG. + + [_Feb. 17, 1877._] + +A correspondent favoured your readers last week (see page 53) with an +interesting anecdote of a dog's intelligence in reference to the use of +money. Permit me to relate an instance of a dog's intelligence in +reference to the day of the week. Some three-and-twenty years ago, in +the infancy of the Canterbury Province, New Zealand, there lived in the +same neighbourhood as myself two young men, in the rough but independent +mode of life then prevalent in the colony, somewhat oblivious of old +institutions. These men possessed a dog each, affectionate companions of +their solitude. It was the custom of this primitive establishment to +utilise the Sabbath by a ramble, in quest of wild ducks and wild pigs, +about the swamps and creeks of the district. It was observed that long +before any preparations were made for starting, the dogs always seemed +to be more or less excited. This was remarkable enough, but not so much +as what followed. One of these men after a while left his friend, and +taking his dog with him, went to live with a clergyman about four miles +off. Here ducks and pigs had to be given up on Sundays for the +church-service. It was soon noticed that this dog used to vanish betimes +on Sundays, and did not turn up again until late. Upon inquiring, it was +found that the dog had visited its old abode, where on that day of the +week sport was not forbidden. The owner tried the plan of chaining up +the animal on Saturday evenings, but it soon became very cunning, and +would get away whenever it had the chance. On one occasion it was +temporarily fastened to a fence-rail about mid-day on a Saturday. By +repeated jerks it loosened the rail from the mortice-holes, and dragged +it away. Upon search being made, this resolute but unfortunate dog was +found drowned, still fast to the chain and rail, in a stream about two +miles away in the direction of its old haunts. The gentleman who owned +the other dog is in England now, and went over the details of the facts +herein stated with me quite recently. + + ALFRED DURELL. + + +A COW'S JEALOUSY OF A DOG. + + [_April 30, 1892._] + +As a subscriber to and constant reader of the _Spectator_, I have +derived much pleasure from the anecdotes of animal instinct, sagacity, +and emotion, which from time to time have appeared in your columns. +Perhaps you may like to publish the following instance of jealousy in a +cow; it is, at any rate, a story at first-hand, as I myself was an actor +in the affair. + +A few years ago, I had a quiet milch-cow, Rose, who certainly was fond +of Thomas, the man who milked her regularly, and she also showed an +aversion to dogs even greater than is usual in her species. One night, +for what reason I now forget, I had tied up a young collie dog in the +little cowshed where she was accustomed to be milked. The following +morning, I had just begun to dress, when I heard the puppy barking in +the cowshed. "Oh!" thought I, "I forgot to tell Thomas about the puppy, +and now the cow will get in first and gore it." The next minute I heard +a roar of unmistakable fear and anguish--a human roar. I dashed down to +the spot, and at the same moment arrived my son, pitchfork in hand. +There lay Thomas on his face in a dry gutter by the side of the road to +the cowhouse, and the cow butting angrily at him. We drove off the cow, +and poor Thomas scuffled across the road, slipped through a wire fence, +stood up and drew breath. "Why, Thomas," said I, "what's the matter with +Rose?" "Well, sir," said Thomas, "I heard the pup bark and untied him, +and I was just coming out of the cowhouse, with the pup in my arms, when +'Rose' came round the corner. As soon as she see'd the pup in my arms, +she rushed at me without more ado, knocked me down, and would have +killed me if you hadn't come up." Thomas had indeed had a narrow escape; +his trousers were ripped up from end to end, and red marks all along his +legs showed where Rose's horns had grazed along them. "Well," said I, +"you'd better not milk her this morning, since she's in such a fury." +"Oh! I'll milk her right enough, sir, by and by; just give her a little +time to settle down like. It's only jealousy of that 'ere pup, sir. She +couldn't abide seeing me a-fondling of it." "Well, as you like," said I; +"only take care, and mind what you're about." "All right, sir!" + +In about twenty minutes, Thomas called me down to see the milk. The cow +had stood quiet enough to be milked. But the milk was deeply tinged with +blood, and in half an hour a copious red precipitate had settled to the +bottom of the pail. Till then I had doubted the jealousy theory. After +that I believed. + + C. HUNTER BROWN. + + +AN AUSTRALIAN DOG-STORY. + + [_May 11, 1895._] + +Seeing the great interest which many of your readers take in the study +of canine character and intelligence, I think perhaps the following +incident is worth recording. Whilst walking with a lady friend along +Studley Park Road, Kew (a residential suburb of Melbourne), on a very +quiet afternoon some time ago, we were surprised by a large St. Bernard +dog, which came up to us and deliberately pawed my leg several times. +Our perplexity at his extraordinary behaviour was perhaps not unmixed +with a little misgiving, for he was an animal of formidable size and +strength; but as he gave evident signs of satisfaction at our noticing +him, and proceeded to trot on in front--at intervals looking round to +make sure we were following--we became interested. When we had followed +him about forty yards, he stopped before a door in a high garden wall, +and, looking round anxiously to see that we were noticing, reached up +his paw in the direction of the latch. On stretching forth my hand to +unfasten the door, his extreme pleasure was exhibited in a most +unmistakable manner; but when he saw me try in vain to open it, he +became quiet, and looked at me with an expression so manifestly anxious +that I could no more have left the poor animal thus than I could have +left a helpless little child in a similar position. With eager attention +and expectancy he listened while I knocked, and when at last some one +was heard coming down the garden path, he bounded about with every sign +of unlimited joy. + +Now here was one of the so-called "brutes," which, failing to get in at +a certain door, cast about for a way out of the difficulty, and seeing +us some distance down the road (we were the only persons in sight at the +time), he had come to us, attracted our attention, taken us to the door, +and told us he wanted it opened. We both agreed that the animal had all +through shown a play of emotion and intelligence comparable to that of +a human being; and, indeed, we felt so much akin to the noble creature +that we have both, since then, been very loath to class dogs as +"inferior animals." + + GEORGE EASTGATE. + + +TWO ANECDOTES OF DOGS. + + [_Feb. 2, 1895._] + +Having derived much pleasure from reading the frequent natural history +notes which from time to time appear in the _Spectator_, I venture to +send you two instances of what seems to me the working of the canine +mind under quite different circumstances. The first refers to an +incident which happened a great many years ago. It was this. One day, +when a lad, I was walking with my father accompanied by a strong, +smooth-haired retriever called Turk. We were joined by the bailiff of +the farm, and in the course of our walk Turk suddenly discovered the +presence of a rabbit concealed in what in Scotland is called a +"dry-stane dyke." After a little trouble in removing some stones, poor +bunny was caught and slaughtered, being handed to the bailiff, who put +it in his coat pocket. Shortly afterwards we separated, the bailiff +going to his home in one direction, and we to ours in an opposite one. +Before we reached home we noticed that Turk was no longer with us, at +which we were rather surprised, as he was a very faithful follower. Some +time after we got home, perhaps an hour, I chanced to see a strange +object on the public road which puzzled me as to what it was. It raised +a cloud of dust as it came along, which partly obscured the vision. What +was my surprise when I found it was Turk dragging a man's +shooting-jacket, which proved to be the bailiff's, with the rabbit still +in the pocket. We afterwards learnt that the dog, to the surprise of the +bailiff, quietly followed him home, and lay down near him. Presently the +man took off his coat, and laid it on a chair. Instantly Turk pounced +upon it, and dashed to the door with it in his mouth. He was pursued, +but in vain, and succeeded in dragging the coat from the one house to +the other, a distance of one mile and three-fourths. It was evident the +dog had a strong sense of the rights of property. He believed the rabbit +belonged to his master, so he set himself to recover what he thought +stolen goods. + +The other anecdote refers to quite a recent date, and the only interest +it has, is that it shows how perfectly a dog can exhibit facial +expression, and also read at a glance the slightest indications of +feeling in the human face. I had a well-broken Irish setter, which was +perfectly free of hare or rabbit as to chasing, but he was a sad rascal +for all that. I also had at the time a rough Scotch terrier, and the two +dogs were great chums. The moment they got the chance they were off +together on a rabbit-hunt. Like idiots, they would spend hours in vainly +trying to dig rabbits out of their burrows. One day as I was returning +home I met the pair in the avenue. They were the very picture of +happiness. At first they did not see me, and came joyously on at a trot. +The instant they observed me they came to a full stop, some forty yards +off. The setter gently wagged his tail, and looked at me with an +expression of anxious inquiry. Taking heart, he slowly advanced to +within about thirty yards, and then came the varying play of feature +which so interested me. He was in great doubt as to whether I had +guessed what tricks he had been up to; but as I made no sign, he was +gradually looking more comfortable and gaining confidence. Suddenly I +noticed a patch of mud above his nose, and I must have unconsciously +shown him I had made a discovery of some kind, for that instant he +turned tail and bolted home at the utmost speed of which he was capable. +Without uttering a single word, or making a single gesture, the dog and +man understood each other perfectly. It was the language of faces. + + R. SCOT SKIRVING. + + +A DOG OBEYING A SUMMONS + + [_Jan. 18, 1890._] + +The enclosed may interest you. I received it this morning. I have no +doubt Dr. Barford, of Wokingham, would verify it, but I have not the +pleasure of his acquaintance. The following is the story:-- + +"Dr. Barford's dog at Wokingham was put into a muzzle; he objected to +it, took it off, and hid it somewhere, no one knows where. Policeman saw +him; summoned Dr. B.; case was to come off one Saturday. The children +told dog how wicked _he'd_ been: Dr. B. would have to appear at the +Court, and he too, as it was his doing; he'd lost the muzzle. Case was +postponed (I think policeman witness had influenza). Dr. B. was told of +postponement by letter; forgot to tell children or dog. At Saturday's +Bench, Magistrates much astonished by the dog appearing in Court and +sitting solemnly opposite them." + + ALYS M. WOOD. + + +A PUG'S INTELLIGENCE. + + [_Feb. 1, 1890._] + +Several newspaper cuttings have been sent to me with the story of my dog +which appeared in the _Spectator_ of January 18th, and one or two of +them suggest a doubt as to the veracity of the story. I write, +therefore, to tell you that it is literally true, only that the +policeman was away for his holiday instead of having influenza, and the +case came off on Tuesday instead of Saturday. My dog is a pug, a very +choice specimen of his kind, and was given to me by the late Dr. Wakley, +editor of the _Lancet_, who was a great connoisseur in dogs. His +intelligence is really marvellous, and he has done many things as +extraordinary as the one related by Miss Wood. + +He is devotedly attached to my baby, and always accompanies me in my +morning visit to the nursery. On one occasion the child (who is just as +fond of him as he is of her) was very ill, and for three weeks was +unconscious. As soon as this was the case, the dog ceased to go near +the nursery, as if by instinct he knew he would not be noticed. Mr. +Walters from Reading was attending the baby, and the dog soon got to +know the time he paid his visits. He would watch him upstairs, and when +he came down listen most attentively to his report. At length the child +was pronounced out of danger. The very next morning, up went master Sam, +made his way straight to the child's cot, and stood on his hind legs to +be caressed. Although she had taken no notice of any one for some time, +she seemed to know the dog, and tried to move her hand towards him to be +licked. He quite understood the action, licked the little hand lovingly, +and then trotted contentedly away. After this he went up to see her +regularly, as he had been accustomed to do. He is quite a character in +the town, and nearly every one knows Sammy Weller. + +Before I had this dog, I always thought I understood the difference +between reason and instinct, but his intelligence has quite puzzled me. + + MARY H. BARFORD. + + +ARE DOGS "COLOUR-BLIND"? + + [_Jan. 12, 1884._] + +Your correspondent, "W. H. O'Shea," has found several dogs +"colour-blind," If black is a colour, I can give several instances in +which a black retriever dog of mine was certainly _not_ "colour-blind." +He had the greatest antipathy to sweeps and coalheavers, and would fly +at them if not fastened up or carefully watched. He would even bark at a +passing hearse! In all other respects, he was the best-tempered dog in +the world, and I can only imagine that when very young he must have been +ill-used by either a sweep or a coalheaver. + + C. R. T. + + +LUCKY AND UNLUCKY. + + [_April 28, 1877._] + +As letters telling of dogs and their doings occasionally appear in the +_Spectator_, perhaps the following rather pathetic anecdote of a dog I +know well may also find a place there. Two or three weeks ago, Lucky--so +called from having, when an outcast, found its present happy +home--perhaps by way of showing its gratitude to its benefactors, +presented them with five small Luckys, or rather, with one exception, +Unluckys, as the melancholy process always resorted to with these +too-blooming families had to be carried out in this instance, and the +five were reduced to one. Poor Lucky was inconsolable, looking +everywhere for them, and looking, too, with such appealing eyes into the +faces of her friends, and asking them so plainly where they were. Near +her kennel was an inclosed piece of ground for pigeons, and as it was +discovered that rats were carrying off the young pigeons, and as Lucky +had carried off one or two rats, it was decided one night to leave the +door of the pigeons' house open, that Lucky might have the run of it; +and the next morning, side by side with the puppy, was found a baby +pigeon, looking quite bright and at home, but hungry, and poor Lucky, +proud of the addition it had made to its family, was looking more +contented than it had done since the loss of its puppies. The pigeon +must have fallen from its nest, some distance from the ground, and +Lucky, while on the look-out for rats, must have found it, and carefully +carried it to her kennel, with the vague feeling, perhaps, that it was +one of her own lost little ones "developing" a little curiously. +Unfortunately the arrangement could not be a permanent one, and the +famished little pigeon was put back into its own nest, to be found again +the next morning in Lucky's bed, but this time dead. The old birds seem +to have deserted it, and it had died of starvation. If Lucky could give +this account herself, it might be much more interesting, for it was +thought not at all improbable that she had actually rescued from a rat +the bird she was so anxious to adopt, as a small wound was found upon +it such as a rat might have made, and as a young pigeon had been taken +the night before from the same nest; but this is only conjecture, and +Lucky only could tell us the facts; how often it would be interesting, +if our humble friends could tell us their adventures! A friend who is +staying with me tells me that a few months ago her dog was lost for a +week, and at the end of that time it came back one night in a scarlet +ruff and spangles, and looking altogether dreadfully dissipated. +Evidently it had been the "performing dog" in some show, "Punch and +Judy" perhaps; being naturally a clever dog, it would quickly have +learnt the part of "Toby" in that delightful and time-honoured +exhibition. If it could only have written also an article entitled "A +Week of My Life," with what pleasure the _Spectator_ would have +published it! + + S. + + +THE COURAGE OF ANIMALS. + + [_Feb. 11, 1893._] + +In the _Spectator_ of December 31st, which, although a regular +subscriber to your valuable paper, I only happened to see to-day, owing +to absence from home, I notice a reference in the article entitled "The +Courage of Animals," to the fact that the wild dogs of India attack and +destroy tigers. I have no personal knowledge of the matter, but I have +been told by an Indian officer that the _modus operandi_ of the "red +dogs" is as follows:--Having found their tiger they proceed, not to +attack him at once, as might be inferred from your article, but to +starve him until they have materially reduced his strength. Night and +day they form a cordon round the unfortunate beast, and allow him no +chance of obtaining food or rest; every time the tiger essays to break +the circle, this is widened as the pack flies before him, only to be +relentlessly narrowed again when the quarry is exhausted. After a +certain period of this treatment the tiger falls a comparatively easy +prey to his active and persevering enemies. This theory of their plan of +attack, while it may detract somewhat from the wild dogs' reputation for +courage, must add considerably to our estimate of their intelligence. + + EDWARD PAUL, Jun. + + +SOME FACTS OF MATERNAL INSTINCT IN ANIMALS. + + [_Oct. 1, 1892._] + +I lately met some friends who had with them a little dog, called Vic, +who had adopted the family of a cat in the house, and, while in +possession, would not let the mother come near her kittens. The kittens +were kept in a very tall basket, and Vic would take them in her mouth, +and jump out with them one by one, and then carry them into the garden +and watch over them, carrying them back in the same way after a time; at +other times, lying contentedly with them in the basket. Of course Vic +had to be forcibly removed when the adopted family required their +mother's attention for their sustenance. I also have met a friend who +saw a hen-hawk, who was in a cage, mothering a young starling. Three +young, unfledged starlings were given the hawk to eat. She ate two, and +then broodled the other, and took the utmost care of it. Unhappily, the +young starling died; and from that moment the hawk would touch no food, +but died herself in a few days. + +The same friend was on a mountain one day, when a sheep came up to him, +and unmistakably begged him to follow her going just in front, and +continually looking round to see if he was following. The sheep led him +at last to some rocks, where he found a lamb fast wedged in between two +pieces of rock. He was able to liberate the lamb, to the evident joy of +the mother. + +I myself once saw a cat "broodling" and taking care of a very small +chicken, which, being hatched first of a brood, had been brought into a +cottage and placed in a basket near the fire. It managed to get out of +the basket, and hopped up to the cat, who immediately adopted it. + + WM. WALSHAM WAKEFIELD. + + +HAVE ANIMALS A FOREKNOWLEDGE OF DEATH? + + [_April 30, 1892._] + +In a recent _Spectator_ there is a quotation from Pierre Loti to the +effect that "animals not only fear death, but fear it the more because +they are aware that they have no future." Pierre Loti is a brilliant +novelist, but I am not aware that he is a scientific naturalist, and I +trust his idea is a mere chimera. Loti would take from the brutes the +one privilege for which men may envy them, and endows them with a +knowledge of the aftertime that we have only by revelation. However, two +common-sense naturalists have published their belief that the lower +animals have a foreknowledge of death, and one of them goes so far as to +give an account of an old horse committing suicide. He says the animal +frequently suffered from some internal disease, and that it deliberately +walked into a pond, and, putting its nostrils under water, stood thus +till it dropped dead from suffocation. The incident, I think, is easily +explained. Many horses drink in the manner described, and in old horses +heart-disease is not uncommon. I imagine the stoppage of respiration +caused a sudden and natural death from heart-disease. + +I should like to ask naturalists who think animals know that they must +die, where they draw the line. They must stop somewhere between a dog +and a dormouse. Poets have made far more frequent allusion to the +subject than naturalists, and they may be quoted on both sides. Philip +James Bailey, in illustration of his contention that hope is universal, +says: "and the poor hack that sinks down on the flints, upon whose eye +the dust is settling, he hopes to die." But we have on the other hand +Shelley's Skylark, with its "ignorance of pain," because it differs from +men who "look before and after." Wordsworth's little girl of eight knew +less than her dog, if she had one, for, says the poet, "what could she +know of death?" I admit that when the carnivora have crushed their prey +to death they cease to mangle them; but I fancy that is only because +there is no more resistance; and a bull will trample on a hat and leave +it when it becomes a shapeless mass. The nearest thing I ever saw to an +apparent foreknowledge of death, was in the case of that least +intelligent of dogs, a greyhound. I had to shoot it to prevent useless +suffering from disease. It followed me willingly, but when I led it to a +pit prepared as its grave it instantly rushed off at its best speed. I +suggest that it saw instinctively something unpleasant was about to +happen, but it does not follow that death was present to its mind. +Domestic poultry will furiously attack one of their number that +struggles on the ground in its death-agony. They do not dream of death; +they think its contortions are a challenge to combat. + + R. SCOTT SKIRVING. + + +OUR FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS, BIG AND LITTLE. + + [_Nov. 8, 1873._] + +May I be permitted to question, in the most friendly way, the assumption +of "Lucy Field," in your last issue, that the lives of small dogs are in +constant jeopardy from "a race of giant dogs, and exceptionally large +dogs," at Muswell Hill? If it be so, then, surely the "giant dogs" of +that region are exceptions. My experience goes to confirm the truth +taught by Sir Edwin Landseer's "Dignity and Impudence," a fine print of +which adorns my portfolio. I had a broken-haired friend, weight about +eight pounds, learned in two languages, canine and English, who rejoiced +in the name of Teens, given him by babes with whom he condescended to +play, because he was a "tiny, teeny dog." I must confess that my late +friend--alas! that I should say late--who was chivalrically brave in +killing rats and carrying on war with cats, was a very bully, a kind of +Ancient Pistol towards big dogs. To see him meet a Newfoundland or +large retriever was as good as a play. Teens, with his tail curled like +the spring of an ancient watch, his broken-haired back stiffened with +indignation, would stand and give the pass-word all dogs seem to know, +and be overhauled and examined as he walked round the giant like an +English gunboat by a Spanish fifth-rate; but when once the enemy turned +his back, Teens exploded like a cracker, running under the big dog's +nose, and often springing at his lip. His gigantic, but generous foe (or +friend) always fled, or walked away, followed by a torrent of abusive +barks, which, from their peculiar intonation, I took for dog-slang, and +Teens returning with an impudent smile on his countenance, wiped his +feet on the pavement as a sign of triumph. I have seen him do this a +hundred times, and never saw a big dog attempt to punish his impudence. +Jeems, a black-and-tan of smaller weight, who seemed to walk upon +springs, and who on work-a-days was called Jim, and James on Sundays, +which day he perfectly well knew, was more like Parolles. He bullied +big dogs at a distance, and seldom stood up to them like the truculent +Teens, and, although he ran away, was seldom pursued and never hurt, +while the Claimant (he was for his size unwieldly in fatness as a pup), +who (or which) still lives with me, is now bullying a shambling +retriever pup, full-grown, but, like Cousin Feenix, uncertain as to his +gait, who good-naturedly submits to it. Here, perhaps, there is danger; +for very big pups will pursue any little thing that runs away, and one +of their large paws, which they put down as if they wore heavily clumped +boots, might certainly crush the life--a very noisy, fussy, busy life it +is--out of my small and impertinent, pretentious Tichborne. This dog, by +the way, brings down his mistress her boots, as a hint for her to take a +walk, and blows like a trumpet or young walrus under the door to be let +in, having been corrected for scratching the panel. I end as I began, by +assuring you that my experience, no less than that of my friends, lies +in the direction of extreme generosity exhibited by large dogs towards +small ones; I would not deny that a large dog may now and then punish an +impudent and aggressive toy-terrier, but, as a rule, we can only wonder +at the providential wisdom which makes them so generous and forbearing; +having a giant's strength, they seldom indeed use it like a giant. + + HAIN FRISWELL. + + +DOG CONSCIOUSNESS. + + [_Nov. 2, 1872._] + +Our terrier Crib took upon himself yesterday to add his testimony to +your view of "dog-consciousness," as expressed in the _Spectator_ of the +19th ult. Crib verges on perfection, save that he is frantically jealous +of any other animal who may receive attention, but yesterday he rebelled +against the injustice of being compelled to eat all his dinner, and +refused to swallow one special piece of bread; but finding that his +refusal was not accepted, apparently made a virtue of necessity, and +gulped down the bread with a look and wag of the tail, giving me to +understand that I ought to be satisfied, which I was not, as I observed +a slight swelling in one cheek. So concealing my suspicion I furtively +watched. Crib also occasionally eyed me, lying down and then walking +round the room, and sniffing in the corners, as he is wont to do. In a +few minutes, and when I appeared safely absorbed in my paper, he made +his way slowly to where pussy was lapping her saucer of milk; passing +her without stopping, he cleverly discharged the hated mouthful into +pussy's milk, and continuing his walk to the rug, laid himself down and +slept the sleep of the just. + + C. S. + + +A DOG STORY. + + [_June 1, 1895._] + +Perhaps you will allow me to add another to your interesting list of dog +stories. In a house where I once boarded there was a large and +remarkably sagacious St. Bernard mastiff, who used to come into my +sitting-room and give me his company at dinner, sitting on the floor +beside my chair, with his head on a level with the plates. His master, +however, fearing that he was being over-fed, gave strict injunctions +that this practice should no longer be permitted. On the first day of +the prohibition the dog lay and sulked in the kitchen; but on the second +day, when the landlady brought in the dishes, he stole in noiselessly +close behind her, and while for the moment she bent over the table, he +slipped promptly beneath it, and waited. No sooner had she retired than +he emerged from his hiding-place, sat down in his usual position, and +winked in my face with a look which seemed to say, "Haven't I done her!" +In due course, the good woman came to change the plates, and as soon as +he heard her step, he slunk once more under the table; but in an +instant, ere she had time to open the door, he came out again, as if he +had suddenly taken another thought, and threw himself down on the rug +before the fire--to all appearance fast asleep. "Ah, Keeper; you there, +you rascal!" exclaimed his mistress, in indignant surprise, as she +caught sight of him. The dog opened his eyes, half raised his body, +stretched himself out lazily at full length, gave a great yawn as if +awakened from a good long sleep, and then, with a wag of his tail, went +forward and tried to lick her hand. It was a capital piece of acting, +and the air of perfect guilelessness was infinitely amusing. + + GEO. MCHARDY. + + +WOW: A STORY OF A CAT'S PAW. + + [_March 23, 1872._] + +I think you will be interested in the following anecdote of a +distinguished foreigner. One of the happiest results of that abandonment +of their ancient exclusiveness which has rendered us familiar with the +Japanese, has been the arrival on these shores of a very pretty fluffy +little dog, a born subject of the Mikado, who hails or rather barks from +Nagasaki, and who is happily domiciled with a friend of mine, of a +sufficiently elevated mind to esteem at its proper value the privilege +of being the master of a clever and refined dog. The child of the sun +and the earthquake has been named Wow, an ingenious combination of the +familiar utterance of his kind with the full-mouthed terminals of the +language of the merely human inhabitants of his country. My own +impression is that Wow smacks rather of the melodious monosyllabic +tongue of the Flowery Land than of that of the Dragon country; but this +is a detail, and, as a young naval officer newly come from Nipon +remarked to me lately, with much fervour, "Thank God! a fellow isn't +obliged to learn their lingo." Wow has made himself at home and happy in +his Northern residence with all the courtesy and suavity of a true +Japanese, and has attached himself to his master with apparent +resignation to the absence of pigtail and petticoat, articles of attire +replaced in this case by the wig and gown of a Q.C. About this +attachment there is, however, none of the exclusiveness which +characterises the insular dog. Wow is a politician, or at least a +diplomatist, and he desires to maintain friendly relations, with +profitable results to himself, with everybody. He succeeds in doing so +to an extraordinary extent, of which fact his master lately discovered +evidence. Very strict orders, including the absolute prohibition of +bones, had been issued with regard to Wow's diet. The ideas of a country +in which little dogs eat, but are not eaten, require liberality in his +opinion, and Wow made up his mind he would have his bones without +incurring the penalties of disobedience, which his master, in the +interests of the delicate foreigner, was determined to inflict. A +commodious and elegant residence was fitted up in the study for Wow, and +he was permitted free access to the upper floors of the house, but the +line was drawn at the kitchen staircase. That way lay bones and ruin, +and its easy descent was interdicted by stern command, which Wow +understood as clearly as did its utterer, though he at first affected a +simple and unconscious misapprehension. Then Wow was reproved and gently +chastised, an administration of justice performed with the utmost +reluctance by his master, but with the happiest results. Nothing could +be more admirable than Wow's submission, more perfect than his +obedience. He never looked towards the kitchen stairs, and would attend +at the family meals without following the retiring dishes with a wistful +gaze, or betraying a longing for the forbidden bones by so much as a +sniff. Attached to the lower department of the household is a humble +cat, a faithful creature in her way, but not cultivated by my friend as +I could wish. With this meek and useful animal Wow contracted a +friendship regarded by his master as a proof of his amiability and +condescension. (In my capacity of narrator I am compelled to use the +latter somewhat injurious term--as a private individual with an undying +recollection, I repudiate it). But the single-minded Q.C. had something +to learn of the four-footed exile from the Far East concerning this +intimacy. Coming into his study one day at an unusual hour, he saw the +cat--I do not know her name, I am afraid she has not one--stealthily +depositing a bone behind a curtain. Presently she went downstairs, and +returned with a second bone, which she conveyed to the same place of +concealment, whence proceeded a gentle rustling and whisking, suggestive +of the presence of Wow, whose house, or pagoda, was empty. Then arose +the Q.C., and cautiously peeped behind the curtain, where he beheld Wow +and his humble friend amicably discussing their respective bones, Wow's +being the bigger and the meatier of the two. + +Thus did the Japanese exile illustrate the cosmopolitan story of the +catspaw (with the improvement of making it pleasant for the cat), and +accomplish the proverbially desirable feat of minding both his meat and +his manners. If we could be secured against their imitation, it would be +pleasant to ask our own domestic pets the problems: + + "What do you think of that, my cat?" + "What do you think of that, my dog?" + + + A CONSTANT READER AND DISCIPLE. + + +THE BIOGRAPHY OF SPRIG. + + [_Jan. 20, 1872._] + +I dare not hope to equal the eloquent and most touching biography of +Nero, with whom I had the honour of a slight acquaintance. But I was the +possessor of an animal who, in his way as a dog, not a cat, for +originality of character, reasoning power, talent, and devoted affection +I have never seen equalled in his species, and you and your readers may +possibly be interested by a sketch of his biography. + +Where Sprig was born I do not know, nor had I any acquaintance with his +parents. One morning several years ago I chanced to go down stairs +early, and found the milk-boy at the hall door, delivering his daily +supply to the cook. In the courtyard before my house was a +bright-looking rough terrier of small size, frisking about very +cheerfully, trying to catch the small stump of a tail which some cruel +despoiler had left him. As he was engaged in this pastime, a large brown +retriever entered the gate, to look on, I suppose, for he had an amused +expression of face, and was wagging his tail amicably. Sprig, however, +though but a mite in comparison, decidedly resented the intrusion, and +flew at the retriever's throat, from which he had to be choked off by +his owner, who brought him back in his arms. The little fellow was in +the highest state of excitement and anger, his bright, intelligent eyes +flashing, and his hair bristling. He was indeed most amusingly fierce, +but was soon calmed when he was shown, and told, that his enemy had +fled, whereupon the following colloquy ensued between myself and his +owner: Myself: "And where did you get that dog, boy? You did not steal +him, I hope?" Boy, in a rich Dublin brogue: "Ah, now! would I stale +anythin', yer honner, an' me the poor milk-boy? Is it stale him? Bedad, +it's my father's cuzin that's at the Curragh! Sure he's a corporal, so +he is. He brought him, and he sez, 'Yez'll get me a pound for him, and +no less.' So it's a pound I want for him, sur, and nothin' less. An' +sure John Lambert knows me well--so he does!" When John, my servant, +was sent for, he gave a good account of the lad, and as he entirely +approved of Sprig, I gave the sovereign, showing it to the dog, whose +wondering eyes were glancing from one to the other. Then I said to the +boy, "Put him into my arms, and tell him he belongs to me;" and he did +so. The little fellow looked curiously and wistfully at the lad, who, to +do him justice, had tears in his eyes, and then nestled into my breast, +licking my hands and face. When my daughter came down stairs, I took up +Sprig and placed him in my youngest daughter's arms, a process he +appeared to comprehend perfectly, and told him she was his mistress; nor +to the day of his death did he ever falter in his devoted allegiance to +her. He was very fond of me and of us all, but his deepest love was for +his mistress, and on many occasions was most affecting to see. She was +often delicate, and once had a sharp attack of typhus fever. In this +illness Sprig never left her. He would lie at the foot of her bed +watching her, and would sometimes creep gently up to her, put his paws +round her neck, and lick her hands softly, while the pleading of his +large eyes looking from his mistress, in her unconscious delirium, to +her sister and me, was touching in the extreme. Indeed, there were then +many sad illnesses, but Sprig was always the same. As my child grew +stronger and better her little friend would amuse her by the hour +together; sit up, beg, preach, play with his ball, and try in humble +doggie fashion to beguile her of her pain. But I am anticipating. + +Sprig was, I believe, what is called a Dandie Dinmont, and as he grew up +he became, for his class, a very handsome, as he was a sturdy, little +fellow, with great strength for his size. He was a reddish-brown colour, +more dark-red than brown, like a squirrel, with white below, and a +delightfully fuzzy head, and a breast of long soft white hair. His eyes +were that peculiar bright liquid "dog" brown which is capable of so much +expression, and he grew to have a long moustache and beard. Even the +most un-observant of dogs admired him, for he resembled no terrier I +have ever seen. I think he would have won the prize of his class at the +Dublin Dog Show, had it not been for a terrible accident he met with in +being wounded by a large foxhound in a neighbouring orchard. His neck +was then torn open, and he was rescued by John only in time to prevent +his being killed. As it was, it was weeks before he could walk--and how +patient he was all the time! and as the wound healed it left a +thickening of his skin which had an awkward look. Sprig was, however, +"highly commended." In his youth he was perhaps rather short in his +temper, and always resented in the most distinct manner any liberty that +was taken with him. To tread upon his foot was perilous, but he was at +once pacified if an apology was made that it was accidental; but to pull +his tail wilfully was an insult which he resented bitterly, and for +which much atonement was necessary, or he would go under the sofa and +cry in his peculiar manner when offended. + +As he grew up, Sprig developed various talents which were highly +cultivated. His greatest pleasure, perhaps, was in an india-rubber ball, +with which his gambols were indescribably pretty and constant. It was a +great distress when he lost or mislaid his ball, and he was miserable +till he found it, or another was brought him. It was a cruel thing to +say, when one of us went to town, "Sprig, I will bring you a new ball," +and as sometimes happened, to forget to do so. On return he would sniff +about the person who had gone, poke his nose into his or her pockets, +and if disappointed could hardly be soothed, but would go away and have +his quiet cry to himself. Sometimes a kind friend who knew him might +bring him a new ball; but it very much depended on who presented it +whether it was accepted or not, and I am afraid that too frequently for +his good manners he turned it over contemptuously with his nose and left +it for the old one, which, gnawed, bitten, and broken, was still the +favourite. I used sometimes to make a ball squeak by pressing the hole +against my hand, and I believe he thought it was in pain, for he would +whine piteously, and would not let me rest till he had it again in his +possession. It was most amusing to see him when a parcel of new balls +arrived, he having been told beforehand that one was coming. He would +find out directly who had it, and become impatient and cross indeed if +he did not get it directly. When the parcel was given him, his great +delight was to open it himself and select _one_. A red ball was usually +preferred, but not always. All were subjected to the most varied +trials--gnawed, smelt, and rolled, till the one which pleased his fancy +was finally selected; of the rest he would take no notice whatever. + +Sprig was thoroughly a gentleman, and on most occasions he was most +attentive to lady visitors. He never noticed gentlemen. On one occasion, +when my daughters were out, a dear friend called (Nero's mistress). She +told us afterwards that Sprig had been a most attentive beau. He met her +at the hall door, welcomed her in his odd fashion, trotted before her +into the drawing-room, looking behind him to see if she followed. He +then jumped upon the ottoman, inviting her to sit down; when she was +seated he brought his ball and went through all his tricks with it, sat +up on his hind legs, begged with his paws, preached to her in his own +queer way, and kept her amused till, no longer able to remain, she bid +him good morning and left, evidently to his disgust. "Could he have +spoken," she said afterwards, "he would have told me to wait, for his +mistresses would soon be back; the look was in his face, but the words +were wanting." His attention to visitors was never omitted. When we had +a ball or evening party, he would await, with John Lambert, the several +arrivals at the hall door, welcome each new party, and usher them in a +solemn manner into the drawing-room or tea-room, returning for a new set +to his former place. Nor did he want for an occasional cake or biscuit +at the tea-table; "he was so amiable," said the young ladies, "he could +not be resisted." + +As an instance of how perfectly he understood what was said to him, I +may relate that one hot day I had walked out from town, and being +thirsty went into the dining-room for a drink of water. I saw Sprig's +ball under the table, and when I went into the garden where my girls +were sitting they said, "Sprig has lost his ball, and is perfectly +miserable." After I had sent him to look about for it, I said, "Now, +Sprig, I know where it is; I saw it in the dining-room under the table; +go fetch it." He looked brightly at me, and I repeated what I had said. +He trotted off, and while we were wondering whether he had understood +me, he returned with it in his mouth quite delighted. I have mentioned +his preaching, which may sound rather irreverent, but it was an +accomplishment entirely of his own invention. When seated in a chair +after dinner, and requested to preach, he would sit up, place his +forepaws gravely on the table, and then lifting up one paw as high as +his head, and then the other, deliver a discourse to the company in a +sort of gurgling, growling manner, with an occasional low bark, which +was indescribably ludicrous to see and hear. What he meant by it we +could never find out, but I question whether he prized any of his +accomplishments more than this. + +Sometimes, but not often, he would go out by himself to take a walk, we +supposed to see his friends, for I never heard that he had any love +affairs. If we all, or my daughters, or myself, met him on his return, +I, or they, or we all might call to him, notice him as he brushed past +us, or ask him to come for a walk. No. He would have none of our +company; he would cut us dead, and go toddling home, his tail more erect +and quivering than ever; never hastening his sedate pace, and giving his +usual kick-out with one hind leg every third or fourth step, as was his +custom. He would have no connection with us; that was quite clear and +decided. Sprig was very fond, too, of a walk with his mistresses or with +me, and, though never taught it, would always wipe his feet clean on the +hall mat as he came in. I am now going to relate an anecdote of Sprig +which I know is almost beyond credibility, but the occurrence so +displayed his power of thought and reason that I cannot withhold it. My +usual haunt is my den, as I call it, a large room at one end of our old +rambling house. There Sprig never came unless with his mistresses, and +indeed never was easy when he was there. I had begun a large full-length +picture of my daughters, and Sprig and Whisky, a small Skye puppy, were +to be painted lying at their feet. As the picture progressed, Sprig +seemed to understand all about it, and paid me the compliment of wagging +his tail at the portraits. One day my girls had been sitting to me, and +it was now Sprig's turn to sit. I put him into the proper position and +told him to lie still, and he proved a most patient sitter. When the +sketch of him was finished, I showed it to him; I think he was pleased +with his likeness, for he licked my face; but as he smelt at his +portrait, he did not like himself, and growled. Whisky was now put into +position, but was very restless, although Sprig scolded her by snarling +at her. Next day I had put the picture against the wall near the +window, and before a few steps which led up into my bedroom, and was +busy perched on a step-ladder with the after-portion of it. By and by I +heard a great scratching at my bedroom door, which was closed, and Sprig +whining to get in. I thought this odd, but it was too much trouble to +come down from my perch, and I told him to go away. He, however, only +whined and scratched the more. I therefore descended, and getting behind +the picture, went up the steps and opened the door. Sprig did not notice +me, but pushing past me hurried down the steps, and then, as I emerged +into the room, looked up to me blandly, and actually sat down in the +place in which I had put him the day before. I said to him gravely, +though infinitely amused, "No, Sprig, I don't want you to-day; look, the +colour is all wet, go away to your mistress." He looked very blank and +greatly disappointed, and stood up with his tail drooped. Suddenly a +bright thought seemed to strike him, as if he had said, "Now I have it!" +Whisky had got hold of one of my slippers, and was playing with it in +my bedroom, and Sprig, rushing up the steps, seized her by the "scruff" +of her neck, dragged her howling down the steps, and put her, I can use +no other words, into the place where she had been the day before. He +then came to me frisking about, and could he but have spoken, would have +said, "If you don't want me, you must her, and there she is!" He was +quite triumphant about it; and dirty as I was, and palette in hand, I +took him forthwith to the drawing-room and told them what had happened. + +I could tell numberless other stories of the reasoning power and +intelligence of our little pet, but I should trespass at too great +length on your patience. I could describe a curious friendship which +sprang up between him and a German friend who was staying some time with +us; how he learned many new tricks from him, and was taught to hop on +his hind legs from one end of the drawing-room to the other, with our +friend hopping backwards before him; I could describe his evening romps +with my dear father, never omitted while my father lived; and the many +curious traits by which his great love for us was perpetually +displayed--how he learned to crack nuts of all kinds, and to pick out +the kernels like a squirrel--how he never went into the servants' hall +or the kitchen, and refused to associate with the servants, though +friendly with them, and especially with John Lambert, his fast friend. +But I must bring this sketch to a close. + +We had been absent about a year in Germany and the South of France. +After we left, Sprig was inconsolable, and would not eat; but the cook +made him little curries and rice, and after a time he became more +resigned. We only heard that he was well, and hoped we should find him +so. The day we arrived I thought he would have died for joy. He gasped +for breath, and lay down, and when taken up by his mistress lay in her +arms almost insensible. It was long before he came to himself, and when +he did revive, it is quite impossible to describe his delight, or what +he did. He was, indeed, quite beside himself with joy, scouring about, +dragging his mistress here and there, doing all his tricks in a +confused manner, and, in short, behaving after a very insane fashion +indeed. We noticed he had a slight cough; but he seemed otherwise quite +well, and we thought it would go away; but it increased, and at that +time there was an epidemic of bronchitis among dogs. We sent him to an +eminent veterinary surgeon, who blistered him (and how patient the poor +fellow was under the pain cannot be told), but though relieved for the +time, the end was near. One morning he was seen to do an apparently +quite unaccountable thing. He took his son Terry (whom he was never +known to notice except by knocking him over and standing upon him, +growling fiercely), all round our village, and visited all the dogs in +it. John saw him doing this early in the morning, and told me of it. I +suppose he was commending Terry to their favour. He coughed a great deal +all day, and breathed heavily; but in the evening he was very bright, +and to all appearance much better, and insisted on doing all his tricks +till it was time to go to bed. Sprig never would go to bed willingly. +John used to come to the drawing-room door and call him, and he would go +to it, but stand growling till he was caught up and carried off. That +evening, as we remembered, he seemed more than ever unwilling to go, but +was caught up and carried away. + +In the morning, about six o'clock--it was summer-time--I was just about +to get up, when John Lambert knocked at my door, and came in with Sprig +in his arms. He did not speak, and I asked him whether Sprig was worse. +"He's dead, sir," said he, with the tears rolling down his face, and +hardly able to speak. "Quite dead, sir; he must have died only a little +while ago, for when I went to let him out, I found him dead and quite +warm, as he is still." I am not ashamed to write that my eyes felt very +blind, but there was no hope; the dear little fellow was quite dead; he +had died calmly, and his eyes were bright; they had not glazed. + +We buried him, John and myself, when he was quite cold and stiff, by a +rose-tree at the end of the garden. Poor John could hardly dig the +grave, and his tears fell fast and silently and upon dear old Sprig as +we covered him up for ever. I wish I could write a fitting epitaph for a +creature who, through his life, was a constant source of pleasure to all +who knew him. + + M. T. + + +A DOG STORY. + + [_June 8, 1895._] + +A friend thinks I ought to add to the collection of dog stories +appearing in the _Spectator_, one which is within my own knowledge, and +may appear deserving of publication. My uncle, a well-known Chairman of +the Bench of Magistrates in a western county, had a tenant on his +estates who occupied a farm not far from the River Severn. The farmer +possessed a favourite dog, who slept at the foot of his bed every night. +When a brother emigrated to Canada, the farmer gave him the dog as a +travelling companion. In the course of time the news arrived that the +emigrant and his family, together with the dog, had safely reached their +destination--a farm in the interior of Canada some days' journey from +the port where they landed. At a later date the brother in Canada wrote +to his family in England saying that the dog had disappeared. Some time +afterwards the dog came back to the farm of his old master, about three +miles from Gloucester, and though at first it could hardly be believed +that he was returned from Canada, yet he soon established his identity +by taking his old place at the foot of his master's bed at night. +Inquiries were made, and the dog's course was traced backwards to the +River Severn, thence to Bristol, and thence to a port in Canada. It +appeared that, after running from his home in Canada to the seaport, he +selected there a vessel bound for Bristol, and shipped on board. After +arriving at the Bristol basin, he found out a local vessel trading up +and down the River Severn (locally called a "trow"), and transferred +himself to her deck. When he reached the neighbourhood of Gloucester, +the dog must have jumped into the Severn and reached the shore nearest +to his old home. + +I can vouch for the truth of this story, from information received from +my relations on the spot shortly after the occurrence took place. I knew +the farm well, and the farmer who occupied it. + + H. C. N. + + +A CAT-AND-DOG FRIENDSHIP. + + [_June 8, 1895._] + +The interesting letter, "A Canine Nurse," in the _Spectator_ of May +18th, recalls to mind an equally curious event in cat and dog life which +occurred some years since in a house where I was living, but with the +additional interest of a hen being also implicated. + +In the back-kitchen premises of an old manor-house, amongst hampers, and +such like odds and ends, a cat had a litter of kittens. They were all +removed but one, and as the mother was frequently absent, a hen began +laying in a hamper close by. For a time all things went well, the hen +sitting on her eggs and the cat nursing the kitten within a few inches +of each other. The brood were hatched out, and almost at the same time +the old cat disappeared. The chickens were allowed to run about on the +floor for sake of the warmth from a neighbouring chimney, and the kitten +was fed with a saucer of milk, &c., in the same place, both feeding +together frequently out of the same dish. The hen used to try to induce +the kitten to eat meal like the chicks, calling to it and depositing +pieces under its nose in the most amusing way; finally doing all in its +power to induce the kitten to come, like her chicks, under her wings. +The result was nothing but a series of squalls from the kitten, which +led to its being promoted from the back to the front kitchen, where it +was reared until it was grown up. At this time a young terrier was +introduced into the circle, and after many back-risings and bad language +on pussy's part, they settled down amicably and romped about the floor +in fine style. Eventually the terrier became an inveterate +rabbit-poacher--killing young rabbits and bringing them home--a +proceeding to which the cat gave an intelligent curiosity, then a +passive and purring approval, and finally her own instincts having +asserted themselves, she went off with the dog, hunting in the woods. +Our own keeper reported them as getting "simply owdacious," being found +a great distance from the house; and keepers of adjacent places also +said the pair were constantly seen hunting hedgerows on their beats. On +one occasion I saw them myself hunting a short hedge systematically, the +dog on one side, the cat on the other; and on coming near an open +gateway a hare was put out of her form, and bounding through the open +gate, was soon off; the dog followed, till he came through the gateway, +where he stood looking after the hare; and the cat joining him, they +apparently decided it was too big or too fast to be successfully chased, +so resumed the hedge-hunting, each taking its own side as before. + +They frequently returned home covered with mud, and pussy's claws with +fur, and would lie together in front of the fire; the cat often grooming +down the dog, licking him and rubbing him dry, and the dog getting up +and turning over the ungroomed side to be finished. This curious +friendship went on for six months or more, till the dog had to be kept +in durance vile to save him from traps and destruction, the cat, nothing +daunted, going on with her poaching until one day she met her fate in a +trap, and so brought her course to an end. The dog was a well-bred +fox-terrier, and the cat a tabby of nothing beyond ordinary +characteristics, save in her early life having been fostered by a hen, +and in her prime the staunch friend and comrade of poor old Foxie, the +terrier. If there are "happy hunting-grounds" for the animals hereafter, +and such things are allowed in them, no doubt they will renew their +intimacy, if not their poaching forays, together there. + + R. J. GRAHAM SIMMONDS. + + +THE SENSE OF BOUNDARY IN DOGS. + + [_March 14, 1885._] + +I have been much interested in the communications which have appeared +from time to time in the _Spectator_ in reference to "animal +intelligence." Recently my attention has been called to a somewhat +striking illustration of it, in the case of my own dog and his canine +neighbour next door. Wallace is an Irish staghound, and is about a year +old. My neighbour's dog is a pointer, and is considerably advanced in +life. There is no hedge nor fence separating the two estates. The +dividing line runs between two stone posts about a foot in height, and +more than two hundred feet from each other. The dogs have never been +friendly, the pointer having repeatedly driven Wallace back over the +boundary when he has caught him trespassing. Both dogs, even when going +at full speed, stop the moment my dog has crossed the line. How does +the pointer know where the line runs, and how does Wallace know when he +is safely across it? + + F. TUCKERMAN. + +THE END. + + + + +INDEX. + + + Affection, 106 + + Affection, A Dog's, 105 + + Alpine Dog, An, 63 + + Animal Intelligence, 68 + + Animals and Language, 72 + + Animals, Communication with, 77 + + Animals, Friendships of Dogs with other, 135 + + Animals, How our Meaning is Conveyed to, 65 + + Animals, The Courage of, 217 + + Are Dogs Colour-blind? 213 + + Arts, Dogs and the, 119 + + Australian Dog Story, 203 + + Automata, Conscious, 136 + + + Biography of Sprig, 237 + + Boundary, Sense of, in Dogs, 260 + + Bully's Short Cut, 30 + + + Canary, Dog and, 150 + + Canine Friendship, An Act of, 153 + + Canine Intelligence, 32 + + Canine Jealousy, 113 + + Canine Member of the S.P.C.A., 110 + + Canine Nurse, A, 147 + + Canine Sightseer, A, 44 + + Cat-and-Dog Friendship, 256 + + Cat-and-Dog Love, 151 + + Cat's Paw, A Story of a, 233 + + Cautious Dogs, 61 + + Character of a Dog, Features in the, 26 + + Collies at Work, 191, 192 + + Colour-blind? Are Dogs, 213 + + Commercial Treaty between Dog and Hen, 19 + + Communication, Teaching Dogs a Method of, 74 + + Communication with Animals, 77 + + Conscience-stricken Dog, A, 103 + + Conscious Automata, 136 + + Courage of Animals, The, 217 + + Courtesy, A Dog's, 112 + + Cow's, A, Jealousy of a Dog, 200 + + Cunning Dogs, 170 + + Curious Friendship, A, 148 + + Curious Habits of Dogs, 155 + + Cut, Bully's Short, 30 + + + Deceivers, Dog, 173 + + Dinner, A Dog and his, 163 + + Dog, A, and a Rabbit, 141 + + Dog, A, and a Whip, 170 + + Dog, A, and his Dinner, 163 + + Dog, A Conscience-stricken, 103 + + Dog, A Jealous, 115 + + Dog, A, Obeying a Summons, 210 + + Dog, A, on Long Sermons, 17 + + Dog, A Parcel-carrying, 47 + + Dog, A Ruse, 171 + + Dog, A Sunday, 197 + + Dog, A, that Scorned to be Jealous, 116 + + Dog, An Alpine, 63 + + Dog and Canary, 150 + + Dog and Hen, Commercial Treaty between, 19 + + Dog and Kittens, 145 + + Dog and Pigeon, 139 + + Dog and the Ferry, 33 + + Dog Consciousness, 228 + + Dog, Cow's Jealousy of a, 200 + + Dog Deceivers, 173 + + Dog, Features in the Character of a, 26 + + Dog Friends, 133 + + Dog Friendships, 131 + + Dog, Intelligent Suspicion in a, 61 + + Dog Nurse, A, 20 + + Dog Story, A, 230 + + Dog Story, A, 254 + + Dog Story, An Australian, 203 + + Dog, Sympathy in a, 107 + + Dog, The, that Buried the Frogs, 157 + + Dog's Affection, A, 105 + + Dog's Courtesy, A, 112 + + Dog's Humanity, A, 108 + + Dog's Remorse, A, 101 + + Dogs and Language, 64 + + Dogs and Looking-glasses, 164 + + Dogs and the Arts, 119 + + Dogs, Cautious, 61 + + Dogs, Cunning, 170 + + Dogs, Curious Habits of, 155 + + Dogs, Emotion and Sentiment in, 99 + + Dogs, Guardian, 179 + + Dogs, Hospital, 22 + + Dogs, Humour and Cunning in, 165 + + Dogs, Instinct of Locality in, 83 + + Dogs, Music and, 121 + + Dogs, Power of Imitation in, 167 + + Dogs, Purchasing, 51 + + Dogs, Railway, 94 + + Dogs, Reason of, 37 + + Dogs, Reasoning Powers of, 49 + + Dogs, Recognition of Likenesses by, 124 + + Dogs, Sense of Boundary in, 260 + + Dogs, Sense of Humour in, 168, 169 + + Dogs, Sentiment and Emotion in, 99 + + Dogs, Syllogistic, 14 + + Dogs, Teaching a Method of Communication to, 74 + + Dogs, Two Anecdotes of, 206 + + Dogs, Useful, 177 + + + Emotion and Sentiment in Dogs, 99 + + Explanation, An, 159 + + + Features in the Character of a Dog, 26 + + Ferry, Dog and the, 33 + + Foreknowledge of Death? Have Animals a, 221 + + Four-footed Friends, Our, 224 + + Friends, Dog, 133 + + Friendship, A Cat-and-Dog, 256 + + Friendship, A Curious, 148 + + Friendship, An Act of Canine, 153 + + Friendships, Dog, 131 + + Friendships of Dogs with other Animals, 135 + + Frogs, The Dog that Buried the, 157 + + + Guardian Dogs, 179 + + + Habits of Dogs, Curious, 155 + + Have Animals a Foreknowledge of Death? 221 + + Hen and Puppies, 137 + + Hen, Commercial Treaty between Dog and a, 19 + + Hospital Dogs, 22 + + Humanity, A Dog's, 108 + + Humour and Cunning in Dogs, 165 + + + Instinct, Maternal, in Animals, 219 + + Instinct of Locality in Dogs, 83 + + Instinct, or Reason? 21 + + Intelligence, A Pug's, 211 + + Intelligence, Animal, 68 + + Intelligence, Canine, 32 + + Intelligent Suspicion in a Dog, 61 + + + Jealous Dog, A, 115 + + Jealous, Dog that Scorned to be, 116 + + Jealousy, Canine, 113 + + + Kittens, Dog and, 145 + + + Language, Animals and, 72 + + Language, Dogs and, 64 + + Likenesses, Recognition of, by Dogs, 124 + + Locality in Dogs, Instinct of, 83 + + Looking-glasses, Dogs and, 164 + + Love, Cat and Dog, 151 + + Lucky and Unlucky, 214 + + + Maternal Instinct in Animals, 219 + + Meaning, How Conveyed to Animals, 65 + + Method of Communication, Teaching Dogs a, 74 + + Music and Dogs, 121 + + + Nurse, A Canine, 147 + + Nurse, A Dog, 20 + + + Our Four-footed Friends, 224 + + + Parcel-Carrying Dog, A, 47 + + Pictures, Recognition by Animals of, 129 + + Pigeon, Dog and, 139 + + Pigeon Story, 144 + + Plan, Thinking out a, 45 + + Power of Imitation in Dogs, 167 + + Powers, Reasoning, of Dogs, 49 + + Pug's Intelligence, A, 211 + + Puppies, Hen and, 137 + + Purchasing Dogs, 51 + + + Rabbit, A Dog and a, 141 + + Railway Dogs, 94 + + Reason, Instinct or, 21 + + Reason of Dogs, 37 + + Reasoning Powers of Dogs, 49 + + Recognition by Animals of Pictures, 129 + + Recognition of Likenesses by Dogs, 124 + + Remorse, A Dog's, 101 + + + Sense of Humour in Dogs, 168, 169 + + Short Cut, Bully's, 30 + + Sight-seer, A Canine, 44 + + S.P.C.A., A Canine Member of the, 110 + + Sprig, Biography of, 237 + + Summons, A Dog Obeying a, 210 + + Sunday Dog, A, 197 + + Suspicion, Intelligent, in a Dog, 61 + + Syllogistic Dogs, 14 + + Sympathy in a Dog, 107 + + + Teaching Dogs a Method of Communication, 74 + + Thinking out a Plan, 45 + + Treaty, Commercial, between Dog and Hen, 19 + + True, A, Watch-dog, 188 + + + Unlucky, Lucky and, 214 + + Useful Dogs, 177 + + + Watch-Dog, A True, 188 + + Whip, A Dog and a, 170 + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Dog Stories from the "Spectator", by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOG STORIES FROM THE "SPECTATOR" *** + +***** This file should be named 31847.txt or 31847.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/8/4/31847/ + +Produced by Irma Spehar, Christine D. and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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