1830.] Newfoundland Adventures. 637 



head-downwards as usual; for (saving your presence) they puke as 

 natural as an alderman. I got the watch cleaned at St. John's; here 

 it is, and it goes better than ever ; but when fishing, I always wear my 

 seals inside. Ay ! you see Cabot knows what we are talking of," con- 

 tinued he, as the sagacious animal caught the riband playfully in his 

 mouth, and looked proudly at his master ; ' ' and he has heard as much 

 French spoken while he was with me at Cape St. John, that he under- 

 stands a good deal of that language too." 



"I'll try him now," said I, "and turning to Mr. English observed, 

 " Le del promet V or age contre le vent ! Y a-t-il de I'apparence des raffles 

 aujourd'hui ?" 



Cabot jumped up earnestly, laid his paws on the gunwale, snuffed 

 the breeze, and looked along the sky over Farmer's Island in very sea- 

 man-like style ; then after peeping in all our careless faces, seemed to 

 settle himself down into an opinion (as he yawned and nestled again 

 between Simon's legs, with some contempt in his countenance) that 

 there was no danger of squalls. " I'll try him again," said I, and con- 

 tinued to Simon, " Y a-t-il sur ce cote des bons endroits pour prendre 

 terre ?" The dog's eyes instinctively turned coastwards, but he seemed 

 to await his master's reply. 



" Ok non ! Mais au-deld, de la polnte prochaine la terre est plus unie, 

 el nous pouvons debarquer de terns en terns chercher pour ces gros pitauds 

 les Esquimaux !" 



Simon (who had much of the vivacity of gesture which seems an in- 

 dispensable part of the language he was speaking) could not help point- 

 ing significantly at the headland he was about to weather, and infusing 

 an extra degree of scorn into his brief notice of the poor natives. Cabot 

 evidently observed both, and stood upon the alert, as if he had received 

 an " order of the day" to hold himself in readiness for actual service. 

 His curiosity was effectually roused, and he ran about the vessel with 

 his eyes fixed on the rock that concealed the promised land of his master's 

 hereditary foes. 



" The word Esquimaux," said Mr. English, "has a great effect on him. 

 I think he shares in his master's antipathies. It started him angrily on 

 his feet just now, as the cry of Neunook !* rouses an Esquimaux dog." 



The old man seemed rather affronted by the illustration. " What re- 

 semblance is there," said he, " between that noble fellow and any of 

 their howling, thievish, half-starved, quarrelsome curs ? a cross between 

 wolves and foxes ! just kept alive by offal, and by shell-fish of their own 

 finding; and, when in harness, requiring a skelp, and a curse every 

 minute, to prevent them running riot, and choking themselves with each 

 other's wool ! Cabot never needs a blow, and wouldn't bear it. He can 

 run as fast as I can with two hundred weight of wood or fish in his own 

 little sleigh when the snow is hard, and, once to oblige me (indeed I 

 lent him a hand myself), drew twice that weight. He wouldn't live on 

 the raw garbage that they do, for he always eats with me. My lads, get 

 breakfast ! He never hurted a dog in his life, unless it first attacked him. 

 By the by, now you remind me, he was set upon by four savage curs 

 in an Esquimaux sledge one day, that turned out of their track on the 

 Hudson Bay ice to fall foul of him. The driver had been shouting 



* A bear. 



