INTELLIGENCE OF THE DOG. 291 



the forest, and to employ another man living about a third of 

 a mile off, to cart it. The dog, as other dogs do, usually 

 accompanied his owner in those walks. Having occasion one 

 morning to have some wood carted, but being called another 

 way, and thus unable to go and inform the other man of his 

 wants, he spoke of the matter and of his regrets in the case, 

 the dog being within hearing. He went to his day's work, 

 but what was his surprise when he came home to his dinner, 

 at noon, to find his load of wood tipped down in his yard. 



The wife knew that Mr. R brought it. On inquiry, his 



friend reported that the dog came up to his barn, to the stable 

 where his horse was, then went out around his truck-wagon, 

 repeating these movements, and apparently intent on making 

 him understand what was wanted, insomuch that he harnessed 

 in his horse, and went to the woods and brought the load. 

 How cculd a human beins: have done the errand more intelli- 

 gently, except to utter the words of his master, which the 

 dog understood, but could not express. 



Another gentleman in the town where I reside now, has a 

 dog that at the bidding of his master will place either one or 

 both of his fore-paws, as told to do, upon his master's knee, 

 or stand erect upon his hind-feet, and perform various other 

 feats. When one of the ftimily sits at the piano-forte and 

 plays, he often comes in and takes a position in front of it, 

 and makes a noise evidently the nearest he can to that of 

 singing. Is there no exercise of mental faculties such as we 

 possess in all that? Is there no understanding of language f 



One of the mental faculties is called by writers ^^ attention ^^^ 

 which is the power to concentrate and continue thought upon 

 a single subject or object for a long time. This is sometimes 

 evinced by long-continued action for the accomplishing of a 

 specific purpose. We have in history some very remarkable 

 instances of this kind, — such as that of Socrates while accom- 

 panying Alcibiades in a military expedition ; that of Archi- 

 medes at the storming of Syracuse ; that of Joseph Scaliger 

 Avhile a Protestant student in Paris at the time of the St. 

 Bartholomew massacre ; and that of Napoleon Bonaparte, who, 

 when at the military school in Paris, having a very difficult 

 problem given him for solution, shut himself up seventy-two 

 consecutive hours, and mastered it. We have something of 



