shepherd's dog. 85 



LETTER XL 



MY DEAR FRIEND, 



When I was in Scotland last year^, an anec- 

 dote I heard of a drover's dog so fixed my attention, 

 that I was induced to take some pains to authenticate 

 it ; and, in doing so, acquired so much fresh informa- 

 tion, and so many surprising details of the shepherd 

 dogs in that country, that the whole species have risen 

 considerably in my estimation, and I have imbibed a 

 respect for their superior powers that man himself 

 does not always excite. Among the mass of anecdotes I 

 collected, I will select such as will most illustrate our 

 subject. I must begin by remarking that there are 

 no species of animals so varied in their nature and 

 propensities as the shepherd's dog; and these propensi- 

 ties are preserved inviolate in the same breed from 

 generation to generation. Some kinds will manage 

 sheep close at hand admirably; others excel in gather- 

 ing sheep from the hills — will turn them this way, and 

 that, as far as they are commanded, or can see the 

 motion of their master's hand or hear his voice. The 

 good qualities of some consist in the perfection of their 



