214 



Monthly Review of Literature, 



[[Aug. 



We were sorry to observe a prediction of 

 the speedy ruin of tlie road over tlie Simplon 

 — unless a sum for its timely repairs be as- 

 signed by those who are most interested in its 

 preservation, which they are apparently in- 

 chned not to do. Even the monks of St. 

 Bernard are Kkely to faU, from the severity 

 of the noviciate. Seven young peasants 

 presented themselves suddenly, some time 

 ago, as candidates, after a considerable 

 space liad elapsed without a single indi- 

 vidual offering himself, and not one of them 

 could stand the rigours of it. 



Sketches and Anecdotes of Dogs, by 

 Captain Thomas Broivne ; 1829 — This 

 is a very complete volume, and must surely 

 exhaust tlie subject of dogs. It embraces 

 not only the natural history of the genus, 

 but the personal one of numerous indivi- 

 duals, many of which have been the pro- 

 perty, and of course have come within the 

 range of observation, of distinguished per- 

 sons, whose names lend at once interest and 

 authority to the details — Sir AValter Scott 

 and Hogg, for instances. The writer's 

 experience convinces him that dogs have 

 intellectual qualities, of a much higher na- 

 ture than mere instinct — " many of their 

 actions," he says, " must be ascribed to the 

 exercise of reason, in the proper sense of 

 the word." This is obviously loose lan- 

 guage. Certain acts are done obviously 

 ifUh reference to circumstances, and others 

 without. The first are strictly acts of rea- 

 son — the latter of instinct, in the common 

 sense. The slightest obs£r\'ation must con- 

 vince every body that not only dogs, but 

 all animals, perform acts of both kinds. 

 All the WTiter must be supposed to mean is, 

 that he thinks dogs Iiave a greater share of 

 the reasoning facidty than is generally be- 

 lieved. He adds, what is better worth at- 

 tending to — " That all the varieties of the 

 canine species are not endowed with equal 

 powers of reflection and sagacity; but, on 

 the contrary, that they differ in this respect 

 according to the purity of their lineage, and 

 the care which is taken in improving their 

 respective breeds." 



The arrangement — technically we mean 

 . — is based upon that of 31. F. Cuvier. The 

 author adopts that naturalist's three groups 

 or divisions, but subdivides -.hem into sec- 

 tions, according to wliat he conceives to 

 be their natural affections and propensities — 

 and confers " scientiiic" appellations on 

 certain varieties, wliich Cuvier omitted. In 

 the introduction, too, the history of the 

 dog is traced from the earliest times ; but 

 the bidk of the book is filled with anec- 

 dotes — forty of which have never, it seems, 

 appeared in print before. Ne quid nimis is an 

 excellent maxim — unluckily, the author has 

 either forgot it, or knows not its value. He 

 has no mercy. The eternal succession of 

 instances of the " extraordinary" is weari- 

 some beyond endurance. Numerous tiicts 

 are produced to show that dogs understand 



spoken language ; but with all the gallant 

 Captain's researches, only one has been 

 known to articulate, and that only one 

 word — but then the word was a dissyllable. . 



The animals of Dumfries-shire are a good deal 

 celebrated, and not, it would appear, without 

 reason. A speaking dog actually exists at the 



bouse of Mr. , writer in that town. His 



name is Wellington, his size moderate, bis shape 

 handsome, and he is usually denominated the 

 Dutch Pug. The editor of the Dumfries Courier 

 declares most solemnly that be heard him repeat- 

 edly pronounce the word William, almost as dis- 

 tinctly as ever it was enunciated by the human 

 voice. About a fortnight ago (January 1S29), be 

 was lying on a rug before the tire, when one of 

 his master's soos, whose name is William, to 

 whom be is more obedient than to any body else, 

 happened to give bim a shove, and then the ani- 

 mal ejaculated, for the first time, the word Wil- 

 liam ! The whole fireside were as much amazed 

 as Balaam was when his ass spoke ; and, though 

 they could hardly believe their own ears, one of 

 them exclaimed, " Could you really find it in your 

 heart to hurt the beast, after he has so distinctly 

 pronounced your name ?" This led to a series of 

 experiments, which have been reieated for the 

 satisfaction of various persons ; but still the 

 animal performs with difbculty. When bis master 

 seizes bis fore-legs, and commands him to say 

 William, be treats the hearer with a gurring vo- 

 luntary; and, after this species of music has 

 been protracted for a longer or a shorter period, 

 bis voice seems to fall a full octave before he 

 comes out with the important dissyllable. 



D^Erbine, or the Cynic. 3 vols. l2mo. 



1829 D'Erbine is JWt the Cynic. D'Er- 



bine is finally the conspicuous personage — 

 he marries the heroine, and is therefore 

 strictly the hero, and entitled to give his 

 name to the piece ; but the Cjmic plays a 

 very inferior part, and contributing nothing 

 to its development or de'nouement, has of 

 course no claim to any such distinction. 

 But we are not going to depreciate — nor, 

 because the production is very irregidar and 

 unequal — begun apparently with one ob- 

 ject, and concluded with another, are we 

 going to say it is the work of a fool. It is, 

 on the contrary, that of a very intelligent 

 person, though probably of no great practice 

 in scribbling. The first volume was 

 written, it seems, some seven or eight years 

 before the others ; in the interval, probably, 

 the original purpose cooled, and the writer's 

 attention was turned by intervening experi- 

 ence to a different set of circinnstances. 

 The difference of style and sentiment is 

 striking ; and, fatigued as we were by the 

 first volume, we were greatly surprised and 

 relieved by the vigour and masculine tone 

 of the second and third, which still shews, 

 however, little or no amendment in the qua- 

 lities of a story-teller. 



The first volume introduces us to the 

 coimtry-house of a lady-leader of the 

 fashionable world, who has collected a 

 number of persons of distuiction to spend 

 the Christmas holidays. Characters iix 



