134 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



open and convenient road. Between the legs of the deer, 

 which he had guarded during the night against the beasts of 

 prey that might otherwise have seized upon it, he had 

 scratched a hole in the snow, and filled it with dry leaves 

 for his bed. The extraordinary sagacity which he had dis- 

 played upon this occasion rendered him doubly valuable to 

 us, and it therefore caused us very serious regret when, in 

 the ensuing summer, the poor animal went mad, possibly in 

 consequence of his exposure to the severe frost of that night, 

 and it became necessary for the gamekeeper to shoot him, 

 which he could not do without shedding tears. He said he 

 would willingly have given his best cow to save him ; and I 

 confess myself that I would not have hesitated to part with 

 my best horse upon the same terms." 



The Spaniel. There are many varieties of the Spaniel of which 

 the Water Spaniel, the King Charles Spaniel, the Blenheim 

 and the Maltese Spaniels are the best known. The Water 

 Spaniels figure on some of the later monuments of Rome 

 and so prove their antiquity. Colonel Smith describes the 

 Spaniel as a small setter, with silky hair -and fine long vil- 

 lous ears ; black, brown pied, liver coloured, white and black- 

 and-white, the water spaniel differing from the other species 

 chiefly in his readiness to hunt and swim in the water and 

 the hair being somewhat harder to the touch. The spaniel 

 has a great affection for his master and is never tired of 

 testifying his appreciation of his kindness. Colonel Smith 

 mentions a dog allied to the spaniel race, who at the time 

 of his writing (April 1840) had been lying on the grave of 

 his mistress for three days, refusing all food, and was on that 

 day being forcibly removed. Spaniels are often very intel- 

 ligent, displaying the same sagacity as other and larger dogs 

 and in the same way. Mr. Jesse mentions a King Charles 

 spaniel who was locked by his master in a room in Vere 

 St. Clare Market, one afternoon about half past five, while he 

 went with his family to Drury Lane theatre. About eight 



