NATURAL HISTORY. 93 



" It was a comfort, too, to see 



Those dogs that from him ne'er would rove, 

 And always eyed him reverently, 

 With glances of depending love." HALLAM. 



&co;<icnt in the hare chase. "The hounds," he says, "must be again put 

 on the scent before they will acknowledge it for their game ; the reason 

 is, the changing the motion causes one in the perspiring parti -.les. The 

 alterations of scent in a yielding hare are less frequently productive of faults, 

 because they are more gradual, and insensibly grow smaller; but that alterations 

 there are every dog-boy knows, by the old hounds pressing forward with greater 

 earnestness as the hare is nearer her end.* 



292. Why are foxes that are found early in the day easily 

 caught ? 



Because, as they feed by night, they are incapable of fast running 

 before their nocturnal meal has been digested. 



293. Why is the Newfoundland dog of greater service to man 

 than any other, especially as a water-dog? 



Because he not only displays great sagacity and willingness in 

 assisting drowning persons, but he is also provided with semi- 

 webbed feet, which make him a good swimmer. 



204. Innumerable instances of Newfoundland dogs having saved human life are 

 on record. The following is a case in point : A person was once travelling in 

 Holland, accompanied by a Newfoundland dog. Not taking proper heed of his 

 steps on an evening walk along a high bank by the side of one of those deep canals 

 common in that country, his foot slipped, and he fell into the water ; and, being 

 unable to swim, he was soon deprived of his senses. In the mean time, the dog no 

 sooner discovered the danger to which his master was exposed, than he was in the 

 water, and engaged in the struggle to rescue him from peril. A party at a distance 

 saw the sagacious creature at one moment pushing, and at another dragging the 

 body towards a small creek, where at length he succeeded in landing his charge, 

 and placing it as far from the water as possible. This being done, the dog just 

 shook himself, and then licked the face and hands of his apparently dead master. 

 The body being conveyed to a neighbouring house, the efforts to restore animation 

 were successful. From the marks of teeth on the body, it appeared that the dog 

 had taken his first hold on the shoulder ; but finding that this did not keep the head 

 out of water, the instinct of the animal prompted him to change his grasp from the 

 shoulder to the neck, by which he was enabled to raise the head, and to keep it so 

 for a distance of a quarter of a mile. 



295. Why does a dog toss his head about in such a variety oj 

 attitudes when endeavouring to masticate a tough substance? 

 Because, owing to a liirited power of the mouth, he can divide 



Blain-'a " ^"cvclopaedia of Rural Sports." 



