INSTINCT OF SOME SUPERIOR ANIMALS. 199 



upon them and seized his prey. ' Was there not 

 some degree of reason in this ? 



Again, an old man was one day walking on 

 the banks of a river, when he observed a badger 

 moving leisurely along the ledge of a rock on 

 the opposite bank. In a little time a fox came 

 up, and after walking some distance close in the 

 rear of the poor badger, he leaped into the 

 water. Immediately afterwards came a pack of 

 hounds in pursuit of the fox, who by this time 

 was far enough off, floating down the stream, but 

 the unfortunate badger was instantly torn to 

 pieces by the dogs. Here was cunning com- 

 bined with reason. A fox has been seen to 

 drop the end of his tail among rocks on the sea- 

 shore in order to catch the crabs below, hauling 

 up and devouring such as laid hold on it. 



I will now give you an instance of what 

 might be called reason in a dog, and which 

 occurred in this town. A lady, proceeding to 

 the house of one of her pupils, near Brunswick 

 Place, had her cloak seized by a dog, that pulled 

 her the contrary way to which she was going. 

 As she could not disengage herself, she permitted 

 herself to be led till she was brought to the 

 open space at Wick, when she became alarmed 



