SOME POPULAR ERRORS 



round, I was horrified at seeing him coming slowly 

 towards me. ' Now,' thought I, ' he's coming to 

 finish me off.' But, strange to say, as he drew near 

 he began wagging his tail; then, crouching down 

 at my feet, rolled over on his side and looked up in 

 my face with an expression which said as plainly 

 as possible, ' I'm so sorry I behaved as I did just 

 now ! Please to forgive me ! ' It was some time 

 before I could summon courage to touch him. 

 But when I did poor ' Dash ' showed unmistakable 

 signs of joy, dancing round and putting his paws 

 upon me in the most demonstrative manner. Ever 

 afterwards we were the best of friends, and he 

 never again seemed to have any return of his 

 former ill-temper. Now, Sir, whether dogs reason 

 or not, the foregoing incident shows plainly to 

 my mind that * Dash ' was capable of feeling 

 remorse and forming a determination to make 

 amends for the past, which seems very like what 

 we term moral feeling and morality would seem 

 even a step in advance of the reasoning faculty. 

 Is it not so? " 



In this case it is not at all necessary to credit 

 the dog with remorse, but merely with change of 

 mood. Of course, " Dash's " later behavior was 

 that which is natural to a spaniel, and he had prob- 

 ably been very much teased before to make him 

 so bad-tempered for a while. His return to the 

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