394 Modern Dogs. 



to take any food or to quit her side." As expected, 

 poor Vixen was found dead in the morning. 



The day following Viper was missing, and after 

 several hours' search it was thought he had been 

 stolen. The otter hunting expedition thus being 



spoiled, R returned to Builth, and Captain 



Medwyn, with his angling friends, sought the banks 

 of the Tivy, the waters of which were now swollen 

 by over-night rains. The narrative proceeds : " We 

 came at length to the spot which had been the 

 scene of the otter hunt so fatal to the brave little 

 Vixen. Curiosity led me to look if any fresh marks 

 of the dourgie were visible, or if he had forsaken 

 his kennel. To my surprise I perceived some drops 

 of blood ; these we followed ; they became more 

 numerous, and led to what do you suppose, reader ? 

 Yes; rolled up together, and stiff and cold, were 

 discovered, in the embrace of death, the otter and 

 Viper. From the appearance of the ground the 

 battle had been a desperate one, the turf was red- 

 dened with their gore. * . . It was a memorable 

 incident, a proof of sagacity an instance of 

 memory, thought, and reasoning combined in one of 

 the canine species, which proves their intellectual 

 superiority to all other animals." 



The terrier was buried, the otter taken away as a 

 trophy; it was found to weigh 3olb., and was the 



