CHAPTER FOURTEEN ON DOGS 



also most useful. The first time that he saw me kill a deer 

 he was very much surprised; I was walking alone with 

 him through some woods in Ross-shire, looking for wood- 

 cocks; I had killed two or three, when I saw such recent 

 signs of deer, that I drew the shot from one barrel, and re- 

 placed it with ball. I then continued my walk. Before I had 

 gone far, a fine barren hind sprung out of a thicket, and as 

 she crossed a small hollow, going directly away from me, 

 I fired at her, breaking her backbone with the bullet; of 

 course she dropped immediately, and Rover, who was a 

 short distance behind me, rushed forward in the direction 

 of the shot, expecting to have to pick up a woodcock; but 

 on coming up to the hind, who was struggling on the 

 ground, he ran round her with a look of astonishment, 

 and then came back to me with an expression in his face 

 plainly saying, "What have you done now? — you have 

 shot a cowor something." But on myexplaining to himthat 

 the hind was fair game, he ran up to her and seized her by 

 the throat like a bulldog. Ever afterwards he was pecu- 

 liarly fond of deer-hunting, and became a great adept, and 

 of great use. When I sent him to assist two or three 

 hounds to start a roe — as soon as the hounds were on the 

 scent, Rover always came back to me and waited at the 

 pass: I could enumerate endless anecdotes of his clever 

 feats in this way. 



Though a most aristocratic dog in his usual habits, when 

 staying with me in England once,hestruck up anacquaint- 

 ance with a ratcatcher and his curs, and used to assist in 

 their business when he thought that nothing else was to be 

 done, entering into their way of going on, watching motion- 

 177 M 



