DOGS. 109 



solemnity ; but Bianco was giddy and frolicsome. A 

 word was given to Fido from the Greek, Latin, Italian, 

 French, or English languages, and selected from a book, 

 where fifty words in each tongue were inscribed, which, 

 altogether, made three hundred combinations. He se- 

 lected from the letters of the alphabet those which com- 

 posed the given word, and laid them in order at the 

 feet of his master. On one occasion the word heaven 

 was told to him, and he quickly placed the letters till 

 he came to the second e, when, after vainly searching 

 for the letter in his alphabet, he took it from the first 

 syllable and inserted it in the second. He went through 

 the four first rules of arithmetic in the same way, with 

 extraordinary celerity, and arranged the double cyphers 

 in the same way as the double vowel in heaven. Bianco, 

 however, although so heedless, was quicker than Fido, 

 and when the latter made a mistake, was called on to 

 rectify it, but as quickly dismissed, as he was wont to 

 pull his companion's ears, to come and play with him. 



One day Fido spelt the word Jupiter with a b ; but 

 the younger savant being summoned to correct the error, 

 he carefully contemplated the word, and pushing out the 

 , replaced it with a/>. A lady held her repeating watch 

 to the ear of Fido, and made it strike eight and three- 

 quarters. Fido immediately selected an 8, and then a 

 6 for the three-quarters. The company present and the 

 master insisted on his error, and he again looked among 

 his cyphers ; but being unable to rectify it, he coolly sat 

 down in the middle and looked at those around him. 

 The watch was again sounded, and it was ascertained 

 that it struck two for every quarter, which quite exon- 

 erated Fido. Both dogs would sit down to play ecarte, 

 asking each other for, or refusing cards, with the most 



