280 THE BOOK OF A NATURALIST 



dog ; not fond of display or much given to wild 

 flights of imagination. He will only show that he 

 possesses that faculty when asleep and barking at 

 the heels of a dream-hare. He will show a deep 

 affection for his master, like the teal spoken of in 

 this article ; also a strong sense of proprietorship, 

 again like the teal and like the tame snake described 

 by White of Selborne a display of intellect which 

 strangely simulates an instinct common to all 

 creatures. And he will also show an intelligent 

 curiosity, and examine things to find out what 

 they are, and prove himself a very agreeable 

 companion ; as much so as Mr. Benjamin Kidd's 

 pet humble-bee. Moreover he will be accomplished 

 enough to sit up and beg, retrieve a walking-stick 

 from the Serpentine, close an open door, etc. ; 

 and besides these ordinary things he will do things 

 extraordinary, such as picking up numbered or 

 lettered cards, red, blue, and yellow, at his master's 

 bidding ; in fact such tricks as a pig will perform 

 without being very learned, not a Porson of its 

 kind, but only possessing the ordinary porcine 

 abilities. In conclusion the lecturer will bring up 

 the savage, not in person, but a savage evolved 

 from his inner consciousness, and compare its 

 understanding with that of the dog, or of his dog, 

 and the poor savage will have very much the worst 

 of it. 



We have come to the end of the dog's mind, and 

 have arrived at that other question to which allusion 

 has been made. The dog has a body as well as a 



