198 OUR HUMBLE HELPERS 



which our sense of smell only distantly approaches. 

 It is a sense superior in delicacy to sight, which dis- 

 tance and want of light place at a disadvantage, 

 whereas distance and obscurity do not in the least 

 impair the infallibility of the dog's nose. Let the 

 hare, warmed by the chase, merely graze with its 

 back a .tuft of bushes ; that is enough and more than 

 enough to put the hound on the track. To witness 

 the unerring assurance of the pursuit, one might. im- 

 agine that the hunted animal had traced in the air a 

 trail visible to the dog. ' ' 



"That sort of thing, " Emile interrupted, "may 

 be seen any day without going into the woods with 

 the hunter. The master, unknown to the dog, hides 

 his handkerchief in a place hard to find ; then he says 

 to the animal, * Seek ! ' The dog sniffs the air a mo- 

 ment to get a clue, and then runs to the handkerchief 

 and brings it back in high glee. If I had such a nose 

 nobody would play hide-and-seek with me : I should 

 find my playmates too easily. ' ' 



"Most dogs, some more, some less, have an as- 

 tonishingly keen scent; but the hound is the best 

 endowed in this respect, especially in all that con- 

 cerns the chase, and so it is the hunter's favorite. 

 It has rather a large muzzle, strong head, vigorous 

 and long body, tail uplifted, very short hair, gener- 

 ally white varied with large black or brown spots, 

 and ears drooping and remarkably large." 



"One could use them like a handkerchief to wipe 

 the animal's nose and eyes," Emile interposed. 



"The beagle stands very low on its legs. More- 



