ANECDOTES.] 



i-oii :mountai:s, tield, Aisi) lAiiM. 



ANKCUOTEB. 



Cduutrios, an cqiml Iftiiiiliarity with various 

 oilier quadrupiHls, acconliiig to tlio liabiti?, tlio 

 taste, or the caprice of dillerent nations, liut 

 everywhere it is the dog only tliat takes delij,'ht 

 in associating witli us, in sharing our abode, 

 and is even jealous that our attention should 

 bo bestowed ou him alone; it is he who knows 

 ns personally, watches for us, and warus us of 

 ihmger. It is impossible for the naturalist, 

 when taking a survey of the whole auimal 

 creation, not to feel a conviction that this 

 friendship between two creatures so dillerent 

 from each other, must be the result of the laws 

 of nature; nor can the humane and feeling 

 mind avoid the belief, that kindness to those 

 animals, from which he derives coi'tinual and 

 •issential assistance, is part of his moral 

 duty." 



These sentiments are those of a man who 

 was everywhere surrounded with danger, and 

 who was in the very best situation for ap- 

 preciating the nature and value of the dog. 

 He saw in him the most constant, vigilant, 

 and faithful of associates; his humanity ex- 

 panded as he reflected on his qualities, and he 

 could not help giving the preference to the 

 dog over his own species for faithfulness and 

 friendship. The passage in which this appears 

 is worth repeating and remembering by those 

 who mav look upon this generous animal with 

 an unfavourable or unfriendly eye. " When 

 ■wandering over pathless deserts, oppressed 

 with vexation and distress at the conduct of 



country for restoring animation. The account 

 given by the peasants was, that one of tlioni, 

 returning liome from his labour, observed, at a 

 considerable distance, a largo dog in tlio water, 

 swiuuning, and dragging, and sometimes push- 

 ing something which he seemed to havi« great 

 dilllculty in supporting, but which he, at 

 length, succeeded in getting into a Btuall 

 creek on the opposite side to that on which 

 the men were. 



When the animal had pulled what he had 

 hitherto su[>ported as far out of the water aa 

 he was able, the peasant discovered that it 

 was the body of a man. The dog having 

 shaken himself, began industriously to lick the 

 hands and face of his master, while the rustic 

 hastened across ; and, having obtained assis- 

 tance, the body was conveyed to a neighbour- 

 ing house, where the usual means of resuscita- 

 tion soon restored him to sense and recollec- 

 tion. Two very considerable bruises, with the 

 marks of teeth, appeared— one on the shoulder, 

 the other on the nape of the neck — whence it 

 was presumed that the fiiithful animal lirst 

 seized his master by the shoulder, and swam 

 with him in this manner for some time ; but 

 that his sagacity had prompted him to let go 

 his hold, and shift his grasp to the neck, by 

 which he had been enabled to support the 

 head out of the water. It was in the latter 

 position that the peasant observed the dog 

 making his way along the dike, wliicli, it ap- 

 peared, he had done for a distance of nearly a 



my own men, I have turned to these as mrj own quarter of a mile. It is therefore probable 



friends, and felt how much inferior to them 

 was man when actuated only by selfish views." 



The Newfoundland dog has long been 

 famous for his sagacity and the humanity of 

 his performances. 



A native of Germany, fond of travelling, 

 was pursuing his course through Ilolland, ac- 

 companied by a very large one of this species. 

 Walking one evening ou a high bank, which 

 formed one side of a dike, or canal, so com- 

 mon in that country, his foot slipped, and he 

 was precipitated into the water, and, being 

 unable to swim, he soon became senseless. 

 When he recovered his recollection, he found 

 himself in a cottage on the opposite side of 

 the dike to that from which he had fallen, 

 surrounded by peasants, who had been using 

 the means so generally practised in that 



that this gentleman owed his life as much to 

 the sagacity as to the fidelity of his dog. 



A large Newfoundland dog, belonging to 

 Glasgow, offers another instance to the many 

 on record of the extraordinary sagacity of 

 do^s. It seems, that being, like human juve- 

 niles, sometimes rather fond of fuu, he required 

 to receive occasional discipline, and for that 

 purpose a whip-shaft was kept bet-ide him, 

 which was at certain times applied to him. 

 He evidently did not like this article, and was 

 found occasionally with it in his teeth, moving 

 slily to the door with it. Being left at night 

 on the premises, he found the hated article, 

 and thrust the small end below the door, but 

 this he could not do with the thick part. A 

 few nights afterwards, the whip-shait was left 

 beside him, and was never seen again. He 



3S3 



