ANiiCUOTES.] 



roil MOUNT A IX, FIELD, AND TAR.M. 



[ANKCltOTKS. 



BufforinsT and distress. Others have boon seen 

 to sit and listen to unisic with seeming dcli{»ht, 

 and oven to go every Sunday to ehurch, wiili 

 the obvious purpose of enjtiyiiig the sokMun 

 ami powerful strains of the organ. All these 

 displays, however, of niusieal tendencies on 

 the part of the canine race, are as nothing in 

 comparison with the following, whicli a (aerman 

 paper gave an account of some time bade. 



Frederick S , a inuskMl amateur of Daruj- 



stadt, in the grand duchy of llosse, possesses 

 a female spaniel, which has become a strange 

 source of terror to all the mediocre musicians 

 of the place and its vicinity. Having acquired 

 a competency by commercial industry, Mr. 



S retired from business, and devoted liim- 



eelf, heart and soul, to the daily and hourly 

 enjoyment of his favourite science. Every 

 member of his little household was by degrees 

 involved, more or less, in the same occupation, 

 and even the housemaid could, in time, take a 

 part in a chorus. One individual alone in tlie 

 family seemed to resist this musical entrance- 

 ment ; this was a small spaniel, the sole speci- 

 men of the canine race in the mansion. Mr. 



S felt the impossibility of instilling the 



theory of sounds into the head of Poodle, but 

 he firmly resolved to make the animal bear 

 some part or other in the general domestic 

 concert; and by perseverance, and the adoption 

 of ingenious means, he attained his object. 

 Every time that a false note escaped either 

 from instrument or voice — as often as any 

 blunder, of whatever kind, was committed by 

 the members of the musical family (/ind such 

 blunders were sometimes committed intention- 

 ally) — down came its master's cane on the 

 back of the unfortunate spaniel, till she 

 howled and growled again. By-aud-b}', simple 

 menaces with the stick were substituted for 

 blows ; and, at a still more advanced period of 

 this extraordinary training, a mere glance of 



Mr. S '3 eye was sutUcient to make the 



animal howl to admiration. In the end, she 

 became so thoroughly acquainted with, and 

 attentive to, false notes, and othrr musical 

 barbarisms, that the slightest mistake of the 

 kind was infallibly signalised by a yell from 

 her, forming the most expressive commentary 

 upon the misperformance. When extended 

 Jrials were made of the animal's acquirements, 

 they were never found to fail, and she became, 

 3d 



what she still is, the most famous, impartial, 

 and conscientious critic in the duchy of llcsse. 

 But, as may be imagined, her musical a|)pre- 

 ciation is entirely negative: if you hing with 

 expression, and play with ability, she will re- 

 main cold and impassible. Although notliing 

 can be said in favour of the dog while in a 

 state of nature, still, after he has received aa 

 education from man, the whole world will bear 

 testimony to his iiiuiiense value. Volumes 

 would not sullice to contain instances of his 

 services to the human race. A man and his 

 dog may almost be considered as component 

 parts, each working for the other, whether in 

 heat or in cold, in tempests or in calms. The 

 blind confide in him ; the lame have his sup- 

 port ; the rich are proud of him ; and, too often, 

 the poor man has nothing but his dog to give 

 him consolation. 



These instances of sagacity and intelligence, 

 as displayed in this animal, are, in numberless 

 instances, equalled by his courage. Mr. Lloyd, 

 in his Field Sports, says, that " for bear-shoot- 

 ing, a first-rate dog is invaluable ; but such are 

 rarely to be found ; indeed, with the exception 

 of Paijas, I never met with one at all deserving 

 of that character. That gallant hound, how- 

 ever, was, in his better days, everything I 

 could wish. In one instance I knew him to 

 worry a large bear for nearly eight successive 

 hours; and during a considerable part of this 

 time no person was with him. Sometimes he 

 was alongside the beast; at others, a little 

 ahead, and then hanging on his rear; and all 

 this while making the forest ring again with 

 his yells. Though he usually conducted his 

 attacks with caution, in consequence of the 

 mauling he received from a bear in his younger 

 days, his courage at times, during the chase I 

 speak of, got the better of his prudence; for, 

 on hearing my shots, he seldom resisted the 

 temptation of having a snap at the haunches 

 of his rugged antagonist. In this case, the 

 bear would swing himself round wild wonder- 

 ful agility, dash at the dog, and strike out with 

 his paws in much the same manner as a cat ; 

 but Paijas, being up to these mauoeuvres, 

 always took care to beat a timely retreat. 



" By a dog thus incessantly harassing a 

 bear, the sportsman is enabled to make many 

 a short cut; his continual attacks, besides, 

 often bring the beast to a stand-still ; in which 



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