176 Salmon Fishing. 



up in paper ; this he regaled himself with ; 

 but fortunately the bread and cheese lay at 

 the very bottom, and between that and the 

 cake, a flask of whisky and a few other things. 

 Now, finding that the only spoil he could 

 conveniently take, was the piece of cake, and, 

 no doubt smelling the cheese, if he could not 

 further open the bag, the happy thought, I 

 suspect, struck him, that he would carry it off 

 to a safe distance, lest the owner should come 

 and disturb him, and tear it apart with his teeth, 

 and then enjoy the contents at his leisure. 



Most freely did I forgive the dog the robbery 

 of the cake, for the ingenuity he had displayed. 

 He evidently belonged to the canine swell-mob 

 of thieves, and possessed no common share of 

 craftiness. For a long time he kept watching 

 me from a grassy knoll about three fields off, 

 and when a rise in the land behind me shut him 

 out from my sight altogether, I went away 

 speculating on the nice question, as to how far 

 instinct (so called) can prevail in the case of a 



