The Wit of the Wild 



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masters; which have refused to leave them in 

 moments of great peril, as in a shipwreck, and 

 so have perished; or which in some other way 

 have sacrificed their lives for their friends or at 

 least with them. All these incidents, however, 

 only illustrate that remarkable dependence and 

 sense of duty which distinguish the dog an 

 inheritance from innumerable generations of 

 trained ancestors taught to be " faithful unto 

 death." 



Something of the same disposition is occa- 

 sionally shown in the horse, which stands next 

 to the dog in long association with man. The 

 sense of dependence upon and affection for a 

 master is so exceedingly strong in most dogs, 

 that when one of them is suddenly deprived of 

 companionship it is no wonder it places itself 

 as near as possible to where its benefactor has 

 been laid, and waits for his reappearance, fear- 

 ing to leave the place even for a moment, lest 

 it shall miss his return. This very attitude 

 proves that it does not apprehend the finality 

 of its master's condition. At last exhaustion, 

 and the nervous depression resulting from grief, 



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