WONDERFUL FEATS OF DOGS. 105 



Dogs have been made to take part in stage representations, 

 their performances being but applications of simple tricks taught 

 in our tenth chapter. The good dog who recognizes the mur- 

 derer of his master and seizes him by the throat ; the other 

 good dog who prevents^an assassination by flying at the would- 

 be assassin, and having a scuffle j and the still other good dog 

 who rescues the child from drowning, or some other impending 

 danger, are all " worked " by signals, or obey understood com- 

 mands — ^the actor's ^' cue '^ serving as well as any other word. 



An amusing story is told of an accident which befell a penu- 

 rious manager of a minor play-house, in endeavoring to avoid 

 an engagement with the owner of the wonderful dogs, when 

 their services and not his were to constitute the principal .at- 

 traction. The owner persisted j it must be his dogs and him- 

 self, or no dogs at all , the sagacious animals would perform 

 their marvels with no one else. The huckstering manager 

 doubted this, and craved permission to try whether, by running 

 across the room, and using the words repeated by the owner in 

 the play, one of the animals would not seize hiiu by the coat 

 collar as well, without doing him any injury. The master con- 

 sented, but the experiment failed entirely. The dog remained 

 doggedly motionless. " It strikes me," said the disappointed 

 manager, " that if you were to say, ' Go, sir !' in a harsh tone, 

 when I repeat the words, that he would at once perform the 

 feat." " Very well, sir," replied the owner, " we will try the 

 experiment, if you wish it;" The preliminaries were again 

 gone through with 5 and the master said, " Go, sir !" The gi- 

 gantic dog did go with a vengeance. He dashed off like an 

 arrow ; seized the manager by the nape of his neck, threw him 

 violently on the floor, and giving two or three tremendous 

 growls, seemed on the point of making mince-meat of his prey, 

 who, petrified with fright, was glad enough to be rescued, and 

 to permit the master to perform with his dogs, and on his own 

 terms. He never was quite satisfied, however, that there was 

 not some peculiarity in the " Go, sk," used on that particular 

 occasion. 



