DOG— GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. 451 



light, and before doing so wash themselves in some stream to get 

 rid of the blood. 



In Grermany I knew a large dog that was very fond of 

 grapes, and at night used to slip his collar in order to 

 satisfy his propensity ; and it was not for some time that 

 the thief was suspected, owing to his returning before 

 daylight and appearing innocently chained up in his 

 kennel. 



A closely similar case is recorded in Mr. Duncan's 

 book on ' Instinct ' of a dog belonging to the Kev. Mr. 

 Taylor, of Colton. The only difference is that the delin- 

 quent dog slipped and afterwards readjusted a muzzle 

 instead of a collar. 



In connection with sly sagacity I may also give an- 

 other story contained in my correspondence, although in 

 this case I am specially requested by my correspondent 

 not to publish his name. I can, therefore, only say that 

 he occupies a high position in the Church, and that the 

 dog (a retriever) was his own property : — 



The dog was lying one evening before the kitchen fire where 

 the cook had prepared a turkey for roasting. She left the 

 kitchen for a few moments, when the dog immediately carried 

 away the turkey and placed it in the cleft of a tree close to the 

 house, but which was weU concealed by the sun-ounding laurels. 

 So rapid were his movements that he returned to his post 

 before the cook had come back, and stretching himself before 

 the fire, looked * as innocent as a child unborn.* Unfortunately 

 for him, however, a man who was in the habit of taking him 

 to shoot, saw him canying away his prize and watched his pro- 

 gress. On coming into the kitchen the man found the dog in 

 his old place pretending to be asleep. Diver's conduct was all 

 along dictated by a desire to conceal his theft, and if he were 

 a man I should have said that he intended, in case of inquiry, 

 to prove an alibi. 



Mr. W. H. Bodley writes me of a retriever dog that 

 belonged to him : — 



Before he came to me he lived where another dog of similar 

 size was kept, and on one occasion they fought. Having been 

 chastised for this, on future occasions when they quarrelled 

 they used to swim over a river of some breadth, where they 



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