92 PARASOL EXCHANGED FOR BUN. [CH. v. 



position for a dog) quite as easily teach him to dance, hold a pipe 

 in his mouth, stand up in a corner, give the right or left paw, 

 shut the door, pull the bell rope, leap over a parasol, or drag 

 forth his napkin, and spread it as a table-cloth at dinner-time,* &c. ; 

 and, by following the method elsewhere explained (96, 107, 109,) 

 seldom lose anything in their walks, as their faithful companion 

 would almost invariably be on the alert to pick up and carry to 

 them whatever they might drop. It is in this manner that dogs 

 are sometimes made very useful assistants at cricket. A golf-ball 



maker at St. Andrew's, A n R n, employs his dog yet more 



usefully at least more profitably. He has taught the animal to 

 search the links by himself for balls, and to take home all he finds. 

 Until the introduction of the universally applied gutta percha, the 

 price of golf-balls was two shillings each. It may, therefore, be 

 easily imagined that the diligent little fellow paid liberally for his 

 board and lodging. But the trick of carrying has been made as 

 serviceable to the dog as to his master. 



151. A cousin of one of my brother officers, Colonel A n, was 



taking a walk in the year '49, at Tonbridge Wells, when a strange 

 Newfoundland made a snatch at the parasol she held loosely in her 

 hand, and quietly carried it off. His jaunty air and wagging tail 

 plainly told, as he marched along, that he was much pleased at his 

 feat. The lady civilly requested him to restore it. This he declined, 

 but in so gracious a manner, that she essayed, though ineffectually, 

 to drag it from him. She therefore laughingly, albeit unwillingly, 

 was constrained to follow her property rather than abandon it alto- 

 gether. The dog kept ahead, constantly looking round to see if 

 she followed, and was evidently greatly pleased at perceiving that 

 she continued to favour him with her company. At length, he 

 stepped into a confectioner's, where the lady renewed her attempts 

 to obtain possession of her property ; but as the Newfoundland 

 would not resign it, she applied to the shopman for assistance, who 

 said that it was an old trick of the dog's to get a bun ; that if she 

 would give him one, he would immediately return the stolen goods. 

 She cheerfully did so, and the dog as willingly made the exchange. 



152. I'll be bound the intelligent animal was no mean observer 

 of countenances, and that he had satisfied himself, by a previous 

 scrutiny, as to the probability of his delinquencies being forgiven. 



153. "Carrying" is a pretty occasionally, as we see, 

 a useful trick, but it does not further any sporting- 

 object. "Carrying" and " fetching " are essentially 



* A trick that historical research worthy son of the " Dearest- of- 



probably would show to have been men," as he used to be called by 



devised in a conclave of house- his fond mistress, who, I need not 



maids, and which was constantly say, had no children of her own 



performed by one of ray oldest on whom to lavish her caresses, 

 acquaintances, "Little-brush," a 



