234 ANIMAL ARTISANS 



at devising any means for safe descent when the 

 drive is over. They usually make a violent spring 

 to the ground, often when the cart has scarcely 

 stopped, and fractured forelegs are a frequent result. 

 Trains present far less difficulty to them. Though 

 occasionally afraid of the rush and noise, they soon 

 learn to delight in travelling by rail if allowed to 

 accompany their masters. They rush in the moment 

 the door is opened, and some dogs, notably those 

 which are accustomed to comfortable drawing-rooms 

 and soft carpets, will always select a first-class carriage 

 in preference to a wooden-seated " third." A setter 

 which had done a good deal of railway travelling was 

 considerably alarmed when she first saw an electric 

 train, but once on board she took far less time to 

 find the compartment she wanted than most people 

 would have done. After one disapproving glance at 

 the upholstery of the first car she entered, she ran 

 straight through it into the next and at once curled 

 herself up in a red velvet fauteuil. 



But though they have learnt to reckon with the 

 speed of a carriage, and become so fond of railway 

 travelling that " railway dogs " who travel by choice 

 and alone are quite common there is a " Ryde to 

 Portsmouth" dog too, which travels by boat, and 

 begs pennies for buns no dog, and we believe no 

 domesticated animal, has ever learnt to judge the 

 speed of a train. When once on the line they 

 seem, in this country, quite unconscious of danger. 

 If the train is moving at the rate of from five to 

 twelve miles an hour, they get out of the way ; but 



