THE WATER SPANIEL. 271 



I followed as fast as I could ; but Paris, which was the Dog's name, was too quick for 

 me, and before I could well get round the bush, which was about ten yards from the 

 brink of the ravine, had come to a stand, his ears pricked, his tail wagging like lightning, 

 and his whole frame in a seeming state of ecstasy. I expected that he had got a hare 

 under the bank, and, as the situation was in favor of a shot, I ran towards him with more 

 speed than I should have done had I known that instead of a hare I should find, as I did, 

 a tiger sitting on its rump, and staring Paris in the face. They were not above two 

 yards asunder. 



As soon as the Dog found me at his side, he barked, and giving a spring down, 

 dashed at the tiger. What happened for some moments I really cannot say ; the sur- 

 prise and danger which suddenly affected me banished at once that presence of mind 

 which many boast to possess on all emergencies. I frankly confess that my senses 

 were clouded, and that the tiger might have devoured me without my knowing a word 

 of the matter. However, as soon as my fright had subsided, I began, like a person 

 waking from a dream, to look about, and saw the tiger cantering away at about a hun- 

 dred and fifty yards' distance, with his tail erect, and followed by Paris, who kept 

 barking ; but when the tiger arrived at a thick cover, he disappeared. 



I had begun in my mind to compose a requiem for my poor Dog, as I saw him 

 chasing the tiger, which I expected every moment would turn about and let Paris know 

 that he had caught a Tartar. Though Paris had certainly brought me to the gate of 

 destruction, yet he as certainly saved me. I felt myself indebted to him for preserva- 

 tion, and consequently was not a little pleased to see him return safe." 



This is not a solitary example of the achievement of so daring a feat. Another 

 officer, belonging to the Bengal Artillery, was shooting near a jungle, and was attended 

 by five or six Spaniels, for the purpose of putting up the bustards, floricans, peafowl, 

 and other birds, when a tiger suddenly showed itself from a spot where it had lain 

 concealed. Instead of retreating from the terrible animal, the Spaniels dashed boldly 

 at the brindled foe, and although several of them were laid prostrate by the tiger's 

 paw, the survivors remained staunch, and attracted the creature's attention so com- 

 pletely that their master was enabled to kill it without difficulty. 



The report that the Dhole will attack the tiger is thus corroborated. 



FROM its singular affection for the water, this Dog is termed the WATER SPANIEL, 

 as a distinction from the Field Spaniel. In all weathers, and in all seasons, the Water 

 Spaniel is ever ready to plunge into the loved element, and to luxuriate therein in 

 sheer wantonness of enjoyment. It is an admirable diver, and a swift swimmer, in 

 which arts it is assisted by the great comparative breadth of its paws. It is therefore 

 largely used by sportsmen for the purpose of fetching out of the water the game which 

 they have shot, or of swimming to the opposite bank of the river, or to an occasional 

 island, and starting therefrom the various birds that love such moist localities. 



Much of its endurance in the water is owing to the abundance of natural oil with 

 which its coat is supplied, and which prevents it from becoming really wet. A real 

 Water Spaniel gives himself a good shake as soon as he leaves the river, and is dry in 

 a very short time. This oil, although useful to the Dog, gives forth an odor very 

 unpleasant to human nostrils, and therefore debars the Water Spaniel from enjoying 

 the fireside society of its human friends. 



Some people fancy that the Water Spaniel possesses webbed feet, and that its 

 aquatic prowess is due to this formation. Such, however, is not the case. All dogs 

 have their toes connected with each other by a strong membrane, and when the foot 

 is wide and the membrane rather loosely hung, as is the case with the Water Spaniel, 

 a large surface is presented to the water. 



The Water Spaniel is of moderate size, measuring about twenty-two inches in height 

 at the shoulders, and proportionately stout in make. The ears are long, measuring 

 from point to point rather more than the animal's height. 



The KING CHARLES SPANIEL derives its name from the " airy monarch," Charles 

 II., who took great delight in these little creatures, and petted them in a manner that 

 verged on absurdity. 



