74 ANIMALS AT WORK AND PLAY 



the simple order of mind, without a grain of humour. 

 This dog accompanied us unasked when we wanted 

 to shoot a bullfinch in the garden to stuff. The 

 gun went off, and the poor bullfinch dropped. Now, 

 this dog had been accustomed, when the gun was fired, 

 to go and look for a dead or wounded rabbit. So, in- 

 stead of looking under the apple tree, he disappeared 

 into the hedge, and in a few minutes he returned 

 with a rabbit in his mouth. So much for the value 

 of a matter-of-fact dog. The serious business of a 

 dog's life if we except collies, and the Dutch cart- 

 dogs is sport ; and it is in matters connected with 

 sport that the development of humour is most often 

 seen. The first and most amusing step is to see the 

 grave and serious dog unbend to suit the humour of 

 his master. The spectacle of a carefully-educated 

 setter's demeanour at a stack-threshing, should his 

 master take a share in hunting mice, can never be 

 forgotten. At first he sits down and looks on. 

 Then, after a little encouragement, he joins in the 

 fun, with a look which clearly says, ' Well, if you will 

 do it, I don't mind, just for once.' Then all his 

 dignity goes. He curls his tail, jumps about, and 

 enjoys the joke, but never loses his sense of the 

 impropriety of the whole thing. St John had a dog 

 which always joined in the rat-catcher's work, but 

 cut him and his curs if he saw his master. Our 



