INASMORE AS TO RETRIEVERS. 187 



dog and me, and knew nothing about either of 

 us, you could not tell but what he had been in 

 my hands from a puppy, seeing how he obeys 



me" 



" There, Wilkins," said the Squire, I give 

 you credit for all that." And so we returned 

 home, and put the dog in his kennel. 



Sailor was a perfect terror to the Stanstead 

 people, and one of the roughest, most savage 

 dogs I ever met, I always had to muzzle him 

 before thrashing him. To give him his due, he 

 was a first-rate retriever and keeper's dog, 

 properly broken not to run in at partridges, but 

 unpractised with ground game. I should think 

 he had seldom seen a live hare or rabbit before 

 he came to Stanstead, for if he saw one run 

 into the wood, even if it were a hundred yards 

 off, he would bolt after it like a shot. I had to 

 cure him of this, and a tough job it was. 



I took him to the peg with an extra strong 

 cord and a check collar on him ; the " check'' 

 collar, I may mention, is a good stiff leather 

 collar, studded with iron beads, and fitted with 

 buckle and holes. I allowed him eighteen 



