THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG. 193 



We may remember M. Leonard's pointers, Brague 

 and Philax, who could certainly understand language, 

 and play at dominoes ; and commend Walter Scott's 

 dog, Dandie, who found his boot-jack; and James 

 Hogg's dog, Hector, who overreached his master; and 

 marvel at the poodle who would never permit a false 

 note in singing to pass unobserved by a howl and a 

 growl ; or the shoe-black's mongrel, who brought cus- 

 tomers to his master, by dirtying the boots of the 

 passengers who passed the door of the shop ; but we 

 must still assert, that, in benevolence and sagacity, 

 the dog of the Newfoundland species is superior to 

 any other. A gentleman put a marked shilling under 

 a stone by the roadside, first shewing it to his New- 

 foundland dog. The gentleman then, with his friend, 

 rode forward three miles ; and then the dog received 

 his signal from the master to return back for the 

 shilling. The dog turned back : the gentlemen rode 

 home ; but, to their disappointment and surprise, the 

 hitherto faithful messenger did not return during the 

 day. It appeared he had gone to the spot where the 

 shilling was deposited ; but the stone being too large 

 for his strength to remove, he had stayed howling at 

 the place, till two horsemen riding by, and attracted 

 by his seeming distress, stopped to look at him ; 

 when one of them alighting, removed the stone, and 

 seeing the shilling, put it into his pocket, not con- 

 ceiving it to be the object of the dog's search. The 

 dog followed their horses for twenty miles, remained 

 undisturbed in the room where they supped, followed 



