THE TERRIER* 161 



the professor recommends to our notice as " an acute, sensible, 

 practicable observer, and one whose judgment can well be relied 

 on," tells us that the " terrier is now almost extinct in England." 

 This, however, is incorrect, for thorough-bred terriers are still 

 common in Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, and probably most other 

 English counties. 



" A gentleman had a terrier, which he was sometimes in the 

 habit of tying up. He frequently missed the dog's collar, and 

 at last discovered that the animal carried it off in its mouth in 

 order to hide it, being aware that it was one of the instruments 

 of its confinement. 



" Two small terriers were in the habit of leaving their home 

 together to hunt rabbits in a warren at some distance from it. 

 One of them having got so far into a rabbit-burrow that he 

 could not extricate himself, his companion returned to the 

 house, and by whining, and using many significant gestures, 

 attracted the notice of his master. When he had done this, he 

 ran a short way forward, and then returned -, and after repeating 

 this some time, his master was induced to follow him. The 

 dog led him to the rabbit-burrow, where he began to bark and 

 scratch violently ; and, on procuring a spade, the other dog was 

 dug out." * 



When a boy I had a very faithful terrier, a bob-tailed, eccen- 

 tric, but sagacious specimen of the breed. He entered fully 

 into all my amusements. At home, he would be by my side, 

 while I attended to my collection of tame pigeons, rabbits, 

 Guinea-pigs, squirrels, and mice, and though all these animals 

 were permitted to run under his very nose, yet he always spared 

 them. In the fields he was also my constant companion. One 

 morning I went out on a botanical ramble, and was accompanied 

 by my dog, Dandy as he was called. While endeavouring to 

 gather some plants growing on a ditch-bank, my foot slipped, 

 and I fell up to my knees in the black mud below. The dog saw 

 my predicament, and I endeavoured to catch hold of him, imagin- 

 ing that with the assistance of his strength I could more easily 

 . * Jesse's Gleanings, vol. ii. (1834), p. 226. 



M 



