NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 95 



herd," had a dog of this breed, named Sirrah, to whom, from 

 his extraordinary intelligence, one would almost be disposed 



to allow the possession of reason. Mr. Hogg has immortal- 

 ized his favorite ; and perhaps the following anecdote may 

 not prove uninteresting to the reader : 



One night, a large flock of lambs that were under the 

 shepherd's charge, startled at something, scampered away in 

 three different directions across the hills, despite his efforts to 

 keep them together. "Sirrah," said the shepherd, "they're 

 awa !" 



It was too dark for dog and master to see each other at any 

 distance apart ; but " Sirrah" understood him, and set off af- 

 ter the fugitives. The night passed on, and Hogg and his 

 assistant traversed every neighboring hill in anxious but fruit- 

 less search, but could hear nothing of either lambs or dog ; 

 and he was returning to his master with the doleful intelli- 

 gence that his charge were lost. " On our way home, how- 

 ever," says he, " we discovered a lot of lambs at the bottom 

 of a deep ravine, called the 'Flesh Cleuch,' and the indefati- 

 gable Sirrah standing in front of them, looking round for some 

 relief, but still true to his charge." 



THE SHEPHERD'S DOG OF ENGLAND 



Is larger and stronger than the preceding, and has nvach 

 of the appearance of a cross with the great rough water-dig. 



