THE SHEPHERD S DOG 709 



and no swimmer, he found himself, the instant he 

 quitted the vehicle, out of his depth. The state of 

 alarm into which he was thrown increased his danger, 

 and, unnoticed by the person who attended the 

 machine, he would inevitably have been drowned, had 

 not a large Newfoundland dog, which by accident 

 was standing on the shore and observed his distress, 

 plunged in to his assistance : the animal seized him 

 by the hair, and conducted him safely to the land ; 

 but it was some time before he recovered. The 

 gentleman afterwards purchased the dog at a high 

 price, and preserved him as a treasure of equal value 

 with his whole fortune. 



As a proof that dogs understand, in many in- 

 stances, spoken language, we have seen a Newfound- 

 land dog fetch any particular thing which his master 

 asked him. A large assemblage of various articles 

 were promiscuously piled up in the middle of the 

 floor of an adjoining room, such as shoes, boots, 

 gloves, sticks, umbrellas, horse-whips, spurs, hats, 

 slippers, etc. We were asked what we wished him 

 to bring, and instantly on it being named, the dog 

 went to the next room and fetched it. We first 

 requested a pair of slippers to be brought, when 

 Caesar brought one, laid it down, and returned for 

 the other. He was next required to fetch a stick ; 

 he instantly obeyed, and returned with the one his 

 master invariably used, although there were sev^eral 

 others in the heap. 



THE shepherd's DOG. 



The shepherd's dog is characterised by his up- 

 right ears, sometimes slightly drooping at the tips, 

 sharp muzzle, his long and rather woolly-like hair, 

 with a great villosity on the under part of the tail, 



