THE NEWFOUNDLAND. 



75 



subject of his picture entitled, " A Distin- 

 guished Member of the Humane Society," 

 he was justified not only by the sentiment 

 attaching to this remarkable race of dogs, 

 but also by the deeds by which Newfound- 

 lands have made good their claim to such 

 great distinction, and the popular recog- 

 nition of this, no doubt, in some degree 

 added to the great esteem in which this 

 painting has always been held. 



Newfoundland character are passing away — 

 it is to be hoped for good. The breed is 

 rapidly returning to the type which Land- 

 seer's picture represents — a dog of great 

 beauty, dignity, and benevolence of 

 character, showing in its eyes an almost 

 human pathos. 



Going back six j-ears before the picture, 

 Mr. J. McGregor, in 1832, in his history of 

 British North America, wrote as follows : 



A DISTINGUISHED MEMBER OF THE HUMANE SOCIETY. 

 From the Pajnting by SIR EDWIN LANDSEER, R.A., IN THE National G* 



The picture was painted in 1838, and, as al- 

 most e\"er\-one knows, represents a white and 

 black Newfoundland. The dog portrayed 

 was typical of the breed, and now, after a 

 lapse of nearly seventy years, the painting 

 has the added value of enabling us to make 

 a comparison \\"ith specimens of the breed 

 as it exists to-day. Such a comparison 

 will show that among the best dogs now 

 living are some which might have been the 

 model for this picture. It is true, I think, 

 that in the interval the white and black 

 Newfoundlands have been coarser, hea%"ier, 

 higher on the legs, with an expression 

 denoting e.xcitability quite foreign to the 

 true breed, but these departures from 



" The Newfoundland dog is a celebrated 

 and useful animal well known. These 

 dogs are remarkably docile and obedient 

 to their masters ; they are very ser\iceable 

 in all the fishing plantations, and are 3-oked 

 in pairs and used to haul the winter fuel 

 home. They are gentle, faithful, good- 

 natured, and ever a friend to man, and 

 will at command leap into the water from 

 the highest precipice and in the coldest 

 weather. They are remarkably voracious, 

 but can endure hunger for a great length of 

 time, and they are usually fed upon the 

 worst of salted fish. 



" The true breed has become scarce and 

 difficult to be met with. They grow to a 



