THE DOG. 



noticed by tteii masters, who knew not to what to attribute the 

 cause. The next day came a fresh disappearance of the two 

 dogs, which had found a means of joining each other. They 

 were seen to return in the evening to their respective domiciles, 

 harassed with fatigue, to refuse every sort of nourishmenti 

 their paws bloody, and their bodies covered with earth and 

 sweat. At first no attention was paid to what took place ; but 

 the same procedure being repeated on the next and succeeding 

 days, and M. S. not finding his dog come home, together with 

 the daily disappearance of his other dog, and his nightly return 

 in such a dreadful condition, mentioned the circumstance to 

 M. P., who declared to him that his dog had done the same 

 thing for a week. Finally, the day following, M.S. was awakened 

 early in the morning by the cries of several dogs who scratched 

 at his door. He came down to see what was the matter, and 

 what was his astonishment, when he saw his dog, which he 

 thought lost, feeble, langmd, and like a mere skeleton, escorted 

 by its two Uberators to the house of its master, and which, 

 seeing it in his- care, went to sleep tranquilly on a bundle of 

 straw, scarcely able to move their stiffened limbs. M. S. made 

 a search to discover the place where this touching scene had 

 occurred. He discovered that the narrow opening into which 

 his dog had forced itself was transformed iato a large cavity, | 

 the working out of which was evidently due to the intelligence 

 of the two other dogs." 



Sporting dogs, as a whole, seem to discover much more 

 sagacity, combined with faithfulness to their leading instincts, 

 than household dogs. The pointer is a marvellous instance of 

 this. The moment he falls on a scent, he lifts one paw from 

 the g^und, and stands on the remaining three, with his face, 

 back, and tail aU forming a straight line. This is his regular 

 behaviour when the wind is as it should be, and no obstacles 

 present themselves. This, however, is not invariably the case : 

 an untoward circumstance sometimes turns up, and the dog is 

 brought suddenly close to the game. The heat of the chase, 

 however, is insufficient to disturb the pointer's sense of duty. 

 Instantly the twitching muscles are stiU, and head, body, hmbs, 

 seem suddenly converted into stone. Whatever may have been 

 the position of his body at the moment the discovery was made, 

 that position is retained. Sometimes it has happened that 

 when the pointer has been in the act of springing over a strong 

 fence, he has hit upon the scent of birds lying close to it, and 

 he has then been seen to halt suddenly on the top of the wall 



