III. CANINE GUESTS. 



There is so much in this paper which must naturally seem incredible that 

 I think it necessary to assure the reader how scrupulously I have endeavoured 

 to narrate the facts simply as I saw them. On my honour, the narrative is, 

 if not absolutely true, at least as true as I can make it by a comparison of 

 what I observed myself, with the observation of a dozen other witnesses. 



Having heard that two very wonderful dogs were per- 

 forming within fifty miles of my house, I invited them to 

 come and visit me. . . . They were invited to dine and 

 spend the evening ; and as the weather was very wet they 

 stayed all night and breakfasted next morning, so that I 

 had every opportunity of making their acquaintance. 



Madame du Rouil informed me that her husband had 

 been for ten years a teacher in a deaf-and-dumb institu- 

 tion, which had given him the idea of trying how far a 

 similar method of education might develope the intelligence 

 of dogs. He had also been a conjurer, and these two 

 professions had prepared him for the one he at present 

 exercised. When he began to train his first dog it was 

 not with any idea of future profit, but simply out of curi- 

 osity to see the effects of the sort of education which 

 seemed to him best adapted for establishing a close under- 

 standing between the human and canine minds. Seeing 

 that the plan succeeded he began to take the dog with 

 him to the entertainments he gave in Paris, and as the 

 public were interested he went on educating his pupil. 

 Since then he has educated two other dogs on the same 

 principles, one of whom has completed her training, whilst 

 the other is an advanced, but not yet a finished, student. 



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